The Feminist Queendom Charlie’s War 24 © Beverly Taff

List of Characters.

Charlie Sage Maths and electronics genius.
Shirley Sage Charlies elderly mother
Chloe Charlie’s one time early school friend.
Josephine Flint Surgeon and associate of Chloe’s.
Mrs Jane Anston Director of Anston Aerospace.
Ronnie Garage mechanic at top of lane
Pauline Garage owner, Ronnie’s sister.
Briony Pauline’s teenaged daughter.
Billy Pauline’s middle son.
Abigail (Abby) Pauline’s youngest daughter.
‘Poppy’ Charlie’s little micro-runabout.
‘Doris’ The armoured mobile home.
‘Lady’ Chloe’s Sports Car.
Dawn Charlie’s armoured space ship.
Colonel Wilson Vindictive misanthropist doctor.

Chapter 24.

“Good morning Colonel, good morning Lady Anston. Welcome to Canberra, Australia.”

The immigration officer was an expert at her game of making important ‘first-class’ passengers feel comfortable when confronted with the rigorous checks by the Australian border control.

“Good morning,” the pair responded as they presented their baggage for inspection.

The inevitable formalities were adhered to meticulously and Jane Anston thought somewhat officiously considering she still thought that Australia was an ally of the Feminine Queendom.

‘Still,’ she told herself. ‘These Australians were probably right to make sure that no ‘riff-raff’ or terrorists managed to get in.’

“So what is the purpose of your visit to Australia ladies?” The border guard asked as she flicked through their passports before scanning the chips.

“We’re here on government business, here is our letter of invitation from the Australian federal police.” Colonel Wilson almost barked as though she was addressing common military ‘rankers’.

“Thank you ladies,” the guard replied without flinching or showing any other signs of subservience. “I’ll just check these through the automated identity graphic.”

She took the letter and placed it under a scanner while typing in the reference number, date and Colonel Wilson’s full name. After a brief pause she looked up and smiled blandly.

“That’s in order ladies. Through that door is the government reception suite. If you’re being met, your host will be behind that door.”

Colonel Wilson almost snatched the letter back without even a ‘thank you’ but Jane Anston at least paused and smiled an audible thank you before turning and following the colonel. She deliberately walked slowly thus forcing the colonel to stop and pause at the indicated doors so that the pair could enter together. The border guard smiled as she watched the discreet pantomime. Then she closed her immigration gate as there were no more first-class passengers.

In the reception lounge an Australian colonel and Jane Anston’s personal representative for Anston Aerospace-Australia met them and led them to the waiting limousine. In the car, the Australian Colonel immediately got down to business.

“So you’re certain your fugitive is living in Australia?”

“We know he’s been living here Colonel. The DNA in your sperm donor banks matches our fugitive’s DNA. He could have left Australia but we have to start somewhere. This is the first decent lead we’ve had.”

“What crime did he commit? Can I see the warrant please?”

“He absconded from my company whilst registered as a reserved asset. We did not officially release him.”

“Release him? So he was under detention.”

“Not exactly.”

“What does the warrant say?” The Australian colonel frowned.

“Well; - there isn’t actually a warrant.” Jane Anston conceded. “It’s a letter requesting co-operation from the Australian government to assist in recovering our asset. It’s signed by our Prime minister and addressed to your Prime Minister.”

“Really! I’ve received no official notice of this, I was simply ordered to meet you and take you to whichever pertinent government officer you requested. Frankly, I was expecting a full inter-pol warrant for his arrest.”

“The pertinent government officer is your Prime Minister!” Colonel Wilson declared officiously.

“Her attitude did not impress her Australian counterpart but she nodded acknowledgement and ordered the driver to an address in the Canberra Capitol. The journey of a few kilometres soon passed and the pair found themselves inside the Federal Parliament Building. After a series of checks and searches, the pair found they were to be separated later.

“Ladies, the Australian Minister of Defence will see you both in about fifteen minutes. Lady Jane; the Prime Minister will see you later in the Lodge this afternoon at three pm, - alone.”

“Alone?” Why alone?” Jane asked.

“Apparently, our Australian Cabinet were discussing this very case earlier this morning. Seemingly, there are military issues to address and political ones; not to mention some legal ones. When you meet the Prime-minister she will have the attorney general and home secretary with her.”

As Colonel Wilson and Jane Anston took seats to wait, they frowned at each other.

“I see problems.” The Colonel opined.

“So do I.” Jane Anston replied. “I don’t like the thought of legal issues.”

“How so?”

“Well I know that the United Queendom and the Oceanic Federation have diverged quite a bit legally since the great upheaval. Men have more rights down here. For example there’s no curfew in the outback and the nocturnal constraints for urban men are appreciably less onerous.”

Colonel Wilson pursed her lips angrily as she began to realise she might not get ‘carte-blanche’ unrestricted rights to go searching for Charlie. She had come to Australia expecting a high degree of co-operation but the moment they had cleared border control she had sensed some reluctance amongst the Australians to reveal the whole truth.

Eventually, the door opened and the Australian defence minister entered in company with the colonel who had greeted the UQ duo. Colonel Wilson immediately recognised the minister as a transitioned female, and probably a forcibly transitioned one at that. Her broad shoulders and heavy facial features betrayed her masculine origins coupled with a partial male puberty before her intellect had been realised.
'Another intellectual 'late-developer', Colonel Wilson surmised.

'Her mother had probably decided for the child that it was better to transition late and enjoy the benefits of a decent education than be dumped into the universal, feminista cesspit of male brutism'.

Sometime between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, the minister was probably forcibly transitioned and surgically altered, most likely against her or his will. She was therefore quite probably still resentful about what had been denied to her through the detested castration. Colonel Wilson realised she had to tread carefully.

The pair stood up immediately as the minister entered and extended their hands in a guarded display of respectful pleasure that masked their true feelings.

“Minister! It’s pleasure to meet you.” Lady Jane Anston enthused.”

“Likewise I’m sure ladies. I haven’t got much time I’m afraid so to business.”

“Yes Minister. Have you been fully briefed why we are here?”

“I’ve been briefed, yes. But I don’t know how fully until we’ve talked. Now this fugitive your seeking. What’s his name and what’s his crime and, more importantly, why are you sending your own personal team to find him instead of leaving it to us?”

Jane Anston spoke first to close Colonel Wilson down. She had realised that Colonel Wilson might be a liability if the negotiations became sensitive.

“We’re looking for a man named Charlie Sage. He left our employment at Anston Aerospace whilst still in possession of some valuable commercial secrets and we’d like him to hand those secrets back.”

“Anston Aerospace? You’re the antigravity people aren’t you?”

“Yes.” Jane replied softly in a subconscious endeavour to play down the vital importance surround Charlie and his work.

But the Defence minister was a very sharp cookie. Not for nothing had she been forcibly transitioned as a late bloomer.

“So will I be right in thinking that your mission possibly concerns the individual who gave Anston Aerospace that technological lead. Is that the man your looking for?”

Colonel Wilson gave a pained look as she felt forced to concede ‘Yes’.

“So, can you describe his crimes for me.”

Jane Anston took out a carefully pre-prepared list of facts presented to look as serious and heinous as possible. The minister listened in careful, concentrated silence as she briefly jotted them down. When Jane had finished, the minister re-iterated them in the same order whilst commenting in depth about each supposed crime.

“One, he started working from home whilst still employing disused company equipment and tools, computers, machine tools etcetera.”

“Yes.”

“Did he hand over his researches to the company, and did Anston Aerospace benefit from those hand-overs?”

“Well; uuhm, yes, mainly.”

“The antigravity hover discs.” The minister asked.

“Yes.” Jane conceded again.

“Anston Aerospace have done extremely well out of that invention – discovery – call it what you will - - - haven’t they? Every hover-car in existence uses them, do they not?”

“Well, - yes minister, but - - -.”

“How was he rewarded?” The minister interrupted.

“Well, - his wife benefited, - - - from the patent rights you understand.”

“His wife! You mean he’s married.”

“Yes Minister, and we believe his wife emigrated to Australia some three or four years ago.”

“I seee,” the defence minister hummed and hawed. “Well, if you can give me her name and the approximate date she arrived in Australia, I’m sure we’ll locate her in the immigration records.”

Jane Anston was able to give most of Chloe’s details but of course she gave the minister Chloe’s married name - Sage. This initially caused problems with the search until Colonel Wilson suggested Chloe’s maiden name from her own researches.

“If she emigrated to escape our laws, it’s as likely she changed her name to hide her true identity. Try Chloe Evans not Chloe Sage.”

“Why would she want to escape your laws, - as you put it?” The minister asked .

“She struck me as a bit of a subversive." Colonel Wilson opined. "Getting married is deemed a somewhat bizarre and retrograde step in the United Queendom.”

Even as the colonel suggested subversion, the defence ministers hackles started to rise however, at that very moment she discovered Chloe Evans’s immigration file on her computer.

“Here we are Colonel, Doctor Chloe Evans, clinician with speciality skills in genetics. She came here nearly four years ago.”

“Brilliant! Where’s she living?”

“Hold on Colonel,” the minister replied as she studied further down Chloe’s file. “She taken out Australian citizenship. If she hasn’t committed any crimes, I’ve got neither cause nor authority to reveal her details. Let me study your extradition request again, I don’t recall there being any serious breaches of law.”

Colonel Wilson struggled to hide her frustration while Jane Anston reluctantly passed the list. After examining it the minister frowned.

“I doubt whether any of these activities would be called crimes under our laws. Everything seems to be legal. The name on the immigration application even matches her birth certificate and her old UQ passport.”

“But she didn’t declare that she was married.” Colonel Wilson exclaimed.

“She didn’t have to. Each immigrant is treated strictly as an individual, indeed, since the great upheavals a woman does not even have to declare if she’s married.
Besides, she arrived with all the appearances of being a healthy, single, professional woman. Just the sort of immigrant Australia is looking for.”

The defence minister flashed up Chloe’s immigration application and pointed out that there wasn’t even a box to declare any marital status because marriage had virtually ceased to exist. In Australia what few marriages that existed were invariably to be found deep in the outback where participants avoided societal pressures.

“Even if there was cause to go looking for Doctor Evans, we would be hard pressed to find her outback.” The Minister conceded.

“But if she didn’t declare her married status, isn’t that tantamount to deception.” Colonel Wilson whined.

“It seems she wasn’t asked and didn’t answer. Therefore she never lied. As I said, each immigrant is treated as an individual. If you want any further rulings on this, you’d best ask the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and the Attorney General when you meet them this afternoon.

Now as to the man in question. If he has entered Australia, and we’ve no proof that he has. He certainly wasn't present at the birth, because multiple births are carefully documented. We’d be very interested in meeting him. A man with the brains to understand gravity would be very useful to any country. Illegal immigrant or not. If I were you, I would avoid antagonising him at all costs, - if you want to get him back voluntarily.”

“But we do have proof he’s at least been to Australia. His DNA proves he’s the father of Doctor Evans’s triplets, - multiple births no less.”

“Those children could have been conceived anywhere if you say Charlie Sage is the owner and operator of the space ship that buzzes the International Space Station, - - - and the Asian Station for that matter. They might even have been conceived in space. – Now there’s a thought.”

The pair realised that they would get little more out of the minister and their quarter of an hour was nearly up. They asked the minister a couple more questions then they separated with little extra information except to confirm that Chloe Evans and her children were definitely in Australia and probably living in the outback.

The outback was a huge place comprising nearly two million square miles.

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