Aurora

by Karen Page

Part 8

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Part 8

It was 2am when the lorry drew up at the entrance to the small industrial unit. Tina had been waiting at the unlocked gate and pointed the driver to the relevant building. A minibus that was just behind, followed the truck into the deserted parking lot.

Tina jogged to join her sister at the building. A team, with faces covered, jumped out of the minibus and started assessing the items. The truck reversed to the entrance and one of the people lowered the tailgate.

Loading was done in almost silence. There were a few hushed commands, but they worked efficiently in emptying the warehouse. With everything strapped and secured, and the driver happy that everything was legal, the convoy left for the factory.

"They're like ninjas," said Ashleigh as she set off after locking the front gate. "They were well coordinated and obviously knew what they were doing."

"You have your contacts, and I have mine," Tina answered back.

The lorry had turned right out of the warehouse to avoid going through the next village where there was a narrow portion between two buildings and lots of parked cars. Ashleigh had no issues going left, and knew she would get to the factory before the lorry.

The factory wasn't a factory in the traditional British sense of a large building where they churned out goods. But it was where the ship was being assembled, so factory fitted as it was a place of creation. From the outside, it looked like a large warehouse, with panelled walls that slotted in quickly. Inside though, it was nothing like a warehouse.

It was divided into distinct areas. The offices were to the right of the warehouse, which stored the parts for the ship. However, the actual ship, and the testing was below ground. On the surface the factory looked like a medium sized business. But below ground the excavated space was huge. It didn't just contain where the ship had been built, but also the acoustic and vacuum testing areas.

Ashleigh drew up to the shut gates. The guard on duty was surprised to find someone arriving in the middle of the night.

"Hi Jim," said Ashleigh, when she saw the guard. "An early start for me today."

"What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?" he asked.

"A delivery is coming in."

"Ten minutes," called Tina from the car.

"Nobody said nothing," he muttered, looking at his clipboard.

"Of course not. This is a special delivery. I want you to open the gates, and in ten minutes a lorry and a minibus is going to arrive. The minibus has a team to unload the special equipment. Please get the inner guard to unlock the goods entrance. They then should come up to the gatehouse."

"Yes, Ma'am," he responded.

He grabbed the guard radio and informed the inner guard that a delivery was coming in. "George, please undo the goods door and then come up to the gatehouse."

"You what?" came the response.

Ashleigh signalled for him to pass the radio to her. "George. This is Ashleigh Thompson. I don't want to stand around all night."

"Right miss," he responded, slightly surprised at the terse manner of the normally pleasant woman. "Sorry. Will be wide open in two minutes."

"Thanks George. You need to be up here asap."

"On it."

Jim had opened the gate, and Ashleigh passed the radio back to him. He then complained, "The video has gone down."

"I'll check on that after," calmly responded Ashleigh, not surprised.

A light shone at the side of the warehouse where George was opening the door. Tina sprinted across to make sure everything was ready for the goods to arrive.

The lorry drove in, and the minibus hung back as the lorry reversed into position. The minibus then went and pulled up next to the lorry. From the guardhouse they could only see the silhouettes of people emptying the lorry.

George, a much younger guard went to get out his phone to record the sight unfolding. "Put it away," said Ashleigh firmly. "This isn't to be filmed."

"Sorry," muttered George, aware how much of a gaff he'd just made.

"I know it's exciting. This is the special parts. We don't want anybody to know about it so it will be a surprise when it is ready. Becky and the whole team will be down later today."

The guards only patrolled outside and in the warehouse area. The underground facility where the ship was, had restricted access. Only the construction team were allowed inside the inner sanctum.

"It's so sad what happened to Becky's wife and son," said Jim. "Becky was always showing pictures when she visited. Mighty proud of both her children she was."

"I never got to meet Hilda," said Ashleigh sadly. "I hear she was a really nice lady."

"That she was, miss," said Jim. "She always talked to everyone, just like you do. A lot of people just come in and out. Never stop and say hello."

"Sorry. I know you and George do a fine job. I heard you both were personally picked for here?"

"Yes," peeped up George. "I was working out yonder guarding the old power station. I've no idea how, but Becky's boss came to my house and offered the job. I've no idea how she knew about me."

"I had the same treatment," said Ashleigh. "It was rather a surprise."

"I used to work at a company she ran, and her mum before her in London," said Jim. "When I handed in my notice because I wanted to move out here to be nearer my grandkids, she came to see me the next day. Said she'd heard I was leaving and moving out here. It was like the answer to everything."

"What was Miss Taylors mother like?"

"Very driven and very compassionate. I heard stories about how ruthless she was with her business dealings. Yet with the staff, you couldn't find someone better. She was so committed to helping them and making sure the working environment was the best. If people were working late, she would want to know why the job needed that and if more people were needed. She wanted people to be with families at night. Everybody was devastated when she was killed. Thankfully she brought her daughter up with the same goodness and business skills."

The lorry and minibus made their way out of the entrance, returning from wherever they'd come from. The light from the goods entrance winked out as Tina shut it and in a few moments Ashleigh's youngest sister appeared out of the darkness.

"All done and stored in the secure room," she said.

"Well done. Shall we go home, or do you want to stay for the construction team?"

"Let's stay. Didn't you say there are a few comfortable couches upstairs in the office area?"

"I'll go and lock up," said George.

"Already done Mr Barker," said Tina. "But it would be good for you to make sure I did it right."

"I see your video surveillance has come back," said Ashleigh to Jim. "What time does your shift end?"

"Six."

"Okay, can you leave a note that we are in the office area. That way the daytime guard doesn't get a nasty shock."

"Will do."

Ashleigh and Tina sauntered across to the entrance. When they'd gone, Jim turned to George. "I'd forget what you saw this evening. If anybody asks, just say a truck made a delivery."

* * *

Ashleigh was awoken by a gentle tap. She opened her eyes to see Jenny looking at her.

"What time is it?" asked Ashleigh.

"Half seven. How long have you been asleep?"

"Three hours. At least I got some before the madness of last night."

"What were you doing here at half four this morning?" asked Jenny aghast. "You should have been in bed at that time."

"I agree, but Mrs Poop arranged for a special delivery of the power equipment. It was collected at two this morning."

"Wow. I've never been up at that time."

Rebecca came in. "Everything is here already. It isn't cold, so must have been here at least an hour."

"Special delivery," repeated Jenny, not understanding what that meant. Rebecca had some inkling, and her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything.

"Remember, it was Tina who arranged it, not me," said Ashleigh.

"She's so helpful," said Jenny. "Where is she?"

"I've no idea. You just woke me up. I thought she was having a nap too." Ashleigh spied another Pudsey Bear in Jenny's arms. "How many of those bears do you have?"

"We had one each. Though we've lost ma's now."

"Perhaps NASA will give it you back when they realise. Why is yours here?"

"I want it to be transported too. I thought it could go in the ship."

"Everything's here," said Henry happily as he walked into the room. "And all in the right places for stripping down and assembling."

Ashleigh threw off the blanket and got up. "Talk to me in a few minutes, I'm going to the ladies."

When she returned, Tina was there looking as if she'd had a good eight-hours sleep. She had a box containing food for Ashleigh.

"You're a miracle worker," said Ashleigh, eying the food and shooed everybody out so she could eat in peace.

* * *

The word spread to the construction workers who lived locally. If it was one of the security guards, or if one of them came in for something else, the word spread. There was soon six people looking at the organised boxes.

"This is the schedule," said Henry, pointing to the large sheet of paper on the wall. "We take our time and do each step and confirm everything is correct. Three people are going to be in this vehicle. Their lives depend on that. You each have your activity sheets. Whatever you do, you log. Even if it's a half degree turn of a nut."

There were a few mumbles, that this was what they'd all been doing anyway.

"Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir," they responded.

"Good. If there are any queries on the build, I'm your contact. If there is anything else you need, talk with Ashleigh."

Ashleigh spoke up, "If you've not seen me, I'm Ashleigh. I've been based at the research building. During this build, I will be here. Part of my job is employee welfare. I know you are excited about completing the ship, but working every hour of the day is unsafe. Unless there is a job you can't put down, which I'm told there aren't many, you will not work more than four hours without taking a break. You will not work more than eight hours a day. You will not pull all-nighters."

There were surprised murmurs, even though she was only giving more detail to what Henry had said.

"You were recruited because you are the best at what you do. You've proved that by creating the ship and the tests you've done. This is just the final stages. The power and the drive.

"For the test, there will be two people you haven't met. A test pilot and emergency engineer. They will be arriving tomorrow. I will introduce you to them. Please be open with them and show them anything they request. Anything. Safety on the test is dependent on them not having any surprises. The systems are unique, and they won't understand them. So please understand and not laugh."

That got a few chuckles.

"Now, today is Sunday. It's great you heard that things had arrived, and I know you are eager to start, but today is a rest day. The build starts at nine tomorrow morning. Not seven. Not eight. Fine if you want to arrive early and get yourself in your overalls, but you won't start work early. So go home and rest. Play a game or watch the football on television."

As they disappeared, Henry came to see her. "You can't restrict them that much."

"I know, but I want them at least to know what's expected. Set some ground rules. There are a lot of parts for the ship power system. Is it going to fit?"

"Nope. Only part is for the ship. The rest is for this building," said Henry.

"I know she wants to commercialise it at some point."

"I know, but the paperwork is a nightmare. It isn't as simple as build and connect. There must be operators monitoring and on standby. There must be procedures to balance the grid. And on it goes. Then when we do connect, how big do we want the generation to be. Our method is so efficient we could easily create several scaled up versions and dot them around the country and generate all the UK needs. All it needs is salt water and the result is almost free electricity."

"That sounds great."

"It does, until you then ask what would happen to all the existing generators? What about the companies that have spent millions on solar and wind, and it is wiped out virtually overnight."

"Oh."

"Or we try to miniaturise it. For a normal household, say the size of a battery that lasts a year. Then you don't need a grid. Imagine putting them in every car. Now you don't need the thousands of EV chargers that companies have installed. Most people will benefit. Others, not so much. I know Miss Taylor has a plan to introduce it gradually, so not to cause chaos."

"The ship will cause enough chaos," remarked Ashleigh.

"Well, it's not really the ship that's important. A dozen countries around the world build ships to go to space. The real bits of development that change things is the power and the drive. It will change the world. You can get goods from one place to another almost instantly. You can get people from one place to another. What does that do for migration, borders and trade relationships."

"Someone could just transport a bomb," said Ashleigh remembering the conversation she'd had with Tina.

"They could. The technology isn't evil, but someone could easily do evil with it. Just look at what can be done with nuclear technology. It was used for good in medications and energy. The same technology was used for bombs of horrendous power."

"I better get back to Becky. She was expecting the dossiers on the two testers."

"I'm gutted I'm not going, but I understand why."

"Perhaps you will be the first one to go to a different planet. There have been nearly a thousand that have flown into orbit. Only a few have been to the moon. But nobody has been to another planet."

"You're right," said Henry chirping up. "I'd not thought of that."

Smiling at another good deed, Ashleigh went to find Rebecca. She was in the offices. Her laptop out, looking at her emails.

"Have they come in?" asked Ashleigh as she wandered in.

"Yes. Have a look. They are both open. The one on the screen is for the pilot."

Ashleigh sat down and perused them. James Partridge. Was with the RAF and ended up at the European Space Agency in their astronaut corps and did two stints in space as pilot for the first, and commander for the second. Fluent in English, French, German and Russian.

Wow.

Next was Sam Hood. British, but schooled in America and American citizenship. Two degrees in Electronical and Mechanical Engineering and a doctorate in Electronical Engineering. Service in US Navy classified. Fluent in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Farsi, Arabic, Portuguese and Dutch.

Impressive. Both were very impressive.

"On paper they seem to fit the bill," said Ashleigh to Becky. "What do you think?"

"Yes. They're impressive. I've asked the gate to notify me if they see them checking the place over."

"Okay, but I don't think I'm going to hang around too long. I had a rather disturbed night last night."

"There seemed to have been an interruption to the CCTV when the collection and delivery were made."

"Not my doing."

"I know. I wasn't saying so. I just thought you should know. Based on the length of the outage, they were very efficient. Henry says nothing was broken and things were left in a logical way for him to work with."

"Then let it drop. It was done professionally and with no disruption. I know you don't like clandestine stuff, but we are both bordering on that reality. We aren't part of that world, but it's nice that they help when needed."

"I think we're actually inside that reality," said Rebecca sadly. "I don't think Laura would be investing the sums of money she has unless she is getting something out of it."

"I don't think there is anything nefarious. From what I've heard about Hilda, she was a good person. I doubt she would have introduced you if there was anything untoward."

"That's true," perked up Rebecca. "Thank you."

"Do you know where everybody else is?"

"Tina and Jenny were getting a guided tour of the testing facilities by Evan and Liam. When were you last down?"

"A month ago. Why?"

"Come with me."

Rebecca led her down the corridor and into what Ashleigh had known was going to be the control centre. It was laid out, but there was no equipment. When she went in, she gasped. There were six terminals, all configured to monitor the ship and talk to them."

"This looks fantastic. Is it everything you needed?"

"I hope so. This is new to us. Perhaps James Partridge will be able to give us guidance on what he expects."

"Since he's been in space, he'll probably tell us off for the bear prank."

"It wasn't a prank. It was a science experiment."

"Ahh, that makes it okay then. Just don't hold up any steam trains."

They both laughed at the film reference. On their way downstairs, Rebecca got a call on her phone. It was the gate. Sam Hood was there. Ashleigh got out her phone and rung her sister. "We have the test engineer coming in. I thought from a security perspective, since you are here."

"I'll see you at the entrance," responded Tina, in a tone that Ashleigh knew she'd made the right decision.

Rebecca, Ashleigh and Tina watched as the car moved slowly towards the parking area.

"Do you have a name?" asked Tina.

"Sam Hood. No gender on the resume. I've no idea if it is a Samuel or a Samantha, not that it matters. Born in UK, grew up in America. Degree in Electrical Engineering and another in Mechanical Engineering. Worked in US Navy. Speaks about a hundred languages."

"Such as?"

"French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin. Probably a few I've forgotten."

Sam walked up and Becky opened the door.

"A welcoming committee," said Sam with a smile. "I'm Sam. I believe you were expecting me tomorrow. I thought I'd just make sure where the place was, and the guard said I should come and meet you."

"I'm Becky Head," said Rebecca holding out her hand. "This project is based off my idea."

"I'm Ashleigh. I deal with purchasing and look after employee welfare."

"I'm Tina." Tina then switched languages and said something that only Sam would understand. Sam was shocked and after a few more words from Tina burst out laughing.

"Do you want a tour now?" asked Becky, not liking the secret conversation going on. "I'm not sure how much you know. Are you tired from your trip?"

"I'm fine," said Sam smoothly back in English. "I flew in yesterday and spent the day with my folks in Cheltenham. I was told this was some type of new ship and have a test pilot coming in. You need someone to act as emergency engineer just in case something goes wrong."

"That sums it up," agreed Rebecca.

"Okay. Just so there is no confusion. I joined Hayfield two years before Tina. I moved in my first year to a sister school. Tina knew of me but not the other way around. I'm told you know of Hayfield, but the others don't, so please don't mention it."

"The only other that knows is Jenny," mentioned Ashleigh.

"Hilda, my wife, was a psychiatrist at Hayfield for just over six years," said Rebecca. "That's the only reason I know of it."

"If you were two years older than Tina, you would know David and Helen?" asked Ashleigh.

"Oh yes, I know that pair. Interesting that you do though."

"Okay, introductions are out of the way. Let's do this tour," said Ashleigh.

They made their way through the security doors and down the steps. After what seemed like sixty steps, the entered the factory where the ship was positioned in the middle of the floor. At the front right, built into the frame was the text 'Made in the United Kingdom' with the Union Jack proudly embossed.

Sam's eyes open wide in surprise at the sight of the ship. "What type of ship is this?"

"A spaceship with a unique drive and energy system. When we find Henry, I'll introduce you. He's the person who'll be teaching you every wire in the ship."

"How unique?"

"It's one of a kind. I'll explain more tomorrow when the pilot arrives. He's ex RAF and ex European Space Agency astronaut."

"Does she, the ship that is, have a name?"

"Not yet.

The door to the ship opened, and out came Henry, Evan, Liam and Jenny.

"Ah, perfect. Let me introduce you."

Rebecca didn't have to call them across. Jenny spotted someone new and rushed down the steps.

"You must be Jenny," said Sam.

Jenny nodded, not phased to see someone new. She'd grown up around adults all her life. She was never pushed away and never told she was too small to hear something.

"Are you the pilot or engineer?" she asked.

"Engineer. I've got to work with someone called Henry."

"Oh, that's him there in the black polo shirt. The other two are Evan and Liam."

"What do they do?"

"Evan is chief scientist and Liam fills in between all of them."

"What do you do?" asked Sam jokingly.

"I learn," she replied solemnly.

"Hold on," said Rebecca, putting her phone away. "We have James at the gate."

"I'll go and greet him," said Tina and disappeared.

"So, what does Tina do on this project?" Sam asked Ashleigh.

"She doesn't. She's my sister and staying with me. Well, there was an incident several months ago were there was a threat to the project. Six investigators were deployed to keep an eye on things."

"Ahh."

Tina wasn't long and she came in with a tall man in his late forties. His dark hair was neat and looked almost like a model.

"This is Captain James Partridge," said Tina introducing the gentleman. "Firstly, we have Lieutenant Commander Sam Hood of the US Navy. Sam is going to be the ship engineer on the test flight. Sam arrived about twenty minutes ago. We then have the project team."

Tina introduced everybody, their name and job title.

"And this is your ship," said Rebecca, like a proud mother.

James looked at it and did a slow walk around. The rest just watched on. "Can I go in?" he asked.

"Sure, but the power plant and drive have yet to be fitted," said Becky.

Sam followed him inside, and the others grouped at the bottom of the stairs. When they came out, they were both silent.

"I hope you have big concerns with what you just saw," said Becky.

"Too right. The design says this is for space. Yet I'm not seeing anything to get it to space. If you have a standard booster, I'd be killed with that type of seat. And if it was a HOTOL system, there isn't the thrust engines."

"A fair assessment," said Becky. "Come upstairs. I have a video of the test we did on Friday."

They went to the office, and Becky pulled up the video. It showed the lab, and Becky putting the plush bear into the test container. On the screen next to it, there was a feed from the NASA space station where an interview was being conducted. The bear was given a slight push and the machine switched on. It disappeared and it was shown appearing on the NASA broadcast.

"That is an interdimensional drive," said Evan.

James turned around. "I've got a friend up there at the moment. NASA are giving them hell because nobody will admit smuggling that teddy onboard. It did great for Children in Need. The donations went through the roof."

"You mean that wasn't staged?" asked Sam.

"Not likely," said James. "Not with the level of investigation going on in Houston."

"We did think about sending up an apology letter, but we thought that might make things worse," said Liam.

"I now understand why your ship is like it is. You aren't going to have the acceleration. One minute you're in this building. The next you're in space."

They hadn't paused the video, and it went on to show the mouse being transported and happily running away when the contained was opened.

"How much power does it need?" asked Sam.

"Friday's test took 5MW. The ship is larger and will take more power to jump."

"You said there was a unique power system," said Sam. "Can you explain it?"

"We can, but not today," said Rebecca. "You don't start until tomorrow and it is going to take a long time for Henry to go through it. We have files with every test we've done and every component in the ship, the power and the drive. It is all open for you to look through. You need to understand what you're testing."

"When I looked inside the ship, I was almost ready to walk out the door. You've told me enough so that doesn't happen."

"I do hope you walk out the door," said Ashleigh. "You aren't sleeping here."

James laughed.

"The build and verification will take weeks to complete. This gives you time to learn what you need to learn," said Becky.

"The build will start tomorrow," said Ashleigh. "We have two people on the project who nearly hospitalised themselves by overworking. This has to be done safely, and that can't happen if people are tired."

"One last question," said Sam. "What do you plan for the first test."

"You go to space. We initially thought to prove, just outside the space station, but we didn't want panic with people thinking aliens have arrived. So, we still go to a position about 350km into space, but not near the space station. That way if there is a problem the chance of a rescue is higher. You spend about ten minutes there, making sure the systems are good, and you come home. The coordinates will already be in the system, but when it is instigated will be under your control. The next test won't occur until the data has been analysed and everybody is happy."