CHAPTER 2. A FEW FACTS AND AN OFFER.
The happy atmosphere died down as Captain Stephens entered the room. The other candidates were all younger men and a little in awe of the older man. They were all from different backgrounds and walks of life and the others all had one thing in common. They all held a command anyway and that would still be waiting for them whatever the outcome of this interview.
Michael thought that he had better break the ice. “That was damned hard work,” he said ruefully, then, addressing the beautiful young lady behind the bar, ”Please could I have a beer so that I can enjoy this little party?"
“Certainly Sir, " she replied and took an iced glass from the fridge, .'What would you like?"
"Do you have a Budweiser, please?” He did not really expect an English Company Bar to stock this fine old American recipe and was quite taken aback when she replied, “Certainly, Sir Richard said you would probably ask for that, so I had a supply brought in.”
She poured it with infinite care and handed it to the Captain. He looked at the others raised his glass and said, ”Cheers everybody!”
The others laughed and replied to the toast, then they returned to their conversations and the atmosphere returned to normal. Soon Michael was just one of the crowd swapping jokes and experiences with the others. After about twenty minutes and another Budweiser, Michael was feeling much better.
The door to the room opened and Mr. Ford entered. “Please could I have your attention, gentlemen! I have a message from Sir Richard. If you are no longer a serious candidate for this appointment, would you please give me your identification tag and you are free to leave and thank you for the interest you have shown. If you remain and are offered the appointment you will be expected to accept. The decision is yours, gentlemen!”
Without hesitation two of the other candidates immediately handed in their tags and, after a short consideration, another one handed in his.
“Thank you,” said Mr. Ford, “We should have our decision within the next quarter of an hour.” He turned and left the room. The remaining candidates looked at each other expectantly. It was going to be a long quarter of an hour.
It actually took only ten minutes before Lord Lamont came through the door and announced, “Gentlemen, we have made our decision. All the candidates have been of high quality and as other vacancies occur you may rest assured that even if you do not get this appointment we will consider you for others.
It only remains for me to ask you, Captain Stephens, to accompany me back to the interview room.”
Michael could have shouted for joy. His pulse doubled and he felt like kissing the bar maid, but, instead, he solemnly shook hands with the unsuccessful candidates. He wished them luck for the future and stiffly followed Lord Lamont back to the interview room. It had changed, somehow. He could not put his finger on it for a moment, then he realized that the chair had been moved back to its original position. "I won't spoil their little game this time," he thought to himself.
Sir Richard invited him to sit down which he did.
He then spoke. "Captain Michael Robert Stephens, the panel has unanimously agreed to offer you the post of Senior Captain with the Crest Interplanetary Trading Company. I now make this offer to you officially." He leaned back in his chair and waited for Captain Stephens to speak.
Captain Stephens looked at the panel, something was wrong, what was it? Then it dawned on him, “They are afraid I am not going to accept,” he thought, "They must be anxious to have me." That in itself was a reassuring thought he reflected.
He smiled to the panel and said, "Sir Richard, I am absolutely delighted to accept your offer and thank you for the trust you have shown in me.”
"Nonsense,” said Sir Richard. "You have earned it and you are just the man we are looking for.”
"When do I start, Sir Richard?"
"Do you have to rush off anywhere?"
"No, I have made no plans at all."
"Well, in that case, you can start right now. Put Captain Stephens on the payroll straight away, Miss Linaker, and we will retire to the Executive Lounge for a drink and a chat. It has been a long day and I'm gasping for some refreshment."
“I'll second that,” added Lord Lamont.
They turned to leave by another door and Clive Twist grabbed Michael's hand and shook it vigorously.
“Congratulations, Michael, this is just what you need. You handled yourself very well this afternoon.”
"Thanks very much for your help,” returned Michael. "I thought this UFO business had blown my chances."
They reached the Executive Lounge and settled down into sumptuous chairs. Their drinks were already waiting for them.
Michael knew it would be his favourite beer before he tasted it and he was not disappointed. Fred Ford was also drinking a beer, Lord Lamont and Sir Richard were enjoying ample gin and tonics and Charlotte was sipping at a strange blue concoction which Michael had no idea about whatsoever, although she was obviously enjoying it. They relaxed and chatted for ten minutes or so. Sandwiches were brought round and Michael started to feel more human.
Suddenly Sir Richard spoke, “Fred will you please show Michael where he can get a wash and brush up and can you both meet me in my office in half an hour?”
“Certainly Sir,” replied Mr. Ford finishing his drink . “When you are ready, Michael.”
Michael reluctantly finished his drink and followed Fred to a room which was a cross between a gymnasium and a bathroom. The jacuzzi looked very inviting. They went to a cubicle and changed into the trunks which were hanging up in there. The water in the jacuzzi was invigorating and relaxing.
The two men bathed for a while in silence. Eventually Fred said, "Sir Richard is a hard man to work for but he is also very fair. He gives a lot and expects a lot."
"He strikes me as being a competent administrator who puts a lot of trust in his staff."
"That is a fair comment but he is more than competent. Believe me, in his own way Sir Richard is a genius at his job… come on over here and lie down on this couch."
Michael did as he was told and Fred pressed a button. The bed started to move and vibrate and Michael received a thorough massage. It felt absolutely marvellous and by the time they assembled outside Sir Richard's office he felt like a new man. The 'Enter' light came on and they went through into Sir Richard's office.
"Please make yourself comfortable, Gentlemen," he said, gesturing towards two business-like chairs in front of his desk.
The office was tidy and functional. It contained the latest Video-com and a superb computer with a large V.D.U. There were no ornaments but there were two pictures on the wall. One was of a beautiful coral reef with some attractive multi-coloured fish and the other was a picture taken from inside the rings of Saturn with Jupiter in the background. Michael recognized it straight away; it was one of many he had brought back aboard the Vega and felt a little surge of pride.
Sir Richard followed his gaze, "I call it Inner Space and Outer space. Your pictures of Saturn were really spectacular, Michael. It is a pity you could not have cashed in commercially. The other is one that I took myself when I had a short holiday in the Caribbean at a little island called Grand Cayman. You should visit it sometime. The sea is really beautiful.”
He then pressed a button on his desk and the video-com lit up with the calm, attractive face of his personal secretary.
“Good evening, Sir Richard, how may I be of assistance?” she asked.
“Louisa, I do not wish to be disturbed for any reason until I communicate with you again. I am putting my office into ‘Secure Mode’ for a while."
“As you wish, Sir Richard!” The screen went blank. He pressed another button and immediately the windows started to disappear as metal shutters came over them. The same thing happened to the door and the lighting compensated automatically. Two sensors came out of hidden recesses in the wall and scanned the room.
"The room is now secure and soundproof; no transmissions can get in or out,” explained Sir Richard. “What I am going to say is for our ears only. I will get straight to the point because time is against us."
He took a deep breath and continued, "Mr. Ford has lost contact with two of our ships and we do not know why. We do not believe that the losses are due to failure. There have been no distress signals and no debris has been found.”
"It is just as though they have been spirited away…” added Mr. Ford. “Or captured?” queried Captain Stephens.
”That, literally, is our billion dollar question,” conceded Sir Richard.
“Did both ships go missing at the same time?" asked the Captain.
"No, the first one went missing eight weeks ago and the second ten days ago. In both cases there was no warning. The twelve hour report, which is company policy, simply did not come in. We have no information at all, we do not know if the crew is dead or alive, It's very spooky."
Fred Ford did not seem quite as hard when he added, "The families have been informed of the circumstances and have promised not to talk until we can make an official announcement. We feel that secrecy is important both for financial and political reasons."
“But if you keep these matters secret you will never know if others have had the same problems,” observed Captain Stephens.
“You are right,” conceded Sir Richard, “But logic suggests that since this is the only Company which makes the big shipments, then ours would be the only Company to get attacked."
"Have you thought about motives? Were the vessels carrying anything of actual or intrinsic value? Even personnel, were there any VIPs aboard?"
Mr. Ford looked a little lost but answered, "No, to both questions. Both shipments were of the usual nature; fifty percent food and fifty percent mining spares and basic survival equipment. There were no armaments in the freight at all and the crews were the same men who had served for two years on the same vessels. All good competent personnel but not what you would describe as VIPs. It's driving me crazy not knowing what has happened."
Sir Richard spoke again, "Captain Stephens, you have an open mind and you are experienced in space patrols. We want you to investigate this sad business and bring us some answers. Anything you need in the way of equipment I will get for you. Your UFO experience has taken on a new and frightening meaning as far as we are concerned. I, personally, believe every word of it and I am going to give you the chance that the Admiral was going to give you. Needless to say we must take action as soon as possible.”
Sir Richard reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a file which he handed to Captain Stephens, “This dossier contains every scrap of information I have been able to compile on both flight plans. I have arranged some secure quarters for you within this complex and would appreciate your cooperation in maintaining this security, at least for the time being. Anything you need, anything at all, please ask Fred or Miss Linaker and it will be arranged. Please give this matter your total attention and report back to me in forty-eight hours with your formulated plans and we will discuss them. I think we have all had enough for today so we will finish now. I have taken the liberty of preparing a voice command document case for you. Keep this file in it and use it at all times please. "
Captain Stephens took the document case and examined it. Apart from the handle there were no other signs of locks or anything else. "How do I use it?" he asked quizzically.
Mr. Ford said, “You simply instruct it to 'Open' or to 'Lock' and it does the rest itself. If you say 'Self Destruct' it will do that as well. It will also immobilize anybody who happens to be carrying it, so be careful what you say. It will obey your voice only."
“O.K. here goes. ...' Open' ..,” commanded Captain Stephens. Miraculously the case opened and he placed his documents inside. “Lock,” he instructed and the lid slid smoothly back into place.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ten minutes later he was in his new quarters. Michael had always travelled light and had come prepared for this eventuality. All his clothing, personal belongings and documents were in his personal transport. Michael, being a Lunar Resident, had bought himself a small moon shuttle. It was a sporty little job, quick and manoeuvrable, and capable of being used in the Earth's atmosphere as well as in space. It was the very latest model that the Aviation Division of Ford Motors produced. It could make the Moon trip in eight to twelve hours depending on the prevailing conditions. The thing Michael really liked about it was that it could be piloted manually or automatically. It was nice to have the 'Feel' of the little craft, also it helped to keep his hand in.
He looked around the quarters which were neat and functional. There was a bedroom with built in fittings and a deluxe super-helium filled bed which floated so relaxingly at its moorings. Most people who were used to low gravity preferred this kind of bed nowadays. There was a lounge with a sunken floor which contained the usual standard television and a holographic video which projected three dimensional productions of various kinds and the very latest in audio technology which played the new micro-chip recordings. These units were now about the size of a pill box and could be easily held in the palm of the hand.
He lowered the helium bed to the floor with the electronic winch, threw off his shoes and laid down luxuriously on the top cover. He then pressed the ‘Release’ button and the bed gently floated up again. He laid there quietly for quarter of an hour, slowly regaining control of his racing thoughts.
Eventually he dissipated all his excitement and exuberance. As he glanced through the solitary window he realized that it was still light. According to his chronometer it should have been dark. Then he noticed that nothing was moving at all and then the realization dawned on him. It was not a window at all. It was a holographic back projection which made these secure quarters a little less claustrophobic.
He had previously pressed the ‘Secure quarters’ button next to the door and although nothing visible had happened he had heard the smooth hum of electric motors doing their job.
“Eight O-clock,” he said to himself, “I’ll slip over to the launch pad and pick up my belongings.”
He deactivated the ’Secure Mode,’ picked up the remote control, went outside and re-secured the quarters. He found the elevator and pressed the button to call it. A voice spoke from the grille, a mechanical voice, polite but official, “Please give your name.”
"Captain Michael Robert Stephens."
"Please hold.”
After a short pause the voice spoke again. "Captain Stephens, you are not cleared to leave this floor. Please return to your quarters and call Security.” Michael realized that an argument with a machine was going to be futile, so he obediently returned to his quarters and did as requested. A man from security was there within thirty seconds.
“Good evening, Sir. Can I be of any assistance?”
This was a very smart young man with an extremely intelligent face and as the Captain scrutinized him he noticed that the man was of a powerful, athletic build. “A useful chap to have on your side,” he thought.
He then noticed that the man’s I.D. card had only a number on it. “Do I address you as 762?” asked the Captain.
“Yes, Sir,” replied 762. “In security we only use numbers, this way we can preserve our anonymity.”
“Well, 762, all my personal belongings are in my Moon Shuttle over on the launching pad and I do not have clearance to leave this floor. I have only just joined the Company and it has not been attended to yet.”
762 smiled gently and replied, “Your restriction to this floor is on the specific instruction of Sir Richard. He said you would understand this temporary restriction since you have a lot of work to do. It also takes twenty-four hours to run the clearance checks on new personnel. No offence Sir, but everybody has to suffer this indignity including Sir Richard himself.”
"Thanks for the information, but what about my belongings?” asked Michael. "You will find them all in your store room, all inspected and carrying security clearance. Also your beautiful Moon Shuttle has been moved to our private pad. It has been serviced and refuelled for you and our engineers have corrected the small fault on the In-flight Giro. Two fuel lines which they considered to be unserviceable have also been replaced. They have also taken out your standard radio transmitter and replaced it with one of our own powerful deep space transmitters which is also fitted with a Company scrambled channel. This is a standard procedure with new personnel."
Captain Stephens was quite taken aback. "Please convey my thanks to your engineers, I knew about the Giro but not about the fuel lines. Were they faulty parts?"
762 smiled knowingly. "The Chief Engineer did mention that the craft had been flown to its absolute limit in its 'Manual Mode,’ a thing he disapproves of, and that chaffing had occurred due to the violence of prolonged acceleration. Our Chief Engineer loves machinery much more than he likes people, Sir!"
Captain Stephens smiled back ruefully. "I suppose that I should consider myself well and truly told off in that case.”
“Oh no, Sir!" retorted 762. "He actually called the other engineers in to show them how a real pilot keeps his craft. He was very impressed with its cleanliness and its practical management. He said you were to be congratulated."
"Well that is nice to know. You spoke of a store room, could you tell me where it is because I can't see one?"
762 crossed the room and went to the window where there was a switch. Michael had thought it to be the holographic projector control. 762 explained, "Used normally the switch controls the hologram, in fact you can choose one of a number of scenes, ten to be precise, but if you push the knob down firmly and turn it to the right, as you can see a hidden panel slides to the side to allow access to the store room."
Sure enough the trick worked and it was a neat piece of engineering. "What happens if you turn it to the left?" asked Michael.
"In that case you get a much better result, because it opens the Bar over there," grinned 762.
Needless to say the bar was well equipped and the glass fronted cooler showed an adequate supply of his favourite beverage. He mused that his enforced captivity might not be too bad after all. "Are there any other secrets I should know about?" he asked.
"Yes Sir, just one. There is a fire escape chute in the bedroom close to the bed. It is automatic and opens when there is a genuine need to escape. It is not ultra-sensitive but I would not smoke in the bedroom if I were you. Just one last thing, Sir! The store room works only when the room is in 'Secure Mode.' I am assigned to be your personal attendant and bodyguard. When you press the 'Security' button, you will get me. You have had a long day Sir, would you like a proper meal?"
Michael thought for a moment and the idea seemed quite attractive. He said, "762 that is the best idea I have heard for a while. Do you think you could rustle me up a steak with all the trimmings, some ice cream and a pot of coffee?"
"No problem at all, Sir. I'll be back in about twenty minutes." With that he left the room.
Michael unpacked his cases and arranged his room. Just as he finished 762 returned with his meal. He ate heartily, helped himself to a final beer while he watched an interesting television programme concerning Buggy racing in the Lunar Sea of Tranquillity. Earlier he had selected a holographic projection of a Moonscape from his 'Window' and by the time he retired to bed he felt relaxed and at home. He soon slipped into a deep satisfied sleep and slept undisturbed for a full eight hours.