Reaching For The Stars

Peter and Chris left their hotel at around the same time as the girls but they didn`t have so far to travel and of course they were in Peter`s car which was a lot quicker than horses. Peter and Chris were unaware of the transport substitution so were expecting the vintage cars to arrive about a quarter of an hour after themselves. Bill arrived some five minutes later but didn`t mention the substitution to Peter and Chris, deciding to keep it a surprise. Maureen had had a big row with her parents some years ago and as a consequence, hadn`t spoken to either of them for nearly ten years. As a matter of courtesy, she had sent them an invitation to the wedding, not really expecting a reply, let alone an attendance. There was an elderly couple standing outside the abbey, all on their own and looking rather self-conscious. Bill asked Peter who they were as he didn`t recognise them and Peter admitted that he didn`t know either. Chris was also unable to identify the couple so Bill went over and introduced himself, asking if he could help. After a few minutes conversation he returned to Peter and informed him that it was Maureen`s parents, who had travelled down from their home in Norfolk. Peter looked surprised but nether-the-less went over to introduce himself. When he introduced himself, Maureen`s mother started crying saying that they had left it far too long to make up and would Maureen even want them at her wedding? Peter reassured them that Maureen would be glad to have them there as after all if she hadn`t wanted them to attend her big day, she wouldn`t have sent an invitation. Peter took an instant liking to Mr and Mrs Brevitt and said he was glad to finally meet them. He bought them up to date with what Maureen had achieved since the family split and assured them that he was taking good care of their daughter. The parents said that they would sit at the back of the abbey during the ceremony and only make themselves known when it was over rather than risk an argument or tears before the ceremony. Peter agreed but said that they were welcome to sit nearer the front but they declined.

Chris had lost both his parents in a road accident eight years previously so had no immediate family at the service. He did have a brother but he had turned to a life of crime at an early age and was currently serving a twelve year sentence at FPP Tagan, (Federation Prison Planet) for murder. The brothers hadn`t spoken for twenty years and Chris preferred to ignore the existence of his brother. Bill, knowing this skilfully spread the guests out on both sides of the central aisle in the abbey so that there were an almost equal number of guests on both sides of the abbey.

Everyone was seated by ten minutes to two and Peter and Chris were at the front of the abbey waiting for their brides. Bill had briefed the organist and the officiating person about the change of transport and said that they might be a few minutes late despite leaving earlier than planned, due to the road condition. At one minute to two, Bill excused himself from Peter and Chris and went outside to see if there was any sign of the sleighs. While he was looking down the road, an official looking car drew up outside and their boss, Commander Nant emerged. Bill stood up a bit straighter but didn`t salute as he wasn`t in uniform, and was told to rest easy by the Commander. Bill said it was a surprise seeing him there and the Commander grinned. He said he

had heard about the double wedding and had decided to break his Christmas Day to come and wish them all the best of luck. Bill wasn`t unduly surprised that the Commander knew about the wedding as several of their work colleagues were inside as invited guests. The commander was out of uniform as well, wearing instead a smart three piece suit. As the Commander made his way into the abbey, Bill heard the tinkle of bells and knew that the girls were arriving. Moments later the two sleighs appeared round the corner and pulled to a stop by the abbey doors. The ushers leapt nimbly from their seats beside the drivers and helped to roll up the front protective screens and then proceeded to help everybody out of the sleighs. Bill hurried back inside and gave the organist a nod before returning to his place at the front with Peter and Chris.

Peter`s father had agreed to give Maureen away as well as Fiona, so now he led them inside the abbey, one girl on each arm to the strains of the traditional wedding march.

Maureen and Fiona looked stunning in full length white bridal gowns with long trains and veils, both carrying posies of flowers. Maggie was just behind them carrying the trains to keep them from soiling in the snow. Peter`s mother bought up the rear also carrying a large bouquet of flowers. At the front, both Peter and Chris couldn`t resist turning round any longer and the first sight of their brides took their breath away.

The ceremony lasted for half an hour and after going to the vestry to sign the registers, Peter with Maureen on his arm, led the way back down the aisle. They were expecting to stand outside for a few minutes for the traditional photo shoot so were pleased it was still sunny. The crisp white snow with the abbey in the background made for some beautiful photos. Once everybody was outside waiting for instructions from the photographer, Maureen felt a gentle tap on her arm, and turned to see her mother smiling at her. She gave a little squeal of joy and threw herself into her mother`s open arms. Both women were crying when Maureen looked up and saw her father standing beside her with a big smile on his face. The photo shoot was postponed for some minutes while Maureen and her mother pulled themselves together. Peter and Chris meanwhile had caught their first glimpse of the sleighs. Peter looked at Bill and raised his eyebrows in a question. Bill explained about the last minute substitution and Peter and Chris thanked him and said it was a good thing that they had left him in charge. They both approved of the swap and said that the girls must have had the surprise of their lives when the sleighs had arrived at the cottage. Once the first round of photos were completed, the family`s got into the three sleighs for the short trip across the snow covered grass to the main entrance of the motor museum. The staff had apparently thought of everything as once the families were settled in their sleighs, a hover tractor appeared from round the back of the abbey towing a wheeled open carriage all bedecked with ribbons and flowers, that they ushered all the remaining guests on to. The carriage was large enough to carry sixty people so everyone was able to get a ride.

The reception started off with an eight course formal dinner, and this was followed by speeches and other greetings from many of the guests. All the guests had bought presents for the two newly wed couples and these were all arranged neatly in two large piles, off to one side. Once the speeches were completed, Commander Nant rose to his feet and delivered another surprise to the two couples. He said that he was sending the two couples on a honeymoon trip, to Barbados all expenses paid for a week`s stay in a luxurious beachfront hotel. Peter and Chris were amazed at the present and thanked their boss very much for his generosity. Chris said that he thought that they were due back at work after three days but the Commander said this was taken care of and that they would now return to work, the Monday after their honeymoon. After this, everyone moved to another part of the museum main hall where a small dance floor had been cleared among the exhibits. The band was set up between two iconic racing cars and it made a really nice venue.

The remainder of the day was a blur of happiness for everyone, especially Maureen who was so happy to have her parents back in her life. The following day, Peter and Maureen and Fiona and Chris said their farewells to everybody who had stayed overnight in the local hotel in Beaulieu village and headed back to Heathrow to catch their internal flight for the honeymoon. The students were sorry to see them go but Peter assured them that they would see them all again soon. The students were due to fly to Lios two days before they came back from Barbados to start their new positions.

When they all returned to work, after the honeymoon, there were more surprises in store. Bill greeted them with the news that he had been offered a post at the Galactic Navigation College on Varianne for a six month teaching spell, in the rank of Captain which he had accepted and Maggie would be going with him as it was an accompanied post. Maureen was now promoted to Lieutenant and was assigned as regular crew to Peter`s crew. Peter had also gained a further promotion to Major and Chris likewise promoted, was getting his own saucer and crew. Peter had a new second in command, a Captain by the name of Stuart who was originally from Canada. Peter knew him well as a friend but had never worked with him, however his reputation was that he was of a similar calibre to Chris so Peter had no doubts that they would get on well and continue to be a “crack crew”.

Fiona had decided that she wanted more variety out of her job and as a consequence had applied to join the police as a qualified navigator, hoping that if she was accepted she would be able to work with Chris as his full time navigator. The civil galactic fleet bosses had expressed sorrow about her decision but understood that she wanted more excitement from her job. They had given her a glowing reference and it was almost certain that she would be accepted by the police.

Maureen was making up for lost years with her parents and she and Peter spent many weekends in Norfolk on the small farm. Peter liked the work on the farm and had said that if he decided to leave the police in a few years-times, he would likely buy a farm somewhere and really slow down his hectic lifestyle.

While Bill and Maggie were still on Varianne four months later, the old crew was briefly reunited at a medal award ceremony held at federation headquarters on Varianne to honour their part in finding and getting the induction process started on Lios which was on the verge of becoming a full federation member. They all received a special medal for the part they had played, presented by the Lios president who continually expressed his gratitude for their work. The students were still on Lios but had travelled to Varianne for the ceremony, and they were all thrilled to see the crew again. Their old boss, Commander Nant was now back on his home planet as a General and he was also glad to see the crew again.

Bill and Maggie returned after their six months on Varianne and were married three weeks later, and like Peter and Chris before them, opted to get married in the New Forest. Their wedding was a quieter affair held in the registry office in Lymington with a reception in a waterfront pub afterwards. Peter and Maureen along with Fiona and Chris were all invited as were Peter`s and Maureen`s parents. They had a few select friends from work and the students came down as well from Lincoln, now that they were all back from Lios. Bill took Maggie away for a short honeymoon in Switzerland, a place Maggie had always wanted to visit.

Eight months after Peter and Chris were married the girls announced within weeks of each other that they were pregnant with their first children. This was cause for another party, this time held on the Isle of Wight at the Royal Yacht Squadron headquarters in Cowes. They had found this venue through a friend of Peter and Fiona`s father who happened to be a member. Bill and Maggie attended, as did the students who were by now firm friends with everyone. Peter confided in Maureen that he was getting a bit disillusioned with his life in the police as the everyday work that he got tasked with didn`t seem so important any more after their experiences with the students. Maureen had already decided to leave the police nearer the time of the baby`s arrival and become a full time mother so suggested that Peter also leave and maybe pursue the dream he had of having a farm like her parents. Peter was taken with the idea so started making enquiries about what sort of pension payment he could get from the police and also what sort of farm properties were available to purchase. He spoke to Chris who supported his decision as like Peter he was feeling rather unhappy with his job as well, saying it just hadn’t been the same since the crew was split up. Peter agreed and asked what he would do instead. Chris said he was keeping his options open but admitted it would be nice to spend more time with Fiona and their unborn baby. They mentioned their thoughts to Bill, who wasn`t really surprised by their decision, agreeing with Chris that things weren`t the same anymore. He said he had enjoyed his spell on Varianne and said if an instructor post came available he would probably go for it.

Peter found that he would get a decent pension from the police; a substantial lump sum and an adequate monthly pension so went ahead and handed in his resignation, to take effect in three months. With this step out of the way, he and Maureen started looking in earnest for a farm to buy. After some considerable searching, they located what looked like an ideal property, on the coast in Dorset, on land that had once been a military firing range before the landings. The property was five and a half thousand acres, mainly laid to crops with some livestock as well. There was small herd of dairy cattle, a hundred sheep and some chickens. There was a large farmhouse with all the modern improvements, several barns and outbuildings and some machinery. Peter and Maureen travelled down to Dorset to view the property and immediately fell in love with the place. The price was reasonable and Peter asked why the price was as low as it was and was told that the previous owners had died and their family just wanted the place sold. It was under the control of their old farm manager at present and with help from his two sons was managing to keep the place ticking over. Peter and Maureen took his parents on the second viewing and they were all for it so, Peter and Maureen went ahead and made an offer slightly higher than the asking price that would hopefully get accepted and move things along quicker. They met the farm manager and his two sons and Peter asked them to stay on under his ownership as paid staff and they all gladly accepted.