Sgt. Athena Kai crouched down in the ransacked room and thumbed through the past-due bills on the rug. A Timekeeper assigned to Saturn had just been arrested for an unauthorized trip to Earth, and since the man wouldn’t talk, Athena was assigned to find out why.

Calaxians normally handled these types of assignments themselves, or “in house” as the Enforcers called it, so she wasn’t sure why she was on this particular case.  Kai was just happy that she was able to lead the case, although she thought it was beneath her abilities.

As she set the bills back on the rug, she turned to find Pvt. Michelle Voss walk through the room with her data pad. Kai remembered the days when she was an assistant. The perks of rising in the ranks were that she was no longer someone’s punching bag, and made every effort to make sure she didn’t treat Voss that way.

“What do we have, Voss?” she asked

“Our guy was into debt up to his eyeballs.”

Kai stood and stretched her legs.

Voss swiped through the files on her data pad. “He figured he would hop back to the 1980s and make a bunch of money on the stock market, make a savings account and-”

“Reap the benefits in 2213.” Athena sneered at the stupidity of this plan.

Voss hovered next to Athena like a frightened puppy. She was obviously trying not to bother her. Athena wasn’t shorter than many people, but Voss being part Amazonian made her an exception. “Spit it out, Voss.”

“I heard that you were going to recommend me for the Sergeant’s exam. I just want to say thanks.”

Athena’s eyes softened a tiny bit.

“You’re ready, Voss. You could do this on your own.”

“Thanks, Kai.” Voss’s face reddened with appreciation. “By the way, I think I know why the Calaxians wanted you to head this investigation.”

Kai stared Voss down.

“It seems a Timekeeper is wanted by the Elders themselves.”

“The Calaxian Elders??”

“That’s right.”

Kai’s breath slowed. The Calaxians were the major leagues. If they were opening it up this case to outside Enforcers, this was big news and they would need the best Time Enforcer.

   And that was her.

Athena’s foot bounced on the ground. She hated receiving orders like this: mysterious, middle of the night orders where she was carted off to a foreign planet.

Voss had told her about this rumor over two weeks ago. Athena had hoped that the Enforcer the Calaxian Elders wanted would be her, and it looked like she had gotten her wish. She did not, however, like being woken up out of a deep sleep.

She was in her dress uniform; with dress shoes that shined so bright she could see her own reflection. Her black hair pulled into its regulation bun. Her medals sparkled on her chest. She felt so uncomfortable.

Kai twisted her fingers around her cap and watched the door. She could have been sleeping. She could have been working out. She could have been doing a host of things, but when the brass called, you answered.

The door opened. Kai’s eyes craned up to see a lithe Calaxian Woman with piercing greyish-white eyes standing in the doorway; she said, “They will see you now.”

Athena rose and entered into the room.

It was dark, the three Calaxian Elders in their drab steel robes, they were formal in their drapery, and Lieutenant Clark sat around a table. Athena knew who they were by the blood red cowl draped around their shoulders. On the screen, a picture of a woman with bright green eyes and gleaming red hair stared back at Kai.

Kai stared at the table ahead of her. Clark was already a short man, with the Napoleon complex to match, but next to the Elders, he looked like a child allowed at the grownup table for the first time.

Clark glanced at the two Elders, as if waiting for one of them to say something. They stared at him. Kai saw Clark almost wilt under their gaze before he caught himself.

Clark pushed his shoulder back and puffed out his chest. “Thank you for joining us,” Lieutenant Clark said. “Have a seat, Sergeant.”

Athena sat and flipped though the folder.

“We would like you to retrieve a rogue Timekeeper for us: a Calaxian by the name of Felicity Frey. We have a feeling that she is on the way to Earth.”

There isn’t much information in the file. She saw the name of the ship - Rusla - and its tracking system. Not much, but enough for Kai to get a trace on her.

“Is there an exact time or place where she would be?” Athena asked.

“Nothing yet. We will be sure to send you Frey’s unique ship signature.” The Calaxian to Clark’s left stated.

Athena tilted her head to the side and frowning. “You don’t have a time and place? That seems rather odd.”

“It seems as though Miss Frey deleted all relevant information from the planet’s database.” The Elder to the right replied.

Athena nodded and read the brief: Fray disobeyed a direct commanding officer and jetted off to Earth to save some man – a voice over actor. She grimaced at the news. Athena had always hated emotionally invested soldiers.

“Is this a retrieve or exterminate mission, sir?” She asked.

The Calaxian Elder in the middle gasped, which was rare. The Calaxian Elders did not like to show emotion in front of non-Calaxians. She never did like Calaxian elders; they were overly secretive for no reason and seemed to be hiding something from her. How could they not know where and when she went, but know she was running after some man?

It made no sense and she wasn’t sure how far she could trust them.

Lieutenant Clark shrugged. “Just bring her back to us.”

Kai got up and saluted.

“Sergeant Kai, before you go, we would like you to speak with Timekeeper Dashiell,” The Elder to the right said.

“That won’t be necessary; I have all the information that I need.”

“That wasn’t a request, Sergeant,” The Elder responded. “He may have some insights on Miss Frey that may be of some value to you.

Shocked, Athena looked to Lieutenant Clark for advice. He avoided eye contact. So the Calaxians were in charge of this mission it seemed.

“Then I will meet with him.” Athena grimaced. This case was more than met the eye. While she was curious as to what information Frey was hiding, she stuck to her mission: Retrieve her and bring her back to Calaxia for judgment.

Athena met Dashiell in a coffee shop. It was covered with non-fiction books, like all popular Timekeeper hangouts were. She glanced around and saw him in his standard grey uniform, blowing on a cup of what looked to be tea. He had crossed his leg at the knee and seemed to not be in any sort of hurry. Timekeeper Dashiell was like most Timekeepers that Athena had met: highly intelligent about the history of the world, a bit awkward talking to soldiers and clueless to what her job actually entailed. “This should be as joyful as basic training,” Athena muttered under her breath.

She sat across from him at his little table, smoothed down her jacket and shook her head to the offer of a cup of tea.

“So, they hired you to capture Felicity? Are you sure you are up to the job?” Dashiell asked. He doubted her, Kai knew. Most people did. She inherited her mother’s high cheekbones, and somehow, good looks translated into idiocy in some people’s eyes.

“I see you’ve spent too much time in the early 20th century, if you believe my looks will hinder my work. Don’t you worry, Timekeeper Dashiell, your job is safe in my hands.”

Dashiell’s eyes widened at Kai’s remark before he went back to his tea. “I’m sure you have questions.”

“Just one,” she said. “Who is the voice over actor?”

Dashiell looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure. There was no name attached to my report. He’s not important.”

Athena nodded and stood up. He was obviously important enough for Frey to risk her freedom to chase after, and important enough that he was added to the report. Yet Dashiell was telling her that whoever this “man” was, he wasn’t important. Dashiell was a dead-end, just like she thought he would be.

Dashiell held his hand out. “Wait, please. Don’t you want to know why she went rogue? She’s trying to change the history to benefit herself and this man. This ripple effect that she could enact could cause wars, lead to the death of millions-”

Kai braced herself on her chair and stared Dashiell down until his voice trailed off.

“With all do respect, Timekeeper Dashiell, I don’t care.” He was wasting her time. Time she could be using to catch Frey or at the very least find her. Honestly, Athena would rather be doing paperwork then listen to this Timekeeper wax poetically about what could happen if Frey got her hands on the past. The past was safe because they were still sitting and talking to one another.

There was a bit of an awkward silence before Athena’s tension bled out of her.

“What is it that you want me to know, Timekeeper Dashiell?” Athena wondered if Dashiell knew more than he claimed to.

“I want you to know Frey’s motivations for this. It will help you find her. I just want to help.”

“Unfortunately, you are slowing me down.” Athena said[P1] .

“You don’t respect what we do, do you Sergeant?” Dashiell said. Athena knew what he thought of her. That she was some time-enforcing grunt that knew nothing about keeping the fabric of time together.

“I know how this will work out, Timekeeper Dashiell. Frey may make a mess of this time line but I will retrieve and bring her back to Calaxia. You will send some Auditors to come and scrub out as much as possible and the rest, the rest of Time will fix itself. Because that is what Time does, it will go the way it wants to without our help.” Athena shifted her feet before she rose.

“So you think of time as a living thing? Interesting,” Dashiell said.

“I give Time the respect it deserves. I assume that timekeepers do the same? Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be off; I have a fugitive to catch.”

“Just one more thing before you go,” Dashiell said, standing up as she did. “Frey is familiar with two rogue engineers on a ship called Resnick. My assistant has added the ship signature to the report so you can trace them. They might lead you someplace.”

“Maybe not a waste of time after all,” Athena thought, as she turned on a dime and walked out.

Athena sat in the cockpit of the Jellyfish and did her standard pre-flight check. She adjusted the picture of her parents by the navigator. It was creased from the years Athena carried it in her pocket as a private. Her parents —freshly married and at home on the base on Saturn’s moon Titan — smiled wide at her. They had their whole lives ahead of them in the picture. Who knew that in seven years they would have had a daughter and been killed?

She kissed the picture before she woke up her AI system.

“Athena to Dad. Commence start sequence. ” Athena spoke as she began to back the ship out of the docking station.”

“Commencing start sequence, Athena.” Dad’s soothing voice boomed into the cockpit. Kai knew she was a bit sentimental to have her father’s voice as her AI, but she allowed herself this comfort.

“Set coordinates for the ship Resnick. Ship Address can be found in the incoming Frey file.” Athena inserted a data stick in to the dash panel. She glided the Jellyfish through the checkpoints. She waved to the guards as she exited the Calaxia atmosphere. She saw a bit of destruction on one of the exit terminals. “Where are we going, Dad?” she asked.[MG2] 

 “Resnick is in a place called Los Angeles, in the year 2003. Excellent. We’ve never been to the early 21stst century.” Kai watched the flight plan materialize on her screen.

The ship’s autopilot turned the Jellyfish to the right direction. It idled in space.

“Ready when you are, sweetheart.”

Kai cracked her knuckles before she pushed the transport button.

The Jellyfish shot off through time.