The Temporal Travel Agency

* Republished from five or so years ago. Now seemed a good time to release some alien content! 😁*

Classified

Terry Smith

The Homeland Security agent paced next to me as I told her that I was not an agent for the aliens for the tenth time.

“Why are you coming forward now?”

I shrugged.

“My contract with the Temporal Travel Agency was up about a month ago, so I figured I would let you all know what happened to the pilots.”

The agent sighed as she plopped down onto her metal fold-out chair.

I cringed.

That had to hurt.

“So, you are telling me that it was all innocent, and it was a sightseeing spaceship cruise?”

She raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged.

“That is what the Temporal Travel Agency does. It takes anyone who can afford their fees sightseeing around the galaxy.”

“Take it from the top one last time. I want to make sure you haven’t left anything out. What happened that day?”

I sighed in annoyance as I started my tale once more.

**

It was an adventure like no other, being a part of the Temporal Travel Agency. I got to see what no other human could. The only downfall was I could not tell anyone about it. I didn’t want to risk being thrown off the pulsating blue observatory deck, which is what they did to those of us who broke our contract.

This time it was the Captain’s fault that some fighter jets caught us gliding over the ocean. He had brought his son with him. His son got curious and pushed the big green DO NOT PUSH button, and well, here we are zigzagging through the sky to lose the fighter pilots.

I helped the passengers strap themselves to their plush microfiber (I don’t really know what the seats are made of) seats. Then, Ju—that’s what I call her because I can’t pronounce her name—commanded me to pour each passenger a glass of complimentary refreshing purple slime. While curious about the slime, I was not brave enough to try it yet. Maybe one day I will take a sip of it just to see, but every time I try to bring a glass of it up to my lips, I chicken out and opt for the water fountain instead. Yes, they have those. In fact, their fountains are self-cleaning, so that makes me feel good about drinking even when the purple-scaled kid in front of me puts their mouth right onto the mouthpiece. Cringe, yes, I am okay with it after the mini micro-robots disinfect it for the next in line.

Anywho, this day was not typical, and I decided what the hell and downed a small cup of the oozing slime as I strapped myself in at the front of the ship behind the captain’s station. Instead of watching the fighter pilots through the observatory window, my attention was drawn to the millions of sparkling colors somersaulting around my head. It was when the small balls of colors appeared that I realized the slime wasn’t refreshing. It was liquor or a drug of some kind. My eyes grew wide in surprise.

Ju looked at me disapprovingly. “I told you that it was complimentary for our guests, not you. One less gem for you at the end of this week’s trip.” She marched up to the captain’s station and then disappeared.

That little cup of slime put me out of commission for some minutes. Who knows, maybe it was hours. But, honestly, I regret nothing. Even though I know I should have been comforting the wide-eyed, spaced-out passengers. Instead, I was falling into a deep sleep.

**

I paused for dramatic effect like I had every other time, and the agent rolled her green eyes at me. I smiled and continued my story.

**

My head was foggy, and there was a heavy hand on my shoulder.

“It’s about time you woke up, sir.”

I blinked a few times before I realized that it wasn’t Ju waking me up and yelling at me to get back to my duties. Instead, it was a bewildered-looking soldier. Something wasn’t right. Had we crashed? I looked around, and nothing else was different. There was a new addition to the number of passengers. I counted six soldiers.

Ju eyeballed me and jerked her head at my seat. Taking the hint, I stood up as quickly as I could so that the soldier could have my seat.

“This is why I don’t allow my attendants to drink the slime,” Ju sighed.

I stumbled toward her. “I didn’t realize there was a rule against it. I assumed refreshing meant something else.”

“What does assume mean?” Ju stared at me for a few seconds, her white lids covering her glowing blue eyes, as she considered what I had meant.

“I will figure it out later. Never do that again. I don’t pay you in gems for you to partake of the wares. Now I need you to help our new guests relax. As you can see,” she pointed out where each of the soldiers was sitting, “they are shaken to their core. To think they don’t believe this is real.” She crackled, her almond-shaped eyes turning up at the corners.

I smiled nervously as I turned to the soldier who had just taken my seat.

“Where are we?” He whispered while frantically glancing around the ship.

I sighed, unsure how I was supposed to handle the situation.

“It is an honor that you have been accepted on board the Temporal Travel Agency’s observation deck. After we leave Earth, the observation window will close as we pass the sun for those of us whose eyes cannot withstand the light.”

The soldier’s eyes widened. “Leave Earth,” he shuddered.

I reached for my pitcher of “refreshing” slime and poured a cup.

“This will help you to relax.”

The soldier took the cup and held it between both hands.

“After the trip is over, Ju will offer you a job opportunity as one of the attendants for this ship.”

“What happens if I don’t accept?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m guessing they will drop you off where they found you?”

“I was flying a fighter jet...”

“It will be somewhere safe,” I assured the soldier as someone eyeballed me from a few rows back.

It was going to be a long few days, and I wasn’t sure the Temporal Travel Agency’s staff was up for it until the realization hit me right in the eyeball by way of a small piece of slime. The slime would keep the soldiers calm and knock them out for most of the journey if they drank it. I started to wonder if this is what happened to my family and me all those years ago. It would explain why I was the only one who could remember everything and why Ju offered me a job. I was the only one who had not drunk the slime.

**

I sat back in my chair as I tried to get comfortable. I was starting to regret coming forward. Although, in hindsight, I didn’t really have a choice. Ju wanted me to let my government know what happened that day in hopes they would stop looking for them.

Thinking about it now, this was probably the worst thing I could have done.

“Well?” The agent stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

“There isn’t much to add to the story. But, like I’ve said the other ten times you’ve asked, the soldier in question signed a contract to work for the Temporal Travel Agency.”

“Are they able to return to Earth?”

I sighed.

“I don’t know. I think their contract was different than mine because they always dropped me off at my house after the sightseeing tour was over. I would have a few weeks off at home, and then they would zap me back aboard the ship to work a few weeks.”

“There is nothing else I can tell you except hope that the soldier’s contract is up soon.”

“We will see about that, Mr. Smith.”

The agent stood up and stretched.

I grabbed my cup of cold coffee and took a long drink of it.

“Well played, Mr. Smith. You show up with this long, elaborate tale about what happened to the missing pilot, Sarah Becker, and now you expect us to believe you?”

I laughed.

“Either you believe me, or you don’t.”

I wanted to leave so badly that I could almost taste the rain from outside on my tongue.

“Mr. Smith, are you listening?!”

I jerked to attention.

“I’m sorry, it’s been a long day.”

The agent smiled.

“Not yet.”

“What do you mean, not yet? There isn’t anything else I can tell you.”

“Oh, I believe there is.”

I dropped my head into my hands, wishing that I was still working for the agency.

**

Ten hours later, they finally let me leave and dropped me off at my house.

After I closed the door, I walked over to the little green glowing communication stone and left a voice message for Ju to let her know that my final job was done. I had told my government what happened, but I wasn’t sure how it helped.

This was the last time I would communicate with Ju and the Temporal Travel Agency, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

There was a loud, annoying noise and a flashing green light starting to emit from the stone. I brought the stone up to my ear and tried to discern what was happening.

POP

I stared at the dull green dust in my hand as all my precious memories of the Temporal Travel Agency became locked behind an invisible door.

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