Pooky speaks in English and says, ‘‘Hello to everyone on earth.’’
Alenna took her turn to speak and introduced herself as the prime wife. She then continued to introduce each member of the family one by one. She went on to discuss the ship we were on, explaining it was our own and that we ran a family business which involved cargo transport between Alliance worlds. I then thanked them for listening to us and apologised for interrupting their programmes before saying goodbye for now and at that point our broadcast ended. I was dying to find out what reaction we were getting from our broadcast so I tuned into the BBC. I had caught them off guard somewhat; they were desperately trying to piece together what had just happened. Since they had not got a script ready, the presenters were just ad libbing. However, after a while they did start to pull it together a little and soon had some so-called specialist to interview, which quite frankly, without all the facts, were spilling out drivel. I also warned everyone that they were bound to interview some real nutters at some time, and whatever they said, they should not to be offended.
Rachael did not waste any time in contacting our aunt and uncle. I left her to it as she could now tell them almost everything about her new life. I turned to the family saying, ‘‘Can you guess who will be on the front page of the papers tomorrow?’’ Most thought it would be me, I replied, ‘‘I am going to bet that it will be our Pooky or Yarkeli who they will focus on and I hope they are not rude about them.’’
Pooky just replied, ‘‘I am famous now, will I get fan mail.’’ We all laughed.
As the evening went on we were receiving signals directly aimed at us and trying to make contact; one in particular was coming from the USA and was very persistent. So, after pinpointing where it was originating from, we zoomed in to see. As I suspected it was originating from a military base. I declared that I was not speaking direct to any military personnel and that we were here for everyone on Earth. I said I would only deal with a civilian authority or heads of governments. The younger children had gone to bed and the older ones had discovered music TV and were in the entertainment room enjoying some Ibiza dance music of all things, while most of the wives and I were in the galley still watching the response to our presence. I was tucking into a bowl of soup when a strange man being interviewed was asked why he thought there were only females on the ship apart from the human male. He replied that they needed men and had come here to breed with us. I choked on a mouthful of soup but managed to speak up that he was one of those nutters I had warned them about. Before I could say anything, the wives who at first cringed at his suggestion certainly had it in for him. I had never seen them so annoyed at anyone. They were shouting at the screen, disgusted at such a suggestion. Alenna was very annoyed and it took her some time to compose herself. The wives took it that he was suggesting Alkarren women were immoral, which was seen as a shameful insult to them. I thought that this was just one more of the reasons why no more men from Earth would be allowed to go to Alkarr.
The next morning I needed to check if that phone had arrived, so I put the package number into the track and trace via the internet site. To my surprise it had been signed for the previous day; the government must have thought it was of utmost of national importance and went looking for it. Dead on ten o'clock I phoned the prime minister. It was answered by him in person and after exchanging pleasantries, I spent the next two hours discussing life on other planets and the way I now lived, even how I had come to live on another world. Then, came the important part. I had a speech to present to the nations of earth and I was hopeful that he could arrange for me to talk at the United Nations in the States. At this time I did not mention why Earth was being invited to join the Alliance, which was of course due to the Silka threat to the planet. I explained protocol as that was of utmost importance to Alkarrens. Alenna and the other wives would not want to be greeted with any contact from a male and similarly they would not expect me to do the same with a female outside the family unless it was a prospective new wife.
We came to discussing landing arrangements. I was pleased to see that he also thought the general public should not be excluded, for the rest of world TV cameras would be present. After explaining that our ship could easily land in one of the London parks it was agreed that an area would be fenced off. He was flabbergasted about the size and weight of our ship and wanted to know how we managed to get something that heavy to fly. I explained the anti-gravity, and that it was beyond Earth’s technology; however, if Earth was to become a member of the Alliance, then most nations would probably be given details about it. Finally, I informed him of another important issue, and that was that we would expect to be granted diplomatic status and our ship must be considered foreign soil during our visit. He agreed without any hesitation. As this first conversation ended I gave him a phone number that he could contact me on if needed and that I would phone him again in the evening anyway. I had used the phone number from my old phone as it was not too hard for me to program it into my pid with Alkarren technology then re-activate the number.
The news channels were, as expected, still talking about us and very little else, yet they had little to go on, relying totally on what they could speculate from our broadcast. A newspaper review had a picture of Pooky in a dominant front page position on at least three popular newspapers; one had the caption “The face of an alien”. Pooky did not seem bothered by that remark so we did not comment on it. I proposed an idea, saying to the others that we could set up a website or send some information to the broadcasters. Since we wanted to show the Alliance in a good light, it was decided; well, Alenna decided, so we went the website way as we could have full control over its contents.
Alenna, my sister and three of my other wives Jenna, Perri and Luka said they would set it up somehow; after all, we could hack into the internet and do almost anything we liked with the advanced technological know how we had to hand. However, we had no intention of disrupting the web; everybody had something they wanted to share with Earth…from pictures and music to stories and information on other worlds.
By mid-afternoon they had a basic site up and running. Rachael suggested a forum where we could have questions and answers; as it was her idea so we left her to administer it. I did not give it a second thought that the website would be so popular. We did not even have to email anybody of its presence because just as soon as we had it running it was discovered and in a very short time access to it slowed due to the high demand of hits. Rachael had so many asking questions on her forum that she had to be very selective in reading them…not to mention answering them. Now the broadcasters had more to go on and pictures of our cargo ship the Alkarren Princess along with the story of why I chose her as our ship’s name was one of the topics of the day, along with pictures and details of Alkarr.
The time had come again to call the prime minister. He had arranged to have a section of a park fenced off and it would be completed by early next morning. We mutually agreed that I would land the ship at noon, news that soon got about and it became apparent that large crowds would be descending on the park for a good view of our arrival. It was reported on the news that all flights to the UK had been fully booked and train companies had put on extra carriages, not forgetting coach companies that were also scrambling to take advantage of the demand to get to London. Rachael reported our aunt and uncle had been interviewed by government officials; their flat had reporters stationed outside, frantic to get any news from them. However, they only knew what Rachael had told them; apart from personal information, they could have got anything she had told them from our website.
The next morning we began to prepare for our landing on earth. Once again I contacted the prime minister to confirm the arrangements. We were to meet him on our arrival, make a speech and then three of us Alenna, Lara and I would go to Downing Street for our first meeting. This was to be with the heads of the most influential nation
s. We would also be provided with a chauffeured limousine for our personal use during the term of our stay, along with an all-female security party. We were going to need some hard currency. For this situation we had prepared in advance and had brought some gold, which I intended to exchange for cash. As for this limo, it was going to prove very useful in transporting us around the city.
Now I wanted to make a spectacular awe inspiring landing but I had to be careful as Alenna frowned on me for doing what she calls “fancy flying” and hated a show off; after all, I had my family on board and had to think of them. The ship for its size was very responsive so I had an idea that she would not consider to be too fancy, hopefully. It was now time to start our descent slowing our orbit and entering the atmosphere over the Atlantic, lower and lower keeping to the European side. As we approached the coast of the UK we were greeted with an escort of two military jets, but as I slowed even further they had a problem in that they could not slow down to our speed. As we passed over the Isle of Wight they were now doing circles around us, not only that I had descended to around six hundred feet so everyone on board could get a good look at various landmarks.
By now all the family were pinned against the bridge windows. All I could hear from them was ‘Look at that! What’s that? Oh, wow that’s lovely!’ Those jets would have been deafening for people on the ground as they passed over, but thank goodness it was not long before they left and were replaced by helicopters, still very noisy though. Lumi was sitting next to me in the co-pilot seat and said, ‘‘Are you going to show off with some fancy flying?’’ I hadn’t told her what I had planned as anything I said to any of the wives ended up with Alenna knowing. She would then forbid me. If I disobeyed her directly, all the rest of the family would side with her and I would be left out in the cold so to speak.
I just replied to Lumi, ‘‘I am not allowed to.’’ Although I did want to and did have something in mind as stated earlier.
We passed over a train making its way to London. Rachael explained to the children that it was a form of transport for humans. One of the daughters asked why they didn’t just fly to their destination as it would be a lot quicker. I heard Rachael comment that humans were a little backward in that respect; she was so right or course. As we got closer to London the green countryside made way for the urban sprawl of houses. This was the suburbs becoming denser as we approached our destination, and we could now see the River Thames in the distance. I headed towards the landing area and the helicopters were now some distance overhead circling us. I slowed and reduced height a little further. We were now creating a large shadow on the ground and could see people stop and stare up in amazement when they realised we were passing overhead. The girls were waving at everybody and in return were also getting many waves back.
Now as we passed over the Thames I pointed out the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Our landing area was now clearly visible, and then Luka said, ‘‘Look at the ground, its moving!’’ Which I then informed her was the huge crowds of people many waving their national flags. It was time for that fancy flying. I wanted to show off the ship but without drawing the wrath of Alenna, so I flew a circuit of the park banking slightly then came in at the wrong angle to where we had to land, spun the ship on its nose until we were parallel with the landing area then slid the ship sideways, hovering about sixty feet above the ground. I then opened the landing gear doors, which made a clunk and a pop sound as they opened and slid back before the landing struts appeared. We must have looked like a giant bug to the people watching below with all the struts posed for landing. I glanced to my left side at Alenna who was standing looking at me with her arms folded with a straight look. I lowered the ship ever so gently down with the softest touchdown I had perhaps ever performed, and at that point Lumi and I started shutting down ships systems. Without looking at Alenna I remarked that I had made a good landing. She responded only with a murmur, enough to make me think that I had got away with it on this occasion.
The three oldest daughters remarked about there being so many males and had spotted a group of young teenage boys. They started waving at them. Perri told the girls to stay away from human boys. However, Ellie wanted to understand why. Rachael informed them that they would end up with cooties, and they wouldn’t want that. Naturally they wanted to know what cooties were, so I informed them that they were tiny bugs in hair and the only way to get rid of them was to have all your hair cut off. You should have seen the horror on their faces at the thought of having their hair cut off. I looked at Alenna she gave me the look of approval at my comment even though she knew it was not true. Perhaps not so much a lie, but a fib in the interest of our children and the house honour. A close eye would be kept on the girls during our stay on earth that’s for sure.
It was now time to disembark and meet our reception party so we all went to the side door. After opening and extending the ramp we appeared one by one. The wives were more concerned about the number of men. On the other hand I was more concerned that there might be a so-called nutter that would wish us harm, but kept this concern to myself as I did not wish to worry any of them. We were now in full view of the crowd and in particular the media, television cameras were focused on us and every move we made. We proceeded to the podium that had been set up for us to meet the officials and to make our first speech.
I walked up to the prime minister who was waiting to greet us; one of his aides introduced him and his family to us. I shook his hand while the wives just bowed to him, but they did shake the hand of his wife whereas I just bowed to his wife. Now after meeting a number of his cabinet I was to make a speech to our world audience. I started, ‘‘Well you thought you were alone in the universe but as you can see you are not, there are many different intelligent species and nearly all are friendly. The exception to this rule are three races in particular. One still lives in the early industrial age, another that has progressed to the equivalent of earth’s medieval age and the third one known as the Silka.’’ At this point I was not going to tell them how much danger earth faces from them I would leave that for when I talked to the principal government heads later.
I changed the subject and talked about the friendly races and possible trade with Earth, medicines and cures for many non-viral ailments affecting the human race and of course advanced technology. After thanking the crowd for welcoming us I said, ‘‘I have been invited along with Alenna and Lara to go to Downing Street for a private meeting which I had accepted and I hoped to speak to you all again soon.’’ The rest of the family returned to the ship and closed the door; we were escorted to a limousine while the prime minster took another. Alenna and Lara had not been in a car before. Two females got in the front a chauffeur and a police officer, and soon we were on our way. Alenna and Lara found being in the vehicle and being driven along the highway quite exciting; both were observing everything as we drove passed. The streets were lined with crowds who could not get into the park; as we passed by they were waving enthusiastically at us. I remarked to Alenna and Lara that we were getting a very warm welcome. They both seemed so surprised that humans accepted them so quickly. I told them it was because they looked human. However, if they looked like Yarkeli and Pooky, it may have been a totally different story.
We were soon going through the gates of Downing Street. Apart from the media and cameras opposite number ten, the general public were being kept out. The car stopped outside, and the door was opened. We were then escorted inside number ten and shown into a large room. Lo and behold, seated round a table were the heads of the most influential governments on Earth. We were all invited to sit down. However, the girls were feeling somewhat uncomfortable in the presence of so many men.
Now started the expected questioning. First, they wanted to know how long the Alliance knew about Earth. Then, they wanted to know why contact had been made at this time. I was frank with my reply, stating that they had known of Eart
h’s existence for a very long time and that they had been contacted for a good reason. I didn’t want to scare you all but earlier in my speech I mentioned the Silka. I then explained about them and that they were heading towards Earth. I even projected an image from my personal communication device in three dimension. This alone scared them; some looked visibly worried. However, I told them that the Alliance was not prepared to stand back and see the Earth annihilated. At this point one unenlightened government head said that they could defend themselves, which made me laugh. I told them Earth was too primitive and that nuclear weapons would not be enough. Silka would take out their military capability from orbit, giving Earth no chance of retaliation.
I then went on to say that they should accept our offer, which was in their best interests. I had a speech to make at the United Nations to all the world’s leaders and they could decide how to move forward from there. So, I needed them to agree on a date within the next week for me to do this, which was met by a number of nods. I then said I would phone the prime minster later to confirm the date and time. The conversation and questioning continued. I was asked, ‘‘How is the structure of the Alkarren Government made up?’’
To this I replied, ‘‘It is totally democratic, one elected government for the whole of the planet plus regional administrations.’’ More questioning about the Alliance itself, which I replied, ‘‘Very similar one elected representative from each of the member planets makes up the council.’’ Alenna and Lara had said nothing at this time. Lara found it little hard to follow as her English was not that good, but had her translator against her ear. As the meeting ended the US president slipped me a note which I put in my pocket; we were then shown out and returned to the limo for our trip back to the park. I remarked to Alenna that she was quiet and had not said anything. She told me that she been impressed by my diplomatic influence.
Chronicles of Jake 1: My Return to Planet Earth Page 11
