Chapter 4 - Friday, 4 May 1979
Colonel Vladmir Kontarsky, newly assigned to manage security for the new MiG-31 project being developed out of Bilyarsk Air Base, sat quietly in the back of his car as his driver silently drove him from Moscow to Bilyarsk. He had already gone over the security alert that had been called from there with the landing of the damaged aircraft and the earlier security alert from the Sary Shagan research station. He again shook his head inwardly at the strange situation that was developing. Shortly, they arrived at the base's main gate where his papers were inspected. He was then quickly taken directly to the base's airfield where he saw Starbuck's tarp covered Viper silently sitting in the middle of the tarmac. He was immediately met by the base's commander, fire brigade chief, and aircraft maintenance chief.
"Colonel Kontarsky," Colonel Maresyev began. "We appreciate your quick response to our alert. As you can see we have quite the situation here."
"Indeed, Comrade Colonel," Kontarsky replied. "The Chairman and I appreciate your immediate notification of this event. Is the aircraft safe, and if so then why hasn't it been moved off the tarmac? Also, have all nonessential personnel been cleared from the security hanger?"
"Colonel, all nonessential personnel have been cleared from airfield and the hanger. As soon as the prisoner was taken away we placed a tarp over the alien's vehicle. The pilot appeared to have shut down all the craft's systems when he crash-landed. As you can see, the craft's landing gear was damaged and we are preparing a suitable dolly to place under it before moving it to the high security hanger. There it should be safe from the West's spy satellites." Just then the men heard several trucks start their engines near the aircraft maintenance facility.
"Ah, their timing is fortunate," stated the maintenance chief as a small truck pulling the needed dolly and another towing a small crane drove onto the tarmac.
"While they are moving the aircraft please take me to the pilot."
'Yes, comrade Colonel," Maresyev replied while leading men back to their waiting cars.
0
Starbuck started when he heard the footsteps of several men walking toward his cell. He had been left alone all the time after his landing except for the times when his meals were delivered and when the empty dishes had been taken away. Presently, Colonel Kontarsky accompanied by Colonel Maresyev and a security guard stopped outside his cell. Starbuck stood up from sitting on the edge of his bunk. Fancy uniforms, he thought. They must be important.
"He hasn't communicated since he was captured?" Kontarsky asked.
"No, Comrade Colonel." Kontarsky approached the bars.
"Do you speak Russian?" he asked.
"I don't know what you are saying." Starbuck replied in Caprican.
"Do you speak English?" Kontarsky asked again in English. Then he asked again in German.
Starbuck shook his head each time.
"He looks like an American," Maresyev said. "He must be lying."
"He may be, but I suspect he is not." Kontarsky replied again recalling the information in the report from Sary Shagan before turning back to the base security office. "I want to see his effects," he ordered.
Presently, a guard brought Starbuck's uniform, pistol belt, papers and his half smoked fumarello and laid them out on a table. Kontarsky picked up the uniform and noted the highly elastic inner garment and odd outer uniform. Then he looked at Starbuck's ID seeing Starbuck's picture and a strange script and vaguely resembled Greek and Cyrillic characters, but there was something about them that made them unreadable too.
"Have you looked at this script?"
"We couldn't make anything of it." Maresyev replied.
Kontarsky carefully removed Starbuck's laser pistol from its holster. "Have you done anything with this?"
"No, sir."
Kontarsky replaced the pistol and picked up the fumarello and carefully sniffed, immediately noticing the smell of tobacco. Kontarsky walked back to Starbuck's cell and held out the fumarello.
"Thanks," Starbuck replied in Caprican while placing it between his teeth. Kontarsky retrieved his own cigarettes and lighter, and after lighting his own smoke, held the lighter out to Starbuck who leaned forward so the end of the fumarello extended through the bars so it could be lit.
"Vladmir Kontarsky," the Colonel said while pointing at himself then he pointed toward Starbuck.
'Starbuck," Starbuck replied while pointing at himself. "Thanks for letting me have my fumarello."
Not understanding anything Starbuck said except that he had first stated his name, Kontarsky replied, "It appears we have a mystery here that I intend to unravel completely." The two smoked in silence for a few moments. When the KGB officer finished his cigarette he noted that Starbuck had only smoked his for a few puffs before putting it out as if to preserve it for as long as possible.
"I will see you again, Mister Mystery Man," Kontarsky finally said before leaving Starbuck to his vigil.
0
Chairman of the Committee for State Security Yuri Andropov laid himself down to sleep next to his dozing wife. A short while ago he had read the daily summary report from Colonel Kontarsky at Bilyarsk regarding the arrival of a presumably alien, but probably human, pilot who had crash-landed at the air base. Andropov could scarcely believe the report, but Kontarsky was a very trusted officer, enough so to have been put in charge of security for the MiG-31 project so Andropov had little doubt that what he had reported wasn't true, to the best of his knowledge at least. At least the alien had landed at the highly secure Bilyarsk Air Base and not some other less secure one.
Kontarsky had requested support from a linguist, theoretical power and propulsion experts, and a theoretical weapons expert. Evidently the side arm of the alien pilot was not a firearm, but operated by some other principle that the personnel at Bilyarsk had been unable to determine. The report admitted that they were unsure if the prisoner would be willing to show them how the sidearm or his craft were operated.
The alien's vehicle had been moved into the high security hanger where the MiG-31 was being developed. Again, only a cursory examination of the craft had been made. Samples of the craft's fuel, which had leaked onto the tarmac from damage caused by the laser at Sary Shagan had been analyzed and been determined to be a Lithium Hydride Water solution. Andropov sighed as he echoed Kontarsky's thoughts about this being a mystery that he would resolve, before falling asleep.
Not long after his sleep began Andropov began to dream of playing with a dog named Muffet in the center of a city with his mother. His mother, a reporter, was reporting on a celebration that was about to take place announcing peace for his people after a long war. He didn't understand the language, but he also knew what the people around him were saying. Then he heard the shriek of aircraft engines as explosions occurred around him and people screamed. He felt himself being caught up by his mother and being carried away from a tumbling monument.
"Muffet," he called as he saw the disk shaped aircraft continue to strafe and bomb the city around him.
Andropov woke up from the nightmare. His heart pounded while he sweated in his pajamas from the realism of the dream. He got up gently so as to not wake his wife. After drinking a little water and relieving himself he returned to bed and tried to return to sleep.
Again he began dreaming. This time he watched with his 'mother' as a mature man in a uniform exited a damaged house and addressed an angry crowd. The man carried the air of great authority while the man's son, another military officer, tried to protect him from the crowd. The crowd was angry that the military had not been able to prevent the attack one their world. He saw that the man was a senior military officer and had admitted that their enemy had succeeded in their task and that their society would soon end on their twelve (!) worlds. Their only hope of preserving their people from genocide was to take as many space vehicles that could be made ready and to abandon their worlds and to seek another place to live.
Andropov's final dream was of flying through space in a vehicle like the one that crashed at Bilyarsk. From that vehicle he could see a great fleet of ships, very few of the ships were alike. Finally, in the lead position of the fleet he saw a great behemoth of a ship. Ahead of them lay a great expanse of stars.
Andropov again woke up to see the sun brightening the curtains of the bedroom of his dacha. Again, seeing that his wife was sound asleep and that she didn't need to wake up immediately, he silently strode to his kitchen to prepare his morning tea. He started when he stepped through the kitchen door. A man dressed in an all-white three piece suit and tie stood there with a gentle smile on his face.
"Good morning, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov," the man began. "You can call me John."