A clang came from the bottom of the steps. Sighing, Theron lowered his hand.

  “Watch the door, please,” he said. “I’m going to try to disable the controls so they can’t stop the ship from crashing.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I thought I’d shoot randomly at things and hope for the best.”

  “Then I should watch the door from outside of this room, eh?”

  “That might be wisest.”

  Andie kissed him on the cheek, then slipped back outside. She crouched down, where she could guard the way up, but where she herself would not be a target. Theron opted for shooting the chain off his leg iron, leaving only the shackle and a few metal links, and then hurled the heavy ball around, smashing it against levers and gauges. Glass shattered, and the control panel turned into a dented mess. The ship continued to chug forward, the cliffs Andie had mentioned looming tall now. Another couple of minutes and the bow would smash into them.

  “Time to go,” Theron said, joining Andie at the same time as two men charged up the steps, carrying a piece of metal siding in front of them like a shield.

  Andie shot them in the feet. The men yelped and flung themselves off the stairs.

  “You’re quite a woman,” Theron remarked.

  She winked at him.

  “I don’t suppose you can fly a helicopter?” Theron pointed to the craft resting next to the open cargo doors. “The army doesn’t have one. The general might be inordinately pleased with the acquisition of one. Also, it would be a shame to let such a craft go down with the sinking ship.”

  “I did fly a couple in training,” Andie said. “If things haven’t changed that much in the intervening centuries, I’m sure I can manage.”

  Having already seen her handle the propeller plane easily, he squeezed her shoulder, certain she would manage. “Then let’s get going.”

  He led the way, firing like a madman to clear the deck. There wasn’t much resistance. With Theron and Andie guarding the bridge, most of the crew had decided on lifeboats. Thanks to the cliffs looming closer and closer, some men were simply flinging themselves overboard. As Theron and Andie raced for the helicopter, he spotted a couple of lifeboats already in the water.

  “Given the nudity of that crew,” he said, “I believe those might be our freed women.”

  “Are you sure? There’s a lot of nudity happening around here.” Andie swatted him on the butt as they ran.

  “Is it not so rampant in your century?”

  “We have it, but it usually results in a person being arrested.”

  They had to fight off a group of men and women who had also decided the helicopter might serve as a suitable escape craft, but with their blood still charged with adrenaline, Theron and Andie descended like rabid wolves, shooting and yelling, convincing their enemies that they were an indomitable force set on mowing them down. Or maybe it was Theron’s nudity that alarmed the group. Either way, the other contenders fled, and he and Andie made it into the craft.

  “Hm,” Andie said, eyeing the controls.

  “Hm?” Theron had an impressive view of those cliffs through the front of the helicopter. He doubted they had more than thirty seconds until impact.

  “A little different than what I trained on.” Despite her words, she turned an ignition switch, and the blades started rotating, whup-whups sounding as they stirred the air.

  A couple of men with rifles raced out of a hatchway. Theron leaned out of the helicopter, ready to fire if they looked like they would make trouble. One of them was waving a green-and-brown package.

  “Uh oh,” Theron said. “Is that ours?”

  Andie, focused on the controls, only shook her head. The helicopter’s skids bumped a couple of times, then rose above the deck of the ship. The man with the package had been racing for the railing, but he saw the craft leaving and paused. He glanced at it—at the timer counting down?—then hurled the DM-3 at the helicopter.

  Theron, with his heart trying to leap out of his chest, fired at the same moment Andie swerved. With a thunderous roar, the bomb exploded in the air. The helicopter lurched, tilting sideways and almost dumping Theron out the door. He hung on as the world turned yellow and orange, the brilliant flames filling his vision. From the way the helicopter rocked, he was sure they had been hit. Then the craft turned, and the black cliffs reared up before them. Those rocks were so close that the blades almost scraped them. He gripped his seat, scarcely noticing that he had dropped his gun.

  “We’re clear,” Andie said, sailing out of the small sun that had lit the sky above the ship.

  It was a couple more moments before Theron felt safe. He twisted, searching the water below for the lifeboats. There they were. Well away from the ship, skimming toward the island. He hoped the army ships would be out to help everyone soon. He slumped back into his seat, finally believing they might be safe as the helicopter stopped swerving and hovered calmly over the water.

  “I guess it’s a good thing that you planned that crash,” Andie said, glancing in a mirror. “That was our bomb, right? That someone found?”

  “It did have a familiar look to it as it was hurtling toward my open door.”

  “Since my seat is not far from your open door, I’m glad you’re a good shot.” Andie smiled over at him. Strands of her hair had fallen free around her face, and dirt smudged her cheek and her clothes, but there was an exhilarated glint to her eyes. And there was warmth in them, too, as she regarded him.

  “I’ll pretend my aim is that good, and that hitting it wasn’t simply luck.”

  “Better to be lucky than good. Do they have that saying here?”

  “If not, we can revive it.” Theron reached over, patting her on the thigh. “I’m glad you were with me on this mission. And that we got your friends. I’m sure they’re ready to return to their—your—time.”

  “Yeah.” Andie smiled again, though a hint of sadness crept into her eyes, some of the exhilaration dying away. Would she miss him? He would miss her. The thought of letting her go tore at his insides, and he looked away, toward the dark contours of the island.

  Another explosion sounded behind them, the sky once again lighting up with the intensity of a noon sun.

  “What happened?” Andie asked, her eyes round as she peered back over her shoulder.

  Shards of metal flew from the ship. A few pieces pelted the helicopter, and she maneuvered farther away. An impressive hole had peeled open in the hull of the ship. Water was already pouring inside.

  “The boiler may have blown up, anyway, thanks to the crash,” Theron said.

  “Well, I’m glad I agonized so much over where to place the explosive and how many minutes to put on the timer.”

  “We’ll just hope that it took out the time machine, and that nobody will be traveling back to bother people in your century again.”

  “Yeah,” Andie repeated softly, not meeting his eyes.

  Chapter 17

  Andie couldn’t remember a time in her life when the words “domestic bliss” had popped into her mind without accompanying sarcasm. Yet, as she sipped her second latte and leaned against the counter in the kitchen, smiling around the edges of her cup and watching Theron do dishes, the words seemed right. She just had to ensure she did not think about the fleeting nature of the situation, or sadness would replace the contentment.

  “You’re sure you don’t want help?” she asked.

  “No need. I so rarely have to clean up after myself anymore that it’s a novel experience. The general will send me back to the field soon, where I’ll have young soldiers to wash my dishes. Of course, I’ll have to eat the tasteless concoctions the kitchen squad comes up with, but these are the tradeoffs one accepts in the army.”

  “Mm. Yes.” Andie remembered well her days of kitchen duty, an especially fun chore in the field. “Were you always an officer? Or were you enlisted first?”

  “Enlisted?”

  “Like a private. Or did you earn a degree and start out as a lieutenant?”

  “Oh. No, everyone starts as a private here. You have to do something to stand out to get shifted over to the officer side, usually by surviving when a lot of other people get killed. At least if you’re a field soldier.” His mouth twisted.

  “Ah. I’d assumed you had to have... do they still have college here? Universities?”

  “Yes, a few, but they’re usually for people who want to study medicine, science, or law.”

  “Law?” Andie asked. “You still have lawyers? That’s disappointing.”

  “Yes, they’re similar to geoducks.”

  She grinned, remembering her comment over their dinner at the restaurant. “Then you never had formal schooling? I wouldn’t have guessed that from a man who uses words like concupiscence.”

  “You needn’t look so shocked. I have opened a book or two.”

  “Any that aren’t related to astronomy?” She had perused his bookshelves. They were very science heavy, with a spattering of history books here and there.

  “Ah, at least three, I should think.” He shot her a mock concerned look. “You’re not going to quiz me on them, are you?”

  “Not me.” She smiled and took another sip.

  “Is the coffee acceptable?” Theron’s expression shifted from mock to concern to true concern. He wanted so much for her to like his food—his world—that she could read it in his face. Since she couldn’t stay, she wasn’t sure why it mattered to him, but it touched her that it did.

  “Yes, where did you get it?” Since lattes had apparently fallen out of style, Andie had instructed him on how one was made, then watched him experiment with using his teakettle to produce steam for foaming milk. Given that the milk had come out of an honest-to-goodness icebox, she felt her drink was the height of luxury here. She wouldn’t admit that it wasn’t quite up to the quality of the coffee shop on campus. Considering the wonderful things he had done for her in bed that morning, she could get used to a less elite coffee. Not that she would have a chance. She gazed sadly into the foam.

  “Some is from the New Indies—we do still have global trade; it’s just slower than it was in your time—and some is from greenhouses here on the peninsula. The seas are dangerous with lots of piracy, so we try to be self-sufficient whenever possible. Coffee wasn’t something people were willing to give up. Chocolate, either. Oh, and marijuana. I understand that’s the least finicky crop to grow up here.”

  “Well, as long as you have the important things, it wouldn’t be so bad to live here.”

  She smiled at him.

  “Oh?” He scrubbed at a skillet thoughtfully for a moment, then said, “Maybe I shouldn’t speak prematurely, but I left a note for General Morimoto last night. After the debriefing. He’d already left the office, so... Oh, let me admit it. I was too cowardly to ask in person, so the note seemed easier.”

  “About me?” Andie guessed.

  “Yes. I asked if you could stay a few months, if you want to. So we could spend more time together.” He met her eyes, his expression solemn. “I don’t want you to go back, Andie. I know you have to, but for you to come into my life and then leave after only a few days. It just seems like we should get more time together.”

  Andie didn’t know what to say. If she could always return to the same time as she had left, no matter how long she remained here, then what would staying a few more months hurt? What did she have to get home to, anyway? An empty apartment? Homework? Tests? Here... She remembered Theron’s promise that she could be in the space program if she remained here. And then there was the fact that she could have him. That was better than some relationship she was apparently going to have back home eventually, one that would give her a son. That future was so hard to grasp now.

  “I wouldn’t mind that,” Andie said. “Especially if you spoil me by doing the dishes every morning and making me coffee.”

  “That could happen.” Theron leaned over and kissed her, not putting his soapy hands on her, though she wouldn’t have minded. He placed the skillet in the rack beside the sink and wiped his hands on a dishrag. “Are you ready to check on the others?”

  Andie licked her lips. He had his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, the ropy muscles of his forearms spattered with droplets of water, and she thought about tackling him for another round of lovemaking before they left the house. But they had already slept in—or rather, they had woken early but not left bed until much later—and Andie worried Min-ji would feel abandoned.

  The rescued women had been set up in an empty section of a barracks, where they were surely more comfortable than they had been in that cramped cage in the ship, but Andie did feel guilty about staying in Theron’s house. Theron had offered to have Min-ji stay with them, but she had become some kind of leader among the women in those few days of captivity, and she hadn’t wanted to leave her team behind. Andie never would have picked her young friend as a born leader, so it was interesting to speculate on what had happened and how that had come about. Min-ji hadn’t spoken much about the days they had been apart, a haunted expression entering her eyes when Andie had asked about them. Maybe she would talk about it later, once they were home. Andie would hate for Min-ji to have permanent emotional scars over these events and hoped she would recover.

  “I’m ready.” She offered him her hand.

  Theron took it and led the way out of the kitchen.

  They walked through the fort, soldiers in uniform busily jogging here and there, with many of them pausing to glance—or gawk—at Theron. He wasn’t in uniform, but everyone clearly knew him. The gawks, she assumed, were because of her. He didn’t seem to mind, because he didn’t release her hand, not until they reached the barracks where the women were staying.

  He paused at the door. “Do you want me to wait outside? I know the doctor is coming back to check on them this morning, but I’m not sure if he’s been here already or not.”

  “Are you worried you’ll walk in on naked women in the middle of examinations?”

  “No,” he blurted. “Not... much, anyway. But when I was in that cell with them, I didn’t get the impression that any of them wanted me there. I was glad Min-ji came up and spoke to me. And got me out of those cuffs.”

  “I hear they think more highly of you now. Something about you being paraded across a stage naked and being groped instead of them.” Andie smirked. It had been interesting compiling the details of what had happened the night before. Theron hadn’t been that forthcoming about how he had ended up naked with an iron ball chained to his ankle, but rumors had spread.

  “I wasn’t groped. I was tortured.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  “I thought you liked my groping.”

  “I suppose yours is quite nice.” She swatted him, then grabbed his hand. “Come on. I’ll protect you.”

  He appeared uncertain, but he allowed her to lead him inside.

  When they walked in, Andie found most of the women lying on their bunks, some talking to each other, but others curled up and ignoring the world. She grimaced, once again thinking about what they must have gone through, especially the ones who had been delivered to the ship days or weeks earlier than her group. It was strange to think that by being shot and nearly drowned, she might have had a better ordeal than the others.

  Min-ji, fortunately, was not among the listless ones ignoring the world. She did have her arms hugged around her abdomen in a defensive posture, but she was standing at the end of one of the bunk beds, talking to an officer in a crisp, green uniform while a white-haired doctor with a clipboard, glasses, and a bulbous nose walked through the bay, making inquiries.

  “General Morimoto wants the time machine destroyed after you’re all sent back,” Lieutenant Davies was saying to Min-ji. “I’m hoping he’ll allow me to examine it thoroughly as part of the deconstruction process. I, too, am fascinated about the power requirements and how they’re satisfied. Like you, everything I’ve read suggests—” He broke off because Min-ji was leaning around him and waving to Andie.

  “Is that conversation as exciting as it sounds?” Andie asked, managing not to make the comment sarcastic. Min-ji was probably enjoying herself.

  “It is,” Min-ji said. “Gideon and I have been discussing Physicist Kip Thorne’s hypotheses on time travel and interstellar travel through wormholes.”

  “And does Gideon—” Andie glanced at the lieutenant, wondering if he would mind her using his first name, but he was too busy gazing raptly at Min-ji to notice. “Does Gideon find it interesting?”

  “Oh yes,” he said before Min-ji responded.

  “You should probably keep in touch with him, then.”

  Gideon flushed. Min-ji’s brow crinkled in confusion. Andie would have to explain it to her later. Or perhaps not. It wasn’t as if dating across the centuries was feasible.

  She sighed and looked back at Theron. He had stopped in the doorway to talk to someone else who had come in. General Morimoto.

  Andie didn’t know whether to go see the other women—she wanted to check on Barbara, Ruth Marie, and Marisa specifically—or eavesdrop on the conversation. From the way the general frowned and looked in her direction, it had something to do with her. Or the note Theron had left.

  She crept closer, putting her eavesdropping plan into action, but the short conversation was already ending. All she caught was, “...leaving tomorrow, Theron. All of them. Keeping anyone here is asking for trouble.”

  Morimoto growled and stalked out of the building.

  Theron’s jaw was clenched. He jammed his hands into his pockets.

  “Sorry,” he said when Andie touched his arm. “I shouldn’t have said anything to you. Shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up.” He grunted. “Or maybe they were my hopes.”

  “No,” Andie said quietly. “I shared them.”