“You may go, Decurion.”
Sartorius didn’t reply, simply bowing low before leaving. Antonius Decius then concentrated his attention on Nancy, eyeing her with cold interest. He finally spoke to her in Koine.
“So, we now have a legendary Amazon with us in Jerusalem. You certainly look the part, Nauca. Know that I served in Greece and that I have heard a lot about the Sarmatian raiders who devastate regularly the Thracian coast. Those barbarians are also the enemies of Rome, whether they are male or female. What tells me that you are not here as a spy?”
Nancy stayed calm, smiling at the Roman.
“So far from Sarmatia, Tribune Decius? We may be good warriors but we are not crazy enough to try to conduct raids so far South. Know that I left my tribe at the age of sixteen and have spent most of the years since then in Ephesus, where I met a family of Jewish merchants. I came to Jerusalem to see the great temple of the Jews and to see if their god is worth embracing.”
“A spiritual quest? That is most unusual…for a barbarian.”
“I am not a barbarian.” Replied a bit dryly Nancy. “I was well educated while part of my tribe and I improved myself further while in Ephesus. I have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Maybe. Are you planning to stay long in Jerusalem?”
“If fate is good to me, yes. I just bought a house today in the new city part. I intend to make my living here as a musician. Don’t get me wrong, though: I will not rent my body to men.”
“A pity! You would turn many men crazy, Nauca. Be careful that you don’t catch the fancy of Tetrarch Archelaus.”
“I will keep that in mind, Tribune. May I go now and entertain your men?”
“You may, but know that I will keep an eye on you, Sarmatian.”
“I will keep that in mind as well, Tribune.” Replied Nancy, bowing low before leaving the room. Sartorius, who was waiting in the hallway, hurried to her.
“So, how did it go?”
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“Better than I expected, actually. Your tribune didn’t put me in chains right away for being a Sarmatian. Well, your soldiers must be impatient to hear me sing…and to have opportunities to grab my ass. Let’s not make them wait longer.”
Sartorius laughed and eyed quickly her body.
“You certainly look reality in the face, Nauca. I like that. Follow me!”
Most of the Roman soldiers filling the big refectorium had finished eating by now and the dozen prostitutes present were now busy earning the most out of their charms, with the soldiers using much of their meager pay to buy some company. Admiring comments and exclamations went around the hall when Nancy took off her cape and, jumping deftly on top of a table, started playing her lute and singing in Koine, giving the soldiers sitting at that table a good look up her short tunic. Jumping from table to table, she sang a variety of songs, switching between Koine, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. The rowdy Roman march songs were most liked, with soldiers singing along while drinking wine. Nancy made sure to give them an eyeful, shaking her bum and letting the occasional hand caress her legs. One of the prostitutes, angered at seeing the soldier she was trying to entice throw a bronze coin to Nancy, shouted at her.
“Hey, if you are not ready to show your ass, then let us working girls give some real entertainment to these men.”
An approving roar came from the close to 400 soldiers in the hall.
“WELL SAID! SHOW SOME SKIN, AMAZON!” Shouted a half-drunk soldier.
The hands around Nancy’s legs suddenly became a lot more insistent. Nancy stopped singing immediately and stood straight on the table.
“LISTEN UP! YOU WANT TO SEE MY BODY? FINE! BUT NO TOUCHING
UNLESS I WANT TO! DO WE HAVE A DEAL?”
While some were ready to agree, others taunted her.
“WHAT’S THE MATTER, AMAZON? GETTING PRUDISH?”
“I AM A WARRIOR AND A MUSICIAN, NOT A PROSTITUTE. YOU HAVE
ENOUGH OF THEM HERE ANYWAY, WHILE I DON’T SEE THEM PLAY OR SING.”
“WOMEN CAN’T BE WARRIORS.” Shouted back a Roman. “THEY ARE ONLY
GOOD FOR THE KITCHEN AND THE BEDROOM.”
For a feminist like Nancy, that was like waiving a red flag in front of a bull. She pointed a finger at the soldier who had just shouted.
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“FIND A PAIR OF PRACTICE SWORDS AND I WILL SHOW YOU THAT I AM A
WARRIOR.”
Half a dozen soldiers immediately rushed out to get the weapons, with one coming back first after a minute with a pair of heavy wooden swords. Jumping off her table, Nancy went to the corner where her cape lay and put down her lute. Then, with whistles of admiration from around her, she took off all her clothes except for her loincloth and her headband before grabbing one of the practice swords and running to the center of the hall. Her opponent, a mean smile on his face, joined her there, his sword held at the ready.
“You would make a fine slave, Amazon. Maybe I should take you, after beating the crap out of you.”
“I am nobody’s slave!” Raged Nancy before stepping forward and starting a furious assault on the soldier. The Roman, overconfident and also a bit drunk, was quickly overwhelmed by her speed, incredible strength and superior swordsmanship, ending up on his back and with the blunt tip of Nancy’s weapon on his throat. To everybody’s surprise, she then threw down her sword and motioned her opponent to get up.
“You wanted to beat the crap out of me? Then let’s finish this with our bare hands.”
Roars and shouts of excitement and encouragement erupted around the hall as the Roman, feeling humiliated by his defeat at the hand of a mere woman, got back up and raised his fists.
“I will crush that pretty face of yours.”
The man, shorter than Nancy but stoutly built and with the moves of an experienced street fighter, swung a fist at her, putting all his strength in it. Waiting for him in a karate stance, Nancy easily deflected his swing and retaliated with a single lightning punch to his right eye, making the man stagger back. Now enraged, the Roman screamed and charged her. Stepping aside and grabbing him as he ran past her, Nancy pivoted a few times on her heels, making the man rotate around her before slamming him in a nearby table. The table and the soldiers sitting around it toppled in a heap, Nancy’s attacker shaking his head before getting back up. More cautious now, he advanced slowly on her, trying a few punches that were all deflected and followed by lightning blows from Nancy. Now bleeding seriously from the nose and mouth, the man tried to grab her in a bear hug, only to earn a knee in the groin. Grunting in pain and collapsing to his knees, 235
the man was then knocked unconscious with a hand chop to the neck from Nancy. After an instant of silence, the crowd erupted in cheers, with Sartorius coming forward to congratulate her.
“That was fantastic, Nauca! I will certainly have a healthy respect for Amazons from now on.”
“Thanks! Let’s go back to having fun now. Can anyone here play the flute?”
“Flavius is pretty good with a flute.”
“Good! I need a fast tune for my next dance.”
Sartorius turned around and shouted at his subordinate.
“Flavius, get your flute and play us a lively tune!”
Within a minute, the legionnaire was playing a spirited tune, accompanying Nancy as she danced, still nearly naked, from table to table. Being far from a prudish girl, Nancy started enjoying herself, dancing in a provocative fashion and giving an eyeful to the soldiers while staying mostly away from their hands. She ended her show a few minutes later by jumping into Sartorius’ lap and giving him a quick kiss, making others laugh.
She then got up and went around the hall with a wooden bowl to collect donations. The bowl quickly filled with bronze, copper and silver coins thrown by enthusiastic soldiers.
Next, she dressed up and put back on her weapons and her cape. Seeing the disappointed look on the face of Sartorius, she went to see the decurion and caressed his face with both hands, smiling warmly to him.
“Don’t look so downcast, Sartorius: I will be back some other day, to show you where my new house is. See you then.”
She waved goodbye at the soldiers while leaving the hall, feeling satisfied: the Romans should now accept her more easily around Jerusalem. The streets of the city were dark when she emerged from the Antonia.
Twenty minutes of cautious walking through the nearly deserted streets brought her back to her inn, where an anxious-looking Iram ran to her the moment she entered the main hall.
“Thank Ishtar, you are safe! How did it go at the Antonia?”
“Very well, my dear Iram. My purse is much fatter now and I didn’t need to bed any Roman for that. Tomorrow, I will start buying things to furnish my new house. If things go on like this, I should be able to do well here.”
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“Still, beware of the Tetrarch and of the priests of the temple: they could be trouble for you.”
“I will keep that in mind, along with other warnings. Good night, Iram.”
The Innkeeper shook his head as Nancy went upstairs, unsure about what she had meant.
The next day was spent by Nancy going around the city markets and shops, buying things for her new house. She kept her shopping to a minimum, not wanting to appear too rich and thus attract thieves to her. Her last task of the day was to pack up her things at the inn and to load them on her horse. She exchanged warm goodbyes with Iram before leaving, promising him to come sing regularly at his inn. She made it to her house less than an hour before sundown and the start of this week’s Sabbath.
Taking the time to lock the gate and the doors of the house, Nancy then got back on top of her horse, speaking to him in Neo-English.
“Pegasus, prepare for space-time jump back to base according to preset coordinates Gamma. Safe hover mode.”
“Instructions understood.” Replied the robotic beast. The horse and its rider then floated up to an altitude of two meters off the ground as a control stick and a small instrument panel emerged from the collar of the horse, just in front of the saddle. Nancy grabbed the stick and verified the coordinates on the panel, then pushed a large red button. She and Pegasus then disappeared in a flash of white light.
11:31 (North America Central Time)
Friday, January 1, 3385 ‘A’
New Lake City University campus
American Great Lakes area
One of the five students walking along one of the paved paths leading to the sociology faculty suddenly stopped and shouted while pointing skyward.
“Hey, what’s that?”
The other four teenagers also stopped and looked up, in time to see an impossible sight: a woman on a flying horse. They stared at the flying rider as she lost altitude and disappeared behind the sociology faculty.
237
“That was an ancestor woman. She must be with the Time Patrol.” Suggested a girl.
“What about the horse? Is it also a member of the Time Patrol?” Replied another girl, getting a frown from her friend.
“It must be a machine, obviously. Still, I wish that I could have filmed her.”
Ingrid Weiss, listening like the other apprentices of the Time Patrol to a lecture on orbital mechanics, suddenly saw from the corner of her left eye a rider approach the headquarters building, where she and the others were. Her heart jumped with joy when she recognized who it was.
“NANCY
IS
BACK!”
Her shout immediately made the rest of the class rush to the bay windows. Mike Crawford smiled with pride as he watched his wife ride at a gallop, her long hair and her blue cape floating in the wind.
“That’s my girl!”
“Yeah, lucky bastard!” Said Jim Milner, standing next to him. The teacher, a specialist in space operations, knocked a few times on his lectern to get the attention of his students.
“May we continue, please? We have only fifteen minutes left before lunch break anyway.”
Ingrid and Mike reluctantly took back their seats, like the others, but they only half listened to the rest of the lecture, their minds on Nancy. As soon as the class was declared over, everybody rushed out of the classroom and down to the reception area.
The receptionist, a young giant woman, raised both hands as the 45 ancestors were about to overrun her desk.
“Nancy Laplante is in conference with Doctor Tolkonen and Doctor Bella right now. She will brief you all right after lunch.”
The disappointed group of apprentices was about to leave for the cafeteria when Mike Crawford saw Nancy’s horse, waiting patiently outside.
“Hey, why not get the story from the proverbial horse’s mouth?”
Amelia Earhart, who didn’t know about the true nature of Pegasus, gave him a funny look.
“Mike, I think that you spent too much time with horses on your ranch in Montana.”
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“Ah, but that horse is special, Amelia. Follow me and you will see.”
The group, led by Mike, went outside and crowded around Pegasus, who gave them a phlegmatic look.
“Howdy, partners!” It said in modern English tainted with a strong Texan drawl.
“I suppose that you want to know how it went for Nancy and me?”
Amelia’s jaw dropped wide open, while Mike and a few others burst out in laughter. That drew another remark from Pegasus.
“What’s the matter? You never saw a talking horse before?”
“A talking horse with a sense of humor. That’s rich!” Exclaimed Jack Crawford while trying to control his laughter. Mike ignored the others and looked into Pegasus’
eyes.
“Did everything go well, Pegasus?”
“Everything went according to plan, Mike. Nancy has bought a house in Jerusalem and is already quite in demand as a musician. She did a gig for the Romans at the Antonia fortress last night and they appreciated, or so Nancy says.”
“A house in ancient Jerusalem, at a time the temple stood. I wish I could go.”
Said dreamily Samuel Goldman, an American Jew from 1941 ‘B’. Mike looked at him, thoughtful.
“Do you know Aramaic, Samuel?”
“Luckily, yes, along with Hebrew, Latin and Greek. To be able to pray at the temple of Jerusalem would be like an impossible dream come true for me.”
“Well,” said Amelia, “seeing a film of the real baby Jesus would be plenty for me.
I hope that Nancy was able to get some footage of him.”
“She did!” Replied Pegasus. “She actually helped give birth to Yeshua.”
Many of the apprentices looked at each other with awe.
“That lucky Nancy!” Exclaimed Katya Budanova, a Soviet Air Force fighter pilot from 1943 ‘A’. “To be able to hold baby Jesus…”
“Well, I’m sure that she will tell us all about it.” Cut Mike. “Let’s go eat now.
Maybe we will meet her at the cafeteria.”
That caused a near rush to the cafeteria, situated in the adjacent residential tower that also contained their apartments.
12:07 (North America Central Time)
Office of the Chief Administrator of the Time Patrol
239
‘’A possible war across time in a near future?’’ Said Farah Tolkonen in a hesitant voice, frozen in her chair as she stared at Nancy, with Jan Bella sitting beside her and also staring at Nancy. The latter nodded once her head, her face somber.
‘’That is what the mental images sent to me by The One suggested, as he explained to me how Yeshua was conceived. It seems that my first, involuntary trip in time to the year 1940 was the start of a causality loop of monstrous proportion.
Basically, my actions in 1940, apart from splitting time and creating Timeline ‘B’, will result in the eventual formation of a time travel-capable civilization in Timeline ‘B’, a civilization that will then manipulate history to make Yeshua possible. The fact that we did not detect their ship over the Palestine of the 1st Century demonstrates that this civilization may possess like us multi-spectral cloaking fields. Worst for us, this civilization was preceded by another one, also capable of time travel but being as well a militaristic, highly aggressive society. The connection between those two future civilizations from Timeline ‘B’ was not clear, but an image I saw showed one of our scoutships engaged in combat with an enormous time warship.’’
Farah exchanged a worried look with Jan Bella before facing again Nancy.
‘’Do you have something else than those mental images from The One to corroborate what you just told us? The High Council will want something more concrete before believing you…or taking any action about it.’’
Nancy clenched her teeth, knowing how difficult to believe was her story.
‘’Unfortunately, no. However, we now know at a minimum that another civilization has traveled to the past to make Yeshua possible, thus influencing in a major way the history of Humanity. We will have to let that go as is, since Yeshua is now firmly part of history.’’
Farah shook her head in frustration.
‘’Too bad that our space-time surveillance network was still not operational in the 1st Century. We could then have caught those people in the act.’’
‘’And do what then? Prevent the appearance in history of one of the most influential religious prophets to have ever existed? This however reinforces what I told you two weeks ago, about the need for us to move our base to the distant past. Have you been able to convince Grand Administrator Kern and the High Council about that, Farah?’’
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‘’It took some time, but yes, they finally accepted the logic of it and agreed to allocate us supplementary funds for such a mobile base. We will also get a heavy transport ship and an armed cruiser in a few months. In view of what you just told me, I will also ask for more combat robots. All this will however mean that we will need more members to crew all those ships and facilities.’’
‘’I can delay my return to Palestine if you want, in order to help you in that, Farah.
After all, I could spend a year here and still return to Palestine at the date of my choice.’’
‘’Hurray for time travel!’’ Replied on a sarcastic tone Farah, the weight of her responsibilities becoming ever heavier. ‘’Well, how do you plan to proceed with your mission, now that you have this house in Jerusalem?’’
‘’I intend to live there for the next four years, until the Romans take down the local king and announce a new census for Palestine. That census and political takeover are significant events in the Bible.’’
‘’Four years?!’’ Exclaimed Farah, shaken. Nancy hurried to reassure her.
‘’In appearance only, Farah. In reality, I will appear at intervals, pretending to go on frequent trips outside of Jerusalem to go play in other cities. I will spend at most a few months of my biological life in Palestine during those four years. I promise you to keep a detailed accounting of my time there for your bean counters at the pay section.’’
Farah gave her a critical look.
‘’Nancy, you know that I am not the cheap type. Your pay will reflect your real time spent in Palestine. Anything else?’’
‘’Yes! Once I return from Palestine, I will try to find more quality recruits for us in the past. I have in fact a few prospects in mind already. Then, I will go live for another year my life as a war correspondent in the 21st Century.’’
‘’More wars, after all that time in that barbaric past?’’ Said despondently Jan Bella. ‘’Aren’t you afraid to go crazy by seeing so much violence all the time, Nancy?’’
To that, Nancy shrugged her shoulders with an innocent smile.
‘’Hey, didn’t you know already that I am an adrenaline junkie, Jan?’’
06:53 (Jerusalem Time)
Tuesday, April 11, 6 C.E.
(25th of Nissan, year 3766 of the Hebrew calendar)
House of Nauca, Jerusalem
Kingdom of Judea, Samaria and Idumea
241
Nancy was coming back from fetching water at the public fountain and was about to enter her house when a Jewish man ran down her street while shouting.
“ROMAN SOLDIERS ARE OCCUPYING HEROD’S PALACE! THEY HAVE
ARRESTED THE TETRARCH!”
While most of her neighbors that were within sight hesitated or seemed incredulous, Nancy knew immediately what was going to happen and hurried inside her house, pouring the water from her buckets in a clay basin before throwing a cape over her shoulders and going out again. She locked her front door with her key before walking out in the street, not wanting to attract attention on her by riding a horse. She also didn’t take any weapons with her, for the same reason. People were already running or walking from all over the city towards the palace of Herod Archelaus, from where a growing noise was coming. Soon arriving at the upper market adjacent to the palace, Nancy was able to see above the crowd thanks to her height and started filming right away with her micro-camera headband. The scene around the palace was one of utter confusion, with excited Jews milling around and trying to find what was happening, while over 200 Roman soldiers did their best to keep them away from the main gate of the palace. More Roman soldiers were visible through the gate, while dozens of Herod’s soldiers sat as a group under Roman guard, disarmed and looking dejected. The crowd of Jews cheered wildly when Herod Archelaus, without his customary gold crown and purple cloak, rode out of the palace under tight Roman escort, his hands shackled in iron manacles. A strong column of Roman infantrymen then opened a way through the crowd for the cavalrymen escorting the dispossessed king, going through the nearby Jaffa Gate. A richly dressed Roman soon appeared afterwards on top of the walls, above the main gate of the palace, and shouted to quiet down the crowd. He could soon be heard by most in the crowd, including Nancy.
“PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM! FOLLOWING NUMEROUS AND REPEATED
COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE RULE OF THE TETRARCH OF JUDEA, SAMARIA AND
IDUMEA, HEROD ARCHELAUS, THE GREAT EMPEROR AUGUSTUS HAS DECIDED
TO STRIP HIM OF HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY AND TO EXILE HIM TO GAUL. AS
OF TODAY AND BY THE WILL OF THE EMPEROR, JUDEA, SAMARIA AND IDUMEA
WILL BE RULED DIRECTLY BY ROME AND WILL BE PART OF THE PROVINCE OF
SYRIA AS THE AUTONOMOUS TERRITORY OF JUDEA. I, MARCUS GAIUS
COPONIUS, WILL ADMINISTER JUDEA AS YOUR PREFECT FROM NOW ON.”
242
Whispers and exclamations went around the crowd at that announcement, drowning the new Roman prefect and forcing him to stop talking until the noise subsided again.
Nancy, filming all this, was jubilant: she was now recording live a significant historical event. Jan Bella was going to be ecstatic. Coponius then started shouting again.
“BE ASSURED THAT THE RULE OF ROME WILL BE FAIR AND JUST, AS
ALWAYS. YOUR TAXES, WHICH HAD BEEN WASTED AWAY BY HEROD
ARCHELAUS FOR SO MANY YEARS, WILL NOW BE USED EFFICIENTLY AND FOR
THE COMMON GOOD. HOWEVER, PAST IRREGULARITIES IN THE TAX SYSTEM
IS MAKING IT IMPERATIVE TO REVIEW IT ENTIRELY. THUS, A TAX CENSUS WILL
SOON BE CONDUCTED, TO ASSESS FAIRLY THE TAX LOAD OF EACH CITIZEN
OF JUDEA.”
Nancy nodded in appreciation: Coponius was doing a good job of explaining and justifying something that was bound to raise the hire of all Jews: direct taxation by Rome. The problems started right away for the Roman prefect, with a man in the crowd shouting back at him.
“ONLY GOD CAN RULE ISRAEL! WE DON’T NEED PAGANS LIKE YOU AND
YOUR EMPEROR!”
Nancy saw Coponius turn red with anger as the crowd cheered the man, who added fuel to the fire.
“LET’S NOT PAY TAXES TO THE ROMANS! WE WILL PAY TAXES ONLY TO
THE TEMPLE! DOWN WITH ROMAN RULE! WE WANT THE RULE OF GOD!”
The crowd cheered even louder and started pushing against the line of Roman infantrymen protecting the gate of the palace. On a command from their centurion, the legionnaires lowered their javelins at the ready, making the crowd back away a few paces. The prefect used that break to join with his officers by the gate and get on his horse. His legionnaires, pressed on all sides by the hostile crowd of Jews, had a hard time protecting him as he retreated towards the Antonia fortress. A few Jews who tried too hard to break through to Coponius were stabbed by Roman soldiers, further angering the crowd. The same man who had shouted back at Coponius then shook his fist over his head.
“LET’S PURGE JERUSALEM OF ALL PAGANS! HUNT DOWN THOSE WHO
CAVORT WITH THE ROMANS!”
Nancy swore quietly, wishing that she could shut up that fanatical idiot: he was going to start a horrible bloodbath if the others kept listening to him. It was not however her place 243
to intervene now: she had to stay strictly neutral in this and let history run its course. As unfortunate as all this was, it was actually going as dictated by history. Then, things started to turn ugly for her. A young, bearded man near her pointed her to others around him.
“THERE IS A PAGAN, A FOREIGN WOMAN OF LOW VIRTUE! LET’S STONE
HER!”
Nancy didn’t wait to see how others reacted to that: she