Correcting Mistakes

                                                                  by Seven

Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.
 All rights reserved.
 
 

Note from Author:  Before "Gauntlet". This has some horrible temporal errors, but I hope it's enjoyed
anyway.
 
 

**********
 
 

Liam Kincaid was walking at a leisurely pace through the nearly empty museum. The mosaic from Ma'el's
tomb, the graceful Taelon structures transplanted into human architecture... and the time portal.

Liam stopped and stared at the round, mysterious object. Shakarava activated, only he could use the
portal. For a brief moment, he dallied with the idea of using it to go forward in time, see what the future
held. Then he mentally kicked himself, reminding the irrational parts of him what Da'an had said about
tempting fate.

Liam's global chirped loudly. He pulled it out and flipped it open. It was Sandoval. "Major, Da'an needs
you to pilot him to the mothership. We have a new weapon against the Jaridians--something that cannot
fail." A small smile touched Sandoval's lips.

Liam rolled his eyes a little. "I'll be right there." What a pain, he thought as he jogged out of the room.

As he walked out of the museum, the portal whirred and flashed bright colors. Then it spat a man out,
and deactivated automatically. The man slowly got up and looked around with haunted eyes in a pale
face. His dark jacket and pants were tattered, ripped. His curly brown hair was streaked with gray.

For a moment he looked around, taking in the sight of the place. Then he ran out, into the lobby, and
slid into the seat near a computer console. "Display time stamp," he said hoarsely.

"August 27, 4AC," the computer replied smoothly.

The man's haggard face broke into a relieved smile. "Perfect." He placed his hand on a handprint
scanner. "Use my prints to access the shuttle records. Authorization, K-891."

"Name?"

The man uttered a weary chuckle. "Liam Kincaid."

****

The egg-shaped object shot from the mothership like a bullet from a gun, heading toward the asteroid
belt. The asteroid known as "Roddenberry 70M" was an unusually large one, and the torpedo was on a
direct collision course. It hit the asteroid dead in the center, and long tendrils of blue and white began
to spread, enveloping the surface. There was a flash, and the asteroid had vanished, leaving the
torpedo drifting.

On the bridge of the mothership, Zo'or smiled at the scientist in front of him. "Very impressive, Doctor.
Your combination of Taelon technology and human aggression makes this a formidable weapon."

"Thank you," Doctor Varthas replied.

"So it is," Da'an muttered, staring at the shuttle launching to retrieve the torpedo. Liam glanced at the
Taelon, then asked, "So, that asteroid is now as far back as it can go?"

"To the very beginning of the universe. Of course, he could have set it for a thousand years in the
future, but who likes uncertainty?" laughed Varthas. Liam smiled thinly, faking it as best he could. Da'an
said nothing.

****

"Major?" Sandoval called as he saw Liam walking down a corridor. The young man turned around and
looked at him. Sandoval stared at Liam's ragged clothing and haggard appearance. "Are you all right?"

"Perfectly. I didn't sleep well, last night," Liam explained.

Sandoval glanced at the rips in Liam's jacket. Liam looked down, and chuckled in a somewhat strained
manner. "I got mugged," he stated.

Sandoval looked down and pulled out his pocketwatch. "Well, Major, you're almost fifteen minut-"

Liam's fist hit him across the jaw without warning. Sandoval staggered back as Liam hit him a second
time, then a third. At the fourth punch, Sandoval sagged to the floor, unconscious. Liam knelt beside him
and wiped a little of the blood from his forehead. "Sorry I had to do that," he whispered. "But I think
long-term survival is what matters, don't you agree?"

****

Liam entered the empty lab, where the torpedo was being stored. Used against the Jaridians, they
wouldn't have a chance *Bad, very bad,* he thought.

"I couldn't agree more," a rough voice called out. Liam turned to find himself staring malevolently at the
torpedo, aiming a Volunteer's weapon.

****

"Liam?" Da'an repeated into the global. There was a sound of scuffling, a squeak, and Liam's face
appeared on the screen. But his green eyes were cold, in a face marred by pain. His eyes softened a
little as he saw Da'an. "I'd love to chat," he said. "But I have a little conference with fate that I simply
must go to. By the way, I've rigged an explosive to the door locking mechanism. Don't try to enter the
lab, or everybody is dead."

He cut the link. Da'an looked dazed, and frightened.

****

Liam massaged the bruise on the side of his head, gingerly wondering if he was bleeding. Liam 2 was
sitting opposite him, the rifle still aimed at him. "Who are you?" Liam asked.

Liam 2 laughed. "I'm you. From five years in the future."

"Right. What are you, a biosurrogate?" Liam asked. "A clone?"

"Guess again," Liam 2 said wryly. "I'm here to erase my own history."

"Why?"

"Because in the future that I know," he tapped the torpedo casing, "this caused the destruction of the
Taelons and the humans."

"How?" Liam asked, horrified.

Liam 2's face was crossed by a shadow, as if reliving dark memories. "The torpedo," he whispered, more
to himself than to Liam, "was used three times before the Jaridians managed to shield themselves from
it. They stole the torpedo and ran, then returned with dozens of duplicates. They decimated the Taelon
fleet and the colonies."

There was a long pause. "And humanity?" Liam asked.

Liam 2 winced. "Killed as allies of the Taelons. Earth became a wasteland, with fifteen So'kara cruisers in
orbit. Only a handful of people survived the attack."

Liam stared at his future self. Something beyond mere horror was driving this man--himself. "Who were
the others?"

"Augur, Doors, Da'an, Julia... and a few others. Not Zo'or, or Lili, or Sandoval. The mothership exploded
when they were on board."

Liam glanced down. "There's something you're not telling me."

Liam 2 glared at his younger self, and gave a long, shuddering breath. "Da'an... and I... were captured
during an attempted release of prisoners. Me... they just wanted to find the survivors... but Da'an..." His
face twisted as if he were going to cry. "They tortured him for two days straight... they never let up.
Da'an was strong, he never even wavered... I kept calling to him, trying to tell him that everything was
going to be all right, but they held me back. It was... almost a relief when he died."

Liam felt horror fill him as he pictured it mentally. "And... then what?"

Liam 2 sighed. "I took an unauthorized time jump. Doors didn't want to risk going out into the open, but I
found the portal and used it. I landed here."

Liam stared at his future self. "Why didn't you just knock me out and drag me out?" he asked.

Liam 2 rose to his feet and roughly pulled the casing from the torpedo. "Because I need your help." He
began to root through the inside, and pulled out a large crystal. He crushed it between his fingers,
smiling crookedly.

"How?" Liam also rose, a little dizzy.

"This incident never happened in my past. I don't have time to destroy irreplaceable components of this
torpedo and delete Varthas's work as well." Liam 2 began to break the computer chips, sending sparks
flying. "Get working, now."

Liam walked over to a computer console and accessed the scientist's files. "All of them?"

"All of them," Liam 2 repeated, crushing a delicate organic cable. "Backups too. I've destroyed all the
vital and irreplaceable components of this torpedo."

As Liam set the computer to delete, he stood up and faced his future self. "I don't suppose you could
blow the explosive in the door?" he asked.

Liam 2 smiled a little, pulled a tiny device from his pocket, and touched it. The doors sprang open,
revealing Da'an. The Taelon stepped into the room. "Liam, where have you-" He stopped when he saw
the two, staring in astonishment.

An alarm began to sound, indicating that the backups were being deleted as well. Liam 2 smiled with
genuine warmth at Da'an. "Good to see you again. At least this time," he whispered, "all of us will
survive."

Then he turned to his younger self. Liam was looking miserable. "Hey, what's wrong?" Liam 2 asked.

"You're never going to exist..." Liam said.

"I ALREADY exist. I'm you, and you're me. Only now you won't live my life," Liam 2 said with the second
genuine smile he had shown. "And I have to admit that it's not disappointing."

"Deleting final documents," the computer announced.

Liam 2 glanced at the console, then told Liam intensely, "Remember, never trust-"

And he winked out of existance.

****

"There had better be a good reason why your prints are all over the remains of my torpedo," snarled
Varthas. Sandoval, his nose and forehead bloodied, was standing behind him and looking at Liam oddly.

Liam shrugged. "I was correcting mistakes."

"What does that mean!" shouted Varthas.

"Major Kincaid will undoubtedly tell us the meaning in his report," Sandoval said in a slightly congested
voice. He cocked his head to one side. "Won't you, Major?"

"Oh, certainly," Liam said, winking at Da'an.

****

"He WAS me," Liam whispered to Da'an as he landed the shuttle in front of the Embassy. "He watched
almost everyone he cared about die... and he took a huge risk to make sure it wouldn't happen."

Da'an, sitting in the back, was somber. "Who died in his timeline?" he asked solemnly.

Liam swallowed as he dismounted from the pilot's chair. "The mothership apparently exploded, while Lili,
Sandoval, and Zo'or were on board. And..." He stopped, awkwardly.

Da'an cocked his head to one side. "And?" he prodded.

"You," Liam said softly. "Apparently you got caught by the Jaridians and..." He made a hopeless gesture.
"You know. That experience made him use the time portal."

"I see," Da'an said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. "Thank you, Liam."

"Uh, I didn't do it," Liam stammered.

Da'an smiled. "You did... in one form or another." Then he turned and walked away, leaving Liam watching
him.

Liam's mind went back to the last words of his future self before the mission was completed, and the
future was changed. "Remember, never trust..."

Never trust who?