Davron
The Universe Is Not Enough Part 2
Gary Weston
Davron : The Universe Is Not Enough © 2015 Gary Weston
Chapter 27
'Earth?' Danders could see it clearly on the screen but didn't believe it. 'I can think of a thousand reasons why that's impossible.'
Davron said, 'I've no explanation. Other than that strange things can happen when we use Dark Matter to go F T L. I think I did mention that possibility.'
'I believe it's called serendipity,' said Akrins. 'I expressed a wish to return to Earth, which got kicked back by the way, and yet, well, here we are. Give or take a few million miles.'
'Three point six million,' said Davron. 'We are still on magnified imaging so it looks much closer.'
Belle reached out and grasped Davron's hand. 'What do you want to do?'
Davron looked into Belle's eyes and replied, 'We have no choice. Without extensive repairs we can't go to F T L again anytime soon. We don't have the supplies to go on indefinitely. Toby is right. We are obviously here for a reason. Serendipity. Welcome to Earth.'
'I'll set the new course,' said Danders.
Matlock said, 'But Patrick is still considered guilty of a bunch of crimes. Stealing this ship being only one of them. They also think he attacked Earth. They'll lock him up and throw away the key.'
'We can tell them the truth,' said Belle. 'They'll have to believe us.'
'Let's hope so,' said Davron.
Chapter 28
'We should send a message,' said Akrins. 'If they still think Patrick attacked them, we could get blasted before we are close enough to even think about landing.'
Belle said, 'He's right, Patrick. Let me call General Burns. He'll listen to me.'
'I should offer to give myself up,' said Davron.
'It wouldn't hurt,' agreed Matlock. 'Look, pal. Once we explain what happened, you'll be fine. Better than fine. You'll be a bloody hero.'
Davron sighed and said, 'Why do I have this feeling it won't be that simple?'
'You're understandably apprehensive,' said Danders. 'Shall we send a message?'
'In awhile. At the moment, I'm a free man. Please let me enjoy that feeling for a little while longer.'
Belle said, 'We have time. We're well out of range. You tell us when, Patrick.'
'Thanks. I appreciate your support.'
The Romulus was pushed along by the single plasma drive. The pretty blue and white planet loomed larger, and despite Davron's reservations, his heart felt lighter to be approaching his home planet.
'Half a million miles,' said Danders. She enlarged the image on the screen. 'Time to make that call?'
Davron nodded and sighed. 'I'll do it. Oh. It looks as if we've been seen.'
The familiar trail from a ship's exhaust powering through the Earth's atmosphere could be clearly seen.
'A welcoming committee,' said Belle. 'Patrick. If you don't make that damn call, I'll do it for you.'
'Ok. This is Patrick Davron of the Romulus. We're not looking for trouble. We just want...'
A face appeared on the screen. It was a man in a black uniform on the flight-deck of a ship. 'Who the hell did you say you are?'
'Davron. Patrick Davron. Can you see me?'
'Yes.'
The face vanished.
'I wasn't quite expecting that reaction,' said Davron. 'Surely they know who I am?'
'Did you see the expression on his face?' said Danders. 'Shocked, or what.'
Davron said, 'At the risk of sounding conceited, they should know who I am. How many ships like this do we have whizzing about in space?'
'Ask him,' said Danders. 'He's back on.'
'Hello. Hi. I'm Patrick...'
'Davron. Yes. You said. Who are your crew? I can see them with you.'
Belle decided to answer for herself. 'I am Captain Jasmine Belle of the World Space Authority. This was my crew on the Venom. Apart from Patrick, of course.'
'World Space Authority?'
'Yes. I assume...'
The face vanished again.
'Three hundred thousand miles,' said Danders. 'We could cut the engine and orbit for awhile.'
'That might not be a bad idea,' said Davron. 'He's back.'
'We will escort you to the landing pads. We have our lasers trained at you. The slightest indications of anything hostile we will destroy your ship. Do you understand?'
Davron said, 'No need to be unfriendly, Captain. We just want to...'
'Do you understand?'
'Perfectly,' said Davron. 'You'll get no trouble from us.'
'Good. Follow us in.'
The man in black vanished off the screen once more.
'I guess we follow that ship, then,' said Danders.
Chapter 29
The Romulus followed the ship through the atmosphere, then over a great city to the sweeping arid desert to the north.
'It seems oddly familiar but strange all at the same time,' said Danders, taking the ship into a slow moving position just thirty metres above the ground. The landing thrusters blasted clouds of dust and sand into the air. The escort ship led them to a series of hangers and launch-pads, next to a huge command centre. Three ships were parked on pads and they were all dwarfed by the mighty Romulus.
'None of this is as I remember it,' said Belle. 'I realise some rebuilding had to be done but this couldn't have been built in the time we've been away.'
'That pad seems to be reserved for us,' said Patrick. 'Set her down there, Liz.'
With minimal blips to the thrusters to manoeuvre the Romulus into position and then without the slightest bump, Danders landed the ship.
'No fanfare or fat bloke in a suit making welcome home speeches,' said Akrins. 'Is it something we said?'
The man in the black uniform came back on the screen. 'Your ship is surrounded. You will open your main airlock. A containment vehicle is waiting for you outside. You will enter this vehicle where you will find bio-safe suits. You are to put these on. Leave all weapons behind and have your hands in the air when you leave your ship. Any aggressive actions will be severely dealt with. Do you understand?'
Belle flared up and snapped, 'Just who the hell do...'
Davron reached out and calmly whispered, 'Shh! Don't make things worse than they are. Do as we are asked for now until we find out what's going on. Jazz? Ok?'
'Ok. But if somebody pokes me in the ribs with a weapon he'll find it rammed right in his...'
'Jazz!'
'I'll behave.'
Davron opened the airlock and they stood together on the edge, Muffin perched on Davron's shoulders. They stepped down, Davron turned, keyed in his personal code and the airlock door hissed shut behind them.
'Good luck figuring that code out,' Davron whispered to Belle. He raised his hands in the air and they all did the same, including Muffin.
Ten armed men in black uniforms stood at a safe distance, their weapons aimed at the visitors. A large blue vehicle was parked close by, the back door wide open. Two men in white bio-safe suits stood either side of the open door, both armed. Without further exchanges of words, Davron led the others into the vehicle and the doors closed up behind them. On benches secured to the walls were the white bio-safe suits.
'No fancy dress for you by the look of it, Muffin,' said Davron, putting the ape down on the floor. They dressed in the ill fitting bio-suits, pulling on the hoods with the clear plastic face panel. 'Hey. Does my backside look big in this thing?' quipped Davron. 'Sorry, Jazz. Just trying to lighten the mood.'
'A helium balloon couldn't lighten this mood,' said Matlock. 'We're on the move.'
The vehicle had no windows so they could see nothi
ng of the outside. A ten minute ride had them stopping again. They heard activity and doors being opened and slammed shut. The rear door opened and five men in white bio-safety suits armed with weapons called them out. They had driven inside a massive hanger and they were escorted to one end of the hanger to a series of rooms with a huge bullet-proof glass plate window. One door was opened and Davron was about to walk inside when a man stopped him. He had a discussion with the others regarding Muffin, who was holding Davron's hand. The second man shrugged and Davron and his friends, including Muffin, were allowed inside. The door was slammed shut and a key-code was entered to seal the door. A man minus his helmet stood looking at them through the window. He pressed a button on the wall.
'You may remove your Bio-safe suits. Sustenance will be soon provided.'
Matlock hammered on the glass in frustration. 'What the hell is...'
'Someone will see you soon.'
He looked at each of them in turn, then frowned at Muffin who blew a raspberry at him. The man walked away.
'Charming,' said Danders.
'I could think of other words to use,' said Belle.
Davron put his arms about Belle and kissed her. 'Hey. Nobody actually shot us which I find most reassuring. For now, all we can do is wait.'
Muffin tugged on Davron's arm.
'Hey, pal. Does it look like I'm packing food? If nothing happens soon I'll put a call out for room service.'
Muffin responded by jumping up into Davron's arms and blew more raspberries through the window at the vast empty hanger. It was probably a coincidence, but all the lights in the hanger went out, just two dim lights still on in the small room.
Chapter 30
There was no furniture other than single bunks secured to the walls. They were constructed of sheet steel and had no mattresses or blankets. Matlock was feeling under each of them in turn. In one corner was a tiny toilet room with a one-tap sink. Matlock was searching every inch of the rooms for cameras and microphones.
'Give them their due. They've hidden them well.'
'I'm not sure what they expect to learn by bugging us,' said Belle. 'If they just bother to ask me, I'd tell them what's been happening to us.'
Akrins said, 'What's with the bio-security? I haven't even had as much as the common cold in years.'
'Maybe,' offered Danders, 'There's been some kind of sickness here on Earth and they don't want to pass it on to us.'
Davron tried to stretch out on the uncomfortable steel bunk, gave up and sat on it instead. 'That's not a bad theory, Liz. Better than anything I can come up with.'
'Someone's coming,' said Matlock.
The main hanger lights had lit up, casting weird spectral shadows. Three people in the bio-safety suits approached pushing a trolley, two men, one woman. Only one man was armed. On a revolving serving hatch, the two unarmed people loaded it with sandwiches, fruit and drinking water. The hatch was revolved so the provisions could be reached inside the room.
'Hey. Why are we in here?' snapped Akrins.
The woman exchanged glances with the men but neither replied to Akrins question. Muffin picked up a banana from the tray and set to work on it. The woman smiled briefly at the chimp. Then the smile faded and she and the men wheeled the trolley away again, and once out of the hanger, the lights went out as before.
'At least they finally fed us,' said Matlock.
They ate, paid a visit to the toilet room, then selected a bunk each. Muffin decided to share with Belle and squeezed in beside her. Belle hugged him and kissed his head before they all drifted off into a fitful uncomfortable sleep.
Chapter 31
Sleep hadn't been easy, and it seemed to them that they had only slept a couple of hours when the clatter of the door being unlocked and opened woke them up. Muffin screeched loud enough to wake the dead and Belle held him to try to keep him calm.
Only one person entered. A young woman in a bio-safety suit. Four others with weapons stood just outside the open door, making it obvious that any hostile movements would be harshly dealt with.
'I just need a blood sample from each of you. Ladies first. You. Come here, please.'
Belle realised it would be no good to refuse. 'I demand to see General Burns.'
Ignoring Belle's demands, the nurse proceeded to take a small blood sample.
'Name, please.'
'You seriously don't know who I am?'
'Name, please.'
'Captain Jasmine Belle of the W S A.'
The nurse wrote that on a bag to identify the blood sample. 'W S A?'
'What?'
'W S A. What does that stand for?'
'I don't believe this shit. W S A. World Space Authority. Don't tell me you never heard of it.'
'Next please. Name?'
'Lieutenant Elizabeth Danders. Also W S A.'
'Thank you. Next.'
'Sergeant Dale Matlock. Reluctant officer of the W S A. That's the World...'
'Space Authority. Got that. Next.'
'Engineer First Class Tobias Akrins. W...'
'W S A. I see a pattern here. Next.'
'Patrick Davron. Definitely not in the W S A.'
'What? Couldn't make the grade?'
Davron grinned. 'Something like that. Would you be kind enough to mention to General Tarmin Burns that we are here and would most like to talk with him?'
'This monkey.'
'Chimpanzee.'
'He has wings.'
Davron said, 'Really? I never noticed.'
'I need a blood sample off him. Does he bite?'
'Not so far. But there's always a first time. Give me the needle. I'll do it.'
The nurse passed him the syringe.
'Muffin. It's ok, pal. This won't hurt.'
Muffin squealed as Davron took the sample which was handed over to the nurse. 'Name?'
'Muffin. He's with me. Not W S A.'
'You surprise me. He looks smarter than you. I'd have thought he'd have made the grade. He's also cuter than you.'
'Thanks. Nurse. You seem friendly. What's going on? Why are we being held here?'
'I'm just doing my job.'
The nurse walked through the open door which one of the armed men locked up. They crossed to the hanger door, walked outside and the lights went out.
'I'm thinking the results of those blood-tests determines what happens next,' said Davron.
Chapter 32
'Have they said or done anything to reveal their true identities and intentions, Commander Drakov?'
'Nothing of any use, Excellency. I believe that is a well rehearsed part of their plan to fool us into believing their story, Sir. The big one who calls himself Matlock, seems skilled and experienced in espionage techniques and is rightly convinced we have them under surveillance.'
'Don't make the mistake of underestimating them, Commander.'
'Of course, Sir. I believe their ship will reveal all we need to know, your Excellency.'
His Excellency stroked his beard and said, 'But you have not yet gained access, Commander?'
'Not yet, Sir. We are loathe to cut our way in or cause damage to the airlock door. That ship is valuable to us. I'm sure it is far more advanced than anything we have ourselves. But there are three trillion possible combinations to the airlock door. It would be far more efficient to obtain the code from the captain directly. We could exert a little pressure to persuade him to cooperate?'
'I'm sure you would enjoy that, Commander Drakov. I prefer more subtle approaches.'
'We could try truth serum.'
'You really aren't listening to me. Commander Drakov. This claim of his to be Patrick Davron. We both know that is quite impossible.'
Drakov shrugged and said, 'I was never fooled for one second, Excellency. This is why they are in confinement. It clearly is an enemy trick. Perhaps for all we know they are not beyond changing their appearance to fool us but one thing they cannot alter is their D N A. The blood is being analysed at this moment and the resu
lts are expected later today.'
'Good. Once the results confirm what we already know, these people will be viewed quite differently. I may well consider changing my opinion of which methods to employ on getting the information we need. Once we have established conclusively that he is not who he clams to be...'
'And we will, Excellency.'
'Of course. Carry on, Commander.'
Chapter 33
'This is ridiculous,' said Matlock, pacing the floor.
'Not quite what I was expecting,' said Davron. 'At least not for you lot. I can understand them taking it out on me especially if they still think I attacked Earth, but why you? You shouldn't be banged up in here with me.'
Belle said, 'We're back to that plague theory. Some biological disaster means they have had to confine us here.'
Akrins said, 'We're grown-ups. Why wouldn't they just tell us if there was a plague?'
'It must be something else,' said Davron. 'We have visitors.'
The nurse with her armed back-up pushed her trolley through the hanger as the lights flickered into life. She stopped outside the room at the end of the hanger and stared through the plate-glass window.
'I have clean clothing for you.'
'Stand away from the window and the door,' ordered one of the armed men.
They complied and the door was opened. The armed men stood in the doorway as the nurse pushed the trolley into the room.
'Just the usual one-piece coveralls,' said the nurse. 'Nothing for Moppet I'm afraid.'
'Muffin,' said Davron, warming to the nurse. 'Not a big lover of clothes.'
'He's cute,' said the nurse, but she was looking at Akrins when she said it.
'What's your name?' Akrins asked.
'April. April Golightly. I never quite understood why my parents named me April as I was born in October. Your name is Toby.'
'Yes. Yes it is. I guess my parents took a look at this ugly mug and thought I looked like a Toby jug.'
'Don't be silly,' said April. 'You have an ...interesting face. Full of character. And very kind eyes.'
'And you are very pretty,' said Akrins, still getting over the shock of a woman showing interest in him.
April and Akrins stared at each other, suddenly oblivious to the others in the room. Danders broke the spell.
'April. I hate to interfere with this magical moment, but can you tell us what's going on? We've done nothing wrong. When can we get out of here?'