Teardrops In The Night Sky (Steven Gordon series) (7 page)

Chapter 14

B
rian leapt to his feet and smashed his fist onto the table, ‘absolutely bloody not.’  He glowered at Howe, pain and betrayal shone from his eyes.

Howe was unrepentant, ‘listen to yourself Doctor, you
’re reacting like a father not a Scientist.’

‘Good God man I’ve just lost his mother and now you want me to risk my sons life.’

‘I’ve talked to him he’s willing to do it.’

‘You had no damn business.’

General Archibald decided it was time to intervene, ‘gentlemen please.  Doctor Gordon, no matter what else your son is, he seems perfectly capable of making decisions on his own and if I may say, he also has the courage to act on those decisions.’

Brian slumped back onto his seat, sensing defeat looming, ‘courage was the one thing that Steven never lost.’

Howe sat forward, ‘I’m sorry Doc but my instinct tells me this is the right way to go.  That ship out there is the only hope we have at the moment of finding your wife and we already know the only person it seems to have responded to is your son.  I promise I will never put your son in danger.’

Brian slumped, ‘God I’m sorry.  You
’re right.  It’s up to Steven, not me.’

The General shook his head, ‘there's no need to apologise Doctor; all of us at this table have a son.  We know exactly how you feel.’

‘I doubt it.’

It was the early evening before everything was ready.  Steven stood on the edge of the car park feeling his excitement build. 

Howe leaned over his shoulder, ‘remember don’t get to close.  Stop short and see what happens.  The last person to touch it got a very nasty shock, a shock like that might kill you.’

‘It won’t kill me Colonel, I can feel it.’

‘Maybe, just don’t get too close, there's no point in taking a chance.’

‘Ok.’

‘Right on you go.’

Steven had only taken a few steps, when the barking of a dog stopped him.  Rex had spotted him and had broken free from Greg.  He raced across the car park and almost bowled Steve over.

Steven laughed as he ruffled his coat, ‘hey fella, you missed me.’

Rex gave an excited yip in reply.  Steven laughed, ‘I’m sorry but the
y nicked all my doggie choc's.’  Rex jumped up and licked his face, ‘hey, you still wanna go on holiday to the Moon?’

Rex barked excitedly, ‘well you see that nice shiny ship over there?’  Rex looked towards where Steven was pointing, ‘well I’m just going to see if I can book
us a couple of tickets.’

Greg came running up out of breath and grabbed up Rex’s lead, ‘sorry about that Stevie.’

Steven laughed, ‘hey it’s just great to see you both.  I’m gonna go see if I can book us a holiday on the Moon.’

Greg laughed, ‘I’m sure as hell not paying for that sucker, good luck Stevie.’

‘Thanks Greg, see you later Rex.’

Rex barked a reply and Steven walked boldly towards the shimmering spacecraft.  Greg turned towards the astonished Colonel and shrugged, ‘told you.’

Howe sighed, ‘a holiday on the bloody Moon for a dog.’  Rex looked up at him as thought to say, ‘and’.  The Colonel just caught himself from answering.

Up in the control room Brian smiled at the byplay coming over the radio, but Brian Gordon was also a man of instincts and he couldn’t help the butterflies in the pit of his stomach that told him something was going to happen to Steven.

As Steven neared the ship his pace began to slacken.  He felt a force begin to emanate from the ship.  It was something that he had felt in the back of his mind for weeks now; suddenly it began to get stronger. 

‘Ok stop there Steven,’ his father’s voice cracked in his earpiece.

Steven stopped, but found it hard.  Then his heart skipped a beat as the ship suddenly floated free of the ground and began to drift towards him.  There was a collective gasp from the watching crowd that easily reached his ears.

‘Be careful Steven,’ his father warned.

Steven keyed his radio, ‘it's ok dad, it feels right.’

Suddenly the ship began to turn broadside and on the opposite side from the other ship a door slid open and a ramp came gently to rest at his feet.

‘Don’t go inside Steven.  Stay where you are,’ his father shouted in his ear.  Steven simply smiled, turned and waved, then preceded up the ramp.

His father’s scream was suddenly cut off as the ramp slid home.  Steven turned and realised that the door had closed behind him, but the smile never left his face. 

When he turned back he suddenly became disorientated.  He had no idea of which way was forward or back.  Confused he turned around and around.  Then the lights dimmed and a single light began to run along the wall in one direction.  The smile relit on Steven’s face and he followed it.

He could make out nothing; the walls were as blank as a plain sheet of paper.  He came to a dead end, but remembering the Colonels words he walked straight towards it and suddenly found himself on the bridge. 

The same blank sheen met him here.  He took a stroll round the room, running his hands over what seemed to be consoles of some sort.  He looked up at the curved roof and spoke.

‘Hello.’  He keyed his microphone, ‘dad
, can you hear me?’

There was no response.  The sweet smell of meadow flowers seemed to permeate the room and Steven began to feel sleepy.

He suddenly noticed a chair sat a little higher than the rest in the middle of the room.  His forehead wrinkled, he hadn’t noticed it before.  Going over he ran a hand over it.

‘This must be the captain’s chair.’  There was no response, but he didn’t mind.  He stumbled a little and felt very clumsy.  The equipment they had made him carry began to feel very heavy. 

‘It’s too much,’ he announced to the ship and began to remove his gear.  The Colonel had given him an MP5 and a quick demonstration on how to use it.  He had smiled at the Colonel, but didn’t really care.  That was laid aside first, then the helmet with the camera.  Last went the flak jacket with all its bits and bobs.

‘Do you mind if I sit in the Captains chair for a moment?  I feel really tired.’

There seemed to be no objection and by now his limbs had begun to feel like lead weights.  He had to force himself to stop from slumping down on to the chair.  Eyes became heavy and head began to nod.

‘Have I taken all my medicine today,’ he asked himself, ‘maybe it’s all the excitement.  He didn’t realise his speech had became slurred.  The seat felt oh so comfortable.  Without him realising it the seat began to tilt back until it was almost perpendicular to the floor.

A strange numbness began to creep up his legs.  His fingers began to tingle.  A silver tube snaked out of the seat and travelled up his leg.  It paused, the silver head weaving as though it was trying to locate something.  Then it stuck, piercing his clothing and flesh, its blunt snout piercing the femoral artery.  Steven’s eyes fluttered open for a second, but only a second.  In his last seconds of consciousness, he was sure he heard a gentle feminine voice.

‘Sleep my little one and I will take away your pain.’

Chapter 15

I
van Malcovich had been with the institute for ten years and was shocked to see one of his mentors dumped in the middle of the floor with blood pumping out of a hole in her shoulder.

‘Get a medical kit Ivan,’ shouted one of the men as he ripped open Mary’s blouse.

Ivan ran over to a pile of gear and grabbed a medical pack.  He handed it to the man, ‘here it is Dick.’

‘Thanks, we’ve got to stop the bleeding.’

Ivan looked away nauseated by the sight of blood, ‘oh my God.’

‘It’s not as bad as it looks.  Sales went mad and shot Mary, but she should be all right and we’ll soon have her in hospital,’ Dick explained.

‘No look.’

Dick paused for a second and looked to where the younger man's finger was pointing, ‘oh shit!  This is not good, Ivan you’ve got to go back there and stop Sales, tell him what's happened.’

Ivan paused for a second and Dick raised his voice, ‘quickly man.’

Ivan had run as fast as his legs would carry him but he was already too late.  The stench of the burned corpse began to invade the room.  Ivan gagged.

Sales turned on him pointing the pistol, ‘get out of here.’

Myers shoved him aside and strode over to Ivan, ‘what did you say?’

‘I said stop what you’re doing, we’re in outer space.’

Myers grabbed him by the lapels, ‘please tell me you’re taking the piss?’

Ivan shook his head, ‘no, I’m not.’

Myers looked back for a second at the body of his dead friend.  ‘Show me.’

Sales followed them through, but not before he had prised the drive coupling from the crisped fingers of the corpse. 

Myers and Ivan joined the others who stood and stared at the strange planet below.  The whole front section down to the deck had become translucent.

It was Myers who spoke first, ‘where the hell are we?’

Dick answered, ‘Saturn I think.  Who the hell are you?’

‘Myers, specialist engineer.’

‘Who do you work for?’

‘None of your damn business.’

Dick squared up to him, ‘don’t talk to me like that, now I want to know what you’re doing here and who you work for?’

Sales interrupted, ‘he works for me Bascome and that’s all you need to know.’

Dick turned to find Sales just inside the doorway clutching to his chest with one hand what looked like a burnt twisted piece of metal.  In the other he still held the pistol.

‘What have you done Sales, what's that in your hand?’

‘None of your damn business,’ he snarled back.

Dick smiled ironically, ‘I certainly hope it’s not a part of the engine of this ship Sales, because if it is you might just have stranded us in outer space.’

Myers scratched his head thoughtfully, ‘it is and I think we had better try and put it back.’

The gun came up into the aim, but by the way Sales hands shook it was doubtful if he would hit anyone, ‘I'll decide what to do and when to do it Myers not you.’

‘Look outside man, that pretty red swirly thing out there is Saturn and I believe all these boulders we’re floating amongst are its rings, I think we had better put it back.’

Sweat broke out on Sales forehead, ‘I told you Meyers I’ll decide what to do here.’

‘Then you had better hurry up because I don’t think were exactly equipped for a long space voyage.’

Sales look became feverish and his eyes darted to the supplies.  There were no meals but a ready supply of soft drinks and snacks had been brought aboard.  The gun waved at them, ‘back off.’

He forced the men to the other side of the room and hastily grabbed up what he could.  Emptying equipment bags he stuffed them full.  Myers winched as he threaded them over the drive coupling he held in his hand.  Keeping them covered with the gun, he retreated towards the door then made a run for the engine room.

Dick sighed and looked to the shocked Myers, ‘thanks.’

The sarcasm wasn’t lost on him; Myers shook his head sadly, ‘I’m sorry
, I never thought he would do that.’

‘So who are you?’

Meyers thought for a second considering his options, then realised he really didn’t have any.  ‘My name’s Andy Myers, I’m a specialist engineer and I work for very secret department within the Government.’

‘What kind of specialist?’

‘Technology, it’s my job to find it, recognise its potential and steal it.  When I’m not doing that I spend my spare time backward engineering the technology I’ve already stolen.’

‘No shitting?’

‘Nope.’

‘So what were you supposed to be stealing here?’

‘For once I wasn’t stealing anything.  I was order to work closely with the director of this project.  They told me this place was like the surface of a ball bearing and they were having difficulty recognising any kind of component.  So they sent me in to find something along with two of my best men.  One of which is now dead and the other is still in the engine room with Sales.’

Just then the missing man appeared.  Myers look relieved.  The man saw his boss and pointed back towards the engine room, ‘he’s lost it.’

Myers smiled sardonically, ‘well done Billy Joe, you got it in one.’

Just then Billy noticed where they were, his face fell like a brick and the finger swung round, ‘that’s … that looks like Saturn.’

Myers crossed his arms and cocked his head slightly, ‘two out of two, my God your sharp today Billy Joe.  Where’s your jacket?’

Billy Joe looked surprised at the question, ‘I took it off and covered Jacko with it.’

The look in Myers eyes changed, ‘thanks lad that was good of you.  Now what's that idiot up to?’

He shrugged, ‘I’ve no idea, he chased me out at the barrel of a gun and wouldn’t let me take anything.’

Myers nodded, ‘that sounds about right.  I think the easiest way to deal with him is to leave him be until the early hours of the morning.  He’s going to have to sleep sometime.  Then we’ll take him out.  If we lull him into a false sense of security it shouldn’t be too hard.’

Dick frowned, ‘you mean kill him?’

‘Look outside Dick, look at the woman on the floor, we’re a long way from home and he’s not only got a gun but he’s willing to use it.  How long do you think it will be before he decides we’re all better off dead?  One sleepless night should just about do it.’

‘No we can’t kill him.’

‘Why not, we have to get those food supplies off him sooner rather than later and once he’s finished them, how long will it be before he starts eating us?’

‘He wouldn’t do that.’

‘No! Did you see that look in his eyes?  I’ll bet that cookie will do anything he has to, to survive.’

Dick was trying hard not to acknowledge the sanity of the argument.  Then the thought struck him; he already had one body, would he, could he.  ‘How did your, man die?’

‘Some kind of power surge, it cooked him.’

His choice of words weren’t lost on Dick, ‘do you want to go and try and recover the body?’

Myers nodded, ‘we can try.  I know if I was in his position I wouldn’t want to be left with a corpse for company.’

‘There are rooms we can put him in.’

‘That would be great.’

The two men left but returned within ten minutes, a shadow seemed to be cast over their faces.  Billy Joe was curious, ‘did you move Jacko?’

Myers shook his head, ‘he wouldn’t let us touch him.’  Billy Joe paled.

Dick turned to Myers, ‘I suggest we go with your plan.  If we don’t
, Mary won’t survive very long.’

Just then the lights dimmed and a single light began blinking on a wall.  Warily Myers moved towards it.  He slid his hand over the light; there was no heat.  Then he tried running his hand around it.  It disappeared into a hole.  He cried out in shock and whipped his hand out.

Dick ran forward, ‘what's wrong are you hurt?’

Myers held his hand up; it was wet, ‘no, I think I found water, its cold.  Billy Joe fetch me one of those plastic cups please.’

Billy Joe got one from a stack and took it over.  Myers held the cup into the hole and felt it fill.  He retrieved his hand and sure enough it was filled to the brim with water.  He held it up in a salute, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

He tossed back a large draught before anyone could object, and let out a large belch.  They were all waiting breathlessly. 

‘Now that is good water.’

There was a spontaneous cheer, and Dick slapped him on the back, ‘this is great, now all we need is some food.’

Billy Joe pointed, ‘hey look another light just came on.’  Not to be out done by his boss, he marched over and shoved his hand in.  A small snack size green cube appeared in it.  The look on his face said it all, but Myers sardonic smile made up his mind.  He shoved it into his mouth and bit off a chunk.

Fear shone in his eyes as his mouth chewed mechanically on the green chunk.  Then his face underwent a strange transformation.  Dick was about to give a warning about swallowing, but there was no need.  Billy Joe spat violently and green pieces splattered onto the floor.

Myers burst out laughing at the expression on his face, ‘what's the matter Billy Joe, does it taste like shit?’

‘No damn it, it tastes like grass.’

Dick sighed, ‘well at least we have some sort of food and water.’  He looked around the room, ‘someone or something here knows the problems we’re facing and is trying to help.  All we have to do now is figure a way to communicate.’