the Prime Minister, not Parliament.”
“Sounds a real charmer,” I replied. “I will give him a piece of my mind when I see him.”
“I wouldn’t cross him if I were you, John. He makes me seem like a pussy cat.”
“Oh well,” I replied, “forewarned is forearmed.”
“If that is everything, John, I think it is time we made a move. We cannot keep the Prime Minister waiting. Just instruct your Guardianship to Transport you to the cabinet room of the Prime Minister on Sontral. He will do the rest and I will meet you there.”
I followed his instructions to the letter but I waited for Kronos to go through first. I hesitated momentarily but then succumbed to the inevitable, stepping through the portal and into the unknown, wondering as I did so whether I would ever see Earth again.
Seven
Emerging from the portal, I was now on another planet many light years away from Earth and, for the first time, had travelled off my own world. I was now on Sontral, capital planet of the Solaran Commonwealth and centre of the resistance to the Kaytons. My arrival was a few seconds after Kronos, who had an anxious look on his face, probably wondering if I had changed my mind at the last minute. No such luck; I was here for the long haul. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have preferred to be at home, being a live coward rather than a dead hero. As the old saying went, ‘If there is any trouble I will be right behind you, a long way behind you. I will be there when the first shot is fired but I will be back home underneath the bed by the time the second shot is fired.’ I remember when I was a child, I used to hide underneath the sofa when the doctor paid me a home visit. It took all my mother’s ingenuity to coax me out, calling me a little scamp in the process. Who would have thought it, though? Me, of all people, now standing in the Prime Minister’s cabinet room. Looking around, it did not look that much different from ours in Downing Street. It was maybe a little more futuristic with the metallic table and chairs but apart from that they were more or less the same.
“So you made it then,” Kronos said. “I thought you might have had second thoughts.”
“No, I was just testing you,” I replied. “Anyway, all the best things are worth waiting for.”
“Definitely not in your case,” Kronos said in a somewhat sarcastic manner.
I thought, well, it’s always nice to be wanted.
At that very moment, the door opened and three figures filed in, walking towards me and Kronos.
“John,” Kronos said, “I would like you to meet the Prime Minister of the Solaran Commonwealth.”
“Welcome to Sontral, John,” the Prime Minister said as we shook hands. “I want to thank you on behalf of the Solaran people for joining us in our fight against the Kaytons and agreeing to take part in the very dangerous mission on Tyros with Kronos and Adema, our deep cover agent, who is already preparing the way for you both as we speak.”
“It is an honour to meet you, Mister Prime Minister,” I replied. “I’m glad I can be of service and I hope your faith in me will be justified by the successful outcome of the mission.” Well I thought I had better lay it on a bit, I mean it’s not every day you meet a Prime Minister.
Next, Kronos introduced me to Professor Zinnerman, head of the scientific directorate of the Solaran Commonwealth and chief advisor to the Prime Minister on scientific matters.
“How are you, John?” the Professor said. “It is good to have you on board.”
“Nice to meet you,” I replied. “I have never met a real live professor before.” I couldn’t help staring at his pretty little dickey bow and tweed jacket.
“And finally, John,” Kronos said, “I would like you to meet Commander Vadoran, head of S.I.S., the Solaran intelligence service.”
“Good to finally meet you, John,” the Commander said. “Kronos has told me such a lot about you already. Of course, I would like to learn more. I will debrief you in full once you have had a chance to settle in.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Commander,” I replied. “I am looking forward to having a nice long chat with you.” As I surveyed this tall, dark-haired well- built man dressed in black, he looked just the sort of man you would not want to meet in a dark alley late at night.
“Right, John,” the Prime Minister said, “Professor Zinnerman and I have a meeting to chair so I will leave you for now in the capable hands of Commander Vadoran and Kronos. I will speak to you at length tomorrow.”
“I look forward to seeing you then,” I replied as the Prime Minister and Professor Zinnerman hastily left the room to attend their pre-arranged meeting.
“There is just one more thing I would like you to do,” Commander Vadoran said, “before you are shown to your quarters to retire for the evening.
“Commander?”
I would like you to accompany me and Kronos to the research facility to meet Chris the scientist. Chris will attempt to break the Transdamping barrier and Transport you and Kronos to the surface of Tyros in a few days’ time. Chris would like to take some readings from your Guardianship so that he can assimilate the information into his own calculations.”
“Of course,” I replied. “I would be glad to help out.”
All three of us then left the cabinet room, proceeding through an exit door and then down some escalators to an underground railway platform where we boarded a train to the research facility. We arrived after only a few minutes, although for me it seemed an eternity as I struggled to come to terms with everything that had happened so far. Only a few minutes’ walk from the station and we were in the research facility proper.
“This is Chris,” Kronos said. I shook hands with a tall, thin guy wearing glasses.
“Good to meet you, John,” Chris said.
“Likewise,” I replied.
“And last but by no means least,” Chris said, “I would like you to meet my assistant Alana.”
She must have been several years younger than him. “Nice to meet you, John,” Alana said.
“Nice to meet you, Alana,” I replied. “You are the first pretty face I have seen since I arrived on Sontral.”
She smiled along with Chris and Kronos. Only Commander Vadoran kept a straight face. Somehow, I could not imagine him being the life and soul of a party. In fact, I thought he was the sort of guy that if you saw him in the street you would deliberately cross the road to avoid him. He certainly would not be on my Christmas card list. Mind you, I might have been on his hit list.
“Just the two of you, then,” I continued. “You’re going to break the might of the Kaytons’ energy barrier.”
“Yes, I hope so,” Chris said. “We have been working on this project for several years since Commander Vadoran plucked us both out of obscurity to fund my research in this field on Professor Zinnerman’s recommendation. Now John, with your permission I would like to take a few readings from your Guardianship so that I can incorporate them into my calculations.”
“I call him Kev,” I replied. “It makes him seem, to me at least, to be more like a person than a machine. Mind you, I still have not forgiven him entirely for conning me into becoming a Guardian.”
“Whatever makes you happy,” Chris said. He scanned Kev with his small hand-held device and then showed us all a short video recording of Kronos trying to break the Transdamping barrier. The white rotating disc began to appear and enlarge as normal but at full size it turned a murky, black colour as what I could only describe as white bolts of lightning flashed across the disc in rapid succession.
“You see what we are up against, John,” Chris said as he switched the video recording off. “Nobody thinks the barrier can be broken, but I know better. I think I have found a way to combine both your beams into one which, if successful, should punch a hole through the Transdamping barrier, allowing you and Kronos to Transport yourselves to Tyros. Now I have your readings I can begin to calibrate my equipment, hopefully making the attempt in the next few days.”
“No rush,” I replied. “Take your
time.”
Everyone smiled except Commander Vadoran, miserable old beggar, who said, “If that is everything, we will leave you both to carry on your work in peace with no more unnecessary distractions from us amateurs.”
“John must be tired,” Kronos said, “so we will show him to his quarters.”
We all bade each other goodnight and then it was back on the underground railway system. I had not seen the Sun on this planet yet; I was beginning to feel like a troglodyte, an underground dweller. Would I ever reach the surface and see daylight?
We arrived at our station in only a matter of minutes and after disembarking, made our way on foot. At first there were plenty of Commander Vadoran’s men to be seen but as we approached what for the next few days would be my quarters, there was not a soul to be seen. It was as if the section I would be occupying was completely sealed off from the outside world.
Kronos showed me around what I would be calling home for the next few days, comprising just a small living room, bathroom and bedroom. At least I had a television so I could watch the Solaran soaps in the evening in my free time.
“Very Spartan,” I remarked.
“And so it should be,” Kronos replied. “You are here to work, not live it up in five star luxury. I will bid you goodnight; see you in the morning bright and early.”
“And a good night to you, as well,” I replied as he departed.
Now that I was on my own with