Authors: Eddie Hastings
As he opened his eyes he was aware of Anne holding his wrist, checking his pulse. She smiled at him and said “Welcome back.” He smiled at her and asked the only question that was on his mind. “Have I still got two legs?” Anne smiled at him and said that she had managed to save his leg and everything was going to be alright.” He sunk his head back into his pillow and he sighed a deep sigh of relief. He could not feel his injured leg and thought that this may be the result of some form of pain killer Anne had given to him. He prayed that it was not some form of paralysis, only time would tell. His leg had been encased in a tube of diagnostic wizardry which kept a check on every aspect of his healing. Any anomalies would show on Anne’s control panel alerting her to the problem. It fitted tightly around his leg and was not cumbersome at all. In fact, it would allow him unrestricted mobility while he was on the ship. She left him alone to continue with his recovery.
The captain had relieved Travis of his duties and had reassigned them throughout the rest of the crew for the last two days on this planet. He was concerned about the soldiers that had been left tied to the tree. They had been there for about nine hours and he wondered if they had been discovered. Fearing that they had not, he was about to send JD and Watkins to discover their fate.
He called them all to an emergency meeting and without discussion he said,” JD, Watkins, I want you in full fatigues, take what you need and get to those two men. What ever this race may be, I will not be responsible for their deaths. We need to know that they are alright. Be ready to go in five minutes. The rest of you will monitor this operation.” Watkins tried to address the captain but he was cut off mid sentence. “I am sorry mister Watkins this is not open for discussion, get ready I want you to go in five” Watkins and the rest of them had realised that this was a different captain speaking. Daniels had recognised the fact that he had let himself become to complacent with this mission and had let his guard down and as a result he had an injured man. He needed to rectify his error the best way he knew how. This time he had ordered them to arm themselves; he could not take the risk of injuring any more of his crew. But by the same token he could not leave people to die as a consequence of his orders, regardless of whom, or what they may be. The two man reconnaissance team were dressed in full camouflage attire, this was a serious mission. They were armed with full combat weaponry and were ready to depart.
It was night when they arrived at the shoreline and, stealthily, they raised their pods above the surface of the water
by only a few inches to enable them to survey the beach. They scanned the beach using their night vision goggles and their heat signature detector devices. There was nothing to indicate the presence of anyone except themselves. They proceeded to bring the pods into the shallows and like shadows in the night they moored them and continued into the night. Their entire field of vision could be seen only in green and black due to the goggles they wore. This was the same for the crew. The night was so dark that it would have been impossible to make anything out without them. Using flood lighting or torches was not an option, this was a covert mission. They travelled through the trees without sound heading for their target. When they arrived they checked out the area to see if there was anyone around, satisfied that they were alone, they approached the two heat signals that were being displayed on their wrist monitors. It was evident that the explosive device they had left had become defective and had not deployed. They had to disarm it and placed it back into one of their backpacks. The two Romans thought they were experiencing an apparition. They had never seen anyone quite so menacing they sat with terror in their wide open eyes. This was something that was beyond their sphere of understanding, worse than any nightmare their minds could conjure. For one of them the terror was so bad it caused him to urinate. To facilitate an easier communication link their ear pieces were connected to speakers which were connected to the webbing straps that hung on their shoulders. Using the Roman language base the captain inputted the first question which was relayed through the speakers. “We are going to remove your gags, do you promise not to shout out?” They were by this time completely terrorised and would have agreed to anything, they nodded their heads rapidly and violently in agreement. As they reached to remove the gags, the two soldiers were still unsure and shied their heads away from the two strange figures. The instant their mouths were free one of them began to call for help. Watkins firmly placed his hand over his mouth and held him firm. placing one finger to his own mouth he shushed him. Even more terror appeared in his eyes, and realising the error of his ways he once more rapidly nodded to signify his compliance. When they were calmer the captain sent another message for them in their native tongue. “Are you harmed in any way?” The voice was not of this earth they were in the presence of some beings or gods even who were inquiring as to their well being. They were afraid and confused. One of them, with his voice trembling, said that they were unhurt and asked what was happening. The captain explained that they had made a mistake by ensnaring them in such a manner and that his men were here to release them. Shortly they would be released but any sudden movements would result in them being restrained once again. He asked if they understood and also asked for their cooperation. Eagerly they agreed to all of his terms. Watkins took up position about ten yards away from the tree and trained his gun on the group while JD untied them one at a time. Upon being released they rubbed the areas where their bindings had been tightest to encourage circulation to return. Realising that any attempt to subdue these men would be futile, and so, they meekly complied with the wishes of their captors or indeed their liberators dependant on your viewpoint. Now that they had been freed Watkins stood on guard waiting for any slight move on their behalf, but there was none. He was, however, alert and ready to act. JD reached into his backpack and removed four containers. He gave two to each of the men who looked confused. The speakers at his shoulders simply said “Eat, drink.” The men looked at the containers mystified. Realising that they had no clue as to what was expected of them JD took the containers and unscrewed the tops and handed them back. He then motioned that they should drink the contents. Cautiously at first, they took a sip from each of the foil bottles and discovered to their amazement that one contained water and the other a liquid the like of which they had never tasted before. To them it was one of the best tastes they had ever experienced. In fact it was standard field rations. When they had finished it was time for JD and Watkins to safeguard themselves and the crew from further discovery by this race. The gamble was that when their story was retold it would be met with ridicule, but at least these men would be free and safe. JD reached once more into his backpack and produced two hypodermic pumps that were filled with an anaesthetic prepared by Anne from her medical supplies. She reckoned that the effects of this shot should render them unconscious for about three hours. He went up to one of the soldiers and deftly injected him. Almost immediately he fell to the ground. Before the other had realised what was happening he too had succumbed to being injected and was also in a state of sleep. JD checked their state and signalled to Watkins that all was safe. He checked his gun and went to assist. They lifted the men from the crumpled position in which they lay and placed them comfortably at the base of the tree, collected the empty packaging from the rations they had given to them and then proceeded to return to the ship.
The daylight had arrived when the two soldiers began to regain consciousness. They were sheltered from the intense heat in the shade of the tree. It took a while for the effects of the drug to wear off and to leave them fully cognoscente.
For an instant they looked around them half expecting that the two strangers would still be there. Realising that they were long gone they headed back to their garrison wondering how they were going to explain their absence to their superiors.
This was the last day on Epsilon Omega and although the highs and lows of the mission had left them with conflicting feelings about this place, the general consensus was
, that given time and a little more on the evolutionary scale, it had the potential to be a world not unlike their own. Although Daniels had made the town a no go area he knew that they would like the chance to bid farewell to Aaron and Beth. And so he consented to them making one last visit to their house. Hatch and Daniels would stay behind, as would Travis, he was confined to the ship due to his injury. But the other four would make one last journey ashore. The four pods arrived on shore and all four of them would exercise great caution while leaving the water. They moored the pods and started toward the house. None of them said it, but they were relishing this last visit. Walking along this pristine beach and sampling the clean, fresh, warm air. They thought that they would never experience such a perfect place again in their lifetimes. The topic of conversation on the journey was Travis’ injury, the crucifixion and the family they were about to visit. The congenial banter had speeded up the journey somewhat and before they knew it they were amongst the flock of goats that Aaron kept. He waved and greeted them from the other side of the flock and began to make his way through the animals to meet them. He invited them to his home and between them they herded the flock back to the safety of the holding field next to his house. Once secured they all went to see Beth and Luke. Before entering the house they all went to the site of Thomas’ grave to pay their respects. As they stood there talking Beth felt that there was more to their visit than they had said. She felt that this was not just a social encounter this seemed, somehow, planned. She could not shrug this feeling and wanted to know what was different about this call. They retired to the house where they were treated to food and drink by their hosts. Mary was the one to broach the subject.
“Beth, Aaron. This will be our last visit to you. Tonight we must leave for our home. We wanted this last chance to see you and to thank you for all that you have done for us.”
Beth knew that there was something afoot. But she didn’t think that their new friendships would be so fleeting and this news took her a little by surprise. She found herself feeling a little cheated that she would not be able to nurture her new found circle of friends. Beth looked at them and asked where they were from. They knew that this question would arise at sometime during this day and had concocted a story to use when explaining their destination. Mary seemed to have become the spokesperson for the moment and she explained that they were members of a nomadic tribe who had been searching for new lands to travel. Aaron asked if these were the lands that would be suitable for their tribe. Mary replied that these lands would be ideal except for the presence of the Roman occupiers. They would have to search wider to find a place that was safe for their peoples. It was not a satisfactory reason for not staying, but it was plausible and for now it had placated Aaron and Beth. It was a lie and Mary felt uneasy about deceiving her friends but she could not tell them the truth, they would not, nor, could not understand what was being told to them even if she did. The conversation about their impending departure was the topic of conversation for most of the morning. Gradually, different subjects were discussed and the day became more of a social event. Four hours into the visit the captain apologised but said that it was time for them to return and ready the ship for take off that night. They told their hosts that it was time for them to depart and for the next half an hour they helped tidy the utensils that had been used and said their goodbyes to Aaron, Beth and Luke. Before finally leaving they said that they had a parting gift for the family and presented them with the coins that they had manufactured for their stay. Beth almost lost the rigidity of her body when her legs buckled slightly she had never seen so much money and to them it would certainly be an answer all of their dreams. But she knew that they could not accept such a generous offer and politely refused the gift. Fortunately for them, refusal was not an option. The crew explained that where they were going this currency was worthless and would just be thrown away. It took a little convincing that this was a genuine gift from the crew and eventually they accepted the gift. As they walked away from the house for the last time Aaron shouted after them. “If you ever need us for anything, know that we will be here ready to help you in any way”
The crew turned and waved goodbye to people they had, over a short space of time,
come to know well and had shared so much with.
Within an hour they were back on the beach placing their feet into their pods. They all took one last look around. Not to see if they were being observed, but to enjoy for one last time the surroundings of this place. Then with heavy hearts they returned to the ship.
It took the crew a few hours to prepare the craft for departure and when it was ready they had a few hours to kill before take off. With nothing else left to do they rested.
Everything was readied for their departure back to the home world and final checks were underway. They had about twenty minutes to wait before they finally left. Local time meant that most, if not all of the inhabitants would be asleep and this would allow them to make their departure with minimum observation. The crew were all seated at their respective stations completing their final checks when they heard the mission control on the ship wide system.
“Hello 1472 this is mission control ready to take your final instructions for departure. All is looking good and everything reads green for take off. We have calculated your flight path and trajectory to place you on course for God and have already fed the coordinates into your main frame. We will of course talk you through procedure as we go. We estimate that your journey home will take approximately four days. Stand by for launch instructions. Launch will take place in ten minutes from my mark…mark.”