‘All personal messages for earth must be in the ship network for optical encoding by 18.00 today. I remind you that any messages containing technical information and any longer than 5 kilobytes will not be sent. Thank you for your attention.’
The Director switched off the microphone and looked up at the Division Heads seated around the large mahogany veneered table in the conference room. ‘Ok, so now I need to finalise the report to the main board. I want you to have your detailed reports ready for me to read by tonight and I want a verbal update now, so I can write the summary. We'll work round the table.’ He looked at the head of the survey division seated on his left.
‘I've roughed out a summary - I'll read it out. Surveying is proceeding exceptionally well. We have now drilled 200 boreholes in an area of five square miles just north of the landing field. The results confirm the aerial survey results and confirm that there is sufficient high-grade ore there for a full cargo. We are especially pleased with the high potential yield of platinum.’
The head of mining looked up. ‘Sounds all right, but I've got nothing. They’re using all our men to prepare the landing site.’
‘OK but make it sound a bit more positive. This lot's for the shareholders. We can put in a bit about those plant modifications you did to suit the terrain,’ the Director replied.
It was now the turn of the ore processing division. ‘We can tell them that we're well on with doubling the capacity of the processing plant to cope with the extra load. It really is going to make a hell of a difference not having to put it all in shuttles.’
‘That sounds a bit better. Anything from personnel?’
‘Nothing apart from a few injuries at the landing site and you said not to mention them.’ came the reply. ‘I presume that we're not going to tell them about Paul. Did I tell you that we've now found out that he cleared off for a few days once before, but managed to cover it up?’
‘Don't worry about that. We can get along fine without him and I'll sort him out when or if he comes back. Now then, Mr First Officer, anything to report about the ship?’
The First Officer looked up sharply. ‘In the absence of the Captain, I can report on his behalf that all systems appear to be in full working order. However scheduled checking for the bullet launch has not been possible since all the teams were sent down to the planet.’
He paused, and the mission director looked up from the papers he had been scanning.
‘Anything else?’
‘The hydrogen separation plant at the landing site is now in full operation with air from the planet, so we are self-sufficient in shuttle fuel. We have been unable to find any major errors in Paul Evans's calculations for landing the ship.’
‘That’s more like it.’
At 10 AM on the day of the launch, the bullet was fully prepared. It consisted of a series of large powerful rare-earth magnets with a small detector and navigation coils around the perimeter, and a small pod in the centre which contained the navigation computer and the precious optical data discs. It was a cylindrical device measuring two feet across and it was placed in the launch tube which extended the full height of the axis of the hub in the exact centre of the ship.
At 11.55 AM, the Mission Director was sitting in the padded seat in the centre of the control room. He had fastened his inertial restraint webbing and was looking at the bank of seven monitor screens in front of him. Six of them showed images from cameras on the outside of the ship. Some had the planet in the background as a large disc of green, blue and grey clouds.
The last screen carried a large NASA logo and the message: DATA BULLET LAUNCH SEQUENCE. COUNTDOWN MINUS FIVE MINUTES. This screen was repeated on monitors throughout the ship. He made a mental note to ensure that the logo was removed next time the programme was used and looked around the room feeling bored.
At the other side of the room, Captain Turner was studying the screen in front of him and looking nervously at the officer sitting next to him. There were many more screens with seats facing them, but several of these were empty.
FINAL COUNTDOWN 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1. Big numbers on every main screen. Deuterium plasma was accelerated simultaneously from six sources on the side of the ring and focused on a stream already in it. The resulting fusion drove the particles around the ring and threw the bullet up the launch tube and the ship recoiled towards the planet.
SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH. BULLET ENTERED HYPERSPACE AT 12 - 00 - 04.6
PREPARING ORBITAL CORRECTION SEQUENCE
But then it froze. Three seconds. Another. Nothing moved.
‘What the hell does that mean?’ the Mission Director shouted.
‘System's down!’
‘Can't we fire manually?’
‘No trajectory calculated.’
‘You must have planned. You spend your life doing it.’
‘No chance. Been fixing your bloody pile drivers.’
Silence - except for the sound of typing at keyboards. The flight officer looked up.
‘Elliptical orbit. Clear the planet but in the ionosphere for about 5 minutes’.
The director looked at the screen showing the hub. The planet looked bigger, threatening.
The Captain reached for the microphone in front of him.
‘This is the Captain. There has been an orbital correction failure, but we are not, I repeat not, in severe danger. We shall, however, be spending a few minutes in transit in the ionosphere so you must remain safe in your seats because it could be bumpy. We may also have to fire the altitude jets to correct our orbit when we are clear.’ He switched the microphone off. ‘I wish I believed that.’
The planet filled the whole of the screen. They were shuddering. Shaking images on the cameras showing glowing trails of ionic gas streaming behind ship. The spokes were glowing. Angry patches of red on the leading edges. Spreading towards the hub. Then they were rolling, side over side. They were thrown against their seats. The cameras showed the planet sweeping past. Gaps in the clouds showed forests and mountains rushing by.
‘Look at the top screen. The roll is spreading the heat.’ The Captain shouted. ‘We might make it!’
The red patches were larger now, but lighter shades. Then the vibration started to ease, and the planet receded and as quickly as it had started, it was over. They were drifting free in orbit, out to the end of the elipse.
12
It was a warm humid night. The Southern Castle had an air of festival. Throughout the day, groups had been arriving from the kingdoms and the monastery, and the courtyard was full of the retainers. A footman appeared at the door to the Great Hall and walked towards a barrel of ale that had been set up near the stables.
‘Any word on what's happening?’ A young soldier asked, sitting on the ground, close enough to the barrel to fill his tankard without standing up.
‘Nothing yet. Looks like it's going to be a long one. They've just called for some more to eat. You've got yourselves well set out here. Where did you find the ale?’
‘The steward left word that we could have some from the cellar. This stuff's excellent. Just because it's a meeting of the High Council and not a real festival doesn't mean that we can't have some fun.’
The footman sat down next to him and poured himself a drink. Noticing the crest of the Southern Kingdom on the soldier's tunic, he asked, ‘Did you see what happened to the ship?’
‘Yes, it was a sight to see. Looked just like a huge shooting star, even in the sunlight. I could even see the ring shape quite clearly like a great wheel with a big axel in the middle. Pity the poor folk inside it.’
‘Apparently, they're supposed to be all right’
‘How have they worked that out?’
‘The Abbot say's that he's been talking to the man he's taken prisoner, says that if the damage had been bad enough to hurt anybody, the whole thing would have fallen apart. He seems to have been really helpful. Everybody's angry with the Abbot for keeping him, and I must admit I can't see what's supposed to be wrong with
him.’
‘He actually stayed here for a couple of days; seemed quite friendly.’ The soldier replied, looking around to see who was listening. ‘Princess Lynella's really upset; word is that she likes him a lot. Mind you, there's nothing anybody can do about the Abbot; with those auras the monks have nobody can touch them.’
‘The theory is that if they all vote against him, he’s got to release the man. But he’s saying that he’s holding the man for his own good - something to do with saving his soul and it is up to him to decide how long he has to stay.’
The soldier paused, drank deeply from his tankard and shrugged his shoulders. ‘It doesn't seem right to me, but I suppose he is an alien after all and there's nothing anybody like us can do about it, anyway. I’m just worried about Princess Lynella, I was in the castle courtyard a couple of minutes before we saw the ship glowing overhead and I heard her scream. I ran over and she had collapsed on the ground. She looked really bad, there was a lot of blood, she must have cute herself when she fell. Her maid Maria took her inside, but nobody knows quite what had happened.’
Returning to the High Council chamber, the footman saw that little progress had been made. He nodded silently to the other servants and took his place standing against the wall. Looking around, he could see that many of the plates which had been brought in, laden with the best food that could be found in the Kingdom, had scarcely been touched.
The chamber was magnificent, with ornately carved stone walls and a beautiful roof formed of intricate metal arches. On three sides, the seats were reserved for the royalty of the three kingdoms. The footman had always found it amusing to see the slight resentment on the faces of the Abbot and his monks at having to sit at seats which had obviously been added later on the remaining side.
The Council members looked worried and angry. Their anger was directed at the Abbot. The steward of the Southern Kingdom was speaking in a manner which made him seem quite unlike the mild personality that they all knew so well.
‘What he has told you is correct. I did tell him that we would remove the ship by force if they did not go but I never in my wildest dreams imagined that we would do it. The powers to fly our ships have been lost and are, in any event, forbidden by the compact.’
The King of the Eastern Kingdom looked up in surprise
‘Why did you do it then?’
‘These people seem quite determined to get what they have come for and I thought that, if they felt a little less secure up there, then they might go away sooner and not come back.’
The Abbot cut in, ‘That's a lie. You have been experimenting with ships. You have been violating the compact’
‘That is not true. You know it isn't.’ The steward stared back in anger
‘Then, how come your Princess Lynella could put marker bracelets on him then?’ This remark had the desired effect. Everyone in the chamber looked stunned and turned to look at the Princess. To their surprise, she stood up and answered in a calm, clear voice, without a trace of apology.
‘You know that I possess some of the old powers. It's nothing that I am ashamed of. I have actually looked at the wording of the compact in the original text and it specifically permits marker bracelets.’ She looked around for sympathy and added, ‘I admit that I never told him what they meant. I see them as a token of friendship and I stand by that, whatever you may say about him being evil. You must let him go.’
‘You should remember this,’ the Abbot said, ignoring her pleas. ‘I shall soon be putting a proposal to this Council that we take all measures in our power to destroy the ship and the evil people who came with it. Any person who fails to aid the Council in their properly agreed business is banished from the area of the Three Kingdoms for life.’
‘I'm sure that we can reach a compromise,’ The steward reassured her. ‘And just ask the ship to leave.’
Lynella looked around. The leaders of the other two kingdoms did not look nearly so sure, and their votes would be critical. She felt isolated and unwelcome. She stood up and walked to the door. As soon as she was through it, she stopped and turned. Looking around the chamber in angry frustration, she noticed that the Abbot was wearing a conspicuous ring on one of his fingers. She focused on it briefly and intensely. The Abbot jumped up and cried out in pain as the ring glowed red. By the time he realised what had happened, she had closed the door and gone.
In her rooms, Lynella opened the window to listen to the music coming up from the courtyard. Looking down, she saw the lanterns hanging around the walls, the group of musicians by the gate and the large area in front of them, which was being cleared for dancing. Smiling, she turned to Maria and said, ‘Let's go and join the party. If you could lend me some clothes that won't stand out and I put my hair up, not too many people will recognise me. Too bad if they do. I don't care what anybody thinks.’
Moving into the courtyard, she suddenly hesitated as she saw the scene in front of her. The party was rapidly getting out of control. Over a hundred people had now arrived and more beer had been brought from the cellar. A large fire had been lit near the stables. She dreaded to think what they were burning on it but the carcass of a pig over the shoulder of one of the men near it was obviously what was going to be cooked on it. Seeing all of this, Maria looked at her with concern.
Lynella leaned towards her and said quietly, ‘Not my problem tonight.’ Grabbing her hand, she rushed into the crowd.
‘Head for the eastern tower. I think my friends are over there,’ Maria shouted back.
They pushed and stumbled, trying to get through the dancers but the pace of the music was increasing, and they were swept up by it. Suppressing the urge to tell them to stand aside for the Princess, and the stronger urge to flee in terror from the unfamiliar sensation of the press of the crowd, Lynella moved with the music. It never stopped, and as each dance moved into the next, she felt herself being swept along; soon losing sight of Maria.
Suddenly, she found herself under a lantern face to face with one of the footmen who normally served her at table. He recognised her and looked shocked. Smiling broadly, she looked at him and said, ‘If you don't tell, I won't either.’
‘You must go,’ he stammered
‘Don't be silly. It's only a dance’
‘You don't understand. You are in danger. You must come with me’
Sensing that he was serious, she followed him, pushing through the crowd towards the eastern tower. By it, she saw a small group of people and recognised Maria and some of her friends.
‘Thank God, we've found you’ said Maria.
‘Why? What on earth is wrong?’
A footman replied, ‘I have been serving in the meeting and heard what has happened. They have approved a resolution to attack the ship.’
‘So, I'm going to have to stay out of the way for a bit. That's not the end of the world. What makes you say that I'm in danger.’
‘The point is that they haven't banished you. They have summoned you. They sent men to your rooms and found you had gone. Now they think that you have fled from the castle and have sent men out to look outside. Luckily, nobody ever thought that you would be down here.’
‘So, what if they find me?’
‘You should see it in there. The Abbot's got the Kings from the Eastern and Western Kingdoms absolutely terrified. He's got them to approve a resolution placing you in his custody.’
Lynella was shocked into silence. Finally, she looked around the small group.
‘Will you help me?’ she asked. They nodded in agreement.
‘Will you help me free Paul?’ This time, they paused and looked at each other nervously before slowly agreeing.
The moved around towards the castle gate. Some of the Abbot's men were standing under a pair of lanterns hanging from chains next to them, checking everybody who was leaving.
‘That does it. We're stuck,’ said Maria.
‘Don't you believe it,’ Lynella replied. She stood looking at the lanterns. The Abbot’s men saw her. H
er friends tried to pull her back, she stayed, not moving. Suddenly the lanterns fell, crashing onto the flagstones, spraying burning oil. The men shouted and ran, their tunics bursting into flames. Lynella led her friends out, through the gate, the melted links of the chains still hanging above them.
13
Lynella stumbled and fell. They had been running for too long. They were past the farms now and the ground was rough with a mass of fallen branches in the coarse grass, catching her feet in the dark. She couldn’t go on. But then they saw the riders again. Silhouettes against the fire. Gathered on a ridge.
Some of them turned. ‘Perhaps they’ll go back to help.’ Angus said.
‘We should help. We should be there. If the stables have caught it may spread to the armoury.’
Angus helped her to stand up again. ‘They would imprison us for arson. Except you. They would send you off with the abbot.’
The riders were moving, spreading to form a line, leaving the fire, coming after them. Angus led them up, away from the bottom in the valley. There was a faint outline trees ahead.
‘It’s thick enough.’ He said. ‘We can’t make it to the forest, but I’ve been round this copse a few years ago and there’s nowhere for a horse to get in.’
Minutes later they were in it, pushing through the undergrowth as it tore at their clothes and skin. They could hear the riders now. Calling to each other to keep the line.
Then they stopped.
‘What now? We’re at the forest.’ The voice seemed almost on top of them.
They heard more horses.
‘They could be in there. We have orders to catch them’.
Another horse – moving fast. ‘I have been around it Sir. It is just a copse but a big one. It would take a hundred men to search it.’
‘Very well. We shall return tomorrow with more men and search the whole area. Let’s go and help those fools with the fire.’
They hear horses riding away.
‘Don’t move.’ Angus whispered. They waited. Half an hour later they heard more horses leave.
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