Aliens

Medieval 5: Genevieve 4 Troubles Averted, part 3 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Margo and Nelly ran up to distract Otto while Genevieve went away and Amphitrite took her place. The old soldier saw anyway, not being so easily distracted. Amphitrite reached out to the shuttle pilot and showed him where she was. She helped guide the shuttle safely to the riverbank, where it set down and took a minute to shut down before opening the door. In that time, Amphitrite reached out to the Ape ship and reviewed the repairs. She let Martok, her mathematical engineer lifetime from the far future look through her eyes. He was not sure one relay on the navigation coupling would hold up under use. Amphitrite held out her hand, and with Martok directing her thoughts, she fabricated the part out of nothing. When the shuttle door opened, Genevieve was back, holding the delicate relay.

Captain Grawl exited the shuttle as Otto came to stand beside Genevieve. Margo, Nelly, and the two soldiers stood behind, the soldiers in particular not knowing what else to do.

“Captain Grawl,” Genevieve identified the Captain for Otto and had to wait a few seconds for the translator to work. “Your relay on the navigation coupling does not look very good. It might burn out under pressure. You might try this one. Hopefully it will work better.”

“Yes, thank you,” Captain Grawl said and carefully handed the relay to the soldier that stood behind him.

“I see you have finished the repairs to your ship. I wish you the best of luck in your struggle against the Flesh Eaters, but now you must leave this world and hopefully not come back. The chances of messing something up that I can’t fix are too great.”

“I understand.” Captain Grawl offered a bow. “Thank you for all you have done.” He turned and went back into his shuttle and closed the door. It rose slowly at first, without too much wind in the faces of those watching. When it got high enough, it shot off toward the horizon.

Otto had to sit down.

Genevieve’s worry caught up with her at that point, and she sat carefully, wondering what she could say. Otto spoke first.

“Leibulf told me you are friends with the elves and fairies. Of course, I did not believe him.”

“It is true,” Genevieve said softly, her voice full of uncertainty. She took a deep breath. “I am responsible for many of the little spirits of the earth, not just elves and fairies. I also watch over the little ones in the air, the water, and the fire.”

“Fire?”

“Mostly the fire beneath the earth where the rocks themselves melt and run in red rivers of lava and only occasionally pour out of the tops of mountains, like Mount Etna or Pompeii.”

“I have read about such things, er, volcanoes I believe.” Genevieve nodded to say that word was correct, but kept her mouth closed until Otto had another question. “In what way are you responsible for these spirits?”

Genevieve first took another deep breath, glad that Otto did not immediately declare her insane. “In the old days, when they messed up like the flowers came up wrong, the trees did not bloom right, the fruit turned sour, the fox got in the hen house, or something, I got yelled at and told to fix it. Let me tell you, escorting the spirits of the dead to the right holding place was a hard one. The cathartic gods as a class had no tolerance and no patience for screw-ups.” She looked at Otto and felt emotional wreckage coming on.

“How old are you?” he asked.

Genevieve raised her eyebrows at that question. She had to think about what he was asking. “I am an ordinary mortal human girl of eighteen years who did not know I had any other lifetimes until a few years ago, when I was fifteen.” She paused to count and hear from the Storyteller. “According to the Storyteller, I am the one hundred and second life since the beginning. My first life was roughly five thousand two hundred and seventy-three years ago. Nimrod was building a tower in an effort to reach the throne of God. But my life—my lives don’t add up that way. I am eighteen, not five thousand years old.”

“I see,” Otto said. “You realize I would not believe a word of it if I had not just seen that you are friends with strange beast creatures.”

“They are people,” Genevieve corrected him. “They are just Ape people, not human people.”

“And the Flesh Eaters?”

“They are people, too, but I try not to think of them. Their name says exactly what kind of people they are.”

“I see,” he repeated himself. “I must say, not exactly what I had in mind when the Lord said you must be born again,” he smiled, and that helped calm Genevieve a bit. “So, it seems you can bring a past person into the present at will. That was the case with the woman I saw that you briefly became, is it not so?”

Genevieve nodded and sniffed. “The Storyteller keeps track, but I don’t remember most of my lives, past or future. And the ones I do remember won’t trade places—I call it trading places—unless there is some immediate need for the person’s skills or training, or whatever that might be.”

“Future lives?”

Genevieve nodded again. “Apparently, my main job is to watch over history and make sure it comes out the way it has been written.”

“How do you know? Of course, future lives.” Otto understood immediately, and Genevieve kept nodding.

“Don’t misunderstand. The next fifty to a hundred years are just as much a mystery to me as they are to anyone else. That is because they are not written yet. But I know when something comes along that threatens to throw everything off track. And I can always look back on these days from further in the future and get a general idea of how things go. Like I know Charles—Charlemagne is destined for great things and making sure he is not assassinated in imperative. Him being killed at this relatively young age would ruin the future.”

“Charles the Great?”

“That is how the future knows him.” She smiled.

Otto nodded that time, but then he got serious. “But say, in order to be reborn, don’t you have to die? I thought when we die we go to heaven. Is this not so?”

Genevieve frowned again. “Once to die and after this the judgment. It is so as far as I know. And I do die, or at least I feel all the pain and loss and separation from everything dear to me, but I am not allowed to go to heaven.” She sniffed again. “I keep getting shoved back into a new womb of a new mother and get born nine months later in a new world as a know-nothing baby. It is years and I become my own person before I have any inkling that I lived before, and even that only happens when something important rears its head.”

“I see,” he said again as Genevieve began to cry softy.

“I am sure Heaven must be wonderful.” She wept. “Sometimes, I get so tired.”

“There, there.” He held her and comforted her.

They truly slept together for the first time that night. Genevieve thought it was good. She was happy. She hoped he was happy, though she certainly gave him a lot to think about.

Three days later, they headed out for Lausanne and Geneva, where Bernard picked up his army, including the men of Provence. The most difficult thing for Genevieve was saying good-bye to Margo, Nelly, and Edelweiss. Edelweiss chose to stay with her flower and the fairies in the mountains around Basel. Margo and Nelly decided they needed to stay with their families and the elves in the Black Forest where they could keep one eye on her home and the county of Breisach. There were plenty of tears, but they were not unhappy. Margo and Nelly said that now, since Genevieve married and had a son and would soon have a baby of her own they knew she would be happy. Genevieve blessed them and could not thank them enough for being there when she so desperately needed someone. After that, Captain Hector loaded Otto, Genevieve, and Leibulf with their men on three barges near the edge of the lake of Geneva, and they floated all the way down the Rhone River, mostly through Burgundian territory, to Arles where they received a hero’s welcome.

“Like Constantine returned,” Genevieve said as she got into the carriage.

“Any reason to celebrate these days is taken full advantage of,” Otto explained as he waved to the crowd.

“I can see that,” she said. “Provence is not exactly rolling in riches.” She practiced her own Queen Elizabeth sort-of-a-wave.

“The ground is difficult soil,” he continued to explain. “And the maritime trade that once made the county rich is all but dried up. Between the Vandals at first, and now the Saracens and pirates, there is not much room for legitimate merchants.”

“Then that is what we need to work on,” she said. “We strengthen the ports, get city walls started where needed, and build up the fleet. Then get Charles to take Corsica, and maybe Sardinia, assuming he will be successful against the Lombards.”

“What you say sounds very expensive,” Otto fretted for a minute.

“Think positive,” she said. “People will contribute to defending and protecting their own homes. Local men build city walls and fortify ports, and they will even build ships if there is a real chance for trade. I am not suggesting building a series of fortifications along the coast, and manning them with soldiers, all of which we would have to pay for. We may have to raise the taxes a bit, but people don’t mind paying taxes when they can see the money being used for their own benefit.”

Otto looked skeptical, but by then they arrived at the Archbishop’s palace where they would sup and stay the night before heading out for Aix in the morning. Aquae or Aix as Genevieve called it was roughly three days to Avignon, four days to Nice, two days to Arles or Toulon in opposite directions, and one day due north of Marseille. As such, it was about as centrally located as could be found in Provence. Otto could send troops to wherever there might be trouble on the coast within a few days, that is, if his troops were not all presently in Lombardy.

Otto, who could sit a horse just fine, rode the two days to Aix. Genevieve and Leibulf had to ride in the wagon. The Roman roads were well kept, but even so, they both got banged up traveling the road over those two days and agreed to get horses and learn to ride as soon as possible.

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MONDAY

Provence faces external attacks. This is why Provence was made a Mach on the southern end of the Frankish Kingdom. Until Monday, Happy Reading.

*

Medieval 5: Genevieve 3 Troubles Ever After, part 3 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Only a week before they planned the move to Basel, something serious came up. It was the first time in Genevieve’s life that the Kairos needed to be called upon to prevent a historical disaster. It was her vision not two weeks ago. A battle in space, not far from earth. One ship was destroyed. One ship was seriously injured. One ship was injured but might be repaired. That alien spaceship landed in the Black Forest not far from where she was located. She had to go.

Charles went with her and brought thirty soldiers along for the ride. That was just as well. No telling who might have stopped her or what mischief they might have done if she did not have a troop of soldiers to protect her. She had no real experience on horseback but it would have been too far to travel on foot, so Charles found her a gentle horse. She was just glad she did not fall out of the saddle.

By the time they arrived, Alice of Avalon, the Storyteller in the future, and Martok the Bospori in the far, far future filled her mind with all the relevant information. The ship was full of peaceful Apes. Alice called them Apes. They were shot down by the ones she called Flesh Eaters and needed a place where they could hide and make their repairs. Earth was properly marked on their charts as a do-not-go planet, but it was also noted as a sanctuary planet. They came to Earth hoping the Flesh Eaters would respect the do-not-go designation, not that they expected the Flesh Eaters to respect anything. But the Apes counted on the sanctuary designation and thought they might peacefully make their repairs.

 Genevieve got down and walked the last couple of hundred yards to where the Ape ship set down in a clearing. Charles, Margo, Nelly, and three soldiers walked with her. She would not let any more than that come, but Charles insisted on that much. Three Apes left their craft and met them halfway.

Charles raised his eyebrows at the sight. He knew about little monkeys, though he had no idea there were larger such creatures even on earth. These Apes most closely resembled something like a cross between chimpanzees and gorillas, being roughly gorilla in size, a couple of species Charles and the Franks with him did not know. The Apes were vegetarians as well, so they had that in common with the gorillas. Charles did not know that either, but Genevieve knew. These aliens had no interest in eating the Franks. The Flesh Eaters, on the other hand, would delight in the chance to eat some human flesh. Some believe it was the vegetarian Apes that gave the name Flesh Eaters to their mortal enemies, but it stuck because it was true.

As soon as they met in the middle, Genevieve unloaded the Kairos’ standard line. “Hey. You can’t park here. This whole planet is a no parking, no stopping or standing zone.” It took some time for the Ape translation devices to begin working. Genevieve encouraged the Franks to talk freely with each other. She knew the device needed input from the locals to work properly. Genevieve or one of her lifetimes judged it to be a primitive version of the original Agdaline translator. Perhaps it was a home-grown version. Genevieve would not know.

Once they could communicate, and Genevieve’s first message got through, Genevieve unloaded. “These humans consume from the bounty of plant and animal life on this planet, as most species do. They do not eat people, but all the same, it would be best to avoid direct contact with the humans. They also fight among themselves, which some species find strange and disconcerting. Charles here is raising an army to fight a different army of humans on the other side of these mountains. You need to know that war is not unknown to these people, and they are good at it, so stay away from them.”

“We understand,” one Ape said, and added, “I am Captain Grawl, and you are?”

“Genevieve, the Kairos in this present age.” She took a breath before she went straight on. “This is a Genesis planet, one of only a half-dozen in the galaxy where intelligent life begins. This is why you are not allowed to interfere with the current human species, or any other species that might come along. As long as you understand, you may be granted limited sanctuary while you make your repairs. I know you were surprised and attacked by a Flesh Eater ship and your companion ship was destroyed. You came here to hide while you made repairs, but if you honestly want to hide, you need to turn off your engines.”

One of the Apes tried to politely interrupt. “We have kept them running in case we need to make a quick getaway.”

Genevieve shook her head, though she was not sure if the gesture would be understood. “Without giving away any great secret, the Flesh Eaters can track you by the energy signal your engines put out.”

“Some have theorized that,” Captain Grawl said.

“But this is not a good place to hide. I see why it attracted you, being a forest of green, but you are too close here to farms and a town. You will need to move to a more remote location. Come to think of it, I wonder why you were not attracted to one of the jungle environments on this planet.”

“Too hot and humid for some of the delicate equipment that needs repair,” the third Ape spoke.

Genevieve nodded, though she imagined that might not translate any better than the head shake. She turned and pointed. “You need to move south. You will find a ridge of mountains close there, the Jura Mountains. Find a secluded spot away from the people and you can set down, turn off your engines so the Flesh Eaters cannot easily trace you, and fix what needs fixing. If you need a special piece of equipment and do not have the means to fabricate it, you need to come and see me. I will be somewhere along this river, probably in the town on the northeast end of those very mountains. You can scan me if you want to put my imprint in your system in order to find me later.”

The Ape who mentioned the delicate equipment spoke again. “Our system is not capable of picking one out of the many.”

Genevieve frowned, and that time she was glad not every nonverbal expression was universal. “Well, something to work on. I have given you two problems now to solve. Don’t ask for more. It is better for a people to discover things for themselves. Just send a drone slowly up the river, and hopefully, I will see it or hear of it and find you. Now, move. And remember these two things. First, stay away from people.” She paused, but decided she underlined that enough.

“And the second?” Captain Grawl asked.

“Once your ship is repaired, your time of sanctuary will be over. You must leave this world. Good luck against the Flesh Eaters, but please do not come back here again.”

“But what if the Flesh Eaters come here?” the Ape who spoke about needing to make a quick getaway spoke.

“I will deal with them,” Genevieve assured them. “They will be told and given a fair chance to leave peacefully. They may have to be destroyed.” Genevieve shrugged, just to get in a last nonverbal bit of confusion for the Apes.

Captain Grawl bowed, but he explained. “A show of respect and agreement with the words you have spoken.”

Genevieve nodded and returned a slight bow before she turned around to walk back to the horses. The Apes went back to their ship, and Charles spoke.

“At least they know how to bow.”

“Not what you think,” Genevieve told him. “Bowing is their version of a handshake.”

“Oh,” Charles said, and they stopped at the edge of the trees until the Ape ship lifted off into the sky. “And how long will it take them to reach the Jura Mountains?” he asked.

“A half hour at most if they go really slow and take half that time trying to figure out where it is safe to land,” she answered. Charles whistled before Genevieve spent the rest of the return trip yelling that Charles and his soldiers did not see what they saw and they were not allowed to speak about it to anyone, ever. She finished her thoughts with the notion that she hoped the Flesh Eaters did not come to Earth.

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MONDAY

Genevieve gets married, and an Ape visit forces her to confess herself to her new husband. Good luck with that. Until Monday, Happy Reading

 

*

A Holiday Journey 12

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Chris nodded.  “To be honest, I am afraid if I question too much, I may wake up back in my apartment, Lilly still gone, and me with no way of ever finding her as you all vanish.”

“I won’t desert you,” Mary said abruptly, and Chris took and held her hand beneath the table, which made her smile, the tears long forgotten.

“You say it is 1965.  That makes no sense whatsoever, but okay.  Where do we go from here?  I hope we don’t have to go all the way back to a manger in Bethlehem, because that might take longer than a week.”

“No,” Plum said between scoops of pudding.  “Not nearly that far.”

Roy nudged Plum, but Plum took a moment to lick his pudding bowl before he moved. “We need to find which route they have taken,” Roy said.

“That’s right,” Plum agreed.  “We will cover the bill, so no worries on that score.  Your money wouldn’t work here, anyway, unless you have some really old bills.  We will catch you up in the morning.  I recommend some good sleep.  We may have a long day of travel tomorrow.”

As they headed off, Mary fidgeted in her seat, like one looking for a comfortable spot on the booth bench.  Chris pushed in so their sides touched and he pushed Mary right up to the window.  She could not escape.  She looked at him, and the anxiety returned to her face.  This time, she did not look surprised by what he asked.

“Are they human?”  Chris had begun to let his imagination run wild.  He thought maybe Lily got abducted by time traveling aliens, and he…and Mary…got lucky to find a couple of aliens that did not approve of kidnaping.

Mary sat silently staring up at Chris for what seemed like an eternity.  Chris stared back and revised things in his mind. He decided she might be as old as twenty-three, and not the eighteen he first thought.  Twenty-three would be a reasonable age for someone who was twenty-eight.  He shouldn’t feel like he was robbing the cradle.

Finally, Mary shook her head, but said nothing.  She turned her eyes to her coffee and worried her cup.

“So, they are aliens?” Chris said, with a straight face.

Mary let out a laugh, and a touch of spit which she just caught with her finger, and then her napkin.  “No,” she said, and once again turned her smiling face to look at him.  He looked curious.  She told him.  “They are elves.  They are Christmas elves, which is why I believe they can take us to Lilly, if anyone can.”  Mary watched Chris’ curious eyebrows go up.  “And clearly, they are morons, too,” she added.

“No,” Chris countered.  “Roy seems to have a brain.”

“Yes,” Mary said.  “But he mostly doesn’t use it.  He just goes along with whatever Plum says, and Plum says too much.”

“He does like to talk,” Chris said.

Mary laughed and nodded.  Chris decided he was not ready to ask Mary how she knew Plum and Roy were Christmas elves. He did not want to consider asking about herself for fear of the answers, so instead, he took her hand and pulled her from the booth.

“We need to rest, as Plum said.”  He took her outside, and she did not resist him.  They got to the sidewalk, Mary holding tight to his hand.  Chris did not want to let go of her hand.  He distracted himself as an elderly black woman walked by on the sidewalk.  She looked about fifty, in a thin winter coat and wearing a plain hat, and she carried several Christmas presents in her hands as she headed toward the parking lot. He said, “Merry Christmas.”

The woman looked startled, but only for a moment.  She turned her head, and the serious and sad look left her face and got replaced by a smile.  “Merry Christmas,” she returned, and kept walking.

Mary tugged on Chris’ sleeve to regain his attention.  “You have questions?”  Her voice sounded flat, like she knew he had questions, and she was prepared to answer whatever he asked.

Chris looked at her and nodded.  “How old are you?”

For the third time, Mary did not expect that question.  “How old do you want me to be?” she answered, and grinned on the inside.  The grin nearly burst out of her, but they got interrupted.  The old woman got stopped at the edge of the parking lot by bikers.  Two blocked her way and the gothic looking girl behind them laughed to watch.  When one of the bikers knocked the Christmas packages out of the old woman’s hand, Chris ran to them.  Mary followed.

“Hey,” Chris yelled to get their attention.  “Come on, guys.  It’s Christmas,” he said.  He bent down to pick up one of the packages, so Mary helped.  ‘Give it a break for one day a year at least.  Okay?”  Chris looked over the lot and saw a policeman by his car, just three cars in.  The policeman watched, but did not appear inclined to do anything, so Chris shouted to him, “It’s Christmas.”

“Who the hell are you?” one of the bikers asked.

“She’s a negro,” the other said, as if that justified anything, and the gothic girl, who looked remarkably like a gothic version of Courtney, looked angry.

“She is a human being,” Chris responded.  “She is a good Christian woman who deserves better than hassles on Christmas Eve.”

One of the bikers looked ready to raise a fist, but the policeman decided to come over. “Okay boys,” the policeman said. “Move along.  You need to take your fun somewhere else.”

The biker fist unclenched, and they did not argue.  They got on their bikes.  The gothic Courtney still looked angry as she sat behind the big one, and they roared off. Mary handed the last package to the woman.

“Thank you,” the woman said, and smiled.  “Merry Christmas,” she said again, before she glanced at the policeman and hurried to her car.

“Merry Christmas,” Mary responded.

“And a very merry Christmas to you, too, officer,” Chris said, as he caught Mary’s hand and walked her toward the motel.

The policeman’s annoyed face softened, and he responded with the same before returning to his patrol car.

Mary got serious when they came to the motel doors.  They had rooms beside each other, but despite the long day, Mary did not appear ready to go to bed.  “You have questions?”  She tried again.

Chris hesitated, but only for a moment as he put his hands to Mary’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.  “Nothing that can’t wait” he said, leaned down, and kissed her.  He went in his room right away, and left her outside her own door, in the cold, where she looked up at the stars with those big eyes and gently touched her own lips.

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MONDAY

A Holiday Journey:  1965, and the journey has just begun.

Until next time, I hope you get in some Happy Reading

 

*

Avalon 9.6 Earth and Sky, part 3 of 6

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The alien paused as they approached.  He looked up at them but showed no hostile intent.

“This is a genesis planet,” Lockhart began.  “The Kargill has been given permission to reside here under strict non-interference conditions.  The Reichgo have been given permission to visit only with the provision that they do not interfere with the human race, the natural inhabitants of this planet.  The elder races born on this world are allowed to visit uder the same conditions, but you do not belong here.”

“I work for the Kargill,” the man said.  “Who are you?  And how is it you speak Ahluzarian?”  The man tapped something near his ear.  Probably a translation device which was not needed.

“We are the Men in Black and work for the Kairos,” Lockhart said.  “And again, you don’t belong here.  Only the Zalanid Mister Smith is allowed here to speak on behalf of the Kargill.”

“You work for the Kargill?” Katie asked, but the man needed a minute.  He pulled a different device from a pocket—probably his version of a database.  No doubt he had to look up Kairos and Men in Black.

“Perhaps you can help,” the Ahluzarian put his device away and attempted a smile.  “I am Commander Takar of the Ahluzarian police.  Our job is to keep the space ways and planets of the Kargill free of criminals and pests.  My ship is a prisoner transport.  There are three worlds well beyond this one at the very edge of the galaxy where prisoners and invasive species are deposited.  The Kargill does not allow us to practice genocide as an option.  The space lane goes past this system along the Reichgo-Kargill border.  I have this system clearly marked as a no-go zone.  But one of the prisoners managed to disable a portion of our navigation controls, and we noted this world is also marked as a sanctuary world.  We thought to pause here while we made repairs.”

“Help?”  Lincoln said as the others came up to listen.  “What do you need help with?”  Lincoln did not sound happy.

“Why are you not at your ship making the repairs?” Katie asked.

Commander Takar looked embarrassed if Katie read the expression correctly.  “When we landed, a sanguar slithered out of the hold and escaped the ship when we took down the screens to replenish our air and water supplies.”

“Sanguar?” Lockhart asked, not liking the sound of something escaping from a prison ship.

“An invasive species, not intelligent, but very clever,” Commander Takar said before Elder Stow interrupted.

“My father.  This one, for want of a better word, is a walking tree.  No blood to tempt some of the alien people we have encountered in our journey.”  He cleared his throat like a man about to read a report.  “The sanguar are worm-like creatures, one of the few survivors from the Agdaline world after they ripped the atmosphere off their world in their ill-advised gravity experiments. They arose on the same world as the dragons.  They are often red colored, grow roughly three of your feet long, have no eyes or ears, but a mouth with plenty of sharp inward pointing teeth.  They live and move underground, like worms, but are sensitive to vibrations on the surface.  When something edible walks overhead, they spring out of the ground spewing an acid-like venom.”

Commander Takar nodded that whole time, which suggested that bit of body language translated well between the species.  He took up the explanation.  “Only one escaped. We counted.  One cannot reproduce, and this environment does not seem suitable.  It should not be too difficult to detect.”

“What environment would be suitable?” Lockhart asked Commander Takar but looked at Katie.

“Consider a world with little atmosphere,” Elder Stow responded.  “Most species and ground cover would die off, leaving a desert-like world, maybe like Mars.  If the planet has any wobble, they might still have seasons, so a hot-dry summer and a cold-dry winter.  Think Gobi Desert.”

“Where are you parked?”  Lockhart asked as the question entered his mind.  Commander Takar pointed to the top of the mountain.  Everyone guessed he walked down, following whatever trail the sanguar made.  “My people are presently repairing the ship and doing guard duty.  I volunteered, thinking this sanctuary planet would pose no threat.”

“Not something you should assume,” Lincoln said.

“Shale mountain,” Katie repeated herself.  “It might be hard for such a big worm to dig through.  If it traveled downhill on the mountain surface, it might have gotten caught in the mudslide.  If it got caught in the flash flood, it might be well downriver by now.  Elder Stow?”

“So, it might be behind us?” Lincoln asked and looked.  Sukki also looked and she did not look happy.

“No,” Elder Stow said.  “I had the scanner set for life forms and it would have picked up a sanguar, even if it was ten or twenty feet underground.  I saw a black bear, but it avoided us.  The rest recorded deer, squirrels, birds and such.  My guess is it is ahead of us, and possibly washed downriver.”

“Commander Takar?” Lockhart turned to the man.

“My scanner is set for Sanguar.  I stopped here because I lost the trail.  It is not nearly as sophisticated as your own, but it will tell us when we get close, and it has a small grid to better pinpoint the location.”

“Commander Takar,” Lockhart frowned at the man, and he seemed to get the message.  “You better ride with me.” He turned his head back to look at Tony since they were at the back of the line.  His words came out in English, though he did not mean to speak in that language.  “Tony.  Did you and Louis get all that?”

“Yes,” Tony responded.  “I assume we are going worm hunting.  Louis says he does not want to even imagine giant worms with teeth.”

“Me neither,” Sukki said, commiserating with the man.

“Maybe hold on to my shirt,” Lockhart suggested, and reached his hand down.  Commander Takar did look essentially human, but he could not be sure.  In the back of his mind, he remembered the stick people they met at the beginning of their journey.  The Kairos warned him not to shake their hands because they were like petrified wood.  The spindly little stick people would crush his hand before they ever realized what they were doing.  Commander Takar’s hand had a flesh and blood feel to it.  He did weigh more than a human, but not by that much.  Lockhart’s horse did not complain, much.

Commander Takar and Elder Stow both kept their scanners on as they moved out of the water gap and on to a well-used trail.  They still followed the river, which everyone felt would bring them to the sanguar, but after a short way, they felt it best if they got down and walked the horses.  Louis did not want to get down.  All he could imagine was the worm springing out of the earth, spitting venom, and bighting his leg off in one gulp.  He did not really understand how scanners worked.  Sukki got him down with the promise to walk next to him.  He had seen her shove whole trees off the path.  That was a power he could at least understand.

Katie stopped everyone after a short way.  She heard sporadic cracking in the distance.  Decker, who had wandered out on the wing away from the river, came riding up, rapidly.

“White men on this side of the river,” he reported.  “Indians on the other side.  They appear to be trying to kill each other, but neither looks willing to risk a charge across the river.”

“We are not here to interfere,” Lockhart said.  “History needs to play out in its own way.”

Sukki had her amulet out and interrupted the thought.  “The Kairos is probably with one of those groups.”

“The Lenape group,” Louis said.  “I heard the big Swede married a half-English, but otherwise he has no use for the English.  They killed his parents and burned his home when he was young,”

“So, we need to contact the natives up ahead and find the Kairos.  We will ask if there is anything we can do.”  Lockhart looked determined, but less than twenty minutes later, they came face to face with a Lenape war party of a dozen warriors.  They looked mean, but at least they did not start fighting right away.

************************

MONDAY

The travelers get into the middle of a firefight between the English and Algonquin, and of course they watch out for the giant worm with teeth. Until then, Happy Reading.

*

Avalon 9.5 Men in Black, part 6 of 6

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Elizabeth felt sorry for the Wolv.  If his cryogenic chamber malfunctioned in some way, he may have spent the last five or six hundred years slowly dying.   “Lockhart.  Please remind the Wolv that he does not belong on this planet.”

Lockhart had to think about it.  After a moment, he made some sounds that the Men in Black did not know a human could make, but the Wolv appeared to understand.  It made some similar sounds, and then said one thing plainly in English or Greek for all to hear.  “Kairos.”

Diogenes objected.  He did this already, once before, in the future…  He agreed and came to stand in Elizabeth’s place, the armor adjusting automatically to his shape and size.  He pulled Wyrd from the sheath across his back, said, “God forgive me,” in the Macedonian dialect.  He chopped the Wolv head off in one clean sweep.  He went to one knee, holding tight to the sword like a cross and prayed for forgiveness.  Several of the men, and Bram who had caught up with them, went to their knees with him, not doubting his intentions.

When Diogenes stood, he traded places immediately with Elizabeth, who returned in her dress and quickly pulled it up out of the muck at her feet.  “Boots,” she said, and her lady boots were instantly replaced by the boots from her armor.  They came up to her knees and would keep her feet much warmer.  “Good,” Elizabeth said.  “Now we can get on with the business we came here for.”

“You mean, this is not why we came here?” Sir Leslie asked.

“It was first, but there is more important work to attend to.”

“What on Earth might that be?” Conner O’Neil asked.

“The lights flying through the night sky,” Jack said, having figured it out.

Lockhart and Decker laughed, and Katie spoke.  “Welcome to the world of the Kairos.  There is always something more.”

A half-day’s ride down the loch brought the travelers and Men in Black to a scene that Elizabeth both expected and prepared for.  When she stopped short of the event, and all eyes turned to her, Elder Stow turned on his screen device.  One of the aliens they confronted tried his handgun.  It did not even register on the screens, but Elder Stow and several of the travelers looked at Elizabeth.  She spoke to everyone and pointed.

The ones with the big heads, big eyes, holes for a nose, and no lips are Reichgo.  Their genesis planet was the Pendratti world, now devoid of life and ready to be swallowed as their sun goes red giant.  The Little circular metal box floating over there is the Kargill.  No one sees the Kargill.  The one in the middle is the Zalanid.  His home world has been destroyed by the war between the Kargill and the Reichgo, but the Zalanid have taken it upon themselves to negotiate a peace between the two sides.”

“Is that an insect?” Duchamp asked, like he might have a phobia for wasps and such.

“Not really,” Elizabeth offered.  The Zalanid looked human enough in his arms, hands, legs, and head.  His feet did look a bit insect-like and his waist was skinny as a wasp.  Plus, his face looked normal enough, but like he dipped his face in acid, or got hit in the face with several buckets of ugly.  He was hard to look at, but he smiled for the crew, his natural disposition, and already the people were thinking he might be a nice person.  “The Zalanid and the Kargill were made on the same planet—a third genesis planet closer to the galactic center.  Of course, they do not know this, but it may be why the Kargill can relate to the Zalanid where the Kargill doesn’t want to even talk to us or the Reichgo, or any other species for that matter.  The Kargill is very private.  Now, I must go.  You all need to stay here.”

Elizabeth got down from her horse, traded places with the goddess Danna, and phased through Elder Stow’s screens to confront the aliens.  Sure enough, the same Reichgo that tried its weapon against Elder Stow’s screens fired on Danna.  Danna did not even break her stride.  She said, “This meeting is being broadcast on the Zalanid planet where right now the Zalanid are trying to negotiate a peace between the Reichgo and the Kargill.  They will see and hear everything.”

Danna raised her hand and every Reichgo weapon or what might be used as a weapon vacated the Reichgo hands and pouches.  It all appeared in midair, and as Danna closed her hand, the weapons squished together into a little ball of metal before it disappeared.  She snapped her finger, and the trigger-happy Reichgo appeared before her.  “That is not permitted on this world,” she said and snapped her finger again.  The Reichgo vanished.  He appeared on the planet of the Zalanid, millions of light years distant, but she did not tell the Reichgo that.  She began again.

“This is a Genesis planet where intelligent life is created.  It is one of only a half-dozen planets in the galaxy.  Other worlds may develop life, but intelligent life is special, unless you behave stupidly.  Now listen very carefully and hear what Helen has to tell you.”  She did not say who Helen was.  She just reached back to Sherwood Forest and traded with the girl she had once been.  Danna left an aura of protection around the girl in case someone got incredibly stupid, but Helen came, not in the armor of the Kairos, but dressed in her own dress and smiling her own smile.

“By right of discovery and first landing, this planet is a Kargill planet.  The Reichgo may visit here, but only visit.  They are to limit all contact with the native population, and in no way interfere with the natural course and development of the life on this planet, intelligent or otherwise.  That is the law, spoken.”  Helen, a thirteen-year-old girl, turned to the travelers and got a big smile.  “Hello friends.  It is wonderful to see you again.  I have to go now.  I think I have to marry the miller’s son.  Goodbye.”  She blew a kiss and waved, and Danna returned.  It took a second to wipe the smile from her face before she could turn again to the aliens.

“The law has been spoken.  The Reichgo need to leave and leave this world alone.  The Kargill may park at the bottom of the lake for the moment.  You may keep the Zalanid in suspension as long as he is willing.  I will need him for the moment.  When I return him to the lake, you may send a shuttle for him.  Then you must park in the depths of the ocean where you will not be seen or found.  Henceforth, you must send the Zalanid to tell my Men in Black when this planet is in danger of an alien intrusion.  Those native to this world may be permitted to visit, but all other outsiders do not belong.  You may watch and listen, which I know is your inclination.  It that clear?”

The floating metal box blinked a light once.

“Good,” Danna said and turned to the Reichgo.  “There will be no fighting on this world.  This is a genesis planet and a sanctuary world, now, begone.”  She waved her arm and the Reichgo vanished from that place.  Only a few moments later, the travelers and Men in Black saw a ship take to the sky.  The metal box dove into the lake where the Kargill ship had already parked, as Danna knew.  The Zalanid looked at Danna, willing, though not without some trepidation.  Danna waved her hand once more and the Zalanid became clothed in a full-length jacket and some fine-looking boots.  “This world is made up of nation states and many different cultures.  But all the people on this world are human.  When you are sent among us, you must be clothed to appear as human as possible.”  Danna changed to Elizabeth in her dress.  Elder Stow took down the screens and Elizabeth continued speaking as if she was the same person as Danna, which in a real sense she was.

“You will be called Mister Smith among the humans.  It is a very common name.  I am Lady Elizabeth Stewart MacLean of Gray Havens.  Allow me to introduce the Men in Black who belong in this time zone.  It is the custom in this place to shake hands when introduced.”  She took the Zalanid’s hand and shook it to show what she meant.  Then she took the Zalanid’s arm like a lady might take a gentleman’s arm.  She introduced Sir Leslie and Jack Horner as the founders of the London branch of the Men in Black.  They looked reluctant but shook the offered hand only to find it felt human enough.  Mister Smith was a fast learner, and he laughed before he objected.

“You say men in black, but this one is dressed in red.  And I see much red, green and blue, unless my translation device is malfunctioning.”

“Men in Black is an organization title.  I am sure in time they will dress in black, but meanwhile the one in blue is Jean Duchamp.  He is French and works from the Paris office…”  She continued from there, introducing DeWindt, David Wallach, MacDonald and Campbell as founders of the Scottish office, and Conner O’Neil as their man in Ireland.  “Now, let me introduce the Travelers from Avalon.  They are time travelers come back from three hundred and sixty years in the future.

“You cannot travel in time,” Mister Smith said, but then considered Elizabeth and changed his mind.

Elizabeth spoke candidly.  “I am the Traveler in time, the Watcher over history who is tasked to make sure it comes out the way it has been written.”

“And how do you know the way it is written?” Jack Horner asked.

“I have lived in the future.  I read the book,” she said.  “But you must pay attention because Lockhart is the assistant director of the Men in Black in the future.  He can tell you some real stories, some of which you might not want to hear.”

“But say,” Sir Leslie interrupted.  “How did you know that the Reichgo and Kargill… and Mister Smith would be here right now?  That could not have been coincidence.”

Elizabeth looked up at the nearby tree.  “Heather,” she yelled, and the fairy fluttered down to say hello to the travelers before she landed on Elizabeth’s shoulder as far away from Mister Smith as she could get.

“Oh yes,” Sir Leslie said.  “I had forgotten.”

************************

MONDAY

The travelers find a Mohawk to guide them through hostile territory to the big Swede, Lars of the Lenape in episode 9.6 Earth and Sky Until then, Happy Reading.

*

Avalon 9.2 The Called, part 1 of 6

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 1437 A.D. Aragon and Castile

Kairos lifetime 113: Catherine, La Halcon

Recording …

The sun rose over the Mediterranean gleaming golden bright and reflecting off the water of the bay.  The travelers came out squinting, facing the water, and had to turn quickly to put their backs to the glare.  The spires of the cathedral nearby reached up into the cloudless sky and also glared in the early morning sun, but the cathedral itself, though hardly a stone’s throw away, was hard to see through the narrow streets and buildings that surrounded it.  There were people around at that early hour.  Poor fishermen were preparing for a day at sea, and merchants of all sorts were headed for the docks and getting ready to open their stalls and begin hawking their wares.  Fortunately, the travelers came out of the time gate in a garden, which was actually a cemetery, so they had room to move, and as the time gate faced the sea, it might have looked like they came riding out of the sun itself.

Only one priest faced them.  He stood nearby in the shade of a tree, speaking to several families, presumed parishioners.  It seemed likely only the priest saw them appear out of a hole in the air, and he only stopped speaking and looked up when Ghost came through and bucked, something the mule never did.  The priest certainly saw something, but by the time the people with him looked, the travelers were through, and the time gate quickly closed.

The priest pulled his cloak tight against the cold winter wind.  “Pardon me.”  He told his families to wait and came right up to the travelers with an odd question. “And what planet have you come from?”  An old man followed the priest.

“Earth,” Lockhart said.

“Planet Earth,” Katie echoed.

“Human,” Lincoln raised his hand like he did in France while his eyes stayed focused on the database.

“Why would you ask such an odd question?” Elder Stow wondered even as Tony tried not to curse at Ghost in front of the priest.

“You are not more Galabans from the planet Galabar?”  He seemed to indicate the people behind him.

“No,” Lockhart said.  “We are human.  Who are the Galabans?”

The old man who stepped up to join the priest spoke.  “We are,” he admitted in a friendly tone.  “We are refugees from our world and hope we may be allowed to make a small settlement on your lovely planet.”  He smiled a human enough smile as Elder Stow turned his scanner on the families.  “Our world became a battle ground between two peoples.  They ruined the world and not many of us survived, but we learned something from the wreckage they left behind.  We saw images of your world and the people here, and thought, you are very much like us.  We came here.  We have nowhere else to go.”

The Galabans appeared light red, leaning toward a light violet in skin color but they wore mostly yellow or pale blue or pale green clothes which further washed out their skin color making them look human enough.  There were no doubt other differences that might be picked out on closer examination, but Elder Stow spoke up to resolve all doubt.

“Definitely not human,” he said.  “Appearances can be deceiving.”

“Where is your ship?” Lockhart asked the logical question as Lincoln looked up from his reading.  Only Sukki kept her eyes on the people in the streets.  Katie stared at the old man.  Nanette focused her attention on the Galabans waiting for the priest.  They appeared to be mostly women and children.

The old man pointed toward the sea as the priest spoke.  “They arrived in the northwest of Aragon.  The Countess of Chaca, the Lady Catherine sent them here, to my bishop, with papers concerning their need for temporary settlement until she can make better arrangements.  Her attention is first taken with the war with Portugal over the Castilian throne.  My bishop has provided food, shelter, and work for the men.  I have been tasked with teaching the faith to these Novo Christians to keep them out of the hands of the inquisition.”

“Your ship is parked underwater?” Lockhart asked, stuck on what he imagined was the important point.

The old man sadly shook his head.  “Of the three ships that brought us here, two have returned to our home world with word of our discovery.  We brought the third ship to this place, but we had difficulty flying the short distance.  There was an accident.  We managed to escape, but the ship sank in the waters.  It is now ruined.  We are cut off from home until our other ships return.”

“You know this planet is off limits to outsiders,” Katie said.

“So the Lady Kairos explained to us, but we have nowhere else to go and now, no way to get there.”

The travelers remained silent, looking at one another, not sure what they could say.  Even Lincoln seemed to be at a loss for words.  The priest and the old man waited, stomping their feet a bit against the cold.  The priest, because he saw them appear out of nowhere, and while they claimed to be only human, he was not so sure.  The old man because he saw enough to recognize these were people who had power well beyond his understanding.  He saw the women with only a word adjust their clothing to the local styles they could see.  He wanted to ask how they did that, but he dared not.

Katie finally broke the silence.  “You must learn and practice the faith.  In this time and place it is vital for your survival.”

Lockhart spoke again.  “We will be seeing the Kairos, shortly.  Do you have anything you wish us to tell her?”

The priest shook his head, but the old man had a thought.  “Only to remind her of what we told her at the first.  The Nameada—spiders may have followed us to this world.  Such was not our intent, but we are new to space, and they may have followed without our knowing.  They breed fast and are deadly.  I hope—pray they did not come here.”

“Space alien spiders?” Sukki heard and let out a little shriek before Lincoln could respond.  Lincoln frowned, like she stole his line.  Tony, having gotten Ghost under control, laughed.  Nanette sealed her mouth and looked at Decker, who remained as stoic as ever.  Elder Stow fiddled with something on his scanner.  Katie and Lockhart stared at one another once more before Katie again broke the silence.

“Priest.  What city is this?”

“Barcelona,” the priest said.

“What is the year?” Lockhart asked.

“1476.  February.  Why?”

“Not your concern,” Lockhart said.  He looked at Katie without a word.  She pointed the general direction and he said, “Move out.”  They turned and started through the narrow streets of the city.

###

That night, having made it out of the city, the travelers sat in a quiet village inn.  While Lincoln and Elder Stow both seemed preoccupied with their reading, Lockhart finally asked what everyone appeared to shrug off.  “So, why did Ghost object so much when we arrived?”

Tony looked at his food for a minute and it gave Sukki a chance to interject her thought.  “I guessed it was because we came out facing the sun, and the sun was so bright in the way it reflected off the water.  I had to close my eyes.”

Tony nodded a little before he shook his head.  “It is only a guess, but you know Ghost is not good with strangers.  Back in the Khyber Pass, the bandits got him out of the harness, but he would not move for them, not even to get put in the fenced in area where they put the horses.”

“The horses did not cooperate either,” Katie said.  “I assume that is why they were still saddled and ready to ride.”

“Maybe,” Tony said.  “But Ghost is normally okay with strangers as long as he can ignore them, like when we move through a town.  I have noticed, though, he reacts to strangers when they are not human.  I don’t know what it is, or how he can tell, but this is not the first time.  He did not mind the Apes so much, though he let me know not to get too close.  The Flesh Eaters made him nervous.”

“He didn’t want to be eaten,” Lincoln said under his breath while he read.  He looked like he did not blame the mule for that attitude.

“He did not seem to like the Galabans either,” Tony continued.  “I don’t want to read into it.  We are talking about a mule, but it seems like he has a sense for aliens that are a danger.”

“Like children and puppy dogs,” Lockhart said.  “They can sometimes tell the good ones from the bad ones.”

“And elves. They can sense such things,” Sukki added, thinking of her adopted sister, Boston, whom she missed.

Katie nodded.  “I wouldn’t trust the mule entirely, but I also felt something not quite right with the Galabans from the start.  The old man and individually they seemed nice enough but, I don’t know.  My elect senses flared.”

“I know what you mean,” Nanette agreed.  “I looked with my magic if I did it right.  The old man was not lying, as far as I could tell, but it seemed like he did not tell us the whole truth.”

Elder Stow spoke up.  “Like, if their ship crashed in the sea, how did they escape and get safely to shore?  Do they have shuttle craft and escape pods hidden somewhere?  And what is their weapons technology?”

“It almost makes me want to go back and ask some more questions,” Lockhart said, but Decker interrupted.

“The Kairos met them and brought them to Barcelona.  We should trust that she knows what she is doing, and she knows what these Galabans are capable of.  Our job is to get back to the future.  It is hard enough staying focused on that without all the interruptions.”

Avalon 8.10 Refugees, part 3 of 4

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Aiko sat on the log Decker pulled up to sit by the fire, though the fire had been put out.  He stared at the ring of stones that surrounded where the fire had been and imagined other stone circles he had seen, some with big stones that no man could lift.   He also stared at Elder Stow, the Neanderthal, and wondered if the man lived in Hokkaido among the primitive people there.  But he shook his head.  The flying woman of power had the same look, and they had no such people living on Hokkaido, unless the scholars were all mistaken.

“Ready,” Elder Stow said, and Boston turned to the man.

“Why have you and your men come to the mountain?” she asked plainly.

Elder Stow touched his device, one he had not shown before.  Aiko jumped from the slight electrical shock that struck him.

“Let’s try this again.  Why are you here?” Boston asked.

Aiko shook his head more vigorously, and the electrical shock was a tad stronger.  He jumped again and opened his mouth.  “The lady does not know about her father being sick and dying.  I told you the truth.  Her brother sent us to inform her and bring her to see him, if she is willing.”

“That is not entirely true,” Boston said, her truth detector being on high alert.

“Mostly true, but some part is a lie,” Elder Stow agreed, and Aiko got a larger electrical shock.  He shrieked, and Alexis came over from helping Lincoln hitch-up Ghost to the wagon.

“What are you doing?” she asked, demanding an answer

“Trying to get the truth,” Boston said, never taking her eyes off Aiko.

Alexis raised her voice.  “We do not torture people.  I can’t believe you.  What are you doing?  Leave the man alone.”

Decker and Tony arrived, and Decker immediately spoke up.  “Do you want me to kill him?  That would solve the problem.”

“Decker!”  Nanette followed Alexis to the group, and she did not hesitate to yell, but Decker just grinned, albeit, looking a bit like a shark.  Aiko withdrew from the grin and the fact that Decker was black.  He never saw a black man before, and it made him think frightening thoughts.

Boston came out with it.  “You and your men were sent to kill Hideko.  Why?”

Aiko broke down and covered his eyes.  He felt frightened and ashamed and would not look at anyone.  “My lord, Kiyomori is afraid of her.  She is the eldest and he fears she may claim this whole province as an inheritance.  She has proved herself a worthy and formidable leader of warriors, and this place is separated from the other provinces he controls.  He fears she may succeed in taking the land and men, and he wishes to keep all of the land and the warriors under his control.  He has plans.  But please.  I am only a soldier.  I do not know what his plans are.”  He appeared to weep a little.

Lockhart interrupted the scene.  “I need three of those discs.  We have three visitors.”

Boston took the disc she got back from Aiko.  She stuck her hand out and Tony and Decker gave her theirs.  She handed all three to Lockhart who turned around, having decided he did not want to know what was going on.  He would hear all about it in a moment.

“We don’t torture people,” Nanette yelled again to get back on topic.

“We would not have hurt him,” Elder Stow said, quietly.  He got interrupted by Lincoln who came over with Sukki.  “Everything packed and saddled.  We are ready to go.”

“I’m ashamed of you people,” Alexis concluded.

“Go ahead,” Boston said to Elder Stow.  He had his weapon out and seriously worked on the controls while he watched his lie detector.  He turned the power of the weapon down to almost nothing.  He hesitated, but only for a second before he shot Aiko.  The man collapsed.

“Elder Stow!  Boston!”  Alexis scolded them again and checked the warrior.  “He will live, but I imagine he won’t be moving for quite a while.”  She gave the two a hard look but could not imagine what else she might say.  Nanette appeared to be silenced as well.  Fortunately, Katie and Lockhart soon showed up with their three guests, and Lincoln broke the tense silence.

“All packed up and ready to go,” he reported.  He even tried to smile.

“Good,” Lockhart began to respond, but Hideko interrupted him.

“Boston.” she opened her arms, and Boston ran for her hug, but it felt half-hearted.

“I may have gone too far again,” she said softly and backed up.  “But not,” she insisted.  “He has a hundred warriors down the hill, and they were sent by Kiyomori to kill you.”

Hideko merely nodded and introduced her companions, Tomoe the elder Gozen and Hangaku the younger.  Then she looked at Aiko and spoke to everyone.  “You may have just delayed things.  If killing me is what he has been commanded to do, he is honor bound to succeed or die trying.  If he fails and survives, Kiyomori will kill him.  There are times in the history of this nation when suicide seems the only honorable way out after such a failure.  Stupid.  I much prefer your American solution to failure.”

“What is that?” Tony asked.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

People did not know what to say, so Lockhart changed the subject.  “What else did you find out?”

Elder Stow spoke up.  He appreciated the change in subject.  “I have been watching my screens.  We have seven Ouran who I believe are the genetically modified super soldiers we were warned about.  They are blocked by the screens, but I imagine they know what screens are.  It appears they may bring their shuttle craft close to try and blast through.  Meanwhile, we have a hundred warriors, as Boston reported.  They have come up to the side of the screens and I imagine they have no idea what it is, but they are trying to see if there is a way around.  I suspect they will run into the super soldiers any minute now.”

“Recommendation?” Decker asked, though it was not really his place to ask.

Elder Stow nodded.  “I was thinking, you can take the discs, probably in two shifts.  There is a road that direction,” he pointed.

“Where we are going,” Hideko said quietly to Katie.

Elder Stow continued.  “I can stay here and keep the screens up.  When you send the word that you are away, or if these Ouran try to follow you, I can turn off the screens, go invisible and fly to catch you up.”

“I can stay with him,” Sukki said, but Elder Stow shook his head.

“Not this time, daughter.  You are the only one with the power to take down the shuttle if it should suddenly fly off to pursue the group.  You remember how to take out the engines and can cause them to crash, whatever else you might do.  I will stay until I hear from you.  I will be all right, and I have my personal shield if something should go wrong.”

“Be careful,” Tony said.  “These super soldiers appear to be telepathic.  They tried to get into our minds but were kept out by the hedge of the gods.  I assume you are equally protected, but I do have a bit of a headache.”

“I was just going to say that,” Decker said.

“Yes sir, Colonel,” Tony responded.  “But I pay attention to magic and all that stuff.  Elder Stow thinks more like you, in terms of logical, scientific explanations, but the universe can’t always be explained in that way. Sorry.”

“Fair enough,” Lockhart said.  “Let’s get going.”

“I will ride with Katie,” Hideko said.  “Tomoe, you ride with Alexis.  I want you to hear good things about making peace.  Hangaku, you can ride with Nanette and hear all about her wedding plans.”  Hideko smiled for the couple who quickly looked at each other.

“I didn’t say anything,” Decker said, and held his hands up.

Nanette looked down, like she did not want to look at anyone.  “He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

The women cheered and took turns hugging Nanette.  Elder Stow and Tony said congratulations and shook Decker’s hand.  Lockhart, Lincoln, and Decker passed glances.  Lockhart backed away and Lincoln looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth closed for once.

************************

Don’t forget Thursday’s post to finish the episode…

*

Avalon 8.10 Refugees, part 2 of 4

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Decker turned off his wristwatch.  Tony turned the volume on his watch to minimum and followed.  The colonel was teaching him combat skills which he feared he would need once he got back to his own time.  He tried not to think about World War One, but from what little he gathered, it would be a bloody and ultimately indecisive war.  World War Two would follow.  Well. he thought.  The Italians would switch from the winning side to the losing side.  That did not surprise him.

“Hush,” Decker said and squatted down behind a bush.  Tony inched up to where he could see.  Several men—they looked mostly like men—stood in a nearby clearing, conferring.  They had two arms with what looked like five fingered hands, a torso and two legs, and one head, a bit large, but with relatively human-like facial features.  Their noses pushed up, the ears were extra small, the lips extra thick, and they were completely bald, but they might have passed in human company if it was not for the blue tint in their skin.

One alien appeared to be talking through a communicator with the shuttle, or maybe a more distant main ship.  The other two talked quietly with each other until the one on the communicator suddenly stopped talking and turned his head to look right at the bush where Decker and Tony were hiding.  Tony saw the yellow eyes, what he considered the final proof of their alien nature.  The two who were talking quietly also stopped talking and turned to stare at the bush.

Tony felt some pressure on his mind.  It made him squint, and he thought it might give him a headache.  Decker stood up.  He started getting used to things trying to get into his head, like ghouls and Vr projectors.  He spoke to the aliens.  “This planet is off limits to alien species.  You do not belong here.”

The pressure on his brain receded and the one that talked on the communicator, the evident leader of the group, spoke.

“We are greater Ouran.  Some lesser Ouran came to this world not far from here.  We must find them and remove them.”

Tony stood.  He holstered his handgun but left the strap unsnapped.  “What do you mean, remove them?” he asked.

The Ouran commander did not pause.  “They are escaped slaves.  Their removal will depend on their degree of cooperation.”  He did not say it in so many words, but both Tony and Decker understood if the escaped slaves did not cooperate, they would be killed.  That especially rankled Decker.

“Maybe we will make this a sanctuary planet,” he said.

“You have no authority nor the ability to stop us” the commander said.  “And you would not like it if we have to force you to cooperate.”

Decker turned on his wristwatch and spoke.  “These people are called Ouran.  Our group is soldiers hunting escaped slaves.  We will be returning to base for orders.  Keep an eye on our progress.  Out.”

“Roger,” Elder Stow responded, and then there was silence.  Decker and Tony slowly turned around and walked back toward the camp.  They both knew that one of the Ouran soldiers followed them, but they came to the screens and passed through with the discs Elder Stow gave them.  The soldier banged his foot and could not get beyond the screens.  He no doubt reported his finding.

###

Boston had to do some convincing, but she got Sukki to agree to her plan.

The human samurai-like soldiers were bunched up at the bottom of the hill.  Boston ran to them, and showing some remarkable elf speed, she ran circles around them, slapped a number of them on the chest, and ran back up the hill to stop and stare at them.  She had to stare before she could talk.  She winded herself and had to catch her breath.

The samurai did not know what to do other than shout.  Boston had removed her glamour of humanity, so she stood there in her red-headed, skinny elf glory.  Her eyes shifted from face to face, and then she spoke.  “What are you doing on my mountain?”  No man said a word.  “Speak, or I will taunt you again.”  She tried not to giggle at her memory of Monty Python.

One man stepped forward.  He bowed, not knowing what else to do.  “I am Aiko of the Taira, and our master owns all this land, and the mountain, though I suppose he may not argue about the mountain if you ask him.”  He bowed again.

“But what are you doing here?” she asked and thought of what Lockhart said.  “Who are you looking for?”

The men shuffled their feet.  Aiko looked around before he shook his head.  They would not say.

“Sukki,” Boston called.  She figured if their purpose was not nice, they would probably refuse to tell her.  Sukki flew in, but overhead she saw one of the samurai in the back of the group had an arrow on his bow and pointed it straight at Boston.  Suki threw one hand out.  She tried to cause the man to go unconscious, but she fried him and felt terrible about it when the man screamed and collapsed.

“Boston?” Sukki asked.  Boston gave Sukki a hug, which she needed.

“These men won’t tell me why they are here,” Boston moped.  Sukki simply had to look at the men and Aiko spouted.

“Taira no Tadamori is deathly ill, and Taira no Hideko needs to be told.  Her brother Kiyomori sent us to fetch her, if she will come,” the man lied, and Boston knew it was a lie.  She had to think of what to do, but only took a second.

“Aiko.  You must come with us.  The rest of you need to wait here no matter how long it takes.  Come.  Don’t make me tell you again.”

Aiko reluctantly followed as they quickly moved out of sight from the men, among the trees.  When they got to where the screens projected, Boston kept back and let Aiko walk into the screens.  Sukki walked right in, having a disc, but Aiko could not proceed.  Boston smiled and handed the man the disc she had been given to come and go through the projection.

“This is a magic token that will let you enter the place of mystery.  Guard it with your life.”  She gave him the disc and he walked right through the place where he had previously been stopped.  Wonder filled the man’s eyes, as Boston phased through the screens and Sukki ran ahead to tell everyone to remove their glamours.  Sukki had put hers on, so she looked like a Neanderthal.

“Ameratsu protect me,” the man whispered as he came face to face with Alexis.

“Ameratsu was a very nice girl,” Alexis said, and smiled for the man.

“I remember Ameratsu,” Boston piped up.  “That was ages ago.”

The man trembled.

###

Lockhart and Katie came into a meadow where they found some blue tinted people.  The people looked scared and stopped to face these new people.  Lockhart and Katie hardly knew what to think before a woman in her mid-to-late forties stood up from the grass where she had been completely hidden.  She held something like a pole with a curved sword attached to one end.  She spun the pole and stepped up to hug Lockhart and Katie and she shouted.

“It’s all right.  You can all get up.  These are friends.”  She turned to the blue skinned people.  “You need to keep walking.  We need to get to the school by sundown.”

“Hideko?”  Lockhart asked, Lincoln not being there.

Hideko nodded and yelled.  “Gozen.”  Two young girls answered.  The older one said, “What?” rather sharply.  “The young one said, “Here I am,” sweetly.  They attended Hideko, and Kate widened her eyes.

“Two elect.  You have two elect in your school?”  Katie was surprised.

“And you are one of us,” the elder Gozen said.  The younger one just stared.

Katie pointed to the younger one.  “I could still see you when you were hiding.”

“She is young.  Just learning,” Hideko said and reached out to hug the girl.  “This is Hangaku.  The grumpy older one is Tomoe.  Where is Boston?”

“Back in the camp,” Lockhart said.  “You have warriors sneaking around.  Boston and Sukki went to check on the humans.  Decker and Tony checked on the aliens.”

“Ouran soldiers hunting down escaped slaves,” Katie remembered.

Hideko understood.  She turned to the girls waiting in the field, and the bluish people that had paused in the field.  “Ladies.  Take these refugees to the school and let them rest in the open room until I get there.”  She said more quietly.  “Gozens, stay with me.” and to Lockhart, “Lead the way.”

Avalon 8.7 Escaping, part 6 of 6

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Elder Stow stood outside the door to the Ape ship when Lincoln, Alexis, Nanette, and Tony arrived.  Tony went to the wagon where Ghost dutifully stood in the shadow of the ship munching on a small pile of oats Tony left at the back of the wagon.  He watered the mule while Lincoln and Nanette dug out four of the solar powered lanterns the travelers sometimes used in the night.  They would need them to light the halls and rooms in the ship if they did not want to go with the emergency lighting alone.

Alexis stepped up to the door but stopped when she saw Elder Stow alternately staring into the distance and staring at his scanner.  “What?” she asked as she turned her own eyes to the edge of the rise where all the Berbers and their horses got killed.  It was far enough away so she thankfully she did not have to see all the details.

“Six people.  Maybe seven,” Elder stow said.  “Seven horses.  They are coming this way.  And I am picking up thirty or more—what should I call them—disturbances that appear to be checking the Berbers like an opposing army might check the dead on a battlefield, to be sure the dead are actually dead.”

“Disturbances?”  Alexis thought for a second.  “Like little ones?”  Elder Stow nodded.  “Maybe it is Yasmina.”

Elder Stow appeared to relax. “That would explain it.”

“Alexis,” the cry came through the wristwatches.  Boston sounded anxious.

“Coming,” Alexis responded.  “The Kairos appears to be on the horizon and headed in our direction,” she added and stepped into the ship.  Nanette followed and made a path of three lanterns between the door and the central chamber where Sukki and Boston had Captain Argh down, lying flat on the floor.  Lincoln came with his gun drawn just in case there were more Apes around, or maybe a Flesh Eater that snuck in the open door.

When they arrived, Alexis took a deep breath and went to work on the Ape’s leg.  She put her hands near the wound and her hands began to glow.  Soon, the wounded area glowed as well, and the unconscious Ape appeared to sigh.

“I’m going to see Yasmina,” Boston announced and headed toward the door.  Sukki added a word for Lincoln before she followed.

“Boston and Elder Stow examined the main lines and concluded they are damaged beyond repair.  Even if Elder Stow could power up the ship, it would not be able to fly.  They might be able to send a distress call, but that is about it.”  She jogged to catch up to Boston.

“And you are?” Captain Argh opened his eyes and started to come around.

“Your doctor.  Hush,” Alexis said.  “Nanette is my apprentice, and Lincoln is my husband, now keep still.”

The captain seemed to nod and closed his eyes again.

Boston arrived outside in time to see a young woman introduce her companions to the travelers, who had arrived with their seven prisoners and seven extra horses.  “Muhammad al Rahim is my faithful friend,” she pointed to the old man who looked armored and carried plenty of weapons in the heat. “Aisha is my elf maid, or near as one gets to one in these parts.”  The maid appeared to genuflect to the travelers.  It looked like something between a bow and a curtsey.  “And this…” She pulled a young man forward.

“Hello,” the man said in a very unpretentious voice.  “These are my men.”  He pointed to the three men with him.

Yasmina continued with a big grin.  “This is Ala al Din.”  She waited.

It took a few seconds before Katie blurted out, “Aladdin?”  Yasmina nodded.

“We already did the genie bit.  At least, the first half of it.  Aladdin lost the lamp.”

“What is it with you” Lockhart said.  “Every time it gets stranger and harder to believe.”

“We met Ali Baba and the three sons of Sassan and their magical artifacts, including the magic carpet,” Katie said.

“And Sinbad,” Lockhart remembered.  “We fought skeleton-zombies.”

“And now Aladdin?  Hard to believe,” Katie finished.

“Stranger and stranger.” Lockhart shook his head again.

“Can’t argue with that,” Decker added under his breath.

“I’ve done all I can,” Alexis’ voice came from the wristwatches present.  “Captain Argh needs to stay off his leg as much as possible for the next week or so, but I believe it will heal from here without infection.  He might be able to travel if he had a place to go.”

Yasmina reached out and grabbed Katie’s wrist to answer.  “Tell the captain to be patient.  Elder Stow and I will be there shortly to see what we can work out.  I have just a couple of things to do first.”

“Roger,” Lincoln answered as Yasmina backed up and opened her arms.

“Boston.”  Boston ran into the hug, and it was hard to tell which young woman grinned the hardest.  Yasmina whispered. “Do I sound confident, like I know what I am doing?”

“You are doing a great job,” Boston whispered back.

“Thanks,” Yasmina squeezed the elf. “You know I am just making it up as I go along.”

“That works,” Boston said and took a step back.  “It is all we ever do.”  Yasmina looked down, humbly, but nodded.

One of the seven Berber prisoners took that moment to make a run for it. Al Rahim pulled his sword. Aladdin’s three men pulled their swords, like men who had learned to follow the lead of the old man.  Decker raised his rifle, but they all stopped when they saw two ogre-like monsters rise right up out of the sand.  While the man screamed, the monsters grabbed the man from each side and ripped him in half.  They sank back into the earth and took their prizes with them.

Al Rahim yelled at the remaining six Berbers.  “That was foolish.  Any of the rest of you want to try that?”

“No.  No, please.  Please, no.”  The Berbers looked frightened to the point of tears.

“You need to stay here, touch nothing, and keep quiet until the princess gives you permission to leave.  Is that understood?”

“Yes.  Yes, Lord.  Understood.  Yes.  Thank you.”

Al Rahim turned from the Berbers to see Yasmina had already gone inside the ship with Elder Stow, Boston, Sukki, and Aladdin in her trail.  Tony stepped up to the crew with a pointed question.

“Should I start to set up the camp for the night?”

Lockhart shrugged, but Katie and Al Rahim spoke at the same time.  “Might as well.”

###

Yasmina let the six Berbers go that evening.  Aladdin picked the best of the seven horses for his stables, he said.  The six men rode off on the six other horses.  Lockhart was surprised she just let them ride off.

“I thought that was better than killing them,” she explained.  “They won’t remember the guns, the aliens, or you, or anything.  They will head back to the capitol and by the time they get there, they will remember searching for me, but think they had to battle troops loyal to the Emir of Egypt and they won, but they alone survived the encounter.”

“Nice tall tale” Katie said.

Yasmina smiled and nodded.  “I am sure Creeper the imp will spice up the tale by the time they arrive.”

“This isn’t Fatimid territory?” Katie asked, and Tony said he was just wondering the same thing.

“Sallum is as far as certain Fatimid territory goes,” al Rahim answered for the princess who seemed more comfortable talking quietly with Aisha, Boston, Nanette, and Sukki.  “Between Sallum and El Alamein is territory no one fully owns.  After El Alamein, the land remains in Abbasid hands through the Emir of Egypt, but I will not count the Princess safe until we reach Alexandria.”

Yasmina interrupted.  “Except now I will spend the next ten days or more here cleaning up this mess.”  Clearly, while she spoke with the girls, she kept one ear open for the other conversation.  “Lockhart.  You will have ten days to get to the time gate.  Then we head for El Alamein, and that may help move the gate toward you, but be careful it doesn’t pass you by.”

Lockhart said he understood, but Decker changed the subject as he turned to Aladdin.  “So, what is your story?”

“Me?” Aladdin looked surprised that anyone would be interested in him.  “I lost the lamp and the Sharif sent me on a diplomatic mission to the Fatimids, maybe hoping I would get killed.  The Djin did not have to work hard for that. The Sharif’’s daughter and I were close.  The Imam who stole the lamp wanted her and wanted me out of the way.  You see, the Caliph told the Emir of Egypt to make peace. The Emir told the Sharif and the Sharif told me.  That was that.  Anyway, I had a minor post in the diplomatic mission, but the Isma’ili fanatics were not interested in peace.  Most of the mission got killed for heresy, but Princess Yasmina saved me and my men.  We owe her our lives.”

“And now you are going home?” Alexis asked.

Aladdin nodded.  “And I will marry the girl, if she will have me, even if her father is the Sharif.”

“Good luck,” Decker said, and glanced at Nanette.

In the morning, Yasmina said there was another one to send home. They got the Ape shuttle out of the main ship. Captain Argh complained that it was not capable of interstellar travel, and he certainly expected his few ships to be long gone, but Yasmina assured him it would do.  Elder Stow charged the ship, fully.  All Captain Argh had to do was pilot it toward deep space and he would be found.

“Sometimes you must trust others,” Eder Stow said.  “Even if they are not your species.”

“A good lesson,” Yasmina said.  They all said good-bye to Captain Argh and wished him well.  Yasmina also said good-bye to the travelers.  Then she complained. “Al Rahim!  It is going to take forever to clean up this mess.  Aladdin.  Don’t touch anything.”

************************

MONDAY

Don Giovanni runs the Greatest Show on Earth (a bit of temporal tampering), but mostly they run through the Black Forest because the Big Bad Wolv have landed.  Until Monday, Happy Reading.

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Avalon 8.7 Escaping, part 5 of 6

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The travelers with the Berbers rode to the Flesh Eater ship and shook their heads, thinking there was no way any Flesh Eaters survived the crash when Elder Stow’s message came through their wristwatch communicators.  There were Flesh Eaters around, or at least one.

Lincoln, Alexis, and Decker all turned the sound down on their watches.  Nanette and Tony heard but did not know what to do about the message.  Katie and Lockhart both got ready to respond, and Lockhart spoke.

“Roger that.”

They got down along with about half of the Berbers.  The head man stayed a bit in the saddle to use the height to look around.  “I see it would be pointless to try and separate some of you when you can send messages to each other over a distance,” the head man said.

“We have several surprises,” Lockhart responded, not spelling things out.  The travelers got their various weapons, handguns, and wands while the Berbers uncovered and pulled some primitive rifles from their own saddles.

“I guessed,” Decker said.

“I didn’t,” Lincoln said, and everyone stopped when they heard Boston’s voice over their watches.

“Alexis.  We need you.  Captain Argh, the Ape pirate captain has a hole in his leg that needs to be healed.”

“Emergency?” Alexis asked.

“No.  He says it happened yesterday.”

“A bit busy right now,” Alexis responded.  “Be there when I can.”

“Stay off the com,” Decker said.  “We are going in.”

They wanted quiet, now knowing at least one Flesh Eater awaited, maybe inside.  The Flesh Eater surprised them.  A weapon fired, a sickly green light, and one of the Berber riders and his horse collapsed.  Decker returned fire. even as the Berbers shouted, screamed, and threw their hands to their ears or collapsed to the ground in agony.  The travelers still carried the discs which protected them from the Vr energy.  Elder Stow insisted they keep them until the days of the Flesh Eaters passed.  Clearly, the Berbers had no such protection.

The head Berber, still on his horse with three of his men, turned and rode off at all speed.  Lockhart added a shotgun blast to the one Decker shot at, but Katie hesitated until she saw a different Flesh Eater carrying the Vr projector.  She remembered that they had personal screens of some sort that protected them from swords, knives, spears, arrows, and even bullets up to a point.  It might take a dozen bullets from her high-powered advanced military rifle to penetrate.  But the projector had no such protection as far as she was aware.  She pulled the trigger and on the third shot, the projector exploded, knocking the Flesh Eater to the ground, and cutting off the projection of Vr energy.

The Flesh Eater with the hand weapon that tried to keep its head down after shooting one of the Berbers eventually succumbed to rifle fire.  Fortunately, around the wreckage of the ship, there were plenty of places for the travelers to hide behind.  Decker and Lockhart rushed forward when the Vr projector exploded.  Decker finished the one with the handgun.  Lockhart pumped three shotgun slugs into the one stunned by the explosion of the projector.  He saw when the second slug burned out the personal screen and penetrated.  The third slug finished the Flesh Eater.

Lincoln, Tony, Alexis, and Nanette pushed carefully around the outside of the action.  They found three more Flesh Eaters in various stages of dead and dying.  They lay propped up against pieces of the hull that blew off the Flesh Eater ship and got partially buried in the sand.  One Flesh Eater already looked dead.  One appeared to be unconscious.  The third was missing an arm, but he otherwise stared at the travelers through malevolent eyes, his tongue darting out now and then to taste the blood in the air.  He spoke.  The only time the travelers heard a Flesh Eater speak.

“My world is destroyed.  The enemy world is destroyed.  My ship may have been the last.  The enemy ship may have been the last.  Your world is off limits to outsiders?”  It paused and coughed, or maybe laughed.  “No world is off limits to the people.  Your world should be eaten.”  It coughed or laughed again as Tony fired six bullets into the alien.  Alexis and Nanette both made a sound of protest, but neither outright objected nor said anything.  Lincoln shot the other two, the one that appeared unconscious and the one that seemed to be already dead, just to be safe.

Katie came out from inside that section of the ship that remained intact.  She commented to Lockhart and Decker who disarmed the recovering Berbers and got them to sit on the sand while they waited for another Flesh Eater to show up, if there were any more.  “It doesn’t smell as bad as the old Balok ships.”  Katie pulled up her hand and spoke into her wristwatch.  “Elder Stow.  We could use your scanner to see if there are any more Flesh Eaters around that we have not accounted for.”

“I apologize, my mother.  I was just thinking it is too bad I could not be in two places at once.”

“Boss,” Boston interrupted to report to Lockhart.  “Captain Argh can see the Berbers on his scanner monitor.  They appear to be preparing to charge the ships, and they got guns.  Captain Argh did not know better, but I can analyze the material and did the math.  Sukki confirmed.”

Katie turned to the men beside her.  “My feeling is they don’t want to lose us as prisoners.  They want to capture us again now that we have eliminated the Flesh Eaters.

“Or kill us if capture is not possible,” Decker suggested.

“I agree,” Lockhart said.

“I agree,” Lincoln echoed as he stepped up with the others from the back.

Decker spoke into his watch and got straight to the point.  “Any people in this age with guns are to be considered enemy combatants.  They need to be eliminated.”  He looked at Katie and she nodded.

“We are still a few hundred years before black powder shows up in Europe.” she said.  “And cannon before handguns.”

In the Ape ship, Sukki began to panic.  “What can we do about the Berbers?  There are so many of them.”

“We can intercept them before they reach the other ship,” Elder Stow said, and he pulled his weapon and his scanner.  He got on the com.  “My Father.  I can see from here.  The scan shows five Flesh Eaters, but none appear to be moving.  I believe you got them all.  We will attempt to cut off the Berbers as they pass us by.  Hopefully, you will be presented with a manageable number.”

“Don’t risk yourself or the girls,” Katie responded.

Boston got out her wand before she went invisible.  Captain Argh swiveled his chair to face a different monitor that came up from the floor.  He ran a finger along a bar on the console, adjusted one knob, and pressed a button.  He held his finger on the button while the lights in the command center flickered and went out.

Sukki, Elder Stow, and Boston, who became visible again, all watched on the monitor.  A wide blue light came from the Ape ship.  The Berbers and horses fell to the ground just before they began their charge.  A few at the back of the pack survived but turned to run off.  The monitor shut down and some kind of yellow emergency lighting became the only light in the room.

“You ended the Eaters.  My mission is complete, so I ended the threat to you.  It was the last bit of power from my fuel cells.”  He sighed, put one hand to his wounded leg, and appeared to pass out.

Boston got on her watch right away.  “Alexis.  Captain Argh needs help.  Please hurry.”

“As quick as I can,” Alexis said, and turned off her wristwatch communicator.  “I don’t know what she expects.  I have no idea what Ape anatomy might be like.”

“Do what you tell me,” Nanette said.  “Just do your best.”

Alexis nodded and mounted, and Lincoln, Tony, and Nanette rode with her to the Ape ship.  Lockhart, Katie, and Decker had seven Berber prisoners and seven Berber horses to deal with.