to now?’
19
I t was late afternoon. The yellow lights of the power station glinted dimly in the drizzle that fell from the darkening sky.
‘Too many people at the front gate, there’s no easy way in there,’ Simon said, looking up from the clump of low bushes where he and Danice were hiding. He’d managed to calm himself down, and felt back in control.
‘We’d better find some other way in,’ Danice said. ‘Our second objective is to find out if this is the source of the power for the Chieftain’s time-travel system.’
Simon nodded.
He left their cover and crawled along a deep drainage ditch. Danice followed. Once they were out of sight of the gate they clambered up the bank and skirted along the base of the razor-wire fence that surrounded the station.
Danice looked up at the fence. ‘It’s about five metres high,’ she said. ‘Another job for our springers.’
‘And the ground’s pretty hard here,’ Simon said, ‘so let’s fly.’
Retreating a few metres, they activated their wrist pilots and, on Simon’s command, leapt forward, bouncing and soaring over the fence. They landed in the long grass on the other side.
Danice winced, lifting her right leg to reveal a jagged tear that had sliced through her suit to the flesh underneath. ‘Ouch, that hurts!’ she moaned. ‘I snagged the top of that razor wire as we went over.’
Simon twisted around and took a small metal phial from his travel pouch. ‘Try some of this repair solution,’ he said. ‘Stay still.’
The spray frothed over the wound. Within seconds, the cut in Danice’s skin was healing. Tiny, dark threads appeared at the edges of the tear in her suit and began to reweave the fabric.
‘How’s that?’ Simon asked.
‘Better,’ Danice said. ‘I still can’t figure out how that stuff works. But we should have kept it for an emergency.’
‘It was an emergency!’
Danice managed a faint smile. ‘I guess we don’t make too bad a team, after all.’
Simon turned to the power station that loomed over them. ‘So, let’s find a way in.’
Danice pointed to a ramp and a set of double doors at the side of the main building. One door was open, and two casually dressed workers were unloading cartons from the back of a truck and stacking them at the base of the ramp. ‘Over there might be a good place to start,’ she said.
‘It looks like a loading bay,’ Simon said. ‘We can be part of their delivery.’
They crept silently through the long grass, keeping their heads down until they reached the edge of the parking bay.
‘Wait,’ Simon said. He watched as the men picked up a carton each, strolled lazily up the ramp and through the open door into the power station. He estimated that there was about thirty metres of open space between them and the ramp. ‘We’ll have to run,’ he whispered.
‘My leg’s okay,’ Danice replied. ‘Just say when.’
‘Now!’
They dashed across the parking area, up the ramp and disappeared inside the power station.
‘I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you all here,’ Professor McPhee said with a quick smile and a probing gaze at the small gathering in front of the Operations Screen. The three temponauts, Nick Spenser, Taylor Bly and Ivan Ho made up a tight group, while Captain Cutler stood beside Harry at the control desk.
‘You’re planning to send us on a big mission, sir,’ Nick said glibly.
‘Correct,’ McPhee said, ‘but I’ll get to that soon.’ He nodded to Harry. ‘Activate the new locators.’
‘Coming on now,’ Harry replied, hitting a couple of keys. ‘Look at the bottom-right of the screen, Professor.’
All eyes quickly fixed on a map of the west coast of the United States. Then the picture faded into a continuous stream of night vision from a darkened complex of buildings.
‘The year is 2321,’ the professor explained. ‘This is where Simon and Danice are working right at this moment.’
‘They’re in the future!’ Ivan
19
I t was late afternoon. The yellow lights of the power station glinted dimly in the drizzle that fell from the darkening sky.
‘Too many people at the front gate, there’s no easy way in there,’ Simon said, looking up from the clump of low bushes where he and Danice were hiding. He’d managed to calm himself down, and felt back in control.
‘We’d better find some other way in,’ Danice said. ‘Our second objective is to find out if this is the source of the power for the Chieftain’s time-travel system.’
Simon nodded.
He left their cover and crawled along a deep drainage ditch. Danice followed. Once they were out of sight of the gate they clambered up the bank and skirted along the base of the razor-wire fence that surrounded the station.
Danice looked up at the fence. ‘It’s about five metres high,’ she said. ‘Another job for our springers.’
‘And the ground’s pretty hard here,’ Simon said, ‘so let’s fly.’
Retreating a few metres, they activated their wrist pilots and, on Simon’s command, leapt forward, bouncing and soaring over the fence. They landed in the long grass on the other side.
Danice winced, lifting her right leg to reveal a jagged tear that had sliced through her suit to the flesh underneath. ‘Ouch, that hurts!’ she moaned. ‘I snagged the top of that razor wire as we went over.’
Simon twisted around and took a small metal phial from his travel pouch. ‘Try some of this repair solution,’ he said. ‘Stay still.’
The spray frothed over the wound. Within seconds, the cut in Danice’s skin was healing. Tiny, dark threads appeared at the edges of the tear in her suit and began to reweave the fabric.
‘How’s that?’ Simon asked.
‘Better,’ Danice said. ‘I still can’t figure out how that stuff works. But we should have kept it for an emergency.’
‘It was an emergency!’
Danice managed a faint smile. ‘I guess we don’t make too bad a team, after all.’
Simon turned to the power station that loomed over them. ‘So, let’s find a way in.’
Danice pointed to a ramp and a set of double doors at the side of the main building. One door was open, and two casually dressed workers were unloading cartons from the back of a truck and stacking them at the base of the ramp. ‘Over there might be a good place to start,’ she said.
‘It looks like a loading bay,’ Simon said. ‘We can be part of their delivery.’
They crept silently through the long grass, keeping their heads down until they reached the edge of the parking bay.
‘Wait,’ Simon said. He watched as the men picked up a carton each, strolled lazily up the ramp and through the open door into the power station. He estimated that there was about thirty metres of open space between them and the ramp. ‘We’ll have to run,’ he whispered.
‘My leg’s okay,’ Danice replied. ‘Just say when.’
‘Now!’
They dashed across the parking area, up the ramp and disappeared inside the power station.
‘I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you all here,’ Professor McPhee said with a quick smile and a probing gaze at the small gathering in front of the Operations Screen. The three temponauts, Nick Spenser, Taylor Bly and Ivan Ho made up a tight group, while Captain Cutler stood beside Harry at the control desk.
‘You’re planning to send us on a big mission, sir,’ Nick said glibly.
‘Correct,’ McPhee said, ‘but I’ll get to that soon.’ He nodded to Harry. ‘Activate the new locators.’
‘Coming on now,’ Harry replied, hitting a couple of keys. ‘Look at the bottom-right of the screen, Professor.’
All eyes quickly fixed on a map of the west coast of the United States. Then the picture faded into a continuous stream of night vision from a darkened complex of buildings.
‘The year is 2321,’ the professor explained. ‘This is where Simon and Danice are working right at this moment.’
‘They’re in the future!’ Ivan
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