'Of course. That Akrins is a lucky man. Maybe I've misjudged him and his pals. I'll see you when this is all over.'
'Ok. Take care.'
As Carver walked away to his ship, Akrins jumped out of the airlock to grab most of Golightly's bags. 'What did that creep want?'
'Just to wish me a safe mission. That and to tell me to watch out for green aliens.'
Akrins laughed and said, 'Doesn't he know green aliens are the best ones? Come on.'
They climbed aboard the ship and the airlock door hissed shut.
Chapter 78
'I hate this part.'
Patrick hugged and kissed the scar on Belle's shoulder. 'Waiting for the action. I know just what you mean.'
Belle slapped his backside and laughed. 'I'm talking about fighting aliens in space. Your mind is elsewhere.'
'My mind is right here, thank you very much.' The next scar was longer and jagged and lower down and he planted several kisses on it. 'And isn't this a better way to kill time while we are waiting?'
Belle pushed him away. 'Time. Exactly. Time, space and parallel universes. Something occurred to me.'
Patrick sighed and reluctantly stopped exploring Belle's body. 'Shall I carry on kissing you all over while you tell me all about it?'
'What happened to me?'
'I know not a lot will happen to you if you insist in deep and meaningful conversations. I'm listening.'
Belle sat up in their too small bunk intended for singles not couples. 'The other you died in this dimension, right?'
'Nailed it. Completely killed the mood.'
'You died. In a ship in battle. So what happened to me? And Dale, Liz and Toby? It only just dawned on me that nothing has been mentioned about us. Did we never exist on this planet? Our other selves?'
Patrick put his serious head on. 'Interesting. And you're right. My other self was killed in battle. Nothing mentioned about you and the others.'
'Odd, don't you think?'
Patrick shrugged and said, 'Maybe. We have seen a few familiar faces here. Paul Davron. Burns. The same but very different. You and the others could be doing different things to what you do now. Alive somewhere, but not a part of Paul's normal circle. You just didn't come up in conversation.'
'Oh! Not important enough are we?'
Patrick back-pedalled. 'I never implied that. I just don't see how we could possibly live entirely identical lives in two different dimensions. Maybe we all exist at the same time in both universes and then again perhaps not. But here you could be ...oh, I don't know. A teacher? An engineer? Anything.'
'No. I don't feel that. I'd still like adventure. Action. Space. Yes. I don't give a shit what universe I'm in. I'd feel the same way. So where am I?'
Patrick had to admit to himself that Belle had put forward interesting possibilities. 'If I promise to look into this in the morning, can we now get down to some serious fun?'
Belle ran her fingers through his tangle of blond locks. He was without doubt the most exciting man she had ever known and she was happy she hadn't killed him. 'Bring me back to the here and now.'
Patrick continued the kissing. 'My burning ambition.'
Chapter 79
'Thank you.'
Akrins said, 'April. If anyone saved you it was Jazz. I just helped fix the ship.'
'That's not what I meant. You not giving me a hard time about being here with you on this ship is what I'm thanking you for.'
Akrins never knew just what to say to Golightly. Being constantly rejected by all women other than ones he had paid money for had left him with a jaundiced opinion of the fairer sex. He still found letting his deeper feelings for April go entirely. It was a cruel joke, right? She having feelings for him? Oh, not a joke by her. She was too wonderful and lovely to be capable of hurting anyone that way. This joke was by life. He didn't see why a change in universe should change his fortune with women. For now he would try to grab what happiness that came his way.
'I know you would never would have listened. At least by having you here with me means I can keep my eyes on you. And believe me, I can keep my eyes on you all day long.'
April kissed him and said, 'Are you sure you don't have a wife or girlfriend waiting for you back on your Earth?'
'Me? Oh, sure. Sometimes I'm scared to walk outside for women propositioning me. It's a curse being so damn irresistible.'
April thumped his shoulder. 'I knew it. I'm just a notch on your bedpost.'
'Damn! You're serious. April. I've been runner-up all my life for everything. Like...like at school as a kid. Sports. The team captains would be picking their teams from the class and one by one all the other kids would be called out. It was always me and Fatty Thomlinson the last two and more often than not, Fatty would be picked next. Do you have any idea...? Stupid. You'd never be picked last by anyone. Not your captains.'
'No. I was the team captain.'
Akrins sighed and said, 'I should have known. And yet you like me. I don't get it. You could have your pick of any hunk you fancied.'
'When I was younger I did. The top jocks at high-school. Good-looking doctors at the hospital when I was training to be a nurse. Even with the military. Vince really never gave up.'
'Vince?'
'Lieutenant Vincent Carver.'
Akrins snarled, 'That joker?'
'Exactly. I was just another challenge to him. He never really cared for me. I want more than a pretty face on my man. I want somebody who loves me for myself. Somebody intelligent and kind. Toby. I want you.'
'You have me. For the rest of my life.' He reached over and turned off the light.
On another ship, Carver turned off the receiver. He realised he had issues, but had no intention on listening to an alien make love to April Golightly. The tiny transmitter he had stuck on April's spacesuit had just enough range for him to listen in and establish the truth. So far what he'd heard he hadn't liked.
Chapter 80
ComSat technician second class, Carintha Lomas, had no idea what to do.
'Incoming, incoming. Help me somebody, damn it.'
Shift ComSat Supervisor Kim Pool was at her side in an instant. 'Take a deep breath, Lomas. Explain.'
'Auto defence on the city has just fired off. A strike already on His Excellency's residence.'
'What? And we saw nothing coming in?'
Lomas stared bug-eyed at her screen, her hands all over the controls. Pool grabbed both wrists and pulled them away.
'Stop messing. Emergency services?'
'Already on their way. How the hell did I miss it?'
'Probably nothing showing on the instruments. They can do that. Have we scrambled a response?'
'Yes, sir,' said Lomas, trying to catch her breath. 'We have...there, sir. Three of our fighters after the attackers. On my screen. Oh,...'
'I see only two. What the hell is...'
Lomas said, 'A confirmed hit. A fighter down. Response teams closing. Oh, Commander Drakov.'
'Did I hear you right? His Excellency?'
Pool gently eased the distraught technician out of her way and took her seat. 'I've patched in to the lead fighter. Captain Portillo. Just one moment sir and I'll...'
'...moving too fast to get a shot at. Jeez. That thing's got some speed. Oh, crap. It's just...another hit. S D three. Take a high sweep. I'll come from...'
The signal disappeared. 'He's been hit, sir,' said Pool.
'This is S D two. I'm on my own out here. The damn thing still hitting the city. Buildings collapsing. Giving chase. I have him, I have him. Clipped the son of a bitch. Still moving fast. Heading out of the city. Nothing moves like that. Still trying to take it out. I'll get you, you son of a...What the...? Gone. Like he was...there and now he's...Command. Can you give me a fix on it?'
'We only see you,' said Drakov. 'Stay after him.'
'Sir. I only have another thirty-eight minutes of top speed flying.'
Pool said, 'We have four more fighters on the way. Just look out for
that ship.'
'To get what? That thing's nothing we can catch with our strike force. Wait. I see it. Coming straight at me.'
Pool said, 'Nothing on our screen but our fighter. Damn invisible.'
Drakov said, 'S D two. You have visual?'
'In my sights. Blasting the bastard. Going...hell! Jeez, that was damn...where the hell is my back-up? Got you, you bastard. Yes, Yes, yes. He's...gone! Totally vaporised.'
'Come home, son. Well done.'
'Thank you, sir. Anything else coming at us?'
Pool shared a worried look with Drakov. 'Nothing we can see. That doesn't mean much. Get out of there and let the others take care of the situation.'
'On my way. Over.'
Drakov snapped, 'Get me His Excellency.'
Pool did her best. 'Sorry, Commander. Everything is dead.'
Chapter 81
The fleet of nine space-fighters had been put on high-alert and all but Major Burns' ship, still having repair work done were ready to take off. A squadron of sub-space fighters were giving the space fleet cover and protection from any enemy drone attacks. They were relying on visual sightings as the enemy could rarely be detected by radar. The roofs of the hangers and the communication and command centres had military personnel with high-powered binoculars scanning the sky. It seemed woefully inadequate but it was all they could do.
The air was filled with the sound of emergency vehicles responding to the damage in the city, and a thick plume of dense black smoke marked the wrecked upper floors of Paul Davron's city residence. Patrick had made his mind up to go.
Belle said, 'You need to stay here with us. We might have to scramble at any moment.'
'I need to go to Paul. I'll come back as soon as I know he's safe. If need be, you take off without me.'
Danders said, 'The city is crawling with response units. They don't need you. We do.'
Patrick hit the airlock door sensor and the door swung open. 'I need to do this.'
Belle grabbed his arm. 'Ok. I understand. Don't do anything stupid.'
'I'll get back as soon as I can.'
They kissed and Patrick jumped down. All around him was controlled chaos; choppers and planes zigzagging overhead and armed men and women in uniforms running and driving in every direction. An open-top vehicle was just about to drive past him when he hailed the driver to stop.
'Get me to the city.'
The young woman driver said, 'Get in.'
As the vehicle sped away, Patrick said, 'They got the attack drone, right?'
'At the cost of two of our planes. No other drones have been seen yet.'
Patrick dared to ask, 'Paul Davron?'
'His Excellency hasn't been found yet. He was there when it was hit. You're him, aren't you. Patrick.'
'Yes.'
'I'm Lieutenant Maria Darkov. And before you ask, he's my father.'
Maria weaved through the mayhem and was waved through by perimeter security guards, out onto the main road heading to the city. A policeman on a hover-bike made them pull over.
'Authorised personnel only, miss.'
'I'm Lieutenant Darkov on orders from Commander Darkov.'
'Good enough for me. I'll escort you in.'
It was fortunate the policeman was escorting them through the city as roadblocks were in place to prevent all but the emergency response units entering and leaving. Even then they were blocked off from where the damaged building was. A man in a rescue team uniform approached them.
'Sorry. We need to keep this area clear to take the wounded to hospital.'
'This is Patrick Davron,' said Maria.
The man had a puzzled expression on his face when he looked at Patrick. 'The alien?' he said, suspiciously. 'But I heard you aliens were green.'
'Only if I've had too much beer. Now can we go through?'
'I wish I could help. But it isn't far if you go on foot.'
Maria said, 'We'll do that. I'll park over there.'
Maria found a tiny patch of undamaged free-space then she and Patrick were out of the vehicle and running through the streets. They stopped when they were a hundred yards from the building.
'It doesn't look good,' admitted Patrick.
'That drone knew just where to strike. Just the top floor.'
'Paul's private suite.'
From where they stood, they could only see a fraction of the damage but it looked as if the drone had made several slicing strikes to the top of the building, causing the flat roof with the garden to collapse onto the floor below. Paul and his personal staff would be lucky to survive.
A man in uniform approached. 'I advise you not to go nearer.'
'Thank you,' said Maria. 'Could I speak to whomever is in charge?'
'That would be me, Captain Bob Thorne, Chief Incident Coordinator. I recognise you,' he added with a look at Patrick.
Patrick shrugged and said, 'Yeah, the alien. What's your plan for the rescue attempt?'
Before the man could reply, there came a rumbling sound as more of the weakened roof collapsed. Several small chunks fell crashing to the ground just a few yards away.
'As you can see, the top of the building is very unstable. We need to find a way in which doesn't make the situation worse and endanger lives. We've sent a probe with a camera up for a close look. Let's go see.'
Thorne led the way to a huge black incident vehicle and they climbed in through the back. It was full of high-tech equipment and a team of five men and woman monitoring the vast array of electronic equipment.
'Barton. Do we have a visual yet?'
'Yes, sir. Reasonably clear images.'
Barton moved aside so Thorne, Patrick and Maria could see the six screens. A slightly flickering picture from the probe as it flitted about the damaged roof. Thorne gave his professional assessment of the images.
'Almost a total collapse of the roof. That garden on the top was more than the damaged roof could handle even being reinforced.'
Patrick said, 'That drone's laser melted any steel reinforcement.'
'Not completely,' said Maria. 'That central section is higher than the rest of it. If they were under that, they might have been lucky.'
Barton said, 'I'll put the building schematics up.'
A blue holographic image was projected into the centre of the vehicle outlining every floor and room in the entire building.
'This could explain it,' said Thorne. 'This elevator shaft. Basically a reinforced series of square tubes. Three take His Excellency's various staff to their offices and work stations on the lower levels. This one goes to the upper floor.'
'All the staff got out of there?' Maria asked.
'Yes. Everyone below the top floor,' replied Thorne. 'Just a few minor injuries, nothing serious. But the thing is, the combined four elevators would have much greater compression strength than the rest of the building. The royal suite surrounds the fourth elevator. It may well have helped create a few cavities where people could have survived.'
Patrick asked, 'How many people? Do we know?'
'Seven we are sure of. His Excellency. Miss Fathershom. Two administration assistants who deal with personal correspondence. Two catering staff and a cleaner. His Excellency is the only one who lives there.'
'Good news about those who escaped,' said Maria. 'You've tried infrared of course?'
'Of course. Too much stuff to get through with that damn jungle on the top.'
Patrick said, 'There were two gardeners working full-time.'
'Mr Potts was winched to safety. The lad was away sick. Potts suffered a broken leg but he'll be ok.'
Marie had turned to study the screens with the images from the probe. 'There must be a way we...'
A piercing alarm cut her short.
'Incoming,' yelled a technician above the din. 'Unidentified. A small craft.'
'Take it out,' yelled Thorne.
A laser streaked shots into the air.
'Missed it, damn it,' said Thorne. 'Fire again.'
 
; 'NO!' yelled Patrick. 'Look. Magnify that image.'
Thorne said, 'A flying monkey?'
'A chimp,' said Patrick, relieved when the alarms stopped hurting his ears. 'Muffin.'
Marie said, 'I saw him at the zoo.'
'He's gone,' said Thorne. 'Barton?'
Barton said, 'That creature just vanished. He was about to land on the roof.'
'He loves Paul,' said Patrick. 'He's gone to find him.'
'I see him,' said Barton. 'There. He's gone again. There's a slight gap. He must have gone inside.'
Marie said, 'He's small and agile enough. He's out again. On the top of the roof.'
Patrick said, 'Captain Thorne. Do you have a megaphone? A loud-hailer?'
'I never leave home without one.' Thorne took a megaphone from an equipment locker and passed it to Patrick. 'Just squeeze the trigger to speak through it.'
Thorne, Patrick and Marie jumped outside and Patrick tried to see Muffin. Thorne tried with his binoculars.
'I see him. To the left.'
Patrick squeezed the trigger. 'Muffin. Muffin. Hey. Pal. It's me.'
'He heard you,' said Thorne. 'He's looking for you.'
'Muffin. Muffin. Come here, pal..'
They saw Muffin leap from the roof, using his wings to glide down.
'Muffin. I'm here.'
Muffin swooped down and passed over their heads, circled and landed gently in Patrick's arms, planting a wet kiss on his face.
'Hey, Muffin. Am I glad to see you.'
Marie stroked Muffin's head and said, 'I don't suppose he can talk as well as fly?'
'Oooohyahooah!'
'That's Muffin for banana. Hey. Captain. I've had an idea.'
Chapter 82
'Muffin. Please cooperate. Leave it alone.'
Marie said, 'Not too tight on him, is it?'
Patrick said, 'He's not big on clothes, even cameras strapped to his shoulder. Now listen, Muffin. I'll get you a pile of peanut butter sandwiches if you do this.'
'Oooooha.'
'I thought that would get your attention. Come on pal. You have a little job to do. Out we go.'
They left the vehicle again. 'Go find Paul. Paul. Go find Paul.'
Muffin took off and seemed to fly aimlessly around.
'I don't think he understood you,' said Thorne.
'He's thinking about Peaches,' said Patrick.
Marie said, 'He's hungry?'
'His girlfriend Peaches. No. He's back.'
Thorne spoke into his radio. 'Barton. Are you receiving from...Muffin?'