Chapter 9

Three Years Earlier

"Very few things cannot be undone if handled correctly within the time stream. Even seemingly cemented realities can be rewritten and overwritten if the right actions are taken. We can have the liberty of mistakes. We're free!" Merrek Ovandir, Senior Chief Archeochronographer, Author Historian, Lead Historical Projectionist, ChronAgency Scholar Emeritus ChronAgency Symposium on The Efficacy of Movement Management, Three Years Earlier, Base Timeline

"What do you mean they're not coming back! Didn't you listen to my speech last year?" Merrek was pacing as he spewed his vitriol at Admiral Graves.

The office was secured. No one could get within 50 feet of the door and the walls were sound proofed. You could set a bomb off inside the office and the secretary wouldn't even burp... No one heard Merrek's inflamitory speech.

"Damnit Steven! Don't be an asshole! We cannot strand our people in — what year was it again?" Merrek was losing his voice.

"It was 1734! Does that actually matter?" Admiral Steven Graves rolled his eyes. "Also, let's be clear on something." the Admiral leaned over the desk and pointing his finger to the chest of the academic Merrek.

"While I may not be in my uniform, don't think just because we're friends and you're a civilian servant in this unit doesn't mean you get to just toss aside the respect my rank is due!" The admiral slammed his hand down flat on the desk on the last syllable.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Merrek feigned fear and with mock admiration, "I meant to say Admiral! asshole!" Merrek's eyes blazed toward the Admiral.

The Admiral ignored the overt disrespect. He knew this conversation was inevitable. It just had to happen on his daughter's birthday when he was trying to get out of the office and home to his wife and children. "DOCTOR Merrek," more calmly, he emphasized the scholar's title, "come on, surely you aren't that stupid," the admiral folded his hands and leaned over the immense mahogany desk between them.

"Who is the stupid one?" Merrek said wide-eyed & incensed. "If we can't leave our people behind, we absolutely cannot leave our tech behind! What if someone gets ahold of the pod? What happens if "

Admiral Graves calmed himself. This conversation was about to go sideways and the Admiral knew he was the only one who was going to be able to handle it.

"Again, Merrek," the Admiral starte. "You cannot be that stupid."

Merrek's pacing ceased.

He slowly walked & placed his hand on the guest chair. His eyes cooled but stayed steadily locked on the Admiral who had bowed cradling his temples in one hand as if assuaging a headache.

"What are you not telling me, Steven? After these forty-some odd years? What are you not telling me?" Merrek narrowed his gaze. He had begun to realize that he had not been talking to Steven Graves, his friend since grade school. He was currently talking to a seasoned military officer who had seen things — who knew things. The cold steel of a soldier who worked his way up the ranks was clearly visible.

Why hadn't he seen this.

"What aren't you telling me?" Merrek repeated with a woundedness to his voice.

Admiral Graves lifted his head from his hand and looked directly at Merrek.

"In this timeline, how long have we been friends, Merrek? But how long have we known each other in reality?"

 

* * *

 

The brisk morning new england air of a clear but not-so-warm spring day seemed to make the low sunlight brighter.

Steven Graves wore a thin, bright green windbreaker which was barely keeping him warm. The short hair of a one day old haircut on the back of his neck seemed to stand to attention at the bus stop.

The pounding of the footsteps behind him made him turn about with a beaming smile.

"Did you bring it?" Steven grinned ear to ear at Merrek.

Merrek pulled his hand from his parka and produced 3 M80 firecrackers. "Boy, did I!" Merrek's bright blue eyes sparkled.

The light squeel of brakes in the distance alerted the boys that the school bus was close.

"Put those away. I've got an idea!" Graves grinned mischeivously as they watched the bus round the corner at the top of the hill. "Dr. Pilmer will remember this 5th grade year!"

 

* * *

 

The principal's office chairs were unusually uncomfortable. Both boys sat just outside a glass wall listening to the muffled tones of parents apologizing profusely.

Inside the office, Drs. Abigail & Milo Ovandir sat along side of Major Peirce & Debbie Graves. They knew each other from church and socially around town... and mostly because their sons seemed inseperable.

"I am so sorry. Of course we will pay for the toilet to be replaced." Milo grasped his wife's hand, "Are you sure no one was hurt?"

Dr. David Pilmer looked gravely at Milo Ovandir. "No. But I'm sure you understand this is a major issue the school nor the district can overlook." Then looking at both sets of parents, "Your sons will be expelled for at least 10 days. Since spring break is next week, it will not count during those days. Expulsions are to be conducted during the course of active, in-class days. So, it's possible your sons won't return to school until late April. This may hurt them academically."

Dr. Pilmer paused to let the implications sink in. "It isn't the grades. Rather, the boys will both be just over the maximum absences for the year. At best, they MAY be able to attend summer school... that is, if the school board doesn't press charges."

Debbie Graves spoke up icily, "Is it possible to have the boys work off their debt? Possibly clean the bathroom, install the new toilet... maybe even do some sort of community service to drill into them the gravity of of their actions?" She cast a glance over her shoulder at Steven who quickly looked away. "Steven needs to know these actions have consequences."

Major graves who leaned back sullenly in his shorts and black tee-shirt stroking his chin with his massive hand. The sweat stains on the worn screenprinted Army shirt made it clear he had been working out before this interruption. "These two boys are good boys. Mischievous boys, but good boys. I can't say I would have done differently at their age. But they were both foolish. Dangerously foolish." Glancing at the Ovandirs he continued, "I know Abby and Milo will join us in finding ways to discipline these two in a way that will change the course of their lives. I can't speak for the Ovandirs, but I know we will work with the school and the school officials to resolve this."

The coming weeks were punctuated with labor, groundings, and copious school work. The school board determined to permanently expel both boys with the ability to appeal and apply for re-entry the next school year.

Steven was enrolled almost immediately in the local military academy while Merrek's mother took leave for the rest of the year to begin homeschooling Merrek.

Despite every remove, the stories were always similar. Somewhere just around middle school, one or both would do something that got them kicked out of school. Not once did they cease being friends. Their parents recounted stories about the boys. Some delightful. Several discouraging. Many filled with disappointments.

Regardless, their friendship had survived decades. But would it survive this?

 

* * *

 

"They're people!" Merrek's voice raspy from the emotion. "Don't you understand. I know they're scientists. I know they're members of this odd guild we've established. But they're still people, damnit!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake. You've signed the death warrants for countless thousands... possibly millions. You could likely be accountable for the deaths of more people than communisim itself! Don't get all lofty and high on me, now!" Graves said with a bit more irritation than he wanted to show.

Standing, Graves softened his tone, "Look, Merrek. We've been through more together than we even are able to tell. Removes have rewritten our friendship a thousand times over. But you know more than anyone, this job... OUR job impacts not just people, but humanity itself. We are always walking the fine, philosophical line of what humanity can endure... what it SHOULD endure."

"This is one of those rare situations where we CANNOT sweep in to save them." Graves punctuated his sentence with a stacatto pace. "We knew that going in. We tried to place the in the right time and the right place where their entry would not draw attention and we failed. Not them! WE. FAILED. And in this line of work, it is all to commonplace where the innocent people pay for the guilty person's failures."

Merrek had almost collapsed into the guest chair. Now he was rubbing his temples as he dangled his glasses from the other hand. He was hollowed and removed from the situation. He knew the Admiral was right. He HAD made craters in humanity.

"But it was for the greater good," he often thought to himself. He was performing a service for which humanity should be grateful if they had ever had the opportunity to know... which they never would.

But this time it was different. He knew their names. He had seen their families. He had met their siblings. He had petted their dogs and endured their cats. He had shared laughter and eaten meals with them. These were not faceless strangers nor large swaths of society. These were his colleagues. His friends.

"I have to remind myself, not everyone here has a military pedigree... not everyone here has stripes on their sleeves AND their backs. This isn't easy. It never has been, and it never will be." Graves sat back in his chair tossing his pen onto the desk.

"Imagine having the job where you are telling a boy to go do his job knowing he is almost certainly going to die while following your orders." The Admiral locked eyes with Merrek again.

"That'll keep you awake at night. It's a wonder I'm not an alcoholic like my dad was in so many removes of the past." The Admiral concluded as he wheeled his chair backwards a few inches.

Merrek's face had softened. He was now sitting across from his friend, Steven.

"Steven, what do I tell their families? What do I tell their kids" Merrek was beginning to feel the weight of the decisions that had been made and those that had to be made.

The Admiral made his way around the desk & put his arm around his friend's shoulder, "Merrek, I have been down this road before and I will walk this road along side you. It is a burden people in our position are forced to carry. I am sorry. I'm sorry for the folks who trusted US to make these decisions and to make them right. I am sorry for their families and I am sorry for you. I truly apologize. You are my friend. It is not a fair burden to carry, but it is one you must carry for the good of so many."

The tears that welled up in Merrek's eyes finally burst over and cascaded to his disheveled oxford shirt. "I never thought my work would cost lives. I guess I've been kidding myself that reshaping history is most often written in the bloody ink of conflict."

A buzz from the tablet on the desk interrupted the conversation. At a glance, the Admiral saw a small alert indicating an unread message from one of his new, star pupils. He patted his friend on the back and began to usher him towards the door.

"Merrek, why don't you and Chelle come out to dinner with me and Ejiah tonight... my treat! We won't talk shop, but maybe you can hear from EJ's own words how she has seen the sheer impact of this job on me. Sure, she doesn't know the specifics... But I can assure you, she knows the days when I've received the blunt blows of decisions that had to be made," after a brief pause, the Admiral volunteered, "Tomorrow, I'll connect you with Dr. Theresa MacPiel. She's one of our best base psychologists who works with many of our men & women who suffer traumatic events both at work and in life. She has absolutely helped me more than once!"

They were at the door. Admiral Graves' hand reached out to open the large office door and walked Merrek past the receptionist's reflex salute. "Merrek, I'll have Kalie here set up a time for you with Dr. MacPiel. How does Thursday sound? I bet I could get her to clear a space on her calendar for you." At those words, the receptionist dutifully acknowledged and began to type out an email.

After a quick nod to the receptionist, the Admiral reached out a hand to his friend and added, "Merrek, keep this between us... These next several missions are crucial. We already have enough to occupy the other 5 teams on base without adding to the mix."

 

* * *

 

With the last few pleasantries and a few reassuring words, Dr. Merrek Ovandir left the command center and into the obtusely sunny afternoon on campus. Merrek spent the entirety of the afternoon walking on campus. At first, in a daze; as he continued, his thoughts drove him elsewhere. Ultimately, he found himself at one of the interns' desks with an idea and in need of Chronographer Solutions Data.

Every thought he had simply had one answer: "Maybe."

 

* * *

 

So far, Steven Graves' first year in the Academy wasn't noteworthy. His grades were acceptable and he did not stand out. He had not participated in any sports and his social life was limited to a few folks around campus and the occasional visit from his parents or Merrek. Like many Friday nights, the Academy campus was buzzing with incoming visitors and some type of small social engagement focused on helping cadets ease their mind from studies and drills.

Tonight was not much different except Merrek brought a couple friends with him.

Casey Perkins & Ejiah Malston were two bookworms who happened to be part of a homeschool study group that Merrek had organized to help folks who were invariably suffering in Advanced Math. Luckily for Merrek, the study group had yielded a potential date for him... and she wanted to see if "Mer" could help set up a date for her friend.

So it was that Merrek & Ejiah had planned to introduce his cadet friend to their third-wheel and have a double date. To be honest, Ejiah brought Casey along to have an easy out if this somewhat cute math nerd and his friend turned out to be pompous jerks — or worse, incredible creeps they needed to ditch. Both girls had brought enough money to call their parents from a payphone and pay for the rare taxi which were almost never seen in this small town.

Walking onto campus, the girls both commented that it looked more like a university than a high school and giggled that maybe they'd find a college boy and ditch their adolescent companion. Merrek laughed nervously. "What would a college guy have that Steve and I don't?"

Casey responded, "Well, we will see what Steve has to offer, but if that peach fuzz on your top lip is any indication, you may not want us to say it out loud."

Ejiah flushed with embarrasment. Holding back laughter at the shock of what she had heard, she scolded Casey, "Oh, be nice! I'm sure Mer has lots to offer."

Merrek perried the comment as gracefully as any teen boy. He was grateful that Casey was Steve's date. She seemed to have a sharpness to her words that often seemed as if she was more interested in humiliating someone than getting to know them.

The streetlights buzzed to life as they approached the dorm. The walkway up to the entrance of Steve's dorm had been dampened from the irrigation as they approached the steps. Each of them left a set of glistening, wet foot prints as they each plodded up the bleach white concrete steps.

Reaching towards the door, Merrek felt his gentlemanly gesture rejected as Casey cast him a patronizing smirk and opened the door for herself, "Thanks, I got it myself."

Then to Ejiah, "After you, m'lady." Casey let the door go just as Merrek had reached for it.

"Wow! What could I have possibly done to elicit that reaction?" Merrek thought.

Merrek walked to the dorm officer who was sitting behind a desk in dress blues and asked, "Could I use the phone to call my friend, Steve?"

"Steve, who?" the officer replied flatly.

"Graves." Said Merrek, "Steven Graves."

Moments later Steven Graves opened the foyer door of to the greeting smile of his friend.

"Merrek! I've been waiting for you to call. Who are your friends?"

Casey shot out her hand and firmly grasped the cadet's hand, "I'm Casey. This is 'Eee yaih yah'. Her friends all call her 'Eee Jay' for short." Then casting a gleefully sadistic glance towards Merrek, "We don't know him."

Steve glanced wide-eyed at Merrek and mouthed, "Ouch!"

Merrek raised his eyebrows as if to say, "I know!"

Merrek then responded, "Steve, didn't you say the Academy theater was offering a play? Do we have time to eat beforehand? Or should we go to the theater first?"

"Oh, it's only 1730, the play doesn't start until 1900." Steve responded instinctively.

"Okay, Rambo!" cut Casey with a wry smile.

"Sorry. Force of habit. It's 5:30. The play doesn't start until 7pm. We should have plenty of time to grab some grub... I mean, food at the local chow... cafeteria, I mean... Unless y'all wanna grab a burger down the street?"

"Definitely burgers!" piped Ejiah. "I'm not sure I could do 'chow hall' or cafeteria food. You want Arthur's? Or are we talking fast food burgers?"

"Oh, Arthur's for sure. Not sure I could take a greasy burger from one of those butcher shops." said Merrek.

 

* * *

 

As the burgers arrived at the table, the conversations volleyed topics of politics, religion, school, future, and even sex to which the boys squirmed uncomfortably.

"Relax! It's not like either of you two are getting any from us. Our dads would kill you and us!" sliced Casey who had tamed her bite a bit since dinner started. "We just wanted to know if we're going to have to mace you or call a cab." she paused to let the thought linger. Then with a bit softer tone, "You guys aren't half bad."

For the first time that night, Merrek felt the muscles in his neck relax. "Whew! If we're not half bad, I hope the other half isn't bad, either!" he said with a forced chuckle.

"Okay, that was a dad joke!" Ejiah giggled.

"Oh he excels at those!" burst Steve. "Merrek is the king of mischief one minute and the court jester of dry jokes the next." Steve was aiming his smile towards his friend.

Merrek felt the words "Oh no!" draw on his face as Steve commensed sharing some of the most lame jokes he had ever shared. But when Steve said them, it was like watching a late night comedian hit his stride.

"I remember one time he looked at me and asked me if I knew the secret to a good joke; to which I responded, 'What is it? Do you even know how to tell a good joke?' and he didn't speak to me for more than an hour... maybe two!" Steve continued, "I was certain I had somehow hurt his feelings or pissed him off," Steve was beaming and seemingly speaking only to Ejiah, "I continued to ask him why he wasn't talking to me. I mean, he didn't leave. He just didn't talk, either. Finally, about three hours out, he blurts 'TIMING!' out of nowhere at the top of his lungs before he left to go home."

Steve stopped to laugh. "The secret to a good joke is Timing. It took me a full three days to get that joke. I never laughed so hard in all my life!"

Then, as if at a celebration, Steve held his soft drink aloft and offered an impromptu toast, "To Merrek. Easily the smartest man in almost any room!" before drinking a healthy gulp of his drink.

Casey leaned to Ejiah and whispered, "Well, he's certainly not been an many rooms."

 

* * *

 

"That was the night you introduced us, Mer!" EJ said as she poured wine into Chelle's glass. "Steve and I saw each other probably every weekend afterwards for at least two years straight until he missed our anniversary date." EJ stole a glance at the Admiral, "I was so mad... I thought, He better be dead or in a coma when I see him or he's gonna be!"

EJ set the wine back in the ice and looked over at Steve, "I had no idea that Merrek had rushed him to the hospital for an apendectomy!" she paused momentarily, "Three hours later, I get home and hear a message on my answering machine telling me how sorry he is and how he hoped I wasn't worried. I didn't even change clothes, I just hopped in my mom's car and drove to Memorial and rushed up into his room."

"That nurse wasn't happy about that!" Steve said looking at EJ.

"Oh, who cares about that old hag! She didn't know what true love was!" EJ stabbed her words at the memory.

Chelle was laughing heartily. "I always love that story! I swear the details get better every time. To think, Steve, Casey was supposed to be YOUR date."

"Oh, Casey made it clear she was in no uncertain terms ever going to be set up on a blind date ever again!" enunciated EJ, "After Steve and I started dating, it wasn't two months later, I almost never spoke to Casey ever again."

"Right, but I owe both of you for bringing me Merrek!" Chelle cast a doting gaze towards Merrek.

"I can't help it that I'm alergic to shellfish. I had eaten shrimp and crab my whole life. One day, I'm out with these two," Merrek wagged his fork at Steve & EJ while swallowing some broccoli, "having some jumbo shrimp, next thing I know my face looks like I had been in a car accident."

"After I swallowed 2 caps full of Benedryl, I conked out like a drunk sailor. Next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital bed and my attending physician is Michelle." Merrek gazed at his wife, "I remember introducing myself as Dr. Ovandir and you asked my specialty to which I replied, 'Astrophysics and mechanical engineering.' And you said, 'Oh, so, not a real doctor.'"

Steve bellowed with laughter, "What? You really said that to him?"

Chelle nodded.

"That's priceless! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall."

"I felt so bad that I had insulted him, I gave him my number and asked him to let me make it up to him. Had no idea that I was going to be married to a military grade scientist!" Chelle offered with pride in her husband.

 

* * *

 

Dinner ended quietly after a brownie sundae and a mint chocolate martini. Despite Merrek's protest, the moment the checks arrived, Admiral Graves quickly handed his card to the server who hurried away to cash out the table. The gentlemen stood outside the door of the restaurant awaiting their cabs and enduring a cooler than usual mist to the sound of tires on wet pavement. When their rides pulled up, the ladies exchanged hugs.

"This was a good night, Steven." in hushed tones, "I thought about what you said. You're right. There are hard decisions we have to make and I am going to have to be the one to bear them. I'd be happy to see the psychologist on Thursday."

Sitting in the taxi, Merrek looked up at the Admiral and said, "Thank you."