Sideshow Alley

by KJ Sheerin

  ‘There, did you see that? That’s what I’m talking about!’ Colin said, pointing to the destruction in front of them. Kyla stopped the clip.

  ‘At that point the Lizards lost it completely. They split into two groups—one went after the drone while the other chased Alpha One. I did the only thing I could do in such a situation and that was to send a wing back to harass their Carrier, so did the other Squadrons. The Lizards had no choice but recall their remaining fighters from the battlefield. It was that easy,’ he nodded to Kyla again and she removed the memory.

  ‘Are there any questions at this stage?’ he asked.

  ‘How many did you lose that day?’

  Kyla answered, ‘One down, another disabled and recovered later.’

  ‘How many would you lose on average?’

  ‘That’s hard to say. Since we started using this method of engagement we have gone out and come back intact. Another time we went out and lost five crews. Mind you, we went in hard and downed us a Carrier and a thousand Lizards with it that day.’

  A murmur went around the mess as the Rebuke’s crews remembered their own battles of late and the losses sustained.

  ‘Is Phoebe all she’s cracked up to be?’ another yelled.

  Colin turned and smiled at Kyla before replying, ‘Why don’t you ask her yourself? She’s sitting over there on the Redemption bored beyond belief because there’s too much competition down below. Perhaps you should invite her over here.’

  At that point Richard regained the lectern to dismiss the men and they started to drift out of the mess.

  ‘I want to thank you for coming and sharing your tactics with us today,’ he told Colin.

  ‘What did you think of them?’

  ‘They’re pretty simplistic, but deadly also.’

  ‘They really do work. You have a blueprint,’ Colin said, handing him both memory sticks. ‘Drill them again after the meal tonight and again after breakfast tomorrow. Do it at every opportunity until they know it by heart, they’ll thank you for it. Keep in touch and tell us how you go.’

  ‘Now how am I supposed to do that?’ Richard asked.

  ‘Use the VDU the same way I just did and ask Gunnar to show you the mailing system in the library.’

  Richard looked from one to the other, but Gunnar said nothing.

  ‘Very well, I’d better let you go. It’s been a pleasure to meet you both and good luck,’ he said, beckoning to a Prathkos waiting nearby.

  ‘Goodbye Kyla, Colin,’ Gunnar said.

  Once back on the Redemption the two retired to Kyla’s cabin to rest.

  ‘Do you know I don’t mind being here alone with you, it’s like quality time that we may never see again,’ Kyla said, as she stared at the children in the album.

  ‘Will you massage my back tonight?’

  ‘Only if you’ll do mine,’ she replied. After dinner they retired early and let the effect of the massage take them into a deep and refreshing slumber.

  They woke early, feeling fit and ready for a workout after breakfast—pumping iron until 0900 hours. Just as they were towelling the sweat off in a break, all hell broke loose.

  The launch siren sounded throughout the empty corridors and the Alpha Crew looked at each other for a moment before racing up to the hangars. As they mounted their craft, the Colonel and Rolf came into view.

  ‘What the hell is happening?’ Colin yelled.

  ‘Isn’t it obvious, the Lizards are here! You’d better launch, the Old Man is going to jump. We’ll meet you out there.’

  They secured their canopies and equalised the air pressure before Kyla sped down the ramp. Then once out, she sat off and waited for Rolf.

  ‘How many and where are they?’ Colin asked the Colonel.

  ‘There’s a ship engaging the Rebuke as we speak. Keep your wits about you until we find out what those reptiles are up to.’

  The Redemption shimmered and disappeared with other Legion Carriers following suit. Something caught Colin’s eye. It was to the right of them and he drew the Colonel’s attention to it.

  ‘Well I’ll be…’ the Colonel said. ‘There’s another Lizard Carrier coming in. Let’s go get them!’

  ‘You’re quite mad, you know that don’t you?’ Colin replied.

  ‘Hopefully we can put a torpedo into them before their fighters launch, Ace.’

  The two fighters sped towards the Carrier as it settled and the ship’s defences opened up as they entered into their space. Rolf reached optimum speed before he cut power and applied trim, while Kyla held off and waited to see the result.

  He tumbled in, evading the deadly laser fire, and the Colonel sent the torpedo on its way. The shot struck the hull to one side of the hangar and exploded to leave a gaping hole. Rolf sped out again as the Colonel cursed his bad luck.

  ‘Damn it to hell! Finish it off, Ace.’

  The Carrier had already started to shimmer by the time Kyla screamed in. Colin took the shot and they sped away again as flashes of red and yellow appeared between the layers of space. The ship reappeared again, listing badly—its centre a molten inferno. Kyla joined Rolf on the perimeter and the two sped away towards the last Lizard Carrier.

  ‘It’s a pity we’re out of torpedoes,’ the Colonel lamented, ‘you don’t often get as many chances as this.’

  By the time they reached the fighting only a few Lizards remained and were quickly accounted for—the enemy Carrier jumping moments later.

  Colin adjusted his radio to make contact with Richard.

  ‘Alpha One, do you copy?’

  ‘This is Alpha One. Who am I talking to?’

  ‘Alpha One from the Redemption, I have another craft with me as well. Can we follow you aboard and wait until our Carrier returns?’

  ‘Absolutely, follow us in.’

  More molten eruptions could be seen taking place from within the dying Carrier a short distance away.

  Kyla landed with Rolf following.

  The Colonel dismounted and thumped Colin on the back, ‘Well done, Ace. I don’t know what happened, I should have nailed it.’

  Richard came up and Colin made the introductions. The Colonel excused himself shortly afterward in order that he and Rolf visit their opposite numbers in Battle Command.

  ‘So did you get the lessons in?’ Colin asked.

  Richard was all smiles, ‘Too right. Lucky we did, hey!’

  ‘So how did you go?’

  ‘Not as good as you two it seems.’

  ‘We got lucky,’ Colin said, as he glanced along the rows of gleaming fighters. ‘It looks as if you’ve done well also.’

  The other crews pressed around them excitedly as the P.A. announced its message throughout the hangar, ‘All Red One Weapon Officers report to Battle Command on Four Deck. All Red One Weapon Officers to Battle Command now please.’

  Richard turned and bolted as did the other nominated crew. Colin and Kyla followed at a more leisurely pace, stopping to kiss in a cul-de-sac before continuing on. Finally they reached Battle Command and joined those inside.

  ‘Glad you could make it,’ the Colonel said. He turned to his counterpart aboard the Rebuke, ‘This is Mr Colin Oscopy and his pilot Kyla, Colonel Sam Taylor. Please continue.’

  ‘As I was saying, this is easily the best performance to date and you’re all to be commended. I’ll address the crews at 1300 hours. That is all, dismissed.’

  Colin watched as the Red Leaders trooped out and he stopped Richard as he headed for the doorway. They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Colonel Taylor relented and went to the cabinet to fetch a bottle of Prathkos spirits and glasses.

  ‘So what was the casualty count today?’ Colin asked.

  ‘Three down and two disabled. I believe we have you to thank for it,’ Colonel Taylor said, ‘and that second Carrier, that’s unheard of. I wonder what it was they were up to?’

  ‘All those empty Carriers hanging about in space might have had something to do with it. Whatever it was, they did
n’t succeed. That’s the important thing,’ the Colonel said. He turned to the Alpha couple, ‘A toast to Kyla and Colin’s second Carrier in a month.’

  ‘All due respects Colonel, you put the first dent in it—we just finished it off.’

  The Colonel shook his head, ‘Dents don’t count, unfortunately. I do hope the Admiral doesn’t park on top of that thing.’

  ‘They’re coming in now, Sir,’ the Command staff viewing the nav screen said.

  ‘Are you sure they’re ours?’

  ‘Positive, Sir.’

  ‘Well in that case, we’d better go. It’s been a pleasure. Colonel, Admiral.’

  Colin and Kyla said goodbye to Richard again before following the Colonel and Rolf to the hangar and then out and over to the Redemption.

  The Colonel waited for them to dismount before addressing them, ‘I think what happened here today was their backup plan and as you can see, it failed. It’s probably safer down below at the moment.’

  ‘No thanks, we’re having way too much fun up here,’ Colin replied.

  The Legionnaires below on Linus could only watch as the battle played out in the heavens above them. They observed their ships as they jumped, with another Lizard Carrier appearing on the scene only to be torpedoed. Speculation was rife—if the Rebuke couldn’t hold the Lizards they would lay waste to Linus for sure. Eric was certain he knew what was behind the attack. All of this for just one crew. When the endpoint was functional again he was first up to enquire after them.

  When informed of what had happened, he just shook his head.

  ‘There are still a few days of leave left—will you be going ashore at all?’

  ‘No, we’ll stay, but thanks for your concern,’ Kyla said, kissing his cheek.

  ‘Then hopefully I’ll see you on my return,’ he said, before they beamed him down again.

  The following day Kyla checked for mail at lunchtime and found there was a reply to their last post already, so after a hurried meal they went back to her cabin to view its contents. She inserted the memory into the VDU and Colin sat back on the bunk to watch as the image of her mother appeared on the adjacent bulkhead.

  ‘Kyla, I must say I was shocked by the behaviour of your new friend. Hopefully it’s just a passing phase on your part. Your father on the other hand was pleased—evidently it reminded him of his time in the service all those years ago. Tell me, whatever happened to those other nice boys you knew?’

  Kyla stopped the message, ‘Well, what do you think?’

  ‘I didn’t know your father was in the Legion.’

  ‘He was a pilot before I was born.’

  ‘What was he, Alpha?’

  ‘No, I think the closest he got was Number Two, just before his hitch was up.’

  ‘Are you worried about the fact that your mother doesn’t like me?’

  ‘Not really. Children always push the boundaries. She’ll get used to the idea.’

  ‘Maybe if we make it through, I could go home with you and visit.’

  ‘I’d like for you to meet them, but next time perhaps. I really want to see your home planet Earth.’

  ‘I can see why you might want to, it being pretty young and all, but they’re still not aware of other beings or extra terrestrials. You couldn’t mix freely like you do amongst the alliance up here.’

  ‘We’ll see. Did you want to respond to my parents again?’

  ‘Okay, you set it up.’

  A thought struck him, ‘I don’t even know their names?’

  ‘It’s Hilde and Ingvar.’

  Kyla set the VDU to capture and Colin sat on the chair again.

  ‘Hello, sorry you don’t approve of me Hilde so I guess I’ll direct my comments to Ingvar—at least he knows what it’s like out here. Unfortunately we had some trouble on our last leave, so we were confined to the ship above Linus this time in. Yesterday the Lizards sent two Carriers against us while everyone was below. Luckily the Rebuke was on guard and accounted for one, while we and another craft launched from the Redemption before it jumped, and managed to account for the second one. I’d like to visit Zylon and meet you both, but Kyla’s intent on visiting Earth at the end of this hitch—so maybe next time.’

  ‘Dad’s going to love that one, but I’m not sure about Mum,’ Kyla said, on completion of the capture.

  ‘It doesn’t really matter, she’s not here,’ Colin said, as he reached for her.

  Sami handed them another dinner invitation at lunchtime the next day. This time it was from the Admiral and Colin laughed on reading it, ‘You’ll have to go as the scarlet woman. You can’t wear the same dress twice.’

  ‘And what about you, what are you going to wear?’

  ‘Blues, I’m afraid,’ he said, and handed her the invitation.

  When the time came to make their way to the Officers’ Mess that evening Kyla took the Colonel’s photo album with her. Once there, a steward escorted them to the Admiral’s table and Colin couldn’t help but note the difference to the last occasion. This time the dinner was far more formal. The Admiral was there along with the Colonel, Rolf and the Doctor—each of the officers was in full dress uniform and accompanied by a hostess, Phoebe and Queenie among them.

  ‘I’m glad you could make it,’ the Admiral said, ‘especially when you are the guests of honour. And may I be the first to say that your dress looks absolutely stunning on you, My Dear.’

  ‘I’ll second that,’ the Colonel said.

  ‘Thank you, both of you,’ Kyla said, when seated.

  ‘How come we’re the guests of honour, Sir?’ Colin asked.

  ‘We can’t let that second Carrier go unrewarded now, can we?’ the Admiral replied.

  ‘It’s no big deal. It was a joint effort really. We just followed Rolf and the Colonel in.’

  ‘Still it goes down on the Redemption’s list of accomplishments and needs official accreditation,’ the Admiral insisted.

  ‘I believe Rhys is still kicking himself over his near miss,’ he added, looking over at him.

  ‘We were lucky and thankfully the Rebuke was able to account for the other one successfully.’

  ‘Yes, I believe you gave them a blueprint for the initial engagement. It’s being distributed around the fleet as we speak,’ the Colonel told them.

  ‘Good. Once the other Carriers adopt the practice it may draw the heat off us,’ Colin replied.

  ‘You’re probably right about that. I think the Lizards wanted to get you before that occurred and now it’s too late, although they do have long memories.’

  The steward moved in to fill their glasses and the soup was served soon afterwards. Kyla took the opportunity to return the album and thanked the Colonel.

  ‘It was my pleasure,’ he told her.

  ‘I got a very strange invitation,’ Phoebe piped up.

  ‘Oh?’ the Admiral replied.

  ‘Yes, it was from the Rebuke. It seems they would like me to be guest of honour in the fighters’ mess one night.’

  The table erupted in laughter, and when it died down the Admiral asked, ‘So are you going to accept?’

  ‘I don’t know—I might not get out of there alive,’ she answered.

  ‘No doubt about it Phoebe, your star is rising. Before you know it there will be requests from ships all over the galaxy. The tattoo artists will be run off their feet,’ the Colonel said, laughing.

  ‘Not to mention, me,’ Phoebe added, as she fanned her face.

  ‘That reminds me, Doctor. It seems that one of your staff is loose lipped and spoke about my visit the other day,’ Kyla said.

  The doctor wriggled on his seat uncomfortably, ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes really! You could just imagine my embarrassment. If you find out who it was, let me know and I’ll cut his appendages off if he’s got any.’

  ‘What’s all this? Is it something I should know about?’ the Admiral asked, looking about.

  ‘No, not really—I believe it’s all over and done with now, isn’t it
Kyla honey?’ the Colonel said. Kyla fumed and turned to look at Colin, who grinned and winked at her.

  The soup was Clam chowder. When it was finished the bowls were taken and an entrée left in its place.

  Colin took the opportunity to ask something that had been bothering him.

  ‘With all the losses the Lizards have had of late, how can they afford to send more?’

  ‘What you have to realise is that they’re not like any other Race that goes to make up the Legion. They are reptiles. They don’t just have the one or two offspring like we do—they have a cluster of eggs every time,’ the Colonel informed him.

  ‘What about the expense to train them, plus the fighters and Carriers themselves? That’s got to hurt?’

  ‘I’m sure it does, but unfortunately not them. They are a race of invaders and colonisers who pillage and plunder, and then feast on those that they conquer.’

  ‘Where do they get the technology from?’

  ‘Probably the same place we do. Some things never change.’

  ‘By the way, Kyla would like to visit Earth when we go back. I said they might not be ready for her down there yet. What do you think?’ Colin asked, addressing them all.

  ‘Why that’s utter nonsense,’ the Colonel said, ‘Karl and Rolf were some of the first people you met from the ship. They were in the tent, remember?’

  ‘Yes, but I thought they were just part of your act.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, they were down there,’ the Colonel insisted.

  ‘I was down there once,’ Queenie added, ‘I latched onto a fighter who had returned and he took me outside for a look around. It was incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it. People from all over the Earth were there, plus all sorts of vehicles and machinery, craftwork, animals and birds.’

  ‘Yes, but what about your tail?’ Colin persisted.

  ‘The fighter I was with told me not to worry about it, so I didn’t. We went back the next day for another look and everyone had tails.’

  The Colonel burst out laughing, ‘That’s the Showman’s ingenuity for you. When Rolf went out they were selling green face paint.’