“We’re going to take up the King,” General Peebles said and introduced the legendary monarch to the Major, “along with his wife, the Lady Ealhswith, and the Ealdorman of Wiltshire, Sir Wulfhere,” he finished with more introductions. “I think it would be wise if the Lady Ellyn also came along.”
Matt nodded. “Perhaps a quick tour of the ship for those staying behind,” Matt suggested, noticing the concerned look Sir Oldalf was giving him, and the General nodded.
“Have Giles see to it. I need to speak with you about the flight plans,” he said and they retreated away from the crowds that had gathered on all sides, with some of the braver locals even coming close enough to touch the ship.
Giles moved down the ramp to organize the tours and always there on his arm was Alfred’s youngest daughter Æthelgifu, the loveliest young woman in all of England in the Captain’s estimation.
The General and the Major moved off about a hundred yards, very near to where Peebles had watched the falconry exhibition a few days earlier. The day was warm and sunny, with only a few high clouds. It took only a couple of moments for Matt to confirm that the General’s plan was not only feasible but a relatively simple exercise in navigation. They were moving back to the group as Flæd and her younger sister Giffu approached them.
“Excuse me Genaral, Mayjor,” Flæd said with a shy smile. She was very nervous, though her eyes were bright with excitement.
“Yes,” Peebles answered wondering just what this pair of lovely young women wanted with him.
“About yor trip,” Flæd began and both men thought she was going to request a spot for her son, Leoforic. “We wold like to accompany ye.”
Both were surprised, and for a moment she took their surprise to mean a negative answer and her face immediately fell.
“Major, how many can you fit comfortably?”
“Ten or twelve sir, but we could add additional chairs in the living area and take a few more.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said looking down at the expectant face of the Countess. “I believe we have two spaces open. You both may come,” he said and Flæd and her sister Giffu congratulated one another with hugs and smiles.
“Thank ye,” Flæd said and rushed off to tell her son.
The tours continued for almost an hour with Sir Ceorl, Father Gillian, and Sir Oldalf among the first in. Inside, the ship was larger than it looked, with two levels, though the ceiling in each was just at seven feet high. The ship, though alien, had under gone a complete overhaul to make it more functional for humans. Chairs, couches, and tables were all added and bolted down to the floor, along with carpeting and softer lighting, but even so, to Captain Giles and most of the other Americans, it still had a sinister alien feel to it. Most of the local Englishmen however, could not detect anything amiss, since everything about the ship was alien to them.
After capturing the ship all those years ago, the men of Earth got to work on its mysteries, and though the Skawp’s technology was thousands of years older than Man’s, in many ways it was far more basic and straight forward. It actually took less than a day for the more powerful human computers to crack the secrets of the alien language, and to translate it to usable form.
The Skawps, formidable though they were as a group, were vulnerable on certain levels. Their culture was derived from a hive mentality, a single mind and a single purpose for all, where each individual cooperated utterly for the benefit of the whole. Because of the hive, they knew nothing of espionage; it was an unknown concept to them, thus their computers were completely unprotected and open. The Skawps had no spies of their own, and no concept of spying. That they could fight and conquer other species was undeniable, but human beings were far different. Mankind, with its linguistic and cultural diversity, plus a natural inclination towards war, was much more capable at turning an enemy’s knowledge and tactics against them.
Inside the alien computers was all the massed knowledge of the Skawps, including the location of their home world and the easiest route to it. At first, those involved with the deciphering thought it must be some kind of trick, but as they began to understand the Skawps, that they were one homogeneous culture, the human scientists came to understand that their enemy was indeed very open and naive in the ways of intrigue. The Skawps could not have cracked either the computer codes or languages of the human race for many, many centuries, and thus had no concept that their own secrets were so transparent. Human beings were unlike any other life form the Skawps had encountered.
All the basic programming of the alien ship was left in tack, but many, many things were added to it, and in a very short time human beings at last had a ship which could navigate and reach the stars. Of course in the year 2027, one ship, against the multitude of enemy ships was virtually useless, but now, 1100 years earlier, it would be perfect for a surprise, preemptive strike.
On the final tour of the day, Giles led the King and his group forward to the large cockpit, which contained four chairs, all added by humans, and several computer consoles, and beyond that was a rather large forward window that shared much of the technology present in the blank faceplates of the TVD helmets. The entire group looked around with interest, and asked many simple questions until Murphy held up and hand and led them back to the main exercise room and laboratory, which were located on the same level as the cockpit.
All along one wall of the laboratory there were a number of vegetable plants all securely held in place under special lighting. Along the opposite wall was a long table filled with a wide variety tools and instruments, all held down with magnets or simple snaps and plastic locks. Murphy patiently answered the questions, fielded mostly by the King and Sir Wulfhere, though Æthelgifu did ask about the locks which held everything in place. Try as he might however, Murphy could not get across the concept of zero gravity. It didn’t help that the lovely young woman kept staring at him intently with those dark, enigmatic eyes of hers.
On the back wall was a door that led to the engine rooms, and beyond that, the weapons locker were the nukes were stored, but Murphy bypassed that route and led the group up a tube stairway to the second level. They entered into a small living area, much like any very small apartment on old Earth. It contained several chairs, a couch, and a few small tables, all bolted securely to the floor. There were no pillows, or detachable cushions which could float around in case they lost their artificial gravity. On either side of the living area were two very small bedrooms, just large enough to accommodate two twin beds. The beds were on hinges so that they could be folded up against the wall for additional room. There was also a work station, complete with a computer which was recessed into the wall and a small built-in table could be pulled out for more conventional writing. Otherwise the room contained one desk chair that was connected to steel slots in the floor, and several cabinets for clothes or other personal items. Both bedrooms were identical. Toward the back of the living area was another small room, whose function was obvious to Murphy, but in the end he had to explain to the locals that the bathroom was a chamber pot area, and then flushed the toilet. It was a great hit, and all of the locals on the tour had to take their turn in operating it while Murphy just sighed and rolled his eyes.
Forward of the living area was a small kitchen, complete with a host of cooking utensils, all secured with the same snaps and locks, a microwave, and a fairly large refrigerator. There was no stove or oven, due to the risk of fire, which in space would be disastrous. Along the front wall of the kitchen was another very large forward window which stretched from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall and gave them the illusion of being out in the open. Directly in front of window were four chairs, much like the chairs in the cockpit, but these could swivel and lock so that they could be used either while traveling or eating around a small table. Near one wall there was another tube staircase which led directly down to the cockpit. Murphy led them down, finishing the tour and took them outside to wave to those who would be left behind.
; The day was warm, though now completely overcast, but the weather would not hinder their flight so Major Thane began to assign places for the passengers. He and Murphy personally strapped each one of them into their chairs. They wanted no accidents or injuries at this juncture. When everyone was in place, Matt went rapidly through a checklist with Murphy, who sat by his side. Not surprisingly both men were just as nervous and excited as their passengers, though neither the Lady Ellyn nor the lovely Æthelgifu could tell. The local women sat directly behind the two pilots, and both were perplexed but somehow comforted by their professional and detached manner. They watched, silently fascinated, as the two men babbled on calmly about mysterious and unknown things.
General Peebles was above with King Alfred, the Lady Ealhswith, Æthelflæd, and an additional chair was moved from the living quarters for Sir Wulfhere, which was snapped to the floor much like the seats in a minivan. Everyone listened intently through the intercom as Matt and Murphy went verbally through their checklist. Alfred was surprised at first that he could hear the two pilots, but he remembered the magic helmet well and so was not afraid. The entire preflight process took less than five minutes, but to each it seemed an eternity.
“Checks complete,” Matt finally said. “We’re ready for take-off, Sir.”
“Whenever you’re ready, major. The ship is yours,” Peebles replied, knowing that Major Thane would be in complete control of the flight from here on out, since his own flying skills were minimal, and his understanding of the alien ship even less so. He looked over at his companions, his gaze lingering on Lady Flæd. He was again struck by her dark shining hair, her clean face, and bright intelligent eyes. Flæd looked back at him and smiled, causing a mild tremor to go through his nervous system. He smiled, thinking he was going to have to do something about this woman in the near future.
“I am vary a’feared,” she admitted easily, still looking at him intensely. She was gripping the arms of the chair so tightly her knuckles were white, and he could see just a bit of perspiration on her lip.
“Tis like going into battle,” Sir Wulfhere agreed, but the King sat silently, feeling that it was not appropriate to speak of his own great fear.
“Oh sister, me heart is pounding also,” Giffu agreed from below, having heard Flæd through the ship’s systems. At first Alfred was shocked that his daughters could also converse through the little thing affixed to the wall, but then he realized that if the strangers could do it, so could they.”
“Ye can hear me Giffu?” he asked.
“Yah, father,” the young woman replied, and both the King and Sir Wulfhere shook their heads with wonder and admiration.
“Just relax and enjoy the ride,” Peebles stated, mostly to Flæd, but the advice was meant for all of them. He could feel them all tensing up as the ships humming grew a bit louder. The drone of the engines, which was whisper quiet when compared to the noise of jet engines, increased steadily until suddenly they began to rise off the ground. Alfred gasped but both Sir Wulfhere and Ealhswith remained quiet, frozen with fear, eyes round and wide. Below, the Lady Ellyn, who considered herself a seasoned flyer, gave a happy laugh. She was not the slightest bit afraid, her lover was flying and she had complete confidence in him.
“But where will we go?” Ealhswith whispered, never taking her eyes off of the ground. The ship had risen only about three hundred feet straight up, and for the moment remained motionless, hovering in the sky.
“Will we fly over Maiden?” Sir Wulfhere asked, as they suddenly shot forward going faster and faster, the force of the acceleration pushing them back in their seats, though at most they were only pulling three g’s. The General did not answer the Earl’s question since it was now irrelevant; the castle was far behind them.
“All systems functioning normally,” Captain Giles reported calmly through the intercom.
“Copy,” replied another voice the locals did not recognized.
“All systems go,” Thane added.
“In a way we will be going over Maiden and Wessex and all of England,” Peebles finally answered with a smile, hoping his timing was right. “I thought I’d take you to the moon.”
“Wot!” King Alfred spouted, his mouth falling open. Sir Wulfhere, the Queen and Flæd just stared at him, wondering if he was jesting.
“Activating main engines,” Matt’s voice said and a second later another burst of acceleration hit them and they raced very fast over the coast and then out over the sea. Faster and faster they went until Matt pulled up and they streaked straight up into the heavens.
“Whhhaaaaaaaa,” the locals all yelled together, and truth be told the General felt like joining them, but didn’t. No one said a word, all eyes were glued to the forward window as the powerful thrust of the engines pushed them back into their seats. Of the locals only the Lady Ellyn was unafraid, her eyes watering from the sheer joy of speed. Within moments they were in and through the clouds, out into the bright blue sky above. They all gasped as the sun hit them and then the sky turned a darker blue, then darker still, until it was blue-black, finally, in the middle of the day, the sky turned black and the stars came out, thousands upon thousands of them, and then it was night. They were still accelerating but the pressure they felt became less and less, until finally it felt as if they were floating about in their chairs.
“Lord God, Lord God,” the Queen chanted softly over and over. Peebles looked over at Ealhswith, who seemed to be in a state of shock and he briefly wondered if this experience would be too much for them, but then he glanced at Flæd. She was breathing very fast, but smiling with obvious joy. King Alfred was quiet, expressionless, and was spending most of his energy trying to keep down his lunch, as he seemed to weigh no more than a babe.
“We’re moving beyond the power of the Earth to hold us down...” the General explained. “It’s a force called gravity, discovered by a brilliant Englishman actually,” he added, but no one was truly listening.
Suddenly the engines fell silent, or nearly so.
“We’ve reached Earth orbit,” Matt announced. “We will make three full revolutions while I confirm the coordinates, so you’ll have a bit of time to float around if you like.” As he said this he turned the ship in a carefully controlled spin so that suddenly the Earth filled the windows in front of them.
Everyone gasped at the beauty of the scene, even General Peebles, who’d only been in orbit once, having made a short visit to the ISS, or International Space Station, some years ago. His space experience was limited, but he knew both Matt and Murphy had spent considerable time on the ISS.
Slowly, carefully, he unbuckled his harness strap, and smiled at his guests who all showed varying signs of fear and queasiness.
“Your stomach will adapt quickly,” he explained, remembering his first experience with weightlessness. Once their body got over the shock, he knew they’d be able to ignore their inner ear and truly enjoy freefall.
“Come,” he told them all, and with a gentle push, began to float up and over the Lady Ealhswith, who was staring up at him as if he were some sort of god. But he did not wait for her consent, rather he tapped the ceiling lightly and floated down until he could get a hold of her chair. He carefully unbuckled her restraints, showing absolutely no modesty, though several of the buckles were close to personal places. “Major Thane will activate the artificial gravity for our flight, so we probably have less than an hour to enjoy this.”
“Ye fly,” Alfred exclaimed with wonder, for once forgetting the sick feeling in his stomach and then the Queen was free and moved easily upwards with hardly a push. Higher and higher she went and did not stop until she hit the ceiling. She pushed off again, much too hard and shot back down into the General who grabbed her, but her momentum carried them both down to the floor. Peebles released her and then moved to the King and quickly released him from his constraints.
“Move everything very slowly,” he instructed Alfred. “Push up gently, it doesn’t take much force to move about now.” A
lfred did as he was told and laughed joyfully as he rose to the ceiling. Peebles then freed Wulfhere and then finally moved to the Lady Flæd.
She smiled at him as he slowly approached but did not try to unfasten her own restraints; instead she patiently waited for him to drift nearer. Peebles floated down but when he grabbed the armrest of the chair his momentum carried him closer to her than he gauged, his face stopped just inches from her own. He tried to concentrate on the buckles but found he couldn’t think being so close to her. He quickly glanced up and found her eyes boring into his, only inches away. They both froze for a long moment before Peebles quickly retreated, he moved too fast however, and his hand slipped. He lost contact with the armrest and slowly floated upwards. He must have looked surprised because Flæd giggled and reached for him, but he was already too far away. On instinct she stuck out her right foot, her skirt fell slightly and he clutched her bare ankle. She felt nice, soft and warm.
He smiled at the touch and glanced up at her, worried he’d offended her, but to his surprise she did not seem flustered in the least.
“Come and release me,” Flæd demanded happily and Peebles pulled himself forward with her leg. Again he came too fast and they actually bumped heads lightly before he righted himself.
“Ye didna h’ve this trouble with thee others,” she complained teasingly.
“No…noI didn’t,” the General replied. “You distract me,” he admitted and Flæd flushed happily, feeling like a young girl. In less than a minute he had her lose. She sprang out of her chair too fast and careened into him laughing. They tumbled end over end until they finally struck the ceiling lightly. For a brief instant Peebles felt his body pressed against hers but then he rebounded off and floated toward the floor, leaving her motionless near the ceiling.
Alfred and Ealhswith were laughing and playing, flying about the cabin and weren’t paying the slightest attention to their daughter. Sir Wulfhere was doing flips and spins near the large front window. Flæd pushed off from the ceiling, this time softly, but to her surprise it was still too hard and she swooped down to the Genaral. He caught her but her momentum started them spinning around as if they were dancing. He held her close until they bumped into one of the chairs and then he steadied them both. They continued to hold each other, faces close, both smiling, and then she jumped ever so lightly.
The Temporal Knights Page 61