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Beyond Galactic Marshal
by
Hilltopper
CHAPTER 7
“All right Harper or what ever you are, come on out or we’ll burn the house down!”
I turned to the woman (I don’t even know her name).
“It’s Slago! I guess I’ll give myself up. I’m not going to get you involved.”
She looked thoughtful.
“We’ll just get rid of your disguise and walk out together.”
“Huh!”
“Marshal, this is Lilly. I’m here with one of the girls. Can we come out?”
“Sure, go out the back door. But, if Harper comes out with you, we’ll mow all of you down.”
“OK, give us a little time.”
I looked at her puzzled.
“Who else is here?”
She laughed.
“You ninny, just us. You are now one of the girls.”
She went into a back room and returned with some clothes.
“Put these on and come on back.”
I shook my head. This is not going to work. I put on the clothes and walked into the room. She had make-up and a wig ready.
“Sit down, we haven’t much time.”
She got to work and a few minutes later, to my surprise, a pretty woman looked back at me in the mirror.
“You look much better as a woman. Let’s go!”
I guess I was in shock. My change back to male should have made this effort useless. Without a word, we went out the back door. One of the deputies waved us on. Lilly led us to a stable, hitched up a buggy, and we rode it out of town. Once a few kilometers outside of Hilltown, she stopped.
“Well, I reckon we better figure out what to do next.”
I was still stunned.
“I can’t believe that worked!”
“Why not, you really are a woman, right?”
I sighed.
“I’m sorry for getting you into this.”
“I got myself into this by staying here too long. I knew someone would eventually come through the gate. It was security, I guess, being close to the observation site. I always had a place to run to. Maybe we should go there?”
“Well, there is a cabin I know about close to the site.”
She nodded.
“You mean Rosco’s place.”
“You know him?”
She laughed.
“He guards the site for us.”
“I knew there was more to him that met the eye.”
“Yeah, he was mining around there when we first came through. It was a stroke of good luck when we met him. Once he’d seen the real us, it was either bring him on board or ---- well, we couldn’t let him tell on us.”
“That reminds me, when I came into the observation room, there were three bodies lying in tubes.”
She nodded sadly.
“They are the rest of our team but they are not dead. A few years ago, our leader went back to our base and found that it had been attacked, no one was there, and the gate was powered down. In other words, we were stuck here. We checked back regularly for over a year but no one came back to the base and the gate was not useable by us. We were under orders to put ourselves into suspended animation if we were cut off. That is what the ones that you saw have done. I could not do it so I went back to Hilltown to live as one of the natives. It is against all our rules. That is why I was so concerned about you.”
I realized what might be the problem.
“That could cause future time concerns.”
“Yes, I know I did wrong but --------.”
“Who attacked your base?”
“I don’t know for sure. Let’s get to Rosco’s and I’ll fill you in on why we are here in the first place. I’m also very interested in how you managed to get here.”
It was a very bouncy ride to Rosco’s and we rode in silence. He heard us coming and was waiting on the porch. He smiled at Lilly and then looked at me. With a puzzled look, he stepped up to the buggy. Suddenly, he broke into a smile.
“Ha, I knew you were one of them but the fact that you didn’t know me is what threw me.”
I gave him a hard look.
“What makes you think I’m one of them?”
He laughed.
“Only women come through that thing. When we first met, you were already disguised as a man. I can see now that you are indeed a woman.”
I shook my head and muttered to myself.
“If it wasn’t for Fledora, I’d be insulted big time.”
Lilly heard me and whipped her head around.
“What did you say?”
“Oh, this woman thing could try a man’s soul.”
“No, you mentioned Fledora.”
“Yeah, I’m from there. Have you heard of it?”
She seemed in shock.
“Heard of it! That is our legendary home planet.”
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A few minutes later, a woman came in with a strange instrument. She stopped in front of Karen. There was a depression a little larger than a hand in the machine. She placed Karen’s hand into it. Nothing seemed to be happening but, after a minute, she removed Karen’s hand. She nodded and left. Karen looked at me.
“What do you make of that?”
I shrugged.
“The tests I guess.”
Just then the woman who had talked to us came back in and sat down in a chair. She looked a little pale.
“Did the tests go OK?”
She leaned back and stared at Karen.
“Are you from this planet you call Prowhiness?”
Karen shook her head.
“No, that’s just where the ruins are located. We are from Fledora.”
Isham jumped up.
“It’s not possible!”
She ran out of the room. Karen turned to me.
“What did I say?”
“The name Fledora struck a chord. Maybe that’s where we are.”
“No, I get the feeling the tests and the mention of Fledora has thrown them for a loop. Why, I don’t know.”
A while later, someone entered with a cart of food and drinks. She nodded and left. I grinned.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Karen laughed.
“Yeah, it looks like we aren’t on bread and water; yet.
We dug in. The food was great although I couldn’t tell you what it was. After eating, we sat back.
“I wonder if they are watching us.”
Karen nodded.
“Almost a certainty.”
“How far in the future do you think we are?”
“No way to know but I have a feeling it is a long way.”
“Yeah”
It was an hour or so before anyone came back. The first two women that met us walked in looking very upset. Isham spoke.
“We may have a big problem. Your tests caused us a great concern. Your mention of Fledora confirmed it. You see, records indicate that our race originated over a thousand of your Earth years ago from a planet called Fledora. Karen’s DNA shows a great resemblance to our own. In fact, it indicates that we are direct descendants from your race. Time travel is a very delicate proposition. The least little interference in the past can cause great effects in the future. Bringing you here could have serious time effects. There is also the matter of your person that went through the gate to Earth. She could have an even bigger effect.”
I frowned.
“Why were you on Earth in the distant past if it’s so dangerous?”
Isham grimaced and spoke to the other woman. With a sigh, she nodded.
“OK, since you are from Fledora, part of the story is known to you. Basically, we evolved away from two genders. The male gender became extinct about 400 years ago or, at least, that is what we thought. About 20 years ago, we detected a planet with males. It apparently is a long lost colony from Earth. Since we have no direct knowledge about the male gender, we decided we needed more information. The colony seemed somewhat primitive so we selected a period of time on Earth similar to establish an observation post. We were very careful to blend in and not cause any time effects.”
“So where do the ruins come in?”
“We first established a base on an uninhabited planet. From there, we went back and forth to the observation site on Earth. That base was attacked several months after we set it up. We don’t know by whom. Therefore, the site was abandoned. Our team on Earth had orders to put themselves into hibernation if cut off. We presume that was done.”
I was stunned. Karen spoke up first.
“You mean you just left them there!”
“We had no choice. The only way there was through the gate at the base. We dared not go back there!”
“So what are you doing about the planet with males?”
She sighed.
“We are still debating the problem.”
I was in disbelief.
“Then send us to the base so we can go after Jonnie. We can check on your team at the same time.”
She shook her head.
“We must be careful.”
I glared at her.
“I know, you must debate the problem.”
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When I got back to my apartment on the station, my wife, Linda, was beside herself.
“What did Sam want? Are Jonnie and Karen OK?”
I shook my head.
“It’s a mess. As you know, John is helping the aliens. It seems that they tricked him into testing one of their devices and he has disappeared.”
“Oh no!”
“It gets worse. Karen and Mary went after him on a rescue mission and they are now missing. Plus, the aliens have departed suddenly leaving Raylan at the ruins in the care of one of Karen’s employees.”
“Shit! George, we have to go get him!”
I nodded.
“That’s the only good part. We have been assigned to go to Prowhiness and figure out what’s going on.”
“I feel a catch here.”
I sighed.
“The Planetopolis will have a force ready to go in as soon as I report back that the aliens are definitely gone.”
“Well, it figures. They have wanted in on this all along. I just hope this doesn’t end up in a war. My only concern here is Jonnie, Karen, and Raylan.”
Linda glared at me.
“Do you understand?”
“Now calm down. I agree with you. We just must walk a fine line or they will opt us out. I think we have some time. We get to use the same ship John had.”
“OK, I’ll go pack.”
Two hours later, we entered the ship.
“Good morning, Marshal Bret.”
“We need to go to Prowhiness post haste. A woman there is going to radio us when we arrive. We will need to home in on her signal.”
“That agrees with my orders. We should be there in 8 hours, 14 minutes.”
Our ship departed and we went to the galley.
“Linda, are you OK with this?”
She smiled.
“It’s a little late to ask me now. I want to find Jonnie and Karen safe and sound as much as you; maybe more. So, yes, I’m with you all the way.”
I frowned.
“I notice you always say Jonnie and haven’t mentioned Mary.”
Linda looked thoughtful.
“I met her when she was undercover as Gina and we became close friends. Later, as Jonnie, she saved my life. I know she is really a he but it is hard for me to see it. As far as Mary is concerned, well, she and Jonnie are married. I can’t warm up to her but I will be a friend. OK?”
I sat back and smiled.
“We certainly have had some interesting times with them. Some of which I’d like to forget.”
Linda looked at me slyly.
“I don’t know, I thought you made a great woman.”
“Hush, let’s keep that to ourselves.”
Linda laughed.
“Sure, macho man.”
I shook my head.
“We might as well doze some or at least lie down.”
I gave Linda a smirk.
“OK, lover boy, come on.”
The 8 hours passed quickly.
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Comments
Interesting
Things are getting very complicated. A tie-in with Fledora will complicate matters when Jonnie returns.
I hope this situation gives Jonnie a better opportunity to reflect on what part of the gender spectrum s/he belongs on.
Kim
Oh what
a tangled web we leave! Help an alien and they run off, go figure.
P.S. Don't feed the Gremlins after midnight lol.
Vivien
Beyond Galactic Marshal - Chapter 7
Looks as if a Time War is in the making.
May Your Light Forever Shine
Uh oh...
It looks like even if Jonnie can sort out his current time displacement the future doesn't seem all that safe to return too!
Thank you for another chapter of this enjoyable story.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Seems to Me the Question Is...
...what happens to Karen and Mary if the future changes. We could be in one of those frustrating sequences where Karen and Mary can't get back because the future they're now in no longer exists -- but it's their failure to return that causes the changes.
I suppose it's conceivable that Jonnie (or Lilly, since we don't really know what she's been doing until now, or even Rosco) has caused a permanent change to the timeline, but if so, I think we'd expect the changes to have already reached Isham's future, and that would have made it impossible for Karen and Mary to be redirected there and meet her.
Three "unlesses":
--The entire Planetopolis reality has already been superseded, in which case none of our characters are "real" any more except for the Hilltown folks.
-- Changes to the future balance out so completely over time that they not only don't cause any damage but produce the same people both in Jonnie's generation and in Isham's who were there previously.
-- Duration matters: the past, present and future exist simultaneously, and a separate factor corresponding to the sequence of the story is the ruling element, so any reality changes don't take place until the point where we read them.
The last is probably the best story alternative, but I don't think it's consistent with what Tinker's group did to Jonnie in the last story. Trapping him in the ruins for three years did prevent him from altering things further, but the aliens had to change their own past (or at least their mindset) to do what was necessary to get Jonnie there.
Looking forward to seeing how our author makes this work.
Eric
Since I'm from South Dakota I think its cool that
you've choosen to set the main part of this story in Black Hills of what would have been the Dakota Territory during the gold rush years of the late 1870s and early 1880s. I think that it would be interesting if John/Jonnie were to encounter a band of Native Americans, specifically the Lakota, also known as the Sioux. As the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa as the Lakota called them were and still are considered to be sacred lands by the Lakota, who tried for many years to keep the gold miners out of the hills. There were numerous raids by the Lakota during the early years of the gold rush and a few battles were fought. So there would be a fair chance of John/Jonnie encountering some of the Lakota at some point. The Lakota would fairly quickly pick up on John/Jonnie’s intersex condition and would likely recognize him/her as a “Winkte†which means “two souls person†or what today is called a “Two Spirit†person. Basically, a Winkte is what we call a transgender person today, but they played several vital roles in the traditional Lakota culture and were accepted as being a third sex. For a good explanation of what a Winkte is, I recommend reading: http://www.gender.org.uk/conf/trilogy/winkte.htm to learn more.
There’d be a lot of interesting possible interactions that could be played out in the shaping for how the plot develops as this story continues. I don’t know that you’ll be using that in your story as it progresses, but I think that it would be so cool if you did Hilltopper, and it would fit nicely with this story line. I am enjoying the story and can’t wait for the next chapter.
Hugs
Tamara Jeanne