Robert Appleton - Prehistoric Clock

His tone was playful, his accent mannered to a fault, yet she sensed a note of hostility, especially when he clicked his acid-water cylinder to the chamber of his pistol with a palm-slap, and eyed her sharply.

“We need to find out where we are…sooner rather than later,” she replied. “In a day or two, if my crew can make the Empress airworthy, I plan to take her up for a lengthy reconnaissance. I don’t know how we wound up here, or if we can ever return, but by God we’re going to find out. Last night’s fireworks started in this vicinity, in this very factory I believe. Whosever experimentation is to blame, whosever insanity smashed us through time, that person is going to have to make himself known- if he or she is still alive.”

Verity swallowed bitterly, wiped her clammy brow with the sleeve of her tunic. The immediacy of the dinosaur attack had not given her chance to consider anything beyond surviving tonight. And neither had her deep sea diving ordeal really sunk in. She nursed the acute throbbing at the back of her head. She was too tired, too beset by impossibilities to think any more tonight.

“If you’ll excuse me, my headache is…I find myself overcome.” She got to her feet and, without engaging any of them, stole away to her B-deck cabin fighting a tight, irrepressible ache in her heart. The urge to sob rose and rose like a vinegary high tide until she sank into her pillow and let hot breaths smother her thoughts.

But she didn’t cry.

“Oi, Garrett, where’s everyone goin’?” Little Billy Ransdell finished nibbling on his chunk of cheese and snatched up his book instead, protecting it from the exodus. The crewmen muttered to one another in their own tongue as they poured out of the low-ceilinged fo’c’sle.

“Djimon says they’re holding a big meeting on deck.” Embrey, rested and lucid after a sound night’s sleep, didn’t want to miss the start of this crucial confab. Lieutenant Champlain had apparently invited everyone to attend-an ideal opportunity to hammer out the specifics of surviving as a group in this hostile world. Frankly, he didn’t know what to make of her as a woman. Her masculine attire and not-exactly-maternal attempt to engage the boy last night had been a little cringe worthy, but as an officer she had displayed bravery, and she certainly had the respect of her crew. A natural candidate for leadership of the camp. But the notion of anyone having autonomy over him, after what his family had suffered at the hands of British “justice”, stuck in his craw as he and Billy clambered up two flights of steps to A-deck.

“Good morning, Embrey.” Reardon still hadn’t run a comb through his silver mop of hair, but at least it wasn’t a stuck-up brush anymore. He was standing on his own against the port bulwark, as far from the other civilian contingent as possible, one hand twitching nervously over the steam-pistol Embrey had given him for protection.

“You slept well?” asked Embrey.

“Quite. I gave a great deal of thought to our situation, though, and to our wayward journey through time. I will explain later when we are alone. Billy, my lad-” he turned to the boy, “-how would you like to help me in the workshop later? I’d love to show you my machine-it’s the only one of its kind in the world.”

“Ain’t it dangerous?” The youngster peered at the ruins of London-that-was.

“Not in the least. I’ll explain how it works, and you can-”

The ship’s whistle sounded thrice, drawing everyone’s attention to the rear of the quarterdeck. The thirty or so African aeronauts immediately formed two fore-to-aft parallel lines at the foot of the stairs leading up to the poop deck. Embrey sighed and leaned back on the bulwark beside Reardon. This ceremony might be standard practice on a Gannet ship, but he fancied it was more for the civilians present, a display of discipline to assert a captain’s right of overall command.

How would this gaggle of male politicians react to a woman calling the shots? And she was only a youngish lieutenant at that. No, it would be far better for diplomacy’s sake if one of them took up the mantle or, better still, someone as proficient in upper social circles as he was with a rifle.

Why not himself, the son of a marquess?

The two columns stiffened at the sound of boot steps approaching from the captain’s cabin beneath the stairs. Heads cocked and tongues wagged throughout the civilian contingent gathered on the starboard side. Embrey merely rolled his eyes. Anyone would think a maharani had arrived on deck.

“As you were.” Her officious, slightly accented voice relaxed the ranks and she began climbing the iron staircase.

Sunlight speared between the fidgeting balloons overhead, reflecting dazzlingly off the upper rain-minted steps. The starboard aft stay cable groaned as it compensated for the left envelope bobbing in the web of harness lines above. It was a crisp morning, cucumberish to the taste, and the pungent saline breeze reminded him strongly of Devonshire. The sun faded, giving him a clear view of Lieutenant Champlain.

“Good God.” Embrey almost choked on his own utterance. He loosened his shirt collar, cleared his throat, for the officer about to address the ship’s company bore almost no resemblance to the tomboy aeronaut from yesterday. Her khaki pith helmet sat neatly on a blaze of cropped red hair, emphasizing her elfin features and small-but-sticky-out ears. She looked around twenty-five. The years of African sun had kissed her skin to a tender cream-and-pink complexion, similar to that of his uncle, who had never tanned despite long periods of exposure. Her white shirt-waist blouse had puff top sleeves and soft, vertical lace on an ample bosom. Embrey’s eyes widened at her flared, corduroy jodhpurs and leather half chaps over paddock boots. The ensemble was so bold for a woman in the Air Corps, so utterly her own, it struck him dumb.

So this was why the crew revered her. “Unique” did not do her justice. The only things missing were her riding crop and hunting rifle, and she likely had those in her cabin. Instead, Tangeni merely handed her a tan bush jacket, which she considered putting on but rather plonked onto the steps behind her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your show of solidarity.” She cleared her throat. “I will make this as brief as I can, as we have a lot of work to do. Time travel is an alien concept to me, and I don’t presume to understand how we got here or how we might return. For my part, this is a challenging survival situation, nothing more, nothing less. I am First Lieutenant Verity Champlain of the British Air Corps’ Fifth Gannet Squadron, and acting captain of the Empress Matilda. This fine gentleman-” she motioned below her, “-is my second in command, Lieutenant Tangeni. Between us, we shall try to provide protection for everyone here, and also to offer this ship as a safehouse whenever we are threatened. At other times, I must insist only my crew and a select few guests be permitted residence here. Unless we can find a source of fresh water nearby, we will need to fly the Empress regularly to collect it, and also to explore. Given last night’s attack, it is prudent to insist no one venture near the forest on foot unless with an armed party.”

She removed her helmet to massage the back of her head and glimpsed Embrey out of the corner of her eye. His pulse quickened. He offered her a friendly nod.

“As I was saying-” She paused, glanced at him again but this time, to his amusement, she bunched her face up into a flustered, irritable frown. She put the helmet back on. “We shall endeavour to provide protection and that includes from troublemakers within the group. My crew is not here to police your streets but I can assure you no crime will be tolerated. My one inviolate rule either on or off the ship is that no one, and I mean no one,” she addressed the gaggle sharply, “is to hinder Professor Reardon’s work in any way. As I understand it, he is our guarantor for a return to our own time. If any of you so much as lay a finger on him, that person will face summary punishment. And if there is even a whiff of another lynching party, I will not hesitate to execute every last member. Do not cross me on this.”