Skylar Holmes: The Last Hope

5. AWAITING THE VISITING ALIENS

SKYLAR AND PIRON appeared in an instant in Skylar's cosy Cleaner Class cabin.

The cabin exhibited simple functional furniture; a single bed, a small wardrobe, some drawers embedded in a sidewall and a desk with a standard networked starship computer pad. In addition, a narrow alcove led to a kitchen area and a small bathroom. Through the cabin's main rectangular window, a series of mesmerising spiralling rays of light could be seen forever appearing and disappearing, visual proof that the starship Faraway was currently travelling faster than light relative to the stars.

Skylar would always sleep in the bed, as Piron was more than happy to sleep on the sky-blue carpeted floor in the form of a cross between a bloodhound and a mastiff; a gaunt, savage, hound as large as a small lioness. In other words, a dead ringer for the Hound of the Baskervilles. Skylar had shown Piron the form with some historical images of the hound taken from her ancient long dead (according to the current timeline) father's crime cases.

"I'll start working on the disembarkment log for Zetum, right now," said Skylar. "The Faraway's due to start decelerating out of Fast Drive this evening at 22:00 hours. I believe we will be in Zetum's orbit minutes later. The visiting aliens should arrive on board within an hour or so. After gauging their reaction to the missing bracelets and location finder pads, if it's possible, I vote for us to attempt to teleport down to the University of Velar by thought on the chimes of the midnight hour." Skylar pulled out a chair and sat at her cabin's desk.

"Very melodramatic of you. I'll go along with that. What time will it be in Velar?"

"No idea until we come out of Fast drive. It won't matter because I know a place we can safely and surreptitiously teleport too." Skylar started up the computer pad with a long diagonal swipe on its touch screen.

"I'll have to know the place too if we're teleporting by thought. Whereabouts?" Piron looked over Skylar's shoulders to see how she would start her hacking.

"Remember when we attended the starship acclimatisation course before boarding the Faraway?" said Skylar as she merrily pressed and swiped away at the large desk computer pad.

"Of course. Bit boring as I'd already lived half my life on starships in my home universe. I thought I might learn something different being in a different universe, but I never did."

"Yes, and to relieve your boredom, we often went on adventures. And one adventure took us to exploring the underground tunnels of the university. I'm sure you remember that adventure."

"Yes, it was the tops. The secret tunnel that led us to a sprawling underground bunker complex that hadn't been entered for what we discovered to be over three hundred years. A complex fully stocked with all kinds of survival goods and foods. I'd never seen cryogenics used to keep food fresh before. Even the lights and ventilation worked. Some sort of lukewarm fusion reactor, wasn't it?"

"Yes. And you've successfully mentioned the place we should teleport to. And you no doubt remember how we made sure the tunnel entrance would likely remain secret, don't you?"

"Of course. We pushed back the metal lockers to cover the secret tunnel entrance and removed any evidence of us being in the vicinity. Removing footprints, fingerprints, and so on. See, I remember it well. But it's such a huge sprawling construct, so where in the bunker complex should we attempt to teleport?"

"Remember Room 124?"

"Of course I do. What sort of memory do you think I have! It wasn't that long ago. Room 124 that had the main security surveillance technology for the bunker complex. We got all the closed circuit television cameras working. It was like looking for ghosts. Not a mammal or insect did we spy."