In Book 4: Lost in Time Skirrow of the Research Section had come up with a way of travelling into the future - never before attempted successfully. Falcon volunteered. A future trip was made but in attempting to return home Falcon was hopelessly lost amid the myriad timeholes of the space time continuum, cast adrift on the winds of time. After many strange adventures Falcon was able to activate a Stasis Field, thousands of years in the past, and wait, frozen in time, until the 31st century. Upon returning, Falcon was given a holiday on the pleasure dome of Titan - but not for long. Yelov has been seen once more, this time with powerful allies ...
Mission Brief
Rested and revitalised after experiencing the exotic delights of the pleasure dome on Titan, Jobanque's summons to join him in his office for your next mission briefing sends a tingle of excitement through you.
Jobanque's smile, as welcoming as ever, matches the twinkle in his eye as he enquires after your welfare. Your ordeal following the attempt at future travel which lost you in time left you tense and fatigued at your last meeting, but you are able to assure the Lord of TIME that you have regained your enthusiasm for the job. He laughs out loud when you ask, in mock apprehension, whether Section Chief Skirrow of the Technical Section has any new inventions for you to try - it was his addition to the Variac Drive of Falcon's Wing that sent you into a parallel universe.
Jobanque soon becomes serious: 'I expect you'll enjoy this mission, Falcon. Search and Destroy. Your target is your mortal enemy, Yelov. Find him and kill him. We cannot afford to allow him to live. You may use all available agents as long as someone is delegated to police the timelines.'
'Lynx is still out, recuperating after her last brush with Yelov, and Bloodhound has disappeared unaccountably. We simply cannot trace him, we've tried everything - he could be anywhere in time and space ... Talk about an amoeba in a fungspread vat.. .'Jobanque spreads his hands and shrugs. 'There are three graduates who have recently passed out of the Academy, none is ideal, but they are a talented group. You may recruit one as Bloodhound's replace- ment. They will be in your office, ready for you to interview, at noon today.
'One of our moles in CYBERNET tells us that Yelov has made contact with the criminal underworld on the exile-planet, Barbarossa. He has recruited three of their most dangerous operatives, the Thaccoid, Dark Star and the Symbiont. I suggest you examine the Enforcement Executive files on them before you select your new agent. Yelov is planning to use them in some insane scheme, but we don't know what yet - perhaps to kill you. Agent Leopard is on Barbarossa at the moment; you may recall him if you wish. The files on the Academy graduates are available now, I suggest you study them right away. That's all. Falcon. Good hunting.'
As you return to your office you mull over the news that Yelov has linked up with CYBERNET, the powerful crime syndicate. The enforcement executive conceded long ago that it could not destroy CYBERNET. Drugs, bodybroking, organised smugg- ling, stealing technical secrets, extortion, violence and countless other activities have allowed CYBERNET to infiltrate all levels of most societies. In all probability they are simply using the insane Yelov for his Time Machine, but if CYBERNET succeed, the danger to the Federation is ten times greater than the threat posed by Yelov alone and he remains a shrewd and lethal adversary. It will be imperative that you strike quickly.
As your office door slides open you resolve to choose your new agent as quickly as possible. A message on your screen alerts you to a recent happening in the vicinity of the 1743 star cluster. A new and hostile civilisation has been discovered and three navy probes to 1743 have failed to return. You decide that this information is not personally relevant at this moment and switch to file mode. You have two hours in which to study the files before the interviews begin.
Your plexiform couch moulds itself to the contours of your body as you enter your security clearance code THETA into the TIME Executive Computer. Will you:
Ask for a link to the Enforcement Executive Computer to study the files on Yelov's supervillain associates? .
Study the files of the three graduates from the Academy who you will soon be interviewing?
Remind yourself of the agents presently under your command?
The holoscreen flashes up a list of the agents currently under
your command. You are invited to enter a file number to view
the personnel file of each agent.
[Since this is a "consult any time" para, I'll put it all here…]
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Paparestis, Giorgio (Agent Bloodhound)
POSITION: Agent First Class, Special Agent Section, TIME
SPECIES: Earther Human
BORN: Calgary Starport, 2953 AD
LIVES: TIME Headquarters, Alpolis, Earth
PERSONALITY
Brave, calm and quick-thinking under pressure. Bloodhound was the first Special Agent recruited from the Academy and remains its most experienced. He has proven himself in countless operations across time and space, showing the ideal capacities called for in a member of the TIME Police. He was unlucky to have been passed over by Agent Falcon, who was chosen ahead of him to replace the traitor Agidy Yelov as Head of the Special Agent section, but retains a good working relationship with his new superior. Agent Bloodhound volunteered to attempt to move forward in time in Falcon's place but Falcon refused this. While Falcon was lost in time, Bloodhound sustained a serious injury, losing two fingers and the use of an arm while policing the Phocian timeline. After recuperating he set off on a mission to guard a timehole on Rigel Prime and has not been heard of since. He seems to have vanished without a trace.
HOMEWORLD
Earth
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
(Homeworld Earth)
END OF FILE
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Sydney, Harlo (Agent Lynx)
POSITION: Agent First Class, Special Agent Section, TIME
SPECIES: Earther Human
BORN: Proxima Centauri, 2971 AD
LIVES: TIME Headquarters, Alpolis, Earth
PERSONALITY
Cool and efficient, quick-thinking and reliable, Agent Lynx was the third agent recruited to the Special Agent Section, shortly after agent Q who was killed investigating a disturbance on the Kelados timeline. She was trained in combat by Agidy Yelov and is the most deadly of the SAS Agents. Like Bloodhound she has acquitted herself nobly in operations throughout time and space. She recently tracked the traitor Yelov down to the battlefield of Gettysburg where she bravely attempted to serve the Termination Order on him single-handed. She was severely wounded and is presently unavailable for active service, recuperating in the Health Executive Hospital, Alpolis.
HOMEWORLD
Earth
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
(Homeworld Earth)
END OF FILE
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Spapseeps, Blute Torris (Agent Chameleon)
POSITION: Agent, Special Agent Section, TIME
SPECIES: Illusion Master
BORN: Phalang
LIVES: TIME Headquarters, Alpolis, Earth
PERSONALITY
Agent Chameleon is a dependable and resourceful member of the TIME Police. In complete control of his changing outward appearance and able to dissemble with a skill surpassing that of any other species, he remains totally inscrutable. Nothing is known about his motivations but he professes absolute loyalty TIME and his actions support this. He is in occasional communication with his home world Phalang and Time Lord Pilota has suggested that armed with the knowledge Chame- leon has gained, the Illusion Masters might, if they chose, overrun the Space Federation. It is thought that Chameleon does not know of Lord Pilota's scepticism, although he is telepathic and may have caught an unguarded thought.
HOMEWORLD
Phalang. Nothing whatsoever is known of this planet, its colour and size appear different whenever an Earther pilot flies by. The Illusion Masters can force a visitor to see only what they choose. They are telepaths but it is thought they have no other mental powers, other than that of illusion and shape changing.
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
Phalang's only contact with the rest of space is through Chameleon who was given his place as an agent of TIME due to his ability to change his form to that of any being of a similar or even larger size at will, his Psychic Awareness and history of honourable behaviour.
APPEARANCE
Chameleon has always maintained that seeing him in his true shape would turn a human insane. He appears to his fellow agents as an athletic, smooth-headed man with a costume, or skin, of deep sea green decorated with blue circles.
END OF FILE
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Duran, Borak (Agent Leopard)
POSITION: Agent, Special Agent Section, TIME
SPECIES: Earther Human
BORN: Proxima Centauri
LIVES: TIME Headquarters, Alpolis, Earth
PERSONALITY
Duran was discovered by a psychic talent when his own latent psychic powers asserted themselves after his command of Assault Troopers had been pinned down and wiped out in the Last Hive war. He had lost the use of all his limbs, and communications contact, but the raw strength of his mind's call for help was his salvation. His body useless, he was loaded into a cydroid shell and is now a living brain in a robot body. His psychic powers and combat experience rendered him a natural choice for the Special Agent training course at the Academy, from which he graduated with honours. His mental adjustment to his android condition has been relatively smooth but his inability to enjoy certain simple pleasures has left a gap which is filled by intense dedication to his work.
HOMEWORLD
Earth
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
(Homeworld Earth)
END OF FILE
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Anatol, Yvlena (Agent Sparrowhawk)
POSITION: Agent, Special Agent Section, TIME
SPECIES: Sirian
BORN: Sirius Secundus, 2966 AD
LIVES: TIME Headquarters, Alpolis, Earth
PERSONALITY
Her self-confidence and decisiveness flourished under the tutelage of her Sirian mentor, Agidy Yelov. She is now a resourceful and capable agent with well developed powers of the mind. Since Yelov's disgrace, however, her confidence has suffered and she has been seconded to support duties, which she has fulfilled adequately. It is to be hoped that the new head of the SAT Section, Falcon, can re-harness the abilities of this most valuable agent so that she may be deployed to full effect. Her affection for Yelov was well known and not based entirely on hero-worship although he was a very charismatic and able leader. She is reputed to have a strong mind.
HOMEWORLD
Sirius Secundus. Population 12.576 billion. Sirius Secundus is an Earth type but cool world, rich in minerals and with a strong economy. As the sun, Sirius, gradually wanes, the Sirians are beginning to emigrate in increasing numbers from their dying world.
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
The Sirians are fiercely independent members of the Space Federation, which they joined in order to gain the secrets of space travel. Trade between Sirius and other worlds is now flourishing.
END OF FILE
As your fingers hover over the keyboard in your desk top, a message flashes onto your holoscreen. Pressing the receive button brings an array of characters into the air before you. It is the Academy's report on the three candidates you are to interview.
[Copy & paste to something monospaced if it doesn't work for you.]
Name Yellow- Sosquilla Bounty<br></br> blades Hunter<br></br>Reflexes 8 7 7<br></br>Sim-Combat Skill 8 7 10<br></br>Unarmed Combat Skill 10 2 7<br></br>Deadliness 9 2 8<br></br>Intelligence (General) 7 10 7<br></br>Speed of Thought 7 9 8<br></br>Powers of Logic 6 9 6<br></br>Resistance to Stress 9 5 9<br></br>Leadership 7 5 4<br></br>Survival 8 6 8<br></br><br></br> (maximum score 10)<br></br><br></br>PSYCHIC POWERS<br></br><br></br>POW very good good good<br></br>Thinkstrike good good<br></br>Psychic Awareness good good good<br></br>Other Emotion Invulner-<br></br> enhance- able to<br></br> ment mental<br></br> attack<br></br>
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Yellowblades
POSITION: Graduate of the Academy, SAT training course
5PECIES: Rigellian
BORN: Rigel Prime, 2944 AD
LIVES: Centridome, Asteroid Belt, Sol system
PERSONAL HISTORY
Yellowblades is, even by Rigellian standards, a splendid physical specimen. Reigning champion of the tribal arena, he is the hero of Rigel Prime. Discovery of his latent psychic abilities, which have since been developed at the academy, by Time Lord Silvermane, made him a natural candidate for the SAT agent training course. Lord Silvermane, who is of the same tribe, is his sponsor, and has provided a character reference which is summarised here: 'Yellowblades is possessed of superb reflexes, great courage and the quickness of thought necessary to triumph in the arena of Rigel Prime. He has become a keen student of history and his powers of the mind are developing strongly. His natural arrogance is diminishing as he realises the varied demands that will be made on him if he becomes a Special Agent.'
HOMEWORLD
Rigel Prime is a large, high-gravity world covered by farmland ranges. The population is 30.131 billion. Yellowblades' tribe is in power but occasional differences are settled through ritual combat, no longer to the death, between chosen tribal champions. The Rigellians' culture is based upon the code of the warrior and physical strength is still prized.
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
The Rigellians developed space travel in the 1890s and first contacted an Earther spaceship in 2152 AD. There was a long history of minor frontier wars as both Rigel and Earth staked claim to various barren planets useful only for the easily mined asteroids which surrounded them. These were eventually settled after the Battle of the Flying Coffins, notable because less than ten percent of the personnel involved survived it. Rigel Prime joined the Federation soon afterwards. The Rigellians assisted the Earthers in the great Hive War and without their help the war might have been lost.
END OF FILE
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: Sosquilla
POSITION: Graduate of the Academy SAT training course
SPECIES: Ardann
BORN: Arden
LIVES: Spiro's Ringworld
PERSONAL HISTORY
Sosquilla was brought to the notice of one of our intrepid singleship scouts by tales of her extraordinary mental powers. She could not, at first, be induced to leave Arden, until ordered to do so by the Ardann Elders. Physically timid, she has adapted to life inside the Earth Federation tolerably well, but her powers of the mind are largely responsible for this since she can manage the degree of any emotion felt by whoever she meets. She is also a genius, learning bio-mechanics, electronics and servo biofeed- back theory in only a few months. She has a strong desire to succeed and is aware that, as ambassador of the Ardann, she must acquit herself nobly. Her high level of self control allows her inclination to absolute privacy to be overcome so that normal working relationships may be established.
HOMEWORLD
Arden is an Earth type planet covered in luxuriant vegetation. lakes and forests. Food is abundant and life is easy except during the polar cycles which last for ten years in every forty. The Ardann are highly intelligent and civilised but have not developed any significant reliance' on technology or machinery.
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
Arden was discovered by a Rigellian trader in 2804 AD but the Rigellians visited it seldom for the Ardann were not inter- ested in trade. They remain timorous and anxious to avoid contact with spacefarers, although the Elders have recognised the possible advantages, particularly in terms of safety, offered by joining the Federation, and have duly sent Sosquilla to Earth. Her family see this as a sacrifice rather than an oppor- tunity.
END OF FILE
FILE
TIME EXECUTIVE
Personnel File Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: 'The Bounty Hunter'
POSITION: Graduate of the Academy SAT training course
SPECIES: Earther human
BORN: Ascension
LIVES: Apogee Palace Hotel, Alpolis, Earth
PERSONAL HISTORY
The man who calls himself the Bounty Hunter stowed away on a space freighter at the age of fourteen and escaped repatriation for five years. The experience he gained allowed him to work as a highly paid bodyguard until he was wealthy enough to buy his first single-ship, a Cobra class all-purpose fighter. He gradually armed the ship with the most advanced weaponry available and became the most feared Bounty Hunter Earth-side of the Cygnus Cluster. Brave to the point of recklessness and a loner, he has so far responded well to authority. He has an obsessive dislike of criminals and space pirates, having retired many CYBERNET operatives. Seven years ago CYBERNET offered a Bauhaus designed lancer cruiser to anyone who could terminate the Bounty Hunter. He still lives and this alone is sufficient testimony to his survival skills.
HOMEWORLD
Ascension. An Earth colony which fulfils all the criteria for habitability but whose atmosphere encourages a fast rate of mutation, with the effect that new diseases break out regularly, wiping out many of the people of Ascension before new antidotes can be found. Society has fragmented and people seldom risk close contact with strangers.
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
Ascension has its own defences against would-be attackers and benefits from its easily assumed neutrality to trade with other species using hermetically sealed roboships.
END OF FILE
ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVE
Criminal Dossier Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: THE THACCOID
Security Classification: Extremely Lethal Psychopathic (T.O.) LIFE HISTORY: The only inhabitant of planet Thaccos to have crossed the Earth Federation boundary, the Thaccoid was captured, illegally, on its homeworld by zoo-stockists from Rigel Prime. The race of Thaccoids is believed to be cunning, carnivorous and incapable of reasoned restraint. While the Thaccoid shows understanding, attempts to placate it have proved ineffective.
The Thaccoid escaped from its storage cell on a Rigellian freighter when the ship was attacked by Phocian pirates, and broke ship at Barborossa where it was recruited by CYBERNET and has proved most successful in inspiring terror in securoguards and enforcers alike. The Thaccoid's actions, so extreme in disregard for other life-forms, compelled the Enforcement Executive to raise a Termination Order despite the fact that it is the sole ambassador of its race.
APPEARANCE: Similar to a Terran wolf-spider, with a lizard-like head and eye-stalks, four metres tall and extremely strong.
Known to have a web-spinning capability usable in combat.
LOCATION: The Ariadne arm, tenth sub-quartile.
HOMEWORLD: THACCOS (text taken from Rigellian interrogation report). A planet with gravity slightly lower than our own, sparsely vegetated, with many gigantic life-forms. Mixed atmosphere. Rich in natural resources. Dominant life-forms: dangerous and warlike.
END OF FILE
FILE
ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVE
Criminal Dossier Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: DARK STAR
Security Classification: Very Dangerous, Kleptomaniac
LIFE HISTORY: Born Cestos, on Phocis in 2945 AD. At the age of fifteen flew with her father on pirate raids against the Keladi and commanded her own ship when he was killed by an Earth Navy Cruiser's 'warning shot'. She swore undying hatred of Earthers and disrupted space traffic to the colonies for several years until her ship's drive was disabled and she was taken and incarcerated in the Earth prison, Chicago. Her unsuspected psychic talents allowed her to escape Chicago, one of a handful ever to have accomplished this. She has been stealing and killing humans ever since. She obtained passage to Barbarossa when recruited by CYBERNET and is now one of their top operatives. APPEARANCE: Typical hawk-head Phocian humanoid, moves with bird-like grace and can be distinguished by red and purple cheek feathers. She has the ability to teleport using the power of thought, is extremely elusive and a skilled space-pilot.
ADDFILE / /1
THE PET
Dark Star stole an organism from the genetic experimentation laboratories in Orleans which she calls the Pet. It was the most successful product of the TERRORISE programme to develop highly lethal terrestrial combat organisms.
APPEARANCE: Classified Access Code ORANGE
END OF FILE
FILE
ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVE
Criminal Dossier Library
Security Access Code: THETA
SUBJECT: SYMBIONT
Security Classification: Dangerous, sadistic psychopath
LIFE HISTORY: Born Coin Helm, in Joburgopolis, Earth, 2988 AD. Helm joined the space navy and served with distinction on the Phocian borders, rising to become an Assault Leader among the elite starship marines. He won the Cross of Gold for his bravery during the second Hiver war. After the war he demobbed and became a Singleship Scout. He followed Skirrow to planet Hel in 600 AD where an unfortunate accident befell him.
Helm was able to return his ship to the nearest Earth colony (Lastlanding), but the being that stepped down from the singleship was a tortured travesty of the battle hero who had so intrepidly explored planet Hel. Fused into his back was a parasite, resembling the blood-wet lobes of a giant liver, which had thrust black veins beneath his skin. Helm had become the Symbiont.
The parasitic infestation from Hel appears to feed on the psychic waves produced by mental suffering. Helm is forced to inflict this on others or suffer the effects of a painful poison which the parasite releases into his blood system when hungry. Helm's strong will has been eroded by the pain and horror of his circumstances and CYBERNET have been able to recruit him in exchange for 'safe' victims.
APPEARANCE: From the front the Symbiont appears as a physically strong and resourceful Singleship Scout, showing signs of extreme stress. From behind he appears as a grotesque hunchback, whose liver-like flesh has erupted from beneath his skin. The parasite quivers gently in time with his pulse, the details of its sensory apparatus are unknown but Helm has shown unusual strength since his return from planet Hel. It is thought the parasite has psychic powers and augments Helm's mind enabling him to use an 'Ego Whip', a psychic attack of great power that causes intense mental pain in the victim, allowing the parasite to feed.
END OF FILE
You relax and compose yourself, mulling over the task of terminating Yelov, then the face of Ameena, your secretary, fills the holoscreen: 'Welcome back, sir, are you well?' You return the greeting and are told that the first two candidates have arrived. You switch to the holovid camera in the foyer outside your office and the strong contrast between the two figures sitting there strikes you immediately. They are side by side but one is four times as large as the other. It is the blue-skinned Rigellian, Yellowblades, undisputed champion of the arena, a magnificent figure of mercurial power. Next to him sits a slim and unimposing figure at once reminiscent of a squirrel, but humanoid. Her paw-like hands are clasped together under her chin. The gigantic Rigellian turns to her and wishes her good fortune. Sosquilla replies by bobbing her head and saying that she hopes Yellowblades will become the new Special Agent. It is noon, and the Bounty Hunter has not yet arrived. Who will you call for interview first:
At one minute past noon, you see the Bounty Hunter arriving in the foyer as Yellowblades enters your office. Sosquilla greets him nervously and you do not quite catch his brusque reply. He gazes darkly into space as you switch off the holovid and greet the Rigellian thinking as you do so that it would probably be good for your career; it would certainly make you popular with Lord Silvermane, if you gave the blue-skinned warrior a place on your squad.
Yellowblades waits, composed and still, for you to begin the interview. You decide to begin affably and then become more tough as the interview progresses. To begin with you apologise for not greeting him immediately and he smiles non- committally. You briefly go over his fine performance at the Academy, praising his combat skills and he begins to relax. Will you:
Ask him why he feels that he is the best candidate to become a Special Agent of TIME?
Ask him what he feels the duties of a Special Agent involve?
'Policing the timelines, preventing changes in history, and behaving so as to minimise any disruption caused by being there out of your own time.'
'Is that all?' you ask.
'Well ... no ... an agent will be called on to do an enormous range of tasks, placing beacons ... er ...' The Rigellian has dried up and you decide to come to his aid. Will you go on to ask:
Whether Yellowblade's allegiance lies with Rigel Prime or the Federation?
How he views the role of Special Agents as diplomats?
The Rigellian pauses for some time and you decide to let him stew. At length he says that he would do his best to avoid causing diplomatic incidents and rely on his personal code of honour to ensure that he behaved correctly. 'But let us suppose,' you butt in, 'that the species with which you were dealing lived by a very different code, what then?' Once again the Rigellian seems briefly at a loss before saying that he would of course study local customs before mixing with a new culture. There is not always time for such luxuries,' you reply. Yellowblades seems unsure about his own powers of diplomacy. You ask him whether he has mixed with the other students at the Academy and it seems he has seen little of them outside curriculum hours, preferring weapon practice to company. You decide to be a little more tough. Will you:
Ask him what an oversized killing machine can offer the TIME Police?
Accuse him of being a Rigellian spy and probe his mind using your Psychic Awareness?
Yellowblades seems to have expected something like this. There is no anger in his voice as he replies, 'You will find me dependable, trustworthy and careful. There is more to me than a mere killing machine.' You believe you have a good idea now of exactly what Yellowblades has to offer so you tell him a little more about the responsibilities of a Special Agent before indicating that the interview is over.
As the Rigellian leaves, you switch on the holovid once more. Sosquilla, the Ardann and the Bounty Hunter have been sitting in stony silence. Sosquilla looks relieved when Yellowblades tells her to step into your office.
You turn your attention to Sosquilla, who is sitting with her hands under her chin, smile, and apologise for not greeting her straight away. She smiles at you nervously. You go over her outstanding performance at the Academy, praising her mental agility. You have decided to begin the interview gently and become tough later on. Will you:
Ask her why she feels that she is the best candidate to become a Special Agent of TIME?
Ask her what she feels the duties of a Special Agent include?
Sosquilla's reply is given without the need of a moment's reflection. 'A Special Agent of TIME must be knowledgeable, resourceful, determined and ... brave. They must be able to protect the timelines of history without their presence being discovered.' You nod but you cannot help noticing the way that she hesitated before saying the word brave. Will you ask her if:
All of the Ardann are, like her, reluctant to push themselves forward?
Once again the Ardann replies promptly, admitting that she does react with fear at the thought of joining the TIME police, but that she has found herself becoming braver during her training and her people would now think her reckless. You decide to become a little rougher to see how she will respond. Will you:
Spring towards her and then shout, 'How dare you think you were fitted to become a Special Agent.'?
Paint a grisly picture of the dangers she will face and then use your Psychic Awareness to probe her mind?
You recount the tale of your recent odyssey through Time and Space, when as a result of an attempt to travel into the future you became lost in time, dwelling in gruesome detail on the many dangers that befell you. Without warning, you use your Psychic Awareness to probe Sosquilla's mind. Your words are indeed filling her with fear, so that you cannot be sure whether or not she would panic when faced with danger. But there is a strength of character and power of intellect that almost humbles you. Realising that you will never know whether she can cope until she experiences the real thing, you indicate that the interview is over and she leaves.
The Bounty Hunter is impassive as he sits opposite you. You know that his scores in the Sim-Combat booths are as high even as your own. The man facing you is a born killer and a survivor. What you must decide is whether he can become a reliable member of the team that is the TIME police. Will you:
Ask him why he feels he is the best candidate to become a Special Agent of TIME?
Ask him what he feels the duties of a Special Agent involve?
'Well, I see it mainly as a deterrent job. When we go into action we've gotta be seen to be good or too many people will be stealing machines and disappearing. Of course when we're in another time we have to keep a low profile, but I've lain low as a stowaway often enough.'
'What about the fact that you'll be an ambassador of the Federation to many species?'
'I have to admit diplomacy isn't my most complete suit, I'm not exactly a natural.' You nod and look at him in silence for some time before asking him another question. Will you ask him:
How he thinks he will react as a member of a team?
Why he thinks the TIME Lords would wish to trust him with a Time Machine?
The Bounty Hunter rises to his feet with pantherish grace. 'You can take glory hunting to the stars, I'm a Bounty Hunter, not some lackey of a hyped-up Enforcer!' With that he is gone, the hissing of the closing doors shutting off his back view before you can even think of a rejoinder.
Now that you have interviewed the three candidates you must make your choice.
The fate of the Federation may hang on your choice. Which candidate will you invite to join the TIME police:
When you inform Sosquilla of your decision to make her a member of the TIME police, her eyes widen, then she bows her head and thanks you. You give the Ardann a few words of encouragement and tell her to present herself at the Hall of Honours on the stroke of fifteen. She bows again and then leaves you to make the necessary preparations for the graduation ceremony.
Whilst the graduation ceremony is taking place you steal a few minutes to walk to the Rec Centre and watch the preview of the next Solar Racer Grand Prix about to take place around the red giant sun, Sirius. You are familiar with the principles behind tacking against and running before the solar wind, but you would not relish the thought of taking part in so dangerous a sport. The punters are tipping the Lord of TIME, Pilota of Lastlanding, to successfully defend her championship but you cannot help feeling that she is irresponsible to subject herself to such danger when her responsibilities as a Lord of TIME are so great. You decide to tear yourself away from the preview and return to duty.
Returning to your office you find that the Weptech unit of the Research Section has sent some sample items for you to look over with a view to issuing them as standard equipment for Special Agents. There are three CSX Nerve Gas Grenades, two mini-lasers (strapped to the wrist, fired by a flick of the wrist, with three charges each), one Harpoon/Grapple Backpack enabling the wearer to launch a harpoon/grapple with explosive force, enough to embed the titanium harpoon into steel, very useful for climbing and can be used as a weapon) and four hunter/seekers (thin missile-like devices that can be tuned to a target and released and over short distances they home in unerringly. They are fitted with four knock-out drug applicators, supposedly effective against different kinds of animal - Insectoid, Humanoid, Marine and Reptilian).
As you are considering these items your holovid bleeps signifying an incoming message. The figure of Po-Ling, head of the Monitoring Section, seems to fill the room, his smart black suit contrasting sharply with the bright clean whiteness of your office. His round, thickly moustachioed face breaks into a smile.
'Hello and Good Morning, Section Chief Falcon, how are things going? Settled in I hope.'
'This is not merely a social call I presume, Po-Ling, hurry it up,' you reply.
#Oh, yes, of course, ah yes. We have discovered some disturbances in the timelines Chief, occurring almost simultaneously. These are at the timehole on Earth 1194 BC - apparently where the ancient city of Troy is supposed to lie, and a timehole in space itself, 2665 AD, although I can't imagine what would be happening there.
'We have also received a message from Interstellpol. Apparently they have a deep-cover agent in the Cybernet organisation. Dark Star and a team of Cybernet agents are planning to raid the polybdenum warehouse stores at the space port in Alpolis. Their ally, Yelov, probably requires more polybdenum for his stolen Time Machine. Well that's it, Falcon. Good luck.' And his image fades.
All three situations will have to be investigated and you will have to investigate one of them yourself. Will you:
Note down who you decide to send to the spaceport and to the timehole in space. You can send Chameleon and your new agent to one and Leopard and Sparrowhawk to the other. You also have time to pick up three of the Weptech items in your office (for instance two of the grenades and one mini-laser) before heading to the Eiger vault and Falcon's Wing, your Time Machine. Within half an hour you have issued your orders to your Special Agents and are sitting in Falcon's Wing. You tell CAIN to set co-ordinates for the timehole in 1194 BC. There is a familiar tingle up your spine as you shift into null-space. Soon it is rematerialising in real space but nearly 4,000 years in the past. CAIN tells you he has disguised the ship with a hologram of a clump of trees, and switches on the external cameras. You are on a range of hills, looking down. On your left is a broad plain leading to the sea with sandy beaches. Set back from the beach and on your right is a hill on top of which lies an ancient city, its adobe walls bright in the sunlight. Between the city and the sea lies a raised mound with a tall pillar on top of it. Beached at the sea's edge are three rows of wooden ships with lateen sails, long and low. They have been there for some time, huts have been built around them and tents are stretched between them. The ships are surrounded by a wooden stockade with gates set in it at intervals. In the encampment are men and women going about their business, cooking and so on. At the furthest end of the encampment from you, a large group of men are playing dice or lying about, their armour and weapons by their side. This strikes you as odd, for near the pillared mound a battle is raging. Two lines of warriors face each other and sections join together to fight briefly, then draw back.
The warriors wear bronze breastplates, greaves, and bronze crested helmets, many full faced with curving cheekguards. Their thighs seem unprotected. Most of them carry shields, swords and thrusting spears. Some are slingers and others archers. Some, generally nobles and their picked men, or so it seems, ride light chariots of wood and bronze, with sides of wickerwork. Each carries a driver and one other. Some fight from their chariots, others dismount to fight.
Amidst the battle you can pick out ritualised duels between opponents. You ask CAIN what is going on. 'I have consulted my data banks, Falcon. The city is Troy. The walled encampment and the ships belong to the Achaeans or Greeks, led by Agamemnon, their High King. It is said that Paris, the son of Priam, the King of Troy, stole Helen, the wife of the Achaean king, Menelaus, and that the Greeks have come to take her back, but the prospect of great plunder, for Troy was a wealthy city, is more than likely the Achaeans' prime motivation, for they were seaborne raiders. The group of men lying idle in the Greek encampment would be the Prince of Phthia, Achilles' men. Achilles has argued with Agamemnon and refuses to fight. The mound behind the Achaean lines is the Mound of Ilus, where Ilus, the founder of Troy, is said to be buried. The river is the Scamander.'
Thank you, CAIN,' you say. You will have to go out to the battlefield and find who or what it is that has travelled to Troy illegally. It is impossible to tell what changes in history could be caused by, say, the prevention of Troy's destruction at the hands of the Achaeans, but scientists at TIME have theorised about the snowball effect. This theory suggests that the further back in time one goes, the smaller the change necessary to influence the future.
You notice that some of the Trojans have a leaping fish symbol painted on their shields, presumably denoting them as men of a Trojan prince, or one of their allies. You instruct CAIN to activate the molecular convertor and provide you with the armour of a bronze-age warrior. You decide to have the leaping fish symbol emblazoned on your shield and go disguised as a Trojan warrior. Finally, you take some plasnet field dressings, hiding them in your shield, just in case.
Soon you are dressed in a bronze breastplate, a crested helmet, greaves and a pleated white kilt, and leather sandals. A hiltless sword hangs in a leather scabbard at your belt. A round shield is slung on your arm and you hold a spear in your right hand. You may take a CSX gas grenade, a hunter/seeker and a mini-laser if you wish, but obviously not the harpoon/grapple gun. You may also take your blaster. Note down which, if any, weapons you have taken. When you are ready you step out in the sun of bronze-age Turkey. You activate your hologram detector, but it doesn't register the presence of another machine's hologram. Of course, whoever is here may not be trying to disguise his or her Time Machine. In any case, you cannot see it.
You descend to the plain below, travelling in a wide arc so that you appear behind the left flank of the Trojan lines, near to the mound of Ilus. The battle surges all around you. It is a fierce and Woody struggle, their bronze weapons inflicting horrible wounds. You hang back, scanning the area with your Psychic Awareness, hoping to find your target, but all you can pick up is fear, blood lust, a simple wish to survive or sometimes, the lust for 'glory'.
Suddenly the Trojans in front of you begin to give ground and you hear cries of 'Diomedes, it is Diomedes.' A chariot rides into the Trojan line, and a young bearded Achaean, lithe and muscular, is hurling spears from it with deadly accuracy. The Trojans in his immediate vicinity fall back away from him. A group of Achaeans is following close behind its leader in a charge. The chariot bursts through the Trojan front line. You are taller than most in this time period and Diomedes cannot help noticing you. With one swift movement, he hurls a spear at you. Will you:
You whip your shield up to protect yourself, but the spear hits it with such force that it bursts through the bronze and pricks your upper arm. Lose 2 Endurance points. [18/20] The spear weighs down your shield and as you hurriedly pull it out, Diomedes leaps nimbly from his chariot, another spear in his hand. Nearby, Trojans and Diomedes' men fight on. Another chariot bearing a slim-built wiry man, older than Diomedes, approaches from the Achaean lines. You gather from the shouts of the Achaeans that his name is Odysseus. Diomedes is readying himself to attack you again. Will you:
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