The Temporal Knights (73 page)

“It’s from the buildup of static electricity,” Rice explained then the ship slowly moved off and settled down near the field where they flew the falcons.

They all looked at the ship sitting quietly on the grass only a half a mile away. No one spoke, no one moved, except for the General, who eased over until he was directly behind and to the left of the King.

“What are you thinking now, your Majesty?”

Alfred turned to him, eyes shining and moist. “Tis...tis beyond words,” he finally said.

“Come let’s go,” the General said, his voice quiet and deep. “I’d like you and the Bishop to go on a little ride.”

The King took a step backwards, suddenly afraid, but also strangely excited. The Bishop, still on his knees, began to wail, then stood and backed away from Peebles, fingering the cross at his neck.

“Na....na! I will na go in that...tis unnatural power from the Devil hisself. M’lord ye mustn’t...” but he stopped when he saw the look of disdain on his King’s face, and knew that never again would he hold any kind of power over this man. The Bishop found however that he cared little, just so long as he did not have to go up into the that awful, hideous beast which flew like the wind through the sky.

“Leave me,” the King ordered and Grimbald bowed and hurried toward the stairs, looking like a condemned man pardoned during his final moments. Alfred then turned to Sir Wulfhere, whose eyes were bright and clear as his own.

“Yah, M’lord,” he answered the silent question, trembling uncontrollably, but determined nevertheless. The three began to make their way toward the stairs.

“Husband!”
Ealhswith pleaded from behind and something in her voice stopped both the King and the General. Alfred looked from his wife to the General and then deferred to Peebles, who took only and instant to decide.

“All right,” he said with a nod and then glanced at the Lady Ellyn before continuing on. ‘I assume you’d like to come and welcome Major Thane,” he added and smiled broadly as her eyes filled with tears. Momentarily blind, she still managed to nod her head emphatically.

“Come then,” he said and headed for the stairway.

“Oh thank ye M’lord,” she said to his back, and Stephen Peebles found he rather liked the title she gave him. They looked up as a Bot flew overhead, wiggling its wings at them, and they all stopped for a brief moment to wave back.

The Lady Ellyn reached the ship before the others, hardly waiting for the carriage to stop before she jumped out and ran to Matt. Her lover stood tall, waiting on the ramp to the ship with his friend and copilot Murphy Giles, and with them, much to the King and Queen’s surprise, was their daughter Æthelgifu.

“Daughter!”
Alfred exclaimed laughing. “Ye rode in the flying boat?”

Giffu nodded her head and slipped her arm through Murphy’s.

“Yah father, come. Tis wondrous!” She replied with a large smile.

Sir Gospatrick watched closely as Ellyn ran toward the strange, humming ship. A very tall man with large smile on his face began to move quickly down the ramp toward her. Gospatrick studied the man closely but could find nothing but open happiness on the man’s face. And then she was on him, leaping into her his arms so boldly that he had to spin her around to keep from falling. He laughed heartily and twirled her about again before setting her gently on the ground. They kissed, quickly at first, but then again with more passion. Sir Gospatrick sat in the carriage without moving, until he felt a pat on his leg, and looked up at the sympathetic face of his best friend, Ædwin.

“There is na reason to love, na honor, na reason,” Sir Gospatrick finally spat.

“Yah, but ye have made many a maid to look as ye do now,” Ædwin countered. “Many a maid...”

Sir Gospatrick finally nodded, then smiled, though it was not a happy one, and the two got out of the carriage to get a closer look at the magical ship from the sky. Nearly the entire population of Winchester streamed out the town’s gates, though most remained a safe distance from the magical flying ship. A few however, were slowly circling forward, while others moved quickly toward the two kissing lovers.

“Ye will na leave me,” Ellyn said between kisses as she held Matt close. “Ye will na leave me.”

“Come with me,” Matt answered back, still kissing her, only dimly aware that a crowd was growing around them. Ellyn stopped kissing him and leaned her head back.

“Wot?”

“Come with me,” Matt said again and smiled. “The General has given his consent. Come with me.”

There was no pause, no hesitation. She crushed her body against his once more, kissing him fervently, despite the growing crowd. Finally they stopped and looked around and found they were surrounded by smiling, somewhat embarrassed faces, and they quickly untangled themselves from one another.

“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 F
læ
d and her younger sister Giffu approached them.

“Excuse me Genaral, Mayjor,” F
læ
d 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,” F
læ
d 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 F
læ
d and her sister Giffu congratulated one another with hugs and smiles.

“Thank ye,” F
læ
d 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.