Chapter 2: A Past New Beginning

Charles Ricksome jerked awake; the aftereffect of the time slip still had him feeling groggy. Now THAT was a hell of a ride! Traveling through the waves of time was an experience he had dreamed of years ago when he had been working on his own time slip device. Looking at the flame red-haired, slender, emerald-eyed beauty lying in his arms, he knew the pain he had endured was well worth it.

Giggling, Ally, the ship’s AI, spoke up, “We have departed the time slip, Charles. We should be arriving at the Mioan capital world of Aztre within an hour.”

“Thank you, Ally. Any news from the royal family chambers? You haven’t informed them yet, have you?” Charles asked, a little worried about the reception he might receive when the Emperor found out the Princess was pregnant and HE was the father.

“No, Charles, I haven’t. They have picked us up on long range though. In order to carry out the plan, you will have to be in position when we land so I can transfer you to the desired place,” Ally replied.

A small door opened nearby Charles. “You uploaded all of Cici into this storage unit with all the specifications I added?”

“Yes, Charles, Cici is all there, and I have to say you are a genius. To make the modifications to him that you did in as little time as you have was breathtaking,” Ally stated.

“Yes, Charles,” came from his wrist com. “I dare say that the amount of data you added has made me much more efficient.”

“I’m sorry, Cici; I wasn’t able to attach more than four brain cells. There wasn’t enough time,” Charles said, wishing he could work on Cici more. The way he was now, he only had maybe a fourth of what was needed for full emotions.

“It’s okay,” Cici responded. “At present, I am 25% faster than I was before. Much better.”

“I concur,” Ally spoke up. “At present, Cici is at a level higher than almost all AIs in the empire. I think he’s sexy,” this last spoken almost in hushed tones.

Charles shook his head. Wow, AI love. Smiling, he looked again at Princess Alatem. He wondered just how long this sleep phase lasted. “Ally, status!”

“We are receiving royal requests to answer as soon as the Princess awakens,” Ally replied.

“Ally, does the sleep always last this long? I have been up for half an hour,” Charles asked, a little worried about the baby and Alatem.

“Yes, Charles, this is very normal. You, on the other hand, are what I would say is a special case. I have never seen any human recover as fast as you did. It may have something to do with the amount of energy I had to use to remove you from time,” Ally said as she started to scan Charles to make sure.

A moment later, Alatem stirred, opening her eyes. She smiled up into the only man she had ever loved or could stand to be near.

“Hello, my love,” she sleepily said. “Again, I see you are indeed as special as I knew you were. Your recovery time could be handy for future missions.”

Charles smiled, staring deeply into her eyes. Damn if he didn’t see the future and the past there in those emerald pools of love.

“We’ll be arriving in Aztre in half an hour, Alatem,” Ally spoke up.

Groaning, the Princess sat up, looking at the readouts. “Killjoy,” she said, eliciting a giggle from the AI.

“Alright, we are arriving 2 hours after we left. With the information we acquired from our trip, you will be placed in the only spot to save Father,” Alatem said. Charles nodded as the Princess explained who they were trying to stop.

A beam of light flashed, and a man appeared on the roof opposite and in front of where the Emperor and his family would be. The proclamation of the new laws would bolster the economy, strengthen the empire, put fear into its enemies, and maybe give the Emperor more time to spend with his family. Sighing, he re-read the dispatch he had just received: another death threat. Ever since he had started the empire back to its more powerful standing, he seemed to get a new one every day.

Where the hell was Alatem? Damn girl, taking off again in the time raider. Hell, he hadn’t had a chance to go onboard, and she’d already had it out twice now! Sighing again, he knew she was going to raise holy hell when she found out about her betrothal.

Gods, she was a wild one. Maybe he shouldn’t have appointed her to the time ship council. Just yesterday she had been mumbling about an attempt on the entire family’s life. What an imagination! There was no way anyone could get near them, let alone even try to kill them. The clock sounded the hour, and they all stepped out through the curtains onto the balcony, a huge cheer going up from the multitude below.

The man on the roof stiffened, pulling a strange rifle-like weapon from behind him. Looking around, he smiled and looked through the long-range scope. Lining up on the Emperor, his finger tightened on the trigger. He knew he had to time it just right, or he was a dead man. The weapon could fire two homing charges at a time, with just enough charge to only kill what it hit by digging in and exploding, killing instantly whoever was designated the target. Stepping forward, the Emperor raised his arms to quiet the crowd.

“Citizens of the empire,” he started while behind him, four servants hurried to attend to the royal family. The Emperor finally finished with the opening speech and was about to start the proclamations when there were two soft pops. A scream started through the crowd.

Rushing forward, the Emperor’s personal guard looked on in disbelief. There behind the Emperor, and even closer to his family, were four dead assassins! The Emperor’s mouth hung open because there he saw his dead brother’s son amongst those killed. A commotion across the street drew his gaze to the rooftop. A lanky, brown-haired, actually plain-looking man saluted him and disappeared through the window. Looking back, he felt the anger swell up in his chest, ordering the guards to remove the traitors from his sight.

Charles was running as fast as he could. It wouldn’t do to be caught, not right now.

“Cici, any pursuit yet?” he asked.

“Not yet, but I wouldn’t count on that for long. We still have a kilometer to go for the rendezvous,” Cici replied, a hint of urgency in its voice.

An hour later, Charles walked into the small meeting hall at the outskirts of the city. Alatem rushed forward, throwing her arms around him, kissing him deeply. The few others in the room gasped and stared wide-eyed.

“Princess,” an older man spoke up, “shall we dispatch him? He has touched your royal personage!”

“NO!” she shouted, “if anyone CAN or does touch him, if you survive, you will be flogged till your bones are bare.”

Shocked, the others only stared and backed away while Alatem continued to kiss Charles.

“Did you like how I did it? I had to wait till they were about to strike, but I think it will be enough to convince your father of their intentions,” Charles said.

“I believe he does now. What was that you used? It was so quiet, and I have never seen a configuration like it before,” Alatem asked.

“It’s a rifle I designed years ago,” Charles started. “It fires a small charged bullet that explodes in the body—not very big but enough to cause death instantly.”

The others behind the Princess could only stare at Charles. Finally, the older man spoke up, “I apologize to you, sir. You are obviously someone close to the royal family and deserve respect. I am Trok, the Princess’ head bodyguard.”

“No, not the family, just to the Princess,” Charles stated matter-of-factly. With that, many of the men in the room reached for weapons. Charles pressed a device on his side, and all the men froze. The shocked and pissed-off looks on their faces were priceless.

“Now, as the Princess said, if you can touch me, then you’d have her to deal with. Believe me, you’d rather deal with me. I’ve seen her temper, and it’s not pretty. OW! Shit!”

Charles looked at Alatem holding the side she had just elbowed him in. Though they couldn’t help it, many of the men tried their best to hold back their snickering.

“Alright, we have stopped the first attempt on my family’s lives. Charles and I have received information on a second attempt tonight,” Alatem hoped this spurred them into action. She also hoped it would make her father take her more seriously from now on. “Okay, Charles, let them go.” Sighing, Charles flicked a switch on the same device, shutting it down.

The men in the room could only glare at Charles. Touching a royal by anyone other than a royal was the biggest taboo in the empire. The penalty for it was instant death, as fast and as painful as possible.

“Now then, before we discuss further, let me introduce you to the man who saved my family. This is Charles Ricksome, and though you may not believe this, he is from the future,” Alatem paused as the collective gasp from around the room rose.

“How can we take just his word for that?” asked Trok.

“Because I brought him back with me. The mission we discussed last week was a success,” Alatem replied, again drawing a collective gasp. “Charles is a former soldier turned inventor. Suffice it to say, I wouldn’t mess with him if I were you.”