The Sol 3 Agenda

by Brian Kitchen

  “Did she catch the train?”

  “I don’t know for certain, but Hardgrave has sent officers to meet the train and apprehend her if she’s on it. In the meantime, I’m going back to Praa Sands, to see if I can find out where she was living, just in case she’s left any incriminating evidence behind.”

  “She has phoned home again, using an untraceable phone.”

  “How’s that possible?”

  “It was a secure satellite phone.”

  “What’s one of them? I’ve never heard of one of those before.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have done and there’s no need for you to concern yourself about it. You should now be aware however, that the use of this phone means that Kate Penrose has some powerful friends. Some very powerful friends.” The phone call ended abruptly, leaving King with a lot to think about as he drove the eight miles or so to Praa Sands. For the first time ever, his contact in the Rectifiers had sounded almost afraid. Who could these powerful friends of Kate Penrose be, to make them feel like that?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Eventually arriving at Praa Sands, King first drove to the public telephone box that Penrose had been using to make her phone calls home from. She’d made several calls from it over the past month or so and was a good point to start from. King pulled up by the telephone box and got his Ordnance Survey map out of the glove compartment on the dashboard and unfolded it. The night they’d nearly caught Penrose, she’d come down the lane, from the direction of the Germoe crossroads. Could she have been staying somewhere in that village, he wondered. He looked closely at the map and saw that there was a public house marked on it, in the part of the village that lay north of the A394. That might be a good place to start asking about her.

  King arrived at the Admiral’s Arms a few minutes before afternoon closing time and introduced himself by flashing his Special Branch identity card at the tall man in his thirties serving behind the bar.

  “I need to speak to the landlord,” King told him.

  “I am the landlord,” Phil Jackson answered, taking an instant dislike to the podgy-faced, Detective Sergeant.

  “Have you seen this young woman in the area?” King demanded to know, showing him the same photograph that he’d earlier shown the ticket clerk. Phil instantly recognized Kate, even though it was a very bad photograph of her. He wasn’t going to tell this cocky London cop however, that he knew her. From the very first day that Phil had employed Kate, he’d guessed that she was on the run from something and when she’d not showed up for work today, he’d guessed that something was up. Perhaps it was to do with the miners’ strike, as he’d seen her face when Roger had been on about it the night before and she’d certainly been anxious to get away from the pub early.

  “No, I can’t say as I have,” Phil told King.

  One of the two men that Phil had been serving with a double whisky, a fat man in his sixties, turned to King.

  “Could I see that officer. I live in the area and know most people hereabouts,” the man addressed King in one of those dreadful, whiney Brummie accents. King handed the photo to him. Roger Clayton took his spectacles out of their case and put them on and then closely studied the photo.

  “Well it’s a very bad photograph, but I think that it might be Kate, your young barmaid, Phil,” Roger turned to look at landlord and then turned and handed the photo to Jack Venton who stood beside him. King looked at landlord, who he now thought looked very uncomfortable.

  “Yes, Roger old boy, I do believe you’re right,” Jack Venton confirmed in his pseudo posh voice.

  “Funny you didn’t recognize her, sir,” King said, looking accusingly at the pubs landlord.

  “My eyes haven’t been so good since the Falklands War,” Phil answered.

  “A veteran are you, sir?” King sneeringly said.

  “Yes, I served on the Hermes. Did my bit for Queen and country,” Phil bitterly said, giving the Detective Sergeant a hard stare.

  “He’s a hero, our landlord,” Roger came to Phil’s aid. “Lost his left leg fighting for Queen and country against the Argies and got no proper compensation, like all our brave lads. Still Albert will sort all that out, as soon as he’s got the country’s finances back on track.”

  “So, does she live here at the pub?” King asked in a more conciliatory tone, deciding with fans of Albert Brown in the pub, it wouldn’t be politic to start hassling a war veteran.

  “No,” Phil answered surlily, shaking his head.

  “She rents one of your holiday caravans, doesn’t she Ken?” Roger addressed a man in his forties, nursing a pint at the other end of the bar.

  “She does, but I’ve not seen her since she was in here last night. Anyway, what do you want her for?” Ken Tregoning demanded to know. He too had a soft spot for Kate. To tell the truth, it was more than that. He’d fancied her from the first day he’d clapped his eyes on her.

  “Assaulting a police officer and suspected terrorist activities,” King answered. Roger Clayton nearly choked on his whisky.

  “Always knew there was something dodgy about the little minx,” Jack Venton declared. Phil gave him a look of utter contempt, whilst the one that Ken gave him, well, it would have killed him on the spot, if looks could kill.

  “I think you’d better show me the caravan that she’s been using,” King said addressing Ken. Then he turned to Roger Clayton and handed him a card with his telephone number. “You sir have been very helpful. If you can think of anything else that might be useful to me, such as her known associates,” he said pointedly, glancing quickly from Phil to Ken, “then please give me a call.”

  “Oh, you can be assured of that, Detective Sergeant,” Roger Clayton managed to croak, as Jack Venton, finished patting him on the back. “I strongly believe in my civic duty.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Kate woke up very much later than she usually did the next morning. She’d had an early night and must have slept like a log, for when she looked at her wrist watch it was nearly half past ten. She had a very quick shower, got dressed and then hurried downstairs. Kate met Niamh in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Cath is in the dining room. She takes a late breakfast on a Sunday,” Niamh told her. “Would you like some breakfast, Kate?” Kate had quite forgotten that it was Sunday.

  “Yes, please Niamh, if it’s not too late.”

  “It’s never too late for anything at Lost Valley Manor, Kate. Cath has a full English breakfast with extra sausages on a Sunday. Would you like the same, Kate?”

  “Yes please.”

  Kate made her way to the dining room and found Cath reading one of the Sunday Newspapers.

  “I’m sorry I’m up late, Cath. It’s not like me to oversleep.”

  “You were worn out my dear,” Cath replied putting the newspaper to one side.” Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes, Cath, like a log. Is there much in the newspapers?”

  “That idiot Albert Brown is threatening to send the troops in to break up the Miners’ Strike, but he will find it is his undoing, if he does The troops won’t fire on their own countrymen.”

  “You don’t think that they would?”

  “No,” Cath replied, shaking her head vehemently. “I know for certain they won’t, just as I know that your father has a very important part to play in the coming events and that one day, will be the UK Prime Minister and later go on to even higher office.”

  “How could you possibly know that, Cath?” Kate asked, but Cath just smiled.

  Chapter 7

  Sol 6 Base, April 1970

  Over the past six months John had had one-to-one tuition in all that he needed to study, including sciences, mathematics, linguistics, military theory and a myriad of other diverse subjects. His tutors had been the androids on the Sol 6 base, but all were highly knowledgeable and skilled in the subjects they’d taught him. The medical nanobots and implants he had agreed to have, had in turn speeded up the learning process, condensing three to four-yea
r courses into a matter of weeks rather than years. He’d also been trained in unarmed combat, weapons training and could now fly a Deltoid and any other aircraft that he’d find back on Earth. He’d even been taught how to drive, a skill that he’d started to learn before he’d left his home in Trentbury.

  As well as now being very well educated and skilled in a wide range of subjects, John had physically changed too, and he no longer looked like he had when he got off the train in Penzance. John’s hair was now short in a crew cut style and he was lean, but well-muscled and without the slight flabbiness that he’d had when he had first come to the Sol 6 base. Due to the medical nanobots which had stimulated his natural growth hormones, he had also increased a couple of inches in height and was now nearly as tall as Morann.

  The medical nanobots had also repaired existing cell and tissue damage and would continue to do so, which would now considerably delay the natural ageing process of his body. Other nanobots and cell modifications had helped to strengthen and enhance his muscles and senses and given him enhanced vision and hearing. John had also had a microchip installed in his brain which contained vast quantities of knowledge that he could call upon when required and which was updated remotely as new information became available.

  Naturally John had been worried about how his dad would have coped with his disappearance, but to tell the truth, the last two years that John had spent on Earth hadn’t been the best, as far as his relationship with his father had been. John’s father had mourned the loss of his wife, John’s mother up and until about two years ago. Then his father had met Susan, a woman about twelve years younger than himself. To John’s disgust his father had become besotted with Susan and in a very short matter of time she had moved in to live with them, leaving John to virtually fend for himself. John couldn’t stand Susan, who he felt was a gold digger and he had rowed with his father over her. In fact, the night that John had left his home and travelled to Penzance, he’d not been sure whether he would ever return home again. Now the day had come when John was to leave the Sol 6 Base and return to Earth.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “So, John,” Medb told him via the communication link to Sol 6 Base from Tír na nÓg. “You know what you must do first when you first reach Earth.”

  “Go to London and visit the offices of Snodgrass and Wedlock, the solicitors mentioned in the letter that my grandfather left for me.”

  “Yes, that’s right. Please bear in mind that you’ll be going forward in time to April 1973 and so you’ll find Britain a very different place to the one that you left in 1969. The UK has joined the European Economic Community and the Irish Republican Army has started a bombing campaign in mainland Britain. In March 1973 a bomb went off in London killing one person and injuring another 250 people. There will be more bombings for several years to come. Oh, and the Conservative Party that I know you have no time for, are in power now and have been since 1970. Edward Heath is the Prime Minister.” Medb saw John shake his head.

  “Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister and a Labour Government were in power when I left Earth,” John told her.

  “Any questions?”

  “No Medb, I think I know all that I need to know.”

  “Good luck then John and be careful, we don’t know yet what you’ll be dealing with, but what we do know is that its intentions towards Earth are not benign.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Will it feel strange to return to your home planet, John?” Morann who had accompanied him to the meeting with Medb asked, as they walked to the Deltoid that had been fitted with a time travel module, which would allow a jump in time to be made to April 1973. Morann was accompanying John on his mission to Earth and he felt that she’d be a real asset. The android had changed her appearance and no longer had the short silver-coloured hair, she’d had when he’d first met her, but now had short, honey blonde hair.

  “Yes, and it’s hard to think that I’ve only been away for about six months. It seems like years and it will be very strange to go forward in time too.”

  “What’s this London like that we’re going to?” Morann asked John. He had helped Morann with her use of the English language and she had learned colloquialisms and even some swear words.

  “It’s the capital city of the United Kingdom and a very busy, bustling place. I don’t particularly like it and I certainly wouldn’t want to live there.”

  “We have to go there though.”

  “Yes, Morann, we do. I have got to go to Snodgrass and Wedlock the firm of solicitors mentioned in the letter,” John told her. “Medb said it will enable me to take control of my grandfather’s companies, which is the first part of the plan. First however we have to meet up with this Catherine Penrose, who’ll provide us with the means to get to London. It’s quite a long journey to there from Cornwall, Morann and it will take several hours.”

  “What do you know about this Catherine Penrose, John?”

  “Well from what Medb told me Catherine Penrose is apparently a descendant of one of the Varn colonists who survived the catastrophe and remained behind on Earth. Her family also own some companies which are mainly involved in medical research and the development of new drugs to combat various illnesses. They also own a chain of private clinics and hospitals. Other than that, I know very little.”

  By now they had reached the Deltoid and went on board, heading straight for the flight control room. John seated himself in the pilot’s seat and Morann sat down in the seat beside him. Starting the Deltoid’s engines John did his pre-flight checks and then turned the Deltoid towards the lift which would take them up to the surface. Arriving there, John piloted the Deltoid away from Iapetus and then away from Saturn. He then turned the autopilot on having pre-set a course for Earth. They wouldn’t be making the time jump until they were within teleportation range of the planet’s surface.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Cornwall, April 1973

  “We’ll soon be entering Earth orbit, John,” Morann’s voice awoke him from the nap that he’d taken on the journey from Saturn to Earth. “You’ll need to make the Time Jump now. I’ve made sure that we’re cloaked.”

  “Thank you, Morann. Ok are you ready?” This would be the first Time Jump that John had made and he wasn’t sure what would happen. Morann, who’d apparently made a great many Time Jumps before, had assured him that he would be fine and wouldn’t feel a thing.

  “I’m ready John.”

  John brought the holographic flight control panel up and selected the symbol on it which had the combination of the notched rectangle and the z-rod.

  “Initiating Time Jump, now,” John said. He waited for any effect of what he’d done to take place. Suddenly John had a faint flash across his eyes, which signified to him that his memory chip was updating.

  “It is April 10th, 1973, John,” Morann announced.

  “Then we’d better head for the teleportation chamber, Morann. We mustn’t be late for our meeting.”

  John still hadn’t quite got used to being teleported and still worried that he might not materialize properly at his destination. The science behind the Varn teleportation system had been explained in infinite detail to him, but he would never really understand it. He doubted too, whether he would ever fully understand the faster than light drive system, which was used in the Interstellar Deltoids. The interplanetary Deltoids used a different drive system, but even so, the journey from Iapetus to Earth had only taken just over ten hours.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  A short time later, anyone watching an old stone built Georgian house, would have seen two figures suddenly appear in the middle of the extensive lawn at the back of it. John pinched himself as he’d now got into the habit of doing, to check that he was in solid form again. A door at the back of the house opened and someone stepped outside and waved to them. John and Morann walked over and found that it was an attractive woman in her early sixties with well-cut auburn hair.

  “You must be John and Morann,” the woman said af
ter appraising them both.

  “And you must be Catherine Penrose,” John said, holding out his hand which the woman shook.

  “You’d better come in the house,” Catherine indicated the open door. “Please call me Cath and I hope that you’re hungry. Brigid has prepared a meal for you,” Cath said as they both walked on in. She took them into the dining room where the table was set for two and Cath indicated that John should sit down. The door then opened again, and a young woman walked in pushing a trolley laden with food.

  “Thank you, Brigid,” Cath said as Brigid laid out dishes on the table and plates for them both. Looking more closely at the young woman, John thought that she was an android.

  “Yes, John,” Morann spoke. “Brigid is an android.” John was always amazed at how intuitive Morann was. Androids could communicate with each other and other robots without speech and Morann had obviously established a link with Brigid.

  “As you are, Morann?” Cath questioned.

  “As I am, Cath and so I won’t be requiring a meal,” Morann confirmed.

  “I was told to expect you both, but that was all,” Cath explained. “I was given no details of who you were but was asked to help you get to London and to also provide you with suitable clothing.” Both John and Morann were dressed in the flight suits that Deltoid crews normally wore.

  “Were you given any indication of our mission, Cath?” John asked. Cath shook her head.

  “Only that you’d be taking over the running of the VarTech Corporation,” Cath further explained.

  “I understand that you’re the chairman of Penrose Healthcare Incorporated, Cath.”

  “I am,” Cath replied.

  “What do you know about the VarTech Corporation?”

  “Not a lot. They’re a very secretive organisation run by a Chief Executive and a very efficient management team. Control of the company will apparently pass to John’s grandson when he is 21 years of age.” John noticed that Cath was studying him closely. “You’re his grandson, aren’t you?” Cath suddenly said. John nodded. “Then perhaps you will be able to find out a bit more about them.”