Time War (CC, Teen) 1/1 Complete - 06/16/08

[PML]

Title- Time war

Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine and no infringement is intended. It is owned by Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, UPN, WB, etc.

Category- CC but basically irrelevant, as this takes place before they live in Roswell.

Rating- Teen

Summary- One take on why and how the aliens crashed in Roswell.

----
Outside of Denver, 1973

The Estate was burning. Kal had lost communications with the other protectors. And their charges were in danger.

Where was everyone?

Kal ran into the burning building hoping to at least save someone, to not be alone on this dying world.

“ZAN!” he heard Ava cry. He ran to save his most important charges- the King and Queen in exile. How had it all gone so wrong?

Ava was beating at a wall of burning debris that once had lead to the Grand Ballroom. Kal noticed the darkening of her dress where she was wounded. “Your Highness, we must get you to a medical facility. You are wounded.”

She looked at him, broken. “They are all dead. Oh, God, they are all dead…”

“All the more reason for us to leave.” Kal picked up Ava and carried her out toward transportation. If she was all they had, he had to protect her. At all costs..

Ava suddenly cried out and rubbed her shoulder.

Kal set her down so he could look at the new wound. And it was official, they were all dead. For on her shoulder was emblazoned the Seal of Antar. And Ava was last in line to receive it. “Let’s go Your Majesty.”

She just looked at her shoulder stunned.

Kal got the Jeep and placed Ava inside. He then drove towards the local Hospital. They would be able to treat her altered biochemisty there. He looked back once towards the Antaran Estate smoke billowing up into the sky. And behind it the glorious sunset that spoke of this poor world’s calamity.

“No, Kal, not to the hospital. We need to go to the Chamber. I need to use the Granolith.”

“What good would that do, Your Majesty?“

“Please, we don’t have much time. Just call me Ava. I will explain on the way.”

“Yes, You…, Ava.”

Ava smiled at the Protector. “The Granolith can solve all of this… It has before.”

“What?”

Ava looked away, “We’ve been conducting a Time War with the Rebels.”

“Time war?”

“The Granolith can be altered to allow time travel. And we have used it. It was a weird idea cooked up by a bunch of scientists, but many, many world lines ago we found that it could be done. And so when we realized we were about to be defeated, one of us would go back to the past.”

“And you haven’t told any of us?”

“Our group has been infiltrated. We weren’t sure who we could trust.”

“But you trust me now?”

Ava smiled one of her sardonic smiles, “Do I have a choice. You see they are winning this war. We don’t think they can initiate the change, but they seem to be getting more and more information each time.” She smiled at him again, “We have spies too.”

“And now we are going to reset it again?”

“No. It is getting too close. If the Rebels gain control of the Granolith, there is little hope for anyone. But maybe we can change things. At least give this world a chance. You see, this Third World War of theirs that they are in the middle of has happened each time. Maybe we can give them a chance to avoid the nuclear exchange.”

“So what do you propose to do?”

“The furthest back I can send you is right before we land. We have a trajectory map of our path. I want you to shoot us down.”

“Surely there are other options. What about the other hybrids, the ones still in hibernation…”

Ava’s eyes were full of tears, “It didn’t help. Nothing we have done has helped. Things have only gotten worse.”

“How will this help? I mean, do we have anything that can even damage the Granolith?”

“They won’t be here yet. From what we have learned they receive the signals when we make the change, if they are not here, they can’t pick up the signal.”

“What about just communicating with us, warning us your Protectors…”

“We don’t know who all of the spies are. And if we reset again, they will have even more information. If I die they win. The Seal will pass to someone else and they will be able to use the Granolith. I can’t risk it.”

The Jeep pulled up to the mountain where the Granolith was hidden. Kal stared at the wall, “You do know that without immediate medical attention that you will die.”

“Then we need to hurry. Millions of lives hang in the balance.”

Kal still just sat there, desperately trying to think of another way…

“Kal, I’m sorry I have to do this, but I order you to carry out the mission. I order you to pick a spot along our trajectory and shoot us down. I’m so sorry.”

Kal could feel as the imperative slowly became a compulsion for him. He hated being a Protector. He would have to carry out her insane plan. “I have doubts about the efficacy of this course of action, but I will obey. Your Majesty.”

Ava closed her eyes, tears welling at the need to tear away the veil that he was more than a slave. “I’m sorry.” She said softly.

Kal picked her up and opened the stone door. He carried her to the well appointed Chamber, brightly lit. He saw the other set of pods, filled with the copy of his charges. He walked past them towards the Granolith.

Ava winced in pain as Kal set her down near the control panel. “Please hand me the crystal.” She held it a moment marveling again that something so small could carry such weight of destiny. Please take the weapon and map. You will have one day to get yourself in position.” She looked down for a moment. :Try as much as you can to keep the crash in an unpopulated region. We don’t know how bad the explosion will be.”

“I will obey,” Kal said bitterly.

Ava slid the crystal in the control panel. “I’m sorry. It should have been one of us. It would have been one of us… But we ran out of time.”

Kal place his hand on the Granolith. And suddenly he was inside staring out at Ava. He could barely hear her.

“Good bye Kal. You always were my favorite.”

Kal gave her a rude gesture right before he disappeared.

----
New Mexico, 1947

Kal stood on top of the strange slanted rock formation. This place was as good as any.

In five minutes he would be killing his friends and charges. He would be in effect killing himself. He’d spent the past day trying to figure out the ins and outs of the paradoxes of time travel. How could he shoot himself down if he would not be there to shoot himself down.

Not that it really mattered. An order was an order, and as a Protector he could not refuse a direct order from the Bearer of the Seal of Antar.

He sighted the weapon, pointing it in the direction that the ship would come before it leveled off and flew north. Just outside of the weapons scope he watched as a large balloon floated by. He remembered the pilot complaining about the damn thing. That it had nearly gone into one of the intakes.

The irony was one of the reasons he had chosen this place. They had nearly crashed here anyway. There were no significant human settlements nearby.

He wished his life had been different. That he’d could have had more choices, could have done something else.

Hollywood. He would have loved to work in Hollywood. Not as an actor, that was too close to what he did as a Protector. He was tired of pretending to be someone else. But a director. Or maybe a producer. Giving the shots to others pretending to be someone else.

That would have been wonderful.

He prepared the weapon and armed it.

Thirty seconds.

He could see a falling star shoot from the sky towards his location. He tracked it for a few seconds before pulling the trigger.

He watched in sadness as the ship began to break up. He saw the flash of the Crash as it hit the Earth. He had completed his task.

The world began to grow dark as he faded from view. His last thoughts were on the dream that was Hollywood.

A dream he would never see.

Not in that lifetime anyway.