by Murison, J W
There was a note of concern in her voice, ‘is there something wrong?’
‘No nothing,’ a big grin split his face and he laughed aloud, ‘nothing at all.’
He took his pinching boots off and regained his feet. This time he was able to walk on the warm floor, ‘this is well cool.’
‘Cool?’
‘Yeah, it’s an expression.’
He whipped of his ripped jacket, and tore the restricting sleeves from his shirt. Getting into a taekwondo stance he tried a few patterns. He stumbled a little at first, but was soon zipping through his old forgotten patterns. After a few minutes he felt his confidence return.
‘You know this is great, I feel great, thank you.’
He could sense the ships pleasure, ‘it was nothing.’
‘I would hardly call it that. Now what can I do for you?’
There was silence for a moment, ‘you are my new heart.’
‘You mean like a captain?’
‘Yes but it is more.’
‘Yes I can sense that. Why did you pick me?’
‘I felt a connection between us.’
‘The first time I touched you?’
‘Yes, did you feel it too or was I wrong?’
Steven felt an up welling of emotion, ‘you were not wrong, but I doubt if I will be allowed to stay your captain for very long.’
‘The choice is ours, we are as one now, mated for life unless one of us chooses different. Old age, death or a handing over to your children is the only three things that can separate us.’
‘Mated is such a strange word to use.’
‘It is the right word; there is no one on this planet who can separate us now. It can only be done on my home planet.’
‘You mean we are somehow integrated?’
‘Yes, are you displeased?’
Steven grinned, ‘you have to be kidding; this is a dream come true. I’m just waiting for my mother to come wake me up.’ No sooner had the words left his mouth than reality came crashing home. ‘Oh God my mother, tell me quickly are you in touch with the other ship? My mother’s on board, Doctor Sales shot her, do you know if she’s all right?’
‘Your mother is comfortable. She was hit in the shoulder and lost some blood but her companions have medical supplies and have treated her wounds. She should be perfectly all right for a few more days.’
‘Where are they now?’
‘They are in orbit around the planet you call Saturn.’
‘What are they doing there, why don’t they come back?’
‘My mate has been disabled, the one you call Sales and his companions have removed the main drive coupling.’
‘You have another mate?’
There was a slight pause, ‘all were mated, the ships the crews our hearts. He too she and she too he.’
Steven frowned, ‘you mean you ships have gender and are mated? The hearts are the captains, yes and they are also mated?’
‘That is correct.’
‘So the ship up there is your male equivalent?’
‘That is correct.’
‘Can you conceive?’
He was surprised to hear her titter in amusement, ‘no we are primarily mechanical beings. However we can design our own offspring but the builders have to build them for us.’
Steven shook his head in wonder, ‘amazing, I would love to hear all about your culture, but it will have to wait for a moment. Can we go up to Saturn and rescue them?’
‘That is not possible at the moment. It is too dangerous. The one you call Sales has gone mad and is wondering the ship with a weapon. My companion has locked your mother and her companions in the bridge for their own safety.’
‘That’s ok I have a weapon.’
‘That would be brave of you but fool hardy; the man is completely insane. I would suggest we take on a crew of your choice before venturing off planet. There are many things I cannot do on my own including docking procedures. To have any hope of surprising him you would have to be at the docking point ready. You cannot be both there and here.’
Steven nodded wisely, ‘I hear you, and the docking procedure has to be initiated from here.’
‘Yes, you are also the only person we have found compatible to this point, to risk losing you now is foolish.’
Steven grimaced, ‘I understand where you’re coming from, but don’t expect to wrap me in cotton wool I won’t stand for it.’
‘I’m sorry I don’t understand the phrase.’
‘Don’t expect to be able to keep me safe all the time.’
‘I understand. I have also many other requirements that require the assistance of a crew. I have had no maintenance done on my systems for many of your decades. I am now only running at seventy percent capacity, but these can wait until the immediate crisis is over.’
‘How long before the lack of maintenance becomes critical to you systems?’
‘I can run as low as thirty percent before my onboard systems begin to fail and I become a danger to my crew.’
‘A long time yet then?’
‘Yes.’
Steven sat back down in his chair weighing up all the possibilities that were open to him. ‘Will human beings be able to do the work you require?’
‘Physically they are far more capable than my own species.’
‘That’s good but what about intellectually?’
‘To be able to perform the tasks, yes. I have ways of training a crew to do the job required of them, but whether they actually understand what they are doing and why is a different matter. My technology is far beyond anything Earth has.’
Steven smiled to himself, ‘monkey see monkey do.’
‘I understand, yes, it will be that way to start with anyway. Whether understanding will come later is to be seen.’
Steven realised there was a thousand questions to ask, but he was sure most would be answered in the fullness of time. If he wanted to rescue his mother then he had better get started.
‘Do you have a connection to the internet?’
‘No. I cannot access any of my signalling equipment on my own. I can only monitor signals.’
‘Do you think I would be able to do it?’
‘I would need some form of interface for you to be able to interact with your Internet.’
‘Do you know what it is?’
‘Yes but I have been unable to access it directly.’
‘What I need to get my hands on is a computer, even a laptop.’
‘Why is that necessary?’
‘You need a crew and you’ll need the best. There are websites that can tell us who’s who in the world of science and technology. The trouble is how do I get my hands on one? The second I step off this ship I will be arrested, probably for my own murder.’
‘Yes you look totally different now.’
‘How different, do you have some kind of mirror?’
The bulkhead in front of him shimmered and Steve found himself looking at a complete stranger. He got up and approached the strange apparition in front of him.
‘Is that really me?’
‘Yes that is how you should look.’
‘I look totally different, and how come I have long hair but no beard?’
‘I perceived your lack of facial hair meant you did not like it so I had it removed as it grew. However I know some human males put a lot of effort into their hair and decided it would be easier for you to have a human do it in the style you wanted later.’
‘You’re a very smart cookie, do you know that?’
‘Yes.’
Steven laughed, ‘hey I look like Kurt Russell, well a young Kurt Russell anyway.’
‘Who is Kurt Russell?’
‘He’s a movie star, a very cool movie star.’
‘Is that good?’
‘Oh yes that’s very good. Well it would be, only trouble is even my friends won’t recognise me now. Which could be a problem, the big question is how to get round it?’
Steven
paced the deck. The bulkhead shimmered and became transparent.
Steven stopped and pointed, ‘can they see inside?’
‘No only you can see out.’
‘That’s good.’ He suddenly had an idea and went over to inspect his pile of discarded clothing. He smiled as he found the cell phone Buzz had handed him. ‘I hope the battery isn’t flat.’
‘I was able to send a signal to it and switch it off.’
He switched it on but there was no signal. ‘Can I get a signal through your hull?’
‘Yes but I will have to depolarise it. That means the rest of the equipment you brought with you will begin to transmit again.’
‘Of course.’
Steven switched everything off manually and she depolarised the hull. The signal came on full strength. With a grin he quickly composed a couple of messages.
Chapter 18
Buzz and Brian received the messages within a few minutes of one another. Brian almost ignored it, but decided some news had to be better than no news. The shock almost made him collapse.
Colonel Howe grabbed him, ‘are you all right doc?’
The blood had drained from the scientists face but quickly came back. ‘Yes I’m fine Colonel, give me a moment.’
He moved away and began to reread the message, ‘dad its Steven, don’t let anyone else read this message. I’m fine and still on board the ship. As a matter of fact I’m better than fine but that will take some explaining. There are no aliens on board either ship, will explain later. Mum’s fine but ship is stranded at Saturn. Will effect rescue but first need some help. Will send text to Buzz with requirements. Love Steven.’
Brian was forced to sit down. He saw Colonel Howe hover close a note of concern on his face, but he waved him away. The phone bleeped again. He read the message and almost ran to one of the operators.
‘Patch us through to George Wells and ask him to punch in these coordinates.’
Brian wrote down the coordinates on a piece of paper for the operator. A live link to the planetary telescope was quickly achieved and the pictures began to stream through. Brian held his breath as the large telescope began to scan across the sky.
Saturn appeared as a small blob, but as the telescope locked onto the coordinates the magnification was increased. A familiar Saturn with all its rings appeared, then as the magnification was increased farther the rings themselves came into focus, and there it was, it stood out like a teardrop amongst the stars. A cry went up and pandemonium broke out. There was a lot of back clapping and hand shaking. A solitary tear ran down Brian’s face, he quickly wiped it away.
Malcolm came over, ‘how did you find it boss?’
Brian half laughed, ‘A message from an old friend, he only has a small telescope, but thought he spotted something of note.’
‘Christ with eyes like that we should have him on the team.’
‘Yeah maybe you’re right.’
There was only one man in the room who wasn’t celebrating, Colonel Howe’s internal alarms were already ringing, but when a frantic Buzz burst in, pale faced with feverish eyes and he and the Doctor secreted themselves away to a quieter part of the room, the bells turned to klaxons.
He watched as the pair of men got into a quiet but excited discussion. Buzz showed him something on his mobile phone Howe presumed was a message. The Doctor frowned in confusion and shook his head, then shrugged. He followed them as they left together and went into the Doctor Office. Buzz almost ran out with what looked like a portable PC in a shoulder bag.
He stopped the doctor on his way out, ‘hi Doc anything wrong?’
The doctor was startled, ‘Oh no Colonel, no, everything is just fine.’
The Colonel watched his retreating back as he hurried towards the control room. He didn’t need his instincts to tell him the doctor was lying.
He got onto his radio, ‘Buzz Anderson is on his way down with what looks like a laptop. I want him delayed at the door for at least ten minutes then let him go.’
He received a quiet roger and then made his way out of the building by a different route. He reached his personnel Humvee, drove it round to the exit and waved over the outside guard.
After a quick word the guard curious but without asking for a reason locked him inside.
Inside the building Buzz was being grilled by the indoor security man. It took Doctor Gordon’s personal appearance and a radio call from Howe himself to clear him. By now Buzz was in a cold sweat. As he left the building the security guard approached him.
‘Excuse me sir.’
‘Oh what the hell is it now?’
‘Colonel Howe sends his apologies for your delay and suggests you take his vehicle. It has full security clearance and is immune from searches.’
‘Yeah, how did he know I was going somewhere?’
‘Doctor Gordon told him you were on an errand for him and needed to get somewhere fast with the minimum of fuss.’
Buzz nodded it seemed plausible, ‘is that it there?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Are the keys in it?’
The guard took them out of his pocket and tossed them over, ‘no I’ve got them.’
Buzz held them up, ‘why would you have the keys to his personnel vehicle?’
The guard grinned, ‘guy out here’s always got them. We need something or the Colonel needs something we just go get it, no questions asked, no hassle.’
Buzz nodded, ‘he knew the guys in Howe’s unit were all pretty tight with the Colonel and could instinctively see how it would be an advantage to him for them to have a free reign. There was many times since the landing of the ships that he wished he had the same kind of clearance as the Colonel. There were five checkpoints going in and out of the base and he was always stopped and searched at everyone, especially on the way out.’
‘Won’t I be stopped for being in his Vehicle?’
‘Nah, our guys are manning all the check points and he radioed ahead.’
Buzz grinned, ‘great, send him my love.’
The guard laughed and Buzz unlocked the Hummer and jumped in. He took off at speed and true to Howe’s word he was waved through every checkpoint. Buzz grinned with delight at his good fortune, but if he had the presence of mind to check, he would have found the Colonel secreted under a large piece of camouflage netting in the back.
When Buzz stopped and got out, the Colonel gave him a few seconds to get clear before cautiously peering out from his hiding place. He saw Buzz disappear into a men’s shop and frowned. His instinct told him they weren’t at their final destination yet so he hid back under the netting. The next stop turned out to be a shoe shop. The mystery deepened. Howe was beginning to wonder if he was making a fool of himself when Buzz got back in. He heard him toss some bags on top of the others he already had and curse under his breath.
‘I dunno what you want all this stuff for Stevie but if the money ain’t back in the bank by Thursday, I’m gonna end up in the kennels with Rex.’
Howe’s heart skipped a beat; he was on the right track. There was a delay as Buzz punched in a message to the cell phone and waited for a reply. It wasn’t long in coming and Buzz restarted the engine.
Howe knew they were getting close when he felt the Hummer move off the road onto a dirt track. After a few miles it stopped. Buzz grabbed the bags and got out. Howe risked a peek and found Buzz standing twenty meters away punching a message onto the cell phone.
He freed himself from the netting keeping an eye on Buzz. As a military jet screamed overhead he let himself out of the Hummer and crouched behind it, cocked his weapon and waited.
He didn’t have to wait long. The ship appeared overhead and he ducked down. It hung in the air for a few seconds before finally coming to a rest broadside on. The door opened and Buzz cautiously approached. Unseen by him Howe left the safety of the vehicle and silently crept up behind.
Buzz had never been allowed this near the craft before and broke out into a cold sweat, but his best f
riend was somewhere inside, so he took a deep breath and strode up the ramp. As he reached the top Howe made his move.
Buzz stepped inside and shielded his eyes from the glare, ‘Stevie, you here?’
He cried out in alarm as Howe crashed into his back, ‘stay down Buzz,’ he growled, his combat senses on full alert, but he could see no more than Buzz.
He froze when he felt cold steel on the back of his neck, ‘Colonel Howe isn’t it, why don’t you get down and stay down. You ok Buzz?’
Buzz rolled over onto his back and shielded his eyes, ‘yeah I think so, who the hell are you?’
Stevie never got the chance to reply, Howe spun quickly trying to bring up his weapon but the butt of an MP5 knocked him cold and he fell on top of Buzz.
‘Jezz!’ He exclaimed, trying to get out from under him.
‘Ok turn the lights down and take us back to the institute.’
Buzz blinked rapidly and his eyes swam into focus. He found a stranger stood before him with an MP5 cradled in his arms and grinning like a Cheshire cat, he frowned. ‘Who the hell are you, where’s Stevie?’
Howe began to stir and the stranger knelt by the figure and stripped him of his weapons. Using Howe’s own belt he secured his hands behind him.
‘Cant you guess Buzz?’
Buzz shook his head although the man did seem familiar.
Steve finished trussing up the Colonel, ‘Give me a hand and I’ll tell you all about it.’
They dragged him unceremoniously back to the bridge. By the time they got there the Colonel was fully conscious. Steven propped him against a consul.
Howe looked up, ‘Who the hell are you?’
Buzz tapped him with his foot, ‘shut up that’s my question.’
Steven grinned, ‘it’s me Buzz, Stevie.’
‘You're not Stevie,’ his hand began to slip towards his pistol.
A hint of sadness came into Steven’s eyes, ‘remember I was going to teach all about space-time distortion, right before the accident?’
Buzz’s hand stopped, ‘yeah.’
‘Well now’s the time buddy.’
A tear sprang into Buzz’s eye, ‘jezz, is it really you man?’
‘Yeah it’s really me.’
‘What the hell happened to you?’