Caught in the Cretaceous

Chapter 15: Good and Bad

After a few days of hard work Meg exits the engine room in triumph. Artemis follows shortly behind her, not sure exactly what has her friends in such a good mood. The mechanic strides into the common area where the others are gathered. "I have good new!" She announces her presence. 

The entire crew's attention is drawn to her immediately. "You fixed the engine?" Apollo asks, trying not to get his, or anyone else's hopes up.

Meg's face falters a moment at his words before she replies. "I have good news, and bad news," she amends. 

Apollo furrows his brows in confusion. "So you didn't fix the engine?" 

There is a tense moment of silence as everyone waits for her to respond. Meg opens her mouth to respond then snaps her mouth shut again and shakes her head. It takes her another moment before she can respond. "I fixed it. Technically, we can fly now." 

There is a beat of silence as her words sink in. "Technically?" Artemis breaks the silence. 

Meg hesitates before clarifying. "We can get off the ground." 

Apollo narrows his eyes at her hesitance. "But?" 

"But that s about all we can do. We can get from point A to point B without destroying the engine. But the temporal drive is still busted." She pauses to take a breath. "Even if it was working I doubt the hull could handle it." 

Val shakes her head. "If couldn't. And I don't have the piloting computer up and running again. It would have to be entirely manual." Artemis nods in thought. She's about to open her mouth to respond when Val continues. "And you wouldn't have any guidance. You wouldn't be able to see your route and destination. We have no reliable map of this time. We could end up anywhere." 

Artemis shrugs. "I could do it." 

"If we decide to move." 

Everyone's eyes turn to Alex at his comment. His eyes glance between the others with the sudden attention. "What? Just because we can move doesn't mean we should." 

"I can think of a dozen reasons why we should," Artemis interjects. 

"And I can think of a dozen why we shouldn't," Alex counters. 

"Alright," Apollo steps between the married couple now glaring at each other. "There's plenty of reasons for either choice. Maybe we should discuss it. Like rational adults." 

The tension in the room only grows, but the couple relents to his request. Val pays attention for a little while as the four adults bicker back and forth about the topic. After a few minutes she rolls her eyes at their antics and returns her focus to her work. She notices her cousin growing uncomfortable with the adults bickering. She gestures him over to her. When he joins her she hands him a tablet and gives him simple instructions before sending him off to do a few things for her. She sees the relief on his face and watches his shoulders slump at being given a reason to leave. 

Val vaguely hears the adults talking about taking a vote on the matter. She internally rolls her eyes. There's four of them. What are they going to do if they need a tie breaker? Ask her and Will to vote? That's still an even number. 

And not even a minute later, her prediction comes to life. Apollo taps her shoulder to get her attention. "Hey kid, what do you think?" 

Val looks up at him. "Sorry, what? I wasn't paying attention." 

Apollo sighs at his niece. "Meg and your mom want to take the chance and move. Your dad and I think we should stay where we are. What do you think?" 

The teen raises an eyebrow. "What about Will?"