being shown into the school buildings. They were singing, “Wesker, Wesker, as slippery as an eel, he sold out his people for the price of a meal.” What next? I thought as we were shown into the main assembly hall to applause from the children and staff. A little girl approached Freema presenting her with a bunch of flowers while at the same time a little boy presented me with a gift as a memento of my visit.
I thanked him and he then said, obviously unscripted, “Guardian John, are you and Guardian Kronos going to come together as one and beat the Kaytons?”
Freema gave me an anxious look as I knelt down so that we were the same height.
“Yes,” I replied, “Guardian Kronos and I are going to lick them and kick them so hard their feet won’t touch the ground until they land back on Tyros where they belong. Then we will put the lid back on them like a jack-in- a-box.” I snapped my hands shut to imitate the puppet being boxed up and then ran my hand through his hair as he and everyone laughed. The little boy then ran back to his school friends and we all took our seats to watch the children play xylophone-type instruments as well as singing and performing a short play, after which we had a drink and a bite to eat.
I remember someone once saying to me, “Do you like children, John?” I replied, “Yes, but I couldn’t eat a whole one.”
An elderly member of staff, looking at me and Freema, remarked, “Oh, don’t they make a nice couple?”
Another member of staff said to Freema, “Aren’t the children cute; would you like to have one?”
“Not for a few years yet,” Freema replied.
As the morning came to an end so did our visit and we bade the staff and children goodbye. They all waved as we boarded our Transport home. But just before we did, I noticed two little boys… would you believe it, they were both poking a dead rat with sticks and singing, “Drakos, Drakos, poke his eyes; make him cry until he dies.”
Charming, I thought, as Freema and I waved out of the car window. As we drove away I noticed one of the little boys who had no front teeth. I suppose, as the saying went, ‘All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.’ Anyway, he picked up the dead rat, holding it by the tail and said, “This is how Drakos will end up.”
We then made our way back to the training facility for my last full training session. If I thought I was going to get an easy last day, I was mistaken. She worked me like a dog to improve my completion time and the sweat was pouring off me.
“Come on, John! Come, on John!” she urged as I knuckled down to the task in hand. No more were those slippery, silvery, shadowy hologram men going to get the better of me, though, as I mowed them down with ever faster regularity. Oh, I was glad when break time came. I was so jiggered and hungry I could have slept for a week and eaten a scabby horse, as Josh, a friend of my mother, used to say. I remember when I was a youngster, my mother was wearing a wig – or whirly gig, as Josh called it. We were outside Leeds market when a gust of wind blew it off her head. Josh and his brother, Johnny, could be seen running down the road chasing after the wig, but every time they bent down to pick it up another gust of wind blew it even further out of reach. I couldn’t stop laughing; they reminded me of Laurel and Hardy. Eventually, after many attempts, they managed to retrieve it, much to the relief of my mother.
Another time, just before bonfire night, a group of children were sitting outside the pub asking people as they came out for a penny for the guy. Josh, with his brother Johnny, took the meaning of the children’s statement literally. Josh gave them the penny and then he and Johnny picked up the guy and ran off with it. The poor kids, who were completely gobsmacked, just stood in shock momentarily and then started chasing after Josh and Johnny, shouting, “Mister, mister, give us our guy back!” After a while they dropped the guy on the floor and the pursuit was over as the children retrieved their guy, holding on to it very tightly, never to be caught out like that again.
As we sat down to have our break, Freema said, “Well done, John. Remember, proper planning gets good results. You’re a soldier now.”
“I should hope so,” I replied “after all the hours I have put in.”
She laughed. “Now on a more serious note, John, on Tyros the Drones will be your deadliest enemy but once the rebellion starts they will be your best friends. If, for whatever reason, you get separated from Kronos and Adema, seek them out and stick to them like glue, especially if the Transdamping barrier is still in operation. You will instantly recognize the Vogarans from Tau Seti. They all have very noticeably deep blue eyes, once seen never forgotten.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” I replied in a somewhat more sombre voice as we finished off our refreshments before returning to our last ever training session.
In Parliament, events were starting to unfold ahead of the vital vote of no confidence that was about to take place. Commander Vadoran and Kronos took their seats in the public gallery to observe events as they developed. Both sides were lobbying right up until the last minute, as every vote counted. Even Horace was working his old magic. He could be heard saying to someone, “I hope the Prime minister can count on your support. I have heard your son is trying to get into the diplomatic service. It’s very hard now to gain admittance, but a letter of recommendation from me would go a long way.”
Hopefully the hint was taken; all the government ministers, including the Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, were busy lobbying right up until the Prime Minister entered the chamber. After which they all took their seats on their respective sides of the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister asked the chief whip how the votes were stacking up. He said it was still too close to call.
The Speaker of the House then said, “I would like to call the House to order to allow the Prime Minister to make a statement to the House before the vote of no confidence is taken.”
Rising to his feet, the Prime Minister began by saying, “Thank you, Mister Speaker. I would first like to confirm the Hellertrons have agreed to place their armed forces under our operational command. That should improve our overall performance and avoid a repetition of what happened at the Battle of Koresh. I know as well as you that Koresh was not just a defeat; it was a catastrophe with far reaching consequences for everyone, but hopefully now we have stabilised the situation. As for the offer of peace talks by the Kaytons with no pre-conditions, my answer is no. It is obvious they are trying to split us from our Hellertron allies. I would rather be taken outside right now, put against a wall and shot than negotiate with those gangsters. The only terms I will accept from the Kaytons is unconditional surrender, after which my first act would be to set up a War Crimes Commission to prosecute those responsible for committing war crimes against the Hellertrons—”
The leader of the opposition then stood up, interrupting the Prime Minister. “Do you know we are losing ten thousand boys a day on the various battle fronts? We cannot carry on like this for much longer.”
“Order!” the speaker shouted.
The Prime Minister continued. “Yes, I do know and not a day goes by when it does not weigh heavily on my mind but I think we would be betraying their sacrifice if we abandoned the Hellertrons to their fate and made a separate peace. And what sort of peace would it be? We would end up as a vessel state of the Kaytons in their so-called Greater Galactic Prosperity Sphere—”
The leader of the opposition interrupted again. “Has the Prime Minister seen the newsreels from Tyros of the victory parades through the streets of their cities? They have even declared a three-day national holiday to celebrate their crushing victory.”
“Order!” the speaker commanded. “I will have order in this House.”
Again the Prime Minister continued. “Have faith, my learned friend. One day there will be a holiday in our street, too. I do believe we will win through in the end… in fact, of that I have no doubt. I know the Solaran people would never forgive us if we made the wrong decision. But in the end it is up to this house to decide what path we take.
The decision is yours and yours alone. I rest my case.” The Prime Minister sat down momentarily as applause and cheers rang out from the government benches and derisory jeers from the opposition benches.
You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as the vote itself took. The members of parliament filed past the speaker to cast their respective vote. For some it took an eternity and to others it was over all too quickly; it was all in the eyes of the beholder.
At last the votes had been counted and the result was about to be announced. The speaker rose to his feet. “The result of the vote is as follows: all those in favour of the motion of no confidence, three hundred and forty eight. All those against, three hundred and fifty two. The no’s have it by a margin of four votes. The motion is defeated.”
Enthusiastic and ecstatic cheers came from the government benches while nothing but despondency and disbelief emanated from those of the opposition. The leader of the opposition could be seen storming out of the debating chamber in disgust, accompanied by his entourage. The Prime Minister breathed a sigh of relief at yet another hurdle being overcome, but tiredness was now starting to creep in, for he had to contend with one problem after another. Nevertheless, an important victory had been won. The