“Good! Nancy, out!”
The King was looking with intense curiosity at her when she finished speaking in her microphone.
“I don’t know for who you work right now, Brigadier, but you appear to be our only hope in this crisis. Some in the government and military view you as a traitor but know that I still have the utmost respect for you and will trust your advice.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I truly appreciate your trust in me. I must tell you that the members of the Time Patrol, of which I am the chief of operations, come from three different centuries and that many are Germans in whom I have utter confidence. They, like me, now work for the good of all of Humanity and do not bear allegiance to a particular country anymore. Will you still trust us after knowing this, Your Majesty?”
George the Sixth hesitated for a moment before replying with a forced smile.
“If you vouch for their loyalty, then I will trust them, Brigadier. Now, how shall we resolve this crisis and get back Margaret and Group Captain Townsend alive and well?”
“This would be best discussed with the Prime Minister, Your Majesty. Until we are able to have a meeting with him, I would ask that the palace personnel keep quiet about this whole thing: no point in spreading panic through London.”
“A sensible proposition, Brigadier. I will order the utter discretion on this and will advise the Prime Minister. What about you?”
“I will supervise the cleanup operation in the meantime. Please advise me when we will have a firm time for a meeting with the Prime Minister, Your Majesty.”
The king nodded once and walked away, letting Nancy free to go check on the progress of Otto Skorzeni and his team of agents and robots. A total of 39 Imperium prisoners, including 14 wounded, were now lined up on the lawn on the north side of the palace, near their crashed ship. Nancy scanned visually the hulk, using the low light vision camera integrated to her helmet: it was shaped like an elongated egg with bulbous cruciform appendages and was about eighty meters long. It was well armed with what appeared to be missile launchers, gun turrets and laser batteries. Two gaping holes were visible in the rear section, where missiles had struck. Nancy went next to the prisoners, who were guarded by over twenty British royal guardsmen. Patricia Wilson and Sylvie Comeau were assisting Doctors Rebecca Milner and Keiko Miramoto in 566
giving first aid to the wounded prisoners. The Imperium woman being treated by Keiko and Sylvie was a very frightened-looking young Eurasian beauty who had burns on her arms and hands. Somehow, Nancy felt instant sympathy towards the baby-faced woman. Nancy knelt besides her and gave her best smile.
“What is your name, miss?”
“Ship Technician First Class Tina Barat, maam.”
“Then, don’t be afraid, Tina. You will be treated decently, like the rest of your comrades.”
“Why did you attack us? Who are you?” Asked Tina timidly.
“We are the Time Patrol, an organization dedicated to the protection of history from illegal tampering. Your attack on Buckingham Palace was placing history at a grave risk of disruption and gave us no choice but to counter you.”
Otto Skorzeni joined up with Nancy then, his assault rifle still at the ready. He gave a suspicious look at the nearby British soldiers before reporting to Nancy.
“The ship has been swept, Nancy. We only found six dead crewmembers apart of those 39 prisoners. The bodies have just been brought out.”
“Thanks! Excellent job, Otto. Regroup your team and reembark on the ANGEL
OF MERCY. Tell Angie to go back to base and to have her battle damage repaired on a top priority basis.”
“Yawoll!” Answered Otto out of habit, attracting black looks from the nearest British soldiers, before running towards his group of assault troopers and combat robots.
Nancy got up and activated her helmet radio.
“GILGAMESH, this is Nancy. The Imperium derelict is ready for pickup. Tow it back to base and ask Farah to have a technical inspection team go through it.”
“Understood! GILGAMESH, out!”
A minute later, the huge dark mass of the GILGAMESH floated down silently from the sky, stopping to a hover above the crashed Imperium ship. That was when the British anti-aircraft defense crews protecting London reacted belatedly, directing a number of searchlights on the 300 meter-wide, saucer-shaped heavy transport ship.
Nancy swore violently when a dozen anti-aircraft guns opened fire on the GILGAMESH.
Thankfully, the ship was still protected by its shields and the shells exploded harmlessly away from its hull.
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“The idiots!” Raged Nancy. Turning towards the officer in charge of the British soldiers guarding the prisoners, she shouted at him.
“LIEUTENANT, GET THOSE DAMN GUNNERS TO STOP FIRING: THEY ARE
SHOOTING AT FRIENDLY FORCES.”
The officer ran away towards the palace, letting Nancy wait impatiently as the GILGAMESH ignored the shelling and started lifting the Imperium ship with a tractor beam. The guns were still firing when the heavy transport ship and its load rose into the sky and disappeared in a giant flash of white light. The British guns then shifted their fire to the scoutship ANGEL OF MERCY, which was approaching the palace in order to pick up Otto Skorzeni’s group. By then, Nancy had had enough of this nonsense.
“KRONOS, this is Nancy! I want you to stun those dimwits firing at our ships right now. I don’t care if you have to stun half of London to do it. Nancy out!”
One of the prisoners, an officer, laughed at her anger.
“That’s what you get for helping ancestors, little woman.”
Nancy, thoroughly pissed by now, walked quickly to the officer and grabbed him by the collar, forcing him on his feet.
“It’s Miss Laplante to you, buster! Keep in mind that those ancestors are the ones who will be your jailers, so don’t laugh too hard.”
Putting him down, Nancy then watched as the KRONOS methodically silenced the British guns with wide stun beams. The ANGEL OF MERCY was finally able to land and embark Skorzeni’s group, departing as soon as they were on board. The British lieutenant ordered to call by Nancy came back at a run a minute later, an apologetic look on his face as he stopped in front of her and saluted her.
“I’m awfully sorry about this, maam, but the air defense command refused to believe me or my captain.”
“Don’t worry about it anymore, Lieutenant: those gunners just won a strong headache for their troubles. When will those prisoners be taken away?”
“The trucks should be here shortly, maam.”
“Good! Dismissed!”
Nancy next returned to her medical team, which was about finished providing first aid to the wounded prisoners, and helped them care for a prisoner with shrapnel wounds. King George the Sixth, solidly escorted by royal guardsmen, joined her there a few minutes later. Nancy immediately got up and bowed her head in respect.
“Any news from the Prime Minister, Your Majesty?”
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The King looked embarrassed as he answered her.
“Sort of, Brigadier: the Prime Minister is in a deep slumber right now. I was made to understand that he abused the bottle a bit tonight before going to bed. Foreign Minister Eden is however on his way to the palace right now.”
Nancy sighed: Winston Churchill was notorious for being a heavy drinker, albeit one with an incredible capacity to absorb alcohol. On the other hand, Anthony Eden was a senior minister with a lot of clout and a decisive personality.
“Foreign Minister Eden will do fine, Your Majesty.”
“Brigadier, I would like to speak to you in private for a few minutes.”
Surprised, Nancy stared into the King’s eyes, then nodded her head once.
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Both walked away from the prisoners and their guards, with the king’s escort keeping a respectful distance. The King stopped besides a tree and faced Nancy, speaking in a low voice.
“Brigadier, I am fully aware of the accusations of treason made against you and of you wounding the head of M.I.5 to free a person from the future illegally held and abused. I know also that you gave up your British medals. I would like you to accept them back.”
“For what purpose, Your Majesty?” Replied Nancy softly, unwilling to be rough with this most honest and decent monarch. “I consider myself neutral in this war and feel no particular loyalty towards the British government, which sacrificed me and betrayed my trust. My duty is now to history and its protection. Be sure however that I will do my utmost to save your daughter and Group Captain Townsend.”
“I know, Brigadier. That is precisely why I want you to take back your medals as one of the bravest soldiers the British Empire ever had. If you are to risk your life to save Margaret, then I want you to do it as the heroine you are to my family and me. I have already signed a secret declaration of royal pardon for you a few months ago, even though the Prime Minister disagreed with it.”
Touched more than she wanted to show, Nancy hesitated for a long moment, conflicting emotions running through her. She finally looked back at the King.
“Your Majesty, you must understand that I am no longer a soldier of your empire.
Know also that some of the people who will assist me on this rescue mission are ex-German soldiers. How is the British cabinet going to react to that?”
It was the King’s turn to be surprised and hesitant.
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“Uh, I frankly don’t know, Brigadier. I suppose that some may use that as further proof that you are a traitor.”
“I thought so, Your Majesty. As long as the British government will not be able to accept all my people as they are, then I see no point in taking back my British medals.
The best for the moment would be to keep this whole thing under wraps, let my Time Patrol get Princess Margaret and Group Captain Townsend back and part with a handshake afterwards.”
The King, a bit disappointed, chose to change the subject of the conversation.
“And how do you propose to get Margaret back, Brigadier?”
“Let’s wait for Mister Eden before we talk about that, Your Majesty.”
Nancy’s expression then changed and she looked at the British monarch with something akin to embarrassment.
‘’Uh, Your Majesty, while we are alone together right now, I do have a confidence to tell you. It is about one of my combat pilots.’’
King George VI looked confused by that, not seeing why she was telling him about a particular pilot.
‘’What about him, Brigadier?’’
‘’Well, it’s a her, Your Majesty. I saved her from certain death a year ago, then took her in my Time Patrol. You know her well, I believe…’’
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CHAPTER 15 – DOUBLE-CROSS
09:52 (GMT)
Tuesday, June 26, 3386 ‘B’
Basement detention and interrogation block
Headquarters building, Ministry of Security
London, Imperium
Group Captain Peter Townsend was still unconscious when he and a terrified Princess Margaret were brought in a large room with padded walls furnished with an assortment of sinister tools. Waiting for them and their four escorts there were General Veck himself and three experienced interrogators. Despite his loyalty towards his superior, Major Kossov didn’t like the way things were going. Veck, in full uniform, looked down coldly at the two British prisoners before concentrating his attention on Kossov.
“Report,
Major!”
Kossov handed Princess Margaret to one of his guards, then came to attention.
“We have succeeded in capturing those two prisoners and delivering our ultimatum, sir. The girl is Princess Margaret Windsor, heir to the throne of England, while the man is the equerry to King George the Sixth. We were however attacked by at least five ships, which launched some sort of combat robots against us. Those ships hailed our ships and told them to leave immediately, then opened fire when we refused to do so. They belonged to something called the Time Patrol. Both of our destroyers were shot down and I lost six of my ground troopers during the fight inside the palace.
Those robots were extremely dangerous and were equipped with shields and lasers, among other weapons.”
Veck was silent for a moment, digesting the bad news and trying to figure out what to do next.
“So, our Doctor Tolkonen did succeed in finding someone to protect her, then mounted an ambush against us. Did you see any of your human attackers, Major?”
“Our ship’s pilot saw the video transmission from the enemy ships, sir: an ancestor spoke to us. Also, I heard on my radio one of my troopers before he was shot, 571
saying that he had just recognized this Nancy Laplante as the human leading the combat robots. While being ancestors, our enemies however operated with a technology at least as advanced as ours, sir.”
“Damn, we need to know more about this Time Patrol and Nancy Laplante.” Said Veck angrily before looking at the prisoners, then at the chief interrogator.
“Wake that man up and prepare both prisoners for interrogation.”
Kossov, suddenly uneasy, tried to change Veck’s mind as both the man and the girl were roughly stripped of their clothes. Torturing a young teenage girl was not what he considered an act worthy of a soldier.
“Sir, if I may. The historical consequences of harming the princess could be severe, maybe enough to rewrite history.”
“I know what I am doing, Major. You and your men are dismissed. I want your full mission report on my desk in four hours.”
“Yes sir!” Replied Kossov, hiding his displeasure. He saluted and left with his three remaining guards. Veck then approached Princess Margaret, who was crying from the humiliation of being stripped in public.
“If you think that this is bad, young girl, prepare yourself for much worse, unless you cooperate with us.”
Veck watched on as the chief interrogator made Group Captain Townsend smell a small bottle of strong salts. The British officer soon woke up and looked around him in confusion as he had both of his hands solidly attached to chains hanging from pulleys fixed to the ceiling.
“What…what is all this? What are you doing?”
Townsend then saw Princess Margaret, naked and held by an interrogator, and stared angrily at Veck.
“How dare you humiliate the Princess like this? Who the hell are you?”
“I am General Alan Veck, Minister of Security of the Imperium. You are now in the London of the year 3386, so you can forget about getting any help here. Now, I will need you to answer a few questions.”
Townsend briefly looked around him, eyeing the various torture instruments visible in the room, and looked back at Veck, hiding his fear behind a mask of defiance.
“Like hell I will!”
“I thought so.” Said calmly Veck before turning towards the interrogator holding Princess Margaret. “Suspend her facing this man.
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Like Townsend, the princess was soon pulled off the ground, naked and spread-eagled by four chains. A female interrogator then grabbed a steel-tipped rod connected by a wire to an electrical control box and stood at the ready near the two prisoners. Veck approached Townsend, who was now sweating and appeared much less sure of himself.
“Here is the deal, mister: you answer my questions fully and you and the girl won’t suffer. If you refuse to answer or try to lie, then both of you will pay for it. If you really care about your princess, then you will answer me. First, though, here is a small taste of the things to come.”
On his signal, the female interrogator applied the tip of her electric rod on the equerry’s genitals, making him scream horribly for a few seconds. Veck let Townsend recover from the shock before speaking again.
“So, are you ready to answer me, mister?”
“What the hell do you want anyway?” Answered Townsend, unable to stand the idea of the young princess being tortured because of him.
“First, I want to know if you heard anything about a giant woman called Farah Tolkonen that would have showed up in your London.”
Townsend swallowed hard before answering: he had read with the king the Prime Minister’s report about the M.I.5 illegal arrest of a giant from the future. Since that giant was now gone, presumably to the future with Nancy Laplante, there could be little harm in revealing that, especially if it could save the princess from being tortured.
“I am not sure about the name, but I know that last summer a giant, bald woman, was arrested by our counter-intelligence service and briefly held. Brigadier Laplante reportedly freed that giant and left with her, presumably for the future.”
Anger flared in Veck’s face at those words.
“A giant? Describe her to me.”
“Please, the report didn’t say much about her, except that she was bald and had six fingers per hands. She appeared near London by using a portable device.”
“Damn! Tolkonen probably built that device secretly.” Said Veck to himself. He then looked back at Townsend.
“When was that woman arrested, then freed by Laplante?”
“I don’t remember the exact dates, I swear. The report was dated from mid July of 1941.”
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Veck made another signal to the female interrogator, who raised the voltage before using her rod for a second time. Townsend screamed again horribly, while Princess Margaret could only squeal with terror.
“Refresh your memory quickly, or the princess will have a taste of it.”
“I don’t know! The report didn’t say.”
“As you wish.”
Veck was going to signal the female interrogator to give a shock to the young girl when the door of the room opened, letting in King Stan the Sixth and ten of his royal guardsmen. Veck looked angrily at him as the King approached at a fast walk but didn’t dare chase him away. The King may have held little real power but, individually, he was still a formidable opponent. Even with forty security guards lining up in the back of his royal guardsmen, Stan the Sixth looked at both prisoners before eyeing angrily Veck.
“I just heard about your latest stupidity, General. Did you ever consider the possible consequences of this mission in the past? Do you really want to change history so badly that we end up erased from it?”
“Your Majesty, Doctor Tolkonen left us little choice but to chase after her. If left alone in the past, she is liable to change history herself and get rid of us that way.”
King Stan frowned at those words: Veck had just given the only justification that would force him to back his actions. Still, he didn’t like the idea of having to support that megalomaniac.
“Who are these two ancestors, Veck, and why are they here?”
“We took them to oblige the British in 1942 to cooperate with us in finding and giving back Doctor Tolkonen. We just found from this man that Tolkonen was actually picked up in 1941 London by Nancy Laplante, the first recorded time traveler in history.
That same Laplante intervened again when we raided Buckingham Palace, with her ships shooting down two of our destroyers over London in 1942.”
King Stan was about to ask again for the identity of the prisoners when the young girl pleaded to him, tears in her eyes.
“Please sir, if you are their King, save…”
The female interrogator then decided on her own to give a jolt to the Princess, making the girl scream horribly with pain. King Stan drew his pistol in a flash and shot once the interrogator in the head, splattering her brains around. The forty security guards raised their weapons at once, pointing them at the King, while the royal guardsmen raised their own rifles and pointed them at Veck, who broke in a nervous sweat.
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“Let’s be sensible here. Lower your weapons, all of you.” He said in a shaky voice.
The security guards obeyed, followed only then by the royal guardsmen. King Stan then went to the sobbing girl and gently caressed her hair.
“I am King Stan the Sixth. What is your name, child?”
“Margaret…Princess Margaret of Windsor, daughter of King George the Sixth.
My friend over there is Group Captain Peter Townsend, Equerry to King George. Please help us.”
Cold rage filled Stan as he slowly faced Veck. The fact that the idiot had kidnapped such a historically important person was only part of the reason for his anger, which was very real.
“I want custody of those two, immediately!”
“But that’s impossible. We need answers badly about Tolkonen and the ones who helped her in the past and this man knows a lot. I am however ready to release the girl in your care, as long as she is prevented from escaping.”
Stan knew that, despite his own bravado, his power was very limited compared to that of Veck. He thus nodded his head once, even if he didn’t like that bargain one bit.
“Alright, you can have the man, but go easy on him: we will need him alive for any deal we do with the British of 1942.”
Veck then looked at his two remaining interrogators.
“Take the girl down and dress her up.”
The two men obeyed promptly, watching nervously King Stan’s pistol while freeing and dressing Margaret. Stan then took the small girl in his powerful arms and whispered in her ear.
“Be quiet now, Princess: my powers are limited here and I can’t afford you to make more fuss about your friend. I am sorry but I have to leave him here.”
“But he’s my friend and my father’s equerry. We can’t let him be tortured like this.”
“We have no other choice, Margaret. Come, I will bring you to my palace, where you will be safe.”
Surrounded by his royal guardsmen, King Stan then hurried out of the interrogation room, covering Margaret’s mouth with one hand to muffle her protests. After a last bitter look at the departing King, Veck turned to face again Townsend.
“Now, about those dates…”
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10:36 (GMT)
King’s apartments, Royal Palace
London, Imperium
Miri Goshenk, advised by King Stan via radio, had two young maids and the palace doctor ready when the king’s party arrived at the palace with Princess Margaret.
Celebrated as one of the most beautiful women in the Imperium, Miri was also First Mistress to the king and in charge of the palace household. She felt instant pity for the tiny girl Stan held in his arms when he entered the royal apartments with her.
“Come, little Margaret, let us take care of you. Doctor Voonlar will first examine you.”
The girl, her eyes red from crying, didn’t protest as Miri took her in her arms and brought her to a guest bedroom where Voonlar was waiting. The old physician took ten minutes to examine Margaret, noting the electrical burn on her chest, before looking at Miri.
“She is mostly alright, Milady. That electrical burn will be painful for a while but is not severe. I will treat it right away.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Miri then smiled in encouragement at Margaret and spoke to her in Neo-English.
“Do you understand me, Margaret?”
When the girl shook her head in confusion, Miri switched to English, which was still a widely studied old language in Imperium schools.
“Is that better, Margaret?”
“Yes.” Answered timidly the girl. “Who are you, miss?”
“My name is Miri Goshenk, First Mistress to King Stan the Sixth. I will be taking care of you during your stay.”
“First Mistress? Your king has more than one wife?”
“The king has no wives per say, but he has actually six official mistresses. I am the current favorite in the lot. Enough about me. Once the doctor is finished with you, we will find clothes more appropriate for a royal princess like you.”
As soon as Voonlar was finished treating Margaret, Miri put her two maids in charge of dressing the little girl and went to see the king, who was working on his computer in his study. Stan looked up at Miri when she hugged his back and caressed his face.
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“I’m sorry if I don’t feel like returning your attention, Miri: I fear that Veck put all of us in very big trouble this time. One of our scientists fled to the past and supposedly enlisted the help of an advanced organization, with which Veck’s ships clashed in 1942
London. Two of our three ships were lost and there is now a real threat of having the Imperium erased from history by either our renegade scientist or this mysterious organization. From my hidden sources in the Ministry of Security, I know that Doctor Tolkonen, our renegade, was trying to find a Nancy Laplante, a woman reputed to be the first ever recorded time traveler. Ah, here is the entry file on her.”
Both Stan and Miri looked at the picture of Nancy, taken during an investiture ceremony, and read the one-page text on her. Stan couldn’t help smile in appreciation as he read.
“She won the Victoria Cross three times? If I am not mistaken, this is a feat unequaled in history. If she is really the one behind that mysterious time traveling organization, then we will be facing quite a foe