Chapter 1

Sean and Lisa had been married for three years, and were as happy today as on their wedding day – happier even.

Lisa had a good job in research and development at a nearby chemical factory, and Sean was a construction engineer working a couple of miles out of town.

She pulled her car into her driveway, thinking on what she could cook them for dinner tonight. She had managed to finish work early today – it wasn’t even lunch time yet, and Sean had said that he hoped to finish by lunch time as we as well.

They had made no plans for this weekend, no family or friends to visit, and she had high hopes for an – intimate weekend with just the two of them.

As she stepped out of her vehicle she glanced idly down the street; she gave a little frown, and then she paused for a moment.

That large truck had a military look to it, and she felt the first prickle of unease as two soldiers climbed out of the back.

Her alarm increased when a second truck pulled to a halt at the top end of the street, and two more soldiers’ clambered out, and began to walk casually down towards her.

Lisa had a momentary thought of rushing into her house and locking the door, but then she shook her head impatiently.

They had known that this was coming for some time now, but still it was unsettling.

She walked through her front gate, and closed it behind her and then she smiled politely at the two soldiers as they approached her.

“Good afternoon,” she said lightly. “Is there a problem with something on my street?”

She noticed how they looked her up and down appreciatively for a moment, but dismissed this immediately since she was rather used to it.

At a little over five feet in height she was considered to be petite. Her rich auburn curls framed her pretty heart shaped face, in a nice enough sort of way, but her large hazel coloured eyes and wide smile, made her beautiful.

She had a tiny waist and rounded hips giving her an hour glass figure that made her breasts seem over large – in proportion with the rest of her – or rather that was what she saw whenever she looked in a mirror.

Her legs were long and shapely considering her lack of height, and as a package she was worth a second and even a third look.

It was a bright sunny morning, considering it was still early in the year, and now she was off work now until the middle of next week, having just broken up for the Easter break.

Lisa had picked out a pretty blue flowered dress, and a cream jacket and she knew that she look nice, especially since Sean had said so this morning – enthusiastically so, in fact so much so that they had been almost late in leaving for work.

The soldiers glanced at each other and then one of them nodded to the other, as if to say ‘you do the talking.’

“Good morning miss,” he said politely as he leaned casually against her gate post and grinned at her, Lisa was relieved to see Sean’s car drive past the truck at that very moment, and he slowed down as he approached them.

“Ah, this is my husband, so hang on and you can tell us both together,” she said showing her relief openly.

The soldier glanced over his shoulder, as Sean’s car pulled into the curb.

Sean was a tall, fair haired man, with green eyes and an open friendly smile, and as he climbed out of his car, Lisa felt safe again.

“Good morning?” he said glancing quickly at his wife, and smiling reassuringly at her.

“Good morning, sir I am Sergeant Davison, and my colleague here is Sergeant Phillips ... we are about to start delivering some of the craft packs for this area, and wanted to confirm the residents here first.”

Lisa felt the adrenalin rush, as suddenly the past years of vague worries and concerns, were made real, and immediate.

“Ah yes, I had heard that they would be coming soon,” Sean nodded.

The soldier opened up the bag he had been carrying and took out an electronic tablet device.

He switched it on, and touched a stylus to it.

“We’re on Rosewood Avenue,” he murmured, and then glanced up at the house. “Number twenty four...”

He looked at the two of them suddenly. “Sean and Lisa Canford?”

“Yes that’s right,” Sean said as Lisa nodded.

“Mr Canford ... you are an engineer, and you, Mrs Canford are also a qualified professional person.”

“Yes, we like to think that we are well educated folks!” Sean laughed easily, and Lisa felt her shoulders relax. If Sean was not worried then she would not worry either.

She missed his quick assessing look, and so did not realise that his casual bravado was solely for her benefit – something that neither of the soldiers missed at all.

“We will deliver your pack first, sir,” the soldier decided suddenly. “And we will sit and watch the instruction DVD with you, and make sure that you understand what you have to do.”

“I think I will manage,” Sean said a little challengingly.

“Yes I am confident that you will too, but once we know for sure, then we will deliver to the rest of this street, and you will be in charge of overseeing the other residents, and making sure that all the crafts are assembled correctly.”

“So I am to be in charge of quality control?” Sean snapped with a disparaging little twist to his lips. “It would have been nice to have been asked first!”

“These people’s lives may well depend on you, sir.”

“Yes I know,” he sighed in resignation.

“Then you are willing to take on the responsibility?” the soldier pressed.

“ ... Yes,” Sean nodded impatiently. “So shall we get on with it?”

“I’ll go and put the kettle on,” Lisa said softly, and Sean nodded and smiled. “Coffee would be great, but we won’t start until you are back with us.”

“Oh but?”

“No, Lisa, you need to see and understand this too, you are at least as intelligent as me ... probably more so!” he grinned suddenly.

She felt the colour flood her cheeks as she unlocked the front door, Sean was always saying things like that to her, paying her compliments, she had heard them several times a day – every day since they had married, but she did not think that she would ever get used to it!

She walked through to the kitchen, and whilst the kettle was boiling she quickly made sandwiches and sliced up some cake.

She had the feeling that their dinner would be much later – if at all, and she for one was hungry.

She loaded up the tray for the food and carried it through.

“I’m afraid that it’s only instant coffee – or tea if you would prefer?” she asked hospitably.

“Coffee would be great, miss – thank you,” the two soldiers nodded as they eyed the food hungrily.

“Milk? Sugar?” she enquired.

They both nodded again. “Yes, milk and two sugars please,” they both said in unison.

Sean caught her eye, and she paused. “I’ll set the DVD up to start as soon as you come back ... Can you bring that A4 notepad with you, and a couple of pens, please Lisa.”

“Yes, of course.”

She chuckled softly at the thought of these tough looking soldiers and their sweet tooth. She walked back to the kitchen, and finished making the drinks, listening to the quietly gruff tones of the men as she pottered around her kitchen, collecting the things together. She knew that this was a simple pleasure that would be lost to her soon enough, perhaps for ever?

It was a bit finicky, managing the bits, the pens sat on the smaller tray with the coffee cups, but she held the large notepad under the tray – as a sort of second tray, which she held in place with her fingers, as she walked quickly back.

She passed out the steaming mugs, and then curled up next to Sean.

“Help yourself to sandwiches and cake,” she said to the two men, as she loaded up a plate for Sean as he started the DVD, and opened up the notepad.

She realised that he would probably forget to eat if she did not encourage him; that he would take the responsibility for everyone else in their neighbourhood very seriously.

The television screen flickered and then turned white, and then a man in a white coat appeared.

“This s a government sponsored information film. Please ensure that you clarify any and all doubts or questions before you attempt the assembling of your craft...”

An hour later Sean sat back with a sigh, and turned to the two soldiers, glancing down at his notes and sketches as he did so.

“Well that all seems fairly straight forward,” he said with a little twist of his lips.

Sergeant Davison nodded. “As soon as it was decided that the people would have to be responsible for their own crafts, the boffins took pains to keep the designs as simple as possible.”

“So we will link twelve of these pods together – into what he called a flower, and they will manage to garner enough power for lift off and achieve an orbit of some sort, then a second thrust will break the crafts out of the orbit and into space...”

“Yes, and once the flowers break free of the orbit, and they gather enough distance from the planet, then the flowers will be able to lock on to other flowers, and stations which are being sent up even as we speak.”

“Yes, I heard that larger crafts have been going up for months now, with supplies?”

Sergeant Davison twisted his lips. “We will all have to get used to a rather restricted diet of dried foods, although water will not be an issue since we will be able to draw moisture from the gases in space itself, the flowers will have a centre, which will become the production site for the dozen craft pod that surround it.”

It had been the most difficult equation to solve, finding a way to produce water in space, but the answer when it had been found, had been almost laughably simple ... it was already out there, it had always been out there, you just had to know how to convert it – from a radioactive gas, to a drinkable fluid.

He sat forward and scratched at his head.

“The plan is that by the end of a year you will have started to grow enough to supplement your flower’s rations ... and of course these will all begin whilst the pods are in sleep status.”

“Yes, I understand the theories, and I know that you have three or four of these flowers, already up there, and the green house idea seems to be working.”

“Yes, we sent three up at the beginning of the year, and the results have surpassed our most optimistic hopes ... we will begin sending more up by the end of this week, and those first ones will begin to move out into space and away from earth. By the end of the month, the evacuation should be in full force and on course.

Of course none of the pods will be cleared for outer space travel, until the production pods are proven to work and able to provide sustenance for the people, the government was most concerned that there was a risk of sending people out into space only to have them starve to death once out there.”

“How long have we got to assemble and achieve our flower, when are we slotted to leave?” Sean asked as he gave Lisa’s hand a little squeeze.

Sergeant Davison consulted his tablet device.

“You have family, you have been logged to be linked with...” he reeled off a few names, and addresses, and both Lisa and Sean nodded.

“Yes, that is Lisa’s mum and dad, and Lisa’s older sister and her husband,” Sean informed him. “Then we have my father and mother, and my sister...”