Chapter 9
When Lyra and Will stepped out of turbolift, they could not believe their eyes. There, on the main viewer was Lyra's mother, Marisa Coulter. She looked older, possibly in her late 50's or early 60's, but it was unmistakably her. The golden monkey daemon beside her eliminated all doubts.
"Y-you're a witch!" said Lyra.
Dame Marisa Coulter smiled. "You just might think so, my darling Lyra. That would explain how I still draw breath nearly three hundred years from when you last saw me."
Dame Marisa rose gracefully from her command chair on the Stelmaria's bridge. "Though this is not the case. Along with the aerospace technology we were able to obtain from Will's world in The Project's early stages, we were also able to learn the art of suspended animation. Lord Carlo Boreal was able to provide me with a stasis chamber left over from the sleeper-ship SS Botany Bay.
"Oh, Carlo's good friend, the Vice-President of the United States on Will's world, was most cooperative and helpful." Dame Marisa paused a moment to reminisce. "Carlo had obtained our chambers at great personal risk. You see, Richard had asked dear Carlo to accompany him on one of his infamous hunting trips. Fortunately, Carlo emerged unscathed."
Now Dame Marisa addressed Captain Kirk. "I was typically awake and active one year for every decade. The better to oversee The Project. Because only I had the skill to convince the Specters haunting the USS Volynov to allow our practical theologians access to her secrets.
"Now, witness the result. In addition to the Stelmaria, flagship and pride of the Magisterium's Celestial Navy, you are completely surrounded by more than a dozen other vessels; and all phasers, phase cannon and spatial torpedoes are trained on your precious Enterprise. If you wish to avoid a confrontation that I will win, you will follow my instructions diligently.
"You will lower your deflector shields and open your hanger bay. In a few moments, three shuttlecraft will be dispatched from the Stelmaria. Two are heavily-armed military shuttles, each with a contingent of Klingon Marines accompanied by their targ daemons. I do strongly suggest that you and your crew give them no reason to demonstrate their formidable martial skills, captain. The third craft is my private shuttle. Yes, Captain Kirk, I am coming aboard personally.
"I will expect my daughter Lyra and her friend, Will Parry, to be waiting for us . . . ."
"NO!" said Lyra. "I'll go with you, but you must allow Will and the others to go free! Oh, you must!! Will has a sick mother in his own world and time who would suffer without him! I'll go with you! I en't gonna be any more trouble for you! But please, oh, please let Will and the others go free! Lyra fought back tears and Pantalaimon took the form of a little mouse, assuming a submissive posture.
"Oh, honey," said Dame Marisa. "I am so sorry to see you unhappy, my darling Lyra. But you must realize that I simply cannot allow the Enterprise crew to return to their own world and their own time! Please try and understand, Lyra. Even after extensive study of the Volynov, our experimental theologians were unable to learn the secret of the time travel technique used by Starfleet. Ergo, if we let them go free, they will just return to their own time and draw up their plans to eliminate – 'retcon,' I believe they would say - our present status quo!
"No, Lyra. They will remain with us. I promise you, darling, that only the senior officers of the Enterprise shall be punished for crimes committed against the Magisterium. And as for your friend, Will Parry, I give you my solemn word that no harm whatsoever shall come to him . . . ."
"I bet that is what you told Roger, Tony, and all the other kids you stole and took to Bolvangar!" spat Lyra as Pan changed from a mouse into a ferret. "That no harm would come to them! I bet that's also what you told them just before you severed them from their daemons with your bloody silver guillotine!"
"You will watch your tone with me, young lady," replied Dame Marisa, her golden monkey shooting daggers from his eyes at Pan. "I have no intention of harming your little friend. But, ultimately, his well being shall depend upon how well you are willing to cooperate with me!
"Tell me, Lyra: in your sporadic studies with the scholars of Jordan College, have any of them enlightened you about the quaint Brytish custom known as the 'whipping boy?'"
Lyra covered her mouth with her hands. Once again, Pan turned into a tiny mouse and scurried into Lyra's hair, trembling. Lyra had learned that in Mediaeval Brytain, it was forbidden to harm the children of nobility when they misbehaved. Because of this, the noble children were encouraged to befriend a servant's child, who would then be used to take the beating brought on by the noble child's misbehavior.
"Mind you, Lyra," said Dame Marisa. "I have no desire to see your precious Will harmed in any way. I promise to personally never raise my hand to him in anger. Though, if you positively insist on disobeying me, I shall have no alternative but to send Will away, temporarily of course, until you have learned the error and folly of your disobedience. The only question remaining would be; where should I send Will during those times?
"Hmmm; I know! I think it would do Will good to spend some time with other boys his own age to play sports. And as it just so happens, many of our Klingon Marines have sons who are Will's age; and they do so enjoy athletic games . . . ."
For the first time in her life, Lyra Silvertongue was speechless. Since she had first met Will, she knew that he was a strong boy. She had seen him fight and felt safe with him. But when Lyra saw the fierce looking Klingon Marines and their targ daemons flanking her mother's chair on the Stelmaria's bridge, her heart froze with fear for Will's safety. Lyra had never seen a Klingon or a targ before now, and these hard-looking people were adults. Nevertheless, when she tried to imagine twelve-year-old versions of these beings and Will all alone amongst them . . . ."
Will put his hand on Lyra's shoulder. "Its alright, Lyra. I'll go with you; I won't leave you."
"No, Will! Your mother . . . ."
"Lyra, my mother is dead." Will put his hands gently on the sides of Lyra's face as Pan, still in mouse form, moved out of the way. "Listen to me: your mother will not let us go back to 1996. This is 2269! My mother is dead. My father is dead. So is Mrs. Cooper. So is Dr. Malone. They all died over two-hundred years ago. I can't protect my mother any more. But I can protect you."
"Oh, Will . . . ."
Lyra thought of her friend being forced to play rugby, lacrosse or some other, more violent alien sport with these beings, who made the Tartars and Muscovites of her own world look gentle by comparison. She tried to block out images of Will being beaten and battered in the course of violent play with the rougher looking Klingon boys . . . . NO!
Lyra would not let that happen!
Lyra looked up at her mother's triumphant face on the main viewer. "You win," said Lyra, sobbing. "I promise not to disobey you, ever! You will never have to tell me anything twice! I . . . I will do as you tell me . . . mother!"
Dame Marisa smiled and her golden monkey folded his arms in satisfaction. "There now," said Dame Marisa softly. "Was that really so difficult, Lyra? It took centuries, but now, we can finally be together as mother and daughter!"
Tears flowed softly down Lyra's cheeks as she and Will held each other. Gently, Will kissed her cheek. "It's alright, Lyra. I won't ever leave you . . . ."
It was all Dame Marisa Coulter could do to keep her expression neutral, though Ozymandias was snarling at the disgusting display on the Stelmaria's main viewer. Dame Marisa did not like the fact that her Lyra was being held in the arms of a daemonless other-universal (it was bad enough that Will Parry was a commoner!)
But, for the moment, Will Parry was the key to ensuring Lyra's cooperation. Lyra liked the boy, and to protect him, she would think twice before disobeying her mother.
But care would have to be taken. Lyra and Will were rapidly approaching puberty. Soon, Pantalaimon would settle, and Lyra and Will would see each other in a different way. Of course, Lyra and Will could not be left alone together for even a moment. They would have to be chaperoned at all times. The last thing Dame Marisa needed now in her career would be the scandal of a grandchild sired by a daemonless other-universal commoner!
Of course, ultimately, Will Parry would only be a brief threat to Dame Marisa's grand plans . . . .
In The Project's early stages, engineers were brought over from Will's world, some willingly, some not so, to assist with the Magisterium's space program. These people, along with crates of unclassified technical aerospace data (mostly obtained by one Sir Charles Latrom, CBE,) enabled the Magisterium to extend their reach into space.
First, dozens of rivet-per-rivet copies of the infamous A-4/V-2 rocket of Will's world were built, to give the practical theologians of the Prime World basic rocketry experience. Then, with the assistance of the aerospace engineers from Will's world (and the highly skilled metallurgists native to Cittagazze,) the old Project Gemini program first conceived by the United States of Will's world was reborn.
But unlike the Americans of Will's world, the Magisterium had grander plans than making ". . . one small step," on the moon of the Prime World. What were 'flags and footprints' on a dead world compared to the secrets of a 23rd century starship? And such a vessel was orbiting Cittagazze, just waiting to be boarded and studied by the best practical and experimental theologians the Prime World could produce.
Less than twenty years since The Project began, the United Federation of Planets starship, USS Volynov, NCC-1803, was reached by a Cittagazze-built 'Big Gemini' in Prime World Magisterial livery. Accompanying Mrs. Marisa Coulter (soon to be known as 'Dame Marisa Coulter,') were twenty Gyptian "oblates;" an offering for the ravenous Specters stalking the corridors of the Volynov.
Thus convinced that Mrs. Coulter could provide them with far more nourishment if they cooperated with her than if they simply consumed her; the Specters returned with her to Cittagazze, leaving the now truly uninhabited Volynov wide open for study. The Project could now begin in earnest. The first order of business would be to develop warp drive in preparation for the arrival of the USS Enterprise (and inevitable confrontation with Captain Kirk,) some 255 years later.
When the Prime World's experimental theologians told Dame Marisa that it would be impossible to reverse-engineer warp drive with their current level of technology; the decision was made to develop it from scratch. And from the library computer on the Volynov; Dame Marisa knew exactly who from Will's world would be needed.
And on April 5, 2063, just before 11 am, the experimental warp ship Phoenix, piloted by its inventor, Zefram Cochrane, and his assistant, Lily Sloane, was tested in the Prime World universe with Dame Marisa on board as official Magisterial observer.
Later that evening, Dame Marisa Coulter and the officers of the Magisterium received the captain of the Vulcan ship T'Plana-Hath, who was accompanied by his katra T'Pau, who held the form of a magnificent green and gold le-matya.
By that time, all of The Project's practical and experimental theologians were Prime World natives. There was little left for the engineers from Will's war-shattered, dying world to contribute to The Project, anymore. Besides, their value was always severely limited by the hard realities of being transplanted outside of the universe of one's birth.
So, in the long run, Lyra's little boyfriend would only pose a brief threat to the honor of the House of Coulter. Dame Marisa knew that within a few years of relocating to the Prime World, poor Will Parry would soon become chronically ill, suffering horribly more and more each day, until he died, probably before his 21st birthday . . . .
"Now, Captain Kirk," said Dame Marisa. "I believe Commodore Stewart has already instructed you to lower your shields and power-down your weapons." She rose from her command chair and her golden monkey leapt onto her shoulder. "You will also follow my instructions and proceed to your shuttlecraft hanger bay with my precious Lyra and her friend, Will, where you will receive me when you relinquish control of the Enterprise to the Magisterium. You have fifteen minutes while my personal shuttle is prepared."
Dame Marisa turned her attention back to Lyra. "We shall soon be reunited, my precious daughter. Do see that you remember your promise to obey me without hesitation."
"Remember your promise, too, mother," replied Lyra firmly, as Pan changed from a mouse into a ferret. "I do as I am told and Will en't gonna be harmed!" On the main viewer, Dame Marisa responded to Lyra with a barely perceptible nod of her head. Then Lyra took Will's hand and the children followed Dr. McCoy into the turbolift, where they waited for Captain Kirk to join them.
"Mr. Chekov," said Captain Kirk. "Lower the shields and power down phasers and photon torpedo launchers."
"Aye, sir. Shields and weapons are now off line, captain."
"Mr. Sulu, you have the bridge," said Kirk. "Mr. Spock, you're with me."
"Understood, captain," said Spock as he joined Kirk, McCoy and the children.
As soon as the doors closed, Captain Kirk took the control handle and said, "Auxiliary Control," and the turbolift began to move.