A/N: At last, it's the Timeless Big Bang! Hope you enjoy the Time Team's angst filled romp with Emma, and the amazing art by olivaraofrph! Lucy has her hand full trying to handle her feelings for Wyatt and having Emma get a little closer than she ever would have dreamed. Enjoy the wucy fluff and lemma steamy bits, and all the terrible "never invade Asian in Winter" angst that comes with the end of the Napoleonic wars! Thanks so much to idatheactivist, olivaraofrph and something-in-the-way-she-knows for making this all come together. And to all the writers and editors/artists for creating this explosion of Timeless drama & beauty in the TBB. With gratitude to my dear fanfic collaborator Alodis for help brainstorming the premise.
"It is better to have a known enemy than a forced ally."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
The cold sank deep into Lucy's bones. She pulled the fur collar of her coat tighter around her neck. It was only the beginning of September, but here in Russia it was still below freezing by midday. Lucy was dreading the nights.
"How long do you think this will take, Wyatt?" Lucy asked quietly.
Wyatt kept his eyes on the road nearby. Every so often a blue jacketed soldier drifted near them and Wyatt's grip tightened on his gun. So far they had not caught anyone's attention but they all knew this couldn't last.
He gave Lucy a quick glance. She saw him frown, taking in her shudder from the cold. She clamped her mouth shut, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. Rufus, sheltered from view by both of their bodies, took a moment to put his hands inside his jacket to warm them.
Wyatt shifted closer to Lucy. She found herself inadvertantly putting her face against his shoulder, grateful for his presence and warmth. He didn't seem to mind, and spared her a quick glance and smile.
Wyatt's uniform was torn from where he'd struggled with the the guard who nearly caught them entering the camp. The gold braid on his uniform tickled her nose, but the solid shoulder beneath it seemed to transfer some of his strength to her. She needed every iota of it. It had been a couple of weeks now, since the world had turned upside down once more for Lucy Preston. Her mother was Rittenhouse. Flynn was in jail, but Emma Whitmore was at large-a covert agent of Rittenhouse now wreaking havoc, leaving bodies in her wake.
It was Rufus that answered Lucy's question. "Well, my part will be done in fifteen minutes, maybe half an hour. As far as the whole plan..."
Wyatt looked uncomfortable. "That depends on Emma I think. If we can intercept her quickly, we should be gone in a day or so."
Lucy looked out on the town. The city of Borodino was Napoleon's target, and from there on to Moscow and certain death for hundreds of thousands of his men. She shook her head at the task before them. To discover what Emma was up to, take on one of the most effective military minds in history, and perhaps have to lead to the enactment of a devastating loss of life and property. This job, Lucy thought, who needs it?
She looked out at the snow-covered Russian streets before her. Napoleon's troops had "requisitioned" houses and were essentially occupying the village. Rows of tents were propped up, their flags waving. She tried to imagine the endless ranks that would have been the Grande Armée before its reduction to this point. Just a third of the original 600,000 remained, but the over 200,000 troops from France, Poland, Bavaria and Austria still represented the finest and largest fighting force in Europe.
She tried to sort the information about the Russian army and the coming conflict out from the lectures she'd received during her training. Dr. Herling the Russian specialist that she'd studied under had been religious about the importance of the performance of the Russian army. She'd read War and Peace for the first time during that class. Tolstoy's perspective on Napolon's war on Russian, as well as the concept of war itself, had seeped into her world view. The various layers of speculation that put one element above the other in the win that lost Napoleon Russia and the Empire whirled in her mind. Well, now I get to see for myself.
"Got it!" Rufus cried out suddenly. The others shushed him. He went on in a whisper. "Okay, based on the research Mason, Jiya and I did, we should be able to track down the Mothership." He held up a dark object that resembled a remote control. A small green light blinked solemnly at them.
Wyatt took it from Rufus' hand. "So you've got it tuned now? It won't point us at the Lifeboat again?"
Rufus glared at him. "I told you already that I've compensated for that. That's why we're out here freezing our butts off and risking discovery being so exposed. It's so sensitive I couldn't tune this inside any structure. The two time machines have the same signature, except for the power source. Now it will be looking for the base profile but in addition it will search for the radiation emissions from the Christy Pitt at the heart of the Mothership."
Lucy looked a bit ill at the mention of the nuclear core powering the larger time machine. She gave Wyatt a hard look. "And we can't convince you that we should do this together?"
He gave a glance over the camps in the same direction Lucy had been looking moments before. To her surprise, he turned to them both and said, "Let's go over this one more time, to make sure we aren't missing something. I'm not crazy about splitting up from the two of you either, but I can't see how we can do it all together and get the job done in the time we have."
They both nodded at him. Rufus said, "Let's get somewhere under cover, now that the Tricorder is tuned."
As they walked back to the tent they'd been using as their home base Lucy smiled at Rufus and asked, "Tricorder? Isn't that from the forbidden Star Trek?"
Rufus smiled ruefully, "Well, that's what Jiya called it, and I have to hand it to her. It kinda is. We might even be able to adapt it to be able to do some of the cool shit they check for on Trek. I mean, we pretty much know we'll be landing on an M-type planet, but..."
Wyatt laughed and punched Rufus in the shoulder. "Hey, now that you're sleeping with the enemy, you've gone over whole-sale, huh?" Rufus tried to glare at Wyatt but the sheepish smile he couldn't hide ruined the stern effect he was going for.
As they entered the tent, Lucy put her arm around Rufus affectionately, "You miss her don't you?" She rubbed her arm up and down his sleeve and was appreciative when he returned the favor by putting his arm around her as well.
"Every time," he breathed. He looked at Lucy steadily, all humor gone from his voice now. "You know most of all what I'm dreading. Something we'll do will throw us all of kilter. I'll get home and she'll not work for Mason Industries, have forgotten who I am, be with someone else..." He trailed off. Lucy had no answers, so just wordlessly nodded and hugged him tighter.
Wyatt started going through his ammunition and checked the artillery they'd "liberated" from the camp stores. He'd been doing some training with the local re-enactors back in their own time. ("Now who's full of sweat and loneliness?" Lucy had quipped. She was still a little unsettled by the fact that he had no ready answer for her, just smiled and shook his head.) He had gained a good working knowledge of single shot, gun-powder feed armaments. As he methodically went through the hardware, he watched his team mates lend each other warmth. Lucy thought she saw a gleam of envy in Wyatt's eyes, but if so it was tamped down quickly when he saw her looking at him.
He gave Rufus and Lucy one of his cocky grins. "You two cozy? Lucy, how about you give us a rundown of the timeline again?"
Lucy took a deep breath. Rufus' warmth was helping her body level out and reach a steady temperature. Men and their high core body temperatures, she thought, not able to suppress another glance at Wyatt. She gathered her thoughts and began the litany: "Today is September 2, 1812. Napoleon is traveling towards Moscow after a victorious battle at Smolensk in late August. The cost was great, but the French army still outnumbers the Russians. But that margin is getting slimmer, and what Napoleon doesn't realize is that if he doesn't smash the Russian army at Borodino, where we're heading now, he'll never recover and the tattered remains of his original 600,000 person force will have to limp home to France in the dead of winter."
Lucy shuddered from dread, rather than the cold now. As she paused, she listened and the sound of bullets clinking and the quiet chatter of Rufus' teeth gave way to the sound of men marching and the raised voices of commanders in the distance.
She looked over at Wyatt. "The Russians have chosen their positions along the Moskva River and tomorrow will start building various fortifications. Napoleon will continue his men on the march, leaving the Imperial Guard behind in reserve. The battle begins on the 7th, Napoleon pushes back the Russians, but they hold what is called the Raevsky Redoubt. France will overtake it by the end of the battle, but it doesn't matter. By not committing all his troops, and allowing the Russians to retreat Napoleon signs his own death warrant. The war goes on, but it's this battle that decisively loses it for him. In a week he'll have taken Moscow, but it will be abandoned by the Russians leaving nothing, no food, no arms for them to sieze. "
Rufus gestured to the troops in the distance. "So they're all just dead men walking?"
"Yup. But not if Emma has her way. And then the face of modern Europe will be irrevocably altered. Possibly the development of modern democracy as well."
"That's where we come in." Wyatt had finished his work and began bundling everything up in his leather satchel. Lucy, realizing he was making ready for his solo mission. She stood up from Rufus' warmth and approached Wyatt.
"Hey, I thought we were talking this out?" she asked.
He gave her another wry smile, still working on gathering his things. "I'm listening. Make my day and convince me this can go down some other way."
Lucy shook her hands and glanced over at Rufus for support. "Okay, what's our objective? You're heading out with the Tricorder to find the Mother Ship. Rufus and I will try to find Emma and catch her, or derail whatever she has planned for changing the course of history."
Rufus added, "We know Karl is out there, and at least two other goons that Emma's hired."
Wyatt finished up with the modern day weapons and moved on to those from the period. "Yup. That's what makes me nervous about this all. We just don't know if they'll be out playing interference with Emma, or keeping an eye on the ship."
"If we find Emma together, then we'll be able to face whatever fire power she has together," said Lucy.
Rufus said, "But..." Lucy gave him a hard stare. "If we do what Wyatt's proposing: you and I distract Emma and her crew, if Wyatt find the Mothership, then we can cut them off once for all. I think it's worth the risk, Lucy..." He wilted under the hard glare her look turned into.
"But what does Wyatt do with it once he finds it? He can't make the jump himself!"
"Yeah, I've wondered if I should go with Wyatt," mused Rufus.
"No." Wyatt cut in. "I feel bad enough about putting you both in harms way by not being with you, but to leave Lucy, either of you alone? No way." He had finished with the bundle.
"Wyatt, that's why we should stay together! You shouldn't be alone either."
"Lucy, you said it yourself. We don't have much time and a lot is riding on whatever Emma does. Hey," he came up to Lucy as she turned away from the men. "Lucy, look at it this way, I can cover the most ground most quickly. I'll be back with the two of you in no time." He put a hand out, but pulled it back, unseen by her. "I'm just scouting. If I'm caught alone, I'll pass as a German soldier, and I've got the best chance of both fitting in and making speed to figure out where the ship is. I need you both to focus on your mission. I'll do mine and then together, we can maybe finally end this."
Lucy turned back to him and nodded. "Wyatt, just...just be careful."
Wyatt had placed one of the tall, flat black hats of the Grand Armee on his head. It shoud have looked ridiculous, but somehow Wyatt could pull off any hat. His beauty in it tugged at Lucy's heart. He tipped the hat to her and gave a smile answering her, pulling her out of her revery, "Of course, ma'am. As always."
Wyatt handed Rufus one of the rifles along with ammunition and supplies. He gave small hand-guns to both Lucy and Rufus. "So we'd all best be on our guards."
Wyatt got a few final tips from Rufus on using the "tricorder." He double checked with each of them that they understood how to use and re-load their weapons. Then there was nothing left but to part.
As he stepped out of the tent, Lucy couldn't stop herself from following him. "Luce, it's getting late, you should keep to the shelter."
"Wyatt, thanks. And don't do anything heroic. We want you to come back in one piece."
He turned to her. "Of course. It'll slow the mission down."
She punched downward into air. "That's not what I meant. I don't want anything to happen to you."
He stepped toward her, into her personal space. It was the first time they'd been alone and this close since the day they caught Flynn. His eyes were on hers, his expression serious. "Lucy, I want this to end. For you. I can't go on seeing you tortured by what these jerks are doing to your life. I.." She never knew what he was going to say because suddenly his lips were on hers. She clung to him, and when he broke away, she looked up at him, eyes huge. She said breathlessly, "Be safe for me."
His hand on her neck still, his fingers stroking the nape of her hair, he whispered, "And you for me." After several long moments he stepped back, looking at her with intense eyes. Then he turned, walked off and disappeared from her view.
Rufus put his arm out for Lucy when she walked back in looking shellshocked. "Well, it had to happen some time. Bring it in, girl."
They found covers as servants in support for Napoleon's army. Lucy's French was fluent but her accent was outlandish sounding. She kept quiet and worked hard on picking up the intonation and casual phrasing of the era. Rufus had a harder problem since unless he was Irish, there was no good reason for an English speaker to be among them. His skin color in this place and time was unusual but not unknown. They'd discussed the options back in San Francisco and settled on a back story of him having joined the entourage during the Egyptian campaign. Lucy worked with Rufus to learn a handful of french phrases and no one would expect him to speak more. Together they joined the wives, prostitutes, cooks, smiths and butchers that traveled with the soldiers.
Lucy had impressed upon the others the dire state of affairs that the Grande Armée would eventually succumb to, so they were relatively surprised to have stores of food still available, flocks of chickens travelling with the wagon train. There was a suspicious lack of live stock however. "The locals hide them in the woods so there is nothing for the army to seize," Lucy shared. The desperation that would send the men to eating their horses would descend in full force during their retreat from Russia. Another reason they needed to press on and make progress now at all costs.
Integrating themselves into the ranks of servants they were able to see the principals of the army. Lucy preparing chicken found herself delivering it to Napoleon's table himself. And there, she saw Emma dressed in green silk, the color vibrant against her red hair. Lucy kept her eyes down and her mouth shut. She thought she had evaded the other woman's notice, but as she left the tent, she found a firm hand on her arm.
"You know you can't win, right Preston? I've got centuries of history on my side."
Lucy pulled her arm away and took a step back. Mentally taking stock of where her gun was, she glanced about looking for Karl and the other soldiers. For now she saw no one. She kept her distance, but saw an opportunity she'd been looking for:
"Emma, I know it must feel that way. You're from a Rittenhouse family? I am, too. But I've seen people escape. I've helped people get out of their grip. Whatever they've told you it isn't true. You know what you're doing is wrong. Let's work together, and bring them the rest of the way down."
Emma smiled at Lucy. "Poor deluded girl. It's easy to think that way when you don't know the half of it, like you do now. But there's no point in opposing them. Best to embrace it, and enjoy it. Look what we can do. Lucy," Emma stepped closer, spoke conspiratorially, "you never believed Flynn, but now you must believe me. Your Mother is one of us, you are one of us—you have a destiny. And it is glorious." Emma put a strangely gentle hand on Lucy's cheek. "I don't want to hurt you, or the others, but you're standing in the way of fate and I'll do what I have to do." Emma tried to grab Lucy again, but the younger woman had already pulled out her weapon.
"I don't want to hurt you either, Emma. But this has to stop somewhere." At that moment, the general who Emma was attending to called for her. The table's attention shifted to them and Lucy scrambled to hide the pistol and stumble out of the tent. Emma gave her one last glance and mouthed, "This is not over."