The oracle speaks softly but in a matter of fact kind of way. "Marshall, your knowledge of the lay of the land is very important to us. We need you to go back to earth in a time very close to your own. And with the help of Tosha, whom you have just met, you will retrieve an important data-recording device for us. There should not be many, if any, paroles for you. This should be strictly in and out. Oh, and your vehicle has been refitted for a fuel capsule delivery system so you won't have to bother looking for fuel ever again." The lady in the light proudly smiles and cocks her pretty tiny little head placing her hands on her hips looking like some tiny little preppy wannabe "Wasn't that great of us to do that for you? Now, get ready for this trip. You will most likely want to get acquainted with each other and rest before this trip."

Marshall looks at Tosha who has the look of someone very bored with life and then at the Oracle. "What time zone are you sending us to? And what are we going to be looking for?"

"All your questions will be answered soon enough, and remember this, Marshall, it will be very close to your own time but you cannot go to see if anyone you know is around. That will upset the time continuum and eventually destroy time itself and the earth."

The light on the tabletop flickers and then goes out, leaving Marshall and Tosha alone in the room. Their eyes meet for a long time, staring into each other's souls.

Tosha feels a new sensation welling up deep inside of her. One that is a little frightening yet welcome. She stirs gently in her chair placing one foot under herself, her heel catching the balance of her weight. She breaks the stare.

"I know what we are after, Marshall." she says, letting her eyes drop to the tabletop while making intricate designs with her finger on the slick table surface. "We will be going after some devices that were left by a previous ship to record special events in your world's history."

Marshall watches her body language very closely, noticing her rocking gently back and forth on her well-placed heel.

"What event are we going to, Tosha? What time in history? What part of the world?"

Tosha flushes slightly, closes her eyes tightly for just a second then opens them and exhales quickly. She looks around as if someone else was in the room then removes her foot from under herself.

"I believe the place we are going is called Nevada but the year is unknown to me, as is the exact location." She looks again into Marshall's eyes and smiles an almost embarrassed smile. Tosha stands and quickly walks to the door. She pauses as she leaves the room and turns around, peeking in around the doorframe.

"I suppose we need to rest now. We will be facing a few long, hard, exciting days ahead, I hope." she giggles suggestively and disappears from sight, leaving Marshall alone in the room.

He thinks about what was said. And how Tosha was acting was also in his thoughts. Softly and just barely aloud, he whispers the word"Nevada.." Then, he tries to remember events from his childhood that might allow him to remember something, anything, that happened there. He stands, stretches and then leaves the room. Wandering down the hallway toward the room where he sleeps, he chuckles to himself. He opens the door and walks in, flopping face first on his bed. "Gods, she was easy! I didn’t even touch her and she was off like a racehorse."

Marshall sleeps a very restful sleep and wakes refreshed and anxious to get underway. He dresses and walks to the doorway of his chamber on this ship. He tries the door and as usual it is locked.

So,he decides to eat instead and begins pressing buttons on the food processor. After a few seconds there is food on a tray before him. He moves across the room to where he can look out a small portal as he eats and as he does drops a small amount of what is supposed to be scrambled eggs on the floor.

There is a buzzing sound as 6 tiny and very quick robots about the size of toy soldiers pulling tiny wagons loaded with brooms and mops converge on the dropped food. Quick as it happens, it is over; the floor and the food are cleaned up to microscopic detail. The tiny robots are once again gone. Had Marshall not watched so closely he would have missed the whole thing. He purposely splatters a little of the milk gravy from his fried potatoes on the floor, making a little bigger mess than before. Once again, the buzzing noise as the six tiny robots quickly perform their task and then again quickly return to their command place under one of the floor tiles. Marshal thinks 'Wow! How cool is this, I have to see them work one more time.' So, once again, he finds something on his tray a small potato with thick gravy on it. He flips it to the center of the room. The buzzing noise, once again, the six tiny robots scurry to complete their task at hand but something is different this time. A seventh robot casually comes from under one of the counters. He walks similar to how humans walk, just a bit more mechanical. It stops and also watches as the others finish and disappear once more. But yet, this one remains. Marshal once again snickers and tosses a bit of egg to the floor. The buzzing again begins, the six do come from under the floor to complete their task. But the seventh draws a tiny laser pistol and shoots Marshal in the thigh. It feels like a hornet sting as Marshall lets out a bellow of pain.

"You little fuck!! I am gonna stomp your ass to bits!" Marshall shouts, as he dives for the now retreating shooting robot. But, he is too late as it has disappeared behind the steel plating of the under cabinet molding. He claws at the crack between the two pieces of steel, cussing and hitting the cabinet.

The door opens and Tosha stands there looking at Marshall. She cocks her head sideways.

"Um…. Marshall? What are you doing?"

Marshall looks up, flushes red and stands quickly, limping a little from the stinging in his thigh.

"I ain't doing nothing. I was just waiting for you is all."

She smiles sweetly and again the door opens as she exits, Marshall right behind her looking over his shoulder to be sure he is not going to be ambushed by the tiny shooter again.

They enter the transporter room. Once again the tiny Oracle appears on a counter top.

Quickly, she speaks, "Marshall, we have outfitted you and your motorcycle with new weapons and a few new features. Good luck to both of you. We are counting on you." She again disappears and the bike is brought in.

Marshal and Tosha sit quietly in the early evening dusk of the desert area they have landed in. The heat of the day is vanishing and Tosha is nervously feeling the coolness of nights approaching for her very first time. The skintight black leather outfit Marshall insisted on her wearing is not the warmest of articles she could have chosen. But Marshall is happily resting, feet up on the handle bars, bike on it's rest and himself leaning back against her with her arms around him.

"There are two leather coats in the bag, Tosha. If you are cold, we can put them on too." As she twists about, trying to reach them without making Marshall move, she sees something in the distance kicking up a lot of dust and moving quickly across the line now drawn by the setting sun. Marshall has spotted something for the first time also. It is a semi-automatic 45-caliber carbine rifle in a sheath with 10 clips of ammo.

Pointing over his shoulder, Tosha asks Marshall "What is that? Is it some sort of animal, or is it an animal and with a human riding it?"

Marshall strains his eyes against the setting sun to make out what she is seeing. It's a horse and rider moving fast across the desert. Both are moving as one as they race the evening and the elements. It's picture perfect the way the rider is low on his pony and how the pony stretches for every step and floating in between steps.

Marshall leans back against Tosha, "That is a horse and its rider. I wonder what year it is?"

Tosha replies "It's close to your time, Marshall. she whispers softly. "It's the earth year 1861"

"1861? What the fuck, that’s nowhere near my time. My time is 2000 and then some!"Marshall stammers.

He again watches the pony and rider cut across the desert floor, kicking up their plume of dust. He tries to imagine why this sole man and horse would be traveling this quickly and nothing but two sets of saddlebags. Marshall pulls out the opera glasses from his vest pocket, adjusting them to get a little better look at the rider.

"That dude ain't even got a gun on him. I wonder what he is doing?"

Tosha watches from her comfortable resting place behind Marshall, snuggling in closer, she again points over his shoulder.

"Maybe it’s a race of some sort; look at all these other rides chasing him. Maybe he is a criminal and they are going to apprehend him."

Marshall's eyes open widely as he realizes what is happening in the not so distant distance. Shouts and war cries can be heard as well as random shots from far off rifles.

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