‘I think that we as a family felt that we had to keep apart from the rest of the community. It also felt as if everyone was not afraid of us, but were careful not to get too close to us. That we may not be good to be beside, if we were ever called on. What we find sad is that when The Watcher here took the family to planet Earth they, for the first time, managed to integrate in society and build a normal life for generations, so I am told. They were allowed to live a normal life, without being prejudiced for something they know nothing about. Sadly no one around them was able to do anything to help and even sadder, we have lost a son and daughter and Velchin has been captured. I know as such they may different people, but we have lost three family members because someone has tried to be clever and use our family as a deterrent. I know that I might sound bitter but I am not really, I am just saying what we feel.’
‘We are hoping that if we can all get through this, you may be able to start to live a normal life’ Baram says in response. ‘When we got together, as I have said before, we concentrated on our defence system. We are not naturally aggressive, so we needed something to fit our personalities. We also have discussed why this experiment was set up in the first place. We believe that it has nothing really to do with setting up a new colony of a specific people. It was more about setting up a safe place, separating us from the ones on Velchitta who were going to change how things were there. The question arises as to who is responsible for setting this up. There we have been unable to conclusively agree and prove who it was that set it up. We know the Wise Soul was originally in charge, but he doesn’t know where the instruction came from. There is no trace back factor in the instruction. It was just there to be actioned, so that is what he did. If you can go now to the door you will be hooked up to see if we can track that information, using our systems directly connected to you’ he says aiming this at the Wise Soul. The Wise Soul leaves them for a time.
‘So what can you tell us about George and Cassie?’ The Watcher asks of the trio once The Wise Soul has left them. George and Cassie have puzzled looks on their faces.
Baram looks to his right side at Melde. Melde nods and takes up the baton.
‘It is interesting that you ask us that. You are of course presuming that we have information about things that we should really have no way of knowing them.’
‘I agree, but you have already told us things that without outside communication; only leave two options as an answer. Firstly that someone is feeding information to you from without or within your numbers. That in itself raises other questions about communication links and how safe it is to be here. Secondly that one of your number is something far more than they are letting on. That too can raise further questions, possibly involving The Keeper and me. That is to say if The Keeper we know, is actually The Keeper!’
‘I agree with everything you say. These are all areas we have discussed and investigated. We have isolated people and grouped them together. In the end we gathered everyone together and they were all accounted for, that being the number we know about. We did a number of exercises which would have been impossible for any individual to pre-empt. What we found was that we are being fed information, but very definitely from a source outwith our own community. We do not know the source of these answers, but we have been told things that no one here could possibly have access to.
CHAPTER 51 VEE AND BAR
Vee realises that something has gone wrong. No sooner has she turned round to go back for the third piece, than she hears the sounds of the dogs approaching. Although she can see a little of the outside, she can’t actually see Bar or the piece he has taken out with him. She is unwilling to try to close the chute in case Bar gets the opportunity to make a run for it, back in to the relative safety of the ship. She does not want to move the piece by the chute either, as it might make a noise and attract attention to her presence too. She stays close to the entrance, but not too near, in case she has to retreat. She can hear the soldiers arrive and what they say. She has to assume that Bar has decided to shut down for now.
Time goes by and nothing seems to progress. She knows they have found the chute when she see a shadow come across it, followed a few minutes later by the earth being dug away and by something being put in the opening to stop it closing. That too is followed a while later by the light being shut out completely, when they place a sheet of metal across the entrance. Now Bar will not be able to get back in anyway. She decides that it is safe for her to move the second piece back into the ship. She knows that even if she makes a slight noise it is unlikely that it will travel outside.
What she also decides to do is close off each doorway between the chute and the parts room where they built the vehicle parts. After doing that she goes back carefully towards the chute, to see if she can get an update on what is happening outside. The steel sheet is still across the opening. She decides that as she can’t help Bar, she will go back through the parts of the craft she can get to and see if she can get together enough materials to rebuild a replacement section to the one they have lost. There is little doubt in her head that that part is lost. Very possibly too she has to assume and plan that she may well now be on her own. Before she looks for the parts, she does a detailed search of the craft, to see if there may be a possibility that there is some other exit she might be able to use. She knows from the plan and design of the craft that there is not. Any exit that might have been available for use at one time is now part of the molten lump that lies above her. Unfortunately they have done too good a job when they applied the heat of the burners onto the craft in the mound. They might be disappointed to find out that the job was not completely done. They have done a job sufficient to destroy the technology of the craft and that had been their goal. The other option she considers is, whether she would be able to cut a way through the shell of the craft. But although she could work with smaller pieces; that would require a laser of industrial strength to cut or even make a hole in this type of metal. It is also unlikely that she would be able to get up sufficient heat to melt a hole in the shell.
That doesn’t dampen her enthusiasm and belief that she will be able to get out of here. Whether she will be able to take the risk of getting the vehicle parts out without detection is another matter. She sets about her task of reviewing what she needs to replace the lost piece and starts to trawl for anything that she can use.
The bomb disposal team arrive. They send their remote explorer to take a closer look at Bar. Bar decides it is time for him to make some form of contact. It will be no good to him if they decide from his electronics that they should do a controlled explosion on him. He is convinced that it won’t take them that long to realise that he has no receiver, so he can’t be a remote control device. He knows that is what they are thinking so far. Before that thinking changes, he needs to let them know he is under his own control. Where that will lead is only something that he will be going to find out.
The army remote vehicle is nosing around him. They have already moved the piece of the vehicle away from the scene. It is quickly identified as a harmless part of something bigger. All Bar has to do now is decide how he is going to switch on, without causing alarm and possible over reaction when they see him activate. He waits until the remote vehicle is close to his head. He is aware of the camera on his face. He opens his eyes and winks at the camera. He remains still, as a shout goes up as his movement is noticed. Bar transmits his words.
‘Please do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm whatsoever. I am about to switch on my motion system and will be able to move again.’
‘Stay where you are’ Bar hears in response to that.
‘I will switch on my systems but not move. If you then direct me to where you want me to move to; I will obey that instruction.’
‘Withdraw the remote. Please wait until we do that, so we have clear sight of you.’
‘I will’ Bar responds.
It takes a few minutes while they withdraw the remote and a circle of soldiers, some in veh
icles, prepares for Bar to switch on and move away from the craft. They clear a circle on the ground and when they are ready, give Bar the OK to switch on. They then ask him to move very slowly across to the circle. All eyes are on him as he moves on all four legs to the circle where he stops in the middle, waiting for their next move and request.
CHAPTER 52 MARIO & TZ
They take their places in the comfy chairs. They are arranged in a loose circle with Ma sitting next to Buzz, then TZ, Mario and then Maria next to Ma the other side.
‘It looks like what we have been waiting for has just arrived’ Buzz opens with. ‘Ma said it would happen soon and then right on cue, you two come and ask about a way overpriced armored truck that isn’t even what the picture says it is. So many people have sent us comments telling us that the picture aint what we are advertising for sale. Ma said to do it like that and it looks like Ma knows how to fish.’
Mario and TZ are lost at the words and it takes them a couple of minutes to work it out.
‘Oh right’ Mario eventually says followed by ‘but you still expected us to come along with the dollars though.’
‘Well the point is we are going to need us some dollars to get things going. Ma reckons that about $12000 should be good enough to start to do what we want to do. You know, to get some more ammunition for what we plan to do.’
‘Well we have brought along some cash’ TZ says ‘we were hoping to negotiate the price down with a little persuasion.’
‘I’ll bet you were’ Buzz says in her direction with a smile. ‘I’d be open to a piece of your persuasion.’
‘Buzz’ Ma says sternly and he sits back in his chair. Ma continues ‘We knew the timing was the right one, when we saw the pictures on the news channels. The problems they have had in England and now it is spreading to Europe. We knew it would come here too. We have people ready, but we have to feed them some cash so they can get enough ammunition. The more money we have the more we can arm people. We will send the money by Western Union. That way they can pick it up quickly. What way are you going to plan that we start?’
Mario and TZ are quiet at this. These people seem to be much more prepared than they are for what is to come. They have believed up to this point that they were going to be doing something on their own. That appears to be a grave misconception. In fact these people seem to know what they want to do. All Mario and TZ had known was that they had to do something. To do that something they have been led here to buy the truck. While TZ is going over this in her head, she feels an energy coursing through her. She opens her eyes to look around, but no one is looking in her direction. The energy keeps flowing, so she keeps her eyes shut, until she feels there are eyes on her. She opens her eyes again to find Mario looking at her. She can see immediately that he hasn’t had the same thing happen to him.
‘What we need to do is see exactly what you have at your disposal’ TZ suddenly springs to life and leans forward in her chair. Ma is the first one to react with a big smile. It is not a nice smile, but rather one of someone who is going to get what they want at last.
TZ takes control of the situation, while Buzz goes off to get some paper and pens for them all. The look on Mario’s face is one to behold, as he has never seen his sister in such a dominant mood. They unload their cash onto the table, while Ma goes to get out what she and the family have put away for this day.
When Mario and TZ unload their packs, they are surprised to see that their savings have grown by what looks like another twenty thousand dollars each. When count their fortune, it amasses to more than $50000. TZ seems to take it in her stride, as if she has expected it to be there. Mario is getting more confused by the minute. The money has multiplied while in his pack and his sister has turned into a different being.
‘I knew that would be there’ she announces to Mario before he even voices his thoughts. Beside him Maria is nodding too. Mario notices her action and turns to look at her. She points at her chest, as if saying that she knew it too. Either that or maybe she is saying that she is responsible for it happening.
Ma comes back with her bag of money. Her face is in shock too.
‘I don’t know where this came from, but we seem to have a lot more cash in here than we had before, when I last put some in. Look, here is my tally. You can see I have $50000 more than I had before.
‘We have $50000 more too Mario says’ still trying to catch up.
‘We have been given what we need, to do what we have to do.’ TZ says. Maria is still nodding away that she knows this too. TZ looks across at her and she knows straight away that Maria has had the energy stream too.
‘You felt that energy didn’t you Maria?’ Maria nods enthusiastically back at her. ‘Things now just make sense in my head and I know things I didn’t know fifteen minutes ago.’
Maria nods again reaching for a pen and paper Buzz has just brought back.
‘This means that we can do it all rather than a half-hearted approach. This way we will be able to produce something that everyone will remember. We will be able to change the way this country of ours is forever. I will be able to get my people to stand up and fight for what is rightfully theirs. We will be able to give them their pride back. They have been waiting for a day like this to come.’
‘I thought they had outcast you. They won’t listen to you.’ Buzz says.
CHAPTER 53 SPIRIT
During the attack, Spirit and his craft have wound and zig-zagged their way further from the planet; and Luvus in particular. As the last of the missiles explodes into nothing, the craft turns to face Luvus again. The pellets that have exploded against the side of Luvus appear to have made minimal impact on the shell. Certainly they have not damaged it to the extent of not being able to send out more missiles. Spirit can see this, as a small craft exits Luvus and hovers around the outside of the area the missiles were launched from. His sensors pick up that the launch doors are opened and closed several times while this craft hovers over. No missiles are launched.
This tells Spirit a few things of note. Firstly, that Luvus is occupied, although exactly by whom or what he cannot be sure. Secondly, that it is likely there is a further supply of missiles that can be launched against him, although they have deemed it not appropriate to do so just yet. Thirdly, that whoever is down there has taken the assumption that no visitor is a friend and they are quite willing to be the aggressor, whoever the visitor is.
This raises his expectation that there is something really worthwhile protecting down there. That raises the possibility that The Keeper is there. Now if that is the case, obviously he has to be really careful in what he does next. In his experiences so far, he is highly unlikely to be able to go down there and knock on the door to be let in to save The Keeper. Getting this far has been one thing; how he approaches the next bit of his task is something else altogether.
The craft hovering outside Luvus finishes its task and retreats inside again. Spirit sits and waits as he retains his position about a thousand miles away. He is expecting some sort of communication and dialogue, but after three hours wait he is to be disappointed in that. He tries all the communication channels he has at his disposal, but fails to get a response from any one of his messages.
Suddenly the hovering craft exits Luvus again and makes a circuitous route towards him. It isn’t in any hurry and at least is not firing in their direction. Spirit enables the defence cone and a defence shield around the craft. Maybe there is going to be some attempt at communication, but he doesn’t want to take the chance of more undefended aggression. Nor does he trust any actions not to be aggressive, until such time as it proves not to be. The craft slows down and approaches him from the front. It is very small, only being large enough to fit one person although it tapers down behind the occupant. No doubt that is where its propulsion system is.
Spirit zooms in on the occupant. He is not surprised to see an android at the controls. Both arms and hands are clearly visible to him, but that does not mean an attack cannot be l
aunched by other means. The craft stops with maybe still a mile between the two craft. On screen in front of Spirit a message appears. Spirit sees it appear, but is loath to remove his eyes from the craft. He asks his system to vocalise the message.
‘You are not welcome here. This planet is not on any permitted route; nor is anyone supposed to be in this quadrant. You have overstepped your authority by coming here and we advise that you retreat, while we still consider it right to allow you to leave.’
Spirit thinks about the message. He has managed to nullify their unprovoked attack on him and his craft. That is obviously not how they are viewing it. By launching the missiles they were trying to destroy him and not deter him from landing. That is not to say that they don’t have more powerful weapons in their arsenal, but it appears strange not to use them if they have. He thinks a little more before voicing his reply for his system to send back on the same channel.
‘I have authority to go wherever I need to go in this Universe. Whatever you may think about me being permitted or not to be in this quadrant, I am here on a mission. I will complete that mission. When and only when I am ready to leave, will I do so. I take your aggression as an act against the Universe. I will land on Luvus and fulfil my task.’
‘Who said this place is Luvus?’ comes back an immediate reply.
‘It is and this is the place I have been sent to. Now escort me back to Luvus and I will talk to your people about why I am here.’
There is no reply from the craft to this response, but it does a flip turn and races away from him back towards the planet. Spirit is wary of following as there has been no invitation to do so. Even if there had, he would have been wary, as it could be a trap to get him close enough to launch a multiple missile attack plus other things at him. He decides to stay where he is and watch where the craft goes. It approaches Luvus and then zips inside as it had done before.
The Grand Master Page 15
