Torn Between Ticks

When the farmer reached his homestead, he slammed the door behind him with a force that echoed through the still air. But Talia wasn’t one to let a lead slip away so easily. She started with a polite knock, then another, each one louder than the last. When no response came, her determination pushed her to circle around the house. There, she found him leaning against the weathered back wall, his shoulders hunched.

“Hello, mister.” Talia called softly, “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you but I heard what you said and…” Talia paused.

“I need to know what’s going on. People could get hurt out here.”

The farmer shot her a glare, but there was something in Talia’s voice that made him pause. After a long moment, he sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging.

“You’re the one who helped Mel plant her flowers, ain’t ya?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why’d you care to protect a place like this? You’re a Chrono Knight, ain’t this kind of life beneath ya now?”

Talia winced, his words striking deeper than she’d expected. “I haven’t forgotten where I came from, sir. And as a Knight it’s my duty to protect everyone, equally.”

The farmer scoffed, “Sure, you remember your roots, but you don’t respect ‘em. You Knights think you’re all high and mighty, protecting the world, but you’re just tools for the rich cities like Neotera. At least that man said he’ll respect our traditions. Said he’d help us keep things the way they are.”

Talia’s jaw clenched. She could feel the old conflict rising in her chest, the guilt she had buried so deep threatening to surface. 

But wasn’t she trying to protect them? Wasn’t that why she joined the Knights in the first place?

“You think the Knights will ever care about people like us? I’ll tell ya something. They won’t.” The farmer spat on the ground.

Talia felt torn—her heart tugging her back to the life she had left behind, but her mind urging her to stay on course. She wanted to explain, to make him understand, but the words stuck in her throat.

Instead she asked one more time, “Please… We need to know about this man you speak of. Anything. He’s dangerous… do you really wanna let these distortions continue?”

Seeing the crestfallen face of the girl, the old farmer lowered his gaze, producing another sigh.

“I don’t know what you are, girl. Or what you knights gonna do. But what you say is… true.” The farmer looked back at his land, bitter and hurt, “This man came round a few months ago, said he’ll protect our way of life, and all I see is these things popping up around town. The higher ups are hiding his existence but it’s getting out of hand. Look at the damages done to my crops…” 

“So will you…”

“I’ll tell ya what I know.”

Talia raised her gaze, hope lighting up within her.

“But I don’t know much either… Nobody does. All I know is that he’s hiding somewhere in those woods and only comes out when HE wants to. He doesn’t mess with us, and we don’t mess with him. In exchange he says he’s keeping us safe from y’all. He had a machine with him when I last saw him, which is probably what’s causing all those things out there.”

“Thank you… if there’s something more—“

“That’s all. Now leave, you’ve trespassed long enough.” The old farmer said, his glare returning.

Talia stepped back, nodding politely. As she left however, the faint sense of a presence nearby made her spin around sharply.

“Valis…?” She said flatly, eyes narrowing as she spotted Jessie stepping out from behind the corner of the house. He grinned sheepishly.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here, Talia! I was just—”

“Were you eavesdropping?” 

It didn’t take long for Jessie to shrug and drop the act, “I just saw you walking here all alone. Had to check, you know.”

Talia merely sighed and rolled her eyes as she turned back towards the main path.

Noticing the incoming silence, Jessie cleared his throat and asked, “Did your hometown look like this too?”

“Eh?” Talia swiftly turned around, her full attention on him as her eyes narrowed, “Valis have you been stalking me?”

In response to her snarl, Jessie raised his hands in mock surrender, “Stalking? Hell no. It was just the way you acted during that briefing that made me suspicious. Add to the fact you’re literally the only person these folk are willing to talk to and…”

“Haaah…” Talia slumped her shoulders again, “You’re too dumb to be this perceptive, Valis.”

“Hey, I’ll take that as a compliment. Or wait… should I?”

Talia opted to stay silent, her expression however betraying the conflict within her, “To answer your question… Yes this place does remind me of home. Painfully so, in fact.”

Jessie, surprised his squadmate actually responded, continued.

“So that’s why you opted to investigate alone. Now that I think about it, didn’t you tell me not to be so… improv?”

Talia turned to glare at him, “I didn’t… improvise.”

“Oh, so that was part of the plan then?” Jessie smirked. Realizing her mistake, the young knight slowly slumped her shoulders.

“You’re right. I just… I don’t know. Ever since we came here I’ve been a little off.”

“Do you… regret leaving, by any chance?”

Talia froze. That was something the young woman couldn’t find an answer to. At least not on the spot. Once again her teammate had hit the nail on the head.

“I uh…” Talia tripped over her words. There were so many unexplained and unaddressed things floating inside her head she just couldn’t put into words. So instead she simply decided to speed walk ahead.

“…Let’s just get back to the others.”

Surprisingly, Jessie followed without protest, realizing that this was as far as he was getting.

◔

After the squad regrouped and shared their findings, they decided to investigate the woods with the help of the morning light. So instead they headed back to the town hall, where they reported the mysterious vanishing of the distortion and decided to camp in the Strider, despite the mayor’s offer of lodging.

Jessie’s face fell in mock disappointment as they made their way back to their vehicle. Once inside, Jessie sprawled across a seat with an exaggerated sigh.

“So much for that warm bed…”

Dax chuckled, setting his gear aside and settling into his own spot. “Look at you, already spoiled by HQ comforts.”

Jessie grinned. “Hey, I’m just saying—sleeping in the Strider has its charm, but we’re practically camping out here.”

Rhea, leaning back in her seat, cracked her strained neck. “Not exactly camping, Valis. Unless you’re used to camping with high-tech chrono engines and heated seats.”

Each squad member soon found their own place in the cozy interior of the Strider.

Tali's sighed, leaning against the seat, though her mind was clearly elsewhere.

Mira, already curled up in her own seat with her tablet, looked up with a sleepy smile. “Goodnight, team.”

“Goodnight.” They echoed back.

◗

The next day, the Strider buzzed with the familiar sounds of groggy squad members waking up and exchanging bleary-eyed complaints, even before the sun had risen.

Dax yawned, stretching his massive arms. “Morning, fellow soldiers. How did everyone sleep?”

“Terrible,” Talia muttered, rubbing her neck, “But I’ll live.”

Mira, ever the optimist, grinned. “I mean, it was a good test run for the Strider’s comfort level, right?”

Jessie stretched with an exaggerated groan, “Well, that was a five-star sleep experience, am I right?”

Rhea chuckled silently, her shoulders. “Could’ve been worse. At least no one snored.”

“Nonsense,” Talia muttered, glaring at Jessie. “Pretty sure Valis was snoring loud enough to set off Mira’s chrono sensors.”

Mira, already tapping away on her holo-tablet, grinned as she held up a small device. “Speaking of sensors, I’ve been working on something new to help us out—especially me, since I’m the one without a Chrono weapon.”

She placed a small, hovering drone on the console, its round body whirring to life as it floated a few inches off the surface. The tiny device had a sleek, metallic design, with faint blue lights tracing its edges.

“This,” she began proudly, “is my very own chrono-shield drone. It’ll keep me safe if things get dicey.”

Jessie leaned in, looking impressed. “Hey, that's pretty neat! Does it speak? You should give it a personality! Like, turn it into a mini member of the squad.”

Mira laughed. “Hey, maybe I can try to install an advanced AI! I could use a little robotic sidekick, you know?”

“Perfect!” Jessie nodded vigorously. “You can even name it something fierce—like Steel Fang. Or… Robobuddy!”

Rhea cleared her throat, snapping them back to attention. “As much as I enjoy the creative brainstorm, let’s focus. We’re heading into the forest in 10, so get ready.”

“Yes, Captain!”