Reg's Adventure Chapter 8
"Doctor Shaw, I Presume?"
On the part of Kepler 62f where she lived and worked, it was almost sunrise, such as it were. The inhabitants of the Engineer homeworld lived underground...this explained their lack of skin pigmentation and large eyes. Since the planet's gravity was about 1.4 times that of Earth, this explained why these people were physically larger than most humans. While in her time there were athletes who could measure up to these Engineers they were the exception rather than the rule. Elizabeth Shaw and David had used their time well here on Otthune, conducting archeological research among other academic pursuits. It had taken her quite some time to convince her hosts that they were not a threat to them, and they eventually relented and permitted David's head to be reattached to his body.
Her communications terminal woke her up..."Who in the world could be calling at this hour?", she wondered. "Would you like me to answer it, Elizabeth?" David asked. "No, I'll get it. It better be important at this time of day." she said.
She said "Answer" in Proto-Indo-European, and the screen lit up. "Sorry to bother you at this hour, Doctor Shaw, but a matter of utmost importance requires your coming to the High Council chambers as soon as possible."
Puzzled, she looked at the screen, and asked "What could be so important? Is there a problem?"
The female Engineer on the other end smiled and said "It's nothing like that."
Then she leaned into the camera and said "You've got a visitor."
"A visitor? From where?"
"From Earth, your homeworld!"
Elizabeth was taken aback. David was following her facial expressions and activated his cardiac monitor, just in case her AFIB flared up as it sometimes did when she became excited.
"Ho-hostile or friendly?" she asked hesitatingly.
"Quite friendly. He calls himself Reg Barclay."
"Is he from the Weyland Corporation? I don't want to see him if he is."
"He said that he belongs to a 'Star Fleet' or something like that. They're taking him to the High Council chambers now, and that's why your presence is requested there."
"I-I'll be there as soon as I can.", she said, and wished her caller a good day.
Screen off, she turned to David and said "We've had a good, peaceful life here, and now it's going to be turned upside down. I just know it!"
David smiled and said "He's only one man. It's not like there's an army, or...an android."
"No, no android, that's for sure.", she said.
"I wonder how life on Earth's changed since we left?", David mused.
Elizabeth smiled and said "We're about to find out." Then she asked David if he'd mind making breakfast for her while she took a shower and got ready for the tube-trip through the planet's core. They'd taken that trip many times in the 50 Otthune-years since they'd arrived, and every time the thought of traveling at trans-sonic speeds through the planet's core just played havoc with her claustrophobia.
Years ago, she told herself that it was in the name of science that she needed to step into the Prometheus' hyperspace hibernation chamber, a decision that she sometimes regretted making. The ghosts and memories of those lost still haunted her, as she felt responsible for their deaths. In an earlier time she would weep and wonder if anyone knew about them and missed them.
If anyone cried and prayed for her soul...
An hour later, she and David were ready to go. She took a deep breath before entering the tube car, somewhat larger than an Earth subway car, looked at David, and said "Let's get this over with."
David smiled and said "No matter what happens, we'll always have Paris."
Elizabeth smiled at David and said "That's what I love about you...you have always had an uncanny knack at putting things in perspective."
Reg was led into the center of a large room. "Everything here is so much larger.", he thought. He looked around at the assembled elders and thought about how many worlds in the Federation had similar governing bodies and wondered just how many worlds these people had engineered. He was lost in thought when one of the Engineers held out a huge hand and said "Reg Barclay of Earth, welcome to our world, Otthune." Reg smiled, shook the Elder's hand. and said "Thank you for allowing me here, to speak with you and your colleagues."
"We don't get many 'visitors' in our part of the galaxy. By the way, my name is Noms."
"Noms, it is my pleasure to meet you." Reg replied.
"Reg, we'd like to wait until Doctor Shaw and David arrive before we begin. I'm sure that you have many questions about us that she can answer for you."
Reg smiled and said "No problem."
Just then, Elizabeth and David walked into the chamber. Reg stood out in the light, his Star Fleet uniform making him look distinguished. "He's tall and young, too.", she whispered to David.
Noms smiled and said "Ah, here they are now", and Reg turned around to see Elizabeth and David, parts of a former space legend, walking towards him. He was almost overwhelmed, but his recent encounter with the Cytherians gave him confidence. She looked up at him and smiled, and he said the only words he could think of:
"Doctor Shaw, I presume?"
(end of chapter)
