Primary Source By Littlesilverstar, silverstar222b@yahoo.com History professor gets a chance to experience history firsthand NOTE: The heroine of this story is also the protagonist in one of my other stories, Friday's Final Lesson. Monica let out a sigh as she went through the box of documents and articles she had gotten from the Historical Society. The 33-year-old history professor was planning on writing a book, and she needed documents for the research. "Too many secondary sources," she sighed. "I need primary sources, things from people who were actually there when the events happened." She shuffled through the papers, then reached for a strange object that had been in the bottom of the box. "What's this?" The object in question was a small, purple, crystal-like item. She examined it carefully. It seemed to be perfectly formed, sort of like a jewel but at the same time something different. Wondering what its purpose was, she held it up to the light. Suddenly, the crystal began to glow, turning a bright purple. There was a brief flash of light. When it cleared, the box was still in the room, but Monica and the crystal were gone. Monica landed hard in the dirt, the wind knocked out of her. She climbed slowly to her feet. Noticing the crystal on the ground next to her, she picked it up. It was not glowing anymore and had returned to its original dull purple color. Slipping it into her pocket, she looked around. She was in the middle of a jungle. Tall, thick trees surrounded her in every direction. There was no sign of civilization. "Wow," she said to herself. "That crystal must have teleported me here. Unless..." She pinched herself. "Ow. Okay. So this isn't a dream." She took out the crystal again and stared at it. It looked just like it had before. She held it up to the sunlight, but it didn't glow. Suddenly, she heard voices and heavy footsteps. Turning towards the source of the noise, Monica saw a column of men marching by. They were wearing armor and carrying various weapons, including muskets, crossbows, and swords. She recognized the language they were speaking as Spanish. "So the crystal sent me to travel across time as well as across places!" she thought. "These must be Spanish Conquistadors, probably sometime in the sixteenth century. From the jungle, I must be somewhere in Central or South America." The conquistadors marched off into the distance. As she watched them go, Monica had conflicting emotions. She was quite excited to have the chance to go back in time and experience history firsthand. After all (as far as she knew), no one had ever had that opportunity before. However, on the other hand, she was worried about how she was going to get back to her own time. The crystal that had brought her here didn't seem to be in a working mood anymore. Although she was a lot more comfortable with roughing it than most women, sooner or later she would end up missing the conveniences and comforts of modern times, not to mention her family and friends. Monica glanced down at herself and saw that she still had some dirt on her clothes. Brushing it off, she started off through the jungle. She was wearing jeans and a tight white top - ordinary attire for the 21st century, but quite extraordinary for the 16th. Her looks, though, would be considered attractive in any century. She was an average-sized woman at 5'6" and 140 pounds, but her body was very powerful and muscular, while at the same time still managing to look feminine. She had shoulder-length dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a deep tan. The outline of her firm 36B breasts was clearly visible under her top, her breasts looking larger than they actually were thanks to her strong chest muscles. The sleeves of her top were rolled up to show her thick, strong forearms, and a hint of her firm, hard abs was visible above her low-cut jeans. She was used to being hit on, both by her students and by her fellow professors. As she was walking, she noticed something fluttering in the greenery. She bent over to pick it up. It was a letter written in Spanish. Reading it quickly, she saw that it was a requisition for supplies. The date on the top read September 20, 1575. Putting the letter in her pocket, she noticed a glint of metal shining nearby. Picking it up, she saw that it was an old wheel-lock pistol. Excited now, she continued walking along. These were very valuable historical artifacts - at least, they would be if she could ever get back to her own time. A little further along, Monica noticed a foul odor in the air. Soon, she came to the bloody corpse of a Spanish conquistador. He was in a sitting position, leaning back against a tree. There was a deep wound in his chest. Flies buzzed around the body. She looked around apprehensively and gripped the pistol tightly, glad she had stumbled upon it. History was fascinating, but it was also dangerous. Suddenly, she heard a scream in the distance. Hurrying towards the source of the noise, she stopped short when she saw the scene in front of her. A man who looked like a native tribesman was lying dead on the ground, an arrow in his chest. Next to him was a young native woman with a sword in her hand. Two Spanish conquistadors were near her, each with a sword raised threateningly at her. A third conquistador was aiming a crossbow at the woman. The native woman saw Monica and let out a cry for help in Spanish. All three conquistadors whirled at the sound of the shout. The man with the crossbow swung his weapon around to take aim at Monica. Acting on instinct, she took aim with the pistol she had found and fired. The bullet caught the man in the center of his chest. He collapsed to the ground. One of the Spanish swordsmen yelled loudly and began charging Monica, sword raised. His companion attacked the native woman, who defended herself very skillfully with her own sword. Monica dropped the empty pistol and ran towards the body of the man she had just killed. She picked up the dead man's crossbow. Taking aim, she fired at the soldier who was charging her. The arrow impacted the man right in the middle of his forehead. Blood and brain matter flew everywhere as he fell. She turned to the remaining conquistador. The young native woman was clearly getting the better of him in their swordfight. She easily parried several of his attacks, then swung her weapon in a fast and fluid motion that sliced off her opponent's sword hand. The soldier howled in pain, clutching his bloody wound. The woman stared at him for a second, then, with a shrill and high-pitched warrior cry, plunged her sword into his heart. The young woman approached Monica. "Thank you for your help," she said in halting Spanish. She stared at Monica's clothes. "Did you come with the soldiers? Why are you dressed like that?" Monica smiled. "It's a long story," she said in Spanish, hoping that her command of the language wasn't too rusty. "But I'm not with those guys. What exactly happened here?" "My husband-to-be and I were out hunting," said the native woman. "The conquistadors, they ambushed and captured us. When my fiance resisted, they killed him. I don't even want to think about what they were going to do to me." Monica gave the young woman a hug. "I'm so sorry," she said. The native looked at her sadly. "It's part of our life now," she said. "The invaders, they raid our lands. Sometimes they kill us, and sometimes they carry our people off to work as slaves in their tunnels. Some of them ride strange large beasts with long faces. And they have weapons that make smoke and explosions. We fight them when we can, but we must hide and move deeper into the jungle." The woman looked up, an intense expression on her pretty face. She had long, straight black hair and dark eyes, and looked to be in her early twenties. She was smaller than Monica, maybe about 5'4" and 120 pounds. Her skimpy native attire displayed her powerful, feminine muscles. "Are you a warrior too?" she asked. The history professor laughed. "I suppose I am when I have to be," she said. "Normally, I'm a teacher." "The invaders, they seem puzzled when they see the women of our tribe fighting alongside the men," said the native. "It has always been our way to do that. I started learning to fight when I was seven years of age. But the invaders think it is strange. They even call our great river the Am-a-zon, after what they say is a mythical tribe of female warriors from their world. I have seen their women a few times. They wear the strangest, most impractical clothes, and they do not fight." "Yes, that sounds pretty accurate," said Monica. The young native stared at her. Monica quickly said, "What is your name?" "I am Rania," said the woman. "It is nice to know you, Rania. My name is Monica." "Mo-ni-ca," repeated the native woman. "It is nice to know you too." She looked around alertly. "More of the invaders may appear," she said. "Come, I will take you to my village. But first, I must prepare my fiance for his journey to the next life." Rania quickly sheathed her sword. She then picked up the dead body with surprisingly little effort and slung it over her shoulder. Monica, who was still holding the crossbow, also picked up a supply of arrows and one of the dead conquistadors' swords before following her. They soon came to a small stream. Rania lay the body down on the ground and placed an ornately-carved dagger into its right hand. She spoke a few words in her native language, then slid the body into the stream and watched as it slowly floated away. A sad and distant look came into her eyes. Monica placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Rania turned to Monica, managing a smile. "We must go now," she said sadly. "Follow me to my village." As they walked through the jungle, Monica took the purple crystal out of her pocket and showed it to Rania. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" she asked, on a hunch. Rania took the crystal into her hand and stared at it. A strange expression came over her face. "You do recognize it!" said Monica excitedly. "This is a time-space teleporter," said Rania. "A legend of my people says that many, many years ago, maybe a thousand years or more, mysterious visitors came from the sky. They had great sky ships and machines and other strange wonders. They brought these time-space teleporters. Then, the sky people disappeared and were never seen again. But they left some of these crystals behind. Over the years, most of them were lost. Where did you find this? Where is its companion?" "Companion?" asked Monica, puzzled. "These must be used in pairs to be truly useful," said the native. "The first takes you to another time and place, and the second takes you back to where you came from. Each crystal can only be used once." She gave the history professor a fascinated look. "So that explains where you came from!" Monica smiled and nodded. "Do you have another one of these?" she asked, eager at the thought of being able to go home again. Rania shook her head. "Like I said, we used to have many of them, but they were lost one by one over time," she said. "By the time I was born, we only had one left. It was stolen a few months ago by the invaders." "Then what I have to do is clear," said Monica. "I have to go after them and get it to return home." A sudden thought struck her. "Unless...you need to keep it." "No," said Rania. "It is no good without a companion. It would only take us to another time and place from which we could never return. And the one you have has already been used. Besides," she added, "you saved my life. I owe you something. I and my tribe will be happy to help you." "Thank you," said Monica. "I certainly need it. I'm quite lost around here." She tossed her head to clear it. So many new things had entered her knowledge so fast. She thought about what the native woman had said about the "sky visitors." She knew that in Peru, there were giant drawings in the sand...drawings that only came into form when viewed from the sky. Some historians had suggested that this was a sign that aliens had visited the native tribes. She had never given much credibility to that theory...until now. The young native continued leading the way to her village. Monica followed close behind, enjoying the view of the jungle and the view of Rania's cute ass. After about an hour of walking, they came to a clearing with a cluster of about twenty huts. Native men and women were working, and children were running around playing. The natives all stopped what they were doing when Monica came into view and stared curiously at her, but quickly went back to their regular activities at a hand signal from Rania. The young woman led Monica into a hut in the center of the village that was larger than the others. Inside the hut, a long-haired, middle-aged man was sitting on a large stool. Rania spoke to him in their native language, explaining the situation. When she was finished, he spoke a few quick words to her. She then turned to Monica. "This is Rovano, my uncle and the leader of this village," she said. "He and his warriors have agreed to help us." Monica smiled. "Thank you," she said, bowing her head. Rovano smiled back and bowed his head in return. Rania led the history professor out of the big hut. "You can stay with me in my hut tonight," she said. "Tomorrow, we will begin tracking the soldiers who stole the teleporter." The two young women spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know each other better. Rania said that her parents had been kidnapped by the conquistadors many years ago. She had been adopted by her uncle until she was old enough to be on her own. She enjoyed hunting, fight training, exploring the jungle, and boating and fishing on the river. Monica told her new friend about her life, explaining it as best she could. Some of the things she liked, such as camping, fishing, and martial arts, were similar to the things Rania did and were therefore easy to explain. Other things, such as football, action movies, and video games, were a lot more difficult for Rania to understand. Still, the two women bonded easily and became close very fast. Monica looked at the sword hanging from her friend's waist. "You're very talented with that sword," she said. "Will you teach me a few tricks?" And so the two ladies spent the next couple of hours practicing with swords, Rania showing Monica some techniques and tricks. After a while, the history professor felt a lot more confident with a sword. After that, the young women practiced throwing spears. Monica, who had played softball in college and played the occasional game of (tackle) football with her male friends, found that she was quite good at it. When they were finished, Rania regaled her new friend with tales of her experiences hunting jaguars with spears. As darkness fell, they joined the rest of the tribe for dinner, then retired to their hut. After her long and exciting day, Monica fell asleep quickly. The next morning, the hunt for the thieving conquistadors began in earnest. Three parties of warriors, each consisting of about fifteen people, were sent out in different directions. Rania, who seemed to be a high-ranking member of the tribe, had command of one of the war parties, and Monica accompanied her. She noticed that about one-third of the warriors were female. They started off into the jungle. Monica was carrying the crossbow and sword that she had taken off the body of the conquistador in yesterday's fight. As an academic, she didn't really have many chances to do this kind of thing, aside from the occasional weekend trip to the shooting range or a practice kickboxing bout at the gym. She was finding that being a warrior was a powerful and sexy feeling. That day, they found traces of their enemies - discared items, old campsites - but not the enemies themselves. The same went for the second day, and the day after that. At the end of the third day, Monica sighed. "Patience, Monica," said Rania with a smile. "I know," said Monica, smiling back and running her fingers through Rania's long dark hair. "The warriors are going to take a break tomorrow," said the native woman. "I'm going to use that opportunity to go hunting. Would you like to come with me? It'll be a good thing to focus your mind on for a day." "Sure, I'd like the adventure," the history professor responded. The next day, the two young women set off on their hunt. "The jaguars are the best," said Rania. In addition to her usual sword, she was armed with a long but lightweight spear, good for throwing. Monica carried her usual crossbow and sword she had gotten from the dead Spaniard. They padded on through the jungle. A while later, they found some jaguar tracks and began following them. Then, Monica saw it. The sleek, dark predator was just ahead. Rania held her spear out to Monica. "Go ahead and make the throw," she said. "You spotted it first, and I've taken down many of these creatures." Monica looked a little nervous. "Wouldn't it be more practical to use this?" she asked, indicating the crossbow. The smaller woman laughed. "Do you want to hunt like a girl, or do you want to hunt like a woman?" she asked with a friendly wink. "Besides, you did very well when we were practicing the other day," she added. Monica conceded the point. "All right," she said, laughing. She took the spear. She then drew her arm back, took careful aim, and threw it with all her strength. The spear flew through the air and drove itself deep into the animal's chest. The jaguar slumped dead to the jungle floor. "Good throw!" said Rania. Monica smiled and blushed. "Thanks," she said. Rania retrieved her spear from the animal's body. The two huntresses then began transporting the dead jaguar back to the village. They took turns carrying it over their backs. It was quite heavy, but both women were strong and fully capable of managing the load. Rania suddenly stopped. "Something's wrong!" she said, looking ahead towards the village. "They're sending the smoke signals!" Both women looked at the smoke that was rising from the site of the village. Rania then began racing forward as fast as she could. Monica followed behind her. Two minutes later, they arrived at the clearing where the village was. The scene was highly chaotic. Some of the huts were on fire, and many dead and wounded men and women were lying on the ground, while other villagers tended to them. The two young women raced into the central hut. An injured Rovano was being cared for by a native woman. "They raided us again," said Rovano. "They carried off several of our young people and ran off into the west. A party of warriors is going after them, while another party is guarding the village." Rania pressed her forehead against her uncle's. "Stay safe," she said, then pointed to the west. "How far ahead are they?" "Not far," he answered. He looked into her eyes. "You stay safe too." "I will," said Rania. She turned to Monica. "Come on," she said. "We have some ass to kick." The two warrior women raced off into the jungle. Monica had her sword and crossbow. Rania wore her sword at her waist and a hunting bow on her back. She was also still carrying the throwing spear from earlier. Soon, they heard the sounds of battle up ahead. They paused briefly to take in the scene. The Spanish conquistadors outnumbered their opponents by a ratio of about two to one. However, the native men and women were holding their own, thanks to their excellent training and quick mobility. Monica saw a young female native warrior calmly and cleanly use her sword to dispatch two enemies who had been trying to double-team her. "Let's join the party," said Rania. Both women took out their bows and opened an accurate and deadly fire on the conquistadors. They concentrated their arrows on the men who had guns and bows first, most of whom fell to the arrows of the young women before they could get off shots of their own. A few wild arrows and musket balls slammed into the trees near Monica and Rania before the ladies cut down the men who had fired them. Some of the conquistadors, carrying swords and pikes, began charging towards the two women. By the time the leaders of the pack got within hand-to-hand combat range, Monica and Rania had each taken out over ten enemies. Rania tossed her bow to the ground and picked up her spear. The muscles in her slim but powerful arm stood out as she drew it back. She then hurled the spear through the air in an amazingly strong throw. The weapon was launched with so much force that it impaled not only the man leading the charge, but also the man behind him, and the man behind the second one. The three men slumped dead to the ground, the spear still in all three of them. In their shiny armor, they resembled pieces of aluminum-wrapped teriyaki chicken on a stick. Monica stared at Rania in amazement. The younger woman smiled and blushed. Both female warriors then turned their attention to the remaining attackers. The survivor in the lead was carrying a pike. He charged straight for Rania, intending to drive his weapon through her chest. However, she was too fast and agile for him. As he charged her, she moved safely out of the way with a pretty sideways cartwheel. Before her shocked opponent could try another attack, she had delivered a vicious kick into the small of his back. As he cried out in pain, she grabbed him, spun him around, and plunged her sword into his throat. A tall conquistador with distictly yellow teeth was the first to reach Monica. He raised his sword high over his head, foolishly leaving himself wide open. Monica, sword in her right hand, calmly drove it into the center of his chest and laughed at her opponent's stupidity. A second enemy began swinging a sword at her, but she suddenly delivered a lightning-fast kick that sent it flying out of his hand and up into the air. As the sword came back down, she caught it easily with her left hand. The frightened Spaniard was now unarmed and facing an opponent with a sword in each hand. Monica smiled seductively, then cleanly decapitated him with the sword in her left hand. Out of the corner of her eye, the young history professor caught a glimpse of a conquistador trying to sneak up on her from behind. She waited until he was at just the right distance, then did a brutal spin kick on him that nearly took his head off. She looked down at his body and saw that she had broken his neck. An intense feeling of power ran through her. Suddenly, two enemies leaped out from the bushes, one launching himself at Monica and the other going for Rania. Monica, her back turned, was knocked to the ground by the impact. Rania, facing her opponent, greeted his charge with a stab to the stomach. As he fell with a howl, she bent over him and quickly finished him off by stabbing him in the heart, twisting her sword viciously for good measure. Monica, on the ground, saw her opponent standing over her, ready to finish her. She swiftly sliced through both of his ankles with one of her swords. As he fell to the jungle floor, she leapt to her feet, a sword in each hand. She then performed a back handspring onto him, driving both of her swords deep into his chest as she flipped. She landed with her feet on each side of his head. Locking it between them, she swiftly snapped his neck between her ankles. "Damn, that felt good," she said out loud. She looked over at the main battle. The conquistadors had gotten the worst of it in the fight. Most of them were now dead. A cluster of them was surrounded by angry native warriors, finishing them off. Some of the Spaniards had managed to break loose from the line and were trying to run away. Other native warriors were chasing them. "Come on!" Rania called out to Monica. "Let's help head 'em off!" Rania swung her sword low and cut off the foot of one of the soldiers who was trying to escape. As he fell to the ground howling in pain, she plunged her sword deep into his chest to finish him. Meanwhile, Monica easily parried the wild sword swings of the conquistador whose path she intercepted. She sliced open the man's gut with one of her weapons, then performed a powerful roundhouse kick that knocked him down. Bending over him, she ended his suffering with a quick but very deep slash across his throat. Soon, only a few enemies were left. One soldier, running away from Rania, turned to glance back at her and didn't see the fallen log in his path. He tripped over it and fell to the ground. The native woman warrior avoided the log by performing a beautiful front tuck somersault over it. She landed her flip directly on top of him, her feet brutally plowing into his back. His girlish scream was quickly cut short when Rania rolled him over and stabbed him cleanly in the heart. Meanwhile, Monica was being charged by two enemy soldiers. She knocked the first backwards with a strong kick to his chest, then turned to face the second man. This one was wearing a fancy suit of armor and hat that indicated he was a man of rank. She blocked his angry sword swing, then drove the sword in her right hand through his armor and deep into his thigh. As he fell, bleeding, she turned her attention back to the first man, who was coming at her again. She pivoted and fired a brutal side kick into his throat. She then balanced on her left leg and delivered three fast high kicks to his face with her right as he stumbled, gasping for breath. Finally, she put all her strength into a lethal backflip kick. As her legs flew through the air and impacted her opponent, there was a sharp CRACK, indicating the breaking of his neck from the power of her incredible kick. After completing her flip, she landed neatly on her feet at the same time that the enemy soldier's corpse landed in a heap. The soldier with the fancy armor climbed to his feet, cursing at her in Spanish. Whirling around to face him, Monica made two quick and fluid motions with her swords, slicing off the conquistador's arms. As blood poured from where his arms had been attached to his body, his mouth opened in a silent scream of terror, no sound coming out. She then launched a fast, clean swing with her left sword, decapitating him. The man's head flew through the air and landed right on Rania, who was engaged in wiping the blood off her sword. She jumped up with a shout of annoyance as the head hit her. "Sorry about that," Monica called out. Rania looked over at her and smiled. Monica looked around. All the conquistadors were now dead. The native warriors were tending to their wounded, burying their dead, and collecting weapons, armor, and supplies off the dead Spaniards. Rania came up and stood next to her. The native woman's eyes traveled over the scene until they came to rest on the (headless) corpse of the man in the fancy armor. "That one!" she said, pointing excitedly. "The symbol on his armor. He might have the crystal on him." Monica bent over the dead man and searched him. Sure enough, in a pouch at his waist, was a small, purple object. "It's here!" she said. Rania gave the history professor a hug. "Now you can go home again," she said. "Thank you for saving me and fighting alongside my people." "Thank you for helping me find this," Monica responded. "I only wish you could come with me." "I would love to go with you," said Rania. "These football teams and video games you speak of sound very fascinating. But there would be no way for me to return to my people." The two women then accompanied the rest of the natives back to the village. There, Monica said goodbye to Rovano, and passed out some candy that she had in her pocket to the children of the village. She and Rania then walked over to the edge of the circle of huts. "Make sure to hold the other crystal also when you use the new one so that you'll go back to where you came," warned Rania. "If you just use the new one, it'll just take you to a completely new place." "Thank you," said Monica, giving the smaller woman a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll miss you a lot. Practicing with all those weapons was a lot of fun." "I'll miss you too, Monica," Rania said. "You've become a good friend to me." After the two women said their final goodbyes, Monica cupped a crystal in each hand and held them up to the sunlight. The new crystal glowed bright purple. She closed her eyes as a quick but very bright flash of light appeared. When she opened them again, she was back in her office. "Wow," she said to herself. "That was one amazing adventure." She pinched herself again. "Ow. So it was real." She looked at her research articles and laughed. "I wanted a primary source, and I got one - me. But I can't use it because no one would believe me, even if I do have these artifacts and these crystals. Oh, well. At least I can be the only person at this university who can honestly say that she traveled through time." "Time," she echoed to herself. She looked at her watch. "Damn. My South American history class starts in ten minutes. I've always told my students the importance of not being late. I'd better hurry." Monica quickly gathered her things and hurried out of the office and towards her classroom. As she was walking, one of her students came up and joined her. "Hi, Professor," said the pretty blonde student. "Hi, Brittany," she answered. "Please, feel free to call me Monica." "Uh, Pro- I mean Monica, excuse me for asking, but that little red stain on your top, is that blood? How did you get it?" Monica stared at it, then quickly regained her composure. "Let's just say that I had a very adventurous lunch hour," she answered. "Oh, I know how that is," said Brittany. "I've spilled ketchup on my clothes too. It's an adventure trying to get it out." Monica just smiled to herself as they continued walking to class. THE END Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism encouraged. silverstar222b@yahoo.com