Confused, I quickly scanned the place and saw Mouse nearby talking to two people. One was the Caelesian guard I’d spoken to on the rooftop of the diner. The other was Older Jim – the future version of me.
Confused, I began walking in the direction of the trio. Seeing me approach, Mouse quickly broke off his conversation with the other two and headed towards me.
“What’s going on?” I asked when we drew close.
“The other you is leaving the planet,” Mouse replied.
I was dumbfounded. “You’re sending him to Caeles?”
“Why not?” my mentor almost demanded. “This whole temporal issue he has going on is their fault. That being the case, he can go there and screw up their timeline.”
I frowned as his words sank in. The Caelesians were somehow involved in Older Jim’s predicament? It was news to me, and showed how little I actually knew of what had happened to him. Rather than ask a bunch of questions, however, I simply said, “I’m surprised the Caelesians went for that.”
“It wasn’t for nothing,” Mouse assured me, glancing at the guard.
My brow crinkled for a moment, and then the truth hit me.
“No,” I muttered. “Tell me you didn’t let them bug Alpha League HQ.”
“It’s a small price to pay to get the future you off-planet,” he said. “Besides, they’re not going to hear anything I don’t want them to.”
I was pretty confident that Mouse knew what he was doing, but still found myself shaking my head in dismay. I simply wasn’t wild about letting someone bug HQ – even if said someone did address and treat me like royalty.
“Come on,” Mouse said. “Let’s go say our goodbyes.”
Mouse started heading back to the other two, and I followed. We were just reaching them when their conversation seemed to draw to a close.
Turning to me, the guard inclined her head, saying, “Highness.”
I acknowledged her greeting, at which point she simply headed inside the shuttle and took a seat in the cockpit – presumably the pilot’s chair.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Mouse said to the older me, extending his hand.
“That it is,” Older Jim said, “although I still think a burger and fries would have been fine for the road.”
“Eat your apple,” Mouse retorted, “and be grateful.”
Shaking his head in mock frustration, Older Jim looked at me and said, “Try to get him to loosen up, okay? I really don’t remember him being this strict.”
“I’ll try,” I assured him. “You gonna be okay?”
“Of course!” he stated matter-of-factly. “I like Caeles, so this will be a nice visit.”
<Anything I should know?> I asked telepathically.
“Hey, you two,” Mouse suddenly said. “Let’s keep this exchange limited.”
“Chill, man,” Older Jim admonished. “We were just saying goodbye. How often do you get a chance to see yourself off?”
“One is too many,” Mouse groused. “Now get going.”
“Fine, I’m leaving,” Older Jim declared in mock anger. “It’s not good to spend too much time around this place anyway.”
As he spoke, he glanced around at our surroundings, making it clear that his last statement was in relation to HQ. Grumbling something about my mentor being a grouch, Older Jim then went into the shuttle and took a seat next to the guard. He waved goodbye, and within a few seconds, the craft started to rise. Moments later, ascending far faster than I’d assumed it would, it had cleared the roof, and in less than a minute was lost to sight.
I was still looking up when the roof started to close, presumably as a result of something Mouse did.
“So,” he droned, “what did you and the other Jim talk about?”
“Huh?” I murmured.
“That little telepathic exchange at the end.”
“Oh, uh, we were just saying goodbye. Also, he called you some names he probably couldn’t say out loud.”
“Hmmm,” Mouse droned, plainly contemplating something. “Anyway, you should probably get back to your guests.”
“Yeah,” I said. “This party-hosting thing is more work than I figured.”
With that, I said goodbye and teleported home.
***
When I reappeared at the embassy, everyone was at the breakfast table, playing a board game that worked in conjunction with a phone app. They offered to start over so I could be included, but I told them I’d join the next game. Standing off to the side, I simply watched, noting that the game appeared to be a lot of fun. More importantly, everyone seemed to be having fun, and it was great having most of the people I was close to here.
As I was thinking this, Smokey got eliminated from the game. Laughing and joking, he got up from the breakfast table and came over to stand next to me.
“Bad luck,” I said of his elimination.
“I’ll get them next time,” he promised. “Since you’re joining in the next game, I don’t suppose you’d be interested in an alliance?”
“Of course,” I stated with a grin.
“Cool,” Smokey said. “Oh, before I forget, my car’s in the shop so I had to catch a rideshare here. Any chance you can get me back to HQ after the party?”
I was about to respond in the affirmative, when I was hit with a sudden inspiration – partially as a result of something Older Jim had said before boarding the shuttle.
“Why don’t you stay here?” I asked.
“You mean crash overnight? Uh, sure, that sounds like fun.”
“No, I mean stay here. Move in. It’s just me and Myshtal, and we’ve got plenty of room. I mean, I’ll have to clear it with Myshtal since it’s her home, too, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.”
Smokey frowned. “I don’t know, man. What would your mom and grandparents say?”
“They’d ask why I’m letting my friend stay by himself in a cold and uncaring place like League HQ.”
He chuckled. “‘Uncaring’ is a bit harsh, but it
