Storiesonline.net
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                               Surviving 3
                          by Scotland-the-Brave

Copyright© 2007 by Scotland-the-Brave


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Description: Scott mac Fergus rides again! God help the Norsemen and the English - and any desirable women he comes across!

Codes: MF Mf FF Ff ScFi TimeTr rom anal
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Chapter 1: Depression


The crowd in the stadium were creating an intense atmosphere, the noise of fifty thousand Scotsmen cheering on their football team when they're in full flight is quite awesome, raw, almost animalistic. Saltire and Lion Rampant flags, tartan scarves were everywhere and the very rafters holding on the roof of the stadium were being tested.

One figure in the crowd was particularly vocal as Scotland bore down on the goal-mouth again; the ball was slipped inside the box into the path of the striker.

"Come Scotland get into these Norse bastards!" The figure screamed.

On the pitch the Scottish striker slammed the ball into the net and the crowd went absolutely berserk. 2-0 Scotland against Denmark. Scotland ran out eventual 3-1 winners and by the time the crowd was streaming through the gates they were singing their victory songs very happily indeed.

The highly vocal figure was now quiet as he trudged out of Hampden Stadium. He seemed to have been feeding off of the noise and atmosphere during the match but now his shoulders were slumped and there was a haunted look on his face, a fey look in his eyes.

Physically and outwardly, Scott MacDonald looked like a normal man but inside his head there were demons at work, demons that were beginning to eat away at his very sanity. Of all the thousands streaming from the stadium it's a safe bet that Scott was the only one who had actually fought against and killed Danes on many occasions.

Scott had somehow been thrown back in time to ninth century Scotland and that period was one of Scotland's bloodiest, with the twin threats of Norse and Saxon invaders on top of savage and brutal Scots lords to contend with. He had lived there for six years, establishing himself as a shrewd tactician and winning battles against both the Danes and the English. He had many memories of his time in the sub-Kingdom of Dalriada and that's what was eating him up.

On the night of the birth of his second son, Crinan, he had tried to find a quiet place to reason through the introduction of a new innovation. He had remembered how to make gunpowder but was torn about introducing its destructive qualities into ninth century Scotland. The camp where he lived, Inveraray, was in the middle of celebrating the St Andrew's day holiday and there were no quiet corners where he could find the space to think.

Pitching his original tent from the twenty first century he had at last found some quiet time, and had finally decided that he would introduce gunpowder, when whatever it was that controlled his push back in time, cruelly struck to return him to 2007 AD.

He left behind his wives, his children and the friends who had shared the battlefield with him, who had put their lives on the line to help their people and lands.

Scott was shattered, his life felt as if it had come to a juddering halt. He had trawled on-line to find evidence of his presence in the ninth century, for signs that his introduction of innovations that were far ahead of their time had changed Scotland's history. He found nothing. He had visited all of the sites where Dalriada had settlements and could find no trace of his past existence there.

He was slipping deeper and deeper into depression and couldn't find a way of halting it. His attendance at today's football match had momentarily brought back the adrenaline rush of some of it, but he realised that had been illusory, this was no substitute for what he had been through.

Turning a corner he found himself in the midst of a group of Danish supporters, obviously drunk and riotous, despite their team's defeat. There were perhaps forty of them, many wearing 'comedy' horned helmets to show they were Vikings and they were chanting in their own language. Scott found himself reaching for a non-existent sword and realised he needed to get a grip of himself. He wasn't in the ninth century, these Danes weren't intent on raping and pillaging - more's the pity, as he would gladly have taken his chances against so many if that meant he was somehow back there.

Several hours later he was nursing a beer in a Glasgow bar, his head still 'tripping' between the Scotland of 2008 AD now and of the ninth century. He stood to make his way to the toilets and found his way barred by three men in their early twenties.

"Who are you fucking looking at?" Menaced one.

Another of the men poked his finger into Scott's chest.

"Are you looking for trouble ya ugly bastard?" Said the third.

For perhaps the first time in months, Scott's mind focussed. He thought clearly and found it was strange how in modern times confrontation was typified by talk, verbal threats, pushing. It was almost like being back in the school playground where there had been a 'you start it, no you start it' kind of childish approach to starting a fight.

All this went through his mind in a split second and he had no conscious thought of what he was actually doing, but his knee rammed into the groin of the man directly in front of him, viciously smashing the man's balls up into his body. As he started to fall, Scott could clearly see the surprise on the faces of the other two and he also watched abstractly as his right arm swung upwards, his beer bottle in his hand. The bottle caught the man on the left of him on the side of his face and head, but the glass didn't break. He turned to the third man who was now backing off, his hands up in front of him, palms out in a gesture of surrender.

Scott dropped the bottle and walked quickly out of the bar, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was following. His realised now that he was breathing heavily, but wasn't nervous, rather he felt elated. He quickly flagged a taxi and returned to his flat as quickly as he could, letting himself in and collapsing on the sofa.

"What the hell was that!" He thought to himself.

He couldn't avoid the conclusion that he had welcomed the opportunity to release some of the anger that had been building up inside of him. Neither could he fail to see that his experiences during his six years in Dalriada had made him react to situations like this with a very strong survival instinct. He was overmatched against these guys, they just weren't used to such savagery and easy adoption of violence, weren't ready for it. Not for the first time in the past few months Scott realised he had grown out of this time, he didn't belong here anymore.

He let his head fall forward until his chin rested on his chest and let his tears roll down. These were tears of frustration, of loss, of desperation.

"You owe your people more than this my Lord!" He heard a little echo in his head. These were Gabrain's words to him when he had been struggling to come to terms with the death of his first wife - Kirsty - and their little angel of a daughter - Tina. The words came back to him now.

"You need to remember you are a lord and should be setting an example. All of these people have suffered too and they deserve more from you than this."

Scott realised the words were equally apt for what he was going through now. For perhaps the first time he considered what his wives and friends were feeling about his loss rather than focussing on his own position. The words hit him hard. They combined with the feeling of alienation towards the current world he was in and forced him to some kind of decision point in his head.

"Aye Gabrain, you have the rights of it as usual. I owe people more than I'm currently giving them. Instead of wallowing in self-pity I need to set about solving the riddle of what has happened and get back to you all if I can." He said this out loud and it was if a curtain was pulled back in his head to let in the light, as if the fog of depression was at last starting to lift. Scott felt better than he had in months, focussed with a goal to work towards.

He started immediately, almost like old times he thought as he sat on the sofa with a pad of paper and a pen. He was smart, educated to degree level; he needed to start using his brains a bit better. For the past few months he had been blundering around in panic, looking everywhere but with no clear thought behind what he was doing. Now he resolved he would do better. Gabrain was right; he owed it to all of them to perform better than he had been.

He started with a 'brainstorm' of everything he knew about his push back in time and his return. He also wrote down all of the things about Dalriada he could remember. Finally he wrote down two strands of investigation - first of all figure out how the time travel worked, but secondly, think about things he might take back with him if he found a way.

When he looked at the clock he was stunned to find he had worked at this for four hours without a break. That knowledge allowed his brain to tell him his body was exhausted and he needed to rest. Despite the feeling that he couldn't afford the time to sleep, Scott knew this would be false economy - he needed rest to help him keep thinking straight - so he crawled into his bed and was quickly out like a light.

The next morning he awoke refreshed and still had the sense of focus that had settled on him when he had recalled Gabrain's words. He settled himself in front of his computer and started a more systematic search of historical records. His notes from the night before on what he remembered about Dalriada now helped him search for even the smallest thing that could be significant.

He researched education, fishing, old weapon finds even the history of available foodstuffs in Scotland. He looked into the expected life of concrete before it began to degrade. He scoured the most obscure websites for information on Scotland's nautical capabilities and he pored over ancient scrolls he pulled up from the National Archives of Scotland website, which detailed what records had been recovered throughout history.

Still he could find nothing, not a single scrap of evidence that he had been in the ninth century and that his innovations had changed the course of events. He left the computer and sat on the sofa with his trusty notepad. Scott began to think about possible explanations for the lack of evidence

It was possible that his innovations hadn't left any lasting legacy, but he didn't want to dwell on how that could have happened. Such an explanation would need to be based on almost the entire population of Dalriada, Fife, Ayrshire and Galloway being wiped out so that his ideas weren't carried forward through time. His more permanent ideas like concrete could have degenerated in the eleven hundred years that had passed, but he wasn't willing to accept the whole-scale slaughter that underpinned such a theory

Was it possible that his twenty-first century understanding of the world and history was too narrow to explain things? He returned to his computer and began to search for alternative explanations. In no time at all he was looking at reams of material on such theories as multiverse - popularised by the sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock, but which seemed to have some basis in cosmology, and physics. Then there was the many-worlds interpretation or MWI. This suggested that rather than a single 'world-line' of history there was a possibility that history was rather a many-branched tree where every possible branch of history could be realised. This was further refined into the relative state formulation by some guy call Hugh Everett and popularised by Bryce Seligman DeWitt.

In no time at all Scott's head was swimming in all this gobble-de-gook and technobabble. He decided it came down to the possibility that there was more than one universe and that universes could potentially exist in parallel. Without all the technical mumbo-jumbo he quite liked this as a possibility, perhaps because it didn't depend on the slaughter of his friends and family.

He took a break and called up his favourites and entered Storiesonline (SOL). He saw that cmsix had updated his story Why Me, Lord and he read it quickly, disappointed that cmsix had not yet got to the part where Bill encountered Sarah again. Scott used the Category Search facility and began to skim through the various time travel stories looking for ideas and suggestions as to what could possibly have happened to him. His list at the end of a further two hours of reading was pretty meagre.

He sat on the sofa and decided to change tack onto his other line of thought - what could he take back? Scott had managed to change some of little ingots of silver for money but he hadn't managed to get a good exchange rate, as he had had to go to some of Glasgow's gangsters to do so. He had used all the cash that exchange had generated to buy a 4x4 and didn't think he could repeat the exchange in the future. Mixing with those guys was asking for trouble. That meant he had silver and a good stock of gold coins but he couldn't do much with them.

His lack of funds tended to limit what he might be able to get his hands on to take back and he now tried to narrow down the possibilities. His re-reading of some of the SOL stories suggested some things. Volentrin had started a new story and both he and cmsix had included the idea of laptop computers that worked from car batteries - a computer loaded with as much encyclopaedic knowledge and blueprints etc for engineering would be invaluable and he couldn't omit that from his list. Power for his ships was something that had really frustrated both him and his ninth century craftsmen and he needed to do something about that in particular. He thought about solar panels and wind generators, which were easy to get and relatively cheap nowadays.

This was Scotland, ruled by the UK's gunlaws, so the possibility of getting his hands on any worthwhile weapons was pretty much redundant. There were other things he thought of but not many that were portable and which would function worth a damn without electricity. He smiled as he remembered his alchemists referring to it as 'elastic trickery'.

Books! That was another thing that could be extremely valuable - he would need to think about a range of books he could take - both for advancing new ideas but also for taking the Dalriada school system onto another level.

The time spent on compiling this list cheered Scott up no end. The very fact that the list was only being prepared because he was thinking positively about being able to get back in time seemed to buoy his spirits. He was sitting back, thinking about Volentrin's railway and steam engine when reality bit once more. He had made absolutely no progress on identifying how he was going to get back.

Scott decided to wash up and go out for something to eat. He took a quick shower and applied foam to his face so he could shave, looking at himself closely in the mirror. His parents had been shocked to see that he had aged six years in only six months and they had quizzed him on what he had been doing to have aged so quickly. Scott knew they suspected he had been taking drugs or had been involved in something shady that had prematurely aged him.

He applied the razor to his face and then stopped. He re-wound his last thoughts because something had struck a chord.

"Aged six years in six months," he thought, "six years in six months, is that important?"

He let this thought rattle around in his head as he finished shaving, splashing on some Égoist aftershave and dressing casually. It was still there as he walked to a nearby restaurant and ordered some pizza and a beer, taking his time to eat the American Hot Special and sip from the bottle.

Scott wandered back to the flat, still deep in thought and sat on the sofa with his pad in his hand. He wrote; May 2007 - Nov 2007 = 6 months, so 1 month = 1 year. Then below that he wrote; May 30th to Nov 30th and then paused to look at what he had written. There was a feeling of excitement building in the pit of his stomach and he rushed over to sit in front of his computer.

He began to search for anything that might be important regarding these two dates. He called up information about the equinoxes and the solstices, even looked into the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar to see if that had any bearing. After a further three hours of wading through pages and pages he had still found nothing that would suggest there was anything special about these dates - other than November 30th being St Andrew's day of course.

His excitement had receded somewhat, but he still felt he had hit on something important and he needed to stick with it. Somehow he knew the fact that the dates were exactly six months apart and one month in this time seemed to equate to one year in the other was significant.

He also now began to think about the probability that if he did manage to go back, the next 'window' would be May 30th and his friends and family could possibly be six years older. What could have happened in ninth century Scotland in six years? A lot he knew, and he would need to prepare himself for that.

Before turning in for the night he had one final thought. If one of the dates was connected to St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, could it be possible that the second one was somehow connected to that other Saint who had meant so much to Scotland's past - Colm Cille - St Columba, the founder of little Iona?

Excited once more he put in a search on his computer and then sat back to look at the screen. St Columba, born on 7 December, died on 9 June in the year 597 AD and on Iona itself. Could the date be wrong? Could he have died on 30 May? There was only a matter of days difference between them. It was possible he admitted to himself, how accurate would the records from that time be?

He was convinced he was onto something. If there was a connection between these two saints who meant so much to Scotland, a connection that held the symmetry of exactly six months between the dates, then that was surely significant somehow?

He fell asleep with the dates and the two saints on his mind. When he awoke in the morning, he found, as was often the case with him, his mind had been working while he slept and there was one clear thought in his head. It was crystal clear, as was the picture that went along with it - Saint Columba's altar, Lia Faill, Scotland's 'stone of destiny'.

Scott felt he was getting close to something. Certainly he had felt the stone was important when he had stood beside it, touched the thing which was legendary to the Scots. The stone he had touched bore no resemblance to the one tourists could view today and he felt that lent credence to the stories that had grown up suggesting the English had been duped into taking away a false stone many hundreds of years ago.

The English King Edward I had taken the Scots stone from the Abbey of Scone in the late thirteenth century and since then the English had crowned their own monarchs on it. One story suggested that the stone had been swapped for the stone cover to the Scone cesspits and that for seven hundred years, English Kings had been crowned sitting on this Scottish 'shit-hole' cover. Scott couldn't help but smile anew at such a possibility.

He spent some further time on-line that morning trying to unearth anything else that might lend weight to his developing theory, but couldn't find anything of substance. Scott decided there was something in it though and began to prepare himself for the possibility of going back to Dalriada on May 30th. He had just over four weeks to plan and purchase everything he wanted to take with him.

His excitement was back up to fever pitch and he had to mentally warn himself of the consequences of being wrong. It would be a terrible, disastrous, disappointment if it all proved fanciful. No, he had to be positive, to work on the basis that he had worked out at least when it could happen, if not exactly how.

The next few weeks were full of activity as he pulled together the various resources he had decided to take with him. He had visited Inveraray and booked the site where he had been transported to and from in the past. There was no use in risking the possibility of someone else parking a tent or caravan on the spot! Although that did give rise to questions as to why it had only been himself that had been pushed back. Was it possible others had gone before him? If not, what made him so different, why had he been chosen?

He focussed on the circumstances of his past transportations. Both had been while he had been inside his tent - did that have any significance? He wasn't sure but decided to play it safe, the tent had worked twice so he would use the tent again. He realised that this significantly reduced the amount of stuff he could take back - what could he fit inside the tent?

Scott planned a twin track approach. He would load up the 4x4 and park it immediately beside the tent, perhaps even tying part of the tent onto the vehicle so they were connected. The most important things he was taking would go with him inside the tent in case the 4x4 wasn't transported.

At last he had everything he thought he could usefully take and May 30th was only a few days away. He packed up the 4x4 and set off for Inveraray, driving through the mountains of the west Highlands and marvelling again at their beauty. His heart was already starting to beat quicker, his blood flowing faster at the prospect of going back, of seeing those he loved.

He smiled as a picture of Albannach came into his head.

"Oh you brave and noble beast, I hope I to see you soon my friend."



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Chapter 2: Theory put to the test!


Scott parked the 4x4 and immediately set about pitching the tent and transferring those goods he had decided were the most important inside it. As he had planned, he tied several of the tent's guy ropes to the vehicle. Once he was finished he walked into Inveraray proper and spent some time just milling about the town, soaking up the beautiful scenery of Loch Fyne, the peak of Strachur on the far shore and the sunshine on the whitewashed buildings that fronted the little pier.

He knew there was nothing he could do to make time go quicker but his excitement was getting to him. Possibly one more day to go and he would be back with his family and friends, back where he belonged.

That evening he decided to visit the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar for dinner again, walking the three miles from his campsite to reach the single storey restaurant. He was delighted to see the same old woman greeting diners at the door, perhaps a good omen, but was disconsolate to see just how busy the small establishment was. It was clearly full and there were a number of families waiting to be seated too.

The old woman came out of the restaurant proper and spied him hesitating in the doorway. Scott could see she recognised him - nothing wrong with her memory, despite the fact she was almost seventy! She walked up to him, a bright smile on her face.

"Och laddie, it's good to see you've come back to us. We're a might busy tonight as you can see, but for someone with your love of our country I just know I'll be able to find you a seat before long. Will ye be waiting?"

"You're very kind, and I don't believe you remember me after all this time. I really don't mind waiting if you're sure I'll be able to eat at some point." He replied.

"Dinnae worry yourself laddie, I'll find you a spot before lang."

Scott took a seat in the entranceway and bided his time. He had a view out over the loch and he let himself drift off, picturing his longships beating up and down the waters as the evening sun was setting in the west. His daydreaming was interrupted by a question from the old woman.

"Is it another walking trip through God's own country that you're planning?"

Once more Scott was astonished at her powers of recall.

"I'm hoping to rekindle some old memories, relive some of my past." He responded.

"Good, there's much that we can learn frae the past, young folks seem to forget that in their rush."

With that she was off again, bustling around the restaurant as she waited on tables and engaged the diners in what was sure to be pleasant conversation.

It didn't seem that long before the woman beckoned to Scott and made to show him to a table that had just been vacated. A family of what sounded like English people complained that they had been waiting longer than Scott had, but the woman shushed them by telling them Scott had a longstanding booking and had already been delayed. Scott smiled at this little white lie and thanked the woman profusely for getting him seated.

He pored over the menu - it didn't look as if it had changed much from his previous visit - and settled on Queen Scallops in garlic butter again (nostalgia!) but opted for the Glen Fyne Sirloin steak as a main course. He ordered a bottle of the same red wine he had drunk previously and sat back to wait for his meal.

"I'm glad that you've managed to choose the right wine to accompany your meal this time laddie - if I remember right, you had red wine with fish on your last visit." The old woman smiled as she said this to show she was teasing him. "Enjoy your meal, we're busy or I would have stayed to chat longer."

The scallops proved to be as good as he remembered them and the Sirloin was a treasure, it melted in his mouth, the juices on his taste buds making his mouth water. The crowds were in stark contrast to his meal here the year before and he found he wasn't enjoying the atmosphere quite as much. He didn't linger, but paid his bill, leaving an outrageous tip and waved to the old woman as he made for the door.

She somehow managed to get to the door before him and thanked him again for coming. On impulse Scott suggested he might return the next night to eat again, but much earlier this time, nearer to opening time. She confirmed that would be fine and he was off for his three mile hike back to the tent.

He slept well following his two three mile walks and the glasses of wine he had taken with dinner. When he awoke the next morning he spent some time planning for any eventuality that might occur if he was indeed pushed back in time tonight. He had brought his kilt and other gear with him and he laid these out now so he could change into them later. His sword and dirk were laid out too.

Scott then spent some more time going over what he had brought with him and questioning whether he had made the right choices. He decided the laptop computer was going to be no good without a power source so stashed it back in the 4x4. If the 4x4 made it, he would have power and the computer could be used if it didn't, the battery on the computer would soon run down. He realised he had surprisingly little in the tent with him when he had finished, mostly books and other small items. If the 4x4 didn't make it he was going back with not much more than he had left, but the risk of trying a different approach other than the tent was a risk too great to take he decided.

"I would happily go back with nothing!" He admitted to himself.

At last it was time to begin his walk back to the Oyster Bar. He didn't know why, but suddenly Scott wanted to wear his kilt for the occasion. He changed quickly and set off. He arrived about ten minutes before official opening time but it was almost as if the old woman had been keeping an eye out for him and she ushered him to a seat, taking his order.

"So, laddie, I can sense there's something about you, aye, I felt it the last time you came. I can tell you have this Scotland in your soul and close to your heart, it does make an auld woman happy to see that in a youngster these days. And yer kilt has a well worn look to it that shows you've hid guid use oot o' it."

She sat and talked with Scott as his food was being prepared and he enjoyed her homely manner. He looked out of the plate glass windows and smiled to himself as he saw dark grey clouds gathering in the distance.

Scott didn't have wine with his meal on this occasion but he did buy a bottle to take with him. As he paid his bill and prepared for his walk back to the tent the old woman bade him farewell, her words striking a chord with Scott.

"You take care noo laddie, Scotland needs mere like ye I'm thinking and I hope yae find whit it is your looking for."

The walk back seemed to pass in no time at all and Scott's anticipation was growing as he pulled himself inside the tent. Almost immediately he heard the sound of thunder in the distance and he opened the bottle of wine, pouring some into a cup and taking a sip. He had no idea whether the wine was necessary but he had remembered drinking wine on both of the previous occasions he had 'time travelled' and he was leaving as little to chance as possible.

He wasn't sure whether sleeping played any part, but he lay down anyway, his excitement making sleep very unlikely at the moment. The thunder was clearly getting closer and Scott could now also see flashes of thunder lighting up the inside of the tent. Perhaps an hour later it happened. There was a huge clap of thunder and a simultaneous flash of lightning. Scott's ears were assaulted by an almighty crack as he felt the tent struck by something, the ringing carrying on for some minutes.

When his ears finally cleared he noticed at once that the sound of the storm had gone. He felt suddenly very nervous, knew he had to get out of the tent, discover whether his theory was correct, find out if he had travelled back. His mouth was suddenly dry and his hands were shaking.

"Fuck it Scott, come on!" He thought at last.

He unzipped the tent and poked his head outside.

"Sweet Jesu!"

There in front of him was the outline of his house in Inveraray. It had worked! He glanced to the side and took in the fact that the 4x4 wasn't there so his precautions had been spot on, but bang went a lot of new technology.

Scott looked again at the house and beyond it to the camp. There was something, he couldn't put his finger on it, but something didn't feel right. He reached behind himself and found his sword and dirk before crawling fully out of the tent. He changed his mind and thrust the sword back inside the tent, pulling the rods and guy lines out so the structure collapsed in on itself to lie flat on the ground amongst the trees.

He crept quietly through the settlement, little sign of life evident at this time of night. There was light coming from the area of the hall-house and he edged slowly towards that. As his eyes became more accustomed to the darkness he began to see there were signs that the camp was somewhat in disrepair, un-maintained was the word that sprang to his mind. He began worrying.

When he was within fifty yards of the hall-house he could see the flag that was fluttering over it. It wasn't his own Norse-slayer banner, not the Saltire, not even Gabrain's Dalriada design, but something he couldn't quite believe. Flying proudly above the Inveraray hall-house was the device of Murdoch of Fife.

"Oh Murdoch, what have you done you treacherous bastard, you treacherous, treacherous bastard." Scott moaned quietly to himself.

Scott crept beyond the hall-house and confirmed the gates of Inveraray were locked and guarded. His next stop was his house, but he could see no sign of his family being there. He quickly made his way back to the collapsed tent. Inside it were all the things he had managed to bring back from his own time - not a lot he had to admit. He pulled his rucksack and sword out of the tent and then covered it over with vegetation. The rest of the gear would have to lie here, he needed to get outside the settlement to try and discover the extent of Murdoch's betrayal.

He could try to go over the walls but that would probably be too risky. His best chance was to wait for the gates to open in the morning and try to slip out casually as just another resident of the settlement going about their business. He knew his size was going to be an issue - he was a good five or six inches taller than anyone he had met in this time - but he would just have to walk with a stoop. He wrapped his rucksack in his plaid to cover its twenty-first century look and give him a bundle that would both hide his face and give him reason to stoop.

He made his way slowly towards the gates and took up a position behind one of the houses close to it. There was nothing else he could do now but wait, wait until the gates were opened and he had a chance of getting out. He was pleased that there were no sounds to suggest there were domesticated wolves around, pleased but puzzled. It would appear as if Murdoch and the Fifers didn't hold with the beasts - it perhaps made his job a little easier.

As he sat with his back against the wall of the house, he could feel his eyes growing heavy and he struggled to remain alert.

Eventually he could detect a lightening in the sky to the east beyond Strachur and the outline of the settlement began to emerge from the gloom. Sounds of stirring in the camp began to grow and Scott nervously waited for the gates to be opened. At last he spied two figures walking up to the gates and engage the guards in conversation. Scott heard the creak of the gates being pulled back and looked around for signs of other people moving towards them. It was perhaps another half an hour before there was sufficient traffic for him to risk an attempt.

He hoisted his plaid covered rucksack onto his shoulder, stooping as if he was carrying a great weight and then stepped out, walking confidently towards the exit from the camp. Nothing untoward happened as he reached the gates, no challenge ringing out. But as he passed through them, the man who happened to be walking beside him glanced at his face and the shocked expression that appeared made it clear to Scott that he had been recognised. He gambled on the man being a local and winked at him, continuing on his way. Scott held his breath for the next few steps, but he must have been lucky because the man didn't give him away.

A few hundred yards further up the path it began to climb and Scott laboured a little. He paused to catch his breath and looked back as the weak morning sun began to fully illuminate the camp. The wind suddenly veered, now blowing at his back and over his shoulder towards Inveraray. As he stood watching the camp, hoping for any sign of what might be going on there, he heard a loud commotion. Voices reached him, but he couldn't make out the words. Then he saw a sign that almost made his heart burst - there, hurtling through the gates he saw the big horse, would recognise it anywhere, Albannach!

The horse had its head down and was galloping up the path towards him; clearly it had caught his scent on the wind and broken free of whatever arrangement had been in place to fetter it. When he was but paces away Albannach pulled up and reared up on his hind legs before dropping his head and walking forward to push his head into Scott's chest. He managed to see well enough through his tears of joy to stroke the proud beasts head and to whisper how much he had missed him. The horse was butting him so hard that he was in danger of being knocked off his feet.

"My friend, thank you for coming to me, it's time for us to ride again you and I!"

Scott pulled the plaid off of the rucksack, pulling it onto his back. Albannach had no saddle or tack but he stood steadily as Scott folded the plaid and then swung himself up onto his back. He glanced at the camp once more. Albannach's escape had drawn attention and there was a group of people gathered at the gate, watching the exchange between horse and rider. Scott thought he could pick out Murdoch as one of those staring up towards him. He raised his sword in the air and brought it slashing down with all his force and speed, halting it when it was level with his shoulder. The blade didn't waver, pointing straight at the man in the centre of the group, the message clear, Scott would be returning to settle accounts.

With that Scott urged Albannach forward at his best speed and the sure footed beast let himself increase pace until he was galloping along the roadway that Scott had commissioned the building of.

Scott simply put some distance between himself and Inveraray as he fully expected Murdoch to come after him. He doubted whether Murdoch had anything that could keep pace with Albannach though and he wasn't overly worried about pursuit.

He was heading in the direction of Kilchrennan although he knew he would have to cross Loch Awe at some point to get there. His thinking was that the monks there would be the safest place to try to get information about what was going on here, and information was vital at this point.

Scott passed men on the road but nobody tried to halt his passage on the huge beast that was Albannach and night was beginning to fall when he approached the point where Gabrain had used the floats to ford the loch. He halted in the tree-line to survey the scene and just as dusk was almost complete he rode across to the other side. His reserves of stamina were fast running out, as he hadn't slept the night before so he knew he needed to find a place to hole up and rest.

He opted to make for the slopes where his vines were grown, feeling sure he would have a chance to speak quietly with one or other of the monks in that area. In the dark he managed to find a stand of trees and slipped from Albannach'' back, leading the horse in amongst the trees. He cut a length of rope, which he took from his rucksack and tethered Albannach to one of the small trees. He didn't think there was a chance the horse would leave him, but he needed to make sure he remained hidden. Once that job was complete he wrapped himself in his plaid and quickly fell asleep.

The sun was already high in the sky the next morning when Albannach nudged Scott awake. He stood and stroked the proud horse, wishing he had a carrot to feed his noble friend. Albannach snickered with delight when Scott scratched behind his ears.

"I have to leave you for a bit my friend, but I will return soon never fear. I need to find out where we're going next."

Scott crept from the trees and down the hill towards where the vines were growing. Sure enough he could see a number of monks tending the vines and he made his way quietly along one of the rows to get close to the nearest monk.

"Pssst! My friend, don't speak and don't look towards me in case others are watching. I am Scott mac Fergus; Norse-slayer and I need to speak to your Abbot here to find out what treachery has been visited on this Dalriada. Is it safe for me to walk here openly?"

"My Lord, God and his Saints be praised! Can it be true? It is no jest, you are really the Norse-slayer returned?"

"Aye my friend and to find Dalriada in a sorry state by the looks of things. But quickly, am I safe to walk here openly?"

"I'm afraid not my Lord. There are Fifers stationed everywhere throughout Loarne, aye and beyond. What would you have me do?"

"Get you down to the Abbot and ask him to meet me here my friend. I need to know everything I can about what has gone on here."

The monk nodded and immediately set off down the hill. It wasn't but an hour later that he returned, the somewhat out of shape Abbot panting and breathing heavily as he too tried to climb the hill. The Abbot had to take a few minutes before his breathing calmed enough to allow him to speak. He sat between two rows of vines and Scott began to question him.

"My thanks holy father for coming to me like this, I know you are putting yourself in danger."

"Nonsense my Lord, always you have succoured my order and defended sacred Iona. I would do all that I could to help you, whatever it is you are about!"

"I need to know what has happened here my friend. What of the King, my family, the other Dalriada lords?"

"Base treachery my Lord, treachery, aye. Murdoch of Fife has taken control of the entire sub-Kingdom, striking under the cover of friendship, Dalriada with no time to raise and marshal its levies."

The Abbot painted a picture of Murdoch, in league with Giric and Eochaid, descending on Dalriada with many men. He had arrived ostensibly to join with Gabrain to go to meet Giric in battle, but instead the Fifers had quickly subdued all of the main lordship settlements before the men of Dalriada had known what was going on.

"I fear it was greed my Lord, in particular the silver from the mine on Strontian that he wanted to get his hands on. Some say he grew annoyed at the riches he was shipping to Loarne, the profits from your trade with the Low Countries, and he decided he wanted it all."

Scott groaned.

"Not that again. Is there no man above such base behaviour? I judged Murdoch an honest man and true. But enough of him. What of the King my friend, my own family?"

"Fled my Lord, all fled. Murdoch at least didn't manage to hold them. Gabrain, Lachlan, and your own family fled to Ayrshire in a longship they say and seek to raise men there to come back and free us. But if that be the case they are taking their time for Murdoch has been here for more than two years already."

"So all of Dalriada is closed to me my friend and Strathclyde likewise?"

"I deem it so my Lord."

"Then it seems I have a long journey through some difficult country before I can see my beloved King and family once more. Can you supply me with some food my friend?"

"Of course my Lord, I will see to it immediately. My Lord, you have answered our prayers, I wish you God's support in cleansing our soil."

The Abbot was as good as his word and a sack of food was delivered within the hour. Scott ate, waiting for the cover of darkness so that he could cross Loch Awe once more and begin his journey across the country, through hostile Strathclyde and into Ayrshire.



-------

Chapter 3: Well met


Scott took it easy riding in the dark, trusting to Albannach's sure footed-ness to take them safely away from Kilchrennan. After he had judged they had ridden perhaps three miles he turned off of the track and holed up amongst some trees, eating some cold food from the sack the monks provided before curling up and falling asleep.

The next morning he was up early and began his journey towards Ayrshire. He reasoned it would be safer to travel on the north side of Loch Lomond, Murdoch could possibly have alerted Eochaid and his men to his appearance, using Scott's own introduction of carrier pigeons.

He skirted carefully a small camp at Rubha Aird Eònain (modern day Rowardennan) and continued southeast down the side of Loch Lomond. Nightfall saw him drawing close to Cill Earnain (modern day Killearn) and once again he scouted for a place to rest for the night.

He knew he was now deep into Eochaid's territory and he had to be more careful than ever. He felt confident Albannach at his best could outrun anything they might come up against, but already the proud beast was looking out of shape given the meagre diet he was having to survive on. Scott could have killed for a bag of grain with which to feed his friend.

Scott's concern about carrier pigeon messages seemed to have been well founded, as he noticed increased numbers of armed men out abroad the next day. He continually had to detour through wooded areas to avoid them and as a consequence his progress was slowed significantly. He was headed for Glaschu (modern day Glasgow) as the closest place he knew where he would be able to ford the great Clyde Water, which he needed to do if he was to reach Ayrshire. Once across the Clyde he should be safe.

His route took him down Strathblane and through open country. By midafternoon he had crossed the Antonine wall - a left-over from Roman occupation of Scotland - and was heading for the Clyde, creeping down through the Old Kilpatrick hills. He stopped for the night not far from the banks of the Clyde, opposite Rinn Friù (Modern day Renfrew) which Scott remembered in his own history was known as the cradle of the Royal Stewarts.

He kept a close eye on the path that ran alongside the River Clyde and could see there was a lot of traffic, most of it armed men who were clearly patrolling. He lay down to try and rest, thinking a night attempt would probably be his best option. He let his mind deal with some of the questions and issues that had been bothering him since his return.

Murdoch's descent to take over Dalriada could be considered one way all of his improvements had not affected history. While he had tried not to consider the 'all of Dalriada slaughtered' theory, Murdoch's treachery amounted to much the same thing. If Murdoch wasn't maintaining the schools etc, that would explain why they had had no impact.

Scott couldn't shake the idea that Murdoch's greed however, would at least mean he continued to use Scott's innovations such as long bows, crossbows and certainly all of the farming improvements.

He re-assured himself that this explanation was unlikely still. The parallel universe theory remained the most likely to him.

Once it was fully dark he led Albannach out of cover and down towards the river. He immediately saw that this wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought as there were lit torches all along the banks, clearly armed men in place to stop a crossing.

Perhaps his luck had to run out sometime and that time was now as he blundered into a group of infantry who happened to be marching between two of the lit areas, not picking them up in the darkness. Scott lashed out with his sword at the closest of the men and swung himself up onto Albannach's back.

"Ride my friend, ride as fast as you can for us both!"

Albannach almost seemed to rock backwards slightly as he gathered his hind legs under him and then leapt forward with extreme urgency. They were past the group instantly and headed for the river. Scott could see more men converging on the river from east and west, torches lighting their way. He gauged Albannach's speed versus that of the armed groups and thought they would make it okay.

His calculations had to be revised moments later when he spotted a deep pit directly in their path and Albannach had to swerve to go round it. This did two things: it meant they would take longer to reach the river; and they were now heading towards the group of infantry that was running towards them from the east. Scott could see that it was going to be very tight indeed, looking with every second as if the infantry would reach the river before them.

He could see the swords and spear-tips glinting in the torchlight and knew he wasn't going to beat them. He was faced with two choices, veer at right angles and try to find another crossing point somewhere else, or try and win through the infantry. His judgement was that the longer he remained on this side of the Clyde, the worse condition Albannach would be in, he wanted to cross now and that meant taking them on.

There were perhaps half a dozen in the group, three armed with spears and he saw these as the greatest danger. He used his knees to angle Albannach slightly further east so that they were approaching closest to the swordsmen and at the very last moment hauled on the horses mane.

"Jump my friend, jump!" He screamed.

It says a lot for the trust between them that the horse did exactly as he asked, gathering itself and leaping high into the air, leaping into the void. The manoeuvre caught the infantry by surprise and Albannach soared over their heads, Scott using his sword to ward off the only spear that came close to them. And then they were falling into the darkness; Scott preparing to leap off of Albannach's back as soon as they hit the water. When they did so the shock of the cold water almost undid Scott. He still had the rucksack on his back and it filled with water, dragging him down. Only the strength and courage of Albannach kept him afloat as he hung on to the big horse's mane as it surged powerfully out into the river.

He was fortunate that the river was only a few hundred yards wide at this point and it wasn't long before Albannach was dragging him out on the other side, both of them now tired, wet and cold. Once he had recovered his breath Scott scrabbled around to pull up dry grass and used this to dry Albannach off as well as he could. They both limped forward into the night until Scott found some trees and fell exhausted onto his front.

When morning broke Scott looked through the food sack to see what was still fit to eat. There had been some stale bread but this was no longer stale but soaked. He found two carrots and fed these to Albannach, the horse wolfing them down quickly. Scott now pressed on for Kilmarnock. He estimated he had about twenty-five miles to go but the thought of food for himself and Albannach as well as the possibility that his family and friends might be there was enough to spur him on.

The going here was easier too, Ayrshire being altogether flatter, and Albannach seemed to be ever willing to carry Scott wherever he directed him. It was already dark when he spied lights in the distance, many lights that could only be the settlement at Kilmarnock. Tired and exhausted, horse and rider eventually walked up to the gates. Scott shouted at the guards.

"Hello the camp!"

"What! Who shouts so at this time of night? Be off wae yae!"

"Open that fucking gate or I will cut your head from your shoulders in a single blow my friend!" Scott's tiredness overrode his ability to deal with things reasonably.

"Hah, blow hard and be off wae yae!"

"My friend, I am Scott mac Fergus, sometimes called the Norse-slayer and my son David is lord of this Ayrshire. Now, open the gates and let me in so that I might feed myself and my horse."

"A likely tale, fuck off!"

"Please my friend, if there are any in the camp who would know Scott mac Fergus, have them come to the wall and talk to me. I can assure you it will save you much trouble in the morning."

There was a sound as if someone was scrabbling off into the darkness and Scott prayed that the man was doing what he asked. He waited perhaps half an hour and then heard a different voice challenging him.

"Who approaches Kilmarnock and claims to be Scott mac Fergus?"

Scott's spirits leapt.

"Lachlan, Lachlan is that you my friend? Saints preserve us!"

"Open the gate you fools, open it now!" He heard his friend shout.

Scott slid from Albannach's back and waited for the gate to open. There was barely enough room for a man to pass through before a figure darted out and charged towards him.

"Scott, Scott!" Lachlan struggled to find any other words.

Scott felt himself grabbed in a bear hug and lifted from his feet, Albannach rearing up at this treatment of him.

"Steady Lachlan, dear faithful Lachlan, steady Albannach." Scott said as he freed himself from his friend's grip and settled the horse.

"My Lord, what miracles is this? How come you here? Where have you been?"

The questions suddenly broke from Lachlan and Scott put his arm round his friend's shoulder and led him into the settlement, Albannach following unled behind them.

"Who else is here Lachlan? I promise I will answer all your questions but I would rather tell the tale once only if I can."

"We are all here my Lord, Gabrain, your family, Colmgil. All here."

"Good, now help me find a berth and a bag of the finest grain for this lord of horses and then we can go and surprise them all, shall we?"

Scott spent another forty minutes, disciplining himself, to give Albannach the treatment he deserved before searching out his family and friends. The big horse clearly appreciated the attention and when Scott left him he was rolling around on his back in a pile of hay.

"Okay Lachlan, where is everybody?"

Lachlan was still looking at Scott as if he was seeing a ghost, unable to quite believe his friend had returned out of the night. He physically shook himself.

"We are all together in one house Scott, Gabrain looking after your family since you disappeared."

"Good, no need to round anybody up then, lead on my friend for I see that you are anxious to have your questions dealt with!"

Lachlan led the way through the torch-lit camp towards a two-storey concrete built house. He opened the door and entered, Scott at his back.

His heart pounded, tears once more leaking from his eyes as he took in the scene. They were all sat round a large dining table, sharing a meal of some proportion. Some of them looked towards the door when they noticed it opening; one of these was Gabrain, another Eilean.

Gabrain leapt to his feet, his chair slamming to the floor behind him. Eilean fainted, her head slumping heavily onto the tabletop. This caused all of the others to also turn towards the door. Fiona screamed and Hella raised a clenched fist to her mouth, biting down on her forefinger in sudden shock.

Colmgil began to choke on the mouthful of meat he was trying to chew.

Fiona also now jumped up and her chair too toppled over as she ran towards him.

"Oh my heart, you have returned! I promise Scott, none of us ever gave up hope that you would, but now to see you, saints, oh my love!"

She rushed into Scott's arms and he hugged her to him, stroking her hair as she buried her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you my love, but I think your sister wife might need some help, she banged her head badly on the table."

Scott managed to occupy Fiona so she would have time to come to terms with his re-appearance; he had seriously underestimated the impact that was going to make. He saw Gabrain approaching and dropped to one knee, holding out his hands one above the other in preparation for re-newing his oath of fealty. Gabrain realised what he was about but ignored the hands and instead dragged Scott to his feet, wrapping him in a hug of his own.

The King had not uttered a single word and Scott could feel Gabrain's body shake against him as his young prodigy wept with joy. The two friends shared their own moment, Scott looking across at Esta, Gabrain's wife who was smiling broadly. He also took in the younger faces at the table. If he had been right about the month equals a year thing then the boy who looked about eight had to be David, his eldest son and the boy opposite him, the picture of his mother, could only be Crinan. Further along the table was another boy and Scott knew this had to be his namesake, Scott, Gabrain's son and heir.

"My Lord King, I am overwhelmed by your welcome and rejoice to be back with you. If you will permit, there are others here who I would greet also."

Scott had cleverly kept the King's back to the room and given his friend enough time to recover his composure before making this request. Gabrain took a step back and was all man again, playing the King.

"Of course my friend, my apologies for keeping you from doing your duty."

Scott observed protocol by advancing on Esta first and taking her hand.

"Your servant my lady."

She nodded at him, pleased with his observance.

Scott then spun and approached young Scott.

"It's my pleasure to see again Lord of Galloway, although I'll wager you don't remember me! Well met my Lord."

Next Scott turned to his own son.

"Words cannot describe my joy at seeing you with my own eyes again my Lord of Ayrshire."

Scott was delighted when the boy came forward to clasp his arm.

"Father?" The boy asked.

"Aye, albeit I have been absent so have not been playing the part very well up until now my Lord. I hope to perform better hereafter, with your help it may be?"

He approached Hella and swept her into his arms.

"How is my little school ma'am? Have you missed me and the staff-beast?" He whispered into her ear.

Hella's face turned a deep red as she blushed at his words.

And you my young sir, you must be Crinan, for you have the looks of your elfin mother about you. I but saw you briefly on the night of your birth and I hope we will have many years together to get to know each other."

Scott greeted Colmgil too before going round the table to join Fiona in attending to Eilean. Fiona had produced a damp cloth from somewhere and was mopping Eilean's forehead with it, a pronounced bump already developing there. Scott knelt by Eilean's chair and took her hand in his, pressing his face into her hair and whispering to her.

"Come back to me now my little elf, it's not a ghost you have seen, I have truly returned. Did you think I would not move heaven and earth to return to you little one?"

Eilean's eyelids fluttered and opened. She was obviously trying to speak but Scott stopped her.

"Hush little one, words are not needed here, I could tell more from the look you have just given me than any words you could conjure up. Rest now and we will speak later my little elf."

Gabrain now took charge, shouting for more food and drink to be brought to the table. Everyone found their place at the table again, Gabrain foremost amongst them in demanding to know all that had happened to Scott.

Scott raised an eyebrow at Gabrain and looked at Esta and the boys. Gabrain re-assured him that everyone knew about Scott's time travelling. He explained that they had had to explain to the boys and Esta what they thought had happened when he disappeared. With that out of the way Scott told his story.

He watched the variety of reactions round the room as his tale unfolded.

"That explains why you look hardly a day older than the night you vanished!" Cried Fiona when he explained the one-month equals one year time difference. "Not fair sir, not fair on us poor ladies!"

There was laughter at this.

Scott reached the point where he was pushed back to Inveraray.

"Alas my lord King, I fear none of the technology that I tried to bring with me transported. What little I did manage to bring I had to leave in Inveraray. I am embarrassed to tell you that I have nothing to show for my return to the twenty-first century."

Scott did indeed look sheepish at this failure but brightened at Gabrain's response.

"Scott, you jest man! Look at the faces of everyone on this room. We care naught for your 'technology', the only thing we care about is that you came back to us!"

Scott continued with the last of his story, hearing the growls and murmurs when he mentioned Murdoch's name. When he got to the part where Albannach raced from the camp to join him Gabrain piped up again.

"That devil horse! I swear Scott, I tried to bring him here with us but he would let none go near him. Now I am glad that he awaited your return to Inveraray!"

Scott glossed over the final leg of his journey, not wanting to cause any further upset. Now he took the opportunity to turn the tables and demand to know what had been going on in ninth century Scotland in his absence. He had the bare bones of things from the Abbot at Kilchrennan, but he wanted to hear all of the detail.

Gabrain and Lachlan shared the telling, outlining the depth of Murdoch's betrayal. He had sent messages to say that Giric and Eochaid were moving against the two boy sub-Kings and had put forward a timetable for joining forces to face Giric. Hot on the heels of the carrier pigeon however, and before Gabrain could alert Lachlan and Colmgil, Murdoch had arrived in Dalriada with his full force of Fifers.

Gabrain and his family had barely time to escape on a longship, Scott's family with them, before Murdoch had surrounded Inveraray. Other contingents of Fife infantry had already been dispatched to surprise the other main settlements, Murdoch catching them completely unawares.

They both explained that Murdoch had made full use of all the weapons that Scott had developed and shared - all apart from the hot air balloon - so the Dalriada men had no advantage, rather they were sorely outnumbered as they had not been mustered into a host.

"The Abbot informed me that this was over two years ago Gabrain, I'm sorry to ask this, but why are you here with Murdoch still ruling in your sub-Kingdom?"

"Aye, 'tis a good question Scott. The Ayrshire and Galloway men are thankful for the support we gave them in the past, but they are difficult to raise for fighting that might involve venturing forth of their own lands. I have come to believe that they worry about what might happen if they leave their lands unprotected, perhaps a consequence of having been under the thrall for so long? And anyway, we do not so badly here."

"My lord King, forgive my plain speech! I remind you that I could have had both Ayrshire and Galloway at your hand and I refused. Why? You'll mind it was because I couldn't bear to exchange Dalriada for anything else. Now, see you, there is a dog in my kennel and I have a few bones to pick with him!"

"With what Scott, with what man!" Gabrain responded angrily.

"Forgive me my lord King, I thought I had taught you better!"

Scott could see Gabrain's eyebrows lower in anger, but moved to forestall an outburst.

"Wait, Gabrain, your words reached across eleven hundred years to me, reminding me of my responsibilities. I was at my lowest ebb perhaps, but your voice, your words reminded me of what I had to do. Let me now remind you my lord that the people of Dalriada are under the thrall of Murdoch and his Fifers. While you might be 'doing not so badly here' they are in much need of their King, in need of their King to free them!"

At first Gabrain rose as if to shout at Scott, but then he sank back, his head dropping for a moment. Scott watched as the mental processes were completed and Gabrain drew back his shoulders, his head suddenly held high.

"As many times before my Lord, you have the rights of it I think. What is your plan?"

Scott smiled and Gabrain knew things were about to get exciting.



-------

Chapter 4: Return to Dalriada

It had been a long night after a long and exhausting day, but Scott knew what his wives would expect of him and he was determined not to disappoint them. Gabrain showed that he was still sharp witted by making sure a house was available in the settlement for Scott to use - the young King could read the looks on the faces of Scott's womenfolk.

When at last they could reasonably retire the three girls wrapped Scott up in a group hug, tears of joy on all of their faces. Scott kissed them all with every ounce of love and passion that he possessed and they returned the kisses in equal measure. He was never really sure how the girls did it, but there never seemed to be any awkwardness about who was going to do what with whom. Now Fiona and Hella broke away from kissing him to begin removing his clothes, leaving Eilean to grip and stroke his already hard staff.

He was guided back onto the bed and Eilean bent to take him into her mouth, her tongue swirling over the sensitive glans and head of his cock. He felt her gasp and guessed that one or other of the girls was doing something to help brighten up her evening! He figured it was Hella who was pleasing Eilean, as Fiona was now swinging herself over his head, lowering her dripping slit to his waiting mouth. Scott held Fiona around her thighs as he raised his tongue to mop up her juices and tease her hard and swollen clitoris.

He felt Eilean release his staff from her mouth and then mount him, lowering herself as she positioned his cock at her entrance, sliding down his length until he was fully seated.

"Oh the staff-beast has returned, I had forgotten how big he was, how hard, warm. He fills me up completely. Oh Scott, do not take him from us again, please, we need him so." Squealed his little elf as she began to bounce up and down in earnest.

He remembered just how hair triggered the ninth century women were as Fiona wailed out her first orgasm on his tongue and Eilean on his staff. After a few moments to recover the girls magically moved positions, once more without discussion, and Scott found himself between Hella's thighs his cock still hard and eager to please. He slid home slowly to allow her to get used to his length and girth once more before starting a steady rhythm, stroking into her as she keened loud enough for the whole camp to hear.

"Uh, uh, sooo big Scott, soo big, my beautiful staff-beast, uh, beautiful staff-beast, uh, uh, ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

As Hella thrashed her head from side to side in ecstasy, Scott looked sideways to see that Eilean was servicing Fiona with the girls' trusty wooden strap-on - he wondered that they had not worn it out in his absence. When he was able to withdraw from Hella he prepared to give Eilean a surprise.

While he had been back in the twenty-first century he had read up a little on submissives and had changed his views a little. His reading suggested that far from making things better for Eilean by treating her always with love and gentleness, he might well be denying her something her psyche needed. He had determined he could go some way to addressing that. He was never going to treat her brutally as her first husband had, but he could help her realise some of the things he now realised she really desired.

As Eilean was thrusting into Fiona, Scott positioned himself behind her. Fiona was on her hands and knees, pushing her butt back to meet each of Eilean's strokes. Eilean was steadying herself with her hands on Fiona's hips when she felt Scott's arms come round her waist and up to cup her little breasts. She felt his lips at her ear, his nose in her hair and then she heard him whispering to her.

"Did I give you permission to service my wife little one?"

"No Scott." She groaned.

Scott tightened his fingers around Eilean's nipples and began to apply pressure.

"Do you think you need to be punished for doing so without asking?" He said as he squeezed her nipples to underscore the question.

"Aahhhhhh, yes my Lord, yes, yes, I should be punished."

Scott could hear her panting with lust already, this unexpected treatment clearly something that excited her beyond belief.

"And how should I punish you my little elf? Would you like me to spank your butt until it glows a fiery red? Would you like that?"

"Aaaaiiieeeeeee, yes Scott, yes, please, please spank me, yes!"

Eilean was still managing to stroke into Fiona, thrusting harder each time Scott pinched her nipples hard.

"Oh now that wouldn't be a punishment then would it little one, it couldn't be a punishment if you so clearly want it that badly," he whispered in her ear, "perhaps I will just have to thrust the staff beast into your pretty little rear instead."

Scott swiped his fingers over Eilean's slit to gather some moisture and then let one fingertip tease her pucker. Eilean reacted as if someone had lit a rocket under her, screaming through an intense orgasm and taking Fiona with her by the sound of things.

Fiona rolled the limp form of Eilean to one side, checking to make sure she was alright.

"What did you do to her my Lord? She has fainted away."

"I barely touched her Fiona, but I admit I did give her some things to think about that seem to excite the little elf quite a bit!"

Scott had yet to come and the girls were reminded fully of the staff-beast's staying power for an hour or so more before they all collapsed, exhausted, but satisfied. Scott could feel the girls' need to cling onto him, to have the re-assurance he was once more beside them, and never before could four people have taken up so little of a bed as they fell asleep.

The next few weeks were busy. Scott caught up on some other matters as he and Gabrain toured the camps of Ayrshire and Galloway. He learned his Persian alchemist had returned to the Mediterranean with his family and sighed a deep sigh of disappointment. He had so been looking forward to renewing his acquaintance with Deyna and Ariana.

Both the friends had brought their families with them too, Scott's wives in particular refusing to be parted from him again so soon. Eilean had a new gleam in her eye Scott thought and he promised himself he would explore her submissiveness a little more. He enjoyed spending time with his two sons; learning their personalities and letting them get to know him better too. His bond with Gabrain was if anything stronger than ever, Gabrain viewing Scott as his own personal talisman.

Scott also now shared with Gabrain his intention to introduce gunpowder. The young King found it difficult to grasp the concept however, but Scott assured him he would understand once he had mastered the mix and could lay on a demonstration. He explained to Gabrain his plan to personally make the gunpowder and to order a variety of chemicals prepared for his use, some of them false ingredients, so that no one else could guess the 'formula'. Scott was determined to do everything he could to safeguard the secret for as long as possible so their enemies couldn't get their hands on it. Gabrain fully understood, the recent example of Murdoch using all of their own new weapons against them was a timely warning.

The tour of the settlements was largely aimed at trying to get the locals to show a bit more enthusiasm for battle. Scott used the same speech at each site to try to stir up the men, to get them to see the need for them to play their part. At each camp the men and women were gathered together and he addressed them.

"My friends, it is good to see the lands offering us up their bounty, feeding us through the cold winter months, providing the wherewithal to raise beasts for food, work, aye and for battle. It was not so long ago that these lands were invaded and you were under the thrall of our enemies, but the men of Dalriada stood shoulder to shoulder with you to help you throw off the yoke of slavery, the heavy hand of tyranny!

Now I am told that many of you are reluctant to help these same Dalriada people throw off the dread hand that you yourself suffered. I would remind you all that my son David, your Lord, could simply order you to arm yourselves and follow him into battle. But that is not the kind of men we are.

Let me tell you a tale about the men and women of Dalriada. When the High King Constantine himself came to threaten Dalriada I offered to treat with him, to buy him off with grain and beasts. To a man the people of Dalriada rejected that, chose instead to fight, to give their last drop of blood if necessary. And do you know why?

They chose to fight because they could see that Constantine wouldn't stop with Dalriada. His greed would extend to other lands, other people. So the men and women of Dalriada chose to fight, to stop a tyrant before he could go on and overrun others. They fought for their own lands yes, but they fought for everyone else in Scotland too, to protect people like you and you didn't even know it.

My friends, together we are strong. If we look after each other then the small minded, greedy tyrants cannot win. If you do not help Dalriada now then rest assured Ayrshire, Galloway will be next. Eochaid is on your border and he too will be looking covetously at the improvements we have made, do not fool yourself.

What do we stand for? Is it for a united Scotland, strong, proud, successful? Or is it our own self-interests? Insular, heads buried in the sand behind our own little borders, acting like little people?

I do not ask you to sail with me to Dalriada. No, I say! There are one hundred Dalriada men here in Ayrshire and I will take them to reclaim what is ours, to show you all your duty. These one hundred will never lie down while there is work to be done to free our beloved Alba, will give their life's blood for their country first, their own self-interests coming second.

While these one hundred brave souls are doing that, what will you be doing? Will you be minding your sheep, drinking your ale in the illusory safety of your camps? Or will you be threatening the tyrants on their very doorstep in Strathclyde and Fife? Making yourself and the country stronger by removing this cancer?

How say you? Will you show Scotland that you back her, that she comes first for all of us? That she is our country? Will you risk your blood for Scotland? How say you I ask?"

The 'speech' was a carefully crafted mix of elements. There was the reminder of the debt these people owed Dalriada. There was the warning that Murdoch, Giric and Eochaid could turn their attention on Ayrshire and Galloway at any time. There was the insult to their manhood of suggesting a mere one hundred Dalriada men were going to show them how it was done. There was the suggestion that they weren't needed in Dalriada, did not have to take to the sea to do battle. And finally there was the plea to stand up for something bigger than them all, their country.

It was stirring stuff and although the reception was different to how it might have gone down in Inveraray, Scott and Gabrain had no doubt that they would be able to raise the men they needed.

"Scott, were you serious about taking Dalriada back with only a hundred men?" Gabrain asked him.

"Yes and no Gabrain. How many men does Murdoch have in Dalriada?"

"He must have around four thousand spread throughout the settlements."

"That means Fife is but poorly defended my friend. If a combined force from Ayrshire and Galloway was to threaten Fife, how would Murdoch respond?"

"He will call for aid from Giric and Eochaid my friend!"

"Aye, I'm sure he will, but I'll wager he'll do more than that. He'll have to send some of his men back to Fife also. We need to make sure that happens before we seek to reclaim our lands."

"I can see that it would be wise to reduce his available forces Scott, but it would still be one hundred against perhaps two thousand. And remember Murdoch's men are armed with long bows and crossbows."

"See you, how will our people react to a landing at Oban? Will they rise up and seek to overthrow the Fifers? I say they will, all that's required is something for them to rally to, a spark to ignite their anger!"

"But the sea and coastal defences you yourself put in place forestall such a landing."

"Ah, my lord King, but they are designed to ward off a large fleet of ships, not a small group of one hundred men!"

Two weeks later a combined host of Ayrshire and Galloway levies marched north, Lachlan leading them. Scott had asked that he avoid battle if at all possible, merely threaten, his hope being that they could avoid Scot fighting Scot once more.

Preparations were also under way for the small party that would be heading for Oban. Spies had already been sent out to begin to spread the word throughout Dalriada that Gabrain and the Norse-slayer were planning a return to overthrow the Fifers. Scott had worked personally on the preparation of gunpowder, tackling the evaporation of animal urine to extract the saltpetre and grinding the crystals down. He kept himself out of sight, riding out into the wilds, when he experimented with the three ingredients to get the mix correct.

Once he had prepared a larger batch of gunpowder he decided to put on a demonstration for Gabrain and some of the Dalriada men. He had made up some fuse cord by mixing gunpowder with glue and wrapping this tightly in paper, the glue holding it all together then allowed to harden. Two jars of gunpowder were set out in the open and fuse cord attached. Scott had a trench dug twenty feet away from the jars and once he had Gabrain and the men far enough back, he lit the fuses and dashed for the trench, flinging himself into it.

The loud double explosion told him that his demonstration had been successful and he brushed the particles of earth from his clothes as the climbed out of the trench.

When he rejoined Gabrain and the men they were still dumbstruck at the power of the explosions.

"Saints preserve us Scott, what was that?" Asked Gabrain.

"Gunpowder, have I not been trying to explain it to you my friend?"

Having allowed Lachlan three days to make his way towards Fife, Gabrain, Scott and the one hundred Dalriada men embarked on a longship and set off. Scott had had a Norse device made up on the sail and he hoped this would help fool any coastal defences who spotted them. It took three days of sailing before they were off the coast opposite Oban/Dun Ollaigh. They held out to sea until nightfall and then lowered a small boat over the side to row in a handful of men. Scott's plan called for these men to mingle with the populace and prepare them for an uprising the following night. They would also gather up-to-the-minute intelligence on the Fifers based here at Oban.

The next night more small boats were lowered and the bulk of the men rowed ashore. It took them two trips to transfer all the men and gear and Scott and Gabrain waited nervously on the strand, waiting for the alarm to be raised at any minute.

At last one of their spies emerged from the darkness to assure them that all was in readiness, the people of Oban ready to join them at Scott's signal. The spy confirmed that almost half of Murdoch's men had marched off two days before, a sign that Lachlan's force was playing its part. The majority of the Fife men were based in several houses within the walls of the settlement, and Scott cursed at this. His spy assured him this wasn't a major problem as he had already dealt with the guards at the gates and their way lay open.

At this news Scott knew they could delay no longer, the unguarded gate could be discovered at any minute. The one hundred men hurried forward and flitted through the gates. Scott whispered urgently for someone to point out the houses with the Fife men in them and moved forward to plant jars of gunpowder all round them. He knew his fuse cord wasn't terribly reliable in terms of the rate of burn so he just ran along them, lighting each fuse with a cigarette lighter as he went. Once all the fuses were burning he dashed for cover, urging all those around him to do likewise.

There were ten jars. They by no means exploded all at the same time but the noise, light and resulting smoke were like a visitation from hell for those who witnessed it. Certainly some of the men inside the houses survived the initial blasts, the gunpowder not being as effective as Scott had hoped, but as they staggered from the buildings, completely disorientated, they were quickly dirked or cut down. Scott was amazed to see even the women were involved, using their dirks almost as effectively as the men.

The death of his fellow countrymen sickened Scott, but he hardened himself to it, believing it necessary if Dalriada was to be freed. Undoubtedly the use of the gunpowder had made things incredibly easy and within perhaps fifteen minutes it was all over.

Scott and Gabrain now had a decision to make. Did they remain at Oban to consolidate what they had achieved or try to make further inroads into clearing the Fifers? They decided they should press on. Scott gave orders for horses to be rounded up and he soon had eighty or so cavalry. Taking Oban had also delivered a further two hundred men to add to their force. Scott ordered the foot to make for the coastal defences and then Kilmartin while he, Gabrain and the cavalry would head for Kilchrennan and then hopefully Taynuilt.

The defined roadway now came to Scott's assistance and their little mounted force made good time, even in the darkness. They tried to raise the camp at Kilchrennan quietly, but the excitement of the locals made that impossible and the Fife infantry was warned long before Scott and Gabrain could surprise them. Amazingly, the Fife troops disappeared into the night without fighting, running for their lives from the people who they had until now been lording it over.

Scott was all for riding now for Taynuilt, and he was discussing this with Gabrain when they spotted a large band of men emerge from the dark woods immediately to the north of Kilchrennan. This group made their way towards the settlement and Scott and Gabrain hurriedly began shouting orders to deploy their forces. Within minutes however, it became clear that this new force was in fact made up of Dalriada men.

The leader of this group came forward and explained why they were here. It seemed that the Fife contingent in Taynuilt had driven the people out of the camp and then set fire to everything before marching off.

The friends now decided it would be best to rest at Kilchrennan for the remainder of the night, who knows how many Fife men were now out there in the dark, perhaps bent on ambushing them.

When Scott awoke the next morning he joined a group of men who were looking east at a huge pall of smoke in the sky. No one could guess what was causing it, but Scott knew it couldn't be anything good. A quick review told the friends that they now had another force of three hundred or so infantry to use and they ordered them to march behind them towards Inveraray. Scott and Gabrain led the way with their little cavalry force.

After only a few miles the cause of the smoke became clear. Murdoch was burning everything. Every field of growing grain, of grass, had been torched. Every building they came to had been set alight, thatched roofs in particular burning quickly. They rode all the way to Inveraray and it was the same picture, scorched earth and despoilation. Scott's face was growing grimmer with each passing mile. His beautiful Dalriada - a waste land.

If the land was bad, Murdoch had saved his worst for Inveraray itself. Bodies lay everywhere, the people slaughtered. Only the concrete structures were still standing, everything else razed to the ground and all the crops here likewise burnt. Even those woods closest to the camp had been set alight and still burned.

Scott looked at it all and cursed.

"Scott, at least the Fifers are out of Dalriada. Give us a few weeks to raise our forces and we will bring him to account, never fear." Said Gabrain in an effort to console his friend; knowing Scott's deep love for Dalriada.

"I want Murdoch mac Duff and I want him now, today!" Screamed Scott suddenly, startling those closet to him.

"But Scott he has two thousand well armed men with him!"

"I don't care my lord King, I want him, now! He must answer for this!"

Scott was not to be put off. He chose three other men and rode off in pursuit of the Fife forces. Gabrain elected to remain behind to oversee the beginning of a salvage operation although, to be sure, there was little to salvage.

Gabrain worried about his friend's state of mind and couldn't settle himself, wandering round the devastated camp in the torchlight. He heard riders approaching and Scott's voice demanding the gates be opened, then saw Albannach coming towards him. Scott pulled up and pushed the package that was lying in front of him across the horse, letting it fall to the ground. Gabrain looked down to see Murdoch mac Duff.

"How did you manage this my friend?"

"It seems these Fife laddies sleep a mite heavily, and this one sleeps even heavier now having had a tap on his skull. Tie him someone!" Scott ordered.

Once Murdoch had been secured to a post Scott explained how he had crept into the Fife camp, clubbing Murdoch while he slept and then carrying him away. It had been ridiculously easy.

The next morning all the Dalriada men and the few survivors from the Inveraray massacre gathered in front of the post to which Murdoch was tied. Scott looked him over, his face set.

"What is it that turns a man from friend to treacherous dog, to murderer, to the architect of such devastation? Once, the men of this lordship spilled their blood for your Fife and you repay them like this? What should we do with him?"

Scott turned to the crowd as he asked this last question. Screams of 'hang him' and 'burn the bastard as he has burned Loarne' rang out.

"You have betrayed us mac Duff. You have ripped the very heart out of the lands that I love and I would have nothing less than your own heart in payment."

Scott did not mean this literally, but some in the crowd thought he did. A stout woman, one of the survivors of the slaughter that Murdoch had ordered here at Inveraray, rushed forward and plunged a dirk into Murdoch's belly. She pulled upwards with all her might, tearing Murdoch open before shoving her hand into the rent she had created and pulling his still beating heart out of his body. Before his own eyes, Murdoch watched the women cut the heart loose and throw it to the ground. His eyes bulged and then his body slumped forward, held upright by the ropes.

A strangled cry escaped from Scott's mouth, a look of absolute horror on his face.

"What have you done? What madness is this?" He managed to croak.

"You said you would accept nothing less than his heart my Lord." The woman stuttered.

"I meant his lordship, his lands in payment for mine, not, not this! We are not brute-beasts."

The woman scowled at him, the dripping dirk still in her hand. Scott looked again at the ruined body of Murdoch mac Duff and sighed heavily.

"Aye, so be it. The people of Loarne have served their own judgement on you mac Duff. Looking at what you have sown here at Inveraray, who am I to say they are wrong."



-------

Chapter 5: Scott's vision


Having given orders as to what to do with Murdoch's body, Scott at last took the time to go and investigate what had happened to his tent and the few meagre things he had managed to bring back from the twenty-first century. He walked behind the shell of his former home and could see immediately that something was out of the ordinary here. For a start the little stand of trees was still there, unusual given the fact that everything else had burned fiercely.

He walked forward quickly now, a greater sense of anticipation, hope, that he would find his things intact. The collapsed tent was exactly as he had left it and the grass, plants and trees surrounding it had been untouched by the conflagration that had consumed Inveraray. Scott fell to his knees and confirmed everything inside the tent was undamaged.

"Well thank heaven for small mercies!" He thought to himself.

He could only guess that the spot held some kind of power, the nature of the 'portal' that pushed him backwards and forwards in time somehow meaning it was resistant to damage from outside influences. Whatever, he was delighted his things had survived. With no other safe place to put things, he left them where they were for the moment.

Scott and Gabrain now marshalled the forces they had at their disposal, only some four hundred infantry and eighty cavalry. They knew there were still two thousand Fife men only a few miles away and their position was not secure. Scott argued that they should take the battle to the enemy, that was the course of action they would be least expecting. His reading of Sun Tzu's Art of War during his college days suggested that was as good a tactic as any. Gabrain was less sure, but it was clear he was willing to follow Scott anywhere.

So, a move was made to advance on the Fifers. Scouts had reported they had retreated further up Glen Fyne, between the peaks of Ceann Garbh and Meall an Fhudair, crossing the mountains in an attempt to get to the natural path back to Fife, Strathfillan, through Glen Falloch (joining the path that in modern times is known as 'The West Highland Way').

This was no path for mounted men and Scott therefore left the infantry to follow the Fifers closely while he and Gabrain took the longer, but easier route through Glen Kinglas, Glen Croe and through An Tairbeart (modern day Tarbert). The small mounted party dashed northwards along the banks of Loch Lomond to try and get ahead of the Fife men, but had to halt at Inverarnan when they spotted the mass of enemy infantry streaming down into Glen Falloch.

Scott watched the Fife men through his trusty binos and could tell that they were already looking somewhat dispirited, no doubt the disappearance of Murdoch, on the back of the uprisings in Loarne, had affected their morale. A sudden halt in the forward march of the Fifers puzzled him until he saw a glint of sunlight on metal further up the Glen.

"It seems our Fife friends have come to a halt Gabrain, I see another force ahead of them. Whether they are friendly to Fife or not we will soon find out I suppose. Their next move should tell us so."

Gabrain now had a look through the binoculars and he could see it was as Scott had described. He watched as the Fife men began retreating back down Glen Falloch.

"It would appear as if the Fifers don't like what they have found in front of them Scott, they head back towards us."

Scott quickly called to his little mounted group. He had his Norse-slayer banner unfurled and ordered as many other flags to be flown as they had with them. The eighty cavalry rode forward, line abreast, to range themselves between Loch Lomond side and the shoulder of Troisgeach. Despite their numbers Scott hoped they would appear to be a bigger force and that this would deny the Fifers any other route but the one they had followed into the Glen. Of course, his infantry were even now marching along that route, coming towards them, and he hoped to box the Fifers in.

It soon became obvious that Scott's ploy had worked as the Fife force ground to a halt at the end of Glen Falloch. Daylight was beginning to fail and Scott and Gabrain set pickets to alert them should the enemy decide to try and make a move towards them under cover of darkness. Before trying to get some sleep, Scott sent off two men to try and discover who it was that had stopped the Fifers marching into Strathfillan.

When Scott awoke he was informed that it was in fact Lachlan and the Ayrshire and Galloway men that had faced down the Fife force. Gabrain could see that his friend was strangely distracted, something obviously on his mind, but he figured Scott would speak his mind when he considered the time was right.

The two friends now discussed their next course of action. They had effectively boxed the Fifers in but were not exactly well set up - one force of perhaps five thousand was okay, but the second infantry force was only a few hundred strong, though admittedly with the advantage of the higher ground. Their weakest point was their own, with only eighty cavalry, and if the Fife force decided to attack them they knew they would have to retreat.

Scott decided once more to do the unexpected. He rode forward with three other men, flying a white flag, in an effort to parley with the Fife force. They stopped when they were perhaps two hundred yards away. A small group of Fifers came out to meet them and Scott let them advance until they were close enough to speak.

"I see people who have in the past relied upon the men of Dalriada for support, men who have now betrayed our friendship and who are responsible for foul atrocities! Give me a reason to hold back these angry men of mine, hold them back from wiping the stench of you from our lands!"

The group in front of him looked at each other nervously, leadership clearly lacking and no one keen to speak up. At last one man found his voice and responded.

"My Lord, we are Murdoch's lieutenants, he is not currently with us and we cannot talk for him. All know your desire to avoid Scot fighting Scot and it is our hope that you will allow us to return to Fife unchallenged."

Scott recognised the man vaguely from previous battles where they had stood on the same side. He pondered the response, clearly they were still unaware of what had befallen Murdoch. He was also concerned that his passion for avoiding civil strife was in danger of being construed as a weakness, a weakness for others to try and exploit.

"It may be that the treacherous dog you call Murdoch will be able to give you the benefit of his counsel shortly my friend. For myself, I might not like the idea of fighting fellow Scots, but when those Scots act as you have, my sensibilities tend to weaken. See you, the men of Dalriada are like to disregard any such advice from me anyway. They are hot for your blood my friend, hot for repayment of the debt your deeds has created. The only way you will be allowed to pass from this Glen is if you swear to hand over Fife to one of my choosing and can provide guarantees that convince me of your fealty hereafter!"

Scott's words clearly troubled the Fifers and they huddled to discuss what he had said, demanded of them. Scott's reference to the possibility of Murdoch giving them counsel shortly had been noted and obviously affected their thinking. The same man eventually responded to Scott.

"My Lord, we will need to consider what you have said and what you are asking for. You will agree that these are no small matters and need careful thought. We suggest that we meet again tomorrow to give you a proper answer."

Scott hid the smile from his face. This had been exactly what he had been looking for. He hoped that the Fifers would now elect to talk amongst themselves rather than testing his forces for a weak spot. Talking about his offer was one step along the path of accepting it and he had some further ideas of how to help them further along that path.

"So be it my friend, one day, no more. I doubt whether I could hold my men back longer in any event. You have one day, use it well I say!"

With that Scott wheeled Albannach and trotted back towards his own men.

He described the exchange to Gabrain and his friend nodded, smiling at Scott's ability to have reduced the threat they themselves might have faced if the Fifers had turned on the offensive immediately.

Scott sent messengers to his infantry in the hills and they settled in for the night to await the response of the Fife men on the morrow.

After eating a frugal meal the friends were sitting alone, huddled round a campfire.

"My lord King, often we have discussed our plans for the future together. You know I value your wits and have in the past been guided by your insight. I have thought of a plan, a plan so grand that it frightens me and I would have your counsel again now." Said Scott

Gabrain was immediately intrigued, he could see that something had been going through his friend's mind all day and had been waiting for this discussion.

"Scott, you know my love for you and I have watched all day as this plan of yours has been warring within your head. Share your vision with me my friend, share it and let me hear what we have in store for us next!"

"This is no light matter Gabrain. Your description of a war in my head is an apt one, for I fear I may be reaching too far and for the wrong reasons. That is why I need your counsel my lord King, I expect you to be honest with me, as is your wont."

Gabrain took in the serious look on Scott's face. He had also picked up his friend's insistence on referring to him as 'my lord King', and knew this was significant. He realised that his friend was talking about something that would have far reaching consequences.

"Perhaps we should save this until we have others of our friends to consider it and give their counsel too Scott?"

"Aye, that we might do hereafter, but I would share my thoughts with you first my lord King, find out if I should even consider the possibility of moving forward with this."

"Enough then my friend, enough of your teasing! Tell me what is on your mind."

"You said you wanted me to share my vision. That is exactly what I want to do. Murdoch's treachery, on top of that of Giric and Eochaid, has had a major impact on my thinking Gabrain. It is also clear that although I advised linking the territories of Ayrshire and Galloway to your own sub-Kingdom of Dalriada, that has not worked. There is no natural affinity or link between these lands."

"I have to agree with that Scott."

"My time here has been littered with examples of small-minded men, greedy men who look to their own self-interests, not the greater good of Scotland, even High Kings have been guilty of such behaviour. High Kings - the very ones who the country looks to for their lead, their succour, their safety."

"Again Scott, I would not argue with you. You will recall that once Murdoch and I urged you yourself to take on the High Kingship, instead of Giric and Eochaid."

"Hear me out my lord King. Fife is now leaderless, Murdoch had no heir. I cannot return to Inveraray this year, the land needs time to recover and our craftsmen will have major rebuilding to do. If I tried to take my wives back there in the state it is in, I fear they would demand I visited nothing less on the whole of Fife."

"I know you are going to come to the point soon Scott, not just state the blinding obvious."

"Forgive me my friend, this really does frighten me. I worry at my motivation. Gabrain, I think I should take over the sub-Kingdom of Fife. I will not look to give up my lordship in Loarne, ever I will need to belong to Dalriada, but Fife will stand as a sub-Kingdom of Scotland in its own right. I will spend the next year ensuring the allegiance of the men and women of Fife, keeping my wives away from the devastation at Inveraray until that fair land has time to recover."

"But Scott, why worry about that? Again, it seems an obvious course of action and although I will miss your presence on a day to day basis you will not be so far away. Besides, you are more the King than I!"

"Thank you my friend, but there is more. Giric and Eochaid have shown they cannot be trusted, I would work to bring them down, rid Scotland of their presence if at all possible. I would see Strathclyde joined to this Scotland, aye and as for Ayrshire and Galloway, they are big enough to be sub-Kingdoms in their own right perhaps but their greater allegiance should be to Alba, to Scotland herself."

"Now we are getting to the heart of your vision Scott, three new sub-Kingdoms for Scotland, a massive expansion of the High Kingship! That could greatly strengthen things, but only if the High King was strong enough to bind the whole together, to see all pull in the same direction."

"Aye, there's the rub Gabrain. If our improvements were spread throughout Scotland so that none lost out, neighbour was not covetous of neighbour, all were secure and safe due to the strength of the whole, would not that be a worthy ambition? Domnaill would be trustworthy I think, as to the two boy sub-Kings I do not know. Giric and Eochaid would need to be removed to make it work and that would mean a new High King."

"Hail Scott mac Fergus, hail the High King! Alba gu Brath!" Said Gabrain forcefully.

"It is not too much my friend? I am not fooling myself into thinking a grab for power is more for everybody else's good than my own? Am I rather acting just like Constantine, Murdoch, Giric and Eochaid? Is it greed on my part, would I be the tyrant?"

"Scott, listen to me! Your friends told you once at Oban that your motives were pure, were always with the interests of others in mind. My view is that nothing has changed that. I say that your plan makes perfect sense for Scotland, and what a Scotland! You have shown nothing but devotion to me and my sub-Kingdom, but always I have known that you were bigger than Dalriada. Scotland needs this, needs you my friend and at last you have come to recognise it. This of Strathclyde, Ayrshire and Galloway is but the icing on the cake. Your ideas - for land improvement, education, defence, government even - all of these need to be spread throughout the land. Through these will Scotland grow and be strong. I have known this for a long time my friend. The fact that you have been reluctant to accept it yourself is but another sign that you are the man to do it, your very reluctance a sure sign that your motives are different to these other you name."

Gabrain dropped to one knee and held out his two hands in the gesture of fealty.

"No Gabrain, it is not time for that, at least not yet. We have much to discuss with our friends and much to do to repair the damage that has been done in the past two years. If we are to move against Giric and Eochaid I would rather we consolidated what we have before doing so. All our strength will be required if we want things to be achieved with the minimum of Scots blood shed. At least I think it is safe for me to take Fife as a first step and I plan to do so tomorrow. Are you content my lord King?"

"I will be glad when you take Fife Scott, if only so that you drop that title when addressing me! Ever we have been friends you and I, and I would have the 'my lord King' out of the way."

"There is more we need to discuss Gabrain. This of the burghs, it hasn't worked. Dalriada should have been able to shake off these Fifers themselves, without our intervention. Two years of living under the dominion of Murdoch! If the burghs had been stronger, provided greater leadership, then they would have helped the people rise up. I believe our new Scotland must ensure local people have more rule over themselves, build their confidence and capability. That would also safeguard against any High King getting above himself, limit his power in ways that provide checks and a balance."

"Hah, another indication that you seek to do this for the right reasons my friend!"

"I have to confess Gabrain that there is another thing involved in this. I fully believe my future is somehow tied up with the 'Stone of Destiny'. I've explained my thinking about how I have returned to ninth century Scotland and how that might be linked to St Andrew and St Columba. My belief is that central to this is the stone itself. I admit that I feel a need to have it under my control, and this for purely selfish reasons perhaps."

"Nonsense Scott. Your desire to see the stone better controlled is surely only linked to your presence here and therefore by extension to your wish to see your plans for Scotland safeguarded! Do not be so hard on yourself my friend, I believe in you and your vision, would pledge myself and my fullest support in seeing it come to pass."

The friends talked for some time longer about Scott's plans, but eventually tiredness intruded and they curled up in their plaids to get some sleep. Gabrain couldn't resist one last comment.

"Will I have to call you 'Sire' or 'Your Grace' Scott when you are High King?" He chuckled.

The young man's levity was cut short when he heard the gravity in the voice that responded.

"All will have to do so or answer to me why!"

Gabrain gulped at the sudden and dramatic alteration in his friend's manner, the voice every bit the High King - authoritative, commanding, to be obeyed. After a few minutes Scott's voice whispered softly.

"Fooled you!" And Gabrain could hear Scott giggling.

In the morning Scott and Gabrain rode forward slightly so that they had a good view of the Fife camp. Scott had promised Gabrain something to see and the young King was intrigued at what it might be. He looked up the hill towards their infantry and could see a number of trebuchet had been built over the past day or so. He hadn't realised that Scott had ordered that. Now as he sat his horse, Gabrain could see at least one of the trebuchet had been wound back and set. Scott raised his arm to signal the men on the hill and the trebuchet was fired.

Gabrain watched as the object from the trebuchet arced towards the Fifers, landing in the middle of their camp.

"What was that Scott?" He asked.

"I promised they would have counsel with Murdoch before giving me their answer," replied Scott, "that was Murdoch dropping in to help them arrive at the right answer."

Gabrain looked askance at his friend and Scott caught the look.

"Gabrain, I would not have had Murdoch's life ended as it was, that was ill done. But he's dead now, and if I can use his body to save other Scots from killing each other then I have no problem with that! I apologise if I offend your sensibilities my friend."

Scott let the Fifers deal with the gruesome body of their chief for another few hours then signalled to his trebuchets to fire again. This time, four or five jars filled with gunpowder came flying towards the Fife force. The jars exploded high above their heads so that the loss of life was minimal, some shards of pottery doing damage, but the psychological impact was dramatic.

It didn't take long before a party emerged from the massed Fife infantry, a white flag flying above them as they walked towards Scott and Gabrain's position. The friends rode forward to meet them.

Scott recognised the same man as before in the lead and waited for him to speak up.

"My Lord, we have come to a decision."

"Out with it man! Is it acceptance of my terms or annihilation?"

The man gulped but held his nerve in the face of Scott's commanding tone.

"We but seek assurance that whoever you appoint to rule in Fife will be a strong man my Lord, we will need such."

"Aye, that might well be the case when Giric and Eochaid learn of Murdoch's failure my friend. How say you and your friends to Scott mac Fergus as your new King?"

Scott was surprised to see the man actually smile; perhaps there was hope for Fife yet!



-------

Chapter 6: Fife


Scott decided to strike while the iron was hot, he rode forward and dismounted, unsurprised to see the Fife lieutenants drop to one knee and prepare to take their oath of fealty to him. In the background he could see the massed ranks of the Fife infantry watching what was going on. Scott put his hand between the hands of the man who had taken the lead on their discussions.

"I swear to serve you as my King, to provide you and your heirs with my fullest support as god is my witness." Intoned the man.

The other lieutenants followed suit and Scott led them back to the waiting Fifers.

"You all recognise your peril here today," Scott addressed the mass of men, "the people of Dalriada thirst for your blood in payment for your despicable treatment of them. I am now your King and rest assured I will expect better from you from here on in! It is no excuse to say your King ordered you to do it, even Kings, myself included, need to be told when they contemplate doing the wrong thing. Murdoch has paid the heaviest of prices.

You know what you have been doing here for the last two years was wrong. Between us we must restore Fife's honour and standing with our friends, and that will mean hard work for you all. Mind it my friends, but let us work together you and I. I promise I will not shirk my duty!"

Scott spoke with Gabrain once more before setting off with the Fife force.

"I think it's best if you try to restore our beautiful Dalriada while I try to sort out these Fifers Gabrain. I would ask that you grant me a boon or two. I have a need for Donald my geologist if he has survived all this. In addition I would welcome the things that I have left behind my house at Inveraray. If you could have them sent on to me that would be a great help. Now, for the moment at least, I must leave you."

Scott rode in front of the infantry, leading them up Glen Falloch. Lachlan couldn't fail to recognise him on Albannach and he strode forward to meet him.

"Scott, what is going on?"

"Well met my friend, I have ever trusted your abilities and will not ask now how you come to be here unlooked for, but you have helped avoid much bloodshed! It would seem I am now the King of Fife Lachlan my friend, with a mission to teach these Fifers how to conduct themselves in future. My thanks to you and the Ayrshire and Galloway men for playing your part in that. A hundred of your best men to march beside us Lachlan if you please, better to be safe than sorry."

Scott explained the brief outline of his assumption of the Fife Kingship, suggesting to Lachlan that he remain with him until he had settled in Fife. When they had the chance to discuss things in more detail Scott recounted his vision for Scotland, seeking Lachlan's honest opinion. When he had finished explaining his suggested course of action he could see his friend was stunned.

"I feared as much Lachlan. I am reaching too far, taking too much, your face tells me so. I am becoming as bad as Constantine and the rest am I not?"

Lachlan's answer was similar to Gabrain's.

"Alba gu Brath my lord High King!" He all but shouted as he dropped to one knee.

"Not you too Lachlan! My friend, you truly believe this is the right course of action?"

"Indeed my Lord, and not before time! Scott, I have declared myself your man for some time now. If I truly thought you were seeking this for the wrong reasons I would tell you. I know this is what Scotland needs, the Scotland of your vision, the Scotland that I am already proud to be part of!"

The two friends exchanged information on what else had happened to them since they had parted at Kilmarnock. Lachlan indicated he had pretty much done as Scott had suggested, harrying the Fife lands, but not engaging in any battles. Scott confirmed that Lachlan's tactics had had the desired effect, draining Fife forces from Dalriada.

Lachlan's face grew strained as Scott described how badly the lands to the East of Loch Awe had been devastated and smiled when Scott described Murdoch's end.

"An end fitting for the man, and at the hands of a woman!"

"Lachlan, I still believe it was ill done. We should not be known for savagery, rather for being resolute and fair, for being stout in the defence of our lands, honest and trustworthy in our dealings with others."

"I still say he deserved all he got Scott!"

"Okay, we agree to differ, but I would win you over to my way of thinking in the long run Lachlan. Now, to other matters. I have a feeling I'm going to need some raw materials and some trained people before long. How has the apprenticeship programme fared in Ayrshire in my years away? How fares the training of school teachers?"

Scott spent the next few weeks reviewing the state of the Fife sub-Kingdom. It was clear Murdoch had adopted those ideas that would increase Fife's wealth and power in battle, but little else. Scott agreed with Lachlan that the necessary craftsmen and teachers would be sent north, along with Scott's family, and the friends shared another emotional leave-taking.

"Lachlan it might benefit me greatly here if you were to harry and threaten Eochaid's Strathclyde as you pass south. Ever he has shown his fondness for that place over Strathearn, which is on Fife's northern border. It might suit my purposes for Strathearn to be lordless for a while, lacking leadership."

Lachlan agreed that he would do so and then leapt onto his horse to lead his host away.

Gabrain also came through, Scott's 'treasures' from Inveraray were delivered and Donald the geologist also arrived in Fife. Donald was Scott's first order of business, the need for raw materials paramount in building even better defences and other resources such as schools. He asked the geologist to begin surveying at once.

Scott also had to deal with the position of Fife with regard to what had happened in Dalriada. He knew that the majority of the Fife men would regard the occupation of Dalriada as nothing out of the ordinary, part and parcel of the savage way of life in ninth century Scotland. Some of the lieutenants, by no means all, clearly had some residual guilt, but not much.

There were two obvious approaches open to him. He could play the grim faced, wronged King who demanded reparation or he could try a different tack, one where he helped the Fifers understand for themselves why what they did was wrong, help them come to that realisation themselves. The second approach would take a long time perhaps, would need him to set an example as to how things should be done, people behave, before it might bear fruit. He believed it would have the more lasting effect however and promised himself he would try to follow that path.

One other thing Scott had promised himself if he took over the Kingship of Fife. St Andrew's. He knew St Andrew's would be founded as an ecclesiastical centre some time in the future, but he was determined to move that up in the timeline, sure that the Saint had something to do with his own position and also Scotland's destiny. Scott sent a message to the Abbot at Kilchrennan, asking him to provide suitable brethren to start up a major holy site.

Some of the things Scott had brought back with him would require the careful cultivation of monks. He had brought seed potatoes - determined that the populace would have fries! - and a broad range of seeds. His research had determined things like beans, tomatoes, other vegetables had either originated in South America of Asia. Bringing seeds back would hopefully short-circuit the centuries of exploration that would normally have been required to introduce these foodstuffs to Scotland.

He had also brought back a number of young fruit trees, orange, peach, lemon, and lime. He believed the vitamins the fruits would provide would be important to the health of Scotland and, if he could establish an even more expansive greenhouse arrangement to the one at Kilchrennan, he stood a chance of being able to produce enough to supply all Fife and begin production elsewhere.

Scott's 'botanical bounty' also included packets of seeds for other produce such as strawberries, salad plants and some of the herbs that he didn't currently have access to. One of the books he had carefully chosen covered arable farming, crofting and market gardening.

He was keen to see his plans for establishing an environment for growing these new produce in place as quickly as possible, knowing it was already too late for any actual planting this year.

Scott had made his main Fife base on the banks of Loch Lìobhann (modern day Loch Leven) rather than Dunfermline where Murdoch had been based. He had a number of reasons for this: to distance himself from Murdoch's memory; to place his base more in the centre of the sub-Kingdom; and also because Loch Leven was a beautiful spot, the Loch surrounded by gentle hills that reminded him a little of Loarne.

He had set in train works to significantly enlarge the settlement here and also to establish much better facilities for his craftsmen. He had also ordered a shipyard to be established on the Fife coast, Murdoch having neglected to branch out into such an endeavour and Scott was keen to have shipping at his disposal as soon as possible.

His family arrived at Loch Leven before his improvements had been completed and all had to make do with ad-hoc arrangements. Scott didn't care, as he was delighted to have his wives back with him once more and also young David and Crinan. The boys pestered him for details of the fighting in Dalriada and were impressed when he informed them that he was now King of Fife.

The womenfolk were no less pleased at Scott's elevation, now being entitled to be called Queens in their own right.

Scott's household was necessarily split between two houses while a bigger structure was being built and he moved between the two to ensure harmony, although he had to admit the girls never seemed to have any difficulties with each other that were obvious to him.

A number of things cheered Scott as autumn was coming to a close. His Fife lieutenants approached him and asked whether it would be permissible to ship some of their harvest to Loarne to help maintain the people there. Scott knew this was important for a number of reasons. The fact that the Fife people had come to the point of seeking to help Dalriada without his intervention was a sign of changing attitudes. He also felt that the gesture would go down well in Loarne and in some small measure begin to heal the rift between the two sub-Kingdoms.

The second thing was that Donald the geologist reported finding sources of a number of important resources. Limestone had been discovered in great quantities and a source of iron ore had also been identified. Most surprising of all was that that Donald had discovered two sources of silver. Scott thought it ironic that Murdoch had attacked Dalriada partly to secure the Dalriada silver when a source of the valuable metal was all the time on his own doorstep.

Scott called a council of his friends before the winter weather closed in, with discussions focussing on readiness, carrier pigeon communication and any opportunities for shifting manpower or other resources to help any of the sub-Kingdoms do better than they currently were.

Of course, the friends enjoyed the opportunity to be together and they ensured at least one 'boy's night' was arranged while they could manage it. Scott in particular suffered from the hangover after a night at the hall-house and received no sympathy from his wives.

Gabrain took the opportunity of the council to update Scott on the progress in rebuilding Inveraray. The craftsmen had apparently done sterling work but Mother Nature would require a little longer to cover over the ravages of the widespread burning.

The leave-taking between the friends was focussed on making sure that each of the sub-Kingdoms was as well prepared for anything as possible.

Once his friends had departed, Scott devoted as much time to his wives and family as he could.

On one particular night he was spending time in the first house, that occupied by Hella, Fiona and David. Scott was sharing a romp with the two girls and was thrusting vigorously into Hella 'doggy' fashion, as she in turn was licking her sister wife who was on her back beneath her. Scott reached under Hella to tease her small breasts, squeezing them and teasing her nipples. Suddenly he gasped, his cock softening rapidly and he rushed from the room.

The girls were distraught, nothing like this ever having happened before.

Fiona went looking for Scott but couldn't find him anywhere.

Meanwhile Scott was outside the house, vomiting onto the grass. Once the worst of the sickness had passed he staggered into the house where Eilean and Crinan were based. Eilean knew something bad had happened; Scott walking into the house naked and looking as white as a sheet left her in no doubt. She ran to him.

"My Lord, what is wrong, what has happened?"

Eilean was shocked when Scott burst into tears and she moved to hug him to her. Fiona burst into the house, but stopped hurriedly when she saw Scott sobbing in Eilean's arms. Eilean turned her head to look at Fiona, taking in the fact that she was also naked.

"Fiona, what has happened, what is wrong with him?"

Fiona shook her head to indicate she didn't know and walked forward to join Eilean in hugging Scott. He continued to cry for several more minutes before calming down enough to talk to them.

Fiona rushed to get him some water and all three of them crossed the room to sit at the nearby table. At first Scott found it difficult to look at the girls, but then resigned himself to having to explain what was going on.

"I'm sorry my loves, I'm sorry, forgive me for breaking down so."

"Just tell us what is going on Scott. One minute you are making love to Hella and me and then you run from the house. What is wrong?" Asked Fiona, concern in her eyes.

Scott at last managed to meet their eyes and he took several deep breaths.

"I was enjoying my time with you and Hella until I reached round to play with Hella's breasts. When I did that I felt a lump within her breast and then another under her arm. I can't explain this easily, but I think she has breast cancer."

Scott broke into tears again at this point and couldn't carry on.

"What is breast cancer Scott?" Asked Eilean.

They had to wait for him to compose himself again before he could try to explain how cancer cells destroyed the body and he watched as his two wives' faces began to crumple.

"It's almost as if the body starts to eat itself and with the lump under her arm I think it has already progressed quite a bit."

"Saints, she has 'women's sickness'? Lord no, please do not say it!" Wailed Fiona.

"I'm afraid she is dying. In my time we could do something about it, perhaps save her, but here there is no hope. If I'm right, she is dying. Oh fuck! God, why, why?" He screamed.

The two women were also now crying painfully. Although not aware of the word cancer, it was clear that the 'disease' he was describing and its consequences were well known to them.

Once more all three eventually composed themselves and Fiona spoke.

"Scott, you are going to have to tell her. Never have any of us witnessed the staff-beast fail to perform and Hella is next door, believing she has somehow lost your affection. She deserves to know, needs to be told, and to be re-assured that she hasn't lost her attraction to your staff!"

They walked slowly next door, Scott dragging his heels as he tried to think of how he could break this terrible news to Hella. They found Hella still lying on the bed, sobbing into a pillow. Scott sat on the bed and began to stroke her back.

"Hella, please forgive me my love, I'm sorry for what happened." He began.

She sat up and hugged him fiercely, her sobbing now louder without the 'muffling' effect of the pillow. Scott pulled himself together, recognising the need for him to be strong for his beloved Hella, now more than ever. He soothed her by whispering his love for her until she at last began to quieten. He asked her gently whether she had been having any pains in her breasts recently and when she confirmed she had, and also that she had suffered a discharge from her nipple, he explained what he feared was wrong with her.

"I have 'women's sickness'? Is that why you rushed from the room Scott?"

This question almost led to Scott breaking down again. It seemed as if Hella was more bothered about whether or not he was still attracted to her than the fact she had a terminal illness.

"I was shocked my love, devastated at what I know this means, for you, for all of us. You will always be my little school ma'am, don't worry about that."

Fiona and Eilean now joined Scott and Hella on the bed to wrap Hella in a group hug. Hella seemed to be only one taking the news calmly and Scott was amazed at her courage. Hella admitted that she had suspected for some months that she had the sickness, but had not wanted to worry the others.

Hella's condition began to deteriorate quite rapidly over the winter months. Scott and his other two wives tried to keep her spirits up as much as they could and their lovemaking didn't slow down at all. Scott also worked on little surprises for her, trying to make her remaining time as special as possible.

The cold weather had led to large swathes of Loch Leven freezing over and Scott had his smith prepare a number of sets of blades that could be strapped tightly onto boots. He had several men check the safety of the ice and mark a boundary before rushing to get Hella and the rest of the family. Scott demonstrated how to tie the blades on and then shakily began to skate on the frozen loch. He returned to the bank and took Hella's hand, leading her out onto the ice. Together they glided along slowly, Scott behind Hella and with his arms round her to steady her.

Soon the whole family was on the ice, falling and shrieking as they tried to master the technique of skating. The two boys in particular were delighted with this new pastime and they were perhaps the quickest in finding their balance.

Hella's cheeks had some colour in them for the first time in months and her whole face was alive with the excitement of this new challenge. She tired quickly however, and Scott had to insist they go to the banks of the loch to rest for a while.

Scott was pleased with himself, the family had decreed skating a definite hit and his plan to cheer Hella up had worked as well as he could have hoped.

Hella's complexion turned increasingly grey in the weeks running up to the St Andrew's day celebration and it was clear she was in a lot of pain. Scott told her he was determined she should see his project to build the ecclesiastical centre at St Andrew's before she became too ill to travel. She agreed that they would both ride there and spend a day reviewing progress.

Hella looked out over the building work and expressed her awe at the scale of what Scott had set in motion. A huge stone church was already partially complete, the walls up and large wooden beams being set in place to support the roof. A wide range of other buildings were also either finished or in progress including a priory for the monks and accommodation for the many people who would be based here to protect and service the settlement.

Scott and Hella had the opportunity to just spend time alone together; sitting well wrapped up, looking out to sea. Scott held her as he gently stroked her hair and whispered to her that he loved her. He could see his love returned when he looked in her eyes. They both knew this was his way of making sure they had the opportunity to say goodbye to each other before things became too bad for Hella and she fully appreciated the opportunity he had provided, wondering anew at his sensitivity and consideration for others.

All too soon they knew they had to return to Loch Leven for the St Andrew's day holiday. They rode back hand in hand, giggling as their horses struggled to walk alongside each other to allow them to do so. With just over a mile to go until they reached the settlement, Scott reached across and lifted Hella over onto Albannach's back so she was sat in front of him. He hugged her as they trotted that last mile together.

The celebrations were muted despite the fact that Hella did all she could to make sure that didn't happen.

"The last thing I want is to spoil everyone's fun!" She said as she helped devise the entertainment for the night.

Scott had introduced bagpipes to Fife too and they skirled their accompaniment to the dancers that put on a display. The wives had also worked on a play and Scott worried as to its content, given the recent happenings in Dalriada. The last thing he wanted was the Fifers being reminded too forcefully of that.

He found he need not have worried, as the play was a masterpiece dedicated to St Andrew and Scott's project to build the great centre. The saint was shown in numerous scenes coming to the aid of the Scots when they most needed it, with vignettes of the Scots fighting the Norse and the Saxons. This was the first time the Fife people had been exposed to a play and it was clear that it had gone down well.

Not too long into the evening Hella admitted she was very tired and asked that Scott help her to bed. He almost carried her, appalled at just how light she had become. When he had washed her body and dried it, he tucked her into the bed and stooped to kiss her on her brow, sitting beside her, holding her hand.

"Goodbye my love." She whispered as she held his eye, letting him see her love for him written there.

Quickly thereafter Hella's breathing rasped and failed, her chest stopped rising and she was at rest. Scott laid her hand gently on her breast and rose to leave the room. He staggered from the house, tears blinding him, and made his way next door to his own bed. He lay unable to sleep, re-living some of his memories of Hella. He wondered if it was significant that she had died on St Andrew's day and tried to comfort himself by deciding it was. Hopefully she was now in a better place, at peace.



-------

Chapter 7: Consolidation

Scott's two remaining wives and his two sons mourned with him. Normally he would have taken Hella's body for burial at Iona but the winter snows made that impossible. Instead the difficult journey was made to St Andrew's and the monks there performed the burial for him. Afterwards they returned to Loch Leven and Scott ordered a vast feast to be prepared so that all might honour Hella's passing.

Alone with his wives once the boys were abed, he knew they had something to share with him given their nervous looks at each other.

"My two lovelies, I know there is something on your minds. Why not spit it out and be done with it?"

It was Fiona as usual who was the one to speak up.

"I fear you know us too well my Lord, a woman needs to be able to keep some secrets from her husband!"

"Aye, and I'm not fooled into believing that I know half of what you two are up to! Now, what is afoot?"

"We have known for some time my Lord, but have held off from telling you because of Hella's illness. It would have been particularly cruel perhaps to have revealed this given how little time she had left. Scott, we are both with child."

"Both? With child? How? When? Saints!" He stumbled.

Both girls laughed at his apparent inability to form a sentence.

"Yes my Lord, and as to how, surely you know that by now?" Giggled Eilean.

"Scott, you will understand why we have kept this from you until now? Hella was ever disappointed that she hadn't given you a son and this news would have made her last few weeks awful."

Scott re-assured them that he understood their motivation. The fact that both of them were pregnant began to sink in. Two more children. While nothing could fully take away the loss of Hella, impending fatherhood certainly did do something to lift the depression that had been settling over him. Scott hugged his two wives to him, rejoicing with them in the wonderful news.

Scott's request that Lachlan harry Strathclyde as he was returning to Ayrshire seemed to have brought about the desired results if the reports coming in to Scott were anything to go by. He had hoped that Eochaid would hurry south to protect his favourite lands, leaving Strathearn without a leader. Scott hoped he was not being too contrived in this. He had hoped a leaderless Strathearn would fall prey to increased Viking raiding. If that happened it would allow him to do a number of things - remind the Fife populace of the dangers they faced, lead them into battle to re-inforce his Kingship, and at the same time perhaps annex a little of Strathearn into the bargain.

Now reports were coming in that there was some small-scale theft of beasts on Fife's northern borders, suggesting someone was in dire need of food. Scott knew the wintertime was not ideal for campaigning but he was in the mood for spilling a little Norse blood. He was able to put together a force of men kitted out for dealing with the snow and now gathered together one hundred, ensuring they all had quilted clothing, Ugg boots and snowshoes. Skis were readily available and all the men chosen were already strong skiers.

Scott led his little force north and east to Uachdar Mucadaidh (modern day Auchtermuchty), going cautiously lest they blunder upon Vikings. From there they probed directly north, towards the Tay Water, Scott assuming any Norse would remain close to this major sea route. The skis helped them make ten to twelve miles a day and they reached the Firth of Tay by midday of their second day, still without any sighting of the Danes.

Scott admitted to himself that he was relishing the opportunity to fight, to perhaps exorcise some of the anger he still felt at the loss of Hella. He was disappointed therefore that they had yet to come across his favourite enemies!

From Newburgh they travelled west towards Earn, stopping in a wood to make camp for the night. They had travelled only a few miles the next morning when the men scouting ahead signalled that they had spotted something. Scott moved forward, pulling his binos out and putting them to his eyes.

Before them was a tented camp on the banks of the Tay. Scott saw two longships anchored close to the shore and estimated there could only be two hundred and fifty Vikings in the camp. They looked a ragged bunch, perhaps blown off course and trying to see out the winter here. He turned to his lieutenant, Donald mac Niall.

"I estimate about two hundred and fifty of them Donald."

"We shall have to sweep west to get beyond them Sire."

"What do you mean Donald? See you, we didn't ski all this way to then avoid the Norsemen when we find them. I would bring them to battle my friend!"

"But Sire, we are heavily outnumbered."

"Nonsense Donald, they're only Danes after all. Come my friend let us get our men prepared for some fun."

Scott had the men take off their skis and put on snowshoes. He indicated how he wanted them to advance, in two ranks of fifty each, himself in the centre. They moved out, walking slowly but steadily down the slope, the Fifers with their crossbows at the ready. Their presence was spotted quickly and the Danes were not slow in rushing out to meet them, confident given their numbers.

Scott now halted his men, seeing advantage in letting the Vikings run uphill towards them in the snow. He looked to his left and right and could see the Fifers were nervous under the charge of the larger force of Danes. Their nervousness was confirmed when many of them began firing their bolts before the Norse were even within range. Scott had to scream at them to stop that. He let the Norse get closer still and then swung the bag he had over his shoulder onto the ground.

Opening the bag, Scott pulled out a little pottery jar, perhaps the size of a beaker of ale. There was a short length of fuse cord hanging from the jar and Scott now used his lighter to fire the fuse up and then threw the jar with all his strength down the hill at the Norse. Without stopping to see the effect of his first 'hand grenade', Scott reached into his bag and pulled out another, similar jar. He lit this jar and threw it slightly further to the left of the advancing Vikings. As he did so he saw that there were eight or nine Norsemen already down, some of them screaming.

Scott had added small lumps of lead to his gunpowder mix in the jars and the resultant projectiles when the jars exploded seemed to be very effective indeed. The Norse were unsure about what was being thrown at them and continued their charge towards the Scots. Scott threw his remaining jars, ten of them, at the enemy and then screamed for his men to begin picking of targets with their crossbows.

The grenades had taken out perhaps one hundred men and the odds were now far better. The fact that the Fife men were armed with crossbows carrying magazines of bolts, meant that they had close to one thousand bolts available to fire at one hundred and fifty Norsemen.

Scott's men took a moment or two to respond to his command to start using their crossbows, stunned themselves by the noise and devastation caused by the little jars. At last their predicament brought them back to their senses and they began to fire in earnest, volleys of bolts tearing into the advancing Danes. It is perhaps credit to the Norsemen's courage that a handful managed to reach the lines of Scots, killing a few of Scott's men, but these were quickly overwhelmed and put to the sword. The exchange had lasted barely ten, hellish, minutes and the Norse had been wiped out, completely wiped out.

Scott gave orders for his men to advance into the tented camp and to forage for anything worth taking. Very quickly a shout went up and four men dragged what looked like a woman and a girl from one of the structures. Scott hurried over to ensure they were not subjected to mistreatment, particularly rape. He ordered his men to bind them and was turning to survey what else was going on when he heard a voice.

"What's the point of binding us? That'll just mean we're more likely to slip in the snow and slow you down. We have nowhere to run to and no other way of surviving other than remaining with you."

Scott looked again at the woman. He couldn't see much of her body as she was swathed in furs but her face was filthy, her blonde hair in worse shape than windblown straw.

"You speak Gaelic, how is that?"

"I am originally from Gallaibh (Modern day Caithness, the most northerly area of Scotland), I was betrothed to a Viking a long time ago now and was on my way from Norway to Orkney when the weather blew us badly of course."

Scott continued to question the woman as his men now began to celebrate their victory, the scale of it only now dawning on them as the adrenaline wore off. He ordered a return to Loch Leven, the woman and her daughter being fitted with skis left over from the unlucky few Scots who had perished in the exchange. Both proved adept at skiing, the woman explaining that it had been common in Norway.

They made good time and camped in woodland near Glenfarg. Round a campfire that night, Scott found out further information about the pair. The woman's name was Erica nic Maelcolm and she said her daughter's name was Helfe Sigurdsdottar.

"So, who is your Viking husband and why were you in Norway?" Scott asked her.

"My husband is Sigurd Eysteinsson, Jarl of Orkney," she replied loftily, "he was recently given Orkney by his brother Rognvald and I had been at the royal court of Norway to meet Rognvald and the Norwegian King, Harald Harfagre (Harold Fair Hair)."

Scott didn't like the way she spoke to him, almost as if he was beneath her.

"And I'm supposed to be impressed by this?"

"You should be, surely even someone as lowly as yourself will have heard of Sigurd the Mighty?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't, but perhaps I've been too busy to worry myself with some godforsaken islands in the middle of nowhere."

"What strange device was it you used against my husband's men?" She asked him.

Scott could see his own men quietened at this, obviously keen to know the answer to this themselves.

"No less than the good Lord's fire and brimstone, created to strike down unbelievers everywhere!" He made up on the spot.

Scott tired of her arrogant bearing and moved away to find a spot to sleep in.

Their return to Loch Leven was cause for celebration. Scott's new house was at last complete and he joined his wives and sons there, taking Erica and Helfe with him. He ordered a feast prepared, tired of four days of field rations. He also believed that the two women could probably do with a good meal as the Norse and their camp had appeared short of food. He introduced the women to his wives.

"My dears, here is Erica nic Maelcolm and her daughter Helfe Sigurdsdottar. She is the wife of someone called Sigurd the Mighty, Jarl of Orkney apparently."

He noticed the haughty look Erica cast in his direction at what she thought was a belittling of her husband and his status.

"Well, how lucky are we Eilean," said Fiona, "the wife of Sigurd the Mighty and the Norse-slayer for company all in one night. We should look out our finery!"

Scott heard Erica and Helfe gasp and when he looked at them they were both staring at him.

"You? You are the Norse-slayer, Scott mac Fergus?" Erica asked.

"One and the same my Lady." Said Scott as he bowed low.

"You cozened me sir! Why did you not tell me who you were, explain your station instead of letting me assume you were a lowly soldier?"

"I seem to remember you were too busy prattling on about your mighty husband madam!"

Food was served and Scott appeared to be correct, as both Erica and Helfe tore at the meat as if they hadn't eaten for weeks. Erica continued to favour Scott with black looks throughout the feast, but he simply ignored her, regaling both David and Crinan with details of the little battle instead.

That night Scott's wives made it their mission in life to clean up Erica and Helfe. Hot baths were run and soap was dispensed. One of the drawbacks of Scott basing himself at Loch Leven was a lack of opportunity for putting in sewerage and running water. Still, they made do with portable tubs.

Scott had to admit that both Erica and her daughter brushed up well. She was a striking woman, Scott could now see she was in her mid to late thirties, blonde, blue eyed and with a neat, trim figure. Her daughter was a mini version of her but hadn't as yet developed her arrogant manner. Scott thought she was perhaps sixteen or seventeen.

He had decided he didn't really want very much to do with the women and promised himself that he would ensure they were taken to Dalriada as soon as the snows melted. From there they could be shipped to Orkney so that stuck up Erica could be re-united with her husband.

Scott spent much of the rest of the winter going over his plans for Fife. A key part of that would be the development of St Andrew's, but also making inroads into those areas of development that Murdoch had neglected. He had already expanded the number of schools available for teaching the children and any adults that wanted it.

Of significant disappointment and frustration was the fact that he had brought some significant textbooks on subjects such as maths, chemistry and physics back with him, but found he was the only one who could read them of course. He also shared the books he had brought back on engineering and weaponry with his craftsmen and although these had pictures and even some engineering drawings, he could see that they weren't going to advance things very much. The men were awed by the pictures, running their hands over them and turning the pages to look on the reverse page to see what was there.

The craftsmen were more excited by the hand tools he had brought back with him though, their precise engineering fascinating them and Scott knew these would make a difference to the things that could be achieved.

Other things that had been in the tent included books on medicine and homeopathy and Scott had hopes of starting some more advanced treatments, identifying some of the women who showed an aptitude to take this forward. He had even printed off pages from the internet that described how to make penicillin, if he could cultivate that he knew it would have a major impact.

He found a candidate for taking on the role of chief medic right under his nose. Eilean had always shown an interest in the various plants he introduced and she was fascinated by the book on homeopathy and the various healing qualities of plants and roots. It may have been that the death of her sister wife had also had a marked impact on her and she responded by reaching out for something that would help her deal with that. Scott had taught all of his wives how to read and write basic English, a demand on their part when they discovered he spoke a different language in his own time. That now came in very handy, as Eilean was able to work through the text, admittedly with some difficulty.

Scott encouraged Eilean in this regard and was surprised to see that Helfe was eager to be her main helper. It seemed the young girl also had an interest in healing and Scott could see nothing wrong in that.

He was annoyed when his two wives began to tease him that the reason Erica was so awful in her attitude towards him was because she was interested in him. He knew his wives had a history of matchmaking and wanted no part of this one, besides, she was another man's wife! He did take closer interest in how much Erica seemed to be enamoured by the many little 'luxuries' that she obviously had not had access to in the past. He was convinced Erica was more interested in soap, water from taps, silk, washing machines and the abundance and variety of food and drink than him, still believing she was a shallow individual.

In a quiet moment Scott admitted he was far more interested in Helfe, young though she was. She had the kind of figure that always attracted him, petite, firm, with curves in all the right places. Now that he had had the chance to see her in a blouse, he also liked her small but clearly firm breasts. Her personality was the opposite of her mother's: she was keen to learn; respectful; and seemed to have a yearning for helping others. Helfe also seemed to be becoming fond of and close to his two sons. He supposed the fact that they were living in the same house so close together made it inevitable they would spend time together, but the young woman genuinely seemed to be growing close to them.

Scott's confidence in Donald mac Niall was also growing. The man seemed to have a natural talent for strategy and tactics that had been hidden because of an almost crippling lack of confidence. This was the case with most of Murdoch's lieutenants, their previous King having been something of a control freak, taking all decisions, delegating little. Scott began to see that this was perhaps one of the reasons why the Saxons had managed to overrun and occupy Fife for so long. It was an echo of his comment to Gabrain that more power had to be devolved to local people so that they grew in confidence and leadership capability.

Scott worked with Donald, sure that he would eventually make a very able second in command.

His recollection of the local government idea had Scott sitting down to work through his thoughts, jotting things down on paper on some of the long winter nights. He wanted to explore the possibility of spreading a form of democracy that worked at a local level, but wasn't typified by the bureaucracy that seemed to surround government in his own time. Taxation wasn't a problem he realised as currently the majority of wealth was coming to him, the populace already happy with the overall improvement in their lifestyle that his ideas were generating. He was always mindful of trying to spread his ideas so that everyone gained from them and a form of government that was based on a similar principle might work.

Of course, human nature was such that the people would probably always be demanding more, but if he looked at the content of education it was possible he could address that. 'Catch them young' was a maxim he had heard before and he thought there was some truth in that.

He wondered if his idea of a society where people were employed doing what they did best, where there was an overriding principle of teamwork over personal gain, where there was improvement for all, was utopian. Despite the savagery of the times, or perhaps partially because of that, he felt a simple set of principles could underpin such an approach. These were simple people - now becoming more educated due to his schools - and responded to basic things like security, the availability of food and the opportunity to grow and better themselves. He stopped his jotting, as another simple thought crystallised in his head. He realised just how much he loved them, loved them all! He loved Scotland and its people and he vowed to try to do his best for them.

There was one other point of note as the winter snows began to melt. He began to suspect Helfe was interested in him. He had noticed she would appear whenever he was in the house. On several occasions when he had been in discussion with Eilean about her progress on the medical improvements, she had subtly rubbed her little breasts on his arm as they studied the textbooks. He had glanced at her and noticed a definite flush to her cheeks that suggested it had not been innocent.

He believed Eilean had not noticed and wondered where the girl wanted to take this.

"Hmm, this could be interesting!" He thought to himself.



-------

Chapter 8: return to Dalriada II

The Fife shipwrights had still not managed to complete any ships by the time the snows were beginning to melt. Scott had been frustrated at having to leave the two Viking longships behind after the small battle during the winter, but the weather conditions had ruled against him being able to sail these along the Firth of Tay. Now that the weather was improving he led a force of men back to the shores to see whether the ships were still there. He was surprised, but delighted, to find the two ships still floating where he had left them and embarked his men to sail them up the Tay, round the hook and south past St Andrews.

As they were sailing along the Fife coast Scott saw smoke and flames coming from a cliff. At first he thought this was a signal of some sort and he ordered the ship's captain to steer in towards the land. It became apparent that the fire was untended and Scott was curious as to how it had started. One of the men on his ship was local to this area and explained that this wasn't unusual, the area in fact was known locally as the fire cliffs.

Brining the longship in closer to the cliffs Scott could see that there had been a significant landslip here and it had exposed a broad seam of black looking rock. It was directly above this that the fire burned and Scott decided to investigate. Beaching the ship he jumped over the side and made his way to the rock that had fallen from the cliff face. He picked up a piece and brought it to his nose.

"God be praised!" He whispered to himself.

"What is it Sire, what has grabbed your interest so?"

"Oil shale! This is oil shale!" Shouted Scott; his men still in the dark as to why this was so exciting.

Scott knew Scotland was rich in oil reserves, but these were almost exclusively under the North Sea and therefore out of his reach. He hadn't imagined that he could find a source of oil so readily accessible and guessed this shale must be a continuation of the 'fields' under the sea. He had been cursing the lack of access to oil because he knew finding it would open up the opportunity for many improvements, the text books he had brought back giving details of the various uses hydrocarbons could be put to.

Now highly excited, Scott returned to the ship, but had it sail close to the shore for the rest of the journey south. He identified another three possible sources of oil shale and was well satisfied with the trip - two longships and a number of possible sources for oil were a good return for one small journey.

Scott's few conversations with Erica had provided him with some quite surprising intelligence. He discovered that the majority of the Vikings he had been fighting over the years were in fact almost exclusively from Norway. He had been blithely using the terms Viking, Norse, and Danes interchangeably as if they were all one and the same. Now he found out that there were few if any Danes involved. Erica explained that there was insufficient productive land in Norway to support the population and that was why so many of the Norse had been voyaging across the seas.

These same Norsemen had not been limiting their raiding to Scotland and England, but had turned renegade and had been hitting Norway too. The Norwegian King, Harold Fairhair, had taken them to task over the past two or three years and the result was that Norway had 'tamed' Orkney and Rognvald and then Sigurd had been placed in charge of it, to keep it from causing Norway further trouble.

Scott guessed that the troubles Scotland had been facing, including the unusual large-scale land invasions of a number of years ago, must be the result of renegade Norsemen from Orkney being forced out by the Norwegian forces. This intelligence changed his thinking with regard to the Norse and he knew he would need to consider this further.

Spring was definitely here and Scott decided to make a trip to see how things were progressing in his lordship of Loarne. He missed the dramatic scenery of his favourite part of Scotland and he had missed the company of his friend Gabrain. There was also the task of returning Erica and Helfe to Orkney to consider, getting rid of that arrogant woman reason enough to make the trip. He sent a carrier pigeon to advise Gabrain of his plans and then told his family to pack for the trip.

Before setting out he had a long session with Donald mac Niall, agreeing the things that Scott wanted to see taken forward, including a close watch on their northern borders in case Viking activity increased. He also spoke to the other Donald, his geologist, about the need to begin mining oil shale and what to do with it once it had been recovered in sufficient quantities.

With things in Fife largely sorted they set out for Inveraray, the bulging bellies of Scott's two wives showing their pregnancies were at an advanced stage. Scott had made sure a wagon was secured for the girls to travel in, its inside lined with pillows to ease the bumpy passage.

The wagon slowed them down somewhat and it took four days of travel before they were passing down the head of Loch Fyne and nearing Inveraray. As they emerged around a bend and the camp came into sight; Scott's chest puffed out at the view he was afforded. Gabrain and the craftsmen had been busy and, at least from a distance, there were no lingering signs of the devastation that had been wrought here the year before. There may have been fewer trees, but the grass had re-emerged and the blackened fields were a thing of the past. Fluttering above the camp Scott could see his own Norse-slayer banner and the Saltire and it was as if something that had been badly out of kilter in his life was once more in balance.

His wives didn't fully understand how misty-eyed Scott was, not having been witness to how Inveraray had looked after Murdoch had vented his spleen on it. So far as they were concerned this was just a long delayed return home, almost three years since they had had to flee Inveraray with Gabrain.

Gabrain himself was waiting at the settlement to welcome them back and Scott clasped his arm, wordlessly expressing his thanks for the work that had been done. Of course, the population of Inveraray was much reduced. Some new people had moved to the settlement but the slaughter had been major and a single year was not going to undo that.

Scott let the womenfolk oversee the unpacking of the wagons while he walked to the water's edge with Gabrain, gazing across at Strachur.

"Well met my friend." He said at last to Gabrain.

"Well met indeed Scott. I hope the works here meet with your approval, I have tried to ensure that everything was restored to what it was before."

"Aye Gabrain, you have done a grand job of it too. Almost it looks as if the horror of last year never happened. Only the lack of people a clue."

"I see you have some new women with you. Are you adding to your family?"

Scott had to explain the death of Hella, his pain obvious to Gabrain as he did so, and then the winter battle that had resulted in the 'capture' of Erica and Helfe. Like Scott, Gabrain had not heard of Sigurd the Mighty and he scoffed as Scott described the haughty attitude of the man's wife.

"Well my friend, if the gossip of your wives is anything to go by, a good dose of your 'staff-beast' sounds like the perfect medicine for the witch!"

"Don't say it even in jest Gabrain! The sex of that woman probably has teeth I swear and I would nowise risk putting anything of mine near her. Besides, she is the wife of another. Now, the daughter, she is a different story!"

The two friends caught up on each other's news of events over the winter. Scott informed Gabrain that both of his wives were pregnant and his friend congratulated him, adding that Esta was also with child so he had something to celebrate himself. Scott explained the discovery of oil shale and, earlier in the year, silver too in Fife and his hopes for what this would mean. For his part Gabrain recounted the full losses that Dalriada had suffered after two years under Murdoch's dominion and suggested it could take as many as four or five years before the sub-Kingdom was back to its former strength.

Scott's wives settled in to the house as if they had never been away, his sons staking out some territory for themselves too. Erica and Helfe were amazed at the additional comforts available - running hot and cold water, toilets, and the sunken bath were all eye-openers for them. Scott could see that Erica in particular was much taken with these things, as she quickly settled into a much-improved way of life.

Having been away for so long, Scott determined it was important that he undertake a tour of the various Loarne settlements, Gabrain opting to travel with him. The first thing he noticed was the reduced population at all of the settlements, and he saw Gabrain's estimate as to how long it would take to recover was, if anything, optimistic. Oban/Dun Ollaigh was perhaps the least affected, Murdoch perhaps guarding the production facilities jealously for the riches they were generating.

Scott visited with the craftsmen here and renewed old friendships with many of the men, the reappearance of the Norse-slayer almost becoming a legend throughout Loarne now he knew. He discussed a requirement he had with them and shared some of the designs from the books he had brought back with him.

On their return journey to Inveraray they stopped at Kilchrennan and spent some time with the Abbot and his monks, Scott thanking the man for providing the brethren to help establish St Andrews.

A quiet and relaxing few weeks followed at Inveraray until Scott received word that things were ready for him at Oban. He called a family meeting and advised his wives and sons that he was planning to sail to Orkney to return Erica and Helfe to their people there. He was not surprised when Fiona, the boys and especially Eilean bemoaned Helfe's departure but none of them had any concern about the loss of Erica.

Scott asked to speak privately with Erica and Helfe later that day to tell them of his plan.

"The time has come to return you to where you rightly belong. I am sorry that the winter weather has not made that possible before now, but hope you have found your stay with us at least comfortable." He said.

"What do you mean my Lord, return us, return us where?" Said Erica sharply.

"Why return you to your husband of course, to Sigurd the Mighty."

"But, but, that cannot be! I will not return there. You would not sentence me to living in such barbaric conditions sir!"

"Madam, you are confused surely. I but seek to return you to your husband, to the life that until six months ago was all that you knew. I would have expected you to be glad to be returning to where you can lord it over your subjects again."

"But my Lord! It is barbaric, carrying buckets of water everywhere, using a bucket as a toilet, plain fare - mostly fish! - to eat, much privation see you!"

"But mother, you have never carried a bucket in all your days, you had numerous servants to do all the work." Interjected Helfe, earning herself a black look from Erica.

"Enough! Leave us now daughter so that I might discuss this serious matter with the Lord Scott!"

Scott was bemused by Erica's attitude and her pushing her daughter out of the room, but was quickly thereafter shocked at what Erica had in mind. Once Helfe was safely from the room Erica calmly began to remove her clothes, folding them and placing them on a chair. Scott choked before he could speak, but at last found his voice.

"By the rude! What are you doing woman? Cover yourself!"

"I am showing you that you are wrong in this of returning me to Orkney my Lord. Am I not pleasing? My figure is surely still attractive to men and I hear from your wives that you are vigorous in this of sex."

Scott spluttered at the blatant offer that was being made to him.

"Madam, vigorous I may be, but with those I choose and never would I choose such as yourself! Clothe yourself and prepare for the journey to Orkney if you please, I'll warrant Sigurd the Mighty will have something to offer you if sex is what you need. He will surely be Mighty in his need of you given how long you have been away from him!"

Scott strode from the room before Erica could say anything else. He went in search of his wives to tell them of Erica's outrageous proposal.

A week or so later Scott bade farewell to his wives once more, promising he would return as quickly as he could. He travelled with Erica and Helfe to Oban and they embarked upon one of the larger ships that Scott had commissioned previously. Gabrain maintained his counsel of greater caution right up to Scott's departure, worried that his friend was not setting sail with a large number of ships, but instead was taking just the one.

"Gabrain, even if we were able to muster enough men to man twenty longships it would make no difference given the numbers of Norse that are based at Orkney. One ship or twenty, it makes no difference I assure you. No, I am making a statement by only taking one ship and will be perceived as much less of a threat than if I sailed with twenty."

They navigated up through the Sound of Mull and into the Hebridean Sea, sailing north then between Skye and the islands of Uist, Harris and Lewis. Scott's Norse-slayer device flew from the tallest mast and was also emblazoned across their biggest sail. Erica's face grew blacker the further she sailed from the 'luxuries' of Loarne.

They did see longships on their voyage, but none could keep pace with Scott's ship, the captain after a number of years in charge of this vessel now adept at tacking to make the most of the available wind.

They rounded the northernmost tip of the Scottish mainland and steered northeast for Orkney. As they neared the islands Scott was using his maps to help the captain navigate, sailing the length of the mainland and then turning east and south to pass between the mainland and the island of Rousay.

Numerous smaller islands had to be bypassed as the low shape of the island of Shapinsay reared in front of them. Scott advised the captain to head directly south now, heading for the capital of Orkney, the sheltered anchorage of Kirkwall. Scott had been paying attention to the landscape of the islands they had been passing and something was nagging at the back of his mind, something he knew was missing.

"Trees! There are no trees!" He said aloud as his mind focussed on what had been puzzling him.

Their entrance into the Bay that formed the anchorage of Kirkwall caused an almighty stir, Scott's device on the sail and masthead proclaiming who was aboard the ship. He ordered the captain to sail as close to the rocky 'harbour' as he could, pushing past the many longships that were at anchor here. He turned to Erica and Helfe.

"Well ladies, shall we see if Sigurd is at home?"

Before leaving the ship Scott had a quiet conversation with the captain, agreeing a number of signals that Scott would use if he needed assistance. Then a small boat was lowered over the side and Scott climbed down a rope ladder with three men, assisting Erica and Helfe to do the same.

A small crowd had gathered at the harbour proper to watch Scott's progress with interest. Central to the group was a great bull of a man, what he lacked in height more than made up for in his girth and shoulder span.

"Sigurd the Mighty I presume." Scott thought to himself.

As their small boat closed with the harbour it was clear that Erica and Helfe were recognised by the man and he strode forward to help both of them out onto dry land. Scott clambered out of the boat unaided and waited for the man to finish greeting his wife and daughter. At last Sigurd turned and addressed Scott in what was presumably Norse. Scott shook his head to indicate he didn't understand a word of it.

"I presume from the size of you that you are Sigurd the Mighty, who some call Jarl of Orkney?" He tried in Gaelic; Erica having confirmed that Sigurd was fluent.

"Ha, you are not so small yourself!" replied Sigurd in the same language, "and all would know the device that flies above your strange ship. You are Scott mac Fergus, who some call the Norse-slayer!"

Scott nodded to indicate that Sigurd had guessed correctly.

"How is it that you come to have my wife and daughter in your company Norse-slayer?"

Scott explained how he had defeated the small band of Vikings during the winter and found Sigurd's womenfolk with them.

"I would have returned them to you sooner my friend, but for the weather."

"Returning them at all is a wonder, for I had lost all hope of ever seeing them again. Come we will see whether Kirkwall is up to providing hospitality for one such as yourself. Never has there been a stranger, more unlooked for visitor perhaps!"

There were only a few hours left of daylight and Scott and his three companions were shown to a small cot-house and given food, but otherwise they were ignored and viewed with extreme suspicion by all. Scott could see his men were nervous in the extreme, probably never having been in such a hostile environment with so little to protect them.

"At least they haven't just tried to kill us out of hand." Scott thought to himself.

They had to kick their heels for most of the following morning too, Sigurd apparently busy with other matters. Scott was beginning to become uncomfortable as the morning dragged on, but at last a Viking came to get them, Sigurd now presumably ready to speak once more. They were led to a three-sided tent where Sigurd and his chief advisors were sitting and shown to spaces so they could likewise sit.

"Why have you come here mac Fergus?" Asked Sigurd bluntly.

Scott decided plain speech was going to be the order of the day and so responded accordingly.

"To return your womenfolk to you and to try and stop the Norse raiding of mainland Scotland Sigurd." He said levelly.

"And why would I help you in that?"

"I wouldn't put it like that Sigurd, rather we would be helping each other if what Erica has told me is true. These renegade Vikings are as much a thorn in your side and that of Harold Fairhair as they are in mine."

"I have no further problem with them mac Fergus and still see no advantage in any of this for me."

"What about trade Sigurd? We could agree a trade agreement between us that could much advantage you here."

"From what Erica has told me this morning of the gear you have available to you, I would doubt very much we have much here that you would be interested in having mac Fergus."

Scott now knew what had delayed Sigurd in coming to this meeting.

"Indeed, from the riches she describes, it seems I should be turning my eyes to this Dalriada myself!"

"I don't think you want to think that way Sigurd."

"What is to stop me my friend? After all, I have the Norse-slayer at my mercy right now. Kill you and I wager Dalriada would be ripe for the plucking!"

"I might not be so easy to kill my Lord." Said Scott.

As he spoke he quickly dipped his hand into his bag, bringing one of his little jar grenades out. He lit it, tossing it calmly towards the nearest again tent. The grenade exploded, completely destroying the tent and whatever had been inside it.

Scott turned to look at the faces of Sigurd and his chiefs taking in their stunned expressions.

"And as for 'ripe for the plucking', I think you need to consider your options a little more carefully."

As Scott said this he looked out across the harbour, his Viking hosts following his gaze.

Scott's grenade had been one of the signals he had discussed with the captain of his ship. All of them in the tent now watched as two hatches on each side of the Scots ship swung inwards and the muzzles of what were four smallish cannon were run out. Virtually together the cannon fired and the timbers of a number of longships on each side of the Scots vessel were shattered by the balls and grapeshot.

Scott turned to face Sigurd once more.

"So my friend, how say you? Should we strike a trade agreement?



-------

Chapter 9: Share and share alike - Summer 886 AD


Scott's demonstrations had clearly affected Sigurd and his men. They looked around themselves, stunned by the noise, fire, smoke and destruction of his grenade and the cannon. Some men had dived to the ground and covered their heads; others had jumped up and now stared at the Bay and Scott's ship.

Sigurd was no less affected. The Viking was almost like a deflated balloon, his bravado gone like the smoke from the cannon fire on the wind over Kirkwall harbour.

"So Sigurd, can I take it that a trade agreement is the way forward?"

"You are a dangerous man mac Fergus. What magic is this that you seem to be able to conjure from the air? We have heard stories of how you used fire to defeat longships in the past and Erica tried to describe the way you defeated my men in the snow, but I would not have believed it if I hadn't just witnessed it with my own eyes."

Scott was pleased at how well his cannon had performed on their first outing. He had had them cast when he had visited Oban some weeks before but found he had to change the mix of gunpowder, enriching the saltpetre content, to make the firing of balls effective. The impact on the Norse was all that he had hoped.

"Some might call me dangerous my friend, others, those who work with me, count me a valuable ally. Where would you want to count yourself Sigurd?"

"I admit that the description of the resources you have in Dalriada that Erica has given me moves me to strike a bargain with you for trade, but as I have said, we have little here you would want."

"Come Sigurd, let us speak privately, for I believe there is an accommodation to be made where we can both improve things for our people."

Sigurd waved everyone else out of the tented structure, intrigued by what Scott was going to share with him next. Scott reached into his bag and brought out his map book, watching the Viking's eyes light up. For a seagoing race, nothing is more valuable than accurate maps and Sigurd could see the detail on Scott's.

"Sigurd my friend, I'm going to share with you some of my maps. There are great lands to the north and west of here, some will take many weeks of sailing to reach perhaps, but these lands are rich in natural resources. You and your kind are looking for new lands to settle, well here is an opportunity. Here are what I call Iceland and Greenland, there is enough land to found two, three, new Norways. If you were to venture further, to the Americas, then there is land beyond your imagining."

"Why would you share this with me mac Fergus?" Sigurd asked, still suspicious.

"There are resources in the Americas that I would like to get my hands on - rubber, precious metals for instance - but I have no desire to sail all that way. I have my own renegades to deal with inside Scotland and I would like to turn my energies in that direction."

Scott could see that Sigurd was already coveting the maps, his eyes glowing with the possibilities they represented.

"And you would ask nothing in return for these maps other than the prospect of future trade?"

"You may copy this one map and then we will see what you make of it, what the future holds. I ask but that you give me one hostage as a surety of your goodwill towards the Scottish mainland."

"And who would this hostage be? One of my sons?"

"No, Helfe would do. I think she has already found something that interests her deeply in Dalriada so she might not be too concerned at returning."

Scott was once more amazed at the total lack of regard for women in this time when he saw that Sigurd appeared relieved at Scott's suggestion.

"The girl? You only want to take the girl? Then I think we have reached a bargain my friend!" Said Sigurd, standing to clasp Scott's arm to seal the deal.

The copy of the map was made with alacrity; Sigurd desperate to get his hands on the knowledge it represented. Quickly thereafter Scott sought to take his leave, his two wives heavily pregnant and his desire to be close to them urging him on. In any event, he had not been comfortable in the alien environment of the Norse base, despite the calm face he showed to his hosts.

Helfe seemed to be delighted at the prospect of returning to Dalriada with Scott, indeed hugged him gratefully, although her mother showed signs of extreme jealousy that it was not her returning to the luxury of life in Inveraray.

Scott's leave taking of Sigurd was as blunt as their other exchanges.

"I will not say that it has been a pleasure meeting with you mac Fergus, but perhaps it will be to our advantage. I wish you a following wind."

"I have enjoyed your hospitality Sigurd and look forward to building trade rather then enmity in the future, so be it that none of your hordes descend on Scotland!"

There was no arm clasping between them as Scott and Helfe clambered into the small boat, followed by Scott's still nervous men. Helfe waved at her father and mother as the boat rowed across the harbour to Scott's ship, but it was telling that there was no answering wave from the shore.

The Scots didn't waste time before hoisting anchor and sailing out of the hostile harbour of Kirkwall, despite the cannon on board. There were over fifty longships in the Bay and Scott estimated there were close to six thousand Vikings at this one centre alone.

They made good time on their voyage back south and sighted Oban on the fourth day out of Kirkwall. Scott thanked the captain and crew and then rustled up some horses for himself and Helfe, continuing their journey back to Inveraray. His wives and sons were delighted to see the young girl had returned, already having developed a deep fondness for her. Eilean was delighted that she would have her assistant back too.

Gabrain joined Scott and his family so he could hear how the trip to Orkney had fared. Scott had shared his plans for using the cannon with Gabrain and his friend was now delighted at how effective they appeared to be.

"Effective when ships were stationary and in a sheltered Bay Gabrain. I fear that they will be less accurate when ships are sailing and we are in the open seas. But yes, they served their purpose well."

Helfe excitedly pitched in at this point to describe in detail Scott's negotiating technique, painting a vivid picture of the impact his grenade and cannon had made. Scott hadn't been aware Helfe had been watching, but her description showed she had.

Later that night Scott's two wives ganged up on him after their gentle lovemaking. It was clear that he had been wrong in thinking that Eilean had been unaware of Helfe's teasing of him, and they now wanted to know his motivation for returning with the girl.

"Are we to have another sister wife Scott? I am fully aware of how that little baggage has been rubbing herself against you at every opportunity these past few months!" Enquired Eilean.

"It is not like that! She is but a hostage to guarantee Sigurd's promise not to attack Scotland in future." He argued.

"Nonsense! We have seen the way your eyes follow her tight little bottom when she leaves the room my Lord! Admit it, you want the little hussy!"

Scott knew when to call it quits and he threw up his hands, conceding that he did find Helfe much to his liking.

"Good my most puissant Lord, for we have a liking for her too and two wives will never be able to satisfy the staff-beast alone."

"Well it would seem as if that is settled then. There's just the small matter of how Helfe feels about all this." Said Scott.

"Oh just you leave that to us Scott, she's already panting at the prospect of sharing you and Eilean and I will just have to turn up the heat a little more before the hussy explodes!"

Scott had seen his wives in action before and had little doubt that Helfe was now set for merciless teasing and exposure to much of the detail of his sex life as the girls sought to increase her desire for him. Not a bad prospect he thought to himself.

He spent the next few days with Gabrain working on plans for consolidating their position in the various sub-Kingdoms, leaving the girls to work on Helfe. The friends reviewed the various resources they now had at their disposal and what their next priorities should be.

"Gabrain, my agreement with Sigurd should hold good for a number of years. We have estimated that it may take as long as four or five years to rebuild Dalriada's full strength. I suggest we look to consolidate our position over the next three years or so and then look to tackle Giric and Eochaid."

"Why wait so long Scott? Dalriada may be weakened but Fife, Ayrshire and Galloway can still field many men. And with your gunpowder and cannon we could surely take these two down easily."

"Aye, you might have the rights of it Gabrain, but see you, Giric's lands border Dalriada in your north and it could be that Dalriada would suffer much before we could win out. No, I would rather we were better prepared my friend, besides, if my history is accurate, there might well be an opportunity to achieve all that we want without having more Scots blood on our hands."

Gabrain was intrigued by this, but Scott refused to elaborate. Instead he shared his plans with Gabrain for upgrading their already extensive road network by building rails on them. He explained what his purpose was, using the example of the rails he had already installed at Oban to help with the loading and unloading of trade goods. Gabrain could see that wagons on rails would greatly increase the speed of travel and when Scott suggested establishing a rail link between Dalriada and Fife he sucked in his breath at the scale of Scott's plans.

"That alone would take three years or even longer Scott."

"Aye my friend, but we will need those years to rebuild our stock of the Rouncey horses that Murdoch all but destroyed. We can also use the time to forge more artillery pieces and to exploit the oil shale I have discovered in Fife. I have plans for the oil - plastics and synthetic materials, also, if I can secure the services of an effective alchemist, I believe we can develop even more powerful explosives than gunpowder. More ships are also required, for I don't believe Sigurd will keep to our bargain forever!"

Esta was the first of the wives to go into labour and the heavily pregnant Eilean and her assistant Helfe, in their new roles as medics, were the ones who took on the responsibility of overseeing the birth. By all accounts it was a difficult birth, with Esta losing a lot of blood, but Gabrain had another son.

The young King fretted over the health of his wife and paid little heed to the new-born until a week or so after the birth when it was clear Esta was on the mend. Eilean and Helfe's treatment of Esta had undoubtedly helped her come through. Gabrain decided to call his son Cinaed (modern day Kenneth) after the great mac Alpin himself.

A few weeks later and first Eilean and then Fiona were also brought to bed and Helfe took on the responsibility of helping them give birth. Scott was once more present for the deliveries and was relieved that there were no complications. Fiona gave birth to a girl and Eilean another boy.

Scott had had his builders partition a space on the upper level of the house so that both mothers could have beds together and keep their new infants with them. He discussed names for his new children and was surprised by Fiona's request.

"Scott, I would like to name our daughter 'Tina, in memory of your other little Tina who was lost to us. You don't think that would be bad luck for the child do you?"

Scott had a tear in his eye at his memory of the other little angelic child, but also at Fiona's wish to remember her in this way.

"No my love, I don't think there could be anything bad in this, I think it's a great idea."

Eilean was also nodding her head in agreement. Scott now turned to her to agree what his latest son should be named.

"Do you have a name in mind my Lord?" The little submissive asked.

"I would like to call him Seamus (modern day James) little one, what do you think of that as a name?"

"James? Yes my Lord, I think that fits him well. James, James mac Fergus, welcome to Scotland James mac Fergus." She whispered to the baby that was suckling at her breast.

"Now my Lord. It is time for you to quit dallying with the little Viking trollop! Both Eilean and I have prepared her well, she is eager, more eager than you have a right to expect. We are near jealous of her too, as we will not be able to lie with you for weeks now, so, the baggage not only has the pleasure of tasting the staff-beast for the first time, she gets him all to herself for weeks! She will be spoiled I think by the time we are able to help her."

Scott laughed at this, but also felt his cock twitch at the prospect of bedding Helfe for the first time. He sat with his wives and new children for a few more hours however, determined to prove he wasn't overly eager to rush into the arms of the girl while still he had the love of these two.

Scott hadn't long been in his bed when he saw the outline of Helfe tip-toeing into his room. The summer nights were never completely dark and he could clearly see her push the shoulders of her linen shift and let the garment puddle at her feet. She crawled onto the bed and slid under the sheet beside him, resting her head on his shoulder and arm.

Scott had held his breath at the sight of her little naked body as it had been revealed. Small, proud breasts, high on her chest, firm, topped with small, hard nipples. A sparse covering of blond hair above her sex, her belly flat and tight, her hips swelling outwards giving her body a beautiful shape.

He turned to look down at her face, lowering his lips to kiss her properly for the first time.

"Don't be afraid Helfe my dear, we can take this as slowly as you want, only go as far as you want to go."

"No my Lord, I want this, have thought of little else for weeks now with your wives endless teasing. I feel almost as if I know the staff-beast well already such has been the detail Fiona and Eilean have been so eager to share with me. And I am not afraid, remember, I am half Viking!"

Scot could feel her little hand drift down his body, searching for his staff. Despite her bravado, when Helfe found and wrapped her hand around him he heard her gasp, but she recovered, throwing back the sheet to look at the staff-beast in all his glory.

"Your wives offered to prepare me by using their wooden staff, but I refused them, wanting the real thing for my first time. I think they are both hot to lie with me too my Lord."

Scott's breathing was growing more laboured, his anticipation rising and Helfe's words increasing his excitement.

"Let me help you get ready for this Helfe." He managed to get out.

"Oh no, my Lord, I have been prepared for weeks, feel how prepared I am."

Helfe took his hand and guided it between her legs and Scott could feel copious amounts of juice already leaking from her little slit. Helfe now moved to swing one leg over him and settled herself on his thighs, his cock straight out before her. She raised herself up and gripped him in both hands, ribbing his tip in her juices to lubricate it and then allowing her slit to slide down his length, coating his shaft also.

At last she felt he was ready and she positioned him at the entrance to her sheath, her breathing now somewhat ragged as she anticipated her own next move. She bore down on his staff and Scott could feel the resistance to his entry, her hymen obviously very strong. Helfe was not to be denied however, and he felt her lift up again and this time drive herself down onto him. She shrieked as the head of his shaft popped through her opening, perhaps an inch into her channel.

Scott raised his arms to steady her so she could rest for a second, allow herself to get used to his size and girth. Soon she raised herself once more and sought to drive more of him into her, gaining another inch or so before she had to stop again. Scott could see she was biting her lip to avoid giving voice to her pain.

"Take your time my little Viking, this is supposed to be pleasurable, not an ordeal. I will not think any less of you if it is too much."

His words obviously spurred her on, almost a challenge it seemed to her Viking heritage for she lifted herself once more and drove down even harder than she had hitherto. Scott felt his entire length force itself up inside her impossibly tight passage and saw her grimace. He pulled her down onto his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"Enough Helfe, enough my brave one. Rest for a few moments my dear."

"It is okay my Lord, already it is beginning to feel good. I can't believe how it stretches me, fills me up. Your wives were not exaggerating, the staff-beast is huge, a god amongst staffs it must be, but I think I am already getting the measure of him."

She pushed herself up once more and began to ride his staff in earnest, moaning now with what Scott could tell was indeed pleasure. She quickly set up a rapid pace, bouncing wildly up and down as she cried out her rising arousal.

"Ooohhh, soooo goood, so good, yeesssss, staff-beast, staff-beast, oooh I loovvve you, love you, yeessssssssss!"

Scott lay back in shock as the young girl basically treated him as an object to get herself off on. It was almost as if he wasn't there and she was having a conversation with his cock as if it had a life of its own. Like all his previous encounters with ninth century women, Helfe didn't last long as she cried out her orgasm and then slumped on his chest.

Scott allowed her time to recover, her breathing coming in gasps both from her exertions and from her climax. He thought he would give her a chance to sleep before suggesting they indulge in any further play, but again she surprised him.

"Mmmmmmm, that was certainly worth the wait my Lord, thank you, and I see your wives were also accurate as to how long the beast can remain hard without spurting his man-seed. Can we do it again now?"

Scott flipped her over and took the initiative, starting slowly but quickly increasing his pace as he felt Helfe thrusting her groin to meet him.

"Uh, uh, harder my Lord, harder, faster, please, faster!"

He began to piston into her as fast as he could, amazed at her ability to accommodate him so quickly and for her battered and abused little sex to withstand such a battering. It was clear she was enjoying it to the full however, as he felt her nails dig deeply into the skin on his back, tearing at him as he drove into her again and again.

!Aaaaaiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" She wailed, as another orgasm tore through her.

Scott continued to stroke into her, but slowed his pace and urgency.

"No my Lord, don't slow down, keep going, harder, please, I need to feel your seed fire into me, come for me my Lord, please, come for your little Viking!"

Scott wondered what kind of hellion he had in his bed, but he did as she asked, driving himself into her once more and keeping up the pace despite the noise she was making and the violent thrashing of her body under him. This time he could feel himself also close to his release and the pain of her sharp nails in the flesh of his back drove him to his climax, his staff bucking as he fired again and again deeply into her.

He collapsed on top of Helfe, watching abstractedly as a rivulet of his blood ran down his side and onto her breast. Helfe dipped a finger into the blood and brought it to her mouth.

"How soon before we can do it again my Lord?"

"Oh god," thought Scott, "she is a demon. The staff-beast may have met his match at last and my wives are in for a shock!"

"You were magnificent my little Viking and I'm sure I will be ready again soon."

"Mmmm, good!" She replied huskily.



-------

Chapter 10: The Sun King - 885 - 889 AD

Helfe was a revelation for Scott's wives too. He had tried to keep from them just how wild she was, but they had an inkling due to the state his back was in from her mauling. Still, that didn't prepare them for their first time with her once they could return to the marital bed after childbirth. Eilean in particular seemed to respond to the demanding young woman, her submissive nature revelling in the treatment that Helfe was wont to dish out when in the throes of passion.

The next few years were relatively peaceful ones for Scott, Gabrain, their friends and families and were used to consolidate the sub-Kingdoms they controlled. There were few issues with Vikings or with Giric and Eochaid and instead energies could be poured into development. Scott's spies informed him that Vikings were still very much descending on Scotland's northern and northeastern shores and the other sub-Kingdoms were not having such a peaceful time. Scott had guessed that Sigurd would not stop attacking these places, despite the fact that their agreement had stipulated a refrain from raids on the entire Scots mainland. For the meantime the Viking activity suited his purpose and he made no move to intervene.

Scott found some elements of development over these years frustrating. He had a source of oil but none of his specialists could do very much with it other than fractional distillation. While this provided fuel there was little else to show for Scott's demands. He had expected the development of nylon and plastics. He had hoped for better explosives such as TNT, but he was beginning to realise more than ever that it wasn't so easy to bypass centuries of hard work, experimentation and precision engineering and science.

Despite the books and tools he had brought back, no real advances were being made in engineering. He had hoped the tools would help in making bigger, heavier tools, but of course these needed an effective power source and he had yet to develop electricity or even find out how to fully harness steam. Scott did experiment with hydropower and the same technology he had used for his mill but without any significant success.

Progress there was, horse breeding was very successful, field artillery was cast, rails were laid across the country to speed up travel between the various settlements and lordships. Scott was disappointed his craftsmen had not yet managed to manufacture a steam engine, as he would have liked to see wagons pulled by one on his new rail network. For the moment he had to make do with horse dawn carriages on the rails, but this still made for much faster travel than had previously been achieved.

Scott had even managed to create the first ever firework display in Scotland for the St Andrew's day celebration. He had found that mixing traces of various metal salts helped produce a range of colours - green from nickel, blue from copper - and the children in particular were enthralled with the pyrotechnics.

Potato growing had been spread around the various areas, as had the production of things like tomatoes, strawberries and beans, helped by greenhouses. His first attempts at growing citrus fruits had been disappointing in the greenhouses that had been established at St Andrews, but a second attempt in alternative greenhouses in the more temperate climate of Galloway had produced the first fruits. Oranges had been a revelation for the people and quickly became a prized favourite.

The populace grew too, the rich diet and Scott's early introduction of basic hygiene measures, increasing life expectancy and decreased infant mortality. Eilean and Helfe were also sharing their growing expertise in medicine, homeopathic cures contributing much and the eventual ability to create penicillin a major breakthrough in treating even the most basic of issues such as infected wounds. But by far the biggest influence on the population growth was the fact that Scott's polygamous relationship was setting an example and more and more men were taking additional wives.

Gabrain had been one of the first to follow Scott's lead, advising his friend that he had taken a second wife, Mhairi, with the blessing of Esta. Scott was amazed at how common it was now becoming with most men now seemingly having at least two women. The savagery of the times and the constant warring and battling did have a tendency to leave an imbalance between the numbers of men and women, Scott's 'solution' seemed straightforward and sensible to everyone. As a consequence of more women now having a relationship, childbirth in the sub-Kingdoms controlled by Scott and Gabrain rose significantly.

Education was thriving and Scott hoped that the natural progression from better-educated children would be adults who would be able to take forward greater strides in the development of technology. He knew that would take generations though.

Scott and his friend Gabrain had also worked together to establish a set of rules by which the burghs could work. They increased the amount of local decision making, identifying a better mix of skill-types to be represented on each burgh - including leaders, teachers, craftsmen, monks and farmers. They called their form of government Feudal and Federal - FF for short. Written into the rules was that there should be no tax raising powers to pay for local government - all service and support had to be provided on a voluntary basis. Where resources were required for a major scheme - such as building an additional mill or increasing the number of houses connected to sewerage - the burghs approached their lord. If a Lord wasn't performing well in generating wealth or improving the lives of the people he was responsible for, the burghs could appeal to the appropriate sub-King to take action - ultimately to consider replacing the lord.

Scott knew that he needed to prepare himself for the possibility that Sigurd would break his agreement and come raiding further south into his own lands. It would have been naïve to believe that the lure of the riches and growing resources in Fife, Dalriada, Ayrshire and Galloway would not eventually get to the Norseman. As well as building up his forces for an assault on Giric and Eochaid therefor, Scott also added to his defences. One breakthrough his craftsmen had come up with was a form of cement that was resistant to water. He had used this to build a series of underwater concrete 'ribs' with spikes set into them. These ribs were designed to overlap and establish a twisting passageway into each of his harbours; knowledge of the precise turns required essential to be able to navigate them.

Coastal defences were augmented with cannon and the design of the walls changed to provide the most effective field of fire for the artillery pieces. The cannon themselves were test-fired to gauge their range and accuracy.

Scott shared the secret of gunpowder production with a few of his most trusted friends - Gabrain, Lachlan and Colmgil. They all knew the importance of keeping its production secret and willingly took on the role of making it themselves to maintain that, despite their lofty positions.

Scott had his craftsmen manufacture some basic firearms too, muskets, as he found he couldn't master the secret of making bullet cartridges effectively so he couldn't develop more sophisticated guns. Crossbows proved to be more effective than the muskets in terms of rate of fire and he maintained these as the weapon of choice for his men meantime.

Time was spent equally between Dalriada, Fife and Ayrshire to make sure all were being well governed and the people got to see their King and young David too. Scott used the period of relative peace to encroach further and further into Strathearn and he now controlled perhaps two-thirds of that sub-Kingdom. Gabrain had also been harrying Giric's sub-Kingdom of Atholl, allowing his men to raid over into Giric's lands to steal beasts in particular. The Ayrshire men were encouraged to do likewise with Eochaid's Strathclyde.

While there was relatively little bloodshed over these years, Giric and Eochaid were obviously well aware of Scott and Gabrain's increasing resources and strength and that they were behind the incursions into their territory. In an effort to put an end to the harassment, Giric as High King agreed to a request from Scott to call a council of all the Ri in the summer of 889 AD. Scott sent a messenger to suggest the meeting should be held in mid June, before the harvest time. Giric agreed and the meeting was set for June at Scone.

Before setting out for the council, Scott and Gabrain discussed the possible allegiances of the remaining Ri.

Eochaid would undoubtedly support Giric, while the two friends would of course support each other. That meant two votes against two. They knew that the two boy sub-Kings, Constantine and Donald, were now old enough to have fully taken up their positions and could probably be counted on to vote the same way as their erstwhile guardian, Domnaill. While Domnaill had backed Gabrain at the previous council meeting, the two friends had no idea whether they could count on his support this time.

"I don't know why we are bothering with this of a council Scott," Gabrain said one day, "we are more than strong enough to remove these two by main force and put you on the throne where you belong my friend."

"That may be Gabrain, but I don't want my assumption of the High Kingship to be marked by bloodshed and acts of violence against my fellow Scots. Surely my whole reign would be tainted by such a solution."

"But how else are you going to become High King Scott? Giric and Eochaid will not simply stand down. The Ri will not vote to remove them, that has never happened, no matter how bad the High King is."

"I mentioned before Gabrain that I have some notion of how to achieve what we want, and I believe I do have a plan that will work."

The friends set out for Scone two days before the council was due. For protection they took six hundred cavalry, all mounted on the large Rouncey horses. As well as affording protection from attack, the six hundred were representative of each of the great lands they controlled - one hundred and fifty each from Dalriada, Fife, Ayrshire and Galloway. The message was clear, between them these two could muster a huge and well equipped army to deal with any difficulties they faced.

When they passed through Perth and arrived at Scone they found that a small house had been allocated to them. Scott and Gabrain took one look at the near hovel and decided they would do well enough camping with their men. Both took the standard of accommodation as an intentional slight by Giric, which didn't augur well for the council and how it might be conducted. So be it they thought.

The meeting was conducted in Scones priory, all of the Ri and Giric and Eochaid as joint Ard Ri /I} sitting around a large circular oak table. The room had a number of vaulted windows - glassless - and these allowed a cooling breeze to sweep through it, offsetting the warm sunshine.

Giric tried to set the tone by holding his hand out in the traditional position for the oath of fealty as each of the Ri entered the room. Scott and Gabrain watched as Domnaill, Constantine and Donald all stooped to take the hand between their own and mumble some words over it.

This was the first time they had actually been in the presence of the two boy sub-Kings and the fact that they and Domnaill had made obeisance in the way they had probably wasn't a good sign. Constantine was slim, almost girlish looking, with lank brown hair and bony shoulders. One of his eyes had a turn in it and this gave him a permanently shifty look. Donald looked more the part of sub-King and, by birth anyway, the next in line to be Ard Ri. Although only sixteen or so years old, he already had a broad set to him, with coal black hair, thick, glowering black eyebrows and dark eyes.

Scott and Gabrain brushed past Giric and took seats at the table, ignoring the outstretched hand. Giric was thrown for a second but eventually shrugged and turned to take his own position. Eochaid had already been seated when they arrived. Giric looked slowly at the faces round the table, the collective leadership of all Scotland. It was clear that he rather than Eochaid was going to be taking the lead in this council.

"We are here to discuss matters of great significance for Alba. As High King I have a right to expect the support of all of you round this table. Some of us, but by no means all, suffer badly at the hands of the cursed Norsemen and I would like to be done with them once and for all. I have called you together to propose a combined assault on Orkney to defeat the Vikings and put an end to their murder, their rape, their pillaging!"

Giric's opening took Scott and Gabrain by surprise and had Scott thinking furiously. They had both expected the council to be an opportunity for Giric and Eochaid to complain about how they were allowing the harrying of their lands. By putting forward the suggestion he had, Giric had achieved a number of things. Apart from surprising them, he had implicitly emphasised that it was only Scott and Gabrain who were not being assailed by the Norse, thereby hoping to set Domnaill and the two boy Kings against them. He was also challenging them to show their loyalty to the crown of all Scotland.

"You clever, sneaky, bastard!" Thought Scott.

Scott could see by the look on his face that the quick-witted Gabrain had also realised what a good opening Giric had made. He desperately thought of a way of stalling for time so he and his friend could discuss this and agree how to proceed.

"And perhaps you will share with us the detail of how this assault on Orkney might be achieved Giric?" He asked.

Perhaps Giric had been expecting a different reaction from Scott, an outright refusal to take part in any such campaign, because his face lost some of its smug satisfaction and he hummed and hawed for a few moments.

"I would think a resounding defeat of one or two of their raids on the northeast coast followed by a descent by ship of our fullest force mac Fergus!" He at last got out.

"How many men my Lord, how many ships? What numbers will those round the table be committing?"

Scott could see Giric trying to think quickly, think on his feet. This confirmed for him that the invasion of Orkney was indeed merely a device.

"That is what this council has been called to decide mac Fergus! For myself I would commit three thousand men and Eochaid a further three and a half thousand."

Giric looked at Domnaill.

"I could perhaps raise two thousand your Grace, my lands in Buchan have suffered much in the past few years."

"Fortrenn has been hit the hardest, but I can match Domnaill's two thousand." Said the shifty Constantine.

"I am not so well favoured in Angus, but can commit one thousand five hundred." Added Donald.

Giric looked towards Scott, his face once more smug at this list of men he could call on.

"Sigurd the Mighty has more than twenty thousand Norsemen in Orkney, think you that your twelve thousand will be able to defeat them?"

"But your own levies man, your men mac Fergus, and those of Dalriada! How many will you commit?"

"I could field thirteen thousand from Fife and my son's Ayrshire." Scott paused to allow the fact that he could field more than the others combined sink in.

"But unfortunately I cannot as I have an agreement with Sigurd."

This statement threw the room into uproar.

"I knew it! He admits it! You have all heard the words from his own mouth, treason!" Screeched Giric, leaping to his feet and thumping the tabletop.

"Be careful with your words Sirrah!" responded Scott, "where is there treason in this? I negotiated a treaty with Sigurd to stop him from attacking my lands. By the sounds of things you would have been well advised to do likewise. I need none the likes of you to impugn my commitment to Scotland!"

"You are in league with the Norse mac Fergus, have just admitted as much, your men attacking my own Atholl and Eochaid's Strathclyde. Do you deny it?"

"You rant Giric, rave, of course I deny it. I have just told you, my agreement with Sigurd is for trade and to stop him from attacking my lands. I do nothing to support him. The continued attacks you and these others are suffering are brought about by your weakness, your lack of strategy or tactics. You are not fit to be High King of this proud country!"

Giric's face grew almost purple with rage and his hand dropped to whip out his dirk. Domnaill and Eochaid rushed to hold him in check and stop any attack.

"Aye, there's the manner of man you are Giric, ever that has been your way! Murder was how you came to be High King in the first place, wasn't it? All know you murdered Aed."

"SILENCE!" Giric roared, "none shall speak to me so! Sweet Jesu, you shall pay for this mac Fergus, mark my words."

"Hah, empty words man, hot air. Only through treachery could you achieve such a thing, not by your ability to fight that's for sure. You are weak. Weak man! Why not do Scotland and these Ri a service by stepping down and letting someone with ability rule the Kingdom?"

Giric all but choked at this suggestion, his face once more turning puce as his anger erupted. Scott glanced out of one of the windows.

"I am the High King, your High King..."

Scott cut across Giric before he could say more.

"High King? High King? More like High fool! Listen to yourself man. Win a few battles in the northeast when you've managed none in three years. Take on Sigurd's twenty thousand Norse with twelve thousand of your own. And how were you intending to get these men to Orkney fool? How many ships do you have? None! This whole scheme is a ploy, a ruse. You have no more intention of sailing to Orkney than you have of helping your own people in Atholl feed themselves! Step down fool!"

"This is treason, I am your High King, you cannot speak to me so!"

"Let me remind you that I have taken no oath of fealty to you Giric, I do not recognise you as my High King!" Scott said, as he glanced out of the window once more. A slight smile touched his lips as he faced Giric once more.

"I would rather live in a Scotland without the grace of sunshine on its beautiful glens and lochs than have you as my High King!"

Giric spluttered once more and Scott smiled.

"Sweet Jesu! God protect us!" Screamed Eochaid, as he pointed out of the window.

Everyone now turned likewise and Domnaill, Constantine and Donald Gasped and fell to the floor.

"Saints preserve us!" They squealed.

Giric's face grew deathly pale as he watched a black shadow creep across the sun, almost as if it was eating the great ball of light.

"Stop it mac Fergus, stop it! Sweet Jesu, not the sun! Aaaahhhhhhhh!"

Giric now dropped to the floor too, moaning in terror. Scott and Gabrain were now the only two left at the table. Gabrain's face looked strained but he was not the absolute wreck that the others were. Scott was completely calm, watching the solar eclipse with fascination.

As more and more of sun was blocked out, Giric and the Ri on the floor became almost catatonic with terror and horror.

"Make it stop!" Please!"

"Why should I Giric?"

"I will stand down, I promise, I will stand down."

Virtually all of the sun was now covered and the room was growing quite dark. The noise of the men whimpering could be heard in the room and outside the window others were also screaming in terror.

"You will leave Scotland Giric, leave Scotland for good!" Scott said as he watched the eclipse, judging his moment to pretend he was acceding to Giric's pleas.

"Yes, anything, anything! Restore the sun!"

"Very well, but I want you gone within the week."

As Scott spoke, the shadow began to pass from in front of the sun and light returned. After a few minutes the sun was back to normal and it was as if nothing had happened.

"What evil is this mac Fergus? What trickery have you employed now? No one could destroy the sun." Giric whispered, breathlessly.

"Of course not Giric, no man could. Only God himself or St Columba and St Andrew could perform such a miracle. But they have done so and it is surely an omen, a sign that what I say is true. You are not fit to be High King of Scotland. God and his saints have spoken!"

Giric could see Domnaill, Constantine and Donald all nodding their agreement at this now, though still shocked and shaky, it was clear they were connecting the eclipse to Giric's leadership as Scott was suggesting.

"I propose Scott mac Fergus as Ard Ri of Scotland." Gabrain spoke for the first time, holding his hand up.

Slightly hesitantly, Domnaill and the two boy Kings raised their hands too.

Scott smiled. He had noted the fact that Giric and Eochaid's reign had come to an end with an eclipse in 889 AD when he had been searching online for evidence of his first visit to ninth century Scotland. He had kept that information up his sleeve until he could use it for his own ends. He had at last shared the nature of an eclipse with Gabrain on their ride north, which was why the young man had not been as horrified as the others. Now, without a single drop of blood spilled, Scott had taken the High Kingship from Giric and Eochaid. He would be known as Scott I.



-------

Chapter 11: Revelation


Gabrain moved four thousand men from Dalriada into Giric's sub-Kingdom of Atholl as an assurance that he would leave Scotland as agreed. Lachlan moved an equal number of troops from Ayrshire into Strathclyde to oversee Eochaid's departure. Scott ordered more of his Fife levies to now take control of the remainder of the sub-Kingdom of Strathearn.

The friends between them now controlled four out of the seven original sub-Kingdoms of Scotland and in addition held Strathclyde, Ayrshire and Galloway. Acting as High King, he had elevated Lachlan to control Ayrshire, having given Strathclyde to his son David. He also awarded Strathearn to his son, Crinan and Giric's Atholl was given to Gabrain's youngest son, baby Kenneth.

Scott had decided he wished his coronation as High King to take place on beautiful little Iona. He had made arrangements with the Abbot there and the Stone of Destiny was transported for the occasion.

His first act after the council meeting in which Giric and Eochaid stepped down however, was to confirm the numbers of men Domnaill, Constantine and Donald would commit to a campaign. He then raised a combined force of eight thousand Fife and Dalriada men to add to these.

With a host of almost fourteen thousand men, Scott marched north to quell the worst of the Viking raiding there. Newly built ships from Fife beat up coast too, equipped with cannon to deal with any Viking longships they encountered. Scott also took craftsmen and resources with which to begin establishing more effective defences along the north and northeastern coastlines.

In the event Scott did not have to blood his fourteen thousand men at all. Two of his new ships encountered a fleet of twenty longships of the Moray coast and attacked. In addition to the cannon, Scott had equipped them with some new weapons he had thought of. One of the most destructive of these was a very simple torpedo. This took the form of a double tube of steel filled with gunpowder and shot, the fuse cord at the front end next to a metal spike. A gap between the tow layers of the tube provided floatation.

The torpedo was fired from the cannon after the fuse had been lit and the spike rammed home into the target ship, holding the device in place until it exploded.

Scott's two ships were like foxes amongst chickens, the cannon and torpedoes claiming eight ships before the remainder turned tail and fled. Three more ships were sunk before Scott's two ships decided to cut the chase and remain on station close to the Scottish coast.

The land force was able to largely disperse without having struck a blow.

The fact that Scott undertook action to alleviate the Norse threat to his sub-Kings, even before he had been crowned, demonstrated to the country the kind of High King he was going to be.

With security already improved, all of Scotland's chief notables gathered at Crinan to embark on ships for Iona and Scott's coronation. The ceremony was a simple one, though Scott had added some trappings of his own to enrich the occasion.

His wives had made him a stunning tabard from bright silks, depicting the blue and white Saltire of St Andrew front and back.

An ornate crown had been fashioned, as had a golden sceptre and a pair of golden spurs.

A huge sword had also been forged, the blade decorated with etching using acids and the handle and hilt highly decorated with gold, silver and semi-precious stones.

His wives all had smaller crowns made for them and dresses of white silk, decorated with seed pearls sewn into the fabric.

Given the numbers attending the coronation it was decided the ceremony itself would be held in the open air, the summer weather being kind and favouring them with bright sunshine.

An altar had been set up and a throne incorporating the Stone of Destiny was sat in front of it. A choir chanted music as the Abbot of Iona led Scott through the assembled sub-Kings and Lords. Behind them marched Gabrain carrying Scott's crown on a silk cushion, Lachlan carrying the mighty sword and David carrying the golden sceptre and spurs, also on a silk cushion.

Scott eyed the ornate black Stone of Destiny as he neared the throne, his senses buzzing, and the fine hairs on his arms and neck standing erect. He imagined he could feel power emanating from it and was more than ever convinced that it had played some part in his time travel. The Abbot gently pushed him to sit him down on the throne and at once he could feel strength flooding into his body from the stone.

To those looking on it seemed as Scott was growing in stature and authority before their very eyes. None had any doubt whatsoever that this was the rightful High King of Scotland.

Scott's wives were now led in and took their place on either side of the throne; Fiona carrying Tina and Eilean young James. Scott stood briefly to kiss each of them.

A seannachie now stepped forward and called for silence. He rehearsed Scott's predecessors as High King and ended by pronouncing that here before them was Scott mac Fergus, henceforth to be known as Scott I, Ard Ri of all Scotland.

Once the seannachie had finished speaking Gabrain stepped forward and lowered the crown onto Scott's head. Lachlan followed his friend and placed the sword in Scott's right hand. It was testament to Scott's strength, perhaps bolstered by the power he felt from the stone, that he was able to hold the sword upright one-handed. Scott's son David stepped forward and placed the golden sceptre into Scott's left hand and then knelt to fasten the gold spurs to his boots.

The Abbot now stepped forward and completed the ceremony, anointing Scott with holy oils and announcing him as chosen by god to lead the proud nation of Scotland. At last the Abbot finished his ministrations and stepped back, bowing to Scott as he did so.

"God save the King! Alba gu Brath!" Shouted Gabrain and immediately the entire assembly joined in to echo his words.

Scott let the clamour continue for some minutes before beckoning Lachlan and David forward to relieve him of the sword and the sceptre. These were now placed on the altar behind Scott's throne. Scott stood and called for quiet.

"My friends you do me great honour.

"I am now Scott I, High King of Scots, and I fully recognise the responsibility I now carry.

"Before you all I swear an oath that I will seek to succour every man, woman and child in the Kingdom.

"I will not shrink from my duty to ensure all are protected.

"But I promise you more than that. I promise to bring greater prosperity for all too.

"I promise better food, better housing, a better standard of life.

"I promise education and better health for our nation.

"And I promise strength. Strength to defeat our enemies, strength to support and defend our friends and allies.

"I love this country dearly. I'm proud to be a Scot and would give me life's blood to protect and advance our cause. But I know you all feel the same and I promise to recognise that by putting in place government that gives all of you a say in how things will be, a right to be involved in decisions that affect you, a greater personal stake in our country.

"Today I announce that there shall be three new and large additions to our country - Strathclyde, Ayrshire and Galloway. Together these will almost double Scotland's size and already they produce enough food and other resources to feed the entire country.

"As part of merging these into our country I will change the style of their Lords from that of sub-King to Earl.

"Step forward Gabrain. As Gabrain stepped forward a man marched in from the right carry a golden belt and handed it to Scott.

"I name you Gabrain, first Earl of Dalriada. Scott fastened the golden belt around his friend and clasped his arm.

"Step forward Domnaill. Another golden belt was produced.

"I name you Domnaill, first Earl of Buchan and Mar.

Scott repeated this process, investing Constantine as first Earl of Fortrenn, Donald as first Earl of Angus and the Mearns, David as first Earl of Strathclyde, Crinan as first Earl of Strathearn, Lachlan as first Earl of Ayrshire, young Scott as first Earl of Galloway and finally baby Kenneth as first Earl of Atholl.

Of course the golden belts were too big for the boys and the baby, but Scott ceremonially held them round each before handing them to the recipient or the one holding them.

"I have other announcements to make before taking the oaths of fealty.

"I establish an office of Chamberlain of Scotland and appoint to that office Gabrain, Earl of Dalriada. Henceforth he will be my chief advisor on all matters of state and government. Scott now took the sceptre and placed it in Gabrain's hands.

"I establish an office of High Constable of Scotland and appoint to that office Lachlan, first Earl of Ayrshire. Henceforth he shall be my chief advisor on all matters of infantry and security. Scott took the mighty sword from the altar and placed it in Lachlan's hands.

"I establish an office of Admiral of Scotland and appoint David, first Earl of Strathclyde in that office. Henceforth he shall be my chief advisor on all matters pertaining to the defence of Scotland's seas.

"I establish an office of Marischal of Scotland and appoint to that post Colmgil, Lord of Cowall and Bute. Henceforth he shall be my chief advisor on all matters to do with mounted troops in Scotland. He bent to take off the golden spurs and handed them to Colmgil.

Finished with his speech and announcements at last, Scott could see the crowd were already beginning to wonder at these significant changes and what they would mean for Scotland. He returned and sat on the throne, once more feeling the presence of the Stone of Destiny below him.

The crowd now formed a line and paced forward to take their oath of fealty to Scott I, High King of Scots. The seannachie announced each one as they stepped forward, starting with Gabrain.

The numbers of Earls and Lords meant that Scott had to sit taking oaths for more than an hour, but he kept his concentration and focus throughout, determined to show every man that he set great store by their oath.

After the oath taking a huge feast had been prepared. Scott had spared no expense and the access he had to such a wide range of produce meant that many were able to taste new dishes and foods for the first time. Wine, ale and uisge beatha flowed in ample measure and pipers and harpists gave musical accompaniment to dancing and mummery.

Scott, his wives and family shared a long table with his newly belted Earls. He looked around the table, noting happy faces for the most part and hoped the feeling of unity was a sign of things to come for Scotland under his rule. He did hear some grumbling from Domnaill that he wasn't sure this new station of Earl should have been introduced in favour of the ancient sub-King, but he accepted something had to be done with the addition of the three new parts of the Kingdom.

The feast went on for many hours and Scott could see that drink was getting the better of some of his men. He decided it would be a good time for him to make himself scarce so that all could enjoy themselves without any concern of offending the High King. He signalled to his wives and they left the feast quietly together.

The weeks and months following Scott's coronation proved he was determined to live up to the promises he had made on Iona. He embarked on a tour of all the Earldoms and helped set up burghs throughout the Kingdom.

Plans were agreed for finishing the various defences that were required, with the logistics worked out as to what raw materials were required and where they would come from.

He decreed that all parts of the country should adopt his cleaner living methods, with each burgh charged with a responsibility for community health. The importance of using soap, brushing teeth, boiling water and sterilising milk were underlined. Eilean an Helfe shared their knowledge of medicines.

Plans for connecting all settlements to sewage systems were drawn up, drainage and land improvements were taken forward and Scott shared seeds for much of the new produce so that these could be more widely available in future years.

There was of course a dire shortage of trained craftsmen and teachers and this hampered Scott's plans somewhat. He ordered a rapid and widespread expansion of the apprenticeship schemes and also more teacher training so that these could be established in each settlement as soon as possible.

A council of the Earls also discussed and prioritised the extension of Scott's rail network to link other parts of the country too.

There was some discussion about the potential for a Norse threat but all agreed the introduction of the improved defences, including addition cannon now around the coastline, had significantly reduced their exposure.

Some grumbling was heard about the public health improvements but the biggest issue came from Domnaill, Constantine and Donald. These three were not happy about what they saw as a lessening of their power through the introduction of the burghs. Scott argued that the increased stake the people now had in running local affairs was already leading to improvements in the productivity of every camp. The Earls were already aware of the vast improvement in the production capability of their lands and of the security they now felt. When Scott shared information on increased birth rates and decreased child mortality in Dalriada and elsewhere the new Earls accepted the benefits of the burghs outweighed the negatives.

By the time winter was setting in great strides had already been made. Scott used his ships to ferry some of the food harvested in Fife, Ayrshire, Galloway and Dalriada to those earldoms that had not started the improved production as yet. Cold stores and grain silos had been established throughout the country and these were now being stocked so that all would have plenty over the long winter.

Even the new Earls recognised the benefits Scott was already bringing to the land and the burghs, being the ones in control of the food locally, could in many cases not believe the riches that were being shipped to them without cost.

Scott was satisfied that his leadership and ideas were taking hold and that he had already improved things for many thousands of Scots. One weakness overall was that a number of the earldoms were held by children and in Kenneth's case a baby, but the introduction of the burghs somewhat offset that, as it established more robust arrangements locally.

Scott had been having a recurring dream that centred around the Stone of Destiny. He was sure the dream was significant but he couldn't quite grasp what it was trying to tell him. As had done in the past, he decided to sleep with this problem in his mind, hoping that when he awoke the next morning his subconscious would have been working on it while he slept.

He awoke in the early hours of the morning with a revelation in his head. He understood now what was going on. His primary reason for being thrown back in time was for his leadership qualities. Taking over as High King and ensuring his improvements - education, government etc - were established throughout Scotland was why he was here.

He understood now that his frustrations over the slow pace of other developments were because they were not really his areas of expertise. He was a business management graduate and he had been largely re-structuring the country. If he wanted other improvements he would need to consider what he would do if he was really running a business - he would need to hire specialists. He decided this was something he needed to speak to Gabrain about and with that thought he drifted back off to sleep.

The next day he hunted down his friend and shared his revelation with him. Gabrain was sceptical at first but as Scott explained his reasoning he agreed that Scott might be right.

"So, my friend, rather than rely on these alchemists to try and make something with my oil, hope the craftsmen will be able to make the leap to more precise engineering, expect our people to manage to replicate the developments of hundreds of years, I think the answer is to find people who already know how to do these things. We need to find people who are already experts."

"But Scott, where are we to find such experts?"

"I think I need to go back to my own time and find them there Gabrain. I need to find teachers, doctors, engineers, scientists and bring them back with me!"

Gabrain looked concerned at this proposal.

"But the last time you did this you were gone for six years. You have only just taken on the High Kingship, surely you don't intend to disappear for six more?"

"We have all the building blocks in place for stability Gabrain. Our weapons and improved defences will hold for some time now. The next few years will only be about building the rail network and expanding your apprentices in the main. Without specialists we will not be making any other great strides. I believe it is worth the risk."

"What about all the promises you made to the people in Iona?"

"I believe I have already set the processes in train that will deliver most of what I promised, only time now is required, not my presence. See you Gabrain, one of the things I promised was greater prosperity and I believe I need these specialists in order to deliver that."

"How do your wives feel about you going for six years again Scott? How do your children feel about losing their father again?"

Scott admitted that he had not broached the subject with his wives and family as yet.

"What happens if Sigurd decides to break his agreement while you are gone?"

"Gabrain, we now have Chamberlain, a High Constable and a Marischal all the officers of state that are required to ensure the country is well run and the right decisions taken. I don't doubt that Sigurd and his greed will be tempted to attack, but our numbers and better weaponry would defeat him easily. I do not fear that my friend. I admit I fear more how my wives will react to the suggestion!"

Scott made up his mind he would attempt to return to 2008 AD on the coming St Andrew's Day holiday.



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Chapter 12: 2008 AD


As Scott had expected, the outcry from his family when he raised the prospect of him returning to his own time was overwhelming. Perhaps surprisingly, it was the normally submissive Eilean who was the most vocal, refusing to accept being parted from Scott under any circumstances.

"It will not do, I will not accept it my Lord. I lost you for six years once before and I will not have it so again. I would be an old maid by the time you came back to me, our children fully grown almost."

"Eilean is right my Lord, we cannot accept this." Added both Fiona and Helfe.

Scott tried to win them over by explaining the importance for Scotland's development of being able to secure the specialists he needed, but it was to no avail. He continued his arguments in the weeks running up to St Andrew's Day but if anything his family's resolve grew stronger.

He discussed the situation with Gabrain once more, explaining his difficulties. He also sent a carrier pigeon to Lachlan, asking him to come to Inveraray, despite the fact that the snows were almost upon them. When Lachlan arrived he shared with his two friends his plan to simply go forward in time regardless of his family's concerns and resistance.

"Gabrain, you will need to support them for me when I am gone. Their outcry will be loud, but I think their love for me will win out in the end and they will come to accept that this is something I need to do."

"I can't help thinking that I've got the poor end of this bargain Scott."

"Lachlan, I am relying on you my friend to support my sons in managing their earldoms, also to see to their proper training. I mean education as well as training in the art of war Lachlan."

"As you wish Scott, but I find it within myself to question your going, even as your family questions it. It will be hard, sore, on those you are leaving behind my friend."

"Think you it will not be hard for me to be parted from you all?" Responded Scott.

He dropped the subject of time travel with his family after that, focussing on trying to come up with a plan for how he was going to convince highly educated and successful professional people to travel back in time with him to ninth century Scotland. He realised that that was going to be no easy task. How would he convince anyone that his story was true? Why would anyone want to travel back in time out of choice? How would he even identify the people he needed?

Scott spent some time simply writing notes on the exact specialists he would need. What were the priorities? He decided that he needed to have a number of streams of development in mind. Nothing would progress unless he had access to power, but power would be reliant on heavy plant such as generators or turbines. The production of machinery would require steel and other metals so perhaps his first priority needed to be mining and the construction of a steel mill?

Would the benefits of mining and metal production only be realised through having someone who understood the chemistry involved and would that mean scientists were the first order of business?

He began to map out a plan for a series of developments, from memory almost recreating the order of developments through the industrial revolution, but cutting out hundreds of years of gradual evolution. Instead of a Ford model T he would be aiming at the latest all terrain vehicles with modern engines. Instead of basic stamp mills he would be looking at state of the art steel production.

He needed electronics and computer specialists he now realised if he wanted to be able to leapfrog so many years of development. Scott began to consider whether it would be possible to identify specialists who covered a number of different fields so that he would be getting the most out of each individual.

The list of the kind of skills and people he thought he would need continued to grow and he was becoming quite depressed by the scale of it all. He had identified over thirty core skills ranging across science, computing, engineering, electronics, medicine, teaching, manufacturing, food processing, and construction amongst others.

The need for labour, a significant amount of labour over an above what he currently had access to, was also very much on his mind. Scott tried to address this in a further discussion with Gabrain and Lachlan.

"My friends, if we are to make the most of the specialists I hope to bring then we will need a workforce to dedicate to the projects that will inevitably follow. We will need infrastructure, the construction of large buildings, miners and the like. There are things that you could both do to help secure additional labour while I am gone."

"How many additional people are you suggesting we need Scott?" Asked Gabrain, focussing on the issues as always.

"Many thousands Gabrain. Even with the modern methods that we should be able to develop, the time to build a road, or build a manufacturing plant, or a power plant will still depend on having the available workforce."

"You obviously have a plan in mind Scott. Why don't you share it with us?" Suggested Lachlan.

"Aye my friend. Here is what I suggest, it might be risky, but worth the gamble I think."

Scott went on to describe how Lachlan should seek to mount a number of raids into England. He should look to capture bands of Saxons from across the whole of the north of England and bring them back to Scotland. These captives should be exposed to the way of life in Scotland with all its improvements - weapons, health, education, food etc - in the hope that they would be impressed by it all. While they were being held it could be suggested to them that Scotland needed many men to help build up the rail network and the sewage works it was committed to and that any who volunteered to work on these would rightly share in the other benefits of Scottish society.

The captives should then be released to return to their settlements so they could share all that they had found with their families, friends and lords. Scott hoped this would lead to a natural migration of people from the north of England into Scotland in the hope of bettering themselves. The risk was that it merely encouraged the Saxons to try and gain access to all of this by force of arms, but Scott hoped the exposure to the capability of their weapons would discourage that.

In the period he was away Scott estimated that Gabrain and Lachlan could complete much of the work they had already started if they had this additional labour. By the time he returned much of the required infrastructure could already be in place.

One other idea came to Scott's mind and he shared this with his friends too.

"See you, when the concrete pipes are being laid for sewage, I suggest a set of pipes be attempted. A number of additional pipes would provide the natural channel for water and the conduit for the cables that modern living requires. It would make sense to have these laid at the same time as the sewage pipes."

The friends discussed their plans and how many men would be needed to complete Scott's ambitious scheme while he was away. Gabrain and Lachlan still voiced their concerns that there would be trouble with Sigurd and the Vikings and Scott could see that he would need to do something about that, even if only to calm their concerns.

Despite the fact that winter was upon them Scott knew he had two more weeks before St Andrew's Day and he decided a show of strength in Orkney might be a very worthwhile manoeuvre before he time-jumped. Messages were sent out to marshal forces for a limited assault on Kirkwall itself, a punitive raid to remind Sigurd of his agreement not to attack the Scottish mainland.

The force was made up of six of Scott's larger and heavier ships, four from Dalriada and two from Fife. These ships were similar in size and design to the Carracks that would be built in the fifteenth century. They had three masts, a fore-mast, main-mast and mizzen-mast. The fore and main-masts carried square-rigged sails and were in three sections - the mast-lower, top-mast and top-gallant-mast. The mizzen-masts were also in three sections but carried lateen-rigged sails. Raised platforms at the bow and stern completed the design.

These were well armed now; additional cannon having been installed on them so that there were thirty to each side. Scott had also had falconets fitted at the bow and stern. Scott's torpedoes were also loaded up in the hope that they could be used against the Norse longships. The firepower was so overwhelming that Scott knew they couldn't fail.

His plan was for a lightning raid, four ships to sail into the harbour at Kirkwall to destroy as many Norse ships as possible while two covered their rear and dealt with any ships that tried to escape from the harbour.

The passage was not for the faint hearted, heavy seas and high winds as they navigated up the Hebridean Sea and round the very tip of Scotland. Once out of the relative shelter of the mainland the seas were even rougher, but the big ships dealt with the conditions well. Many of the men on board fared less well, the swells and huge waves turning many sick with the violent motion of the craft.

The winds speeded their journey however, and it took only three days before they met up with the two ships from Fife and began the difficult passage through the islands that led to Kirkwall harbour.

Now the weather and the time of year played in their favour. Sigurd and his men were caught completely by surprise and off of their guard, not expecting any would be mad enough to risk a sea assault in such conditions. When the six Scottish ships hove into sight of Kirkwall harbour therefore they did so without any alarm having been raised and met no prepared defences.

Scott stood on the forecastle of one of the ships that was guarding the approach to the harbour as four of his ships sailed in amongst the scores and scores of Viking longships. It was no difficult task for his ships to begin to blast the longships out of the water, cannon and torpedo picking out anchored ships at will. He could see the Vikings standing on the shore, many thousands of them, impotent and unable to save their precious ships.

With no signs of any assault on their rear or any chance of any Viking ship seeking to flee the harbour, Scott signalled to the other ship that had lain off and together they now sallied into the harbour. Scott ordered his captain to steer them as close to the shore as he dared and then to swing them broadside so that the ships cannon could be brought to bear on the massed ranks of the Norse.

Grapeshot was fired from thirty cannon at a relatively short distance and it caused dire ruin amongst the static Viking hordes. Scott's gunners re-loaded as quickly as they could, firing as soon as they were able. The second ship repeated his manoeuvre although its impact was less dire as the Vikings were now scurrying about in all directions to get away from the shoreline and out of range.

Scott's ship tacked into the wind and his captain brought him back the way they had come. Through the pall of smoke created by their guns, he could see many bodies lying on the shore and hear the screaming of the wounded and dying. He ordered the mainsail to be hoisted and for his flag to be raised. The Norse-slayer device was now clear for all on the land to see and the message obvious. If Sigurd had needed reminding of their agreement then Scott felt sure that this demonstration had served that purpose.

The two ships that had bombarded the shoreline now sailed back out of the harbour to rejoin the other four Scottish ships. The going was difficult now as many of the Viking ships were partially submerged or just below the surface following the pounding they had received from the guns and torpedoes. At last they managed to win free of the harbour and Scott looked back to survey the damage that they had wrought.

In little under an hour perhaps forty longships had been destroyed and countless hundreds of Vikings slain. The sheer ferocity and violence of the assault was almost breathtaking and even Scott's men were looking in awe at what their new weapons could achieve. Scott was satisfied that his friends would now feel far more confident about their ability to defend Scotland in his absence, and that had after all been what this strike had been about.

The journey back to Dalriada was just as rough but passed without incident and Scott, Gabrain and Lachlan were back at Inveraray with four days to spare before the St Andrew's Day celebration.

Scott spent a number of these days preparing fireworks for the celebration once more. He didn't find it strange that he found more satisfaction in the reaction of the children (and adults!) to his firework display than he did in winning the battle against Sigurd. The safety of his country was important to him, but so was the state of mind of the people.

The friends had shared details of when Scott planned to slip away for his intended time travel and Gabrain and Lachlan had said their farewells. These two watched with the growing belief that it was going to happen when thunderclouds appeared and lightning began to crackle in the sky. Scott avoided his wives at all cost now, knowing he wouldn't be able to school his features to keep his plan from them. He had set up his tent earlier in the day and placed the clothes and other small things he would need inside it.

As the singing, dancing and feasting continued Gabrain and Lachlan spotted Scott making his way out of the hall-house quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself. The two friends shared a resigned look, knowing that they were facing another six years without Scott. They knew that he had left much for them to do and the responsibility was already weighing heavily on them.

Lachlan let his emotion get the better of him, his love for Scott forcing him to see him one last time before his departure. He stood from the table and strode out of the hall, heading for the rear of Scott's house.

He just caught sight of Scott slipping into the tent as he turned the corner of the house and hurried to catch his friend before whatever process caused the time travel could take effect. He was perhaps half way across the patch of grass towards the tent when he was knocked off of his feet.

Lachlan shook his head to clear it and realised he couldn't see anything. His eyes were blinded and he was now able to register the fact that a massive bolt of lightning had struck the tent. It was this that had knocked him off his feet.

Scott had glanced at his friends as he slipped out of the hall, feeling a great sense of loss at the prospect of leaving them and worse, leaving his family, for such a long period.

He made his way quickly towards the house and crept round it to the rear where the tent was located. He didn't see or hear Lachlan following him and rushed to get into the tent out of the weather.

As Scott pulled back the flap of the tent and crawled in he realised that he hadn't been clever enough by half. There waiting for him inside the tent were Fiona, Eilean, Helfe and the two babies, Tina and James.

"We knew you would disregard our concerns, always you put Scotland first. So, we agreed to do the only thing that would stop us from being parted from you, we are coming with you Scott!" Said Fiona.

"But, this is madness! You cannot, you don't know what you're suggesting. Everything is different there, you will be completely out of your depth, and like to rouse suspicion."

"Hark at my Lord! Is it only such as you then who can deal with the effects of travelling in time? If you can adjust to arriving in ninth century Scotland then we believe we can do likewise to your twenty-first century. Besides, we feel the need to see many of these wonders that you have described over the years." Responded Helfe vigorously.

"What about David and Crinan?" Scott tried.

"We know you have already made your plans to have them supported my Lord. Lachlan will see to them and they will be none the worse perhaps. They are older, can deal with this." Said Eilean.

Scott tried one last attempt to dissuade them from this.

"All will be alien, frightening. Even the language spoken will be foreign to you."

"You forget my Lord that you have taught us your English and we all believe we will do well enough."

Scott's shoulders slumped as he realised he was not going to win this argument. His family smiled as they realised he was capitulating and they were going forward in time with their High King.

Before anyone could voice another word there was a loud crack as the tent was obviously struck by lightning. Eilean screamed and clutched at Scott for support.

Lachlan pulled himself to his feet as the blinding white light began to clear from his eyes, gradually allowing his sight to return. The storm was already beginning to die down and he could see the tent still standing where it had been, no apparent damage from the direct lightning strike.

He walked a few paces forward, fearful yet very curious. He reached a point perhaps ten feet from the front of the tent when the flap moved and he jumped backwards in fright.

Lachlan's eyes grew wide as the flap opened and Scott emerged to stand before him. The two friends looked at each other in surprise for a few moments.

"What is amiss Scott? Has it not worked? I saw the lightning strike your tent. Why have you not returned to the twenty-first century?"

"What nonsense is this Lachlan? Do not cozen me man, after all these years away I am glad to see you again, but there is no excuse for you to tease me so!"

"What do you mean Scott - you have not been away five minutes never mind 'all these years'."

"Lachlan, be done with it now man. I am sorry that I couldn't complete my task in six months, needed to stay in the twenty-first century for a further six months to achieve my plans. It was never my intention to remain away from you for twelve years but I took the decision that Scotland's need was the greater."

"Scott, you ramble. Look around you. Look at the tent. You have only just entered it and now come back out. I can assure you twelve years have not passed. Do I look twelve years older to you?"

Scott now looked closely at his friend for the first time and could see that what he said about his age was in fact accurate. He looked not a day older than when Scott had last seen him.

Scott turned and looked at the tent, growing wide eyed as he took in the shape and size of his original little tent. That was not what he had stepped into when he and the many people inside had prepared themselves to come back to the ninth century. He began to believe that what Lachlan was saying was true. He had been away for a whole year, had feared he had lost twelve years in Dalriada, but it looked as if he had returned with no time having passed at all.



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Chapter 13: Girls go forward! 889 AD


After the crack of the lightning Scott was pretty sure that he, his wives and the two children had all travelled forward in time. Eilean was still gripping his arm tightly, scared by the crash of the thunder and the flash of the lightning. He tentatively pulled back the flap of the tent and couldn't decide whether he was relieved or now concerned when he saw the dim outline of caravans opposite him in the darkness of the Inveraray castle campsite.

A glance to his left showed that, amazingly, his 4x4 was exactly where he had left it six months before. He remembered that he had taken a long-term rental for the site the tent was on and presumed that the site owners didn't want to interfere with anything.

Before crawling out of the tent, Scott took his dirk and dug down into the turf immediately outside the flap. He had taken the precaution of burying some of his gold coins before travelling forward from the ninth century. He thought this would be a good way of raising funds, there was always a good market for rare old coins and gold coins from the ninth century would command a high price.

He probed and probed with the blade of his dirk and eventually felt the tip strike something hard. A brief excavation and he had the coins, the leather pouch they had been in now rotted and decayed. He knew he would need to be careful about how he proceeded with the sale of these coins as the UK government would be very interested in them and claim them as their own.

Scott now turned his attention to his wives and the two babies. Fortunately it was dark so, if the 4x4 would start, there was a chance he could get them to his flat in Glasgow without anyone seeing their ninth century dress. He crawled out of the tent, putting the gold coins in his sporran, and checked the 4x4 to make sure it had not been damaged. He retrieved the keys from the exhaust pipe where he had left them and then returned to the tent to urge Fiona, Eilean, and Helfe to come out with baby Tina and James.

His wives eyes were on stalks as they took in the dim shapes of caravans, camper-vans and, close up, Scott's 4x4. When Scott opened the doors and gestured for them to get in the 4x4 they were very hesitant.

"See you, this kind of behaviour is exactly what I was talking about. If you look at every object strangely and hesitate to do the simplest of things, you will all stand out like a beacon."

The girls scrambled into the 4x4, Helfe sitting up front with Scott and Fiona and Eilean in the back with the two babies. The next shock for the women folk was when Scott turned the key in the ignition and the 4x4 rasped to life, the engine damp and unused and therefore sounding a bit rough.

Scott could see the noise of the engine was alarming the girls and he realised this was a blessing in disguise. If he hadn't noticed their concern he would have simply put the 4x4 in gear and driven off. Now he knew he would have to explain what was going to happen before he did that to try and manage the girls' shock levels.

"Okay my loves. I have described how cars work to you in the past. There is a mechanical engine under the bonnet that drives a shaft, which in turn drives the wheels the car is sitting on. I don't want you to be afraid when we suddenly start to move as if someone is pushing us down a hill on a sled, okay?"

The wives all nodded and Scott thought it was safe to proceed. He put the 4x4 into gear and eased up on the clutch, depressing the accelerator at just the right point to feed the engine with gas. As the 4x4 rolled forward he could hear the girls gasp despite his warning and when he turned on the 4x4's headlights there was almost immediate panic.

Scott once more realised his mistake and quickly moved to explain what the lights were and how they worked. He determined that he would need to be careful and explain many of the things the girls encountered for the first time or he was going to have a heart attack victim on his hands before long.

The explanation of the headlights and how they worked lasted until he was well past the darkened Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and the girls were now quiet as they looked out of the windows, trying to see outside to pick out anything different from their own time.

The journey along the A83 road took them through a number of small villages and the girls could see the houses, shops and pubs lit up by the streetlights. The street lights themselves were a revelation to them and Scott caught them out of the corner of his eye as they strained their necks to look upwards at these strange sources of light.

The nighttime drive through the relatively remote Scottish countryside seemed to have calmed the girls somewhat but when he reached the more built up residential areas of Alexandria and Dumbarton he could feel the tension begin to rise again. The number of houses was something the girls found it hard to take in. Scott knew these were small compared to a major city and he quickly tried to outline what the girls could expect to see when they eventually made it to Glasgow.

Scott knew there was another couple of things coming up that the girls would find it hard to cope with. The road to Glasgow had to cross the River Clyde and it did so by means of a vast bridge, the Erskine Bridge. Before the bridge came into sight Scott hurriedly tried to explain what they could expect. The girls nodded, as if to say they understood and would be fine, but when they saw how high the bridge was over the river, all lit up in the night, Scott could tell they were terrified.

Not a peep escaped the girls as he crossed the bridge and glancing to the side and in his rear view mirror, Scott could see the tension in the bodies of the girls. The tension must have transmitted itself to the babies as both awoke and begin to voice their own agitation.

Once they were over the bridge and the girls had started to breast feed the babies in an effort to quieten them, Scott knew he only had a short time to explain the next two major culture shocks. The bridge led directly onto one of Scotland's main roads, the M8 Motorway. This was a six lane highway and could sometimes be nose to tail with traffic. He knew it would be a lot quieter at this time of night but there was likely to be significant traffic nonetheless.

Scott hurriedly tried to describe what the girls were going to see and what to expect. Despite his explanation he could see them cringe as the headlights of cars going in the opposite direction sped towards them and the headlights of cars overtaking them seemed to chase their 4x4 before flashing past.

Five minutes from the Erskine Bridge along the motorway was Glasgow International Airport and Scott now had to remind the girls of his description of planes and how people boarded them to fly long distances.

As they passed the airport the girls could clearly see the huge planes as the terminal and runways were well lit. Surprisingly this phenomenon was the least upsetting to the girls, Scott surmising this was because they still couldn't really grasp what was happening here.

The M8 motorway let them rush headlong towards Glasgow and the girls could see the increasing density of housing and industrial/office accommodation as they neared the city centre. Scott had to once more explain that they would have to re-cross the River Clyde, this time via the Kingston Bridge. The bridge crossing was virtually in the heart of Glasgow with office blocks and large hotels rising above the motorway. Bright lights and neon shone out into the night sky and the girls were wide eyed and had their mouths open limply as they tried to take it all in.

At last Scott arrived at his flat and he quickly ushered the girls upstairs, forcing the door to open against the pile of mail that had once more accumulated behind it. He managed to stop himself before turning on the light in the hallway, explaining to the girls in the dark what was about to happen. When he flicked the light switch and the hall was suddenly bathed in light, the girls couldn't help but gasp once more, hugging each other now to try and draw comfort.

Scott led the way into his sitting room and once more turned on the light. He glanced at the clock on the wall above the fireplace and took in that it was only one thirty in the morning. He told the girls to make themselves comfortable and made his way to the kitchen to boil a kettle. Turning, he found that all three of the girls were hot on his heels, clearly not wanting to let him out of their sight.

When they walked into the kitchen Scott had to describe and explain all of the various gadgets that were there. The girls could just about recognise the sink and the taps, although these looked highly unusual to them as they were made from shiny chrome and stainless steel. Scott explained the washing machine and the girls immediately tried to compare it to the hand powered tubs that Scott had introduced at Dalriada. He tried to describe how modern machines didn't require all the effort the girls had to put in at home and he immediately found himself under attack.

"If this design of washing machine requires no effort why haven't you introduced it in Inveraray? Why have you left us having to turn things by hand Scott?"

Once more he tried to explain the concept of electrical power, but it was currently beyond his ability to get across.

Scott spent almost an hour explaining the microwave, dishwasher, can-opener, kettle, cooker and the fridge/freezer. The girls were amazed that Scott had a mini-version of the Inveraray cold store in his house. He tried once more to explain electricity as he boiled the kettle. He pointed out the wall socket, the plug and the flex to the kettle and left the lid off of the kettle so the girls could actually see the water boil. This simple action was still enough to leave them stunned.

He quickly made cups of tea using tea bags and a carton of long-life milk. Of course the girls wanted a full explanation of what a tea bag was and how Scott had managed to get the milk from a cow into the strange looking carton.

By now Scott was beginning to tire. Having to try and educate the girls in even the most basic of things was a chore. He decided they were a hundred times worse than any of the children - even when the children went into one of their little 'but why, Daddy?' spells. At least you could tell a child to be quiet after he or she asked its fiftieth 'why, daddy?' question. With the girls there seemed no end to it.

In an effort to try and get some peace, Scott had an idea. He ushered the girls back into the sitting room, had them sit down on the sofa and then turned on his television. All conversation immediately stopped as the girls stared at the screen. Scott picked up the remote and began to channel hop, watching the amazement on the faces of all of his wives. He settled on the natural history channel as likely to be the least alarming and relaxed back into his favourite armchair to finish his mug of tea. The girls glanced backwards and forwards between each other and the pictures on the TV.

The first few days back in the twenty-first century were filled with Scott dashing around making purchases that would help his family blend into their new environment. The TV proved to be an invaluable help in getting the girls used to what to expect and each time he returned from a shopping trip they had a list of questions to go through with him about things they had seen.

Another major point of amazement for the girls was when Scott returned from grocery shopping and they pored over the various packages and tins, interrogating him as to how this could be.

Scott had insisted that all conversations should be conducted in English to try and get the girls used to the language and again the TV was proving to be very helpful to them in this regard. His frustration was mounting however, when they had been back for two weeks and the girls had yet to venture outside. He knew this was two weeks lost in trying to take his recruitment plans forward and was determined that something would have to give.

He decided their first trip outside should be one where they wouldn't have to interact too much with other people. The name of the city, Glasgow (Glaschu in Gaelic), translates into 'dear green place' and the city has the highest amount of parkland per head of population of any European city. It wasn't surprising therefore that Scott decided a trip to the park would be the ideal first outing for the girls.

He chose a Sunday morning and had them wrap up against the cold in their new coats and hats and then they wheeled the babies into a nearby park in their new pushchairs. The path through the park wasn't wide enough for the four adults to walk side by side so Scott pushed baby James as he walked with Eilean and Fiona pushed Tina with Helfe alongside her.

It was cold but there was some weak winter sunshine and the girls were delighted to be out in the fresh air for the first time in so long. Passers-by said 'good morning' as they passed and the girls smiled and returned the pleasantries, grinning at their mastery of the language. Scott couldn't help grin himself at their almost childlike excitement with the whole thing. In the centre of the park there was a little activity area for children and Scott plucked baby James from his pushchair and let him enjoy a trip down the slide. The baby loved it and was clearly demanding another go, but Scott picked up Tina instead and let her slide down next. Tina's face was one of studied disinterest and that made Scott burst out laughing, bringing a smile to his daughter's face at last.

The family walked through the park for just under two hours and then returned to the flat to have something to eat. The girls were at last coming to terms with how to use the appliances in the flat and it was Eilean and Helfe who now made lunch.

Over the next two weeks Scott gradually increased the amount of interaction the girls had with other people and upped the stakes in terms of the situations he put them in. Why was he not surprised that they seemed to be very comfortable the first time they went shopping? The girls roamed the stores, investigating everything and Scott had to keep reminding them that they should try to remain inconspicuous.

"But Scott, we're not doing anything different to any of the other women here. See you, they all seem to be looking at everything in the store."

Scott had to admit that the girls were right. Modern women stared at everything just as much as they did. The range of clothes and other goods available for purchase was still staggering for the girls and when they accompanied Scott grocery shopping at a large Wal-Mart their eyes once more bugged out of their heads.

"Where does it all come from Scott? Surely there isn't this much food in the whole world?" Asked Fiona.

Scott tried to explain how goods were irradiated and shipped round the world on huge freight vessels but once more he seemed to have reached a limit in terms of what the girls were currently able to comprehend.

One highlight in those initial weeks was the first time Scott took his family out for a meal. He chose a family-friendly restaurant and booked a table for them all and then enjoyed himself explaining to the girls how to read the menu and order their meals. It was clear that they all enjoyed the service and the rich sauces that came with their choices and when the wine waiter opened a bottle of wine at their table it was all they could do to stop themselves from giggling.

Still Scott's frustration was growing; he had been back in the twenty-first century for a month and had hardly made a start on his recruitment, all of his time taken up acclimatising the girls to the modern way of life. His funds were also rapidly running out - the purchase of clothing and baby gear wasn't cheap.

So far all he had been able to do was some research on his computer - another source of amazement for the girls. He had joined a number of discussion forums that were dedicated to Scottish history and promoting Scotland as a country, hoping that he might meet some potential candidates on-line. So far that hadn't proved successful and Scott was starting to wonder at the number of apparently rabidly nationalistic people in the Scottish population at large.

He also used his computer to research the coins he had brought back with him. He looked on various numismatic sites but couldn't find any reference to the coins he had. What he noticed was that most of the coins on the sites were either bronze or silver, nothing in gold at all, and he realised his coins were probably extremely rare.

At last he managed to find a reference to a gold roman coin, the aureus. He entered a search for that and there were lots of hits. He examined one of his coins and made out the words 'IMPSER' and 'GALBAAVG' on the side of the coin with the head of some Roman Emperor he guessed. Putting these terms into his search engine he managed to get a number of hits for 'GALBA' and identified this as the name of the man whose head was stamped on the coin. One site had a number of catalogues containing aureus coins that had been sold and he scrolled through them.

After several minutes he hit on a coin that exactly matched those he had. The website showed that a coin like his, in mint condition, had sold for over £25,000 in 2005. Scott estimated that they could be worth perhaps as much as £30,000 - £35,000 each now.

Scott searched for any numismatic forums and came up with a few. He had to register to gain access to them and then started chatting with the people who were logged on. He took his time, mainly 'lurking', but after several night of this he entered one room and suggested he might have a number of aureus coins for sale. When he did this the number of people in the room who wanted to talk to him dried up suddenly. Scott wondered if they suspected he was a hoaxer, trying to scam them in some way.

One of the people in the room did continue to ask questions however and Scott began to hope that he might have a prospective buyer. The person's on-line name was 'Highlander' and that might also suggest he had a particular interest in the origins of Scott's coins in particular and that he might be based locally.

Scott had described the coins as having been unearthed close to the ancient Scots hill-fort at Dunadd - trying to lend some authenticity to his story - and that they were early Roman coins. More detailed questions began to arrive asking for a description of both the front and rear of the coins. Scott was of course able to provide that easily enough as the coins were sitting in front of him. He passed on the information that they were Galba aureus coins, minted around 68/69 AD and they were in perfect condition.

At last 'Highlander' suggested a meeting between them. The fact that there was no suggestion the coins should be present at the meeting re-assured Scott that the risk of agreeing to this was only a minor one.

Highlander now confirmed that he was indeed based in Scotland and the meeting was set for one of the ubiquitous 'Costa Coffee' huts, this one in Glasgow's main train station, Central Station. Scott entered the station from the Renfield Street entrance, which he knew was opposite the coffee bar. He looked over all the people sitting at the little aluminium tables, trying to identify which one might be 'Highlander'.

One man stood out. He was alone, nursing a large coffee and reading a broadsheet newspaper. The thing that caught Scott's eye was the Black Watch tartan tie he sported, probably as an ex-serviceman from that regiment. He observed the man for ten minutes or so, also scanning the remainder of the station to try and find anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied that everything looked safe, he walked across the station towards the coffee stall.

Scott purchased a medium latte and wandered over to the table the man was sitting at.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked.

"Not at all, feel free." The man replied in crisp, clearly military tones.

"I'm guessing that you are sometimes known as 'Highlander'." Scott suggested.

"Indeed, and that would most likely make you Scotland-the-Brave?"

"Yes, that's me."

The initial exchanges over 'Highlander' made no pretence at small talk, getting down to business right away. He asked for more details of where, when and how Scott had found the coins, how many coins there were and what condition they were in.

Scott had taken the risk of bringing one of the coins with him, believing this to be a genuine and minimal risk meeting. He now produced the coin and handed it over to 'Highlander' to examine.

"It's magnificent, undoubtedly genuine. How many of these do you have? Who knows you've got them?"

Scott explained that he had ten coins exactly the same, all in the same condition and that no one had any idea they were in his possession. It was clear that the 'Highlander' was very excited and Scott felt that a deal was very possible.

"I know these coins are valued at £35,000, but they could fetch much more at auction. We both know that there is no way you could take them to auction or the government would be hounding you to find out where they came from and to confiscate them. I'm willing to offer you £400,000 for all ten coins."

"How would we handle payment?" Scott asked, remaining cautious.

Highlander suggested a cash exchange for the coins and to safeguard both sides only two coins should be exchanged at a time. Scott could see this would reduce his risk too and happily agreed to that. They agreed to make the exchange for the first two coins the next week to give Highlander time to raise the cash.

Now that the details were agreed both of them relaxed and shared some small talk. Highlander was keen to find out what Scott's interest was in Dunadd, as it became clear he was an avid amateur historian, fixated on Scots history. Scott for his part was trying to find out what Highlander's background was. He looked and sounded military and he wondered if there was a potential recruit here for going back in time. It transpired that Highlander had spent twenty-five years in the army and was a retired Colonel with experience in the Falklands and the Middle East. He hinted darkly at some connections to the Special Forces too.

Scott had heard enough for the day and he shook Highlander's hand and said he would see him for the exchange the next week. The first exchange went off without a hitch and Scott walked away with £80,000 in cash in a small bag. He had spent some time researching military sites on the website and had identified Highlander easily enough as a retired colonel from the Black Watch; his name was Lt. Colonel MacKelvie. This time there was no small talk and a return was agreed for the next week.

The second exchange also went smoothly and this time Scott suggested they share a coffee. Highlander agreed and they began to chat. Highlander was impressed by Scott's detailed knowledge of ninth century Scotland and was intrigued to know how he seemed to have such a rich awareness of the way of life of that time. Scott simply responded that he was interested in Scottish history and had undertaken extensive research on the Internet. They shared a pleasant half-hour and agreed to another exchange for the following day. Scott suggested that as things had gone smoothly on the first two, he wasn't averse to exchanging the six remaining coins all at the same time. Highlander agreed that he could have the necessary cash to do that and was content to go ahead.

As he had guessed, Scott found the final exchange went off as planned and Highlander was now the proud owner of the ten Galba aureus coins. Once more they shared a coffee and Scott decided to take a chance. He felt it was unlikely he would ever see Colonel MacKelvie again and therefore there was nothing to lose.

"Instead of collecting historical artefacts from Scotland's history, what would you do if you actually had the chance to live through it?" He asked.

"Well, I suppose we all become part of history at some point." MacKelvie responded.

"No, I mean how would you like to really experience how it is to live then, say back in the ninth century?"

"Do you mean like one of those battle re-enactment society things?"

"No Colonel MacKelvie, I mean the real thing."

The colonel looked into his eyes to see whether he was either mad or joking. The use of his real name had not seemed to throw him at all.

"You're serious aren't you?"

"Absolutely."

"How, and why me?"

Scott explained his story, covering all the things he had done and the realisation that he needed to recruit specialists if he wanted to take Scotland's development on to the next level.

"So I'm sitting with the Ard Ri of Scotland right now?"

"Well the Ard Ri from 889 AD anyway, although the history books show that it should have been Donald II."

Scott tried to explain his growing certainty that there was a parallel universe as he had still been unable to find any trace of his changes and improvements having had any impact on the historical records he found when he returned. He had thought his taking over the High Kingship was something that would have to be recorded in history, but when he had checked on his return there was no difference.

"Well if nothing else you tell an excellent tale my young friend and I admit, from the moment I met you I did feel as if there was something different about you. But it's too fanciful for me."

Scott could understand the Colonel's reticence and they shook hands as they prepared to part. Scott had one last effort at persuading him.

"You know, you really need to think about what the odds are of someone finding ten aureus gold coins at Dunadd in this day and age. If you change your mind you can always contact me the same way we met - online."



-------

Chapter 14: Parents! 2008AD

Scott was pleased that he now had sufficient working capital to do everything he thought he needed to do. What was more of a worry was that he had now been back in 2008 AD for almost four months and he had been unable to recruit a single person to take back with him. He knew time was running out if he was going to return on the 31st of May.

He had continued to chat on the Scottish forums for hours each night, but had so far been unable to unearth a single likely candidate. He thought back to something the Colonel had said - he had assumed Scott had been talking about a battle re-enactment society. Scott wondered what kind of people would be involved in such a thing? Would there be professional people who had that as their hobby?

Some further research on these types of organisations identified that there were thirteen reasonably active ones within twenty miles of his flat. Scott decided that it would be worth looking into and even perhaps taking his family along for a day out. There was no denying that they certainly had accurate period costumes to wear and he had little difficulty in convincing the girls it would be a fun thing to do.

On the day of the event Scott and his wives donned their ninth century clothes and piled into the 4x4 for the drive to Stirling. When they arrived there were already a number of large marquee tents erected and people were milling around in them buying odd bits of replica clothing and weaponry.

Scott could see there was a broad range of time periods represented in the mix of costumes on show, despite the fact the event had been billed as a re-enactment of the battle of Stirling Brig. Scott wondered at this, as it was the wrong time of year altogether for that battle. He found himself attached to the Wallace's forces and his wives waved and cheered him from the edge of the field. There was no finesse involved in the re-enactment. Leaders had been appointed and they shouted out instructions to the various forces, ordering them to move as history had suggested the various forces had been deployed during the real battle of Stirling Brig.

After several hours of rushing around screaming, a halt was called and everyone mingled to talk and drink beer that was now being served from another large tent. Scott's wives joined him with the babies and they chatted to lots of different groups. His excitement grew, as it became clear that the re-enactment society was full of a diverse mix of people. Already they had spoken to a doctor, a solicitor and several craftsmen - a plumber and an electrician.

Scott believed that this group held out real potential as a recruiting ground. They were obviously potty about Scottish history if the amount of time and money they devoted to re-enacting it was anything to go by. A buffet was served and Scott continued to work his way through the crowd, trying to speak to as many people as possible to find out their day to day occupations. He came across a nurse, a civil engineer and several senior scientists who worked at the Grangemouth refinery.

Just before he decided to call it a day he overheard one more conversation that held out even greater promise. A group of men standing behind him were talking about the biggest re-enactment of the year, the Battle of Bannockburn. From what they were saying there would be a number of other groups turning up for that event. There were apparently two groups that always put the others to shame. Their costumes and weaponry was very accurate in detail and the whole group matched up. One of the men grumbled that this was because the groups were made up of well-paid professional people with more money than sense.

Scott took the opportunity of talking to this group now and told them he had overheard them talking about the Bannockburn re-enactment. It was a simple matter to get them talking about the event as it was the one that all of these enthusiasts looked forward to. Before long Scott was able to turn the discussion round to the various groups that would turn up for that event and within minutes he had the names of the two societies that these men claimed were full of well paid professionals. He stored that information and then rounded up his family for the journey home.

Scott immersed himself in research on the two re-enactment societies that he had been told of. There was a lot of detail he could find online in the archives of the local newspapers in the areas they were based. His eyes lit up as he saw the copy that covered them, architects, engineers, scientists, it was a virtual re-creation of the list he had made back at Dalriada. He knew he had to meet up with these people and make some kind of attempt to enrol them for his plans.

The biggest drawback he could see was that neither of these societies was scheduled to take part in an event until the Bannockburn re-enactment according to their websites. Like every good Scotsman, he knew Bannockburn had taken place on 23/24th of June (in the year 1314), almost a month after he planned to return to ninth century Scotland. If he delayed so he could meet up with these people he would be missing from Dalriada not for six but for twelve years and that could be disastrous.

Scott discussed his problem with his wives and asked for their advice. All of them made it clear that if he returned after six years with nothing then that would be worse than returning after twelve years with the people that Scotland needed. Scott fretted over this, agonised even. To be away from his other two sons, David and Crinan, to leave his friends Gabrain and Lachlan, and to leave Scotland for twelve years. This was a truly soul destroying choice that he had to make.

He tried to clear his mind by going out for a walk. He walked round and round the park, weighing up what his responsibilities as High King were. What if Scotland was under assault? What if his children and friends needed him? At last he came to the painful conclusion that his wives were right. He had to at least make an attempt at recruiting the people he thought he needed. He tried to console himself with the knowledge that he had left Scotland with far superior weaponry with which to defend itself while he was away. It was highly unlikely that her enemies would catch up, even in twelve years.

Scott walked slowly back to the flat, his head bowed under the weight of the thoughts he was having to consider and the consequences of the choices he was making. He turned his key in the lock of his door and heard a familiar voice coming from the sitting room. Scott's insides shrivelled up.

"Sweet Jesu! It's my mother!" He thought to himself.

He could hear the girls talking to his mother, the tone as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. Scott began to relax, assuming that his wives had somehow managed to create a cover story that was good enough to explain to his mother why they were there. But then he heard... 

"Oh, I have the cutest grandchildren! Now remember girls; don't let Scott have his own way all the time. It's important you let him think he's getting his own way when he's actually doing exactly what you want him to."

"But Mama, he's not as dim as other men, sometimes he sees through what we're trying to do!" Said Fiona.

"That's no excuse Fifi, you have to try harder."

"I think it's wrong to try and deceive our husband like that. He sacrifices so much for us and even more for Scotland. He truly is the chosen Ard Ri." Said Eilean.

"Yes, this of being High King, I'm sure that Fergus will make a lot of mileage with that down at the golf club! And I suppose that makes me the High King's mother!" Heather MacDonald giggled.

"Mama, we told you last week, neither you not Fergus can tell anyone about any of this. It would cause a big problem for Scott." Said Helfe.

Scott had heard enough. His mother obviously knew the girls were his wives, that the children were his and that he was High King. It was clear that this was not her first visit with the girls and she certainly didn't seem freaked out about the information she currently had. He decided it was time to face the music.

He walked into the sitting room and all conversation died. His wives looked at him as if they had been caught eating the last of his favourite prawns. His mother looked at him... well, as she had always looked at him, as her little boy.

"Mom, we need to talk I think."

"Oh we need to do a lot of talking Scott. You're going to have to explain why you've kept these beautiful grandchildren from me! Yes my boy, you've got a lot of explaining to do!"

Scott gulped as the extent of his mother's knowledge was revealed. What continued to nag at the back of his head was that his mother didn't seem to be questioning the whole 'back in time, my son is the High King of Scotland' position.

"Scott, your father and I can forgive you most things, but to keep our grandchildren from us is unforgivable. Fergus has been waiting, arguing that I should give you the benefit of the doubt for weeks now. He swears you are just waiting for the right time to tell us. He makes excuses for you, says that it's probably because it's all so unbelievable that you can't find a way to tell us. Well my boy, now's the time to explain yourself!"

Scott could see that somehow his mother had focussed on the issue of her grandchildren above all else. His cardinal sin seemed to be that he had kept them from her and everything else was secondary.

Just then he heard the doorbell chime.

"Oh good," said his mother, "that sounds like Fergus now, you can explain yourself to both of us at the same time."

Scott walked to the door and let his father in. His father shared a look with him before the women saw them, the kind of look that spoke of male solidarity in the face of overwhelming female odds.

Everyone returned to the siting room and Scott's mother continued where she had left off.

"I was just saying Fergus, our boy has got a lot to answer for, how could he keep our grandchildren from us when we have been so desperate to have them now for so long."

"Heather, I'm sure there's a good explanation."

"Well, that's what I've been asking him for."

Scott couldn't take anymore of this surreal discussion and his natural emotions took over.

"Mother! I can understand your issues about grandchildren, but there's a bigger picture here. Why aren't you asking about time travel? Why are there no questions about the fact I have three wives? What about the fact that I am High King?"

"Don't get so uppity with me Scott! And you have still to explain about Kirsty - who is she? I've heard the girls mention her and another they refer to as the first little Tina. Who are they?"

"Yes son, why didn't you share this with us? We have always stood by you." His father said.

"Listen to yourselves! This is incredible. How could I come to you and tell you I had been thrown back in time to the ninth century, had a wife, a child and they were killed by the Vikings? How could I tell you I had other wives? You would have had me committed!"

"Now Scott, I'm certainly not condoning the fact that you appear to have more than one wife, but Fiona, Eilean and Helfe all seem to know what they're doing, they're all well adjusted so I'm taking it that whatever 'arrangement' you have is okay. But you're covering up our grandchildren is unforgivable. And what's this about another wife and child and Vikings?"

"Mother, listen to yourself. I'm involved in a savage battle for Scotland's future and your completely lost on the issue of grandchildren. I'm travelling backwards and forwards through time and you're so blinkered you don't think any of that is important!"

"Now boy, that's no way to speak to your mother!" His father responded angrily.

Scott paused, stunned by his father's words. It was clear that his parents still saw him as their little boy, and were trying to treat him as such.

"Dad, let me tell you something. In the last year that you have been on this earth, I have lived almost seven in Scotland's ninth century. I have personally led thousands of men into battle, witnessed carnage at close hand, ordered men to kill. I have personally almost cut the head off of men who were intent on killing me.

"I have witnessed the after-effects of a Viking raid that destroyed all that I held dear, my wife, an angelic child that I, that I... that I helped deliver into the world with my own hands! I held her as she emerged from her mother's womb, looked into her face, marvelled at the wonder of nature and then cruelly found my wife and that child scythed down by the Norse.

"I have agonised as the High King assaulted my lands, have used brute force against the Norse and the Saxons. I have overthrown weak and treacherous leadership, aye, including the previous High King. And you tell me that is no way to speak to my mother!!

"In ninth century Scotland there are two or three women to every man. The savagery of the times mean that men sometimes don't last long, that is why men have more than one wife. But no matter what, if I was to meet these three women here in 2008 AD I would still love each and every one of them, aye and at the same time if they would let me.

"Dad, I am Ard Ri. I carry the responsibility for the whole of Scotland on my shoulders. In ninth century Scotland I have already introduced a broad diet, basic public health measures, education for all, improved land usage, other improvements such as penicillin. I have introduced a new form of government that sees the local people have more of a say and responsibility for their own affairs. Do not tell me not to speak to my mother so!"

Scott's father looked at his son through new eyes. The experience, the authority of the man had come through loud and clear in this 'speech' and he had to re-assess the flesh and blood that he had always considered 'his little boy'.

"Heather, I think... I think he's telling the truth. It's all real. He really has gone back in time. Look at him. The set of him, the authority. I believe he really is the High King!"

"Fergus, don't be silly, the girls have just been romanticising things, trying to soften the blow of Scott being in a multi-partner relationship..."

She had to pause as Scott's wives now turned stony faced as they realised his mother had been merely humouring them.

"You didn't believe us? Thought this was all a charade? How could you Heather, he is our High King and we would do anything for him!"

A light went on in Scott's head. His father was a retired engineer, one of the first to secure his nuclear 'ticket' through working at a senior level in Scotland's nuclear power stations. His mother had been a senior science teacher in secondary school.

"Well you two, the only way for you to find out for sure is to come back with me and see for yourself. You both have much to offer and I hope that you will serve your High King well!"

Scott had resigned himself to missing the May jump point for going back to Dalriada. He vowed to himself that he would make the most of the additional six months until the next St Andrew's day.

He cooked a special meal at home on the evening of 31 May and he and his family shared a quiet night, reflecting on the fact that David, Crinan and their friends would now be six years older. The decision to remain in 'the future' had not been an easy one, but the logic of not going back empty handed was irrefutable. They had made their choice, which would mean a further six years before they returned to Inveraray. Scott was determined to try and make the most of his remaining time in the twenty-first century.

That night the girls tried to ease his obvious pain in their own inimitable fashion. Fiona slowly undressed Scott and took his hard staff into her mouth, loving him as best she could. In contrast to the gentle and romantic actions of these two, Helfe all but dragged Eilean into the bedroom and threw her bodily onto the bed.

Scott was inflamed as he watched Helfe strap on one of the sex toys he had bought the girls and she wasted no time in thrusting into her sister wife vigorously.

Fiona paused in her oral ministrations to shed her own clothes before lying down in an open invitation to Scott. He lay down on top of her, guiding his staff to her leaking slit and sliding it home with obvious pleasure. His rhythm started slowly and he maintained long strokes in and out of her tight sex. When he felt Fiona's heels press urgently into his ass cheeks he began to increase his speed and the intensity of his strokes, bumping her hard little clitoris nub with each thrust.

Fiona's orgasm wasn't long in arriving given such treatment and she howled out her ecstasy for her sister wives to hear.

Scott slowed and tried to recover his breathing and as he did so he glanced over once more at Eilean and Helfe. He could see Eilean, his little elf, looking at him intensely. It was almost as if she was trying to will him to be the one inside her rather than the rubber substitute Helfe was currently ramming into her. With a look like that Scott could deny her nothing.

He withdrew his still hard staff from Fiona, much to her disappointment, and beckoned for Helfe to trade places with him. Helfe dropped between Fiona legs and immediately began to ram the strap-on into her, paying no heed to the fact that Fiona had only just experienced a shattering orgasm.

Scott got onto his knees behind Eilean and guided the staff beast into her already well-prepared channel. Eilean could feel the difference at once and her vocal encouragement left Scott in no doubt as to which she preferred. He held her hips and rocked her back as he thrust forward, the contact of their naked skin making a loud slapping sound.

"Yes my Lord, yes. Harder, do it harder if you can." Eilean pleaded.

Scott's thrusts became even more vigorous in response and he also slid his hand between them to rub and tweak his little elf's pleasure button. He slicked up his thumb with her copious juices and used it to tease her pucker, Eilean jerked and howled immediately when she felt the contact there.

"You really like being touched there don't you my little one? Are you ready for the staff beast to try and fit there?"

Eilean could only groan deeply and Scott took that as a yes. He let his thumb slip into her rear first, trying to open her up slightly before he attempted to get his staff into what looked to him an impossibly small and tight passage.

Her reaction to his thumb entering her was wild. She began thrashing around at once and her hands were gripping the bedclothes fiercely. He withdrew his staff from her oily slit and placed the head against her other hole, pushing forward to try to get inside her. He was surprised at the amount of force he had to use before his staff at last popped through her anal opening and the force he used caused it to press two or three inches up inside her before he could stop himself.

Eilean was flopping around, clearly already in orgasm and unable to speak or make any other kind of noise. Her head was thrown back, her eyes screwed tightly shut and she had her bottom lip captured between her perfect little teeth. The cords on her neck were stretched taut and her back arched gracefully as she let the sensations crash over her.

Scott took the opportunity of pushing forward a little further before reversing direction and almost withdrawing his staff from her altogether. He couldn't believe how tight she was, gripping his staff like a vice as he tried to get more of it into her. Four or five strokes later and he had managed to get all the way in and was stroking very slowly in and out.

Eilean's head had now dropped and she was keening continuously, pushing her pert, tight, little bottom back at him to meet his thrusts.

The tightness was too much for Scott and he felt his own orgasm rushing upwards. He could tell it was going to be a monster and when his seed ejaculated from his tip it felt as if he was hosing gallons of it into Eilean's rear. She began to scream in pleasure as she felt the hot seed invade her bowels, throwing her head back once more as she felt an even stronger climax threaten to engulf her.

Scott dropped onto Eilean's back, exhausted now physically as well as mentally. The force of his orgasm had wiped him out and he fell over sideways, feeling himself drifting off to sleep almost immediately. He vaguely felt someone cleaning his staff with a cloth before sleep overtook him, a smile playing on his lips.

Scott threw himself into planning over the next wee while. He purchased some top of the range laptop computers and discussed with his father and mother the kind of software packages that would be useful for engineers and scientists. He asked his father to try to find blueprints and plans for the kind of 'plant' that they would need - power stations, steel mills etc and also engineering drawings for the machinery they would need to create.

His mother was reviewing software packages that would help in teaching all subjects but in particular science - chemistry, physics and biology.

Meanwhile he reviewed all the information he could on the two battle re-enactment societies that interested him so much and in doing so made a startling discovery. A local newspaper article mentioned the fact that one of the groups had a certain Colonel MacKelvie as their patron. The co-incidence was too much, this had to be one and the same Colonel that had purchased Scott's coins. He wondered whether he might have the opportunity of trying to recruit the Colonel once more and whether he might be helpful in trying to recruit other professional people from the group he was patron of.



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Chapter 15: recruitment

The day of the re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn dawned and Scott and the girls settled themselves and the two babies into the 4x4 and set off for Stirling. Bannockburn itself was just to the west of Stirling town centre with a visitor's centre adjacent to the site of the original battlefield. When they pulled into the car park Scott's wives spotted his parents and waved to them. Fergus and Heather ambled over to try and take charge of their Grandchildren if at all possible.

Both of his parents stared at Scott dressed in his ninth century clothes, looking every inch the wild highland fighter. The girls had also dressed for the occasion and they were by far the prettiest sights around.

As he looked around himself Scott could see that this event was significantly bigger than the previous re-enactment he had attended. He estimated there were perhaps a thousand people already gathered and more were still arriving. He kept his eyes peeled for any signs of the two societies he was interested in in particular.

The weather wasn't at all kind with a gusting wind and intermittent showers of rain. That tended to dampen down the atmosphere and excitement of the occasion a little, but not much. These people were fanatical about their hobby and nothing was going to stop them having a good time on the biggest day of their year. Scott could already see groups forming up to represent the various parts of the forces that had met at the original battle.

He found himself allocated to one of the small schiltroms under the command of someone who was supposed to be Thomas Randolph, the Earl of Moray, a nephew of Robert the Bruce. Scott knew that this schiltrom had played a crucial role in the real battle and was happy to be in this group.

As he watched a large body of men and women came streaming across the field, obviously meant to represent the English army for this battle. They headed for a spot close the little burn that cut across the field and tried to form up. Signals were given for the advance and Scott found himself jogging forward with the other people in his schiltrom, heading directly at the 'enemy'.

The noise and weapons all around him almost had Scott thinking he was once more in the middle of a real battle and he had to force himself to remember this was only a re-enactment. It wouldn't do to suddenly begin to really pierce people with the long spear he held or to start to lay about himself with his sword.

The re-enactment stuck loosely to the historical descriptions of how the actual battle had played out. The Scots forces trapped the English in a 'bulge' created by the winding burn and marshy ground so that they couldn't bring their far superior numbers to bear. The advance by the Scots had caught the English unawares and by pressing forward they were in essence pushing the heavily armoured English into a bog.

The Scots forces were lighter and faster moving and they continued to press forward, the English only able to deploy small numbers in actual fighting due to the very narrow front they had. The re-enactment called for lots of noise, shouting and the clash of sword against shield, but no bloodshed. Nonetheless Scott could see many of those around him were fully caught up in the moment and looked little different to some of his own Dalriada men during battle. He smiled grimly at the memory of some of the fighting he had been involved in.

The re-enactment lasted some two hours before victory over the English was declared - to loud cheering from the Scots forces. As he wandered over towards his parents, wives and babies Scott found himself face to face with the Colonel.

"Well hello again Scotland-the-Brave, what a welcome surprise to find you here. I've been trying to get in touch with you for several weeks now, but you haven't been on the numismatic board have you?"

"No, I'm sorry Colonel, some other things have been keeping me busy. And my name is Scott by the way, you can't keep calling me Scotland-the-Brave."

The Colonel smiled and nodded in recognition of the implicit trust Scott had just shown by sharing his name.

"I haven't seen you at any of these things before Scott, what brings you along today?"

Once more Scott had the feeling that he had nothing to lose so he answered openly.

"To be honest Colonel I'm still on the look out for the specialists I need to return with me to the ninth century. My research shows that many of the people who attend these events not only have a strong passion for Scotland and her history, but are also highly skilled professional people in their own right. It seems to me to be a potentially rich source of the kind of people I'm looking for."

"Yes, I can see your point Scott. You're right of course, we have all sorts here and they are all absolutely steeped in Scotland's history. I know many of them very well and I dare say there are quite a few who would give their right arm to be able to do this for real. Goodness knows why, but perhaps it's just something in our blood."

The gleam in the Colonel's eyes as he made this last statement helped Scott see the man's own feelings were obviously in line with what he was saying. His own excitement began to build as he had the sense that perhaps the Colonel had been thinking over his pervious conversation with him and might even have changed his mind about wanting to travel back in time.

"Why have you been trying to get in contact with me Colonel?" Scott asked.

"I've been thinking about what you told me the last time we met Scott. In truth, I've been unable to think about much else for the past few months. I thought it might be useful for us to get together and discuss it in a little more detail."

As they had been talking Scott had steered them towards where his family were standing.

"I would be delighted to get together with you Colonel. Can I introduce my family? These are my wives Fiona, Eilean and Helfe. This is my father, Fergus and my mother, Heather. And these two scamps are Tina and James, two of my children."

MacKelvie's eyes widened at Scott's introductions, as he realised Scott had three wives. He glanced at Scott's parents to see whether they thought the situation odd, but they were merely smiling at him politely.

"Hrrmmm," he cleared his throat before continuing, "I see, and have all these people been back to the ninth century too?"

"Actually Colonel, my mother and father haven't as yet, but they are planning to come on my next trip back. The girls however haven't exactly been 'back' to the ninth century; they're actually 'from' the ninth century. This trip into the twenty-first century has certainly been an eye-opener for them."

Scott could see that the poor man's head was now swimming with the enormity of what he was hearing. It must appear incredible to him, unbelievable even.

"Colonel, my parents have planned a little dinner for us all this evening - to celebrate our victory over the English! Why don't you join us and we could have that chat?"

"Why thank you Scott, that's most kind of you. I think I might just take you up on that, this is just too good a story to miss, even if it is only that, a story."

The Colonel took a note of Scott's parent's address and agreed he would join them about seven o'clock that night. He then excused himself as he had other things to do as patron of the re-enactment society before he would be able to get away.

Scott quickly explained who the Colonel was and how he had met him to his wives and parents.

"You mean you have £400,000 in cash lying in your flat? Are you mad son?"

"Dad, don't speak to your High King like that, but yes, I suppose it is a bit foolish leaving that amount of money lying around. I hope it won't be there long as I need to complete everything I need to do and purchase everything I can think of before St Andrew's Day."

The Colonel joined them for dinner that evening and Scott's mother and his wives busied themselves in the kitchen, cooking. Scott, his father and the Colonel started going over Scott's lists of the kind of people he thought he needed and the preparations that would be required before he returned.

The level of detail he had already sketched out impressed both his father and the Colonel. MacKelvie entered into the discussion with growing conviction, really beginning to believe that Scott's story was true. After half an hour or so of this the Colonel turned to Scott.

"Scott, I'm really starting to believe you're for real, almost can't bare to hope that you are. I don't think I've wanted anything so badly in my life as a chance to do this. I've been retired for years now and nothing has ever really replaced the excitement of being involved in a real live conflict. It's difficult to describe to people. The bonds you make with those you serve with. The adrenaline rush, the fear, beating the fear."

Scott looked at the older man.

"I know what you mean Colonel. My first fight was against some Vikings on the beach on Iona and I physically wet myself. The pee ran down my leg and I was frozen to the spot as a crowd of bloodthirsty Norse cam running right at me with their swords and battleaxes. I've made many lifelong friends, stood shoulder to shoulder with them in the face of our enemies and I miss them all very badly."

The Colonel could see from Scott's face and the look in his eyes that he was telling the truth. He had experienced battle and knew what it was like. He really believed at that point.

Scott's father was quite unnerved by the description his son gave of some of the things he had done. He had no experience of battle to draw on and he felt a little out of place now with these two 'warriors'. Scott noticed his father's expression and moved to re-assure him.

"It's quite alright dad. The ninth century can be savage; the two maxims I had to live by when I first arrived there were 'death is common' and 'tougher to survive'. But by the time I left I had introduced enough advancements that Scotland is already a far safer place for everyone to be. I'm not going to be asking you to pick up a claymore, honest. I've got far more important things for you to be getting on with. Now, the Colonel, that's a different matter!"

"Oh I hoped you'd say that." Replied the Colonel, the gleam returning to his eyes once more.

They returned to Scott's lists and the Colonel now began to indicate whether there were potential candidates within his re-enactment society for the skills Scott had identified. Scott was elated as most of the professions he thought were essential were ticked off.

"How do we go about trying to recruit them?" Scott's father asked.

"Just you leave that to me, I know just what buttons to push with these people believe me." Replied the Colonel.

Their discussions were cut short as the womenfolk arrived with dinner.

"Scott, your wives have been telling me that it's really quite common for men to have more than one wife back in their time. Is that really acceptable?"

"Mom, I've already explained that women far outnumber men because of the circumstances. When I first arrived, women weren't really treated very well, had almost no standing at all. Now they even train how to fight and perform many of the essential tasks, particularly teaching and medicine. If women want to have a relationship, children, then polygamy seemed like an obvious solution and to be honest it works. I was a little surprised that it did, but when you think of how important these relationships are, it shouldn't be a surprise that the women make a supreme effort to make them work."

"And Fiona says that hot and cold running water, inside toilets and things like washing machines and central heating aren't widely available."

"No mom, that's partially why I came back, to get more qualified people so I could speed up development so that more and more of the people of ninth century Scotland could have all of these. In my defence I will say that the degree of improvements I've already achieved are nothing short of miraculous to the people there."

"The Ard Ri is right mom, our people love him and their lives have already changed immeasurably. It's nothing like what you have here in the twenty-first century perhaps, but it's still a giant leap forward and if Scott's plans are to deliver even more then being away from home for twelve years will have been worth the sacrifice." Said Eilean.

Eilean's reference to Scott as the High King reminded his parents and the Colonel once more of the strange situation they found themselves and of the life they might be heading into.

The next few months were busy as Scott worked with his parents to complete as much of the forward preparations as they could before skipping back in time. Scott purchased a much larger tent in the hope that the Colonel would be successful in his recruitment and there would be a greater number of people to transport. He hoped the change of tent wouldn't affect whatever it was that controlled the time jump. He also purchased more laptops, ones that could be powered and recharged through a solar power unit.

The Colonel phoned with updates on how his recruitment was going. It was clear that he was using a gradual approach, targeting the people they wanted and gently baiting a hook before he hoped to reel them in.

The girls continued to shop and spend Scott's money. They were now comfortable going out on their own, lapsing into Gaelic and acting like ignorant tourists whenever anyone looked at them strangely or they inadvertently did something out of place. That seemed to work a treat and the friendly nature of the natives of Glasgow meant that they were always well looked after.

There was one exception to this treatment however, and it almost led to disaster. Helfe and Fiona had left the flat to get some fresh air, telling Scott and Eilean they were heading to the park. Several hours later Eilean had finished making dinner and the girls had not yet returned. Scott offered to go and fetch them and set off for the park himself.

The girls weren't in sight so he had to walk the park looking for them. The sound of a bloodcurdling scream had him running at full speed towards its source, pulling up short when he found it.

There in front of him were Helfe and Fiona. Fiona was kneeling on the chest of a young man and Helfe had his trousers undone, the man's cock in her hand. In her other hand was a razor sharp dirk and it was clear she was on the point of dismembering the man.

"NO!! Helfe, no, don't do it!" Scott screamed at her in Gaelic.

He rushed forward and took the dirk from her, pulling her to her feet.

"But Scott this savage and his friend tried to rape us. They obviously thought we were easy targets but our training at Inveraray made sure we had the upper hand. This is what they deserve." Said Helfe.

The man's face was terrified. He knew the girls weren't bluffing, as there had been no threat, no taunting or bravado. They had just restrained him and then Helfe had prepared to cut him. It had been his scream that Scott had heard.

"Fiona let him up. You! Think yourself very, very lucky that I wasn't five minutes later in getting here. Now fuck off before I change my mind."

The man scrambled to his feet, almost tripping over his loose trousers as he tried to run away.

Scott's two wives weren't happy with him. They didn't understand at all why he had stopped them from punishing the attempted rapist. To them it would have been simple justice. Scott was trying to get them to remember that things were different in the twenty-first century, that people weren't allowed to dispense justice themselves. That's what the police and the criminal judicial system were for.

"But Scott, if the twenty-first century way is better, why are there still people like these preying on women?" Asked Fiona.

Scott admitted she had a point, but also pointed out that murder, rape and other violent crimes were far less widespread than they were in the ninth-century because of the laws that society had established. He could see the girls weren't convinced however.

Six weeks before St Andrew's Day the Colonel phoned Scott to tell him he had arranged a meeting with all of the people he hoped would be willing to travel back in time with them. He hoped that Scott would be willing to come to the meeting and talk to them, share his knowledge and answer the many questions that had already been posed. Scott was more than happy to agree. He had been growing anxious the closer they got to the date they would need to travel back, anxious that they still didn't have the people they needed. Now it looked like they were close and anything he could do to 'close the deal' he would.

The meeting was held in the function suite of a hotel/pub in Perth. The Colonel met Scott at the door and led him into the room, introducing him to people as they circulated. Outwardly people appeared relaxed as they chatted and sipped on drinks, but Scott could feel an undercurrent of excitement and his hopes were growing.

After another half an hour or so of chatting the Colonel guided Scott to a small table at the front of the room and they both sat down. Everyone else took this as their cue and also took seats, facing Scott and the Colonel. Scott counted almost thirty people. Once everyone was settled the Colonel stood to address them.

"Thank you all for coming along this evening. I've known most of you for a good many years and I know you have been looking at me a little strangely over the past few months.

"I've spoken to each of you individually a number of times now and gradually introduced the concept of a different outlet for the enthusiasm you all share. Instead of re-enactment of Scotland's history, I've spoken to each of you about the thrilling idea of actually living it.

"Now, not surprisingly virtually all of you have been sceptical. Excited, but sceptical. You are all intelligent people and we know that time travel is a fantasy don't we?

"Wrong! I believe it is real. I have become convinced it's real by talking to this young man I have sitting beside me. He has been able to describe in such detail Scotland in the ninth-century, has introduced me to his three wives... yes, three wives! And they in turn have talked with such clarity and detail as only someone who comes from that time could.

"When this young man offered me the opportunity to travel back to ninth-century Scotland with him I smiled and shook my head at the implausibility of it all. But the more I thought about it, the more I imagined myself there, then the more I realised I had to find out whether it was possible.

"It might all be a hoax, but what am I going to lose? Nothing but a few hours of my time. And if it's real what will I stand to gain? The opportunity of a lifetime, the opportunity to live a dream.

"My friends, enough from me. I want to introduce this young man and let him tell you what he is about, let him tell you why he thinks it's important for each of you to go back in time with him to ninth-century Scotland.

The buzz in the room was almost tangible, the excitement rising and the atmosphere thick enough to cut with a knife. The Colonel sat and indicated Scott should now speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce myself," he began, "my name is Scott MacDonald.

"No, tell them your real name and who you are!" Said the Colonel.

Scott looked at the Colonel, unsure whether that was a good idea at this stage. The Colonel nodded his encouragement.

"Oh well," Scott thought to himself, "he knows them better than I do."

"Very well," he said, "I am Scott mac Fergus, Ard Ri nan Albannach "

There were a number of people in the room who spoke Gaelic and they gasped as Scott declared he was High King of Scots. Others looked puzzled at this reaction until Scott repeated what he had said in English.

He started at the beginning and told his tale of being flung back in time and of how he had begun to try and introduce improvements into ninth-century Scotland. He emphasised his aims were about making Scotland stronger, safer and independent. He stressed his vision of a better Scotland, better for all its people, but not one that looked to make war on its weaker neighbours unless it was in defence.

Scott could see the people in the room grow more excited the longer he spoke. He explained his theory about parallel universes and why the improvements he had already introduced appeared to have had no impact on the timeline they were currently in. When he reached the point where he had realised he needed specialists to take things on to the next level; he finished up by repeating his vision.

"I promise you that all I want to see is a better Scotland."

Scott sat and took a quick sip of his drink. There were a few moments of quiet and then it was as if everyone was talking at once. The Colonel tried to restore some order and indicated that he and Scott would be happy to answer any questions that people might have.

"How do you know that this 'time-jump' will work with so many additional people?" Asked one man.

"I don't," replied Scott, "I have had to take all of my 'jumps' on trust. I don't understand it any better than you, probably less than some of the highly qualified people in this room."

"If we really do go back, can we change our minds at any point and return to this time?" Asked another.

"Again I don't know. I'm not sure whether you would need to be with me to travel and I have no plans to return again to this time. I have already been away too long and don't think I could go through this again. I will promise that any or all of you would be free to make the attempt at returning at any time you wished. I can't promise that it will be possible."

"I've heard your vision for this alternative Scotland and I like the sound of it, but there has to be something else at work here. What is the point of this rapid acceleration in Scotland's development? Do you plan on Scotland ruling the world?" Asked one.

"I have no such aspiration I can assure you. I would be happy to see Scotland being a strong member of any alliance that ruled the world and did so for the benefit of all, to avoid suffering, hardship, war, damage to the planet. My vision holds no room for a tyrannical Scotland looking to rule over others."

The questions went on for another hour or so. It was clear that the audience were impressed by the young man. Impressed by his air of authority, his honesty with them and with his vision for the country that they all loved as much as he obviously did.

The Colonel phoned Scott a few days later to tell him that all the specialists he had on his list were now signed up in principle. It seemed that they were all taking the same view as the Colonel - if this was real they wanted in, if it was all a sham they had nothing to lose but a few hours of their time. Scott punched the air in triumph.



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Chapter 16: Choices, choices. 889AD


Scott hugged Lachlan to him, his joy at not having lost any time while he had been away quite overcoming him.

"Lachlan! My friend! I thought I had lost twelve years with you all. I've no idea how this has happened, what's changed, but I am relieved beyond belief."

"You mean you've been to the twenty-first century already? But I saw you enter the tent only minutes ago."

"Yes my friend, but I seem to have managed a whole year in the twenty-first century without losing any time. But come, I have many people here with me who are anxious to find out what has happened. You will need to speak English Lachlan."

Scott turned to the tent and held the flap back, ducking his head into the gap. He reverted to speaking English.

"My friends, all is well. Welcome to ninth-century Scotland."

He stood back from the tent and waited for those inside to come out. First out were his wives with the babies. They rushed to Lachlan and when Scott explained that they hadn't lost any time they almost wept with happiness.

Next out were Scott's parents.

"Mom, dad, can I introduce my great friend, Lachlan, Earl of Ayrshire. Lachlan, my parents."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you your majesties." Lachlan said as he bowed.

Scott's parents just stood, mouths gaping as the reality was beginning to sink in.

Next out of the tent was the Colonel.

"Colonel MacKelvie, meet Lachlan mac Lean, Earl of Ayrshire. Lachlan, Colonel MacKelvie."

"Well met Colonel." Said Lachlan as he stepped forward to clasp the Colonel's arm in greeting.

"Oh god, sweet Jesus, oh god, is it real Scott?" Moaned the Colonel.

"I promise you it's very real Colonel, now come, we need to get the rest of our newcomers out and figure out how to house them. I had hoped that our absence would have allowed my friends to build better infrastructure and more housing, but we appear to have returned at the very point I left so have lost that advantage."

The Colonel was just as dazed as Scott's parents and Scott could see that he wasn't going to be much help for the next wee while. Instead, Scott began to help the other newcomers out of the tent. He was still amazed at this; he had purchased a massive new tent so that everyone would fit in and from the outside here in Inveraray it looked just like his old two man tent. It was a bit like the Tardis in Dr Who, bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Strange!

The newcomers all began to emerge from the tent, looking around them and mostly looking stunned or nervous. Scott marshalled them and led off towards the hall-house. The St Andrew's day celebration was still underway and Scott's group's eyes were growing wider as they took it all in. As they neared the hall, people began to stare and the music and revelry died away.

Gabrain leapt to his feet and rushed forward.

"Scott what is wrong, I thought you were going back..."

His voice trailed off as he took in the clothes and glazed looks on the people who were with Scott.

"You've already been? And returned?"

"Yes my friend, and with the specialists we need. Now let me get the celebrations started again."

Scott turned to face the Inveraray people.

"My good friends. These people I have with me have come to help Scotland prosper. They are probably the most important people in the Kingdom, more important than all of us, aye, me included."

There was a growing rumble from the populace as if they disagreed with Scott's statement.

"You might not believe me now my friends, but over the coming weeks they will work miracles the like of which you have never seen. Believe me. Please make them feel welcome. You will have a chance to meet them soon, in particular the craftsmen amongst you. Now, there's a rumour that this is supposed to be a celebration, let's show our newcomers how we celebrate in Inveraray!"

This last brought loud cheers from the hall-house and Scott turned to see that some of the newcomers seemed to be translating for the others. He singled these out and confirmed they were fluent Gaelic speakers. Of the thirty or so people that had travelled with him, there were seven who 'had the Gàidhlig' (could speak Gaelic). He split the group up so that each smaller group had a Gaelic speaker and then helped them find spaces in the hall.

Scott took his wives, parents and the Colonel to sit at the top table, signalling for food and drink to be served. The music and singing started up again, a new buzz of excitement evident in the hall at the arrival of the newcomers and what this might mean.

The Colonel sat opposite Scott and it was clear he was starting to come out of the initial daze he had been in. His eyes were everywhere, taking in the detail of what was around him.

"You know, I don't think I ever fully believed. I can never thank you enough for this. You have made an old man happy, ecstatic!"

"You're not too old I hope! I'm glad you're happy Colonel, I thought you might be upset with me about the coins. That was a lot of money I took from you."

"Tchah! Think nothing of it Scott, I would have paid all of that and much more for this opportunity. Now you mention the coins, that's something of a surprise. I can see you have already achieved much in your time here, but that hasn't affected history. Now I see why you have come up with the parallel universe theory. But if this is a parallel universe how did you manage to get the coins to 'age' properly?"

"I buried them before I did the time-jump and then dug them up again once I arrived back in the twenty-first century."

"But if nothing else you have done has affected history, and this really is a parallel universe, how come the coins were there when you arrived in the twenty-first century? Nothing else has managed to last through the eleven hundred years."

"I know. I've been thinking about that for the last year. I've come up with a theory for that too, but I don't really understand it myself."

"Well tell me then, what's this theory?"

"I think the spot where the tent is pitched exists in both universes, it's like a bridge between them. I figure there needs to be a bridge otherwise we wouldn't be able to travel between the two universes. So, because the coins were so close to the tent they existed in both too and aged accordingly."

"A bridge? Well, I can see some logic in that. I guess there needs to be a link between the universes or as you say we wouldn't be able to travel between them. What about the fact that you didn't lose any time when you travelled this time? Do you have a theory for that?"

"No Colonel, I'm still trying to work that one out. It was a surprise, a nice one I've got to say, as it means I haven't missed time with my friends and my other two sons, but a surprise nonetheless."

Scott glanced round the table. His close friends could all speak English and they were engaging his parents and the Colonel in conversation. He looked over the remainder of the hall and could see that the newcomers were all enjoying themselves, ale, wine and uisge beatha clearly steadying them and removing some of their caution. He decided his return had gone as well as he could have hoped. He gave orders as to where the newcomers were to be housed for the moment and signalled to his wives that he wished to retire.

The next morning Scott knew the specialists would need some time to surface if the amount of alcohol they were throwing back was anything to go by. He called in on the Inveraray craftsmen and set in train a building project to create a living space for the newcomers. He also asked that a building be put up that would act as the first purpose-built laboratory. He told the craftsmen which of the specialists to speak to in order to agree the design of the lab.

He searched out Lachlan next, asking his friend to set out immediately to mount the raids into northern England they had spoken of before.

"Mind Lachlan, no great despoilation, just some captives from across the whole of the north and then hold them in Ayrshire over the winter. When they are released we can only hope they generate a workforce for us, a workforce we will have dire need of in the spring."

"I will ride immediately Scott."

"No Lachlan, take a ship, it will be quicker by days and the snows could come at any time so every day is critical."

Lachlan nodded his assent and hurried off to ready himself.

By lunchtime the specialists had all surfaced and Scott sent messengers to ask them all to gather in the hall-house. He and Gabrain walked there themselves in preparation for Scott's first planning meeting.

The newcomers straggled in in ones and twos, obviously nursing hangovers. Scott let them settle down and then addressed them.

"My friends, you now know that what I told you in Perth was true, you have travelled back in time and are really here in ninth-century Scotland. You each have much to offer our country, between us we can do fantastic things. I want you to take a few days to look around and acclimatise to your new surroundings and then we can meet to discuss how we intend to put your talents to work.

"I have set in train a project to build you accommodation for the winter. It makes sense for you to remain here at Inveraray for that time. I would like you all to undertake an intensive course in Gaelic so you can make yourselves understood. That will be your first project. I have also asked for a lab to be built and the scientists amongst you will have the opportunity to input to the design of that.

"I know you will all feel as if your own chosen specialty is the most important and should be taken forward first, that's only natural. I will tell you that I will decide the order of things, with your advice to be sure, but the decisions will be mine. I expect all of you to pull together, no matter what I ask you to become involved in. Scotland expects that of you too.

"I have also set in train plans to get additional workers to help establish the infrastructure we will need to support the work we want to take forward. I hope that, come the spring, we will have the labour necessary to achieve that. We introduced an apprenticeship scheme here some years ago and I would like each of you to keep an eye out for craftsmen with the aptitude to allow you to share your skills with them. The quicker we can increase the numbers of skilled people, the quicker we will be able to take our plans forward.

"Roads and rail need to be our first priority I believe and I will sanction the building of some temporary structures to facilitate that. I would ask that you all work together to develop the necessary diggers, steamrollers, concrete pourers etc so that come the spring we are ready to take that forward. That is your second project. I want the rails for trains set into the road surfaces, so factor that in to your tolerances when you're thinking of the foundations for the roads. Once that's achieved the buildings will be taken down. I will not sanction the industrialisation of Argyll.

"We have access to sufficient basic resources, raw materials, to achieve some of the fundamental things. A lot of my research before we 'jumped' was aimed at identifying where we could get the other raw materials we will need. My computer has details of minerals and other materials all around the world and we can take advantage of the fact that nobody else knows where they are or what importance they have.

"One last thing about production I would say before you can get back to nursing your hangovers. As professional folk you will understand the need for consistency, for standards. It makes no sense for each of you to be working to your own designs and standards if that causes a problem when your products need to match up to things that others have built. I ask that between you, you agree a set of standards that all will work to so that sizes match, bolts marry up with nuts and so on.

"I know this is still something of a shock to you, that you have really come back to the ninth-century, but you seemed to assimilate well last night!! Trust me, when the people see the things that you can do they will quickly come to hold you in high regard and will do everything they can to help you.

"You know about my own domestic situation and I expect some of you might find yourself the object of attention from some of the women. I would only say that you should not look to have relationships with the wives of others or with minors. Other than that, the polygamy here applies equally to you as to any other citizen."

Scott could see the excitement in their eyes, despite their hungover condition. The prospect of turning their hands to producing what they knew they were capable of was already lighting a fire in their bellies.

He spent some time with his parents too, observing how they were settling in to their new life. His mother was in danger of exploding at the treatment she was receiving as the mother of the High King. It was almost as if she had been longing to be treated as royalty her whole life. Scott tried to bring her feet back to the ground gently, reminding her of the important role she had as a science teacher.

His father was already speaking to the various craftsmen, sharing his knowledge and planning the first hydro power station. Dad did have some questions to ask and one of them caused them both to share an emotional moment.

"Scott, already I can see that the people here love you and Gabrain. I'm amazed at what you have managed to achieve already on your own and I can understand better now why you had to come back to recruit the people you have. One thing puzzles me though. They all refer to you variously as Sire, your Grace, Ard Righ, the Norse-slayer and Scott mac Fergus. Why Scott mac Fergus? Your name is Scott MacDonald."

"Dad, you know that mac means 'son of'. When I first arrived here I realised that the custom was still quite literal, hadn't yet changed to the form that we know. I changed my name to honour my father - so Scott mac Fergus I became, Scott, son of Fergus."

Scott could see his father's eyes mist over as he realised the pride his son had in him.

"You did that for me? Even though I was eleven hundred years away?"

"Dad, you deserve all the respect I can give. It's down to you and mom that I've turned out the way I have. What else would I do but call myself Scott mac Fergus?"

His father hugged him tightly, the tears at last leaking from his eyes at the honour his son, the High King, had paid him all these years.

The newcomers were still settling in and a start had been made to the foundations of a number of structures when the next excitement fell on Inveraray. A carrier pigeon arrived from Oban/Dun Ollaigh to alert Scott to the fact that Viking ships had been spotted sailing down past Mull.

As soon as he read the message Scott rushed from his house and began to holler for men to assemble. He ran to saddle up faithful Albannach, the horse stamping and neighing his excitement at seeing Scott. By the time he returned to the hall-house men had gathered and were mounting up. Scott could see the Colonel standing to the side, obviously itching to be involved. The other newcomers were all veterans of battle re-enactments and the possibility of seeing real live Vikings was clearly something they wanted to be part of too.

Scott called for a wagon to be brought out so that the specialists could travel in it, recognising that few would be able to ride.

"My friends, you will need to follow behind us at your best speed, I cannot afford to be delayed by the speed of the wagon."

"We understand your Grace, go and do what you have to and we will get there as soon as we can." Responded the Colonel.

Scott registered the fact that the Colonel had referred to him as Ard Righ and smiled at his being a stickler for rank and the like.

"Thank you Colonel, I'll try to keep some alive for you to try your sword on!"

Scott wasted no more time, reigning Albannach round and leading his little party of forty men out of Inveraray at the gallop. Gabrain rode at Scott's side and they discussed the possibilities in relation to the perceived Norse threat.

"I admit I'm surprised Gabrain, surprised that they would test us so soon after the demonstration we gave them at Kirkwall."

"Ever the Norse have favoured fighting over anything else Scott, you should not be surprised at this, it is as I expected."

They arrived at Oban well after dark and quickly got themselves up to speed on the Norse threat. It seemed that there were five longships and they were holding out to sea meantime. The leader of the Oban burgh advised Scott that all four of his larger, well-armed ships had put to sea and were keeping a close eye on the Vikings.

Scott and Gabrain decided to try and get some rest and review things the next morning. When they awoke it was to find the wagon with the specialists had arrived although they all looked tired from their journey and lack of sleep.

A messenger arrived to inform Scott that one of the Viking ships was headed into the Bay. Scott didn't give the newcomers any time to freshen up, as he quickly led his men down to Oban's harbour to see what the Norse were up to.

The longship sailed into the bay and Scott immediately recognised Sigurd standing at the prow. He ordered his men to hold their fire as the ship swept up to the harbour proper and the Vikings raised their oars. Sigurd wasted no time in leaping over the side of the ship and came marching towards Scott.

"mac Fergus, I have come."

Scott looked askance, what did this opening mean? He decided to be just as oblique in responding.

"Aye Sigurd, you have, let's get this over with for I have other things to do."

This drew Sigurd up short. He had obviously been expecting his appearance to be much more significant than Scott seemed to be considering it.

"I understand you are now High King of this godforsaken island." Sigurd offered next.

"Okay, kill him and sink the ships." Said Scott, turning away and beginning to stride back towards the settlement.

"Wait! Be not so touchy mac Fergus. I have come to discuss terms, would cement our trade agreement."

Scott halted and turned back to face Sigurd.

"Good. I have some goods that I need picked up in various places around the world and I was hoping we could agree you would offer to fetch them for me."



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Chapter 17: It starts, 889/890 AD


Scott ordered Sigurd to come with them to Inveraray. He made ready to ride back immediately, expecting everyone else to follow suit. When they arrived back at the camp, the colonel and Scott's father sought him out.

"Would you really have allowed your men to kill this Norseman and sink their ships, wouldn't that have been a little savage?" His father asked.

"Dad, with respect, you don't know what you are dealing with here. The least sign of weakness and the Vikings would descend upon us and lay waste to everything we hold dear. Yes, I would have allowed him to be killed. You heard what he said. He cast doubt on my position as High King and was insulting towards Scotland. The only language the Norse understand is the language of strength."

"I can see I'm going to struggle to earn my keep here your Grace. You seem to have the military situation well in hand!"

"Not so Colonel, I admit I have learned from experience, but I am not a professional and my next mistake could cost many lives. I try not to fool myself."

The Colonel was doubly impressed. Normally the human reaction would be to believe you were better than you actually were, Scott's successes would tend to re-inforce that, yet here he had a man who was being brutally honest about his abilities, wasn't afraid to admit others might be better qualified.

When they arrived at Inveraray Scott was surprised that Sigurd showed little interest in seeing his daughter and Helfe wasn't in any rush to seek out her father either. The Norseman seemed impatient more than nervous, as if he wanted to know what Scott planned for him so that he could get on his way quickly. Scott and Gabrain met with him to set out what they wanted.

"Sigurd we had a deal, trade between us and no raids on the Scottish mainland. You had no intention of keeping to that deal and were raiding in Moray almost as quickly as I had sailed out of Kirkwall harbour. That is why I let my sea wolves loose on you, because you broke your word. With that as an example, why should I have greater faith in any new deal we come up with between us?"

"Sire, we have learned our lesson, have seen the destruction your ships can wrought. Common sense tells me that I don't want to pick a fight with you again. Now, what would you have me do?"

Sigurd's use of 'Sire' was a surprise to Scott, indicating an acceptance from the Norseman of Scott's superiority over him. He wondered whether there was anything to be gained here.

"I would remind you Sigurd that Orkney is in fact part of Scotland and you and Harald Fairhair hold it by force. If I was so minded I could simply take it back using the same method."

Sigurd looked up quickly, eyes flashing for an instant at what he perceived as a challenge. The look passed quickly however, as his memory of the power of Scott's ships told him that this was no bluster from Scott, he really could take Orkney by force if he so wished. His face now took on a look of resignation, but also determination.

"You could not take on the might of all Norway your Grace, even with the weapons you have, but you say 'could', so obviously you don't plan this currently. What is it you wish instead?"

"I want Harald and yourself to recognise and accept once and for all that Orkney is part of Scotland. In return I am willing to name you my Earl of Orkney and not interfere in your affairs so long as our trade can prosper."

Sigurd was surprised now at what seemed a generous offer to him.

"I will personally discuss that with Harald, but I can give no guarantees he will agree. He has not had the 'pleasure' of seeing your ships in action."

"Aye, and let's hope he sees sense and has no wish for a demonstration. Now, to other matters. I need access to ores from which to extract metals. Norway herself has great reserves of iron ore and Portugal has Tungsten, Tin and Chromium. I will send one of my geologists with you and supply you with cargo ships to transport this ore. In return for this I will share with you many of the improvements we have already achieved here. It may be that your wife will welcome these in your islands."

Gabrain smiled at what his friend had achieved. Cooling of the enmity between themselves and Sigurd and hopefully a supply of some of the raw materials his newcomers needed. And if Harald Fairhair accepted Scott's demands they would secure Orkney for Scotland without any further bloodshed.

Sigurd agreed to the trade aspect of Scott's deal and they discussed arrangements for the ships and the geologist being delivered to him. Scott had already decided to take the cannon out of two of his large ships and give these to the Norse as transporters. He sent messengers to Oban to ensure this was done as quickly as possible and told Sigurd the ships and the Geologist would be waiting for him when he arrived back at Oban.

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Very quickly Scott found a procession of the specialists beating a path to his door to complain about the absence of even the most basic of their requirements. The manufacture of the machinery necessary to build roads was not as straightforward as Scott imagined. There was a need for various cables - for brakes etc - and the precision engineering machines needed power and instrumentation. Power also called for cable, to run the electricity from the plant to wherever it was to be used, and also wiring for the machines.

Scott authorised the construction of a cable plant and the acceleration of the work his father was leading on the construction of a hydro electricity plant. Argyll was a natural spot for such a plant. There were numerous sites where the water gathered from the mountaintops and rushed downhill with great force. Scott remembered that there were perhaps two such plants in his own time.

The arrival of the snows put a halt to any major construction work on the power plant and seriously hampered work on the cable plant. The laboratory had been finished however and his scientists were already spending long hours there trying to work their magic. Scott had asked them to focus their attention on three things in the first instance. Nitrates were important in terms of their use as a fertiliser and as an explosive and he wanted access to both. Plastics could be used in any number of ways and Scott was determined to have these available to him. Finally, medicines were virtually non-existent in the ninth-century and Scott wanted the people of Scotland to have access to modern drugs to help improve their health.

-------

Lachlan had sent word to inform Scott his raiding into England had passed off without any difficulty. He now had several hundred 'prisoners' spread throughout his settlements in Ayrshire, exposing them to Scotland's improved way of life - a way of life far ahead of what they would be used to.

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Scott discussed the progress of things with the specialists each week. It had become the norm for them all to gather in the hall-house and share what had gone on over the preceding week. Scott had made sure that each of them had worked on the various blueprints and plans they would need before they left the twenty-first century. This meant that they had a 'library' of what they wanted to achieve on their computers, but their inability to take any of the projects forward was really frustrating them. Nonetheless Scott was amazed at the progress they were already making with little technology yet to assist them. In particular the lack of power was a major obstacle.

It was a classic 'chicken and egg' situation. The cable plant needed power to progress and enter production. The power plant needed cable before it could provide the power and so on.

Fergus' estimate was that the hydroelectric plant would take the best part of a year to complete and then there would be further work required to link the power to Inveraray. Estimates for the cable plant completion were in the same ballpark so it was unlikely that Scott would have access to any road building machines this coming spring. Scott was determined to speed this up and break the logjam. He pushed his specialists, suggesting the possibility of manufacturing generators to provide power for the cable plant.

The newcomers hung their heads in shame at not having thought of this simple solution themselves, but quickly shook that off as they realised Scott had given them the chance to get back on track. Scotland had access to plenty of oil from Scott's oil shale finds and a generator would be possible. If they could just manufacture a relatively small amount of copper wire they should be in business.

In contrast to the others, the Colonel had made great progress unaided by Scott. As a consequence, Scotland was close to having access to modern firearms. Working with the scientists he had developed shell casings and the correct grade of powder to fill them with. Scott's hand-tools had been pressed into service to help create the precision moulding for handguns and automatic rifles and the scientists had also managed to develop hard plastics to help the design along.

The Colonel indeed was a revelation. There was little about modern warfare that he didn't know. He was a demolition expert, an expert marksman and could use virtually any weapons system they could create. Already he had also manufactured simple mortars and his improved explosives were also on track to provide shells for much improved artillery pieces.

-------

When the specialists had visited Oban they had swarmed over the steel plant that was already well on the way to being completed under Scott's orders, upgrading the facilities that were already in place. They set about making necessary alterations to the original design and were pleased that steel would soon be available to them in the quantities they needed. Already they had worked out the first machines that should be manufactured using this.

Scott also had access to a retired Royal Navy Captain and he had tasked this man with developing a more modern ship for sea warfare. The absence of modern technology suggested a modest start. The Captain was working with the engineers and Scott's shipwrights at Oban to build the first metal hull ship. Between them they had easily overcome the problems Scott's people had stumped by for years and a prop-shaft was already developed. The scientists had helped with the manufacture of the gases required for welding and riveting was also employed.

The Captain suggested he would have a working boat within eighteen months, taking up much of the steel production from the steel plant.

The design for the ship was based on the Brave class fast patrol boats manufactured by the Royal Navy in the 1950s and incorporated several of the Colonel's latest developments - forty millimetre Bofors guns and torpedo tubes. The Colonel was also helping with the development of self-propelled torpedoes - based on the flywheel design pioneered by Lt Commander John Howell in the late nineteenth century. These would require a motor to drive them and that of course would require copper wire. The Captain hoped production would be up and running in time to fit these when his ship was ready.

The ship would be around one hundred feet long and the Captain said it would weigh-in at around a hundred tons. Power would be delivered initially through steam three engines. But the Captain was also demanding copper wire for the manufacture of better engines, a version of the Bristol Proteus gas turbine. If he could manufacture these he claimed the ship would be capable of a maximum speed of over fifty knots. The steam engines would only help him deliver a speed in the mid-twenty knots and he badly wanted the faster speed.

Scott was amazed at just how busy the Colonel had been. He had urged the various engineers to design machines that could be used for multiple purposes. The engines that were being designed for bulldozers would also power an early form of tank. The engines for the Captain's ship would also double up for a steam engine to run on Scott's rail network. Scott thanked his lucky stars for the day he met MacKelvie.

-------

Scott's mother had completely re-vamped the educational system too, once he had managed to get her to calm down at finding herself royalty. A curriculum had been developed and she was busy overseeing the intensive training of the brightest of the Dalriada children coming through the schools, so that they could teach the advanced lessons now available.

The initial printing press design had to be upgraded so that sufficient text books could be made to meet the demand and the scientists and engineers were 'moonlighting' to put on advance level classes in their own fields. In effect Scott realised they had created the first University and the potential for an exponential growth in the skilled workforce was significant. He knew most of his specialists were in their forties, fifties and sixties so it was important that they trained others up to their level before old age caught up with them.

The newcomers were mostly coming to terms with Gaelic and as they grew more proficient they were able to integrate better and improve their productivity by better communication with the ninth-century Scots.

-------

Scot had increased the production of his 'range' cookers and planned to use these as trade goods when the winter passed. He knew from his research that the south of England had a rich source of copper and he hoped to be able to trade for that in large quantities. While the cable plant might not be up and running for some time, he was determined to ensure that it had a huge supply of raw material ready for it to enter production.

He was particularly pleased with how well his new farmers were getting on with the monks. Between them they were already planning for massive improvements for the coming planting season and Scott could see that food production was set to grow beyond belief.

-------

As always during the long winter nights, Scott and Gabrain found time to sit and reflect on how things were going and to look forward to the coming year. The Colonel, Scott's father and his eldest son, David, now joined them too.

"Scott, I know the specialists are already making good progress, but for our own people there are no obvious signs of that. Some of the projects will take time before the benefits are obvious and it would be good to be able to demonstrate the value of the newcomers sooner."

"I know Gabrain. I'm hoping that some of the Colonels developments will be ready soon and I think these will have a marked impact on the people. Security and food are still the two most important things to people in this time and when the Colonel demonstrates his new weapons they can't fail to be impressed at how much more potent we will be."

"I'm impressed by how the specialists are working together, maximising the opportunities that are there." Said the Colonel. "An example is how the scientists are using the building for the cable plant to manufacture reels of plastic piping. They have already made enough pipe to connect up all of the houses in Inveraray for water and sewage and estimate they should be able to make enough to supply the whole of Dalriada before the winter ends."

"When do you think you could stage a demonstration of your weapons though Colonel? The rifles, the mortars and the new field artillery?" Asked Scott.

"Any time you want Sire, the first of these have been ready for over a week now. I wasn't aware you wanted to use them in this way."

"Colonel, I'm mindful that the newcomers haven't had a chance to take part in any actual fighting. I know their passion for re-enactment and am worried that they will be disappointed at being in the ninth-century but haven't had a chance to experience the real thing."

"No Sire, you mistake their enthusiasm for recreating something, for some kind of yearning for the real heat of battle. None of them want to be involved in actual warfare if they can avoid it. No, they're more than content with the contributions they're making."

"What about labour Scott? Will your plans be able to provide the necessary labour to see the infrastructure projects completed quickly enough?" Asked Scott's father.

"Only time will tell whether our ploy to try and attract some of the Saxons to work for us will work. But in any event, there should be less fighting in the coming year and if we need to fight, the Colonel's weapons will mean we can do so with far fewer numbers than before. That will mean we can use more of our own people on that work so it might not be that bad if we don't attract the English."

"How reliable do you think Sigurd will prove to be? Will he bring us the ore we need to develop the rarer metals we require?" Asked the Colonel.

"I think the demonstration of what we can do if he causes trouble will serve to keep him honest for a little while. I'm hopeful that the improvements we give him in return will convince him where his interests lie in the longer term. But, see you, if we need to, then we will take him on again and show no mercy this time. Somehow I don't think it's going to come to that though. I think we'll get our ores."

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A few days later the Colonel made arrangements to let the people of Inveraray see the power of the new weapons he had produced. He had set up a range and invited everyone in the camp to come and watch the demonstration.

He had made up some targets, some in the shape of Vikings and Saxons and others in the shape of buildings.

Once all of the Inveraray people had gathered he showed them the effect automatic rifles could have, quickly walking through the targets, shredding them with rapid short bursts. Even this display brought gasps from the locals who were educated enough to understand the theory the Colonel had explained, but to see the rifle in action was another thing altogether. The potential of the weapon wasn't lost on them.

Next up the Colonel demonstrated the mortar, dropping rounds onto the nearest of the target buildings. He showed off a little as he 'walked' the rounds onto their target, adjusting the angle of the mortar gradually until he had a direct hit. The response of the crowd was all that Scott had hoped for; they cheered and applauded this new device and the excitement levels rose.

MacKelvie had kept the artillery until last and he had six shells ready to fire. The gun was a basic British twenty-five-pounder and the shells were made from High Explosive. The maximum range of the piece was up to twelve thousand metres and the crowd were astounded at how far away the Colonel had set the targets for the gun. When he fired the first shell and it overshot the targets, there was a stunned silence throughout the crowd. MacKelvie had a number of volunteers who had trained to help him with the gun and these now reloaded it in preparation for the next shot. Perhaps there was some luck involved, it was more likely that the Colonel was just very good at what he did, but the very next shell was a direct hit on the little group of fake houses and the crowd saw them blown to pieces.

The demonstration had left the people in a party mood and Scott could sense it. He ordered a feast for that night in celebration of the fact that Scotland should now be all but impregnable against attack. There was no remaining doubt in the population's minds that Scott's move to bring the specialists in had been well worth it.

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As the snows began to melt Scott also put on a demonstration, this one for the newcomers. When they all gathered in the hall-house for their weekly catch-up meeting, there was an object on one of the tables, covered by a sheet. Scott let all of the specialists gather before he spoke to them.

"My friends, I'd like to thank you all for the trust you placed in me by deciding to come here and for the progress you have already made without the normal tools you would have at your disposal.

"Once we have power I know our progress will increase in pace, rapidly increase, and the people will be astounded.

"Today I wanted to give a little back to you. Consider this my way of saying thank you for all that you've done so far."

Scott stepped forward and pulled the sheet away to reveal the Stone of Destiny.

The newcomers looked at the Stone doubtfully, clearly unsure what it was. They were impressed by it, couldn't fail to be given its appearance, but they weren't quite sure what they seeing. Scott realised this.

"This is the 'real' Stone of Destiny. The stone you have all seen in Edinburgh is a fake, planted to fool Edward the First in the thirteenth century. This, my friends, is the real thing."

Now he could see their reaction change and they crowded forward to look at and touch the stone.

"Jeeze, it feels almost alive, there's a power coming from it." Said one.

"I feel it's somehow tied in to the time travel, but haven't worked that out yet." Said Scott.

They examined it for some time longer before turning their attention back to the progress catch-up, but Scott could see them all glance periodically at the stone, it's existence obviously catching their imagination.

-------

That night was another occasion for the little group of Scott, Gabrain, the Colonel, Scott's father and David to sit out on the balcony once more, the little brazier burning to ward off the still chill night air.

"Well Colonel, your demonstration really worked its magic on the locals. You're already being talked about as a living god by some!" Said Scott.

"Thanks Sire..."

"Please Colonel, when we're together like this I would prefer plain old 'Scott'."

"Okay, thank you Scott. I was going to say that the introduction of these technologies is putting Scotland eleven hundred years ahead of its time. You know, you said at the progress meeting today that when we have power the pace of change will increase dramatically. I can't help but wonder where this is all leading. I mean, no one will be able to challenge our supremacy for centuries, how should we try and take advantage of that?"

"Colonel, I know what you mean. I started out with a vision of simply improving Scotland's security. I promised that I wasn't thinking about annexation or conquest and that remains true. But I have been thinking about where we go from here, particularly when the improvements start growing exponentially with the development of electricity and things like jet engines - even nuclear power from my father here.

"I would welcome your advice on what I've been thinking about my friends."

"Oh sweet Jesu, here we go again," said Gabrain, "Scott has been having more of his ideas and that usually means we're in for some excitement."

Everyone laughed at this, but all eyes were turned on Scott, waiting for him to share with them what he had been thinking.

"What has traditionally been regarded as Scotland's biggest export?" He asked them.

"Whisky of course." Said the Colonel.

"No Colonel, there's something we export even more of than uisge beatha." Scott responded.

"People!" Scott's father threw in.

"Exactly dad. People. Now, I've said I'm not interested in annexation or invasion of other lands, but already we are experiencing a huge population expansion. Polygamy, security and the availability of food are all contributing to that. Now, it doesn't take a genius to see that we will begin to outgrow the space we have. That might take generations, but if we continue to develop, it will happen.

"I propose that we think about colonisation. Not now, perhaps five or ten years down the line when we have developed more, established the systems of manufacture, bedded down our education and health service.

"That would allow Scotland to expand hugely, but in a peaceful way. Think of it, the whole of North America with all the resources that exist there."

He could see the Colonel and his father were doing just that, but Gabrain and David were looking puzzled. Scott rushed inside to get his maps and showed both of them North America and how big it was compared to Scotland. This left them both stunned at the scale of what Scott was talking about.

"But Scott, America wasn't settled peacefully. The native North American Indians were cruelly treated, slaughtered, their lands torn from them without any compensation." His father interjected.

"True dad, and we would need to make sure we worked with them, not tread them down, but I think there is something in this, we can right a great wrong at the same time.

"I also think we have an opportunity here to do some other things to help the world, not just Scotland. Think of it, if we are already eleven hundred years ahead in terms of technology development, what can we do in the intervening period?

"What about medicine? Do we have an opportunity to safeguard against things like AIDS before they happen? Can we find a cure for cancer?

"And what about the planet? I know we've been repeating all the old failings in our developments so far, but we have the opportunity of designing improvements that don't destroy the planet. We can stop global warming centuries before it's even thought of, develop cleaner technologies."

"Finally, I've been having some strange dreams again, linked to the 'Stone'. They all involve space. What opportunities do we have there? Logic will demand that we launch satellites soon. If we want to effectively use communications technology, computers, TV and other things we will need to do that. How much more can we do in terms of space exploration, space technology? We have the chance to put men in space almost eleven hundred years early! Somehow I think the 'Stone' has been leading up to that for some reason.

"How say you my friends? Is this a path Scotland could follow?"



-------

Chapter 18: set backs and steps forward 890AD


It started in Oban. One of the craftsmen from the newly emerging steel mill complained of a fever and a runny nose. His name was Duncan and before the day was through his body ached so much he had to go home to the comfort of his wives. His wives took one look at him and stripped him off, cleaning him with damp cloths before bundling him into bed.

Duncan's fever worsened and he lapsed into unconsciousness. His wives continued to bathe him and to apply cool towels to his head and body but the fever wouldn't break.

Spots began to appear on his head and face and then spread to his body. His wives looked at each other in fear, they had heard of such things before - a plague!

By day five one of the wives was coughing and had streaming eyes, her temperature soaring. Duncan was delirious and his breathing sounded laboured and raspy, a rattle in his throat suggesting there was liquid on his chest or lungs.

By day seven, when the healthy wife ran to their neighbour to seek help she found that the entire household was suffering the same, the man a workmate of Duncan's had succumbed three days before and his two wives and three children followed quickly after.

Word spread round the settlement and panic set in. People packed up a few belongings and left the camp, rushing to stay ay Kilchrennan or Inveraray. The leader of the Oban burgh had the foresight to send carrier pigeons to all the surrounding towns to warn them of the potential danger from those fleeing and each settlement closed its gates against all comers.

In Inveraray Scott had been passed the message and he rushed to find his medical team. The Doctor who had travelled back with him was called MacKay and the nurse, a male nurse, was called MacNeill. Scott found them working in the laboratory with the pharmacist.

"Doctor, I've just received a message to advise that some form of plague has broken out in Oban. People are panicking and fleeing the settlement, the burgh in Oban advise we should avoid all contact with them if at all possible. Is there anything we can do?"

"Symptoms man, what are the symptoms of this plague? I need information." Said the doctor, ignoring Scott's rank.

"I'm sorry, I've no details yet, but I'll send a pigeon to the burgh to request more details."

"In the meantime do as they have suggested, confine everyone to camp and close the gates." The doctor said.

It took the best part of a day to send a message to Oban and get a response. During that time half a dozen people had appeared at the Inveraray gates seeking admission. One man had tried to scale the walls, wedging a tree trunk up against them and climbing to the top. A guard had wrestled with him, the man screaming abuse in his face, before he toppled from his log to the ground. While screaming, tiny droplets of saliva had sprayed from the man's mouth and covered the guard.

Inside the camp Scott shared his latest intelligence with the doctor. The burgh advised that nine out of ten of all of those remaining in the settlement were now affected. The symptoms ranged from coughing, runny noses and inflamed eyes. All seemed to eventually develop a rash or spots, starting from the head and then spreading over the body. The burgh notified Scott of their first deaths and pleaded for help.

"It sounds like measles, but it shouldn't be this severe. Blast, I'm forgetting, the people in this time will have had no real exposure to this and certainly no immunisation against it."

"Do you mean we have brought this back from the twenty-first century?" Scott asked.

"In all likelihood. In our time death from measles would be highly unlikely, but I don't know what the chances are in this time. Complications could include pneumonia or even encephalitis, probably linked to the fever."

"What can we do? How can this be treated?"

"I'm afraid once they have it that's it. There is no treatment. We can immunise people to try and protect them from catching it, but there's no treatment as such."

"Start that immediately. The old cliché applies - women and children first, no, hold it. Check that all of the newcomers have already been immunised and then the women and children."

"The pharmacist will need to get busy, we don't have much of the vaccine prepared."

Word had spread through Inveraray and everyone was anxious. The doctor had quickly used up all of the available vaccine, but more than half of the camp remained unprotected.

Four days later the guard fell ill, along with his wife and children. It seemed likely that the woman and children had already had the illness passed onto them before they had been vaccinated. Quickly thereafter other men in the settlement began to show signs of illness too.

Scott raged, feeling completely impotent as he watched men he worked with, men he had fought with side by side, succumb to the illness and take to their beds. A final message had arrived from Oban to advise that it seemed the worst was over. Of the population of approximately four hundred, the burgh recorded that eighty-seven had died, mostly adults, but the numbers included five children.

Messages from Kilchrennan advised that they had been hit hard by the virus too. The burgh had not moved quickly enough to close their gates it seemed and somehow the measles had got in and spread quickly.

After a further seven days most of the adult males in Inveraray had been struck down, Gabrain one of them. The first death was reported two days later, the doctor unable to do anything to stop it.

Scott remained by his friend's side, willing him to beat off the virus. Gabrain's wives also huddled round him, frantic about his condition.

The fever broke and it seemed likely that Gabrain was going to be okay. Scott was relieved about his friend and the fact his family had escaped the privations of the illness.

Five days later the worst of the outbreak seemed to have passed and Inveraray's death toll stood at forty-three, two of them children. The doctor was preparing to set out with a wagon full of vaccine to immunise the remainder of Dalriada as a precaution to the virus spreading further afield. Scott had suggested they needed to sit down and think about other illnesses that might appear and which could be protected against through immunisation.

The death toll across the three settlements once the outbreak was over reached one hundred and ninety two. Eighty-seven at Oban, sixty-two in Kilchrennan and forty-three at Inveraray. Scott was crushed. What made matters worse was the probability that it had been his transportation of the newcomers back from the twenty-first century that had led to the virus affecting the people of Dalriada in the first place.

Mass funerals were organised and Scott and his family attended each one, his wives supporting him as he shed tears unashamedly, particularly when he saw the small coffins with the dead children inside them. The bagpipes played Flowers O' the Forest, the drone of the pipes all but killing Scott. (e-mail for the tune!!!)

Depression settled over Scott and his wives, family and friends tried to comfort him and bring him out of it. Once more it was Gabrain who managed to get through to him.

"Your Grace, we have been here before. This is selfish on your part and does the people of Scotland no good whatsoever. Remember, before you came, many more than this would have died every year. Died of various ailments, killed by Norsemen or just perished through the effects of a poor diet and poor hygiene.

"The best memorial you can give the dead is to carry on with your plans. The best defence against something like this happening again is to do likewise. Scott, the specialists are following your lead. All work has stopped and you need to do something to get things back underway. Now!"

Scott knew his friend was right, but his heart was still heavy with the loss and the guilt. He did manage to shake himself and visited the newcomers to urge them to begin working again. As Gabrain had suggested, only by ensuring developments moved on apace would they be able to secure the improvements in medicines that would safeguard the population from another outbreak.

The pharmacist was working overtime, preparing vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella. He was also making up the required vaccines for smallpox and TB. The doctor was training additional nurses so that teams could go out round the country immunising the entire population. They knew this was going to take the remainder of the year to accomplish, but all agreed it was essential.

-------

Lachlan had let his 'prisoners' go as soon as the snows had melted and reported to Scott that some of them had pleaded with him to be allowed to stay rather than return to their own settlements in the north of England. He hoped those that had gone would spread the word and provide Scotland with an additional workforce.

Scott's next message from Lachlan didn't bring good news however. It seemed that the Saxons had decided to retaliate for Lachlan's raids the previous year and they had raised a host to march north. Lachlan's scouts estimated their numbers at around five thousand and they were already over the border and heading across Dùn Phris (modern day Dumfries).

This more than anything else served to bring Scott fully out of the fog of depression that had lingered following the measles deaths. He called for the Colonel and Gabrain and together they discussed how they should respond.

"We need to protect Galloway at all costs Scott. Already that earldom is producing more food than any other two earldoms put together. If the planting is disrupted it will have a significant impact over the coming winter."

"Aye Gabrain, but it is the people that I am concerned with first. Colonel how have you progressed with your weapon production?"

"I have one hundred trained men with automatic rifles Sire. That would have been twice as many if it hadn't been for the virus, training was seriously disrupted. I can also give you a dozen trained mortar crews and two artillery pieces."

"Then that will have to do. Two ships Gabrain, ready to sail within the hour. Come my friends, we have a country to defend."

Three days of sailing brought them down Loch Ryan and they landed at Stranraer. Scott pushed the men, wagons and artillery pieces as hard as he could to get them across the Machars to Galloway's eastern border.

Scouts were providing regular intelligence on the progress the Saxons were making. They seemed to be moving westwards cautiously and this caution allowed the small Scots force to get to the Water of Fleet before the two sides met.

The Colonel now came into his own. His planning was first rate and the men he had trained knew exactly what he wanted. Scott sat on Albannach and watched as the two artillery pieces opened up, blasting the Saxons as they streamed across the flat ground towards them. Once the range decreased the Colonel ordered the artillery back under covering fire from the mortars and then the artillery began firing again.

MacKelvie was prepared to order the same manoeuvre twice more, but there was no need as after the first rounds the Saxons were no longer advancing. Instead the artillery and mortars just continued to rain fire down on them, seriously depleting the Saxon's numbers. The Colonel then let his one-hundred infantry advance with their automatic rifles. They moved forward line abreast, firing short bursts as they picked off the Saxons individually, Saxons who were now in wholescale retreat.

The combination of the bombardment and the automatic rifles proved way too much for the Saxons to take. The noise of the first artillery round as it headed towards them had left men frozen to the spot. The horror of the shell exploding - the noise, the heat, the flying debris, the way the ground shook, shook the inside of their heads - had their enemies in absolute shock. Some were so dazed that they couldn't even think to run away, they staggered around and were quickly killed off by the advancing Scots infantry.

Within an hour it was complete victory. Scott stopped his men from pursuing the Saxons, believing it unlikely that they would rally and return to face the horrors that had been unleashed on them.

Some of the people of Galloway had followed Scott and his men, around four hundred of them armed with crossbows and spears ready to help defend their lands. They had watched the new weapons with awe and amazement, thankful that they were being employed by men on their side, and not the other way round.

-------

Their return to Inveraray was triumphant and the newcomers all wanted the full detail of how the battle had gone. Scott left the Colonel to have his moment in the sun and went in search of his family to spend some time with them. He watched David and Crinan completely their weapons training, still using the sword and shield, and congratulated them on their growing strength and mobility.

The boy's faces lit up at the praise from their father, it was clear that they worshipped him and a kind word from him was the biggest thing they strove for.

Surprisingly Scott's father also seemed to need his son's approbation. It was almost like a role reversal and Scott found it all a little surreal. The issue that was consuming Fergus was of course the building of the hydroelectric power station. As soon as he could manage it, he monopolised Scott's attention and shared with him the plans for the coming year.

He had chosen a site not far from great Cruachan and explained to Scott how he planned to take things forward.

"First of all you need to get me some explosives to help me blast a tunnel into the side of the mountain-side. Once that's completed I'll need to rig up a hydraulic ram of some description, still working on that, and then we'll dam the mountain water and direct it through my new tunnel.

"Once I've done that, I can then start building the actual station. We'll use concrete and rebar for the main structure. It'll need three pipes for the water to rush through and each pipe will have a pair of stainless steel turbines in it. The turbines will be connected to these rotors to generate the current.

"Once all that's in place, we can use the hydraulic ram to block off the mountain tunnel and remove the dam so that the water returns to its original, natural path, but now it will need to travel through my pipes and generate our electricity!"

"Dad that sounds great, I can see you've really thought this through. Tell me what kind of scale of materials are we talking about to achieve all this?"

"The dam should be relatively straightforward. The tunnel will need to be wide enough to carry the entire flow of the mountain torrent. I estimate a short diversion, aided by explosives, could be achieved in less than two months. It doesn't need to finished off elegantly, just prove capable of handling the volume of water.

"The turbines will need to be stainless steel and my colleagues tell me you don't have that capacity yet. Those pesky Norse are going to have to come up with the goods in terms of sufficient chromium to allow that. The turbines, rotors and stators will be heavy and take a lot of skill to manufacture. Your specialists will need to get the wire and cable sorted out or we won't be able to make them. There's time though, as the concrete will take months to put in.

"Transporting the plant to the site will be difficult, it's heavy stuff and we currently have no means of transporting it. I recommend getting those steam engines finished and building a link to the bottom of the mountain. From there I can probably use sleds and a system of ropes and pulleys to hoist them up, but it will take weeks to get them into position.

"Assembling all of the plant correctly will take months as well, so I'm revising my estimate of completion to eighteen months son.

"Once everything is in place we close the hydraulic ram and release the water. We don't connect up the rotors until we have the capacity to ramp up the voltage and use cable to siphon off the current and use the power. What do you think Scott, can we do it?"

Scott's head was swimming at the detail his father had gone into.

"How many men to build this dad? How much concrete?"

"Oh, perhaps ten thousand cubic metres of concrete, maybe two thousand or so men. It's achievable, just, but we can do it if the materials are there."

"Dad, that's massive! How am I going to supply all that? I guess it would be easier to make the concrete close to where it's going to be poured, but that will mean getting the raw materials up there. Two thousand men? Sweet Jesu!"

"Come on Scott, we can do this, I promise you! It's doable and will provide at least thirty megawatts of power. With the way things are in the country now, that's enough to run everything comfortably - domestic as well as industry!"

Scott allowed himself to dream of that, but he knew there was a lot that could go wrong, many contingencies that could throw things off track.

"Dad, you're doing great work. Scotland doesn't yet know what she owes you. I promise I will do all that I can to make this a reality."

Fergus looked little different in his reaction to this praise as David and Crinan had.

-------

Another conversation was worthy of a little note. The Colonel was sitting with Scott in the hall-house, waiting for the newcomers to arrive for the weekly meeting.

"You know, I'm puzzled Scott. In our time, Edinburgh and Glasgow are the most important places in the country. Why are you based here at Inveraray?"

Scott smiled.

"Look around you Colonel. There is Strachur. Look at Loch Fyne. Look down the loch to the sea. Care to look westwards over towards Cruachan? Which would you prefer? Glasgow and Edinburgh or this paradise on earth. Urban build-up or the jewels that nature and god have given us? Give me the west highlands every time, there's just so much here that feeds my soul. Alba, my darling, let me breathe in your beauty and sigh my love for you 'til I've no breath left to give!"



-------

Chapter 19: Meeting King Alfred!


Scott received a strange message from Lachlan by carrier pigeon. Lachlan explained that he was escorting hundreds of Saxons north to assist with Scott's building projects. That was not strange in an of itself, but what was strange was that the majority of the Saxons were not motivated by the former 'prisoners' but rather by a desire to escape marauding Vikings.

Closer scrutiny of the dead at the battle in Galloway also showed that it was in fact a strange looking type of Norsemen that Scott had been fighting, not Saxons as they had assumed. The 'volunteers' that Lachlan was bringing had explained that the whole of Northumbria was now awash with Vikings. Some three hundred ships had landed on the Northumbrian coast and the fact that the Norse had brought their women and children indicated that this was a very serious bid to settle in the area.

Scott was appalled. This meant that thirty five or forty thousand Norsemen had just landed on his southern border, Norsemen clearly hungry for land. He hoped the defeat in Galloway would give them pause for thought. Certainly his decision not to allow a pursuit of those fleeing the battle meant that over three thousand would return to their camps with news of the Scots strength.

He discussed the latest intelligence with the Colonel and they agreed it would be prudent to have a network established along the border to warn them of any threats. The Colonel had been training riflemen in small teams of four, the classic Special Air Service sabre team, and he proposed twenty five of these should be deployed along the entire border from east to west coast, from the Cheviot Hills to the Solway.

"Colonel, I don't have to tell you that this is a significant threat. That many Vikings can only be bad news and they will be displacing Saxons who will be looking for somewhere to go. The Saxons might be a blessing in disguise if they are willing to work on our infrastructure projects, but the Norse bother me."

"You don't think Sigurd has got anything to do with this do you?" Asked MacKelvie.

"No, his wife explained that Norway was seriously overcrowded and had little productive land. I think this is more likely just to be a natural consequence of that, people looking for somewhere they can survive. As ever the Norse way is just to take what they want by brute strength, the Saxons on the receiving end this time. Rest assured that it won't be long before they're probing outwards from these Northumbrian bases, looking for even more territory."

"Well Sire, if that is the case at least the teams that I'm sending out will give us ample warning."

Scott sent messengers to meet the group that was escorting the 'refugee' Saxons, advising them to bring their charges onward to Inveraray. These would prove useful for his father's project, providing much needed labour for the building of the hydroelectric plant.

Scott's belief that Sigurd was not involved with the Norse invasion of Northumbria was borne out when two transport ship docked at Oban only a week or so later. These proved to be the ships he had gifted to Sigurd to assist in the transportation of ore, loaded down with a cargo of an orange-red rock.

Donald the geologist identified the ore as containing lead and chromium (Crocoite) and explained to Scott it would need careful treatment to extract the metals from it, the details of how to do that were only vaguely known to him and one of the scientists was called for to give advice.

"It will need to be treated with hydrochloric acid first your Grace, then heated in an oven with sand to extract what we need." The scientist explained. "This is unusual, normally we would look to get chromium from chromite, an ore where iron and chromium are together."

Scott was pleased that he now had the specialists to call on to give precise and easy to understand answers. He could remember not so long ago he would have been asking these kind of questions of one of the alchemists and he wouldn't have received such a response. He knew that the chromium was vital if he was going to be able to manufacture stainless steel so this shipment from Sigurd was welcome indeed.

Once the ships were unloaded Scott gave orders to load up a shipment of cookers and toilets to be delivered to Orkney as payment for the ore. He thought it would be worthwhile demonstrating early on what benefits Sigurd could expect if he continued to send the materials he had asked for.

Another message arrived from Lachlan to inform Scott that he was personally on his way to Inveraray, bringing with him and intriguing envoy from the south. The message was brief and gave no other details, but it had Scott curious. It must be important if it was bringing Lachlan to Dalriada.

Two days later a ship arrived at Inveraray and Lachlan came striding into the settlement, a Saxon trailing in his wake.

"Lachlan! Well met my friend, it is good to see you again after so long."

"Your Grace," said Lachlan, bowing, "I bring with me an envoy who claims to come from the King of all the Saxons. He was found wandering in Galloway, claiming he had messages for the Norse-slayer."

Scott switched to speaking English and addressed the man at Lachlan's side.

"What is your name my Saxon friend and what is your mission?"

"I am Alfrith my Lord and I am looking for he that is called the Norse-slayer. I bear messages from King Alfred, King of all the Saxons."

"Do you indeed? Well your quest is at an end my friend for I am Scott mac Fergus, sometimes known as the Norse-slayer. Come. Let us show you some highland hospitality and you can share your message with me."

Scott turned and led off towards the hall-house, calling for some meat and drink to be served. Once they were seated at a table, plates of hot beef and beakers of ale were set in front of them and Scott once more turned to the Saxon.

"So my friend, why does King Alfred seek out the Norse-slayer?"

"My Lord..."

Lachlan interrupted the Saxon brusquely.

"Would you refer to your King Alfred as 'my Lord' Saxon? No? Well address the Ard Righ as your Grace or Sire. We can at least teach you some manners while you're with us!"

"Easy Lachlan my friend, I have no need to insist on such. Come my friend, be not put off by Lachlan's concern for my honour, continue with your tale."

"Thank you,... err Sire, I was asked by King Alfred to seek you out and to plead for your assistance on his behalf. There have been many Danes landings on our coasts and the entire south of our country is under threat."

"More of the Norse dogs! By the saints how many of these accursed Vikings are there? I swear they breed like rats."

"Not Norse Sire, these are Danes, different. We have known raiding for many years Sire, even made peace with some of the Danes who established camps on our southern shores, but in this last year things have changed. Not only do we suffer their murderous assaults, many more of the Danes are now arriving, looking to establish settlements. They bring their women and children and seem to be bent on taking large swathes of our country for their own."

"How many are we talking about my friend and where are they now?" Asked Scott.

"Many thousands Sire, Devon, Wiltshire and Exeter are all but being overrun by them. Another group seem to have taken Northumbria and we are beset now from both north and south."

Scott could see that Scotland would face its own trouble from these Danes at some point. He was thinking furiously as to where Scotland's best interest might lie on this issue and all the answers he was coming up with suggested joining forces with this Alfred to fight the Danes would be his best course of action.

"My friend, I'm sure Alfred didn't send you here to simply share the news of his troubles. What is he looking for from the Norse-slayer?"

"Sire your reputation is known, your success against Vikings legend. You and your people are native to this land, not invaders. Alfred seeks your aid in turning back this tide of Danes."

"And why should I do that? It's not so long ago that Saxons were lording it over my Scots in Ayrshire and Galloway, aye and attacking my own lands in Fife!"

Scott had already made up his mind that it would be in his own interests to assist Alfred, but he was interested in finding out how desperate the man was, what he was willing to offer to secure Scott's help.

"Sire, Scotland would be much the safer with this threat removed. Alfred believes they will not settle for parts of the land, rather they will look to have it all. He has authorised me to assure you that he will cede Northumbria to Scotland if you help him rid us of the Danes. In addition he will agree to a treaty between our countries, an agreement to help each other against any Viking threat."

Scott tried to keep the surprise off of his face. Northumbria was a huge area and Alfred must really be suffering if he was willing to offer it up so easily. His memory of history suggested that ownership of Northumbria had been disputed between Scotland and England and he wondered if that stemmed from this period. The offer of a treaty was tempting. He would like to be able to focus his attentions on development rather than warfare and a treaty with Alfred could help with that. He also knew that the south of England had many of the raw materials he needed and a treaty could encompass a trade agreement.

"There is much to think on here my friend. I will have to discuss Alfred's request with my lords and friends. Meanwhile you can enjoy the hospitality Inveraray has to offer."

The Saxon nodded agreement and Scott and Lachlan went in search of Gabrain and the Colonel. The four friends gathered in Scott's house and he explained what the Saxon messenger had offered on Alfred's behalf.

"How say you my friends, should we ride to the aid of this Saxon King?"

"Is he the same one who burnt the cakes?" Asked the Colonel, giggling as he said it.

"I believe so Colonel, but if my history serves me right he was also responsible for advancing education and the rule of law in England. I'm sure his educational reform will address his home economics failings."

Gabrain and Lachlan didn't get the point of Scott's joke and looked puzzled.

"I'm sorry my friends, history records that while Alfred was running from the Danes he took refuge in a settlement and was left to watch over some cakes that were cooking. Apparently he was so absorbed in his own troubles that he forgot the cakes and they burnt."

"I'm sorry Scott, your knowledge of what is to come is sometimes off-putting. What are your own thoughts about this request for help?" Asked Gabrain.

"I think that it won't be long before the Danes are pushing northwards and we will find ourselves needing to fight them anyway. I would prefer to fight them on English soil that on Scots. If we can enlist the support of the English to help defeat them then would also be better than the risk of losing some of our men.

"A treaty with England, in addition to our agreement with Sigurd, offers the prospect of peace and the opportunity to devote our energies into the developments that we want to take forward. England also has many of the raw materials we need and if we help this Alfred cleanse himself of the Danes it may be that we can establish trade with him for what we need."

"What are your plans Scott?" Asked the Colonel.

"I think we should use the majority of our new weapons to deal with the Danes in Northumbria. That way we don't expose them to the English too much. I would also like to ensure the potential threat to our borders is dealt with effectively, no matter what happens further south. Cleanse the Danes from Northumbria Colonel and I promise it shall be your earldom.

"Gabrain, Lachlan and I will head south with some of our well armed ships. Our new, modern ship won't be ready in time mores the pity. If you can manufacture some additional mortars for us to take that would be helpful Colonel, but I intend dealing with the Danes at sea or on the shores if I can. Those further inland can be left to Alfred and his men. There are additional ships being built now to replace those I gifted to Sigurd so in the autumn we should have four at our disposal here in Dalriada and two in Fife.

"I propose we leave one here and one in Fife to guard against any attacks, but take the rest south to aid Alfred. I'll leave my father in overall control of the various works that are underway and agree with him how we should use the Saxons that are still pouring out of England to avoid the Danes' invasion."

All agreed that this was a sound plan and each of them left the house to set things in train.

The Colonel sent messengers ahead to his 'sabre' teams to meet with him on the Galloway border. He rounded up the additional troops that he had been training, leaving six mortar squads for Scott's use, and embarked these along with his artillery pieces for Galloway.

Scott, Gabrain and Lachlan informed the Saxon messenger of their decision and called for enough men to man a ship that would take the man back to Alfred. Scott promised that they were already beginning an assault on the Danes in the north and that he personally would sail south in the autumn to help King Alfred there. He stressed his intention of fighting the Danes in the south from his ships and advised the Saxon to tell Alfred the inland Danes should be his concern.

The Saxon thanked Scott profusely, already impressed by the High Kings stature and full of hope that the Scots could help the Saxons beat off the Viking threat.

Scott spoke to the men who would be manning the ship that was going south. He ordered them to avoid trouble at all costs, but to gather intelligence about where the Danes were based and in what numbers. This was the information he would need when they sailed south in the autumn to take them on.

Once the ship had sailed Scott and his friends gathered at the loch side to wave farewell to the Colonel and his force as it set out for Galloway. Nothing was left for them to do but oversee other development work while they waited for the two additional war ships to be completed at Oban.

Scott thought it was high time he toured other parts of Scotland to show himself again to the people and to see for himself how they were responding to what he had set in train. His wives and children accompanied him as he made his way across Strathclyde and into Fife. Already he could see that the defences along the Firth of Clyde were much stronger, re-inforced with concrete, towers and cannon. As he rode he could also see more land growing crops too and work underway to drain additional tracts so that planting could be increased again in the coming year.

Work was also underway expanding the road/rail network and in installing sewage and running water facilities. Scott was advised these were moving slowly due to the shortage of pipes, production at Inveraray being unable to cope with the demand. He made a mental note to speak to the scientists to see whether there was anything they could do to speed plastic production, perhaps by training locals on this aspect of their work alone and allowing them to spread production throughout the country.

At each settlement he met with the burgh and listened as they itemised the progress they had made on education, public health and on training up additional craftsmen. He came across a number of camps that had disputes with their neighbours, but in all cases the burghs had managed to sort out issues between them. Overall the people of Strathclyde and Fife seemed happy with how their lives were going, with the increased local democracy and the better standard of living.

From Fife, Scott and his family travelled into Strathearn, finding things much the same as in the other earldoms. He travelled through Strath Tay and up through Glen Garry, enjoying the spectacular scenery of the Forest of Atholl as he made his way into Gabrain's son's earldom. This had formerly been Giric's territory and Scott was pleased to see the people here were taking to the improvements if anything with even more vigour than elsewhere. He could detect no resentment at the removal of Giric and assumed the people were glad to be rid of him.

The next port of call for Scott and his family was Fortrenn and he rode along the Moray Firth, the water a sparkling blue/grey under the summer sun. Dolphins occasionally broke the surface and the children cheered whenever they spotted one. They called in at Inverness and Scott spoke with Constantine. It was clear to Scott that he was less enthusiastic about some elements of his plans and he had to argue the case for opening up educational opportunities to Constantine's people. Land improvement and public health were also less evident here and when Scott enquired about the burgh, he discovered Constantine had disbanded it.

"My Lord, the existence and powers of the burghs are not within your gift! These I have ordered and I expect to see them in all parts of the country. Part of their role is to act as a balance to the power that you yourself hold and it is my Royal command that you re-instate them and stop interfering with their business."

"I can run my own affairs quite well enough Sire without the assistance of such a parcel of misfits."

"No Constantine! See you, we discussed this before. You will only realise the full potential of your lands by making sure your people have ownership of what it is their doing. They need to see the benefits, direct benefits for themselves. Part of that is having more control over their own lives."

Constantine finally agreed that he would see to it that the burghs were re-instated, Scott suggesting that he would ask the burghs to keep him informed of how they were progressing and whether Constantine was interfering with their role.

Their reception in Buchan was much warmer and Scott could see that Domnaill at least was taking his agenda forward seriously. He had organised meetings for Scott with a number of his burghs and these confirmed the local arrangements were working well. Scott could see signs of an increase in the numbers of children and Domnaill confirmed that the number of births was indeed on the rise. He spent a pleasant week at Ceann Phadraig (modern day Peterhead), enjoying Domnaill's hospitality before heading south for Angus to meet with Donald.

All the time he and his family had been travelling, messengers were coming north to keep Scott appraised of the Colonel's progress with the Dane's in Northumbria. It was clear the modern weapons were making things very one-sided and it was only the scale of the territory that was dragging out the inevitable victory there. Scott guessed the Danes were ruing their decision to try to colonise Northumbria.

He believed his tour had been successful, but knew it was getting close to the time to return to Dalriada to prepare for his campaign in the south of England. The harvest was well underway as he arrived back and he spent most of his first day at Inveraray catching up with the specialists.

Progress was steady, but not amazing. Scott was pleased by his father's report on the development of the hydroplant at least. The influx of labour had helped address the huge challenges that the project presented and some of the concrete was already being poured.

At last Scott was ready to head to the south of England. He had agreed with the Fife ship when they would set out and where they would rendezvous. The passage took seven days but eventually they were off of the English coast. Scott had received intelligence from the ship that had sailed south earlier in the year and he knew where to aim his attacks to cause the most damage.



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Chapter 20: There ain't nuthin' like a Dane


Scott had explained to Gabrain and Lachlan why he had decided to mount this campaign from the sea.

"My friends, I don't want to see a single Scotsman perish if I can possibly avoid it. We have already shown the power of these ships and I'm confident they can destroy anything the Danes might send against us. We can even outrun their ships if we need to for any reason."

"But the Colonel's new rifles and artillery would still give us a massive advantage in a land battle Scott."

"Aye Gabrain, but with more of a possibility that our own men could be in harm's way. There are also two other reasons that occurred to me before I decided this was the approach to take."

"Okay Sire, what have we missed this time?" asked Lachlan.

"Not missed Lachlan, I'm sure you have both already thought about these two issues. The first is that there is still the possibility that this could all be a trap invented by Alfred. What if he has already entered into a treaty with the Danes and they are both intent on having Scotland as a prize? Remember, it wasn't very long ago that we were fighting Saxons to the death. Is it likely that they have changed their position so much in such a short time?"

"But why sail south at all then Scott?"

"My assessment is that we will need to deal with a threat from the Danes at some point. I deem it worth the risk. We can investigate whether the numbers of Danes has so alarmed the Saxons that they are looking for all the help they can get and are willing to promise anything to get it. At least approaching things this way we can safeguard ourselves from any treachery."

"What's the second issue that suggests a sea campaign is the better option?" asked Gabrain, as his sharp wits tried and failed to find the answer.

"Women and children my friends, women and children. If we were to fight the Danes on land and defeat them we would have to consider what to do with the women and children. Already Scotland is accommodating the Saxons displaced from Northumbria, and if the Colonel is successful in defeating the Danes there, we will have the surviving women and children to house and feed. I would rather that Alfred has the problem of dealing with the women and children of these Danes based in the south. The numbers would begin to swamp us otherwise."

His two friends saw the sense of what he was saying and realised Scotland did not need twenty thousand widows and orphans to cope with.

Scott had picked out Plymouth as his first target. His scouts estimated that there were several thousand Vikings based here, the craggy coastline a reminder of their native Denmark perhaps, and valuable shelter for their longships. Eighteen ships had been counted and Scott expected there to be eighteen less by the time his attack was complete.

As at Kirkwall he designated one ship as a look out and rear guard while the other three Carracks sailed past the great rock that almost closed off the entrance to Plymouth's natural harbour. Drake's island was on their right as they swung into the harbour proper and found the Danish ships spread out before them.

Scott had agreed the formation and firing rules with his captains, to ensure they did not accidentally fire on each other, and that would prove to have been time well spent given the cramped confines of the harbour. Realising just how tight navigation would be, he ordered his own captain to refrain from sailing in any further, trusting that two ships would be sufficient to cripple the Viking fleet.

He watched as the cannons on both of his ships began to belch fire and smoke, plumes of water and shattered timbers flying into the air all through the harbour. The longships were moored one to another because of the lack of space and this was making it too easy for Scott's ships to find their targets with almost every shot.

Scott heard cannon fire behind them and ordered the captain to take their ship back out into the Sound. By the time the captain had completed his manoeuvre Scott just had time to see two shattered longships sinking, their crews in the water and trying to make their way to land. It appeared as if his rearguard ship had caught two longships as they were heading into the harbour and had sunk both.

The remaining two Scots ships sailed out of the harbour, their job apparently complete and Scott was more than happy with this first encounter with the Danes.

The newt few weeks were a repetitive story of Scott's 'sea wolves' chasing and sinking Danish longships when they could find them at sea and of raids to sink any flotillas that could be identified at anchor. Pickings were starting to become slim and he ordered a move further east along this south coast, towards Exeter.

Careful navigation of a number of sandbanks was required at Exmouth. Scott also had to risk using his mortars from the ships to deal with some Vikings who were on foot, guarding the very narrow approach to the anchorage in the River Exe.

Once round the headland the broad river proved to be alive with Danish shipping and both banks lined with tents and camps. Scott quickly signalled for his ships to form pairs - nose to tail - and to sail the length of the river to bombard both shipping and the land forces that were in range. It was slow going and at times dangerous, as Viking ships tried to ram them. The metal plates fixed to the hulls of Scott's ships saved them from being holed and his crew used the falconets and some new hand grenades the Colonel had developed to discourage any boarders.

The four ships turned about at the point where the River Clyst flowed into the River Exe and they repeated their bombardment as they sailed back out to sea. By no means all of the Danish fleet had been destroyed, Scott estimated there had to be over one hundred ships here, but a large number had and the carnage along the shores was horrific too.

They steered a course back through the sandbanks and then Scott signalled his ships to remain on station to wait and see whether any of the Danes tried to make a break from the anchorage. The smoke and fumes from the constant cannon fire had left him with a splitting headache, but he accepted that as a very small price to pay for the damage they had inflicted. He looked up at the device on his mainsail and nodded grimly. He wondered whether he would need to replace the arrow that was stuck in the raven with something else - a cannon perhaps?

Some hours later almost forty Viking ships did come creeping out of the harbour and now the positioning of Scott's four ships allowed them to fire at the enemy as they were having to slow to navigate the sandbanks. The channels quickly became blocked with damaged and sinking longships and half of the Danes had to retreat back into the River Exe. Two ships did manage to win through into the open sea and Scott signalled one of his vessels to give chase and destroy them if possible.

He left one ship to maintain a vigil over the sandbanks, with orders to bombard any ship that tried to leave Exmouth, and then followed after the ship that had been pursuing the two escaped Danes.

Once more Scott patrolled the surrounding area for the next few weeks sinking any Viking ships he managed to find. He put some scouts ashore at the mid point of great Lyme Bay, keen to have news of how their success was affecting the struggle further inland and for any intelligence as to whether Alfred really was fighting the Danes.

His captains had all signalled to inform him that they were running out of food, powder and shot and he realised they would need to return to Dalriada to re-supply. Food could be foraged for, but powder and shot couldn't be manufactured out of thin air.

Scott stood at the prow of his ship as it sailed towards the beach to pick up his scouts. A lookout shouted a warning from the top of the mast and Scott swung his trusty binoculars up to his eyes. He swept the beach and picked out his scouts running for the sand, a large band of what looked like heavily armed Saxons chasing after them.

One man amidst the force stood out. He was slightly taller than the others and looked better dressed. His shaggy blonde hair blew in the wind and he had a bushy beard. A huge battle-axe was over one shoulder and a cloak billowed out behind him as he ran. Scott guessed that this must be Alfred himself.

He ordered his captain to sail in towards the beach and for men to man the falconet. The rope ladder was flung over the side and Scott's scouts climbed aboard as the falconet fired a warning shot at the pursuing Saxons, bringing them up short.

The man who Scott assumed was Alfred strode towards the water's edge on his own. Scott could see his face was grim, lined with the effects of fighting for his survival for many years perhaps. The man called out to the ship in old-fashioned English.

"Who are you and what is your business in this my Kingdom?" he demanded.

"I would have thought the device on my sails would have given some clue as to who I am. As for my business, I seem to be trying to save your Kingdom for you." replied Scott.

"You are the Norse-slayer? You have come to help me rid my lands of this pestilence?"

"Aye Alfred, but see you, this is no way to discuss matters. Come you aboard and we can talk rather than shout at each other in this unseemly fashion." Scott offered.

The Saxon considered this for a moment, staring at Scott and the ship as if he too was calculating whether he could afford to trust Scott. At last he came to a decision and waded out to climb the rope ladder up onto the foredeck.

"Well met cousin, I am Scott mac Fergus!"

The other obviously was still finding Scott's modern English quite difficult to understand, but the gist of what he had said must have registered. Although they were not related Scott had used the familiar 'cousin' in recognition that both were Kings and to indicate a degree of friendship between them.

"Hah! The Norse-slayer himself, welcome to my Kingdom, welcome indeed!"

Alfred strode forward and they clasped arms in greeting.

"My men and I came across these scouts of yours and we were curious as to who they were scouting for. We shouted at them to stop, but to no avail." he said.

"I'm not surprised Alfred, as they don't understand English and in any event, would you have stopped with a large heavily armed band behind you? Come, tell me how are you faring against the Danes?"

"Not half as well as you appear to be doing cousin. Already your successes are growing legendary and much inspire my men. The Vikings set great store by their ships and your destruction of them has left them quite demoralised. Fighting them is ever a hard business, but in recent weeks it has become a little easier I think, still sore, but easier."

"I'm glad for that. But we are here to pick up my scouts Alfred and then I'm afraid I must leave you for a few weeks. We have only cleansed about one third of this coast so far, but already I have run out of the supplies I need. Give me two weeks and I will be back to join you once more."

Alfred's face fell a little at that news, but he recovered himself quickly.

"Well, I already long for your return. Before you sail at least join me for a meal and something to drink Scott. We can share information on what has been achieved so far and perhaps plan the next steps so that we are a little more co-ordinated in what we do."

Scott remained cautious and countered with an offer of food and ale from his rapidly dwindling supplies on board the ship. When victuals were shared round, Scott explained how he had swept the coastline as far as Weymouth and that his estimate was that they had destroyed as many as one hundred and sixty longships.

"So many? That number in only four weeks? No wonder the Danes are demoralised. This is miraculous Scott."

"Many of those were empty Alfred, at anchor, so I will not have helped you much in terms of reducing the Dane's numbers."

"But still, the numbers of ships, that many - I owe you much already."

Scott didn't mention the fact that he hoped to agree a trade agreement with Alfred for some of the raw materials he needed to fuel his developments. The copper and tin in particular were likely to come from the very areas the Danes were occupying currently.

Scott explained that his intention was to sweep along the coastline from Bournemouth to Brighton when he returned. Alfred suggested that such an undertaking might be too big even for the Norse-slayer as the greatest concentration of Danes was in this region. Southampton and Portsmouth in particular were favoured as well sheltered anchorages and Alfred's intelligence suggested there could be as many as four hundred longships and forty thousand Danes still at large here in the south.

The scale of the possible numbers gave Scott something to think about as he agreed with Alfred how messages could be passed between them when he returned.

"Have you considered what you're going to do with all the women and children if you succeed in defeating the Danes Alfred?" he asked.

"My plan is to kill them all, the only good Viking is a dead one!"

"Then you might have just lost an ally cousin, for I'll not be party to making war on women and bairns."

"For a man that has your reputation Norse-slayer, I'm surprised at how weak-stomached you appear over this. What alternative would you suggest?" asked Alfred.

"There are many ways of demonstrating your strength Alfred, I just don't happen to think accepting the slaughter of women and bairns is one of them. If you reach that point, leave enough Danes to man ships that can take those that are left back to Denmark. I'll leave enough ships for that to happen. Or if you'd rather, try and assimilate the women and children into your own population. Just don't kill them all or I will need to teach you something about honour."

"Be careful how you speak to me sirrah in my own back yard!" barked Alfred.

"I needs must speak in a direct manner Alfred, so that there is no misunderstanding between us. Now, which is it to be? Should I leave them some ships?"

"I don't think the scale of what I, we, face has really sunk in Norse-slayer. It's going to take many years before I can finally say I'm victorious against these Vikings. There are so many of them. The women and children will no doubt move from camp to camp for protection, so I feel as if neither of us need worry about them for a while yet."

The two clasped arms once more before Alfred returned to the beach and Scott's ship departed for the voyage back to Oban.

The return trip was uneventful despite the fact that they stopped at mid-Wales to forage for some fresh food. The winds were not kind and it took ten days of tacking before they arrived back in home waters and the joys of dry land after the weeks at sea.

Scott, Gabrain and Lachlan borrowed some horses and set off for Inveraray where their respective wives and family were based. The homecoming(s) after the weeks away were vigorous, Scott's wives vying with each other it seemed to wear him out. When he explained that he would be returning south within a week the demands on him increased if anything.

"Scott, you must have words with this Viking hussy. She has worn out all of the batteries for the sex toys we brought back with us. She has been selfish in the extreme and I think she should be punished." said Fiona.

"Oh, is this true Helfe?" he asked, "you have not been sharing with your sister wives?"

"But Scott, I needed it more than they did. You know I need more than they do before I can satisfy the itch I have sometimes!"

Scott laughed at his little Viking and enjoyed the time with his family while he could.

The Colonel arrived back in Inveraray before the friends were ready to depart for the south.

"Northumbria is all but clear of Danes Scott, small pockets of a few thousand remain in various places and of course there are all the women and children. What am I supposed to do with them?" he asked.

"Send them here Colonel, or should I say Earl of Northumbria! I'll make sure they are given passage to join Sigurd in Orkney. It might well be best to allow them to go to live with some of their own kind, with the same culture."

The newly made Earl of Northumbria looked as if he was in a little shock at his sudden elevation, despite the fact that Scott had promised him this if he managed to defeat the Danes.

"I have merely returned to re-supply myself before returning to finish the job. When do you plan to sail south?" asked MacKelvie.

"I have already been 'Mac', Gabrain' Lachlan and I have not long returned to re-supply as you look to do. We have already dealt the Danish in the south a severe blow and will continue when we sail south again in a few days."

MacKelvie smiled at Scott's more familiar use of 'Mac' as a name for him. While the friends were all talking a messenger arrived at Scott's house. The man bore two messages, neither of them good news.

The first message was that a battered ship had arrived at Oban containing Irishmen looking for Dalriada's help against Norsemen who were descending upon them in great numbers.

The second message had Scott bellowing his rage the instant the man had stopped speaking. It appeared that Constantine had disbanded the burghs in Fortrenn once more. Worse, he had raised a force of a few thousand men and was marching south towards Atholl, bringing with him the coastal defence cannon that Scott had supplied.

"Is there no end to the number of treacherous lords Scotland has to suffer!" he raged.

Scott asked that the captain of the Irish ship be brought to Inveraray so he could speak with him. He thought of how he was going to deal with all the issues at once, the Irish, Constantine and the need to return south to help Alfred.

"Gabrain, I hope you will trust me to defend your territories for you? You will need to return south without Lachlan and me. We will remain here to deal with Constantine and hopefully get word to Sigurd to find out what is going on in Ireland." he said.

Gabrain nodded to indicate that would be fine.

"Remember the voyage home will be a hard one the longer you remain in the south. Don't leave it too late to get back here before the winter sets in. Mac, I want you back in Inveraray for the winter too so that we can plan for the coming year together. I much value your strategic knowledge and would have the benefit of your input."

Scott ordered troops to be mustered so he could go north to deal with Constantine. MacKelvie promised him that at least some additional mortars would be available to take with him.

MacKelvie set off for Northumbria the next day and Gabrain for Oban and the return journey to England's south coast the day after. Scott's wives were delighted he was staying a little longer even if they would lose him when he marched north.

They were sitting having a meal when one of the settlement guards arrived to inform Scott that the Irish captain had arrived. Scott told the man to bring their Irish guest to the house so they could offer hospitality.

He looked up when the man returned. Following behind him was a slightly built woman. She was dressed in leather trousers and jerkin and had a sword belt strapped over one shoulder, the hilt of the sword clearly visible and accessible. Scott's breathing almost came to a halt as he took in her beautiful figure, even clad in the clothes of war, and the fiery red hair that she had tied back. His wives glanced at each other knowingly and he missed the smiles that passed between them.

"I'm Tara O'Cahan." The Irish vision stated firmly. "I have come to ask for the help of the Norse-slayer."



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Chapter 21: The battle that never was


Reluctantly Scott agreed to Tara accompanying Lachlan and himself on the ride north. He had mustered five hundred of the Dalriada men, all horsed, and led them up Glen Shira once they left Inveraray. They skirted the foot of Beinn Bhoideach and Beinn Bhalgairean, forded the Teatle Water and headed northeast through Glen Orchy.

The crossing of the vast Rannoch Moor (fifty square miles) was at once hard going because of the treacherous, boggy conditions underfoot, but also uplifting due to russet colours of the autumn vegetation, framed by the ring of mountains that surrounded the moor. Some of the peaks were hidden under clouds and snow was already evident high up on the mountains' shoulders.

As they rode, Tara maintained a lively conversation and it was difficult for Scott to remain upset with her for very long.

"So your Grace, what do you have in store for this rebel of yours?" she asked.

"A hard lesson, that's what I have in mind for Constantine Captain, one he won't forget in a hurry. Too many times have the people of Scotland been let down by their leaders. I need to remind him as to what his responsibilities are." replied Scott.

"I am led to believe from the gossip of your men around Inveraray that this Constantine has two thousand men with him and you are only taking five hundred to stand against him. It puzzles me that your men seem so confident against such odds. Are you that good a commander?" she asked.

"Watch you're tongue lassie, of course the Ard Righ is that good a commander! See you, he has faced much worse odds than that and still won the day." interjected Lachlan.

"Thank you Lachlan. We have a few surprises up our sleeves for Constantine Captain. But as always, I'm hoping there will be no actual fighting. Nothing saddens me more than the spilling of Scots blood and I would rather avoid that." said Scott.

"How will you avoid that your Grace? If the man is hell bent on doing battle you will have no other option." said Tara.

"I believe the men he has with him are at best reluctant. There is perhaps a lesson here for us all. A poor lord will not secure the full commitment of his people. Performing your responsibilities well, caring for and nurturing your people, ultimately breeds loyalty amongst them." Scott answered.

"Never fear Captain, I'm sure the High King has a ploy in mind. He usually does." finished Lachlan.

He watched as the red-haired Irish Captain glanced across at the High King, her interest in him barely masked in her admiring look. Lachlan smiled to himself as he considered the additional trouble that Scott could find himself in with a fourth wife.

They rode between Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel, entering Atholl proper and made their way towards the settlement at Blair Atholl, situated at the foot of Glen Garry. The site for this camp was impressive indeed. The Glen was picturesque and more than a dozen peaks rising over three thousand feet sat immediately to the northeast.

The camp was fairly modest in terms of population, only a few hundred based here, but that was normal for Atholl. The area was beautiful, but large parts were forested or mountainous. The burgh at Atholl informed Scott that their scouts placed Constantine and his men only some ten or twelve miles to the west at the Pass of Drumochter. His journey southwards had obviously been much hampered through the need to haul the cannon with him.

Scott called his lieutenants together and began to issue orders. Tara was fascinated to see him in action, his leadership and authority lending absolute weight to his words and commands. Six separate bands of fifty men rode out of Blair Atholl, leaving Scott with only some two hundred to guard the camp.

Once more Tara was surprised as Scott and Lachlan relaxed about the camp, eating a meal and sipping at beakers of ale.

"Your Grace, you seem to be very relaxed for someone who faces a host four times your number. Shouldn't you be riding out to harry and try to even up the odds? Or is that what these men have ridden out to do?" she asked.

"Why don't you join us Captain? We have a few hours yet before there will be any work for us to do." Scott replied.

"So, is the Earl of Ayrshire correct your Grace? Do you have some kind of plan in mind?"

"Patience Captain, patience. All will hopefully become clear." replied Scott as he chewed on some cooked pork.

Meanwhile Scott's lieutenants rode up the length of Glen Garry, each of the groups stationing themselves at different points within the deep Forest of Atholl to await the force marching towards them from the Pass of Drumochter.

As Constantine and his host came into sight of the first group of Scott's men, they spurred across the path at right angles, giving the impression they were fleeing from the much larger host. A party of perhaps one hundred broke away from Constantine's larger group and gave chase, following the horsed men into the forest.

This happened a further five times as the afternoon progressed, with the same results so that when Constantine called a halt for the night, he was down to around thirteen or fourteen hundred men in his force. Back at Blair Atholl Scott's mounted men returned, leading six hundred and fifty of those who had until very recently been with Constantine. Once they had lured the men away from the main host, Scott's lieutenants had not found it difficult to persuade these men to change sides. Once they knew it was their High King that Constantine was seeking to bring to battle there was no further persuasion required.

As darkness fell, Scott spoke to the newly arrived men from Fortrenn and two hundred of them melted off into the night. By morning the men had returned, bringing a further one thousand of Constantine's force with them. These had been roused in the dark by their friends and told that they were marching to fight the High King. Again little further persuasion had been required to get them to slip off into the night to join Scott.

Scott now had over two thousand men against Constantine's three or four hundred. Once again the men from the north had chosen their High King over their misguided earl.

When Tara found out that all the extra men had actually come from the force they had set out to fight, she couldn't understand how Scott had managed to achieve that. Lachlan began to explain the many improvements Scott had set in train and what these meant to the lives of the people. He told Tara how Constantine was slow to implement the improvements, almost seemed to be against them, and now the people were voting with their feet to show whose approach they supported.

At mid-morning, Scott ordered all the men to assemble and they advanced out of Blair Atholl to meet Constantine and the men he had left. Barely a mile from the settlement they met a further band of some two hundred that had abandoned Constantine.

The leader of this band informed Scott that Constantine had recognised the realities of the situation and was already hurrying northwards once more, abandoning the cannon in his haste.

So, without a single blow being struck or cannon fired, Scott had defeated Constantine and a force four times his numbers. Tara began to understand the reason why so many looked to this man for leadership.

Scott asked Lachlan to take half of the mounted men to pursue and apprehend Constantine. He addressed the men of Fortrenn, thanking them for their faith in him and their support. He ensured they had sufficient food and then advised them to return to their homes and families.

"I will be appointing a new Earl of Fortrenn in due course my friends. I hope for your sake he proves to be a more able lord than the misguided fool who led you here."

No one disagreed with that sentiment.

Scott shared a pleasant return journey to Inveraray with Tara O'Cahan. He confirmed he would have fought Constantine if there was no other way of bringing him to book, but would have regretted having to do so. He had suspected it wouldn't be difficult to separate the men from the lord given how poorly Constantine treated his people, but he had also brought some mortars with him and he knew he could have won the day if it had come to battle.

Scott's first job when he was home was to call for his father. Fergus was up on the mountain, overseeing work on the hydroelectric plant so he knew he would have to wait for a few days. He took the opportunity of giving Tara a mini-tour of Inveraray and they got to know each other a little as they talked while riding round.

"Your Grace, I noticed a strange structure being assembled at Oban when I landed there. Can I ask what that was?"

"Ah Tara, that would have been our first metal ship. It should really make us invincible at sea when it's finished." he replied.

"Metal? But surely it will just sink. All know that metal sinks in water your Grace. Do you have some magic up your sleeve that can countermand Mother Nature herself?" she asked next.

"No, I can assure you it will not only float, but sail much faster than anything you've ever seen on the water. Nor will it be dependent upon the wind or even men rowing."

He could see Tara's mind was boggling as she tried to take all of his claims in. He took her to see the cable plant under production and to the laboratory where his scientists were hard at work. Scott explained what they had already done and what he hoped they would be able to achieve. His description of medicines and vaccines left her amazed once more.

He took her to the school and explained what lessons the children were being given and also told her of the evening classes and special tutoring his specialists were no delivering.

Once they were back at Scott's house he demonstrated how the range cooker, the running water, the toilets and the sunken bath worked. Tara was quiet for perhaps the first time since she had arrived at Inveraray and Scott smiled as she flushed the toilet over and over like a little child might.

Over a meal that night Tara asked Scott again about his metal ship.

"Your Grace, would it be possible for me to visit those who are building this metal ship for you? As a captain myself I am curious about your absolute faith in what such a ship will be able to do."

Scott could see no reason for allowing her to do so. There were no secretes there that she could share with anyone. No one else had anywhere near the capacity to recreate what he was currently doing - capacity in terms of steel, welding, riveting and all the other technology that would be required to make the ship a reality.

Tara set off with a small escort the next day and Scott's father turned up not long afterwards. It seemed as if Scott's messenger had been superfluous as Fergus was already making his way to Inveraray for the weekly specialists meeting. Scott had completely forgotten about this and he joined his father to walk over to the hall-house. He carried a heavy bundle with him.

Once the specialists had all gathered Scott indicated he had an announcement to make.

"Most of you will have heard about Constantine's rebellion. I have forfeited him his earldom and now need to put another in his place."

He opened the bundle to disclose a golden earl's belt.

"Step forward Fergus mac Donald."

His father looked at Scott nervously and pointed a finger to his own chest as if to ask - "who, me?".

"Yes, you dad, come on step forward."

Fergus shuffled forward hesitantly until he was standing in front of Scott.

"Fergus mac Donald, I hereby name you Earl of Fortrenn. My hope is that you will be a better lord for its people than the last few have proven to be."

"But Scott, my work, the plant, I can't do this!"

"Nonsense dad, you'll make a fine earl and don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to work on your power station. In any event, you have no choice here I'm afraid. This is my Royal command. Now, to normal business my friends."

The newcomers were buzzing with this latest development and came forward to congratulate Fergus on his elevation. Once things calmed down a little the progress reports began to be made. After the happiness of investing his father as an earl, this was all depressing stuff. Time after time the specialists were reporting that their initial estimates of how quickly things could be made had been rather optimistic. Even his father was now suggesting that the power station was going to take much longer to complete.

"You sent the Colonel off to fight Scott and he is the demolitions expert. I've diverted the water and have begun pouring concrete, but things are going very slowly. These meetings have also confirmed that it will be some considerable time before the many components I need will be manufactured.

Scott pointed out that the Colonel was in fact now the Earl of Northumbria, but it was as if his father hadn't heard him, as he just continued with his list of problems.

"It's not just cable, but the turbines too. Producing stainless steel requires a lot of your new ores and they are not getting here quickly enough. You need to increase the number of ships that are transporting it here I believe."

Another of the engineers piped up.

"Aye your Grace, and we completely forgot all of the little things we need - nuts and bolts, screws even, springs. Then there's hydraulic and pneumatic systems. I'm afraid our estimates will have to near double."

The tale of woe stretched on and on. Progress was being made and for that Scott was thankful, but clearly he wasn't going to have all the things he wanted as quickly as he had at first thought.

"Electricity would certainly speed things up, a generator just won't be big enough for what we need. We need that power station but we don't look as if we're going to have it for another eighteen months, possibly even two years." grumbled another man.

Something sprang to Scott's mind, an idea that he had tried to get the shipwrights at Oban to look at when they had been toiling with their design of a propshaft.

"Would it be possible to use a water wheel to generate sufficient electricity for your needs?" he asked them.

There was a sudden silence in the hall as men pondered Scott's suggestion for a few seconds and then bedlam as all of the specialists tried to speak to each other at once, clearly highly excited. Scott smiled and assumed his idea had some merit. He left them to it and returned to the house to spend some time with the children.

David, the eldest was already showing he was bright, contributing sensibly to many of Scott's conversations. He was lively and outgoing with a well-developed sense of humour. It was not unheard of for him to play tricks on his mothers then remain in hiding until their anger at him had calmed down. He was doing well at school by all accounts and his weapons training also showed good progress.

Crinan was much quieter, much like his mother in both looks and nature. His progress in school was if anything better than David's and Scott had little doubt that he was going to be a specialist when he grew up. He rarely contributed to the discussion, but when he did his comments were deep and meaningful, showing maturity well in advance of his age.

Little Tina and James were already up on their feet and had started to talk. They both loved nothing more than the chance to sit on Scott's knees and he loved having them there. He bounced them gently as they snuggled into his sides while he tried to speak to the older boys.

Scott had taken the decision that 'proper' schooling should not start until the children were seven years old. He wanted all of the children to attend nurseries until then so that they learned to play effectively with others and to build relationships. He believed this would help them deal better with emotions and in interacting with other people when they were older.

Two days later Tara returned from Oban with her escort. It was a surprise for Scott to see Sigurd was riding along beside her. For a moment he felt a pang of jealousy as he saw the Norseman talking away to Tara as they strode up the hill to Scott's house. He shook himself before they arrived at the door.

"Ha, Sigurd, you have saved me a trip man." he said.

Sigurd looked at him quickly, a flash of concern in his eyes.

"Why would you want to visit me your Grace?" he asked with a note of caution.

"Perhaps this young Irish lass can explain that better. But first, how did your trip to Norway go? What is Harald's response to my offer?"

"I tried to convince him your Grace, described in great detail the power of your ships, but I was making little headway I fear. That all changed when a messenger arrived from Denmark. Amongst other news this messenger described the wholesale destruction of hundreds of Danish ships in the south by someone called the Norse-slayer.

"It seems you have dragons for ships your Grace, for that is how they were described, great dragons that belched fire, a fire that consumed ships like they were kindling.

"That certainly caught Harald's attention. He still would not give up his claim to Orkney, but has offered a two-year truce between Norway and Scotland. I would advise you accept that your Grace. Two years without trouble must surely be better than none?"

Scott thought about this for a moment or two.

"Aye Sigurd, you might be right. I will need to speak to my close friends about this. Now, to the other matters. There are two things I wanted to discuss with you.

"The first is that I would like to see an increase in the raw materials you have been delivering for me. We need much more than you can currently supply. I would like you to build yourself more of these larger ships and increase what you transport.

"In return I am willing to provide you with more goods, pipes, toilets and the like."

"It will take me some time to build these ships your Grace, but I have to admit the first thing I did when I got the first two you gave me to Kirkwall was have my own shipwrights study their construction and start building four more. These should be ready next summer perhaps."

"Good, the sooner the better Sigurd. Now, the last thing. Young Tara here is on a mission from her father Connor, requesting assistance from the Norse-slayer to deal with a plague of Norsemen in his lands.

"I'm assuming these are the renegade Norsemen that both you and I have beaten off and they now try their luck in Ireland. It would suit my purposes if you could do something about them rather than me. In any event, your battleaxe must be getting blunt my friend and I'm sure you must grow bored!"

Sigurd's eyes had indeed lit up at Scott's suggestion and it was clear he was by no means averse to crossing swords with this group.

"I do believe that would be my pleasure your Grace." he replied, "and if it means assisting this young beauty then that would just be an added bonus!"

"Don't get any ideas into your head. For one thing you smell like a goat and for another Vikings normally only dull my sword blade not my sexual appetite!" she responded spiritedly.

Sigurd was quite taken aback by the fiery temper of the slip of a girl and he now eyed the sword handle that stuck up over her shoulder. Scott couldn't help smiling to himself as the girl made her feelings about Sigurd clear.

MacKelvie returned to Inveraray for the winter and Scott was starting to worry that there was still no sign of Gabrain and the ships from the south. He had warned his friend not to risk the winter weather at sea. Scott couldn't understand how Gabrain had managed to keep from running out of powder and shot as he had on the first trip to the couth coast. As each day passed without any sign of his fried he grew more anxious.

Lachlan had returned several weeks before with Constantine as a captive. Lachlan was all for treating Constantine as Echdach had been treated - hung, drawn and quartered, but Scott disagreed. He felt sick at the prospect of even one more Scot being killed, despite Constantine's treachery. Instead Scott decided he too should be banished as Giric and Eochaid had been.

Constantine was given the option of seeking passage on the very next merchant ship that docked at Inveraray and he took it with alacrity.

Tara O'Cahan also departed to return to her father at Contae Aontroma (modern County Antrim). Scott had convinced himself that she had seemed reluctant to leave, but eventually she ran out of believable reasons for delaying any longer. Scott provided her with an escort to Oban and he and his wives came out to the settlement gates to wish her farewell.

Fiona, Eilean and Helfe all snickered when Tara gave Scott a little kiss on the lips and turned quickly to mount up and ride off. She hadn't looked back to disguise the fact that there were tears in her eyes. Scott had missed this, but the girls hadn't and quietly agreed that they hadn't seen the last of the Irish girl.

Tara took with her a commitment from Sigurd to deal with the Norse that had been raiding her father's lands. Scott had finally agreed to the two-year truce with Norway and had confirmed Sigurd as Earl of Orkney.

At last Scott grew impatient at waiting in Inveraray for Gabrain's return. He called for Albannach and mounting up he rode off towards Oban. He paced the walls of the settlement for two days, looking out to sea.

On the third day three ships came limping into the harbour. Even from a distance Scott could see they were badly damaged, some masts were missing and their sails were ragged and holed. He ran quickly for the harbour.

Scott's heart sank as he realised the ship that was missing was Gabrain's. Even before the captains could get over the side of their ships he was demanding information. As the story began to emerge Scott grew paler and paler.

"It was an awful storm your Grace. It came out of nowhere and battered us about. You can see the damage it caused before we could get men aloft to haul the sails in. At one point I was almost capsized."

"What of Gabrain, Captain? What happened to him?" Scott asked urgently.

"I don't know your Grace. We were all separated and it's only in the past two days that we three met up again as we tried to make our way home. I've no idea what happened to my Lord."

"Why didn't you search for him fool? What sort of man are you that abandons his Lord?" Scott asked angrily.

The look on the man's face brought Scott up short and he realised he was perhaps being unreasonable. The man's ship was crippled and he had faced the horrors of almost losing her and all hands. He shouldn't expect the man to try and remain at sea in the condition the ship was in.

"I'm sorry Captain, forgive me. I swear I forget myself due to the concern for Gabrain. Please accept my apology, I can see that you and all these others have been through quite an ordeal yourself."

The Captains face lost some of its strain and he nodded his thanks at Scott.

Scott called for craftsmen to begin making repairs immediately and for others to replenish the stores on one. He was determined to have the ship sea-worthy and back out to look for his friend as soon as humanly possible.

With everyone that was available lending a hand they took two days to repair the worst of the damage to the masts, rigging and sails. It was by no means perfect and wouldn't be able to stand a fierce storm, but Scott decided it was enough. The same captain volunteered for the voyage and Scott thanked him warmly.

Six days of sailing brought them to the area the captain believed the storm had struck. Scott ordered a search pattern to be set up so they could be methodical in looking for any sign of Gabrain.

Flotsam and jetsam there was aplenty and on several occasions Scott was sure they had encountered remnants of a ship that had broken up, but he wouldn't give up.

It was on the fourth day of sailing Scott's search pattern that there was a shout from the lookout atop the mast. Scott lifted his binoculars to his eyes and looked in the direction the lookout was pointing.

There could be no doubt that this was the missing 'sea-wolf'. Scott could see that she was very badly smashed up with no masts remaining to rig canvass to. He breathed a little sigh of relief when he saw people moving on the decks, waving at them. He offered up a silent prayer that his friend was amongst them.

As they sailed closer Scott could begin to pick out individuals through the binos. A huge smile appeared on his face as he recognised Gabrain on the foredeck. The smile stayed on his face for the next twenty minutes as they gradually closed the gap between themselves and the stricken ship.

"What kept you your Grace? I've been hanging round here waiting for you for a week and a half!" shouted Gabrain as the ships closed.

Scott couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You cheeky young pup! What did I tell you about the bloody weather?" he called back.

Once they were close enough Gabrain leapt across onto Scott's ship and the two men hugged.

"Thank you Scott, I really thought my time had come." he whispered in his friend's ear.

"Not yet my friend, I've still got plans for you, so if the grim reaper wants you he'll need to go through me to get what he wants."

"I knew you would come, told all on the ship that you never leave people behind, never."

"Aye my friend, that's the way it is and they should all know I would have done the same for any one of them."

A number of lines were secured to the stricken ship and they began to tow her back to Oban, the two friends already exchanging news about what had happened since they had last been together.



-------

Chapter 22: Irish eyes


As they sailed back towards Oban Gabrain shared news of his campaign in the south with Scott. From the outset things seemed to be different on this second foray to England's south coast.

"I believe word must have spread Scott, they were warned of the tactics we used on that first campaign."

"How so Gabrain, what was different?"

"Far more of the Danish ships were manned and at sea, fewer at anchorages. That meant the sea-wolves had to battle large numbers of longships out on the open sea this time."

"But surely that would have been more difficult, would mean more wasted shot?" Asked Scott.

"At first yes, and because of the numbers it left us in great danger. See you, although heavily armed, if we were swarmed by longships I could see it might be possible for the Vikings to overwhelm us."

"Haha my friend, you said 'at first' so you developed new tactics?"

"Indeed Scott. I had an idea of how we could make all of our shots count. I let the Viking ships come close and then we threw grappling irons to hold them against us. With the cannon fully depressed we could then fire directly into their decks! I named it 'the Scottish kiss'."

"Saints! I can see in my mind's eye the destruction that would cause."

"Aye my friend. It was most effective. Very quickly we realised that we didn't need to fire all our cannons either, only a few for each ship, so in the end my new tactics actually meant we were using fewer shots. That in turn meant we were able to remain there longer this time."

"So how many Danes fell to this 'Scottish kiss' Gabrain?"

"Not as many as on our first trip Scott. The Danes quickly learned to simply run when they saw us and we had to chase them down. That meant we were sinking them in twos or threes at a time rather than the wholesale destruction we were able to achieve previously. Still, I estimate we accounted for perhaps forty or fifty in the six weeks I was on station. And of course, this time the losses also included the men, not just the ships."

"Aye, I'm sure Alfred would be happy about that."

"What about at home Scott, Constantine, my Atholl, how did things go there?"

"Well enough my friend, Constantine found out quite directly what to expect when you mistreat your people. I was able to detach virtually all of the men he had with him without a battle and then he ran. Lachlan captured the treacherous dog and I have banished him from Scotland. Your people are all safe Gabrain."

Scott shared the other news too, informing Gabrain about the treaty with Norway and Sigurd's promise to do battle with the renegade Norse that were attacking County Antrim.

Six more days of sailing with a strong wind behind them and the ships were passing the foot of Kintyre, heading into the Sound of Jura. The mountains on Jura itself were capped with snow now and dark grey clouds threatened heavy rain. The friends were anxious to make it to Oban so they could return to their families for the winter.

They navigated between the islands of Scarba and Luing and were soon passing the coastal defence fort at Easdale. Turning northeast they entered the Sound of Kerrera, passing the island of the same name and at last sailed into Oban Bay and the little harbour.

Word of their coming had obviously been passed on because a crowd of some hundreds was gathered at the harbour and cheered as they hove into sight. Gabrain surprisingly found himself picked up by the crowd and tossed into the air repeatedly. Scott smiled at this spontaneous display by the people of their love for the young King of Dalriada.

The pair stopped off at Kilchrennan on their way back to Inveraray so that Scott could speak to the Abbott. He had been promised a fresh stock of coffee beans and he was determined to have it secure before the snows started to fall. The Abbott chuckled at Scott's hunger for the brown beans, but supplied more than enough to keep Scott going for months. He also informed Scott that he was just finishing loading a wagon with other delicacies for the people of Inveraray. Scott grinned, as he knew this would contain the best of the crops the monks had grown this year as well as wines, cider and ale. The St Andrew's Day feast would be good this year.

When they rode into Inveraray Esta ran and threw herself at Gabrain, his second wife, Mhairi, was slightly more restrained, but her relief was plain for all to see. Young Scott and baby Kenneth looked on, clearly pleased to see their father home. Scott's wives hugged him too, pleased at both his own safe return, and that he had found Gabrain.

The people of Inveraray were also very fond of Gabrain and an impromptu celebration started in the hall-house. The pipers played and freshly cooked meats, fish and vegetable were soon available for all. Wine, ale and uisge beatha flowed and people were dancing and singing.

Scott asked his wives where his mother and father were and he was advised that they had travelled north to Inverness already. Fergus had apparently decided it was important to show himself to the people of Fortrenn and he was intending to spend the winter there. Apparently his mother was delighted to find that Fergus was now an earl.

-------

The snows came early that year and Scott was soon out skiing and sledding with his children. Little Tina screamed with delight as she hurtled downhill safely nestled between her father's knees on a sled. Baby James was insisting he wanted to ride down the hill on his own but the girls wouldn't let him. Both David and Crinan proved to be excellent skiers already and Scott was hard pressed to keep up with them.

The specialists were also persuaded to take a break from their endeavours to enjoy the sporting activity. It was getting close to their first anniversary in ninth century Scotland and all of them remained happy to have made the trip. These men had a deep love of their country and believed passionately in what they were doing. While their progress was at times frustrating, they had no doubts as to the value of their work and what it would mean for Scotland. Scott was pleased to see them laughing and enjoying themselves in the snow. Some were already accomplished skiers too, most notably 'Mac' MacKelvie who explained he had trained for arctic warfare. Somehow Scott wasn't surprised at this.

A week before St Andrew's day a surprise visitor came trudging through the snows to Inveraray's gates. Scott was walking down the hill from his house when he spied the well-wrapped up figure of Tara O'Cahan. He ran to her and picked her up, twirling her round and round.

"Tara! It is good to see you, but how did you get here through the snows? Ach listen to me chuntering on. Come, let's get you into the house in front of a fire and get some hot broth into you."

Scott called to his wives that they had a guest who needed heating up and wondered at the sudden giggling from them all. He looked at Tara and could see she was blushing.

"I didn't mean heated up that way! Blast you women, is that all you ever think about?"

His wives simply nodded and grinned at him. Tara couldn't help but laugh herself now as she could see Scott's wives teasing him. Scott dragged a chair over in front of the roaring fire and helped Tara out of her thick quilted clothing. She explained that she had borrowed it from some of the people at Oban before setting out for Inveraray. It had apparently taken her six days of walking to reach the settlement and Scott was amazed at just how hardy the young girl was.

A steaming bowl of broth was soon ready and Tara gratefully spooned the hot liquid into her mouth. She explained that she had spent one night with the monks at Kilchrennan but had had to camp out on the other nights. She claimed to have suffered much worse in her time as a ship's captain.

Once the girl had fully thawed out, Scott asked her what had brought her back to Inveraray so quickly.

"I convinced my father that there was much to learn here your Grace. When I explained about the schools and all the developments you are taking forward it wasn't difficult to get him to agree." She said.

"Somehow I just can't see you sitting in the classroom Tara. I believe I know the real reason you have returned." Scott responded.

The girl blushed again for some reason and Scott's wives giggled once more.

"It's the ship isn't it? You can't keep away from my metal ship!" Scott added.

Tara looked somewhat bemused for a moment then sighed with relief as she realised Scott hadn't twigged her real reason for returning. She glanced at his wives and it was clear from the looks they were giving her that they knew she had returned because of Scott himself. She could feel her cheeks burn, but was comforted that the girls appeared to be happy for her to be here.

-------

Plans were well underway for the St Andrew's Day celebration. Scott could tell his wives were planning another of their little plays, as they kept disappearing together. He wondered what the theme would be this year. Other entertainment was also being planned, with some of the specialists gifted musicians in their own right. They had worked with the craftsmen and made a number of acoustic guitars so that they could contribute a little 'concert' to the overall event.

Scott planned to make his contribution through his culinary skills once more and he thought long and hard about what he should make. He finally settled on a modified version of boeuf en croute, filet steak in pastry. He knew this was very ambitious and that he would need to use the cooking ranges of a number of other houses if he was going to cook enough to satisfy demand. Still, he thought it would be worth it.

Tara seemed to have slotted herself in with his wives very nicely and was part of the planning for the play. Scott wasn't surprised at how welcoming his wives were towards the Irish girl, that was just the way they were. As usual he suspected there was an ulterior motive on the part of the girls and for a change he found he wasn't too averse to their scheming on his behalf. He admitted to himself that he really was very taken with Tara.

The day of the celebration finally dawned and as usual the first part of it was aimed at putting on things for the children to do, things that would hopefully interest them as well as tiring them out so the adults could really enjoy themselves later.

With all the snow around many of the activities had a winter theme to them. Skiing and sledding competitions were staged, including a slalom event. Scott took part in a father and son cross-country skiing and shooting competition with David and Crinan, pleased to see how well both boys could already use Mac's firearms. They didn't win but came a respectable third, Scott being teased by many that for once he was not the winner.

Smaller children were involved in a competition to make the best snow figure or 'sculpture'; adults only permitted to collect snow for them, not help in the actual construction. Once again Scott was pressed into service, to gather snow for James and Tina who between them were making a pretty good job of fashioning a horse's head, modelled on Albannach of course. The great horse seemed to behave altogether differently with Scott's family than with anyone else. He could be difficult to handle, but if any of the children happened to be passing where he was corralled he would snicker and hang his head over the rails in an attempt to get their attention. The children loved him and the snow sculpture had seemed a natural choice for them to try and make.

Scott had initially been scheduled to judge the sculpting competition, but decided to rule himself out as his own children were involved. The same applied to Gabrain who was helping gather snow for young Scott and Kenneth, who were making a mini-longship.

Lachlan was the one who finally had to decide who the winners were and he chose a sculpture of one of Scott's Carracks - masts, sails and all - as the winner. The children who had built the thing were the two sons of one of the Inveraray captains and the detail was quite superb.

More games were put on in the afternoon after all of the children had been treated to their very own feast. Scott had prepared some of his special pastas for this occasion and there was even orange juice for the children to drink, produced from the precious fruits that had been grown in Galloway and stored in the Inveraray cold store.

The specialists accompanied a small choir of children as they sang songs that praised the country and celebrated Scotland's attempts to bring peace through trade and forming alliances. These were clearly the first signs that their schooling was changing their attitudes towards life, how they viewed things and how they expected their parents to resolve conflict.

At last however, the children were plain worn out and they were allowed to have a light snack before being ushered to their beds. Now the adults came into their own.

Serious feasting and eating was the first order of the day and the goodies supplied by the Abbot at Kilchrennan were quickly being demolished. Scott was run ragged as he tried to move from house to house to ensure the cooking of his beef was just right, but at last the final steaks were finished and he could sit down to eat and enjoy himself too.

Before the last platters of meat and fish were even cleared away the specialists moved to a spot that had been cleared and tuned up their guitars. They had worked hard to translate some of the traditional Scottish folk songs they knew from their own time and now performed these in Gaelic. The combination of three guitars and the sounds they could create together was something altogether new for the people of Inveraray. They quietened down to pay close attention, despite the amount of alcohol that had already been consumed.

When the specialists finished their first song the hall-house erupted in applause and cheering with calls coming for them to play again. They played three further songs to the delight of the crowd before taking a bow and returning to their tables.

Now the time had come for Scott's wives to stage their play. The people of Inveraray were used to this now and it was eagerly anticipated. There were some gasps from the hall-house as bright torches were lit outside and they could see a small group of men, women and children standing close by. The group all had theatrical spots on their skin, enlarged so the audience could clearly see them, and they coughed and spluttered. The meaning of this was clear to all, this was a recreation of the plague that had struck Dalriada and many were surprised and taken aback by the choice of subject. It was certainly a raw nerve to expose.

Very quickly the people who made up the group began to fall to the ground as they were overcome by the virus and died. People in the hall were now openly crying and Scott thought that his wives had misjudged things for once. This was too fresh in people's memories to be used in this way.

Others now appeared out of the darkness and a recreation of the funerals of the dead was staged, pipers once more playing the Flowers O' the Forest. The pain and suffering in the hall was almost tangible and Scott was on the verge of standing to call a halt to the play when everything changed.

Lights were suddenly directed skywards and picked out the forms of his wives and Tara, all dressed in white and with large white wings on their backs. Scott could only assume that his wives were suspended from trees on ropes because they were hanging above the funeral scene, clearly weeping, but also beckoning to the graves as if to welcome the souls of the fallen.

There was hardly a dry eye in the hall-house at this point and then the bodies of the dead were miraculously rising from under black cloths, now also clearly on ropes, but they too were dressed in white and had wings. As they rose up to join Scott's wives they sang and smiled. The message to the audience was obvious. Their loved ones who had perished had risen and now were at peace in a better place. Just as they reached Scott's wives the lights were dramatically cut and Scott realised the timing had been worked on as the last few notes of the pipes drifted over the hall to end the pageant.

He looked round the hall and could see people crying and hugging each other as they expressed their grief, but also there was something else. There were looks that suggested people now had some sense of their loved ones being at peace and he realised his wives had just performed a great service for these people. Their grieving could end and they were comforted that those they had lost were in a better place.

Scott's wives and Tara joined him at his table not long afterwards, minus the wings. He could see his guess had been correct as a steady procession of people made their way to the table to hug and thank the girls for what they had done.

The somewhat sombre mood was soon broken when the pipes started up again, playing lively music now and sparking the dancing to begin. Scott watched as the good people of Inveraray kicked up their kilts and skirts, wondering just how they could manage that after all the food and drink that had been consumed.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught Tara staring at him and turned to face her. She had sparkling emerald eyes to go with her red hair and the exertions of staging the play had brought an attractive flush to her cheeks. He smiled at her and was pleased to see her eyes flashing with pleasure. They shared another few glances over the next hour or so and there was definitely an undercurrent between them.

Things were beginning to get a little raucous in the hall and Scott watched as his wives and Tara signalled to each other and rose to head for the house. He managed to extract himself from a conversation with a slightly merry Gabrain and followed after them.

When he reached the house it was to find Tara on her own downstairs and shrieks coming from his wives upstairs. He assumed that the girls had not wasted any time in starting to enjoy themselves and wondered at Tara being left out.

"Were you not invited upstairs Tara?" He asked.

"Yes, I was your Grace, but I told the girls that only you could do that properly."

"Well, the girls have obviously indicated that they don't have a problem so what is it that holds you back?"

"I need you to tell me how you feel about me your Grace. I would not have it that we should just lie together casually, that is not for me."

Scott realised the girl was anxious not to be used and then discarded, she was insecure and needed to know he had feelings for her. He crossed the room and took her into his arms.

"Fear not lass, for I know I have wanted you from almost the moment I set eyes on you. The girls know me well and have let me know that they are in favour of this. I would have you join us, stay here and be one of my wives. How would you feel about that?"

He felt Tara shudder against him and her arms round his neck tightened. He pulled his head back to look into those emerald eyes and saw she was crying.

"What? Is the prospect that bad that it brings you to tears?"

"No your Grace, I cry tears of happiness that you want me this way. I too have wanted you almost from the first and that is why I convinced my father to allow me to return so quickly."

Scott kissed her tears as they ran down the gentle slope of her cheek, tasting the salt. He let his mouth drop to hers and they shared a searing kiss, Tara's passion flooding out of her. Scott tried to take things slowly, but she was having none of it. This wasn't the same animalistic approach that Helfe sometimes descended into, but it was demanding nonetheless.

She quickly stripped off her blouse and skirt, standing before him naked for the first time. Everything about her looked perfect to him. Her skin was pale ivory with freckles on her arms and face. Her body was lean and taut; her small breasts round and firm, topped with pale pink nipples. Her pubic hair was thin and looked a slightly lighter shade of red than her hair. Scott moaned aloud as he took in the sight of her and when she opened her arms to him he gladly accepted the invitation.

Kissing her with increasing passion, he pulled her down onto the rug in front of the fire. He let his mouth drop to tease her nipples, nipping and sucking them to hardness.

Tara was trying to get his clothes off and things were getting too complicated so he stopped his worship of her breasts to help her strip him and then returned to her. She was already moaning loudly and when his fingers slid along her thigh to her sex the volume increased. He found her wet and ready, her juices creating a tangy smell in the room around them. Scott decided he wanted to taste her essence and he began to kiss down her stomach and over her abdomen.

He let his tongue graze over her already hard clitoris and she jerked in response, her moans taking on a deeper quality. Scott began to lick along her slit, lapping up the juices she was creating. He continued his oral ministrations until he felt her crash into her first orgasm, her hands pulling his head tightly against her sex.

As she began to relax her grip on him, he moved up to kiss her breasts once more before moving up fully to kiss her mouth. Tara now urgently pulled him on top of her, spreading her legs so he was between them and reaching down to take hold of his staff. She gasped as she felt the size and girth of him, but nothing was going to stop her having her prize now. Placing him at her entrance she used her other hand to press down hard on his butt, forcing him inside her.

Scott didn't feel any hymen, but her sheath was extremely tight. He pressed forward until he was fully seated; listening to Tara's breathing already becoming ragged. He started full strokes, almost withdrawing from her before sliding all the way back in, Tara's response spurring him on.

"Uh, uh, it feels so right Scott. Yes, yes, faster my Lord."

He settled into a faster rhythm and she responded immediately, her legs wrapping round him and her heels drumming on his upper thighs. Scott began to feel her sheath contract over and over as he slid into her and it was clear she was controlling her inner muscles to do this.

Tara thought that Scott's staff was going to tear her open, but the sensations it was creating were the most incredible thing she had ever experienced. The waves and waves of pleasure were washing over her and she was finding it difficult to concentrate on using her muscles to make it better for him.

"Soon Scott, it must be soon my love, please, please!"

Scott felt his own climax tantalisingly close and he speeded up yet further, trying to peak at the same time as her.

"Aaaahhhhhhhh, yeeesssssssssssssss!!!!" She wailed.

As her muscles clenched around his staff he felt himself going over the edge and he blasted his seed deep within her. Collapsing on top of her he heard giggling behind them and knew the girls were having themselves a little show. He couldn't help but smile at the prospect of having all four of these beautiful women in his bed. At that thought, he felt his staff begin to harden inside Tara once more. She groaned with pleasure as she felt him within her, clearly ready for more herself.



-------

Chapter 23: Progress?

The specialists were assimilating very well with the ninth century Scots, but one of the things that had puzzled them in their first few weeks had been the absence of Christmas. Scott hadn't introduced that to Dalriada (or anywhere else) as he had found the whole experience had been commercialised until it was meaningless in his own time.

The newcomers approached Scott shortly after St Andrew's Day and asked for that to be rectified this year. Scott considered the request and then decided to agree, but with the stipulation that the monks should be heavily involved so that it truly was about celebrating the birth of Christ.

Carrier pigeons were sent out to all of the settlements that had such facilities, to share the plans. Many of these were now in fact becoming more and more like towns and villages, as populations increased and expanded outside the walls of the original camps (and from now on they will be described as such).

The Abbot at Kilchrennan was so excited at the prospect that he made the journey through the snows to Inveraray with some of his brethren. Of course the church had not as yet come to any firm decision on when Christ was actually born, but the Abbott seemed like a very practical man and anything that brought people closer to God, Christ and the Church was something to be encouraged and supported in his eyes.

The Abbot suggested he could supply more of his stores to help with another feast and Inveraray was able to supply some sleds and dog teams to ferry the produce from the Abbey to the town.

The women of the town worked with the monks to prepare religious trappings that could be affixed to wooden poles. Scott helped them by describing what a nativity scene should look like and they managed a fair recreation of that on one of the canvases. St Columba and St Andrew were also depicted.

Many candles were distributed and there was a candle-lit procession round the town and into the hall-house. Men carried the canvases between them and everyone followed behind solemnly, apart from the children who were just too excited at being allowed up so late.

The Abbot led a moving service recalling the birth of Christ and the populace sang to the accompaniment of the specialists with their guitars. After the service the food was brought out and everyone feasted. On this occasion alcohol was not taken as liberally as on other celebrations, and the children were allowed to remain with the adults late into the night.

-------

While the Abbot was in the town Scott spoke to him on another matter that had been bothering him.

"My friend, I have a matter that has been on my conscience for some time now and I would like your views."

"What can I do to help your Grace?"

"You are aware that I have more than one wife."

Scott was surprised when the Abbot merely nodded and looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to get to the point.

"It bothers me that I have never taken vows with them. My only 'marriage' was to Fiona. I wanted to hear your views on this my friend."

"Well your Grace, it is becoming increasingly common for people to be in such relationships. The Church preaches love and so long as that is the basis for these arrangements; I can see nothing dreadfully wrong. Of course, the Church would prefer there to be proper marriages."

"You mean you would be prepared to conduct marriages in these circumstances? Would wed me to all of my wives?" Scott asked, his surprise obvious.

"I would be delighted to do so your Grace! When would you like this to happen?"

Scott discussed the possibilities of a summer wedding here at Inveraray, but asked the good Abbot to keep things a secret for the moment. After the Abbot left Scott searched for Gabrain and shared with him the somewhat surprising news as to the Church's views on pluralist marriages. Gabrain wasn't as surprised as Scott however, but he did agree that a ceremony for Mhairi, his second wife, would probably go down well in his household. He pointed out that the marriages would also legitimise some of Scott's children in the eyes of the Church.

From that point on Scott began to put a plan together in his head for a ceremony fitting for the women in his life. He had given all of them gold rings, but now he had the opportunity to do something beyond that.

-------

As was Scott's normal routine in the ninth-century, he took the opportunity of the long dark winter nights to think, discuss and plan for the coming year. He expanded the people involved in this now to encompass the specialists too and of course he included David and Crinan to help their development.

His father was at Fortrenn so couldn't be included, which was a pity as power was central to so much that he wanted to achieve. There were other things to consider however, and he now started discussions covering a number of fronts.

"My friends, I feel we need to increase our capacity to produce the kind of oil based products that will become essential. I think you should prepare plans for a refinery somewhere in Fife to take advantage of the oil we are able to extract from the shale there. It need not be a huge refinery, we should start small and then gradually build it up."

"That will require specialist pipes and tanks to be manufactured your Grace." Said one of the engineers.

"What did you have in mind for these products your Grace? There are many directions we could go in." Contributed another.

"We will need fuels, for vehicles and for planes. I would like to see the first planes produced soon. Again these need not be too ambitious, basic biplanes would do as a start. But there is something else that we will soon find crucial to our development, particularly of machines that have engines in them. We need to be able to produce synthetic rubber. That will be required for gaskets, for sleeves, for tyres even."

MacKelvie's eyes lit up at Scott's reference to a plane. He liked the sound of that clearly. "To do that we will need to develop catalysts your Grace, some of which will require specialist metals and the like. Wouldn't it be easier to find a source of natural rubber?"

"Well, you tell me? How long and how difficult would it be to develop synthetic rubber?" Scott asked.

"To perfect the process with what we have available to us now might take a year or two your Grace. It might well be far quicker to sail to say South America and try to pick up some natural stuff. With the new ship that wouldn't take but a few months."

"What would be involved in processing natural rubber?" Scott asked.

"It would probably take some trial and error, but the basic process is simple enough in theory." Said the chemical engineer. "Tap the rubber tree for latex, mix it with formic acid to make the raw rubber then 'cure' it using sulphur and some other agents. The curing, or vulcanisation, is the tricky part as that's were you can control the qualities of the finished rubber."

"Well that might be a job for Sigurd and his men or maybe that could be a use for ships in our winter months if we got the timing right. Our ships largely sit idle for these months currently." Scot thought aloud, his business degree coming to the fore once more as he tried to 'sweat his assets'.

"How are we for labour?" Scott asked next.

"We've got more than enough for what we're able to do currently. That might change when we get power and begin to expand production and diversify into some of the other things we need." Said the civil engineer.

"I want you to begin to look at drawing up plans to begin to build everything underground." Said Scott. "All building work should be 'future-proofed' so that new technologies can be added easily as we develop them. I'm determined we shouldn't mar the natural beauty of our country.

"The hydroelectric plant should provide 'clean' power, all that we need for the moment given the scale we are working to, but I don't want you resting on your laurels. Plans for exploiting Scotland's other great power potential should also be developed - wind, wave and tidal energy should be foremost amongst these.

"Somebody also needs to take charge of logistics in relation to power. The priority should be hooking up production sites, but after that I want to ensure we distribute power throughout the country for domestic use. We shouldn't simply start with Dalriada and then go wider. I want to make a point of letting the people see that this is for all of them. That means hooking up places other than Inveraray in terms of domestic use."

There were nods round the room as people accepted Scott's view of how improvements should be shared.

"Okay, what about expansion, how are we getting on with training up new specialists?" Enquired Scott.

"You will have seen the new dormitory we've had put up? Well that's allowed us to bring in the brightest youngsters and we've been using these winter months to run 'sandwich courses', condensing the amount of time required to get them to degree level.

"When we add in the craftsmen and the apprentices that you have already and what we've been doing to bring them on, that's huge. Each of us has taken on twelve students and in those areas where we can, twelve craftsmen/apprentices. We believe that you'll have a growth in the number of qualified people by a factor of twenty or thirty by the time we get to spring. We all agree that the students will need a minimum of a year's experience before they can spread themselves around the country training up others, but that's still a massive expansion."

"Excellent!" Exclaimed Scott, impressed by these numbers. "Mac, what about the military position?"

"Well your Grace, I've been training up some additional people, but we don't need that many with the weapons we have. I like the sound of a plane though, that would add a new dimension.

"You've taken care of the Irish situation with your idea of using Sigurd. You might want to think about the possibility of a formal agreement with those in Ireland. That would strengthen us.

"I do not see any internal threats now that Constantine has been dealt with. My sabre teams are monitoring things on our borders with England and I do not expect any difficulties in dealing with anything that might flare up there.

"You've agreed a truce with Norway and seem to have Sigurd under control so no threats immediately obvious from that quarter although we can't afford to be complacent.

"England is still the biggest issue. The Danes there are creating strife with Alfred and block our access to some of the raw materials we need. So far you have been unwilling to commit ground forces to that campaign, preferring to lend Alfred support from the sea. If you want to settle things quicker there, then you might need to re-consider your strategy for this coming spring and summer. Of course, it might suit us to have Alfred and the Danes at each other's throats rather than turning their attention to Scotland." Finished MacKelvie.

"Thanks Mac. Let's look at the political situation overall. As you say we've agreed to a truce with Norway and have an agreement with Alfred. What do people feel about Wales and Ireland? Should we try to form an alliance with these too or does that just stretch us further? It seems obvious to me that any supporting would need to be Scotland supporting them given our capabilities. Should we rather just focus on our own security and put our energies into development work?"

There was widespread discussion on this point, with the general consensus being that alliances at this point would be more of a hindrance than a help. All agreed that that should be a long-term aim however.

"What about internally? Are we at a point where we can move forward with more local democracy? Are the local structures ready for development? What about clinics, police, fire services? Are our processes for food distribution still adequate? Do we need to establish currency and a market or does our access to the world's resources render that redundant?"

There was a huge amount of ground to cover in these questions and debate went on for over an hour. These people had only really known western democracy and the free market economic model. Scott was now challenging them to examine that and determine whether their unique circumstances called for something different.

So far there had been no problems in motivating people to work, but would that always be the case without the need to earn money to buy commodities? Was the famous Scottish work ethic inherent or was it the product of what the nation had gone through in its history? The reformation, Calvinism?

All agreed that Scott wouldn't be able to micro manage everything, particularly as the population grew and life became more sophisticated. That meant that things had to change and more local control had to be encouraged. Services were accepted as a good thing and to be encouraged.

The bigger questions of economics was one that had them stumped however, and they finally agreed to continue the way they were and see whether people continued to work the way they currently were.

"Okay, I want you all to check your laptops and try to identify the metals and other raw materials we will need in the coming year. Try to pinpoint where they can be found too. I also want you to put your heads together and find out whether we have the capability currently to establish better communications. Can we create radio transmitters? Can the laptops be adapted somehow to achieve that?

"Now, medicine and health, how are we progressing in that area?" Scott asked.

"We need to develop a sterile laboratory situation your Grace. We struggled through when we made the vaccines, but if we're going to do anything advanced we need better conditions. In addition, we need instruments and research capabilities. Power is a big consideration for us too. Training is much slower for us than for the others given the range of material that needs to be covered. I estimate we can graduate our first doctors in less than three years, but no quicker than that if we want them to be effective.

"I've begun to draw up a priority listing of the various drugs that we should be making and working with the pharmacists to do that." Offered the leading doctor.

A wag in the group shouted out that perhaps Viagra for the High King should be at the top of the list.

"If you've looked closely at my wives, you'll know that I don't need any stimulants to help me my friends!" Scott laughed along with them.

Once things had calmed down again, the doctor continued where he had left off.

"We need to develop clinics as you suggest your Grace. My hope is that by the time they are built we have some people ready to at least provide what we would consider basic health services. That will still be a massive leap over what our people have been used to. Your own introduction of hygiene, boiled water and pasteurisation of milk has improved things markedly, but there are still instances of deaths from small wounds - blood poisoning, gangrene - and broken limbs are still common and fatal. We should be able to do something about these fairly quickly."

"My thanks doctor. I know the people already hold you and your teams in high regard for what you can achieve. I promise that we will make every effort to develop the facilities you require."

"Can we turn our attention to agriculture now?" Scott enquired.

"I would start by saying that your own work in this area has delivered huge benefits your Grace." Said one of the agriculture experts. "There is a fantastic range of foodstuffs available and the land drainage has given the country access to much more growth. We've worked with the chemists to develop the fertilisers we need to kick-on to the next level of production.

"What we really need however, is modern farm machinery. Your own improvements are a giant leap for people in this time, but we know there is still much more that we can do. I guess we'll just have to wait our turn.

"I'm really impressed by the monks. They have a natural affinity for growing things and soak up everything we share with them.

"You also need to be thinking longer term your Grace. We should be drawing up plans now for canning and freezing crops."

"Good thinking, could you work together to plan when that would make most sense and what will be required to achieve it?"

The agriculturist nodded assent at this.

"My friends, this has been a very worthwhile meeting, but it underlines how much we still have to do. I would thank you on behalf of Scotland for all your efforts. Now, just one last question. Do any of you have any spare batteries?" Scott blushed as he asked.

-------

There was a lot of hard work over the remainder of the winter, students to tutor intensely and plans for the spring and summer to be drawn up. Scott was proud of the efforts his specialists were putting in and the impact they were having.

As the snows melted however, there was one blot on the landscape. MacKelvie had ensured everything he was responsible for at Inveraray was in train and then departed for Northumbria. The necessary lists of materials and where in the world they could be found had been established. The year seemed to be getting off to a flying start. But then tragedy struck.

Scott was at home with his family, bouncing little Tina and James on his knees when a messenger appeared at his door.

"Sire, the doctor sent me to request you join him just outside the town walls." The man said.

Scott knew this must be important for the doctor to ask him to go to him rather than visit the High King himself. He sat the children down and followed the man down through the town, out the gates and south through the houses that had begun to spring up here.

He could see the doctor kneeling down over something on the ground behind one of the new houses and made his way over towards him. As he drew near he identified what it was the doctor was looking at - the body of a young girl. Scott's face grew dark and grim as he took in the frail little thing lying obviously dead. She was perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old, small, with an innocent face. Her innocence had been most likely ripped from her if her raised skirt and torn blouse was anything to go by.

"What has happened here doctor?" He asked tersely.

"I'm afraid it looks like a violent rape and murder your Grace. I asked if you could come because I find this very disturbing and thought it was something you would want to know about."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Indeed. You can see the marks on her neck where she has been strangled and there are clear signs of seminal fluids on her sex and thigh. Her parents are three houses down on the left there. They've been frantic with worry when she didn't return from her studies last night. The father and some neighbours have been out part of the night with torches looking for her, but found nothing until first light this morning."

"We'll find the bastard who did this and when we do I'll kill him myself, I promise. With my bare hands preferably!"



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Chapter 24: Command and control


The impact of the murder was not as dramatic as Scott expected. In some ways this was quite depressing, a sign that society had not advanced as much as he had thought. The family were of course devastated, but others simply shrugged. The younger people, better educated and seeing themselves as the target group, were certainly more upset.

Scott himself was badly affected. Not only was it abhorrent to him that a young girl had been raped and murdered, the fact that he didn't know who was responsible was eating at him.

In the absence of a police force he led the initial investigation himself. He spoke to the girl's parents to find out as much about her as he could. He found out what she had been studying and with who. He enquired about her movements and routines, her friends.

Scott had watched enough crime programmes on TV to have a vague idea about trying to retrace the girl's last movements. He also remembered that, more often than not, the victim knew their attacker.

He gathered all those who knew the girl or who had contact with her and tried to reconstruct her last night. He realised that without a photograph he wouldn't be able to canvass others who didn't know the girl to accurately plot her movements. That gap worked in the killer's favour.

He interviewed her parents and the bank administrator who was her tutor. She had apparently been studying to become an expert in logistics. He interviewed her fellow students and her friends. He was left with a picture of her finishing class and then walking home with one of the other girl students. They had parted company only a hundred yards from the girl's home and Scott surmised it was after this that the killer had struck.

The absence of a real police force and things like forensics was an obvious handicap and one he took a mental note to try and correct as quickly as possible. But that wouldn't help bring this killer to book for his crimes. After several weeks of investigating, Scott was none the wiser as to who had carried out this terrible act.

One of the other things he remembered from TV was that killers sometimes returned to the scene of the crime, so he searched out some of Mac's trained sabre troops and asked them to set up a camouflaged observation site for the next week or so.

-------

Sigurd made an appearance at Inveraray quite early in the spring. He advised Scott that his shipwrights had finished three of his new ships and that he could increase the amount of raw materials he could deliver to Scotland.

Scott reviewed the list of materials his specialists had drawn up over the winter and discussed with Sigurd what was required.

"We have identified a range of goods that we need Sigurd," he began, "but there's a major inefficiency in what we're currently doing that I want to try and correct."

"Well, what is it you want to do your Grace?" Asked the Norseman.

"Rather than ship all this raw ore from the Mediterranean, I wondered whether I could have you drop teams of miners and craftsmen at various places so they could refine what we want and that way your ships would only have to transport the processed metals."

"It makes no odds to me what you want shipped your Grace, the holds will take whatever we put in them."

Scott discussed a plan of action with Sigurd that was aimed at setting up a network of regular supplies of raw materials. He offered the Norseman supplies of grain and other staples such as rice, to act as both trade goods, but also to sweeten the deal in terms of what Orkney was getting from the arrangement. Scotland was producing so much food that he knew he could begin to use it as a trade item.

Scott's plan called for a regular trade with a number of countries. He was looking to exploit the times by offering some of the Scottish surplus food for the opportunity of using the labour of other countries.

If he could establish agreements with those areas that had the raw materials he wanted, he could send in small teams to extract the ores and use the locals to do all the work.

He could set up regular shipments to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and northern Africa so that he was shipping back ingots of metal instead of holds full of ore. That would make a huge difference. With the help of his specialists he had targeted all of the areas where the materials he wanted could be found. He already had enough newly trained mining engineers to send out to oversee operations and he estimated it would take perhaps a year to have the new way of securing what the country needed established. Teams had already been chosen to go out and work with the locals to mine and set up the processing technologies that would be required. Meantime, Sigurd would continue to ship raw ore.

Sigurd was more than content with Scott's promises of substantial supplies of grain and other food. He readily agreed to increase the number of ships he devoted to these operations and Scott knew this would help the country ratchet production up once they had the necessary power.

"Sigurd, there is one other thing that I need. We discussed before the great lands to the west, across the ocean. Would you be willing to send one ship on a voyage of discovery?"

"I have already been giving such a voyage a lot of thought your Grace. It is an attractive option for a Viking, a worthy challenge for our seafaring skills and our spirit of adventure."

They discussed arrangements for this, Scott indicating that he would want some of his trained people involved so they could harvest the latex he needed.

Sigurd updated Scott on his plans for dealing with the renegade Norse who were attacking Ireland. He had ordered twenty-five longships to begin to sweep southwards to try and identify where the renegades were based. Some intelligence suggested they had descended upon the Isle of Man and had taken over that island. If so, Sigurd's men would soon be knocking at their door and he was confident that the raiding would be stopped very quickly.

-------

Scott's father returned from Fortrenn to once more oversee the development of the hydroelectric plant. He was full of praise for the people of his new earldom. Fergus updated Scott on the steps he had already taken. He was rectifying the deficiencies that existed due to Constantine's resistance to some of the improvements that were being implemented elsewhere.

He was obviously excited and enthusiastic about his new responsibilities and all the doubts he had expressed previously seemed to have vanished. Indeed, Scott began to worry a little about his father's attention being split between his earldom and the important project he had to deliver.

Fergus's absence during the winter meant that his was an area where there hadn't been the same training of new experts and Scott realised that this was something that would need to be addressed. He had already spoken about his desire for alternative, 'renewable' sources of energy and his father was one of the few who had the expertise to deliver that.

Scott decided to take a trip with his father to see how progress was going at the site of the plant. Before setting out he spoke to Gabrain and Lachlan about plans to sail south once more to support Alfred. He advised them both to stick with the tactics employed the previous year and to land scouts to find out how Alfred was getting on in the land war.

He was surprised when Tara approached him and asked if she could captain one of the Scots ships that were going south. He was not in favour of one of his wives sailing into the conflict, but Tara was adamant that that was what she did best and, having joined Scott's family, she felt she had to do her bit for Scotland.

His other wives weren't exactly happy about what Tara wanted to do, as they had grown very fond of her in a short pace of time. They recognised the strength of Tara's desire for this however, and supported her request with Scott.

Reluctantly Scott agreed that his little Irish warrior could go and he remained at Inveraray long enough to see his friends and his wife off on their journey. He then saddled up Albannach and rode with his father for Ben Cruachan and the site of the hydro plant.

-------

What was immediately apparent at the site was that virtually all of the concrete had been poured and the basic structure for the plant was all but complete. Holes had been left to allow the turbines and other equipment to be lowered into position once they were ready. Scott was surprised at the extent of progress, especially as his father had doubled his estimate of the time it would take to get the plant on-line. The pipes to channel the water down the mountainside were also in place and it all brought home to Scott just how much the provision of the various metals, and in large enough quantities to make the things they needed, was acting as a drag-anchor on development.

"So dad, is it the forging of the turbines that is holding you up?"

"That and some of the other specialist stuff Scott. Your men are only now getting some of the parts needed to make gauges, control panels and the like. All these electronic requirements of this plant need to be created. There's also a requirement for the parts necessary to step the voltage of the electricity up before it's able to travel long distances and to step it back down before use.

"If you want to supply power from here to other parts of the country we are going to need that kind of technology, perhaps even booster stations."

"I've agreed an increase in the amount of ore we receive with Sigurd," Scott responded, "and I've set in train a new approach that should seriously increase the materials we have access to. I will do what I can to speed things up dad."

Leaving his father at the project site, Scott made the trip back to Inveraray and called in to see how things were going at the cable plant.

The manufacture of plastic pipe had been moved into a purpose-built building to free up the space to install the manufacturing machinery necessary for cable and wire production. Generators and a water wheel had been put in to provide limited electricity and some production was now underway.

Project management was proving a major challenge, with the requirement to bring so many components together for even the most basic things that would have been taken for granted in the twenty-first century. The capability to produce insulated wire had not even been established yet and rubber would be required for that.

Small motors were being made now however, and the various grades of wire were in production, albeit in very small quantities.

Scott's next inspection was of the various infrastructure projects that were underway. The country had access to considerable numbers of people to help with these, but Scott chaffed at the inefficiency of it all. Some heavy plant would speed road and rail production significantly and he noted that down as another priority.

At the weekly specialist's meeting Scott discussed and agreed a change in strategy.

"My friends, I think I may have done everyone a disservice by aiming to skip so many evolutionary steps. My observations around the various projects suggest we are being too ambitious by taking that approach.

"My insistence on a 'green' approach is also proving to be an additional obstacle that doesn't need to be there. We can afford to develop 'dirty' technologies for a limited period without damaging the Earth.

"I suggest we change our approach and aim for the kind of manufacturing that was around in the early nineteen hundreds. That should reduce the requirement for a lot of the advanced electronics that are hindering progress currently. That approach would give us a big increase in capability and that in turn will reduce the time to take the next step. It might be a year before we can move beyond these early technologies to the more advanced set-up we want, but it might make sense. How say you my friends."

There was almost a collective sigh of relief in the hall-house and then excited contributions from a number of the specialists. It was clear that lowering the bar was seen as a major benefit in terms of the longer term, and there was a procession of speakers who indicated how much more they now thought they could deliver in a short period of time.

Scott knew there was a lesson for him in this. It was clear the specialists had all been thinking that his plans were too ambitious to begin with, yet none of them had voiced their concerns. He had to question his own position in this. Why didn't people feel they could openly disagree with his suggestions, particularly if his own ideas were flawed in terms of the pace of development?

He decided to take a trip to Oban to see how the shipbuilding was going. He allowed his concerns to rattle round in his head as he rode towards the town, trying to find a way of counteracting his apparent 'overbearing' effect on people.

When he arrived at Oban he was once more surprised to see that the main hull and superstructure for the ship were well advanced. The latest estimates were that the ship would not be ready for perhaps another year, but looking at it, Scott would have guessed it was only months from completion.

He found the retired Royal Navy captain and was exposed once more to a list of complaints at the slow development of the various parts required to fit the ship out.

Scott explained his change in strategy and what the specialists were now saying about the timing of production and the captain cheered up considerably. He did have one additional request to make to Scott.

"Your Grace, has anyone given consideration to the production of oil based paints? This baby of mine will need to be painted before she ever dips herself in the water. What progress has there been in that regard?"

"A good question captain, and one I don't think anyone has addressed as of yet. I promise I will task someone to begin work on that as soon as I return to Inveraray. You will have your paint as soon as I can manage it my friend. Do you have a preference for colour?"

"Well naval ships are traditionally grey to help blend in with their environment, but that's mainly to avoid enemy detection. I don't see that as being a major issue for this ship and there is perhaps an opportunity to intimidate rather than hide. What about red your Grace, I think that might be quite a shock to those who encounter her."

Scott laughed at the suggestion, but then thought about it for a second or two.

"Captain, there just might be something in that. I like your thinking, anything that challenges the old norms has to be healthy. Red it will be then!"

The captain smiled wickedly.

-------

2012 AD

Deep in outer space a cloud of dust particles ten miles wide floated along, apparently aimlessly in the void. Curiously, every particle changed direction and began to drift towards the moon of the planet that was nearby. Close examination would have showed that this was 'smart-dust', small particles, less than a millimetre in size but implanted with a microchip that could direct the dust and also sense and analyse the environment it was travelling through.

There were a number of these clouds spread throughout the Sol solar system, each of them controlled by, and reporting analysis to, a large space ship.

On the bridge of one of these ships a man sat in what was obviously a command chair. He was perhaps six feet two; brown haired and blue eyed. His focus was on the display panel attached to his chair and his face showed some strain.

"Nothing strange on the readings from the smart-dust, captain." Said a man in front of the command chair.

"Thank you Mr Sigurdson, maintain your vigilance."

He reached out and thumbed a button on the panel on his chair.

"This is the captain. We are fast approaching the time when legend tells us to expect the invaders of Earth to begin their assault. Our history has been leading up to this day and we have spent the last one thousand, one hundred years preparing to defend our planet and solar system.

"The saints are with us, Columba and Andrew have been our guiding lights and I believe they are watching over every one of us at this moment.

"I wish all of us the courage and strength of our greatest ever Ard Righ, Scott MacFergus, he who set everything in train to make sure we were ready for this day.

"The Earth is depending on us and I know none of you will let her down. Bring the ship to battle stations and ladies and gentlemen - Alba gu Brath!

He thumbed the button once more and returned his attention to the bridge.

"Mr MacIan, all shields to maximum and prepare for the release code sequence for the weapons systems.

"Aye, aye captain," another man on the bridge acknowledged, "saints preserve us." He whispered under his breath.



-------

Chapter 25: Sky High

Gabrain ordered the captain to bring the ship about and head back out to sea. The great Isle of Wight lay on their right as the captain navigated them south, back into the English Channel. Their search of the extensive haven of Portsmouth had turned up empty.

There were signs that a large camp had existed here in the past, but it existed no longer and there was no Danish shipping to attack. This was becoming an all too common occurrence.

After five weeks on station the three Scots ships had encountered only a handful of longships. Tara had shown her abilities as a captain during the first chase. She seemed almost to be able to read the wind, finding every advantageous gust, and her sea-wolf soon outstripped Gabrain and Lachlan.

The fact that her ship wasted no time in firing a broadside to hole and sink the Dane, also showed she had the nerve for the task at hand. From that point onward Lachlan and Gabrain stopped worrying that Tara might prove to be a handicap in their campaign.

No, what worried the friends now was the almost complete absence of Danes. Scouts had been put ashore and their intelligence confirmed large numbers of Vikings were still present in the area yet there was no sign of the thing they were most attached to, their ships.

Gabrain signalled to the two others and they brought their ships alongside.

"It can only be the rivers, they must be using them, going further inland on these waterways." He shouted across. "I suggest we return along the coast westwards and investigate one of them. I will lead, Tara next and you bring up the rear Lachlan. Keep your wits about you."

The others nodded to indicate they had heard and understood.

The Scots angled in towards the coastline and then headed west in the direction of Bournemouth. Once they reached the mouth of the River Avon, Gabrain told his captain to steer them up the river, keeping to mid channel.

The going was difficult as they were sailing against the current. The captain had to use all his skill with the ship's sails to keep them moving forward. On both sides the land was relatively flat and featureless, not at all like their own highlands. Gabrain thought it looked dull, probably rich and fertile, but nonetheless dull.

Soon they had to navigate a large island in the middle of the river and, countless twists and turns later; they passed another smaller island as they continued roughly northwards. After perhaps four miles the river split and Gabrain opted to take the left-hand fork, that channel looking by far the wider.

The path of the water was now westwards, but within half a mile it had meandered north once more, narrowing for a few hundred yards before widening out again. There had been no sign of life all the way and Gabrain was beginning to think this was something of a fool's errand.

Trees were now appearing in greater numbers, crowding down to the banks of the river, some of them overhanging the channel and making the going almost impossible due to the ship's masts. Gabrain decided to turn the ship around at the next likely spot on the river.

They turned another bend and found the river wider, almost forming a pool. Gabrain had just ordered the captain to turn the ship when the air was filled with shrieks and screams.

Out of the trees appeared literally hundreds of Vikings who had quite obviously been laying in wait. Around twenty or so swung on ropes out over the ships and dropped to the deck. This little band crowded together and swept along the side of the ship, clearing the decks so their friends could swarm over the side more easily. The Scots had had no chance to use their cannons.

Within minutes there were over two hundred Vikings on Gabrain's decks and bloody hand to hand fighting ensued. The Carrack had a crew of perhaps three hundred, but they had not been ready for a sword fight and that told heavily against them. Men rushed to find their arms, many cut down as they did so and quite quickly Gabrain could see the tide was really against him.

He felt the ship rock and looked up to see Tara's ship bumping into his stern, men leaping over the bow of the second ship to come to Gabrain's aid.

The Vikings now found themselves fighting both front and rear, but seemed to revel in the challenge, their swords and great battleaxes flashing in the sunlight and their voices roaring out their Viking slogans.

Gabrain saw the slight figure of Tara O'Cahan running forward to meet a huge Dane. Her blade flashed and the Viking tumbled to the deck with a slash across his throat. He had to take his eyes from her as Vikings began to assault the foredeck on which he stood and he found himself having to fend them off. Only a few handguns had been manufactured so far, but Gabrain had one of these. He now drew the pistol and fired a number of shots rapidly, bringing down the two closest Danes, but more swarmed up the steps towards him.

The men around him were cursing as they met Viking iron with Scots steel, the tougher metal proving a great advantage. Still the Danes pressed forward however, intent on reaching Gabrain who they recognised as the leader of the crew. He loosed off another few rounds when a clear shot presented itself and another Viking collapsed with blood pumping from his chest.

One particular Viking stood out from the rest. He was bigger and broader, his wild blond hair whipping around in the breeze; some of it plastered to his forehead due to the sweat there. His eyes were the eyes of a berserker and he was laying about himself left and right with a double-headed axe. His gaze fixed on Gabrain and the young King shivered with the intensity of it.

With two bounds the Dane was up the steps and heading directly at Gabrain. Gabrain raised his pistol once more and pulled the trigger. Nothing! He was out of rounds, hadn't been counting his shots and was perhaps now about to pay for that carelessness. He dropped the useless firearm and drew his sword, preparing to meet the threat.

The Dane was wheeling his axe around him in a figure of eight; his eyes now locked on Gabrain, seeing only him. Gabrain steeled himself to meet the axe with his blade when the Danes eyes turned glassy and a sword point protruded out of his belly.

As the Viking fell forward onto his knees, Gabrain was treated to the sight of Tara O'Cahan, red hair streaming in the wind and her emerald eyes flashing as she tried to pull her sword from her victim.

"At your service my Lord." She quipped as she turned to ward off a blow from another Dane.

Gabrain strode forward to cover her back and the two of them engaged yet more Vikings. The numbers were clearly dwindling however and it seemed as if the joint efforts of the two Scots crews had swung the exchange in their favour and the Danes were pressed back towards the ship's rails. The end wasn't long in coming and soon Vikings could be seen leaping over the side of the ship to escape.

Gabrain and Tara found themselves without further enemies to take on and he lifted her bodily with one arm, kissing her soundly on the lips.

"What a sight for sore eyes! Good timing Tara, but if your husband finds out I allowed you to enter battle like this I'm sure he'll have my head."

"Scott can't order me around like that my Lord. He may be the High King, but I can still make my own decisions in life. Besides, it's been too long since I last crossed swords with these barbarians. Now, put me down or Scott will be having words with you!"

He laughed as he dropped her to her feet and they both set about the task of bringing order to their ships and getting back down the river. Lachlan had to turn his ship first, then Tara and finally Gabrain. All of the crews had learned a harsh lesson and now had their weapons close to hand in case of a repeat attack. Gabrain estimated he had lost over forty men in the exchange and considered himself lucky the numbers weren't higher.

The three ships reached the mouth of the Avon without further incident and made for the open seas. Gabrain hove to, to give his dead men a proper send off. They were stitched into canvass shrouds, with a cannon ball as a weight, and then dispatched into the deep with a few words from Gabrain.

Recognising that sailing up rivers was at best folly, and with no other Danish shipping to assail, the Scots decided to head for home.

-------

As summer was fading into autumn the ship that had sailed for the America's returned to Oban. Using Scott's maps the captain had completed the round trip in five months. Large steel drums had been manufactured to store the latex from rubber trees and these were soon offloaded from the ship. The crew had brought back other things too, mostly seeds from some of the plants that the specialists knew were indigenous to that part of the world. Amongst the cargo were a number of rubber tree saplings that it was hoped could be cultivated in Galloway's greenhouses, thereby saving the lengthy voyage for this commodity.

The drums of latex were loaded onto wagons and taken across country to Inveraray for processing. The chemists were delighted at the chance to work with the latex and wasted no time in creating the first batches of rubber. As had been forecast, trial and error was required to establish the optimum mix of sulphur and other agents in the vulcanisation, but soon moulds were being created and the first tyres were produced.

The ninth-century Scots thought this was another of Scott's outlandish ideas. Every now and again he came out with something that they thought was a waste of time and effort and this was one of those occasions. None of them could see the point of developing something to fit onto wheels; wheels were fit for purpose the way they were so far as they were concerned.

There had been much excitement amongst the newcomers as the summer progressed and the first plane neared completion. Scott had of course enquired if any of them were pilots and discovered that two had flown small planes back in their own time. He wasn't surprised to find out that Mac MacKelvie could also fly - both planes and helicopters. There seemed to be nothing even remotely connected with warfare that that man couldn't do.

Scott recognised that the first flight would be risky as they didn't have the benefit of the kind of facilities that might have been used to test the engine, aerodynamics etc of the plane before having someone take her up.

Mac had returned from Northumbria especially for this occasion and was much put out when Scott suggested he should not be the one to make the inaugural flight. Instead lots were drawn between the other two and the winner, a biochemist called Gavin MacCann, grinned hugely at his good fortune.

The road from Inveraray to Kilchrennan had been one of the first to have asphalt laid and it was an obvious choice to use as a runway for the plane. Once more the whole of the town stopped what they were doing to gather and watch what was going on. The adult ninth-century Scots had grown used to Scott introducing new things, but they weren't prepared for this latest technology and were about to be amazed once more.

Gavin MacCann climbed into the cockpit of the bi-plane and started the engine. The crowd gasped as the propeller started to spin and MacCann let the machine begin to gather pace along the roadway.

When the plane slowly lifted from the surface and began to climb there were loud exclamations from the crowd. They strained their necks to watch the flying machine and could clearly see Gavin MacCann waving at them. MacCann flew backwards and forwards over the crowd a few times and then brought the plane in to land.

All had agreed that they shouldn't push the plane on this first flight, but rather make sure it could fly and then have the mechanics check all the systems to ensure they had held up. The plan was that flying time would be increased gradually.

Scott was delighted at the success of this project, as was Mac MacKelvie, as he had visions of an air force to provide support for his ground troops. The people of Inveraray were just astonished. A man flying like a bird - it was just too much to believe. The nature of what these specialists could achieve if given the raw materials was really beginning to sink in and the population had a new pastime - speculating over what Scott would introduce next.

The younger people in the town had of course been introduced to the concept of planes and flight as part of their studies. Reading about it and actually seeing it happen were different things and it somehow brought the relevance of their lessons into sharper relief. Students found a re-newed vigour in their studies as they saw with their own eyes the kind of thing that could be done with the skills they were being taught.

The following day a pigeon post message arrived to say that the Scots ships had been sighted off the west coast heading for Oban. Scott asked Gavin MacCann if the mechanics had cleared the plane for further flying and whether he could take him to Oban to meet the ships arriving back. Gavin said that the plane was fine and that he would be delighted to have another opportunity of taking her up.

The journey time to Oban was only half an hour by plane. Gavin took them out over the sea and they flew past the three ships, waggling their wings in salute. From his vantage-point in the passenger seat Scott could pick out each of his friends and his wife and he waved to them all. Gavin banked the plane and they headed for Oban, descending to land on the road that ran up to the town. Their arrival caused a panic, some people running for their houses and others running towards them with their weapons at the ready. Ahead, Scott could see the gates of the town were in the process of being shut against them.

As soon as the plane came to a halt, he leapt out to identify himself and re-assure the good people of Oban that this wasn't an invasion of some kind. As the population began to realise that it was their High King who had descended upon them from the skies, they began to emerge from behind the town walls to stare at the plane.

Scott advised them all that he was here to meet the ships that were returning from England and most of the crowd followed him down to the harbour. Some remained behind to continue gawking at the machine.

As the three ships emerged into Oban Bay, Gabrain signalled to Lachlan and they took in some sail to allow Tara's ship the honour of leading them into the harbour. She realised what they were about and bowed to each of them with a flourish from her foredeck. The crowd that had gathered cheered as they made fast to the harbour-side and Tara rushed forward to hug and kiss Scott.

"Did I really see you flying past my ship?" She asked.

Scott laughed.

"Welcome home my love, I'm so pleased you have returned to me in one piece. I've missed you, we all have. Yes, indeed you did see me flying past your ship. I have explained the concept of planes and flying to you before. Now you've seen for yourself that it is indeed possible."

"But what was holding you up?" She asked naively.

Scott began to explain thrust and airflow, but gave up as he saw the blank look that came over Tara's face. Instead he asked her how things had gone in the south. Her face darkened and he realised there was some bad news coming. Before she could speak, Gabrain joined them.

"Your Grace, I can't believe it, but I'm sure I saw you flying!"

"Well met Gabrain, it is good to see you back. I was just asking Tara how your campaign fared on this trip. I get the feeling that it's not all good news." Said Scott.

Gabrain's expression fell.

"I'm afraid not your Grace. Indeed, if it wasn't for your little Irish warrior here, I might not have returned at all. She it was who ran her sword all the way through a Viking twice her size, as he prepared to lop off my head with an axe."

Scott glanced anxiously at Tara, concerned that it appeared she had been in the thick of some serious fighting.

"Tara, what is this? Tell me you weren't pitching yourself against Vikings with only a sword."

"Scott, you have to see her in action. Let me tell you, you wouldn't be saying that if you saw just how fast and how deadly she is. What she lacks in height and weight, she more than compensates for in sheer skill and agility with the blade. Be not so hard on her, as I say, I owe her my life."

Scott could see Tara's eyebrows had dropped and her emerald eyes were flashing as her anger began to rise. He grabbed her and planted a resounding kiss on her lips, stepping back to see that he had caught her by surprise as he had hoped.

"Don't you let that Irish temper of yours off the leash here my dear. I worry about you. I love you, so I worry about you. Don't get angry about that, ok?"

Scott's kiss and the words that followed it were enough to defuse the situation and he turned to his friend once more to ask for details of what had happened. Gabrain explained their losses and how they had occurred. He suggested their current tactics would have to be reconsidered, as the Vikings had successfully adapted to nullify them. Scott agreed and was already thinking about getting back to Inveraray before Mac departed for Northumbria.

He also indicated that a memorial service would be a fitting mark of respect for the fallen.

He offered the passenger seat in the plane to Tara and his two friends, but wasn't surprised when they all declined. Scott re-joined Gavin MacCann and waved to them as the plane rolled forward down the road and rose up into the air once more.

-------

2012 AD

"Sweet Jesu!" Said the man staring intently into a screen. His head came up and his eyes were bulging with alarm.

"Less of the blasphemy Mr Sigurdson. Kindly make your report please." Said the Captain, retaining his own calm.

"Aye, aye Captain. Sir, the smart dust has detected something coming out of an inter-stellar jump. It's analysing now Sir."

"Very well, give me everything as soon as it's through."

"Captain, the dust is reporting two hundred iLOX Mark IV Cruisers have jumped to just beyond Earth's moon, they are all in stealth mode, but the smart dust is all around them and it's picking them up just as it was designed to.

"Sir, I'm receiving a signal from USS Fortrenn that the smart dust they have deployed is picking up similar numbers on the far side of the Earth. Captain, it seems legend has just become reality!"

The man was clearly still alarmed, but his training was kicking in and he was carrying out his duties as he was supposed to. The Captain schooled his features so that no one on the bridge could see the effect of this report on him. The fact that the legend had come true and that the technology they had developed was working was no comfort to him. The information they had been working with had given no clue as to how many iLOX ships would try to carry out the attack.

Earth had built eleven of the huge Broadsword starships in preparation for this day, but no one had predicted the iLOX would look to invade with such numbers, this was a serious underestimation of the threat and the Captain was inwardly appalled at the odds.

"Sir, message from the USS Fife they've also picked up a fleet of two hundred iLOX Mark IV Cruisers that have jumped just outside Mars orbit." Sigurdson now added.

"Computer."

"Yes Captain?" Said a voice from a hologram that appeared at the side of the Captain's command chair.

"Initiating weapons release sequence. Authorisation by Captain of the USS Dalriada, Bruce MacFergus." The Captain placed his thumb on the computer pad attached to his chair as he said this.

"Confirmed. Authorisation for weapons release by Captain Bruce MacFergus of the USS Dalriada. Confirmation is required by another ranking officer." The Artificial Intelligence (AI) responded.

"Weps, please confirm the release."

"Aye, aye Captain." Responded a man stationed at a panel to the Captain's right.

"Computer, confirmation of weapons release authorised by Charles MacLean, Weapons Officer, USS Dalriada."

"Confirmed. Weapons systems are now released for use."

"Mr Sigurdson, has the smart dust pinpointed the iLOX positions?"

Before Sigurdson could respond, the Weapons Officer did so for him.

"Captain, I have the information and firing solutions are already computed."

"Mr Sigurdson, I'm assuming by their reaction that the iLOX don't know we're here?" The Captain asked.

"Sir, I can confirm that they have already swept the area with their detection systems and have found nothing."

"Okay gentlemen, let's prepare to kick some alien butt! May God and the Saints be with us, and as always, Alba gu Brath!"



-------

Chapter 26: Changes


Scott made it back to Inveraray before Mac left for Northumbria and he asked him to stay on for a discussion about their strategy against the Danish threat in England. He spent a pleasant few days with his wives and children waiting for Gabrain, Lachlan and Tara to travel from Oban.

Another idea had come to Scott while he had been up in the air and he took the opportunity of speaking to his specialists about it now. The quality of the road surface as they had landed at Oban had contrasted with his childhood memories of the roads in Glasgow. Potholes were common then and he was forever in danger of crashing his bicycle. And there it was - bicycles!

Here was an environmentally friendly way of getting about on his new roads, one that would also help keep people fit and healthy. Best of all, the children would love it and have great fun playing on them.

The engineers thought it was a great idea and they agreed they could probably have some manufactured quite quickly. They wouldn't be the lightweight designs that typified the twenty-first century, but they would be solid and reliable. Scott went in search of a group of children who would be the lucky recipients of the first bikes to be made. He knew that as soon as they made an appearance there would be an overwhelming demand for more.

Inveraray had grown in population to just over two thousand people. Scott estimated there were some four hundred households and he asked that a bike be manufactured for each and every house. It would be a family thing. Something to bring the adults and children together, just as he remembered it from his own childhood. He could still dimly remember his dad pushing him along on his little bike with its stabilisers.

-------

Once everyone had arrived back at Inveraray Scott called a meeting to discuss strategy in the south. Gabrain started things by explaining how the Danes had altered their behaviour, adapted to ward off the damage that had been inflicted upon them by the tactics that had been employed up until now. He explained how he thought the Vikings were using the rivers to hide themselves further inland and he described the incident on the River Avon.

"So my friends, what are we to do to continue to help Alfred and counter the Viking threat?" Asked Scott.

"Your Grace, how much of a threat is it to us? I mean, Northumbria is all but cleansed and these Danes are in the far south, hundreds of miles from Scotland. Why should we bother with them at all?" Lachlan contributed.

"Aye your Grace, Lachlan has the rights of it. Why don't we just let the Danes and the Saxons kill each other off? Forty dead Scots on the last trip, that's too high a price to pay for helping a people who have shown they are quite at home invading Scotland in the past." Added Colmgil.

"Do we not have a higher duty to help our neighbours? Is there nothing to be said for trying to establish peace in those lands that surround us? I say that so long as there is warfare then there is a threat to Scotland. Have we no responsibility towards those who are caught up in this strife? For the innocent women and children? I say we should do all that we can to help settle the war in the south."

This last came surprisingly from Mac MacKelvie; the old war-horse showing that soldiers really did have peace in their hearts when they took up weapons.

"I believe Mac is right in this. The fighting between the Saxons and the Danes could continue for many years, with much loss of life. A peaceful England would be much more preferable, would certainly help in terms of the trade we wish to have with those areas where the fighting is worst.

"I do not believe either side poses much of a threat to Scotland any longer. Our military capability, even with the limited armaments that Mac has manufactured, gives us overwhelming superiority. In these circumstances I believe we have a moral duty to try to restore some sort of order, but how would we do that?" Scott said.

"If that is the path you wish to follow your Grace, then I think the answer is relatively simple," said Gabrain, "we need to find out what both sides want and find a way of mediating between them to achieve a solution, perhaps a compromise, that both sides can live with."

"Aye Gabrain, easy to say, but much harder perhaps to actually deliver. Let's look at what we know. The Danes have been in England for many years. It is only in recent times that large numbers of them have descended to swell their ranks and create a demand for ever greater lands.

"Alfred seems to have reacted to this rather than the presence of the Danes per se. Might it be possible to reach an agreement where the Danes are ceded certain areas and they have to live within these? Would Alfred accept that?" Scott continued.

"What's in it for Alfred your Grace?" Asked Lachlan.

"Apart from a stop to the constant land grabbing of the Vikings? Nothing. It may be that we have to find a way of sweetening the deal." Scott responded.

"Why not just demonstrate our capabilities to both sides and then order them to stop?" Asked Colmgil.

"Because then we would find ourselves having to constantly patrol and police the peace. If we impose a settlement by force it will flare up again as soon as we turn our backs. No, this needs to be something both the Vikings and the Saxons agree to of their own volition." Said Mac.

"I agree with that Mac. What if we established trade with both sides and showed them the natural resources they have access to. We could encourage trade between them that could create a dependency relationship rather than warfare. If they are both producing goods the other needs, if both are prospering would that work?" Asked Scott.

"As like as not that would just fuel the conflict. They would be covetous of each others riches and if the Danes were thriving wouldn't that just attract more Danes to come to share in the improved conditions?" Said Gabrain.

"Perhaps not my friend. It is just as likely that they would jealously guard their new-found riches, resist newcomers diluting their gains. What if we oiled the wheels of all this by establishing our own trade with both sides. We know the south is rich in things like tin and copper. If we begin to trade large quantities of food for these, then the pressure for either side to grab more land might be reduced somewhat. If we take the opportunity of lending them experts to then begin to improve the land and cultivate their own crops then their ability to sustain their population would increase significantly. That in turn would mean less territory would be required, there would be more keeping them at home so to speak.

"If we lend them teachers and encourage education we could shape the minds of their children to be more tolerant too perhaps? Are we really going to keep all the things we are developing to ourselves? What do we do with the medical advances that we are making, simply let others around us continue to suffer or treat them?"

As had happened in the past, Scott's contribution had gone beyond what the original discussion had been about. As he began talking his words were becoming more visionary and the people in the room were growing wide-eyed at the scale and scope of what he was proposing - something far beyond what any of them had envisioned.

"God be praised! Here is a notable project, one worthy of a nation. To help our fellow men just for the sake of it? Because we can? I for one would sign up for this. If we really are changing the path of history then I would like to see Scotland contribute in this way - helping to stop conflict and promoting trade and education, tolerance. Improving health, helping others to develop themselves so that they have a better quality of life.

"The Ard Righ's vision is staggering! Why should Scotland have it all while others suffer? At some point we will have to come out from behind our borders and perhaps that should start with our nearest neighbours rather than the Americas. I only caution that we do not share the advances in weaponry, therein lies our own security from those who outnumber us hugely." MacKelvie finished breathlessly, his face flushed with the passion of his words.

There was quiet in the room. All of them could tell this was a momentous moment in terms of the future path the country would follow and they were soberly considering the likely consequences of taking such a path. They looked at each other, some of them finding the moment almost too much, the decision almost to great for them to take. Eventually it was Gabrain who broke the silence.

"Aye, Scotland was lucky the day you became Ard Righ my friend, she doesn't know how lucky. Never have I felt so proud to be a Scot than at this moment. As usual Scott you have the rights of it, let us help them then, let us be the agents of peace, development, prosperity. Let Scotland take her place as the father of nations, let us nurture the weak, cure the sick and encourage those who are like minded."

"All this? Are we really capable of all this? Do we dare try to take such a path?" Asked Colmgil.

"Having dared to think of it, having shared the words and each no doubt having pictured it all in our heads, dare we aim for anything less?" Scott said quietly.

He looked at each of the faces in the room and slowly they all nodded their agreement.

"As ever my friends, remember, Alba gu Brath!"

-------

The details of how this new 'campaign' would be orchestrated had been thrashed out between them. The first step would be to make contact with Alfred and test out how willing he might be to settle for peace on the terms they had worked out. Scott believed he would be mad not to accept all that Scotland could offer him. What could he lose?

Discussions with Alfred would also hopefully identify who the Danish leaders were, pinpoint the ones they would need to speak to, to try and get agreement on the Viking side. Talks with the Danes would be far more difficult. Scott suggested that some theatre might help grab the attention of those involved and make it easier to at least begin to talk. He proposed they use the bi-plane in some way, taking spare fuel for it by ship.

There were a number of things that needed to be done before they set out for the south. Scott wanted Mac and his small, but heavily armed force in the south as a back up in case things went horribly wrong. He asked that these be shipped south without delay so they could scout out the lay of the land and gather intelligence.

The next order of business was to make sure the harvest was in and safe. If part of the solution to establishing peace was going to be trade involving food, then they had make sure the food was available.

Volunteers were called for to go south to begin to train the English and Danes on some aspects of the improvements that Scotland was already benefiting from. These would be small in number at first, as there was still a need to ensure all areas of Scotland had what they needed. Still, they had already shown what could be achieved by training others - the exponential growth in the south would be huge.

And finally, Scott was determined he would wed all of his wives before setting out on another journey. He had been planning this for some months now and he wanted to do that before leaving them again. He hadn't shared his plans with any of the girls and he hoped they would forgive him for that when they found out what he was up to.

He hadn't picked a particular day, merely asked the Abbot to come to Inveraray so that they could wait for a day when the weather was fine. The ceremony itself would be held outdoors so that all who wanted to attend could do so.

Scott had secretly employed the help of a number of people in the town to help him with his preparations. Each of his wives would have a new white gown, decorated with fine needlework and with a train flowing behind it. Fine clothes had been prepared for his and Gabrain's children so they could attend each of the girls and other children had been identified to form a choir to provide a tasteful musical accompaniment during certain parts of the proceedings. The pipers had been practising their part too and Scott was pleased at what he had come up with.

Flowers had been specially prepared, both in terms of bouquets for each of his wives and to decorate the altar where the vows would be exchanged. He had shared the wording of the vows with the Abbot and his old friend had smiled his approval.

Food for an extravagant feast was all in readiness too, as were wine, ale and anything else people might want to drink.

Scott had secretly contacted Magnus O'Cahan, Tara's father, and asked him if he wished to be present for his daughter's marriage. O'Cahan and his wife were currently lodging with a family outside the Inveraray town walls so that Tara wouldn't know he was there. Scott had also offered an invite to Sigurd, but he had declined, showing little interest in his daughter as usual. Scott's own parents were in the town and would be there to witness the occasion.

The girls knew something was afoot. There was a tangible buzz in the town and it would be difficult to miss the fact that something special was going to happen. They badgered Scott for details, but he managed to put them off, suggesting the atmosphere was something to do with the planned trip to the south.

At last the day dawned when Scott knew it was time to set everything in motion. He rushed madly around the town to make one final check that all his plans were in place and then broke the news to the girls.

Scott had women bring the dresses and bouquets to the house, but to remain outside the door while he entered alone. He called the girls together.

"My loves, today is one of the happiest days of my life. You all know how much I love each of you; I try to show it every moment we are together. Today, if you will have me, I would be honoured if you would agree to become my wives."

"My Lord, what silliness is this? We are already your wives. Have you suffered a blow to the head? Are your wits somehow addled?" Asked Fiona.

"Fiona, you and I have exchanged our vows and are indeed wed, but your sister wives are wives in name only, not in the eyes of the church. Today I would rectify that by all of us exchanging vows together before God."

As he said this he opened the door and ushered in the women with the magnificent gowns. His wives all gasped at both his words and the dresses, Eilean bursting into tears. He hugged each of them as the shock of what he was proposing began to sink in.

"Don't cry my little elf, on this day in particular I want to remember all of you as being happy, happy that we are all together."

Eilean's tears set the others off and soon Scott had four crying lovelies trying to hold onto him. He managed to calm them down and confirm that they were indeed happy to join him in 'full' marriage.

"Everything is ready my loves, but you need to prepare yourselves. We have an hour or two if you need it to do whatever it is that womenfolk do when they ready themselves for a special occasion. I have provided fine clothes and flowers, but you each represent the vision of all that I hold as beauty and these material things are but pale ornaments in comparison. I will go and wait at the altar for you, I beg that you don't leave me waiting too long."

He kissed each of them lovingly and left the house to make his way to join the Abbot and Gabrain, who was acting as Groomsman.

The girls must have taken pity on him because it was less than an hour later when Scott heard the skirl of a lone piper signifying that the girls had left the house and were walking down to the recently harvested field where the altar had been set up.

The girls were trying to remain composed as the walked along in pairs. The townspeople lined the route down through the town gates and into the field; many of the womenfolk in tears as they looked at how beautiful each of the brides were in their gowns, with gold circlets on their heads. David, Crinan, young Scott and Kenneth each held up the train of one of the dresses.

Once out of the gates, the girls followed the piper until they came to the field, the populace following on behind to witness the ceremony. The last one hundred feet to the altar were occupied by men in full highland garb, their claymores held up to form a long archway for the girls to walk under.

Tara gasped anew as she spotted her parents standing to the side of the altar.

Scott stood with his back to the girls as they walked slowly towards him, desperate to turn and look at them, but forcing himself to keep facing the front. At last they joined him, two on either side and the piper cut his music so that there was a moment of silence. That was soon broken as the children in the choir began to sing softly and the Abbot moved to stand in front of Scott and the girls. He spoke to them softly, trying to steady the girls' nerves a little.

The Abbot held up his hand and the choir ended their singing.

"My friends, we have come together today to witness before God the marriage of our beloved Ard Righ to his beloved chosen companions in life.

"The church preaches love and I know that the love between the people you see before you is a deep and lasting love, an example to us all indeed.

"Scott, Fiona, Eilean, Helfe and Tara. I call upon you in the sight of God and of all these good people of Inveraray to take the vows that will tie you even closer together if that is at all possible. Are you ready to do that? To pledge yourselves to each other for so long as you shall live?"

He looked at each of them in turn and they each said 'aye'.

"So be it. Scott, your Grace, would you please make your vows?"

"Fiona, Eilean, Helfe and Tara, already you are in my heart, a part of me for as long as we shall breathe. I Scott mac Fergus, Ard Righ nan Albannach do now hereby vow in the sight of God and these witnesses:

I vow to succour you, to feed you, and to defend you and our children too.

I vow to cherish you, care for you, to consider your needs, feelings, desires, opinions.

I vow to share with you, my worldly possessions, my time, my needs, feelings, desires and opinions.

I vow to honour you, to put you before all others and to show you respect.

Above all else I vow to love you, to love you now and for all eternity, even beyond this life we now lead.

I vow to love you when we are happy, to love you when we are sad or angry, to love you when joy springs from our hearts, or when pain is almost too much to bear.

I vow to love you with all that I am, if you will have me."

There was absolute silence, but for the birds singing and four beautiful women crying gentle tears. He had moved them with this declaration of what they meant to him, but they cried tears of joy.

The Abbot gave them a few minutes to compose themselves and then asked each of them whether they accepted Scott as their husband. They confirmed that they did and the Abbot asked all five of them to kneel on the silk cushions that had been placed before the altar for this point in the ceremony.

As they knelt, heads bowed, the Abbot offered up his blessing on them and what they were undertaking together. He raised them to their feet once more.

"My friends, I now pronounce you man and wives."

Scott kissed each of his wives as the crowd cheered loudly, many of the women amongst them still moved to tears. A single piper started to play Highland Cathedral and then twenty more gradually joined until the sound swelled to a mighty crescendo.

-------

2012 AD

"Mr Sigurdson, open a channel to Admiral MacCulloch please."

"Aye, aye Captain. The channel is open sir."

"Admiral, this is Bruce MacFergus on the Dalriada. I have two hundred iLOX cruisers sitting in front of me. I doesn't look as if they have detected our presence and so far they haven't launched any of their fighters. They almost seem to be waiting for something.

"My weapons systems have been armed and I have forty implosion torpedoes with locked firing solutions. My intention is to fire and then jump behind the enemy to fire a second wave. I know we have additional Broadswords out here sir, but who knows what the iLOX might do while we wait for them to get into position.

"I'd rather hit them and hit them hard Admiral, before they get any more hardware out into space. We know these ships have a design weakness in their shields and we can use that to cripple them. I am asking for Earth Command to authorise 'weapons hot' sir."

"This is Admiral MacCulloch to all USS Broadswords, by Executive order I confirm that weapons are hot. You each have full command authority to fire at will."

"Sir, as soon as I open fire our little alien friends are going to be alerted to the fact that their invasion is being opposed. I suggest we co-ordinate the Broadswords so that those of us in contact range all fire simultaneously." Said MacFergus.

"Agreed captain, have the ships' AI's cross-refer for the initial attack. Good luck and Alba gu Brath! Admiral out."

"Cross-reference already established Captain." Said the AI.

"Very well. Mr Sigurdson have you plotted the jump point?"

"Yes sir, point plotted and jump sequence ready to engage."

"I need that jump as soon as the torpedoes are away."

"Aye, aye sir."

"Weps, I need a second wave of torpedoes ready to launch as soon as the jump has been completed. Have you vectored the positions of the iLOX so you still have firing solutions after the jump's made?"

"I have sir, we will need less than a second for the computer to confirm the iLOX positions haven't changed once we've jumped, but then I can give you another forty torpedoes and the pulse cannon are ready to rock 'n' roll."

"AI sound battle stations. Weps, fire on my mark in three, two, one. Mark!"

"Torpedoes away sir."

"Give me that jump Mr Sigurdson!"

"Jump sequence already engaged and we are jumping now Captain."

"AI, continue to feed firing solutions on any undamaged iLOX vessels to the pulse cannon as the torpedoes are launching."

"Yes Captain."

"Completed jump!"

"Torpedoes away! Captain the second wave of implosion torpedoes is away. Ten seconds for reload and relaunch."

"As quickly as you can Weps! Mr Sigurdson, how long before you can give me another jump? I want us below the iLOX with the Sun behind us as soon as you can make it happen."

"Already computed Captain, jump will be ready in fifteen seconds."

"Pulse cannon engaging, Sir, the iLOX have us on their systems. Confirm all torpedoes have found their targets. Two seconds for the first wave to hit sir."

"iLOX are manoeuvring to try and avoid the torpedoes sir, they're launching their counter-measures. Smart-dust detects iLOX torpedoes have been launched and are heading our way."

"Thank you Mr Sigurdson."

The Captain looked at the huge screen in front of his chair.

"The first wave of torpedoes has found its mark sir. Seven seconds until third wave of torpedoes are ready to launch."

The Captain could see weird disturbances in the space atmosphere on the screen. As the name implied, the implosion torpedo was designed to implode rather than explode, pulling energy from its surroundings inward. In effect the iLOX ships were crumpling in on themselves. In stealth mode, this caused the space they occupied to shimmer and buckle and that was what the Captain was watching.

"Twelve seconds until jump sequence is ready. Forward shields at maximum Captain."

"Sir I compute the first iLOX torpedoes will hit the ship in nine seconds." Said the AI.



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Chapter 27: Peace


Scott took the next three weeks to travel round Scotland with his wives, a leisurely honeymoon meeting the remaining earls and their people while taking in the beauty and splendour of Scotland in all her autumnal glory. The weather was extremely kind and they were able to ride and visit some of the many sandy beaches, swimming and diving to try and catch flounders, a flat fish that lay on the sandy bottom of the sea.

The girls had yet to really come down from their high of the wedding and almost seemed to be floating on air for the majority of the trip.

Once back at Inveraray, Scott was all business once more. The teams of men to help train the Saxons and Vikings had been chosen and were now assembled. One group was leaving from Fife and that would sail down the East Coast to land and help the English. The second team assembled at Inveraray and was intended to help the Vikings if a peace treaty could be agreed.

Gavin MacCann was flying the bi-plane south and Scott was taking drums of fuel with him aboard ship. The plan was that Gavin would allow them ten days to sail south and find a suitable landing strip. Scott indicated that this would be close to the coast so that Gavin could fly south and follow the coastline to find them. Scott indicated that he would use burning torches to help guide Gavin in. He planned to meet up with Mac and use his sabre teams to secure the temporary 'airport'.

Scott bade his wives farewell, Fiona and Eilean were particularly concerned about this trip as he was taking David and Crinan with him. He waved as the ships sailed down Loch Fyne on their way south.

-------

Mac MacKelvie had made his way south with his sabre teams. They had encountered little trouble along the way and their automatic weapons ensured what enmity they did meet up with was quickly brushed aside.

It had taken them three weeks to reach Reading, which sat on the River Thames, and here he found Alfred and a host of Saxons, perhaps eight thousand strong. Mac's scouts confirmed that fighting between the Saxons and the Danes was still fierce with a battle having taken place only days before on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain.

Alfred was in good cheer as his forces had had the better of this latest exchange between himself and the Vikings and he welcomed Mac and a small party of Scots like long lost friends. After a night of feasting and drinking, Mac asked to have a private discussion with Alfred and his most senior lords and advisors.

He set out the plans Scott had devised in Inveraray, emphasising the many positives for Alfred and his Saxons. He talked about the possibility of peace and an end to the bloodshed. He explained how the Scots were willing to help improve the land and teach them better farming methods so Alfred would have access to significantly increased food reserves. Mac emphasised the potential for trade between the Saxons, the Danes and the Scots as one way of maintaining peace between them and he made the offer of advice and help from the Scots to get other improvements such as education and health underway.

Alfred was a canny negotiator, but even he was surprised at the extent of what the Scots were offering while apparently getting nothing back in return. Mac indicated that trade and peace were what Scotland was most interested in and if these could be achieved then the Scots objectives would be met.

Mac had to remain at Reading for four days while Alfred discussed the proposals with his senior people. Although Scott had surmised that Alfred would be a fool to reject these terms and subject his people to continued war with the Danes, the English King was in no rush to agree, perhaps looking for some trick or device in what was being offered.

At last Mac was summoned and he met with Alfred once more.

"Greetings mighty Earl of Northumbria! I have considered the proposals you have brought from the Norse-slayer and have decided that we can agree to them. Already I have the Danes almost brought to heel, but something that brings an end to the conflict that much sooner is to be desired. Guthrum the Old, the Danish leader, converted to Christianity as a sign of good faith and for a while there was peace between us.

"It is only recently that there has been an influx of younger and more warlike Danes, eager for lands. It may be that you will be able to persuade Guthrum to return to peaceful ways with these promises you have brought to me, particularly the promise of a better supply of food.

"If Guthrum agrees to these terms then I am willing to sign a treaty with the Danes if they return to, and remain within, the Danelaw (the lands in the south of England that the Vikings had been settled in for some time)."

"Noble words indeed your majesty. I will seek out the Ard Righ and we will look to meet with Guthrum the Old to put these same terms to him." Said Mac.

He wasted no more time, but set out from Reading in search of Scott and his forces at once. Mac travelled ever more cautiously as he made his way southwest across Salisbury Plain, meeting small bands of Vikings, but nothing he couldn't deal with. His force had to skirt Yeovil as there was a larger concentration of Danes here, and he eventually reached the coast on the east side of Lyme Bay.

Mac dispersed his troops to secure the area they were in from Viking assault, essentially securing it so that the bi-plane would have a safe landing area. Five days later, Scott's ships were sighted in the bay and a signal fire was lit to guide them to the spot that Mac had chosen.

Scott, Gabrain and Lachlan left the ships and waded ashore to meet Mac on the beach.

"Well met Mac, it's good to see you safe and well. I'm guessing by the satisfied look on your face that things went well with Alfred?" Asked Scott.

"Indeed your Grace, eventually. These English don't believe in doing anything quickly and I admit to some frustration at the delays and constant pressing for more from us. But, he has agreed to a treaty if we can convince the Danes too."

"Excellent, I knew I could rely on you my friend. Now, what about the Danes? Did you identify who it is we need to deal with?"

"Yes your Grace. The Viking leader is called Guthrum the Old and my scouts have already discovered that he is based at Exeter."

"Then yourself and Gabrain should make your way there to see this Guthrum and put our terms to him. Once Gavin arrives I have thought up a little gimmick that will hopefully impress the Danes and lend some weight to your negotiations."

Scott didn't go into details of what he had planned at this point, but instead he enquired how many days it would take Mac to make his way to Exeter. Mac indicated that three days hard marching would probably cover the trip and Scott nodded. He could have used his ships, but thought this might be a little too inflammatory with the Vikings. Their memories of what the Scots ships had done at Exeter in past years would still be fresh.

They only had to wait two days before Gavin MacCann and the bi-plane arrived, Gavin setting the plane down in the field they had identified for him.

Mac and Gabrain immediately set out for Exeter now that the plane was here, Scott still not having told them how he planned to use it to help their negotiations. They took half of Mac's troops with them as a guard force and struck out westwards around Lyme Bay itself.

Three days later Mac's scouts advised him that they had located the Danish camp, on the banks of the River Exe. The Danes appeared to be in a sorry state, perhaps still licking their wounds from the recent defeat by Alfred. Mac hoped this might put them in a better frame of mind to agree a treaty.

Four men were sent forward under a flag of truce to advise Guthrum that they wished to negotiate with him and Gabrain and Mac settled down for the night. They were awoken several times during the night by gunfire, but Mac's men advised them there was nothing to be alarmed about, just some Danes probing their defences to try and identify how many Scots were in the area perhaps.

The next day their men returned to confirm that Guthrum had agreed to meet with them. The men advised that the Danes were very hostile towards them and they advised Mac to keep all fifty of his troops with them at all times. Mac thought that sounded like good advice and they set out for the Viking camp with rifles at the ready.

As they neared the camp Mac could see what his scouts meant. The tents were tattered and everywhere men looked tired and beaten. It was clear that this was a force that had been through a prolonged period of hard fighting and hard living. Tired they may have been, but the Vikings clearly bristled as the Scots approached, the losses that they had suffered in previous years making them immediately hostile.

They were taken to meet Guthrum, who proved to be not that old at all, perhaps in his mid forties. This time it was Gabrain who made the opening overtures as to why they had come. Guthrum was immediately suspicious and, like Alfred before him, didn't respond in a wildly positive way. Gabrain and Mac were surprised that neither of these 'great' leaders was able to immediately see the significant benefits for their people that were on offer. Guthrum was obviously more interested in the rifles that the Scots carried, no doubt realising it had been these that had been used on the men he had sent to the camp during the night. Despite what Scott had said back in Inveraray, the rifles seemed to have more of an effect on the Danes than the offer of help and trade.

After a day of discussions and pointed questioning, little headway had been made with the Danes. At least they had received agreement that they could return the next day to continue, so all was not lost.

There was no repeat of the night prowlers from the night before and Gabrain and Mac managed to get a good nights sleep before they set out to meet with Guthrum again. They were three quarters of the way to the Danish camp when they heard the bi-plane soaring above them. Looking up, they could see that the plane was trailing a banner behind it - the banner of the Norse-slayer. As they watched they could see the plane begin to descend and they hurried forward in case Scott needed armed support.

When they arrived at the camp the plane was on the ground, but none of the Vikings was approaching it. Gabrain and Mac marched up to it and met with Scott. They advised how things had gone with Guthrum the day before and Scott decided to join the negotiations. Five of the sabre teams were left to guard Gavin and the plane and the remainder formed up around Scott and his two friends.

They met with Guthrum once more and now Scott took the lead, wasting no time on formalities.

"Guthrum, I am led to believe you are considered one of the greatest leaders the Danes have ever produced. How do Vikings assess such things? Is it all down to how puissant you are in battle? Or does it also cover what you have done to lead your people forward, to improve things for them?"

"You are the Norse-slayer? By what devilish means are you able to fly in the sky like a bird." Guthrum asked, clearly nervous at both Scott's presence and the nature of the thing he had arrived on.

"That is called a plane Guthrum and is an example of the kind of thing people can achieve if they follow the path of peace, trade and education. All of these things are on offer to you and your people in return for agreeing a peace treaty with Alfred of England. I can't understand why you haven't simply agreed to that. After all, looking around me, it would seem that you would be better served with peace than Alfred."

"If Alfred has already agreed to such a deal, then there must be advantage for the English in this and therefore disadvantage for the Danes. I am not stupid and I am still looking at the proposals to identify where the sleight of hand is being used, where the deception is hidden."

"Why? Can you not conceive of a situation where both sides can benefit from a deal? What is bad about having more food? What is bad about an end to the killing? What is bad about having help to improve the yield of your existing lands, the health of your people and the knowledge that your men could have? In return for trade with Scotland I am able to supply you with sufficient food to see all of your people comfortably through the winter."

"Talk is cheap Norse-slayer."

Scott turned on his heel and pointed at three of the Danes who were standing around. He led them over to the plane and had them unload the two sacks of grain that were on board, directing them to carry them back to Guthrum. This was grain that had been carried south in one of the ships.

"I prefer action as well as words, not instead of, Guthrum. Here is the proof of what I'm saying, take it. Think well about what we are offering here, if not for your own advantage, then at least consider your people. I will wait until one hour before dark for your answer."

Scott, Gabrain and Mac returned to join the rest of their men around the bi-plane, sharing a simple meal from the rations they carried with them. Perhaps two hours later Guthrum himself approached them to confirm he had decided to accept the peace treaty.

"You might not believe it now Guthrum, but this is a momentous moment for you and your people, and for the English too. Now, to celebrate that, would you like to go up in the plane and experience flying for yourself?"

Guthrum declined the offer, alarm clear on his face at the very idea that he would go up into the air.

"We will meet with you at Wedmore in six days time Guthrum, to sign the accord that will bring peace to this area. I will send others to discuss the trade agreement between us and the provision of some of my specialists to help speed your development. For now I will bid you farewell until we meet again at Wedmore."

Scott told Gabrain and Mac that he would see them back at the ships and climbed aboard the plane to return with Gavin. Mac and Gabrain wasted no time in setting out for the return journey to Lyme Bay.

-------

It was actually seven days later before both sides were brought together to meet and personally agree to the terms of the treaty. The Danes would remain within the Danelaw and the English would not assault them there. Trade would be established between them - Scott having sown a little wrinkle into this to help things along by giving the Vikings and the English access to seeds for different foodstuffs - and the Scots would provide professional advisors to kick start improvements.

Scott was well satisfied and he returned to the ships, leaving Gavin MacCann to fly back to Inveraray alone. He had thought of going back in the plane with Gavin, but wasn't sure what the additional weight would do to the plane's range.

The teams of specialists were dispatched to help both sides, Scott had ensured that mining and geology specialists in particular were included in both, but there were also agriculturists, teachers and nurses. He agreed with each team arrangements for returning to pick them up and take them home. With all the plans in place, Scott and Gabrain boarded ship and set sail for Scotland. Scott was a little disappointed that David and Crinan had not been able to observe more of what had taken place, but he knew things were still too unstable to have risked taking them to either Exeter or Wedmore. There would be other opportunities for the boys to learn he was sure.

-------

2012 AD

"Deploy counter measures. Deploy chain mail." Said the Captain.

"Counter measures and chain mail deployed Captain."

"Helmsman, full evasive action away from the counter measures and chain mail.

"Weps, seed mines, Mr Sigurdson prepare a seed to refresh the smart-dust that's been damaged in our attacks."

"Aye, sir, mines seeding now." Replied Sigurdson.

"Smart-dust pod released Captain, time-delay of twenty seconds before smart-dust seeding begins."

The counter measures were drones that projected an image of a spaceship, emitting all of the various radiation wavelengths, a simulated engine signature, communications and thermal images to try to fool the incoming armaments into targeting the drone rather than the real ship.

Chain mail was a complex series of space buoys that established a protective shield between them, directly in front of incoming fire. In effect the buoys created a replica of the spaceship's own force field, admittedly with less power and no ability to regenerate, but very useful protection nonetheless.

The ship hit top speed away from the incoming torpedoes as MacFergus tried to stretch the contact time in an effort to make the jump.

"AI re-allocate the pulse cannons to any torpedoes that make it through the chain mail and minefield. People keep calling out the numbers for me!" Said the Captain.

"Sir, the first iLOX torpedoes are hitting the chain mail, field at eighty percent, sixty five percent, thirty percent, chain mail has collapsed Captain." Said the Weapons Officer.

"Seven seconds to jump Captain."

"Six seconds until the remaining iLOX torpedoes hit the ship Captain." Informed the AI.

"AI sound the alarm ship-wide, crash alert, prepare for impact, full power to rear shields and deploy another chain mail please."

"Chain mail deployed." Captain.

Sirens sounded loudly.

"Give me that jump Mr Sigurdson!"

"Two iLOX torpedoes have made it through the mines and the second chain mail Captain, impact in two seconds." Said the AI.

"AI suspend all fire from the pulse cannon, fire implosion torpedoes Weps."

"Torpedoes away Captain."

"Jump sequence engaged Captain, jumping now and... Jump completed."

The ship was rocked by a twin impact, the bridge shuddering with the force.

"The two iLOX torpedoes made the jump with us Captain, the shields have held, no damage to report on the Dalriada." Said the AI.

"Smart-dust deploying in three, two, one. Smart-dust deploying sir."

"Give me some good news Mr Sigurdson."

"Sir, smart-dust detects only debris, it would appear the iLOX have bugged out sir."

"Open a channel to Admiral MacCulloch."

"Channel open sir."

"Admiral, this is Bruce on the Dalriada the iLOX in my sector are either in little pieces or have jumped somewhere else. We've suffered no damage at all. Where do you need me to be?"

"Bruce, the news is not so good elsewhere I'm afraid. Fife and Fortrenn have been badly damaged although the iLOX have run from their sectors also. They are warned now and we don't know where they are. I've been following the exchanges on our screens here on earth and it looks like we accounted for perhaps something like two hundred of them, more than half of that down to you Bruce by the way.

"We won't catch them that unprepared again though and we're still heavily outnumbered. I want a full de-brief on your own actions Bruce, there are lessons we can learn from how you managed what you did without sustaining any damage."

"I'm heading to a briefing room to do that now Admiral, the sooner we can cross reference, the better."

"Excellent Bruce, Admiral MacCulloch out."



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Chapter 28: Ship ahoy!

The winter of 890/891 AD was a severe one, with heavy snows and bitter gale force winds sweeping the country. The depth of the snow, particularly the drifts, pretty much locked things down. Gabrain did put together a dog team with his trusty Wolf, but that could only be for fun and he had to keep within close reach of the town.

The lead up to the St Andrew's Day celebrations felt muted. Lots of activities were planned and there was a frenzy of activity as usual, but the cold, biting wind somehow dampened spirits. Nothing dampens the spirits of the young however, and the Inveraray children lifted the mood remarkably, as they threw themselves into the various games and challenges that had been laid on.

By the time the afternoon was drawing into evening and the children were being readied for bed, tired, but happy, the adults had caught the excitement and a buzz began to go round the town. The girls had worked on possibly their most elaborate play yet and the townspeople were eagerly looking forward to this part of the night.

The specialists once more played and sang in the hall-house, many of them now married to ninth-century girls and with children of their own. They had become completely integrated into the community and their efforts were recognised by all - both in terms of their developments, but also the advanced teaching that they were undertaking.

The small band had been rehearsing for the night and they played a range of Scottish folk songs, but also a number of twenty-first century songs that they had arranged especially for the occasion.

A number of the recently qualified, older children, also put on a display of Highland dancing, pipers skirling and the girls dancing nimbly between the crossed blades of two claymores laid on the floor. This was highly energetic and it has to be said the men in the audience were very appreciative of all the young breasts that were jiggling delightfully.

The girls' play began with a re-creation of their own wedding day, which segued into a tour of Scotland to represent their honeymoon. Some of the children had created huge canvas backdrops depicting some of Scotland's most dramatic scenery and the bright colours helped to dispel the misery of the cold winter's night even further.

The honeymoon gave way and two well-muscled young men appeared out of the darkness. These two were clearly a representation of St Columba and St Andrew and they led a small group of Scots into the area that was cleared and lit, immediately in front of the hall.

Two lines of people came forward out of the darkness and approached the Saints and the Scots. The audience identified these as Saxons and Vikings, some of them appearing hungry and weak, others obviously ill. As the people in the lines reached the Saints they were blessed and the Scots behind the Saints dispensed food or treated those who were in need of it. As the people passed the Scots the Saxons and Vikings began to mingle together, talking and clasping arms, no sign of enmity between them.

This was a different paced play from what the girls had devised before, but all could see that they were portraying the path that Scotland had stepped out on, helping their neighbours with food, medicine and fostering peace. Overall the play helped the people of Inveraray feel good about themselves and what their country was trying to achieve. Once more the girls were delighted that their efforts had achieved everything they had set out to.

-------

As always for Scott, the wintertime was a time for reflection and review, a time for considering how things were going and projecting forward into the coming year. There were high hopes that the power station would come on-line in the spring and he believed that one event would hasten progress dramatically.

Sigurd had been true to his word and the supply of ore from various countries had increased significantly. The Norse had also dealt with the renegade band that had been assailing Ireland, bringing peace to that island too. Scott's teams had been established throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa and he hoped they would begin to ship ingots of metal rather than ore in the coming year.

The specialists were once again running sandwich courses to train additional experts over the winter months and there was almost an embarrassment of riches in terms of the trained people that were going to be available. When these were added to the growing stockpile of raw materials and the advent of electrical power, Scott felt buoyant about the prospects for a step increase in what would be achieved.

The new ship was also nearing completion, but the retired Royal Navy Captain who was leading the project was trying to hold off on the launch in the hope that the more modern, and more powerful engines could be manufactured and fitted.

The one area that bothered Scott was whether the peace between the English and the Danes would hold. He knew a weak part of that position was the possibility that more and more Danes would arrive from the continent, swelling the ranks of the Vikings to the point that they felt able to renew the conflict.

His hopes were that the advantages that Guthrum was experiencing would lead to the existing Danes resisting any newcomers, but that might be a faint hope. Scott discussed the position with Gabrain, Lachlan and Mac, with all agreeing this was a weak point in their plans.

"Why not do something to stop more Vikings going to England then father." Said young Crinan.

The adults on the balcony of Scott's house stopped and looked at the young boy.

"I think you might have something there Crinan, perhaps we could use the new ship in some kind of demonstration, make it clear that any further migration is not welcome." Said Scott.

"Is that really our decision to make your Grace?" Asked Mac. "Can we appear benevolent on the one hand by fostering peace and development and then the dictator on the other by stopping people's free movement?"

"I think Crinan has the rights of it. Another influx of Danes would undo all that we managed to achieve this past autumn. We would not be stopping the Danes from looking for new lands, just from choosing England." Said Lachlan.

"I think you're merely splitting hairs Lachlan. We either stop free movement or we don't. There are no degrees involved in dictating to people." Said Gabrain.

"Well, we can either stop the migration or else risk fighting a bigger Viking army with the risk of Scots blood being shed. Which would you prefer Mac?" Asked Scott.

There was quite a deep, almost philosophical discussion about the rights and wrongs of taking action in this way, but eventually they all agreed that a demonstration of some kind was probably the best option for Scotland and England.

-------

A large crowd was gathered at the Oban harbour to watch the launch of the first ever metal ship. It has to be said that many of the locals still had significant doubts about this and fully expected the large structure to sink rather than float. The ship was about one hundred feet long and had the name SS Dalriada painted on its bow.

A series of huge metal chains attached to large stone blocks had been constructed to act as a drag factor once the ship was allowed to slide down the launch-way towards the bay.

In a nod towards the custom in his own time, Scott had arranged for Tara to launch the ship by swinging a bottle of wine so that it smashed against the ship's side.

"I name this ship the Scottish Ship Dalriada, " she said loudly, "God bless her and all who sail in her."

The crowd held their collective breath as the ship began to lurch towards the bay and into the water. When it became clear that it was indeed going to remain afloat there was a huge cheer, the tension coming out through the screaming.

Tara had lobbied Scott hard to be allowed to captain the new ship. At first he had thought the man who had led the project would be the captain, but he had declined, suggesting that that would be a job for a younger person. Tara had spent a considerable amount of time with the man as the project was progressing, assimilating a lot of his knowledge about modern ships and modern naval tactics.

Eventually Scott caved in and agreed Tara could have the command. There were few options left in any event after the ship's designer had declined the opportunity. The plan he had in mind for the Dalriada's maiden voyage was one that would certainly allow her to get the feel of her new charge.

The ship was red as planned and a set of huge shark's teeth had been painted on the bow for added effect. Scott and all his wives were rowed out to the side and they climbed up a ladder to the deck. The crew was formed up to receive their new captain and the Ard Righ. Gabrain, Lachlan, Mac, and some sabre troops also climbed aboard.

Tara made her way to the bridge and took command. The first order of business was to take the ship out for some sea trials to prove her abilities and sea worthiness.

"All ahead at half speed First Mate." She said, as if she had been doing it all her life.

"Uhmmm, I'm sorry captain, but it will be a few days before we can fire up the engines and take her for sea trials." Replied the mate.

This was a big disappointment for Tara, but she realised the wisdom of it and curbed her impatience.

A tour of the ship was organised and Scott and his party were treated to the sight of the huge steam engines, the various guns and the relatively spacious crew accommodation. With regret Tara agreed to join Scott back on dry land to await the clearance to take the ship out. It was clear she had already fallen in love with her new baby.

Two days later the same party were aboard the ship as Tara did take the Dalriada out to sea. Even though they were mostly veteran seamen already, they were amazed at the speed the engines drove the boat at and how quickly they found themselves out past the island of Kerrera and into the Sound of Mull. It was only a few hours before they were out into the Hebridean Sea.

Tara worked the ship up gently to her top speed and it was recorded at twenty-nine knots. The Bofors guns were fired and the ship appeared to handle beautifully. Tara's face wore a huge grin as they turned to head back to Oban.

That evening Scott called his friends and advisors together. A notable addition for this discussion however, was Tara.

"My friends, we have spoken already about the possible danger of additional Danes sailing to England and what we can do about it. Some of you were uncomfortable about Scotland dictating terms to the Danes, a worry that we might become tyrants without realising it.

"I have been mulling this over in my head and think I have come up with an alternative approach. I have already spoken to Sigurd about the lands available in Iceland and Greenland, perhaps even further afield in Canada and North America. Here are huge lands available for settlement, without any need for armed struggle. We could approach the Danes and offer a similar arrangement to the one we have afforded the English and the Danes in the south, trade, food, specialists to help them establish themselves. We could help them settle in these other lands and by doing so we might be able to relieve the pressure on England and at the same time make new friends in these new territories.

"What say you my friends, is this a path worth following? Is it better to be benevolent in our approach to the Danes and by doing so seek to establish new allies?"

The people in the room began to bang the table in response to Scott's proposal, making it obvious that they thought he had come up with another masterstroke. This approach left people feeling far more comfortable with Scotland's role, a role that was less dictatorial and more supportive and nurturing.

"Tara, I need you to lead in this by taking the Dalriada to Denmark to help convince the Danes that we can help them open up these new lands. Others of us will go with you, but perhaps the ship will help us get a hearing."

"I look forward to it your Grace, you know I am always pleased to play my part in taking Scotland's future forward."

Further discussions delved into the detail of how such an approach could be achieved and the roles that people would play.

-------

Two weeks later the Scots ship was sailing through the North Sea and heading towards Scandinavia. The Dalriada sailed down the Kattegat and through the narrows, on to Kobenhavn (Copenhagen). The red ship caused panic and longships were fleeing before them long before they reached the natural harbour of the Danish capital.

Scott had checked his history on a laptop to arm himself with the little that was known about Denmark in this period.

Tara brought the ship to a halt in the middle of the harbour and they waited for someone to show enough nerve to venture out to speak to them. After several hours a boat did come out, but they couldn't understand a word of what the occupants shouted up at them. They replied in both Gaelic and English, but couldn't make themselves understood and the boat turned and made back towards the shore.

At length the boat returned and one of the men called up to them in English.

"What kind of men are you and what is this infernal thing you sail the seas on?"

"I am Scott mac Fergus, Ard Righ nan Albannach, High King of Scots, who some call the Norse-slayer. I have come to speak with Harthacnut, son of Sigurd snake-in-the eye, King of this Denmark. Kindly tell him I am here and would have words with him."

"You cannot simply call the King to attend upon you knave! As like as not it will be several hundred Vikings who shall be here shortly to have words with you!!"

Scott signalled to the gunners and they began to fire at some of the ships in the harbour. The 40mm shells could clearly be seen as they 'walked' across the surface of the water and began to rip through the hull of the nearest ship. The ship was quickly sinking and the gun turned to the next one with similar results. Once the gun quietened Scott spoke again.

"Advise Harthacnut I am here. Any Vikings who try to board this ship will be dealt with most harshly I can assure you."

The boat departed hastily after the demonstration and the Scots settled down to wait for the Danes' response. Sentries were posted round the ship as darkness began to fall without any further contact from the shore.

Scott was walking on the deck, looking alternately up at the sparkling star filled skies and the torchlights on the land close by, when he heard the sound of oars in the water. He shouted the alarm and very quickly the Dalriada's powerful searchlight reached out, piercing the darkness and picking up two longships crammed with heavily armed Vikings.

The powerful beam of light shocked the Danes and when the Bofors gun started firing, raising a wall of seawater immediately in front of their bows, the Scots could see them reverse direction and scuttle for the shore. The remainder of the night passed without incident.

At noon the next day an altogether finer longship sailed out to meet them. This ship had a finely carved prow and the Scots could see there were men of substance on board and assumed this was Harthacnut himself. When the ship was alongside, the same man from the day before called to them in English.

"Here is Olaf, Royal Shieldbearer to the King. He would speak with the Norse-slayer."

"Come aboard, both of you." Called Scott.

The two Danes climbed the ladder, trepidation clearly written on their faces as they came aboard the bright red ship. Scott led the way to the ship's operations room and they all took seats round the table there. Scott examined Olaf closely. He was only about five foot six, but was powerfully built across the shoulders. He had long blond hair and a full beard and was wearing leather pants and what looked like a calfskin jerkin. The man was still nervous and apparently was keen to conduct his business quickly so he could get off the ship.

"Why have you come here Norse-slayer?" Asked Olaf with the help of his interpreter.

"To help the Danes Olaf, to help you out of the predicament you find yourselves in." Responded Scott.

"Hah, and why should we believe that? Help from the man whose dragon ships have killed many of our countrymen in England?"

"I think your information must be somewhat out of date Olaf, in the past six months I have helped establish a peace treaty between Guthrum the Old and Alfred of the Saxons. Already I have helped both with supplies of food and with experts to boost the development of their people. I would look to do the same for Harthacnut and the Danes."

"We are well able to look after ourselves without the help of outsiders!"

"Ah, but I beg to differ. If that was the case, why do Danes have to sail to England in search of lands? I understand you have too many people here and not enough food, my friend. I have a proposal that could help remedy that without the need for any battling on your part."

Olaf looked at Scott, considering his words.

"Let me hear your proposal and I will carry it to Harthacnut." He said.

"Okay, I will show the Danes new lands to the north that are currently unoccupied, vast lands. I will also assist by providing specialists who will help you improve the land you have so that it can produce more. I will help you with education so that your people can learn how to do things you currently have no knowledge of. I will help you by trading with you, trade for things that will make your crops grow bigger and better, for things that will improve your quality of life."

"And what is in this for you?" Olaf asked suspiciously.

"Peace. Peace and the opportunity to help our fellow man, to establish trade rather than warfare, to help people survive!"

Olaf looked dubious.

"You would give us all this just to help? Why should we believe in these mythical lands?"

"Tara, if you please." Scott said.

Tara left the room and made her way to the bridge. She soon had the ship underway and heading out of the harbour. The Vikings who remained on the longship could only look on as the Royal Shieldbearer sailed away.

Olaf meantime was alarmed. He could feel the vessel move under him and was unsure what was happening.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked.

"To see these 'mythical' lands Olaf. It might be helpful if you could verify they exist when you report back to Harthacnut."

-------

2012 AD

Captain MacFergus sat in his stateroom, answering questions that were being fired at him view a video link.

"What was going through your head when you were preparing to fire the first rounds?"

"I wanted to make sure I could have the maximum impact before the iLOX had a chance to return fire."

"How did that lead to you using the tactics you did? Where did the idea of the short jumps come from?"

"I just wanted to keep moving, I thought that would make it harder for them to get a lock on me."

"How did the smart-dust perform?"

"Perfectly, as did the implosion torpedoes. The chain mail didn't last long and we should look at trying to ramp up the power if we can so they last longer."



-------

Chapter 29: Visitors

Scott continued to have dreams about the Stone of Destiny that seemed to be leading him deep into space. He saw great ships that travelled in the zero gravity voids, powerful ships that reached unbelievable speeds. When he awoke he once more questioned the relevance of the dream.

He had returned to Inveraray after having travelled to Iceland with the Dalriada to show Olaf the lands that could be available to the Danes. It had taken three days sailing to reach Iceland and Olaf and his interpreter were amazed at the speeds the ship could maintain. In the absence of sails or oars they were mystified as to how the ship was powered and Scott was in no rush to show them.

When they had allowed Olaf to investigate Iceland they returned to Copenhagen and he had gone in search of King Harthacnut. A meeting had been arranged and Scott had put his proposal to Harthacnut in person. Olaf had confirmed the technology that the Scots had and also that the lands Scott referred to did indeed exist and were uninhabited.

Harthacnut had agreed to Scott's idea and they had discussed details of how the Scots would supply people to help the Danes improve their farming, healthcare and education. The Danish King was obviously very impressed by all that Olaf had told him on top of the reputation that the Norse-slayer already had.

The success with the Danes had fired Scott up and he decided to call on Harald Fairhair to offer a similar arrangement to Norway as he had to the Danes, helping the Norse discover Greenland. More of the Scottish experts would be enlisted to help the Norse. Harald could see no down side to what Scott was proposing and agreed the deal quite quickly.

He now had trade agreements with the English, Danes and the Norse and plans to expand that to encompass the Irish and the Welsh. He had also encouraged the Vikings to colonise Iceland and Greenland and that would provide new opportunities for trade there too.

While he had been travelling the hydroelectric plant had been brought on-line to much celebration amongst the specialist community. The main plants that had been constructed for the various manufacturing needs were now hooked up to power and progress was already being seen.

The priority had been given to making the various components for modern engines so that heavy machinery could be made to help with the infrastructure projects. Building had also been targeted and the Scots up and down the country were finding themselves moving into modern style housing with running water and the capacity to take advantage of other improvements such as electricity, central heating and the like when they were available.

Scott had insisted that this building should be underground so that the natural landscape wasn't spoiled and slowly but surely the towns up and down the country were disappearing below the soil. A start had been made to constructing duplicates of the main industrial plants underground too.

Priority had also been given to the production of radio and other electronic technology. Scott was surprised at the complexity of what he had considered the most basic of things from the twenty-first century. There were so many small components required and their production needed a long lead-in time to set up the buildings and machinery. Fortunately, the specialists had been planning for this and much of the work had been carried out in preparation for the availability of electricity.

Radios had been singled out as something that Scott wanted to see available as quickly as possible. Production of short wave radios had begun quickly and the locals had once more been amazed at being able to speak to their friends and family in distant towns. Scott knew this was a huge step forward in Scotland's progress. He had urged his electronics experts to redouble their efforts and make the breakthroughs necessary to begin to construct computers in particular.

-------

Amidst all the effort and excitement of the fast moving developments, a surprise visitor arrived at Oban. A radio message advised Scott that an envoy had arrived on a ship from the Pope. Scott was amazed. Why would the Pope send someone to Scotland?

He asked Gavin MacCann to fly him to Oban to meet with this envoy and they climbed aboard the bi-plane to fly to the coast. They climbed above Inveraray and headed in the direction of Oban/Dun Ollaigh.

As they came in to land Scott could see that a mass of the people of Oban had come out to see the plane again. The plane landed and Scott jumped from the passenger seat. He had radioed ahead to make sure that his old friend the Abbot of Kilchrennan was on his way to Oban too and he had asked the languages teacher to stand by for a flight to Oban also, Latin being the most likely language the Catholic envoy would use.

The envoy had been standing watching the plane land and he was trying to school his features to hide just how impressed he was at the manner of Scott's arrival. He was dressed in bright red robes with a red mitred hat on his head, and there were gold chains round his neck from which a large golden crucifix hung. Scott could see a variety of rings on the man's fingers, one of which could only have been the ring of a Cardinal.

He chose to ignore the churchman and instead asked Gavin to return to Inveraray to pick up the language specialist. Having done that, he made for the Oban hall-house and quietly told the members of the burgh to keep the envoy occupied until the Abbot of Kilchrennan arrived.

The Abbot was ushered in to see Scott as soon as he arrived as was the language teacher. Scott discussed with the Abbot what the envoy could possibly want.

"Why would the Pope be interested in Scotland old friend? What possible reason would he have for sending someone here?" Scott asked.

"What the Romish Pope always wants your Grace, more converts, more adherents to the Roman Catholic creed. With that comes more riches, more power. Already most of Europe has been converted to follow his way."

"That I will not have my friend. The Columban church, the Celtic way, is Scotland's way. I am all too well aware of the dangers inherent in a religion that is organised in the way the Roman Catholic Church is. Grasping for power, influence and riches. Popes and Cardinals interfering in the government of nations and goodness knows what else.

"It seems to me that the more relaxed approach to life of your own order is much closer to what the worship of Jesus and God should be about. The Celtic polity is almost secular in its support structures; you have a more relaxed attitude to celibacy and no great hierarchy to deal with other than Abbots. No bishops, no Cardinals and no Pope. Your brethren even take up arms when required to defend yourselves and your flock. Because of that it seems to me the Columban Church is able to focus more on the word of god, not less. It is better able to relate to ordinary people, understand their weaknesses, desires, and failings."

"My thanks for your kind words your Grace, I feel strongly that you have the rights of it and that my order has chosen the correct path for Scotland's worship of the one god. I have no enmity towards the Roman Catholics, but they would swallow us up if they could."

"Well, let's have this envoy in and find out what his mission is." Said Scott.

The Cardinal was shown into the hall and he walked over to Scott, holding his hand out in front of him, the palm down and his ring of office uppermost. The import was obvious; the Cardinal was expecting Scott to kiss the ring. Scott simply ignored the hand and gestured that the Cardinal should take a seat. A frown crossed the Cardinal's face at what he clearly saw as a slight.

As Scott had suspected, the Cardinal was speaking Latin and he turned to the language teacher for an interpretation.

"I am Cardinal Francesco, extraordinary envoy of our Holy Father, Pope Stephen V."

"Your Holy Father he may be your Eminence, but hardly 'ours', as we do not hold to the Roman Catholic creed in this country." Said Scott carefully.

"That is a position I am hopeful we can change and quickly my son."

"Your Grace. Here in Scotland we refer to the Ard Righ as your Grace. Please address him properly Sir Priest." Said the language teacher, annoyed at the overbearing attitude of the Cardinal.

The Cardinal paused, once more a frown appearing on his face at having been taken to task in this way. He clearly wasn't used to being interrupted or having his manner challenged.

"My Lord King, the Pope is aware of the growing influence of your country. We know of your people in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and North Africa and also your recent agreements with the barbarous Vikings. We could help your endeavours, work with you to bring god to the Vikings. All that is required is that you accept his holiness and the Roman Catholic Church."

"That I could nowise do your Eminence. Scotland holds to the Columban Church and we are happy to continue to do so. The good Abbot here does very well in spreading the word of god and ministering to the Scots." Said Scott.

"Then I'm afraid that you and your country will be declared excommunicate Sir King. Beyond the salvation of Christ and our Lord!"

This statement and the sheer arrogance of the man and his church stunned Scott. What gave him the right to come unbidden to Scotland and make such a statement? By what authority did he think it was in his gift or the gift of this Pope Stephen the fifth to deny a whole country the succour of Christ?

"The scale of your arrogance is stunning your Eminence. You refuse to even recognise my title and station. You sit there in your gaudy robes with your fine baubles pronouncing a sentence of excommunication on an entire country. We do not hold to your creed so your threats are empty ones. The good Abbot here is a much finer servant of the Lord our God methinks. Not for him the riches and trappings that you seem to hold so dearly. Not for him dire threats, but rather a common sense approach to tending to his flock!

"Return to your Pope and tell him to look elsewhere for his riches for he will not be getting them from the Scots! Now, out of my sight before I lose my temper sirrah!"

The Cardinal tried to speak again, but men hustled him from the hall. This was probably the first time in his life he had been manhandled and he was shouting loudly in Latin at the treatment.

"My friend, what I said is the truth isn't it? His pronouncements hold no authority here do they?" Scott asked the Abbot.

"Yes your Grace, his word carries no weight with the Columban Church."

"It seems to me that I should be doing more to support your church my friend. In addition, it seems that rather than this arrogant Romish creed, if the Vikings are to be delivered to god, then perhaps the Columban Church should be the vehicle for achieving that. How say you my friend?"

The Abbot pondered Scott's suggestion for a moment. He was a man of deep faith and the opportunity of bringing the word of god to those less fortunate was very appealing indeed. His motivation would not be about power and riches however, but genuinely about saving souls.

"I think we have brethren that would welcome the opportunity of spreading god's word your Grace, and if you were to help take them to where they are most needed, I think that would be a service to the Lord."

"I have also been pondering on our Sainted Columba my friend. I have established a holiday and celebration for St Andrew, but perhaps we should have a similar day for St Columba? I believe he died on the thirtieth of May and have been thinking about making that a day of celebration also."

The Abbot's face lit up at this suggestion, clearly delighted at this marking of St Columba's importance to the country.

"I think that would be an excellent gesture your Grace, a worthy and noble recognition of the importance of Colm Cille to our people."

The two men discussed the nature of such a day; the Abbot making a plea for a significant religious element, which wasn't currently part of the St Andrew's day celebrations. Scott agreed that this would be appropriate.

-------

The next excitement in Inveraray wasn't the new holiday however, but rather something disturbing. Another young girl was found raped and strangled, her body left amongst some bushes outside the town walls.

Scott once more made his way to the crime scene to look at the body of a fifteen-year-old girl. Again the girl's face had the look of innocence about it and he felt his rage building within him at whoever was responsible. He took charge of the investigation and immediately began to piece together a picture of the girl's last movements.

It turned out that this girl was a student, as the first victim had been. This one had been studying chemistry and Scott interviewed the specialist who was tutoring her, as well as all of her classmates. No one had seen the girl after she had left the class the night before and Scott was left with no clues as to who could have been responsible.

Scott felt helpless. The fact that two innocent young girls had now been murdered and the culprit was still at large, perhaps could strike again, was eating him up inside. He ordered a sabre team to stake out the crime scene again in the hope that the murderer would return, but it was a faint hope he knew.

-------

The death of the girl took some of the gloss off of the preparations for the first ever St Columba's day celebration. The day was to start off with an open-air service led by the Abbot in which he extolled the virtues of St Columba and blessed all present. Similar services were being held up and down the country, as Scotland came together to recognise the importance of Columba in their country's development.

The afternoon was given over to religious studies for the children with the monks sitting with groups of them to tell exciting tales about the life of Christ, his miracles and how he had died for humanity.

The monks had surpassed themselves in terms of the great quantities of food they had prepared and the weather was kind. The Abbot walked around with a large smile all day, pleased at how things were turning out.

The culmination of the religious side of the celebration was the parading of the legendary brecbennoch reliquary. This was a wooden box, shaped almost like a house with a peaked roof, and was covered in an alloy of silver and copper. The metal work was decorated with a number of beasts leaping and twisting in the air as if trying to bite their own tails. There was also Celtic embossing and fluting.

The reliquary was reputed to contain some of Columba's bones and as such was the most important icon in the Columban church. The Abbot had prevailed upon his counterpart on Iona to allow it to be brought to Inveraray for the day.

The people of Inveraray lined up to make their way in procession past the reliquary, which was standing upon the Stone of Destiny, itself rumoured to have been used by Columba as an altar. It was a moving experience for everyone as they filed past and touched the stone and the brecbennoch.

Once everyone had had the chance of viewing and touching the two relics it was on to the hall-house for the remainder of the celebration - feasting, dancing and drinking.

The children were safely out of the way and the night was getting quite noisy and drunken when there was a huge bang from behind Scott's house. Scott, Gabrain and some of the more sober specialists rushed to investigate.

When they turned the corner of the house they could see immediately that Scott's tent was gone. There had been an explosion of some sort and a large circle of ground was blackened as if by fire. There was a body lying on the ground just outside the black circle and they moved closer to identify who it was.

There was still enough light in the May night to see quite clearly and Scott knelt beside the body to turn it over. When he did so he leapt backwards with shock.

"Sweet Jesu! What in the name of the Saints is that?" He exclaimed.

The body was clearly not human. It was dressed in some kind of red and black hide and the head was more like that of a wolf than a man, covered in dark hair and with a pronounced snout.

"What is it?" Gabrain asked in hushed tones.

"I know not, but nothing human I'll wager. And look at these strange objects that lie beside it."" Said Scott.

Sure enough there were two objects lying beside the body, one looked like a weapon of some description and the other like a high tech palm computer. As they were staring at the body and the objects they heard a cry behind them.

"Your Grace, your Grace, the Stone!"

Scott turned to see the Abbot hastening towards them. The old man stopped when he saw the body lying on the ground and quickly made the sign of the cross in front of himself.

"What is wrong old friend?" Asked Scott.

"The Stone of Destiny, your Grace. I was preparing to pick up the brecbennoch when suddenly the stone started to glow with a brilliant white light, then I heard a loud bang from somewhere."

"Aye, it would seem the stone and this thing trying to cross over are somehow linked." Said Scott.

"What is it your Grace?" Asked the Abbot.

"We don't know for sure my friend, but it is something not of this world methinks."

Scott gave orders for the body to be taken to the Inveraray cold store and for the two objects to be gathered and given to the scientists to investigate. He followed the Abbot back to look at the Stone of Destiny. So far as he could see the stone was as it always was, black with its carved designs. He knew there was no point in calling a meeting of his advisors tonight as many would have already taken too much alcohol to think straight.

The next day he had managed to pull together a fair number of the specialists and he joined them along with Gabrain, Lachlan and his two elder sons.

"My friends, I have disturbing news. The 'portal' back to our own time is surely gone for good. Some of you might have heard an explosion last night? That was the portal reacting to the fact that some kind of alien being was in the process of crossing over from our own timeline into this one."

There were gasps and a hubbub of voices as all of them began to exclaim at this unbelievable news. Scott called for quiet.

"I know this sounds like something out of Star Wars or Star Trek, but if you don't believe me you can view the body of the thing at your leisure. I believe the real reason first I and then yourselves were brought back in time to this alternative universe has now been shown to us. I believe our purpose is to accelerate Earth's development in order to prepare our world to defend itself against an alien attack."

Some of the men in the hall actually laughed out loud at this at first until they saw that Scott was deadly serious.

"My friends, think about it. If an alien was coming out of the tent here in Inveraray, then he must have stepped into the tent in the Inveraray in our timeline. That means that there are aliens on our Earth. This thing was armed and had its weapon drawn, ready for use. That doesn't seem like the act of a friend or ally. No, I'm afraid the only answer that makes sense is that our Earth has been overrun by an alien race."

-------

2012 AD

"What else do you remember about the engagement Captain?" Asked the voice from the video screen.

"The information about a weakness in the enemy's shields seems to be accurate because my torpedoes all seemed to find their mark and penetrate the iLOX defences. That would suggest that all the other information we have been able to extract from the ancient iLOX artefact is also accurate." Replied Captain MacFergus.



-------

Chapter 30: The Stone

Scott decided to make it mandatory for all of the younger girls to have weapons and unarmed combat training in an attempt to improve their safety. His head was swimming with the twin problems of the killer and the alien, but he was still able to think of ideas to try to help the situation.

The specialists had eventually agreed with Scott's assessment of the likely explanation for the alien's presence, most of them having taken a trip to the Inveraray cold store to view the body. They were still in a period of what was shock, trying to come to terms with the loss of their connection to their own timeline and the possibility that the Earth had been attacked.

Scott had recovered very quickly and knew that he now had the reason for his time jump. Nothing else made sense.

"Well if ever there was something to motivate people, motivate an entire country, the entire Earth, then surely this is it?" He thought to himself.

He had been concerned in the past about the question of whether people would remain motivated to work and contribute to society without the introduction of a monetary system. He had considered whether the protestant, Presbyterian work ethic of the Scots was innate or something that had been developed due to the various things that the country had been through (most notably the reformation). Surely that was a concern no longer.

He found a quiet corner and began to think about how he could use the alien's appearance to spur the Scots to even quicker development, increased progress. He didn't want to panic the population and he also needed to be able to explain the phenomenon without appearing as if he had gone mad.

He eventually decided he needed to use a number of demonstrations to show the people of Scotland what was possible in this universe. Some had already seen the plane, but by no means all. Wider exposure would show people that flight was possible. The leap to space flight wouldn't be so unbelievable once that was shown. Already radios were in use to show that people could communicate remotely using sound waves and the younger people understood the theory behind that from their school studies.

Scott slapped his hand to his head. Of course, education was the answer. Those already trained would have little difficulty in believing the alien theory, especially if they were shown the wolfman's body. These were the ones he had to convince soonest anyway, as they were the ones driving development at the moment. Future generations could be taught about the coming invasion as part of the school curriculum.

The rest of the population could be told too, but their belief was almost unimportant, as it was going to be eleven hundred years before this event happened if the timelines remained true in this respect. By that time everyone would have been schooled to expect the invasion and would believe it would happen. Scott began to worry that he couldn't rely on things happening in this universe at the same time as in his own. What if the aliens came to earth in this universe sooner? He also realised that if people thought the invasion was eleven hundred years in the future then the motivational value might be diluted.

He settled on urging people to make the fastest progress they could on the basis that the invasion could happen at any time. It would be a race to get into space as quickly as possible.

-------

The summer of 891 AD was a frantic one with so much going on it sometimes made Scott dizzy as he tried to keep track. Another shock to his system was the announcement by his father that he had taken another wife. Scott hadn't even considered such a possibility and found it hard to adjust. His mother and father had just always been there. The idea that he had another 'mother', this one in her early twenties, was just too bizarre.

He shook himself as he realised the stupidity of his thoughts. Everyone was adopting plural relationships and there was absolutely no reason why his father shouldn't be one of them, despite his age and the number of years he had been married to his mother.

He turned his attention to his plans for preparing a group of people to travel to the Americas. Already the construction of a much larger ship was underway, this one capable of transporting a large number of people and equipment to help establish a viable colony.

Scott had held major discussions with his advisors with regard to this project. He was determined that the lessons of history in his own time would be learned and the indigenous natives would be given the opportunity to develop and share in the riches of their lands rather than face slaughter and being downtrodden.

He had already asked his language specialist to make sure that people were being trained in the various dialects of the natives his people might come across. There would be no Spanish or Portuguese influence there as yet so it would be native languages that would prove invaluable.

His suggestion was that the people who would make up the colony should remain very much in the coastal areas and gradually establish trade with the natives. In this way he hoped they could build up trust and a working relationship. Many of the tribes were warrior tribes and nomadic in nature he knew, making the job of working with them doubly difficult.

Having been through this kind of planning in identifying the specialists to bring back to the ninth-century, the make up of the group was easier to determine and this time things would be easier as the ship would be capable of taking ready-made technology to help establish the colony.

The location for the colony had been something that had taken much discussion between Scott and the advisors. Scott favoured Jamestown, Virginia in recognition of the original English settlers who had colonised America. Others were in favour of going further south to South America where there were more notable reserves of minerals and other valuable commodities.

Jamestown was located partway into Chesapeake Bay and on the James River, some forty or fifty miles from the Atlantic Ocean. It was recognised that the area was likely to consist of swampy land, infested by mosquitoes and the specialists questioned why, given the choice, they should start here.

Scott had no other reason than history, the Scots had a long history of settling in the American south in their own timeline and he wanted that to be the same this time round. He stubbornly stuck to his guns and asked the medical staff to ensure that the group that travelled were all inoculated against the kind of disease and illness that would be encountered.

Jamestown had originally been named after the English King James I, but Scott planned to re-write history by having the colony named after his own son James. The colony had been built up by the growing of tobacco, but things would be different this time, with Scott suggesting the climate would be good for farming if land recovery was possible.

Virginia was pretty central in terms of America's eastern seaboard and this was another reason for Scott choosing it as the point of first landing. The details of the attempt were gradually worked out and firmed up.

-------

Towards the end of summer, Scott received some startling news. The source was one of Sigurd's captains who was delivering a shipment of ingots from the Mediterranean. The captain was transported from Oban when he asked to speak with the Ard Righ on an important matter.

When he was shown into Scott's presence he appeared very nervous, but managed to get his story out.

"Your Grace, I bring news of some import from Italy." The man stuttered.

"Come, speak freely my friend, have no fear." Scott replied.

"You have killed the Pope your Grace." The man burst out abruptly.

"What?! You haver man, I have had no contact with the Pope, have no enmity towards this Stephen!"

"Stephen is no longer your Grace and all are saying it is down to yourself."

"What foolishness is this?"

"Your Grace, hear me. The story I have heard tells of a cardinal coming to Scotland and being sent packing with a flea in his ear. When he returned to the Pope and recounted your utter rejection of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope is said to have fallen into such a rage, his face turned purple and his heart stopped. Already there is a new Pope. He is called Pope Formosus."

Scott was stunned by this news. How could his rejection of the Roman Catholic Church have had such an effect on someone? Surely Scotland was still small and insignificant in world terms? He decided he might have to revise his opinion on that score and began to believe that already Scotland was beginning to shape world events, to change the nature of things in this timeline. If he could find no evidence of an impact when he had looked for it in his own timeline, it appeared he didn't have to look too far for signs of it in this one.

-------

Another, altogether happier religious incident occurred at the tail end of summer also. Mac MacKelvie arrived at Inveraray in a state of some excitement. He searched for Scott and found him down by the loch side.

"Your Grace! Your Grace!" He shouted to get Scott's attention.

Scott stopped walking and waited for the other man to catch up with him.

"What has got you so excited Mac, it's not like you at all!"

"Your Grace, I have brought a wondrous thing to Inveraray from England."

"What have you brought me Mac?"

"A finger bone of St Andrew himself!"

"Saints preserve us! Where did you come by such a treasure?"

Mac explained how he had heard rumours of the existence of the Saint's bone while speaking to some of the churchmen in his Northumbria. He believed absolutely that the churchmen at least thought the bone was a genuine relic and had recovered it to bring back to Scotland.

The Abbot of Kilchrennan was still in the town and they hunted him down to ask guidance on what to do with this very precious artefact. The Abbot suggested it should be lodged within the brecbennoch, beside the bones of St Columba. What could be more powerful than the bones of both of Scotland's foremost Saints he asked?

-------

The investigation of the alien objects hadn't as yet shown any results. The weapon was straightforward enough, some kind of laser it seemed, but the computer was proving far harder in terms of unlocking its secrets. Scott ordered the scientists not to damage the object; his belief being that they might not be able to access the data it carried with current technology, but future developments might make it more likely. There was little point in testing the thing to destruction now if there was hope of accessing its data in the future.

The scientists couldn't even identify the material the objects were made from yet, confirming that the body was certainly from another world.

-------

Scott was very pleased with progress as winter began to set in. His envoys to Ireland and Wales had established trade agreements with those nations and already there were signs that the Danes and the Norse in Iceland and Greenland were flourishing with the Scots aid.

Peace had been maintained in England too and trade and progress there was moving on apace.

On the morning of the St Andrew's Day celebration, Scott was sitting alone in front of the fire in his house. Without warning he suddenly heard a Gaelic voice in his head.

"Scott mac Fergus, Ard Righ nan Albannach, come to me now. Your work here is done for the present and you need to face other challenges that Scotland has before her. Bring your family with you and say your farewells."

Scott somehow knew that it was the Stone of Destiny speaking to him and there was no doubt in his mind that he would obey what it was asking of him. He rushed upstairs, calling for his wives and children.

"Hurry my loves, we are called to leave this place and time. A higher destiny would appear to await us, come, hurry."

It was a mark of just how much trust and love existed in their relationship that the girls didn't question Scott's commands. David and Crinan appeared and young James and Tina were scooped up as the family gathered together.

"Make your way to the hall-house, I need to speak to Gabrain and Lachlan."

Scott rushed from the house in search of his two friends.

"Gabrain! Lachlan! Where are you?" He called as he ran through the town.

His calls alerted others to the fact that something was going on and many of the specialists came out of their houses to investigate. Scott found Gabrain and Lachlan and urged them to follow him to the hall. He dashed off, his friends hurrying in his wake.

When they reached the hall-house, Scott's family was all gathered there waiting for him. As he stepped into the hall the top of the brecbennoch opened and a brilliant white light spilled from it like a fountain, creating a dome of light about fifteen feet in diameter and ten feet high.

The girls, children and his friends gasped as this happened, as did the specialists who had run to see what was going on. Scott turned to his friends.

"Gabrain, Lachlan, I am called by the Stone. I don't know where I am going, only that my work here is done for now. Gabrain, the responsibility falls to you to become Ard Righ in my place and to drive development forward to prepare mankind for what is to come."

"But your Grace, I cannot do what you do, I am not prepared for this responsibility!" Replied Gabrain.

"You and I both know that is not true my friend. Always you have been preparing for this moment. You will make a good High King. Now, my friends, I have to leave you, my time here is over. Mom, dad, I love you both. Help your new High King to make the progress that is required."

"Lachlan, faithful Lachlan, I will miss you covering my back and covering my mistakes my friend."

He stepped forward and hugged his friend to him for the last time. Scott then turned and addressed the old Abbot who was standing amongst the specialists.

"Old friend, I'm afraid that your beloved artefacts are about to leave you, but fear not for they must surely have another purpose that is to Scotland's benefit. Do not think bad of me for I am commanded by them, not the other way round."

The Abbot clasped his hands in front of his chest as if in prayer and bowed his head to his beloved High King.

Scott turned and addressed the specialists.

"You too have a massive responsibility on your shoulders. Yours is the responsibility for maintaining the pace of development required to make sure the world is ready. Work hard my friends and safeguard future generations!"

"Wait your Grace, I am called too." Shouted Mac MacKelvie as he rushed into the hall.

Scott embraced Mac, pleased that the warrior was going to be at his side. He raised his hand in one final salute and then stepped forward with his family into the circle of light.

As Scott passed the outer rim of the brilliant white illumination he felt the full knowledge of eleven hundred years course through his entire being. He realised the Stone was giving him access to everything that was to happen from this point forward until the alien invasion and he groaned under the weight of it all. He staggered as the stream of knowledge flooded through him until one fact stood out from the others.

He suddenly jumped backwards out of the light, raising his Claymore high above him. He ran to the bank administrator.

"You, you little scum bastard! No longer will you prey on our innocent youth!"

He slashed violently, cutting the man open from his shoulder to his belly.

Scott saluted Gabrain with his bloody sword before leaping back into the circle of light once more.

"Remember my friends, Alba gu Brath!" He called.

"Long live the King!" Shouted Lachlan as the light intensified and then disappeared altogether to leave an empty space where the Stone, Scott, his family and friends had stood.

-------

2012 AD

"Mr President, it would appear another part of the legend has just come to pass. Our sensors have picked up a large power surge and ten humanoid forms appearing out of nowhere in the stateroom of your residence. I have dispatched a security team to the location and your own guards have been trebled. However, there is a good chance that your time as our leader is fast coming to an end." Said Admiral MacCulloch.

"I always knew this day might come Admiral and I stand ready to do my duty. I must admit that the idea that our legendary Ard Righ has returned is quite unnerving however. Once you have confirmed his identity, I would like to meet with the Ard Righ to pay my respects and due homage as soon as possible."

"As you wish Mr President." Replied the Admiral.


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The End
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Posted:  2007-04-09
Last Modified: 2007-05-07 / 07:22:13 pm
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