by Murison, J W
Howe grinned, ‘I know how you feel sir, and I was there.’
He sat forward again, ‘so what do you think of this … new Gordon?’
‘He won’t take any shit sir, not from anybody and especially the President. I think he somehow holds him responsible for Sales actions. He made it quite clear, to me anyway, that if the President tries to pull any funny stuff, we will never see that ship again or benefit from anything it brings.’
‘Do you think the President is responsible for Sales actions Colonel and be blunt?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘I will be as blunt Colonel I think you’re right. That whole Sales episode left a bad taste in my mouth. It could be the military will be left to clean up after those damn politicians again. This is too important to be pissed up the wall by them, do you understand where I’m coming from Colonel?’
‘Yes sir and I have already begun to take steps to make sure that doesn't happen.’
‘Good man, I’ll do what I can at my end. I have no doubt you will be called to Washington, so play it cool there son.’
‘I will sir thank you.’
‘One more thing, you were right to tell the Doctor first. Dismissed.’
Back in the operations room contact had been made with the ship. Brian stood in front of a computer consol staring at his son.
‘Tell me Steven what did we give you for your sixth birthday?’
The stranger grinned, ‘a yellow slide rule with a picture of Donald Duck on it.’
Brian shook his head in wonder, ‘it is you isn’t it?’
‘Yeah,’ Steven twirled, ‘what do you think of the new bod Dad?’
Brian laughed aloud, ‘always said you’d turn out looking like me.’
There was a round of nervous laughter in the control room, almost all of them had known Steven and each was fighting with their own beliefs.
‘Tell me son, how’s your mother holding out; are you in contact with the other ship?’
‘The ship yes its passengers no. Mums ok for the moment, but she and everyone else apart from Sales is trapped on the Bridge. The ship locked it down when it feared Sales was going to go on the rampage with his gun. They have plenty water for the moment but the food the ship is providing for them is unsuitable and they are finding it hard to digest.’
‘Tastes like bloody grass,’ Buzz shouted, and appeared over Stevens shoulder holding a small green cube.
Steven laughed, ‘actually I think it is grass, or at least a type of alien grass. I’m beginning to get the impression the race that built these craft were herbivores. The previous captain left a message and the ship is at the moment translating it into all Earth’s languages. It will let us see it then.
As for the others, Sales has gone mad and is a serious threat to anyone attempting a rescue and this ship isn’t willing to take the risk with so few of a crew. Sales and his associates managed to disable the ships main drive, although it did cost one of them their lives. The coupling they removed has been completely destroyed but there are spares on board.
The fitting of the spare part would only take a few minutes, but again the problem here is Sales. He holds sway over that part of the ship. So we’re going to have to come up with something to stop him, but first I need a crew.’
‘How are you going to go about that?’
‘The ship has given me a list of the type of skilled people it needs to run it and the minimum it will need to affect a rescue. I’m running a search program to find those people now.’
‘Can’t you man it with people from the institute?’
‘There's nothing I would like better father but the ship says no. It insists on an international crew that represents the Earth as a whole. That will take a little longer to achieve. It is refusing to allow the technology it posses to fall into the hands of one major power.’
Brian grinned, ‘I’m beginning to like your ship already.’
However someone certainly didn’t, Brian was roughly pushed aside by one of the Presidents men, ‘you will do nothing of the sort. By Presidential decree I order you to surrender that ship immediately.’
‘Get lost, I’ll catch you later Dad.’
‘By for now son.’
There were more than a few muffled chuckles in the room. The presidents man was livid with rage, he turned to Brian, ‘you will get your son back on the line immediately, and order him to relinquish that ship to the United States of America.’
‘Why should I?’
‘Because it’s a direct order from the President.’
‘And?’ An amused Brian thought the man was going to explode.
He moved forward threateningly, ‘I can have you both arrested as traitors.’
However Brian wasn’t in the mood to be threatened, his eyes darkened, ‘let me give you a little piece of advice son. I'm not an American citizen, I’m British, and I don’t give a shit what your President wants or doesn't want. The worst you can do to me is to deport me. Just say the word,’ he pointed to the screen where the ship barely rested on the ground. ‘I’m sure I could get a lift and be home in five minutes. I’ll tell you something else, if you do try anything I’m sure my own government would be delighted to take this project on.’
The Presidents man strode off spluttering impotently. Colonel Howe had been watching from the sidelines and wasn’t amused. He made his way to where his men were waiting. Twenty minutes later they left the room with an air of urgency. While Howe made his way to a chopper, his men went to acquire some serious firepower.
Chapter 20
The President leaned across his desk, eyes beginning to bulge, ‘I want him dead Colonel, do you understand?’
Colonel Howe’s face was deadpan, ‘but what if he wasn’t lying sir and we can’t find anyone to replace him and the ship takes off looking for another civilised planet?’
‘It’s a ruse to gain control of the ship for himself Colonel, isn’t it obvious?’
‘The thought had crossed my own mind sir.’
The President sat back feeling a little easier, ‘he who controls that ship will wield great power Colonel. Think of the advances in technology it will bring. Think of the advances it will bring to the United States. No one individual should be allowed to control such power Colonel, it is our duty to seize that ship for the good of all mankind. Do you understand?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Good, now how soon do you think it will take you to get your men ready for this mission?’
‘My men should be ready by the time I get back sir; I have already given them their orders.’
The Presidents eyebrows flew up in surprise, ‘you mean you already have a plan?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Enlighten us Colonel.’
‘Sir, I intend to offer the use of my team to rescue his mother and the people on board the other ship from Doctor Sales.’
The President sat forward in alarm, ‘do you realise Doctor Sales is under my direct orders Colonel and he is not to be harmed in anyway?’
‘Yes of course sir.’
The President sat back nodding, ‘of course you do Colonel; I’m beginning to realise why your superiors call you the best. Your plan has my approval Colonel but I want you to seize the ship before you attempt any rescue, do you understand? That is the single most important thing.’
‘Yes sir, once I have one of those gismo things on my hand, I should be able to talk directly with the ship anyway.’
‘You will order it to submit to our direct commands do you understand Colonel?’
‘Yes sir?’
‘Good then I won’t keep you any longer.’
Dismissed the Colonel departed the oval office. The President turned to one of his black suited aids, ‘as soon as he boards the ship I want you to arrest Doctor Gordon.’
‘On what charge sir?’
‘Spying, espionage, whatever.’
‘Doctor Gordon is a respected scientist sir; do you think we can make it stick?’
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br /> ‘We’ll keep him around for a short while, just in case anything goes wrong and then get rid of him. As for the wife, if we get her back, she should succumb to her wounds en route to the hospital.’
Chapter 21
When Colonel Howe returned to the centre, the massive Beaver was waiting for him, ‘everything’s ready sir.’
‘Good, tell the men to standby.’
He made his way back to the control room; the monitors were empty, the controllers sitting back relaxed. He found Doctor Gordon in his office. Howe closed the door behind him, ‘Where’s your son Doctor?’
Brian shrugged, ‘your guess is as good as mine Colonel. They’ve been coming and going since you left.’
‘I need to get a message to him as quickly as possible.’
‘You can talk to them on the radio.’
‘No it has to be in private.’
Brian thought for a second, ‘I doubt if my mobile would work, but I’m sure a text message would reach him as soon as he’s in range.’
‘May I borrow it?’
‘No problem Colonel.’
The Colonel sent a lengthy message and waited, discussing his plans with the Doctor. A message eventually came through. Howe grunted and shook his head.
Brian frowned, ‘something wrong Colonel?’
‘No not really, I’ve made a little miscalculation that’s all. I’ll go rectify it now. He thinks he’ll be back in about an hour. I’d better go.’
‘Look after them for me Colonel.’
A dark look closed over Howe’s eyes. He simply nodded and left. When he reached his men Beaver was waiting for him with a man in civilian clothes. The Colonel pulled the man over to the side where no one could hear. An urgent discussion followed. Eventually the man nodded vigorously and shook the Colonels hand. Beaver thought he noticed something pass between them but wasn’t quite sure.
He came back over to Beaver, ‘there's been a slight change of plan.’
An hour and a half later the large silver ship slid quietly to rest on the car park. The door opened and Howe signalled his men. Two large trucks screamed up to the side of the ship. Men jumped off and raced up the ramp, Howe in front. The trucks then reversed right up to the ramp.
Howe burst onto the bridge weapon at the ready, ‘well?’
Steven pointed to the wall and Howe went over and searched for the hole. He found it quickly, a puzzled Beaver watched on. Howe grunted in pain as the implant was snapped onto his hand.
It didn’t take long for it to begin to work. His vision slowly swam into focus. He looked around him in awe for a moment. Then Steven advanced on him also carrying his weapon but it was slung. The tension in the air was almost palatable.
Steven looked down at the barrel pointed at his chest, ‘Do you mind pointing that thing somewhere else?’
Seconds seemed to stretch for hours. A bead of sweat ran down the side of Buzz’s face as he fingered his revolver.
Then a grin appeared on Howe’s face as he shouldered his weapon, ‘certainly sir any orders?’
Steven returned his grin, ‘let's get those supplies aboard before anyone realises something’s gone wrong.’
Everybody that could be spared ran to the ramp and began unloading boxes and crates from the trucks.
Back inside the centre a dozen black suited men split up into two groups. Both stopped at a pre-designated position and waited. The leader checked his watch. His number two raised an eyebrow; he could only shrug. After another five even he was beginning to get restless. He ordered the second team into a position where they could see the ship.
There was another terse wait until a radio message came through. He immediately realised something was wrong and ordered them to seize the ship, but they were a long way from the entrance. He and his team quickly made their way to the control room to grab Brian Gordon but he was nowhere to be seen.
As the black suited men burst from the building with drawn weapons. The last boxes were thrown on board and the empty truck abandoned. They watched helplessly as the ship took off into the blue sky above.
At the same time, Colonel Howe’s hummer left the compound without being stopped. The stranger in civilian clothes that Howe had been talking to earlier, shouted into the back.
‘It's ok Doc, you can come out now we’re clear.’
Brian threw off the mouldy smelling camouflage netting and just caught a glimpse of the ship as it left. He sighed, ‘good luck son.’
Chapter 22
There were still chuckles of laughter amongst the men gathered on the bridge. Steven tried to hide a grin, ‘welcome gentlemen, if I say so myself that was a job well done.’ Laughter broke out freely.
He waited until it was finished, ‘I have a proposal for you to consider. At this moment in time we are all fugitives, but hopefully that won’t be forever. Things have already been set in motion to remedy that.
Part of that remedy is the setting up of an international space agency. Made up from scientists and people from all countries. I have already begun negotiations with some heads of states across the globe and have received a good response.
However the President of the United States is not amongst those heads of states, which makes you all deserters. They of course can’t be sure of that yet, but it won’t take them long to figure it out.’
The chuckles soon dried up as men began to realise the seriousness of their position. Steven went on, ‘there are two alternatives open to you. Firstly you can decide to be returned to the United States and if you do then I will return you home at your request within the next twenty-four hours.
There is another option open to you. There are baddies out there in the universe and we will at some time or another come across them. Colonel Howe has decided to join me and he has asked me to consider you all as a security force.
You would be the very first soldiers in outer space from Earth. There is a problem however, you can’t join today and quit in a week’s time.’ He held up his hand and showed them the silver plate on the back of his hand, ‘all you can see at the moment is a certain kind of white light. Once you have one of these on that will change rather dramatically, but these are the reason you will have to stay. This thing will plug you directly into the ship and her systems. If you take one of these then you are making a commitment. We will be exploring deep space and just can’t pop back here for birthdays, Christmas or any of that kind of thing; we will be gone for years at a time. Before you take one of these be sure you know what you’re doing’
He paused for a second to ensure that he had everyone’s attention. ‘These things plug you in to the ship in ways you cannot fathom. They are hard to remove and removing them can leave your body very vulnerable for up to a few months afterwards’
Steven paced back and forth in front of the cold eyed men for a second to let it sink in, ‘there is an upside to all this. Once this has been attached to you, your lifespan will be doubled, maybe even tripled, we’re not sure yet. You can still die, but unless you’re shot in the head or in the heart or suffer overwhelming injury’s, then the chances are you will make a speedy recovery.’
He could see his statement begin to sink in and smiled at the questions beginning to appear in the men’s eyes; ‘it’s a sort of nanobot factory that does all manner of different things; most of which I don’t understand myself yet. However the longer you are attached to the ship the more reliant you will become on them, I'm talking decades here. They become part of you, part of your DNA almost; if you lose a limb they will rebuild it for you. You can have them buff out your muscles without exercising, you know, that kind of stuff but be warned, the nanobots take their power directly from the ship, if you are away from it for any considerable period of time they will become dormant and stop working. Any immediate questions that I might be able to answer?’
To everyone’s surprise it was the giant Beaver that came out with the first question, ‘yeah I got one. If we piss off into space for a year, will everyone we know on
Earth be dead when we get back?’
Steven smiled with appreciation at the question, ‘as far as I have been able to comprehend, time will be relative regardless of the speed we travel at. Ten minutes up here will be ten minutes down on Earth.’
‘Up where?’ Asked another.
Steven grinned and raised his voice a little, ‘screen please.’
He could clearly see the shock on most of their faces, as the moons landscape appeared where the forward wall once was. ‘I want you to go think about it gentlemen. Have a chat amongst yourselves.’
One of the younger members of Howe’s team moved closer to the screen, ‘wow, this is amazing.’
Buzz walked past with a large cardboard box on his shoulder, ‘yeah, but the pays crap.’
Steven burst out laughing, ‘what you got Buzz?’
‘Food, and it ain’t green and it ain’t grass either. Question now is how do we heat it up?’
He looked up for a second, ‘right ok.’
The young soldier looked puzzled, ‘who you talking to?’
‘The ship.’
‘It talks to you?’
‘Yeah but you gotta have one of these on your hand.’
Buzz went over to a wall and shoved a can into a recess. The can seemed to dissolve in front of his eyes to be replaced with a steaming hot plateful of sausages. He repeated the process and received a plateful of stew. Two forks appeared in the hole when he removed the plate, ‘thanks babe.’
He went back over to Steven, ‘stew or sausages?’
Steven took the sausages, ‘thanks Buzz. How are things going?’
‘Not bad, I’m going to try and enlist the help of some of these dudes to help me move those stores.’
Howe moved up on Stevie’s other side, he had overheard the remark, ‘sure they’ll help.’
Buzz nodded, ‘thanks.’
‘Tell me, is there something wrong with my eyes or are all these consoles shimmering.’
Steven shook his head, ‘no there's nothing wrong with your eyes. The ship is surfing the net, downloading information. Making comparisons and changing things to suit human hands.’