by Michael O'Brien
Warning: this story contains scenes and dialogue intended for mature readers. Those easily offended by such are advised to go home and watch PTL reruns. Thank you.
USS Pathfinder
"Intership open, sir."
"This is the captain speaking. I know our last few missions have been hazardous and exhausting. You've been put through situations few crews could handle, and you've performed admirably. Between this record and our providential position in space, it is my pleasure to inform you that Starfleet has approved shore leave for all of us - on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet!"
The resulting cheer was audible throughout the ship.
Alien Asteroid Base
"Good. And our - assistants?"
"They are preparing. We have them under full control."
"Good. I don't have to tell you what it means if we succeed. I also don't have to tell you what happens if you fail."
"We will not fail."
"See that you don't."
USS Pathfinder
Suddenly the object of his search showed. Grin'elle Kriet, his immediate superior, and right now ship's moodiness champ. "There you are! Ready for Wrigley's?"
Grin managed a smile. "Yeah. I'm hoping it'll take the edge off. I think I've been overworking myself lately."
"Yeah, well, CEO of the Pathfinder ain't a picnic. I'm your second; I can relate." There was a pause. "Oh! The reason I came. Solomon Kirann is doing an overhaul on Sorcerer."
"Yeah, I know. He asked if it would be all right."
Quaver was astonished. "You're letting someone else near your mecha?"
Grin'elle turned an odd look on Rhapsody. "Why not? He flies it better than I do." He turned away to stare out the huge viewports.
Rhaps didn't know what to make of it. "Yeah, sure boss. Well, I need to work on my own VT. See you Beta shift."
He passed a giggle of female ensigns on the way out, and overheard, "-mander Kazsis is going hunting in the rough all week. Alone. No Kazar."
There were some surprised exclamations, then an answer, "Hell, she probably wants a vacation from screwing." The turbolift doors prevented him from hearing anymore.
Solomon Kirann used a molecular softener to smooth out a gouge in the side of the sleek fighter plane. Sometimes he felt as if the Protoculture inside appreciated the attention; since he boarded, Kriet's Veritech had been the best tended of all. Carefully, he applied red stealth polymer over the gleaming metal, careful to match color and polarization with the surrounding coating. He stepped back and admired the work. Good as new.
"Hey, there's Cadet Kirann," someone shouted. Solomon knew and dreaded the voice, that of his chief Academy tormentor. He wondered again whose idea it had been to put them both on the same ship.
"What do you think he's gonna do on Wrigley's?"
"Probably have them make him fifty feet tall so he can make love to that Battloid!"
The others in that group found that high comedy, and they all sauntered off. Kirann rested his head against the cool metal. They'd never understand...
"Ah. Cadet Kirann. Doing a little maintenance work, I see; not a bad idea." Rhapsody's voice grew conspiratorial. "So, got your week on Wrigley's planned out?"
The response was a mechanical, "Sir. Yes, sir," after which, not really aware of his superior officer, Kirann walked off.
Quaver gazed after him, confused. Maybe we are overdue for shore leave, he thought.
The Pathfinder eased into the orbital drydock Starfleet maintained at Wrigley's. There was a full Corps of Engineers crew there, to make the shore leave beneficial to machine as well as man. Kriet performed the transfer of control with full ceremony, explaining that anyone who touched any of the mecha would get a firsthand look at the insides of an operating warp drive. The Commander in charge of the facility looked confused, but agreed. Leave parties were organized, and, in groups of six, the crew deserted from Starfleet for a week.
For some, it was a bit less than that. All crewmen were instructed to check in with their department head if anything went wrong; and Captain D'Arque would be holding a meeting of the heads halfway though - "just to be sure."
And the fun began.
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
Nova pointed discreetly at Kriet, who, since the meeting started, had not looked at anything but the table before him. "Captain, I'm really worried about him. According to my sources, he's spent his whole leave so far wandering about the main city, doing nothing." She often pulled double duty as a psychiatrist.
Llandhe nodded. "MY spies tell me he's turned down offers I'd never have refused, in his place." She caught herself and colored a bit; she'd been looking like she wanted to purr since she walked in.
Ebon didn't miss the reference. "Yes, some of us seem to be getting more out of this leave than others." He was joking; he'd been 'relaxing' with some hand-to-hand training (after signing a sheaf of releases and waivers) that made him capable of defeating Fang. Well... maybe. If the Kzin was having an off day. Maybe.
T'Reilri interrupted that train of thought. "You know, he's been like this since the incident with the Mirror Pathfinder. You think it had to do with when he had to kill his own double?"
"I don't know..."
"Well, I do," declared Nova. "Soon as we get back to the ship, he's getting a full physical, mental, and emotional checkup."
"Why not now?"
"Are you kidding? Trying to 'make' someone do something on Wrigley's is like trying to 'make' Teyp stop punning. You just can't do it."
The doors opened. "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late."
Involuntary whistles came from every male in the room. It was forgivable. Wearing torn leathers (and not much square footage, either) and a gorgeous tan, Kam Kazsis walked in. She'd entered one of the wilderness preserves three days ago with a knife and the clothes on her back. Her entrance even made Llandhe a bit envious.
Unconcerned about the attention she was getting, Kam dropped in a chair. "So. Did I hold things up?"
Things had broken up, everyone eager to return to their respective pursuits. Kaz was in the corner with Kam, trying - and succeeding, it seemed - to persuade her to let him return with her. Ebon asked t'Reilri, "Did you see where Grin went?"
"I think he said something about the Pathfinder," the Rihannsu said. She let infrequent concern show. "I hope he'll be okay."
"Me too. It seems like such a waste." The Kzinti mutant indicated the room. "How often do you get to go to Wrigley's?"
USS Pathfinder
Grin'elle Kriet's footsteps echoed through the dimly lit halls. His foot hit a piece of metallic trash left behind by the overhaul crew; as it bounced into a side corridor, the clangs seemed to fill the ship. He knew every sound that reached him, the loudest being the automation complex carrying out the tasks necessary until the crew's return.
Grin knew he had a problem. He wasn't sure what it was. He thought he might know what it was; but he wasn't really ready to think about that possibility yet; so he hadn't let it out of his subconscious.
Exasperated with himself, he practically ran down to the Hologram Training Center - what Kayleigh Anders, medtech, insisted on calling the 'Danger Room.' He leaped into the the Veritech simulator and strapped in, hitting the switch for the Maximum level.
Working out his frustrations on the various small attack craft he faced felt wonderful. He was mildly cheered when he beat the simulation - until the 'brag board' appeared, asking for his name - in second place. Half a point below Solomon Kirann. He swore and typed 'Zaphod Beeblebrox.'
"Well," he announced to the walls, "playing's out, and practice didn't help. Maybe there's some trouble I can get into?"
Alien Asteroid Base
"We are ready."
"Implement!"
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
- she had not expected that. Most everyone got a good laugh, and he was pleased to see...
He knew something was wrong but he was powerless to - everyone got a good laugh...
D'Arque swung the sword skillfully at the beast, but it somehow slipped though his guard. The creature knocked him down, and its fangs closed on his arm. Blood sprayed. The pain was intense...
- it somehow slipped through his guard. The creature knocked him down, and its fangs closed on his arm. Blood sprayed. The pain was intense...
- and its fangs closed on his arm. Blood sprayed. The pain...
"What's going on?" he managed to cry - and its fangs closed on his arm...
With a cheerful yowl, T'Renn Vraomrell leaped to the top of the next building. As a Caitian, he had a sense of poise and balance that never failed, even in zero-G. The next building was a bit lower; he gathered himself and leaped, somersaulting through the air to a perfect two-point landing...
- he gathered himself and leaped, somersaulting through the air...
- and leaped, somersaulting...
- and leaped...
Kam was beginning to be very glad she agreed to allow Kazar to follow her this time. By glad, that meant her clothing was scattered among surrounding bushes. Kazar didn't wear clothing on the occasions he could get away with it; it interfered with his shape-changing abilities.
Right now he was most definitely humanoid. Odd, but Kaz was a much better lover in a natural setting, away from the ship. Perhaps it was because the ship meant shipmates, even the best of whom could be a bit nosy.
She wasn't thinking of that now, of course. As Kazar moved against her, Kam was thinking of how wonderful he was, and how beautiful the sky was, and how incredible life in general was, and - They both snapped at the same time, and they didn't need the Pathfinder to make Transwarp...
- as Kazar moved against her, Kam was thinking of how wonderful he was, and how beautiful the sky was, and how incredible life in general was, and - They both snapped at the same time, and they didn't need the Pathfinder...
- They both snapped at the same time...
USS Pathfinder (the TARDIS)
Suddenly he stopped. An undefinable premonition tickled the back of Kriet's mind. Something very wrong was about to happen...
It hit, and he felt it; a distorting twist of time and space which tore at his very being. He grasped the central control console for support as waves of giddiness and nausea passed over him. The hexagonal-patterned walls appeared to stretch, as if they wanted to envelop and crush him. He closed his eyes in terror.
Nothing happened. Kriet opened his eyes; the TARDIS control room was its normal, sedate self, but waves of psychic pain still washed over him. With difficulty, he locked it away and ran a full systems check.
Grin whistled. A chronic hysteresis had enveloped the entire planet, as well as orbiting ships and satellites. The TARDIS drives were drawing enormous power in an attempt to keep him free. If the attack had been aimed directly at him -!
That explained some of the mental discomfort. Time Lords often achieve a subliminal link with their almost sentient machines, and his was trying to warn him. Grin'elle realized, however, that most of the pain was coming from the planet. He had never experienced the effects of a hysteresis on normal, unprotected minds, and many of those below were his close friends, some with tele- or empathic abilities. Kriet realized with a chill that the time loop may have caught some of them in the midst of unpleasantness, which they now relived again and again and again.
He surveyed the console, and his options. If he left the TARDIS, he would be instantly grabbed by the loop. There wasn't enough power left in the circuits to fully dematerialize, so all forms of time/space travel were out.
"The TARDIS is a nice place," Grin informed the walls, "but spending the rest of my life in here is not an attractive prospect."
He ran another power check. There was one non-standard piece of equipment in the TARDIS, the Multiverse Device; the mechanism he created which made it possible to access timelines so different, they were like alternate realities. The Device drew little power while operating; perhaps there was enough left -
There was. Grin'elle considered his destination for a few moments. He would need some help tracking down the cause of all this, so his best bet would be to contact someone who was good at that kind of work.
Grin smiled, for the first time in days. He knew just the pair. He activated the Multiverse Device, locked in the settings, and executed.
He was in a long, vaulted hall, lined with doors on each side. The hall stretched to infinity in either direction. Didn't I see this movie? thought Grin.
It didn't matter; he had work to do. He picked the most-likely seeming door, and opened it -
- and found himself back in the TARDIS console room. Free of the hysteresis, the power surged to normal; the TARDIS hummed with renewed vigor.
Kriet knew he had arrived at his destination. Every timeline had a different feel to it, and he had been here before.
"Time-curve circuits fully operational," announced Grin happily. "Next stop, Earth - 2145 A.D." The characteristic scraping moan of the timeship's motors cut in, and the TARDIS was on its way.
Brian Apartments, Tokyo, Earth
Now it was the middle of the second week, and she was desperate for some trouble to get into. She needn't have worried.
The door chimed. She was there before the ring stopped, shouting at the shower, "I'll get it!" The muffled answer was unintelligible.
Kei opened the door. There was a man standing there, who she thought she remembered...
"Remember me? I'm Grin'elle Kriet. May I come in?"
In a flash, it came back to her; they had met back when that group had stolen those monopoles from the Chaos Institute, and Lovely Angel had been given the case. Kriet and friends had been after the thieves for their own reasons, and all three groups had chased each other around for a while. Grin'elle and company had finally teamed up with the girls, and the thieves were caught and thrashed. It had been a good mission, but she hardly expected to see him again.
For one thing, she had her doubts about his sanity. "This is quite a surprise, Grin'elle. I thought you said you lived in a parallel universe."
"I do; that's not important now. I'll level with you. I'm in a lot of trouble, and I need some help."
Amusement flashed in her eyes. "Oh, really. Well, I guess you better come in."
He did so. As he passed the hall, the bathroom door cracked open and a head with shampoo-covered black hair peeped out; the door slammed shut again. They sat down. "So, tell me what's going on?"
Grin ran off the story as quickly as possible. Throughout it all, he got the feeling that the redhead was restraining a laugh; it broke loose as he neared the end.
"So, you've come from another universe in a time machine to seek our help? Look. Last time we met, we helped you, you helped us. It worked out. But this sort of thing - telepathic time loops - you'd be better off writing it down and sending it to Astonishing Tales or something." She stood. "I think you'd better leave now."
Grin'elle was dumbfounded. The best he could do was nod politely and show himself out.
Poor guy, Kei thought. Sounded like he believed his own story. And I gotta admit, if it was true, he'd need help bad!
Kriet stood outside the door fuming. Bitch. Still, can't say I blame her. I'd want some proof too. And I need their help.
"Oh, him," remembered Yuri. "Why'd you have to be in such a hurry to get rid of him? He was kind of cute."
"Knock it off, okay," mumbled Kei. She broke off as a portion of air next to the wall misted over. A wheezing groan sounded as a steel pillar took shape there. The form solidified with a final thump, and Grin'elle Kriet stepped from a sliding door in the side.
Well, how about that, mused Kei.
Grin looked Kei right in the eye. "I'd like to hire the 'Lovely Angel' team at double rates plus expenses, for an indeterminate period, to assist in the rescue of my friends."
She returned the look. "Assignment accepted."
They spent some time preparing and assembling needed equipment. Kei and Yuri changed to their work outfits; snug, durable, unconstricting affairs. Grin didn't like them much; or maybe it'd be better to say he did like them. To the point of distraction. They consisted of short vests and shorts, yellow for Kei, very pale green-grey for Yuri. Kriet's private theory was that the strategy was to make the other guy forget to shoot.
They boarded the TARDIS. "Wild," exclaimed Yuri. "It's bigger on the inside than on the outside!"
"Now that the formalities are concluded," Grin smiled wryly, "I'd like you both to stand by the console, please."
Kei eyed the mass of controls. "We don't have to work any of this, do we?"
"No, but the trip is occasionally bumpy, and you may want something to hang onto. This used to be a research vehicle, never did more than the occasional Sunday drive; I'll probably install jumpseats someday."
Kei winced slightly and took firm hold of the console. Yuri glanced sidelong at her and imitated. Kriet grinned. After that speech of hers back at the apartment, it felt nice to rattle her confidence a bit.
"Ready? I've programmed in the time and universe jumps together. Here goes..."
Alien Asteroid Base
"Our - assistants have detected a fluctuation in the chronic hysteresis."
"An escape attempt?"
"I don't see how. None of the subjects should have that capability."
"Check it out. There must be no mistakes!"
"Sir, I've just had news. Another fluctuation, this one weaker."
"Suppress it completely! If you screw up -"
"This one is from a different source, sir."
"Hmm. Keep monitoring. If it happens again, you are to go in with a nullifier and eliminate the cause."
"What? Me? Uh, I mean, the nullifiers aren't perfected, and -"
"You have your orders."
"Yes, sir."
Orbiting Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
"We materialized too close to the chronic hysteresis, and temporarily lost control. Caught in an eddy of the Time Vortex."
"Oh," she said, as if she understood it better than he did. "Kei, wake up!"
He operated the scanner controls, and the shield opened to show Wrigley's. "Looks like we've got a safe distance, though."
Kei said something along the lines of "Mmmblgrphlntz," then shook her head. "Are we there?" She studied the scanner screen. "That planet looks wrong," she declared.
Grin was caught off guard, having been studying the way the material of her jacket pulled when she twisted around like that... "Uh, yes. It's caught in the time loop. Everyone in that field is reliving a few seconds over and over; but to the outside observer, it seems to be frozen at the last nanosecond of the hysteresis."
"Oh." Kei pondered that. "So now what do we do?"
"Well, first we need to figure out the cause. They do occur naturally, but only near n-naked singularities - er, that is, black holes with no event horizon... Look, would you two please put something on? At least until we see combat? The TARDIS wardrobe is out that door, first door on your left. Costumes of all cultures, all planets, all times, all sizes. I'm having trouble concentrating."
They left, giggling, and Grin started a more powerful scan that the ones he did when caught in the hysteresis.
Shortly, Kei and Yuri returned wearing attractive outfits, each still in their favorite color. Kriet noticed the collar of the other outfit protruding from one of them and realized that the new clothes were constructed to come off quickly. Like that old Superman character, he sighed to himself. Well, you worked with 'em before; you knew what to expect.
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
The time loop caught her then, but something very odd happened with each pass. Every time the loop circled to its beginning, her fall restarted from the point it had stopped last time. In this manner she made it down the cliff in a bunch of little falls, landing roughly, but unhurt.
She stood up, confused. All around her, the world was repeating itself, as if it was a broken holotape player. She set off for the main recreation complex.
After a few hours of hiking (her time), Rhiannon passed one of the combat training centers and decided to look inside. Everyone there was stuck in perpetual replay. At one point she tried to interfere with a pair shaking hands, but could not budge them. Apparently her immunity was very restricted.
She looked in one of the larger combat rooms and her breath caught. "Oh my God! Captain!" With each rerun the blood flowed thickly. She looked closely at his face, and realized that unlike most of the locals, part of him knew what was happening; and the look in his eyes was not entirely sane.
Rhiannon rushed from the room, and looked frantically around. There had to be something she could do!
From the shadowed end of the hall, a form that hadn't been there before moved toward her purposefully. She called to it, "Hey! Who are you? I need some help with -" and there was a blast of light...
From the shadowed end of the hall, a form moved toward her purposefully...
- a form moved toward her purposefully...
The TARDIS
The girls were obviously feeling bored. "Oh, yeah?" commented Kei full of false concern.
Grin didn't miss it. "No, really. Since we got here, there's been a disturbance in the hysteresis - that's just now stopped."
"Heyyy, thaat's greaat."
"No, really." Kriet was getting excited now. "And whatever stopped it left a trail!"
"That is great!"
"Where does it lead?"
"Hmm. I'm not familiar with that region. Coordinates... hmmm."
"Well?"
"I don't know exactly what we'll find," and he hit the demat switch, "but here we go anyway!"
Kei gave him a searching look. Not bad. Maybe there's hope for you yet.
Alien Asteroid Base (the TARDIS)
"Where are we now?" asked Kei as they looked at the scanner.
"Some kind of transporter setup - it's a matter-transmission device," Grin explained. "Ten stations, though; they must have a decent power supply around here. Doesn't seem to be any one here, though."
"How much can we find out sitting in here? C'mon, Yuri," and Kei threw the door lever.
Numbing paralysis gripped both girls; their muscles locked in mid-stride, and Kei, who had been off-balance, toppled. Kriet could still move, but as if fighting through molasses. Slowly his hand grasped the door lever, and shoved it back to closed position. The doors swung quite normally shut.
The paralysis released them all. "Well, that answers a lot of questions," commented Grin'elle. "The hysteresis must be caused by psychokinetic manipulation of the space/time fabric in the area."
Kei shook her head. She hadn't thought there were any aftereffects, but Kriet no longer seemed to be speaking English. She turned to Yuri. "What'd he say?"
She furrowed her brow. "I think he meant the time loop is being caused by espers."
He looked at her. "Espers? Ah. E-S-P. Yes, we seem to be up against some serious psionic ability." Grin thought of something. "That's what the fluctuations were!"
"What?"
"Several of the Pathfinder crew are... well, I guess espers is close enough. One of them probably broke free, and the trail was caused by somebody sent to check..." His expression darkened. "They better not have hurt anybody. Of course, they probably already have..."
Kei and Yuri glanced at each other. There was an unpleasant gleam in his eyes. The next moment, it was gone, and Grin was making plans.
"First thing to do, is to protect ourselves from the effects. I should have something in here." At a touch, one of the huge hex tiles split and swung open to reveal a storage compartment, which he dug around in. Kei identified a mouth harp, a transforming robot toy, a jeweled dagger (blunt), a large rock, and a wicked-looking blaster missing its charge pack before he withdrew the object of the search and closed the doors.
"Here we go!" Kriet held up a vial of colorless liquid and a spray injector. "Alpha blocker. Developed this after the Zon nebula affair. Won't affect our minds, but should make us invisible and invulnerable to the espers."
"Should?" Yuri inquired.
Grin finished filling the injector. "Okay, here's the deal. There's enough power around here to time loop a whole planet. If they all concentrate on us, I'm not promising anything." He quickly injected them all, stowed the equipment, and opened the main doors. "Follow me, ladies!"
Yuri glared at Kei. "And double rates was such a great deal."
"Excuse me!" She motioned to the huge console. "Perhaps you'd like to fly us home?" Kei stalked after Grin'elle, and Yuri followed.
The TARDIS had taken the shape of a large equipment locker. Yuri felt the door lock solidly behind her as it shut. Hope we don't have to get back inside in a hurry, she thought.
Grin'elle was examining the transporter console. He whistled. "Ten pads, power-boosted for distance and phase-shifted to reach into the time loop! They must have power to burn!"
Yuri and Kei had their guns drawn. "Awful quiet, for the enemy stronghold," observed Kei.
"I agree," decided Grin. "Maybe they're all busy maintaining the loop -"
"Someone's coming!" hissed Yuri. They ducked behind the TARDIS. "So much for that theory," Kriet muttered.
Something tripedal stumped in, looking rather like a cross between an Edoan and a grizzly bear. A thick, heavy helmet with a face-shield obscured its features. Its three arms entered a time-delay setting, then it clambered to the platform and vanished.
They left their hiding place. "Where'd it go?" Yuri asked.
Grin checked the settings. "Tell you in a minute. I don't suppose either of you recognized it?"
"No."
"No way!"
"Me neither. Something completely new. Hmm." He looked up with a slight smile. "He returned to Wrigley's!"
"Why?"
"Perhaps we're putting up more of a struggle than they expected!" deduced Kriet happily.
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
Kazar reeled from sensory overload. Driven to the brink of madness, his mind reached out for a point of stability -
- and found Kammara's doing the same thing. Though physically separated now, mentally they clung together like drowning seamen. The same over-stimulation that had freed them had almost killed them.
Slowly they returned to sentience. Kam! cried Kazar. What's happened?
No, you don't understand. They were both calming. He's got some temporal knowledge too. We could have escaped - She stopped. We have escaped!
Look away! Kazar cried, and changed form, putting most of the free energy into light. Even through the face-shield, it staggered the creature.
Kaz, put on the spot, had reverted to his 'true' Excalbian form. He swung a rock-like limb that laid out the thing.
Kam approached. "Try normal conversation, but don't leave my mind," she advised. "What is that thing?"
"I've never seen one. I don't know if I killed it or just gave it a nap; so you take the helmet, and I'll take the, uh, gun; and let's get out of here."
Alien Asteroid Base
"Does the latest disturbance remain?"
"No, sir."
"Perhaps the nullifier helmet broke down, as he kept claiming. No matter. Continue scanning, and inform me when we are ready to close."
"Sir!"
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
"That's right. As a bonus, if we keep it with us, it should keep anyone with one of these tracking widgets," she pointed to a box on the side, "from finding us by the disturbance we cause by being out of the loop. So. What does that do?"
The 'gun' was a mass of knotted conduits and relays that was difficult to focus on. There was a lens on the side that was apparently the business 'end'.
"Well, I think this is a power switch, and you activate it by pushing here and here. Three arms, you know." Kaz turned it on.
"Stop! Stop! Turn it off!" shrieked Kam.
"What?"
"I saw time currents building up around it. I think he was gonna use that thing to re-loop us."
That thought sank in, and Kazar reflexively hurled it into the bushes. He shivered. "I don't ever want to go through that again." He looked at Kam. "Now what?"
She sagged. "I'm tired. Whatever our next move is, it's gonna have to wait."
"I'm so glad to hear you say that," said Kazar. He reached out to her, and she shied away. He said quickly, "No. No sex. I just want to hold you for a while."
She smiled a little. "Yes, sir." They rested together, as, around them, reality repeatedly jumped its tracks.
Alien Asteroid Base
"I have no idea," Kriet answered.
"Oh, great! Good luck getting back," Kei commented.
"I know that part," Grin hissed. "Can you two put a cork in it?"
They had traversed hundreds of yards of corridor, not yet meeting a soul - assuming those hairy things had souls. Kriet had passed innumerable doors with, "No, no. That's not what we're after."
This one was different. It was a heavily secured double door. Kriet looked up and down the corridor and whispered, "This is it. I can feel it. In here is the source of the time distortions." He appraised the two girls. "I think this is the part where you earn your wages. A little help with this door," and the girls pulled their pistols. "Dandy. On three. One - two - THREE!"
The locks shattered as the energy bolts hit, and the doors were kicked open. The three burst through the door -
- and into a room you could have parked the Pathfinder in.
"Intruders, sir."
"Have our slaves hold them. I'll deal with them later, the timing now is just too critical."
"Sir."
The room was circular, with a domed roof and a high platform in the center. The three stood on a balcony that ran halfway up the wall. Ranged in circles around the platform, facing it, was a multitude of contour chairs, each holding a pale, furless version of the being they had seen before. Each one wore a helmet of more complex design, and every helmet had a wire running to the center platform. All the wires obscured something brightly gleaming.
Grin realized that the creatures had all turned to face them. At that moment he lost complete control of his limbs, standing frozen on the spot. The creatures turned as one back to their task.
"Grin, I can't move!"
"Yes," he announced with outward calm. "They've got us."
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
During each pass of the loop, Teyp only had a few moments for original thought. It was an incredible effort to pick up where he had left off every time; the loop continually made him want to start from the beginning.
He kept his thoughts as even and measured as possible, for better control; and slowly, an idea formed.
Sleight of hand.
The room froze into immobility - and Teyp was free of the hysteresis. He looked about, startled that it had worked; then, without any definite plan, he left the restaurant.
- and its fangs closed on his arm...
Ebon's soul writhed with the pain, so great he swore he could feel his nerve ends disintegrating. Time and again, he railed against the 'paralysis' forcing him to repeat his motions; but the creature's teeth in his arm prevented any concentration. Drained of will, he finally surrendered to the pain, not knowing the outcome, not caring.
The creature saw the sentience leave D'Arque's eyes, but never felt the sword blade first separate its head from its body, then quarter its skull. Ebon D'Arque's mind had temporarily ceased; he was free.
Finally his intelligence returned. Ebon collapsed, exhausted in every way. Knowing he shouldn't, he turned his eyes on the ruined mess that had once been his arm. The shock was too much, and he lost consciousness.
Solomon Kirann spent his first shore leave as a cadet like any good engineer would. He was tinkering.
However, like everything else on Wrigley's, the tinkering facilities were impressive. Using Commander Kriet's name, he had secured a Protoculture sample from the Science labs of the Pathfinder before beamdown. He had dreamed up some VT refinements he knew Kriet would love.
Then the time loop hit. Kirann swayed, aware of a terrible attack on his reality. His outstretched hand completed a circuit between two bare terminals.
Protoculture power surged through him. An aura appeared to form around his body, expanding to fill the room. The hysteresis effect seemed to recede, as if aware that attacks here would be pointless.
Kirann stared into the colorful shapes and jagged lightning of the aura. Echoing other intelligences existing before and after his own, he nodded and cried, "Yes, yes! I SEE!"
Alien Asteroid Base
"Curse it! If we can hold out just a while longer... Send out another enforcer and go to emergency power. Suppress them! I'm ordering you!"
Kei had occupied herself by testing her bonds. Apparently, they were mental, not physical; her arteries still flowed, she still breathed, and she could turn her head and talk to the others; she just couldn't move.
After that, she started on possible escape plans. Unfortunately, most all of them depended on some freedom of movement. Finally, her patience ran out. (She'd never had a great reservoir in the first place.) "Dammit, Kriet! Why the hell did you hire us in the first place! All we've done so far is knock down one door! With all these universes you say you have to choose from, why'd you come after us?"
Grin'elle hung his head and did not answer.
"Well!?!"
His head snapped up. "Sorry if this sounds sappy, but it's probably because I've fallen in love with you."
She was speechless for the longest time in her life. "You... What?"
Grin got angry. "I've fallen in love with you, okay? It's not like I did it on purpose!"
Her voice softened a bit. "What the hell are you talking about?"
He looked at the floor again. "Listen. Normally, I deal with the women of Starfleet. And they're a fine bunch, wouldn't trade 'em. But... so many of them seem to have something to prove. They start to act like superwomen, the best at their jobs, and they can knock around just like the guys. But for some reason, there's not much room for intimacy."
Grin'elle looked up again. "Then, a couple of months ago, I met you. Now, for starters, you're sexy as all hell. But what I saw was a woman who actually is the best, and she knows it, and she's not trying to prove it to anyone. But you're not perfect, either. You're allowed a mistake once in a while, such as the occasional accidental explosion. I can respect that."
Kei winced. That hit home! Yuri was listening intently, but for once not interrupting with a cute observation.
Grin continued. "Now, everything I've told you is true. I really am over 200 years old. With luck, I hope to have another couple thousand. However, that means I'll never have a permanent relationship. Everything else that lives that long is bug-eyed, or too advanced, or thinks it is.
"Nevertheless, I've fallen in love with you. I wouldn't admit it to myself until now. I suppose it was my subconscious which made me decide to hire you. I probably owe you an apology for that." He fell silent.
There was a long pause. "Apology accepted. You know, you have a hell of a dramatic streak, Grin'elle Kriet?"
He looked up, confused. She smiled a bit, and indicated the room with a shake of her head. "Telling me you love me in front of half a million BEMs who'll kill us as soon as they get around to it?"
He smiled too. "To misquote, all the multiverse is a stage."
Yuri sighed dreamily. Ain't it grand?
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
"Uh-huh," Kam answered. "And while we carry this, they can't track us."
Teyp did a double take. "Who's 'they'?"
"Tripedal, hairy creatures. Ugly cusses."
"Wild. Seen anyone else free?"
"No, it's taken us this long to hike back from the wilderness preserve. For once, I actually miss the transporter."
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind my VT right now."
Kaz had been checking the building. "Guys, you better get in here!"
They entered. "Isn't that Rhiannon?" Kam asked.
"Later. Come on!"
They reached Ebon's room; none of them had recovered the strength to retch. "Oh, Ebon," Kam gasped.
Kazar had already seen it. "Teyp, your belt, quick!" He made a tourniquet for the captain's arm; he and Kam, of course, hadn't been wearing a stitch.
He stood up. "That's taken care of, but I wish we could find Nova and free her."
"Well, maybe Rhiannon can help. Come on!"
They put the nullifier helmet on her, and she broke free of the effect. There were quick explanations, then:
"So what are our options?" asked Teyp.
Rhiannon had recovered completely; anyway, this was much better than that 'half-loop' she had been in before. "What we really need are more of those helmets."
"They sent someone after you, right? Then one after you two, right? Probably Ebon or I am next." Teyp cracked his knuckles. "Gentlemen and ladies, the next one," and an evil look crossed his face, "is OURS."
Rhiannon had been looking out a window. "Well, Teyp, I think this is your chance! Ugly cuss at two o'clock; matches your description to a T."
"Okay, here's what we'll do. Kam, Kaz, you've got the easy part..."
The enforcer entered the corridor, weapon at the ready.
The only life forms in the hall were two humanoids kissing; as soon as they stopped, the loop caught them and they began again.
His instruments said that they were part of the disturbance, but - Wait. They weren't in sync with the ti-
"Now!" Teyp shouted. Kaz kicked high, at the spot he had hit on the other one. The creature staggered back, and fell over Teyp's crouched form; he had crawled out of one of the doorways.
Rhiannon leaped from the doorway opposite, and pinned the thing to the ground; however, she was a bit overenthusiastic, and there was the sound of bones breaking. It collapsed, quite dead.
Teyp thought of Ebon and felt no remorse. He ripped the helmet off the enforcer. "Shall we go find Dr. Nova?"
Alien Asteroid Base
"Boost the signal! This can't fail! If the Pathfinder escapes us -"
"But, sir, there's danger of feedback -"
"Do it!"
"Signal boosted! No! Wait! Sir, it's overloaded at the other end! Feedback -"
"Arrrrgh!!!!"
An explosion rocked the huge room. That suddenly, the three were free.
Below them, the creatures stiffened, then relaxed. Some of them stood and milled aimlessly. There was a clamor of voices from them; Grin's Time Lord abilities couldn't translate, so he suspected it was mindless babble.
"What's happened now?" Yuri wondered.
"I've been thinking," Kriet said. "Maybe that's a slave class. Their only purpose would be to use their power for the benefits of the elite. Once the control on them is relaxed, they'd have no guidance."
They walked around the balcony, trying to get a better view of the central platform. Suddenly, the wires all shriveled and fell away, revealing - nothing.
"Were we seeing things? I would have sworn there was something there."
"There probably was. But now, their focus is disrupted." Without realizing it, he'd been talking loudly to carry over the noise below. Suddenly he realized the noise below had stopped.
"Grin," Kei said, "I think they've found a substitute."
For some reason, no power was turned against them; instead, the creatures swarmed toward ladders leading to the balcony.
"Run!" Grin yelled.
Kei grabbed him. "No! Someone had to be running this show. You've got to find them and take them out! Go!"
"But you -"
"This is what you hired us for! Go!" With that she spun around, squeezing off five quick shots and nailing five of the crazed beings.
"All right! Meet you at the TARDIS!" But it was too late. The creatures were behind them, blocking any escape route.
Soon each of them were nearly overwhelmed by massed attacks. Kei and Yuri pulled the triggers of their pistols as fast as the mechanism would allow. Kriet, unfortunately, wasn't carrying a ranged weapon; but he made do, disabling creatures with Venusian Aikido. (It has nothing to do with Venus, or Aikido, and is usually performed by humanoids with four arms; but he was well practiced.)
Without warning, a grenade flew from Yuri's hand, and a wide swath of aliens was cleared. "Grin! NOW!" He sprinted, hurdling a couple late arriving tacklers, and dived through the door. Yuri and Kei set about making sure that he wasn't followed.
Grin'elle ran down the corridor. Instinct told him to follow the sound of the earlier explosion.
He entered a large control room. It was blackened and burnt, with dead six-limbed life forms all over. Still-operating vision screens showed Wrigley's, the Pathfinder, and charts and graphs that he could barely understand as a Time Lord.
The room struck Grin'elle as horribly wrong. Compared to the ordinary, probably pirated Federation technology of the rest of the base, this place held incredibly advanced equipment. Something was definitely off here.
Grin stood and looked at the carnage for a moment. "Well," he said, "I guess that covers things, as far as mop-up."
He accessed a computer database that was somehow still on line. Apparently, these beings had formed a special task force meant to destroy the Pathfinder. They had been paid a vast amount of money by... The remaining memory locations were burnt out. He thought, Damn. This means something, and somehow I know it's important.
Kei held up her overheated pistol. "You were taking long enough."
USS Pathfinder
Kei smiled. "Oh, we're being well paid for the work, Captain. But I appreciate it anyway."
"I just wish there weren't so many mysteries left, sir," Kriet said. "The most important - who were the real masters behind this attack. I get the weird feeling they're not finished."
"Yes, I see what you mean."
"And another -" Kriet whirled on Yuri. "How the hell can you pick a TARDIS's molecular lock?!"
She radiated innocence. "Well, I wasn't gonna wait for you two all day."
Something else bothered Grin'elle, though he didn't mention it. Solomon Kirann had been acting different since his return. Grin hadn't seen him up close yet, but was sure there was something wrong with Kirann's eyes. Maybe a psych check was in order.
D'Arque seemed to be thinking on similar lines. "Some of the crew are gonna have to stay at the med facilities on Wrigley's. Not all of them came out of this with whole minds and bodies." His own eyes darkened a bit; but his arm had been saved, and was under cellular regeneration now.
He shifted uncomfortably in the bed. "Hell of a way to end a shore leave."
"Oh, that's right! You probably haven't seen a chronometer since they brought you up, have you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"When the time loop self-destructed, there was a kind of... fallout. It's now two weeks ago."
"What!! What about meeting ourselves and all that? Now what do we do?"
Kriet tried to calm him. "Don't worry, sir, I've taken care of all that. You know that I'm somewhat experienced with these matters." Ebon subsided. "I've recommended to Acting Captain t'Reilri that those who wish... be allowed to return. To recover from their last shore leave."
D'Arque was speechless a moment, then, "Hell, why not? Makes as much sense as the rest of this. You all get out of here. Your captain needs his rest."
"Yes, sir!"
Ebon could hear them as the walked away...
"So! Kei. How would you feel about taking your fee in an two-week paid vacation on Wrigley's?"
"You know... I think I'd like that."
"Good! And Yuri, I've arranged for you too. There's this ensign -"