Chapter 8

"It's amazing watching the interplay of the ripples in a puddle of water. It reminds me how all our lives interplay. People you didn't even know would matter actually matter to you — people who could have just as easily been strangers to you — these people tilt you off your axis and spin you around different suns. They make you wander beyond our moon and sail forgotten seas. Only when you've neared life's destination do you realise the importance of even the people whose names you cannot remember." Anne Frank Van Pels, Chancellor of Germany Autobiography: Reflecting on Our Germany. 118th Remove

"Ouch!"

The landing was as good as could be expected for such a rapid calculation. It was well within the safe margins. Everyone buckled in felt a bit more jarring as the pod landed on the pads. To be sure, the suspension arrays took most of the abuse and reduced the impact for all the passengers. Still, the drop was felt by everyone.

"Who taught you to drive?" Chase was rubbing the back of his head and laughing in pain. Pointing & snapping his fingers at Sybill, Chase continued, "Somebody give uh, uhm... Marilyn... yeah, that's your name... Give her a breathalizer! She's drunk!"

"Sorry, man!" Marilyn chuckled & groaned. "Blame Paul! He's the one who did the math."

The collective groans were punctuated by laughter at Paul Ayer's expense. Paul smiled sheepishly & retorted, "At least this time we kept the wheels stowed and used the landing pads... First time I put out on one of these I made the mistake of landing on the wheels. We rolled a quarter of a mile before we hit the only tree in sight."

Paul & Marilyn were accustomed to piloting together but they always knew that rapid jump solutions were often bumpy and could gain the ire and critique of their compatriots.

Chase was the first to unbuckle from his seat and stand. Bracing himself on one of the internal frame members, he benignly glanced at the controls then at Terry, "You got a mission for us boss?"

Charles handed Terry the tablet.

Terry a touch confused, "Aren't these supposed to be on paper?"

Charles shrugged, "Well, yes. But this mission came with a security seal on the download that read, 'Official Security Lead Only.' So I assume it has something that you guys have to do that we can't know about."

A quick glance at the facial recognition and Terry was granted access to the most recent notes. Terry awkwardly stood there and read the new mission brief to himself for the first time. Scratching the back of his neck, he slowly began, "It looks like this next movement will be led off by you," pointing with the hand holding the tablet towards Felicia, "And the two of you," wagging his finger between John & Madeline.

Then towards Marilyn, "Do you think you could swap clothes with Madeline?"

Quite puzzled, Marilyn quipped, "Why?"

"Well," Terry retorted, "She's wearing the same thing she was when we left."

"So!" Marilyn even more befuddled.

"Someone could, I dunno," Terry flourished, "Recognize. Her!" Pointing at Madeline.

To a very confused Terry, Marilyn nearly fell out of her seat laughing.

"What?" Terry looking at the rest of the crew, "What's so funny?"

Madeline walked up to him with a big smile and kissed him on the cheek. "That's why I like you. You're so in the mission, you don't realize it has been six years, three months, and" doing a bit of calculations in her head, "fourteen days since anyone from this town has ever seen us. Do you think they're going to remember what my dress looked like? Besides, people often wore the same clothes multiple days in a row."

Terry, a bit more sheepish, "Mmmmkay. Sorry, I guess I forgot. I mean, I've seen you the entire time. I'm still a 21st century person. I doubt I'll ever get used to this whole time travel gig."

The chuckles abated as Chase said, "I don't think any of us ever will."

Returning to the briefing, Terry gave each person their assignment. The crew broke after the briefing to survey the landing area and determine the best place to hide the pod. Like clockwork, the team set up base and moved to begin prepping dinner. "It's rest, relax, and eat. Tomorrow morning, we are go for our next movement... Marilyn, John, & Madeline, be ready by 0430. We will do our pre-mission brief and you'll be on your way with Baker and Chris." Then towards Chris, "You're running point. Bring everyone back in one piece. You get fed and to bed. The two of you and I will meet at 0330 for your security brief. Baker, You've got watch til 1000 and Chase will take over from there."

 

* * *

 

The evening meal was punctuated by chatter of stories and laughter. Everyone seemed at ease. As dinner wore on, Terry dismissed himself, grabbed his mission brief tablet and found his bedding.

A quick flick of his wrist and his blankets unfurled onto a pile of leaves he had billowed into a makeshift cushion. He was accustomed to this. Normal beds often made it harder for him to sleep. But sleep was not going to be his friend this evening.

Chase walked over and squatted down beside Terry, "I noticed you left a little quiet." Looking up, he noticed that Chris had followed. "Everything Okay?"

Terry looked up at the men sullenly lifting the tablet to face them.

Their mouths dropped open as Terry said, "It's Merrek."

 

* * *

 

The next morning Terry, Baker & Chris huddled around a tiny fire in silence. They drank a small, paper cup of coffee before tossing onto the fire. "Paper cups. Hah!" Baker quietly growled. "Could you imagine what these people would think if they found one of these?"

"Okay, guys. As you've been told, Merrek is somehow alive." Terry said pouring the last sip of his bitter coffee onto the fire. "I don't know how he fell that far and survived."

"Are they sure?" Baker peered incredulously at Terry. "I mean, there's always a chance of error, right?"

"Sure. There's a chance. But not one with a signature like this!" Terry pulled out the tablet again. The dimmed screen flickered to life. A few flicks of the finger and Terry turned the screen to Baker and Chris, "And I do mean 'Signature.'"

"Okay, How did Merrek's signature get added to the stone archway outside the base?" Baker still in unbelief.

"Well, the keystone of that archway was a key battlement of an old fort that was deconstructed. Apparently, the bottom of the stone had been engraved with Merrek's name. It would have never been visible to the average person til the primary entry way was built in 2014. Nonetheless, That archway is outside the damper field and it has been one of our key ways of tracking changes. Merrek would have known that... That's why he put his mark there."

"When did it appear?" Baker burped as he finished his coffee & tossed his cup into the fire.

"That's the thing. Since it was on the underside of the stone, most people don't look at it. I mean, it was there, plain as day. All someone had to do was look up." Terry said as the three men were mesmerized by the flickering flames.

"Now, I take it someone finally looked up?" Chris said tossing a glance at the other two.

"Yep. That someone was a custodian who simply reported a bit of vandalism, and it still almost went undetected." Terry squatted at the fire tossing a few leaves onto the coals. "They're doing a search of online content, social media and the like, to see if there was any angle taken showing the underside of that stone just to see if we can get an idea of when it appeared. A few of the Archeochronographers believe they MAY be able to 'extrapolate where the professor got lost' and send a rescue mission."

The three men stole solemn glances at each other. The silent seconds that passed were almost palpable.

Chris spoke up with a bit of concern, "You don't think..."

"You're not paid think!" Baker growled his best imitation of The Admiral, "You're paid to do. If I wanted your thoughts, I'd give'em to ya!" the three chuckled.

Terry's voice took a more even tone, "In all seriousness fellas, I believe the mission we're on now may be about intercepting Merrek before another group finds him. If I can read the tea leaves, I'd say he may be causing trouble for the Admiral... or else he's about to. Nonetheless, we have to complete a mission we've recently learned was left incomplete."

"Well, the good news is any other team will also travel with a security detail which also may have similar orders... At least we are likely to have help." Baker concluded.

"Maybe." Terry stood "Still, the two of you will be briefed on your tasks in these two packets," Terry pulled two sealed, slightly wrinkled mission briefs from his back pocket. "I printed these this morning before anyone was awake." Terry handed the pages to Chris & Baker. "Sorry for the wrinkles."

Each man tore the sealed edges and read the pages in silence. Baker finished first and knelt holding his pages just over the flames. Moments later Chris followed suit. The three men stood there watching as the paper was reduced to ash.

"Each of you know what you are being asked to do. I have read these reports and so have you. Chase will be briefed in an hour or two. Needless to say, if any of you has an objection to our mission, I will understand. But I will also ask you to perform your duties regardless. If you feel you cannot complete this task, I will sadly relieve you of your duty and take you home." The three men knew that last statement was a lie, but it was always said just before hard tasks were doled out.

"We good?" Terry received a nod from each of the men. They stood there in silence for another ten minutes.

Looking at each other, Terry formally announced the end of their mission briefing with a simple grunt and turned to go. Moments later, Baker went back to the pod to retrieve his supplies.

Chris stayed behind a few moments more finishing his coffee and disposing of his cup. When the cup was fully burned, he began to piss on the fire extinguishing the small fire.

 

* * *

 

By the time Chris rejoined the group in the pod, Terry was just beginning his briefing with Marilyn, Madeline, & John. "Your mission briefs have been opened here on the screen. Please take as much time as you need to understand your role. If you need any supplies, we'll work on that during the last half hour of our briefing." Terry said quietly, "If you'll give me a minute, I've gotta go get rid of some of this coffee I had earlier." and Terry exited the pod and found a dark corner by a small bush.

This briefing was short and centered on key inflexion points of the movement. "You," Terry pointed at Madeline, "are going to the local store and buying a few supplies. You should have period authentic silver in your bag. John, I need you to go with them. Marilyn, you're Madeline's sister and you both need to talk about your upcoming nuptuals with John."

"What if someone recognizes me, Terry?" Madeline genuinely concerned.

"What are the chances of that happening?" Terry inquired, "Besides, you will have two person security detail tailing you at some point. Remember, if you're traveling this far away from home to work on your wedding, you're probably pretty hoity toity. It's no surprise you might have some type of personal security."

Then, to the security detail, "After they head to grab their things, I have one more item to discuss with you before you go."

Everyone filed out except Chris & Baker.

"What's the deal, boss?" Baker sat on one of the control seats in the pod.

"We have reason to believe he's here." Terry said lowly.

"Here? Now? Like, right. now?" Chris bounced his eyes between his two colleagues. "Merrek? Here?"

"Yup." Terry affirmed. "Keep your eyes out. Here's a picture of him when we last saw him." then with a flick of the finger on the tablet glass, "And here are several age progressed and with various facial hair."

The men sat and memorized the images for a few minutes.

"Be on the look out. If you have a chance to engage without it causing a scene, take it... I trust you to know when and if it can be done. Othewise, try to NOT be seen and report when and where you saw him. We can always send someone to intercept." Terry instructed.

"All good?" said Terry with a bit of finality.

The men nodded. Each one stood to exit the pod. Terry took a moment to delete any and all archives of the notes in the tablet and reached over to ammend the audio records that happened any time there were conversations in the pod.