Kenshin again found himself walking across the huge arena toward his
companions. Though the white sand was bright from the afternoon sun, he
kept his eyes on them. They all had proven themselves with courage, using
their mind to outwit their stronger opponents. This was a key principle in
the ways of the samurai. Just being physically strong meant nothing. But
when it was combined with mental strength, the result was a formidable
warrior, capable of more than others expect of them.
And so he looked at them now as warriors, as did the Romans. The hordes of spectators standing in the circular stadium were cheering them all, and were excited from the show the men had given them. Still, there were some in the coliseum who were not so grateful.
From his throne on the balcony, Emperor Herodius was shifting in his seat. How could this be possible? How could four men defeat four chariots and ten horsemen? Besides not having any answers, he was agitated by the applause of the mob around him. They were cheering for the spies!
"General," Herodius grumbled.
The armored man stepped forward, helmet in hand.
"Yes, my liege," said General Marcus.
"Gather your finest men," Herodius told him. "I want full armor, everything. Give them whatever you deem necessary to kill these pests." The emperor glared at the general. "They do not make it past the next round, understood?"
General Marcus nodded to the emperor.
"Yes, sire," replied the general. "Leave it to me."
With that said, General Marcus saluted the emperor, and then marched back into the corridor. Lisa and Jackie watched the man's face as he gave them one last glance. He was wearing an evil grin, one that sent chills up the girls' spines. The two guards standing behind them, who they had not noticed before, didn't make the feeling any better. They both turned their gaze back to the arena.
"It looks like all of you are not as helpless as you once believed," said Kenshin.
They were all breathing heavily, with the exception of Kenshin. Nick was looking at Jackie, but turned back to face the group. He knew that they had won the round, but they weren't out the woods yet. Mark stood a bit taller than usual, but only slightly. He was still battling with his own emotions, trying to understand what had just happened.
Lance himself felt the adrenaline still pumping through his body…but also the guilt. He killed that rider, probably when he didn't need to. The thrill of the moment had gained control over his actions, ending the life of another human being. It was the first time he had ever killed anyone, and he hoped it would be his last. Yet as he stood there, looking at Kenshin, he had to wonder if the samurai had ever released all the guilt from killing all that he did, or if he still kept it bottled up inside. If he did, then Lance had more respect for him now, after knowing how hard it was to live with it.
"Maybe," Lance finally replied to Kenshin. "But we only took out three riders. You handled six of them, as well as four chariots. You're the one who deserves credit."
For a moment, Kenshin was silent. True, he had done what Lance had said, but he didn't want to be congratulated for doing that.
"Know this," the samurai said, looking carefully at each one of them. "A samurai only credits himself when he defends the weak. There is no honor in mindless killing."
Though the three men didn't answer verbally, their stares said it all. The battle they had gone through was not something they wanted to have to do again. Their only reason for going on is the fact that the lives of the women on the platform depend on it. For that reason, Kenshin would fight for them.
Over eighteen hundred years later, Elsie Cramer sat exhaustingly in a leather chair, trying to stomach yet another cup of bad coffee. Sitting across from her in the small office, rummaging through the bottom drawer of his desk was Dr. Boris Johanson. Elsie hadn't slept all that well last night. The news of someone making a time jump kept her worried. Who had made it, and why?
Then another jump occurred early this morning, getting everyone riled up again. Boris had woken her up once the jump was recorded, for she had given him explicit instructions to do so if anything happened, no matter how trivial. Despite the fact that no one came back, it was still significant. The jump was made from 1869 Japan, heading back to ancient Rome. What was strange, however, was that while one person went to Japan, two people came back to Rome.
Whatever speculations anyone had for this had to wait however. The main thing they had to do was keep the jumps under wraps. Only those in the control room knew of them, and they had sworn to Johansan that it wouldn't leave the doors. Whitely hadn't been around for a while, and was still in the dark about the two jumps…and Boris made it clear to everyone that it was to stay this way.
Now, they were going through old files and records, trying to gather as much proof as needed to be of use in a court of law. Mostly it consisted of whatever financial records that Johansan had clearance for, as well as the illegal construction and material used in the time travel process. Boris actually did most of the searching. Elsie found herself reading up on the history of the operation, learning about the initial concepts and experiments.
The concepts were all built on quantum physics, of which she knew somewhat. But what she found interesting were the experiments leading up to human time travel. Whitely had first began experimenting with the idea of using quantum computers to do the complex mathematical calculations, and had then progressed to constructing the machinery that could actually handle it. She read all about the construction of the water dome, and how it provided protection from the radiation produced by the event.
But then she came to the experiments. The first tests were done with animals, mostly stray dogs. The return devices were strapped to their backs, set to return after five minutes. The first two didn't even return, and the next three with only bits and pieces of the dog. It wasn't until about the tenth experiment that an animal actually came back fully intact.
Once the soil from the dog's paw was analyzed, the experiment was dubbed a success. After that, Whitely immediately proposed the idea of human transportation. According to the records, Boris ardently opposed the idea, saying it was entirely too soon to even comprehend it. Whitely, of course, pushed for it anyway, and soon found his first test subject.
Kale Mystovich, a former KGB agent, had volunteered for the jump. But during the jump process, the system malfunctioned, suffering from a severe power surge and electrical surcharge. The glass chamber had already filled with Xenon when the surge took place, giving the machine a mind of its own. The control room had nothing to do with it, but a jump was made anyway. When the smoke in the chamber was vented afterwards, the return device and Mystovich's clothing were lying on the chamber floor. Since the frequency had not been entered, it is not known if he was transported to a different time, or was lost in the quantum flux completely.
Elsie almost dropped her coffee mug when she read this.
"You mean to tell me Whitely continued experimenting after what happened to Mystovich?" she asked.
Boris shut his desk drawer and sighed. It was obvious to Elsie, even without a word from the man behind the desk, that he had tried to stop Whitely. His eyes said it all.
"I never in all my travels," said Boris, "met a man so indifferent and uncaring for human life as Thomas Whitely. Let me tell you, I never liked Kale Mystovich. He was a violent and egotistical maniac in my opinion…but no one deserves to die like he did. I pleaded with Whitely to stop the experiments, but he wouldn't listen. I don't know why I even decided staying here after that, but for some reason I couldn't leave."
The man looked ten years older to Elsie, for she was seeing the depressed and repenting man break down before her. His eyes were even watering.
"I guess," Boris continued. "I guess I wanted to be a part of something so scientifically important that I forgot about the most important concept of all – right and wrong. I'm just as guilty as Whitely is."
"No," Elsie said immediately. "You're trying to stop him. That makes you different. You're trying to save the lives of the people trapped in ancient Rome. That makes you different. You care. That makes you different."
The Austrian scientist smiled slightly. But no matter how much he did to stop Whitely, he had still had a hand in the time machine. That in turn led to the deaths of scores of animals and an unknown number of people. Nevertheless, no matter how low he thought of himself, he wouldn't just give up on doing something to help this woman get her friends back. It would be the least he can do.
A sudden ring came from the balding scientist's lab coat. Boris nearly jumped when he heard it go off. He fumbled through the front pockets until he found his cell phone.
"This is Boris," he said quickly.
Elsie watched his expression. It immediately turned serious. Thirty seconds later, he ended the call.
"Miss Cramer," said Boris with a hesitation. "We have seven hours until this facility is compromised and taken by the government. They…" He paused. "They plan on pulling the plug on the whole thing."
"What does that mean?" asked Elsie.
"It means," the scientist replied solemnly, "that we have seven hours for your friends to return before they're trapped back there forever."
And so he looked at them now as warriors, as did the Romans. The hordes of spectators standing in the circular stadium were cheering them all, and were excited from the show the men had given them. Still, there were some in the coliseum who were not so grateful.
From his throne on the balcony, Emperor Herodius was shifting in his seat. How could this be possible? How could four men defeat four chariots and ten horsemen? Besides not having any answers, he was agitated by the applause of the mob around him. They were cheering for the spies!
"General," Herodius grumbled.
The armored man stepped forward, helmet in hand.
"Yes, my liege," said General Marcus.
"Gather your finest men," Herodius told him. "I want full armor, everything. Give them whatever you deem necessary to kill these pests." The emperor glared at the general. "They do not make it past the next round, understood?"
General Marcus nodded to the emperor.
"Yes, sire," replied the general. "Leave it to me."
With that said, General Marcus saluted the emperor, and then marched back into the corridor. Lisa and Jackie watched the man's face as he gave them one last glance. He was wearing an evil grin, one that sent chills up the girls' spines. The two guards standing behind them, who they had not noticed before, didn't make the feeling any better. They both turned their gaze back to the arena.
"It looks like all of you are not as helpless as you once believed," said Kenshin.
They were all breathing heavily, with the exception of Kenshin. Nick was looking at Jackie, but turned back to face the group. He knew that they had won the round, but they weren't out the woods yet. Mark stood a bit taller than usual, but only slightly. He was still battling with his own emotions, trying to understand what had just happened.
Lance himself felt the adrenaline still pumping through his body…but also the guilt. He killed that rider, probably when he didn't need to. The thrill of the moment had gained control over his actions, ending the life of another human being. It was the first time he had ever killed anyone, and he hoped it would be his last. Yet as he stood there, looking at Kenshin, he had to wonder if the samurai had ever released all the guilt from killing all that he did, or if he still kept it bottled up inside. If he did, then Lance had more respect for him now, after knowing how hard it was to live with it.
"Maybe," Lance finally replied to Kenshin. "But we only took out three riders. You handled six of them, as well as four chariots. You're the one who deserves credit."
For a moment, Kenshin was silent. True, he had done what Lance had said, but he didn't want to be congratulated for doing that.
"Know this," the samurai said, looking carefully at each one of them. "A samurai only credits himself when he defends the weak. There is no honor in mindless killing."
Though the three men didn't answer verbally, their stares said it all. The battle they had gone through was not something they wanted to have to do again. Their only reason for going on is the fact that the lives of the women on the platform depend on it. For that reason, Kenshin would fight for them.
Over eighteen hundred years later, Elsie Cramer sat exhaustingly in a leather chair, trying to stomach yet another cup of bad coffee. Sitting across from her in the small office, rummaging through the bottom drawer of his desk was Dr. Boris Johanson. Elsie hadn't slept all that well last night. The news of someone making a time jump kept her worried. Who had made it, and why?
Then another jump occurred early this morning, getting everyone riled up again. Boris had woken her up once the jump was recorded, for she had given him explicit instructions to do so if anything happened, no matter how trivial. Despite the fact that no one came back, it was still significant. The jump was made from 1869 Japan, heading back to ancient Rome. What was strange, however, was that while one person went to Japan, two people came back to Rome.
Whatever speculations anyone had for this had to wait however. The main thing they had to do was keep the jumps under wraps. Only those in the control room knew of them, and they had sworn to Johansan that it wouldn't leave the doors. Whitely hadn't been around for a while, and was still in the dark about the two jumps…and Boris made it clear to everyone that it was to stay this way.
Now, they were going through old files and records, trying to gather as much proof as needed to be of use in a court of law. Mostly it consisted of whatever financial records that Johansan had clearance for, as well as the illegal construction and material used in the time travel process. Boris actually did most of the searching. Elsie found herself reading up on the history of the operation, learning about the initial concepts and experiments.
The concepts were all built on quantum physics, of which she knew somewhat. But what she found interesting were the experiments leading up to human time travel. Whitely had first began experimenting with the idea of using quantum computers to do the complex mathematical calculations, and had then progressed to constructing the machinery that could actually handle it. She read all about the construction of the water dome, and how it provided protection from the radiation produced by the event.
But then she came to the experiments. The first tests were done with animals, mostly stray dogs. The return devices were strapped to their backs, set to return after five minutes. The first two didn't even return, and the next three with only bits and pieces of the dog. It wasn't until about the tenth experiment that an animal actually came back fully intact.
Once the soil from the dog's paw was analyzed, the experiment was dubbed a success. After that, Whitely immediately proposed the idea of human transportation. According to the records, Boris ardently opposed the idea, saying it was entirely too soon to even comprehend it. Whitely, of course, pushed for it anyway, and soon found his first test subject.
Kale Mystovich, a former KGB agent, had volunteered for the jump. But during the jump process, the system malfunctioned, suffering from a severe power surge and electrical surcharge. The glass chamber had already filled with Xenon when the surge took place, giving the machine a mind of its own. The control room had nothing to do with it, but a jump was made anyway. When the smoke in the chamber was vented afterwards, the return device and Mystovich's clothing were lying on the chamber floor. Since the frequency had not been entered, it is not known if he was transported to a different time, or was lost in the quantum flux completely.
Elsie almost dropped her coffee mug when she read this.
"You mean to tell me Whitely continued experimenting after what happened to Mystovich?" she asked.
Boris shut his desk drawer and sighed. It was obvious to Elsie, even without a word from the man behind the desk, that he had tried to stop Whitely. His eyes said it all.
"I never in all my travels," said Boris, "met a man so indifferent and uncaring for human life as Thomas Whitely. Let me tell you, I never liked Kale Mystovich. He was a violent and egotistical maniac in my opinion…but no one deserves to die like he did. I pleaded with Whitely to stop the experiments, but he wouldn't listen. I don't know why I even decided staying here after that, but for some reason I couldn't leave."
The man looked ten years older to Elsie, for she was seeing the depressed and repenting man break down before her. His eyes were even watering.
"I guess," Boris continued. "I guess I wanted to be a part of something so scientifically important that I forgot about the most important concept of all – right and wrong. I'm just as guilty as Whitely is."
"No," Elsie said immediately. "You're trying to stop him. That makes you different. You're trying to save the lives of the people trapped in ancient Rome. That makes you different. You care. That makes you different."
The Austrian scientist smiled slightly. But no matter how much he did to stop Whitely, he had still had a hand in the time machine. That in turn led to the deaths of scores of animals and an unknown number of people. Nevertheless, no matter how low he thought of himself, he wouldn't just give up on doing something to help this woman get her friends back. It would be the least he can do.
A sudden ring came from the balding scientist's lab coat. Boris nearly jumped when he heard it go off. He fumbled through the front pockets until he found his cell phone.
"This is Boris," he said quickly.
Elsie watched his expression. It immediately turned serious. Thirty seconds later, he ended the call.
"Miss Cramer," said Boris with a hesitation. "We have seven hours until this facility is compromised and taken by the government. They…" He paused. "They plan on pulling the plug on the whole thing."
"What does that mean?" asked Elsie.
"It means," the scientist replied solemnly, "that we have seven hours for your friends to return before they're trapped back there forever."