Chapter 24

We rode into New London the next day at noon. We could have made it earlier, but Deming and his men dawdled along all morning. As we neared the edge of town, Deming and his detachment all of a sudden formed up into two parade ground columns, one on either side of Sarah, Tonya and me. Instead of ambling along purposelessly, they now sat high and alert in their saddles. Deming angled the column towards the south end of town, in the direction of the large and well maintained park square that fronted Liz's headquarters, rather than entering town by staying on the main road.

Seeing the reaction of Deming and his troops put me on guard. I pulled my John B. down to shade my eyes, switched my reins over to my left hand, and flipped my duster back to expose my new right-hand pistol in its fancy holster. Tonya noticed the change in my demeanor and reined her horse over next to the big mule I was astride.

"Something fishy is going on, so stay up on your toes," I warned before she could say anything.

Tonya gave me an exasperated look.

"We are out of the badlands and almost inside the city. What could happen to us here?" she asked perplexedly.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized I almost made a fool of myself. Of course Deming and his men were going to sit up and look sharp. I should have remembered all soldiers did that when they were headed towards the flagpole. I relaxed and mumbled something, but to save what little pride I had left, I kept my pistol uncovered and my reins in my off-hand.

It turns out that we did run into something unusual as soon as we were part way down the broad tree-lined avenue that pierced the center of the park like a Redman's arrow. What we ran into was a fair sized crowd of folks lining both sides of the avenue. I reckoned most of the people living in New London were there. As we rode by, the crowd clapped, cheered and fell in behind us. I was growing more curious by the minute.

We continued up the avenue until we reached a raised platform that had been erected on a grassy spot a few dozen yards off the street. Liz Smith was standing on that platform, along with a handful of other men and women. Everyone on the stage was dressed formally; including a man dressed in a military uniform with a star on his collar.

Lieutenant Deming halted us in front of the stage and confirmed my suspicions by reporting to the uniformed man. The man on the stage directed Deming to 'take his post', and the mounted soldiers peeled off and returned to the street. I started to turn and depart with them when Tonya stopped me.

"Dismount and I'll take your mule, Jeremiah. Liz wants to talk to you," she said.

The bad feeling I'd had before returned as I slid out of the saddle and handed her my reins. Why would Liz want to talk to me now, when she obviously had something else going on? As soon as my big feet hit the ground, Liz's assistant Lucy materialized and led me to a set of steps leading onto the stage from the rear. Liz was standing on the bottom step waiting for me. I bowed as gracefully as a lumbering oaf of my size is capable, and she rewarded me with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, Jeremiah. I've been told you have completely recovered from your injuries; I am well pleased with that."

I nodded in reply and she continued to speak.

"You told me last time I saw you that you believed in what I am trying to accomplish, do you still feel that way?" she asked.

"More than ever," I replied.

She gave me another of those sweet smiles.

"Great!" she exclaimed, then the smile faded and she looked deep into my eyes.

"Listen, Jeremiah, you have an important role in what I want to accomplish. I need you to trust me and go along with what's about to happen. If you agree to that, I promise I'll tell you everything as soon as we are back at my place."

What she asked gave me pause, because I was never one who appreciated surprises. I thought about it for a few seconds as she stood there looking at me expectantly, then made a quick decision.

"I trust you, Liz," I said, giving voice to my thoughts. "So have at it."

Liz flashed me a delighted smile and grabbed my arm.

"All righty then," she said as she tugged me up the stairs. "Let's get this show on the road."

We walked up onto the back of the stage. Liz left me there in the care of Lucy as she strode confidently to the front of the stage. A big rousing cheer broke out for her as she fiddled with attaching something to the bodice of the long gingham dress she was wearing. A man wearing muffs over his ears, even though it was a very warm day, gave her a hand signal and she started talking.

"Hello citizens, it's a great day in New England today and we have a number of things to celebrate. For starters, we are a sovereign nation in control of our own destiny, instead of a city-state consumed by the past. If you recall, in recognition of our sovereignty, I asked for recommendations for a flag to symbolize our nation. From the large number of entries, this is the design the committee chose."

A man and a woman walked out on the stage and unfurled the flag. I almost choked when I saw it, because it was the 'Bonnie Blue', the unofficial flag of the Confederate States of America. The Bonnie Blue was a royal blue rectangle with one large white star centered in the field of blue. The flag originated in South Carolina, and the single star signified that the confederate states were removing their star from the United States flag. The only addition to the New London version was the words 'Unity' above the star and 'Progress' beneath it.

The flag was a big hit with the citizens of New London. Liz gave them a few minutes to whoop it up, then she moved the event along.

"As you all know, this event is being broadcast to our friends in Paradise Valley. While you were examining the flag, one of the vid-techs informed me that eighty-five percent of the online citizens there are watching this along with you. To those folks, we extend our wish for friendship and peace. And I want to remind them and you that our new flag is a symbol of our commitment to the principle of uniting all of humanity and moving us forward towards a new and better destiny, even if certain members of the Pleiad have circulated the misconception that I suffer from some sort of Megalomania and that all outlanders are criminals or misfits."

Liz had to stop talking as the crowd burst into boos and cat calls. She held up her hand for silence and continued after order prevailed.

"Of course, neither of those rumors contains even a drop of truth. Yes, I exploited my heritage as a way of rallying people to my cause, but now that we've united, we have an elected parliament who will select a prime minister this week. The prime minister they select will run the government. As it was in the day of my namesake, Elizabeth the Second, I will be the figurehead of our country and serve in any fashion the citizenry deems appropriate."

Liz was quite the orator. Her voice was strong and determined and her words inspiring. She stood silent and smiling as the crowd cheered and called her name, then quieted them down again. What she did next was more unbelievable to me than the idea of traveling forward in time.

"So, my friends, we have a flag for our country, we have an elected government and we have a figurehead."

Liz paused and made a motion for me to join her. I gulped and shambled forward.

"What we didn't have until just recently was a hero, a person with a combination of personal courage, training, experience and skill to be our strong right arm as we move forward. We have the Pleiad to thank for reaching back in time and delivering such a man to us."

She took my hand as I walked up beside her and turned me to face the crowd.

"This is Jeremiah Brock," she said raising my hand, "a man who, until three weeks ago, was a citizen of the state of Wyoming in the wild west of the 1870s. Jeremiah was an officer in the American Civil War and a lawman on the old west frontier.

"More importantly for us though, is the fact that he took on and defeated the Juicers that had been plaguing us, and rescued eight innocent citizens in the process. Mister Brock has agreed to continue helping us, both here, and if the citizens of Paradise Valley agree, also back in his own time."

Liz had to pause then as the crowd cheered and clapped. When they wound down, Liz continued.

"In recognition of his commitment to us, I am appointing Jeremiah First Knight of the Realm. The First Knight will be my advisor on matters that include his areas of expertise."

Can you for a minute imagine that? Yet there it was for what remained of the world to see, Jeremiah Brock, uneducated and unrefined muleskinner, kneeling as Elizabeth the Seventh touched a sword to my shoulder. I walked off the stage in a daze and rejoined my smiling friends.

Deming escorted us straight to Liz's house from the square as soon as Liz finished speaking. Liz had some sort of speech she was presenting to the citizens of Paradise Valley over the viewing devises everyone but I seemed to have.

Deming's troopers offered to secure our mounts for us, but I declined. If I rode an animal, I took care of it. Sarah and Tonya followed my lead. It took us fifteen minutes to square away our mounts and pack mules. It was a long fifteen minutes, though, because the women teased me mercilessly about my knighthood.

I had my doubts about being a knight anyway, truth be told. The time I came from was less than a hundred years past our rebellion against the tyranny of the very form of government that I was now serving. Anti-royalty sentiment was still strong in America. I sighed when Tonya finished with her horse and curtsied.

"I've completed my task, my Lord," she shamelessly emoted in an atrocious British accent.

I tried my damndest to suppress a smile as I nodded sternly.

"A passable job, wench, so I'll spare you the cane ... for now. Attend the baggage and report to me when you're done," I commanded imperiously.

Tonya stood there stupefied as Sarah giggled. I was much more familiar with the aristocratic British accent, having heard it often back in my time, so my impersonation was much better than hers. Tonya finally caught on to my tease and laughed.

"Touché, Sir Mulehead," she said.

Liz's mother seemed happy to see Tonya and me again, and made a fuss over us when we walked into the house. I introduced her to Sarah as she led us to the kitchen. Missus Smith commented on how nice it was to meet more unaltered women. It only took a few minutes for her to rustle up a meal of left over roast for us as we sat at the kitchen table.

"These are exciting times, Mister Brock, revolutionary in fact. For once I feel as if the human race is bound for something beside languid extinction," Missus Smith said.

We all nodded in agreement.

"I can't see your daughter letting something like that happen, Mama Smith," I said. "That little sprite is a ball of fire."

The afore mentioned 'ball of fire' arrived home two hours later. When she arrived, Sarah, Tonya and I were upstairs in the room I'd stayed in previously. I had showered and dressed in the outfit that Sonja picked up for me the night we went to Pecos Pete's. I loved the heck out of that black shirt with the roses, so I decided to wear it to dinner. My ladies were also dressed nicely in short, brightly colored dresses. Once I had gotten past the shock of seeing so much leg exposed, I became a big fan of those knee-length frocks.

Dinner was a lively affair. I thoroughly enjoyed being the only male at the table. We ate in the dining room. Lucy joined us, so we sat, three on a side, at the large table for twelve. Liz, Lucy and Missus Smith sat on one side and I, flanked by Sarah and Tonya, sat opposite them.

As Missus Smith had alluded, much had happened while I was escaping the clutches of Doctor Mendoza and the Pleiad. As a matter of fact, some of what happened was a direct result of me jumping ship. Lucy actually told the story with Liz clarifying some points for us. In a nutshell, here is what happened in the three days I was on the run.

It turns out that the vote of no confidence directed towards the Pleiad was prevented from occurring when Chairman Bearclaw invoked a state of emergency. Bearclaw claimed that Liz Smith and the outlanders were secretly behind the Juicer plot. He also inferred that I was a part of the plot. He asserted that I'd been captured by the outlanders and altered somehow so that I was a grave danger to the populace.

To support his assertion, he waved about, and read excerpts from a medical report about my supposedly enhanced body that he'd received from the ill-willed Doctor Mendez. Bearclaw requested thirty days of emergency power to deal with the 'crisis'. The rest of the Pleiad split three-three, so Bearclaw ended up casting the deciding vote. You can guess how he voted. There was grumbling among the citizenry, but the declaration of a state of emergency was legal, so they accepted it.

Bearclaw had moved swiftly after that to round up those he claimed to be outlander agents. The arrests even included a couple of members of the Pleiad and three of the counselors in waiting. I was most disturbed to find out that Helena and Coleen were both under house arrest and that Tonya's mother, Carol, had barely avoided capture. I was cheered somewhat when I found out that Sonja was with Carol, and that they should arrive in New London the next day.

According to Liz, all of Bearclaw's machinations were designed to maintain the status quo. The council chairman was maneuvering to keep the old altered males in power so they could pursue their agenda of trying to change history. The problem they faced was a citizenry that was starting to lean in the direction that Liz advocated. Bearclaw had surrounded the university medical complex with guards, and was allowing no one entry. In addition, groups of men loyal to the old guard fanned out to round up citizens who overtly supported Queen Elizabeth VII.

Liz summed things up for me.

"We must do something, Jeremiah, or a lot of good people will be harmed. The Pleiad has shut down the Medscan units and rejuvimatrix for anyone not supporting him. I have moved a couple of mobile Medscans to the frontier, but our technology is not on par with Paradise University's. Even worse, we've heard that Mendez is lobbying for psychological reorientation of their prisoners."

I was right with Liz up to 'psychological reorientation'. She saw my perplexed look and explained.

"Mendez wants to disrupt the prisoners' minds by removing their free will. They will still be functional, but they will be devoid of personality and easy to manipulate. A crude form of the technique was used in the mid-twentieth century as a 'cure' for mental illness."

Lucy and Liz's briefing shocked Tonya and Sarah, but I had a totally different reaction to it. It made me madder than a hornet. Every bad thought I'd had about Mendez, and to a smaller extent Bearclaw, was coming true with a vengeance. I controlled my anger though, sat back in my chair and exhaled through my pursed lips. Bearclaw and his cronies were even more conniving than I had thought. I was not about to let this stand.

"I assume you have a way to smuggle me into Paradise Valley without alerting Bearclaw and his minions, so plan on doing that tomorrow night. I need any plans and drawings of the medical complex you can dig up, and information about security and patrols around it. We need to find a way for me to sneak in there pronto. I also will need one of those coats that the Juicers wore to disrupt the energy beam weapons."

For me, the conversation was over as soon as I listed my requirements, but the women were not about to drop the subject.

"What are you planning to do, Jeremiah?" Liz asked.

I gave her a hard look and told her the exact truth.

"I am going to set my friends free, create some vacancies on the Pleiad, and permanently end Mendez's medical career," I replied.

Given the abhorrence to violence that was ingrained in Earth's survivors, I expected resistance to my idea. That was not the case, however, as Tonya spoke up immediately.

"Count me in, and if I go, you won't need blue prints. I worked security there for three years, so I know a couple of ways into the complex that aren't usually guarded. Oh yeah, and I also know how to defeat the video surveillance equipment." she said.

"You know you'll need me there too," Lucy added. "You'll need someone you can trust behind you."

I looked at both women and nodded. They had both proven themselves under fire. It made me feel better knowing that the only people with combat experience within a thousand miles of New London were with me. I turned my attention back to Liz.

"There you go, Elizabeth. We have a team and maybe a way in, so all we need now is a ride. What do you say?"

Liz regarded me for a few seconds and then gave me a small smile and an affirmative nod.

"We'll continue to try to solve this diplomatically until midnight tomorrow. If that doesn't work, we'll do it your way," she said.

Then she shook her head as if in disbelief and gave a small laugh.

"Until I met you, I only knew abstractly what our society was missing as a result of altering our males. I can tell you that no one, in or out of the valley, will expect you to beard the lion in his den," she said.

I was not comfortable with the comparison to Daniel in the Biblical lion's den, but I was happy she was backing my move.

The dinner dishes were cleared away and all the women except Liz migrated into the kitchen to clean up after the meal. Liz and I were still at the table, her with a cup of tea, me with a terrific cup of coffee. The Queen of New England regarded me over the rim of her cup, her cornflower blue eyes unreadable. She sat the cup down with a sigh, then leaned back in her chair. I thought she was still considering what to do about the Pleiad; of course, no one had ever been crazy enough to pay me to think.

"Do you think I'm attractive?" she asked out of the blue.

"I think you are very pretty," I answered honestly.

She smiled slightly at that.

"I mean sexually attractive," she clarified.

I blushed when she said that, because I thought I was keeping my lustful thoughts about her well hidden. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. I looked her in the eye and told her how I felt.

"Very," I replied. "I have wanted you from the minute we met, but I also respect you, so you do not have to worry about me."

She smiled, stood up and held out her hand.

"I'd only be worried if the opposite was true, Jeremiah," she said with an impish smile.

As slow as I am mentally, I still understood the invitation in her voice and actions. I uncoiled myself out of my chair and stalked around the table. I ignored her proffered hand and swept her up in my arms. Her lips were sweet and yielding, but her kiss was tentative and inexperienced. She closed her eyes and moaned as I pried open her lips with my tongue. That kiss incited a lust in me I can not remember feeling before. She broke the kiss and wriggled out of my arms.

"Bedroom," she panted urgently as she grabbed my hand and literally dragged me out of the dining room.

Liz was a completely captivating combination of innocence and unbridled lust. She was shy and demure as I undressed her, but once I had her naked in bed, she turned into a wanton hellion. Liz liked it rough; the more forceful I was with her, the better she liked it. At one point, her hands pinned to the mattress and her slender legs over her shoulders, she climaxed so hard she drenched the bed with her juices and fainted dead away. She was also tireless and would not accept my complaints that I was finished for the night. She resurrected Johnny Reb more times than I thought possible, and was still eager for more when he finally surrendered. She fell asleep on top of me, finally, with wilted Johnny still inside her.

Three hours later, I woke up with her riding me once again. I groaned in mock complaint as she smiled down on me sweetly.

"I know you are tired, Sir Knight, so just lay there and I'll do all the work," she said.

The next time I awoke, it was to sunlight streaming through the windows and I was alone in bed. I jumped out of bed when I saw the time on the bedside clock. It was after nine in the morning, the latest I'd slept in years. I stretched the kinks out of my muscles and looked down at my wilted member; neither of us had ever been worked that hard before. I shook my head and rushed into the bathroom adjoining Liz's boudoir, so Johnny Reb could perform the only function Liz had left him capable of.

I showered, dressed and wandered downstairs to the kitchen, hoping that I could scout out some leftovers for breakfast. After my night with the Queen of New England, I was famished. Missus Smith was puttering around in the kitchen when I eased through the door. I was embarrassed running into her after spending the night ravishing her daughter. She did not make things easier for me when she gave me a wicked grin and sly wink.

"I won't ask if you had a good night, because my daughter's screaming kept everyone awake," she teased.

My ears were on fire as she sat me at the table and turned to the stove. In addition to being tireless, when Liz was in the throes of passion, she was also very loud. I quickly changed the subject.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Lucy and your other women are setting up secreting you into the valley. My daughter is busy plotting some kind of Coup to go along with your trip tonight. As soon as you eat, you need to meet them at the square," she said.

I nodded and gratefully thanked her for the fried egg sandwiches and steaming cup of coffee she plunked down in front of me. I wolfed down the sandwiches, guzzled the coffee and bolted up to my room to retrieve my shooting irons. I unloaded both pistols and the repeating rifle, dropped the cartridges in my saddle bags, slung the saddle bags and holster rig over my shoulder, picked up the finely crafted rifle and high-tailed it to the square.

Everyone was waiting for me, standing around one of the mobile mediscan units when I came trotting into the square. Lucy, Tonya and Sarah were dressed in the now familiar garb of medical personnel. I was braced for some serious teasing, so I was pleasantly surprised when I received four nice kisses instead.

The only comment I had to endure was Lucy's observation that she was amazed that I could still jog after what she heard last night. The other women piled into the large coach, leaving me alone with Liz. Liz hugged me firmly and whispered into my ear.

"Be safe, my knight in shining armor," she said.