PROLOGUE

England

November 2172

The enormous hangar-like structure was brightly lit and empty of everything but a glass pod in the middle. Dr. Kalli Brooks had to step out of the way multiple times as technicians, scientists, and engineers rushed about. Their gazes glued to the different instruments or notes they held in their hands, they spoke in curt tones as they made the final preparations for their mission.

She pressed a hand to her stomach and took a deep breath. Now that the day had arrived for this time-travel mission to the past, nervousness was setting in. Oh, she was eager and excited. She wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity for the world. Even so, a frisson of uneasiness wove its way through her. It was only normal. They were venturing into the unknown. In more ways than one.

She instinctively sought Dariux, her partner on this adventure. During the long weeks of training, she had come to trust and like him. Not only was he the chief engineer who had developed the time-travel technology, but he was confident and capable. Talking to him would help ease her mind.

Glancing around, her eyes almost rolled out of their sockets when she spotted him. Tucked into one of the offices that fronted the takeoff room, he was practically dry humping a tall, buxom blond.

He had her pinned against a wall as he ravaged her mouth. One of her long legs, encased in a tight pair of pants, was curled around his waist. Her hands weaved into his longish brown locks, pulling his hair while holding his head in place for the kiss.

He broke the kiss, then one of his hands rose to her oversized breasts and squeezed softly. Kalli’s own breasts perked up in jealousy, and a tingle of reluctant arousal weaved through her. This was ridiculous! Couldn’t the man say goodbye to his parbot at home, as she had done? Such a spectacle in plain sight of everyone was unseemly.

She strode up to him, relishing the opportunity to interrupt this little tryst. She dared not examine the reasons behind her actions too closely. What did she care about his preference in partners? He was not her type at all, either. Her own parbot, which she had left at home as was decent, did not resemble Dariux at all.

“Dariux, so glad to find you,” she intoned, as she knocked on the open door of the office. “I was looking for you to go over some last-minute details about our mission.”

He slowly, almost reluctantly, untangled himself from the blond’s limbs and raised an eyebrow sardonically.

“Really? I thought everything was ready to go. I gave my instructions to the techs, and they are doing the last preparations.”

“Yes, well... I have some questions. And everyone else is busy. I wouldn’t want to bother them.”

“Yet you had no trouble bothering me. I’m kind of busy, too, in case it wasn’t obvious.”

She pinned him with a stare. “Not with anything important or related to the mission.”

With a deep sigh, he murmured something to the blond and, with a smile and a nod, she left.

“All right, Kalli. I’m all yours. What questions do you have?”

Now that he put her on the spot, and she was the focus of his complete attention, self-consciousness swamped her. She really didn’t have questions. Just general concerns. About the success of their mission. About their investigation.

“Kalli?” he prodded, his eyebrows rising.

“Yes, well... They are not specific questions per se. I just... I guess I am a little nervous.”

His eyes crinkled and a smile threatened to stretch his lips while he studied her. “Having second thoughts, Kalli? There’s still time to back out.”

“No! That’s out of the question. The information I could gather on this trip might be the pinnacle of my research. I guess I just need some reassurance. I need you to tell me that everything is going to be all right. That we’ll be successful.”

He leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms. The muscles of his biceps and chest strained against the fine linen of the nineteenth century-style shirt he wore in preparation for this mission. He looked relaxed and confident. The very picture of nonchalance.

“I guess that depends on how you define success. Are we going to be able to travel in time and arrive safely at our destination? I’m confident that we will. Now, are we going to find what you are looking for? That I don’t know.”

“I suppose that’s fair. No one can know that.”

He nodded, assessing her. “What are your worries, exactly?”

She gave up the battle to appear as stoic as he. Throwing her arms up, her words came tumbling out.

“So many! Are we going to make it there safely and in one piece? I know.” She put her palm out when his mouth opened. “You told me you are confident about the safety of the technology, but there must be some unpredictable risks. And what if we can’t blend in? What if we make a mistake and are discovered? What would—”

“Kalli.” His commanding voice cut through her outburst. He had not raised his voice. Nor was the tone harsh, and yet there was a world of authority in that simple word.

“We have assessed every scenario and calculated all risks and variables. The safety and reliability of the technology is 99.97 percent. We have also trained for this extensively. Everything has been covered and thought of. Now relax.”

His words partially reassured her. They calmed her. Quieted her whirling mind. She would have liked a comforting hug, even a handshake. But of course, that was simply not done. Not anymore.

“C’mon” he said, uncoiling himself from his comfortable pose against the desk. “They are calling us. It’s time to go. Let the adventure begin.”