Space Pioneer 1 - 12. Chapter 12

"We’ve made enough credits for now," Lest said after another trip to the Mohic Empire. "I’m fed up with the Mohics anyway. They can’t even convey a proper greeting. Let’s fly back to Cyrus and get the ship updated. I’ve already talked with a few men via the intercom. Le’Ton, you will practice with Jeff. You will show him the basics of space navigation while the engineers overhaul the ship."

Le’Ton looked shocked and opened his mouth to protest.

Lest raised his hand. "Stop, Le’Ton," he said. "We share our earnings. Everybody on the ship contributes. I can’t take Jeff back to Earth, I can’t take him to Daglon, and I won’t throw him out somewhere in space. I took a decision. Jeff will stay on the Horus, but he must contribute like everybody else does." He looked at Jeff.

Jeff nodded. "I certainly will, captain," he said.

Lest turned to Le’Ton. "I was asking around on Cyrus via the intercom. I spoke with Peres. He’s a downright criminal, but he can procure whatever you want. Don’t ask me about his connections. Anyway, he told me that the time jump drive is under construction in many places. He had no chance to obtain one so far, but he has the navigation software and he offered it to me. From what he told me, it’s quite impressive but largely different from what we know. The package goes along with simulation lessons. I bought it. We’ll install it on an isolated computer on board and you, Le’Ton, will learn the software inside out. You’ll be first space navigator and only time navigator. Jeff will be second space navigator. He must take over the space navigation once you navigate through time."

Lest’s crew looked at Lest with widened eyes.

"You actually want to travel through time?" Doctor Midad asked.

"There’s a good chance we must jump in time in order to stop Ezer," Lest said. "I want it done properly. No messing around with space and absolutely no messing around with time." He turned to Le’Ton. "What do you think? Is it an option?"

"Sure, captain. This sounds reasonable to me. I will make Jeff an excellent space navigator," Le’Ton said with radiant eyes. He had forgotten about his concerns and protests. Time navigator was apparently a job he thought he’d enjoy.

"Good," Lest said with a content look. "Let’s fly to Cyrus."

***

The first week on Cyrus was stressful. Lest hired mechanics and engineers who updated the Daglon warship in a rented hangar. Things got quieter in the second week. The ship’s hardware and software was completely updated at the end of the week. Le’Ton started to work with Jeff. The training was a full-time training and lasted three weeks.

Lest, Corr and Midad were on board sparsely. Jeff had no clear idea of what the three men were doing on Cyrus. The two engineers, Galven and Forit, were refining the computer systems.

Five weeks had gone by when Lest held another meeting in the galley.

"Okay," he said. "We were all somewhat busy. I heard, Jeff, that you’re doing fine. You will practice in space very soon. Le’Ton, the time jump software will arrive tomorrow. I hired a man who will introduce you to it. A time jump drive will come along with the software. Peres made it possible. We’ll install the software on an isolated computer and only connect it with the main system when we’re running a test in space. Once all is working properly, we’ll integrate it to the main computer. We’ll deliver cargo to the Mohics again for a couple of weeks. The purchases and updates cost a lot of credits and we need to refill our accounts. This done, we’ll start our operation."

The men nodded admiringly.

"You’ve arranged it all in the briefest of times," Jeff said.

Lest smiled. "We’re in a hurry. Corr, Midad, and I were asking around on Cyrus and we have retrieved important information. You know that I met Ezer every now and then on Cyrus in the previous couple of years. The encounters were accidental. We usually met in a bar. Each time Ezer mentioned a project he was working on and he asked me several times to join it. I last met him on Cyrus two years ago. We were wondering if he had not come to the planet again or simply had avoided any encounter," he said.

Lest straightened. "We found out that he was on Cyrus many times after our last meeting. Peres told me in confidence that Ezer hired a man, a genius hacker and software programmer. Peres had arranged the deal. It cost Ezer a lot of credits. This man programmed a time jump software. I’ve hired the man and I have bought his software. He’ll introduce Le’Ton to it. It took us a while to find the man and persuade him to co-operate, but the sum of credits I offered finally made him accept the deal. He has improved the software meanwhile."

"I’ve found out something, too," Doctor Midad said. "It’s very disturbing. I asked the doctors and nurses on Cyrus if they had seen anything unusual in the previous months. Ezer Malk brought a man to the medical center only one month ago. The man was severely injured. His internal organs were damaged. The doctors said that so far they had never seen the type of injuries. It seemed the organs had partially returned to an almost fetal state. They questioned the man and finally he told them that he was the pilot of Ezer Malk’s ship. The man had been running a time jump test. The ship was supposed to jump back three hundred years, but due to a malfunction of the computer system it only jumped back thirty years. The man was thirty-one years old when he jumped back. He arrived at a time when he was already born and was a baby child."

"For heaven’s sake," Jeff exclaimed, already anticipating Doctor Midad’s next words.

"His two physical bodies started to melt together," the doctor said in a sober voice. "Quantum physics at work. His particles attracted each other and started joining and melting together. He jumped back to the present time when he realized that something was wrong, but it was already too late. Ezer took the injured man to the medical center on Cyrus. He refused to answer any questions, left the center and never came back. The unfortunate man died. He had no chance, according to the doctors."

"Ezer Malk is ruthless," Jeff said in a disgusted voice.

"And you really want me to navigate you back in time, captain?" Le’Ton asked. "It’s absolutely dangerous."

"A malfunction of a system can happen at any time," Galven, one of engineers said.

"Yes, a time jump is dangerous and a big risk. That’s why the Alliance set up rules and monitors the official projects," Lest said.

"Our project is a secret project. We would operate unofficially," Le’Ton remarked.

"That’s why we must monitor the system ourselves," Lest said. "Like I said, the man who developed the software has meanwhile improved it. He’ll run a few tests with us in space."

"The hardware could malfunction as well," Galven said.

"That’s why I have the Horus updated and double checked," Lest said. "There’s still a residual risk, though, but I fear we must take it. Doctor Midad, go on, please."

The doctor cleared his throat. "The dying man told them that they had already jumped back several times without difficulties. They had explored Daglon’s past and had jumped back 45,000 years," he said. "They jumped back to the planet Seth in order to find out what had happened to the second spaceship that the historical records mentioned and they wanted to retrieve artifacts for Ezer’s archeological museum in Amun."

"Shit," Jeff hissed. "We’re too late. Ezer has already found out about Earth’s co-ordinates, hasn’t he?"

"That’s what the man said," Doctor Midad confirmed. "He said they had visited the planet that the second spaceship had flown to. They visited the Seth colony on Earth 45,000 years ago."

"According to the man, they had gone to Earth only once, but intended to jump again with a bigger and improved spaceship. The time jump test went totally wrong, however," Lest said.

"Ezer Malk is ruthless and I still think he wanted to get rid of us in the Beliad region," Jeff said. "We thought they had unsuccessfully tried to read the information of my ship’s computer, but they already knew Earth’s co-ordinates. Why did Ezer change his plan the very last minute and not kill us? Did he hope to find out something else? We were talking about the Egyptians and their preservation cult. We were talking about artifacts."

"Time jumps are extremely dangerous. Think of the planet Kwain," Doctor Midad said. "Just visiting a place and having a look is harmless maybe, but actually getting involved in the events can change the timeline. Ezer is after Daglon and Earth artifacts. He might consider it too dangerous to raid the Seth settlers on Earth. Raiding a place where artifacts are already stored and well preserved might deem him easier and free of risk."

"Yes," Lest said. "This sounds plausible to me."

"Ezer made a mistake. He should have killed us once he had the chance to. Luckily, he had a moment of scruples or doubts," Jeff said.

"Or maybe he was just in a hurry," Lest said. "Anyway, I think Ezer is trying to go to Earth. The time jump accident happened one month ago. He might have already found a new pilot. We must soon get acquainted with the time jump system and run a few tests. And unfortunately we must work for the Mohic Empire again for a fortnight or so in order to earn more credits. I paid Peres a sum in advance, but I must settle my account before we start with our time jump operation. Ezer is ahead of us. I trust, however, that we will be able to catch up with him. Ezer broke Alliance rules and he will be messing around with time for selfish reasons. Ezer is dangerous. We must stop him from raiding Earth and changing the planet’s timeline."

"I definitely don’t want Earth to go to ruin like the planet Kwain," Jeff said.

Lest rose to his feet and looked at his crew. "Who’s in? Raise your hands, please," he said.

All hands went up.

Lest smiled contentedly. "The name of our operation is Mission to Earth."

***