Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

Part 49

---

Part 49
DATE:FC+173

When she saw the message, she didn't wait to get dressed. She threw on her silk dressing gown and almost ran to Jenny's room.

Jenny groaned, "My alarm didn't go off."

"That will be in a few minutes," Becky reassured her daughter. "I just wanted you to know that Mum's been rescued."

Jenny bolted upright and looked at her Ma. "Really?"

"Really."

Jenny jumped out of bed. "Is she here?"

Becky stifled a grin. "No. She's being interviewed at Luton Airport. She may not be home until tonight. So, no missing school."

"Of course not," she pouted.

Jenny's alarm went off and Becky laughed as Jenny turned it off. "You better get up."

Jenny joined in the laughter. It was as if a cloud had been lifted and sun was beaming back into their lives.

"How did she get out? Was it Auntie Tina?" Jenny asked, excitedly.

"I don't know the details yet. I just saw a message saying that Mum was safe. Get dressed. Something like that probably won't be on the news."

How wrong Becky was. She left Jenny to get dressed and decided to have a look at one of the news sites. It was full of a dramatic hostage rescue. Ten French children had been taken from a summer camp. While rescuing them, they came across Ashleigh.

Becky snorted. It's surprising, when you're in the know, what half-truths are fed to the media. She quickly got dressed to make breakfast.

When Becky got downstairs, Hughes was on duty. Ade had been monitoring the outside cameras when she and Jenny had gone to bed. They must have swapped sometime in the night. She'd no idea where Lucas had spent the night. Perhaps now that Ashleigh was back, security might not be needed.

"Hi," Becky said when she got close. "I'm making breakfast, do you want anything?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I had something earlier. Are you aware that Ashleigh has been rescued?"

"Yes. But thank you for letting me know. Jenny's been told, though not the rescue details. You do know what Ashleigh looks like, don't you? I don't want you jumping her if she turns up."

She laughed. " Yes, we all know what Ashleigh looks like. She's been in the press so much, I doubt there's anybody who doesn't know who you or she is."

Becky frowned. "It's good you know who she is, but it's a bit disturbing that the world knows us."

Hughes didn't say anything but continued to monitor.

This was all strange to Becky, but she had a feeling it was something she'd have to get used to. She felt frustrated at the press. One good thing though, nobody seemed to have made a fuss about her being trans. There were still clips out there. They would probably never go, but the main media, including the hostile media didn't appear to mention it.

Jenny came down while Becky was contemplating people's reaction.

"What's up Ma?"

"Have you had any issues at school now everybody knows?"

"No. I said I'd tell you if there was. George asked for confirmation last Thursday, that you created Aurora, but that was it. I think he'd been wanting to ask before, but he didn't."

"You didn't say."

Jenny shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal. I'm not sure what's going on with George though. For a few months he's followed me around a bit and keeps looking at me."

Becky grinned, putting Jenny's breakfast in front of her. "Well, if that's the case, he was very brave asking you. Did he run away as soon as you told him?"

"Yes. It was like he was tongue tied. He doesn't normally stammer like that."

"It's sometimes a sign that he has a crush on you."

She put down her spoon and looked at Becky with despair. "Oh. What do I do?"

"You're only eight. I think that's a bit young for dating. However, getting experience of this isn't bad. Just treat him nicely. Perhaps talk to him about things he likes. It might make him more comfortable in talking with you."

"Okay," Jenny said doubtfully, starting to eat again.

"Do you like him?"

"Not like that. He's just someone in my class. I don't really know him. Oh, I saw something on the news."

Jenny handed her tablet to her Ma to read the news article she'd seen.

A Scottish protest group have launched a legal bid against the Scottish Government. They argue that allowing aliens into human toilets should be banned. Toilets were supposed to be safe spaces. Having aliens there makes them unsafe.

An old children's authoress stated she would provide a million pounds backing their campaign. She'd been quiet since the 2028 law redefining sex to a person's current legal status instead of what was assigned at birth.

Becky howled with laughter and handed Jenny her tablet back.

"What's up?" Jenny asked, surprised to see her Ma like that.

"Some people never change. They claim they want equality, but they want to be more equal than others."

"Lucas is here," said Hughes, as they finished off. "I'll drive us to the school."

Becky stopped and said rather coldly, "I think you should tell us the security plan rather than have us find out at the last minute."

"Of course," Hughes said, without a blink. "Lucas has the latest details and would be best to tell you. Because Miss Thompson is back, he's had to redo the plan."

Hughes had used the third bedroom in the house. When Jenny had referred to it as Ryan's room, there was some uncertainty, but Becky had said it was fine. Becky presumed that Ade was asleep in there now, having stayed up, monitoring.

Jenny rushed upstairs to brush her teeth. She was done in record time, just as Lucas came in. She didn't want to miss anything. Besides him was Ashleigh.

"Mum!" screeched Jenny, rushing down the last few stairs and throwing herself at Ashleigh. Lucas stepped aside just in time.

Becky arrived in Ashleigh's arms the same time as Jenny. The two bodyguards moved into the kitchen area, to give the three of them some personal time.

Tears poured down Jenny's face. "You're back. You're back."

"I'm so glad to be home," Ashleigh said, after holding onto her family. "So glad."

"You smell funny," Jenny commented, standing back and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Yeah. I tell you what. Why don't I have a quick shower, and then we can take you to school."

"Use my shower," Becky told her.

"I need to go soon," Jenny pouted.

"I know. I'll just be three minutes."

"I could miss school," Jenny offered.

Ashleigh stopped, half-way up the stairs, and turned to look at Jenny. "Did you miss school while I was away?"

"No."

"Good. You are certainly not going to miss it when I'm back."

Jenny nodded. "Yes, Mum."

While Ashleigh was getting washed, Becky turned to Lucas. "Tell me about today. Is one of you going to be needed at Jenny's school?"

"No. I've been briefed on their security upgrades. We will accompany you to and from school, but whilst there, she will be safe."

Becky nodded. She didn't want Jenny spooked. Yet there'd been no additional security until the trip to Prague. Something must have changed, but she didn't want to ask in front of Jenny. If there was an issue, it would be something she and Ashleigh would tell Jenny, not a bodyguard, even if he did have entrancing eyes.

Ashleigh had a few clothes at Becky's, just in case she needed to get changed. It saved the few minutes hike to her house. There, a lot was already packed. Ready for when Becky allowed her to share the bedroom, post-surgery. So, when she came down, she was no longer in shorts and t-shirt.

"Let's go," Ashleigh ordered, grinning at being in her normal clothes.

The three of them got in the back of Becky's car. Ashleigh was in the middle, so Becky and Jenny could cuddle up to her. Hughes drove, with Lucas keeping an eye.

When they got to the school, the three at the back got out, followed by Lucas keeping watch. Hughes stayed with the car, ready to move if they needed to depart quickly. It wasn't a long walk to the gates, but Ashleigh's presence didn't go unnoticed. A few pointed, and there was chatter between the parents.

A simple "It's good to see you're back" was the most the other parents could manage. It was in the press that she'd been rescued, but to be on the school run so soon was surprising. And Jenny was only a stepchild, not biologically hers.

As they walked back to the car, Becky asked, "Do you need more sleep? I presume you've had a trying night."

Ashleigh smiled a bit at how Becky phrased it. A trying night was rather understated.

"I got woken about two this morning. So, I did get some sleep. I dozed a bit at Luton, while they waited to interview me. As a missing person, the police wanted to talk to me. I'll probably have an early night tonight. I still feel too het up for sleep. How long have we had bodyguards?"

"Since yesterday. I thought they were just for the trip to Prague, but they stayed. I think Laura's been waiting for an excuse."

"I'm glad they're here," Ashleigh said, looking at Becky seriously. "The group that held me were being paid to keep me hostage. Paid handsomely. Enough that they tried to recapture me even with the rescue force still around. One of the investigators mentioned that there have been questions about The Trinity."

Becky blanched, her stomach dropping, and turned to Lucas. "Are you sure Jenny is safe?"

"Yes. I read the report about what happened to Jenny and what security has been implemented. It isn't just the changes the local authorities added, but the police have put processes in place. Gloucestershire might seem a quiet part of the country, but there are two royal houses in the area, GCHQ and three secret military compounds."

Ashleigh gaped when he said secret military compounds. She supposed they wouldn't be secret if everybody knew about them. But three of them? She'd grown up in the area and had never heard of anything like that. She knew about GCHQ, Gatcombe and Highgrove, but she thought that was about it in the area.

"I suppose we might need to find somewhere else to live with space for security," Becky mused, back in the car. "Are you up to going to the office?"

"I assumed we'd go there," Ashleigh responded.

Hughes nodded. They didn't have to tell her where the office was. She'd been briefed. When she pulled into the carpark, she parked near the entrance. It was the spot that Becky had been using ever since the kidnapping.

Getting out, Ashleigh gazed at where they'd been taken. There were cars parked there, and everything looked normal. Becky was pleased the police had gone before Ashleigh had returned. Seeing it so normal might make it easier.

"In some ways, it doesn't seem real," Ashleigh murmured to Becky.

"I know. I'm sorry it happened."

"It isn't your fault."

Becky sighed. "If I hadn't invented—"

"None of that," Ashleigh interrupted, her eyes flashing. "Do not doubt yourself. You aren't to blame for us being kidnapped. The kidnappers are. And the people who paid them."

"Let's go in," Becky pleaded, not happy in the carpark, even with two bodyguards.

There was a gasp from reception as Ashleigh came in with Becky. It had been in the news about the rescue but seeing her was unexpected. They didn't expect she would be coming straight back.

"Sara, can I have two yellow badges for..." Becky trailed off, suddenly realising she didn't know the first names of any of the bodyguards. They'd followed her around for two days, and she'd never thought of it. "Ms Hughes and Mr Lucas."

Lucas came alongside. "I was told our credentials should have already been provided with reference to the national database."

Sara consulted her computer. "Ah, so it is. I need you and your colleague to scan your fingerprints."

They did, and a little machine spat out two cards. She handed over the two yellow security tags. "These are linked accounts. You are authorised when Becky, Ashleigh or Jenny are on site. I'll give Ade his when he comes in"

When the badges were handed over, Becky spotted their names. Ian Lucas and Pamela Hughes. Why did they just use their surnames? And Ade was a given name, not a surname. She mentally shrugged. It wasn't important for now.

"I think I'll say hi to the guys upstairs," Ashleigh thought aloud. "Then I will come down and spend an hour ploughing through my emails. I'd like to tell you what happened, but I don't want to risk breaking down before I've got some work done."

"When you're ready, you know where I am," Becky said.

The bodyguards positioned themselves by the lab door but didn't enter.

Evan, Liam and Henry were delighted to see Ashleigh. After them telling her how glad they were that she was home, she decided to get updated.

"So, what has been happening while I've been away?" Ashleigh enquired, and with that, she'd shifted the conversation to work.

"You might not be aware, but the aliens came looking for Becky because the nanites stopped reporting. They were worried she was dead. She was covered in a blanket that blocked them. We tried to replicate it but couldn't. The police had the blanket in evidence, and we asked if forensics could see if there was anything unusual. There was. It was normal sheep wool, but it has some type of material woven in it. It wasn't something they'd ever seen before but weren't equipped for a deeper analysis."

Ashleigh said, "Not at first, but that evening, they started covering me with coats. Probably trying to stop me being rescued like Becky was. So, the blanket is human, but there is something else. If that was human or alien technology, we don't know?"

"That about sums it up," Evan said.

"Yesterday, Paul did his first flight in Eos," Becky said, adding to the conversation. "The report from James was he did everything he should have. James is planning to take him on a space jump this week to see how he handles weightlessness."

"Anything else?"

"Because of the recent abductions, we have three bodyguards watching over us. Two are here today. I'll introduce you, so they are aware who you are. That way they don't stop you interacting with us."

"Earth-1 is progressing," Henry said. "It is basically finished, and underlying subsystems are being tested. I will need to go up to Manchester later this week for a communications test."

"And Prague?" Ashleigh enquired.

They all turned to Becky who explained the outcome. "I don't think anything fast will come out of that. Standards take time to be done properly."

"Even if it's longer term, at least it is happening."

"It's like you're trying to shepherd humanity," Liam mused.

"Not quite," Ashleigh responded, faking a laugh. "But you lot are the only ones with the bigger picture. You're just letting others know."

Following the meeting, Becky went to her office and started going over the communications specs and comparing them to her design. This was for the satellite side. How to communicate to different beacons and send relevant data. The details in the alien specifications were laid out in a consistent way. It was something they'd probably been over in detail, implementing it with different species. She didn't need to reinvent the wheel; just make sure it made sense to humans.

Putting things to one side, she loaded up a property website. A bit of a distraction before checking the sixteen documents for ambiguity. There wasn't time for software that technically met the spec but didn't actually do what was needed.

She thought about what type of house they would need. It was just the three of them, but with added security. Perhaps a house with an annex for the bodyguards? It definitely should be away from the road. Preferably behind gates.

The current houses were provided by the company. Her first thought was that this should be her own purchase, rather than Star Bright. However, when she saw the prices, she balked. Star Bright wasn't making money yet, so she wasn't getting a big salary. These houses were far more than she could currently afford.

Sighing at being more of an owner than a computer nerd these days, Becky fired off an email to Ashleigh asking for an update on satellite deployment and the HILLSAT contract. They needed to start making a profit and stop leaning on Laura's bottomless generosity. Not that Laura minded, but Becky did. She needed the company to stand on its own feet, and she needed the money herself.

She didn't have to wait long. Ashleigh appeared in her doorway, eyebrows raised.

"What did you say yesterday in Prague? HILLSAT were playing hardball, but overnight they emailed asking how quickly we could move."

Becky blinked. "I wonder if some of the big companies in the meeting contacted them. I did a demo, and they all seemed impressed. The three major cloud providers were in the room."

Ashleigh snorted. "That would do it. Anyway, they want to go for Option B."

"Remind me."

"A slightly reduced signing on fee, but a higher per gigabit charge and full-rate pricing for any spoke expansion"

Becky exhaled. "Wow. They must be expecting to charge a fortune. But that reduced signing-on fee was ten million, wasn't it?"

"Twenty," Ashleigh corrected. "Ten was what we'd have been willing to negotiate down to. This is exclusive to them for five years, unless they break the contract in any way."

"Good. That brings in some money. I'm looking to buy a house for us."

"That money comes into the company. You might be an owner, but you can't just take money out. Anyway, Laura has a long claim to a lot of it. Her investment needs repaying."

"What about satellite launches?" Becky asked hopefully.

"We need to get Earth-1 out of the way first. We have some interest on launches, but we need to prove things so we can charge a good fee. With the work getting HILLSAT integrated, and the work you are doing on Earth-1 communication with the Rohastin Council, you are going to be busy.

Ashleigh saw the pain on Becky's face and asked, "If we're going to do this house, would you mind if I contribute too?"

Becky closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was a little bit of her upbringing that Richard had, telling her that she should be the provider. And Ashleigh was gently calling her out on it. It was a mutual relationship. With that small reset Becky smiled.

"That would be great," Becky said, turning her monitor so Ashleigh could see what she'd found.

Thirty minutes later, they'd found three they were interested in. Ashleigh promised to contact the agents and see about visits.

"Okay, back to work," Becky grinned, happier now. "If we can get some satellites launched, it might bring the market to us. Seen as a safe method, not just something we use ourselves."

Ashleigh nodded, pulling up a document. "I've done a bit of work but not run it past anybody yet. I was thinking about ignoring the smaller satellites at the moment. Focus on the big items first."

Becky looked at the document. All prices were per satellite. Even if they were in a rack, they would still be priced individually. Cislunar £10m. Translunar Injection £15m. Solar System £20m. Anything beyond P.O.A.

"This looks great. It undercuts the competition. Can I suggest one extra. A cislunar forty-eight-hour emergency launch for £50m. We wouldn't be able to do that yet. The CAA wouldn't be able to cope, let alone any foreign space agency."

"The CAA might once we're proven. They've created a new class. Non-Propulsive Orbital Insertion Licence. All the rocket requirements have gone. No more questions of debris risk and sonic booms."

Becky laughed. "I knew Colin Hood had been tasked with overhauling rules for the new Era, but I never expected this."

Becky then sobered. She took out her personal tablet, unlocked it and handed it to Ashleigh. "Before you commit to buying a house with me, you need to see this."

Puzzled, Ashleigh looked and then gasped. It was the video of the Birmingham rally. She watched in horror as Becky was revealed and then exposed. The words 'Kill It' was a gut punch. The voice sounded so much like her brother-in-law. She was so glad when she saw Becky disappear when she was rescued by the aliens.

Ashleigh handed it back. "That was awful for you. But it changes nothing about how I feel about you. I know your past and I hope we can share our future."

Becky closed her eyes and let out the breath she'd been holding. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Ashleigh said, putting her hand into Beckys. They were in the office, and that was the extent they allowed themselves in a work setting. "Does Jenny know?"

"Yes. I think they sedated me, as I woke up in hospital. Laura had looked after Jenny while we were missing. Since the video was on the internet, I made sure Jenny knew. I didn't want her finding out by herself."

"I will tell you both my story tonight. It isn't nice, but you deserve to know. I'm not sure if Jenny should know or not."

"Were you raped?" Becky whispered.

"No. But others were. They were barely teenagers."

Becky looked revolted, but suddenly sat up straight, her eyes blazing. "Tell us both tonight. Don't give any graphic details, but I think she should know. It is an example of why we have bodyguards."

Ashleigh nodded. She wasn't looking forward to telling them, but she didn't want to hide it either. Becky was her life. She needed Becky to know. And if any of the French children went to the press, Jenny would find out. She likes to know what is happening.

"I've one other request..." Becky said nervously. "Will you move in?"

Ashleigh gasped. "When?"

"Tonight? I've spent every day since you were taken regretting that I was so nervous. I missed you so much and don't want to spend another night without you."