[Fiction] A Quiet Place and Warrior Tales

[Jager]

{{Invite Only. Just a few old elites and friends talking a bit about life.}}

Long could feel the bar crawling away from his sight, or more appropriately, he felt that nudge that tried to move his gaze away from the site. It was an unusual trick for a building to use and would have gone unnoticed if not for Long’s unusual set of talents. Not only did his mind resist such telepathic intrusions, but the very nature of his telepathy allowed him to actually sense the rather subtle presence. Certainly a less skilled mind would have succumbed to been tricked, he was sure.

He looked back down at the napkin with both the address and a small map written upon it. Jager had given it to him when they departed the Hikari Maru when Long had commented on places were ‘old sword’ could meet peaceful and discuss ‘things’. Without hesitation, Jager had taken the convenient tissue and scrawled out the map he now held and replied “Any time.”

Now Long stood her at the southern tip of Ibiza, less than a kilometer from the glitz and flash of the international scene. Still, this little corner of paradise seemed to have missed the boat. It had a worn, Mediterranean feel that spoke of local comforts and needs, not of the 21st century Nova Age. As he moved toward the bar, he made out the care-worn but serviceable look of the place. It had old bikes, mopeds, and motorcycles leaning up against the wall. The smell of ripe tobacco use and seafood wafted from the door which looked like it had fallen down one too many times, though restored with care. Apparently this place had witnessed a few fights in its time, though nothing seemed new.

Long pulled on the door and it swung out into the road. Stepping inside, his eyes accustomed themselves to the dimness. He made out a dozen baselines in the place, which was momentarily confusing until he crossed the threshold. He now felt as if the house knew him … and welcomed him. The telepathic presence was gone.

‘Of course. Once you know this place, you can always find it again. It’s only the first trip that confused the mind.’

As he stepped in, he could now also make out the powerful current moving beneath his feet as well as the walls and ceiling. He could also pick out the four other novas in the place. Two were locked in a motionless game of chess, were the pieces were moved about with telekinetic ease in rapid-fire succession. Those two didn’t even bother looking up at Long, which was a refreshing courtesy. A third nova sat alone at the bar, nursing a German import and some private hurt. His presence invited no company. In a table along the west wall sat Jager who seemed engrossed in playing a combination of Go and Chess without a board.

The only eye upon Long was that of the bartender, and it was only one eye. The man’s good eye was staring at him in mild curiosity. The other eye was gone, and the socket was empty and scarred. Behind the bartender, there were pictures of the man in earlier times. Apparently he had done stints in the Spanish Army under Franco, as a mercenary in Africa, and as a road-gypsy throughout much of Europe and Central Asia. Somewhere along the way of this man’s colorful life, he had lost the eye with no regrets. Now, old and grey, but not without some of the muscle that had led born him through a lifetime of adventure, he tended bar here and probably took in stories not his own.

As for the rest of the bar’s patrons, they were undoubtedly a lot familiar with crime and violence of one kind or another. Not men (or woman) who were criminals out to make a fortune, but one’s who did it as a livelihood, with a few stints as hired muscle, or even mercenary work, along the way. They were definitely the type of people who left well enough alone as long as no one brought trouble within. No one here wanted to be kings or gods, but nor were they willing to live life within someone else’s limits. Rouge’s den, if you will.

[Timeslip]

"OK Long, this is more your balliwack than mine, but I'm pretty sure I can drop the act now." The voice came from a young redhead behind him, but even as she spoke, her skin and hair shifted to a jet black hue and a multitude of stars flared to life. "I hate dorming," Timeslip complained. Looking around for the party they intended to meet, she quietly added, "All right, there's Jager. I'm following your lead here, big guy."

[Long]

Long nods and smiles and guides his guest over to the table where Jager is waiting.

"Jager, I hope we aren't interrupting anything important."

Long's tone is sincere, betraying his obvious respect. Long allows Timeslip to sit by the Window as he seated himself across from Jager. Long takes in the atmosphere of the place and lets out a slight grunt.

"This place truly is a place where our kind can feel at home."

Long studies his old rival, a man he had fought with recently, a man he owed his life. He has changed so little, and yet so much over the years. It's truly amazing. Thirteen years ago this would never have happened.

[Timeslip]

"Hey, Jager; long time no see," Timeslip adds.

[Jager]

Jager looks up and smiles at Long. His gaze slips past him to TimeSlip and he seems to come to some decision and smiles at her as well.

"Come on and join me. Sit down. I'm not doing something that can't wait."

"Long, I told you that if you ever felt like talking, you could find me here, so you are most certainly are welcome. The same goes for you, TimeSlip. What brings the two of you here tonight?"

[Timeslip]

As Timeslip sat, she noticed that the disruption she imposed on surrounding temporal fields weren't having even the very minor effect on the chair or table that she had come to expect. It didn't seem to be so much a case of resisting the uncontrolled chronoton emmissions; rather, the furniture -- and the rest of the bar, she noted -- just seemed to permit the particles to make their short journey without interaction. It was as though the molecules in their destructive path simply got out of the way. "Might have to do something like this for my place," she muttered under her breath.

Louder, she said, "actually, he brings me here tonight," jabbing a thumb toward the imposing form of Long, "and let me tell you, there's nothing quite like being towed halfway around the world at 30,000 feet and high Mach speeds to work up an appetite. No miniature bottles of booze, no in-flight dinner, not even a pack of peanuts. You have any pretzels around here?"

[Jager]

"Nuts? I'm afraid we only have those here in bulk, but I think I can rustle up some good roast lamb with lemon and some Turkish coffee. That okay?"

As Jager gets up to put in the order, he looks back at TimeSlip.

"There's something different about you."

[Timeslip]

"Funny story that...but I'm sure we'll have time later to chat about that sort of thing. And yes, roast lamb and Turkish coffee will be a perfectly acceptable stand-in for stale peanuts and airline food," Timeslip says with a smile.

[Long]

"Well Timeslip it was this or a very long trip on a commercial airliner, which did you prefer? Besides There was an in-flight movie, you just weren't watching it."

Long smiles and motions for the waitress and places an order just like Timeslip's. Turning back to the others Long comments on his reasons.

"I felt we could both use a good stretch, and this town is known to be one where allegiance matters little, so here we are."

Not the whole truth, but the part he felt ready to broach as things stood.

[Jager]

Jager comes back with several large platters filled to over-flowing with various Mediteranean cuisine. He expertly slides them onto the table and takes a seat.

He smiles meekly and says,

"I told the cook we might be getting some healthy appetites this afternoon."

After tasting a bit of the fare (you get he does this Arabic-style to 'garuntee' that the food isn't poisoned) and smacks his lips.

"The guy knows his stuff, alright."

Looking up at the two,

"People matter a lot more to me than which clubhouse they hang out in. I would like to think there are a few places in the world were we can leave our vendettas at the door. So, like the food?"

[Long]

Long savors the meat as he devours it, the cook's choice of seasoning is exquisite. The coffee is good, as always.

"The chef has done a fantastic job, my compliments to him. This by far the best I've had in a decade."

Long looks Jager in the eyes. "

I agree, no vendettas. Any quarrel I had with you was settled months ago. I thank you for your actions that day. My former master may still hold something against you Jager, but I will have no part in it."

Long returns to his meal, leaving only the bone behind.

"That was very good."

[Timeslip]

"Oh yeah, definitely no complaints from this quarter, either," Timeslip says as she finishes polishing off her plate.

"So, how's life been treating you, Jager? Chicago still standing, or has that happy little gang of jokers managed to knock it down yet? And for that matter, how's Alchemist doing these days? I still owe him -- in the 'buy him a nice dinner' way, not the 'turn him into a geriatric' way," she quickly adds.

[Jager]

To Long,

"Thanks. I will tell her when she gets back."

More solemly, he continues,

"We give War rules so that we can live with it, but allow only so many or we will love it too much. We will always war. That is not something novas, as a race, have avoided making a part of our future."

"Still, I have a good number of folks who wouldn't mind seeing me dead. It happens. Can't make everybody happy, now can we?"

At TimeSlip's question, Jager's brow furrows.

"Chicago is still standing, but there is a bit of a nova-inspired problem developing. Alchemist may be needing a night out before too long."

He looks very seriously at TimeSlip before he continues.

"I met myself. More accurately, I met myself at a time I hadn't planned on. Something in the time line changed again, and I'm trying to puzzle out just what this means for the future. Ripples in the pond and all that."

[Long]

"No, we cannot."

Long chuckles lightly. Then he feels it. The ground shakes violently.

"What in God's name... Jager, Timeslip I know you felt that. I'll be right back, I'm going to have a peek outside."

Long vanishes in a flash and reappears about one hundred meters off the ground. The fires a ravaging of Ibiza bring back memories from his past, and Long feels his rage growing. Long checks his wrist Com and notices several pleas for help. Long reappears back inside and there's a frantic sense of alarm in his entire demeanor.

"There is a war going on outside, Ibiza is burning. Jager I hate to eat and run, but Someone needs to go and help get the people out. The fighting is getting close to the hospital.. I'm going to go and try to help. Timeslip, if you wish, I can send you home, or at least somewhere other than here. This situation is looking very very bad."

[Timeslip]

"For the love of Bast, that was...a flying Ford?" Timeslip watches out the door as an LTD sails past, impacting the second story of a nearby hotel. "Crap...Jager, we'll have to talk later, but there's some major shit out here...and no, you aren't hauling back to Riceville, Long; I'll give you a hand here. Lead the way!"

[Jager]

Jager nods and stands up as TimeSlip leaves.

"Be careful you two. I think I will have a few things to do as well. People to meet and all that."

With that, Jager heads to the back room.

[Long]

"Take Care Jager. We should meet again under better circumstances."

Long turns and exits the bar and makes a bee-line for the Hospital at his highest safe speed.

[Timeslip]

Timeslip starts after Long, but quickly realizes that he's going to outpace her. Then she sees someone fall from the sky. It's obviously a T2M type -- unmistakable in his blue and yellow costume -- and just as obviously not in a controlled flight; as he twists in his plummet, she sees that ragged, smoking hole in the chest of his uniform, and the charred flesh beneath. Crap. Even if he's a PU stoolie, he's still a Nova. Gotta time this just right. Timeslip carefully positions herself right about where he should impact the pavement, and just before he hits, she reaches into the timestream and freezes it solid around him. The T2Mer hits the pavement in a shell of frozen time; she can see that, in the crater, he's still intact.

Looking up, she sees an ambulance roaring up the street, which she flags to a stop. The baseline medics carefully climb down into the crater; Timeslip releases the flow around the fallen Nova, and he falls the remaining half-inch to the shattered pavement. The medics frantically work to save him, but are losing ground. "Not today, you don't; you're going to save him whether you like it or not," she says, and accelerates time threefold around the lead technician. Moving in a blur, he stabilizes the blue-suited Nova; as he backs away, she slows him to the normal timestream.

In heavily accented English, the driver says, "can you come with us? We have a triage place near here, and your help could save many lives." After a moment of thought, Timeslip agrees, and climbs in the ambulance.