As soon as the STAR had arrived, Cordelia checked the surroundings. A habit she might never be able to lose. The space they were in was empty apart from a red door, a table with flowers and two chairs. Clinically white walls all around. She left the system running as she got up and opened the hatch.
"Come on, kids. We're going to meet someone."
The two followed her without a word. Cordelia did notice they were holding hands now; the first sign they were scared. She felt sorry for the two, who had been dragged all over the place to keep them away from an abusive father, and now they were dragged through time as well. It was good that they didn't understand that.
"Why is there no one?" Stanley asked.
"We have to wait for someone to come," Cordelia explained, hoping the wait wouldn't be long. As if that was a cue, the door opened and Mrs Orwald came in.
"Miss Brown. And... who are they?" The woman frowned at the children. "Are they yours?"
"No. They are children of... a friend's sister. They are in danger back home and I hope you can look after them for a while. I have something to do. I'll be back in about half an hour to an hour."
Mrs Orwald's face showed she hadn't expected that and that she wasn't prepared for this 'invasion'. "An hour?"
"Maximum. This is Stanley and this is his sister Selma. They're not used to much so if you could keep the modern 'surprises' away from them, that would be wonderful," Cordelia said. The kids had gone through enough already. She feared that putting them through the ordinary things of the mid 23rd century would be too much.
"I guess we can arrange that." Mrs Orwald's words made a block of imaginary lead fall from Cordelia's shoulders. "I will warn Gareth and we'll have a room arranged. And a bath. It looks like they can do with that. And perhaps something to eat?" She knelt down. "Would you like something to eat?"
The children stared at the woman, who looked entirely different from anyone they'd ever seen. "Yes, ma'am," Stanley finally said.
A few moments later the butler, Gareth, entered the room. He'd picked up that he was needed through the house intelligence that had warned him as his name was mentioned. "Milady?"
Mrs Orwald gave him instructions regarding the children after which he took the two by the hand and walked them out of the room.
"Gareth has always been good with children. Even with mine. Now you should be on your way to do whatever you need to. I expect you back in an hour." Mrs Orwald smiled for a moment, then turned and walked off, closing the red door behind her.
"Thank you," Cordelia said, hoping that somehow the older woman still heard her. Then she got into the STAR again and went home.
The envelope was still on the kitchen table. Quickly she opened it and read, "Miss Lexington. Please arrive at Location C at your earliest convenience. Stop." Yes, that definitely meant another trip.
"Norbert, how are we on energy?"
"There is not much remaining," the system intelligence informed her. "There is enough for a few small journeys." That sounded bad. The 'earliest convenience' had to be pushed back a bit further than she liked, but having enough power in the machine was paramount. She brought the spacesuit into the STAR again and cursed as she wiggled herself into it. With David's help this had been so much easier.
"Okay, let's get fueled up," she told Norbert after making sure the STAR was secure. She'd be spending some lonely time near the edge of space again...
~
Since the telegram had said 'at your earliest convenience', Cordelia didn't jump back a few hours to make it to Location C earlier. Arriving there was different. There was a soldier waiting at the table as the STAR appeared and the noise startled him so much that he dropped the rifle he had with him.
"Calm down, soldier," Cordelia said after exiting the craft. "Are you waiting for me?" When he confirmed that, she bit her lip. She had let this man sit here for hours! If only she had known...
"Please wait, miss," the soldier said. "I will warn him."
Warn him? She assumed the soldier would fetch the older man she'd talked to so often, and she was right. The two returned quite quickly. The older man was ready for a jungle tour. A suspicion formed in Cordelia's brain.
"Ah, Miss Lexington. How fortunate that you could come today. Would it be possible that you take me to India?" The man looked as hopeful as a young child would, just before opening its Christmas presents.
"Of course, sir. May I know the reason for this journey?" It was her time-machine so as its 'captain' she had every right to ask.
"I want to be certain that everything is under control," the man replied. Cordelia understood that. India was far away, the two men there were now in charge of a fortune in diamonds and perhaps other gems, and the Empire's trust only went so far after the first debacle.
Cordelia suppressed a sigh. She wanted to go and save David now but she had come here instead. She cursed her sense of responsibility as she told the man it would be no problem. It really wouldn't be since March 23rd, 2199 would wait for her as long as necessary, but this felt like an interruption.
"I hope you don't want to take one of your soldiers along, sir," she said.
"But I need to, Miss Lexington. One can't be safe enough these days," the man said. Cordelia knew he was right. Drat. That meant yet another one who would see the STAR from the inside. Oh well, so be it. She made the two vow that they wouldn't talk about what they were going to see once inside the machine, and they readily agreed to be silent as a grave.
She opened the hatch and let the two go first. Having a soldier with an ancient, loaded weapon in here didn't sit well with her, but without that thing the soldier wouldn't add much. Cordelia went through the procedure of informing them where to sit and what to do (and what not to do), then closed the hatch and activated the system. She still had the coordinates for Panna and corrected the date, so the time transition would be correct.
The two guests looked a little worried. She liked that. It meant they wouldn't try anything silly. Cordelia pressed "Go".
Moments later they were in India.
~
Cordelia had decided to accompany the two men since she would have to be here until they were ready to return. She had the tiny gun with her that Hendrix had handed her and made sure the STAR was out of sight from the road. It was perfectly hidden. She would have preferred the Skreller-gun but that would attract too much attention. The navigation module knew where it was so she would be able to come back here without a problem.
The weather was as oppressive as the first time; humid and hot. Had she known this, she would have dressed more sensibly for this trip, but that might have shocked the older man. Her 'contact' had by now introduced himself as Sullivan. She still didn't know if he was of any rank but Mr Sullivan was good enough.
"We can but hope the town isn't far from here," 'Mr Sullivan' said as they walked along. The going was difficult because of the deep, dry ruts that many ox carts had made. The soldier said nothing. He just had a determined look on his face. Cordelia didn't know; she had just dropped off the other two and then she had left again.
It took almost half an hour before they reached the center of Panna. The entire town didn't look like much but there were English signs all over, making it easy enough to find their way to the offices of the mining enterprise. Soon the three were in the company of the two men Cordelia had left here, Bowers and Spencer. The two were quite surprised to see her here, and seeing 'Mr Sullivan' surprised them even more, but they seemed very pleased with his visit.
"Isn't it an amazing contraption that Miss Lexington has, sir," one of the men said as they were drinking tea. Cordelia would have loved something cold but that wasn't available.
"It is indeed, Mr Spencer. We should have a fleet of them." Mr Sullivan smiled at Cordelia. "And since we are on this subject, Miss Lexington, would you please be so kind as to explain to us where you acquired this extraordinary machine? I have made inquiries about the origin of it and no one is able to tell me anything about it."
Mr Bowers waved his hand. Cordelia wasn't certain why he did that but when three soldiers stepped forward, their weapons pointing her way, she knew she was in trouble. This hadn't just been a trip to check on these two men. These people wanted to know more about the STAR.
"We spoke with the Duke of Northumberland and his wife. They are still very grateful for your assistance in keeping them alive, and we have more things we need to be grateful for, Miss Lexington," said Mr Sullivan as if the soldiers didn't exist. "Also Mr Bowers and Mr Spencer were impressed, and now I have been able to witness this marvel myself."
Cordelia didn't like this at all. She was very much in physical danger now and she had to get away. She had to save David, and she had to get those kids back home from the future. If these soldiers killed her, none of that would happen and the future would be influenced severely. "Does your Majesty the Queen know about this?" she asked Mr Sullivan.
"Oh no, dear child." The older man smiled. "This is something which will be a surprise for her, and some of the glory of the Empire will shine onto me and my co-conspirators."
"Co-conspirators?" Cordelia understood that a lot of telegraph-messaging had to have gone on between India and 'Location C' to get this plan in place so quickly. "So you are betraying your word to me. You promised to keep this silent." She needed time to think about a way out of here without getting shot.
"A find of this magnitude shouldn't solely be in the hands of a young woman like yourself, dear Miss Lexington," Mr Bower said as he got up. "The British Empire will become a world-ruling nation with machines like yours. And now, in order to keep this civil and nice, we would appreciate it if you would tell us where you got this amazing machine and how we can get more. Or how we can build more like them."
Mr Sullivan asked if she would like more tea.
~
The next minutes unfolded into a strange stand-off. Cordelia refused more tea and was treated to two more soldiers who also pointed their rifles at her. This was going south in a very fast manner, she knew, so how could she turn the compass and 'go north' again? Mr Sullivan babbled on about the possibilities a fleet of such machines would offer the British Empire. Mr Bower and Mr Spencer also foresaw more riches as the goods from the many operations that England had in India would be moved around much faster.
When Cordelia refused to talk, Mr Bower suddenly lost his calm demeanour and got up. Suddenly there was a knife in his hand and that hand was far too close to Cordelia's throat. "Talk, woman, or I shall be forced to hurt you until you do."
"Bower, sit down. Not that way," said Mr Spencer. "We need her cooperation, not a forced confession. If you go on like that she will tell us lie upon lie and we won't ever get closer to the secret of that machine." At least that was a positive twist to the situation. Mr Bower removed the knife from Cordelia's throat and stepped back. For a moment she was tempted to grab the tiny gun and shoot the man for threatening her. The amount of rifles still pointing at her held her back. At that moment an idea popped up in her head. This had to be the ticket out of here.
"I will tell you," she said, turning to Mr Sullivan. "But only you, and I have to do that inside the machine for things to make sense."
"Oh no, we can't allow that," Mr Bower said, still holding the knife in plain sight. "You will disappear with the machine and our esteemed Sullivan, and ruin our plans."
"It's that way or no way," Cordelia said. It was the only thing she could do. Bower insisted that at least one soldier had to come with them, to convince Cordelia that this was not a game. She pondered that suggestion. It would make her plan less peaceful perhaps, but she accepted. "Right. Sullivan and a soldier. And his gun, of course, so he can shoot me, which would be very clever, don't you agree?" The older man wasn't worth being called "Mister" any more now.
Bower and Spencer wanted three soldiers to go along while Cordelia and Sullivan were in 'the machine', but Cordelia refused.
"One person with a loaded gun in there is bad enough. The machine is very delicate. If he hits anything with that rifle, it can damage the machine. Three of them makes three times as much risk. Forget it. And if a soldier comes along I also want him to leave his sword outside."
"It's not called a sword," Bower muttered. He took Spencer by the arm and walked off with him. Sullivan joined the two and they talked for a while. They looked at Cordelia several times, which hopefully meant she had them in a tight spot. She wouldn't be killed, that much was certain. She hoped.
"Miss Lexington," Sullivan said as the three were done conferring. "You are making this very difficult for us, but we agree to your conditions. I will come with you and also one soldier. You will be held at gunpoint all the time so as to make certain you are not up to strange things. And a cordon of soldiers will be around your machine."
Cordelia didn't care about soldiers outside the STAR. These people didn't have the artillery to damage the STAR unless they fired five or more cannons at the same spot of wall. Getting five old-fashioned cannons there would be nearly impossible.
"I accept that," she said. The men suddenly were in a hurry. Two soldiers were ordered to hold on to her until they were at the actual machine. As they dragged her out of her chair, Bower hurried off to summon soldiers to accompany them. About half an hour later everything was ready for the trip to the STAR. Cordelia knew she would only have this one chance so she shouldn't blow it. She did protest about the way the soldiers were handling her.
"I am a human being, not a sack of oats, you idiots!"
"They are here to prevent you from tripping, Miss Lexington." Sullivan sounded sincere but Cordelia knew he was lying.
"The way they're pushing me, I can't even walk properly," she said, trying to pull at least one arm free. Sullivan ordered the soldiers to let her go so she could walk on her own. Cordelia wasn't planning on running off on her own. She could run quite fast but she couldn't outrun bullets from rifles, even if the guns were old.
Cordelia breathed easier once they had arrived at the STAR. Most soldiers stared at the white machine as they had never seen anything like it before. The soldier who would come inside handed his sabre to Bower.
"No tricks," she warned Bower and Spencer. "One wrong thing from your side and Sullivan will hear nothing from me." She hoped her bluff would work because she just had this one plan.
The men didn't even think it necessary to respond to her words and commanded the soldiers to take position around the machine. Cordelia's heart-rate went up as she walked up to the hatch. Showing her good will, she said, "This is how you open the machine. It will only allow certain people to open the door."
Sullivan, Bower and Spencer tried to open the door, but the STAR would only respond to Cordelia's and David's fingerprints. It was a small improvement she'd applied over the years.
"So you see, the machine can't be stolen by the wrong people," she said as she opened the hatch and went inside. Sullivan and the soldier followed. Spencer also entered the craft. "No. Not you. I said two people. The soldier and him." She sat down and folded her arms over her chest. "Out, or not a word from me. If this is how you do agreements, the Empire is doomed."
"I suggest you leave this machine, Mr Spencer," Sullivan said. "I am certain that everything will be fine." He nodded at the soldier who aimed his rifle at Cordelia, banging against the wall a few times.
"Be careful with the machine, you idiot," Cordelia told the soldier off. "Be glad you didn't start the self-destruct mechanism."
"Self-destruct?" Sullivan looked surprised.
"Yeah. The machine is equipped with a system to destroy itself if something bad happens. Your rifle-toting hero there almost hit the right spot for that. That's why I don't want stuff like that in here. But if you want him to blow us all up, by all means." Of course, the soldier had only hit the wall but it was a good thing to make the men more careful.
Spencer looked unhappy as Sullivan once more told him to leave. "We will leave that door open."
"No, we can't, otherwise the machine won't work and then I can't show you anything." Cordelia tapped the shift-key on the keyboard, which of course made nothing happen. As soon as Spencer was outside, she said, "Norbert, close the hatch." Norbert did as it was told, making Sullivan and the soldier stare at the door and then at Cordelia.
"How did you do that? Is there anyone else here?" Sullivan looked around, not finding anyone.
"No. The machine has a name. Norbert." Cordelia typed in a code on the keyboard which activated the system and made the screens come to life. "As you see... with the hatch closed, the machine becomes active. And now I need you to sit down. You know the drill."
"I will sit down but the soldier will remain where he is," Sullivan said. It was obvious to anyone that the soldier wouldn't be able to keep his aim when sitting down.
"Not my problem if he falls over," Cordelia said. "So. As to where this machine is made... that is in America. The colonies, as you call them, but not the ones you know. The machine and I are from the future. From 2251. This kind of technology won't be invented for several centuries. So yes, that means I am from the future."
"That is impossible." Sullivan tried to sound certain but his voice wavered.
"Are you sure? Norbert, take us to the recharge location."
"Are you certain, Cordelia?" Norbert's voice made the two 'passengers' look around again.
"Yes. Do it now. Override gamma mamma pappa."