Was that a scream? thought Linda, as she woke on the second day in paradise.
She jumped out of bed and peered through the blinds, and across the beach, to see Andy chasing a semi-naked, giggling barmaid across the shore with a canoe paddle in one hand and her bikini top in the other.
‘Stupid oversexed scientists,’ she said under her breath.
A little snort came from underneath the bed cover.
‘Be quiet, you,’ said Linda. ‘It’s about time you disappeared – literally.’
‘Pot calling the kettle black,’ said a beautiful, female brunette, crawling out from the covers with a big smile on her face.
Linda looked at her with a puzzled expression.
‘Calling them oversexed,’ she said. ‘After what you did to me last night,’ she added, licking her lips suggestively.
Linda looked at the girl, putting on an expression that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the face of a nun.
‘Don’t know what you mean and what are you doing in my bed, strange girl? Be gone,’ she said, laughing.
‘Are you going to tell them?’ the young girl asked.
‘When I’m ready. They’re on a need-to-know basis and, at the present time, they don’t need to know.’
‘It’s Andrew, isn’t it,’ said the girl, nodding and winking at Linda.
‘How could you possibly know that?’ said Linda, staring.
‘I’m a computer, I know everything,’ she said and promptly disappeared as a knock on the door broke the moment.
‘Linda,’ called Ed. ‘Breakfast in five minutes. Steve’s done mango crêpes with Buck’s Fizz.’
‘On my way,’ she called, and ran for the shower.
‘It’s good to see all of you getting down here,’ said Linda.
‘Yep, I drew the short straw yesterday, but I get the next two days down here to play,’ said Steve, smiling and loading another crêpe with fresh mango and cream.
‘These are awesome,’ mumbled Andy, with a mouthful of crêpe and a smear of cream on his nose.
‘Please excuse my pet,’ said Ed and pretended to slap Andy on the back of the head. ‘He doesn’t get fed very often.’
‘Make sure you all get a good breakfast,’ said Phil. ‘And not too much Buck’s Fizz. You’re all getting flying lessons today.’
‘I’ve been a pilot for nine years,’ said Linda. ‘Why do I need any lessons?’
‘Because your ship will have our tech in it, which means using the power of thought to fly it. You will need some brain training to literally get your head around that aspect. It’s very different to what you’re used to and will surprise you with its capabilities.’
An hour later, Phil, Ed, Andy and Linda were all sitting in Phil’s shuttle, with Linda wearing the funny cloth cycling helmet and looking a little pensive.
‘You mean, I’ve got to fly the ship with my eyes permanently closed?’ she said, appearing less confident by the second.
‘Just relax, close your eyes and feel the ship around you. Feel its power; it can do whatever you imagine,’ said Phil, calmly.
Linda closed her eyes and Gabriel slowly released control over to the pilot.
‘Oh crap,’ shouted Linda, her head moving rapidly around and her arms flailing about.
‘Think calm thoughts, Linda,’ said Phil. ‘Get used to the complete vision you now have.’
Linda settled down and became still.
‘This is something else,’ said Linda. ‘It’s like being everywhere at once and the ship is part of you.’
‘Imagine the ship rising slowly into the air and cruising out over the ocean,’ said Phil. ‘Don’t let your mind wander, otherwise the ship will too.’
‘Okay, wow, that’s just freaky,’ said Linda, with a big grin on her face.
Ed was watching her and Phil when he suddenly realised the shuttle had lifted off the island and was currently travelling at Mach 2, about a hundred metres above the ocean. He gazed out the front screen, then back at Linda, who was now officially the first human from Earth to fly an alien spacecraft.
‘One hundred thousand feet please, Linda,’ said Phil.
The shuttle soared upward and, in a matter of seconds, was at the required altitude.
‘How do you know when it’s at the correct height?’ said Andy, trying to see a gauge or something that informed her of the fact.
‘You just feel it,’ said Linda. ‘You’re the ship; you just know everything that’s going on – all the time, all around you.’
‘Can you feel the Gabriel up in orbit?’ said Phil, smiling.
‘Yes,’ said Linda. ‘Wow, yes I can.’
‘Take us there and dock in the port hangar,’ he said.
Again, the little shuttle quickly gained altitude and was in space in a matter of minutes. The Gabriel appeared a few minutes later, first of all appearing as a speck of light and quickly growing into the starship.
‘She’s beautiful,’ said Ed. ‘This is the first time we’ve seen the Gabriel from outside.’
The starship hung above the ocean planet and was indeed a graceful looking vessel. The organic nature of the design was acutely evident – she didn’t appear to have a straight line or corner anywhere on the outer hull. She was pure gleaming white and seemed to flow in every direction.
‘Can you hold here for a moment please, Linda,’ said Phil. ‘Now, you remember I told you about our cloaking technology; I thought it would be a good opportunity to show you how effective it is. Gabriel, can you cloak the mother ship?’
The starship vanished.
‘Whoa, that’s weird,’ said Linda. ‘I can’t even feel it anymore.’
‘Open the hangar door please, Gabriel,’ said Phil.
The hangar doorway appeared in the middle of clear space. It looked like a portal into another universe.
‘I’m seriously impressed, Phil. That’s the best trick I’ve seen yet,’ said Andy.
‘Cool, eh?’ said Phil. ‘Okay, think her in, Linda.’
The shuttle crept into the landing bay with its landing struts extended, turned back to face the door and settled in the corner with a clump.
A spontaneous round of applause greeted Linda as she opened her eyes and removed the helmet. Grinning from ear to ear, she stood and took a bow.
‘Thank you, thank you,’ she gushed. ‘I’m here all week and my book is available in the foyer at a very reasonable price.’
‘Very good, Linda. Excellent,’ said Phil. ‘Your previous piloting skills held you in good stead. Not everyone makes it look that easy the first time.’
Several hours later, both Ed and Andy had had their turns wearing the helmet. Neither had shown a natural flair for piloting, but they could both get the ship from A to B with little risk of injury.
Phil had relieved Tony on the bridge of the Gabriel and Linda was piloting the shuttle back down to the island.
Gabriel could have done this for them, as he did the first time, but Linda was really keen to practice her newfound skill. She wanted to undertake an atmosphere insertion, which took a bit more concentration as she had to take the hull temperature into account and adjust the velocity and attitude accordingly.
It was dusk as they approached Theo Island, the lights from the little cottages reflecting in the mill pond flat ocean and, with Panemorfi’s star sinking into the ocean behind, it made the last few minutes of the flight quite memorable.
Linda brought the shuttle’s speed down so they could all enjoy the beautiful vista for a little while longer, before they reached the island and touched down adjacent to Mike’s ship. She powered down the systems and opened the airlock.
They all emerged to discover Steve and Mike had prepared a barbecue: a selection of meats, burgers, sausages and delicious looking salads. It was all so decoratively presented it seemed a shame to disturb such a work of art. The island computer had generated an all-female reggae band, playing a selection of recognisable songs from Earth. Andy said he recognised the girls in the band, which Ed and Linda decided was the beer talking. But he insisted they were the girls from a Robert Palmer video his dad used to put on a lot when he was a kid.
Later in the evening, Ed sat down on one of the loungers and sipped at a glass of a very acceptable Sancerre. Andy had insisted they all dance to give the band some encouragement. Not even the three Theos or the bar staff had escaped his enthusiasm. Even now, he hadn’t stopped; he’d persuaded the drummer to let him have a go and the rest of the band were now scowling at him as he failed, yet again, to keep a constant tempo.
Linda plonked herself down on the lounger next to Ed and turned her head so the light breeze blew her hair out of her eyes.
‘He can’t help himself, can he?’ said Linda, glancing over at the band to see that Andy now had the drummer sitting on his lap and was being taught the basic reggae rhythm, much to the band’s approval.
‘He just loves his girls. He’s been the same all the years I’ve known him,’ said Ed.
‘Haven’t you had a bit of fun with Gabriel’s little creations?’ said Linda, easing back into the lounger and putting her feet up.
Ed looked over at Linda, trying to gauge which direction her question was coming from.
‘I have,’ he finally said. ‘I’m just not as public with my relationships as some,’ he said, purposely looking across at Andy. ‘What about you?’
‘What about me?’ she answered, just a little bit quickly, which didn’t go unnoticed.
‘Trying to hide the fact you’re gay,’ he said very casually and continuing to watch Andy.
‘You know?’
‘I had an inkling,’ he said, looking back at her and meeting her gaze. ‘When I heard two female voices coming from your cottage this morning, it kinda confirmed it.’
‘You okay with that?’ she asked, continuing the eye contact.
Ed reached over, took Linda’s hand and kissed it.
‘Of course, I’m okay with that,’ he said, ‘and so too will Andy.’
‘Oh shit, Ed,’ said Linda, a tear running down her cheek. ‘I’ve been so worried. Thank you. I can relax now.’ She downed her glass of wine in one gulp, sat back on the lounger again and exhaled loudly. She glanced over at Ed again with a big grin on her face. ‘Can I introduce Sandy?’ she said.
‘Of course, but beware the Andy,’ he said. ‘He’ll be over in heartbeat.’
A beautiful young girl appeared, wearing just a swimsuit and sat on the lounger next to Linda.
‘Hello, Ed,’ said Sandy, offering her hand.
‘Well, hi,’ said Ed, shaking the proffered hand. ‘I’m extremely pleased to meet you and, if we’re all putting our cards on the table, can I introduce Marilyn?’ Ed drew a sigh of relief as Marilyn appeared, also wearing a swimsuit.
‘Marilyn Monroe,’ gasped Linda and looked over at Ed with both thumbs up. ‘Wow, I hadn’t thought of her.’
‘That’s what Andy said,’ laughed Ed. ‘And talk of the devil. Surprise, surprise – here he comes now.’
‘New girls in the camp,’ called Andy, as he almost tripped over, running across from the stage.
‘Andy,’ said Ed. ‘This is Linda’s girlfriend, Sandy.’
‘Ah, indeed. Wow, cool,’ Andy said, shaking Sandy’s hand. ‘Linda, I always thought there was something really cool about you,’ as he bent down and kissed her on the forehead. ‘And you’re Marilyn,’ he said, grinning and shaking her hand too. ‘I’ve heard lots about you.’
‘Not everything, though,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘There are some things about me that I’ll just leave up to your imagination.’
‘Indeed you can, right, bar’s open and it’s my round,’ he said, as he trotted off to play with his favourite barmaid.
‘Told you he’d be okay with it,’ said Ed, looking over at Linda.
‘I wonder if the Theos understand the concept of same-sex relationships,’ said Linda, looking around for either Tony, Steve or Mike.
‘Steve went back to his cottage a while ago, complaining of nausea,’ said Ed. ‘I think our Earth food is a bit rich for them.’
‘I think you’re probably right,’ said Linda. ‘I know, I’ve put on a couple of kilos since we met them.’
‘Shall we get some exercise then?’ said Ed, grinning. ‘I’ll race you to the bar.’
‘Ed – Ed – wake up,’ called Marilyn, shaking him roughly.
‘Wha – what – what is it?’ he mumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s still the middle of the night,’ said Marilyn.
‘Marilyn, we did it three times and—’
‘No, not that,’ she said, with a look of real concern in her eyes. ‘Gabriel is very agitated. Phil got sick and put himself in the auto-nurse to have himself diagnosed. The machine put him immediately into an induced coma. Gabriel then tried to contact either Mike, Tony or Steve but they’re not responding. Please, Ed, this has never happened before, not in many millennia.’
‘Okay, okay, I’m awake. Why haven’t you gone over to check?’ he asked, struggling to get into his underwear.
‘Their cottages are at the far end of the island, out of range of our holo reflectors,’ she said.
‘Don’t they have reflectors inside?’
‘Yes, but they’re private, and I need their authorisation before I can access the zones,’ she said.
Ed slipped on his trainers and opened the door, looking back at Marilyn. ‘Tell Gabriel to give me as much light as he can to show me the way.’ He disappeared out into the dark, crossed the beach and headed up past the bar and restaurant building, underneath the two shuttles and off into the darkness.
Suddenly, beams of laser light coming from above pinpointed three cottages about two hundred metres ahead. Gabriel was showing him the way from his orbit. He reached the first cottage and banged on the door, but got no response. After three attempts, he tried the door and found it locked.
‘Authorised entry is not permitted,’ said the cottage.
‘Bloody hell,’ shouted Ed, jumping back. ‘I nearly gave birth. Are you a sentient security system?’
‘Semi-sentient,’ said the cottage.
‘Can you contact Gabriel up in orbit please, he’s concerned for the safety of Mike, Tony and Steve. We want to check they’re all right,’ said Ed, feeling an idiot for talking to a door in his underpants in the middle of the night.
It only took a few seconds before all the lights came on and the door clicked.
‘Entry authorised for Edward Virr,’ said the cottage.
Ed soon found Tony. He was dead and on the floor next to the bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling and covered in an ugly rash of sores.
‘Ah, shit no,’ said Ed. ‘Tony, what have you done? What the hell is this?’ He turned and ran out the front door, across to the next illuminated cottage and shouted his name at the front door. Immediately, the lights came on and the door clicked.
‘Entry authorised for Edward Virr.’
He crashed through the front door and nearly fell over Mike. He’d made it into the lounge, where he lay face down, three metres from the door and just as dead.
‘What the hell happened?’ said Andy as he sprinted into Mike’s cottage, also skipping to one side to avoid the body on the floor.
‘It seems to be some sort of virulent virus,’ said Ed. ‘Must be frightningly fast-acting,’
‘I’ll check on Tony and Steve,’ said Andy.
‘Don’t bother with Tony,’ said Ed, shaking his head. ‘Let’s both check on Steve.’
They walked over to Steve’s cottage together, knowing it was pointless to run. Ed went through the now-familiar routine with the security system and when the lights came on and the door clicked, they entered slowly this time.
They needn’t have worried. Steve was still in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling and dead too.
‘Fuck,’ said Andy.
‘My sentiments exactly,’ said Ed.
‘What about Phil?’
‘He’s in a coma – in the auto-nurse,’ replied Ed. ‘I’m kinda hoping that will hold off the virus until we can find a cure.’
‘What the hell can we do? We’re a physicist and a mechanical engineer not biologists, and we might be infected too.’
‘Well, if we are, we’re going to find out about it pretty soon,’ said Ed. ‘Come on, there’s nothing we can do here tonight. We need to let Linda know what’s happened and sober up.’
Linda met them as they walked into the bar area and, as they explained, a look of horror appeared on her face. They both grabbed her as she collapsed and dissolved into floods of tears.
Ed and Andy’s eyes met, before they quickly looked away and stared out to sea, tears running down their faces also.