Part 37
DATE:FC+143

The request to bring the alien doctor back to Earth had been delivered discreetly to the Prime Minister.

Trying to be inconspicuous, she got up and moved to the edge of the room so she could talk with Vost'am in private. Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and watched.

"Is this something Becky has asked for, or a doctor?" she quietly asked Vost'am.

"The doctors have instigated a medical procedure but are nervous. One of the doctors has asked to accompany her home to monitor her."

"For how long?"

Vost'am frowned. "We have difficulties with human time. A sleep cycle?"

"And she couldn't stay here for that monitoring."

Vost'am looked pained. "It isn't wise. Not the whole Trinity."

Doctor's orders were doctor's orders. Sometimes it was difficult to fathom why things happened the way they did. That wasn't just an alien issue. Even other Earth countries could be hard to fathom.

She noticed everybody was still waiting for her. "Please carry on. I've got a matter to take care of. Rupert, please update me when I'm back. I'll be about fifteen minutes."

There were surprised looks from those sat around the table, and an inquisitive look from the head of the UN team, but they just nodded.

"Vost'am, could you take me to Eos. I need to contact home."

Rupert jumped up and went to her. He said quietly so only she could hear, "Prime Minister, I can relay messages if you need to be here."

"Thank you, but this is an authorisation I need to give in person. That is how the rules are written."

"Certainly," Vost'am said. Since he was the one that had given her the message, it wasn't a surprise to him. If Vers'am or his Reginadde colleague had been informed, she wasn't sure, but they didn't have an issue.

When she got to the ship, James and Sam quickly stood up, surprised it was just her and none of the others.

"Sorry, I need to make a call back to base. I was told I can connect my phone via Wi-Fi, and it will route back to Earth?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Sam responded. After turning on the access port, provided her the connection information.

When she was connected, she rang Lewis. His private secretary answered. "Prime Minister. I didn't realise you were back."

"I'm not. If he's in a meeting, can you interrupt."

A few seconds later, she was put through.

"Prime Minister. I wasn't told you were back," said Lewis.

Georgina was amazed at how the technology was seamlessly working. "I'm not. I'm still on the space station."

"Wow, impressive. I can hear a small lag, but not much. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to initiate a clearance under codename Hound Dog."

Lewis took an audible breath. "Is this for you?"

"No. Rebecca Head will be the host. Mark it for forty-eight hours. Recorded entrance and exit to be Farnborough. Can it be done in fifteen minutes?"

"The protocol is in place, so no problem. Are you returning with them?"

"I wish. I think another few hours before I'm finished."

When she terminated the call, she turned to James and Sam. "Thank you. Very impressive technology."

"We just drive it," said James. "Becky, Liam, Evan and Henry are the ones behind the basic technology. And Jessica for the communications."

"You are more than just driving it. I saw a video of what happened over Australia. You kept your cool under danger. Very impressive. Anyway, Becky will be along soon to go back. One of the alien doctors will be accompanying her. When you get to Farnborough, the guest must stay onboard. When you go to passport control, ask for Elvis. Someone will come to the ship to check the passenger. They mustn't stay more than forty-eight hours and please try to keep them under wraps. Nobody wants the drama that would unfold if the public found we had an alien in the country."

"Understood," said James, not fazed. "Once we drop off Becky we'll come back for you."

Vost'am led Georgina back to the discussions. As they were going, she asked, "You referred to Becky, Ashleigh and Jenny as The Trinity. What do you mean by that?"

"Becky is the Saviour. She is the one that created the ship that enables humanity to spread and give hope. Ashleigh is what we call..." Vost'am paused trying to find the words. "The enabler. As for Jenny, that is sealed. We know there is something, but because she is a child, we aren't allowed to know."

"Prophecies are dangerous," remarked Georgina. "It makes people targets."

* * *

"That's all cleared," Ro'toran announced.

"What's all cleared?" asked Ashleigh, confused.

"Shinara can accompany you back home. The Prime Minister talked to someone and had it cleared."

"Does everyone have this communication implant?" Becky enquired, wondering how they stopped the system getting clogged.

"No. The Council staff have them because our duties are often away from the council itself. A lot don't like them because they worry its invasive."

The doctors finished going over the readings from their last scan. The nanites appeared to be spreading throughout Becky's system as they were designed to do.

"Thank you so much," said Becky, when it became clear that Shinara wanted to get going. "I look forward to seeing you soon. I hope a way can be found. If not, I thank you for trying."

The doctors all beamed with pride. Praise from Becky was high praise.

As they walked down the corridor to the ship, Ashleigh said, "I was thinking about the logistics once we get back to Earth. It's going to be hard getting from the factory back to your house without being noticed."

"And?" prompted Becky, knowing that Ashleigh had a solution already cooked up.

"I was thinking about a farm in rural Wales. If the cottages aren't in use."

Jenny perked up at the thought of seeing Jay.

"I think that's a great idea," Becky agreed. "Do you have their number?"

"Sure. I should be able to call when we get to the ship. Or even when we get to Farnborough. Passport control will take a little time."

At the ship, Sam and James were ready.

"Interstellar GAR form all filled in and submitted," said Sam. "When we get there, our special guest must stay onboard."

"We are thinking about the farm in Wales," said Ashleigh.

"Eos won't fit in that barn," pointed out James.

"They might have another one. If not, we'll drop you off before coming back here."

Sam took out his phone and made the call. "Farnborough this is Star Bright. We are arriving in several seconds. Is the slot clear?"

"It's clear. Safe travels."

Everybody settled in the seats. For Shinara the seats were bearable for the short distance. They weren't designed for anybody but human occupants. The designers had never imagined an alien passenger.

With the door shut, James raised the protective cover and pressed the button. An interdimensional tunnel was formed and the ship transitioned back to Earth.

Shinara said something which wasn't Hytuna. Jenny was sitting near her, asked her about it. The response made her giggle. She was surprised how quickly they'd travelled. She'd heard that the human ships were fast but hadn't realised how fast.

"Shinara, please stay in the ship," Sam said in Hytuna. "We have to go through a process for entering the country."

Their escort was waiting for them, and they sealed the ship behind them. They'd flown in via Farnborough several times, so it was no longer a shock to the workers there. Just a pride that they were the UK gateway to the stars.

At the desk, as their passports were being checked, Sam asked, "Is Elvis here?"

That got a snigger from Ashleigh and Becky. Jenny had no idea who Elvis was, and why her parents were laughing.

"That's for me," said one of the officials. "Someone must have been having fun when they assigned this task. I thought it was just a drill when I was told."

"What's going on?" asked one of the others.

"Need to know," Elvis responded tersely. "Believe me, you don't need to know. Okay, which one of you is Becky?"

"That's me," Becky said, raising her hand slightly.

"Great. Come on then," Elvis continued.

Becky followed him outside, with Sam going with them just in case translation was required.

Elvis continued, "I need to check your passenger. The Prime Minister has authorised this visit for up to forty-eight hours."

"How did you get this special job?"

"A special government minister came to the two places you enter the country. Here and Luton. Colin Hood interviewed all the Border Force officials, and it seems I fitted the bill."

On the mention of Colin's name, Sam laughed. "Well, you're certainly going to make history. You are the official letting the first non-human into the United Kingdom."

"Perhaps, but I'll never be able to tell anyone."

"Have we been able to go out and tell people? When someone got to know who we were, they kidnapped my daughter."

"When you put it like that," Elvis said before tailing off.

Sam opened up Eos, and they climbed aboard. Shinara was standing, the seat being too uncomfortable.

Elvis saw her and swallowed. It didn't take long before he'd regained his composure. Sure, the alien looked nothing like anything from Earth, but it didn't seem like she was going to eat him. In Hytuna he said, "Welcome to Earth."

Shinara moved slightly, and said, "Thank you."

Elvis took out a small document and handed it across. "This document is issued under the authority of His Majesty's Government, granting you temporary leave to remain within the United Kingdom. Should any official request proof of status, you must present this document. Authorisation is valid for up to forty‑eight hours on Earth. Upon departure, this document must be surrendered."

Shinara thanked him and reached out for the document. Elvis didn't flinch. It was written in both English and Hytuna. It was typical bureaucracy found across Council space. But for a planet that hadn't joined, she thought they had made a huge effort with their integration.

James, Ashleigh and Jenny returned. When Elvis had left, Sam shut the door.

Becky laughed, "Elvis has left the building."

Ashleigh groaned and then instructed all of them to turn off their phones. They didn't want to be tracked to their destination.

"So, where are we going?" asked James, taking his seat at the front.

"The car park by the cottages," Ashleigh replied. "I was told it was early in the season, and just my sister there. They will stand in the doorway of the cottages and make sure she doesn't come out."

It took Sam a few seconds to work out the coordinates, and they departed Farnborough for rural Wales.

Being mid-afternoon on almost the longest day of the year, there was plenty of daylight. Unfortunately, it wasn't sunshine. The first thing they saw when they got there was the rain dripping down the front window.

"Windscreen wipers," called Sam and James at the same time before they both burst out laughing. Everybody else chuckled, apart from Shinara who didn't understand English. What an introduction to Earthlings!

There were four cottages, and Paula was stood at one of the doors. Ashleigh, Becky, Jenny and Shinara quickly got out of the rain and into the cottage. Sam closed the door and disappeared back to the Space Station to await the Prime Minister and UN delegation to finish their negotiations.

Emma looked nervous, but stood next to Paula, holding hands. Jay was standing by Emma and put a supporting hand on his adoptive mother's arm.

"Welcome to our farm," said Paula in Hytuna. "I'm Paula, this is Emma and that is our son Jay."

"Thank you for having me," Shinara said. "And I'm impressed with your Hytuna."

Paula blushed.

"The Prime Minister didn't want a panic if an alien was known to be around," said Becky. Jenny translated so Shinara knew what was being said.

"I am just here to observe Becky," Shinara explained.

"Feel free to look around if you desire," Emma said, trying out her Hytuna now she was a bit less scared. "All we have are human food and human beds. I don't know if you will enjoy it."

"It is just one night," Shinara said. "Something new is always an experience, even if you never want to repeat it."

"Hello," came a voice from the back of the room. From their previous visit in January, the visitors knew it was the route to the shared room.

Ashleigh's heart sank when she heard the voice. It was her sister, just not Tina as she'd assumed. It was Caroline. Her older sister that didn't know about Ashleigh's secret job. Ashleigh saw her coming into the room, the three-month-old baby in a carry sling as if there wasn't a care in the world.

Becky watched in horror. Ashleigh moving quickly, hoping to steer her sister back through the rear door before she caught sight of anything. Paula and Emma parting, thinking they were helping. And finally, Caroline getting a good look at Shinara followed by a piercing scream of fright.