My Idea Box

ORIGINAL IDEA: A Jump into the Past

"-Warning, warning! Temporal breach closing in two minutes!"

A low growl left the pilot's seat. "Get me through it!"

The machine heard the command over the bullets bouncing off its chassis. On autopilot, it stomped past a flight of stairs and a bunch fleeing soldiers. No screams or breaking metal traps were of any concern to the pilot. His eyes left the great green dot in front and went to the computer in front. His fingers danced over the keypad, pressing letters and numbers to be digitized in milliseconds. The machine wasn't going as fast though.

"Can you go any faster?!" he demanded at his machines' sluggish pace.

"One-point-five minutes," announced the computer. "Calculations required for temporal tra-!"

"I'm working on it!" the pilot snapped back, his fingers working faster than his beating heart. There was no way he would let this slip through his grasp. He had to make this work. He had to!

"Calculations completed," announced the computer, good news for once.

"Launch!"

The machine obeyed. The cockpit shook from the thrusters, and its pilot lurched back in his seat. He grinned at the green dot turning into a green portal of tachyon energy. A portal which he entered.

Space and time warped around the pilot and his machine. What could've been one second dragged out into minutes. Everything around cockpit's windows was in a tug-of-war, pulled back to the dark and metallic prison or to the light and watery freedom.

"Come on," the pilot whispered. "Please..."

His prayer was answered. The machine flung itself through the brief flash of green, flinging the pilot against his seat restraints. Sitting back, he shook his daze away. Immediately, he looked at the blue expanse of freedom. In that expanse, there were no bullets, no dark prisons, no soldiers demanding to stop. Jist the sea below and sky above.

The pilot held back a victorious whoop. He wanted to make sure first. "Computer," he asked, "bring up the date and time. And I Need coordinates of our current location."

The information came up on the screen in front. He saw it, but the pilot almost didn't believe it. He had to, though. The numbers were clear to see, and the machine had been through enough tests to prove its accuracy. He was, for once, in the right place and the right time.

"It worked... it actually worked..." the pilot laughed and ran a hand through his graying hair.

A thought popped into the pilot's head. "Damage report," he croaked worryingly.

The computer pinged back. "Chassis has sustained minimal damage. Punctures in the right leg. Suggestion: it would be best to remove before-"

"What's the status of the temporal drive?"

"Temporal drive: functional. No damage."

The pilot sighed in relief. "Alright. How long will repairs take?"

"Approximately, forty-five minutes."

"Then I won't stop you."

After the joy passed, a solemn calm sunk the pilot into his seat. His heart still pounded against his heaving rib cage, both making a rhythm against the computer's beeps and boops. He had hoped it would continue that way until the computer screen blinked blue.

"Warning! Warning! Scanners have picked up anamoly!"

"Bring it up on the screen," the pilot groaned. His groan went dead silent when he looked.

Two planes. That was all they were, but the pilot's face hardened when he saw them flying over the water. A new sense of urgency rose his back against his seat. "Computer, how long until those planes reach their destination?"

"Estimated time would be thirty minutes. Unable to reach while making repairs."

His eyes narrowed on the planes. "Switch me over to manual. I'll handle this."

A second later, the computer blinked from the orange 'AUTO-PILOT' screen to the green 'MANUAL.' A pair of control sticks popped out from the pilot's seat, and their shining white were covered by hands shaking with conviction.

Pushing the levers forward, the pilot shot towards those planes and began to change history.

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AN: Alright, another preview for another story idea hopping in my head. Don't know if I'll actually try to write it into a full story, but here's to hoping. Until then, take care.

-W.S.