THE MEDIEVAL MARINE - CAULDRON SIMMERING

CHAPTER I - Alcoholics Anonymous

“To alcohol! The cause of... and solution to... all of life’s problems.” ― Matt Groening.

York, Great Britain. January 1078

Two years. It had been two years since Marion felt her husband’s arms around her, his muscles under his skin, his breath on her neck, or his manhood plunging deep into her depths. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she had known where he was, but nobody had seen him in the year since his disappearance at the end of the last battle. All her vast intelligence network could tell her was he wasn’t in Europe. He wasn’t dead either since his body hadn’t been found among his dead guards.

Gabriella had been just as sad as Marion, but she had the added stress of watching her wife suffer a tremendous loss and losing many of her oldest friends when Luke’s guard unit had been wiped out. Due to Luke’s importance, Gabriella assigned his guard detail to the guards who were closest to her. It made it worse when she learned they had been killed after the end of the last battle while fighting off a cowardly attack on a medical unit. Luke and his guards were the closest support, and their selfless charge saved the medical unit and most patients.

Six months after the battle, Luke was posthumously awarded the Cross of Honor and Valor, while Major Leofflæd was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The rest of the guards were awarded Silver Stars. Even though Luke was Marion’s husband, there wasn’t a soldier who didn’t believe he deserved the honor. The story of Luke’s final charge had swept through the army and had already passed into legend.

Gabriella’s arms shook Marion from her depression and brought her mind back to the work before her. There was endless paperwork, and everything had to be done. Reluctantly, Marion refocused her attention on her work. In the two years since she had last seen Luke, Marion had grown to where she didn’t make missteps. If she misstepped, it was slight and easy to correct; nobody dared to underestimate Great Britain’s Golden Queen.

One of the things that made Marion’s life more manageable was that nobody was attacking her despite most of Europe being embroiled in conflict. The European powers finally understood that attacking the British was a losing proposition. British trade flourished in most European ports despite many of those ports belonging to opposing powers. Any kingdom threatening British trade or citizens got a strongly worded letter from Marion detailing what would happen should they persist, which was usually enough to get them to back down.

Like Marion, Alice had been thinking of Luke as well. But unlike Marion, she was in their chambers, curled up in bed. Alice had been infected by an annoying mild flu that left her weak. Also, it wasn’t her lover who jarred her thoughts but her youngest twins. Susan and Samantha were at it again; they fought like cats and dogs over everything. However, before Alice could lever herself upright to discipline her children, Mackenzie’s iron voice solved the problem.

Just short of her twelfth birthday, Mackenzie MacDougall was a force of nature not to be trifled with. Everyone who met her knew that once she began filling out, she would be the woman to break a million hearts as her blue eyes could peer into any soul, and her golden hair would bribe the most honest of humans.

Anytime she wasn’t in school or training with the guards, Mackenzie helped care for her brothers and sisters. With 17 brothers and sisters living with her, Mackenzie was never bored. Being as tall as most adults, Mackenzie was accomplished in martial arts and could hold her own against a few of the newer Household Guards.

Still, Mackenzie was just as sad as her mother. Before Luke went to war, Mackenzie had been the quintessential daddy’s girl and, in many ways, still was. While she was not interested in following in her mother’s footsteps, everyone around her agreed that Mackenzie would make a great queen. Mackenzie was well-read and absorbed knowledge like a sponge; depending on the subject, she could take on professors and emerge victorious.

After dinner that evening, Marion found Mackenzie sitting on the balcony facing west, staring into the distance. She smiled, seeing Salem’s black form lying in Mackenzie’s lap. Since Luke left, Salem had adopted Rebecca as his primary pet human but still spent time on everyone’s lap. Salem seemed to know which of his pets needed his presence, hence his sleeping on Mackenzie’s lap.

“If looking to where he came from could bring your father back, I would have done it long ago,” said Marion softly. Mackenzie jumped, not hearing her mom walk up behind her.

“I never expected it to. Looking toward where he came from makes me feel closer to him.”

“Who knows? Maybe one day, you and I will travel to where he lived.”

“You think so, Mum?”

“With our technology improving as rapidly as it is. I think it will be possible one day.” Mackenzie sighed.

“I would love that, Mum. Is there any news as to where he went?”

“I’m sorry, Mac, but we still haven’t heard.” While Luke tended to call Mackenzie Pumpkin or Kenzie, Marion called her Mac.

“He has to be in the Seljuk Empire. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“But where, Mac? The Seljuk Empire is one of the largest land empires currently in existence.”

“If I were the Seljuk Sultan, I would keep Daddy as close as possible. Daddy has too much knowledge to waste.” Mackenzie stated this with all the apparent wisdom of a twelve-year-old girl.

“I wish it were that easy, Mac. Their capital is Isfahan, which is far inland. That alone makes it harder to get to. Then you must add that we don’t look much like the natives. My spies can easily move around neighboring countries because they are almost indistinguishable from the native population. Then, even if we can set up a spy ring in the Seljuk Empire, the distance between them and us is a serious problem. It takes months for news to travel from there to here, and I don’t see that changing in the immediate future.” A tear ran down Marion’s cheek with her next thought. “It is also possible your father was transported to another universe, and we have no hope of ever seeing him again.”

Mackenzie looked at her mother through the tears in her own eyes.

“Is that what you think?”

“No, but it is another possibility that must be entertained. It has happened once, so it can happen again.”

Mackenzie sobbed, and Marion wrapped her arms around her oldest daughter. As much as it pained Marion, she believed Luke had been transported between universes again and lied to help protect her daughter. At times, over the past year, Marion had wished she had never met Luke. Luke had given her power, a loving family, and someone who believed in her, but if she had never met him, she wouldn’t have suffered like she had over the past year. Marion’s mind drifted to that suffering.

The last year had been particularly hard for Marion, and the lines on her face showed the stress. The only experience she could compare it to was right after they had captured York, and she thought Luke had died. At least then, Marion had a body to confirm what happened.

Marion was numb for a week after she received news of Luke’s disappearance. Instead of the warm woman everyone knew and loved, it seemed Marion was a robot. She got up, ran 10km with her troops, went to the office, went to her chambers, ate, showered, went to sleep, suffered nightmares, and repeated.

Even that condition was preferable to what came next when Marion dived into a bottle and refused to come out. Instead of running and working, Marion woke up and began drinking. Breakfast was ale, while wine was for lunch and whiskey was for dinner. Every night, she passed out in an alcohol-induced slumber, only to repeat the next day.

At least being drunk, Marion had escaped the endless tormenting nightmares. What drove her to the bottle was when she began suffering visions of death and destruction during the day. The visions were always similar: everything in her life ended in death and destruction. The worst vision was of Mackenzie being raped by a faceless enemy while Marion was tied to the tree, which had been used to hang Gabriella and forced to watch. As her oldest and being named after Luke’s sister, Marion had a special place in her heart for Mackenzie. She remembered Luke’s tears when she told him what she wanted to name their first daughter.

When Marion began drinking, everyone supported her. She was dealing with powerful demons that nobody else faced. After all, she had sent Luke to Egypt, and he had been her soulmate. When talking, they often finished each other’s sentences and knew what the other was thinking with only a glance.

As Marion’s drinking became worse, the people around her realized she had a severe problem. While most people didn’t see much wrong, her family knew better. Alice knew of the dangers of alcoholism. Not only had it been highlighted in some of Luke’s texts, but she had also seen the real-life examples too frequently.

While Marion tried to drink York dry, Gabriella kept things running smoothly, but she had her limits. Marion finally reached Gabriella’s limits around Christmas when she didn’t bother celebrating with the family; she spent the entire day holding a bottle.

The day after Christmas, Gabriella ordered her guards to arrest Marion and confine her to a single-room apartment. All alcohol was banned from the room, and under no circumstances were the guards allowed to let Marion leave or bring her anything Gabriella or Alice hadn’t approved.

It took Marion two days to realize what had happened, and she was furious. First, she demanded that her guards let her out, but according to their orders from Gabriella, they didn’t. Then she ordered them to bring her wine, which they didn’t.

It was no accident that Colonel Salomon commanded the detachment that controlled Marion. Gabriella knew that with Abbi in command, her orders would be followed to the letter. While the guards refused to obey Marion, they carefully watched her and reported their observations to Alice. Alice had been tasked with keeping Marion alive until her system could flush the alcohol out.

Colonel Salomon became concerned when she saw Marion shaking while holding her head like someone with a severe headache. If it hadn’t been for Alice’s reassurances, Abbi may have given in to Marion’s demands.

By the beginning of the second week of January, Marion had dried out for the most part, and Gabriella had let her out under tight guard. If Marion so much as looked at alcohol, she would be back in her room, and the guards would be expelled from the Household Guards. Both parties behaved, so Gabriella allowed Marion to return to their bed.

Over the following week, Marion’s health improved rapidly. However, everything almost came to a crashing end when Marion suffered another nightmare and found a bottle of wine. If it hadn’t been for an alert guard, Marion would have drank the whole bottle. As it was, the guard and Marion fought over the bottle until it slipped out of their hands and shattered on the floor.

Marion wailed at the top of her lungs, fell to her knees, and licked the floor, trying to drink any available wine. The guard called for help since it took several guards to pull the queen away from the spilled wine. Gabriella was furious with Marion and slapped her several times. As soon as Gabriella was done, Kukka stepped in, and by the time she was done with Marion, Marion was one big bruise. The powerful Sámi woman did a number on Marion.

However, it wasn’t her fellow wives beating her that woke Marion up to the death spiral she was in; it was her middle child, Rachael. Rachael was as intelligent as Mackenzie but without Mackenzie’s in-your-face attitude. She walked up to her mother, bent down, looked right into Marion’s eyes, and said softly,

“I still love you, Mummy.”

The look of innocent, pure love on her second daughter’s face finally broke Marion’s death spiral. She curled up on the ground in the fetal position, screaming and sobbing, with each sob shaking her entire body. Marion lay in the same place and cried for hours until she fell asleep. Once asleep, Gabriella had some guards help lift the queen into bed, where Alice, Gabriella, and Kukka curled up with her.

Often, it took everything the women had to keep Marion from falling out of bed as she thrashed in her sleep. For twelve hours, Marion fought the demons in her head, and for most of the fight, the demons would have won if it hadn’t been for her wives’ support. Finally, Marion calmed down, having defeated her demons, and slipped into a deep sleep.

With Marion calm and asleep, the wives took turns staying with her while the others went to get some rest. Marion slept for 24 hours before she finally opened her eyes. When Marion opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Gabriella’s smiling face.

“Welcome back, love.” From the look in Marion’s eyes, Gabriella knew the worst was over. Her eyes were bright blue again.

“Hello, Gabby.” Marion placed her hand on the back of Gabriella’s neck and pulled her in for a kiss. “Thank you for standing up to me. I know that had to be the hardest thing you have ever done, but without you, I know I would be dead soon.”

“And?” Marion took a deep breath while looking inside herself.

“I am good, I think.” Gabriella smiled and bent down to kiss Marion. When Gabriella pulled back, Marion sniffed the air. “God! What smells so bad? It smells like something died inside a sweaty shirt used to haul rotten manure.” Gabriella’s cheeks turned bright red.

“Umm. I hate to tell you, but that’s you.”

“Oh, My Gods,” Marion groaned. “Can you get a bath going for me? I don’t think a shower is going to cut it. We may have to get a new mattress as bad as I smell.”

“We already thought of that. When you get up, we’ll replace the mattress and send the sheets to the laundry.”

Gabriella giggled at the red spreading through Marion’s cheeks as she went to start a bath. Marion noticed Kukka and Alice sitting nearby and gave them an embarrassed smile. Knowing what she needed to do, Marion carefully approached the redheads, but they stopped her before she reached them.

“No offense, honey, but you reek,” cracked Alice.

“Listen. I’m so sorry,” Marion held up her hand when Alice went to interrupt. “Please let me finish.” Alice nodded. “I am so sorry for my behavior since the news reached us. I have no excuse for such behavior and hope you two will find it in your hearts to forgive me one day.”

“Already forgiven Marion. We knew about the demons buried deep inside you, and with your strong bond with Luke, it was inevitable those demons would resurface. We are glad you made it through; running this empire without you sucks,” replied Kukka.

“Gee, thank you, Kukka.” Marion sighed. “Speaking of that, what has happened in the last few months?” From behind them, Gabriella’s voice sounded.

“Nothing important enough for you to worry about. Now get in here so I can try to get you clean again.”

Marion looked over her shoulder at Gabriella and turned to go. Before walking away, she rushed to Kukka and Alice and caught them in a tight hug. Marion’s hug was tight enough that neither woman could escape as Marion shed more tears. This time, though, she shed happy tears. When Marion backed away, Alice and Kukka smelled themselves.

“Great, now we smell, and I just had a shower,” complained Kukka.

“Well, come bathe with me then,” suggested Marion.

Kukka and Alice looked at each other and shrugged. They quickly stripped to join Marion in the bathroom. There, they found Gabriella still dressed. Marion turned to the redheads with an evil smile. They smiled back, wondering what Marion had in mind.

Without warning, Marion locked Gabriella in a bear hug and pulled her into the tub. Water went everywhere as the two women landed, and Alice doubled over laughing. She had seen the look on Gabriella’s face just before she hit the water and only wished she had Luke’s camera to capture it. Gabby stood and put her hands on her hips.

“Marion, what the hell was that about?!?!” she demanded. Instead of answering, Marion began laughing. She laughed so hard that she came close to drowning at one point. Finally, she finished, and the redheads joined them after Gabriella removed her wet clothes. It didn’t take long for the giggling to start as fingers dipped into honey pots or found ticklish spots. Soon, all four were shrieking and behaving like children. It was just what they needed, and all four had reaffirmed their bonds by the time they were done.

By the time they could go to bed, the four were closer than ever and had a foursome before sleeping. Up to this point, they had kept their love lives separate, two pairs in their lovemaking. This was the first time they had ever formed a foursome without Luke being there, and if they had their way, it wouldn’t be the last.

At one point, Marion was on her back, and Kukka was straddling her face while Alice was grinding her mound into Marion’s and kissing Kukka. Gabriella had her lips locked onto Marion’s nipple while Marion’s fingers were dancing in Gabriella’s slit.

Marion’s memory was interrupted when Mackenzie looked up at her and asked.

“Mum, when will you remove that black and white ribbon from your hair?” After the news of Luke going missing, Marion started wearing a black ribbon with white trim.

“When we find your father.”

“Mum, are you going to find Daddy?”

“We are doing everything in our power to find him. I will personally move Heaven, Earth, and Hell if I must to find and bring him home.”

Marion’s family was not the only group who had a difficult time with Luke gone. Field Marshal Jeevika had the problem of rebuilding the army after the beating they had taken in Egypt. She had to assume Luke’s role as the army’s top commander, and her first task was to replace the officers lost in battle.

It took six months, but all the officers were replaced, and the army could then focus on enlistment. Given what people saw after the Egyptian campaign, they were eager to enlist because all the new officers came up from the ranks. The military provided a path for talented people to advance in life and gain fame and fortune.

Many surviving troops had returned with enough loot to set themselves up for the rest of their lives. Some paid off debts, while others started small businesses or families. Even with their new wealth, most soldiers stayed in the military. They had seen the conditions overseas, and a new feeling was taking hold within the military. All the world’s people deserve to be free and have a voice in government. Marion was quick to listen to the people, as demonstrated when she removed some of her officials who had abused their positions.

Marion also established pathways within the government for the people to elect some of their officials. However, Marion did such a good job that every time she asked, only a few percent of the population wanted to elect leaders. They were happy enough to have someone else take care of the task of governing, and as long as they had a way to make their grievances heard, that wasn’t likely to change.

CHAPTER II - Revolts Simmering

“Give me liberty or give me death.” ― Patrick Henry.

Rome, Italy. January 1078

Matilda stood up from where she had been leaning over the map table and put her fist into her back to stretch the knotted muscles. Laying on the table was a map of Corsica. The Corsican pirates had finally gone too far in capturing Italian shipping, and the Italian merchants were screaming for blood. In addition to regularly capturing merchant ships, the pirates raided coastal villages, forcing their entire populations into slavery.

Even though the British had destroyed the North African slave markets, the market for slaves was still strong, especially in the Byzantine Empire, Middle East, and Iberian territories. With northern European slaves off the market, slave traders turned to capturing slaves from the south of France, Italy, the Balkans, and North Africa.

While Matilda didn’t care about the poor coastal fishing villages, she did care about the merchants. Many merchants trading in the western Mediterranean were being driven out of business or were being captured for the slave market. The loss of merchants was a big hit to Matilda’s tax revenue and couldn’t be allowed to continue.

When Matilda and her staff began planning three weeks ago, every possible course of action had been on the table, from doing nothing to conquering Corsica. Each had its advantages and disadvantages. Doing nothing would keep Genoa from becoming angrier with Italy, but it wouldn’t solve the pirate problem. Genoa refused to do anything to take care of the problem.

The Italians knew that if they used a naval-only raid, the pirates would retreat and return as soon as the Italian ships disappeared from the horizon. If they added land forces to the mix, the pirate infrastructure would be damaged, but it wouldn’t do anything long-term. That left conquering the island.

If the Italians attempted to conquer Corsica, it would bring them into direct confrontation with Genoa, which had alliances with Pisa, Milan, and Venice. It could even bring the weight of the Holy Roman Empire down on her. While Henry hadn’t done much when Matilda moved Florance to the Papal States and turned them into Italy, if she went to war with Genoa, it might prove to be a bridge too far.

While Matilda was distracted by the Corsican problem, Pope Gregory attempted to rebuild his former power. It was difficult because many nobles saw Gregory as part of the problem. Under Matilda, their taxes had gone down while the economy grew steadily. They were not about to upset the cart unless Matilda made a disastrous mistake. Even the pirate problem didn’t help Gregory. The pirates flourished under him as he refused to do anything about them. It was already rumored that Matilda would launch an invasion of Corsica to eliminate the pirates there once and for all.

With Gregory’s command of the church, he had an excellent idea of what was happening away from the palaces. Many in the lower classes were unhappy with the idea of a female ruler and wished to return to the days when men ruled the kingdom.

The discontent in the lower classes gave Gregory hope, but he disliked the idea of relying on them. As far as Gregory was concerned, the peasants and common laborers were the scum of the Earth and not suitable for much. Unfortunately for him, the scum was the only large group that supported him. The Italian nobility and military were firm supporters of Matilda.

One reason the nobility was such firm supporters of Matilda was that she had pushed for increased industrialization of the kingdom. Since the nobles owned the new factories and farms, they were the ones who benefited. Matilda also violently crushed all demonstrations by the lower classes.

Not long after Matilda came to power, Rome had a large riot. When the riot broke out, she called in the army and ordered them to surround the rioters. After the rioters were trapped, the army moved in. Some were arrested, while others were killed. By the time calm was restored, the Tiber ran red with blood. Almost 600 were killed, and another 2,000 were arrested. The people arrested were sentenced to life in the mines as slave labor. It didn’t matter if they were man, woman, or child; all arrested were sent to the mines. In the slave-run mines, workers’ lifespans were usually measured in months, and it was guaranteed all female slaves would be brutally and repeatedly raped.

Frankfort, Holy Roman Empire. January 1078

Henry had a royal mess on his hands. There were active revolts in Poland and at home while the French and Italians bit off pieces of the Holy Roman Empire. When Warsaw finally surrendered in the spring of 1077, Henry thought his problems to the east were solved. He took everything west of Warsaw and incorporated it into the empire. He hadn’t counted on the Polish commoners not wanting to be under a German ruler.

The Polish peasants hated Henry and took every opportunity to show their hatred. From dodging taxes to burning government buildings, controlling Poland was proving to be a massive headache for Henry. It didn’t help that King Zima took every opportunity to stir the pot of revolt.

After Warsaw fell, Henry appointed a new Polish king who ruled from Lublin. However, Zima soon escaped and led a coup to retake the throne only three months after the end of the war. Back in command, Zima worked day and night to retake Polish land from the Germans. Since he didn’t have troops, he moved to stir up the Polish peasants against the Germans. Even Zima couldn’t have guessed how successful his campaign would be, and by winter, full-scale revolts broke out all over occupied Poland.

If revolts in Poland were not bad enough, the German nobility were in full-scale revolt. The revolts that had been simmering erupted after Matilda came into power in Italy. The German nobility saw a woman coming to power in Italy as a sign that Henry was weak and vulnerable.

The first city to revolt was Vienna when the mayor announced that all Henry’s officials were banned from the city and that taxes collected would not be sent to Frankfort. The revolt spread from Vienna as the nobles who had felt oppressed for years saw their chance. Never mind the irony that their final goal was to return to their places of dominating the lower classes.

After Vienna, the revolt began heading northwest up the Danube River. Although the Polish War was over, most of the German Army was either keeping the peace in Poland or fighting the French in Burgundy. The only thing keeping the noble’s revolt from overwhelming Henry was the large number of educated lower and middle-class citizens. Many saw the threat posed by the revolting nobles and formed volunteer regiments to defend the emperor by the beginning of winter 1077/78.

Outside of having the lower classes on his side, Henry had another advantage his enemies couldn’t hope to match: his wife, Brunhild. By this time, Brunhild was as much a mother to the emerging German nation as Henry was the father. She saw nurturing the growing sense of German nationalism as the best way for her and Henry’s family to stay in power.

While the idea of a German nation wasn’t new, deep discussions with Luke while she had been in Britain had caused the notion of a German nation to crystalize in Brunhild’s mind. After hearing of the death and destruction that would befall her homeland if changes were not made, Brunhild had set all her goals to help push for a unified German nation.

Paris, France. January 1078

Henry wasn’t the only monarch who saw rebel activity in occupied areas. The French dealt with the same thing in Burgundy, especially once the lower and artisan classes learned what would happen to them after Philip was in complete control. Under Henry, the serfs were freed, and those who wished to keep farming could buy land, while the artisans saw a drastic reduction in taxes and tolls for the roads.

Only a month after Philip invaded, he forcibly returned former serfs to their former master’s land. Once locked back on the land, many nobles were not kind to their serfs and sought to punish them for leaving. Many serfs were tortured or raped as punishment for defying their lord’s will. He also reintroduced tolls on the major roads and almost all bridges.

Although Philip quickly conquered the southern half of Burgundy, he just as promptly began hitting roadblocks. The French Army may have numbered 30,000, but its size was also a hindrance to its effectiveness. Very few roads could handle an army of that size without extensive modifications or having the army strung out over several kilometers. An army spread over several kilometers of road was an easy target for enemy raiding or partisans. It also slowed the army to a crawl.

Philip’s artillery also caused problems since almost no bridges in the region were strong enough to support them. This lesson was painfully driven home when several bridges collapsed under the weight of the artillery. During these accidents, valuable artillery pieces were lost, and trained crews were injured or killed. Also, the army was forced to halt until the bridge could be rebuilt.

Bridges were a problem all over and one that only the British Army had a consistent solution to. They tended to ignore pre-existing bridges and built their own from pontoons for their artillery to cross. Stopping to build a pontoon bridge might slow them down, but it was considerably faster and cheaper than rebuilding a collapsed bridge.

Rebuilding bridges exposed the greatest vulnerability of the French Army, namely its lack of engineering expertise. Without engineers, bridges were not rebuilt correctly and often failed soon after being rebuilt. The lack of engineering also became apparent after the lead elements of the German Army arrived. While the French had the numbers, the Germans were battle-hardened by years of experience with leather-lunged NCOs and dedicated officers. Not only that, but they had an experienced engineering corps that quickly built almost impenetrable field fortifications.

While Philip’s Army faced rebellions in Burgundy, Philip faced a more personal rebellion in Paris. Bertha was on the verge of taking the children and leaving. She was tired of the constant warfare Philip was plunging the kingdom into. It seemed that every time the kingdom began to get ahead, Philip would plunge it back into a pointless war.

Bertha often looked across the channel with envy. There, Marion was at peace, allowing her to raise her children without fearing them falling into foreign hands. Bertha constantly feared her children would end up captives of a foreign power, and she would lose them forever.

New Cork, New Ireland. January 1078

Órlaith stood at the window and watched the snow fall as she nursed her and Toirdelbach’s first child. Their first child was a boy named Diarmait mac Briain, after an old friend of Toirdelbach’s. Órlaith was glad she was married to Toirdelbach because it ensured she would get enough food. The winter was especially harsh, and food shortages already existed among the poor.

As Diarmait finished, his father entered and stomped the snow off his boots. Órlaith didn’t think much of men, but there was no way she would take Toirdelbach’s job or responsibilities. Toirdelbach had a never-ending list of worries and problems that never seemed to go away. If it wasn’t ensuring everyone had food, it was protecting them from the natives or ensuring they had fuel to feed their fires to keep from freezing to death.

Ensuring the people had fuel became a priority when a young family died after they couldn’t get to their firewood supply. After that, Toirdelbach had representatives visit every household at least once a week to check they had an adequate supply of firewood and food. People who didn’t have enough were given enough by the state or a more fortunate neighbor. Sometimes, all it took was for the neighbors to get together to help dig out the snow that buried firewood supplies.

The food stores were beginning to reach levels that concerned Toirdelbach. The autumn had been rough, with a severe storm at the worst possible time destroying much of their grain supply. With less grain, the people relied more on meat, but most of the game near the city was already gone, so they ate fish or their livestock. Eating the livestock helped because it meant fewer animals to feed. The Irish hadn’t considered planting animal fodder, and the sickly livestock couldn’t dig through the deep snow to reach food.

With the lack of carbohydrates in their diet, many Irish began suffering from ketosis, further endangering the people. While their bodies made the transition, they were useless. After transitioning entirely to a low-carb diet, many found they didn’t have the energy they had before.

If food and fuel were not enough concerns for Toirdelbach, aggressive natives and short-tempered colonists added to his misery. While the Irish had pushed most of the native tribes out of the area, there were a few near the edges of New Ireland. Those tribes were not too happy with the Irish and took every opportunity to make the Irish lives as short as possible.

The last of Toirdelbach’s significant problems was the hardest to deal with. Many new immigrants were from France and were displaced when Philip’s reforms left them with no land. Their choices were to leave or become serfs again. Many left, and while most settled in Britain or the Holy Roman Empire, some ended up in New Ireland.

When the French arrived in relatively large numbers, the Irish settlers were frightened and furious. They felt they were being invaded and directed their anger at Toirdelbach and the French. Most Irish ignored the French to the point where they wouldn’t acknowledge them in the streets. If a French settler were drowning, the most the native Irish would do was stop to piss on them.

The French were only trying to find a better life and reacted to the Irish hostility with their own. Since the numbers of Irish and French were close to equal, the French had no reason to hold back. It took Toirdelbach everything he had to keep the kingdom from erupting into a full-scale civil war.

After Toirdelbach finished knocking the snow off his clothing and warming himself at the fire, he approached Órlaith and held her tight. Órlaith could feel the tension in her husband’s body as he held her. She knew this helped him unwind at the end of the day, and even though she didn’t enjoy it physically, she craved it emotionally. It let her know he loved her even though she wasn’t attracted to him.

Finally, Toirdelbach let Órlaith go and kissed her neck. The kiss sent shivers down her spine, but she was relieved when her husband retreated to their bedroom to change. While she would have allowed her husband to use her body, Órlaith wouldn’t have enjoyed it. They had been married for just over a year and hadn’t found another woman to bring into their relationship.

Ingegerdsborg, Scandinavia. January 1078

Ingegerd was relieved when she found a business manager who could look after her diverse interests. His name was Alfred, and he had been a Swedish merchant before Ingegerd’s army captured his home. Seeing a better opportunity, he stayed behind when the rest of his family ran. His better opportunities began to pile up, and he became the wealthiest person in the region within a year.

His increasing wealth brought him to Ingegerd’s attention when she moved her capital. When they first met, they were weary of each other as they felt the other would take the other’s wealth. It took Anna to mediate between the two before they came to an agreement. Alfred would sell his business to Ingegerd before taking over the management of her business empire. By doing this, Ingegerd had someone to run her business, and Alfred made more money without fearing that he would lose everything with one turn of his fortunes.

Instead of instantly giving Alfred the reins, she sent him to Britain to learn about running diverse business interests from Bard. When Alfred arrived in Britain, he thought he knew everything about running a business and making money. When he left six weeks later, he felt he knew nothing. Everything about running a large company differed from running the small business he was used to. Before, Alfred had a handful of employees, and he knew every one of them. Now, Alfred had several thousand employees working for him across various industries.

Another difference was a prominent business operated on bank notes, not gold or silver. When they were used, bank notes left a paper trail, which helped keep money from sticking to people’s fingers. The increasing use of banknotes helped British merchants protect their hard-earned wealth from those who would steal it.

Ingegerd enjoyed living in her new capital. It was warmer in the winter and without the brutal storms that swept off the Atlantic. Being her capital was a new city, Ingegerd ensured it had every amenity she could install. The entire city had running water, sewer service, and electricity. The power came from several small dams nearby. The worst thing about her new capital was that it would become icebound every few years during the winter.

When Ingegerd realized she didn’t have much coal and wood wasn’t an efficient way to generate power, Ingegerd asked Pollyanna for advice. Pollyanna suggested building hydroelectric dams to supply the electricity for Ingegerdsborg. Since there were plenty of rivers, Ingegerd went with the hydroelectric option and ordered the construction of several small dams. This allowed Scandinavian engineers to gain experience with small dams before attempting to tackle larger projects.

The copper and aluminum wires came from Britain, as the Scandinavians couldn’t produce the consistent wire needed to manufacture generators or power lines. The high-voltage power lines used aluminum wires to prevent them from sagging too much under their own weight. To help support the wires, every power line had a core of rubber-coated, high-strength steel cable around which the hexagonal aluminum wires were spun. The entire cable was coated with a thin layer of rubber to prevent moisture from entering.

Kingston, Jamaica. January 1078

The settlement of Kingston was thriving, with the export of alumina being the leading source of revenue. The governor of the island, Cynesige of Norfolk, was excited. Their first sugar crop grew rapidly and promised a healthy profit when harvested. Much of the infrastructure needed to harvest the sugar cane was already in place, so there would be no delay in processing. Until the industry was established, new sugar cane cuttings were imported from Egypt every few months.

While the amount of land under cultivation increased, Cynesige took steps to secure the region. Natives on the large island to their east had reacted brutally when a British fishing boat was blown ashore in a storm. They had taken the crew and burned them alive. That crew wasn’t the first, but they were the last straw, and Cynesige ordered an invasion to clear the island of natives.

The invasion was launched in December 1077, and although the initial invasion was successful, moving outside the beachhead was proving costly. The thick forest and mountainous terrain on the island made it difficult to move forward, while the natives did not make the same mistake they had made in Jamaica. They fought from the trees and refused to engage in a full-scale battle.

When his troops became bogged down, Cynesige wrote an urgent dispatch to Marion asking for more troops. They needed grenadiers, but that was unlikely because of the wars brewing in Europe. Still, any fresh troops would help.

The island was Hispaniola in Luke’s world, but the British named it New Britain since they were there first. The British forces landed on the southwest tip of the island. This allowed them to keep the front narrow until they had enough strength to push forward against the natives. Cynesige knew a bit about geology and suspected vast amounts of mineral riches in the mountains. All he had to do was find, control, and mine them without breaking Marion’s environmental or labor laws. It was a process that would take years, if not decades, to complete.

Another set of laws Cynesige had to be wary of were Marion’s laws regarding corruption. Marion kept a tight leash on her governors, with independent audit teams providing oversight. In case the governor managed to buy one of them off, the teams were regularly rotated. This kept the threat of auditor corruption low. When a government official was convicted of corruption, they were imprisoned and usually sentenced to ten to fifteen years of hard labor. The guilty official also had to watch as their family was kicked out of their home with only the clothes on their back. Their possessions would then be sold to help recuperate some of the money embezzled. Sometimes, the family would report the corrupt official. In those cases, the family would retain their possessions when the official was sentenced.

Tavistock, Amazonia Provence. January 1078

Captain Morwenna was preparing to leave and return to Britain. She had been sending resources back for a year and had started several massive rubber plantations near Tavistock. It would be years before any rubber was produced. Still, Luke issued them several warnings before he went missing, the most important being that no matter how much easier it was, never clone trees, always grow new trees from seeds, and never waste a resource.

In addition to the rubber plantations, sugar cane was planted and growing rapidly. Morwenna mandated that a percentage of fields be planted in food crops to feed the population. Since the growing season was year-round, food was produced in vast quantities, and the British were well-fed; however, they were not overweight. Most of what they ate were local fruits or vegetables, with fish making up the meat in their diet. Although they primarily ate fruits and vegetables, some grains were also part of their diet, with seeds originating from Egypt.

While the British had been exploring, they discovered significant amounts of iron ore, gold, bauxite, manganese, and tin. Thanks to the destruction of the first native attack, the remaining natives stayed far away from the British. While the British hadn’t started industrial mineral extraction, Morwenna carried a map detailing the discovered deposits. To keep her people working, rather than searching for gold, Morwenna devised a schedule where everyone would rotate through the gold fields; each person would have one week per month to search for gold. This arrangement also made it easier to keep track of the taxes due from gold mining.

Marion taxed all mining activities at 10%, while the province took another 3%. Provincial mining taxes helped pay for infrastructure, fire and police services, and schools. All mining taxes were paid in raw metal, as tracking taxes after the metal was sold had proven challenging. When miners brought their gold back, they could sell it to several buyers, one representing the treasury. The British treasury needed vast amounts of gold, silver, and bronze to keep producing the coins that kept the economy running. Other buyers represented private companies that used gold for jewelry or other decorations.

Many people were angry when she proposed the system until Morwenna pointed out the obvious, such as who would grow food or defend them from hostile natives. It was not until after two miners were found dead with signs of extreme torture that the British miners listened to Morwenna. With everyone working together, they began to extract far more gold than if they had continued to work independently. The money earned from gold mining was used to purchase supplies from Britain. Any extra was usually sent back to family members, used to bring them to Amazonia, or deposited into the workers’ bank accounts for their future use.

After Captain Morwenna finished her packing, there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, she found the new governor of Amazonia, Æðelflæd of Hampton, and her husband, Wilheard.

“Hello, come in.” Morwenna stepped out of the way.

“Thank you, captain,” Æðelflæd replied sweetly.

“What can I do for you?”

“It’s more about what we can do for you, captain. Thanks to you, I have this fantastic opportunity to prove myself and grow to new heights. I want to give you a substantial thank you. I know you find my husband attractive since I have seen you undressing him with your eyes ever since we arrived.” Morwenna blushed. “Since this is your last night here, I would like you to spend it with my husband.” Morwenna’s jaw fell to the floor.

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Please, Morwenna, use my husband tonight as a token of thanks. I cannot pay you because you are far wealthier than I ever hope to be, so my husband and I came up with loaning his services to you.”

“Well, Wilheard. What about you? Do you find me attractive enough to commit adultery?”

“How can I commit adultery when my wife knows about it? As to whether I find you attractive, I suggest you check between my legs.”

Morwenna reached down and smiled when she felt Wilheard’s erection. With a sultry smile, Morwenna turned to Æðelflæd.

“Would you like to stay here tonight?” Æðelflæd gasped.

“But, I have never been with a woman.”

“That’s alright, neither have I, so we can learn together.”

Before Æðelflæd could react, Morwenna pulled her in for a kiss. Æðelflæd was moaning into Morwenna’s mouth before she realized what was happening. Seeing his wife and Captain Morwenna engaged in a deep kiss, Wilheard shed his clothes. This was beyond his wildest fantasy and would be a fool to pass it up.

After Wilheard shed his clothes, he began stripping his wife before she had any ideas of leaving. Morwenna smiled when she saw Wilheard stripping his wife and began to disrobe. Once all three were naked, the real fun began. Wilheard kissed one side of Morwenna’s deeply tanned neck while Æðelflæd kissed the other. Each had one hand on one of Morwenna’s breasts, teasing her nipples.

Morwenna tipped her head back and moaned as the couple continued to worship her body. Thanks to years of sun exposure, Morwenna’s hair was platinum blonde, while her skin was dark bronze. Her dark bronze skin, paired with her light eyes and hair, was quite striking.

When the couple arrived at Morwenna’s flower, they found it gushing. It had been several years since Morwenna had been with anyone, so it only took a couple of minutes for her to have a powerful orgasm that left her shaking. Æðelflæd and Wilheard didn’t let up after one orgasm or even two. They didn’t stop eating Morwenna until Morwenna couldn’t move anymore. Once she was in that state, Wilheard slid over her, and Æðelflæd lined her husband’s cock up with Morwenna’s tunnel.

Wilheard was in Morwenna before she realized what was happening, but as soon as she did, her powerful legs wrapped around Wilheard and her arms around his neck. As hard as Wilheard was pounding Morwenna, that was how hard she was thrusting at him. Seeing her husband getting close, Æðelflæd slipped her hand between the two and massaged Morwenna’s clit.

Morwenna arched her back as she let out a feral growl. Her orgasm was powerful enough to make her squirt, a first for her. When Morwenna clamped down on Wilheard, he thought she might break that appendage off, but that wouldn’t make him withdraw. Instead, he shoved it in as deep as possible and exploded.

Æðelflæd watched her husband explode inside Morwenna, and when the two collapsed, she pushed her husband off. As soon as Morwenna’s vagina was clear, Æðelflæd latched on and began sucking. Morwenna could only moan as Æðelflæd cleaned up after her husband and drove Morwenna to another orgasm. This one finally knocked her out. Seeing Morwenna sleeping, Æðelflæd used her mouth to clean her husband before they sandwiched Morwenna and fell asleep.

When Morwenna left the following day, Æðelflæd and Wilheard waved to her from the dock and stayed there until Morwenna’s ship was out of sight. Morwenna had left a thriving city of 3,000 people and a permanent naval formation of three dozen patrol boats and six cutters. Several barges transported workers and supplies to the various worksites up and down the Amazon River. There was the beginning of another city 1,000 kilometers upstream of Tavistock, although it hadn’t been named yet.

Cairo, Egypt. January 1078

Simon Harel looked out from the palace in Cairo and once again wondered why he had taken the job. Stress from rebuilding the country of Egypt after the British were done with it was killing him. Hardly a night didn’t go by when he didn’t have enough heartburn to light up the city.

Soon, he felt someone’s arms reaching around him, and he knew who it was; the arms belonged to his wife, Zelda Harel. Zelda held him tightly until she felt him relax.

“Long day today?”

“I’m just as long as any other day.”

Zelda smacked him and giggled. “You know what I mean.” Simon laughed.

“I do. There was no single great challenge, only many small ones. Each one required time and thought to solve. My head is killing me.”

Zelda stood on her toes and kissed Simon’s head before pulling him back into the room and closing the door. Sitting on their bed, Simon couldn’t help but smile when he saw Zelda’s younger sister, Adi. Zelda brought Adi into their relationship to help Simon cope with the extreme stress of rebuilding a nation ravaged by war and to support her sister in dealing with her own loss. Adi’s husband had been drafted into the caliph’s army and killed while defending Cairo.

“Hello, Adi. Are you feeling well?”

“Good evening, Simon. Yes, only some sadness tonight,” Adi sighed.

Adi had suffered bouts of depression ever since her husband was killed in the former caliph’s pointless war. The war was rendered even more pointless after Egypt received a British-appointed government. While the government was British-appointed, it wasn’t British-dominated, as Luke had been careful to ensure the new Egyptian government was as independent as possible from York.

Simon sat beside Adi and pulled her into his body while Zelda bookended her. Feeling the love emanating from her sister and brother-in-law, Adi broke down and cried. This occurred a few times a month. The couple held Adi until she had cried her depression out. She turned to Zelda and gave her sister slash lover a deep kiss. After that kiss, she turned to Simon and repeated the kiss.

When Simon was able to drag himself to his office the following day, his secretary laughed at him, saying he looked like death warmed over. His ladies had gotten adventurous the night before after Adi cried out her sadness and found a new way to keep Simon Junior interested. That led to him not going to sleep until early morning.

As bad as Simon felt, he still had plenty of work. Due to trade increasing with Britain, more money was flowing into Egypt. It helped trade when Simon made the British Pound the official currency of Egypt. Having the same currency as Britain gave Egypt a stable, well-respected currency recognized throughout most of Europe.

A significant portion of the money generated from trade was used to construct the Suez Canal, which was approximately half complete. At first, prisoners from the caliph’s army dug the canal, but machinery took over as those prisoners were repatriated into Egyptian society. Many former prisoners stayed on with the construction when they discovered what they could make by becoming heavy equipment operators. The coal for the steam engines was imported from Britain and supplemented by charcoal made from various logging operations.

While canal operations were going smoothly, Simon had plenty of problems to deal with. Many in the majority Muslim country didn’t trust him, and many Christians didn’t either. This lack of trust forced Simon to second-guess most of his decisions to ensure nothing could be taken as an offense in a religious sense.

An example of the religious problems he faced was the different rest days. While Christians saw Sunday as their day of rest, Muslims saw Friday as theirs, while Simon’s day of rest was Saturday. To help solve this, Simon passed a law stating that the day of rest was at the discretion of the owner and employees in all private businesses. If a company had employees of multiple faiths, Simon suggested having a rotating day of rest so all religions had their day off at least part of the time.

Emergency services, the military, and sanitation workers had no dedicated day of rest, as they were required to be operational 24/7/365. Employees were expected to attend their religious services on their own time, and the various religious leaders were required to make exemptions for those workers.

For non-emergency government workers, Muslims worked Sunday through Thursday, while Jews and Christians worked Monday to Friday. This provided government operations with good coverage and kept most employees satisfied. Employee break times were organized around the Muslim prayer schedule to ensure everyone adhered to a consistent daily schedule.

Simon also faced external problems. To the east, the Seljuk Empire threatened war, especially since it wasn’t a genuinely unified empire. To the south, there were constant low-level border wars with the Christian kingdoms of Nubia. To the west, Simon had to deal with various nomadic tribes who thought it would be profitable to raid Egyptian settlements or trade caravans.

To deal with the nomadic raiders, Simon bought an airship from the British and outfitted it with guns and bomb racks. Thanks to the airship, the Egyptians could track the raiders back to their settlements, then hit them by surprise and destroy them. To help the Egyptian cavalry move quickly through the desert, they rode camels, not horses. Camels didn’t need the water and grazing that horses did, so they did much better in the desert. Their wide feet also made it easier to move over the constantly shifting sand.

If the destruction in Egypt proper wasn’t bad enough, Simon also had to deal with the destruction along the North African coast. Before the British conquered the Caliphate, the Egyptians were retaking areas of North Africa they had lost. When the British established the new government, it inherited the wrecked North African communities. Now, those communities had to be rebuilt without resorting to slavery or piracy. Thankfully, most coastal areas had fertile farmland, allowing people to earn a living by selling produce, grain, and livestock.

To deal with the Seljuks, the Egyptians built a string of fortifications east of the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba in a line that closely mirrored the Israeli border in Luke’s old universe. This gave the Egyptians control of the Arabia Petraea. The main reason for taking control of the Arabia Petraea was to increase the distance invaders had to travel to reach the Suez Canal. However, Simon did order limited projects to search for minerals and reclaim land for agriculture. Agriculture reclamation focused on trapping the annual winter runoff and forcing it into the ground for storage.

While the first line of defense was further east, the main defensive line against the Seljuks was the east bank of the Suez Canal. As soil was excavated from the canal, it was dumped on the east bank, which was used to bury fortifications. There were bunkers along the route with stone watchtowers on the bank. Each tower was 25 meters tall and, when added to the 25-meter-tall embankment, gave the guards an unobstructed view across the desert. Everything was linked together through a tunnel system built into the embankment. This would allow men and material to move to whatever part of the line that was threatened.

CHAPTER III - Infatuation

“Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. This is the principle behind lotteries, dating, and religion.” - Scott Adams.

Isfahan, Seljuk Empire. January 1078

Morvarid Khatun sighed as her brother was trying to marry her off again. Since her brother was Sultan Malik-Shah I of the Seljuk Empire, it was foolish to disagree with him. Still, if he was going to pick a husband for her, she wished he would choose an interesting one. The latest suiter was the governor of Balkh.

From what Morvarid heard, the man already had three wives, was fat, dull, and smelled funny. To make it worse for Morvarid, the man hadn’t sired a child in 20 years. The servants accompanying the emissary were quite forthright regarding their liege even if the emissary wasn’t. Morvarid had discovered relatively early in life that if she wanted dirt on someone, her first stop should be that person’s servants since they heard and saw everything. A few coins were a cheap investment for the information the servants held.

So far, Morvarid had driven off most suiters who met with her. Several others had died in the empire’s constant low-level warfare. It seemed that one noble was going to war with another noble every week over some insignificant village or barren hillside. During these battles, many members of the lower levels of nobility were killed while others won great acclaim. Still, in the grand scheme, these battles were a constant drain on the empire’s manpower and resources.

Malik had great hopes for this match. He needed the governor solidly on his side, and having a spy in the governor’s palace would help Malik. The Seljuk Empire was barely being held together, and only under the iron grip of the Seljuk house did the empire survive. Malik’s problem with Morvarid was three-fold: she was beautiful beyond measure, and her name didn’t do her justice. She had an overbearing personality and intelligence that frightened away many suitors, and it was strongly rumored that she preferred female company to male.

All three were correct to varying degrees, as Morvarid was tall at 184cm with a perfect hourglass figure. It wasn’t uncommon for men to be walking, get distracted by her hips or bust, and walk into a wall or trip over their feet. If her body wasn’t distracting enough, her long, silky black hair hung to the small of her back, smelled of jasmine, and was offset by her ivory skin. Finally, Morvarid was gifted with beautiful golden eyes that seemed to hypnotize anyone looking into them.

If her beauty wasn’t intimidating enough, Morvarid was a precocious reader and loved knowledge more than her brother. Many days, she could be found with her nose in a book, and she could speak, read, and write in ten different languages; her favorite was ancient Greek. Being able to read Greek made understanding the ancient’s wisdom much easier, and Morvarid discovered it was best to find the original text because each time it was translated, some of the words changed. After being translated several times, the meaning of the work often changed to something quite different from what the original author said.

Malik’s third problem with marrying off Morvarid was she was rumored to strongly prefer female company. This was the weakest of the rumors since Morvarid didn’t actually prefer female company; she kept the rumor alive to keep men away from her. She saw all the men around her as being unworthy of her and was determined to keep herself for the one worthy man. To help with her urges and keep her maidenhead intact, Morvarid retained the help of two servant girls.

The two servants were twin blue-eyed sisters, Guzal and Tuija, from what Luke would know as the Volga region of Russia. Their blue eyes and Guzal’s platinum blonde hair came from some Vikings that slipped into the family tree before the girls were born. In contrast, Tuija’s brilliant red hair was frequently present in the Volga region. The pair entered slavery when their father was forced to sell them to the Seljuk court so he could keep power in his tiny kingdom. Once in the Seljuk court, the twins were tutored in Islam and Persian courtly behavior. Morvarid took them as her confidential servants partly because they had no local connections, and she was intrigued by the rumor of Tuija’s fire-red pubic hair.

“My Sultan,” Morvarid said without emotion as she entered the room where Malik was negotiating her marriage to the Balkh governor. “I pray Allah has provided me with a worthy man to call a husband.” Malik cringed but carried on.

“I believe he has, dear sister. Asadullah Hashemi is a brave man who has won many battles and has proven to be a loyal servant.” Morvarid gave her brother a glare that said everything; she didn’t believe a word he said.

“You impress me, brother. You lied to me without showing any signs of lying.” Malik became red in the face. “Please, Malik, do not tell me you believe anything you just told me, especially since I know better. Asadullah Hashemi is a fat, lazy man who fell into his role as governor. If he didn’t have good people working under him, the city would collapse and revolt against you. What infuriates me is you know all this, and yet you insist I marry the fat fool.”

“Morvarid, you are 20 years old. It is far past the time you get married. You will marry Asadullah Hashemi, end of discussion. Now go.”

Morvarid glared at her brother as she left. There was no way she would marry Asadullah Hashemi; she would marry a Christian pig farmer before marrying him. Unfortunately, her brother knew her too well and carefully guarded her.

By the time Morvarid returned to her quarters, she had tears streaming down her face. Asadullah was the type of husband she was scared of getting and couldn’t imagine being under his rolls of fat. Just the thought made her want to vomit, so she could only imagine what the actual event would hold. Thankfully, it would be some time before the wedding could take place.

As Morvarid lay crying on her bed, Guzal and Tuija bracketed her. They each rubbed Morvarid’s back to help calm her down.

“What am I to do?!?!” wailed Morvarid. “I do not wish to marry Asadullah Hashemi.”

Guzal and Tuija looked at each other and cringed. If their mistress married that man, then they would be in danger of being raped by him.

“We are sure you will figure something out,” said Tuija soothingly. “You always do.”

“It will not be enough this time. My brother has already told me this wedding will happen and has increased his guards around me to keep me from doing anything to stop it.” Morvarid turned over and looked at her servants/part-time lovers. “I know you two are only my servants, but I love both of you. If I am forced to go through with my wedding, I will ensure you two are freed so you do not suffer that horrid man.”

Guzal and Tuija looked at each other again and nodded.

“Princess, we serve you and will follow you no matter where it may take us or the risk involved,” said Guzal.

Morvarid looked at her two servants through her tears; she couldn’t believe the sacrifice they were willing to make for her. As Morvarid cried, the twins snuggled tighter to her, and Tuija pulled a blanket over them. Before they knew it, all three were asleep and wouldn’t wake until the next morning.

When Morvarid woke the next day, she was resigned to her fate but was lightened by the fact that it was almost a year away. It would take time for the emissary to return to Balkh, gather Asadullah’s party, and travel to Isfahan. During that time, anything might happen to postpone or cancel the wedding. With the hope of divine intervention, Morvarid began her day.

Her morning went surprisingly well as a book merchant arrived with new books to sell. One of the books was said to come from Britain, and Morvarid bought it. Everything about the book was strange, from the text to the font, from the paper to the binding. The only thing Morvarid didn’t like about the book was that it was written in English, and she couldn’t read it. From what she could understand, Morvarid knew it was about mathematics, but she would have to show it to her brother’s mathematicians to see how accurate her guess was.

After paying for the book, Morvarid took it to her brother’s favorite mathematician, Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī. Nīsābūrī was what Luke would call a polymath and was 30 years old. He had significant interests in mathematics and poetry. Currently, Nīsābūrī was working on a problem that had perplexed him for a year. In front of him on his workbench were various prints and drawings that had been made of Luke’s captured wristwatch. Nīsābūrī had been tasked with recreating the device by the sultan. So far, Nīsābūrī was pulling his hair out trying to duplicate the advanced levels of engineering required for the watch.

When Morvarid knocked, Nīsābūrī looked up and smiled; the smile grew when he saw the book she clutched to her chest. He had a soft spot for the girl and liked debating with her.

“Hello, Morvarid. What has brought the flower of the Seljuks to my door?” Morvarid smiled hearing Nīsābūrī’s flattery.

“I recently bought this book that I believe is on mathematics and would like to know how accurate it is.”

“Let me see it.” Morvarid handed the book over, and Nīsābūrī’s jaw fell open.

“When did you buy this?”

“This morning,” Morvarid answered, confused.

“This is a British book, and I have been trying to buy one for several years. I will pay you whatever you want for it.”

“No. I am not selling it, but I will let you borrow it as long as you promise to teach me everything you learn from it.”

“Princess, you have a deal.” Nīsābūrī stood with a warm smile and waved Morvarid to his worktable. There, he carefully opened the book and looked over the pages. “Well, at first glance, this appears to be an engineering book. I recognize parts of these formulas, but I cannot be sure without understanding the rest of them. However, I believe these formulas are for a steam engine.”

“A steam engine?!?!” Morvarid asked excitedly. “Do you think you can build one?”

“Maybe if I can find someone to help translate the rest of the book.”

“What about the prisoner?”

“I doubt that. That man is so ignorant that I doubt he can read.” Morvarid knew the man in question wasn’t ignorant but didn’t bother to correct Nīsābūrī.

“I think I can help translate it.”

“Seriously? You?” Nīsābūrī laughed. He didn’t know Morvarid spoke English; however, she still had difficulty reading it.

Morvarid only shook her head in disgust; she knew better. Like many other super-smart people, Nīsābūrī thought almost anyone not as bright as them wasn’t worth notice, which was virtually everyone. Nīsābūrī didn’t believe the British officer was nearly as bright as him; brilliant people didn’t go into the military. They taught other super-smart people at a university or worked for a wealthy patron. When working for a patron, they ensured they never completed their work, and if they wrote anything down, it was in their personal code so nobody else could understand it.

Sitting at her noon meal, another thought came to Morvarid that made her shiver. She wondered if the man could understand the people questioning him. He was a very successful commander, and stupid people do not become successful commanders. Marvarid sat close enough to her brother to hear most of what he said. It seemed there were more rebellions in the empire’s north, which didn’t surprise her.

It seemed like the northern parts of the empire were always rebelling. The region was mountainous, making it difficult for the mostly cavalry Seljuk Army to keep the area under control. This rebellion appeared to be sparked by a local official who attempted to enforce the Sultan’s will. That was the official reason Morvarid heard, but she didn’t doubt there was more to the rebellion. Regardless of the cause, Malik was forced to send an army north to deal with the rebels.

When Morvarid returned to her quarters after lunch, she saw her new book on her desk and had a thought. She picked it up and left again. It took her a couple of minutes to reach her destination, but when she arrived, the guards let her in without question; this wasn’t her first visit.

Inside was a small room with a single bed and a window. Sitting near the window was the man Morvarid came to see. As she expected, he was working on a drawing and didn’t look up. Morvarid came around and looked at it. Looking back at her was a drawing of a beautiful woman, her face turned over her shoulder, her hair draped over the same shoulder.

“She is a lovely woman. Who is she?” Morvarid asked in English. Unlike the rest of her brother’s court, Morvarid knew the man spoke, read, and wrote multiple languages, including Greek.

“One of my wives. She,” the man gestured at the drawing, “is the queen of Great Britain, which you already know.”

The man looked up, and Morvarid found herself looking into some of the most intelligent eyes she had ever seen. She also noticed the eyes conveyed no emotions, and Morvarid sighed. If the man had ever shown her any feelings, she would have been a delighted woman.

The door opened when Luke was making another drawing of his wife. His earlier drawings had been confiscated when his captors thought they may have been advanced machinery, like Luke was stupid enough to help his captors in any way. After his treatment during his trip to Isfahan, Luke would be damned if he would help them. His captors had taken particular delight in tying him up and beating him when their commander had his back turned. Many of the Seljuk troops were furious at their casualties; out of the 250-man attack force, only 40 returned, and all were executed upon their return.

When they finally reached Isfahan, Sultan Malik saw how badly Luke had been beaten and ordered the remaining soldiers to be executed. Malik wanted a willing prisoner and knew a beaten prisoner would be less likely to cooperate. He was proven correct when Luke refused to cooperate or even speak to his captors. Only recently had the prisoner begun to reveal his secrets.

Only a slip on Luke’s part alerted Morvarid that he read Greek. They had been walking through the palace six months after Luke’s arrival when they passed an ancient Greek statue. While the statue might have been offensive to strict Muslims, Malik liked the statue of the nude woman, so it wasn’t destroyed. Morvarid didn’t like the statue either, but as they passed, she noticed Luke had read the writing below it.

Once they were back in Luke’s room, Morvarid smiled to herself and quietly spoke Greek to him, telling him that she knew he could understand her. Luke glanced at her and sighed.

“I suppose you will inform the Sultan?”

“No. As long as you tell me what I want to know, your secret will be safe with me.”

“I will have to remember how manipulative you are.” Luke chuckled, “What would you like to know?”

And they were off. Morvarid bombarded Luke with question after question, bouncing from subject to subject. He couldn’t help but smile at Morvarid’s questions. Some Luke answered truthfully, some he gave half answers, and some were lies. When Morvarid asked how British technology worked, Luke refused to answer. Very few people in the Middle East knew that Luke had introduced most of the advanced technology, so there was no reason not to lie.

As the months passed, Luke taught Morvarid English. Since Morvarid learned quickly, she learned English well enough within three months to have entire conversations with Luke. Every time Morvarid went to see Luke, she practiced her English. Making it easier to learn, English and Persian were surprisingly similar despite having developed thousands of miles apart. Luke knew they had evolved from a common ancestor when Europe was first settled.

Thankfully, Morvarid was easily distracted by what Luke called “shiny squirrels.” When her questions became too pointed, Luke turned the conversation to the treatment of women in Britain. It hadn’t taken him long to figure Morvarid out; she was furious at the treatment she received in her brother’s court and longed for something better.

Morvarid continued to stare at Luke’s drawing of Marion.

“Is that what the queen really looks like?” Morvarid couldn’t believe such a beautiful woman existed even though she had seen drawings of her before.

“Yes. Her hair is the color of spun gold, while her eyes shimmer like sapphires. She is only slightly shorter than you but is larger in the chest. Of course, we have five children together. What truly drew me to Marion, even before I knew who she was, was her intelligence and backbone. That woman has almost no fears. Before you ask, my other wife, Alice, is significantly shorter but has hair of fire and eyes of emerald. She is Marion’s chief doctor and the leading doctor in Britain. My mistress, Kukka, is between you and Marion in height with crimson hair and deep blue eyes. She will one day be Britain’s leading chemist, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she has already significantly impacted people’s lives.”

Morvarid was stunned as Luke had never described Marion before. She never imagined she would have so much competition for Luke’s attention. To her, Luke was the only man worthy of her body.

“How many children do you have?”

“Umm.” Luke sat quietly as he counted. “22.” He finally said. “Five with Marion. Four with Marion’s wife and head bodyguard, Gabriella. Seven with Alice, but there are two sets of twins. Two with Kukka and two with my best friend, Pollyanna. Pollyanna is Marion’s chief engineer. There are two more, but I cannot tell you who their mother is. Things could be bad for her if news leaked out.”

“Oh my.”

As the news seeped into Morvarid’s mind, a plan started to develop. Luke wasn’t only handsome and brave; she had seen the scars on his body, but he was fertile. If she could get Luke to impregnate her, her wedding would be called off. The question was how. How would Morvarid get Luke to impregnate her without her brother finding out and killing him? Luke’s guards were never far away, and Morvarid knew she wouldn’t want to rush coupling with Luke.

Her planning was interrupted by Luke’s chuckling. At first, she couldn’t figure out what he was laughing at, but then she felt the heat in her face. Learning of Luke’s large family and how many women he made happy caused her to blush brightly and her nipples to harden. Figuring out that she blushed from hearing about Luke caused Morvarid’s blush to deepen. The fact that her ivory skin showed any color made the blush worse.

He leaned in close and whispered in her ear.

“If you can keep quiet, I can too.”

Luke’s hot breath on her skin inflamed Morvarid’s loins and sped up her heart. It was beating so hard that she worried it might jump out of her chest. When Luke gently blew across her neck, Morvarid could only whimper as her brain short-circuited. Just as Luke settled before Morvarid’s eyes and moved to kiss her, the lock on the door rattled, and he leaned back, the stone mask returning to his face.

Morvarid was furious; she had been so close to kissing the man of her dreams, only to be foiled by a guard arriving to collect Luke for his daily questioning. Malik’s people questioned Luke daily. For supposedly being good at interrogating people, they still hadn’t realized Luke spoke passable Greek; he had to learn Greek to read many of the captured books or that he understood every word said around him, although Morvarid suspected it.

During his time in Iraq, Luke picked up many Farsi words, and although the people in the Seljuk court didn’t speak Farsi, they spoke what could be thought of as proto-Farsi. With that and his English as a base, Luke quickly learned the local language but kept quiet. The people around him spoke freely since they didn’t realize he could follow them. What Luke learned helped keep him out of trouble.

“Come on, general, the Sultan wants a word with you.”

Luke acted clueless, which his American sister would have said wasn’t an act. Still, it kept his captors from learning Luke understood them. This would be the second time he had met the Sultan, so Luke was curious about what the Sultan wanted him for. Morvarid was nervous; prisoners her brother sent for usually didn’t fare well, but she could do nothing about it. Luke stood and stretched before his shackles were put on his wrist. The Seljuks were taking no risk with him.

While the guards were rude to Luke, after Malik executed some of his elite guards for abusing Luke, the rest kept their abuse to a level Luke could easily live with. He knew he could escape at almost any time, but he had a while before a solid plan existed. There was no use in escaping, only to be caught.

Morvarid suddenly noticed the book in her hands and sighed. She had come in to ask Luke about the book and completely forgot it once she looked into his eyes. With Luke gone, she had no reason to hang around the room, so she returned to hers. Once safely back in her chambers, she opened the book and slowly studied it. She was looking for anything she already knew to begin understanding the book.

Meanwhile, Luke had been hauled before the Sultan. Malik was in a good mood; he had learned from his guards that his captive could speak Greek when they heard Morvarid and Luke conversing. Now, he had a lever to get information from the British field marshal. So far, despite the Seljuk’s best efforts, Luke hadn’t given them anything useful.

“I hear you speak Greek, general.” Luke nodded. “Why have you not said anything?”

“Why haven’t you asked?” Malik bristled at Luke’s tone.

“Be careful how you address me. I can have you executed with a snap of my fingers.”

“But you won’t. You know how much knowledge I have, and you want it for yourself. Additionally, my wife will eventually learn where I am, and when she learns you had me executed, there will be nothing to stop her from invading and putting your entire empire to the torch.”

Malik had steam coming out of his ears. As furious as he was, he knew Luke was correct. If news of Luke’s execution made it back to his wife, she would do everything possible to avenge him.

“Fine, but if you do not cooperate, you will be locked in a tiny room until you do. If that doesn’t work, you will be tortured.”

“I think not. You know a tortured man will not do his best, and if you had intended to allow me to be tortured, you wouldn’t have executed the troops who captured me.”

Malik continued to fume. Everything Luke told him was correct, but an example had to be made.

“GUARDS!! Take the British general down and stuff him in the room.”

The guards were rough in hauling Luke to his new room deep under the palace. As deep as they went, no natural light entered the cell. The only light Luke had was from the occasional torch. Other than that, he was in almost complete darkness.

Luke felt his way around the cell, using his fingers to “see” his new room. Figuring out he was in deep trouble, he slid down the wall and sighed. Being stuck in a completely dark room wasn’t his idea of fun.

Malik stared at his sister in the throne room while Morvarid shrieked about Luke’s treatment.

“If you wanted to soften up the prisoner, forcing him into the dark room isn’t the way to do it.”

“Sure it will. If he wants to see the sun again, he’ll talk.”

“I have spent more time with him than you. All you will do is infuriate him and cause him to resist harder.”

“And you think you can break him? Please, you’re just a woman.”

“I am also your sister, and until you locked the prisoner in the dark room, I was making headway in getting useful information out of him.”

“Whatever. This is why women cannot be leaders. You’re too emotional.”

“Then why is the British queen doing so well?”

“I believe she is actually a man in women’s clothing. Now leave and go back to preparing for your wedding.”

Morvarid looked at her brother and shook her head. Somehow, she knew that Luke wasn’t like any prisoner her brother had ever dealt with, and the usual methods wouldn’t work with him.

CHAPTER IV - American Colonies

“We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.” - Cecil Rhodes.

York, Great Britain. April 1078

Marion felt her eyes snap open and groaned quietly. It was the third night in a row of waking up to pee, but since she had fallen asleep on the outside of the foursome, it was easy for her to swing her legs out of bed. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes to help clear her vision and remove the sand. Marion took four steps before suddenly stopping and shrieking. The other three jumped out of bed with Gabriella holding her handgun, but then Marion started yelling.

“SALEM, YOU DAMN CAT!! QUIT LEAVING YOUR DEAD MICE LYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR!!”

Marion had just stepped on a mouse Salem had killed and left for her. He seemed to love leaving Marion mice even though he had claimed the red-haired Rebecca as his pet human. Gabriella could barely turn the bed lamp on as she was laughing so hard. Marion stepping on the dead mouse was bad enough, but it was a fresh kill, and when she stepped on it, juices squirted out, causing her to whimper. At the edge of the light, Marion saw a pair of disembodied green eyes looking at her from the shadows.

“SALEM, IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, YOU WILL GET OUT!” Marion yelled.

Salem licked his chops in the dim light and strutted off toward the children’s rooms like he owned the place. Behind Marion, Alice giggled, and Marion spun around to glare at her.

“Don’t look at me like that, honey. That cat is as mischievous as his owner.” Marion glared harder. While Mackenzie was a force of nature, Rebecca was the jokester. She was always playing pranks on the people around her and had gotten more than a few spankings when one of her pranks went too far. “Quit drinking so much water before bed, and you won’t have to get up to tinkle in the middle of the night.”

“Bite me, Alice. Salem didn’t start leaving me mice until he claimed Rebecca.”

“Hey! Outside of her prankster nature, she’s a good girl.” That was something none of them could dispute. None of the children were bullies or looked down on others, and they were often complimented by other adults for their maturity.

Marion went pee, and the four settled down for a few more hours of sleep. Everyone had a long day ahead, and none wanted to be tired. To compensate for her teasing, Alice wrapped Marion in her arms, and the pair quickly fell asleep.

Marion was still tired when Captain Morwenna was brought into her office.

“Good morning, captain. It’s good to see you.”

“Morning, Your Majesty. It’s good to be seen.” Morwenna didn’t know why she had been recalled to York but figured the queen would soon tell her.

“How was your time in South America?”

“It was good. As you can see, I got plenty of sun.” Morwenna sported a bronze tan that set off her long, platinum hair.

“I see that,” Marion chuckled. “Have you thought about what you want to do now?”

“I am a naval officer in your service, Your Majesty. I go where you send me. I fight who you tell me to.”

“Don’t give me that, captain. You must have thought about where you would like to go next.”

“Somewhere other than Europe. Britain doesn’t hold much for me. There is nothing to explore, and my family disowned me long ago.”

Marion stood, went to her map table, and pulled out a world map.

“Intelligence reports Toirdelbach has been busy setting up a new kingdom in North America. There, he is waging a war of annihilation against the natives while growing his kingdom as quickly as possible.”

“Does he have a chance there?”

“Given time and some luck, yes. Remember my husband’s nation. They ruled over a country the size of a continent and were the most powerful nation in the world.”

“Do you want me to go to North America?”

“It’s a possibility. So are West Africa, South Africa, and the southern tip of South America. The question is: where best to send you so you can do the most good? Thoughts?”

“Well…” Morwenna looked at the map. “South Africa is a good place. It would allow our trade ships to resupply on their trips to the Far East. North America would be a good place as a settlement in the correct location would help contain Toirdelbach. West Africa would help safeguard our Asia trade ships from pirates.”

“South Africa is also rich in gold, diamonds, and other metals, while West Africa is rich in gold, timber, and diamonds. The problem is getting the minerals out as Africa doesn’t have many ports, and none of them are good.” Marion took a breath. “As rich as Africa’s mineral deposits are, I think it would be best for you to go to North America. While the East Coast may not have gold or diamonds, it boasts rich farmland and fisheries. Inland are riches in minerals, timber, firs, and farmland that are beyond our wildest dreams.”

“What about the natives?”

“You are to do your best not to get into a war with them, but that will be impossible if your luck holds up.” Morwenna snorted.

“Some luck. Every place I have landed, I seem to find aggressive natives.”

“I know. Your goal in North America will not be to fight the natives but to help protect them against Toirdelbach. He has cavalry and firearms. Even though his army is small, they annihilate every tribe they come up against.”

“Why should the natives allow us to help?”

“Because in exchange for us protecting them, they will allow us access to their land.”

“I doubt that will work, ma’am. If they are anything like the Irish and Scottish tribes, they are more interested in fighting each other than fighting a common foe. As soon as peace is declared, the tribes will return to fighting each other, so every time the Irish return, the natives will be weaker. Additionally, if the North American natives are anything like the natives I have encountered, they are very susceptible to our diseases. Eventually, the Irish will run them over, and we will have fought for nothing. I will go to North America if you want, but I would prefer not to ally with the natives. Let the natives and Irish fight all they want, and when the Irish make the mistake of attacking us, we crush them and take over. By that time, the natives should be gone. Of course, if the natives are foolish enough to attack us, we would be able to defend ourselves in the same way as we would defend ourselves against the Irish.”

“You are more than a bit cocky, captain. Be careful; that attitude may come back to haunt you later.”

“Your Majesty…” Marion held up her hand.

“Not from me, captain. But history is filled with pompous fools who thought they knew better, and look what happened to them. They underestimated who they were fighting against, and they ended up dead. I would rather you stay alive to serve Great Britain long into the future.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Where would you like me to land, and when should I leave?” Marion looked at the map and thought. “Here,” she said as she laid her finger on the map. Morwenna leaned in to see where she was going.

“Boston?”

“Yes. It has a deep-water anchorage and is far enough away from the Irish they shouldn’t interrupt, but it is close enough to keep an eye on them. Luke told me the area has decent farmland and is reasonably close to the North Atlantic fisheries. In his universe, the early city ran on trade and manufacturing. I would suggest you focus on developing those sectors.”

“What will we manufacture?” Marion gave her a dry look. “I’ll figure it out,” Morwenna answered her own question.

“Look. Boston isn’t the only place we will be working at settling. I plan on sending some people to the southern coast. Luke said there is rich farmland down there that grew vast amounts of cotton. Additionally, there are vast amounts of oil offshore in the Gulf. Speaking of energy, there are vast reserves of high-quality coal west of New Cork. Those reserves run from west of New Cork to the southwest for a thousand kilometers.”

“Damn.”

“The good news is those reserves are in the Appalachian Mountains and are not the easiest to get to, especially when you don’t know where to look.”

“So, they will still be there when we are ready for them?”

“Most likely.”

“When should I leave?”

“It will take you a couple of months to gather the resources to be successful. I don’t anticipate Boston growing as rapidly as your previous settlements just because we already have five other overseas settlements that people can move to.”

“Then why jump the gun on Boston?”

“I want something in place to contain the Irish. They are too close to our shipping lane from Amazonia, Jamaica, and New Britain. I think it’s only a matter of time before they attack either our merchant ships or the fishing boats out of Iceland.”

“I guess you are right. I didn’t think of that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have thought of it either if Kukka hadn’t pointed it out.” Morwenna smiled

“If there is nothing else, Your Majesty.” Marion shook her head no. “Then I shall be off.” Morwenna turned to leave. Before she was out the door, Marion stopped her.

“Assuming you are successful in Boston, your next mission will be to build a naval base in South Africa. I don’t see you going down there for several years, though.”

“Aye, Your Majesty.”

Morwenna’s head was spinning. She could barely believe the trust Marion put in her, and that trust pushed Morwenna to serve Marion in any way she could. Unlike her previous settlement missions, her new mission could have profound geopolitical implications for Great Britain.

After Morwenna left, Gabriella sat on Marion’s lap and laid her head on her wife’s shoulder.

“Should you really have sent Morwenna to establish a colony so close to the renegade Irish?” Marion took a deep breath.

“I don’t want the Irish growing strong enough for them to cross the sea and invade Ireland.”

“That’s a long way to support an amphibious invasion.”

“I would take and secure Iceland before striking at Ireland. Their first move would be to cut off our shipping from the Caribbean. Shipping from Asia is too far away for their current technology, but traffic from the Caribbean travels right by their doorstep.

“But what about the natives living where you plan to colonize?” Marion pulled a report from her bottom desk drawer and handed it to Gabriella.

“Fishermen from Iceland have reported the coast from Cape Hatteras to the mouth of the St. Lawerance River is depopulated of natives. It seems the Irish have taken a liking to native women and keep them as sex slaves. They found using natives in the fields didn’t work, but in brothels, they can keep the slaves from escaping. The Irish either buy their slaves from other native tribes or launch raids on the native villages to capture them. Any natives who get away end up spreading diseases they picked up from the Irish in other native villages. Remember, the Irish who ran weren’t vaccinated against smallpox, and I remember Luke saying how smallpox spread through the native population like wildfire. They have no immunity against it, so the fatality rate was extremely high. If they were not killed by smallpox, they were hit with the flu, the measles, or mumps.”

“So, our next war will be against the Irish again.”

“Possible. It won’t surprise me if they try to attack Captain Morwenna.” Gabby snorted.

“I wish them luck with that.”

“Yeah. I’m planning to send several destroyers and a light cruiser with her.”

“Damn, you’re not fooling around, are you?”

“No. That slimy Irish bastard has slipped through my fingers twice. If he’s dumb enough to attack again, it will be the last time.”

“Once we have a settlement and assuming the Irish do what you think, then what?”

“We spread where the natives are not.”

“You realize that will not end well.”

“No, it will not. But consider this, Gabby. Europeans are already much more advanced than any group outside of the Chinese. What do you think will happen to the native tribes once the French, Italians, Germans, or Moors get ahold of them?” Gabby didn’t need to think about it.

“The same thing as in Luke’s universe.”

“Worse, Gabby. In Luke’s universe, the European population had been decimated by the Black Death and the Little Ice Age. In this universe, they have not been. Those two events ended feudalism before Europeans arrived in the Americas, but feudalism remains solidly entrenched in most of Europe today. Once the nobles here figure out the vast amounts of land available overseas, a few native tribes won’t stop them. I plan to do whatever I can to help protect the natives so they can keep their ways relatively intact, but they must be willing to play ball with me.”

“And if they are not willing to play ball?” Marion gave her wife a cold look. “What do you think Luke would say if he heard your plans?”

“What he might or might not say cannot determine how I react to the conditions I find myself in.”

“What about the lessons he tried to teach? You know he was worried about what would happen when Europeans encountered Native Americans.”

“What did he say about Jamaica or Amazonia? All natives were eliminated from Jamaica before he was taken from us. Luke fully understood the general conditions that caused Europeans to venture into the Atlantic in his universe exist in this one, although the Silk Road has not been cut yet. Only in this world, it will be more disastrous for the natives because of our more advanced firearms and faster population growth.”

“I still don’t know about the course you set, dear. His history didn’t look kindly on European colonizers.”

“What do you expect from a group of sheltered people who have realized their lives mean nothing? I’m not worried about a bunch of worthless future armchair naysayers. My worry is in this world, in this time. That is how I have to rule, which is why we will colonize the Americas. The last thing I want is for another European power to gain control of that wealth. If we control the coast, nobody will be able to exploit the interior. I would like your support, Gabby, but if I must, I will go it alone.”

“Marion, you know I will support you. I am just worried about you in the future.”

“You cannot live your life worrying about what future idiots will think. One, nobody can predict what they will think. And two, who cares?”

When Marion and Gabriella returned to their chambers, they found Mackenzie helping the younger children with their studies while Kukka had her nose in a book.

“What are you doing home so early, Kukka?” Gabriella asked.

“I have some experiments running that will take hours to complete. So, instead of sitting in my lab with nothing to do, I came home to spend time with the kids and read.”

“I’m glad you’re home, Kukka,” Marion said as she kissed the top of Kukka’s head. When Kukka looked up, Marion had to catch her breath because of Kukka’s radiant beauty. It wasn’t hard to see why Luke fell so hard for her. Kukka then put her hand on Marion’s cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. The moan that escaped Marion’s throat was involuntary and a just reward for Kukka. Kukka smiled at Marion before returning to her reading. Marion noticed Kukka was reading Beowulf.

Beowulf had become one of Pollyanna’s biggest sellers, with 10,000 copies sold annually, which is not bad considering that only half of the population could read. When Kukka read for fun, she purposely avoided chemistry or alchemy books, which allowed her brain to rest. She liked to read Greek engineering books as they often had reasonable solutions to the population’s daily problems. When she got a good idea, she took it to Pollyanna for further engineering study. Kukka didn’t have the time to study mechanical engineering while running her business and working in the lab.

Kukka’s chemical company was named BP Chemicals, and within only a year of being founded, it employed 110 people. Their main products were ammonium nitrate, biodiesel, and synthetic diesel. The synthetic diesel was a brand-new product, and Kukka was still working out the kinks in production. Once she had the kinks out, she estimated they could produce 100,000 liters of diesel fuel per day from algae.

Using algae was a significant accomplishment for Kukka and made her feel proud. Using a highly modified Fischer-Tropsch process, Kukka could produce sustainable fuels that didn’t cause global warming. Also, by producing the fuel at home, the British wouldn’t need to rely on foreign oil that could be cut off in times of war or North Sea oil, which they didn’t have the technology to exploit.