Zeta Disconnect: Fetch (chapter 4)

11 May 2045, 0713 GMT / Piccadilly Stop, London

Z-4Q woke in a small mechanical room. He sat up, and got right to his feet. There was never a feeling of disorientation when returning home. He clicked his watch, and waited only a few moments for it to find the current time.

“Crowds…” he said to himself, “I hate crowds.” He took the empty ration pouch, which he had been careful not to loose in the future, out of his pocket and threw it into a nearby waste basket. He thought then of the pouch that Sanchez had handed him with the spiders in it. A groan escaped him as the thought of it sitting in the bottom of Kit’s train car suddenly struck him. He quickly decided that it was not important. The bit of mass-imbalance in the timeline that Kit had repaired on his own, more than made up for it.

Z-4Q tied the blue quantum shielding bag to his belt, and slowly opened the door of the mechanical room, and stepped out onto the tiled floor. As he let himself get caught up in the crowd in the passages, he felt very out-of-place, and it was true. He took off his PHUD, and placed it in his empty cargo pocket as he walked. This helped some. He now probably appeared to be a dirty UN soldier. He knew that his outfit resembled that uniform, although most of his equipment was supplied by the US Marines.

Because of the working escalators, his path up was much easier than his path down had been. When he got to the turnstiles, he realized that he was going to have a problem. He had no Tube pass, which was needed to pass through the turnstile. He was reluctant to approach any of the guards in the area to ask to be let out, because he was carrying some dangerous and questionable equipment. He made a quick decision.

Z-4Q slowly pulled his small pistol from its holster, and moved it through his jacket to his back. Then, without turning around, he fired the gun up into the ceiling, hitting a halogen light, and darkening the area around him. In the half-light, he slipped his gun back into its holster, and ducking as if to avoid more fire, headed for the turnstiles. Many others were now leaping over the gates, and so he joined them. In seconds, he and the small mob were on the street pushing and shoving each other around. Cars screeched to halt before crosswalks which were suddenly packed with running people. He hoped that no one had gotten hurt in the rush.

He walked deliberately toward the street with the intent of flagging down a taxi, he wanted to rush back to the underground base, and get himself into the future again. He knew it was considered dangerous to intercept himself, but if he could correct the failed mission, then he could possibly save millions of lives, and spare the world from another war. Then, he realized that, as a time traveler, he had no need to rush, and that he would be more likely to succeed at his mission, if he wasn’t so hungry. He looked around, and spotted a Burger King on the other side of the circus. He started crossing the streets in that direction.

11 May 2045, 0922 GMT / A military complex underneath Lewisham, London

Sanchez sat alone on the concrete floor of the underground, hangar-sized room. The rest of the staff was having breakfast in the cafeteria, downstairs, but Sanchez liked to have his egg and bacon sandwich with the machine each morning. He eyed the device groggily, but affectionately.

Mid-bite, he heard a door click behind him. He turned casual to see who had joined him, and saw the weary form of Agent Z-4Q. “Good Morning” Sanchez told him. “Did you have breakfast?”

“Yes,” Z-4Q waved away the half sandwich that was being proffered, “but thanks for the offer.”

Sanchez nodded at the blue bag hanging from the agent’s belt, “The mission was a success then?”

“Not quite.”

“What do you mean?”

Z-4Q hesitated for a moment, “I need you to send me out again.”

“Okay,” Sanchez said around his breakfast, I’ll contact the commander, and we can get you to the erasure facility on the low-“

“No,” Z-4Q interrupted. “No erasure.”

“You know I can’t do that.” Sanchez began to look nervous. “It’s against the law, every agent that goes out, must be erased and briefed, even if it’s essentially part of the same mission”

“That’s not acceptable this time.”

“I can’t do it.”

“Tell them I forced you.”

Sanchez considered this as he finished his sandwich, “Okay,” he said finally. Then gestured toward the agent’s feet, “Won’t you need new boots?”

Z-4Q smiled, “It would help.”

“Where do you need to go?” the technician asked.

“I’m not exactly sure. Sometime in 2279, I think.”

“That’s not going to work.”

“Right,” Z-4Q pondered, “Check where I was sent on my last mission. I need to go there again.”

“Did you leave from this facility?”

“I’m fairly sure that I must have used the gate closer to the center of London. There would have been no reason not to use the closest gate to the mission.”

“I don’t have access to the red buttons or spiders on my own,” Sanchez explained suddenly, “and trying to get access would alert the CO.”

Z-4Q’s expression grew pained. “Then I’ll just have to do without,” he said.

Sanchez frowned with sympathy. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said and turned to leave.

Z-4Q called out, “Sanchez…”

The technician stopped and looked over his shoulder.

Z-4Q stammered a bit before he said, “…I …I thought it would be tougher than this to convince you to help me.”

Sanchez shrugged. “You’re out to save the world again, right?” he said turning away again, “I figure that’s more important than keeping me out of trouble.” He opened the door, and stepped quickly out of the room, leaving Z-4Q alone with the time gate.

He took the opportunity to inspect the gate itself. It looked to him like a very long piece of copper tubing had been wound around and around in loops, before being bound with a twisting silver strap. The thing was held up in a black base with wide feet. It looked like it was made of graphite. The device was oddly familiar. He felt like he should know a lot more about it than he did. He felt like he knew where all these wires on the floor should be going, but he couldn’t picture it.

“Zaq!” Sanchez’ voice rang out in the large room. “Up here!” Z-4Q looked up, and saw the bespectacled man in a windowed booth near the ceiling. He leaned out and dropped a pair of brown sneakers to the floor. “This was all I could find in your size.”

“Thank you,” Z-4Q called back as he picked the sneakers up.

“I’ve programmed the gate with the time you need.” Sanchez told him from his window, “We’ll have to do this quickly though, cause as soon as I power everything up, the whole complex will know about it.”

“Let’s go then.” Z-4Q positioned himself in front of the gate after tying his new sneakers.

He felt the charge in the air as the equipment powered up. He could see the gate start to vibrate with energy. Twenty Seconds came Sanchez’ voice over the intercom. He watched the gate activate, just as before. This time he noticed more color in the field within the ring. Purples and blues swirled gently within the field. It reminded him of a soap and glycerin bubble, like the ones that children make with wands. Ten Seconds. The strange spinning of the gate didn’t make him queasy this time. It actually seemed somehow comforting. Five… Four… Three- There was a loud clunking sound and a small feedback spike over the intercom. Z-4Q didn’t hesitate, didn’t look back. He finished the countdown in his head, and stepped through the gate.

Look for Chapter 5 of Zeta Disconnect next Monday on Short-Media. In the meantime, comment on this chapter in our forums.