Scotland forever!

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As James stepped on deck, he drew his sword and rang it right through the captain awaiting him. Two lieutenants drew their swords, calling an alarm, but James managed to kill one of them while the first sailor climbed up besides him. James drove the second lieutenant back as more Dutch sailors climbed onboard. The French lieutenant defended himself well, and from the poop someone yelled an alarm.

French sailors rushed on deck. James fired his pistol, killing the lieutenant, and ran towards the poop. The Dutch sailors followed him, James ran up the ladders to the poop deck and attacked the officer of the watch. The Dutch sailors behind him tried to clean the poop from French sailors, and to also stop the French sailors from the lower deck from swarming op to the poop. The latter swelled into an ever increasing tide. James disposed of the officer, and busied himself with the defense of the poop. The French crew crowded over the lower deck, and a midshipman seemed to take command there, as a number of the sailors climbed into the rigging to fire down onto the poop. Ineffective in the dark, but occasionally dangerous.

James overlooked the situation. There were only two ways up to the poop, one at each side of the ship. Of the nine sailors which had accompanied him, two had already been lost, and one was sitting down wounded but still tried to make himself useful by loading the pistols of his comrades. Each stair was defended by three Dutch sailors, but the lower deck was filled with Frenchies.
Slowly but inevitable the French superiority in numbers was beginning to tell.

He intervened as one Dutch sailor fell due to a shot. There was a short lull in the fighting as the French sailors fell back. James ordered everyone to reload their pistols. Then the French midshipman, who James estimated at no older than 16, ordered a general assault over the full width of the ship. The French sailors raced up the ladders. Several of them fell from the Dutch fire, but the majority of them ran on. James heard several men dropping down from the rigging on the poop behind them, and ordered his group to withdraw towards the other ladders. Soon the poop was in French hands again, and James with a few remaining sailors defended themselves against the French onslaught.

 

[Lord E]

Very interesting and well written update CP. But damn you for creating such a cliff-hanger, we want to know if James is going to be killed pr capture or what is going to happen next This is getting scary

 

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OK, I got the message - next time, 200 heroes in an epic battle defeat 5 enemies.

In that case you missed the message :wacko:
That exchange is one of the best in the movie (rent it if you've never watched it before), along with the scene where 6 of the 7 decided to ride back into the town they were protecting after being ridden out by the bad guys.

(Eli Wallach's last words: "You came back, for a place like this; why? A man like you; why?!?"

-Pat

Of course, I keep coming back here to catch up on the latest episode of Scotland Forever

 

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what's the title of that movie?

 

[Pacer]

I just read your AAr nice one so far

 

[Morpheus506]

Tee hee hee, poop. That made me laugh. Poop. Ahahaha!

Anyway, great update. It's beginning to look like James had a bad idea, there, isn't it?

 

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what's the title of that movie?

The Magnificent Seven.
A 'remake' of The Seven Samuri placing it in the Old West of US history. Interesting, since TSS is an homage to US Westerns, set in Japan.

-Pat, who likes stories where the good guy(s) are badly outnumbered.

 

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James fenced of a ferocious attack of a sailor with a wooden spike. A heavily built man with a sable took the place. Besides him a Dutch sailor was struck down and James was driven back, having to defend himself from two sides.

He wondered how long they could manage to hold out. Suddenly a loud explosion sounded from the bow. Shrieks of horror sounded from the middle of the main deck, as the shrapnel tore its way through French bodies.. Dutch shouts mingled with French cries of wounded men, as some twenty or thirty men jumped from the fo`c`sle down on the main deck. Men? For a moment James thought the men were led by a red or brown haired fury, armed with two swords, one in each hand. One of the sailors besides him cried : “Leve Oranje”, and everyone in his small group assailed the man opposing him with renewed zeal.

James also took new courage, as French sailors backed away. The midshipman on the deck tried to regroup his men against this new enemy. Secretly James admired this boy, still in his teens, showing more ability to command than his superiors had displayed. The boys orders seemed to sort some effect, the flight of men downstairs was stopped, and the men were grouped anew.

James used the lull to drive back some men but was unable to clear the poop from French sailors. In the middle of the deck the organized resistance against the Dutch assault stiffened, and again superior French numbers started to tell. The Dutch were slowly being driven back, and even the frantic efforts of the woman could not hold them back. James finished off a man opposite him and saved a fellow from death by finishing of a second French sailor. But others took the place of their fallen comrades, and James could not come to the aid of the Dutch effort on the main deck. On the forecastle, a small gun rained death again as a load of shrapnel tore its way through the closely packed French, and this time a new group of Dutch sailors jumped on board, as the dutch ship had laid alongside the frigate. The French resistance disintegrated. The remaining men fled down and seeing this, the men opposing James surrendered. The French midshipman was surrounded by three Dutch sailors. James called on him to surrender, which he did with some hesitation.

James met Amalia in the middle of the waist.
“Glad you came to our assistance, my lady,” he greeted her. “And I’m dying from curiosity where you learned such sword play?”
She cut him short:
“Don’t waste your time, let’s get the queen.”
“Ex-queen” James reminded her.
“A queen always remains a queen,” she reminded him. “Even without a kingdom. But let’s stop quibbling, and get down.”

They hurried down, below the quarterdeck, where James expected the captains cabin. They quickly disposed of two sailors who offered only halfhearted opposition. When they arrived at the cabin door, it was blocked.
”Barred” Amalia said. “James, can you bash this door? Your strength is greater than mine.”
James started slashing away at it with his sword. Soon the hews of his straight sword smashed through the wood of the door. James stuck his arm inside and lifted the bolt? which barred the door. Having done that, he pushed open the door and rushed in.

 

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Long live Scotland.

 

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welcome to this thread, KoC!

 

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Thanks Paul.

 

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When James entered the cabin, the first he noticed was not the English queen. It was the sight of the English crown, held by the queen in her hands, which had a ghastly look. A silver or misty cloud seemed to surround it, and the more he stared at it the less clear he could distinguish its features.

Amalia pushed him aside, closed the door behind them and stepped towards the queen.
“I’m afraid we’re too late, James. Cheryl took the crown with her back to our own time.”
“Not yet, Betsy.” James replied. He smiled. “I assume you are Betsy again?”
“Yes, I got captured by a guy called Jack Blutenberg. Remember that name. He’s got two accomplices. One of them I locked up in a magazine behind the school. But then I got taken captive by Jack and the other guy. Instead of locking me up, they sent me back to this time and warned me that I would suffer irreparable brain damage if I didn’t stay here for several months.
James thought:
“That sounds like a bogus threat.”
“Yes, but not one I want to risk.”
James stepped towards the crown. The cloud of mist surrounding the crown felt cold. Then he felt the crown, and his heart jumped with joy. Perhaps he could take it from her. He grabbed it firm with both hands and wanted to pull. But at the same moment his grip tightened, he felt his mind starting to leave the body of the king.

 

[Morpheus506]

Dun dun duh!

Intense. I wonder who will win the trans-chronological tug of war for the crown?

 

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James felt himself being pulled away. He tried to say a farewell to Betsy, and suddenly realized he couldn’t move his lips any more. He found himself in space, without a spacesuit, but his body didn’t explode. He still held the crown, and could see Cheryl's hands holding it too. He tried to pull it from her hands – but couldn’t. He tried to yell, but without lips no sound came forth.

 

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Good updates Paul.

 

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“Jack, Cheryl is on her way!”
“What?! And I told that stubborn bitch to wait till we were ready!”
“Well, I guess that without ears she couldn’t listen. Anyway, she didn’t. And she’s carrying something heavy!”
Jack groaned: ”We’ve got the equipment, but not installed. And we don’t have the power we need. We’ve ran out of time.”
“How much power would we need?”
“More than ten times what we have, slightly more than our capitol needs, according to my original calculations. But since her last trip, I know that prediction is too low by far. Why doesn’t that babe use those ears on her pretty head!”
His friend teased:
“Perhaps she just needs her pretty eyes to enchant you?”

 

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“Jack, I’ve been fiddling with those equations of yours.”
“Yes, I know you have had an excellent math training. What did you find?”
“Well, it wont help us now, but I found we could construct something like a tunnel forward or backward through time. Actually, the equations look a lot simpler than the ones we are using now.”
“Could it help us to get these people back?”
The man shook his head: ”No, I don’t see how. But it is interesting nevertheless, don’t you think?”
“I wished you found a way to reduce the power we need.”. Jack could not help his irritation showing through in his voice. ”Can’t you concentrate on that?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”

 

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James “watched” Cheryl holding the crown. He couldn’t see all of her, but her eyes seemed clear as well as her hands holding the crown.
In other circumstances he would have loved to have a trip with Cheryl, but now he wasn’t so sure. They seemed to be moving slowly from the ship upwards. If that was gonna be their speed for their entire trip, it would take them a long, long time. A long, long time, he thought, to have a nice chat with the prettiest girl in the class room. But could he talk with her? He couldn’t move his lips. He tried the relay through the controlling computer, which he had used in Sweden when visiting that country.
“Hi Cheryl! How are you? What are you doing?”
The reply came without delay:
“James! Get your hands of that crown!!!”
Her voice held such intensity and authority that instinctively he nearly obeyed. At the last instance he realized that letting the crown go might also mean loosing contact with Cheryl, and he re-grabbed the crown with both hands.
“James, don’t be a fool!” Cheryl ‘shouted’. “You’re ruining everything! Get away!”
Again he nearly released the crown. This was not a good start for a romantic trip, he thought.
“Ruining? What are you talking about?” A smart move, James thought, as questions didn’t say much, and gave new information.
“Everything!” Cheryl exclaimed. “Now, do you release this crown? You are holding up both of us, and I got to pull both of us. Do you think you’re a lightweight champion?”
“Everything is relative,” James reminded her. He managed to put on a smile. “As far as I can see, we are in space and weightless. You may as well say that I am pulling you.”
“You’re NOT, flopped imitation of an intellect.” She not only looked angry, James felt sure she was angry.

 

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Betsy watched James grip the crown. The crown kept keeping more and more vague and misty. Could she look through it? It seemed to get transparent. She wondered what physical phenomenon she was watching, but had to admit to herself that it was beyond her comprehension. She simply wasn’t skilled enough in physics and mathematics. Well, she was skilled enough in other things, and she prepared for the inevitable confrontation with the English Queen and Scottish King.

 

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The English queen and the Scottish King turned towards her. The crown had by now completely disappeared.
“Majesty” she addressed the English queen, “I must kindly insist that you remain in this cabin. You will enjoy our hospitality for the rest of this trip.”
She turned towards the Scottish king:
“Will you do me the pleasure to follow me to an adjoining cabin so that we may have a short word?”
The man nodded.
“OK” He strode out of the captains’ cabin, followed by Amalia/Betsy, looked around, and entered the cabin of the first lieutenant. He gallantly let her enter first, and closed the door behind them.
“Thank you for granting me request.” Betsy said. “What do you know about the current situation?”
“I remember I was possessed by an evil spirit from another world, and I do remember what we have done.”
Betsy considered the words.
“Thank you for being frank.” She replied. “I will take the liberty to be as frank. The evil spirit you mentioned is a friend of mine, a student like me. On our world something terrible has gone wrong, which will probably affect this world as well. I admit I am not certain of the latter: it may affect only our world, and leave your world intact. It looks like my friend and I have failed: a third student has taken the English crown with her. I will not be able to return to my own world for several months, and in the meantime I will try to serve the Netherlands as well as I can. Are you willing to cooperate with me?”
The Scottish king answered slowly:
“Perhaps – I could delay an accusation of witchcraft on the grounds of not wishing to insult a friendly had of state. And about your question of cooperating: what matters exactly do you wish me to cooperate in?”
“I don’t ask for a carte blanche, my Lord.” Betsy replied. “I don’t ask you to believe me on my word. You will be able to judge each of my actions. Please warn me if something might harm the Scottish or Dutch interests.”
The King reflected these words for a few minutes. “That doesn’t sound to bad.”

They returned to the captains cabin, but were halted by the French ambassador:
“In the name of mon roi”, he declared, ”I protest against the unprovoked aggression displayed by the Dutch in the attack on this peaceful frigate. En nom de mon roi,” he continued, “I consider this a declaration of war of the Netherlands on France, and I declare that France considers itself at war with the Netherlands.”
“This attack,” Betsy replied, “was not unprovoked. Your frigate fired upon a peaceful Dutch merchant in Scottish waters. We have reason to declare war on France, not the other way around.”
“The French captain is an impartial witness who will no doubt stand up for the truth. If he hasn’t been murdered in this assault. ”
The Scottish King interrupted: “He was killed in a fair fight.”
“Murdered in an attack on a patrolling frigate in peace time.” The French ambassador insisted.
The Scottish King reluctantly said:
“It is up to France to decide if they want war or not. Scotland wants peace.”
“After this attack in peace time, the honour of France leaves us no other choice.” The ambassador decided.
Betsy decided:
“Even though France shot at and boarded an innocent Dutch trading vessel in Scottish waters in peace time, and reverts the truth, and now finds itself at war with France, the Netherlands will act in the spirit of the best diplomatic attitudes and do its utmost to safely land you at a friendly port at the earliest opportunity.”

They ordered a sailor to escort the French ambassador to his cabin, and went upstairs to see what was going on deck.