Bozeman 2084

Posted on Fri Jul 24th, 2015 @ 8:05pm by Commander Ehlana Winter & Lieutenant Commander Earl Crane & Mamu B'yaga

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Bozeman, Montana

* Bozeman, Montana - December 13, 2084 *

The figure Earl and Ehlana had been tracking the night before had not shown up at the house. They had managed to get a few hours of sleep and Mamu had awakened them in time to get out of the house before anyone else was awake. Ehlana slipped on her gloves as they stood in the snow.

“First things first,” she said. “I want breakfast. You ready to play Grandpa Erich again? It might be better if we stick close to campus.”

"Hmmph," Earl grunted, out of temper. "I don't like playing Grandpa." He pulled his own gloves on and jammed his hands in his pockets, much like a recalcitrant kid. It wasn't as if he had a choice, though. "Come on, let's get breakfast." He headed for the campus.

Ehlana laughed for a moment and slipped her arm around him. “Think of the big picture, darling. All this will be over by lunchtime tomorrow.” It had better be, she thought. “Are you picking up any more time irregularities?”

"No," he shook his head slightly. He worried what that meant. Was that good? Bad? Indifferent? Suddenly, he grabbed Ehlana, turned her towards him and kissed her fiercely. A old car rattled by and, once it was past he broke the kiss to look at it. It was him.

"Sorry, dear."

“You don’t hear me complaining.” She smiled up at Earl. “So where are you going? I must still be at the house, which means Mamu is there on watch.”

"Right. I was... where did I go?" He thought about that as they started walking again. "Oh! Remember Julian's favorite little binkie? That stupid stuffed dog he sucked on? I had asked a friend to make a copy and was going to pick it up. Not on the campus, though."

“Right. Which means they’ll likely be sticking close to the house since they think you’re gone.” Ehlana thought for a moment, then nodded. “That morning we slept in a bit, then had breakfast. We were getting ready to go over to the library when you returned home. That means we have time to eat, then get back to the house before you do.” She began walking once more. “Maybe if we’re lucky, you can just shoot him, no one will see and we can go home.”

"Do you have a phaser?" He looked at her. Of course, the bulk of her winter coat hid any weapon she might have. "Let's hope their coffee is better than their hot chocolate." He smiled.

They kept walking and soon reached the campus commissary. Earl chose a bagel, cream cheese and strawberry jam, bacon and coffee. It was on par with the hot chocolate. He frowned at the thin brown liquid and wondered aloud how anyone could screw up coffee.

Ehlana couldn’t resist laughing at the face Earl made upon tasting the coffee. "I think we’ve gotten spoiled in our later years,” she commented. “The bacon is good, however. Just right.” That was a good thing since it was the only thing on her plate. She drank the coffee anyway and had to agree with Earl. “Too watery.”

"Can't we just hunt this person down and kill him? Will we even need to bury the body? Or would time just kick us back home?" Earl looked at her, she who had all the answers.

“Well,” Ehlana began, “a few things. Aren’t you a doctor? You know the whole do no harm thing? You’re right though. It is likely if he were removed from the timeline, you and I would disappear from here. We’d go home and carry on. He would need to be hidden away though, or otherwise disguised. It might affect this family if he has one. It would be better to bring him back with us and see that he is incarcerated. Otherwise, he might just keep coming back and trying again and again.”

"But... He'd be dead. And I don't care about his family!" Earl got vehement. "He's here to kill our son! As a child! Who does that? If protecting Jules means that I need to kill someone and maybe wipe out their entire line of descendants, then I will!" He sipped his coffee, having forgotten its wretchedness in his passion. "Bleh!", he flinched.

Ehl reached across the table to take his hand. “Trust me when I say that if he goes back with us, he’ll be far more miserable than if he were dead. Temporal Affairs and the Fleet take a very dim view of the sort of thing this person is trying to do. He will be worse off and the timeline won’t be overly interrupted. I’d rather just end him too but that could, itself, kick off bad consequences down the line.”

He grunted. "Think we could sneak in and hold Jules for a moment?" Two sets of memories competed for his attention - both made him tear up, one with sadness; the other with nostalgia.

“I’m sure Mamu can work it out.” Ehlana finished off her bacon and the dreadful coffee. “Maybe she has some better coffee too.” She set down the mug and frowned. Like Earl, two sets of memories were jostling for position in her mind and the second one took precedence at the moment. “Earl...this morning. I am recalling something...different. It’s not us being here, it was ...someone else. They came to the door, asking directions. They were looking for a family...the Harrisons. No one by that name ever lived in our neighborhood. Let’s get home. I want to be the one who answers the door this time instead of...well...me.”

He took both cups of coffee, and the remainder of their trash and recycled it, then grabbed her hand and started for home. His step was far quicker than it had been on the way to campus. Both of them felt an urgency now.

Back at the house, Earl took them to the back door through a small gate nearly hidden by dried brambles. During the Spring, it would be overrun by large golden-yellow flowers that greeted the morning sun by opening wide and closed up each evening. He recalled planting the seeds years prior and always needing to come out with clippers to keep the gate functional.

"Come on, love," he whispered, holding her hand still.

They were halfway across the yard when Mamu opened the kitchen door and gave him a stern look. "Young Ehl is upstairs with baby," she grumbled quietly. "Get in, quickly."

Ehl dashed in ahead of Earl and Mamu closed the door behind them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her portable temporal device and pressed two buttons. “Automatic scan,” she informed Mamu and Earl. “This will tell us if this person is normal or from some other time.”

Earl came in and briefly kissed Mamu, winking at her. She flapped a hand at him, warding him away. He chuckled and, having heard Ehl, said, "Then we simply need you to not answer the door. Um... The you from this time."

Mamu scoffed, "Neither from this time...."

Earl nodded and admitted, "Well, yeah, but we'll ignore that right now, yeah?"

Ehlana smiled but it faded as they heard the sound of a car pulling up to the curb out front. “I think this is my cue. Mamu? Can you go up and distract me?”

The old woman nodded and headed up the stairs. Earl gave Ehl an anxious look. "I'll be right behind the door." He dashed to take his place.

She nodded and opened the door just as the man on the other side raised his hand to knock. He appeared mid-thirties and Ehlana didn’t immediately place him. Her feigned surprise matched the expression on the man’s face.

“Oh my...I was just stepping out to check the mail. I didn’t realize someone was at the door.” She smiled however. “May I help you?”

"Oh, perhaps," the man said, looking at Ehlana intently. "I'm looking for directions. Specifically, for the Harrison's house. I know I'm on the correct street."

Ehlana frowned, apparently in thought. “They actually live on the next street over. You can take this street here and it will take you across. Then a left and it’s the third house. You can’t miss it.”

"Of course." The man paused, still watching her. "Thank you, Ma'am." He stepped away, looking up at the upper windows of the house.

Ehlana noticed the perusal of the house but didn’t let it register. “Happy holidays,” she called out, watching until the man was in his car. “Go out the back and follow him Earl,” she whispered.

He hurried through the house and out the back door. He rounded the corner as the man's car pulled away from the curb. "Oh, sure. 'Follow him' she says." Earl's luck was in high supply: the car reached the corner, turned then turned again, ending up opposite the house behind theirs. Earl had watched this between the houses and now dashed through his backyard and his gate into the neighbor's yard. He peered over their side yard fence. The man was sitting there, seemingly doing nothing.

Moments later, Ehlana left out the back as well and slipped into the neighbor’s back yard to join Earl. Hidden from view as they were, she pulled out the small time device and checked the readings. She gasped, tapped it, then checked it again. “Earl….this says he is from….2489,” she whispered. “What have we stepped into here?”

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Earl opened the side gate and sidled along the house. He made a mad dash for the car then, reaching it and yanking open the driver's door before the man could get the thing started again. He hauled the fellow out. "Who are you!?"

The man was silent as Earl pressed him back against the exterior of the car. He merely shook his head, refusing to answer.

"Ehl! Can we go back now? I've got him. I don't care who he is!"

Ehlana arrived at the car and looked at the unknown man. “Are you working alone? You’d better tell me now because if you don’t, I’ll have a telepath read your mind like a book. It will also be far less messy if we know who else is involved, so tell us unless you want things going horribly wrong.” The ring of command in her tone made it clear she was in no mood to argue. “Otherwise, I’ll let Earl just finish you off like he wants to and we both know what kind of trouble that can bring.”

Earl shook him. He wasn't the best at being a tough guy, but he played crazy awfully well. He got in the fellow's face and said, "Come on, give me a shot. I have a laser scalpel in my pocket. It'll be fun!"

The man’s eyes widened at the mention of a laser scalpel. A phaser didn’t worry him but a scalpel sure as hell did.

“Call off your old man!” he yelled. Visions of Earl carving him up like a hunk of meat ran rampant in his head. “Please!”

"Tell us who you are and why you want to kill our son," Earl wasn't letting up yet. "And whether you're working alone!"

"Because he uncovers everything my people have worked to keep secret! It ruins lives! He can't be allowed to do it. The others are being dealt with as well. You can't stop us," the man looked exceptionally confident.

Earl glanced at Ehlana. "Can we go back?"

“Yes,” she murmured. His words had shocked her and her mind was in a whirl. “Oh my god Earl. The others?” She put her hand over her mouth for a moment, then pulled out the small silver device. She sent a message to Tomas then adjusted the settings and moved over to the two men. “Only a second or two now.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, all three vanished from sight, leaving Bozeman very far behind.

**************
Lt.Cmdr. Earl D. Crane
Crazy Papa

Commander Ehlana Winter
Repeating Memories

Mamu B'yaga
Weirder Than You Know

Brother Adrian
Origins Unknown