Caelstone City, Union Federa, Buthaan
Wednesday, July 15, 2663

Siwon frowned at his readings. A timestream within the wormhole is spiking again, around the 30th time already in the week that he was assigned to monitoring duty rotation. The system hasn't been flagging it as something to look into since their algorithms didn't check for frequency as opposed to intensity - and all the spikes have been within nominal parameters.

Only a watching timecop such as Siwon would be perturbed at what he was seeing. He already has a sort of adversarial relationship with the wormhole so anything anomalous on his watch would always make him stand up and notice. Fine tuning the calibrations on his workstation console, he dove in and studied the misbehaving timestream.

The timestream referred to a period in the Qali homeworld known as the Blight Era. Of course the Temporal Security Division had long known what the dark-haired race called their own world - whatever planetary designation the Buthaans had assigned it was already buried in history. Siwon studied the markers up and down the timestream, reference points which timecops use to anchor their observations as the timestream is nothing more than a ultra high velocity playback loop of everything happening in that particular timeline. He frowned that readings still read nominal along the timestream, but looking at another part of his console, he was sure that the most recent spike has been logged.

Siwon returned his console to the default view - a multicolor schematic of the timestreams that the Division is tracking in real time, with the network of drones they've already established in various missions into the wormhole and into Qali. He just put in a series of codes designed to flag him of any further spikes and send the data to him even as he moved to another duty rotation at the end of the week. Then he called Hyukjae down at the Archives, who was currently on archival duty rotation.

"Hey Choi, what's up?" Hyukjae greeted him onscreen as the communications got patched to Hyukjae's current workstation in Archives.

"I'm logging a formal request for an archival search for a set of readings that I've just sent to you," Siwon said without preamble, and Hyukjae knew him enough to know that Siwon was putting on his serious timecop hat.

Hyukjae acknowledged the request. "Anything I should be on a lookout for?"

Siwon allowed himself a tiny huff of frustration. "I'm not even sure at what I'm looking at, as it's all systems normal here. But the timestream's been spiking, most recent around the blight era. Maybe you can find something in archives for similar readings?"

Hyukjae called up the data packet Siwon sent, whistling at the content. "You've managed to log all these?"

Siwon just nodded. "Just this week. I've already looked up the previous week's logs, had even chased down Masterson who was on monitoring duty last week, said she hadn't noticed anything anomalous going in the wormhole."

Of course, they both knew that if timecops relied solely on system flags, they wouldn't be getting readings that triggered a close watch. But they also both knew that timecop training ensured that all timecops be observant. So if Masterson said there were no anomalous readings from last week, then there were none.

"Alright, I'll see what I can get from here." Hyukjae still had a virtual pile of wormhole recordings to archive, but if he started a search now based on Siwon's readings, he might find something before his rotation was through.

"Thanks buddy," Siwon signed off and cut the communications from his end. He sat back against his chair, just a bit frustrated. He'd been permanently taken off archival duty owing to that adversarial relationship he had with the wormhole. Long story short, he had seen something he shouldn't have in a timestream, and after reporting to his superiors, his duty rotations left out archive work.

There was nothing he could do but continue watching the wormhole. Hopefully, Hyukjae has better luck with the archives.

Mahan, Fire Fork Countries, Qali
Satura, the twenty-sixth day of Yuzurin, 1082

Cordana was sleeping peacefully at home this time of the allnight season when insistent pinpricks creeping into her consciousness forced her awake. Awake, though unseeing, as she was locked in a meld with Baoshilan, her twin brother's dragon. They were miles away from her, somewhere in the Far Reach, but with the twins talking through the link made by the dragon, it seemed as if they were just beside each other.

We've already broken camp, Cordana, Baoshilan relayed from Faljian.

Must you really do this, brother? Cordana asked for the umpteenth time, worried that her brother's undertaking may spell his doom - the elders did not take the god-place lightly, and has always cautioned them about being too ambitious, as they may get lost in the Far Reach, never to return.

The Lore have always talked about this place between, Faljian explained again, about where the gods lived.

As the blackness of between gripped them, Baoshilan relayed a message from Faljian to Cordana: We might not be able to break time, but we can cheat it!

Anendroyer's Penitentiary - Medium Security, Union Federa, Buthaan
Tuesday, February 19, 2667

"Parolee M-1701-E is an ideal candidate to join the crew." The correction officer advised the reviewing body.

Everyone looked up the records of the said prisoner.

"Background in engineering, last worked at the timecop facility where he was accused of deliberately sabotaging the timeslip settings that left the crew of timeship Victarion dead," intoned the head reviewer as he read the records. One particular entry made him pause.

"He never pleaded guilty, is still contesting the 'Guilty' verdict handed down on his trial, never mind if he's already served time and now out on parole." Head reviewer looked up. "Did defense botch his trial?"

There was a ripple of unpleasant reactions in the audience to his left, where the defense panel was seated. But remained quiet.

"I am not required to provide opinions to cases before they enter or after they leave the facility I oversee," the correction officer merely stated. "But I am making the recommendation based on your requirements for this assignment: knowledgeable about temporal science, adept in various fields, no next of kin."

The head reviewer mulled over it, before turning to the other panelists for inputs.

"Schedule an interview with Parolee M-1701-E." The head reviewer finally said to no one in particular, though one of the two assistants assigned to record the day's proceedings was already putting a call through to the parolee's designated halfway house.

The head reviewer tried to recall where he had come across this Parolee M-1701-E before. But if he was a timecop, normal citizens like them would have no knowledge of them, except for the few involved, like when the former timecop's case blew up because for the first time, an entire crew was declared dead in the first recorded incident involving the wormhole.

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