by Murison, J W
‘It fixed me.’
‘What the aliens?’
‘There are no aliens Buzz, it was the ship that did it. It fixed me.’
Tears began to run freely down Buzz’s face, ‘you mean you can remember everything now?’
‘Everything.’
Buzz grabbed up his friend in a bear hug, then they danced round laughing and crying together. ‘Hey do you realise you look like Kurt Russell?’
‘Yeah great init.’ They burst out in a fresh chorus of laughing.
Howe groaned, ‘I’m so happy for you both.’
It stopped them. Wiping the tears from his eyes Steven stood over him, ‘so what am I to do with you Colonel?’
‘Well if you’re really Steven Gordon and can prove it to my satisfaction, then you have nothing to fear from me. I would advise you to let me go now though.’
Steven nodded, ‘really and just how am I supposed to do that?’
‘DNA test should do it.’
‘I see, so I should just walk of the ship and put myself back into the hands of your President, until such a time as I can prove who I am?’
Howe frowned, ‘he’s your President too.’
Steven squatted down beside him shaking his head sadly, ‘I’m afraid you’ve got your wires crossed there Colonel. I was brought up in America yes, but I was born in the Highlands of Scotland. I have a British passport not an American one. My parents are here on a work permit, they never applied for citizenship.’
A shadow of alarm flitted across his eyes, ‘why not?’
‘You may believe America to be the, be all and end all, of civilisation Colonel, but my parents certainly don’t. They still have a home in the Highlands they intend to retire to when their working life ends.’
A flicker of anger crossed his face, ‘so after all Americas done for them, they’re just going to take the money and run?’
Steven burst out laughing, ‘that’s a good one Colonel. Maybe if they had stayed at home they would be well off now. After I had my accident I would have been cared for on the national health, but not here, most of their life’s savings went on keeping me alive. The medical bills were enormous. Coming from a society where medical insurance is almost unknown, they thought they had been given adequate cover for any eventuality. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
Oh and consider this; my parents are the top people in their field. They have helped develop technologies that have made many companies in America Billions. Technology that has not only benefited America but the whole World. I believe they have come away by far the poorer partners, so don’t tell me how much we owe to America.
My parents were really made to feel a part of the team when the ships arrived weren’t they?’ Howe’s head dropped. ‘Yes you noticed it to didn’t you? It was alright as long as they were inventing the technology for your country, but as soon as something really important came along they were shoved to the back of the queue and a bunch of fools with only half of their intellect were brought in to take over.’
Howe’s head came up, ‘you’re right, I saw what they did to them but these ships landed on American soil and now belong to the United States of America.’
‘Says who?’
‘The President.’
‘Yes of course God incarnate himself. I’ll let you into a little secret Colonel? You’ve seen this metal plate I have on my hand, yes.’
‘I see it.’
‘Well you haven’t seen this one yet.’ Stevie swept back the hair from behind his left ear to reveal another shimmering plate. This is a neural implant only given to the captains, and there can only be one captain. The ship will only respond to my orders now and there are only two ways I can be separated from this ship.
The first is on the ships home planet, by their surgeons and advanced medical techniques. The second is by death. So you will appreciate the fact that I have no intentions of putting myself in the hands of the President. Because I have no doubts that he would have me killed to put in one of his lackeys like Sales and steal all the technology these ships have to offer for the States.’
Howe couldn’t find any errors in the man’s argument, but he had one more shot to fire, ‘you still had no right to take over this ship.’
Steven shook his head sadly, ‘you still don’t understand do you. I didn’t take over the ship, the ship took me over. I was given no choice in the matter Colonel, not that I would change anything, but that isn’t the point. It would seem you need a certain level of awareness to link directly with the ships. Of all the people who have been on them since they got here so far I have been the only one to have that level of awareness.’
‘Excuse me for being blunt but, but before this ship got its hands on you, you were the thickest person here.’
Buzz took a threatening step forward, but a grinning Steve held him back with the wave of a hand, ‘of course you’re right, but what you may not realise is I was a child genius, a protégé. After my accident my brain rerouted most of my systems, for want of a better word, and utilised parts of my brain that normally lie dormant.’
Howe got the whole picture in an instant, ‘so it wouldn’t matter who the President chose to be captain of this ship he wouldn’t be compatible.’
‘Very doubtful and if I was killed to do it the ships would simply leave.’
‘For good.’
‘Yes, they come from a nonviolent society where murder is unknown. They would rather die than be subjected to that level of violence.’
‘You mean like they’re alive?’
‘Not in a way that we would understand but yes, very much so.’
‘So what are they doing here?’
‘That’s a long story Colonel and I don’t know it all myself yet. To simplify things both crews were subjected to some form of radiation that killed them all off. The ships couldn’t go home so they came looking for new crews. This is the first planet they came to that was inhabited.’
‘Do they still want to go home, is that there main goal?’
‘No Colonel, they serve their crew; they live for their crew. They were just lonely.’
‘They must be very disappointed with Earth coming from a nonviolent society.’
‘They believe our hearts are in the right place Colonel.’
Steven stood up and addressed his friend, ‘so how about it Buzz, you wanna join up?’
‘What's the pay like?’
‘Crap, there ain’t none.’
He burst out laughing and slapped Stevie on the shoulder, ‘sounds good to me, where do I sign on?’
‘Right over here.’
Steven guided him over to the back wall, ‘shove your hand in there.’
Buzz squinted, ‘in where?’
‘I'm a bloody idiot,’ Steven took his hand and guided it into a recess that only he could see.
There was a snap and Buzz jumped back with a yowl, ‘what the hell was that?’
Steven laughed, ‘one of these,’ he showed him the implant on his hand again.
Buzz held his hand up to his face, ‘well cool, stings like a son of a bitch though.’ Suddenly his face paled and he staggered.
Steven caught him just as he collapsed, ‘whoa buddy, you ok?’
‘Feel dizzy, and sick.’
‘Sorry about that, I didn’t know. I was unconscious when it was done. Close your eyes for a few minutes, I’m told that will help.’
Buzz did as he was bid while Steven held onto him. Colonel Howe watched on with unveiled curiosity. ‘Ok beginning to feel a little better now.’
‘Open your eyes.’
Buzz did and blinked, his eyes flew wide in wonder, ‘jezz! Where the hell did all this come from?’
‘It’s been here all the time, we just couldn’t see it.’
Buzz got up and began wondering around, ‘wow these are beautiful, what are they?’
Colonel Howe’s patience finally ran out, ‘what's what?’
Steven grinned, ‘they’re star maps Buzz.
I’m sorry you can’t see them Colonel. The implant on our hands injects another implant into the blood stream that attaches itself to the optic nerve.
The reason you can’t see anything in here is because of a certain type of light given out by the ship that reflects off every surface. It’s a security device. The implant filters out that light. This room is actually rich in decoration, much of it star charts. Every console is covered in touch pads you can’t see.’
‘Damn effective security device. How come no one accidentally pushed a button?’
‘Without a captain they become inactive.’
‘So all you have to do to cripple the ship is kill its captain.’
Steve seemed to listen to something for a moment, ‘I have been assured it doesn't quite work like that Colonel.’
Buzz was looking about him wildly, ‘who was that Stevie?’
‘That was the ship Buzz.’
‘No shitting, I can hear it too.’
‘It can talk to each member of the crew individually or collectively.’
‘Well cool, eh hello ship.’ Buzz’s face lit up in a grin as it answered him, ‘what's your name?’ His face fell a little and he looked at Stevie, ‘there's no way in hell am I going to try and pronounce that.’
Steven laughed, ‘me neither, but that’s her name.’
Howe struggled to his feet his frustration growing, ‘hey can I get one of those?’
Steven regarded him somewhat coldly, ‘I don’t think so Colonel. Once you’re implanted you have to become a member of the crew. Your loyalties still lie with your President and your country. I can’t fault you for that Colonel, but if he told you to kill me, you would.’
‘Damn it man, I was the first man on board one of these ships and I’ve protected your mother and father throughout this whole thing. If Sales had been able to get his own way, you and your whole family would have been rotting somewhere in the everglades.
I stopped that happening. I convinced my superiors it would be a serious error of judgement to have any of you removed. So if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be here now.’
Steven paced the deck for a few minutes in contemplation, ‘I hear what you’re saying Colonel, but how do I know you’re telling the truth?’
Howe shook his head in dismay, but rescue came from a different quarter. Buzz stepped forward in his defence, ‘I think he’s telling the truth Stevie. Your mum mentioned he and his boys were looking out for them, saved your father from doing something real silly.’
Stevie looked from one to the other. Then he turned Howe around and loosened the belt. It fell free. The Colonel walked around waving the circulation back into his hands. He regarded Stevie with a curious look, ‘that was easier than I thought it would be.’
Steven shrugged, ‘I trust my own instincts Colonel, but more than that I trust Buzz. If he thinks enough of you to stand up and defend you, then that’s good enough for me.’
The Colonel nodded, ‘trust starts with a single step.’
‘Just remember who took that first step.’
‘I will, so do I get one of those gizmos?’
‘Are you your own man Colonel, do you pick your own missions?’
The Colonel shifted uncomfortably realising exactly where Steven was coming from, ‘no I don’t.’
‘I’ll make a deal with you Colonel, if you get permission to become a full time member of this crew from your government you’ll get one of these gizmos. If they don’t and you still want to join me, then if you resign I would still be delighted to take you on. I’ll make you chief of security, but you’re still going to have to go out there first and find out what you’re doing.’
‘I have your word on that?’
‘I’ll do better than that; I’ll give you my hand on it.’
They shook hands and the Colonel picked up his weapon, ‘I’ll be back, pay or no pay that job’s mine.’
The Colonel made his way off the ship leaving the two friends alone. Buzz wasn’t looking very happy about something; Steven had a good idea what it was.
‘Common Buzz out with it.’
‘If he’s chief of security, what am I going to do?’
Steven grinned, ‘what do you want to do?’
A sceptical look crossed his eyes, ‘question is Stevie what can I do? I’m no scientist or engineer and those are the type of people you’re going to want.’
‘Is that right?’
‘Well yeah, of course.’
‘What makes you think that Buzz?’
‘Commonsense.’
‘What else am I going to need?’
‘Food, supplies, a secure base to work from. You’re going to have to declare some kind of new space program and get the funding to back you. I have a funny feeling you could man this thing a hundred times over and not pay anyone a dime but they still can’t eat fresh air. So you’re going to need backing.’
‘Well since you’ve managed to work all that out on your own what does that make you?’
Buzz grunted, ‘quarter master.’
‘No you daft shit, my right hand man, my number two.’
‘I’m no scientist Stevie.’
‘That would be a waste of a good scientist Buzz. I mean what scientist in his right mind would want to be running round making sure everything’s ticking like clockwork, worrying where the next meals coming from, when there's a whole universe out there to explore. Star systems to navigate and map, new complicated mathematics to master, Christ are any of us going to have the time?’
A large grin began to slowly spread across Buzz’s face, ‘you're really back aren’t you. It always amazed me how you could make a big illiterate lump like me feel good about himself.’
‘Hey I ain’t doing you any favours buddy, once we get this ship fully manned; you’re going to have your hands full. It ain’t going to be an easy ride.’
‘Did I ask for one?’
‘Have you ever?’
‘Nope, so what's your first order captain?’
‘Hey, captain in front of the hired help, but when were alone like this, you can call me Stevie.’
The friends burst out laughing, like they would never stop.
Chapter 19
Colonel Howe watched the ramp raise behind him and the door close. It was invisible now and no matter how hard he looked he couldn’t see the seams. He walked towards the main building with a strange sense of loss. Instinctively he raised a hand and stroked the underbelly of the large ship. It didn’t shock him or move away, and he was strangely relieved.
He could see men staring at him from the building but his good friend Beaver was the only one who dared approach. He ran up his face full of concern, but when he saw the livid bruise appearing on the side of his face his face turned an angry red, ‘who the hell did that to you boss, you ok?’
The Colonel slapped him on his massive shoulders, ‘Chill Beaver, I burst in on a private party and got away a damn site better off than I should have.’
Beaver still didn’t look very happy about it, ‘what the hell’s going on, how did you get on board that thing?’
‘It’s a long story man, I need to see Doctor Gordon, come with me and I’ll explain everything then. When I’m done there I will probably be summoned by the Whitehouse, but before that I want to see you and the men alone. Give out the order and get them somewhere quiet.’
‘Right boss no problem.’
Brian was waiting for him and they went into an office. Beaver shooed everyone else out. The Colonel quickly explained to the distraught father what had happened to his son.
Brian looked frightened, ‘are you sure it’s really my son Colonel?’
Howe shrugged helplessly, ‘I’m sorry doc, I just never knew him well enough to make that judgement, but if it’s any help that Buzz seems pretty sure.’
Brian nodded, ‘Buzz and Steven have been friends since childhood; if anyone would know Steven it would be him. So that’s why he wanted new clothes and shoes. It makes sense,
but is it medically possible?’
Howe raised an eyebrow, ‘you're asking me that?’
Brian suddenly burst out laughing, ‘I’m sorry Colonel, I know I should be asking top surgeons or someone like that but I’ll be honest, they wouldn’t be able to answer me either.’
‘Why don’t you just give him a call and find out for yourself.’
Brian nodded, ‘now the secrets out I suppose he wouldn’t mind and I’m going to have to sooner or later.’
‘I prefer sooner myself doc.’
‘Thanks for coming to me first Colonel, I appreciate that.’
Howe shrugged, ‘don’t sweat it doc, but I had better go and brief the General, the shits just about to hit the fan.’
The Colonel made for the door Beaver opened for him but Brian had one more thing to say, ‘Colonel.’
He turned, ‘yes doc.’
‘I would just like to apologise to you for my behaviour towards you the past few days. It was appalling and unwarranted.’
‘No it wasn’t doc; you were up at the sharp end in a personal situation the likes of which I’ve never dealt with before, and you still held it together. I was the one responsible for what happened to your son. If I had been in your shoes, I probably would have shot me, or something equally as nasty. You did neither and you have the courage to do one and the political clout to do the other. I will always admire you for that doc. I’ll see you around.’
‘Promise?’
Howe grinned, ‘that’s a promise.’
General Archibald wasn’t in a very good mood, ‘what the hell do you mean by getting one of your goons to keep me out of that office Colonel? They aren’t members of your own private Army.’
‘I know sir I’m sorry. I had personal information concerning the doctor’s son, I just wanted him to hear it first.’
The General took a deep breath, ‘I want a full report now.’
The General very quickly calmed down as the story began to unfold. Howe omitted nothing. One of Sales associates began shouting the odds at one time but the General told him to can it. No sooner had the Colonel finished that they rushed out to phone Washington, leaving only the military men in the room.
The General sat back with a disbelieving look on his face, ‘somebody pinch me.’