Part 18
DATE:FC+42

No sooner had Colin finished with the Privy Council than he was in his car driving out of town. He'd been given three addresses for this surprise visit. He expected it to take about three hours, depending on the traffic. His navigation system said it was clear, and the enhanced speed limits meant he was making better time than expected.

It would have been a lot quicker in Aurora, he mused. As he got closer, he worried a bit about what Sam would say or if Sam would actually be there. Then whether any of them would be there.

At least his wife was understanding. She was used to him being away during the week in London and only getting home on a Thursday night. He would get to see her tonight, but it would mean a very early start the next day.

Luck was on his side. When he got to The Anchor pub, there were cars in the car park, and the lights were on. March wasn't too bad a month. The risk of major snow had gone, and some days were even quite pleasant. The drive today had been one of the better ones.

The door to the pub opened as he approached it. He recognised Becky from the file the Prime Minister had shown him.

"This is no longer a pub," she said politely.

"I know, Becky. I'm here because the Prime Minister sent me."

"How do I know that? Do you have a letter of recommendation?"

Colin looked pained. He thought it would be so easy. Short of calling the Prime Minister, there was only one thing he could think of. "Sam knows me, if Sam's here and not at your ship location."

"One minute," she said before shutting the door in his face. Colin was just glad it wasn't shut on his face.

The day was shifting into dusk, and he felt a slight chill. The wind from the river added an extra bite. He was sure it was lovely in the summer. Cheltenham was only twenty miles away, but he'd never been. He preferred city life to places like this.

The door opened. "Come on in," said Becky. "You're lucky we are here. We were about to finish for the day."

"Oh. I'm sorry," apologised Colin, but didn't suggest leaving.

They walked into the discussion room, and Colin was met by expectant gazes.

Sam came across and gave Colin the kind of hug reserved for family you didn't see often. "This is unexpected."

"How do you think it was for me finding out you'd taken the Prime Minister to the alien council? Sheesh. How are you all after what happened in orbit? Are you all okay?"

"They're fine," said Jessica, giving Colin a hug too. "So, is this some kind of punishment for asking that question?"

He smiled warmly at Jessica. He liked his almost sister-in-law. "Probably. Dressed up as promotion. I take it you heard the Prime Minister's response?"

There were nods all around.

"Well, I've got to coordinate it all to make sure it's consistent across departments. And to make sure I understand the impact of your invention, where better to start than with the people behind it?"

"Can you stay over, and we can go through it tomorrow?" suggested Becky.

"I've got to be back in London first thing. My first time at Cabinet."

"Hang on," said Jessica. "Don't you get sworn into the Privy Council if you're in Cabinet?"

Colin nodded, blushing slightly.

"Wow, have you told Mum and Dad?" asked Sam.

"Not yet. Jan knows, and I'm sure she's told the kids."

"Sounds like several large pizzas," said Ashleigh. "Is everyone staying?"

"If you lot are going to talk mumbo jumbo for a few hours, I'm definitely staying," said James. "I have to make sure you get it right. Anyway, who am I to run out when there's pizza on the way?"

The gentle banter brought a warmth to Colin's stomach. It looked like Sam had fallen in with a great group of people. Colin was introduced to everyone. Ashleigh and Jessica weren't on the Prime Minister's list. Henry's name was, but there wasn't enough on him to track him down.

The evening went quickly. They told him about what had happened today, but then got into the main discussion. It didn't go into the depths of the science, as Colin didn't need to know that. For him it was a basic understanding of what had been produced, and then discussions on implications. Jenny even added some things to the conversation, which he was surprised about. She seemed to have no qualms dealing with adults, or the subject.

"This is more than I ever thought," he said when they finished. "Even without aliens, this is going to change the world. At least I've got a good background now. Thank you for that. Now I have something for you. This hit my inbox just as I arrived."

Colin forwarded the email to Becky, who looked at it. She gasped in wonder. "Wow, thank you. It's extra Hytuna translation distilled from the UN summit."

Sam and Jessica jumped to their feet. "Can we see?"

"In the morning," said Ashleigh, recognising the early signs. "There is no need for an all-nighter."

"But are there any of the words we're missing included?" asked Jessica, her eyes sparkling.

Becky carefully scrolled through the email and went to the board where Jessica had outlined the different sections for communication with the aliens. On the right side was a list of missing words or phrases. Taking a red marker, Becky put a small red mark next to one word, then another and another. She then drew a red line around a complete phrase.

"I'm not looking at anything else," said Becky. "If I do, I'll want to stop all night myself."

Jessica pointed to one of the words that Becky had ticked. "But what does that one mean? So many things hinge on that."

Becky sighed. "It means oscillations. I've no idea how they got that into the UN discussion. Boggles my mind."

"Hang on. We already have a word for oscillations. So, what is the difference?"

"That will be part of tomorrow's puzzle," said Ashleigh firmly. "No more."

"One final request," said Colin. "Can you please refrain from breaking border rules. After the arrest of that General, we don't want to seem hypocritical in allowing some people to break the law."

"We haven't broken any, though I suppose we've come close. Ashleigh completed an online form when I came back from America. When we flew to other countries, nobody got off the ship. Our feet haven't touched foreign soil."

"James, did you go through US exit procedures?"

"Yes. NASA has a procedure with US border authorities for astronauts leaving US soil on a spaceship. I was stamped out."

"I'm told border systems will be looked at for enhancement, but that won't be quick. A private air terminal will probably give you adequate privacy. Don't make it local to here. There is no need for that. I'd suggest Luton or Farnborough. Both have fantastic service. I'm sure one or both of them would be willing to reserve a landing spot for a fee. I see you've tried to do everything above board, so please be careful on the foreign side. We don't want you getting a bad reputation."

Sam showed Colin out and the rest gave them space for the two siblings to talk in peace.

"I'm surprised how interested he was in what happened today," said Evan. "I know it was mentioned in Parliament, but they seemed genuinely concerned."

"It is still being discussed in the news cycle," said Ashleigh.

"I've got the number for that reporter, Tim," said Becky. "I think I'll give him a call. Not an on-air interview, but a quote for them. You know, some details to stop speculation."

"Sounds a plan. I look forward to seeing it on the news later," said Evan, grabbing his coat.

Becky, Ashleigh and Jenny were the last ones out of The Anchor. They locked up and made the short walk to Becky's. Ashleigh spent most of her evenings there, before making her way home to sleep. Becky lived in a three-bedroom house. She had one, Jenny another. The third used to be Ryan's. It wasn't a shrine or anything like that, but Ashleigh didn't think that anybody would be happy if she was in there. She didn't want to be sleeping in a room where she wanted to be in the neighbouring room with Becky.

For some it might have seemed a very strange relationship. Yet they made it work because being apart would be worse. It was what Becky could manage, and Ashleigh just hoped that one day she would be accepted.

"I've just got to make this call," said Becky, fishing out the card from her bag.

"Jenny and I are going to check on her room," said Ashleigh.

Jenny looked like she was going to protest, but when she looked at her mum, she saw her determined look. She knew that Ashleigh meant business and scarpered up the stairs.

"Why are we leaving Ma alone?" asked Jenny when she was perched on the side of her bed.

Ashleigh, who'd sat on Jenny's desk chair, said, "You know Ma doesn't like calls like this. She gets all self-conscious. She moved away last night when she took the call, and she scarpered upstairs this morning when the Prime Minister rang her back. She's fine when it's people she knows, but she doesn't know the person she's ringing very well."

"Who is he?"

"Tim Harper. He is a reporter."

"The one that keeps interviewing the Prime Minister?" asked Jenny.

"Yes, that's him. She just wants to get word out that the crew of Aurora are fine. He is the only reporter who knows who we are. Well, I suppose there was Storm, but she was sacked and doesn't appear to have been picked up by any other news agency."

"You should set up your own website. You can post details when you might be visible in space. You'd have been able to publish that you're okay."

"We have enough to do without managing a website. You heard the impact of what's been created. The biggest priority is the communicating with the aliens."

"But nothing is happening with that. And when we got the best clues for ages, we came home."

"We should have finished hours ago. We only stayed to help Mr Hood. Remember what happened before when people overworked. You've been warned about that."

"I know, but ..." she tailed off with a sigh. "I just want to help, and I'll be at school tomorrow. I miss out on all the fun."

"Tomorrow will not be fun. Tomorrow is going to be like a jigsaw puzzle. Filling in gaps and seeing if the picture makes sense. We are going to have to go through each word and see if there is a match and translate. Translation isn't often a one-to-one match. You have to understand the context and the words around it."

"I suppose," she muttered.

"Hey, none of that. How many of your school friends help out on a top-secret project? How many school friends have jumped through an interdimensional tunnel?"

"Some of the boys look like they've come through something backwards."

Ashleigh laughed. "Now Ma was trying to tell me about your headmaster wanting to help you learn more at school. But Mr Hood turned up and we got busy. So, what happened?"

"The headmaster wants me to take some tests. Find out what I know and what I don't. He mentioned that they might get a teacher to help me learn more. But Ma is worried that I might lose friends if I have lessons with just the teacher."

"We've been going through what a lot of companies call Soft Skills. That is things like Communication, Teamwork, Emotions. Some call them People Skills. You are gradually getting better at them. You have some of that at school. How to play and be kind to others in the playground. Seeing how people react in lessons. When someone struggles, do they get frustrated or work on the problem more? These are great things to see and will help you in life."

"And Ma is worried I might miss out on this?"

"Exactly. School is not just about learning facts from books. It is about learning how to do other things. How to relate to others. About how to help each other. Teamwork. How to share your emotions. Some schools might try to skip that. They just concentrate on getting people ready for exams. You have to also get ready to live life."

"You and Ma are so wonderful," Jenny blurted out and rushed over to Ashleigh and gave her a hug.

"Do these tests and find out what you know. We can then all decide together what to do next. Just like when Ma is coding. She has to understand an issue before she solves it. We need to know your situation before we can plan."

"It seems a lot of fuss."

"Most pupils at school fit within given boundaries. You'll see this more when you go to secondary school. Instead of twenty in your year, there might be a hundred. These classes may be streamed by ability. That is some pupils might be in one class, and those that need it explained in a different way, in a different class. There might only be one or two pupils who struggle a lot, and they might have their own lessons to help bring them on. It's rare for schools to have someone like you. Someone with a thirst for knowledge and an ability to process that."

"So why are they having to do something like getting in an extra teacher."

"Because it is rare. It might happen once every few years. And what that pupil needs is often different. So, they need to make sure they understand how to teach you that works for you. In the meantime, just carry on. You learn a lot with the scientists, and you've got a level of understanding now that you don't just listen."

"What about you? Will you continue to help me?"

"Of course. Duh. As will Ma. It's a parent's job to help. And now the weather is improving a bit, we might start looking at other bits of geography a bit further away. Are you okay with that?"

Jenny started to get excited. "Like where?"

"You'll see."

"Sounds interesting. Can I come along too?" asked Becky from the door.

"Ma!" shrieked Jenny, not having seen her standing at the door.

"How was the call?" asked Ashleigh.

"It's done. Tim was understanding and has passed the statement to the news desk."

Jenny pulled out her phone and looked at the news sites. There wasn't anything there.

"Give it a few minutes," laughed Becky. "They don't just put it on the website and broadcast it on television that instant. It will have to go through several people and Tim will be questioned to make sure it is real."

Ashleigh's phone rang. She wondered who was ringing at this time of night. She glanced at the screen and smiled. "Hi Caroline. How's it going?"

"This is one frustrating baby," she grouched. "I had a show a few hours ago, but nothing since."

"A show?"

Caroline explained, "The cervix softens just prior to labour, and sometimes the mucus plug comes out. They call it a show, as it is a visible sign that labour is imminent."

"You're in labour? Contractions and all of that?"

"I wish. The midwife said that sometimes the body takes a few hours rest. But I'll soon be a mummy."

"Let me know and I'll visit."

"It looks like I'm going to be an Aunty," said Ashleigh, after she'd finished on the phone. "Boss, can I have a few days off?"

"Of course. I'd come with you, but I think I'm going to be tied up here."

Jenny bounced up and down, rather excited at the thought of a baby. In her excitement she pressed the refresh button, and she gave another squeal. "There's something here. Oh, just Breaking News – Aurora safe – more to follow. Why do they do that?"

"It's a hook. People will get notifications on their phones. They will now spend the next few minutes excitedly refreshing. Hoping to be the first with the details. It will also drive people to their news site and away from their competitors."

Jenny nodded, taking it all in. She refreshed a few minutes later and it was there. It described what had been witnessed from the ground, and then a quote from 'Aurora Project Lead'.

Today, while the crew of Aurora were testing updated communications over Australia, a few alien ships stop by. They are aware that humans are at early stage in this development. One of our crew had spent time learning Hytuna and they had a brief conversation. The aliens left shortly after. The crew of Aurora then visited Mars and the outer edges of the solar system to conclude the planned tests.

"It has surprised us how many people were interested and concerned about today's testing. There will be more opportunities to see us in the future. Keep looking up; you might spot one of our ships, one of the aliens or one of the existing spaceships piloted by brave astronauts from around the world.