fandomhigh | History in Living Colour - Friday, Period 3 (Week 2)

"Okay!" the Doctor said, bounding into the room when the students had gathered. "No time for chatting, let's get to it. Get to what you might ask? If you are, you didn't read your syllabus! Ask Peyton or Dick for one if you missed out. They're you're TAs and in case you've forgotten, I'm the Doctor."

There were three doors in the room. "Pick a door, any door! Well, except the one leading out of the Danger Shop. One of these three doors, which will lead you to a turning point in history. This week is all about not messing with the turning points, the important stuff, the moments in history that make today the way it is. We're going to learn by doing the wrong thing. Do whatever comes naturally to you once you're on the other side of the door. When you're done, we'll talk about what happened as a result of your actions.

We're all a part of history in some way, shape or form, and there's a lot you can get away with when you're outside of your home time period - by the way, time travel happens, get used to it - but there are some things you should never tamper with. You'll see why. Or, if you read a lot of alternate history fiction, you'll already know. Go on, pick a door." He nodded towards the doors, then commented quietly to himself, "guess we did have time for chatting after all."

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The woman was startled, but ran off into the woods. The guards continued on their path and ran into Jen. "An accomplice! Seize her!"

Wow, this felt like old times, and Jen fell into a guard stance with practiced ease. "What do you want with her?" Her voice was sharp and harsh, the way it had been while she was on active duty and apprehending criminals, but the sound caught her almost by surprise now.

"You are under arrest for assisting the escape of Mary, Queen of Scots, from rightful imprisonment as a traitor to the Crown! You'll see the executioner for this, girl."

Mary, Queen of Scots? Jen had to rack her brain for a moment, that part of history not being her strong point. But when you were an officer of the law, phrases like "sanctioned an assassination attempt" stuck in your head.

Decisions -- the thought of turning a woman over to execution didn't sit well with her at all, but neither did being party to conspiracy. We choose our own destiny, Wes had told her once, and she did know enough about the history of that period to know that Mary knew what the consequences of her decisions would be. She'd chosen her own destiny in the end, all right, and much as it galled her, Jen knew she couldn't take that choice away.

She swallowed hard. "I know which way she's going."

"I'll bet you do. Tell us and we may be able to stay the executioner's hand."

Just a simulation. She had to keep telling herself that.

She turned to look toward the woods, to see if she could still catch a glimpse of Mary.

"Tell us!" The man didn't want to send all of his men out there into the dark if he could find a better way. Mary wasn't visible, but the rustle of leaves was.

Edited 2008-09-13 01:55 (UTC)

"She's heading into the woods," Jen said quietly, and moved out of their way. "I'll . . . I'll help you."

The man considered her offer, then nodded. "You lead. If you run, I'll have my men cut you down." He barked orders to his men. "Follow her. Find the rogue Queen!" They stood ready to follow her.

Jen wondered if her visual scanners would work today; there wasn't exactly much woodland in Millennium City so her training in forest tracking was rudimentary at best. She touched the spot behind her ear to engage the scanners, but followed the sounds as well.

"Come on," she said, setting off as at brisk a pace toward the woods as she dared without actually running.

Mary could manage to elude the guards if she was lucky, but not someone trained so well to track. They gained on her quickly.

Jen was a little surprised at her success, and a little guilty about it as well. She moved up a few paces ahead of the guards and hissed, "Your Highness!"

Mary turned, frozen in place. She wasn't used to this kind of running. The woman looked scared, knowing if she was caught, she would go back to facing her trial and execution.

"I'm sorry," Jen half whispered, and gestured for the guards to step forward.

Mary shook her head and ran off into the dark. The guards followed at top speed, knowing they had her now. The simulation froze and the Doctor was there, a few steps behind Jen. "You're not new at this." It was a leap of logic, but she was the first one in a large class to do the right thing by the timeline, to make the hard decision.

History in Living Colour - Friday, Period 3 (Week 2)

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