09:42 (New Zealand Time)
Saturday, September 24, 861 C.E.
Corvette H.S.S. SEAGULL
Overflying the region of future Auckland
North Island, New Zealand
‘’Here you are, Madam Tsu: the original site of the city of Auckland.’’
Lynn Tsu, sitting with Henry Ferguson and a number of staff officers and specialists in the observers’ chairs on the bridge of the corvette, opened her mouth with admiration as she contemplated on the holographic screens the wide, virgin peninsula covered with vegetation. Immediately to the East of the peninsula lay the blue waters of the Rangitoto Channel, which led to the nearby Hauraki Gulf and the South Pacific Sea. Immediately to the West were the sparkling waters of Waitemata Harbour, which connected with the Tasman Sea. To the North and South of the peninsula, forest-covered lands spread for tens of kilometers. Everything about the scenery Lynn Tsu was now examining avidly spoke of natural beauty and fertile land.
‘’By the stars, this is so beautiful! I never had the chance to visit New Zealand in our original time period, but I should have. This looks like paradise.’’
‘’And a paradise it is, except for a few points.’’ Replied proudly Henry Ferguson. ‘’My ancestors came from New Zealand and I visited it a number of times when young. Even in the 41st Century, it was still a land of utter natural beauty. The climate is mild year-long in most of New Zealand and nice beaches and fantastic scenic sights abound. The only thing we will have to worry about is the fact that New Zealand sits on the junction of two major tectonic plates. There are thus regions where volcanic activity and earthquakes could be a concern, but we know from history where those regions are and will be able to either avoid them or adapt to them. The site of Auckland itself sits on a dormant volcanic bed, with a volcano a mere eight kilometers northeast of the peninsula, on Rangitoto Island. That volcano is however mostly dormant and its next known eruption is due in only five centuries and will affect directly only a fairly limited area around it. Only a few spots should actually be avoided when we will build the settlements for our refugees, notably the sites of Wellington and Christchurch, which are prone to severe and frequent earthquakes which could reach magnitudes of over seven on the Richter Scale. The area of Rotorua, in the center of the North Island, is an active volcanic plateau where I would not counsel to build any major settlements. However, the geothermal activity there makes it a good area to establish thermal baths resorts and geothermal energy plants. Finally, the site of Hamilton, in the Waikato River Valley, is presently a swamp area that would need major work to drain and make healthy for occupation. However, the grasslands of the Waikato Region and of other regions are very rich and quick growing and would make perfect free-roaming pastures and grazing grounds for herds of cattle. By the way, there were no known native species of mammals in New Zealand, except for a few species of bats, and there were as well no known species of predators before some were imported by humans in the future. Most of the fauna consists of birds in fact, including the giant Moa flightless bird, which went extinct around the 18th Century. That last factor, the lack of land predators, will make New Zealand even more ideal as a roaming ground for herds of cattle and sheep. Finally, the waters around the islands abound with fish. Give us a couple of years and we will turn New Zealand into a food basket.’’
Tsu nodded her head soberly as she kept eyeing the natural beauty their corvette was overflying at low altitude and low speed.
‘’Yes, but in the meantime, we still have to provide food to our refugees that are not in cryogenic sleep. Since I am not willing or ready to keep the million or so of mothers and infants presently crammed inside the auxiliary quarters of the MARCO POLO separated from their family members for months, this means that we will have to find food for two or three million people, and quickly! How much people can the hydroponic gardens, fish farms and animal farms of the MARCO POLO sustain on a long term basis, Commodore?’’
Ferguson sighed silently as he mentally pictured the scale of their predicament.
‘’To be frank, the food production facilities of the MARCO POLO, when pushed to maximum productivity, can feed at most 400,000 people. Right now, we are managing to feed the people in the auxiliary quarters only by dipping into the reserves of rations and foodstuff loaded aboard before our departure from Kyoto Alpha. However, at the present rate of consumption, those reserves will last for less than a year, with many items running out before that. Also, we don’t have any spare space left on the MARCO POLO to accommodate the spouses and siblings of the mothers and babies.’’
‘’Then, our top priority, apart from building new homes for our refugees, must be to acquire extra sources of food. To escape the Morgs, only to end up with our people starving to death, is unacceptable to me.’’
‘’I fully agree with you, Madam Tsu.’’ Said Ferguson before turning towards one of the specialists, a renowned Centaurian agronomist, he had brought with him on this tour of New Zealand.
‘’Professor Zhang, what do you think about this problem? Could we find quickly sufficient quantities of food on today’s Earth, without of course looting everything in sight?’’
‘’Uh, that is a good question, Commodore. Unfortunately, I know little about the Middle Ages and its capacity for food production. The little I know about it is that most of the human population of the period lived a precarious subsistence-level existence. Allied to that are the apparently dismal hygienic conditions the locals mostly live in, which means that the little we could get from them would likely be unfit for human consumption by our standards. What you need to answer your question would be an historian with a deep knowledge of this time period.’’
‘’Hum, you’re right, Professor.’’ Said Ferguson, thoughtful. Right now, he could think of only one such person. That person was in fact presently on the ground in Europe. It took him only a moment before taking mentally a few decisions, then turned to face his second in command, Captain Montoya.
‘’Captain, get me a video link with Doctor Shelton in Toulouse, right away!’’
08:01 (Paris Time) / 19: 01 (New Zealand Time)
Saturday, September 24, 861 C.E.
House of Jean de Chambriand, Toulouse
Kingdom of Western Francia
When Jean de Chambriand woke up with the rising Sun and went down to the living room of his house, he was surprised to see that Ann Shelton was already up, sitting on one of the crude wooden stools and with what she called a ‘tablet’ laid on the sole table in the room. She looked up from her tablet on hearing the wooden stairs creak under Jean’s feet. Jean was instantly alarmed at seeing that she appeared deadly tired. Hurrying down the stairs and stepping in the semi-obscure living room, which was lit by only one candle and by the first rays of the Sun filtering through a window’s wooden shutter, he approached her, worried.
‘’Ann, you look nearly exhausted. Didn’t you sleep at least a bit?’’
She made an apologetic smile to him while pointing her tablet, on which a page of text was visible.
‘’To be frank, I didn’t sleep at all, Jean. I got a call from my commander, Commodore Ferguson, who had important and urgent questions for me. I then spent the night researching the matter he had raised. Oh, by the way, he and Administrator Tsu, who leads our refugees, named me their plenipotentiary envoy at large. It seems that our upcoming meeting with Count Raymond will be more important than ever.’’
‘’Has something grave happened to your people, Ann?’’
‘’Only the realization that we will need to find lots of food…quickly, in order to avoid mass starvation within a few months. Tell me, Jean, how is the food situation in Francia at this time?’’
She didn’t like the disillusioned frown he made then.
‘’At the best of times, our peasants produce enough grains and vegetable to be able to provide for themselves and then sell the little surplus left to the populations of our various cities and towns, who depend on these surplus. However, one bad harvest or a Winter harsher than usual and famine would then ensue. Of course, the nobles of the land are insulated against that, since they extract from the peasants and farmers much of their produce in the form of various taxes, both royal and local ones. From what I have heard and seen during my various trips, some of the other countries of Europe, notably Moorish Spain, appear to be doing at least a bit better.’’
‘’I see! Then, we will have to cast a wider net than just Western Francia. We may very well have to go overseas as part of our search for food. However, wherever we will find that extra food, which we do not intend to simply loot by the way, we will try to avoid creating local shortages, thus will have to be both measured and judicious in our food acquisition. I was also asked by my commander to try obtaining a small portion of land around Toulouse, to establish a trading post where we could attract foreign merchants and make deals with them.’’
‘’Well, that kind of endeavor normally tends to do a lot of good to a local economy, so I would be ready to say that Count Raymond could certainly show interest in that, especially now that the Vikings approaching Toulouse are dead.’’
‘’At what time do you think we should go visit him, Jean?’’
‘’Give him maybe an extra hour for him to have breakfast and start taking care of his daily routine, then we could show up at his manor.’’
09:13 (Paris Time)
Manor of Count Raymond the First
Near Toulouse’s ‘Porte de Narbonne’ (south gate)
Situated near the right bank of the Garonne River, close to the dome of the monastery of Sainte-Marie la Dorée, the manor of Count Raymond the First was a rather modest two-storey building made of pink bricks and with an inclined roof covered with ceramic tiles. A brick wall surrounded a small courtyard in which the main entrance of the manor opened. Two Frankish guards greeted politely Jean and Ann at the heavy wooden door of the manor. The guards, shaggy-looking but muscular men, wore scale mail armored vests and conical iron helmets and were armed with lances, swords and knives. They simply crossed their lances to block the way as one of them addressed Jean while examining none too discreetly Ann from head to toe, taking a measure of her strange-looking light protective suit.
‘’Good morning, Sire Jean! What brings you here this morning?’’
‘’And a good morning to you as well, Adélard. I came to ask for an audience with Count Raymond for me and my friend here, Lady Shelton.’’
‘’The Count is quite busy right now, preparing the defense of the city against the Vikings, Sire Jean. However, if you certify to me that it is for an important matter, I will go see if he can receive you.’’
Jean slipped a silver piece in the hand of the guard before replying to him.
‘’Tell him that I found some help to defend Toulouse: that should interest him.’’
The guard nodded his head, then walked inside the manor at a hurried pace. Jean had only to wait for three minutes, time he used to discuss a few mundane matters with the remaining guard, a short but powerful man named Marcelus. Adélard soon reappeared and signaled Jean and Ann to follow him inside. The trio went through a small entrance lobby before entering a large, mostly empty room with a high ceiling and with a wooden elevated gallery surrounding it, linked to the ground level by a wooden stair. A dozen or so armed and armored men stood at one end of the hall, to each side of a bearded man seated in a sculpted wooden chair. The seated man, wearing a carefully trimmed beard and long hair and dressed in a silk shirt and trousers, appeared to be in his fifties. His face reflected openness and intelligence as he keenly examined his two visitors, concentrating particularly on Ann. Standing to the right of the Count was also a man wearing the cassock and tonsure of a medieval priest. Jean then whispered to Ann while keeping his eyes on the priest.
‘’The man sitting on the chair is Count Raymond. The priest standing to his right is his confessor, Father Thomas, someone I personally don’t like at all. He will probably be your biggest problem. Let me speak first.’’
Ann simply nodded her head while keeping her eyes on the priest, who now appeared agitated and was whispering into the Count’s ear while pointing at Ann. Jean, imitated by Ann, then walked to a position five paces in front of Raymond before putting one knee down on the floor and lowering his head briefly in salute. The Count was the first to speak, his voice strong and firm, but also friendly enough.
‘’What may I do for my personal barber today?’’
‘’Count Raymond, I came to present to you my new friend, Lady Ann Shelton, who arrived in Toulouse last night. Lady Ann came from very far and has a message from her commander for you.’’
Raymond’s attention immediately shifted to Ann, who was now getting back up, like Jean. His look was that of curiosity mixed with a bit of suspicion.
‘’And may I ask first where you are from, Lady Ann? Usually, men are used as messengers. Your accoutrement is also quite strange and unusual.’’
‘’Where I come from, women have equal status with the men and can fill any role or position in my society, Count Raymond. To answer your question, I came from the stars…and from the future.’’
Raymond, like everybody around him, was understandably stunned by her answer, while Jean stiffened, expecting a negative reaction. Raymond made an authoritative gesture of the hand to silence the men around him, who were now exchanging exclamations and incredulous remarks. His eyes also hardened as he stared straight into Ann’s eyes.
‘’Lady Ann, the Vikings are said to be approaching Toulouse and I am presently very busy planning the defense of the city, thus have no time to waste listening to frivolous declarations.’’
‘’I am very serious, Count, I assure you. As for the Vikings, you do not need to worry anymore about them: our soldiers and ships massacred them near Agen last night.’’
The armored men behind Raymond again exploded in exclamations, forcing Raymond to silence them a second time. He then stared again hard at Ann.
‘’That is quite a declaration, Lady Ann. Why should I believe you?’’
‘’Because it is the truth, Count Raymond. As proof of my words, I can bring you to the site of the Vikings’ demise, or I could show you pictures of that massacre.’’
‘’Don’t you see that she must be a Viking herself, Count?’’ Shouted the priest besides Raymond. ‘’She is trying to attract you into a trap.’’
Four of the armored men started moving towards Ann to grab her, but Raymond again stopped them with a gesture of the hand before nearly growling at her.
‘’You are indeed very tall and wear armor, Lady Ann. You better be more convincing than this, or I will have you arrested.’’
‘’Very well, Count Raymond: I will thus show you the pictures I talked about. May I approach you?’’
‘’Yes, but be careful with your moves: my men will be watching you closely.’’
Two strong men then advanced on each side of Raymond, taking position near him and drawing their long swords. Ann, who was not wearing her protective helmet at the time, couldn’t help becoming nervous as she slowly took four steps and again put one knee on the ground, nearly able to touch Raymond now. Moving slowly, she took her tablet out of a cargo pocket and flipped open its lid. She powered it and selected a video file, raising the sound volume and starting the video before turning the tablet towards Raymond to allow him to watch the recording of the battle of the Vikings.
‘’Don’t be scared by this and please don’t think that it is some kind of sorcery or magic, Count Raymond. Our science has an advance of over three millenniums on anything you know.’’
While Raymond stiffened, he still looked at the tablet as the video played. Father Thomas’ reaction was however much less forgiving.
‘’A WITCH! GRAB HER BEFORE SHE COULD PLACE A CURSE ON THE COUNT!’’
The two men flanking Ann started to move at once to grab her none too gently but were stopped at once by a shouted order from Raymond, who jumped to his feet.
‘’DON’T TOUCH HER!’’
He then pivoted and stared down angrily at his priest.
‘’I COMMAND HERE IN TOULOUSE, FATHER THOMAS, NOT THE CHURCH. REMEMBER THAT!’’
The priest shrunk under his stare and stepped back while bowing. Pivoting again to face Ann, Raymond spoke to her in a firm tone.
‘’Get up, Lady Ann!’’
Hear heart beating fast, Ann obeyed him, still holding her tablet so that Raymond could continue looking at the video recording. The Count watched the Vikings being massacred, stiffening and nearly jumping back when the first disintegrator bolts were fired. He was however able to overcome his incomprehension and fear and watched the video until it ended, showing remarkable self-control. Ann then decided to take a big gamble in order to convince him. Moving her left hand slowly, she took her disintegrator pistol out of its belt holster, using two fingers, and presented it to Raymond, the muzzle pointed at herself.
‘’You saw the power of our weapons, Count Raymond. If you still don’t believe me, then kill me with my own pistol. You only need to point it at me and press the trigger. Be careful, though: it is quite sensitive.’’
Jean de Chambriand became pale as a sheet at once as Raymond hesitantly took the pistol, wrapping his right hand around its grip. He then forcibly pulled Ann back and stepped in front of her to shield her with his body.
‘’PLEASE, COUNT, DON’T!’’
Raymond, his face hard, kept pointing the disintegrator pistol towards Ann and Jean for long seconds. He was able to see the fear in Ann’s eyes, while Jean’s reaction had been clearly spontaneous. Moving slightly his right hand, he then pressed the trigger of the pistol. He nearly threw away the weapon after a disintegrator bolt shot out with a sharp crack, vaporizing half of a decorative vase, along with a large patch of the wooden floor. Looking incredulously at the damage from the disintegrator bolt, then at Ann, he took his finger off the trigger and presented back the pistol to Ann, who slowly took it and returned it to its holster. Jean was blowing out air in relief as Raymond eyed Ann with respect.
‘’You were brave indeed, Lady Ann, to put yourself at my mercy like this. Your weapon is a truly terrifying one, I must say. So, tell me more about you and your people, Lady Ann.’’
Herself doing her best to calm down after the tension of the last seconds, Ann nodded briefly her head.
‘’Thank you for your comprehension, Count Raymond. I am an historian by profession and the study of this time period is my specialty. My commander, who commands a large fleet of giant flying ships, sent me to Toulouse to ascertain the exact date we were now in. In truth, our trip through time to the past was completely involuntary and we are now in the impossibility of returning to our time, which was the 41st Century.’’
‘’The 41st Century…’’ Said dreamily Raymond. ‘’Over three millenniums in the future. No wonder that you look so different from the norm of today. And you still swear to me that the Vikings are now dead?’’
‘’I do, Count! My offer of showing you the battlefield still stands, by the way.’’
‘’And why would your people have massacred the Vikings like this? With your powerful weapons, you surely had no reasons to fear them.’’
‘’Indeed not, Count, but we acted so that the people of Francia would not need to fear anymore the depredations of those invaders.’’
‘’And why would you care for the people of Francia, Lady Ann?’’
‘’Because we care for everyone, irrespective of social rank, race or sex. We are a deeply humanistic people at heart and the common good is paramount for us. Talking of common good, I have a revelation to make to you: my fleet is carrying millions of refugees and was fleeing from a powerful alien race when it was accidentally projected into the past. However, do not fear that this alien race could show up here: we firmly believe that they can’t travel through time themselves. While we are cut off for good from our original century, those aliens cannot touch us now. This is to say that, as powerful as we are, I actually came to seek your help, Count Raymond.’’
‘’My…my help? If you indeed got rid of the Vikings for us, I would be more than happy to help you, but what could I possibly do to help people as powerful as yours?’’
‘’That would be quite easy actually, Count. We need to establish one or more commercial exchange points in Europe, in order to be able to buy food to feed our refugees. We wouldn’t need much space, actually. A square mile or so would be more than enough for us.’’
Raymond sat back on his chair and thought furiously for a moment while still staring at Ann. He finally nodded his head to her.
‘’Very well, Lady Ann. I am taking your offer to go see what remains of the Vikings near Agen. If your story proves true, then I will be willing to lend you some land for your exchange post. However, please keep in mind that I hold my titles and lands from King Charles and that I am not truly at liberty to give away land as I please.’’
Ann gave a sober look at Raymond then: this could easily enough become a sticky point and she had to deal with it right away.
‘’You would still defer to King Charles after he has basically abandoned you and your people at the mercy of the Vikings, Count Raymond? Know that, if we establish an exchange point here in or near Toulouse, we intend to build permanent structures in it, structures that we would want to keep. We will not expend valuable resources just to be eventually evicted on the whims of a versatile king. Please excuse me if you find my words brutal, but we truly value frankness and honesty, Count.’’
‘’I would rather prefer brutal but frank words than mellow but treacherous ones, Lady Ann.’’ Replied Raymond with a slight smile. ‘’You are indeed a refreshing change from the misleading smiles and words I get at the royal court. Very well: I will take on me to make any eventual land grant to you permanent. You however still have to convince me that the Vikings are all dead.’’
‘’That will be easy enough to do, Count.’’ Said Ann, smiling: that Frankish noble was decidedly the kind of man she could like and respect, the way she liked and respected Jean de Chambriand. The people of this time may have been ignorant and uneducated, but that didn’t make them stupid, something that Raymond had just proven to her. Activating her radio microphone, she called the JEAN LANNE, which was still hovering at high altitude over the region, as Raymond and the other medieval men around watched her with confusion and wonderment.
‘’JEAN LANNE, this is Doctor Ann Shelton. I will need the temporary use of a light shuttle in order to transport a local official to the site of the destroyed Viking camp near Agen, over.’’
There was only a short delay before the face of the captain of the JEAN LANNE appeared on the screen of her wrist videophone.
‘’Your request is approved, Doctor Shelton. The shuttle should arrive in Toulouse in about fifteen minutes. Please activate your position beacon so that it can be guided to your location, over.’’
‘’Activating my personal beacon now! Thank you, JEAN LANNE.’’
Pushing a button on the control panel of her protective suit, Ann then smiled to the Count.
‘’A small flying ship will arrive shortly to transport us to the site of the destroyed Viking camp. If you wish to bring some of your men with you, there will be up to nine additional seats available, Count Raymond.’’
‘’A…a flying ship? That would be a most wondrous experience for me, Lady Ann, and a good way to prove many of your words.’’
He then twisted his head to look at his men, pointing two of them.
‘’Eudes, Foulques, you will come with me. Bernard, you will stay here and command during my absence.’’
Father Thomas, who had kept silent with difficulty until now, then spoke up again.
‘’Please, Count Raymond, don’t listen to the words of that witch! She probably wants to take you prisoner and take control of Toulouse.’’
Raymond gave the priest a jaundiced look, clearly displeased at him.
‘’Father Thomas, if you can only give me negative counsels despite what we have seen and heard up to now, then I won’t need your advice anymore. Return to your monastery and stay there until I call for you again. Now, go!’’
Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to change Raymond’s mind, the priest bowed his head to him and walked out of the hall. He however gave a hateful glance to Ann while passing by her. Jean de Chambriand, who was still going over his emotions, touched gently Ann’s shoulder to attract her attention.
‘’Ann, about that flying ship, could I go with you and Count Raymond?’’
‘’But of course, my dear Jean!’’ Replied Ann, grinning. ‘’You think that I would have refused such a request from you, especially after the way you shielded me?’’
That made the alchemist redden with embarrassment.
‘’Uh, that was purely a reflex on my part, Ann.’’
‘’A reflex I appreciated a lot, Jean. Well, let’s go outside to wait for the coming shuttlecraft, shall we?’’
About everyone in the hall, plus many other occupants of the manor, followed Ann outside in the courtyard. Seeing her step cautiously around the dirt ground covered with horse excrements and other filth, Raymond smiled to her and spoke in a joking tone.
‘’From your reactions, I would bet that you don’t let horses, pigs and dogs go around freely inside your flying ships, Lady Ann.’’
‘’Uh, correct, Count Raymond. I just want to avoid soiling the floor of the flying ship we will be traveling in.’’
‘’That is easily enough taken care of, my friend. MARTHE! MARTHE! COME HERE WITH A BUCKET OF WATER AND A HARD BRUSH!’’
Raymond then explained himself to Ann as an old woman, who had been tending to a few chickens held in cages in one corner of the courtyard, hurried inside the manor.
‘’We are accustomed to have to wash our feet or boots before entering the manor.’’
‘’I understand, Count Raymond. Maybe my people could help render Toulouse cleaner in the near future, by installing a sewer system and paving the streets.’’
‘’Well, the ancient Romans did know about such things, but unfortunately things have declined since their time, as you can see, and there is presently little money available for such public works.’’
Ann was tempted to mention the considerable sums spent by the various kings and rulers of Europe on building numerous and sumptuous palaces for themselves with the crushing taxes extracted from the farmers and workers of their lands, but wisely kept mum about that. Despite his titles and powers, Count Raymond’s manor was far from extravagant and the servants around seemed well fed, apart from appearing to be content enough. The old maid soon came back with a wooden bucket full of water and a hard brush in her hands. She put down the bucket and bowed to Raymond.
‘’You need my services, my lord?’’
‘’Yes, my good Marthe! A flying ship is about to come and transport me to near Agen. I will need you to clean our boots before we enter that ship.’’
The mention of a ‘flying ship’ was enough to make the old maid make the sign of the cross from fear and apprehension.
‘’A flying ship, my lord? It isn’t some kind of devilish work, I hope?’’
‘’Judging from my beautiful guest here, I would rather call it a ship from Heaven, Marthe.’’ Replied Raymond with a malicious smile, making Ann smile as well from the compliment.
‘’My, you do know how to flatter women, Count Raymond.’’
‘’And I take great pleasure in doing so, my dear Lady Ann. Aaah, talking of women, here comes my wife and two of my daughters, along with two of my daughters in law.’’
Ann looked with interest at the woman with graying hair and at the two young women and two teenage girls, all dressed in fine silk dresses, who were now nearly running out of the manor to come towards her group. The newcomers couldn’t help stare at Ann, who dominated all of them by a good head, and at her unusual outfit before the older woman addressed Raymond.
‘’What happened, Raymond? I heard a sort of loud noise from the main hall and, not seeing you there, got worried about you.’’
‘’No need to worry about me, my dear Berteiz: I was just trying not to kill by accident my guest here. May I present you Lady Ann Shelton, who arrived y