Warrior Queen Read online

  ‘But what is it?’

  Napoleon stood outside the Tome Tower, already dressed for the mission in old woollen trousers and a rough hemp overshirt. Battle Book 145 was rattling and rumbling in the Tome Tower.

  Professor Perdu had just handed him a huge neck brace made from a thick piece of solid gold.

  ‘It’s called a torc,’ she said. ‘It’s ancient Celtic, about 2000 years old. It is said to be rich in mystic powers. It belonged to Boudicca.’

  ‘Whodicca?’

  ‘Queen Boudicca,’ said Skin, Napoleon’s see-through body armour and data collecting suit. ‘Queen of the Iceni, a tribe of ancient Britons. She led them in revolt against the mighty Romans in AD 60.’

  ‘And she gave the Romans a real lesson in how to fight,’ Professor Perdu added.

  ‘Did she hit them with this?’ Napoleon raised the torc above his head. ‘It weighs a tonne!’

  ‘That is an exaggeration,’ said Skin. ‘Correct weight of the item in question is 1.1352 kilograms.’

  ‘That’s still a big hunk to wear around your neck.’

  ‘And that’s why torcs were worn only by important people,’ said Professor Perdu. ‘Like leaders.’

  ‘So what am I doing with it?’

  ‘You’re taking it back to Queen Boudicca.’

  ‘Wait a minute.’ Napoleon was suddenly suspicious. ‘If it belongs to her, how come we’ve got it?’

  ‘A long story, BB005.’ The professor fiddled with the dials on her control panel. ‘We really don’t have time — ’

  ‘We never have time, Prof.’ Napoleon held up the torc. ‘Come on. Why?’

  ‘Well, we obtained it in an earlier mission that had, er, issues.’

  ‘What kind of issues?’

  ‘The Battle Boy concerned proved to be less than reliable.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We found the torc in his possession when he arrived back from the mission.’ The professor held up her hand. ‘And don’t bother asking which Battle Boy it was – that information is top secret. The main point is that it was too late to return the torc by then. Book 145 had closed.’

  ‘So now it’s up to me to return it?’

  ‘Exactly, BB005. That torc is crucial to Queen Boudicca’s leadership. The Iceni see it as bestowing on her a god-given right to rule. Without it they may not follow her into her final battle, the one that really matters. And you know what that means.’

  Napoleon stared blankly at the professor. ‘I do?’

  ‘It means we would be seriously interfering with the events in Battle Book 145, and therefore with its own internal history. Who knows what may happen if Boudicca’s last battle doesn’t take place? The ramifications could be . . .’ Professor Perdu threw her arms in the air. ‘Believe me, BB005, we could be staring at disaster! Which unless you get a move on is exactly what we’ll be doing anyway!’

  A loud thud thud thudding was coming from the Tome Tower. Book 145 was vibrating across the shelf.

  ‘Got the message, Prof. I’m off!’ Napoleon rushed towards the hatch into the Tome Tower.

  ‘Don’t forget your gadgets.’ Professor Perdu tossed Napoleon an old woollen cloak.

  ‘Ah, the CamoCape.’

  ‘Exactly. We haven’t properly tested its camouflage features. Please do so, if you get a chance.’ Professor Perdu then handed Napoleon a small, black rectangular object.

  ‘The Battle Edit Kit? Cool! I haven’t used the BEK for ages.’

  ‘This is Version 5.31, with some powerful new features, which I suspect you may need.’

  Napoleon stared suspiciously at the professor. ‘Is there something you haven’t told me?’

  ‘Skin will explain. Please, there really isn’t time, BB.’

  Book 145 was almost toppling off the shelf.

  ‘You’re right,’ Napoleon shouted, and immediately burst into the Tome Tower. He sprinted across and grabbed the Battle Book from the shelf, placing it on the floor.

  The metal casket sprang open at once, sending a shaft of light to the top of the Tower.

  ‘Here I come, Boudicca,’ he yelled, and leapt into the blazing light.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  Napoleon was soaked. He’d only travelled back a few seconds but already the mists of time had turned into a downpour and big droplets were stinging his face.

  ‘We are passing through a Time Torrent, BB005. I have previously explained the concept of Time Ether to you,’ said Skin.

  ‘Yeah, I know how time can be a liquid. But that’s only in MetaBooks, not in normal Ba—’

  ‘Book 145 is not a normal Battle Book.’

  ‘What is it, then?’

  ‘It is a parenthetic phenomenon, a transitional type.’

  ‘Plain English, please, Skin.’

  ‘Book 145 is what is called a Verge Volume – not quite a MetaBook, and yet it contains more than one battle.’

  ‘Something tells me there’s a problem with that.’

  ‘Your concern is justified, BB005. Problem Probability is high in Verge Volumes.’

  ‘No wonder the prof was cagey. Go ahead, Skin, spell it out.’

  ‘This mission requires that you land the night before Boudicca’s final battle and return the Great Torc to its rightful place. It must be there when she dresses for war before sunrise.’

  ‘I get it. And there’s no telling where we might land. It could be anywhere.’

  ‘Correct, BB005. In that case we would need to establish our ground co-ordinates and then navigate to the correct point in time and space. Possible, but not easy.’

  ‘Oh, great,’ Napoleon groaned. He was drenched to the bone. ‘I just hope that at least there are some dry clothes waiting for me down there.’

  ‘Not necessary, BB005. You will dry quickly upon landing – as your body absorbs the past particles.’

  ‘What? You mean bits of the past get inside me?’

  ‘Affirmative. That is a necessary condition for entry into a Battle Book. Not only must the past absorb you, but you must absorb some of the past as well.’

  ‘I never knew that. Weird.’

  Napoleon struggled to get his head around the idea that pieces of the past might actually be inside him. Did they stay there? Was he filling up with history? What a weird thought.

  But then the Time Torrent suddenly stopped. One moment it was a solid rainstorm. The next moment there was bright sunshine.

  Sunshine?

  Napoleon stared down at the fields and forests below.

  Sunshine!!!

  ‘Uh-oh, Skin. Didn’t you say we had to arrive at night?’

  ‘Correct, BB005. Checking GeoChron coordinates.’ Now Skin’s nano-computers whizzed.

  ‘It’s not good, is it?’ Napoleon said. ‘We’re way off course, aren’t we?’

  ‘Affirmative,’ Skin replied eventually. ‘We are 3.72 days and many kilometres from our target destination.’

  As Skin spoke a town came into view far below.

  ‘We are above the Roman settlement of Camulodunum, and descending rapidly. That will be our landing zone.’

  Napoleon could already see the people in the town running around in all directions. As he drew even closer he saw that there were soldiers as well as ordinary citizens – women, children and old people.

  ‘They look scared,’ he said, and then almost at once saw why.

  To the north of the town was an enormous army. It spread over several kilometres, and looked more like a wild rabble than an organised force.

  ‘That is Boudicca’s army,’ said Skin. ‘It is made up mainly of warriors from the Iceni and Trinovantes tribes, but other tribes as well. QuickScan indicates 120,000 warriors.’

  ‘So the Roman town doesn’t stand a chance,
Skin,’ Napoleon said with a gulp.

  ‘Correct. Camulodonum will in fact be totally destroyed and burnt to the ground.’

  ‘So why are we landing there?’

  ‘As you know, there is rarely any choice in initial landing options, BB005. And we need to establish a firm base for the BEK. Without that we cannot navigate accurately to Boudicca’s final battle.’

  ‘We won’t be hanging around for long, though, will we?’

  ‘Highly unlikely. Although the town does have historical significance. We must collect images and data while we are there.’

  ‘Forget it, Skin. I’m not getting fried for the sake of history.’

  ‘Please relax, BB005. Our visit will be as brief as possible. Activating Epsilon Phase.’

  They were now skimming over the top of a Roman temple. Everything was perfectly still, all movement had stopped, and yet Napoleon could still sense the panic. People were caught in action poses, rushing about, crying out, trying to flee.

  A wave of fear surged through his body as he dropped down into the town square.

  ‘Activating Reverse Boot Boosters. Gyroscopes in Hover Mode,’ said Skin. ‘Prepare for landing.’

  Napoleon felt a brief shudder of deceleration as he came to a stop above a group of Roman soldiers. He hovered there for a few seconds and then floated gently down, landing in the middle of them.

  ‘Excellent, Skin. One of your best touchdowns yet.’

  ‘Agreement registered. Landing proficiency is certainly improving. However, we must move quickly.’

  ‘Let’s set up the BEK at once.’

  ‘Data collection first.’

  ‘No, Skin, we’ve got to —’

  ‘The historical value of this town is immeasurable, BB005. It is a perfect example of a Roman colonia.’

  ‘Okay, but let’s make it fast. I don’t want to be here when the barbecue starts.’

  ‘Turbo Data Collection activated with Automatic Body Control.’

  In an instant Napoleon was rushing around, collecting images and data. He sprinted from one place to another, through streets and laneways, into houses and shops, up stairs and down into basements as Skin’s nano-computers furiously recorded everything.

  ‘How are we going?’ Napoleon shouted after a while. They were inside the enormous temple they’d flown over just before landing. ‘Is there much of Epsilon Phase left?’

  ‘This is the Temple of Claudius,’ Skin said, sending Napoleon from statues of gods and emperors, to altars and alcoves. ‘Data collection almost complete.’

  A moment later Skin deactivated Automatic Body Control and Napoleon stopped rushing about.

  ‘Phew.’ He stood as still as everyone around him, panting on the spot. ‘That’s better.’

  ‘Your Personal Agitation Level is rising, BB005. Is there a problem?’

  ‘I don’t know yet. I’m just hoping to avoid one. How much is left of Epsilon Phase?’ Skin made a few quick calculations.

  ‘ Ten seconds before Kappa Phase activates.’

  ‘What? Is that enough time to calibrate the BEK?’

  ‘Negative. Approximately one minute is required.’

  ‘Oh, Skin. How could you have let that happen? What are we going to do?’ Napoleon was standing in the middle of the temple. People were all around him, posed in silent prayer to their gods. He wracked his brain, trying to think what he could do. ‘I know,’ he said after a while. He threw the old woollen cloak over his head. ‘Disguise me as a statue, Skin. I’ll stand still here while you calibrate the Battle Edit Kit. Then we split. Deal?’

  ‘Deal, BB005. Excellent rational response to seemingly insurmountable problem. Activating CamoCape databank now. Selecting hologram.’

  The CamoCape hummed, then shimmered and glowed for a few seconds before transmitting the perfect image of a Roman statue. ‘Who am I?’ Napoleon whispered beneath the CamoCape. He could just see out through it.

  ‘You are Mars, the Roman God of War.’ As soon as Skin said this, Epsilon Phase ended and Kappa took over. The temple was at once filled with wailing and weeping. The Romans gathered around Napoleon, worshipping their God of War, begging him to deliver them from disaster.

  Outside the temple, Napoleon could hear shouting and crying. Orders were yelled and Roman soldiers fell into their units, while trumpets and war horns blew.

  But the hullabaloo was quickly drowned out by the roar of the attacking Britons. Boudicca’s warriors bellowed their battle cry as they swarmed into Cumulodunum, sweeping all before them. Soon the whole town was burning, smoke billowing into the temple.

  ‘How’s it going with the BEK?’ Napoleon was becoming nervous.

  ‘Almost ready, BB005. Only a few coordinates to lock in now.’

  Napoleon barely heard Skin. For at that very moment a war chariot burst into the temple, driven by a tall warrior woman, reins in one hand, a huge sword in the other. On either side of her were two girls, one a teenager, the other younger. The teenager had a bow and was rapidly firing arrows handed to her by the younger girl.

  The woman wore a brightly coloured tunic, with a heavy mantle over her shoulders. Her tangled red hair streamed behind as she let out a fierce battle cry.

  The people in the temple fled at once. Napoleon stood and stared in awe.

  ‘You’d better hurry, Skin. I think Queen Boudicca has just turned up.’

  ‘And her daughters,’ Skin added. ‘Rhiann and little Morrig.’

  The fiery queen screeched her chariot to a halt. She eyed the long line of statues in the temple with a terrifying expression. Then, in one mighty swoop of her sword she sliced off the head of the first statue.

  ‘Down with Rome,’ she screamed, the girls echoing her cry. Then she urged her horses on, whacking off statue heads one after another as she rode down the line.

  Napoleon was the very last statue of all. But that didn’t make him feel any better as the warrior queen raced towards him.

  ‘Please hurry, Skin.’

  There was no reply.

  ‘Skin!’

  ‘Battle Edit Kit calibrated and re-aligned within Book 145 parameters.’

  ‘Cut the details. Just get me out of here.’

  ‘Affirmative. Activating Boot — ’

  It was too late. Queen Boudicca was already bearing down on Napoleon, her sword slicing towards his head at a frightening speed.

  He had no choice.

  He ducked, and hoped for the best.

  The sword whistled past, millimetres above his head. He felt the wind from it, and heaved a sigh of relief. But in the same breath, he saw Boudicca wheel her horses about, skidding her chariot around. Her face was fierce with fury as she turned and charged at him once more.

  This time Skin was ready. ‘Activating Boot Boosters with Level 10 Turbo Thrust.’

  Napoleon braced himself as the wild woman raced towards him. When she was only a few metres away, he felt a shudder and a jolt, and then shot up into the air.

  Boudicca stopped suddenly and watched the statue of Mars fly away.

  ‘See,’ she howled with delight. ‘Even the Roman gods flee from us. Victory will be ours.’

  Napoleon was travelling so fast that he almost hit the roof of the temple. Gyroscopes howled and side jets surged. He swooped down in a wide arc and shot over the top of Boudicca. As he did so, the CamoCape was blown back. Suddenly he was no longer a statue of Mars, but just himself.

  Boudicca and her daughters peered up with a mix of confusion and anger. The queen shook her sword and Rhiann fired an arrow. It just missed Napoleon.

  He rocketed away at once, straight up through the middle of the temple, almost crashing into the ceiling and just missing a big column. After a couple of wild spirals he flew out through the far end of the temple.

  ‘That was close, Skin,’ he yelled as he rose high above Camulodonum.

  The whole town was burning. Napoleon looked away, not wanting to think about all the destruction.

  His Boot Boosters st
opped and his HoverVest quietened to a soft hum.

  ‘ShieldField activated,’ said Skin, and a bubble sealed itself around Napoleon.

  He sat back and removed the Battle Edit Kit from his vest. The burning town of Camulodunum flashed on the screen, exactly the same as the scene below.

  Napoleon looked at the new dials and buttons. ‘So what now, Skin?’

  ‘Press the Fast Forward button, please.’

  Napoleon did so and immediately the scene on the BEK screen began flashing past at a rapid pace. The Roman town burnt to the ground in a few seconds, and Boudicca’s army vanished. Soon the screen was a blur. Napoleon glanced down at the ground, and it was a blur as well – trees, towns, clouds, everything whizzing past. ‘Cool, Skin. We’re zapping through Boudicca’s battles.’

  ‘Precisely, BB005. The BEK jumps forward in discreet units known as Time and Space Chunks. The present TSC will be through in 3 seconds . . . 2 . . . 1 ’.

  The BEK screen went blank. A moment later it re-booted with a completely new scene.

  ‘Look at that,’ Napoleon said, staring first at the BEK screen and then down at a real scene. Hundreds of Roman soldiers were marching on the road below.

  ‘That is the Ninth Hispana Legion of the Roman army, on its way to save Camulodunum.’

  ‘But they’re too late.’

  ‘Correct. Worse still, they are marching into an ambush. Please observe Sector M9.’

  A grid flashed up on Napoleon’s EyeScreen and he zoomed in on Sector M9. The Roman legion was marching towards a heavily forested area. As Napoleon zoomed even closer he saw that the forest was full of Britons, waiting with spears and swords, bows and arrows.

  ‘This will be another victory for Boudicca,’ said Skin.

  ‘And I don’t think I really want to see it,’ Napoleon replied.

  He hit the Fast Forward button on the BEK, and everything was a blur once more.

  When the Battle Edit Kit stopped again, another Roman army appeared on the screen.

  ‘Closer inspection required,’ said Skin.