The Great Altruist (55 page)

       
    
He held her tight by the fire and weighed their options. It seemed to James that no matter the course they chose, they would simultaneously be causing a myriad of heinous acts just to prevent one huge, terrifying event.

       
    
''I spent the better part of my life,” she said, “trying to find people in time to help. I only found two - and one of them was killed by my negligence.”

       
    
“You need to stop blaming yourself for that,” he said tenderly. “What happened to her was an accident. And she made her choice, as did I. You only provided the means for us to do what we felt was right in our hearts.”

       
    
“But I was made to serve humanity honorably. But this,” she said, “I wonder if this is all too much for even me to handle.”

       
    
“The greatest act of kindness I ever performed almost negated my own conception. So I'm not sure my moral compass is the best measure of right and wrong.”

       
    
“The only other course is to let events play out," she conceded. "After all, if Archer never chose you, we'd both be dead. Maybe we survived for another reason.”

       
    
“What? Revenge?”

       
    
“No. But justice in its purest form is about balance. And in my heart, making the people who did this pay a price for what they did is well within my boundaries.”

       
    
He held her tighter. “And if we both get ourselves killed?”

       
    
“I won't let that happen.”

Chapter 3

       
    
Val awoke from her first trip through time without her wrist teleporter on a secluded part of planet Earth. Before she returned to the ship she saw orbiting overhead across the night sky, she wanted to find out what else besides time travel she might be capable of. The most obvious side effect was her nakedness – a product of time travel no one experienced with the wrist device. The ability to travel must now be in her DNA, she assumed.

       
    
How she traveled through time was at first a mystery to her until she recalled that the simple thought was enough. She wondered if her thoughts were linked to her abilities so she stood on top of a large rock and tried to think of jumping through time again. Trying even harder, she closed her eyes. A few
moments
later, she opened her eyes and saw she was in the same place – except that she now hovered fifty feet in the air.

       
    
“Cool,” she said aloud. She tried to keep herself aloft. After succeeding, she tried to fly even higher. She soon learned that moving across the sky and maneuvering through space was no harder than breathing.

       
    
A few minutes later, she felt confident in her new powers and returned to the
Apocalypse
. She thought long and hard about where she wanted to go and a moment later was safe in her room aboard the ship.

       
    
After getting dressed, she ran down the hall to check in on Roger.

       
    
“Sir, I'm back,” she said, rushing into his office.

       
    
“Good. I haven't seen the guards that went with you. Did something go wrong?”

       
    
“They're dead," she said plainly.

       
    
“What happened out there?”

       
    
Val thought of the consequences of telling Roger of her newfound powers. And then she realized that possessing a secret ability might be advantageous if Roger decided to keep her out of the leadership for good. “A dead end, sir. You were right: I was being vengeful. I need to let it all go.”

       
    
He smiled. “I know how difficult it is to let someone go you care about. We can only assume that if either of them
did
survive, they would have surfaced by now.”

       
    
“I'm happy to take my place here, even as a civilian if you want.”

       
    
“I’m sure my wife will want you as a celibate when she hears of your devotion. The civilians and celibates are preparing to scuttle the ship. But you and I have one more item to attend to.” He handed her a slip of paper.

       
    
“Your wife?” she asked.

       
    
“That's correct. Are you ready to leave?”

       
    
“Sure.” She took the piece of paper and entered the coordinates into a wrist teleporter she brought from her room - for appearances.

       
    
Roger and Val disappeared a moment later.

       
    
When they emerged from the stream, Roger and Val were in a large, empty house. The decor was slightly feminine but it was obvious from the rare sports memorabilia that a man lived here too.

       
    
“This was our home,” Roger said.

       
    
“Where is she?” Val asked as she wandered around, looking at little knick-knacks.

       
    
“She should be here in a few minutes.”

       
    
“Is she expecting you?”

       
    
“Yes. Long ago, we decided if either us succeeded, we would meet on this date. Oddly enough, this was the day she died.” He checked his watch and nodded. “She should be here any second.”

       
    
True to his word, the front door opened a moment later. When Jennifer walked in and saw her husband, twenty years older, she cried and embraced him. After a few seconds, they separated and smiled at one another. Val appeared from around the corner and smiled as well.

       
    
“Jennifer,” Roger said, “this is Val.”

       
    
“It's very nice to meet you,” Jennifer said. They shook hands. “So,
you’re
the one who helped Roger achieve our dream?
”

       
    
“I did what I could,” Val answered.

       
    
Jennifer walked to the living room and sat down on the sofa. “So, then, I imagine you're ready to take your place in the government like the rest of the celibates,” she said to Val.

       
    
Val and Roger followed her and sat on adjacent furniture. “Well, yes, if you’ll permit me,” Val said.

           
Roger smiled. “We hit a few bumps along the way, but Val has regained all of my trust.”

       
    
“Then you will have a welcome place in the new order,” Jennifer said. “I'm glad he brought you here to see me. We have a lot to talk about.”

       
    
“What do
we
have to talk about?” Val asked.

       
    
Jennifer chuckled. “You haven't told her yet?” she asked Roger. He shook his head.

       
    
Val watched both of them exchange glances. “What's going on here?”

       
    
“Well, I suppose it's a good thing he didn't spoil the surprise. After all,
I
should be the one to tell you.”

       
    
“Tell me what,” Val demanded.

       
    
Jennifer looked down at the floor briefly then looked Val in the eyes and said: “I'm your mother.”

       
    
“My mother?” Val asked. “No, you've got it all wrong. My mother was a stripper.”

       
    
“A stripper, Roger?” Jennifer asked angrily. “You gave my daughter to a stripper?”

       
    
Roger shook his head. “I knew nothing about that, Jen. I only found out when I tracked her down.”

       
    
“So, that's why you promised me a spot in the government, Roger?” Val asked.

       
    
“It was,” Roger said. “I made a promise to Jennifer that I would help find you. She swore me to keep it a secret from you.”

       
    
Val gagged. “But what about all those times you saw me naked, why didn't you say anything?”

       
    
“Naked?” Jennifer interrupted. “You didn't...”

       
    
Roger jumped in suddenly. “No, Jennifer. I’ve been faithful to you every second.”

       
    
“But why did you give me up?” Val asked.

       
    
Jennifer folded her hands and gathered her words. “Valerie, I had you just before Roger and I started dating. I was working at his father's office and I was confused. Roger contacted someone at an adoption agency that his father donated money to and they found you a home. I was just starting out my career, Valerie. Roger was barely ready for marriage when we met! I didn't want to risk losing the love of my life because of a mistake.”

       
    
“A mistake?” Val said. “Is that what I am?”

       
    
“A mistake I've been trying to rectify since it was made,” she replied. “I always wanted to one day find you, and when we planned the mission, we decided we'd bring you along.”

       
    
“I can't believe what I'm hearing!” Val shouted. “Do you know what I had to grow up with?”

       
    
They both shook their heads.

       
    
“I was raised in a day care with the offspring of strippers. Every friend I had in high school took after our mothers. I fought for years throughout college to have a good name. I was alone and scared when the war started, and just when things started to go well, my husband died! Now, don't you think you were both being a little selfish?”

       
    
“Of course we were,” Jennifer answered. “I was eighteen when I had you. I'm only twenty-five years old now. This means that Roger has spent close to twenty years waiting for the chance to save me and find you. The only reason he never came looking for you sooner was because I told him to wait until there was hope – hope that our family could be united peacefully.”

       
    
Val shook her head, her temper raging within. “And you!” she shouted at Roger. “You sent me on all those dangerous missions by myself. I could've gotten myself killed!”