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“Duckworth is one of our buyers. He’s gone back in time with us twice now, to select goods to bring back.”
    Mace’s mouth descended in open shock. Andie’s mouth was doing something similar, though probably for a different reason.
    “Did he say back in time ?” she whispered, her gaze locking on that machine again. “Min-ji, that’s... not possible, right?”
    “It shouldn’t be. That would violate the law of causality, at least in this scenario.” She waved at the machine. “Some scientists have speculated about using faster-than-light travel to go backward in time, based on the idea that time slows as you approach light speed and that exceeding that speed might cause time to flow backward. Others have proposed using the time dilation of a black hole to—”
    “Min-ji,” Andie hissed, gripping her friend’s arm. “We’re not on the Enterprise , and we didn’t go through a black hole.”
    “I know. The science may simply be beyond me, but I would very much like to look at that machine. The power requirement for any kind of manipulation of the space-time continuum would be beyond immense.”
    “You honestly believe we’re in another time now?” Even though Andie trusted Min-ji and knew without a doubt that her friend was smarter than she was, she couldn’t reconcile herself to this crazy new notion. She looked down at her arm, tempted to pinch it, but one never realized one was in a dream when one was in one, right?
    “I have no idea as to when,” Min-ji whispered, eyeing the guards. They were smirking back at her, listening in on their conversation. Whatever was happening was no surprise to those two, even if Mace had done something to make the transition earlier and more abrupt than planned. “Not the past, though,” Min-ji said. “I don’t think... no. Not from what they’ve been saying or from their dress and mix of technology. I would guess...” Her expression grew grim. “Are you a fan of dystopian novels, Andie?”
    “No, you know I prefer the space stuff.”
    “I’m thinking that space stuff never happened, not in this future, anyway. Or this past, as it would be now.”
    “You’re making my head hurt,” Andie said.
    “You’re telling me that one of the highest ranking officers in the Alliance army is working with you?” Mace asked. He seemed to have recovered some of his equilibrium, but his brow still had a furrow to it beneath his shaggy mop of black hair. His weapons had drooped to his sides. The guard had lowered his rifle too. “Why would he?” Mace sounded puzzled. “He has the power to requisition whatever he wants.”
    “What he wants isn’t here in our time,” Optimus said.
    “Women? He has a wife and grown children.” Mace looked at Andie and Min-ji for the first time since the flash of light, puzzlement still marking his face.
    It was a much different look from the one of sexual interest Andie had caught on his face earlier, followed by the mortified one, his cheeks reddening above that beard. She wasn’t sure what she thought about that earlier look. Oh, she was sure she wanted nothing to do with any of these brutes, but it irritated her that she felt a strange sense of satisfaction over the fact that he had been ogling her when there had been so many other women around to stare at. Younger women. And he was the only one who’d had the decency to appear chagrined when he caught himself staring. Still, he worked with these other animals. She couldn’t forget that. There was no way she could trust him, and no way she wanted anything to do with him.
    Optimus snorted. “Fertile women aren’t the only thing history has more of than we do.” He shook his head, throwing an exasperated look around the room, his gaze lingering on the machine in the back. “Bedene, we had the only bracers. I’m going to have to go back to get everyone else. Looks like we got all the older women. Like I was saying, we’ll keep the groups split. You’ll be in charge of