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Episode One

The Checkmate Scenario

Chapter One

Where to begin...

For the longest time people have argued on how the universe really began but for argument sake, and the sake of this story, let's say it began with a bang. An incredibly big bang that caused everything as we can know it to come into being. Radiation, gravity, matter and time all played very important roles in every mixture and combination of order and chaos but our story begins a very long time after that first spark of existence.

As it would happen, time itself is a focal point of our story. Not just yet, but centuries in our future, human kind will become the first time travelers to figure out how to go back in time. Plenty of people know how to go forwards in time and most of them do it naturally but humans were the first ones to figure out how to go contrary to the norm. They might not have been the first species to figure out faster than light travel or even teleportation but of all the species on all the planets in all the universe, time travel became our specialty.

So naturally, because of the dangers and possible misuse of time travel, the first thing we had to do was find a way to police it. There are a number of agencies set up all over the cosmos to safeguard the future and make sure no one makes a mess of things. Time police, time agencies, historians, architects, and tourists all set their stakes on the pillars of history and our story is focused on one of the smaller agencies. Small though it may be, in the end, it was the most important.

The Chrono Constabulary was established near the edge of explorable time and right on the third planet of the Sol system no less. The year our story takes place is 2997, relative time, in the Chrono Constable's headquarters. A futuristic warehouse of sorts filled with all manner of high tech gizmos and technological marvels, but as with the beginning of many a story, something had gone terribly wrong.

A bloodied and beaten Chrono Constable, dressed in a green and black leisure suit, shambled down a burning corridor to the control center; a massive bridge of a room where all the Constables were dispatched to patrol the past and safeguard the future. He toggled switches and knobs only to find the controls unresponsive. He caught a break and was finally able to bring up the communications array.

"Bartholomew speaking, Bishop of the Chrono Constables, I need all Constables to report in immediately," He took his finger off the button and nothing but static came back over the line, "Calquhoun? Delgado? Ephraim?"

There was no response as Bartholomew tried frantically to reach the other Constables. He set his brown and gray European traditional parasoled umbrella, with a classic brass-capped u-handle, console before him. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't notice a shadowy figure, with a well trimmed goatee, approach him from behind. The figure placed his hand on Bartholomew's shoulder and the Constable spun on his heels to face the intruder.

"What's wrong Bartholomew?" asked the man.

The Chrono Constable was awash with relief. He looked over the man before him who wore a black Edwardian suit and a bowler hat, "Delgado? Thank Heavens you're alright! You're not going to believe what you've missed."

"Oh?" said Delgado, keeping a tight grip on his own all purpose umbrella, highly modified and with a black parasol instead, "Why is that?"

"I have reason to believe that the same person who has been enslaving the universe of the past few hours has also been tracking down and taking out the other Chrono Constables..." Bartholomew informed.

Delgado quirked an eyebrow, "_Every_Chrono Constable?"

Bartholomew wiped his forehead, "I haven't been able to find Ephraim, Gwladys, Hyacinth or anyone."

Delgado walked closer to the console and stood next to his fellow Constable, "So, it's just you and me then?"

"Not quite," Bartholomew began, "Whoever altered the time stream, did so with a number of kidnappings and assassinations all over the past. All of them seemingly random."

He held Delgado's interest, "And?"

"And one of the time streams hasn't stabilized yet. I've sent Alistair to try and rescue one of the victims," Bartholomew explained.

"Oh is that right?" Delgado adjusted a setting on his all-purpose umbrella, "Alistair lives?"

Delgado pressed a button on his watch and a dozen men teleported into the room in a brilliant flash. They seemed to be cyborgs that wore white jumpsuits, dark visor glasses, and finned helmets that sported antennae and flashing lights. They lunged at the other Chrono Constable.

Bartholomew was grabbed by one of the cyborgs, "Delgado!"

He biffed the cyborg across the jaw and knocked him back. Bartholomew then grabbed his umbrella from the console and managed to snag another cyborg under his leg with the u-handle. The cyborg fell back into a few others as the Constable fought against the invaders. They did their best to overtake him but, as strange as it sounds, he was far too skilled in fighting with an umbrella.

Bartholomew gained ground against them and returned to the console, only just as Delgado blasted the controls with a bolt of red lightning from his own umbrella. The panel exploded and knocked Bartholomew to the floor of the Constabulary. The cyborgs swarmed Bartholomew and overtook him. Taking away his umbrella, they held up the lightly burned Constable before Delgado.

"Very good, Bartholomew," Delgado smiled, "You fared quite well against my Persuaded."

Bartholomew pleaded, "Delgado, stop. Realize what you're doing! You're destroying the entire time line... You're..."

He could have gone on but Delgado interrupted the captured Constable, "Preparing this galaxy and all the known universe for what is to come... This didn't work. Our little Constable experiment. It's not going to be enough to protect this universe from the impending threat."

Bartholomew seemed puzzled, "What in blue blazes are you talking about?"

"It's not your concern anymore Bartholomew," Delgado started adjusting some of his umbrella settings from his watch, "You don't protect the known universe any more. I do."

Bartholomew shook his head, "Even if you kill me, they'll stop you. The Chrono Constables won't let you get away with this."

Delgado laughed, "Is that right?"

The dark clothed mad man reached behind his back to lift his coat. Hooked over his belt, Delgado had four all-purpose umbrellas. He tossed them to the ground in front of Bartholomew. The Persuaded who held the captured Constable's umbrella dropped it atop the pile. It was then that Bartholomew realized that his former friend had taken each one of those umbrellas from a different fallen Chrono Constable. Every glimmer of hope that he held onto faded from his eyes.

"So," Delgado began while adjusting his umbrella. It charged up, humming as it prepared to fire once more. The mad man aimed his weapon at his fellow Constable's face, "Where is Alistair?"