A happy Dunham rode triumphantly through the gate and as word spread people ran to mob him. He stiffly got off his bike and accepted hugs from women he knew and some he didn't. He said he had something for the Lieutenant and needed to report to end the barrage of questions. A path cleared and he saw her on the top of the Command steps and stopped with an audible gasp. She was extremely pregnant as she waited for him.
"Does the Commander know?" he pointed to her stomach when he reached the top of the stairs and saluted. He handed her a plexpad, "This is all the messages from the troops."
She didn't speak again until they were inside and away from straining ears, "What are Commander Taylor's orders for you? And no he doesn't know."
Dunham smiled, "He was going command you to you to give me time off to chase anything over fifteen that's not married."
An eyebrow arched at him, "You have one week then you're going back."
"Me?" he was under the impression his tour of duty was over.
"You know where the army is and they could use letters from home as much as we need these," she waved the pad for emphases.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Are you able to report or do you need sustenance first?"
"I could use a drink and I'm ready to report."
"You know where the cooler is," she waddled around the desk and sat down. He watched her and almost laughed aloud, but caught himself and grabbed a glass of water. "Can I get you one, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, thank you." She waited for him to place her glass before her then move around the desk. He stood at rest with his glass in hand. "You can pull a chair up, Private."
"Sixteen days on that bike. I believe I'll stand."
"Very well, the army has been gone five months. You have a lot of reporting to do. Proceed."
"Our first stop was where Guzman killed the Phoenix Soldiers. The bodies had been buried in fresh graves and a message was waiting for the Commander from General Hooper. He carved into the trunk of a tree that he stripped bark off the words, 'No Quarter, Gen. Hooper.'
"Hooper is no match for our Commander," Alicia commented.
"That's what our unit believes also. We followed for about two weeks deeper into the badlands, witnessing things we'd never seen before. Even the Commander said he'd never been that far into the badlands. We saw the areas where the ground had been torn up by what must have been a massive tectonic plate disturbance. Dr. Wallace said it was made by the same portals we came here through, just stronger and more disruptive. When those opened and the ground was disturbed, sometimes we'd find artifacts dating from antediluvian to our time and there is a lot of it scattered in the desert. Dr. Wallace has a theory that our modern continents were broken in part by these magnetic occurrences, pushing the plates apart from the Pangea to the future and we're somewhere in the plate movement process."
"I'm sure he'll have his notes for us to read. What is taking so long in finding Mira and the Phoenix?" Alicia pulled him back on topic.
"We always seem to be one step behind them, but closing. With us on their tail, Lucas doesn't have time to open a portal or to do the calculations if he finds one. I was sent home because the army was close to engaging and wanted to get the messages back if something went wrong. Also, we are experiencing that strange lightning that happens when a portal opens. This area is on the far edge of the concentration of activity. It's scary deep in the badlands. We almost lost Sergeant Reilly. She was walking ahead of us and started shimmering and we could see right through her. We called and she came back, but said it was like we were yelling from a great distance, and we were right behind her. Dr. Wallace was taken to that spot with his equipment and he said he got a strong pulse, like the portal emits. He hoped Lucas didn't find that spot, but was sure they were near several others."
"Did you ever see Lucas?" Alicia was sure Nathaniel would have more detail in his reports to her.
"From a distance a few times, but he always spotted us and hightailed it away."
"What has Commander Taylor labeled as classified for the troops?"
"All artifacts are off limits for discussion. It's like they don't exist."
Alicia nodded, "We don't want the colony to panic. I'll sort the messages out and get them sent to the proper recipients. I'll look at the notes and question you further tomorrow if needed. As soon as you check into the Infirmary for a medical, you're on break until you leave, dismissed."
She held her place until he was gone and struggled out of the chair and to the bathroom. "Kid, you have got to get off my bladder." As time passed without word from the army, she was losing hope that he'd be home for the birth. Now she was certain he would miss it. An even greater fear was something happened and they'd never see them again. Dunham relieved the fears of the entire colony when he came back saying the army was fine, just a long ways away.
Elizabeth smiled up as Dunham reported for his exam, "I've been expecting you, Private."
"I know its routine procedure, but I feel just like when I left."
"Lie down and let me be the judge of that," the doctor turned the monitor on. "Have you eaten or drank anything different?"
"Everything was different. Hi Skye," he turned as Skye walked up to the bed.
"I'm glad you're here, Skye," Dr. Shannon commented. "What I'm doing is pulling samples from his colon to compare with his last exam. I want you to run the tests and then I'll run the tests and we'll see if our results match."
Skye smiled and nodded.
Several of his military buddies pushed to the space, "Hey, Flesh," they chorused in unison with broad smiles, which he returned.
"What are you guys doing off patrol?"
"The Lieutenant spelled us with civilian volunteers so we can celebrate you being home," one young private spoke for the group of five men.
"Volunteers? What's that all about?" Dunham wanted his physical to be over so he could be welcomed home properly.
"Some of the old guys, you know the retirees from the service volunteered to help us out and they are training some of the civilians for backup."
"I bet the Commander doesn't know that," Dunham hadn't heard any rumor to that effect noised about the army.
"No, he doesn't. Boylan put it together after he left or he'd probably have vetoed the idea. I like it; keeps us from doing double shifts. We were just starting the night shift when you pulled in. Ever since the Lieutenant's gotten with child, she's let us get away with murder," another private joked quietly and they all laughed.
"Just don't let word get back to her or our free ride will be over," another chimed in.
"Maybe she'll forget to send me back out like she threatened to do," Dunham added.
In the other room while the men talked, Dr. Shannon watched Skye perform the blood and metabolic tests. The results appeared on the monitor. "I show he's clean and normal, Doctor."
Elizabeth held up her own test swabs, "Let's see if I get the same results." She moved Skye out of the way and did the exact same tests. They waited and the results popped up. Elizabeth smiled broadly, "Very well done, Skye. I watched you from the tissue sample to the prep work and you didn't make one mistake. I expected the results to match. He's as healthy as when he left. You can go and tell him he's released."
"Okay," Skye hurried to where Dunham was holding court and told him he could leave. Soon the place was quiet again and she sat down with her plexpad to continue studying, which she did every chance she got. There was a lot to learn to be a technician in the lab and she was determined to succeed.
Josh entered and looked around for his mother. "Hi, Skye," he let her know he was nearby.
She looked up and smiled, "Josh, looking for your mother?"
"I am, but it can wait," he sat in a chair by her. "How's the studies?"
"I'm learning a lot, but it's hard. Are you done for today?"
"It's after quitting time."
"I got into reading the material and forgot the time," she sat the pad down to pick up another day.
"I was going to see if Mom needed me for the weekend. Some of us are getting together tonight at the house, as Boylan gave me the night off, rare for a Friday night. I wanted to make sure you're stopping by."
"I'll be there," she promised and stood. "I better find my own mother and see what she's doing, bye." He watched her walk off. After her assault, she never mentioned the rape to him and every time he tried to ask what happened she'd change the subject or flat out told him she didn't want to remember or talk about it. Unlike Tasha, who after trusting him, Max and Hunter, told them in great detail what happened before, during and after the assault, up to and including the graphic details of the killings of the abusers.
Alicia finally got the messages dispersed and sent hers to her home plexpad and called it a day as she rushed home. As badly as she wanted to sit right down and open the notes from her husband first, she knew the baby had to eat.
The colony was quiet for a late spring night as families gathered to listen to news from the front.
Alicia parked herself on her favorite spot on her couch with a cup of tea on the table. She sorted all her messages by date and time. The first one was from her husband.
'Hi hon, it's the first night out and I already miss you. This sleeping arrangement sucks. Why did I have to insist you stay behind and more importantly, why did you listen. I thought we had an agreement. I talk and you don't listen or obey.' Alicia paused the pad just to look at his face. She hit continue. 'Hooper wasn't amused with our positioning of his people. The burned skeletal remains were buried when we arrived. Rain has obliterated their tracks, so it's several days head start they have on us. We'll enter the badlands sometime tomorrow at the pace we're traveling. I'm sure when the new wears off; our soldiers will not be so gung ho. That's all I have for today. I love you.' The picture went dark and she reflected on his message before selecting the next one.
'Hey Wash,' the face of Guzman popped into view. 'This is like old times, without you of course. The Commander is riding us hard and we're near where you guys rescued me. Tomorrow we'll be into new territory. We've already passed some strange sights that were missed last time due to us traveling after dark. We're camping every night so far, but haven't come close to finding Mira and the others, so I'm predicting unless we get lucky, this is going to be a long campaign. Talk to you up the road.' The screen blanked out again.
For the next three hours, Alicia didn't move except the occasional trip to the bathroom, complements of their baby. She rubbed her stomach, "I might as well find out what you are going to be. Daddy isn't going to make it home. She still had hours more to listen to, but called it a night as she couldn't keep her eyes open.
Across the colony, Elizabeth, was in bed listening to the private messages from her husband that she couldn't share with the girls. She called Josh to see if he was coming home to the family news. Typical of his age, he had a party and would be by for supper the next day. He'd taken to eating most meals on the weekends with the family except the weekend he had to cook. A few times, she invited his roommates for supper for which they were grateful. She tried to make it the times Josh had to cook to ease his burden. He hadn't asked her for money, but she knew it was tight for him on an apprentice's salary and moonlighting at the bar. Word was sent to all mini's and plexpads that Private Dunham would be returning to the front with return messages and to have them ready in six days.
The next morning Elizabeth called Alicia and invited her to supper. Since the men had been gone, they'd grown closer and taken to dining at each other's places. Seldom did Elizabeth take Zoe, saying it was her time out. They would break open a bottle of wine and Alicia would limit herself to one glass all the while complaining it was no fun drinking with her doctor.
"Are you going to the Infirmary today?" Alicia asked while Elizabeth was communicating via radio.
"I can. I have to shop for supper. Need something?"
"Yeah, meet me there in an hour," Alicia requested.
A twinge of worry flash through the doctor, but all she said was, "All right."
They met at the Infirmary and before Elizabeth could speak, Alicia started, "You got your messages?"
Elizabeth couldn't keep a wide smile off, "It's a relief to know they are all still alive and well."
"I finally got through all the messages before coming here and it's obvious, Nathaniel won't be back before the baby is born and I want to tell him if it's a boy or girl and the name I've chosen."
"Oh, I know what it is," Elizabeth was amazed at Wash's resolve in not knowing for so long.
"Can you show me?"
"Lie down and I'll prove what I'm going to tell you," Elizabeth pulled a curtain for privacy. She flipped the monitor on and pointed, "She's not turned at the right angle for positive proof."
"She?" Alicia was thrilled and scared at the same time. "Nathaniel will be over the moon. He wanted a daughter so bad."
"And you?" the doctor took another reading while she had her most tenacious patient on the biobed.
"I wanted a son who looked just like his father with bright blue eyes and a mop of unruly curls like the photo's I've seen of Nathaniel."
"Want me to give you her stats. I can tell you if she's going to have blue eyes or curly hair."
"No, I can wait to see for myself," Alicia sat up and rubbed her stomach. "Now I can refer to it as her instead of it or baby."
They parted at the market where Alicia walked back across the colony for the exercise she wasn't getting enough of and thought how she was going to phrase the news in her latest message.
She smiled tentatively into the lens, "I came from the doctor today. I figured you wouldn't make it home to be here for the birth so I had Dr. Shannon tell me what we're going to have." Her smile got wider, "You get your wish, it's a girl. Next time we'll have a son and this pregnancy went so smooth I don't want to wait. I want our little girl to have a brother or sister her age for a playmate. I didn't have a sibling and always wanted one, so you better be ready to make another baby when you get home. I'm happy I found out. Now I can buy clothes for her. Hurry home, I love you." She turned the record button off.
Three thousand klicks away it was all over.
Two days after Dunham headed home, the scouts reported the enemy was still entrenched in the same spot and they saw flashes of blue that looked like lightning directly in the camp.
"Lucas must have found what he was looking for," Nathaniel had the surveillance photos on a large screen that materialized from the base of his camp table. His officers were crowded into a tent he used for his office and home when they stopped long enough for it to be erected. They'd been at the stream going on three days now, the longest stop in five months. The unit was getting used to the constant moving, even if a few klicks before stopping again. Ball games broke out and the people actually relaxed knowing the sentries would alert them of an intrusion long before it arrived.
"Hooper has his men here and here," he pointed with a laser pointer along two ridges above where Lucas was working. Debris was strewn in the area, more than they'd seen congregated at the other locations.
Malcolm was studying additional pictures on his plexpad and zooming in on the artifacts. He stood up and took the pointer from Nathaniel's hand and identified an item and called for the computer to enlarge that area. Soon they were looking at a vehicle half buried in the sand.
Nathaniel looked closely, "That's a vehicle from our time, a recent arrival." Everyone started nodding and they recognized the make and model of a sedan about year 2135.
"2134," Malcolm called out as he returned to his plexpad and pulled up the information. "It's a French made Basilica sedan."
"The windows are sandblasted and the doors are ajar with sand to the seats so I'm assuming it's been here for at least ten years," Nathaniel surmised.
"The odds of whoever came with it being alive in this desert are between slim and none," Jim added to the nods of the others.
Nathaniel continued with his tactical planning, "By my calculations, we can get extremely close before they know we are in the vicinity. From the placement of their troops, they've expected contact before now. Either they're getting complacent or edgy waiting for us to attack. They know we're close and I'm sure Mira's people know exactly where we are."
"Do you think they'll get tired of us holding back and turn the tables?" Guzman asked.
"I'd be surprised. Hooper won't back down from a fight, but right now they want to go home and his soldiers won't be anxious to get killed this close to a ticket out of here." He switched back to his original shot. "If we move in at first light with the sun coming up behind us, we should get close enough for long mortars to thin the ranks and we can finish them off as they scatter. See, they don't have the cover they need," he ran the pointer along a short expanse of rocks they were concealed behind. "They can retreat or advance. Either option will leave them exposed. I want half our units with mortars and the other half with rifles ready to pick anyone moving off. According to this, Mira is with Lucas at the site of the electrical activity. Her Sixers are providing cover for him directly. We'll leave them for last. No quarter on the Phoenix. If a Sixer surrenders, don't kill them."
"Why, Sir?" Sergeant Thomas asked.
Nathaniel took a moment to answer, looking at Thomas and then the others. When he answered, he addressed the entire room. "Mira and I had a chance to talk the night we were forced to hole up against the slashers. She wasn't told all the facts about who she was working for and she has a daughter she is desperate to see again and the same is true for the people she recruited. They were given promises of riches and lives in the domes for their services. They were told, they were working for Lucas, but not his ultimate plans for Terra Nova. Her only chance is to get home and he offered hope if she followed his lead. But, if they try and kill you, don't hesitate to kill them first. We leave tonight and will be in position when the sun is to our backs." He directed his Sergeant's and their units so everyone knew their jobs. He put his Corporal's in charge of the sharpshooters and spread them out in front of the grenade launchers.
After supper, they pulled out on silent running with lights off, relying on their headgear with night vision to guide them the fifty-five klicks. They stayed out of the range of the enemies night vision binoculars as they spread out along their own hill a quarter of a klick away. Silence was mandatory. Malcolm and his scientists were left in the vehicles two klicks back from the fighting with orders to run for it if they saw the Phoenix or Sixers and try to make their way back to the colony.
Nathaniel pulled his tags off and held them in his hand and thumbed the forbidden photo. In the dark behind the hill, his wife sprang to life casting a soft glow over his hand. He sent her a silent thought, 'Wash, I wish I could have you here, but am glad you're safe. In the morning, we will engage the bulk of the enemy for the first time. If luck holds, I'll be home soon and we'll never be parted like this again. I want to hold you in my arms and tell you how much I love you.' With a last look he let the tags go dark and held them in his fingers, fingering the metal like an old friend. It was a custom he took up on the eve of his first battle when he was no older than Reynolds. He figured it must be his good luck charm as he survived every battle, albeit not without injuries in some. 'I'm still here,' his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep. The tags slipped from his fingers to lie beside him.
Lucas was close. He grew excited as the magnetic field stabilized as it had every night since they stumbled upon it. It would be open for several hours then fade in the early morning hours. He couldn't sleep and held his handheld computer with its scanner. He was sure it was his correct destination and not a parallel universe. He wasn't even sure he believed in such a thing. In the back of his mind came the unbidden thought, 'Then how did we know going to the past wouldn't destroy our own future.' He pushed that thought out and replaced it with the physics needed to make sure the opening went all the way through to 2150. He knew his father was pursuing with the intent of stopping them. 'Why did he wait so long?' flashed through his memory. With a curse at his father's memory, he doubled down on his efforts.
Nearby, Mira watched quietly. Her people were sleeping. She'd done the leading into the badlands, with her people acting as scouts, reporting back to the army ostensible electrical activity. Lucas stopped at several promising sites, but couldn't make a connection all the way to the 2150. Once he got to twenty five million, but said they might not have the plethora of seismic activity in that time frame so they stayed here with the threat of being caught looming ever closer. For over two months now, they've known Taylor's army was dogging them and progressed in haste trying to keep ahead of him. Then Lucas found this location, but needed the time to work the calculations. Hooper told him now was the time and place to make a stand so they stayed; hoping Lucas could defeat his father by having them escape through a portal. Carter told her Taylor was stopped just over fifty klicks away and had a long-term camp set up at the stream. They collected water at that same spot. It was a true haven in this inhospitable place.
"It got it," Lucas whooped excitedly. Mira was dozing and started at his voice. She reached his side in a few long strides. He pointed to the shimmering mass, "It's fairly stable, at least on this side and it goes all the way to 2150. We can get out of this place, but we have to hurry. It won't be stable for long. I will beat my father." The sun was just peaking over the horizon and Mira could see the blind hatred on Lucas' face at the mention of his father. When the Sixers picked him up after his frantic radio call saying he'd been shot six months earlier almost shattered her dreams of going home. "I only have one more test to perform. We have to make sure it's our signature and we don't end up in an alternate univ…." his voice cut out as shells burst around them.
And just like that, the battle was engaged.
Hooper fired back with his own mortars.
Taylor yelled into his radio to stand their ground and keep firing. He scoped the damage across the divide. "Thomas, lift your launchers two degrees."
"Yes, Sir," Thomas sounded over the radio. Soon they were hitting their targets.
Hooper likewise was scouting Taylor's position and the effectiveness of his shots. "Tavson, your grenades are overshooting. Drop five degrees." There was a pause and Hooper turned his binoculars to the east and saw Tavson's unit in disarray. "Where's Tavson?" Hooper yelled into his radio. Tavson, his second, should have responded by now.
A strange voice answered, "Tavson's dead, Sir."
"Lower your grenade launcher five degrees," Hooper didn't care who was on the equipment. Soon he saw his grenades hitting in the area where flashes of light illuminated through the suns early morning rays.
A radio announcement came for Hooper from Mira, "Lucas has the rift stabilized. Now is our only chance to get to the future."
Hooper didn't hesitate, "All soldiers, break and make for Lucas. He'll direct you home. Move now." He watched his men brave incoming mortar and run down the hill. He watched in dismay as one by one they were picked off. 'So Taylor had his soldiers split, cleaver,' Hooper thought, as he watched his private army die before his eyes. He knew he'd never make the portal and straightened his red beret and uniform before stepped into the open. He traversed the hill at a slow pace waiting for the shot to end his life. None came. He began to hope he could make the makeshift portal when Taylor's army rushed him and the Sixers. They were closer than anticipated and he saw his arch nemesis for the first time in the flesh. He'd seen many vids of the man, whom he studied in depth. He was in the lead, black armor over a leather jacket, and he was firing a pistol at the remaining soldiers, who were already injured or trying to escape.
Hooper watched one of his young privates take a head shot by Commander Taylor himself. 'He didn't have to do that. The kid was no harm.' The young private was crawling towards Lucas, who was standing still, in shock that his plans once again were foiled by Daddy. Mira's Sixers fought hard, trying to put up a front and several were dropping like his soldiers. With deliberation, he took his pistol out and aimed at the Commander. Taylor turned at that moment and they stopped, weapons aimed.
Both fired. Nathaniel felt a burning against his chest and was satisfied to see his shot went through Hooper's forehead. Nathaniel looked down. The bullet smeared against his armor in the center of his chest. Once again, his personal armor saved his life, but the pain in his chest was nauseating. His next target was Lucas. He found his son recovering his shock and pulling a pistol with a clear intent of shooting him.
Jim, fighting like veteran soldier, saw Lucas take aim. He was one-step behind Lucas and didn't hesitate as he plowed into the young man without thinking. The gun discharged and the bullet went harmlessly into the air. Nathaniel, seeing Shannon had his son under control, let his gaze shift to his next target. He spotted Mira running for the shimmering waves and took a flying leap catching her at mid-level in a flying tackle.
Jim screamed, "No," as he saw the Commander and Mira disappear. It was like in slow motion as he held Lucas down. He needn't have bothered. His solid right hook knocked Lucas out.
Carter ran and jumped into the midst and hit dirt on the other side. Stunned, he looked back to see he was still in the battle zone; the portal destabilized for the day. Then he noticed all the rifles pointed at him and slowly raised his hands.
Jim got to his feet still staring at the now empty area, sans the visible electromagnetic field. He saw Reynolds standing beside him, also staring with his mouth agape. "Bind Lucas, Reynolds," he gave the order and looked around. The battle was over and his side won. A dozen Sixers were in custody and another dozen strewn about, dead. He looked for Guzman and didn't see him in his immediate vicinity. He knew he was in shock, but forced himself to take command. "I want all the Sixers in binders, now," he watched Taylor's troops jump into action. He got on his radio, "Shannon to Guzman."
"Guzman here."
"Where are you?"
"Making sure we got every last Phoenix. I'm on the ridge above you with Alpha Unit. Where's the Commander?"
"Gone," Jim spoke in awe at actually verbalizing what he saw.
"Dead?"
"No, he was chasing Mira and they disappeared into a portal that is now closed."
"Shit."
"Uh, I have this area secured and will help tend our wounded."
"Is Benson with you?"
Jim looked around and saw the large dark man putting a pressure bandage on a wounded soldier, "He is."
"Have him take two others his size and start moving the dead down to the flat area for burial," Guzman issued orders like a natural, but he was upset at Shannon's news. "I'll be done here soon."
"Are we doing a mass grave for both sides?" Jim asked.
"That would be best, but we'll segregate them."
"I'll get the Sixers busy with shovels," Jim was going to enjoy making them do the digging.
"Guzman out."
Nathaniel felt like he was falling down a deep well, but it was white all around him and he thought he could see flickers of time speeding by. He hit the ground with a thud and groaned as his heart gave out. He was conscious that he was lying was on something and out of his peripheral vision saw Mira lying under him, her arm at an unnatural angle, and he passed out.
"Welcome back, Nathaniel."
Nathaniel didn't recognize the voice and forced his eyes open. What looked to be a physician was leaning over him.
"You look very good for a dead man," the doctor continued.
"I died?" he croaked and his next word was, "water."
The doctor held the cup and put a straw to his mouth as he answered, "Twice apparently, but I'm not at liberty to say anything else. When you were brought to the hospital, your heart was experiencing commotio cordis or in lay terms a concussed heart. I'm not surprised, considering the size of the bullet that was scraped off your armor directly over your heart. The electrical impulses of the sinoatrial node or SA got thrown out of whack and your heart was quivering instead of beating. Luckily, you were near help as you scared the crap out of thousands of fans when you and the woman you were with appeared in the middle of a football field during a game."
Nathaniel tried to follow what the doctor was telling him, "Where am I?"
"You're in Chicago. The question is, where did you come from?" a commotion at the door caused the doctor to turn. He looked back down at Nathaniel, "Someone is here to see you."
A woman moved to the bed and looked shaken as she took in his awake form.
Nathaniel stared back in total shock, "Ayani."