by Chris Hechtl
“Such wonders,” she said watching her youngest daughter smile. Zara had been given the last lecture on electricity. Her mother was quite proud of her daughter even though she didn't understand any of what she had said. Only that it worked.
“The steam engines will make a good impact on things next year. Once we've got them sorted out and we've got rail lines down,” Max said smiling. “I wanted to go with an electric arc furnace for it, but we're having trouble making long lasting heater coils... and don't get me started on the batteries,” he said shaking his head.
Ryans and the Queen gave him a look. “Oh we'll get it folks, it's just a matter of time, sweat, and a lot of chemical burns,” he grimaced, holding up a bandaged hand. Ryans nodded.
“The electric is smart. I take it you don't want too go too far too fast by building electric engines?” Ryans asked.
Max rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. The stators are a pain in small scale,” Max said, jerking a scarred thumb to the ceiling fans overhead. Ryans chuckled as others looked up at the ceiling fan. Several people pointed to it and murmured. “I'd like to go directly to electric, but we'd have to build some sort of power source with it... and that opens up an entire can of worms we don't want yet. So far we've got about a dozen hand built ones and that's it till we figure out a better way of making the things.”
Ryans held up his hand. “I know, I know.” He chuckled as Deidra touched a clear glass ball with a spark generator inside. She was fascinated by the fat blue sparks inside. They arced to each of her fingers. After a moment the crowd tittered as her hair began to rise.
Zara giggled. “What?” Deidra asked. Zara covered her mouth.
Her mother did as well. “It seems your hair has a mind of its own daughter,” she said smiling. Deidra reached up with her free hand and felt her hair standing on end. She grimaced and tried to comb it down.
“Step away from the sphere and the static electricity will stop your hair from rising,” Ryans said smiling himself. She did, backing away slowly. The crowd chuckled as she angrily brushed at her hair.
“I like it. It's a good look for you,” he teased. He obligingly oofed as she elbowed him. Her mother chuckled softly at that.
“I'd say the best is here,” Max pointed to a final booth. “Zara?” he asked. “You have the honor since it's your project.”
Zara grinned nervously and then waved. “Ladies and gentlemen what we have here is a simple ham radio.” She pointed to the wooden box on the table then to the diagrams and glass covered display model. She picked the microphone up.
“Hello?” she said, touching the mike.
“Come in. Who is this?” a voice answered. The crowd reared back in shocked surprise.
“This is princess Zara. Over,” Zara answered, smiling.
“Oh, right. Pardon princess. Roger,” the voice replied. Zara nodded.
“What you’re seeing here is an electronic device, this,” she held up the microphone. “This takes my voice and turns it into signals for this wire.” She pointed to the antenna running up the tent pole. “To send through the air.”
“It goes to another box antenna somewhere else then goes down to the box, and then the signal is turned back into my voice and it comes out here.” She pointed to the speaker.
“Ingenious,” a lad murmured in awe.
“It's so simple,” a woman murmured, clearly awed. Ryans recognized her as Serena, Duchess of Rojer. He looked around. The Duke was nowhere to be found however.
“Hardly. It's easy to use yeah, but a pain to make,” Ryans said shaking his head. Deidra looked up at him. “Don't get me started on how to make capacitors, inductors, or resistors, let alone diodes and transistors. We'll be here till the snow falls if I tried.”
Deidra chuckled at that. She edged over to a water heater. “Now this I like.” she said running her hand under the water. “So warm,” Deidra smiled. He nodded.
“Remind me to draw you a bath later dear,” he smiled. She smiled back.
<==={}------------>
Yorick looked at the man. He was so eager to please, the fool. He didn't know he was a dead man no matter what he did. He'd join his wife and children in the afterlife soon enough.
The lord Duke had ordered their deaths right after Decrius had been recruited. Now he nodded to the man and passed him the small vial. “Don't screw it up,” he growled.
“I won’t,” Decrius said, gulping.
“I mean it. Do not displease our master,” Yorick said and then moved on, bumping the man's shoulder with his own. Decrius turned to look at him and then clutched at the vial in his hands. Slowly his fingers loosened so he could look at it. He looked at the bluish fluid, staring at it, knowing that more than one life depended on what happened next. After a moment of decision he nodded and then clutched at it once more.
<==={}------------>
Sue blinked at a strange man as he passed. He was dressed as a royal chef but he wasn't familiar. She shrugged it off, most likely a new hire she thought as she turned and nodded politely to the approaching Queen and her guards. “Good morning your majesty,” she said, bowing her head.
“And good morning to you, Doctor Carter,” the Queen said with a slight smile of welcome on her lips.
“Nice day isn't it?” Sue said smiling.
“I had thought so as well,” the Queen said, smiling more fully. “A day full of promise, of so much potential,” she said, smile turning ever so slightly into a gleam.
“All because you added what? Ten thousand new subjects to your realm? Twenty?”
“Indeed,” the Queen's eyes gleamed in mischief. “And yesterday's event's went so well,” she said. “Despite my daughter's attempt to send me to an early grave,” she said mock darkly.
“That's children for you, I swear they do it on purpose,” Sue teased as the Queen indicated they continue walking.
“I had always thought so when I mortified my own mother and father,” the Queen admitted with a small chuckle. Sue grinned as the Queen tucked her arm in hers.
“Well, I wanted to let you know the immunization project just started to get off the ground. I'm hoping we'll get some more support from the House of Lords but they aren't in session. Now that most of them have gone home...” she shook her head.
“It'll keep for now my dear,” the Queen said.
“Maybe,” Sue said, not entirely convinced.
“Have you found a suitable husband yet?” her Majesty asked. Sue blinked at her. “Or more than one?” the Queen asked with a knowing smirk. Sue's eyes narrowed at her and then she chuckled.
“No, not that I haven't had some interesting proposals recently,” she said wryly, thinking of that oaf of a knight who'd come into her office and demanded she marry him then and there. She shook her head. “I'm still thinking things over.”
“Ah,” the Queen nodded sagely. “Tis the right time to have a child dear,” she said.
“Well...” Sue shrugged. “It depends on the child actually. If you're talking about natural conception, well, I'm still thinking about that and I haven't found a partner yet. If you are asking about an implant, well, I'm not ready to be a single parent with my current workload,” she said.
“Implant?” the Queen asked, slowing her pace. Naturally Sue's pace matched hers.
“Um, embryo implant?” Sue asked. “We, ah, brought along a bunch,” she said.
“Embryo?” the Queen asked.
“A fetus. A seed of a child ready to be implanted,” Sue explained as the Queen abruptly halted. “Into a host mother. We also brought seeds of animals and plants. Though I don't know why we brought the animals when their hosts remained behind,” she said shaking her head.
“How many?” the Queen asked.
“Oh hum?” Sue asked and then shrugged. “Twenty five thousand give or take.” Her majesty blinked in shock. Her mouth dropped. Sue was looking away and turned to catch the look of startled attention. “Sorry,” Sue said. “It's not really a big deal. Earth has o
ver eight billion people. I think Eugene was shooting a little high with that number but I checked. It takes two or even three implants to get some embryo's to take. So you'd get about half that.”
“And...” the Queen blinked in consternation. “What was he planning on doing with all these unborn children? Why didn't someone tell me earlier?” she demanded.
“We weren't sure who to trust,” Sue said with a sheepish shrug.
“But you're trusting me now,” the Queen said.
“No time like the present,” Sue replied, smiling. “Shall we?” she asked cocking her head to the door to the hall. The Queen nodded.
<==={}------------>
Over the past several months Ryans had taught the royal cooks how to create several more Terran dishes. Omelets, especially cheese omelets were a hit. He used thin wire bent and welded to a piece of pipe to form a whisk, then bent thin plates of metal for the spatula. His simple tools had already been copied by pita makers and other chefs all over the capital. Wanda had teased him about the missed opportunity of patenting his invention but he had just shrugged off the ribbing.
He made a fast friendship with Cassius, the head chef. They improved the sugar recipes; Cassius added his native knowledge of edibles to the mix. Some things were a hit, others not so much. Now that the festival was winding down and many of the distant lords were leaving they had more time to experiment and explore.
The girls were amused and impressed and complimented both efforts. Later that afternoon as they were sitting in the hall, waiting for a late lunch, they heard pots falling and then a commotion in the kitchen. A man dressed as a cook burst out but tripped on a rug and fell. A cook came out running and brained the man with a pot, then called urgently for the guard. Getting up, Ryans came over.
“What's this about?” he asked as the guard came and bound the man, kneeling on the small of the unconscious man's back.
“Dominus, he was poisoning the food,” Cassius snarled wiping sauce from his shirt front with a rag. “It's in the sauce so be careful.”
Ryans nodded pursing his lips. The Queen came over but Ryans blocked her with an arm from getting too close. Cassius bowed hastily to her. “Your majesty please excuse this disturbance. This dog...” He kicked the groaning man on the ground. “Wished to poison my food.”
The Queen's eyes glittered savagely. She turned on the helpless man. The guard rolled him over. He looked up at the Queen, eyes confused, but as they focused they widened in fright.
“Who?” she asked, toe of her silken shoe on his arm. “Who, wretched dog, sent you to poison me and mine?” she hissed. The man gibbered and then recovered.
“Perhaps a week with the royal tortures will loosen your tongue?” the Queen asked, sculpted eyebrow raised. The man began to sweat.
“Come to think of it, I've been meaning to give them a new toy to play with,” Ryans said smiling to her. She eyed him. He tapped the blue tooth. “Max can you send over a live car battery and a set of jumpers? Seems we've got a poisoner who needs a little convincing to talk.”
He crouched down to the man. “I don't think you'll like the jumpers. See we attach one lead to you, either your toes or a finger,” he said softly. “The other end has these nasty sharp teeth,” He smiled as he made a pinching shape with his hand. “We touch that one to oh, say your balls.” He flashed his hand open. “POP!” he smiled. “Your balls sizzle and explode inside you. Another touch and your manhood will sear, and then fall off after a few days.”
Max came in hefting a battery with a set of cables coiled over a shoulder. “Where do you want them?” he asked looking around in confusion.
“Over here Max,” Ryans said getting up. “We've got a fresh customer here, hope he lasts longer than the last one,” Ryans said with a cold smile down at his prey. The man gibbered again as Max eyed him then set the battery down and hooked up one end of the jumpers.
“See? What did I tell you?” Ryans smiled, flexing the alligator clips so the man could see the teeth. “Course we could go the other way, clip one of these to your... manhood, what little there is of it, and then touch other parts of your body... it leaves quite nasty burns.” He brought the ends together. They sparked and popped. He did it a second time then stopped. The man was staring at the jumper clips in terror. He toed the man until he blinked and voided himself.
“Or...”
The man gulped, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He was pale in his terror, shaking like a leaf. “Or?”
“Or you could take the second option. Tell her majesty what she wants to know, provide as much evidence as you can, and she'll spare your life. It won’t be a long easy life, I understand the mines can be a dangerous place, but that's better than going through all this... unpleasantness right?”
The man seemed to wilt for a moment and then nod. “Who are you?” Ryans asked.
“Decrius sir,” the man nodded.
“All right Decrius, who sent you and why?” Ryans asked.
“Daa ddddDuke Rojer,” the man stuttered out then looked away. “His steward Yorick gave me the poison not on an hour ago.”
“Did he pay you?” the Queen asked. Ryans glanced at her. She was looking a little pale. Deidra was behind her, holding her hand. Deidra looked furious.
The man gibbered and shook his head. “No your majesty. If I did this he would let my family live.” He turned an imploring look to the Queen. “I don't care about my life. Please spare my wife and children. They did nothing. It was I who couldn't pay the taxes.”
“We'll see what we can do,” Ryans nodded turning to the Queen. She looked furious but torn.
“So he ordered you...blackmailed you to kill the Queen?” Ryans indicated the Queen as he gave Max the jumpers back.
“No, you Dominus,” Decrius said. He looked to Ryans. “The gaijin leader. He ordered me to put Chokeberry juice in your meal.”
“Choke...” Deidra hissed. “That's monstrous,” she hissed. She shook her head. Ryans glanced at her. “It's without smell and with little taste. But it swells the tongue and throat of the person who eats or drinks the juice and they die a horrible agonizing death.”
“Nasty.” He shook his head. “My thanks Cassius for sparing me that,” he said, nodding to the cook.
The head chef bobbed a bow.
“Our thanks as well good sir. Your loyalty shall be suitably rewarded,” the Queen said imperiously, and then nodded. The chef bowed to her, head down, cheeks blushing.
“Dear me, your uncle has stepped too far,” she sighed giving Deidra a look.
“Unfortunately we can't touch him though,” Deidra said and sighed as well.
Max looked startled and then frowned.
“The uncorroborated statement of a co-conspirator Max,” Ryans said looking over his shoulder. The engineer frowned, darkened, then he nodded slowly.
“I think however, we can remedy that. If you think you can handle it,” Max said, eying the would be assassin.
“Video?” Ryans asked catching on quickly.
“My sentiments exactly,” Max said smiling. “Let him try to wiggle out of that.”
<==={}------------>
Sydney set the assassin up with a microphone and had the meeting place set up with cameras. The assassin met with the Duke, who was dressed in his usual robes. His steward was there. The assassin was nervous, looking around. He told the Duke that the juice was ineffective. The Duke scowled. He looked to the steward who shrugged. “My lord there's no telling what magical medicines the gaijin have,” Yorick said. The Duke scowled and then nodded.
“Since the baron was such a fool to fail, we cannot make a move directly,” he growled. He'd expected the juice to work; after all it had worked so well before. Either this fool had failed to put it in the right pot or he hadn't at all and was lying now. He wiggled his fingers to the steward. “Pay the man.” He turned his back. The steward came forward with a pouch in one hand, but the other hidden.
“My lord, I didn't do this for money, I
did this for my family!” the assassin gibbered, stepping back. “You promised to spare them!”
“Oh, them,” the steward shrugged showing the dagger he had before concealed. “They died quickly.”
“Crap. It's going south, plan B!” Perry called over the net. “Move in!”
“Murderer!” the assassin screamed in pained anguish. He lunged for the Duke but the steward’s dagger cut him off. It plunged into his stomach and up under his ribcage. His eyes bulged, outstretched arms frozen and then he fell. His body slumped onto the steward's arm.
“Have that dumped in the cistern pits where none will bother with it,” the Duke said over his shoulder.
“I think not,” a guard said arriving.
“This is none of your concern sirrah. Be gone,” the Duke said waving while trying to look as commanding and dangerous as he could. When the guard didn't move he scowled again and pulled a bag of coins. He jingled it then tossed it at the man’s feet. “There, now go,” he waved. The guard stood his ground.
“Sirrah you test my patience,” the Duke growled.
“On the contrary, you have tested mine,” Ryans said coming up behind the guard. “And the Queen's but she'll talk to you about that later,” he said and smiled darkly. His eyes fell upon the fallen assassin and turned cold.
“Nasty, sorry about that Decrius, I wish we could have come sooner,” he sighed as he turned on the Duke. “You see we caught your assassin. He confessed.”
“The confession of a toad against a Duke?” the Duke laughed.
Ryans smiled. “Not quite,” the Queen said, coming up on the other side with Perry and a six pack of guards. Her royal majesty eyed the Duke. Rojer was now sweating despite the cool air. Everything had gone wrong, horribly wrong in an instant. “I too saw the entire thing. I dare say you've overstretched your bounds brother in law,” she said. She gave the Duke a long look.