Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

Part 7

---

Part 7
DATE:FC+6

For the project staff, a routine developed. The daytime was a mixture of work, music and walking in the grounds. They all tried to pitch in with the farm, but Emma told them to relax. In the evening, Tina, James and Sam would take the ship back to the factory so Tina could contact David.

Tuesday's evenings call though was different. When Tina got off the call, James and Sam noticed her demeanour wasn't the same as usual. She looked more resolute.

"What's up?" asked James, looking away from gazing around the ship room. It never changed as the room was still sealed from the rest of the factory.

"There have been developments."

"Good developments or bad developments?"

"Developments. I'm not going to explain to you and then everybody else," huffed Tina.

Sam laughed. Every trip they tried to needle some information. James punched in the coordinates for the farm, and they vanished.

When they got to the communal lounge, the team were waiting. Jenny always made sure she'd finished her piano lesson before they went, so she was prepared for them coming back.

"Tina has news," said Sam, as they sat down with the rest of the team.

"Two things. The second part, I may need to relay the answer."

"Okay," said Becky. "Start with the first part."

"The bodies have been removed, and the police have finished on the site. We can go back. The cars that were in the car park have all been damaged and are being repaired. Temporary cars are in the car park, with keys at the security hut."

There was a general feeling of relief that they could go home.

"And the other bit?" asked Ashleigh.

"The Prime Minister has had an invite to the alien council. They said she should come on the Earth spaceship. Are you okay ferrying her? It is 150 light years."

"We've only done a single jump into space, and we had an issue," said Evan. "We've only done small hops since. I think we should do some further tests before we take someone."

"We won't have communication. Heck, the furthest we may get a comms signal would be High Earth Orbit," pointed Liam.

"I think even that would be sketchy," said Evan.

"What about the new communications ideas you've been discussing?" asked Ashleigh.

"It's very early days," responded Evan. "We have been thrashing out some theories, but we don't have the equipment to experiment here. We won't have anything for months."

"So, if we agree to this, we won't be in touch while we are away," concluded James.

"And we've only done that single jump in space," reiterated Sam, reminding them what Evan had said, just in case they'd forgotten.

"How long will the jump take?" asked James.

"We've no idea," said Evan. "Liam did the previous space test. I'll do this one."

"We need to make sure we have plenty of spares," added Sam. "We've no idea if their tech is compatible."

Ashleigh smiled. It was just like them. They saw the issues, but they also seemed excited, seeing this as an opportunity for a long-distance test.

"Miss Thompson, if Ma goes to space, will you look after me?" suddenly blurted out Jenny.

"Of course," Ashleigh responded, surprised. "I thought you didn't want your Ma to go without you."

"I didn't. But I've travelled in Aurora, and it seems safe. It doesn't seem fair for her not to experience her dream because of me."

"It isn't a big ship," smiled Becky. "After all it is only the test article. With James, Sam or Henry, and either Evan or Liam, in the ship, plus the PM; that is going to be four people. There are four seats."

"Let's hope that's all that is going," said Luke.

"Well, if there is anybody else, they'll have to stand," said James rather tartly. That caused some laughter.

"Let me get this right, you are willing to do this trip?" asked Tina. In some ways she was surprised. They were scientists, not explorers. Yet they'd been through so much and never backed down.

"I have some conditions," said Becky. "We will need the coordinates where this council meeting is taking place. Also, a few days for us to do some space trials locally. I don't want us breaking down with a VIP on board."

"And that's it?" said Jessica, slightly surprised at them all. "You agree to take someone to a place that's about 1400 trillion kilometres away. No plan. No worry. You just agree to it?"

"Well, I did state some conditions," said Becky. "I think some extra testing is needed, but yes. Who else would take them?"

"I worry that you might be gone months or years," said Jessica, not ashamed of her feelings.

"I've been away for long periods before. Why are you worried now?" asked Sam, taking Jessica's hands.

"Even though you've been away, and sometimes out of touch, there were people that knew where you were. If something happened, I would be told. You are going away and if something happened, I would never know. I wouldn't know if it was just a long journey, if you'd been attacked or just got lost."

"So that we can get some timings, when we do our tests, why don't we do some going further out in the solar system. We can then see how much time gets added based on the distance," suggested Liam.

"Yes, but always from the base. It's pointless going out from our previous destination as each would be just small hops," added Evan.

"Doesn't your physics show how long the tunnel is?" enquired Luke.

"No. We know how to open the hole into the dimension and use it. At the moment we don't have a good understanding on what that looks like or how to calculate the length. And before you say we're being reckless; we are a bit. We know that. But rather like how countries went to space for fifty years without fully understanding the build-up of plasma. They knew the causes and mitigated risks, but they didn't really understand how to harness that until a few years ago."

Luke looked aghast, but the other scientist just nodded.

"It is the reason we spent so long testing the drive," said Liam. "We wanted to make sure it was predictable."

"And not set things on fire," added Jenny.

"Hey, we only had that one fire," protested Becky.

"We might have had another on the first space test," said Sam gravely. "That showed you haven't got it all perfect."

"That was a ship build issue, not an understanding issue," said Henry.

"Tina, no earlier than Friday," said Becky. "The crew will be James, Sam and Evan."

"When can we go home?" asked Jenny, snuggling up to her Ma.

"We have the ship to pack. That will take about an hour. It's going to be longer if Tina's zips back to relay the message. We could go tonight, or in the morning."

"It'll give me chance to strip the beds and put on some washing," said Ashleigh.

"If we leave tonight, I'll wait until we go back to let my contact know," responded Tina. "They have a cleaning service, so leave the bedding. I'll go let Emma and Paula know we're leaving. Jenny, do you want to say bye to Jay?"

"Yes," said Jenny, jumping up. "Perhaps they'll have some bags for our clothes."

"The bottom draw under the television unit should have some," responded Luke, having had many happy Christmas's in these holiday homes.

"It'll take me a while to drive back," said Becky.

"No chance," said Luke. "You'll fly back in Aurora. The mercenaries might be gone, but the people behind them are still around."

"Oh, how I love your reassurance," said Ashleigh sarcastically.

Tina's eyes travelled over the assembled people. They seemed to be ready to go home. "There will be two investigators joining us for a few weeks. I don't know who. It seems there is need of a teaching assistant at Jenny's school."

* * *

It was late when they got back. Tina was the first out of the ship and surveyed the shiproom. The lights were still on, as they'd been when they'd departed several days previously. It was the same as when they'd left. The exit was still sealed.

"I'm going to check out upstairs. Stay in the ship with the door closed," ordered Tina. "If you need to, leave. I'm going to be at least twenty minutes, may be more. If I've not returned in an hour, leave."

When she saw the ship was closed up, she undid the shutter. Slowly she made her way up the stairs. The door above was also shuttered. Carefully she opened it and made her way out.

The building was dark. Being remote, there were no streetlights, though she expected to see the car park lights, but it was dark. Tina pulled out her phone and turned on its torch. It lit up the area in front of her. The windows by the entrance were gone, with it boarded up. The glazier hadn't been yet to put that right. This was why she couldn't see any light. She looked around and saw bullet holes peppered across the walls. The floors were littered with debris, but no bodies.

Not wanting to cause alarm when she left the building, she phoned Jim. He was the head of nighttime security, and she knew he would be manning the booth.

"Hi Tina," he said, answering his phone.

"Hi. Just so you are aware, I've arrived back. I didn't want to cause you or George any worry when I exit the building. Is it safe?"

"Before you step out, I've been told to ask, 'What is the scariest place in the UK?'"

"Hyde Park," responded Tina. She had various places she could give, and they would denote different meanings. If she'd responded with 'Alton Towers', it would have meant she was compromised.

"Good to know," responded Jim cheerfully.

Tina went to the door and paused. To be asked a question like that meant there were other investigators there. She'd been told two were coming, but not who. They must be there already.

She pocketed her phone and made her way out of the door slowly. She made sure her hands were visible. Half expecting to be dragged out of the door, she was surprised to find there was nobody there.

She paused, looking carefully around. They'd obviously predicted what she thought they would do, and they didn't do it. Don't do the obvious. This was almost the opposite of what had happened when Lisa had turned up with Ash and Becky. Everybody was being cautious.

Tina slipped back inside. She wasn't happy. It could be colleagues, or it could be someone else. The code request was theirs, but could someone have overheard it and be relaying parrot fashion?

There was nothing special upstairs apart from the offices. The building security had sealed it, but there was no reason apart from stopping movement. She unsealed the door and made her way upstairs. She continued to the offices, and up through to the roof. This was an entrance that hadn't been sealed, and Tina made a mental note to get that upgraded for future.

She crawled to the edge of the roof, and taking her binoculars, looked out. The driveway had been cleared, though there was a pile of rubble to one side. She spotted the old gate flung over it. There was a new gate, and a new security hut. In it was George and Jim. Just outside she saw Alberto and Luca having a discussion. There was nobody else visible.

She took out her phone and dialled the office system. "Connect me to India-Six-Two" she said.

In a second, Luca took out his phone. "Si?"

"It's a good job I'm not a sniper," said Tina. "I'd have a very good shot. Since you two are having a chat by the gate, is all secure?"

"Why did you go back in?"

"I didn't see anybody, and I was a little spooked. I'll see you in a minute."

She made her way back downstairs, switching on the lights as she went. When she exited the front door, the two Italian men were waiting.

"What's your tasking?" she asked bluntly.

"To back up you and Luke. We've no idea what else. We were told that you would tell us."

"Fair enough. We are on babysitting duty."

They groaned. "Stop joking."

"Look around. Do you think I'm joking. Thirty armed mercenaries stormed this building, and I took the scientists somewhere safe. Luke swept up two that weren't here."

"Okay, so what's so damned important? We never get tasks like this."

"You saw the news about aliens?"

"Yes."

"You saw the bit about a spaceship capable of leaving the solar system? Well, that is what you're protecting. There are two bases. Here and a bit further north. Come with me. I'll introduce you, and they'll explain where they live. Two of the people went to the Manor but aren't investigators. When did you get here?"

"About thirty minutes before you rocked up. We just started getting the low down on the place from George."

They went back to the basement. The ship was there all closed up. Tina waved, and Sam opened the door.

"Who are the two new guys?" asked Sam.

"Oh, them. You'll love them," laughed Tina. "Everyone. I'd like you to meet Alberto and Luca. They are going to be stationed here to help with your security. Treat them nice, they are away from their other halves."

Tina waved Becky to follow her. "What's up?" she asked Tina.

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

Jenny went to follow her ma, but Sam asked her something which she went to help with.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Becky gasped at the sight. "I was thinking about getting Aurora to drop you and Jenny off at the business park."

Becky looked around and moved towards the entrance to look elsewhere. "No. She needs to see this. She needs to understand what happened. She needs to walk into her future with eyes open."

"Are you sure?" gaped Tina.

"Very. Like it or not, the next year is going to be unpredictable. We've already been in a panic room and had to run from mercenaries. She wants to go to Hayfield, and you and Luke seem to be preparing her, just in case she gets in."

"What I'm doing is preparing her for life. Playing an instrument isn't for Hayfield, but to give her a mechanism to channel her emotions. Languages are so she has a method to interact with more people than just in the UK. Again, nothing to do with Hayfield but something that will benefit her in future."

Tina continued, "She will take the test in a few years. If she gets accepted, will you allow her to go? As a parent, it is your decision. Someone two years below me got a different study partner, because the one the tests indicated had parents that refused."

"That's a lot to take in," said Becky. "Okay, let's go get everybody home. We have a busy few days preparing to be a taxi service."

They went back down to find everybody was out of the ship. The ship door was closed and locked.

"Be careful when you are upstairs," said Becky. "It is still messy with debris around."

Jenny skipped to Becky's side, and they went up the stairs. When they got to the top, the mess was evident. Jenny didn't scream but went to look a bit closer at the bullet holes.

"Are those from the attackers, or the building's guns?"

Becky was shocked how matter of fact Jenny was. Tina responded, "Mostly theirs. The bullets from the building system would have been still embedded in the bodies or have lost momentum as they exited."

"They made a real mess," she said, as if discussing someone spilling some ketchup.

"Are you okay? I mean with all this?"

"Not really. People died," she said sadly. "But I already knew that. I'm getting tired. Can we go home now?"

Since tests were happening over the next few days, Liam, Evan and Henry decided to stay at the house near the factory. Therefore, it was just Becky, Jenny and Ashleigh that got into Tina's car.

After dropping Becky and Jenny off, Tina went with Ashleigh to her house.

"What's wrong?" Tina asked Ashleigh when it was just the two of them. "You've seemed down."

Tina pulled out her anti-eavesdropping device.

"It's nothing," said Ashleigh, glad to be back.

"Don't pull that one on me."

"I don't think the relationship with Becky's going anywhere."

"It's still early. You've only just started dating," reassured Tina.

"I know, but I thought something might have happened while we were away."

"You were hoping she'd sleep with you?"

Ashleigh blushed. "Perhaps. I–" she trailed off.

"I get it. But didn't you think she might have been concerned about Jenny? Just as you were there for me when I had nightmares, Becky was there for Jenny."

"I didn't think Jenny had nightmares."

"And perhaps some of that might have been due to the reassurance that her ma was there. I know she asked Luke some things while she was having music lessons. The situation was certainly playing on her mind."

"I now feel like a total idiot. I was just thinking about myself and not how others were feeling."

"At first I was quite surprised how relaxed Becky was, letting Jenny see the bullet holes," said Ashleigh.

"That is why I took Becky upstairs before you all came up. I was going to suggest James took the ship to the industrial unit. However, Becky wanted Jenny to see it."

"But when I've thought about it, it is no different from how she's treated Jenny for anything else. Don't hide the facts. Don't shield. Don't let the imagination of what could be. Put it straight out in front and deal with any ramifications as a family or a group."

"Yes," agreed Tina. "Also, nobody had a total meltdown. A few had issues before we got to the destination, but that was because there was an imminent threat. Once they knew they were relatively safe, things were a lot better. For some it was almost a holiday."

"How soon before Luke gets here?"

"It depends on how much of a detour he makes. I'd say at least four or five hours."

"Did you contact Laura and whoever you were talking with?" asked Ashleigh

"Yes. Laura is glad we're back. It seems Helen managed to get a phone to the PM, so conversations could be had directly. Just in case it comes up, she is using the name Sally. Three meet up points were suggested, including one very public. Seems David has been dropping hints to the press. The ship might be going public."

"How's Laura taking all of this?"

"She's attempting to guide the situation in order to maintain progress. She is also trying to find out why the factory was attacked. Since that attack there has been no further attempt. It doesn't compute."

"The next few days are going to be very intense at the factory," said Ashleigh. "I doubt anybody wants to travel 150 light years without doing some more tests. Especially with a VIP on board."

"Yet again, I'm going to be missing out on it," said Tina. "I'll be at school with Jenny."

"I'm sure she is conflicted. I bet she'd love to watch the tests, but I know she's missed school too."

"Ah, the hard life of an almost eight-year-old."