TIME TRAVELER: E212. One Last Promise

"Okay," Robin said, after a deep sigh. "I have to go now, I've been out of the house practically all day, and…"

"I understand, your wife is waiting for you," Juliette said frowning.

"Jul, listen to me," Robin said, reaching over and taking her in his arms. "Jessi's birthday is in three days, when it's past, I'll ask Ann for a divorce. It'll be the first thing I do the next day."

"What if she doesn't give it to you?"

"I know she will, but if she doesn't, then I'll see what to do, just please don't give up on me, okay?"

"Have faith in me, I'll fix this. The next time I come to see you, I'll be free. It's only three days. Please, be patient and wait for me, will you dear?"

"You know I'd wait an eternity for you..."

"Just understand it's harder every day for me to let you go."

"It's hard for me too. All I want right now is to stay, but I want to do things right, I want to marry you - and I'm going to, as soon as I get this whole mess sorted out."

Juliette inhaled deeply and exhaled. "You don't have to give me any explanation, I get your point, and I'm going to be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then, it's time for me to go."

Faced with an imminent farewell, Juliette reached over and hugged him as tightly as she could.

"I love you, Jul, don't forget that", Robin told her.

"And I love you, don't forget that either," she whispered.

"I'm going to make it up to you, for every single thing, I swear," Robin added, as he maintained the hug for long seconds. But he did not kiss her; he knew that if he did, he would never leave. And Juliette understood.

After saying goodbye to Rowan, who was still asleep on the swing, Robin returned to Juliette's side.

"Three days, count them. After that, I'll be back to stay. It's a promise, just please wait for me."

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to go anywhere," Juliette replied.

Once again holding back the desire to stay, Robin walked out of the house. Juliette was left alone with her restlessness. Would Robin really be able to fix it all? Would he come back for her to fulfill that last promise? Three days, they would feel like an eternity!

(To be Continued)

*Credits and thanks to Auf Fil Des Sims for their awesome poses: Patience_Pack, Reconfort_Pack, Instant Romantique_Pack, and Loving_Hug-1

TIME TRAVELER: E211. HINTING THE TRUTH

"Anyway, it's complicated, so I'd rather not dwell on it", Robin concluded. "I have more important things to deal with right now, the DNA analysis for one thing."

"True, the analysis," Juliette murmured, becoming pensive. Her sudden silence was not lost to Robin.

"Jul? What's wrong, has your mother said anything to you?"

"No, nothing yet, but I also know a bit about genetics and…"

"And you've drawn your own conclusions about the 'unknown' DNA in me, is that it?"

"Well, I can't venture any theories without due testing, but…"

"You have a hint of what might be happening with me? Come on, Jul, talk to me, whatever it is I can handle it".

"I know you can, but if I tell you anything that comes to mind, I'd be just speculating. So I'll tell you only this: whatever is going on with your DNA, whatever you are, I don't care. I'll still love you whether you're a vampire, a werewolf or whatever." Juliette stated, Robin lost all his seriousness and held back a chuckle.

"A werewolf? Come on Jul," he grinned. Juliette blushed.

"I was just saying. It may sound silly, but it's the truth, I do love you and I'll never leave you, no matter what kind your DNA is."

"I love you too, dear. And it's not silly at all, in fact it's lovely, and a relief at the same time to hear that from you".

Yeah, it was certainly a relief, thing was she had mentioned all sorts of occult creatures, except for one. And luckily, she wasn't looking into his eyes now, how they had momentarily changed from their natural color to an eerie pitch black. He couldn't see them either but could feel every time it happened.

He quickly turned his back on her to prevent her from seeing his eyes while they slowly returned to their normal color.

"I wouldn't mind if you were an alien either," Juliette added, oblivious to his sudden distress.

"Really? Most people are terrified of aliens."

"Not me. And I'd still love you if you were one".

"That's… good to know," he muttered.

"But. why do you bring that up? Have you noticed anything about yourself that would indicate that you're alien?" She rushed to ask.

"I-I haven't noticed anything in particular," he answered.

"What about those 'powers' Dustin mentioned?"

"There are no such powers, Dust sure wasn't being serious."

"Dustin is imaginative, yes, but he wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Well, I still think it's best if we wait for the test results."

 

(To be Continued)

TIME TRAVELER: E210. CHANGING THE SUBJECT

At the same time, at Juliette's house... 

"Well, it looks like he did go to sleep after all," Robin commented, as they walked in the house.
"Yeah, I guess his lunch will have to wait," Juliette replied. "But he had a wonderful time, he looked so happy around you."
"I had a great time too. I can't wait to live all together, which will be soon, I hope."
"I hope so too," Juliette answered, then they just stood there, looking at each other for a few seconds…

"You still haven't told me, how come your mother decided not to join us today?" Robin asked to change the subject, as he placed Rowan on the swing; Juliette let out a sigh. 

"Well, in the end the respect for my privacy prevailed in her; she understood that we're adults now, thankfully".

"But she still doesn't trust me, does she?"
"Of course she trusts you, and Dad does too. I'm not going to lie, they were both a little sad that Row no longer carries the last name Shen, but overall, they're happy and grateful to you - just like me. Really, I can't thank you enough for what you did today".
"You don't have to thank me; I just did what I had to do as a father."

"I know, and I thank you for that too. But I wasn't talking about the registry, I meant you and Row, you are right for each other; to see you play together like that, how you understand each other so well, was just beautiful. This whole day itself, it was perfect."

"Yeah, it certainly was." Robin replied. Again, they stood looking at each other. He, holding back his desire to kiss her; she, fighting the impulse to throw herself in his arms.

Until Robin took a few steps away and cleared his throat, willing to change the subject once more. "Do you know if your father has been able to unlock the document yet?" he asked; Juliette snapped back to reality.

 "Ah, yes, about that…", she stammered.

"Dad told me he was close to figuring it out with the help of a friend, Dr. Beaker." She replied, following Robin across the room.

 "Great, I hope the document actually contains information about my parents, and about the true reason the Oasis Landing Council is chasing me."

 "I look forward to that as well."

.

"It would be amazing if your parents were alive, don't you think?"
"Yes, and a bit of a shocker, too."
"If they are, and you could meet them right now, what would you do or what would you say to them?"
"Honestly? I don't know."
"Why, aren't you excited at the thought of having them with you after all this time?"

"Well, I know this is going to sound terrible, but sometimes I'd rather think they're dead, than to think they abandoned me, and that being alive all these years, they never tried to contact me".
"Well, no parent abandons a little kid just like that, maybe something happened that forced them to leave you, maybe it wasn't even their fault".
"Maybe. But I find that hard to believe."

TIME TRAVELER: E209. Sopeha's Boss - Part 3

While Dylan, Karen and Bjorn discussed in the study, Sopeha went to the garage, where she had parked her spaceship, the Galaxa 3000.

She immediately boarded it, but before taking off, she grabbed his communication device and pressed a few buttons.

"Moonbase Beta, this is planet Earth, please answer."

"This is Moonbase Beta, come in," a friendly female voice replied.

"Hello, Zu, this is Sopeha, get me the captain, please."

"Right away."

A few beeps along with some static on the line was heard on the other end, and then the sound of a soft, nice male voice:

"Moonbase Beta, this is Guardian 1, come in, Sopeha."

Sopeha's gaze lit up at the sound of her boss's voice.

"Hello, stranger," she teased.

"Hey, Sop, nice to hear from you again, it's been a while..."

"It sure has".

Tell me, what news do you have for me?"

"It's good news this time. You're not going to believe it, but - I think I found him," she replied.

There was a short silence on the other end, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath, then the sweet male voice again, but more serious and with an almost imperceptible hint of anxiety.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, the data and story match: Robin Crane, 22 years old, alien DNA… It's definitely him. All that's missing is a picture, which I didn't ask for so as not to arouse suspicion, but I'll get one myself and send it to you. Right now, I'm heading for his location."

"Where are you at if I may ask?".

 

"In a place far to the North called Aurora Skies, year 2017. Planet Earth, obviously."

"Aurora Skies… Never heard of it. Anyway, do you know his exact whereabouts?"

"Well, I obtained his girlfriend's address by secretly scanning the minds of Bjorn's friends, Karen and Dylan. Sorry I broke the rules here, but I had to."

"That's okay, it was for a greater good."

"Definitely".

"Oh, by the way, these people are Robin's girlfriend's parents, they're asking for our help to take him to Lunar Lakes."

"He wants to go to Lunar Lakes?"

"Well, not him exactly, it's them who are arranging the trip, since, apparently, he doesn't know anything yet, he doesn't even know about his DNA. They found out first thanks to a Council document they found."

"I see…"

"Oh, and before you ask: no, I didn't tell them who you are, I didn't tell them anything about you that might give you away."

"Well done, no one must know anything about this yet, neither them nor Robin, okay?"

"Don't worry, I know you personally want to be the one to talk to him."

"That's right, it won't be easy, though, but I will… when the time is right. Now please get that image and send it to me as soon as you can."

"I will, don't worry, I'll also bring proof for the Alliance - if you authorize the trip to Lunar Lakes, that is."

"Not only do I authorize, but I will personally see to it that my… that Robin gets here safely."

"I thought so," Sopeha smiled. "Well, I'm off for now, I must complete my mission."

"Godspeed, Sop, and… thank you."

"My pleasure, 'Starman'. Over and out."

(To be continued)

TIME TRAVELER: E209. SOPEHA'S BOSS - Part 2

"Okay, see you all soon. Bjorn, I'll call you when I've spoken to my supervisor," she said.

"Thank you, Sophie, I'll escort you to the door", Bjorn hurried answer.

"No need, thank you, I know the way," Sopeha told him as she walked out of the studio.

“I know the way", Karen scoffed. "Of course she knows it, she must know the whole house very well indeed."

"Really, Bjorn, you and Sopeha…?" Dylan inquired.

"Like I said, she's my collaborator, we've worked together in this studio many times."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Karen teased again.

"It's not what you think," Bjorn replied. "Yes, Sopeha is stunning, but I love Gundrun, you know I do. Besides, Sopeha would never look at me. In case you didn't notice, she's smitten with her 'boss'."

"Smitten?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, he's like her hero, she talks a lot about him; the captain did this, the captain did that, she practically has him on an altar. Of course, he can't reciprocate because he's married as well, and he allegedly adores his wife."

"Sounds like quite the drama," Dylan said.

"It is to Sopeha, but she's a smart girl and copes with it well."

"Yeah? Well, I don't think she's coping, rather she's waiting for the opportunity to take that woman's husband away from her. She's not a 'guardian', but an interplanetary homewrecker, since apparently, she's only attracted to married men".

"Bjorn never said Sopeha wanted to steal anyone's husband," Dylan clarified.

"I still don't trust her, she's too mysterious."

"Yeah, that's what's fascinating about her," Bjorn opined.

"Fascinating? I would say suspicious. She acted strange when we talked about Robin, she asked questions beside the point. Plus, she didn't mention the name of her boss."

"That's true. In the time I've known her, she's never said who he is," Bjorn corroborated.

"Maybe he thought it was irrelevant cause we don't know him," Dylan replied. "And her personal stuff is none of our business anyway. All we should care about is she may help Robin get to Lunar Lakes."

"But what if she's not who she says she is? If she's a hijacker, or if she and her boss are one of those bounty hunters she mentioned?"

"As far as I know, the Alliance is a peaceful force, dedicated to do good." Bjorn clarified.

"Okay, but still, if she has a crush on her boss, that means she has a thing for married men, and it's obvious she likes you, so who's to say Dylan won't be next on her list?" Karen claimed.

"For God's sake, K," Dylan objected; Bjorn just shook his head.

"Why don't we stop speculating and let Sopeha talk to her boss? If he's the amazing guy she says he is, and these Guardians are the good guys, maybe they truly can help us. Let's be patient and wait for her answer, okay?" He suggested.

"That's right, let's give her a chance," Dylan agreed.

"I don't know," Karen answered. "We better watch her closely, she might be 'phoning home' right now to ask her boss for permission to destroy us".

“Well, if you're afraid she may 'destroy us', all the more reason to be nicer to her, don't you think?"

"Bjorn has a point." Dylan said, Karen heaved a sigh.

"You two are hopeless".

---

Credits and thanks for the poses go to @bmit04 for their Family Fighting pose set (today's episode). And @simsaywhat for their Conversations pose pack (previous episode).

TIME TRAVELER: E208. TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

"The transportation of interplanetary passengers is usually done in three kinds of ships: interstellar police cruisers, space shuttles, or alien scout ships," Sopeha explained.

"Scout ships?" Dylan asked.

"The ships used in abductions," Bjorn said.

Karen opened her mouth to protest, but Sopeha beat her to it.

"Abductions are an extremely disruptive approach that we Guardians do not use or approve of; therefore, I do not recommend it. Plus, if Robin is alien, he's not eligible for abduction."

"Oh, of course, your probes you only do them on humans."

"Karen" Dylan intervened. Sopeha displayed a show of self-control as she quirked a frozen smile.

"Like I said, we do not approve of, let alone practice abductions. If we were to use a scout ship it would be for what we call 'unofficial abduction'. Meaning Robin, being an alien, would not be subjected to the usual procedures, although, in the wrong hands, he might be the subject of some not dangerous, yet somewhat… unpleasant tests."

"Unpleasant is bad enough, same as 'test subject'. No way do I approve, Juliette wouldn't forgive us," said Karen.

"Juliette?" Sopeha asked.

"She's our daughter, Robin's girlfriend," Dylan replied. "Karen's right, Juliette wouldn't like it. We've heard that abductions are kind of… traumatic, I can't let Robin go through that, so I don't approve of it either."

"So, scout ship out," Bjorn sighed.

"What about the other option, the interstellar police cruiser?" he asked next.

"That's the one I would choose," Sopeha replied. "However, you say that Robin is a fugitive at large, wanted by the Oasis Landing 2054 authorities. If so, and he turns out not to be alien, the Interstellar Police would have to arrest and deport him."

"That's heartwarming," Karen said drily.

"What if we reveal to them that he's alien? We have a… mm, friend in the Interstellar Police, if we talk to him, maybe he can stop them from arresting Rob, even arrange for them to help him make the trip." Dylan suggested.

"You forget that friend of ours is Juliette's ex-boyfriend, I doubt he'd want to help Robin," Karen snapped.

"If you tell them that Robin is alien, they would no longer arrest him, but neither your friend nor anyone else in the corporation could take him to Lunar Lakes. Their higher-ups wouldn't let them, since aliens are not the IP's concern," Sopeha said.

"So, bad if you do, bad if you don't," Dylan sighed.

"Sadly, yes."

"You mentioned a third option," Bjorn continued.

"The space shuttles. I wouldn't recommend them either," Sopeha was quick to reply.

"Why?"

"Well, most of them are driven by intergalactic bounty hunters, criminals looking for fugitives or other crooks to hand in to the authorities for money".

"Usually, these are stolen and refitted vehicles. The cost of the ticket is not high, but the ride is not pleasant at all, the pilots usually sedate their passengers and put them in cryogenic chambers so that they resist the trip or to avoid problems with them".

"It doesn't sound good," Dylan said.

"I know, that's why I don't recommend it."

"Well, I vote against that option too," Karen jumped in.

"So do I," Dylan seconded her. "Rob is just a kid, if something bad happened to him with those guys, I wouldn't forgive myself," he concluded.

"I wouldn't risk my kids traveling with those scoundrels either," Bjorn sighed.

"Then, I'm afraid we're out of options," Dylan concluded grimly.

Sopeha went silent this time, which seemed to encourage Karen.

"What about your 'Guardians Alliance' - why can't they make the trip? Didn't you say that their mission is to 'help their own kind'?" she demanded.

Dylan and Bjorn were speechless. The Guardians Alliance! Of course, how had they not thought of that, and why hadn't Sopeha named them as an option?

Sopeha remained deep in thought. Of course the Alliance was an option, the best, if not the only one. And it was the choice that she liked, that was why she had ruled out the others, one by one. The Guardians certainly had the power and the means to complete this quest; and her boss, the head of Moonbase Beta, would be the most interested in helping, more so when he found out who the passenger was. But before proposing him to take over the mission, she would have to prove that Robin was - who he said he was.

While she was in her thoughts, Dylan, Bjorn and Karen watched her, she seemed genuinely concerned, as if this whole thing had become personal to her.

After a few seconds and a deep breath, she turned to look at them again. She no longer seemed worried, on the contrary, she looked animated, her eyes deeper and brighter, and her face lit up as she spoke, addressing Karen specifically.

"I too believe that the safest way to take Robin to Lunar Lakes is in an Alliance ship. And right today I can ask my boss to authorize the trip, but…"

"Of course there would be a but'", Karen complained.

(To be Continued)

Credits and thanks to Moria from MTS for their amazing decorative starship Go Beyond.