Reaching For The Stars

Megan reluctantly came back up to the front and re-took her place in the driver`s seat. Under Peter`s guidance she re-engaged the power and then moved off carefully along the road. She soon regained her confidence and half an hour later competently turned the vehicle back through the gates of the spaceport and parked up in the same place where they had taken the vehicle from earlier. Peter showed her how to switch on the “In Use” sign and to switch off the power then they all went back inside the saucer for some refreshment.

Megan apologised again for pulling the vehicle off the wire and thanked Peter for his patience and for not yelling at her.

“Don`t worry about it, these things happen. Like I said earlier, even seasoned locals do it sometimes, that’s why the vehicles all carry a re-hitching kit that Chris and I used. The system is so easy to use and with power being taken from the wire via the pole, any vehicle is very light so that even a girl can re-hitch on her own. It would have done no good if I had yelled at you, that would just about have destroyed any confidence you had left and then you certainly wouldn`t have driven back here. That was one of the first things I learnt when I qualified as a driving instructor at Hendon years ago. That golden rule has stuck with me ever since, namely do not destroy your pupil`s confidence, because if you do that, you`ve failed as an instructor. I spent nearly a year doing driver training out of Hendon before becoming a pilot and transferring to the airborne division. I remember once I had a girl pupil out for a lesson in a wheeled car just before we all got hover cars and I decided to take her through the centre of London to see how she coped. She`d had quite a few lessons so wasn`t exactly a novice and I took her along Chelsea embankment. We were going along quite nicely when a kid chased a ball out into the road, and she panicked. She spun the wheel so hard that the car mounted the pavement, hit the river retaining wall and carried on straight through it. The next thing the car`s in the river with the front end under water. We managed to get out of the car into waist deep water and slimy mud and she ripped her skirt getting out and I lost a sleeve of my shirt. We looked like a couple of half drowned rats I can tell you. Some people saw the accident and called the police, not realising that ours was a police vehicle as the training school cars weren`t marked. By the time we reached the bank and clambered up and out of the water, several other patrol vehicles had responded and were waiting for us to reach the bank. Unfortunately for us, the training school commandant was driving past in her own car and also stopped to assist as she recognised ours as being a school car. When she saw the state of our uniforms her face was real picture and until she learnt what had happened, I got called all sorts of names and she practically accused me of making a pass at the girl while she was driving”!!

Everybody burst out laughing at this remark and Megan finally managed to laugh as well and admitted that she felt better afterwards.

Two days later Peter and Chris were out alone in the vehicle which they had kept in use knowing that it would be needed again before they left Drof. They had been across the city to take the students to one of the university departments and were returning to the spaceport. Maureen and Fiona had gone on foot into the city centre on a shopping expedition and Bill was back at the saucer checking all the systems ready for their departure in two days. Chris was driving and they were running smoothly along a wide avenue leading towards the spaceport. Not far from the spaceport was the area of the city that housed the embassies, from other federation planets, and it was through this district that they were now passing. Suddenly all the traffic ahead came to a stop. Peter and Chris presumed it was an accident of some kind and settled down to wait. After a few minutes of sitting idle a commotion broke out ahead. Chris stepped out of the vehicle to try and see what was going on, and ducking back inside he told Peter that there seemed to be a problem with the embassy belonging to Varianne with people shouting outside the building and pointing towards a window on the upper levels where a person could be seen leaning out.

“I think it might be time to show ourselves, and see if we can help”. Chris said.

Peter agreed and they both got out of the vehicle and started running down the road towards the Varian embassy. Both were in uniform so no one challenged them as they made their way to the front of the crowd. They found one young policeman outside trying his best to control the crowd and talk to the person in the window. When he saw Peter and Chris`s uniforms he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Peter asked him what was going on to which the young officer explained that there were three terrorists inside the embassy making all kinds of demands ranging from freeing prisoners to other outlandish demands none of which stood any hope of being granted. He said that he had called for back-up but they hadn`t arrived yet. Peter asked if there were any embassy staff inside to which the officer said he didn`t know. Just then another figure appeared at the window holding a laser rifle which he pointed down at the watching crowd and squeezed the trigger. Two people fell in the first second and still the person in the window kept firing. Chris nudged Peter and pointed to the building and promptly took off running towards the open door and within seconds disappeared inside. Chris mounted the interior stairs two at a time until he reached the appropriate landing then turned towards the front of the building; he slowed to a walk and then finally came to the room that held the gunman and his accomplice. As he was about to yell a caution at the figures in the room another person appeared from another room along the passageway and came running towards him brandishing a weapon. Chris recognised the newcomer as the prisoner that they had removed from Moon base Six some weeks previously, none other than Chief Technician Rimbauld. Chris dropped to a crouch and without any words of warning opened fire with his own laser pistol. For the second time the fugitive faced Chris at the wrong end of a gun, and for the second time his weapon was shot away from his hand. He still kept running towards Chris who promptly dived for his legs. They connected with the fugitive in a full run and ended up in a tangle on the floor. The commotion in the passageway had alerted the two terrorists inside the room and they now turned and the rifleman chanced a shot at Chris. He missed but the shot that Chris sent back in return didn`t and the rifle fell from the terrorists hand and he was left clutching at his shoulder which was now bleeding profusely. Chris didn`t have time to consider any options as Rimbauld was now standing and fumbling with the waistband of his trousers for another weapon. Chris fired twice and Rimbauld keeled over, and was dead before his body hit the floor. Chris swung his gun round to cover the two remaining terrorists and the one remaining uninjured person threw his arms up in the air in the universal gesture of surrender. “Don`t shoot, we`ve planted bombs in the conference centre rooms and there`s people in there”.

Chris shouted at him to drop to the floor on his front and to put his hands behind his head. The terrorist promptly complied and dropped to the floor as instructed. The injured terrorist also complied and sank to the floor face down amid a loud groan and a gasp of pain. Chris had no sympathy for him and told him to put his uninjured hand behind his head. The man gasped out that he was in too much pain, but Chris just looked at him and said “Do it now”.

Meanwhile out on the street the requested police back up units had arrived and Peter realized that he was still the most senior officer present so took charge. He looked up at the building as he heard his name called and saw Chris at the upper floor window.

“Three terrorists in here one subdued, one injured and one dead. People in here somewhere, they say they`ve planted bombs in the conference centre rooms. Get me some assistance pronto”. Chris`s head disappeared from the window. Peter turned to some of the recently arrived backup squads and picking out a man wearing sergeant`s stripes called him over.

“My colleague is inside and needs assistance, he`s got one dead, one injured and one subdued, also he says there`s bombs in the conference centre. Get some of your men together, and get inside that building and give him any assistance he needs. Send a couple to take charge of the living terrorists and call the bomb squad.”

“Yes sir” the sergeant replied and gathering twelve men led them inside at a run. Chris had decided that the two living terrorists wouldn`t give him any more trouble so went off to try and find the conference centre, but before leaving the room he told the two men who were still lying face down on the floor not to move, and that if they did and he saw them he would shoot them down, without any further warning. Both men nodded their heads vigorously to show they understood. Chris headed out into the corridor and quickly glanced around. He had never been in the building before but had a hunch that the conference centre would probably be towards the rear of the building, away from the road and where it was probably quieter. He had no idea what floor it would be on but guessed that as Rimbauld had appeared quite quickly that the centre might be on this floor, so with his mind made up he set off at a run in the direction that Rimbauld had come from. Sure enough his hunch was correct and just round a bend in the corridor he came to a large room set up as an auditorium with rows of tiered seats. There was a small stage at the front of the room on which a group of people were sitting huddled together. At one side of the stage was another man tied to a chair with rough rope and wearing explosives tied round his body with the same rough rope. Chris took in the situation in a glance and hurried to the man wearing the explosives, deeming him the one person most in need of urgent help. The man gave Chris a lopsided grin and told Chris not to touch him as the device he had tied round his body were somehow linked to three other devices around the building and any attempt to remove his “jacket” would automatically trigger the other devices. Chris told him to keep calm and not to move too much, and then turned his attention to the group in the centre of the stage. None of these seemed to be wearing any explosives and seemed to be unharmed just suffering from shock. Two military officers appeared in the doorway and one of them introduced himself as a lieutenant with the local explosive ordnance disposal group. Chris pointed to the tied man on the chair and told the newcomer about the suspected other devices. The bomb squad man nodded and went over to talk to the lone man; his colleague went with him carrying a large bag of equipment.

By now some more police re-inforcements had entered the room and were assisting Chris with the remaining people, helping them to their feet and getting them out of the room and then to safety. When Chris was satisfied that the people were ok, he went over to join the bomb disposal technicians.

“What`s the verdict? Is it coupled to something else?”

“Don`t think so Sir”, we`ll need to put a scanner all round this gent and the room to make sure but I think it`s a stand-alone device.”

Outside, a local senior officer had now arrived on the scene and Peter handed the operation over to him with thanks from the Commander for taking temporary charge. As he was thanking Peter, a group of figures emerged from the main door of the building, and aloud cheer went up from the people standing around. By now several ambulances had arrived and the police escorting the people out of the building took them over to the ambulances to be checked over. There were no apparent injuries but all the people were obviously still in deep shock over their ordeal. Chris came out of the building some minutes later and announced that the bomb carrier was safe and that there were no other devices in the building. The other two terrorists had been taken away in an ambulance, one to get medical aid and the other with him, as it was more convenient to keep both men together. The body of Chief Technician Rimbauld was still where he had fallen and would be removed later. Peter and Chris were asked to attend the police headquarters to file their reports on the incident which the Commander said would probably take a few hours. The scene outside the building was by now returning to normal. The bomb squad officer emerged from the building carrying the explosive pack that had been tied to the man inside with a relieved smile on his face. He approached the Commander, saluted and told him that the explosives were harmless and in fact weren`t explosives at all, just a cleverly made model. The Commander thanked him and asked Chris about the fatal shooting of the chief technician and Chris explained about his arrest on Moon Base Six, his transfer to Earth and subsequent escape resulting in the murder of one of his guards. The Commander nodded acknowledgement and said to make sure all the details went into Chris`s report. He said that he would need to speak to Chris and Peter in his office at the police headquarters the following morning. About half an hour later, Peter and Chris left the scene and made their way to police headquarters to file their reports. Peter called Maureen on the portable video phone in the mini coach they were still using and told her, what had happened and what he and Chris were now doing and said they would be back at the saucer as soon as they could.

The next morning Peter and Chris went back to the police headquarters and were shown up to the Commander`s office on the tenth floor. He offered them both coffee which they accepted and then the Commander asked them how long they were planning on staying on Drof before moving on. Peter informed him that they were scheduled to leave later that day and was asked if they would remain for a few more days as their presence would be useful in court when the two surviving terrorists appeared before a judge for their trial in the terrorist attack and also for several other offences which had come to light since their arrest.

Peter agreed and asked if the student group would be allowed to attend as he felt it would be a rare opportunity to see federation justice in action. The Commander agreed to his request and said that if Peter wanted to bring them all over to his office later, he would give them all the background detail of the case and explain how the court would proceed. Peter thanked him, and he and Chris took their leave.