Ryan pressed a button on the chair's console and went abruptly down to the general quarters level below. Although twentieth century man was primitive, he was also rather violent; or so it said on the records of ancient Earth history that he studied on the way over. He decided to wear some protection and what better than his armoured flight suit.
He reached for the digital watch he wore on his left wrist and pressed simultaneously, three of the four buttons that surrounded the watch. A layer of white light appeared about him that grew from his head to his toes. Then with a flash, a dark grey metallic suit generated about his body. The helmet was pointed at the chin and formed a smooth sphere behind the head. From the back of the helmet came two small hoses, one on top of the other and connected to a small flat box on the back of the suit. The visor was a very dark tint of grey and in the shape of two ellipsis that overlapped. Ryan's face was totally concealed behind the helmet. The rest of his body was encased in the strange metal in a way that provided complete manoeuvrability, while not exposing any part of the body to the elements. Upon each shoulder were a row of six disks that protruded from the suit and extended to meet the flat box on his back. Attached to the flat box were a sword hilt and a laser machine gun, while on his right hip a standard issue laser pistol was attached. These were the standard weapons for a Starfighter pilot.
The Armoured, Artificial Environment, Extra Vehicular suit, or A.A.E.E.V. suit was one of the great technological marvels of the thirty first century. The metallic case is constructed of a virtually impregnable ceramic that could only be penetrated by a direct blast from a laser pistol. All movement was assisted by powerful miniature servomechanisms. When in hand-to-hand combat with an Alien of superhuman strength, a man's bare thews were far too weak and slow to be a formidable opponent. It also generated its own gravity within the confines of the suit. With a Starfighter being so small and manoeuvrable, forces in excess of thirty gees were regularly achieved and the resultant effect on the body would tear it limb from limb. This breakthrough meant that at all times the pilot was experiencing natural gravity, while the ceramic case took the brunt of the forces. As Ryan looked through the sealed visor, information from a full complement of sensors and scanners were being projected onto the inside of the visor in the area of his peripheral vision. The small flat box attached to his back was a thought controlled jet pack. It would enable Ryan to travel up to three hundred kilometres per hour in space and twenty kilometres per hour in dense atmospheres like water. Being a thought controlled device, it would propel him in any direction his mind commanded.
The suit came from a small compartment aboard the Eagle. The compartment was a small matter transporter that on the request of the pilot, would beam the suit around the body. This way, provided he was within transporter range, the pilot had immediate access to his suit and weapons. Ryan was fortunate that his suit was on board. When John picked Ryan up from the Andromeda space port he had the suit transferred to the Eagle. When in times of war, a pilot was required to have access to his A.A.E.E.V. suit at all times.
Opposite the small cylindrical elevator was a half circle incision in the wall. The incision was large enough to contain four people, and upon the floor and roof were four white disks that glowed. This chamber was a matter transporter. Ryan moved to the transporter and stood on one of the white disks and spoke aloud to the empty room. "The beach." A bright line of light appeared through the centre line of his body and grew wider until it engulfed him. Then a moment later he was gone.
********************
Charlie re-examined the scuba gear and after finding all in order, he proceeded to put on the wetsuit. He sat on the beach and shoved his right foot into the suit - this was the part of diving he hated most. Just when he got his foot through the leg hole, a bright line of light appeared on the beach. It grew in width to about one metre when a dark form generated inside it. The light faded away leaving the formidable figure upon the beach.
Charlie beheld the humanoid figure, but it was unlike any he had seen before. The strange armour it wore brought a single thought to mind, ALIEN. As the Being strode up the beach, Charlie was quick to notice the unmistakable shape of a gun on his hip. Whether the Creature was friend or foe, he was not going to stick around and find out. He got to his feet and turned to run. Instead of fleeting away, he only managed to get his foot tangled in the wet suit and fall flat on his face. He looked back to find the alien about ten metres away and heading straight for him. Charlie was at the brink of panic. With all his strength he reefed on the wetsuit and pulled it off so hard that he fell to the ground again. His feet failed to lift his body from the ground so he started to crawl away on his hands and knees until he regained his footing. Soon Charlie was running with all the speed his chubby legs could muster back to his beach house. He doubted that his house would provide any protection from the alien, though it was better than nothing.
His beach house was only three hundred metres away, but when Charlie got to the front door, he felt as if heart was about to explode in his chest. He struggled for breath while alighting the two steps to his front porch and opened the screen door. He pulled it so hard that the door swung around to strike the connecting wall and fly back to assault Charlie's back. He then pushed at the front door only to find it locked. With a curse he remembered he left his keys back on the beach with his wet suit. The adrenaline rushed through his veins while his temples throbbed from the utter fear he was enduring. The spare key under the door mat! How could he have forgotten? Charlie lifted up one corner of the mat to find a single rusty key. He snatched up the key and shoved it into the lock. While turning the key, he also remembered this was the first time he ever had to use it and never checked if the key worked. Cursing himself for his inefficiency he turned the key and hoped like hell it would work. Charlie was rewarded with a smooth rotation of the key in the lock and thrust himself into the house. Just before slamming the door shut, he noticed the alien approaching the porch. He cursed again! For some reason he hoped that locking himself in the house would deter the creature enough for it to seek its prey elsewhere.
Charlie went directly to a cupboard in the hall and removed a rifle and a box of ammunition. His fumbling fingers soon loaded the weapon, then he faced the front door and waited for the intruder. A few moments past without incident.... Charlie's mind began to relive scenes from the movie Alien. His palms became sweaty on the rifle and booming from his heart was so loud in his head that it dominated the surrounding silence. He never thought that when he purchased the gun many years ago, that he would be using it for self-defence. It was his brother's persistence over many years that made him purchase the weapon in the first place. He could hear his brother saying loud and clear, “Get a gun so we can go pig shooting together on the farm. Come on, it will be great!” His brother had a farm out west and was a keen shooter. Eventually his badgering wore him down, despite Debra’s protests. Now it was his sole source of protection, and he clung to it like his life depended on it.
A dark fist smashed through the door launching the shattered lock across the floor. The door swung open to reveal the dark formidable figure in the doorway. Charlie took a chance and fired one shot straight into the chest of the creature. Shrapnel ricocheted in all directions but the Alien stood firm. He fired another shot into its face, but only resulted in slight flinch from the creature. Charlie looked closely to see if there was any damage, but the two bullets didn't even scratch the surface of the unusual armour. He was not going to give up without a fight. He raised the gun over his head like a club and steadied himself for the alien's attack.
But no attack came. Only a calm mechanical voice rose to meet his defiant stand.
"I mean you no harm, I come in peace!" The alien presented two open hands.
Charlie was stunned at first; he was not sure what to do. After a moment’s hesitation he decided to lower the shotgun. Besides, it’s was useless against this creature’s armour.
*******************
&
nbsp; Ryan didn't know what to say next. A thousand years ago man spoke different English and he anticipated a language problem. He assumed English was the native tongue of this man. According to the history records, English was the most widely understood language on the planet. Ryan was careful to choose basic words that were less likely to have changed over the last millennium. "I come in peace!"
Charlie had difficulty in understanding what this creature was trying to say. It had a strange accent that sounded unlike anything from Earth, but what bestial language was this creature's native tongue Charlie could only imagine? "What do you want with me?" He kept a good grip on the gun just in case this was some sort of trick.
Ryan was surprised. Apart from an unusual accent he understood what the man said. "I need help, my spaceship has been damaged."
That was not the answer Charlie expected. I wish to take over your body maybe, but help?! "How can I help you?"
"Please, may I sit down? I have travelled far."
Again Charlie was surprised by the alien who now wants to sit down on his lounge chair. This was turning out to be a very unusual day! "Not until you hand over the gun!"
"If I do so will you drop your weapon?"
Charlie glanced down at the shotgun in his hand. Why would it fear a weapon that could not even scratch his armour? And there is no telling what his gun could do. He could only come to one conclusion, the alien was telling the truth. Besides, it held all the trump cards...." Okay, that sounds like a fair deal."
Ryan was confused by the first word the man uttered. Before entering the dwelling, he called upon Lucy to translate any foreign phrases he may encounter. "Okay translates as - all right."
He reached for the hoses on the back of his helmet and detached each one carefully, and as the hoses fell away they let out a whistle of oxygen. Then Ryan gripped the helmet with both hands and rotated it partially to the right.
Charlie steadied himself for an ugly display of alien features. As it lifted off the helmet, he beheld a young man with ruffled hair, dried blood on his right temple and a face in dire need of rest.
"MY GOD YOUR HUMAN!" The shock totally stunned Charlie. He stood there with his mouth agape while his right hand forgot its possession and dropped the gun to the floor. Ryan looked down at his left wrist where a small control panel was attached. Then pressed a sequence of buttons and immediately the room was filled with a bright white light as the suit was beamed back to the Eagle. A second later, the light died away and the rest of Ryan's battle-scared overalls were revealed.
As Charlie's senses returned, he felt embarrassed about his assumptions of a strange alien wanting to take over his body, and soon changed to his more hospitable self. "Forgive me, please sit down. I...I had no idea that...that...." Charlie could not bring himself to speak his true thoughts.
Ryan went over to the chair and flopped down like a rage doll. "I am sorry about the door, I did not know how to open it."
"That's Okay." Charlie's brain was filled with questions for this young man and was not sure where to begin, but Ryan was the first to talk.
"What do you call this place?" Ryan gestured with his hand across his front.
"What, the house?"
"No the place where we are?" He was tempted to restore the translation link with Lucy, instead he continued to fumble through the conversation.
"We are in Australia."
"Australia?" Ryan was trying to remember anything he could about this place from the history records and only one thing came to mind. "The place where the native animals hop?"
"Yes, that's the place." Charlie was disappointed that all this man knew about his homeland was the Kangaroo.
Charlie became impatient, "So who are you and how can I help."
Ryan stood up and moved to the centre of the room while he tried to compose himself. Explaining where he was from was no ordinary task. So Ryan decided to take the direct approach. "My name is Ryan Williams and I am from the thirty first century. I have travelled back in time to this present point in the space-time continuum...." He looked directly into Charlie's eyes to see if there was any reaction but he stood there like a stunned mullet. "....I lived on the planet Carillia with my father until its destruction two days ago by the Warrian Battle Fleet, and I am possibly the sole survivor of the human race!" The difficultly in saying the last words caused him to clear his throat afterwards.
Despite the young man's strange accent Charlie understood what he said, though he struggled to comprehend the story. "THE THIRTY FIRST CENTURY?!...."
"The year three thousand and thirty one to be precise."
"...And you’re the last of the human race?"
Ryan went back to his seat and put his head in his hands, "Yes. The Federation was at war with an alien race called Warrians. They destroyed every planet we inhabited, and as far as I know Carillia was the last to be destroyed."
The whole story was incredible. If it weren’t for the amazing things he had seen this morning he would never have believed any of it. "That was your ship that crashed into the ocean?"
"Yes! Are there others that saw me land?" He lifted his head from his hands in concern. The fewer people who knew about him the better.
"No, I think I was the only one."
"Good." Ryan suddenly realised he knew nothing about the man before him. "I don't know your name?"
"I'm Charles Clark, but everyone calls me Charlie. So you want me to help you fix your spaceship, then what happens? Where will you go?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead. I can't go back to the year three thousand and thirty one as I would only be hunted down again."
"Why don't you stay here?"
"Well I don't have any choice at the moment."
"What did you call the people you were at war with?"
"The Warrians. They're a race of reptiles who have nothing better to do than exterminate others. I want to make those bastards pay for what they did, but I'm only one man. How can I make a difference?"
Charlie knew aliens would come into the story somewhere. "How can I help you, I know nothing of spaceships?"
"That's not the problem, I can show you what to do. The problem is fixing the ship requires more than one set of hands."
Charlie considered the young man before him and felt great remorse. His world had fallen down about him, losing everything he loved. The least he could do for Ryan was to give him what little aid he could. "Okay, take me to your spaceship and while we're at it you can tell me more of this future world you came from." He gave Ryan a warm smile that penetrated right through to the core of his sombre heart.
The help of this old man was all Ryan needed to keep him going. He spoke into his digital watch. "Lucy, beam us to the Eagle." Their bodies were engulfed in light, then instantaneously transported to the ship. On board the ship, two sets of white disks grew brighter to a point that was almost blinding, then a pillar of light grew between them. The tall stream of light widened until two forms appeared within. As the light died away, Charlie’s head began to spin and he lost his balance. As he tumbled to the floor, Ryan caught his arm and saved him from the impact. They stepped into the general quarters level and Charlie's mouth fell agape.
"This is amazing." He looked around at the strangely modern living quarters and lounge chairs, then at the sophisticated laboratory. His mouth stayed agape the whole duration.
"Good morning Charlie!" Said a peculiar voice.
"Who's there?!" Charlie looked around for the owner to the friendly voice only to find no one else about.
"Charlie, let me introduce you to the Eagle's main computer, Lucy."
"Where.....Where is she?"
"Lucy is everywhere. She runs all the automated systems and just about everything else on the ship."
"G'day, Lucy." Charlie said while he gazed around not knowing in which direction to look.
"G'day. Meaning good morning or hello." Lucy translated.
"Thank you Lucy, I think I can get by for now." Ryan directed Char
lie towards to elevator. "Let me show you around the ship, then we will see to the repairs."
********************
Ryan and Charlie laboured on the Eagle for several days. In that time Charlie learnt much about space travel and life in the year 3031 A.D. He was in constant marvel at the advances man had made in a thousand years. The diseases such as cancer and A.I.D.S. had long since been cured. Travelling from one star system to another in a matter of hours and many other things he believed impossible. All were facts of everyday life. Ryan found Charlie's basic knowledge in mechanics a distinct advantage, although many of the finer points of the task were well beyond his comprehension; he still coped very well. Ryan also used this time to familiarise himself with the language of the twentieth century Australian, and found it contained many strange phrases and sayings. He often burst into laughter from some of the simplest and most common words.
There were many repairs required on the exterior of the ship and as the Eagle was submerged in three hundred feet of water, Charlie was concerned how they would perform the repairs. Two standard pieces of equipment that the Eagle was supplied with made it possible. Next to the A.A.E.E.V. suit were two similar suits in the transporter chamber. Both were designed purely for general maintenance, and unlike the pilot suit, were constructed of a pregnable ceramic, and housed no weapons. For performing external maintenance in foreign atmospheres, they were perfectly for the job. There was no concern with depressurisation and the `bends' as the suits possessed their own environment within the sturdy ceramic shell. Ryan and Charlie could stay outside for many hours and come and go as they pleased. Also the suits were able to accommodate men with rounded physiques like Charlie's. They had multiple expanding joints that flexed with the motion of the person inside.
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