"Good," said Mahoney, "now let's get this show on the road. Follow me folks, there isn't much time."

Clare grabbed Rufus, and they all set off at a trot towards the ship.

It took several minutes to get there and it was good to be on the lift being hoisted up to the entrance hatch. On reaching it they entered the ship to a rousing round of applause. "This is the Forester family." The stewardess shouted. "As if you didn't know. That makes us all present and correct, close the hatch please sergeant, it's time to leave."

"Good bye all," the sergeant said, in his Irish accent, "have a good trip." He saluted and left. The hatch closed with a deep and rea.s.suring thud.

"Your seats are just over here," the stewardess said, smiling. "I'm so glad you made it, now I know we have a chance."

They all settled in as quickly as they could; there was even a padded cage for Rufus. 'Funny how he'd been so quiet since leaving the hotel,' Clare thought to herself. He was very subdued even now. 'Perhaps it was that doggie sixth sense warning him of things to come,' she thought. 'Shame it didn't warn the General...'

In no time at all a slow shudder ran through the ship. "That's the engines starting," Steve rea.s.sured Chris, "it'll get quite b.u.mpy in a minute when they really fire up, just hang in there buddy, we're gonna be OK."

Clare hung on tightly to Sh.e.l.ley who was showing all the signs of going to sleep. Clare looked at Steve who smiled back in admiration of his daughter's courage.

The roar was deafening as the engines powered up.

"Hold tight folks," came the captain's voice over the intercom, "here we go."

With that, the huge ship shook violently. There were loud cries from some of the pa.s.sengers, and other noises too, mixed in with the cacophony of sound as the ship eased its way up off the launch-pad.

Slowly at first, painfully slowly it looked to those back on the ground, but it picked up speed rapidly as it climbed. Then suddenly, there was an almighty rush of forward motion, which pushed all the pa.s.sengers back into their seats, the G force grew until every one weighed several times their normal weight. The shaking continued, the screams continued, the noise grew louder and louder until it seemed that all their eardrums would burst. Then, in an instant, it was quiet, and an incredible sense of peace came upon everybody.

"We made it folks," came the captain's voice again, "we are now officially in s.p.a.ce."

Then they heard him say, "Come in control, the lark has flown, I repeat, the Lark has flown."

Things that weren't strapped down began to float in mid air. Rufus was lying in his cage but not actually touching it. Clare looked at Steve smiling, "It's begun Hun," she said, "the adventure's begun."

Chapter Five.

Chapter 5.

s.p.a.ce...

"OK folks," the captain's voice sounded again. "We just need a little time here before we set off for the Moon. The take off was fine, but there are a few things that need to be checked just as a precaution. We'll be orbiting the Earth a couple of times, you might want to take some photos if you brought a camera, or you might want to say goodbye, or even a prayer. We may never return, and they may not survive for long down there. Would Dr. Forester, and Major Hammond please come to the flight deck."

The intercom crackled and went quiet.

Steve got up from his seat using the specially fitted handrails. He was not trained in zero gravity manoeuvres, and probably no one else was either. A young man floated past so Steve grabbed his ankle and let go of the rail. The young man looked back at him, "Dr. Forester I presume." A broad smile filled his face. Steve could see the likeness.

"You're General Hammond's son," he smiled back.

"That's right sir," the younger man replied, "he spoke very highly of you Dr. Forester, I know he was glad to make your acquaintance."

"Sorry he didn't make it," Steve said, looking at the younger man.

"Me too," he replied, "but dad knew the risks involved...We all did."

They reached the flight deck, a hatch opened and they floated through.

On the flight deck there were two pilots and another stewardess. Nancy introduced everyone. "Gentlemen," she said, to Steve and John, as they floated in, "these are your pilots, Phil Clancy, and Roy Corrin."

"Hi," they said. It wasn't possible to shake hands.

"And this is Dr. Stephen Forester and Major John Hammond." With that she floated off the flight deck and the hatch closed behind her.

"Well, guys," Phil began, "we have a sealed envelope for you that we are supposed to open before the trip begins, shall we do it now?"

All heads nodded.

Phil reached into a compartment near his right hand and pulled the envelope out and opened it. Inside there was a sealed doc.u.ment and a hand written note.

"The note is addressed to you Major Hammond," Phil said, pa.s.sing it to him.

"Read it out please Captain," John said, "there are no secrets now."

Phil withdrew his arm and unfolded the note, he read: "My dear son, if you are reading this then I am already dead. I want you to know just how much your mother and I love and respect you and all that you have accomplished. Our only regret is that we will not be there to see you and your family grow as the fine upstanding citizens we know you are. As leader of Lark, I am placing you in charge of security, answerable only to Dr. Forester, who will head up the project from now on. Trust him my son, he and his family will be your guide, treat them as you would us."

John looked at Steve with warmth that I can't describe. Steve's face had tear tracks running down both cheeks. The men hugged, as best they could, "I'm Steve," Steve said softly.

"And I'm John," The hug continued.

The Captain read on, "As you are both now aware, Earth is in serious trouble, we would not have activated Lark unless this was the case. It is up to you all on this ship to make sure the human race continues. Preserve all that you can that is good about us. There are many good people on board, encourage them to grow in their abilities. Try your best to forget our evils and our failings. You have a unique opportunity to achieve everything that mankind has thrown away, make the most of it. There are no weapons on board, we wanted you to be free of all that they signify. Go in peace my son, and make us all proud of you. Your Loving father, Jonathan D. Hammond."

There was a long silent pause. General Hammond had been a visionary, he had worked for a good many years putting Lark together, and it had paid off. Here they were, orbiting the Earth, safe from the terrible pestilence that was ravaging humanity below.

It was John who spoke first, "I'd like to offer up a prayer if it's OK with you all." Heads nodded. "My father was a good man, a Christian man, who believed pa.s.sionately in G.o.d, and His creation, the human race. My father loved people..." His voice trailed. Eyes closed and heads bowed.

"Almighty G.o.d," John began. "You, and You alone are to be thanked and praised for this second chance. I know that You inspired my father to do this, and I also know that You saw to it that he had all that he needed to accomplish Your plan. Now, O Lord, grant us, Your remnant, the grace to fulfil all that You have for us. Keep us free from all that is evil in humanity, and every other force that wants to destroy us, be it spiritual or physical. We are in Your hands Father..."

Again, his voice trailed off. Amens, came from the other men gathered on the flight deck.

"Amen," Nancy and Mary said, having come in, mid prayer. "Everything is secure captain," they reported, "we're ready to go."

"Good," Phil said, "tell everyone we'll be departing in five minutes."

"Right gentlemen," Phil said, "the other envelope is for Dr. Forester."

He handed Steve the thick brown envelope. Steve looked at it. It had the words, to be opened on arrival at the Moon, written on it. "Well, that takes care of that," Steve said, showing them what it said. "Let's get back to our seats and get this show on the road."

John laughed, recognising Mahoney's turn of phrase. The two new friends floated back through the hatch into the pa.s.senger compartment and the hatch closed behind them.

"Everything OK?" Clare asked, when Steve regained his seat.

"Couldn't be better," Steve smiled back, taking Clare's hand. "We are in good hands."

"Right folks, this is it," the captain's voice said, over the intercom. "Get ready for the engines starting up." The ship began to shudder. "Brace yourselves, the acceleration will be fierce, I'll give you a count down from five."

The ship was now shaking as it slowly turned away from the Earth. "Five...Four...Three," the noise build up was terrifying. "Two...One..." There was a sudden explosion, a noise so loud that some of the pa.s.sengers pa.s.sed out. Steve went faint as the ship's Trion drive kicked in. The acceleration hit...Nothing could be heard above the roar of the engines. If any of the pa.s.sengers were still screaming, no one could hear them.

The Trion drive had been invented way back in 2015, but early tests had failed. There was an inherent problem with Trion: it was unstable, but it was the nature of Trion's instability that gave it its power. The whole thing had been shelved for ten years until a certain, General Hammond, had re-started work on it. Science had progressed somewhat during those intervening years, especially in the nuclear department, and that's where the break-through had come. It took the power of a very small nuclear blast to focus the Trion sufficiently so that it could be used to drive a ship. It was a matter of creating a small nuclear explosion without destroying the ship.

This is where a young scientist named Vinkle had triumphed. Although a little quirky, he had a brilliant mind, and had solved this basic problem. His solution was quite simple, use standard rocket motors to get the ship moving and then set off the small nuclear device outside the ship at the rear. The speed of the ship would then protect it from the explosion, and the ensuing, Trion wave, as it was called. The Trion wave was a lethal wave of radiation that drove the ship before it, but would destroy anything it came into contact with. Fortunately, the Trion wave was very short lived, it consumed itself as it went, leaving almost no trace at all. The trick was to keep the ship at the focused head of the wave. Speeds of over one hundred thousand miles per hour were easily achievable. Vinkle's solution had worked, though it had entailed a redesign of the standard rocket motors to enable them to reach speeds of more than thirty-thousand miles per hour. It's safe to say, that without Vinkle, the ship would not be flying today. How sad it was, that the man who had made it all possible, also tried to pervert it for selfish gain.

Once the nuclear blast had been left behind, the Trion drive was silent. The wave, which acted like a fold in s.p.a.ce, pushed the ship silently on, almost like a surfboard.

It was some ten minutes later when the co-pilot, Roy Corrin, came floating through the pa.s.senger compartment. He was checking up on everyone, but having to use hand signals. All the pa.s.sengers were still deafened by the blast, though there were signs from some of the pa.s.sengers that some hearing was beginning to return. Rufus was unconscious, and Clare was looking a little concerned for him, but Roy felt the little guys ribs and gave Clare the thumbs up. He'll be all right, he signed.

At the front of the pa.s.senger compartment, up above the hatch to the flight deck, there were two monitor screens. The Earth was featured in one, and the Moon in the other. Steve hadn't noticed the screens before, perhaps they had been turned off until after that awful explosion. He nudged Clare, who was checking on the kids, and pointed to the screens. Earth was rapidly growing smaller in one, whilst the Moon was getting larger, just as rapidly, in the other. 'We must really be moving,' Steve thought to himself, still unable to hear properly.

About an hour into the trip, the captain came on the intercom. "You should be able to hear again by now folks. Sorry I didn't warn you about that, but I didn't want to scare you any more than I had to. If you look at the screens in front of you, you'll see Earth receding very quickly, and the Moon advancing similarly. I estimate our current speed to be around 125,000 miles per hour, which means we're about half way there. Sure beats downtown traffic!"

There were a few t.i.tters.

"Anyway, there are no more nasty surprises you'll be glad to hear. I'll shut off the Trion drive in about fifteen minutes, and we'll coast the rest of the way. Thirty minutes or so after that, I'll engage the deceleration system, which will gradually slow us down in time for landing on the Moon. I suggest you use the next hour or so to get to know one another. It will help the time to pa.s.s a little more quickly."

The intercom fell silent.

There was only a short period of inactivity, and then various folk began to leave their seats and float around the cabin. b.u.mping into each other turned out to be a great way to say h.e.l.lo. Steve and Clare took time to observe the interaction, whilst Sh.e.l.ley and Chris were off like a shot meeting the other kids on the flight. Rufus, however, was the star of the show. Clare had let him out of his cage, and he was happily doggie-paddling up and down the cabin like a true pro'. His canine sense of balance seemed to equip him very well for weightlessness, his tail going left and right as his legs went up and down.

John, and his wife, Lisa, found their way over to where Steve and Clare were.

"Hi," they called on b.u.mping. "This sure is fun," Lisa said, introducing herself to Clare.

"I'm Clare Forester," Clare announced, "but do call me Clare, this is my husband Steve."

Shaking hands was still rather tricky but Lisa tried it. She immediately started to float away, but Clare and Steve both made a grab for her, each catching one arm whilst holding on to the rail with the other.

"Thanks she beamed. Are those you're two kids?" She said, nodding in the general direction of Sh.e.l.ley and Chris.

"Yes, those are our two," Clare answered, "and yours?"

Lisa did her best to turn and point to her daughter Katy, but Clare was left to make a guess as to which little girl was actually intended.

"Her name is Katy," Lisa smiled, "I'll introduce you properly when we land."

"OK," Clare replied, "I'll look forward to it."

It turned out that an hour wasn't long enough to get around everybody on the flight, but the captain had been right when he said it would help the time pa.s.s more quickly. The intercom crackled into life again, "OK folks, time to get back to your seats, we'll be landing on the Moon in about five minutes."

Everyone did their best to comply, but traffic jams are just as bad in weightless conditions as anywhere else. There was much b.u.mping and apologising, punctuated with the odd embarra.s.sed laughter, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits and the mood was good.

The screens had been switched so that both now showed images of the Moon. It loomed until it filled both screens. Soon, surface features started to become clearer. Mountain ranges, valleys, and everywhere, craters, some huge, some small, but they were everywhere. They all watched intently as the view shifted to one of them skimming over the surface at about one thousand feet. The ship had dipped into one of the larger craters and was now heading for what looked like a small hill. As they neared the hill, it became apparent that it was a dome, made out of a grey looking material. Steve recognised it at once, "It's Bycrylic," he said to Clare, "we invented it at Star Labs, it's very strong and has amazing light properties. It will keep the sun's UV rays off us, hence the grey colour on this side, but once beneath it, it will be almost totally transparent."

"You invented it?" Clare asked.

"Well, me and a couple of other guys," he said, modestly.

"Tell me my genius, just what else is there about you that I don't yet know?"

Steve just smiled. "You know all the best bits," he joked, "the other stuff is boring!"

"Hmm," she replied, "let me be the judge of that."

The ship slowed and came to a hover over a landing pad. Slowly it descended, coming to a stop with a slight b.u.mp.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Moon. This is Moon Base Alpha, the brainchild of Dr. Peebles who, sadly, is no longer with us. In just a few moments the umbilical will be attached and we will be able to disembark. Roy, your co-pilot, Nancy and Mary thank you for flying Lark s.p.a.ce ways."

A chuckle came over the intercom, "This is your captain, Phil Clancy signing off."

There was a jolt as the umbilical was attached, then the main hatch opened and Jake Stephens popped his head inside.

"Hi folks, welcome to Moon Base Alpha-"

"We've had all that," Mary interrupted, "we just want to get off!"

"Sure thing," Jake said, with a laugh, "follow me folks, hop this way!"

Slowly everyone left the ship and hopped along the umbilical into a large air lock at the other end. When everyone was present, Jake closed the ship-side hatch and opened the base-side one. All the members of MBA were there to greet the newcomers. Zeek stepped forward and began, "Welc-"

"Yes, we've had all that," Mary fired off, "let's help these folks with their stuff."

"Is that it?" Clare asked Steve, "Six people?"

"Yep, that's it. I told you this place was top secret, the less people involved the easier it is to keep it secret."

"We need a role call," Mary shouted to be heard over the chatter, "please call out 'here' when you hear your name."

Mary went through the ritual and everyone dutifully complied. Steve was particularly delighted to hear Jimmy's name called, and Kay, his a.s.sistant. Though it brought home to him, just how many good people had been left behind. Clare saw his pensive expression.

"I know," she said, "but we couldn't bring them all." Steve and Clare hugged.