"It's not that complicated," Khamm insisted, gesturing at what was very clearly a complicated piece of equipment. "The stasis field generator creates a localized temporal bubble that..."

  "In smaller words," Trent interrupted, eyeing the device warily.

  They were in what Vorrin had called the equipment bay, a cavernous space lined with storage units and workstations. The ship had been traveling for what felt like hours...heading toward Verdara, Khamm had explained, though the actual journey involved calculations and preparations that Jessica's brain kept sliding off of when she tried to understand them.

  Khamm picked up the device. It looked like a transparent cube, about a foot and a half on each side, with what might have been circuitry or possibly veins running through its structure. A handle extended from one side, and there was a panel of controls that glowed softly.

  "Okay, simpler version," Khamm said. "This is a capture cube. You aim it at your target, activate the field, and it creates a bubble of stopped time around them. The target is frozen, unharmed, and can be safely transported back to the ship. Once they're in their habitat, we release the field and they resume normal time. To them, it's instantaneous."

  "So they don't even know they've been moved?" Maddie asked.

  "Exactly! No trauma, no stress, no awareness of the transfer. It's the most humane method we've developed." Khamm set the cube down on a workbench. "The controls are intuitive...this activates the field, this adjusts the size of the capture radius, this releases it. The cube automatically scales to contain whatever you've captured, up to about three meters in diameter."

  "What happens if you catch something bigger than three meters?" Deke asked.

  "Don't," Vorrin said flatly from where he was organizing environmental suits. "That's why we scout first. Know your target's size before you activate."

  "Let's practice," Khamm suggested brightly. She produced what looked like a stuffed animal...something vaguely rabbit-like with too many ears. "This is approximately floof-sized. We'll take turns capturing it."

  She demonstrated first, setting the toy on the floor about ten feet away. She aimed the cube, touched the activation panel, and a shimmer appeared in the air around the toy. The stuffed animal froze mid-topple, suspended in a barely visible bubble of distorted space.

  "See? Easy!" Khamm released the field and the toy completed its fall. "Now you try."

  Maddie volunteered first, carefully aiming the cube at the toy. Her finger hovered over the activation button. "Just press it?"

  "Just press it," Khamm confirmed.

  Maddie pressed. The field activated...and the toy exploded in a spray of stuffing and fabric.

  "Oh no!" Maddie dropped the cube like it had burned her. "Oh no, I killed it! I killed the practice animal! The poor thing!" To see her react you would think the stuffed animal was her own pet from back home.

  "You didn't kill it," Vorrin said, though his tone suggested this was not the first time this had happened. "You activated the field while the cube was in motion. It created a shear effect. The toy intersected with the bubble boundary while it was forming."

  "Which is why," Khamm added, quickly cleaning up the stuffing, "you make sure you're steady and your target is in clear space before activating. Here, let's try again." She produced another toy, this one more cylindrical. "Deke, you're up."

  Deke took the cube with the careful respect of someone handling a weapon. He aimed, steadied himself, and activated the field. The bubble formed perfectly...around empty air three feet to the left of the toy.

  "Distance judgment," Vorrin noted. "The field projects from the cube's center point. You need to account for perspective."

  "Right," Deke muttered, clearly annoyed with himself. He tried again, this time centering the toy properly. The bubble formed around it, perfect and stable. "Got it."

  "Good," Khamm said. "Now hold it for a ten-count, then release."

  Deke counted, then fumbled with the release control. The field collapsed, but instead of a clean release, the toy shot forward like it had been launched from a cannon, ricocheting off the wall with enough force to leave a dent.

  "That," Vorrin said with remarkable patience, "is why we practice."

  * * *

  An hour later, they'd all successfully captured and released the practice toys without destroying them or firing them as projectiles. Mostly. Trent had managed to activate the field in reverse somehow, creating a void that had made everyone's ears pop before Vorrin shut it down.

  "Adequate," Vorrin declared, which from him seemed to be high praise. "Now for vehicle training."

  He led them to another section of the bay where something that looked like a cross between a dune buggy and a tank sat waiting. It had six wheels, each one independently articulated, and a low profile that suggested it could handle rough terrain. The controls were visible through a transparent canopy, and the whole thing hummed with barely restrained energy.

  "This is an ATV...All Terrain Vehicle," Khamm explained, patting its side affectionately. Something in the alien girl’s gaze made Jess think Khamm believed herself the first to introduce such a high tech concepts to the humans she rescued. "It can handle basically any surface you'll encounter on Verdara. Six-wheel independent suspension, adaptive traction, and enough shielding to protect you from anything short of a direct meteor strike."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Who's driving?" Trent asked, already moving toward the vehicle.

  "Everyone learns," Vorrin said. "You need to know how to operate it in case of emergency."

  The ship's bay had reconfigured itself while they were training with the capture cubes, creating what looked like an obstacle course. Hills, valleys, scattered obstacles, even what might have been simulated water.

  Khamm went first, zipping through the course with easy confidence. The ATV responded to her movements like it was an extension of her body, wheels adjusting independently to keep the ride smooth even over the roughest terrain.

  "Show-off," Vorrin muttered, but there was fondness in his tone.

  Jessica went next. The controls were surprisingly intuitive...a steering mechanism that felt natural in her hands, acceleration that responded to pressure rather than binary on/off. She took it slow, methodical, learning how the vehicle responded before pushing it harder.

  "Good," Vorrin approved when she completed the course without incident. "Cautious but competent. Maddie, you're up."

  Maddie approached the ATV like it might bite her. "I'm not a great driver," she admitted. "I failed my first driving test. Twice. I Uber everywhere… or cabs… sometimes buses." Her face colored as her head dropped in embarrassment.

  "This isn't a car," Khamm said encouragingly. "It's much more forgiving. Just take it slow."

  Maddie took it slow. Very slow. She crept through the course at a pace that made walking look fast, but she made it through without hitting anything.

  "Perfect!" Khamm declared. "See? Not so bad."

  Deke drove like he was trying to qualify for a race, taking corners hard and pushing the acceleration. He made it through the course fast, but clipped two obstacles and nearly rolled the vehicle on a hill.

  "Speed is not the goal," Vorrin said pointedly. "Control is."

  Then it was Trent's turn. He climbed into the ATV with that easy confidence that seemed to be his default setting, spent approximately five seconds familiarizing himself with the controls, and immediately gunned it.

  The ATV shot forward, hit the first hill at full speed, went airborne, came down at the wrong angle, and flipped spectacularly. It rolled three times before the safety systems kicked in, righting the vehicle and killing the engine.

  Trent sat there for a moment, upside down in the safety harness, looking dazed. “Someone call the motor club! I think this car’s broken.”

  "That also," Vorrin said, walking over to manually open the canopy, "is why we practice. Are you injured?"

  "Just my pride," Trent groaned, unstrapping himself and falling gracelessly out of the vehicle. "That... did not go as planned. Things got a good pick up though."

  "No," Khamm agreed, inspecting the ATV. "But that's what training is for. The vehicle is fine...these things are built to take abuse. You, however, need to learn that confidence is not a substitute for competence."

  Trent had the grace to look embarrassed.

  They ran through the course several more times, each of them getting more comfortable with the vehicle's capabilities and limitations. By the end, even Maddie was managing a reasonable speed, and Trent had stopped trying to prove something.

  * * *

  The environmental suits came last. They were less bulky than Jessica had expected...form-fitting material that Khamm said would adjust to their bodies, with helmets that sealed magnetically at the collar.

  "Verdara's atmosphere is breathable," Vorrin explained, "so you won't need the helmets most of the time. But they integrate scanning equipment, communications, and emergency life support. Keep them accessible."

  Jessica pulled on her suit. The material felt strange at first, almost liquid, but within seconds it had conformed to her perfectly. The helmet attached with a soft click, and suddenly her vision was overlaid with information...temperature, atmospheric composition, a compass, and what looked like a radar display.

  "Whoa," Maddie's voice came through clear despite the helmet. "This is so weird. I can see everyone's vital signs. Trent, your heart rate is really high."

  "Just excited, pretty girl," Trent muttered, his tone suggesting he was being less than forthcoming.

  They practiced the suits' various functions...activating the sealed environment, adjusting the display overlays, using the built-in tools. The suits had basic medical supplies, rations, and even a small cutting implement that Vorrin made very clear was for emergencies only.

  "Remember," he said, his tone serious, "these suits will keep you alive in most environments. But they're not invincible. Don't take unnecessary risks. Don't test their limits. They're tools, not toys."

  * * *

  By the time they finished training, Jessica was exhausted. They'd been at it for hours, running through scenarios and procedures until Vorrin was satisfied they wouldn't immediately kill themselves or the mission.

  "We'll arrive at Verdara in approximately two hours," Khamm announced as they were storing the equipment. "That gives you time to rest, eat, and prepare mentally. This is real now. You're going to step onto an alien world, two hundred years in its past, and save a species from extinction."

  "No pressure," Trent said.

  "Actually, yes, pressure," Vorrin corrected. "Lives depend on you doing this correctly. Don't forget that."

  Jessica headed back to her quarters, her muscles aching in ways she hadn't experienced since her brief gym membership phase three years ago. She ate something the ship provided...it was getting better at approximating Earth food, or maybe she was just getting used to it...and stood at her window watching the stars.

  Somewhere out there was Verdara. A world she'd never heard of, where creatures she'd never imagined lived and died according to the rules of history. And in two hours, she was going to change that. Not much. Not in any way that would ripple forward. But for two small fluffy creatures, everything would change.

  * * *

  The ship's chime woke her from a light doze. Khamm's voice echoed through the room: "We've arrived at Verdara, two hundred and three years in the past. Everyone to the deployment bay. Time to make history by not making history."

  Jessica suited up...the environmental suit in its compact form, the equipment harness with the capture cube attached, boots that the ship assured her could handle any terrain. She checked her reflection in the mirror and barely recognized herself. She looked like someone from a movie, an explorer, an adventurer.

  She looked alive.

  The deployment bay was bustling when she arrived. The others were already there, similarly equipped. Vorrin was running final checks on equipment while Khamm bounced on her toes with barely contained energy. Orryx had appeared to see them off, his serpentine form coiled near the deployment door.

  "The ATV is loaded," Vorrin reported. "Habitat coordinates are locked. Timeline markers are stable. Weather is optimal. We have a four-hour window before the historical predator arrives."

  "Which gives us plenty of time," Khamm added. "We'll scout the location, verify the targets, make the retrieval, and be back before anything knows we were there."

  The deployment door began to open, and Jessica's breath caught.

  Beyond it was an alien world.

  Verdara's sky was purple, streaked with clouds that caught the light of two suns on the horizon. The landscape was covered in vegetation that looked almost Earth-like from a distance...grass, trees, rolling hills...but the colors were wrong in subtle ways. Greens that were too blue, flowers in shades that didn't exist in nature back home.

  And the air, when the environmental seals released, smelled like cinnamon and rain.

  "Welcome to Verdara," Khamm said softly. "Now let's go save some floofs."

  The ATV's engine hummed to life. Vorrin took the driver's position with Khamm beside him. The humans loaded into the back, secure in their harnesses, capture cubes ready.

  And then they were moving, rolling down the ship's ramp and onto alien soil, under an alien sky, to do something impossible.

  Jessica pressed the quarter flat in her pocket. For a moment, she imagined her father’s hand over hers…steady, sure.

  Then she let go, feeling the weight of the suit settle properly across her shoulders.

  “Ready,” she said, surprising herself with how calm it sounded.