Stargate Hastings
Chapter One: Richard Hastings
Opening his eyes each morning was becoming a struggle, his spirit was still as strong as it ever was but he could not say the same for his body. Since that fateful night, the night in which he had saved his friend and comrade from a bullet. Richard Hastings's body had begun deteriorating, the loss of the use of his legs, was a price he was more than willing to pay for his friend and one he would not hesitate to pay again. But the last five years, while being stimulating, they had also been extremely taxing to his now fragile brain container. He smiled at that realisation, for that was all his body really was now, a container for his brain, the only tool he had left to keep sharp. Normally the first thing he would attempt each morning when he woke, would be the almost impossible task of transferring his body from the bed, to the chair at the side of the bed. A task he had achieved only once.
Today he decided to push down his stubbornness and instead pulled the cord above his bed that would inform his former betrothed, now nurse that he required her assistance. He had called off his engagement to Kate Warrington, as a means to save her the life of a care giver. She had accepted the cancellation with no tears, no shouting or screaming. She simply looked at him lying in his hospital bed and said in the most casual way he had ever heard her speak "You are right of course, it would be a terrible marriage." She paced up and down, seemingly going over it all in her mind, then picked up a chair that was against a wall and placed it beside the bed. "Firstly the doctors say you may never father children or even be able to have use of your manhood, that would be a problem." She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, her chin cupped in her right hand with the index finger tapping her right cheek, as if in deep thought. "Yes then there is the care that you will need." She paused for a moment then continued "hmmm but that will solve our first problem, will it not?"
Richard was in too much pain to recognise the sarcasm in her voice, so he asked, "How so?"
"One would not become broody if one already had a baby to take care of, now would one?" Before he could respond she stood up, straightened her clothes and headed towards the door.
Realising what she had just said to him, he tried to stop her leaving but before he could get any words out, she turned back towards him and said "I will inform the relevant people that our engagement as been cancelled... but if you think for one second that you have gotten rid of me, then you are mistaken!" When Richard didn't dispute her previous statement, she continued "I do not like hospitals, I will see you when you get home. The doctors say that you will be in here for a month or two, that should give me enough time to prepare for your arrival." She walked back over to the bed, leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. She then cupped his chin in her hand and squeezed his cheeks "Now you be a good little baby and wallow in all the self pity that you can, while you are here..." The childish mocking tone changed then, to one of someone being deadly serious "because you do not, want to mess with me..." she got back up and headed again towards the door, this time she opened it to leave but before she did, she added in a playful tone "After all, it is not like you are going to get very far, if you try to escape, is it?" Before he could answer, she had left and closed the door behind her.
The next two months he had done exactly as he had been told and wallowed in his own self pity. The constant stream of visitors that he had received, helped him greatly with this. The person who helped him the most in this regard, was his dear old uncle Robert Parker. He was the elder brother to Richard's deceased father, only he was an illegitimate child from a common woman. His grandfather had told him that he had loved Roberts mother, even asked her to marry him. She had refused, saying that she would not be the reason he lost his birth right and when he had told his father, he quickly realised that she spoke the truth of it. He didn't care though, he had loved the woman and set off to tell her that he did not care about his inheritance but when he had arrived at her home, she had already left to live in a convent, to raise their child there.
It was his father who tracked them down and bought them to live on the Stamford estate, he had told him that she could raise their child on the estate but he could not marry her. When he shared this part with Roberts mother, she told him that she would never marry another but he would never share her bed again and he didn't.
The door opened then, snapping him out of his nostalgia. Sure enough it was is very own angel and she looked as beautiful today as she ever had. "You gave up early today? tut tut." She said mockingly.
"No, I did not make the attempt, I have far too much to do today." He smiled, then added "Than give my pride it's usual beating."
She put her hands on her hips and said "Yes, I forgot the reason you need a nurse and not a wife, will be arriving today."
He knew that the words that came from Kates lips, were not her true feelings and were merely words said in jest but the last thing he wanted was for her to say something like that to James. "I know you did not mean that my dear but please do not say anything like that to James. He will already feel bad enough when he sees the chair."
"Relax I'm just kidding. From the stories you've told me of that man, I wouldn't have you at all, if it wasn't for him."
Richard winked at Kate and smiled as he said "You could have always visited my statue."
Kate rolled her eyes at him then replied "I do not like those things and you know that they give me the creeps. Could you really imagine me coming to visit your dead statue?"
"No."
"No, I would have cried my tears and felt the leering eyes of the cemetery statues, just like everybody else." As she said this she began their morning ritual. First she pulled back the covers of his bed and then began stripping his night clothes. Once he was naked in all of his glory, she began giving him his morning bed bath. As alluring as that thought would have been to the man who had fallen in love with this beautiful, kind and compassionate woman. The man he was now felt only sadness. During this daily ritual they would usually talk about mundane things, like new flowers that had been planted recently in the grounds or a funny story young Tom had told one of them. Anything to make the time pass, without actually experiencing the uncomfortable situation.
Today the subject was James "So your friend, is he handsome?" she asked without looking away from what she was doing.
With her face turned away from him, he could still see that she was smiling. "He had his fair share of the females chasing him if I remember correctly, very rugged, tall as well, with raven black hair."
"So tall, dark and handsome then?" She continued her work, as she waited for his reply.
He knew she was teasing him but the thought still struck him in a way, that he was not expecting. "He would make someone a fine husband, I'm sure." He answered.
"So he is not already married then?" She looked up from her work when she asked him this, with a mischievous look on her face.
Richard rarely found himself lost for words but on the rare occasions that he had, it usually involved Kate. Ever since they had met, she had been able to stop him in his tracks with a witty or inappropriate comment. Even in this era, with a long reigning Queen on the throne, she was very forward for a woman. It was why he loved her and also the reason he could not understand why she was still here. "No he was committed to another life." The slight twinge that had been growing while they had been talking, won out for just a moment. "Why do you ask? Have you finally grown tired of being my nurse?" As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted them and was under no illusions that Kate was going to let him get away, with what he had just stupidly blurted out. It was the truth and deep down he had wanted to say something sooner than now. Only common sense usually won out.
To her credit, she didn't say a word until she had finished his bed bath and clothed him. She then rang the bell and waited for Robert to bring the chair that allowed him to freely move around the house. Robert picked up Richard and placed him into the chair. Richard knew that his uncle could sense the tension between the pair and was the reason, that he left once the task was complete. "I know what you are going to say and I completely agree..."
This time she did not need any words to silence him, the look she gave him left him no doubt that it was her turn to talk. "You left for war a month after proposing to me, this I accepted. It even felt romantic knowing that you were thinking of me in the dark times, when you needed a light to guide you home. At first! Then you return to me, my hero wounded in the service of his Queen. I came to the hospital that day, to tell you that we could postpone the wedding, until you felt well enough and that I loved you in sickness and in health and whether or not I had spoken them before God, I intended to honour those vows." She stopped for a few seconds, probably to catch her breath, then continued. "But nooo, you decide to wallow in self pity and force me to pretend to be your nurse, instead of the devoted wife I have been in my heart, since the night you proposed to me."
Richard waited a moment to be sure she was finished then said "I would say sorry but that is not what you want to hear from me... you are right, I have forced you to pretend to be my nurse. But I only wanted to protect you, I wanted you to become a mother, to have a husband that could meet all of your needs. Only you decided otherwise." He stared at her for a moment then continued "The only man I could possibly choose as my best man. Will I hope, be leaving on a possible one way mission, in the next twenty six days. So you have until then to arrange our wedding. That is if you still want to marry me?"
"You have got to be joking?"
Richard suddenly felt like he had misjudged the situation and made it far worse, when she continued speaking, those fears were allayed.
"Twenty six days? I'm going to need a month just to choose my dress, then another month at least to get the thing made. Twenty six days is simply not long enough." Even though she was complaining about the amount of time she had been given to arrange their nuptials. He could see the difference his proposal had made to her, she wasn't exactly smiling but she had a glow about her that he hadn't seen, since before he had left for his final tour of duty.
"If I said that the dress would not be a problem, would it still be an impossible task?"
"Well no, we could have the wedding on the grounds and the catering should not be a problem. If I start making a guest list tonight I can give that list to the printers and they could send out the invitations directly. But seriously Richard, where are you going to get a wedding dress that I would actually wear?"
He laughed, then answered "Well the first time you saw the dress, I believe your words were 'That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen'. We were looking at a portrait of my mother at the time, you may have been talking about her."
In all the years they had known each other, this was the first time it was she and not he, who was speechless. When she finally managed to say something, her words were unsure "Your mother was a very beautiful woman but yes I meant the dress, do you think it will fit me?" There were tears forming in her eyes as she asked.
"You have a similar build as my mother, with a few adjustments I'm sure it would. It as been kept in very good condition and my mother wished that my bride would wear it one day."
"Well then, one as much to arrange doesn't one?" Kate said with a beaming smile spread across her face.
"Yes I am sure you have. As the coach left to pick up James yet?" He asked.
"Yes and as you instructed, the finest coach we have."
"Excellent, he will hate it." He said while rubbing his hands together.
"I was under the impression that you were friends." Kate said with a raise of her eyebrows.
"We are but the man finds extravagance extremely vexing and getting that man vexed, is one of the most difficult tasks one has ever attempted" A smile came to his eyes as he continued "Come to think of it, the only time he truly lost his temper with me, was the night I jumped in front of that bullet."
"He was not the only one." She said sarcastically "He should already be on route, one hour to arrive at the main gate, another hour of travel from there to here."
"It does not take an hour to get here from the main gate." He said in an exasperated voice.
"It does when one walks."
He could not argue with her on that one. When he was a child his father would make him walk the distance to and from the main gate to the estate, whenever they would go into town. Character building he called it. "You are correct but for the purpose that the estate was built, it is as long a distance as is needed."
"Yes that may be but the fact it is going to take me so long each time I have to go into town, is going to make arranging this wedding almost impossible." She hurriedly stripped his bed and folded the covers and sheets so that they would fit on the trolley she used for the wash basin and left the room. Two seconds later her head appeared back inside the door "I knew you would come around eventually." She blew him a kiss and then went on her merry way.
He made the usual checks of his chair. He disengaged and then re-engaged the breaks, they were fine. Then more importantly, he checked for his claw. Without it, he would be forever ringing those damn bells and waiting like a useless fool, for one of the once fake but now very real servants, to arrive and open a door for him. Once he was sure he was set to go, he used the claw to open his bedroom door. Each of the doors around the building, had been fitted with a mechanism that would keep the door open for twenty seconds and then slowly close behind him. It also made them very easy to open and the doors could be closed manually, if anyone else were to use them. Even the giant doors at the front of the house had been modified, although they were still heavy enough, to prevent him from opening those doors himself.
By the day he had been released from hospital, all of the modifications to the mansion had been complete except one, the incredible staircase that Kate had commissioned, was still being built in the main hall. When he had first witnessed the carnage, he thought Kate had taken the cancellation in a very bad way but she assured him that when it was completed, it would be identical to the way it had been before. And apart from the few extra features that are blended into the original design, she was true to her word.
Richard had tried to send her away two or three more times over the last five years but in truth he could never have achieved the things he had done. From studying the secret archives of his family, that he had learned about on the same day that he arrived home from hospital, to actually sending a team to help find the thing. Without her none of it would have happened and he would be either at the bottom of a bottle or six feet under from drinking himself to death, by now.
He left his room and headed in the direction of his magic escalator. Kate could have had the ground floor converted, removing the need to go up and down stairs but both she and his uncle Robert had decided, that to do so would be admitting defeat and the last thing he needed was to feel defeated. He could not argue with their logic. The freedom he still feels, although limited as it still was, was as beneficial to his health, as any of the doctors he had paid large sums of money to. Only to be told, that there was no chance he would ever walk again. He had come to terms with his condition and found that he could even find positives from it. He was always academically gifted, top of his classes in mathematics and the sciences but he was never as focused or driven regarding the quest for knowledge, as he was now.
Once on the ground floor he made his way to his private dining room, the one that resembled a mess hall in its simplicity. Like his best friend James Elden, Richard Hastings hated extravagance. His entire family had spent more than eight hundred years trying to find a way to end the inequality of the world. Even longer than that, if you were to count the time before they were given the name Hastings by William the conqueror himself, in gratitude for the part that the family played in ensuring his victory. Even that was a part of a larger plan, that no one outside of the family had any idea about. He rang the bell and ordered his breakfast, poached eggs on toast. He washed it down with a cup of tea and then asked Margaret, the girl on serving duty this morning, to send for young Tom.
When the door opened and Tom entered the room he asked "You wanted to see me Mr Hastings sir?"
He motioned for the boy to sit and asked "Have you eaten yet Tom?"
"Yes sir, mother makes me eat at set times sir, she says I'll never be a soldier if I don't eat properly."
"Yes that cousin of mine is as bad her father, when it comes to all that discipline nonsense. Personally I believe that a boy should be allowed to be just a boy, you'll be a man soon enough and there will be time enough then for discipline."
Tom smiled "It's ok sir, l know she only does it because she cares".
Richard was saddened that he and Kate would never have a child of their own but in many ways he was a father to his cousins son Tom. His father had been Richard's best friend growing up. When his uncle Robert bought his cousin to the estate to live, after her mothers passing. Sebastian had fallen for her the moment he had met her, she however took an instant dislike to the boy. All three of the children were the same age, so it was expected of Richard to help her adjust to her new home. Sebastian happily accompanied them wherever they would go, even though the girl had nothing but contempt for him and made it quite clear whenever he was in her presence. When she wasn't around, he would constantly be comparing her to the goddess Aphrodite or some other mythical beauty.
The truth was, until her sixteenth year, Rachael was far from beautiful. Like many girls before her, she grew from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. Richard always believed that the reason she eventually chose his friend, was because he had loved her when she was not the beautiful woman she was now, with many suitors asking for her hand in marriage. When he realised that one of the men that was pursuing her could win her heart, he marched up to Rachael and declared his love to her for the first time and asked her to marry him. To everyone's utter disbelief, she accepted. It became apparent that her hostility towards Sebastian, was because of the feelings that she herself felt for him. Tom was born six months before he left on his first and only tour of duty. Rachael had never truly gotten over it and only the boy had given her the strength to carry on.
"Yes indeed she does but a few days away from a strict routine will do you good I think". His manner changed, to the one he had used when issuing orders to the men under his command, back in his military days. "I have a very important mission for you sir, do you believe you are up to the task young man?"
Tom rose from his chair, stood to attention and performed as crisp a salute as any soldier Richard had ever served with . "Sir, yes sir".
Richard returned his salute then began "I knew I could count on you soldier. You have heard me speak of my friend James Elden?"
"Yes sir, he was the man who's life you saved and the reason you are unable to walk sir."
"Yes indeed but he is also the reason I am still among the living. Whilst he is here, whenever he leaves the mansion and walks the grounds, I want you to follow him and right down all of his activities. Who he speaks to and if you can but only if the act does not betray your presence, what he speaks about with those people but you must stay hidden. If he detects your presence even once, the mission will be deemed a failure. Is that understood?"
Tom, who was still stood to attention replied, "Sir, yes sir".
Richard then said "At ease Cadet" then removed a note pad and pencil from a compartment in the left arm of his Wheelchair and passed them to the boy. "Any further questions?"
"Just one sir. I thought he was your friend, do you not trust him?"
"I trust him more than I do myself, I have my reasons for asking this of you Cadet but those reasons are on a need to know basis and right now, you do not need to know them".
Tom nodded, so Richard said "Now go find your grandfather, he knows about the mission you have been given and will be the one to welcome our guest when he arrives. You will be there as well, so that you can get a good look at your target. Understood?"
When Tom indicated that he did, Richard finished "Very well. Report to me at twenty one hundred hours each evening and have no fear for your mother, I will personally inform her of your new duties. You are dismissed Cadet".
Alone again, he rang the bell and waited for Margaret to enter the room, when she did he asked her to send word to his cousin, informing her that he would like to speak to her within the hour and that he would be in his personal study, on the first floor. While awaiting her arrival, he decided to undertake his daily ablutions, a task thankfully he did not require assistance with. Among the many alterations to the mansion, were the conversion of two of the bathrooms, one on each floor. They were designed alongside his Wheelchair, to allow him to easily transfer from one to the other and back again, without the assistance of others. A blessing he was truly thankful for. Even the toilet seat itself was designed to allow him to wipe himself. It consisted of a inner and outer ring and when he turned a valve, the outer ring would raise him enough to allow him to take care of it himself. Having to be bathed every morning was bad enough but if he had to rely on others for that as well, it would have destroyed his soul.
He then headed for his study to await his cousins arrival. When they were children, he and Rachael had been very close. Her father had no idea how to raise a daughter, so decided to raise her as he would a son. He would take the two of them survival training, as he called it. Which consisted of taking them out into the middle of nowhere and leaving them to survive on their own for days. They both learned in time, that he had not really abandoned them and had his eyes on them the entire time. Being left together, with only each other to rely on, a bond had been forged between them. His uncle had told him years later, that the real reason he had left them alone together, was to create that bond and that if he had wanted to teach them to survive, it would have been far easier if he was there with them.
Their relationship changed when Sebastian had died. Even the condition that he now found himself in, had done little to change this, in fact it had probably made things worse. Not only had she lost her love to war, the man who she had considered more brother than cousin, had returned broken by it as well. If he had returned whole, in time they could have had a good relationship again, only theirs was not of the mind but of spirits. They had raced long distance across the countryside against each other, honed their fencing and archery skills against one another. What could they do now, play Chess? A game Rachael detested. No, they would always be family but the friendship was beyond repair.
It was not long before she arrived and as usual, she did not look happy to see him. "What do you want?" She snapped at him.
"As always it is a pleasure to see you as well cousin, please take a seat".
"I am extremely busy, whatever it is you want get it over with. Not only have I got less than a month until I go through an ancient portal to God knows where. Now I am told that I must help prepare for your wedding".
"I'm sure Kate would understand, if you are too busy to help".
"I'm her maid of honour and she is my best friend" she let out a small laugh and finished "She is my only friend. So I have little choice but to help, why now, why did you have to do it now?"
"Should we postpone until after?" Richard asked. Even if she had told him to do so, he would not have. He was just leading her into, a trap.
"If you dare, I will hurt you in ways you could not possibly imagine". He felt a wave of self satisfaction wash over him, as she fell straight into it.
"No that would be a bad idea".
"You do not deserve that woman but for some reason she is devoted to you and I have never seen her as happy as she was, when she told me about the wedding". She stood back up and paced the room "But why now? You've had five years to get this done, why would you do it now?".
"In truth, I have been waiting for my best man and since he is going to be the leader of your expedition, I thought why not kill two birds with one stone".
"You are not funny cousin and what do you mean lead the expedition, he will not be ready in time. We have been preparing for this mission for the past two years and you give the command, to someone who does not even know, that the device exists yet."
Richard knew that his cousin would react like this and was also the reason he had waited for his friends arrival, before informing her of his decision. If he had told her sooner it would have been a constant argument until he arrived. "Your father does not have a problem with my choice, so I expected you would not". A lie but a necessary one.
"He as said nothing to me".
"Your father understands the necessity of the chain of command. I had hoped you would understand this as well."
"As you say cousin, it is your command and I will obey". The sarcasm in her voice plain to hear.
"Very good, because I may need your help convincing him to take the position".
She shook her head and asked "And how am I supposed to do that? I do not even know the man".
Richard sniggered "The same way you are going to convince him, to allow you to join him on this mission. Show him that you have worth!"
"Are you telling me, that if he says I cannot go, then I will be scrubbed from the mission?"
"Pretty much dear cousin, I cannot offer the man command and then order him to take a woman and child with him. He would insist on going alone and to be honest, the man would probably stand a better chance of survival if he was alone".
"Then why have we been preparing for this, for the past two years?"
"I said he would have a better chance of survival alone but in order to complete the mission he will need support".
"I can prove my worth, that should be simple enough but what about Tom?"
"That is the reason I needed to speak with you now. Tom will be spying on James whilst he is here, he will report to me, each evening at twenty one hundred hours."
"For what purpose?" She asked.
"That will become clear in time, just allow Tom to complete his mission. The kitchen staff will prepare him a packed lunch each day".
"Very well but I thought you were his friend, why can you not convince him to take the position?".
"Our friend on the other side, is his son".
"What?"
"So you see? When I inform him of this, he is not going to be happy with me".
"I could not for the life of me, think why he would not like this. After all who wouldn't love it, if their best friend ordered their son, to go on a possible suicide mission. If that is how you treat your friends, I would hate to be your enemy".
"He volunteered".
"Well then, that makes it all ok. I'm sure once you tell him that he volunteered for this suicide mission, he will certainly forgive you".
"Donald is his own man, a veteran of three campaigns. In time he will come to understand this but in the mean time. I would like you to go to work on him and please let him see the animosity you feel towards me. I'm sure it will help your cause greatly".
"When does he arrive?" she asked.
"He will be here shortly. Once I tell him the bad news, I am sure he will want to let off steam. I will give him the use of our former fencing gymnasium, it would be best if your first meeting be there. First impressions, are always the most important after all".
"And what first impression would you like me to make?" She asked with a sneer.
"One that makes him forget that you are a woman".
She actually smiled at that, "That I can do!"
Just then Margaret entered the study and informed him "Sorry to disturb you sir but Mr Elden will be arriving within the next ten minutes my Lord".
"Thank you Margaret and please sir will suffice".
"Yes my lord but your lady as informed the staff, that a wedding will be held on the grounds. I thought it best to stay in character your lordship".
Richard thought about what his fake servant had just said to him and replied "Yes, that would be wise. Please inform the rest of the staff, that until further notice, all are to stay in character, at all times".
Margaret bowed her head "Yes my Lord".
Richard then turned back to Rachael and said "You have your orders, dismissed!"
Alone once again, Richard Hastings prepared to greet his friend.
