It's Good to be the King

By Caribou Kid

Lee Crane, captain of the SSRN Seaview, was suddenly and inexplicably awake, why he didn't know. As his eyes flew open he was now keenly alert, finding himself in total darkness, which given where he had fallen asleep should not be the case. The subdued light from the passageway should be shining from beneath the door to his cabin. Pondering the absence of light, he also came to the realization there was also an absence of sound. He should be able to hear the steady and reassuring thrum of Seaview's engines, or the screech of her klaxon's given there was no light or sound, but all he heard was silence. The silence was as oppressive as the darkness and his eyes and ears ached as he strained for the slightest glimmer of light or hint of sound.

He next engaged his other senses trying desperately to garner information about where he was, and why. He spread wide his hands and noticed that he was laying on a table of some sort. It seemed to be made of polished wood or metal that was faintly cool to the touch. Relieved to find that he was not bound to the table, he moved his arms and legs to the sides but their progress was halted by a low raised lip running around the table. He next lifted his arms up feeling for anything above him and found nothing restricting his movement. He let loose a quick sigh thrilled at not being buried alive.

As he processed what information he had gained, he began to smell floral and spice aromas like those of oils and perfumes. The odors saturated the space to the point of almost being overwhelming and he felt a headache begin to form from the olfactory overload. He sniffed again and realized that he too smelled of the heady fragrances, as though he'd been bathed in whatever they were.

He cautiously sat up and eased his legs over the edge of the table at which time he realized he was naked. "Damn," he said quietly to himself. Nothing made him feel more vulnerable and exposed than having nothing on in an unknown situation.

Uncertain how far beneath him the floor lay, he rotated so that the front of his thighs rested on the edge and he slowly lowered himself down. He was surprised that the table was slightly lower than waist high and his bare feet touched softly down on what felt like polished stone and fine sand. Lee slowly stood upright letting his entire weight rest on the floor. He next made a slow circuit around the table, never removing his hand as it represented his only contact with something tangible. He encountered nothing blocking his way and was afforded no clue as to where he was.

He returned to his starting point and considered how best to move forward. With no obvious hints regarding the room around him short of the aromas he had detected, he had no idea which direction to go. At this point one direction was as good as another and he decided to walk straight ahead. He shuffled forward arms up and hands out in front, making sure each step was secure before fully putting his weight down.

He had taken four or five steps before he heard his first sound. It sounded much like stone moving against stone, like a boulder being moved from in front of a door. He froze not knowing what to expect. Within seconds he made out a wan light from a doorway across the room. It was growing steadily larger and brighter as he heard the steps of the ones who brought the light. As he looked toward the light, it slowly began to brighten the room around him.

Of what he could see, the walls were a nondescript stone with no markings or other indications of its purpose. He noticed a number of large amphora and smaller clay pots staged in a line along one wall. No doubt that was the source of the scents. He could barely make out the table behind him, which looked to be painted black with a gold stripe around the raised edge and it was sitting in the middle of the room. It was still too dark to make out the ceiling or how far above him it rose. All he really knew was there was apparently only one way in or out and that was in the direction of the encroaching light.

Not certain what kind of reception to expect, Lee quickly assessed his physical condition and found himself unharmed aside from a sore cheek from a couple of days earlier when he'd met up with Nelson's fist, but otherwise felt fine. He stood up straight, legs slightly apart, squarely facing the approaching light. He braced himself unsure of how the others would react when they discovered him standing in the room.

(o1ooo

As those with the light approached, it became obvious that there were four people bearing torches to light the way. They appeared to be young boys, maybe eight to ten years old. Behind them he could see two columns of men marching side by side chanting solemnly as they walked. He couldn't see how many there were but estimated at least six. When they entered the chamber they immediately froze as they regarded Lee standing in the room.

Three of the boys screamed in fear, dropped their torches and instantly turned and fled back down the passageway they had traversed. The fourth stood frozen, unable to move so overcome by the vision before him. The men behind the boys had immediately dropped to the floor prostrating themselves in extreme obeisance.

Lee carefully scrutinized the men before him. They all had shaved heads and wore simple linen robes. One man had a leopard skin that was worn over his shoulder almost like a cape, most likely indicating he was higher in rank. The boy wore a simple linen tunic and his head was clean shaven as well. As he stared at them he had a faint recollection of seeing pictures of people dressed like this before but the instance eluded him. The men were speaking and chanting softly as they lay stretched out on the ground, almost as though they were praying. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it sounded vaguely Arabic.

"Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here?" Lee finally said.

The man wearing the leopard skin pushed up to his knees, eyes averted, and spoke. Lee definitely didn't understand what was said, but the dialect was similar to Arabic. "Do you speak English?" he inquired.

The man said something else and folded down upon his knees in subservience. Lee sighed in frustration. This was getting him nowhere, although the more he spoke the more Lee seemed to pick out words that sounded familiar. He could swear they were calling him Majesty or Highness if his linguistic skills were working right.

Lee moved forward to the man and stood before him. "Rise" he said in Arabic hoping he had made the correct assumption as to the base language. The man shook his head quaking with fear and remained in place, unwilling to look upon Lee or rise to his level. Just as he was about to grasp the man about the shoulders and guide him to his feet, he heard a vaguely familiar voice from the passageway in front of him.

"That will do you no good Captain, and will most likely cause the man to have a heart attack. He thinks Isis has resurrected you, and you have returned from the dead."

Crane looked up and into the shadowy hallway in front of him, spying a short, mousey, older man, with thinning brown hair graying at the temples walking towards him. He wore a linen tunic similar to the men on the floor before him with the exception of it being more ornate and he also wore what appeared to be leather sandals. Upon seeing him more fully in the light Lee growled at his immediate recognition of the intruder.

"Pem!" Lee spat, with all the vehemence and disgust of an unpalatable curse. "Are you responsible for this?! Are you the one who brought me here, wherever or more appropriately, whenever here is?"

"It's nice to see you too, Captain. My you are in fine fettle, aren't you?" Pem quipped as he regarded Lee standing there completely nude. Lee literally snarled and moved towards the smirking man menacingly, causing him to shrink back in concern. "Be nice or I won't give you this," he continued as he held up a tunic.

Lee backed off, at which point Pem tossed him the garment. He snagged it out of the air and quickly pulled the tunic on. "What the hell do you mean he thinks I've risen from the dead? Who does he think I am? Where am I, Pem?!"

Pem regarded the boy and men sprawled on the ground quaking in fear and said something in their language that got them quickly to their feet and out of the chamber. "Where you are at this very second, is a funerary chamber and those men are priests that were coming to prepare you for the afterlife, or more accurately the Pharaoh, for the afterlife. He was killed in battle yesterday and was brought here for his mummification in preparation for burial."

"Pharaoh? Mummification? When the hell am I, Pem?!" Lee inquired incredulously.

"The year is 2643 B.C. You are standing in a tomb in ancient Egypt near Saqqara," Pem responded calmly.

"And why exactly have you brought me here? What has this got to do with me?"

"Well Captain, not to make this sound overly melodramatic but you are here to fulfil your destiny and save mankind from extinction."

"What?! You can't be serious. What makes you think I can do that? Why would they mistake me for this dead pharaoh? Nothing you say makes any sense," Lee retorted with a snort and short bark of laughter.

Pem gave him one of his patented condescending smiles as he shook his head. "Ever wonder where you came from, Captain? Who your family was? How you came to grow up an orphan?"

Lee glared at Pem. "How did you know I grew up an orphan?"

"Because I'm the man who made you one," Pem revealed.

ooo1o)