Summary: As Lisa helps her friend Job bring some order to his partial memories of his mysterious and broken past, a mutual bond of trust and understanding begins to grow between the two.
DISCLAIMER: Lisa, Kevin, Adam, Megabyte, Col Masters, Gen. Damon and Mike Bell are the property of Nicklelodean and Thames Entertainment. Certain quotes have been taken from the 'Slaves of Jedikiah'episode from the original series and they also are the property of Nicklelodean and Thames Entertainment. The characters of Job Smith, Sheba, Autumn, Starsha, Ton'ee, Evelyn, Staarla, 'Scooter' and Bianca Rivera are original characters of mine and should not be used unless asked first. The concept of ATP's and VP's are of my design as well.
Author's notes: The story speaks for itself, but I figure I'll let you in on a couple things that might seem confusing in case anybody reading this has no idea of any events from the original series. The explanation that Job gives about hyperspace is quoted directly from Jedikiah from the very first serial of the 70's version. The 'interceptor' was also featured from this same serial as well.
As always, a thank you for Wendy who puts my stories on her Archives.
Also, this story will eventually be seen on Michelles 'Alternate Realities' site.
Any criticisms, good or bad can be emailed to me at phdgarrett@worldnet.att.net
And as always.....enjoy the story.
New York City October 15, 1993
Lisa found herself running down a corridor, surrounded by half a dozen others who were near her age and height. She turned a corner and saw an adult bading her to hurry towards the rear hatch.
"Hurry Job! There isn't much time!"
Why are you calling me Job? My name is Lisa.
Suddenly, a loud voice resounded through their minds.
[Autumn, are the kids ready to go?]
Lisa realized the voice that spoke through their minds was of British origin. There also seemed to be a touch of the aforementioned accent in the woman, whom Lisa realized looked to be more Native American than English. She looked intently at her as she flipped a stray of jet-black hair back into place as she responded.
[[Control your excitement Mr. Bell. This is only a precautionary measure until we find out whose ships they are.]]
The woman named Autumn suddenly turned to her.
"Job, I need for you to listen carefully. We have no idea who owns the ships that are in front of us. Right now we're out of their range or they would've come back to investigate."
Lisa heard herself speak in Job's voice. "Are they viopaths Mrs. Halloway?"
She watched as a slight fearful emotion swept over her features.
"I sincerely hope not child. Now listen to what I have to say. Starsha will be able to help you pilot the ship, but you will be the one in primary control. Remember that both of you will have to work together in case things start to go array."
A devastating explosion rocked the ship almost causing the gravity systems to go offline.
/Autumn, it's the worse news imaginable. Mike just did a sensor sweep. They're all registering viopathic signatures. I think they may be an invasion force. We have to do something. It's certain that the Federation will not have any type of defense against them like they did the last two times/
[[Staarla, warm up the weapons systems and the ion charges and get the other ATP's to their positions.]]
Lisa was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and shoved into the familiar tube. As she slid into the rear ship, she heard Autumn's voice.
[[Job, get yourself and Starsha into the chairs. You'll have to leave within a split-second's notice. Program the ship to these coordinates of six-zero-one. No matter what happens to us, you'll be safe on Earth.]]
[[But we can't just leave you here!]]
[[Blast it Job! Listen for once! We don't want you children in the battle zone again. In case something happens, you all have what you need to find sanctuary. Wait for our signal. We will come for you.]]
Lisa could feel the fear that Job was emitting. Again, she heard herself talking in his voice.
[[Promise that you'll come back for us!]]
[[I promise Job.]]
But I'm not Job!
Lisa opened her eyes to find herself staring at the ceiling. Her ceiling fan softly gyrating a slight breeze toward her bed. She exhaled sharply as she tiredly set herself upright. This was the third time in the past month and a half that she had been caught in one of his dreams of this nature. And unfortunately they had an all too familiar ring to them. As thoughts of Adam came unbidden into her mind, she pulled a robe around her chilled form, opened her door and proceeded towards the kitchen. She could already see the light peeking out from the bottom of the door as she opened it to find a familiar form sitting in a chair across from her. A cup and tea bags in front of him.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you up out of a sound sleep," said Job.
Lisa had her eyes closed from the bright glare of the light and telekinetically dimmed them to one quarter strength. She observed her roommate had already put on a kettle of water to be boiled for his tea. Oddly, there already were two cups of it sitting on the table already. She took the seat opposite of him.
"That's what you said the other two times. How come I still don't believe you?"
"It's probably the dishonest expression on my face," Job deadpanned.
Lisa yawned and stretched as she spoke. "You got that right."
Job couldn't help but smile at his roommate's bluntness before going back to staring at his own tea.
The sleepy-eyed young teen began to take a sip of her tea and watched her roommate from the curve of the cup rim. Just a week after their talk on the balcony, Job had inadvertently shared his dream with her. It was the first time that he had dreamed of the events that happened in the ship. If they could be taken as fact, then apparently, Job had come to Earth amid a turmoiled and frightening time. At first he had withdrawn into himself for the first couple days, not wanting to accept that piece of information. But as days turned to weeks, Lisa had noticed that he never mentioned it again. Either he had come to terms with it or had just buried it deep inside.
Or it could just be another one of those Star Trek episodes he watches to much of. That lady did mention a Federation, Lisa thought.
"Well, you could attribute all this to Bianca's cooking or you could keep me company while I explain to you what I do know about myself."
Another involuntary, combination of a loud yawn and groan appeared on Lisa's face.
"Oooohh, the mystery deepens. Well, can't this wait until...," she looked at the clock hanging from the wall. "Oh god, it's two-thirty three in the morning. You are insane. No person in their right mind.....no, I take that back. No idiot in their warped mind would wake someone up with their dreams just so he could talk to them."
"And you thought you had a corner on the market on being socially constipated, eh?" Job said with a slight smirk on his face.
A loud, shrill whistle made Lisa jump. Annoyed, she telekinetically shut off the stove and lifted the pot onto the table. Making sure it landed on a pad in front of them.
"Well, before we go on insulting each other into the next millenium, I suggest you just go on and tell what all you know."
Job began.
"Well, as you already know, as does Bianca, I woke up in a hospital almost a year ago. The doctors said I was in a coma for a month. All that I had on me were the clothes on my back and a wallet which contained a cross on a chain, two hundred dollars in cash, an ATM card, identification card and the address to this apartment."
"Tell me something I don't already know, Job. Or I'm going back to bed."
"Okay. Ever since we started to do that mind-link stuff that you showed me, I've been getting these images."
Lisa nodded. "Right. Of being in a ship. The same ship that's buried out in the Pacific. Those are Adam's memories. That's all they are. Believe me. I have some interesting memories from Megabyte and Kevin as well. And thanks to Megabyte, I haven't been able to look at a hamburger the same way since. Although," Lisa added. "In our last dream when I was being you, I slid into the ship from the bigger one. The smaller ship is the one that's out in the Pacific."
"Duh! Now shut up and let me finish. I also have strong memories of that castle and images that I have that I haven't seen from you."
Lisa waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. But a lot of that you could've just made up in your mind. You do watch a lot of TV you know?"
Job interrupted. "I realize that. But I know of a secret place within the castle that none of you have gone before."
The word 'secret' made Lisa involuntarily perk up. The couple times that Adam, herself and the others had gone to Scotland to take a look at the castle, Adam had never mentioned anything of a secret passage or entrance.
"Can you use your cross to figure out exactly where it is?"
"You mean that token object reading thing? I tried. But all I keep getting are images that seem to belong from some dark sci-fi movie I watched a long time ago."
Lisa was perturbed. "Like a couple of your dreams. So you're trying to say that you couldn't keep your dreams out of my head because you found out something new that no one else knew about."
"Yep."
Lisa took another sip of her tea before slowly rising from her chair.
"Look Job. I know we've been getting along fairly decently since last month and me helping you clear your head up with the occasional sessions of these mind-links to find out about your past has gotten you excited. But until you're able to literally have an explosive revelation smack you upside the head, don't wake me up."
Now it was Job's turn to become perturbed. "Well, whatever then."
Lisa turned around as she got to the kitchen door. "I never said I was a morning person."
"From what I've been able to figure out, you haven't been any kind of person for quite awhile," Job quipped.
He watched as the figure in front of him paused, halfway in the doorway as if deciding whether or not to stay or leave. The answer became known as Lisa moved out into the living room, apparently on her way back to bed.
He sighed heavily. Job had really been counting on having Lisa's help in explaining all of this, especially since her former friend Adam apparently shared some of the same memories as he did. Although she tried to explain that it had been residue from her mind-links with her former friends, something inside of him refused to take that at face value. There was more to it than that. There had to be.
Job sat back in the chair, thinking of the clues that he had to his past. The actions in the ship from his dream still hadn't made sense to him. A confusing hodge-podge of chaos and fear. He hadn't wanted to believe it but something in the back of his mind insisted that what he had gone through actually happened. And if he was to believe it, what was he doing in space? What destination were they obviously fleeing from and what was their final destination? It had been obvious they weren't heading to Earth at that time.
He quickly shook his head to get the thoughts out. Nothing about it made sense. He decided to concentrate on the more real and tangible aspects that he had come up with over the past year.
He remembered when he left the hospital. The ATM card in his hand when he went to an ATM machine. Not surprisingly he had already known the pin number. But what amazed him was the amount he had in the balance. It was well into the six-digit figure. When he had found where the apartment was, there was a note that had been written way back in 1987. It hadn't said much besides to keep the apartment up and that it was being paid for by some business called The Harvest Moon Corporation. At first it sounded like some environmental or Hollywood thing. But the few times he tried to follow the trail, it had led to a couple dead-ends. It had been obvious to him that this corporation was some kind of front for something else and whoever did it that way, they meant to keep the real deal a secret.
Job began thinking about the deal he had made with Lisa a month ago about staying away from the other telepaths. He was fairly certain that if he could hook up with this Adam, their shared memories could be the type of break they were both looking for. He was seriously starting to regret the deal that he had made with her. At the time, it seemed to be the right thing to do. Whether Lisa admitted it or not, she needed his stabilizing presence, if anything to keep from harming herself in some unspecified way with her abilities. Why he kept thinking in those terms, he couldn't understand. He had felt an overwhelming responsibility to her well-being. Another confusing piece to this puzzle.
I could just go over to that General Damon's place and find this Megabyte. She wouldn't know.
And indeed she wouldn't. He was very confident that he could use his powers in ways that she would never be able to find out.
No, I made a promise. Have to stick to it.
Still, he had to wonder if he was having any kind of positive effect on Lisa at all. When he had first met her this past winter, it was apparent that she didn't trust anybody. The haunted look she had in her face had an all-too familiar presence to him. So much so that he had needed Bianca's help to convince the young girl to shack up with them at the apartment instead of taking her chances in some run-down part of the city. Even afterwards, it was still a long, drawn out deal before she would open herself up to any type of emotional or social link with the two. And even more touch and go after she had found out about his similar telepathic powers.
Before he could think any further about breaking his promise to her, the door swished open to reveal the young teen dressed up in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She had a windbreaker over her shoulder.
"Well, like I said, I'm not a morning person. But since it's a fairly good bet that it's about mid-morning in Scotland, why don't we take a quick teleportation jump over there and get to the bottom of this?"
As Job got up to go to his room, Lisa called to him.
[[Be sure to bring a jacket. I'm sure it's still fairly chilly.]]
[[Anything you say.]]
Job had to suppress a grin that was growing on his face as he brushed by her. Maybe he was having a positive effect on her after all.
***
"This place is.....unbelievable," Job said in awe as he looked around the green, Scottish hillsides.
"The second time I was here, Adam and the others just made a whole day out of walking around. It's beautiful country," Lisa said offhandedly.
"I hadn't realized," Job observed.
"Maybe you should teleport more often. It's not like you need the money to do it."
Job did one of those I-don't-know shrugs as he continued to look around the green countryside.
"I suppose I could. Guess I'm just having too much fun in the Big Apple. But I think I'll take your advice about getting around more often."
Lisa shook her head in slight disgust. "Oh yes. Getting away from the movies, video games and biking your life away."
Job waved a mock-accusing finger towards her. "Careful now. I didn't hear you complain about your rare fun nights at that karoake club you go to every now and than."
Job watched as Lisa's eyes grew so wide-eyed, he was positive that they would pop out.
"Have you been spying on me?"
The dark-skinned young teen could only smile. "Nope. 'Scooter' saw you at the teen club about three months ago."
"Great," she replied under her breath.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, taking in the lush greenery of the land.
"So you know about that, huh?" she asked sheepishly.
Job pursed his lips and replied in a deep, sotto voice. "Lisa, everybody knows about that."
"Oh."
"We all know you like your privacy. It's why none of us have said anything, but a voice such as yours shouldn't be hidden," Job added.
"I suppose."
Job was slightly taken aback by Lisa's shyness. It usually wasn't like her to back down from an argument. He glanced in her direction again and saw a sly smile cross her features.
Uh-oh.
"Well, that's alright. I know a tiny little secret about you as well, Mr. Job Smith," she spoke up in a slightly teasing voice.
"Oh, yeah. Okay. Lisa, I've played poker with you before. Believe me when I say that you couldn't bluff your way out of a wet paper bag with both ends open. You don't have anything on me."
Job pointed towards a dense part of the forest they were about ready to walk into. "I think that trail is over through here."
"Don't try and change the subject. I know all about your crush," she said outloud in a sing-song voice.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said dismissively.
Lisa quickly turned to face him, walking backwards along the grassy trail.
"Oh, don't even start. I've seen you with the goo-goo eyes whenever this special person comes around. The times that you hang around a certain somebody even when you know you have a bicycle run, or you don't have to be around at all."
Job shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Lisa put her hands to both of his shoulders, effectively stopping their walk.
"Bianca. You know. The nineteen year old whose majoring in medicine. Can play a mean chelo. Is somehow able to eat Colonel Cobbs Corn Crinkels and watch 'Ren and Stimpy' at the same time. And, who just happens to conveniently be a roommate of ours."
The young African-American male made a watchful face as he watched Lisa's oh-so-innocent sweetness sweep across her features. He briskly stepped aside from her and continued walking toward the castle-like building, which could be barely seen through the trees.
"That's your imagination," he spoke out over his shoulder.
"I don't think so," she responded back in that familiar sing-song voice. She then started to skip alongside him. Her hands behind her back, teasing the young teen in a high-pitched little girl's voice and singing something to the effect of Job and Bianca sitting in a tree.
Job stopped suddenly. "Really? Well what about your brief flirtation with Adam 'little miss sing-a-long'?"
Her bounciness and briskness disappeared so quickly at the mention of Adam that Job quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds on the mention of her very brief affair with the Australian telepath.
"Lisa.....I'm sorry. I guess I don't take to being teased too well."
The female telepath quickly spoke out, saying it was okay. An uncomfortable and awkward silence fell between them as they continued their trek toward the familiar bricked building. Lisa choose that time to change the subject. Unfortunately, the first question out of her mouth had pertained to her former friends.
"So why don't you find the others? It's not like I could stop you," she tersely said.
Job caught up to her. "Because I know what its like to be as alone as you are. Maybe even more so."
Lisa turned to him, looking for some type of truth to his answer. She then just as quickly looked away. "How would you know? Both my parents are gone. One in Desert Storm and the other by some military kook."
"At least you can have the luxury of knowing what's happened with your parents. But me....I can't even say for certain if they're alive or dead. At least you can have some peace of mind of knowing that they're in a far better place than here."
Lisa let out a bitter laugh. "You actually believe in that?"
"What?"
"All that heaven and hell stuff?"
Job elbowed her sharply in her side, making her yelp in surprise. He quickly dragged her to a thick bush and had her crouch beside her as he forcibly put a hand over her mouth.
[[Not so loud! They'll hear you!]]
[[If you don't get your hand off my mouth, you're going to draw back a nub!]]
Job quickly released his hold and pointed down towards the area just right of the antiquated building.
There were people in regular business suits and ordinary civilian clothes, but as he looked closer, he could see that they all were armed and had communication devices.
"So who are they?" Job asked.
Lisa shook his head. "I don't know. When Adam and I first arrived, they were here as well."
She stared more intently. " There seem to be more this time around. It seems they have a round the clock guard on the place. Still, I don't understand why they would be guarding an abandoned castle that looks to be on it's last brick anyway."
[[Well, let's make our way quietly down there.]]
The seventeen year old put a hand around his arm. "I can do one even better. The route that Adam and I took to avoid the guards looks like its still fairly clear. We'll go through that trail over there and wait until that one guard goes around the corner."
"Okay. Let's go."
Job followed Lisa as they silently made their way around the building's perimeter.
[[And it wasn't a boyfriend-girlfriend thing we had.]]
[[What?]]
Lisa repeated herself, explaining that Adam and her had indeed shared some private moments but only because he had trusted her more with what had been on his mind since arriving on that lonely island in the Pacific.
[[I believe you.]] Job pathed.
Although another couple of months and we could've been, Lisa thought as more memories of the older, dark-haired youth came unbidden into her mind.
During the first few weeks, her and Adam had been together quite a bit. It was during that first month that he had told her about his distorted past, or what he knew of it at least. It was then that he suggested that they hold the locket that he had gotten in an envelope. Using token object reading, Lisa had enhanced the telepathic vibrances that came from the cherished object and they had an image of this same castle that Job had apparently gotten. The first time they teleported here, there were guards everywhere. Just days later, they were accompanied by Megabyte and Kevin to get any kind of lingering telepathic resonances. But because of the constant presence of the strange guards, they were too far away to actually get anything. Adam had confided to her sometime afterwards that he did manage to catch onto something. It also seemed like he was readying himself to tell her more but before that could happen, they had heard Kevin's frantic telepathic shout for help. That was when Colonel Masters appeared again. When her mother died.
Something was pulling on her arm!
"Let go!"
[[Quiet! Or they'll hear you. Get down!]]
Quickly realizing where she was, she dropped down to the patch of grass.
"Looks like they've remembered since the last time we were here. We can't even get to the outer edges," Lisa noticed.
Job began pulling at her arm. "That's okay. I know of another entrance. It's the longer way from the looks of it but we should be able to avoid them. Come on."
They stealthily walked a little ways past the majority of the guards until they came upon a grill in the ground. He telekinetically lifted the heavy lid and set it gently on the soft earth.
"It's tight," he whispered. "But we'll be able to fit in it."
Lisa had a lop-sided grin pasted on her face as she realized how small the opening was.
"Geez. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic," she muttered.
The two teenagers descended on the seemingly endless ladder. They finally reached level ground and found a darkened corridor and proceeded underground, having to watch their footing as they clung to the sides of the nearly invisible walls. They eventually came upon a dimly lit cavernous room.
"What is this place," Lisa whispered.
The sound of her barely vocal voice were carried out throughout the huge, spacious cave.
"The hangar," Job responded automatically.
Something didn't seem right. He wasn't sure how he knew but he could sense that something was very wrong here.
"The hangar?!"
The loudness and infliction of her voice reverberated around the cavern.
[[Lisa! Don't speak! Listen.]]
There was silence all around as they both stayed in the same spot, barely breathing.
[[I don't hear anything.]]
[[Wait.]]
It was faint.
Lisa felt the strands of her hair raise from the back of her neck.
[[What is it?]]
A ticking noise.
[[I'm not sure.]]
[[Well, from the tone of your telepathy, you sound like you might know.]]
As they quieted their thoughts, the ticking kept getting louder.
[[Job! It's a bomb! We have to teleport!]]
"Lisa wait! Don't jaunt!"
But it was too late. The most Job could do was to teleport alongside her and reappear at whatever coordinates the interceptor put them at.
***
Kevin was just putting his bike away when he heard her voice. Not surprising considering that he had started having dreams about her again recently, where she was at the semi-crumbling castle that they all had visited last winter. He thought about contacting Megabyte and Adam but thought better of it. If he was going to be able to talk to her again, it would have to be by his lonesome once again. Thinking of the castle, he teleported.
***
Lisa was starting to panic. "Where are we?"
"Take it easy. We're fine. We're just in hyperspace, that's all. Just don't fall asleep and we'll get outta here."
"What are you talking about?" Lisa couldn't help but look unbelievably at the environment they were in.
"What is this hyperspace you keep talking about? You keep mentioning it but you've never explained to me what it's about."
Job responded as if on automatic pilot to her question. "That fragment of time without time. That lies between one microsecond and the beginning of another one. The space that isn't space, that lies between the curving dimensions of eternity. Dimensions that make star travel possible, time travel possible."
A scowl appeared on her face as she tried to digest the techno-babble that her friend had just spoken to her.
"In other terms for us lesser, quasi-scientist types, it's this big, colorful, 70's psychedelic goop that we pass through whenever we teleport. Right?"
Job couldn't help but notice the intense gaze he was receiving from the young woman and couldn't help but smile. "Um....yeah."
Lisa watched around her as the same 'psychedelic goop' were surrounding them from all areas. She looked back at Job and saw him mumbling something to himself.
"What are you saying?"
"I remember what it was that jaunted us here. It's an interceptor." Catching the confused look that crossed her face, Job explained. "It's a type of device that catches telepaths as they jaunt away from it. It weakens their abilities and deposits them into hyperspace to be retrieved later on."
Lisa gazed at him warily. "And you know all this how...?"
Job looked startled. "To be honest, I don't know. This 'psychedelic goop' seems to have cleared up my head on certain things. I'm starting to remember other stuff as well."
"I noticed," she added. "For the past couple minutes you've been saying this jaunting word. I take it that its another way to say teleport?"
Job furrowed his brow. "It's a more elaborate saying but, yes."
Lisa continued to nervously look around. "So what happens if these capturers can't find their telepaths in this stuff?"
"The telepaths will die. Hyperspace will treat them like a foreign organism and eject them."
The seventeen year old female made a nervous face. "Okay. I think I've heard enough about that."
She continued to observe him as he seemed to be gazing off into the colorful void, as if remembering something.
"Wow," he said in amazed wonder. "I wonder if anybody knows this place can be a great memory-enhancer? I'm starting to get quite a few things back."
"Such as?"
"I did live in that castle," Job replied. "I spent half my life there and the other half in the states somewhere. Some really big city. But I wasn't the only one. There were others like me. They had the same powers and abilities that my parents had, that I would have one day. But something happened that forced us to leave."
A word quickly entered Lisa's thoughts. "Viopaths?"
The word was so familiar to Job that he gave her an intense stare.
"How do you know about them?"
"I don't. They were in your last dream that I involuntarily shared with you. You know. The one where you're on a ship and this woman named Autumn was worried about them finding out your position."
Job had a very strong feeling he knew what these viopaths were. There was something quite sinister and familiar about the name. But whenever he tried to think about it more. It was like somebody had deliberately put a type of mental wall in his mind whenever he tried to consciously think about them. Or maybe he was keeping himself from finding out.
"Do you know who or what these viopaths are?" Lisa asked.
"I don't know. I was going to ask you the same question, since you've been to the castle before."
Lisa kept breathing hard.
"What's wrong?"
The young girl's eyes started to widen as she found herself floating away, trying in vain to swim back to him.
Job talked to her in his most soothing voice.
[[Use your telekinesis to stop yourself. Don't panic.]]
[[I hate this place!]]
[[Take my hand. Come back to me. That's it. You're doing fine]]
Job could see the flickers of terror trying to escape from her countenance. She definitely didn't like the situation they were in. He couldn't blame her either.
"We seem to have been floating in this goop for hours. How much longer?"
"As long as we don't fall asleep, I think it'll be safe to teleport outta here in another couple minutes."
"That's good. But I am getting tired. What happens if we fall asleep?"
"Our atoms and molecules start to break apart, which in turn would break down our bodies into nothingness," he said in a nonchalant way.
Lisa started to mutter underneath her breath as she looked away from the memory-recovering teen. "Oh, of course. Like I would know that, Mr. Wizard."
"What was that?"
Lisa quickly looked back at him and shook her head.
"Nothing."
Job caught the faint tremor in her voice. And the ordinary way he answered her question about their bodies breaking apart hadn't helped much. He figured a change in subject would work toward her relaxing a bit more.
"You asked me a question earlier before we came upon the castle. Something about heaven and hell?"
Lisa responded as if coming out of a daze. "What? Oh, that. Well, every once in awhile I seem to catch you saying stuff like hope and faith and things like that."
A chuckle came out of the sixteen year old. Lisa regarded him with interest.
"What's so funny?"
"My dear Lisa. Why do you seem to have preconceived notions on everything?"
A scowl appeared on her face, obviously annoyed about having been called 'dear'. "Well Mr. wanna-be-Yoda, I guess I'm just not as enlightened as you are."
"Doesn't mean I'm religious either."
Lisa watched as she waited for Job to explain.
"I mean, it only seems natural that people would have it already ingrained somewhere in their consciousness that they would know the difference between right and wrong. From the way I was raised, it was just 'brought home' more."
"I don't believe in too much anymore," Lisa voiced out as she let her gaze downward.
"Like I said earlier, I'm not religious. A lot of the stuff I go off by is gut instinct anyway. I remember my dad, he had this honor code that he lived by. Most of it he picked up from Japan, I think. A lot of that has helped me cope with what's happened to me this past year. Plus the resonances I get from my mother's cross help out from time to time."
Lisa was surprised. "How do you know that's your mothers?"
Job took it out as Lisa slowly began to finally relax.
"Every once in awhile, when I'm relaxed and I'm idly playing with it, I'll get these images. I'll be able to get a sense of her presence. Her personality. Her very essence. They seem so similar to mine that I can't help but think that they're of her."
Lisa grasped his hand to keep from floating away again and regarded the well-worn cross with some interest.
"What was she like?"
"Smart, loving, compassionate. Nurturing. I could feel that she had strong moral and ethical values. And that she did her best to pass them on to me. She had strong loyalties to the people she was with."
A sincere smile formed on Lisa's face as she looked directly in Job's eyes.
"I'm glad you're able to get something positive out of it instead of that 'dark sci-fi stuff' you mentioned earlier."
Before he could say anything more, she grasped him by the shoulders.
"Thanks, for sharing that with me," she hesitantly said.
Job smiled warmly, intensely looking. "Thanks for listening."
A faint smile surfaced on Lisa's face, which quickly turned into an expression of slight panic as Job continued to stare at her.
"What? What's wrong?" A sudden thought occurred to her as she quickly brought up her arms and legs to make sure everything was still connected.
"You remind me of.......Sheba," he softly replied.
The seventeen year old female breathed out a very loud sigh of relief. "Oh. Don't do that to me! For a second, I thought I was doing what you said earlier about hyperspace breaking down our molecules and..........Sheba? Who the heck is this Sheba that everybody's talking about?"
Job perked up at what Lisa had just said. "Everybody?"
Lisa nodded. "Adam told me that he remembered a girl named Sheba as well. She must be quite a lady to get you two this worked up over her."
Job slowly nodded his head.
"I only just now realized," he replied in an awe-struck voice. "You look so much like her."
Lisa had a half-hearted smile on her face before looking away. "Adam said that as well."
"What's wrong? I kinda thought you would be happy that I'm getting a lot of my memories back."
He heard the upsetness in her voice. "So what happens when you find your past? Will you leave?"
A couple of faint figures caught Job's eye. He pointed to them and Lisa turned toward what was occupying his vision. Discussion of Sheba and his own loyalty to the fearful female shelved for the moment.
Lisa nodded. "They look like the guards that chased us away before, but they weren't wearing all that gear that they have on."
"Possibly to protect them from the prolonged effects of hyperspace," Job noted.
"So how do we get out of here?" she asked.
"We jaunt back from whence we came. I'm fairly sure that interceptor wasn't programmed to catch ATP's. But we need to combine our powers, just to be on the safe side."
Lisa hesitated before agreeing. As she held up both her hands to his palms, she began having a strong feeling that whatever Job's past was about, it involved more than just playing a prince and living in a castle all day.
[[Concentrate. We're going back to the place we jaunted in from.]]
[[Teleported.]] Lisa corrected.
[[That's what I said.]]
Lisa looked out of the corner of her left eye to see the strange looking guards were coming within at least fifty feet of their position. She quickly closed her eyes and had her mind's eye fixated on the part of the woods they first teleported to from New York. Quite suddenly, the sound of crickets and other assorted insects filled her senses.
"Lisa!"
The seventeen year old turned around in shock at hearing the familiar voice.
"Kevin! What are you doing here?"
The eleven year old breathlessly ran up to them. "Are you kidding? I heard you yell out. I thought you might be in trouble."
Kevin glanced questionably at her partner. Lisa quickly made the introductions.
"Kevin, this is Job. Job....Kevin."
"Hi," Job said.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Kevin replied.
"It's them again! Get them!"
[It's them again, get them? Krikey, whose their scriptwriter anyway?] Kevin loudly thought out.
[[With those interceptors around, it's not safe to jaunt anywhere. We'll have to make a run for it!]]
[Interceptors?] Kevin questionably thought out.
[[Sounds good to me.]] replied Lisa.
[What's a jaunt?] asked a confused Kevin.
***
They continued moving through the woods, stopping occasionally to telepathically cloud their pursuers minds, and then race away unseen. After a good thirty minutes of this, they finally reached a small scottish village. They made a beeline toward one of the makeshift barns and collapsed inside once they checked to make sure it was empty.
Kevin was greedily gulping down air whenever his eleven year old lungs could manage a breath.
"Good......to see you again.......Lisa...."
"Just like.......a bad penny.......unfortunately," she replied breathlessly.
Job, who had barely raised a sweat in any of this, looked outside the window leading back towards the woods that they came from. After five minutes, he settled back in the hay and let out a grateful breath.
"Looks like we eluded them for now. But I'm pretty sure that they'll be in this area in another five minutes. We should go."
Lisa blocked him with an outstretched leg. "Hold on there mystery-boy. You seemed to know a lot more of that place than even Adam did. The least you can do is explain so Kevin can take this information back to him."
The young boy had a confused look on his face. "What information? Is this about Col Masters?"
Job began to explain in hasty detail of what happened when he woke up in the hospital, the items he had in his possession that helped him steady himself in society and the events on the ship. The workings of the interceptors that trapped them in hyperspace.
Lisa had noticed that Job purposely hadn't told Kevin everything. No mention was made of Sheba, the happenings on the ship or these viopaths. She figured for a change, she would trust him on his decision to not tell the eleven year old. But there were still certain things that needed and answer.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead," replied Job.
"Okay. Back there in hyperspace, you said that whoever set the interceptors hadn't taken into account an ATP. What is an ATP?"
Job responded automatically. "Advanced telepaths. Basically, ATP's have stronger powers than most other telepaths. We also have unique abilities that normal telepaths don't have, like that phasing I taught you."
"Are there more of us?" Kevin asked.
Job gazed at the eleven year old. "In 'us', you mean more ATP's? I guess, but the only one I've come up with is Lisa and myself."
Surprise registered on seventeen year old's face. "Me? An advanced telepath?"
"Only ATP's can do the phasing thing that I taught you."
"What's this phasing thing you're talking about?" Kevin asked.
Job explained about that particular power, how it made them intangible enabling the person to literally pass through walls and people and his belief on how it was connected to the properties of their teleporting and hyperspace.
"Don't forget to tell Adam that as well," he said.
"Okay. I'm sure he'll appreciate all this but why don't you tell him yourself?" Kevin inquired of him.
Job looked intently at Lisa before she turned around and went to the back door in the barn.
"What was that all about?"
Job regarded Kevin before he responded. Lisa's earlier question entrenched in his mind.
"Well, I made a promise to her last month. She told me some things that have been on her mind for awhile and I said I wouldn't seek any of you out."
"I should talk to her."
Before Kevin could go to her, he was stopped by a quick muscular arm.
"Look kid. I don't think its a good time to try and talk to her right now."
"But she has to be made to understand. That's fairly selfish of her to expect you to keep a promise like that. Especially if you have information that could help Adam understand where he's come from."
Job nodded. "I realize that. But right now, what she needs is a friend, who in her eyes, won't let her down."
Job intently looked at the younger boy and immediately was able to sense that the youngster did have strong feelings for Lisa. There was a type of bond that he hadn't felt before emanating from him. He also had the feeling that the dark-haired boy was a bit jealous of the relationship he had with her.
"Look, I'm not trying to keep her away from you or the others. But she needs some time alone. Away from you guys."
Kevin looked up at Job as if studying him underneath a microscope.
"You don't seem to mind. In fact, your feelings are saying that you would love to meet the rest of us."
Job smiled, "I would. But I made a promise to her. It was the only way to get her trust. Believe me when I'm saying that I'll be doing my best to steer her towards the rest of you, but it's going to take awhile and it'll only be on her say so."
"So break the promise," Kevin said.
"Because she needs a friend, like me, who hasn't been associated with you lot. I'm sure you realize that she still blames all of you for the death of her mother. And I suspect she has an obsession with finding this Col. Masters, although she says she could care less if she sees him again."
Job thought that Kevin was going to go around him anyway and catch-up with Lisa, but then it seemed he changed his mind. As if actually coming to a conclusion.
"Then I'll just have to keep in contact with you. I think I can understand where you're coming from with your loyalty to Lisa. I'm very relieved that she has somebody she can confide in."
Job smiled, thankful that the eleven year old was finally coming to an understanding.
"I think we both managed to get somewhere with our friendship since we came here. I'd like to keep it that way. In the long run, I think eventually she'll come back around. It just has to be one step at a time. One day at a time."
"Okay. But don't be surprised if I drop in every now and then."
"You know, I don't think she would mind too much."
"You take care of her," Kevin said in a very no-nonsense tone.
Job had a feeling that this youngster would do everything in his power to make sure that no harm befell Lisa.
"I will."
Kevin stared at Lisa's back for a bit before finally allowing himself to refrain from going after her.
[Try not to be a stranger Lisa. I know I speak for Adam and myself when I say that we do miss you.]
[[I miss you too Kevin.]]
The familiar crackle sound and dazzling light display signaled that Kevin had left. Job walked up to the fearful young woman.
"Shall we do the same?"
Lisa turned her head to face the young man whom she had only known for six and a half months. Her question about whom he would choose when it came down to it answered. There was a part of her that was relieved and another part that chastised herself for being so selfish. But what was important to her was that he proved that he wouldn't leave her. And right now, that was the answer she had desperately been wanting for so long.
"Let's go."
***
"So maybe we should get stuck in hyperspace again if its been so helpful in restoring your memories," Lisa remarked.
Job shook his head. "No. With the properties of hyperspace being what they are, it would be too dangerous."
The young dark-haired teen shrugged her shoulders. She looked out the window and saw the still darkened sky. It would be dawn soon.
"So, can you recall their names?"
Job laid back in the bed, his head on the pillow.
"Starsha, Ton'ee, Sheba, Adam, Evelyn and myself."
"So maybe you do have a mutual connection with Adam. He did talk about living part-time at the castle as well. Maybe you should contact him," she said.
Job shook his head slowly. "No. I can't even recall if he's the same Adam that was on the ship. For all we know, that castle was a hotel or a private school and we just happened to attend the same one. I can remember the names but not the faces. Except for Sheba. I have a very vivid picture of her," he chuckled a bit. "I'm no good at drawing but I'll ask 'Scooter' to do a sketch of her."
"All the more reason why you shouldn't worry about that promise you kept to me. Something obviously happened to you and these others. And if Adam had a part in it, he should know. It just might help him find his mother in some way if you show him the sketch," Lisa added.
"No," Job repeated. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. Until I figure out who and what those other people in my dream were doing and who these viopaths are and what the deal is with those guards at the castle, there's no need to involve Adam and the others until I know for certain what connection they have with us. I get the feeling that these viopaths are a nasty bunch. The few people who know about them the better."
"I suppose that makes sense," Lisa said.
I just hope I'm making the right decision about this, he thought.
Lisa smirked. "Seems like you're actually agreeing with me that we should stay away from the others."
Job smiled. "Just for the time being. And stop asking me to break my promise. I've already given you my answer and with all this new information, staying away from them makes sense."
Lisa nodded. "Well, it seems like you and Adam are accounted for. And we've seen what Sheba looks like, but we don't know where she is. The same for Evelyn, Ton'ee and Starsha. We don't know where they are."
"I have to find them."
"We will."
Job was surprised as his roommate gently took his hand into hers.
"I just wanted to thank you for what you said to Kevin. I know it's selfish of me but I really appreciated that you didn't go off with him to see the others," she said nervously.
Whether you realize it or not Lisa. You need someone whose loyal to you right now, he thought privately.
"You need someone you can trust. Besides, I know that deep down, you'll want to stay in touch with the others. Maybe not now, but eventually."
"Maybe," she tentatively replied.
Job gave her an intense gaze. "We can't help it. It's within ourselves that we would want to be with others like ourselves. It's just how we are."
Lisa gave a taut chuckle. "I guess we've learned quite a bit about each other this past month."
"I guess we have," Job agreed.
"Well, right now, you're the only one I do trust. I just hope that I'm up to your standards of.......faith."
"I've never given up on you," Job reassured.
"I haven't given you a reason for you to give up on me....yet," Lisa spoke back.
The young male could only smile. "This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Just do me a favor. If and when we decide to rid ourselves from our self-imposed exile from the others."
"Sure."
"Please.....please don't get too friendly with Megabyte."
Job cocked his head in puzzlement. "I'm not that kind of guy Lisa."
Lisa punched him in the shoulder. "I didn't mean like that. I meant......I'll explain later. Geez, there are times when I think you must be from another world. You act it sometimes."
Job couldn't help but laugh outloud a bit. "Well, I'm sure I do. By the way, if you don't mind me asking. Did you and Megabyte have a falling out of sorts?"
"He didn't agree with why I left," she said quickly. "I guess he's still angry about it."
"Well, everybody makes a mistake," he said cryptically.
Lisa gazed at the sixteen year old. Mistake? Was he talking about the anger that Megabyte was holding onto because of her leaving or herself for keeping her distance from them over the death of her mother?
There's obviously more to you than meets the eye, Job.
The sound of keys being inserted in the front door made Lisa rise quickly up from his bed.
"Well, looks like Bianca has come back from her early morning workout. Guess I'll have a quick chat with her."
A worried look befell Job as he watched Lisa opening the door.
[[Don't worry. I won't tell Bianca of your pent-up feelings for her.]]
[[Like I said earlier, that's your imagination.]]
Lisa turned back to face him before leaving. "Looks like this trust thing between us is going to take some time."
The young teen mulled over Lisa's words for a bit.
"Yeah. I guess it will."
Lisa lowered her eyes to the floor for a bit before she spoke again.
"Don't be late at the shop. Remember, we both have that Reynolds run today."
"Hey! You know me," he replied in his usual cocky nature.
Lisa rolled her eyes in an exasperated manner. "I'm trying to. See you in a couple hours."
Job nodded as she slowly shut the door behind her. He laid back down in his bed, hands behind his head. A look of confidence spread across his face. He had started to figure out more about his past and he finally managed to have a decent, strong connection with Lisa. All within hours of each other.
Definitely a red-letter day.
He turned to his lamp and switched it off. As he laid in bed, he went through all the images that he had accumulated so far. The future seemed so uncertain right now. Still, it was better to face it with somebody than by one's self. But would they be up to it?
He echoed out Lisa's earlier comment.
"We will."
THE END