Time Rider Ch. 05

"Now, Nanu!" Becky yelled, making sure her slave could hear her. She was already working frantically to cut through the thick ropes in one of the giant pulleys that moved the Velarium into position. Nanu, meanwhile, was sawing at the edge of the rope that held the corbel she was on in place.

She gritted her teeth as she watched the steel knife bite through the thick cable until finally it snapped free. The rope whipped about as it unraveled, causing a cascade of loosening canvas across the broad length of the famed awning.

Becky, meanwhile, finished cutting through the rope in the giant pulley she'd selected, dodging hastily as it snapped and flailed about before spinning away. The giant canvas sheets comprising the Velarium buckled and gave way, while the corbels and rope masts retracted rapidly.

"Mistressssssssssss!" Nanu keened, holding on like grim death as the corbel she was on, no longer held in place by the giant ropes, snapped back toward the solid stone walls of the Colosseum.

"Jump, Nanu!" Becky called out, standing on the edge of the wall and holding her arms out. "I'll catch you! Trust mistress!"

Nanu squeezed her eyes shut and jumped ...

Becky wheezed as she caught the flying girl, tumbling to the floor with her and holding her tight. Nanu was shivering in her grasp, so Becky just held her for a few seconds and caressed her raven hair. The slave-girl looked up at her saviour and nodded, so Becky stood them up, listening to the shrieks of panic as the Velarium floated down relentlessly.

"Teamwork, Nanu!" she said excitedly as they stood. "Let's see what happens next!"

***

Mark faced one direction warily, while Rullus and Achilleia stood behind him, squaring off against other legionaries who were closing in. The original gladiator and the retiarius were also conscious and now stood with them, brandishing what weapons they could. Mark felt silly sporting only his cudgel, but it seemed dumb to not let the gladiators have the weapons they were trained with.

His dick was still hard, and leaking cum from the tip. He saw Achilleia slowly turning her head to look down at it longingly.

"Eyes front, Achilleia!" he snapped, not in the mood to die. She returned to glaring balefully at the encroaching soldiers.

There must have been a hundred of the legionaries. That was twenty-to-one odds. He decided to not mention that to his enemies-turned-allies, since he wasn't sure if they understood ratios in any event. If their math was as poor as their hygiene, why bother?

"When I thought I'd die in the emperor's sight, this isn't how I pictured it," Rullus growled, brandishing his sword.

"I hadn't envisioned dying for that cocksucker at all," Achilleia replied, spitting in contempt at the foes in front of her. "Damned if I'm gonna give him the satisfaction of a clean kill. People will remember this day, to his embarrassment!"

The legionaries advanced, the circle tightening. They were protected by their large scutum body shields, and their spears pointed threateningly at the little rebel group. Mark wasn't sure what good he would do here, since he was armed with a club smaller than his dick and he was the only untrained gladiator.

But then he noticed rippling movement above, looked up and grinned. The velarium became dislodged from its moorings and like a vast sail or flag, began floating down over the stadium. People noticed, began screeching in panic, and stampeding.

"Right on, Becks ..." he said with satisfaction as his day began to look up.

***

The emperor looked up, scowling as he saw the giant canvas sheet descending, fluttering menacingly as it enveloped the upper levels of seating. Panic ensued, with people scampering around pell-mell, trying to escape.

"I really hate the gods ..." he thought darkly as the canvas touched down around him and everything went to shit.

***

Becky, standing on the edge of the wall and looking down over the chaos and mayhem she had caused, with tens of thousands thrown into panic, cackled gaily and clapped her hands before yanking down her top to expose her breasts and holding her arms wide and yelling loudly across her kingdom of madness.

"Are you not entertained?!" she shouted, revelling in her triumph.

God, she'd always wanted to use that line.

***

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Mark shouted as he and his new allies raced down the hallway, shooing everyone in front of him. "Faster, if you wanna live!"

The legionaries had forgotten all about the little group of rebels once the madness ensued, racing toward the emperor to rescue him. Mark used the opportunity to escape, bringing his former foes with him. He wasn't terribly interested in seeing them die, and they might prove very useful in getting out of here in one piece. Rullus had led them through a small, little-known door in the wall of the arena, one used generally only by pit masters to monitor the proceedings. His titan frame barely fit in it, but he led the way dutifully.

"Where are we going?" Achillea asked, happy to be escaping, but at least wanting to know what the plan was. She had her whip and her sword in hand again.

"The most convenient, flat and open space you know of beneath the Colosseum," Mark replied, hurrying along behind her. "A place almost no one knows about or uses."

"One of the old training spaces," grunted Rullus. "It hasn't been used in years. Follow me!"

Their course took them deeper beneath the stadium, through winding halls and narrow corridors and staircases. They finally reached a wide chamber, in the middle of which stood Becky, Nanu and Domitia. The former Vestal and the slave-girl seemed stunned to see the small party approaching, and the gladiators gaped as Lady Aurora and her slave ran into one another's arms, kissing deeply and feverishly, speaking in some unknown tongue.

"Right!" Mark said, finally disengaging from Becky's tongue as he looked around, eyes flashing with determination. "I know this is going to sound weird, but I need you all to trust me. We're going to get you out of here, as quickly as we can."

"How?" asked the retiarius, looking about warily. "They'll find us eventually!"

"I know, and what I'm going to say will sound like magic, but just run with it, okay?" Mark replied, walking over to the Holmes Field Device, which Becky had been kind enough to retrieve. He wasn't sure how, but she was better with this temporal shit than he was. And they trusted one another by now. "This contraption will get us out of here, but it's not big enough for all of us at once. I'm gonna take Lady Aurora and Domitia first, then come back for a few more, then the last load."

Rullus nodded: "You spared my life, and I entrust you with it. Achilleia and I will go last, holding the room if the enemy comes."

"Oh, Rullus ..." Achilleia sighed, looking up at the hulking gladiator, her expression a dreamy one, before she suddenly scowled and smacked him on the back of his helmeted head. "You romantic asshole."

Mark left them to argue while he hustled Becky and Domitia onto the platform, which was already switched on, lights and readings blinking around the surface. Becky swatted Domitia's hand as she tried to touch a dial.

"You know where we're going?" he asked, hoping she had a better handle on this than he did. She nodded, smiling.

"Leave it to me, Mark. I think you'll like this solution ..."

***

The climate was certainly a change from that of Rome, but it was also a pleasant experience in its own right. The city around them, built of red brick, sandy-coloured stone, and studded with stately palm trees, reminded Mark of eastern cities in every movie he'd ever seen. Beyond the walls stretched endless expanses of desert, in which the city stood as a shining jewel in a vast sea of scorching sand.

He didn't know why Becky knew to park the machine where she did, but he also knew she had figured out how to use his Holmes Field Device on her own, so he wasn't questioning it. Safe from prying eyes, and after two more trips back to the Colosseum to gather the other rebels, Mark now found himself in an ancient temple in the shape of a ziggurat, with priestesses standing in front of them and bowing. Unlike the Vestals, the white garments of these priestesses were delightfully spare, exposing more than it covered.

"Lady Aurora Horatia," one of them said humbly. "Your timing is fortuitous, and we gladly accept your offer. Domitia will be given a new life as a priestess of Nanaya, or as she is known in your tongue, Suadela."

The priestesses all walked up to Domitia and kissed her, welcoming her into their sisterhood. The former Vestal shed tears, not in sorrow, but because she had a new beginning. Nanaya, as the goddess was known in this far-flung province, was an ancient Sumerian goddess of sensuality and lust. When the Romans had conquered the land, they readily identified her with Suadela, to keep the peace.

The priestess smiled at Mark and Becky again. "And for your generous donation of gold, we will take on your four friends here, to guard our temple, as the garrison makes no effort to do so. They are now, in their own way, lifelong servants and devotees of the goddess."

The four gladiators beamed proudly. Since serving Nanaya, even as guardians of her temple, meant food, lodging and getting laid by her harlot-priestesses, they were more than amenable to the idea.

"Lady Aurora," Domitia intoned, taking Becky's hands in hers and smiling slyly. "Will you consent to Bonosus and yourself being the first to receive my blessings as a priestess of Nanaya?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear..." Becky purred, pulling Domitia into her arms and kissing her deeply.

***

A small villa in Roman Italy ...

Mark sipped wine from a goblet while Becky lay nearby on a couch, wearing nothing while Nanu sat on a small stool and massaged her feet. The sultry afternoon suited everyone, and they were finally at peace.

"Helluva trip, Becks," Mark mused, draining his glass and then pouring more for himself. "You've gotten really good with the Holmes Field Device now. I seriously thought it was me who left the adrenalin tab for my discovery under the Colosseum, but it was actually you."

"Sorry to scare you there," Becky sighed, as Nanu worked on her toes individually, sometimes even kissing them as she rubbed oil into them. "I found them in our tab supply, and thought it was our best bet. I just jumped behind a few hours when no one was around and stashed them in that cell for you."

"So it wasn't even me coming back from the future to save myself," Mark chuckled. "Here I was so confident that I'd lived, that I couldn't be killed because future-self was looking out for me, but no, it was current you. So I could've been killed at any point, even if timelock kept me from killing anyone else."

"It was a little bit messy, but you did survive, and that's what counts." Becky pointed out, caressing one of her breasts lazily while enjoying Nanu's exquisite touch.

"So what're we gonna do with her?" Mark asked, referencing the Egyptian slave-girl. Nanu had gotten used to her mistress and her manservant speaking in this weird, harsh language, and thought nothing of it anymore - when they needed her, they spoke Latin or her own tongue to her.

Becky sighed contentedly and puddled further into the couch. Nanu's foot massages were utter bliss. "I was considering letting her stay here, and simply look after this little villa I bought for me. Whenever we visited, we'd just come back as close to the time we left as possible, but I have no idea if we could guarantee time snarls not getting in the way. So I'm bringing her home with me."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "That a good idea? Or even possible?"

Becky shrugged. "If she can't be brought with us, the Holmes Field Device won't work, right? So we care for her here. If it does allow it, I'll keep her with me in my house and teach her about her new world. I'll just say she's a foreign student bunking with me."

"Literally, I might add." Mark quipped, holding up his goblet and winking.

"Oh, you," Becky giggled while Nanu shed her clothes and crawled over Becky, straddling her hips and beginning to squirm their pussies together slowly. "I don't think she's gonna give up on the notion of being my slave-girl any time soon; it seems to make her feel safe. If she asks about you as a slave, I'll say I freed you."

"Well, I was pretty enslaved to you for a while there," Mark chuckled. "Funny, I remember being so in love with you while those tabs were in effect, and I remember it fondly. But at this point, I'm just back to feeling like you're my dear friend, and I love you, just not in love any more, y'know?"

Becky sighed and nodded as she placed her hands gently on Nanu's breasts and caressed them while undulating beneath the slave-girl. "I know what you mean. Talk about exhilarating, right? We should do that again at some point, just for funsies."

"I'm in," Mark agreed, as his cock hardened from watching the two girls make love. He put down his wine, stood up and moved in behind them, kneeling at the bottom of the couch and sinking his cock deep inside Becky, making her moan as he started to slide in and out of her.

"And what about our other acquisitions?" he asked, caressing and squeezing Nanu's ass while he fucked his Physics teacher.

"Gnnnn, the clothes we'll keep at my place, for future use," she breathed, loving the feel of Nanu's moist pussy on hers while Mark fucked deeply. She felt Nanu shiver and gasp as Mark pulled out of her and pushed into the slave-girl. "And I bought those big amphorae of Falernian wine, there's twenty-six liters in each. We'll bury them where we know nature has never been disturbed back in our time, and then retrieve them. Voila, Roman wine for dinner every night."

"I'm gonna have fun explaining that to my parents ..." Mark chuckled as he slid back into Becky, making her cry out.

***

Dhallyla stared at the liquid in her glass in wonder while her family sat at the table for dinner. It was quite unlike anything she'd ever tasted before.

"Mark, what ... what did you say this was called again?" she asked.

He shrugged as he ate. "It's a Roman-style wine, called Falernian. Lots of people are recreating ancient alcohol recipes now, so I thought we'd give this a shot. Pretty nice, hm?"

"Very strong," his sister Roxy rasped as she put down her wine glass and made a bit of a face. "Very, very strong."

"That's why the Romans and Greeks mixed their wine with water," he chuckled. "Some Roman talked about not being able to bring an open flame near wine because it could catch fire. So I mixed it with water, like the instructions said. Sorry if it's still strong."

"Where did you get this again?" his father asked.

"Ren Faire," he said easily. "All sorts of brewers and people showing off their wine and beer skills these days at them, so I thought I'd give it a shot, y'know? Bought a couple of bottles."

"It's certainly different, but I can grow to like it," his mother mused. "Make sure you get more before we run out."

"I can do that," Mark replied cheerfully.

Later that night, he was sitting at his desk in his room, surfing for eras to visit during their next adventure, when the door to his room clicked shut. He turned his head to see his sister leaning back against the door, looking at him pointedly.

"Something I can do for you, Rox?" he asked plainly, keeping his eyes on his research.

"Now that you mention it, yeah," she said, folding her arms and wearing that insufferable smirk of hers. She never stopped reminding him who the elder sibling was. "So I did some looking around online, and there hasn't been a Ren Faire within five hundred miles of us in the last six months."

Mark paused in his surfing and slowly turned to look at his sister.

"So," she said, walking slowly toward him. "I figure it's about time you told me what the Hell is really going on ..."

***

Author's Notes: First and foremost, all of you Ph.D historians and anthropologists out there, don't bother screeching about Nanu's KMT bloodlines being extinct. I am well aware that there is controversy about whether it survives to this day. The scientific jury is still out, and this is science fiction. So don't get your panties in a bunch.

Becky's dance songs were 'Gypsy' from the 'Lord Of The Dance' soundtrack, and 'Bagoa's Dance' from the 'Alexander' soundtrack. Credit where it's due.

Time travel without pregnancy and STD consequences is fine by me, since Mark has enough challenges to deal with. Given that you cannot change history or timelines, and get your ass kicked for trying, I figured that I would give him a pass on niggling details like kids or the clap, hence the futuristic tabs they bought.

Becky is a loon, and I know it. I quite enjoy her, and having her high on oxytocin through most of the chapter was a lot of fun, since in previous chapters, she's been my hellion who breaks out the Krav-Maga to save the day. To paraphrase the Dune novels, variety is the spice of life.

Yes, Nanu will be a recurring secondary character now, and her journey of development in the 21^st century should be entertaining. Technology aside, a world without slavery will be very strange to her.

Yes, the Velarium was a thing.

Yes, an original set of Star Wars Pez dispensers is worth several hundred Roman gold coins. Deal with it.

Yes, affluent Roman houses often contained a room devoted to sexual depravity, and it was called a venereum.

No, Mark is not keeping the chip in his noggin, if it's going to keep giving him facial tics and Tourette's.

Welp, on to My Naughty Neighbour, and then Expecting. Lots to catch up on.

Serva tibi in lignum unum glacies

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