The Temporal Knights (34 page)

She sat for a while longer, watching the children run and play, and picking at the long grasses that grew near her and neatly weaving them together. Soon she had four complete grass bracelets and still Matt had not appeared, so finally she stood, exasperated. It was after the noon
meal time, she was hungry and her impatience was beginning to grow into anger as she marched to the ship and up the ramp.

She stopped at the very top of the ramp, peering in but going no further. “Matthew,” she called softly, announcing herself. No one answered so she took a tentative step inside.  Up to this point she’d never been inside the queer ship. She was surprised that she could see perfectly well. There were few windows in the thing but the interior was somehow well lit. She could see no torches or candles but it was bright nevertheless; to her it was artificial, unnatural light and she instinctively gave the sign to ward off evil. The ship was very quiet and very strange. The air inside, though warm, was giving her the chills. She took another cautious step forward and ran her hand down the interior wall. It was perfectly smooth…perfectly and she jerked her hand away. The wall’s perfection was a wonder and a worry. The entire place felt very unnatural.  She took another cautious step. The floor which had been hard suddenly went soft and pliable and her steps were muffled in the softness. Curious, she reached down and felt the floor. It was soft and felt like wool. Ellyn smiled and had the sudden desire to remove her shoes and stockings and walk barefoot around the place. She restrained herself however, knowing that her father and Aunt were scandalized enough by her recent behavior. She took two more steps inside. On the wall ahead was a bank of winking lights, all colors and all shapes, surprisingly beautiful and hypnotic. Intrigued, she moved farther into the belly of the ship. 

“Matthew,” she repeated softly and rounded a corner. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest. “Matt!” she called louder this time but still no one answered. She turned another corner and screamed loudly when she ran into Lieutenant Gary Turnbull, who came quickly out of the large cockpit.

“Easy miss, I’m sorry. Didn’t hear you there,” Turnbull said, once he was over his own shock. Ellyn stared at the man for a long moment and then laughed with relief and embarrassment. “Me pardons Lewtenant Turnbull,” Ellyn said speaking the man’s name very slowly. It was a strange name to her.

“Call me Gary,” the Lieutenant replied. “Matt’s back looking at the engines,” he added, getting his first good look at the girl. She was striking even without makeup and he stared for a long moment at the small freckles on her nose.

“Enngenes,” Ellyn repeated and Gary nodded. “Do you know where that is?”

Ellyn shook her head no.

“Straight back...one level up.
You can’t miss it,” he said and then moved on past her. “Just holler for him. He’ll hear you.” And suddenly Ellyn was alone again. She moved back into the ship, sniffing, disliking its distinctive odor, the odor of machinery and circuitry, which up to now was non-existent in her time.

“Matt,” she said with more confidence this time as she climbed the stairs to the living area. She paused once more to bend over and run her hand through the carpeted stairs. Still no one answered, and she reached the top and began to move back toward the rear of the ship, but on impulse she stopped, sat down on the floor and quickly took off her shoes. Smiling, she looked about carefully to make sure no one was around, and then she hiked up her skirts and slipped out of her stockings. The carpet felt delicious, better even than she’d imagined and she wiggled her toes and giggled quietly.

“Enjoying yourself?” Matt asked, leaning on one of the rear doorways. Ellyn jumped.

“Matthew, ye scared me,” she yelled, embarrassed. “This...wot do ye call it?”

“Carpet...”

“Carpet, is marvelous,” she admitted, smiling all the while, then she rushed him and gave him several long kisses before turning serious. “Why do ye make me wait all this time, Matthew Thane? Tis just to see if I will, I’m sure. Tis after the noon meal, and still ye work.”

“I know I’m sorry...this ship is driving us all a little crazy,” he answered sheepishly and a little anxious, somehow knowing that this was the start of the conversation he’d been dreading for so long.

Ellyn shook her head and wiggled her small toes.
“Tis a ship, forsooth? Tell me then, why it tis na on the river?”

Matt nodded, and gave her a resigned smile. “Come on, I’ll fix you some soup,” he said and led her to the small kitchen in the rear.

“A ship?” She insisted once they had arrived. She sat on one of the chairs and watched him closely as he opened a can, poured it into a bowl and placed it in the microwave.

“It’s not a sailing ship, but a flying ship, like the airplane.”

“This,” she said looking around. “All of this flies through the air...tis na possible.”

Matt laughed, the oven dinged, and he carefully removed her bowl of soup and placed it in front of her. She sniffed at it, cautiously keeping out of the steam. It smelled good.

“Chicken and rice,” he said and handed her a spoon. “This ship not only flies through the air, it flies to the stars.

Her eyes got big and she looked up at him.

“Forsooth,” he said with a smile, anticipating her question. She took a cautious sip, then another.

“Ye will fly to the stars?”

Matt nodded.

“To fight?”

Matt nodded again.

“Twill
be dangerous?” She asked, proud of his courage. She took another sip. The soup was thin, but very good.

“There could be danger, but we won’t leave the ship if we can help it,” Matt answered, dreading what was coming.

“Then ye will come back to me?” She asked, smiling coyly as she looked up into the face of her warrior. She was used to the idea of men going off to war. Her father had done so many times.

“No, I won’t be coming back,” he answered softly, meeting her eyes, which showed surprise at the unexpected answer. “Flying to the stars is a strange thing, by the time I return your grandchildren will be long dead, though I will have hardly aged at all. I will return, but you will be gone from this world Ellyn.”

She stopped eating, and hardly noticed when the spoon dropped out of her hand. She slowly stood, using the table to balance herself and then suddenly sprinted out of the ship, pulling her skirts up enough to allow her legs to move faster and faster. Matt didn’t chase after her; instead he sat down heavily into the chair she’d just vacated. The smell of her was still in the air and he could hardly stand it. Slowly, as if in a trance, he walked back into the living area. He stopped when he saw her crude, but dainty shoes lying on the carpet next to her stockings. Slowly he picked them up and carried them to his room where he would sleep during the trip.

Chapter Nine

I
mmediately upon their return from the hunt, Matt reported to the command tent for the afternoon briefing. Colonel Lemay, Captain John Hersey and Dr. Rice were also present.  The hunt had gone extremely well but they all wanted to make very sure that the preparations for the evening’s demonstration went off without a single hitch. They did not want anyone accidently injured at this point. Matt kept quiet through most of the briefing and only offered up his opinion when asked, after the business of the demonstration was concluded he gave a brief overview of the ship’s status, and though outwardly he was calm and professional, everyone could immediately tell that something was very wrong. They’d all seen far too much emotional trauma over the past five years to miss such an obvious change. Back on old Earth, Matt’s condition would have restricted him from front line fighting. To all, he was a walking dead man. But the Major recited the current facts about the ship as he knew them, saluted and slowly stood.

“Major!” Peebles said loudly and Matt sank back into his chair.

“Sir?”

“What the bloody hell’s the matter with you?”

“That’s very British,” Lemay chided his commander with just a wisp of a smile.

“It’s nothing Sir,” Matt began, but realized that this answer was not going to satisfy any of them. “I’ve told Ellyn about the ship…and the trip,” he added deciding to be as blunt as possible.

General Peebles nodded, obviously pleased and unhappy at the same time, but the Colonel’s face remained impassive. Dr. Rice, however, was deeply concerned. Captain Hersey frowned and wondered how he would feel if he had to abandon Hester.
‘Not good,’
he quickly decided

“If you’ll excuse me...” Matt said standing stiffly.

“Of course,” Peebles replied with a sharp salute. Once he was gone the General looked to his two most trusted advisors and saw relief in Lemay and sympathy from Rice, just as he expected he would.

“He looks to be in a very bad way,” Rice said. “I’ve an idea on how to....” he stopped as Father Gillian, Friar Padstone and an unknown peasant man were ushered in to the tent by the sentry.

“Methinks ye should come with us,” Gillian said excitedly, addressing Rice. The Father paused to nod to the General and the Colonel, but everyone could see he wanted the doctor to hurry; something was up, something dire.

“Let’s go,” Rice replied, not waiting to be dismissed. He was in his doctor mode now, and had no superiors when it came to that.

“Tis Master Jones of Aycliffe,” Gillian introduced the strange man. “His wife be with child, and he brought her here by wagon...took the entire day, but he heard of yor great healing powers.”

“Meg, me wife, be sufferin’ terribly...the baern’s breach, we both know’d it...’nd Ester, de midwife canna do anything...Please Sir Rice...whilst ye help us’n?”

“Of course I’ll help,” Rice answered as they led him toward the edge of camp. “The baby’s breach...you’re sure?”

“Aye, we’ve had a few wee baerns me Meg ‘nd me...” the man said matter-of-factly.

Dr. Rice studied the peasant as they moved and tried to guess the age of the man. On one hand he seemed very old, but the doctor could not get a definite gauge due to the dirt which covered him. The man face was rough and wrinkled and though he looked to be old enough to be a grandfather, Rice knew he’d lived a hard life and could be much younger. Rice finally decided that man to be middle aged, perhaps in his mid to late thirties, and he hoped his wife was a good deal younger.

“How many children?”
Rice asked.

“Six living, ‘nd two dead,” the man answered simply.

“How old are you Master Jones?” He asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

The man shrugged as they stopped before a crude wagon, the back end of which barely cleared the ground. The bed was rotted in places and tilted back sharply. A young woman was inside, sweaty, feet pressed against the backboard to keep from sliding down. She wore a simple burlap dress with an old shawl around her head and shoulders. She smiled at the Doctor, but there was fear in her eyes. She was breathing hard and already in labor.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Rice,” he said and smiled kindly at her. “You’ll be fine. I’m going to take you to the medical tent now?”

She nodded at him.

“Let’s get her there quickly,” Rice said to Gillian and Padstone as they moved forward and grabbed the aged donkey and led him through the camp to the tent. On the way, Rice had Private Starling fetch Lieutenant Wells.

Once outside the tent, Master Jones grabbed his wife under one shoulder and Padstone made to grab the other.

“I can walk by meself,” the woman said with quiet dignity though she allowed her husband to help her over the backboard. She was sweating profusely and breathing rapidly from the exertion but she shuffled with a fair amount of grace through the doorway to the tent. Master Jones smiled proudly as the men followed her in.

“Meg’s a barny one,” he interjected.
“Good’n strong.”

Rice nodded with a smile but forced the husband to wait outside. He could do no good for them. Rice ducked inside and led Meg to a screen on the far side of the tent and ordered her to take off her clothes and put on a gown. She did as he asked with no sign of embarrassment at all. Gillian and Padstone helped her climb up onto the examination table, as the woman looked about, stunned by the bright electric lights, strange instruments and orderliness of the place. She lay quietly as Rice gently, but firmly felt around her abdomen, checking the position of the baby.

“How old are you?” he asked, mostly to keep the patient occupied and to get her used to his voice. He didn’t really expect an answer.

“Five and twenty.”

Rice was amazed but not terribly surprised. “This is to be your ninth child, and you’re only twenty-five.”

“Tis me hope,” the woman said with a slight smile.

“You’ll be fine,” Rice replied though he knew a breach could get a little tricky, still he was confident. For her part Meg could feel the strange man’s confidence, which was why she only hesitated a split second when he told her to put her feet in the stirrups and then he raised her gown. Gillian and Padstone both flushed as he did so, but that did not keep either one from moving, pink cheeked, down to the end of the table to see just what the Doctor was studying. Lieutenant Wells soon arrived and joined them.

“Hope yor all havin’ a time,” Meg Jones snapped, just a bit irritated with the group of men below her feet, but she kept calm, then the contractions came again and she couldn’t think.

§

The evening meal was electric with excitement over the coming demonstration. Everyone had already heard the stories of how the Americans routed the Danes, but now they would actually be able to see how it was done with their own eyes. It was almost too much excitement for some of them to bear. The children, of course, picked up on the air of expectation from the adults, and it sent them into
a frenzy. The entire town and the grounds around it turned into one large madhouse. All afternoon people wandered into camp and introduced themselves to the General. It made no difference whether they were nobles, peasants or refugees; they all wanted to thank him, touch him or just be in his presence for a few minutes.  In short, he was a celebrity, as were all of the Americans now. The only people who were not caught up in the chaos seemed to be the Lady Ellyn, who sat despondent at one of the tables, not eating, talking, or enjoying the festivities; her father sat beside her, equally dour despite his kill during the earlier hunt and both were watched over by the grim-faced Aunt Eldreena. Matt was a no show.

Peebles frowned on seeing the family so glum, but really there was nothing he could do about it, so he kept out of their way, which wasn’t hard. The meal was served and eaten very quickly, and as always vast quantities of wine and mead were consumed. By the time dinner was over a good number of the locals were roaring drunk but thankfully most were able to control their behavior to some degree. The Colonel gave strict orders that any soldiers participating in the live fire exhibition were to abstain from alcohol. But he was not truly worried that any of his men would be so negligent. The soldiers had grown very disciplined, a habit that would be with them for the rest of their lives.

The special demonstration for Sir Eadwulf began about a half an hour before sundown. Everyone was obliged to walk or ride nearly a quarter of a mile away from the main gates of Athelney to a large open field where the viewing area was erected. Two large awnings were set up on a rise that overlooked a vast field perhaps three football fields in width and double that in length. Soldiers in full battle gear ringed the field. The general did not want anyone accidentally wandering into the line of fire in the darkness. 

Sir Eadwulf arrived after the walk, refusing to ride in one of the magic wagons. He was surrounded by all of his knights and advisors, and was also accompanied by the Earl, the Ealdorman, and the Lady Merwinna. They met General Peebles and Colonel Lemay underneath one of the larger awnings where a number of folding chairs had been set up. The Ealdorman played with his chair a bit, folding and unfolding it before finally sitting down. He was not the least bit concerned by the stares he was receiving from Sir Eadwulf and his men. The Americans and their simple gadgets were a constant source of wonder to him, and he couldn’t easily hide his enthusiasm for them.

Other nobles were positioned underneath the awning to the left while many of the General’s men occupied the one on the right. There were also a great number logs set along the hillside for the common folks to sit and watch the proceedings.

“Gentlemen,” the General said bowing low. Everyone returned his bow except for Sir Eadwulf, who merely smiled and nodded. The man was obviously back in control of his arrogance, but Peebles ignored the slight.

“Lord Eadwulf, we have set up a row of old wagons,” he began, pointing below about quarter of a mile down the hillside, “generously donated by the Ealdorman and his lovely wife in order for us to show you some of our capabilities. For my men and I, war is a very serious business, please do not forget that as we entertain you and your knights. We’ve had to deal with a great many questions from the people of Somerset on how we defeated the Danes at Countisbury Hill. Hopefully this demonstration will enlighten everyone.”

While he spoke Corporal Newton passed everyone, including Lord Eadwulf and his first knight, Sir Eadric, a set of binoculars. The Ealdorman took his pair with obvious delight and immediately began to show his wife how to operate them. The Lady Merwinna was as captivated as her husband with the field glasses, and played with them much as he had a few days prior. At first Sir Eadwulf would not touch his and most of his knights followed his example, but finally Sir Eadric could not contain his curiosity, and quickly glanced through his and gasped. He looked with surprise at his Lord, who was frowning, but then he peered through the binoculars once more. Then he raised and lowered them several times. After a moment Eadwulf raised his own set. Through the glass, the distant wagons immediately jumped very close, as if they were no more than a few feet away. He lowered his glasses, and squinted in the soft light at the distant targets, then raised them once more. Fascinating!

All around them, the crowd was growing larger as people quickly filled the places on the hillside to the right and left of the awnings. Two Humvees were stationed on either side of the main awning perhaps fifty yards down the gently sloping hill. Several guards were posted around the vehicles to make sure that no one grew curious enough to touch the machines, or was foolish enough to sit directly between their powerful guns and the targets below. Matt sat on a log with Murphy, Selby, Turnbull and Joe Goode, just behind and a little to the left of one of the hummers. His attention however, was not on the target area; instead he kept looking back toward the second large awning where the Lady Ellyn sat with her father and aunt, along with several other minor nobles and knights. She did not look his way but even at this distance he could tell she was sad, upset, and not herself. He couldn’t blame her.

Dr. Rice was still indisposed with the Jones woman, so the General was forced to become the entertainment guide.   

“We’ve placed a few pumpkins and melons around on the wagons to approximate a man’s head, softer no doubt, but about the same size,” he explained mainly for Sir Eadwulf’s benefit, then he realized just how many children there were in the area and became distracted. “Er...please turn your attention to the pumpkin on the far right; the one sitting on the front of the lead wagon.” Everyone with binoculars immediately moved their glasses about in an attempt to find the fruit he was indicating. He waited patiently for those that were having difficulty adjusting to the magnification. Those of lower status were forced to use the eyesight God gave them.

“Watch closely,” he said directly to Eadwulf. This technique had worked with the Sir Æthelred and the Ealdorman, now he hoped it would work with Sir Eadwulf and his men. And he silently prayed that there would be no problems since he did not have Dr. Rice’s down home wisdom to fall back on.

“You may fire when ready Sergeant,” Pebbles said lightly into his headset. He spoke so softly that at first Eadwulf was confused, and looked about to see who the General was addressing, but then Peebles motioned for him to watch the scene below. There was a pop off to his left and before Eadwulf could raise his glasses he caught sight of a melon exploding in the distance, then there was another pop to his right, and another melon exploded. Eadwulf raised his glasses and just caught another melon in the act of disintegrating. Then both M60’s from the hummers opened up simultaneously with a stucco of noise that paralyzed Eadwulf and his followers. Screams erupted throughout the crowd, but for the most part no one moved.