[spoili]
I thought long and hard about how I could incorporate my
randomly generated character into a sci-fi setting, since I placed her in a semi-advanced
fantasy setting in the other prompts I've done. Definitely not sci-fi. Came up with this lovely idea, if I do say so myself![/spoili]
The child slept soundly, thank the gods. The streets of the capital city ebbed and flowed with their usual chaotic business, the citizens blissfully unaware of the terrible crimes committed earlier that day. Arak-jun, one of the Emperor's most trusted advisors and long-time friends, had heard whispers of a coup from his personal network of spies weeks before. He thought he had snuffed it out as quickly as it dared to arise, but he was so very wrong. Someone had betrayed them--someone very close to the imperial family.
Now, they were all dead, save the emperor's granddaughter. Arak-jun should have been able to save them all, but he had been too blind to see it coming. As soon as the child was safe, he would take his own life as payment for his complete and utter failure. Because of him, the palace was in chaos, and it would not be long before news of the Emperor's assassination spread throughout the galaxy.
It no longer mattered. This child no longer had a place here, and it was his duty to ensure her safety above all else. Even above the child's birthright as sole heir to the empire. That had been her mother's dying request, even as she choked on her own blood. Arak-jun swore to the gods that he would do so, and he could not risk their anger by breaking such a vow. Not when his own life was already forfeit.
He was almost to his destination when he realized he was being followed. His foe remained unseen and unheard, but their presence was unmistakable. That was one benefit of being a half-blind alien; one saw the world in other ways. He picked up his pace, careful to keep the child tucked close and out of view. Cursing in his native tongue, Arak-jun pushed against the tide of people, knowing that the assailant was only gaining on him.
There. The empire's planetary research & development facility, unmarked and inconspicuous against the innumerable buildings surrounding it. No one could possibly guess that its basement ran deep beneath the planet's surface. He stepped through the doors without a sigh of relief, knowing that his time was even more limited now that he'd been scanned and identified. The building was suspiciously empty, but Arak-jun had no time to think about that now. His enemy was still behind him and closing fast.
The elevator took the two fugitives 2 miles below the surface, to the deepest part of the facility. Here, the most volatile experiments were tested, but Arak-jun was only interested in one--a prototype time machine that had been deemed a failure. The time travel machine could only be used for a one way trip, and they'd already lost countless volunteers to other timelines. The project had long since been abandoned, but the prototype had never been destroyed. No one liked scrapping anything they'd spent billions on.
But Arak-jun didn't need a two-way trip.
He started up the machine, the child resting soundly on a nearby table. Arak-jun could only hope that this worked. He knew this to be the child's only chance. Going back in time--they would never find her there. But here, in this time, they would find her eventually. He knew that to be certain. So he calculated the time and place, deciding to send her to the ancient days of Earth. He could sense the strong magic within her; she could succeed in those ancient times. The machine whirred with power, combining magic and technology.
"I did not think the great Arak-jun would be so desperate to use a scrapped piece of machinery..."
He stiffened, turning to see a woman that he did not know but that seemed almost familiar. She had an eyepatch over her left eye; he briefly wondered why she didn't simply get a replacement. And her right hand...it was a gleaming metal. Faded tattoos wrapped from her chin to the opposite side of her neck. "Who are you?" he asked, his large black eyes narrowed.
"I've gone by many names, Arak-jun. But once upon a time, they called me Mara."
He saw the blood before the felt the pain. Quicker than he'd ever seen a sorceress move, she crossed the room and thrust a blade between his ribs. He looked at the still-sleeping child, tears filling his eyes. Even in this, he had failed. But it mattered not, he supposed...for he was destined to rot for eternity for his failure to protect the Emperor in the first place.
Mara smirked, wiping the alien's strange blue blood on her pants. She looked at the baby, who had awoken at some point during the encounter but not made a sound. They stared at one another, utterly silent. Mara chuckled at the irony; even as a baby she'd never wanted to cry!
Stepping forward with care, she picked up the child carefully, wondering briefly if she was breaking some law of the gods by meeting her past (future?) self. It didn't matter now, she supposed. For it had already happened in
her past. And in some strange paradox of the universe, it would continue to happen...probably. Placing the baby in the machine, she adjusted the final settings, making sure everything was precisely as it should be.
Excellent.
"Have fun out there," she whispered before pressing the button that might damn the universe.