Chapter 10
‘Excellent work Colonel Straker. I’m impressed, and that’s not an easy thing to do. You’ve given me a great deal to think about.’
‘Thank you General.’ Straker stood easy, waiting for the older man to finish leafing through the papers: blueprints, schematics, proposals and even finance matters. Three months of solid work condensed in the last frantic hours into a working document. Continue reading
Chapter 9
‘Colonel Straker. Jackson tells me you’ve settled in, all things considered.’ Thornton pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘Nearly three months now.’ Continue reading
Chapter 8
Freeman and Jackson watched in silence. Stillness filled the air. Straker sitting there, head bowed, hands lying open on his lap, the odd twitch of shoulders and spine the only sign of movement as his subconscious fought to keep him upright, dark stains on his shirt, sweat stiffening his light blonde hair and in front of him in a hole in the ground, a parcel wrapped in dark paper. The smell of brandy wafted across the clearing and the two watchers looked at each other, perplexed. Continue reading
More of a personal comment here, as opposed to a UFO connection. Continue reading
Chapter 6
It was with some trepidation that Straker followed his erstwhile barber into the building. His credentials had passed the scrutiny of the guards at the entrance without question, but to be outside the car and surrounded by so many humans was an uncomfortable feeling, even though most of them ignored him. Jackson walked on, giving short explanations, nodding to several people and eventually taking him into one of the base refectories. He gestured to a table. ‘Sit down. Thornton will meet us here so you might as well have breakfast while we wait. What do you usually eat?’ Continue reading
Chapter 5
‘Your hair needs cutting. Surprised they didn’t tell you that,’ the man said, once the two of them were inside his car and Straker was rubbing the water from his face. His contact had said very little, just a quick handshake and a curt greeting before leading the way to the shelter of the car. Continue reading
Chapter 4
Straker put down his pen and closed the journal with a sigh. A human response and one that he was beginning to appreciate. It fitted his feelings. He was weary of this enclosed space, but although he was free to leave whenever he chose, he had not ventured beyond the confines of his cabin. It was not that he was forbidden, although the First Officer suggested, in a caustic tone that was almost an order, that his presence in the more spacious passenger areas of the ship might cause concern. So he had remained here in this small cabin, well out of the way, reading and studying and recovering, his meals brought by a silent ensign and visited on occasions by the ship’s physician. Continue reading
On a desperate trawl through half a dozen flash drives yesterday while searching for several stories that had somehow escaped their shackles, I came across four or five ‘snippets’ written in 2011. Continue reading
Chapter 3
‘No. Your inflection is still incorrect. Read the poem again, Straker. From the beginning.’ Continue reading