To End All Wars
This story is a tribute to those Missing in Action during the Great War (1914-1918). All telepathic dialogue is indicated within brackets (...).
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the concept of the Tomorrow People. The Tomorrow People belong to Roger Damon Price, Nickelodeon, ITV and/or Thames/Tetra Television. I am using the concept for entertainment purposes only, and I am making no money from this story. All the characters in this story are mine as it is set before both the Original Series and the New Series. Please ask if you want to use them.
The last thing he remembered was being on the battlefield of the Somme during the Great War. For some reason throughout the conflict he had been unable to fire his rifle. It had not jammed, and he could fire it, but not in the direction of people, not even the so-called enemy. He did not understand why. Then there were those extreme headaches that always seemed to come and go with peace on the battlefield.
He had gone to the front line as ordered early that morning, ready for the charge over the top at first light, and as soon as the pre-attack bombardment began, the worst of all headaches hit him. Dropping his rifle, he held his head, as if to calm the agony. The next thing he knew he was neck-deep in seawater, struggling to stay afloat.
It was strange that he did not fear drowning. There was a sound, he did not know where it came from, drawing him towards a beach. He struggled half way up the beach under the weight of his pack, where he collapsed, exhausted, in the sun. When he awoke it was as if the headache and the war were just a dream.
He headed further inland to see if he could get some idea where he was. It was several minutes before he came across the structure. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. If you asked him to describe it he would have said that it was a cross between a plant and a building, but that that description would not have done it justice. He stood there in awe, for several minutes, amazed at what he saw.
Slowly he realised that the sound he had been following had come from the structure before him, and not through his ears, but in his head. Something or someone inside was calling him. Despite the thoughts of sirens calling men to their death going through his mind it was somehow comforting.
Knowing that the answers to the questions about what had happened to him would be found in the structure ahead of him, he continued towards it. Suddenly he tripped over something. He looked and saw a hatch with strange symbols round it, covered in sand. He bent down and dusted the sand away to see if he could make out what it said. As he did so, the centre of the hatch disappeared, the call from the structure became louder and more insistent, and he was pulled inside down a slide like those he had seen at funfairs.
Soft cushions broke his fall when he arrived at the bottom of the shaft, and a young man in a German uniform, about his own age was there to greet him.
"Guten Tag. Ich heiße Hans. Wie heißen Sie?" the man asked softly. "Was machen Sie hier?"
"Excuse me, I don't understand." he replied, confused that the other man had not shot him.
(Hello. I'm Hans. Who are you?) came the voice again, this time in his head. (What are you doing here?)
He was confused. "How did you do that?" he asked.
(I just thought what I wanted to say and you heard me.) Hans replied. (Like me, you're telepathic so you should be able to do it too.)
Realising he had nothing to lose, he decided to give this telepathy a go. (Well, to answer your questions. I'm Rupert and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing here.) He paused for a moment, then added (How did we end up here?)
(Follow me, and I may be able to answer that.) replied Hans, as he headed down a corridor.
(So, what happened to bring you here?) asked Rupert. (I noticed you didn't shoot me when I dropped in, so I assume there's a reason.)
Hans looked at him with a haunted look in his eyes. (I'd just finished basic training when they sent me to the front. I did everything I was told but I found I couldn't pull the trigger when I was asked to shoot at the enemy lines. If I pointed at something else, I could fire, but not at people.) Panic, confusion and the need for an answer were evident in his telepathic voice. (I faced a Court Martial where they found me guilty of cowardice and sentenced me to the firing squad. They tied me to a post and blindfolded me. I had this terrible headache, it felt like my head would burst, and then suddenly the blindfold disappeared and I was treading water somewhere. I managed to make it to the beach, and later to this place. What happened to you?)
As Rupert told his story, they noticed the similarities. Neither of them had been able to shoot at the enemy. It had been as if something or someone were stopping both of them from firing. Whatever had happened to them, they knew they were safe with each other despite being on opposite sides in the war, now that they knew neither of them could kill.
They finally arrived at a large circular room covered in the same symbols Rupert had seen on the hatch. In the centre was a seating area and a column that looked like it had grown out of the floor with two seats suspended from it like a child's see saw. As they entered, the call that had brought Rupert to the structure grew louder. It reassured him that neither Hans nor it meant him any harm, and explained in thought rather than words how he had got there.
(Do not be afraid. You are special.) the ship began.
(Who's that?) Rupert broadcasted.
(I am the voice of this ship. I crashed here many years ago after the death of my crew. Since then I have kept a lonely vigil waiting for people like you to arrive.)
(People like me?) replied Rupert.
(Yes. You and Hans.) the ship continued. (Now to answer your questions; you broke out and gained your powers at a time of great stress and teleported here.)
(Teleported? What's that?) Rupert interrupted.
As the ship continued Rupert could have sworn that this time there was a smile of amusement in its voice. (You disappeared from where you were and reappeared here. I have a beacon that draws people like you to me so I can help you to understand what you have become and teach you how to use your gifts.) The ship paused for a moment, (Those who have come before you have called themselves the Tomorrow People.)
Somehow that revelation explained everything. They were Earth's hope for the future. Perhaps, its last, best hope for peace.