"2570-04" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 8 - The Queen Of Time)THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Four It was once said back in the Twentieth Century that "THERE ARE NO `DANGEROUS WEAPONS', ONLY `DANGEROUS PEOPLE'." It is that sort of a "saying" that I suppose you could apply to a Warrioress too like me. I am "dangerous" with any sort of a "weapon" you can name. While my skill at archery is surpassed by some, Darla- nis and the late Carol Simmons coming to mind here, I am quite proficient at the "use" of any weapon that comes to hand. Where others will see only a "tool", I will see a "weapon" to be used. Too, I have "none" of the commonly inhibiting "conditioning" that most people have against the taking of human life. Which in turn makes me almost "alien" in my outlook towards mortal combat here. In some ways I am not "human", not in the ways that others are... That is perhaps "why" I am the sort of a "fighter" that I am now. The sort of a Warrioress who is now a "legend" among her caste... Even among Warrioresses, women trained almost from birth to "be" what they are, I am extremely "unusual" in my outlooks here. While Hope had the "skills" to somewhat match me with a sword, she didn't have my "killer instincts", which is I suppose just as well as "one of me" is perhaps enough for any society to "have"! I think that is why Jack drew that revolver on me when he did, as he knew better than any just what sort of a "woman" that I was... And why Darlanis knew right away that I should be her "Warlady"! The only woman I've ever met (Princess Tara doesn't "count") who even came close to "matching" me was Carol Simmons, who was mind programed by Tais herself to become another "Warlady". Tais having felt that this was the best way of establishing a "balance of power" between Imperial California and the Dularnian Republic. While Carol was certainly "vicious" enough (some of her behavior reminds me more of a "rabid" dog), she lacked the intelligence to fully exploit all the changes that were made in her personality. However, her husband Bob made up for her failures, and the two of them together certainly did manage to give even me a "hard time"! And with this "off my chest", let us now return to my story. "The police!" Hope gasped as we stood by her car, the girl now frantically fumbling for her keys. The black and white Sea- side police car now pulling into the brightly lit parking lot, someone having no doubt now called the "law" on me. An action that I knew could lead to serious "trouble" if I couldn't "han- dle" it. On the other hand I was also aware that the police of this era were not the trained Warriors and Warrioresses of my own time, and although I lacked a firearm, I did not consider it as meaning that I had no "options" left now. They were but two low paid "flunkies", facing someone who from her early childhood has trained herself in close order combat to the point that I am no doubt the "best" now that has ever walked the face of the Earth! A couple of "napo's" as was the current slang here in this era.* * Janet Rogers had a "National Police Force" as a part of her NEW ORDER much as we now have a "National Guard" and military forces. This "force" in turn was divided into the "Civil Police" and the "Criminal Police", the latter dealing with dangerous criminals. It is quite likely that these two women were "Civil Police", and had been sent out just to deal what what was a "civil violation". On the other hand there was also the "Special Services Force", (SSF) which was trained under hypnosis and had fighting capabili- ties even our famous "Warlady" might have envied! This last was Janet Rogers' "answer" to various sorts of "terrorism". On the other hand her organization of the GUARD appears to have been an attempt to "do" something "effective" about "street crime"! This last having been considerably worsened by her attempts to "outlaw guns" which wasn't anywhere as "sucessful" as she hoped. (J.B.B.) "Stand `clear' of me," I hissed, Hope moving back, her hazel eyes filled with fear as I stood there facing the two police of- ficers, both of them women, both dark skinned as was common now. Janet Rogers having filled her police forces with "minority wom- en" as a means of "accomplishing" something I'm not sure of here! Author's Note I feel this was a wise move on Janet's part, as she was well aware that minority women might make "better" police officers in a multiracial society. Certain recent events in our own time in- dicate now that she probably knew very well what she was "doing" here. As the reader has perhaps noted by now, Lorraine was a "racist" by our own standards, looking down upon those not of the "white race" as being somewhat "inferior". Her later "comments" here about her foster daughter, Ta-she-ra are only a further "proof" of the way that she felt about such things. While she did view Ta-she-ra with considerable affection, she did not seem to view the teenage Navaho as being "equal" to say her own Gayle. In her defense we may note however that many Blacks are no doubt their own worst enemies, and Lorraine appears to have judged any who she met pretty much upon how they behaved toward her in turn. The two careless as they walked up to me, no doubt feeling "safe" in a social order where personal firearms were "outlawed" now... Not knowing that "what" they "faced" was almost beyond their own comprehension. A woman who in only her physical form was HUMAN! A woman whose "reaction times" are almost half that of "normal"!* * My "reaction times" are .27 of a second. This I think accounts for the "abilities" that I have as I am simply "faster" than any- one else. Of course, I do have a lot of "skill" to back me up, but I can deal a deadly blow before the average person can react. I often amuse people by catching flies in mid air here in Trella. I think it "happened" so fast they had no understanding of what I had "done" so quickly when the first came within my reach. The tiny blade that I'd cupped in the palm of my right hand now pressed tightly up against the soft brown of her throat in warn- ing as I held her head forced back, my hip against her buttocks, keeping her a bit "off balance", a low hissed warning enough to keep her from trying to draw the 9mm pistol she wore there at her right hip! The other police officer just standing there, her hand on the butt of her pistol, her dark eyes wide with "awe" in her chocolate colored face, the whites showing around the irises. "You are neck chained," I said to the one I held. "I do not wish to make your husband a widower, or deprive your children of their mother," I spoke softly, feeling her shudder against me. Hope now "disarming" her, taking both her sword and her pistol. Flinging the sword away, as we had no "need" of such a weapon. The sword of the 21st Century usually a short, handy weapon with a blade about two feet long, or "sixty centimeters" in "metric". I usually carry a longer and slimmer weapon, although I do admit at times the shorter weapon is the more "handy" to carry about... "`Who' are `you'?" my captive "breathed" out, the other just standing there, aware Hope had her companion's gun, and no doubt could use it too from the way that I saw Hope holding it. A num- ber of people standing there staring in awe at the scene! I had no doubt either that someone was already dialing "911" right now! "I was once `Lorraine Duval'," I said, smelling the odors of her perfume mixed with her sweat, her heavy black hair against my cheek. "A woman of `whom' perhaps you have heard," I added then. My name one well known in this era, I knew from my readings here. "You said you are from the `future'," the policewoman said, sweating a bit as she drove despite the police car's air condi- tioning. I doubt that she believed that I was "Lorraine Duval", but it really didn't matter that much as I was sure that no one but only the Simmons would ever believe the "truth" of all this!! "The year 2570 A.D. to be exact," I smiled back at her, the pistol in my hand rock steady. Back in the 20th Century my skill with firearms put me in the NRA "master" class, I might mention. Hope in the back seat holding the other officer's pistol on her. We had used the police car's radio to warn others to "stay back". "Did Mankind ever reach the stars?" she asked, perhaps more to make "conversation" here than anything else, I supposed here. The trees like dark shadows in the headlights as we raced down a two lane black topped road back to where Hope and I would find a "Gateway" to another time, another "world", one better than this! The Moon rising there in the east, almost down to a "half" now. I wondered about the supposed "involvement" of the Lorr, why they had desired to take Hope from her world to their own red planet? What was so "unusual" about her that the Lorr had wanted her now? "Interstellar space travel is against the `wishes' of those who `rule' the Universe," I answered, her mouth dropping in awe. "Man did make it to Mars, but that was the `end' of things..." I added, not wishing to "continue" further on with this right now. "There was a great `WAR' in the middle of this century that put an end to civilization," Hope "volunteered" just then to her. The thought going through my mind that while it was extremely un- likely that anyone would ever believe these two women, there was no good "reason" here either to tell them things that might just arouse the suspicions of someone "intelligent" like Janet Rogers! What wouldn't mean a thing to these two might mean a whole lot to Janet Rogers, who possessed as I knew well an I.Q. of a full 190. "You will sit here," I said to the two police officers who quickly obeyed, standing there before them, their own pistols in my hands, their safeties' off, the hammers thumbed back. I had also taken the "precaution" here of handcuffing them both. I had no doubt that we'd been followed, tracked to this place. I would have done so had I been the one in "charge" of things here. A car driven by a "tactical" unit using night vision equipment. On the other hand I did not think that the police forces of this era were any more competent than those of the Twentieth Century. It is a mistake no longer made to divide the military and the police into two separate forces. We have "learned" a few things here... "I've got everything I want," Hope said, holding Patty Pugs. She'd left a letter for her parents, along with one I'd written earlier in the evening before we left for Seaside and everything. I had "edited" both so that none but the Simmons would understand the true "meaning" of all this now. I hoped they'd understand. The Moon was higher, its glow shining down upon us through the trees. I could hear the night sounds, much like my own time now. A low growl from Patty Pugs making the hackles rise on my neck!!! There was something moving in the forest a few hundred feet away! "Down!" I cried, shoving Hope down, the "crack" of a rifle shot breaking the silence of the forest! I fired at the muzzle flash, more to keep his head down and spoil his aim than with any hope of hitting anything in the darkness even with my own skills! Something "zinging" right by my head leaving no doubt that they were using some sort of night vision equipment here now. These men being no doubt some elite anti-terrorist force of Janet's...! Some military force with M-99's, caliber 5.85mm military rifles, or .234 for those who prefer not to use the metric system here. I was maintaining what fire I could with my two pistols, although I knew that such weapons were almost useless against this force! Then suddenly there was a "tingling" sensation, and I knew that the energy field was building up, the "Gateway" was opening! I fired again at the muzzle flashes, at dark shadowy figures in among the trees, as a great glowing object suddenly appeared low over the forest, a Lorr battle disc, some hundred meters across!! Just the sort of a COMPLICATION that we didn't "need" right now! The Lorr having perfected a "cloaking field" that they often used in this era to observe Man's activities without being "observed"! This "field", however, could not be used very close to the Earth. "The Lorr have `come' for you!" I breathed in a shocked sur- prise, the shooting stopping as those shooting at us saw the al- ien space ship now floating there in the sky overhead! A sudden searing agonizing FIRE burning my right shoulder as someone took a shot at me, the 5 gram (77 grain) hollow point ripping my flesh as it just missed by an inch or so from smashing into my prone body as I laid there. The muzzle velocity being over 880 meters per second (2900 f.p.s.) for those interested in such statistics! Patty Pugs suddenly now breaking free of her grip as her mistress reached out to me, then a painful powerful SHOCK! A "sense" of "movement"! A feeling of "disorientation" much "stronger" from what I'd experienced before, and we were then teleported in TIME! THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Four It was once said back in the Twentieth Century that "THERE ARE NO `DANGEROUS WEAPONS', ONLY `DANGEROUS PEOPLE'." It is that sort of a "saying" that I suppose you could apply to a Warrioress too like me. I am "dangerous" with any sort of a "weapon" you can name. While my skill at archery is surpassed by some, Darla- nis and the late Carol Simmons coming to mind here, I am quite proficient at the "use" of any weapon that comes to hand. Where others will see only a "tool", I will see a "weapon" to be used. Too, I have "none" of the commonly inhibiting "conditioning" that most people have against the taking of human life. Which in turn makes me almost "alien" in my outlook towards mortal combat here. In some ways I am not "human", not in the ways that others are... That is perhaps "why" I am the sort of a "fighter" that I am now. The sort of a Warrioress who is now a "legend" among her caste... Even among Warrioresses, women trained almost from birth to "be" what they are, I am extremely "unusual" in my outlooks here. While Hope had the "skills" to somewhat match me with a sword, she didn't have my "killer instincts", which is I suppose just as well as "one of me" is perhaps enough for any society to "have"! I think that is why Jack drew that revolver on me when he did, as he knew better than any just what sort of a "woman" that I was... And why Darlanis knew right away that I should be her "Warlady"! The only woman I've ever met (Princess Tara doesn't "count") who even came close to "matching" me was Carol Simmons, who was mind programed by Tais herself to become another "Warlady". Tais having felt that this was the best way of establishing a "balance of power" between Imperial California and the Dularnian Republic. While Carol was certainly "vicious" enough (some of her behavior reminds me more of a "rabid" dog), she lacked the intelligence to fully exploit all the changes that were made in her personality. However, her husband Bob made up for her failures, and the two of them together certainly did manage to give even me a "hard time"! And with this "off my chest", let us now return to my story. "The police!" Hope gasped as we stood by her car, the girl now frantically fumbling for her keys. The black and white Sea- side police car now pulling into the brightly lit parking lot, someone having no doubt now called the "law" on me. An action that I knew could lead to serious "trouble" if I couldn't "han- dle" it. On the other hand I was also aware that the police of this era were not the trained Warriors and Warrioresses of my own time, and although I lacked a firearm, I did not consider it as meaning that I had no "options" left now. They were but two low paid "flunkies", facing someone who from her early childhood has trained herself in close order combat to the point that I am no doubt the "best" now that has ever walked the face of the Earth! A couple of "napo's" as was the current slang here in this era.* * Janet Rogers had a "National Police Force" as a part of her NEW ORDER much as we now have a "National Guard" and military forces. This "force" in turn was divided into the "Civil Police" and the "Criminal Police", the latter dealing with dangerous criminals. It is quite likely that these two women were "Civil Police", and had been sent out just to deal what what was a "civil violation". On the other hand there was also the "Special Services Force", (SSF) which was trained under hypnosis and had fighting capabili- ties even our famous "Warlady" might have envied! This last was Janet Rogers' "answer" to various sorts of "terrorism". On the other hand her organization of the GUARD appears to have been an attempt to "do" something "effective" about "street crime"! This last having been considerably worsened by her attempts to "outlaw guns" which wasn't anywhere as "sucessful" as she hoped. (J.B.B.) "Stand `clear' of me," I hissed, Hope moving back, her hazel eyes filled with fear as I stood there facing the two police of- ficers, both of them women, both dark skinned as was common now. Janet Rogers having filled her police forces with "minority wom- en" as a means of "accomplishing" something I'm not sure of here! Author's Note I feel this was a wise move on Janet's part, as she was well aware that minority women might make "better" police officers in a multiracial society. Certain recent events in our own time in- dicate now that she probably knew very well what she was "doing" here. As the reader has perhaps noted by now, Lorraine was a "racist" by our own standards, looking down upon those not of the "white race" as being somewhat "inferior". Her later "comments" here about her foster daughter, Ta-she-ra are only a further "proof" of the way that she felt about such things. While she did view Ta-she-ra with considerable affection, she did not seem to view the teenage Navaho as being "equal" to say her own Gayle. In her defense we may note however that many Blacks are no doubt their own worst enemies, and Lorraine appears to have judged any who she met pretty much upon how they behaved toward her in turn. The two careless as they walked up to me, no doubt feeling "safe" in a social order where personal firearms were "outlawed" now... Not knowing that "what" they "faced" was almost beyond their own comprehension. A woman who in only her physical form was HUMAN! A woman whose "reaction times" are almost half that of "normal"!* * My "reaction times" are .27 of a second. This I think accounts for the "abilities" that I have as I am simply "faster" than any- one else. Of course, I do have a lot of "skill" to back me up, but I can deal a deadly blow before the average person can react. I often amuse people by catching flies in mid air here in Trella. I think it "happened" so fast they had no understanding of what I had "done" so quickly when the first came within my reach. The tiny blade that I'd cupped in the palm of my right hand now pressed tightly up against the soft brown of her throat in warn- ing as I held her head forced back, my hip against her buttocks, keeping her a bit "off balance", a low hissed warning enough to keep her from trying to draw the 9mm pistol she wore there at her right hip! The other police officer just standing there, her hand on the butt of her pistol, her dark eyes wide with "awe" in her chocolate colored face, the whites showing around the irises. "You are neck chained," I said to the one I held. "I do not wish to make your husband a widower, or deprive your children of their mother," I spoke softly, feeling her shudder against me. Hope now "disarming" her, taking both her sword and her pistol. Flinging the sword away, as we had no "need" of such a weapon. The sword of the 21st Century usually a short, handy weapon with a blade about two feet long, or "sixty centimeters" in "metric". I usually carry a longer and slimmer weapon, although I do admit at times the shorter weapon is the more "handy" to carry about... "`Who' are `you'?" my captive "breathed" out, the other just standing there, aware Hope had her companion's gun, and no doubt could use it too from the way that I saw Hope holding it. A num- ber of people standing there staring in awe at the scene! I had no doubt either that someone was already dialing "911" right now! "I was once `Lorraine Duval'," I said, smelling the odors of her perfume mixed with her sweat, her heavy black hair against my cheek. "A woman of `whom' perhaps you have heard," I added then. My name one well known in this era, I knew from my readings here. "You said you are from the `future'," the policewoman said, sweating a bit as she drove despite the police car's air condi- tioning. I doubt that she believed that I was "Lorraine Duval", but it really didn't matter that much as I was sure that no one but only the Simmons would ever believe the "truth" of all this!! "The year 2570 A.D. to be exact," I smiled back at her, the pistol in my hand rock steady. Back in the 20th Century my skill with firearms put me in the NRA "master" class, I might mention. Hope in the back seat holding the other officer's pistol on her. We had used the police car's radio to warn others to "stay back". "Did Mankind ever reach the stars?" she asked, perhaps more to make "conversation" here than anything else, I supposed here. The trees like dark shadows in the headlights as we raced down a two lane black topped road back to where Hope and I would find a "Gateway" to another time, another "world", one better than this! The Moon rising there in the east, almost down to a "half" now. I wondered about the supposed "involvement" of the Lorr, why they had desired to take Hope from her world to their own red planet? What was so "unusual" about her that the Lorr had wanted her now? "Interstellar space travel is against the `wishes' of those who `rule' the Universe," I answered, her mouth dropping in awe. "Man did make it to Mars, but that was the `end' of things..." I added, not wishing to "continue" further on with this right now. "There was a great `WAR' in the middle of this century that put an end to civilization," Hope "volunteered" just then to her. The thought going through my mind that while it was extremely un- likely that anyone would ever believe these two women, there was no good "reason" here either to tell them things that might just arouse the suspicions of someone "intelligent" like Janet Rogers! What wouldn't mean a thing to these two might mean a whole lot to Janet Rogers, who possessed as I knew well an I.Q. of a full 190. "You will sit here," I said to the two police officers who quickly obeyed, standing there before them, their own pistols in my hands, their safeties' off, the hammers thumbed back. I had also taken the "precaution" here of handcuffing them both. I had no doubt that we'd been followed, tracked to this place. I would have done so had I been the one in "charge" of things here. A car driven by a "tactical" unit using night vision equipment. On the other hand I did not think that the police forces of this era were any more competent than those of the Twentieth Century. It is a mistake no longer made to divide the military and the police into two separate forces. We have "learned" a few things here... "I've got everything I want," Hope said, holding Patty Pugs. She'd left a letter for her parents, along with one I'd written earlier in the evening before we left for Seaside and everything. I had "edited" both so that none but the Simmons would understand the true "meaning" of all this now. I hoped they'd understand. The Moon was higher, its glow shining down upon us through the trees. I could hear the night sounds, much like my own time now. A low growl from Patty Pugs making the hackles rise on my neck!!! There was something moving in the forest a few hundred feet away! "Down!" I cried, shoving Hope down, the "crack" of a rifle shot breaking the silence of the forest! I fired at the muzzle flash, more to keep his head down and spoil his aim than with any hope of hitting anything in the darkness even with my own skills! Something "zinging" right by my head leaving no doubt that they were using some sort of night vision equipment here now. These men being no doubt some elite anti-terrorist force of Janet's...! Some military force with M-99's, caliber 5.85mm military rifles, or .234 for those who prefer not to use the metric system here. I was maintaining what fire I could with my two pistols, although I knew that such weapons were almost useless against this force! Then suddenly there was a "tingling" sensation, and I knew that the energy field was building up, the "Gateway" was opening! I fired again at the muzzle flashes, at dark shadowy figures in among the trees, as a great glowing object suddenly appeared low over the forest, a Lorr battle disc, some hundred meters across!! Just the sort of a COMPLICATION that we didn't "need" right now! The Lorr having perfected a "cloaking field" that they often used in this era to observe Man's activities without being "observed"! This "field", however, could not be used very close to the Earth. "The Lorr have `come' for you!" I breathed in a shocked sur- prise, the shooting stopping as those shooting at us saw the al- ien space ship now floating there in the sky overhead! A sudden searing agonizing FIRE burning my right shoulder as someone took a shot at me, the 5 gram (77 grain) hollow point ripping my flesh as it just missed by an inch or so from smashing into my prone body as I laid there. The muzzle velocity being over 880 meters per second (2900 f.p.s.) for those interested in such statistics! Patty Pugs suddenly now breaking free of her grip as her mistress reached out to me, then a painful powerful SHOCK! A "sense" of "movement"! A feeling of "disorientation" much "stronger" from what I'd experienced before, and we were then teleported in TIME! |
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