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  Seeing as Annika was already obeying RJ's suggestion and there was no logical reason to defy the man, Darwin took himself away from the fire button, slumped into the Captain's chair and suddenly looked very tired.

  'Captain, I'm picking up two human life signs on-board one of the pods, should I...'

  Darwin cut her off. 'Tow them home with us, Lieutenant, the poor bastards have earned it.'

  'Yes sir!' Annika trilled, a grin spreading over his face as she gave a strange fist pump in the air. RJ smiled at her in recognition.

  Shortly after, Trigger punched in hyperwarp on command. They were finally going home.

  Chapter 29

  Crowd! Glove! Earth!

  The journey back was one of relative silence, with both Phil and Smith in disbelief at how they'd somehow managed to escape the clutches of the Voravians. Phil had wondered for a time who was on the other craft, and Agent Smith had attempted to figure out the communications systems in their escape pod before finally abandoning the effort as a lost cause. It would appear that Voravians didn't care much about what people in escape pods had to say, as he hadn't found anything at all like a comm system.

  After a while, Phil just watched the strange pulsing glow of the hyperwarp tunnel they had entered. He knew so little about the mechanics of everything he had been through yet somehow he had managed to survive it in spite of that. It boggled his mind how he had lurched from one lethal situation to another with all the grace of an inebriated ballet dancer. It had all seemed like one great cosmic joke at the beginning, but as time had gone on it had taken an entirely different tone of increasing seriousness as he realised what was at stake.

  He couldn't recall how much time had passed as he sat thinking to himself in the small pod, but the tunnel finally faded away back into the dark curtain of space, illuminated by the familiar glow of a blue planet beneath them.

  There were various worrying clunking noises and Smith reassured him that it was the technicians going to work on the pod and that they wouldn't get sucked out into space at the very last after all they had survived.

  Then the door to the pod was forced open with a clang and Phil spotted the grateful face of Hanniman peering in at him.

  'A safe and pleasant journey I hope, Captain? I can't say I'd vouch for your company's entertainment value.'

  A brief snort of derision from Smith allowed Phil the time to formulate a response. 'I don't know Doctor, Agent Smith isn't so bad when you get used to him.'

  The Engineer offered him a brief smile and then was back to business. 'They're waiting for you out here, I doubt you'll be wanting to stay in that pod any longer, no matter how cosy the trip was.'

  They slowly clambered out and were confronted with the research room of Star Command, the same place that he'd been tested in all that time ago. This time though it was full of bodies all looking up at him expectantly.

  'Hello there.' Phil said awkwardly, wilting under their collective gazes.

  The crowd erupted into applause and he found his face heating in a most peculiar way, he wasn't used to this whole adulation business, hero or not.

  The next thing he knew he was engulfed in catsuit.

  'Phil! You did it!' Annika gushed with a smile brighter than a thousand stars. 'You destroyed the mothership!'

  He had the decency not to argue the point overly, he really didn't think he could have destroyed that vast mothership simply by tangling himself in wires.

  Then he noticed the expression an Annika's face change, he couldn't quite read it but it seemed much more subdued in spite of the ongoing applause. She said something to Smith he couldn't quite hear as he was whisked away by throngs of happy Star Command employees.

  'Lord have mercy on my soul, it's Captain Jones!' bellowed a distinctly Texan voice approaching him. RJ clamped him in a huge hug that nearly took the man's hat off and then urged him away from the crowds, who allowed space for the crew members to reunite.

  'Someone upstairs is looking out for you.' the man said in his ear.

  'I don't know about that...' Phil replied, really not in the mood for a religious debate.

  RJ was having none of it though. 'Did I not tell you that if you believed in yourself and kept doing what's right that you'd make it through?'

  Phil nodded.

  'Looks to me like it worked out, glove or no glove, don't you think?'

  Phil nodded once again, then looked down at his hand. It was empty. Where had it gone?

  RJ offered him another smile and then let him continue through the crowds of people. After having worn the glove for so long, Phil felt naked without its reassuring prescence. He also felt decidedly stupid, no doubt he'd soon find out just how much of his heroics were due to the glove giving a hand. Or him giving a hand to the glove. Whatever.

  After spending a long time mingling with the crowds they finally dispersed, leaving the crew to talk amongst themselves. There was little time do so though, as they were soon summoned for an immediate debriefing with Grand Admiral Burroughs. Phil silently hoped he wouldn't have to say much, he didn't trust himself to speak now that he was missing the glove.

  They trooped through together to the same briefing room that served as the man's office and before they knew it they were all facing his desk once more.

  A door hissed open and they all stood to attention, but instead of Burroughs it was Darwin who marched through.

  'All stand to attention for the Grand Admiral of Star Command.' he ordered, completely redundantly.

  Phil attempted to stand to even further attention, and nearly toppled forward into the desk but for a steadying hand from RJ. He really wasn't looking forward to this.

  The stately Admiral marched through with great aplomb, as if he himself had single-handedly defeated the Voravians with his master-stroke and was due all the credit and applause. As he seated himself Phil relaxed slightly, only to realise that the rest of the crew still stood at attention.

  'As predicted, the mission I sent you on was a complete success. Well done to all of you who participated, you were as gallant and practical as the folks at the Human Genome Station suggested you would be.' he motioned Darwin closer toward him before continuing.

  'Thanks to the heroics of the Scavanger's Captain, the entire crew was able to make it safely home. Had he not been there I doubt things would have gone according to plan.'

  Darwin smiled ingratiatingly and Phil felt more than a pang of annoyance.

  'Sir, how exactly did you manage to fight off the Voravians?' Trigger asked, then quickly clamped a hand over his mouth when he realised it had not been his turn to speak.

  The Captain looked noticeably irritated at the question and tugged at his collar. 'Well you see, Cadet, when I took on the Voravians I knew that I only had to coat myself in the blood of one to reflect the majority of the blaster bolts that would be aimed at...'

  'How did you know their blood would reflect the bolts, Captain?' Trigger persisted.

  'Well, you see, I... never you mind! The point is that the blood shielded me from the bolts and...'

  'Why didn't we just cover the entire crew in Voravian blood then, Captain?' Trigger pressed, growing bolder and more than a little irritated at the man's hedging.

  'That's quite enough Cadet!' Burroughs roared. 'how dare you question your superior with this tone!'

  Something had changed in the nervous Ensign though, and being called Cadet repeatedly seemed to cause his eye to twitch slightly. There was a steely determination about the man that Phil had never seen before as he stepped forward and planted his feet to the ground as if bracing for a gale.

  'There was absolutely no reason for the Captain to do what he did, none whatsoever, it makes no sense and it's completely against Star Command regulations.'

  RJ stepped forward so that Trigger need not face these men alone, he did not say any words but the look he gave his superiors spoke volumes.

  Instead of the storm of anger that Phil had expected from the affronted men, all th
at came was a set of knowing smiles.

  'You two are very bright individuals, we thought you might see through us eventually. I would suggest you not be quite so insubordinate to your future Captain though.'

  See through them? Future Captain? Phil shared in their confusion, before slowly realising that if Darwin was going to be their future Captain then that meant...

  Burroughs tapped at a few buttons and the image of Doctor Hanniman appeared on the screen, it was only then that Phil realised the good Doctor was not with them.

  'If you'd like to continue, Doctor?'

  'Gentleman and Lady, I am Dr. Hanniman. Prior to joining your mission against the Voravian threat I was head researcher at the Human Genome Project. I am afraid that we've pulled the wool over your eyes somewhat.'

  They all stood aghast, nobody knowing what to say, judging from Darwin's wide grin it would appear that he was in on whatever this was.

  'The glove that has mysteriously disappeared from your hand was a prototype to test a simple premise. Could a random individual become Captain of a Star Command vessel in a high-risk situation and triumph?'

  Phil felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as the man continued to talk, as if a dream was slowly bursting and he didn't know why.

  'The Grand Admiral suggested that we test the capabilities of this new device in a mock-up situation involving a threatening race of our invention. Namely, the Voravians.'

  Phil looked around the room, everyone was completely stunned.

  'But sir, the Voravians are known to be our mortal enemy, how can you simply say they were invented?' Annika asked.

  Burroughs chuckled. 'My dear, there are indeed Voravians out there, but we are at peace with them and they were kind enough to let us borrow a number of them for the purpose of this experiment. It is the idea that they are threatening which is entirely fiction.'

  'What then of the weapons we used, did we not kill many of them and another species on the planet?' Smith asked.

  It was Darwin who spoke this time. 'The weapons you were given were entirely fabricated and no more lethal to your opposition than a child's first stun gun. Both the Voravians and the Pinkarians were fully informed of our choreographed routine, one in which I had much fun participating.'

  Phil couldn't believe it. It had all been one big set-up to test out their damn glove. He wasn't the chosen one, he was just some fat idiot they had conned into believing otherwise.

  'Judging from your performances, it was decided that Captain Darwin was still a more superior commanding officer than “Captain” Jones and will henceforth be your new commanding officer.' Hanniman said.

  The crew, who had reacted badly to such trickery, were in uproar at the decision.

  'You cannot be serious.' RJ said through clenched teeth, Beckeresque in his fury. 'That pompous idiot knew that whole time that this was just a game!'

  Darwin smirked. 'Oh this is no game, my Texan friend. Besides, it's the Captain's job to know the unknowable.'

  'That doesn't even make sense!' roared RJ, losing his cool entirely at the smug man.

  Annika stepped forward too, but she had some of her analytical cool about her now and addressed Hanniman, not Darwin.

  'It would appear to me that by taking advantage of the disabled forcefield, Agent Smith was responsible for the ship's “destruction”.'

  The scientist waved away her concerns. 'Smith's evasion of the trap was by pure fortune, and the acid was never a danger to the craft, merely an excuse to sound the alarm and ratchet up the tension further.'

  'What about Captain Jones then? Did he not activate their self-destruct mechanism?'

  Burroughs let out a guffaw of laughter. 'the glove was responsible for that, not Phil Jones.'

  Phil found himself standing right up to Burroughs now, and in his heart he knew that it was he who had done this, not the glove.

  'I don't pretend to know what it was the glove did to me.' he said, sweeping his gaze across all three men. 'I do know that it has changed me in ways I could never imagine before.' he stared down at his hands and watched them twitch. 'you say that the glove was the one responsible for all these things happening, I was there when it happened and I watched it all unfold, I know who did what and I also know that toward the end, when it really mattered, it was me doing those things, not the glove.'

  The room was silent, nobody dared interrupt him even as he paused to give them the opportunity.

  'I may not have a wealth of experience like the Grand Admiral, or the practical credentials of Darwin. I certainly don't have the scientific knowledge of you, Hanniman. I've been thinking though, looking back over everything that happened to me, and I've realised that the glove only had a small part to play in that. That for my every weakness I had someone with me who made up for that with their strength.' he turned to the crew now and saw that Annika's eyes were watering. 'I may not have the combat skills or know how to shoot a gun, but I trust Agent Smith to. That's why he's my number one.'

  Smith actually smiled, Annika had tears in her eyes, but Phil wasn't done yet.

  'I may not have the intelligence or analytical mind required to understand things, but I know I can rely on Annika. I may not have the wisdom and foresight or faith but I trust RJ's counsel to provide me with them and from what I've heard if I need a damn good pilot to get me out of a tight spot, I can rely on Ensign Trigger Hawkins.'

  He turned to face the men behind the table, there wasn't a grin among them any more.

  'I may not have these things, I may not be your ideal Captain and I may not have done enough in your simulation to warrant a ship. What I do know is that your glove chose me for a reason, out of all the people on Earth it chose me.' he pointed a finger at his chest now in emphasis. 'Me, out of the billions of people. Simulation or not, random chance or not, I believe that it chose me.'

  Silence engulfed the room, and time seemed to stand still as he let out a sigh and said no more.

  'Be that as it may, Captain Jones. Our simulations showed that Darwin was the superior man for the job should an invasion be forthcoming. I'd like to thank you for your participation and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.'

  Smith stood forward now, eyeing them all behind his darkened shades. 'Gentlemen and lady, as you may already know I am not Captain Jones' greatest proponent. Nevertheless, I have seen this man transformed over the course of this... simulation. I owe him my life and if you force him away from Star Command then I too shall seek employment elsewhere.'

  'You'll need to find yourself another pilot too, because if Smith's out then I'm out.' RJ said.

  Annika nodded. 'Captain Jones is the chosen one, if he is to be blocked by bureaucracy then you're short a Lieutenant too.'

  Trigger didn't speak, Phil wasn't surprised. These men couldn't even remember his rank, let alone his purpose for being here. From the skinny man's hard stare he could tell that he was with them though.

  'Be that as it may.' Burroughs stated. 'I do not recall giving you a choice in the matter. I shall consult with the Captain and we shall return with our verdict.'

  He stood and motioned to Darwin to follow him, the Star Command Captain looked less than pleased at the situation.

  Phil felt the touch of Annika's hand upon his shoulder, he turned to face the rest of his crew that had stood behind him in this final hour.

  'Whatever happens, Captain, we're yours to command.' the words were followed by a chorus of agreement and nods that humbled Phil and brought tears to his eyes.

  'I don't know what's left to say.' he said to the resolute faces of his crew, his crew. 'thank you.'

  Then the world went white and Phil knew no more.

  Chapter 30

  Indentation! Dust! Sky!

  Phil Jones woke upon a bed of pizza boxes and the smell of stale sweat.

  Rising ponderously, he eyed the faint illumination from the street lights streaming through his thin curtains. What a crazy dream that had been.

  He star
ed down at the Phil-shaped indentation that had formed in the boxes, it looked as if he had been lying there the whole night. Had he simply passed out after the fight with the wolves in the orchard?

  Turning to his computer, he waved the mouse and the screen blinked up. The desktop looked exactly the same as ever, offering no clue as to how long he had been comatose save for the clock in the corner cheerily informing him it was far too early in the morning.

  If he had passed out playing, as his memory indicated, would the game not still be open?

  He flicked on the lamp beside his gaming station to offer more light on the situation. That was when he noticed with a rising excitement that there was a new package sat beside his door, he suspected that Ronald had finally let himself in with that key and deposited the box, thinking Phil asleep due to the unsociable hours. He was sure the postman would get a good laugh out of recounting the tale of finding Phil's sleeping form prone upon the mound of pizza boxes to his work friends.

  Staggering over to his door after several failed attempts, Phil reached out and grabbed the package, clutching it gleefully to his flabby chest and thinking about the wonders he would soon witness.

  He then sneezed and dropped it, colliding with a foreign object and finding himself staring up at his ceiling as a pile of dust slowly settled.

  Frowning in confusion, his hand quested out and found the box once more. There was a thick layer of the stuff coating it, which made absolutely no sense given that it had been delivered yesterday.

  Something was very wrong here.

  Finding his feet once again, he tried to shake off the feeling of confusion and found himself staring at his mail box, through which there were a series of letters.

  Crossing carefully over to it he thumbed through the envelopes and realised that he had been unconscious for several days at the very least. He knew he was a heavy sleeper, but that was ridiculous even by his standards.