Part 17
DATE:FC+42

Chapter 17
DATE:FC+42

"We now have Questions for the Prime Minister," stated Austin Charwick, Speaker of the House of Commons. "Colin Hood."

"Will she list her engagements for today?" asked Colin.

This was a long-standing gambit to ensure the Prime Minister must answer the question directly before the real question is revealed. It was a hangover from when Prime Ministers would routinely deflect to cabinet colleagues.

The Prime Minister rose and with her professional smile, answered with the usual, "This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall have further such meetings later today."

There was no preamble, no congratulating herself. She didn't like that fluff. She tolerated the traditional parliamentary dance but treated Prime Minister's Questions as a forum for honesty, not theatre. Now the formality was out of the way, she could get the real question.

"Prime Minister, do you feel that you're spending too much time talking about aliens, and not enough about this country?"

There was a deathly silence. A member of the Prime Ministers party questioning her leadership. The Prime Minister mentally shifted her focus to the Speaker. All speeches were directed to the Speaker. Colin Hood might have asked the question, but the response had to be directed to the Speaker.

"My duty is to this country and that is where my focus is. I am making sure our people are ready for any changes this revelation might bring. That means speaking with our scientists, our strategists and yes, at times, with the aliens themselves. Understanding where we are going is key to having the right plans in place.

"In the coming days, every department will outline its plans for steering us through this new era. Education will be first. Tomorrow my honourable friend, the Member for Perry Barr, will outline the integration of Hytuna into the national curriculum. Teachers will learn it first, so they can pass it to our children alongside an expanded science syllabus shaped by our new understanding of space.

"Just before entering this chamber, I was briefed on alien vessels sighted over Australia, before vanishing. This is a challenge no single country can meet alone. The Rohastin Council offer was to humanity, not the UK alone. But we will protect our country. This means designing weapons for this new era ensuring that we are not left unprotected.

"New industries will emerge. Trade will extend beyond our skies. We must equip our workforce with the skills to build, to adapt, and to avoid costly missteps in alien commerce. The Foreign Office already maintains an intercultural protocols unit. This has been extended. Their task is to prevent the kind of inadvertent offence I myself once caused. That lesson was accepted with good grace. Others might not be so lucky.

"We have all witnessed Aurora's speed. This British built spaceship is capable of being anywhere in the world in seconds. This will reshape border, migration and employment. Education is changing. Science is changing. Trade, jobs, transport, defence; all changing. Under my leadership we will go forward with eyes on the future, not stumble by clinging to the past."

There were calls of 'Hear, Hear' from across the House. Even members of the opposition seemed to be nodding in acceptance.

The speaker called them to order, and then called on the leader of the opposition, Paul Smythe.

"Yesterday, a general in the British Army was arrested. He was in charge of one of the sensitive areas of the military. What does this say about your leadership when things like this occur?"

The Prime Minister stood up and gave a small sad shake of her head. "Mr Speaker, that sounded more like an accusation rather than a question, but I'll talk about what happened without impacting future prosecutions. The General was arrested by military police in my office. The defence secretary was there, as was Sir Nicholas the Chief of the Defence Staff. Even though this House is supreme and we could discuss what occurred, I don't want to prejudice the trial for both civil and military crimes.

"So, what does this say about my leadership. It says I expect high standards, not impossible ones. I expect people, no matter their role or rank, to follow the rule of law. I've not swept it under the carpet. He wasn't given a slap on the wrist and told to go his merry way. He should have set an example for those beneath him. Yes, humanity is at a turning point. Some might fear change. Some might be frightened what a ship like Aurora can do, but we can't let fear drive us. Yet a General was driven by fear, or may be greed, or may be a bit of both. Perhaps even he doesn't know. But we are British and hopefully this leadership will show more backbone than that General did."

There was no jeering of one party to another. MPs on both side of the aisle seemed to approve of her sentiment. The backbenchers that the chief whip had discussed seemed to be as happy as the rest.

The rest of the session seemed to go as smoothly. It was a time she often found annoying. Questions were given for show, or to try to put her on the spot. They weren't fruitful questions which moved the narrative. Today seemed to be different. If others would take note, she was unsure. After she'd finished, she slipped from the debating chamber and went to her Parliamentary Office. A home from home. She was there at least once a week, and it was always nice to see familiar faces from Downing Street.

"Rupert, thank you," she said as she went in. "How is the rest of today's schedule?"

"No worse than usual. I've got one of the staff to get Colin."

"Perfect, this will probably take fifteen minutes or so. Then back to base. Can you get someone to analyse the UN sessions we had with the aliens. Some of them were in Hytuna and translated. I want them to look for words not in the primer. Can we extend what we have before we get to the intermediate level Hytuna."

"I'll make some enquiries. Tom would like a word after you've seen Colin."

Tom was in the communications office. He always liked to debrief her after PMQ's, to let her know how it had been perceived. She was just in the middle of a refreshed document from the employment secretary when Rupert buzzed her via the intercom that Colin was there.

"Can you wait five minutes and then bring him in."

She was ready when Colin was ushered in. This was the first time he'd been in a one-to-one with the Prime Minister. He'd met her in group parliamentary meetings, but never alone. This was nothing like his office. His backbench office was in the neighbouring building, and it was a bright modern building. This had rich wooden panelling and thick curtains, tastefully tied back. The swing of the pendulum from a grandfather clock caught his attention. When she was at her desk, it would have been in her direct line of sight.

"You're not in trouble," she said, when she saw his fear. "If you were, you'd be in the Whips Office, not mine."

He sat down where she indicated. He still looked uncomfortable but no longer looked like he was going to be sick or spoil his underwear. He'd been in meetings with top CEO's and company shareholders, but it didn't prepare him for state grandeur rather than pure wealth.

"That question—" he started, his apology.

"Was perfect," she responded. "I hope I managed to assuage you and your colleagues."

Colin swallowed and sat up straighter. "You gave a good answer, but it really depends on if you follow through with your promises."

"Hold my feet to the coals?" she smirked, trying to tease him a bit. See if he would cave.

His heart skipped a beat. Had he gone too far? He looked up to see what her eyes told him. That was normally a good indicator, but she looked impassive. "I wouldn't have phrased it like that," he responded calmly, but didn't back down.

He was growing on her. He seemed awed and nervous when he came in, but he seemed to be finding his feet. Good.

"Let's see. You went to Pate's Grammar and then went off to become a barrister. You then decided to work in industry as a 'corporate henchman' in London. Five years ago, you became an MP covering where you grew up. Like a return home. But apart from some backbench committees, you've not done anything apart from being a constituency MP. Why? Do you have no ambition?"

"Ambition isn't measured by the number of committees you're on," he retorted, not raising his voice. "Prime Minister, I've never been a henchman. I was there to make sure the company stayed legal. I am here to represent my constituents and give them better representation than they got previously. They had a very poor MP before me who seemed to be more interested in the gravy train. They deserve better."

"What drove you to leave chambers to work for industry?"

"This sounds like an interview. The company I went to work for made me an offer I couldn't refuse and I'm not talking about pay. I'm talking about what the company did. It was good to give back."

"How's your Hytuna?"

"It's coming along," he said, frowning slightly. This wasn't a question he thought he would be asked. In fact, none of this conversation seemed to be like he thought it would be. "My father always said languages would help me in life, and Pate's encouraged it too. Hytuna is a lot easier to learn than German was."

"As I mentioned in parliament, life is changing. We can't put the genie back. We know there are aliens, and even if we don't join the council there is going to be so many other things that do change. We need to be on top of this. We need the country to be ready. I want you to help me do that."

This threw him. He couldn't think how she would want his help. He was just a backbencher. He didn't have contacts. He might have been a fantastic barrister, but he couldn't imagine what legal help did she want.

"What about my job as an MP?" he asked lamely.

"You'll still be doing that. You will still be looking after your constituency. You will just be helping the others in the country too. Each department is coming up with plans, as I mentioned in parliament, but they have the day-to-day running of their department. I need you to take the ideas and make sure they join up across departments."

"That's a lot of work."

"I thought you weren't afraid of hard work. Is this too much?"

She was needling him, and he didn't like it, but that was too vague to commit. "What timescale are you looking at?"

"The high-level is going to be announced over the next few weeks. Some, like education will be enacted the quickest. The meat of the plans will be coming from the individual departments. Your job is pull it all into a coherent plan. You said you wanted something for this country. This is it and I want you to help make it happen."

This was nothing like the methodical work on the back benches. This was more like his time in industry where things were turned around at a much quicker pace. And that carrot she was dangling. He knew what she was doing. She was very good, but he should have expected that. She was a negotiator by trade and had become a bit more scheming since she'd got into politics.

"You're making it hard to say no."

"I have one more area for you, but in reading your file, I'm not sure if it is a good idea. There might be a conflict of interest."

"Oh?"

"To make sure that the strategy is correct, you need to understand the technology behind Aurora. I talked with one of them the other day because their ship has a unique power source. It might help with the grid etc. Where they see creation of new ships might impact transport, space mining or exploration."

"I see, but why would that be a conflict?"

The Prime Minister pulled up the owners of the company Star Bright on her tablet and passed it to Colin. "That is the company behind Aurora."

He glanced over at it. "I see. I left on good terms and don't see that would be an issue in dealing with Laura Taylor."

He leaned to hand back her tablet. She sat back, not to take it. She said, "Move to the next page. That is the people I've managed to work out based on my interactions."

He did, and after scrolling through a few names and photographs, he came across the one the PM meant. Colin's mouth dropped open and he closed he eyes briefly in pain. What had Sam got into now? He'd seen Sam only once in uniform and had taken a picture for sentimental reasons. He used an AI to analyse the service ribbon and then wished he hadn't. It told him that Sam wasn't a Navy Engineer in the yards. Sam was deployed at the highest level and was probably at the spearhead of any action.

"I saw Sam at Christmas. Nothing like this was mentioned. I knew Sam had retired from the US Navy and thought that Jessica would encourage a quieter life."

"Sam was the engineer onboard Aurora when I went to the council. A fine person. It must run in the family."

Colin gave a small grin. "I'm in awe of Sam. If Sam is engineer on that ship, you couldn't be in safer hands. You've not mentioned Sam's gender once."

"I'd no idea of Sam's gender until I managed to get their file. It took a lot of digging. Sam appeared quite androgenous, and no member of the crew gave anything away. I suspect then that Sam was non-binary, and if that is how Sam feels, then why shouldn't I respect that."

"As long as I'm not dealing with contracts, or providing them work, then I don't see a conflict of interest. Anyway, I feel I will be dealing with Becky."

"There is one special task involving them. You need to liaise with the Home Office and sort out some sort of better procedure for borders."

"Have they broken the law?"

"I'll leave that and your legal brain to work out. But they might not have. When they did their trips to other space companies, they never left the ship. When they went to the alien space station, they never left the ship. It's like a long-haul flight where the only country they've technically entered is the UK. The only ones that have got on or off has been me, Rupert and their pilot James. From press reports he was given a lift back to the UK via Aurora. I'm sure the border systems will need updating. I doubt 'alien space station 150 light years away' will work as the departing location."

"So, what now? Pardon my ignorance, but I've only been a backbencher and have no idea about this process."

"Understood. Well first thing, do you accept the job? I'll appoint you as Minister without Portfolio, and you will be working from the Cabinet Office. If you want time to discuss it with your wife and children, that's fine."

He smiled. "My son keeps asking when I'm going to be a Minister. Actually, he keeps asking when I'm going to be Prime Minister. So, I accept."

"Hey, no going after my job yet!" teased the Prime Minister. She leaned across and pressed an intercom switch. A few seconds later Rupert came in.

"Rupert, Colin has accepted. Please get the ball rolling."

"Yes, Prime Minister. His car will be outside in twenty minutes. Julie will accompany him to his office."

"My office?" asked Colin, slightly agog at how quickly things were moving. "Already?"

"Yes. A member of your staff will move your items from Portcullis House. Rupert, when will Colin be sworn in?"

"3pm was the schedule and his office was still talking of that. He was due to depart Sandringham about ten minutes ago."

"Sworn in?" asked Colin, not daring to mention Sandringham. The implication being a meeting with the King.

"Your role is cabinet level. So, you need to be sworn into the Privy Council."

All the high-level meetings. All the court cases, in some of the highest courts in the land. All the people he'd seen. Nothing had prepared him for today. A one-to-one with the Prime Minister. Getting promoted not just to a minister, but a cabinet minister. He'd seen the King from a distance. All MP's had during the state opening of parliament. But he knew this would be a handful of people in the room with the King.

"But I was just a backbencher. I thought this was a junior minister role. It is quite a jump."

"Yes, but the work you do needs to have that seniority. You need to be in cabinet when these things are discussed. You will be making sure we fulfil what I said in parliament."

"Gosh," was the only word that barely left his lips.

"Thank you, Rupert," said the PM. "We'll be finished in a few minutes."

When Rupert had left the office, the PM said. "Are you still up for this job? It isn't a small role."

"So I see. I'll do it."

"Good. Now one final thing, and this is just for my curiosity. How did your older sibling end up in the US Navy and not the Royal Navy?"

Colin relaxed a bit. This was safer ground. This was about Sam.

"I don't remember much of Sam. Sam was seven years older than me. But my parents talked about what happened. Sam got offered a place at a music school. They played at a concert in Russia with a sister school from America, and Sam went off there as part of a school exchange. My parents were surprised when Sam went into the Navy. I hear it was tough at first, but Sam excelled. You probably have more access to what happened during that time than I've been told."

"Not really. Operational security. Yes, both UK and America are in NATO, but these things are need-to-know. I don't need to know, so don't ask. It also stops Sam's name cropping up elsewhere. As I said, not many know who is behind the ship and I want to keep it that way. Thirty mercenaries attacked their factory several weeks ago. We don't want nut jobs trying to get to it too, thinking there's an alien in the basement. Anyway, I'm sure we will be talking more as you settle in, and I'll see you in cabinet tomorrow morning."

Colin took that as his cue. He got up. "Thank you for this opportunity, Prime Minister."

"Oh, I will delay the press release until tomorrow. This will give you time to tell your family."

She smiled and bid him a good afternoon. As he left, Tom came in. He was exuberant about how the press were reporting PMQ's.

"What is being reported?" she asked.

"Headlines range from 'Beam Me Up Boss!', 'We'll Arm Britain in the Alien Age' to the rather solid 'Prime Minister Sets Out Calm, Detailed Course in Post-Contact Era'. Most of the TV channels are replaying the clip 'Under my leadership, we will go forward'. It seems to have gone down well."

"Good. The people of this country have been very stoic. I hope that holds. We have a new minister, so you might want to prepare the website and draft a press release. I don't want any word of it going out until tomorrow lunchtime."

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