Lens of Time Read online

  “How many ships do we have now?”

  “We’re a little over ten million in our fleets and the Minors are now approaching ten million. They out number us twenty to one and all of them have started building programs to expand their fleets. The odds will be even more against us as time goes by.”

  “Have you included the Nexu?”

  “No, I haven’t. I’m not certain they will come out of their isolation to fight a force that large. I really don’t blame them.”

  “I thought they promised to defend us.”

  “No, we promised to defend them.”

  Cyanna slowly shook her head, “You’re right. I assumed they would come to our defense as well.”

  “We attacked them. They owe us nothing.”

  “Does George know?”

  “He does. He’s the one that did the analysis.”

  “What does he say?”

  “We have to confront this problem now. Even if we lose all of our ships, there is hope for the future.”

  “How can he say that?”

  “Because we will continue to build and the Majors may turn on each other after they eliminate us. I also expect the civilizations in the other sector to remove the Majors if they’re weakened enough.”

  “Hey, what about that other civilization in the other sector?”

  “Cyanna, they’re facing a whole sector alone. The only thing preventing that sector from combining against them is the greed of hoping they can annex the Major’s territory. After the Majors are history, they’ll combine against that civilization.”

  “So how do we survive?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “I do hope you’re close to a solution.”

  “The only solution I’ve found so far is to run like hell but we won’t do that.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  RV started laughing and Cyanna joined him. “I guess you know me too well.”

  Cyanna nodded, “There might be some that would run but you wouldn’t be included in that group.”

  “Neither would you.”

  RV pushed his lips out and nodded slowly, “Oh, I don’t know. I might.”

  Cyanna snorted, “You’d run toward it, not away.”

  RV smiled with a twinkle in his eye, “I wouldn’t want to miss the fun.”

  “Wherever you go, I will follow.”

  “That’s why I love you so much.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Dolly, have you determined where you need to hit the command center?”

  “I’ve examined the last transmission from the center and it has all four of them next to the communication console. If we can time this properly…”

  Phil interjected, “Right after the electromagnetic pulse.”

  “They shouldn’t have enough time to move from there.”

  “Do you think the Violet Ships will detect your beam hitting the building?”

  “I don’t think they will. There’s so many nuclear blasts happening, I’d be surprised if they did.”

  “Dolly, do you have the exact moment we should open the time field?”

  “I do. There was a bird flying outside the window of the command center and it was in the middle of the armored glass on the northern wall. The field should be opened when that bird clears the edge of the window. As soon as the field opens, I’ll fire at the command center.”

  “Jillian, you’ll only have a minute to get inside and you can’t damage the Corvette hitting the sides of the hole blown through the building. The doors will have to function when you arrive. On the way out, don’t worry about damage.”

  “Chris, I’ll be fine. Just have the landing bay open.”

  Phil looked at Jillian and said, “You’ll only have twenty seconds to get Dolly in the car.”

  “I know.”

  “Did you happen to think about the small detail of her refusing to leave?”

  Chris quickly said, “Why would she do that?”

  Phil shrugged, “Do you think she’ll leave without Jeff?”

  Chris and Jillian’s eyes grew wide and Jillian said, “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “She won’t do it.”

  Phil said, “And the Corvette only has two seats.”

  “This is a heck of a time to be telling me this.”

  “It just occurred to me.”

  Chris said, “No it didn’t. You’re far too smart to omit that small detail. Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”

  Phil sighed and said, “I guess I wanted her to leave him.”

  Jillian slowly shook her head, “Phil, she’ll wither and die if she loses Jeff. There will never be another for Dolly.”

  “I guess I know that intellectually, my heart just doesn’t want to admit it.”

  “That’s why you’re telling me.”

  “It is. You’ll only have a moment to make her go. You need to know what you’re going to say.”

  Chris ran his fingers over his scar, “Maybe we should back out and start over.”

  “No! I’ll get her to leave. Now get ready.” Jillian looked at Phil’s expression and knew he was miserable. “There will be someone for you, Phil.”

  Phil stared at her and then closed the doors on the Corvette.

  • • •

  Dolly hit the emergency pad on her panel and George and Arvolo appeared on her screen. Before they could say anything Dolly said, “Ten thousand Violet Ships have arrived in orbit above Earth and are blasting the planet. They started with New York but are now starting to spread out and hit all our cities.”

  George jumped out of his chair and yelled, “Arvolo, get the fleet there.”

  Dolly yelled, “You will disregard that order. You’ll never arrive in time and if you do you’ll endanger all of our colonies.”

  George stared at her not able to speak. Dolly said, “None of our colonies report being attacked. They must believe that this is our only planet. I’m sure they thought the attack craft awaiting transport at New York were the ships that attacked their fleet because the numbers match up with those we used. If you come here with the fleet they’ll know this is not our only planet and they’ll plan to destroy every civilization in this galaxy. You must not come.”

  George stared at Dolly on his display and said, “I can’t let you die. I just can’t.”

  Jeff came over and wrapped Dolly in his arms. Hemon watched the display and was thankful Sasha and his son were at the Alliance Capital talking with them about the treaty. George said, “Arvolo, get the fleets moving!”

  Dolly yelled, “You will ignore that order and stay where you are. Do you understand!?!”

  Cyanna looked at RV and saw an expression that was a barely restrained mask of rage. She knew that the Violet Ships were going to pay for this act in a major way. RV gritted his teeth and said, “I understand.”

  Dolly looked at George in her display and said, “I love you so much, George.”

  “I love you, Sissy.” George watched Dolly lean back as Jeff kissed her just before his display turned to static.

  Suddenly there was a sizzling sound and a hole was blasted through the far corner of the command center. Jeff looked at Dolly and took out his hand laser and moved toward the smoking hole through the ceiling. Dolly and the others followed him toward the opening and then they heard the roar of an engine. Suddenly a green Corvette flew through the opening and both doors flew open. Jillian yelled, “Jeff, get Dolly in the car now! There’s no time!”

  Jeff hesitated and then threw Dolly over his shoulder and ran to the car. Dolly was screaming, “I won’t go without you. Put me down now!”

  Jeff threw Dolly in the passenger’s seat but Dolly refused to let go of him. She held on with a strength that was amazing. Jillian said, “Get in on top of her, Jeff. She won’t go without you.” Jeff quit pulling away and Dolly dragged him into the car on top of her. Jillian activated the door and it closed.

  Arnold stood next to Jillian and she cried, “I’m so sorry, Dad
.” He leaned in and kissed her. Jillian said, “Your son is becoming a wonderful man Hemon.”

  “Tell them I love them and they’re the best thing that ever happened in my life. Now get out of here.”

  Jillian whipped the Corvette around and lifted into the hole. She checked her watch and saw there wasn’t much time. She accelerated and bumped against the wall ten times before she cleared the roof. She glanced to her right and saw a massive wall of flame and debris flying toward her at an incredible velocity. She went weightless and hit the thrusters. The Corvette went through the time field half a second before the shock wave hit and blew the command center flat. The Corvette hit the back wall of the landing bay and instantly stopped.

  “Get off me you’re breaking my leg!”

  “That’s the only way I could keep you in the car.”

  “We can’t leave without the others.”

  Dolly looked up and saw Jillian crying. “Oh Jilly, I’m so sorry.”

  “We couldn’t get a vehicle in there that could hold everyone.”

  “You should have taken Arnold or Hemon.”

  Jillian looked at Dolly and said, “You are more important to us than everyone else that died. We need you, Dolly.”

  Chris was hammering on the door and Jillian increased the weight of the Corvette and lowered it to the deck. Chris looked in and saw Jeff and Dolly. Dolly saw his expression and she started crying with Jillian. She looked at Jeff and said, “I never thought I would see him again.”

  Jeff held her and said, “I know, my love. I know.”

  Chris stood back as Phil burned the doors off the car. He grabbed Jillian and held her tight, “Why do you always have to cut it so close? I’ve got a hundred more grey hairs.”

  Dolly got out of the car and rushed around and hugged Chris and Jillian. Chris put an arm around her and sighed, “We’ve missed you.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “Three years.”

  Jeff walked over and Jillian hugged him, “Welcome back and thank you for helping me.”

  “I could do nothing else. I know how important she is.”

  Phil stood off from the group and Jillian said, “Dolly, I want to introduce you to Captain Phillips. We call him Phil. It was due to him that we were able to make this happen. It seems you are one of his heroes.”

  Phil’s eyes grew wide and he said, “I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

  Dolly smiled and walked up and kissed him full on the mouth. “That’s for saving Jeff.” She kissed him again and said, “And that ones for me.”

  Phil was stunned and his smile looked like it was going to tear his face in half. Jillian eased over and said, “Are you OK?”

  Phil’s smile incredibly grew larger, “Heck, Jillian. That first kiss was worth bringing her husband back.” Jillian slapped him on his back and laughed out loud.

  Chris came over and stared into Jillian’s eyes. Her smile disappeared and she said, “We said goodbye. He understood.”

  “I wish we could have taken another type of vehicle in there.”

  “Chris, the Corvette is one of the smallest cars ever made. It barely made it through. Nothing we could have built could have taken more than two of them out. Look at the car.”

  Chris looked at the battered Corvette. Half of the roof had been peeled off and the rear quarter panels and doors were pushed in. “I just don’t want to second guess what we’ve done.”

  “We might have come up with a vehicle that would fit in that hole but if we made it large enough to put all four in it, everyone would have died. It would have never made it in, much less out. I peeled the roof off going in.”

  Dolly came over and looked around, “Where’s George?”

  “Uhhhhh…why do you ask?”

  “Well if he sent you after us, I would think he would be here.” Dolly stared at Chris and said, “He’s alright isn’t he?”

  “He’s fine, Dolly. It’s just… uhhhh…”

  “What?”

  “We sort of did this without telling anyone what we were doing.”

  Dolly looked at Jeff and started laughing. Jeff smiled and said, “What’s so funny?”

  “They knew George would not allow this to happen.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because there would be a real risk of changing the future since we died.”

  “We didn’t die.”

  Dolly smiled, “No, it appears we didn’t.” She turned to Chris and Jillian and said, “I guess this falls under the ask forgiveness instead of permission.”

  “Dolly, you would have done the same for me.”

  “You are absolutely right, Chris. I would and damn the consequences. So what do we do now?”

  “We need to go and see if we’re still in our same universe.”

  “Really?”

  Really; it won’t take long.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “We’re going to jump out and see if the light shows us taking you out of the command center.”

  After an hour the view cleared on the display and they watched. Chris saw the bird fly by the armored window followed by a bright flash on the roof of the command center. Chris, Phil, and Jillian all let their breath out together. Dolly watched the Corvette disappear into the hole in the roof and said, “How in God’s creation were you able to get that car in that hole?”

  “I have no idea, Dolly.”

  “May I assume that this is a good thing?”

  “It is. We’re still in our universe.”

  Dolly smiled and said, “We need to go visit.”

  “They’re all on Kenny’s ship.”

  Chris looked at Jillian, “Are you sure about this?”

  “Ask Dolly.”

  Dolly smiled sweetly, “The worst dose of medicine is best taken quickly.”

  “We need to get you out of those old clothes and Jeff; you can wear one of Phil’s uniforms. Now get moving.”

  Jeff was putting on Phil’s uniform and he said, “Thank you for saving my wife.”

  “I’m happy to have helped.”

  “I owe you Phil and I’ll always be grateful.” He stuck out his hand and Phil shook it. Jeff left the room for the bridge and Phil realized he had another hero. He realized Dolly and Jeff belonged together.

  “Tampa this is the Ninja requesting permission to land.”

  “Hello, Dr. Connor. What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

  “We’re coming to sit in on the strategy session with the command team.”

  “Should I notify them of your arrival?”

  “Please don’t. Jillian would like to surprise them.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you, Doctor. Welcome aboard.”

  The Ninja landed and Phil said, “I’ll take care of the ship. You go and renew your friendships.”

  Chris and Jillian walked out of the landing bay followed by Dolly and Jeff. Several wondered who they were. They looked familiar but they couldn’t place where they had seen them. They arrived at the conference room and Chris turned around. Dolly said, “Jeff and I will go in first.”

  Chris took a deep breath and stepped aside. Dolly opened the door and heard RV bellow, “I said we were not to be interrupted.”

  Dolly stepped in and said, “When have I ever listened to you?”

  RV’s mouth fell open. He fell back in his chair and couldn’t move. George had his back to the door and wondered what was going on. He turned around and saw his sister standing behind him. His mind froze, but then he came out of his chair pushing it half way across the room and rushed forward to hug Dolly like she was life itself. He cried and Dolly said, “I’m back, George. Everything is going to be all right.”

  Jeff walked in the room behind Dolly and said, “It’s good to see you two old mongrels again.” Kenny and Bob were too shocked to say anything but jumped up and rushed forward and wrapped their arms around Jeff. Kate stared at the couple and knew who they were. How could this have happened? Then she
saw Chris and Jillian peeking into the room and knew that they were responsible. RV and Cyanna came forward and embraced Dolly. RV then went to Jeff and gave him a hug, “Welcome back, Sir.”

  “Sorry, RV; you’re in charge now.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Sir. You’ll always outrank me. I don’t care what they say.”

  Jeff smiled and hugged him again. Suddenly he heard, “Why you old dog. You married Cyanna. She’s far too good for you.”

  RV looked at Dolly as she held on to George and said, “There you go again; always shouting the truth.” RV looked around and said, “Let’s take a break and give the Sierras a moment.” The group walked out with Jeff talking with Kenny and Bob.

  • • •

  George leaned back and said, “How did this happen?”

  “Chris, Jillian, and a Captain Phillips came back and saved us.”

  George paused and said, “How’s Arnold?”

  Dolly’s smile disappeared and she said, “They could only pull two of us out without killing everyone. I’ll let them explain. They forcibly dragged me into the car. I didn’t want to leave them behind.”

  “Well I’m so thankful they did. I’ve needed you.”

  “I’ve caught up a little on what’s happened and you have done a remarkable job without me, George. I’m so proud of you.”

  “You need to take my position.”

  Dolly shook her head, “Before you make that decision, I need to ask you a question.” George stared at Dolly, “How are you going to explain my reappearance?”

  George just continued to stare at her, “What do you mean?”

  “How many know that we can go back in time and change things?”

  RV said, “Probably, only the ones that were in this room.”

  “And what do you think will happen if that gets out to our allies?”

  George thought a moment and said, “You’re right. Dolly, you obviously thought about this before you arrived. What have you come up with?”

  “I’m going to die my hair red and use my given name.”

  “You’ve hated Dorothy all your life.”

  “So call me Dot. The point is; Jeff and I will have to reenter the world as different people. The universe will turn against us if they knew we could change their past. No one would feel safe.”

  George hugged Dolly again, “My life was fractured when you were no longer a part of it. I feel whole again.”