| Date: 15 December 2007
Characters: Anne Miles, Toshiko Sato Location: outside Link to IJ: thread #8023 |
 Anne stepped out of the quaint pub she'd found herself in, mentally shaking her head at the young man she'd just run into. Interesting, but young. As young as many of her students. And with as much of the arrogance that being chosen to go to the Acadamy seemed to introduce into all but a handful of those students. Tolerable, she supposed, but not very helpful when one is lost.
Looking around, she sighed when she found the buildings around her resembled the late twentieth or early twenty-first century architecture as much as the inside of the pub. So much for hoping the pub had been into an authenic historical appearence. Chosing a direction, she began to walk, hoping that perhaps she would find some sort of information booth, even if in this century, she suspected she'd find a map and printed brochures instead of a computer interface. Though there were people on the streets, and it was possible one of them might be able to lend her assistance. If they didn't think her crazy, asking the date and place. She let out a small snort at that thought, and put on her smoothest professional smile as she approached the nearest person. "Pardon, but would you happen to know where we are? I'm afraid I am a little lost." |
 Toshiko was a little more calm now, although she was still trying to figure the mystery of this place. But drinks and sleep had both helped.
She looked away from the window display when the woman spoke and shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't," she said apologetically. |
| "Than I am not alone in being lost." Anne's smile faded slightly into a more genuine expression, though she kept her guard up, perhaps more than she had before. "It is a bit disconcerting, though, to be in what appears to be, at least, the twentieth - or perhaps twenty-first? - century." |
| "I'm getting the impression that none of the people here are actually from here," Tosh said with a quick smile. "And yes, that seems to be about right, timewise." She glanced over at the woman and took a guess. "You're from the future?" |
| "Middle of the fifty-first century." Anne offered her hand. "Anne Miles." |
| She tried not to react to that as she took the other woman's hand. She was only partly successful.
"Toshiko Sato. 2007." |
| "Early twenty-first century. Time travel is still science-fiction to you, yes?" Anne observed the reaction to her century with interest. She'd always been curious about the past, but it had been some time since she'd had the chance for some hands-on experience with it, or those who lived history. "Where from did you come?" |
| Tosh waggled her hand.
"Let's just say it's not very controlled or very well known," she said. "Do you mean geographically? Cardiff. In the UK." |
| "Near the Rift?" Anne tried to remember what else she'd learned about Cardiff, but that one fact stood out in her mind. Probably because she'd heard more than one agent gripe about missions there being worth more danger pay than they were given because of the Rift. |
| "Yes," Tosh said slowly. "How did you know about the rift?" |
| "People I work with." Anne gave her an apologetic smile. "I don't feel comfortable saying more, not until I know where and when I am. If there's any way of finding that out." |
| "Current theory is nowhere and every-when," Tosh said with a shrug. |
| "Delightful." Anne chuckled. "Then, the Time Agency doesn't pay enough for the danger when they send agents on missions to the area around it, in any time. With the exception of the twentieth century, which is relatively a quiet period for it, according to historical records."
After all, if they were nowhere, and in no discernable time, there was nothing the Time Agency or its enemies could do to actively reach her here. And thus, nothing she couldn't talk about, if she decided she wanted to. |
| "Time agency?" Toshiko asked. "What is that?" |
| "The Time Agency polices time, fixes things. Finds objects and people who are anachronistic, and takes them back where they belong, if they can. Fixes small breaches in space and time, cleans up paradoxes the best they can." Anne smiled. "I just teach them, and hope the skills I can give them help them do their job without causing more trouble." |
| "Well, if you can teach all that, can you get us out of here?" she asked. "As far as I can tell, we're all anachronistic." |
| "Oh, I don't teach them all that." Anne laughed, shaking her head. "I just teach them about sexuality and courtship rituals through history. All of that is a bit much for any one person to teach to others, and no one learns everything." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I just know what they do because they employ me, and knowing their mission is rather a neccessity before signing on with the Agency." |
| "I don't mean to be rude, but if the agents are trained to fix small breaches, cleans up paradoxes ... how important is what you teach?" Tosh was getting frustrated. Each time it seemed she got closer to an answer or a way out, she was blocked. |
| "Beacause everything can be a tool, and blending in is important. Part of blending in and finding what you need to fix, is being able to play the games of courtship, without offending anyone because sexuality isn't as open an issue as it is when I come from." Anne had heard much the same question from her students when they first arrived in her class-room. Though at least she hoped it wouldn't be followed up by the question of what a professor who wasn't an agent could teach them about the history of sex. |
| Tosh didn't ask the question, she was too busy adding that information to what she already knew. Not that she thought it would be very helpful, but stranger things had happened.
"Is there anyway for you to contact your agency or any of your agents?" |
| Anne held up her left hand, displaying the watch that wrapped around it. "It has an emergency beacon, but other than that, I hadn't expected to need to contact them." She let a little frustration show through on her face. "It'll alert any agents who are within range to my presence, but I don't know how much good that will do." She paused, taking a deep breath, letting the frustration at the situation fade a little.
"Perhaps I should have kept to my original thought, and not said anything about the Agency. It is merely frustrating to not talk to anyone about my career, for the concern that someone could decide to ensure the Agency has one less professor for their acadamy. I thought that being in a place which is nowhere, it wouldn't cause me too much worry." She gave Tosh a smile. "I do apologize if I've made you think I've more ability to help than I possess." |
| Toshiko's eyes widened a little. The only thing she had to equate Ann's watch to was Jack's wrist comp, although the similarities weren't huge.
"No, I think it's good to say. Anyone might have the information we need. Or we each might have a small piece. If everyone is guarding their secrets, then nothing will be accomplished. If we are willing to put our information out there, we have a small chance, at least." |
| "At least." Anne sighed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Though some of us may be more reluctant than others to share secrets, I'm sure." She gave Tosh an apologetic smile. |
| "I wouldn't be at all surprised." |