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Jake "X" (2) One Way Ticket
Jake "X" (2) One Way Ticket
Jake "X" (2) One Way Ticket
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Jake "X" (2) One Way Ticket

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Aboard the alien submarine Alaric gave the command Vircanto. The sub was now heading out across the lake. They passed squadrons of fish darting in huge silver shoals.Weeds reached up towards the surface. But Jake was not interested in this underwater panorama. He stared out of a front porthole, reflecting grimly on the ill fortune which had caused him to leave his comfortable underground prison with five meals a day. Now he was in an alien submarine heading for some kind of weird alien railway which lead between universes! Between universes! Somehere you could definitely NOT get ! He visualized riding his bike up a strange road which lead to another univ erse. Ridiculous! There was only one universe, this universe. It was big enough! In fact it was massively enormous! Even a small part filled the entire night sky! OK, he had not actually seen the night sky recently because he was worn out escaping...escaping from five meals a day! And now he was starving..

LanguageEnglish
PublisherPeter Magycon
Release dateJan 7, 2015
ISBN9781311645852
Jake "X" (2) One Way Ticket
Author

Peter Magycon

There is a disused railway running from Lilydale via Yarra Glen to Healesville. At one time it ran all the way to Yea and then on to various points. It is now closed. A house on Kingswood Drive was of interest to unnamed authorities, who fenced off an oak tree for many months. Yea station is still there,waiting for trains that never come.

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    Jake "X" (2) One Way Ticket - Peter Magycon

    Jake X

    One Way Ticket

    By

    Peter Magycon

    Smashwords Edition

    COPYRIGHT © 2015 by Peter Magycon

    All rights reserved.

    The story so far…

    Jake X is on the run from what was a comfortable imprisonment in an underground prison located on Earth (version B.) Jake has escaped the prison.

    And is now on Earth (Version A). He is accompanied by Elf Lord Alaric, computer CLEO, robot FIDO and three dwarves, Stumpy, Grumpy and Little Sam. The party have been chased relentlessly by both the UFO Division of the Australian Army and a freelance wizard with an army of peculiar, hypnotized people. Jake has been aided by a strange doctor from another dimension. The doctor has now taken the wizard to another Universe for treatment. Jake continues on his search for a weird train. It apparently runs into another universe where the planet E Base resides. Alaric seems to believe that Jake is a Prince of E Base! He believes that Jake has been kidnapped by the nasty Elvish Regent and imprisoned out of the way on Earth! Jake doesn’t know what to think! He feels human! But…why does he have huge Elvish ears? Has he actually been kidnapped and operated on? All Jake now wants to do is to cop the lot (spot all the named engines on the LNER or the LMS or both.) But this both means getting to England and also getting to 1962. Computer CLEO also wants to cop the lot but continues to believe that Jake is an alien crook. He deserved to be in jail and must have a retrail once they get back to E Base. Robot FIDO has turned out to be a brilliant soldier and has brought the party through many battles and awkward situations. FIDO has now left, piloting a Loch Ness monster back to her home in Scotland. The whole party are living on a stolen Army convertible vehicle in a boat configeration.They have found an alien submariue and are exploring the depths of the lake to find the entrance to a station on the Multiverse Express. A rock in the depths of the lake may be hiding the entrance to the station ..

    Chapter 1

    XTX

    After an early lunch, taken with a cold can of Twisty Water, Jake X had a short nap on his bunk, He woke to find Little Sam holding a stick of XTX next to his head! He jumped up in alarm as Alaric hissed: Sire! Please be still! This is a delicate operation. XTX must be prepared for use underwater. We have decided that we cannot wait for FIDO to return! The Police are searching for us. Little Sam has volunteered to carry out the dangerous task of preparing the XTX for underwater use.

    He has been chosen because he is the luckiest person here, growled Grumpy. "If his luck runs out we will all be blown to bits! I was all for waiting until Jet Pilot Super Robot FIDO returned from his Scottish holiday but I have been outvoted."

    Sire, we did not wish to disturb your sleep, said Alaric.

    So you preferred to risk blowing me up! said Jake. "Is this necessary? There are no signs of pursuit. We are safe! You can stay here fishing while CLEO and I go train spotting. "

    The haste, sire, is to get myself and the dwarves to E Base, said Alaric. "As your advance guard we can assemble Loyal Followers. We can enlist the help of Princess Cleopatra unless she is already held in prison by the Regent. So, when you arrive, you will have forces to defeat the Regent in open battle!"

    He will not be around to defeat anyone if you don't shut up! shouted Little Sam, We will all be blown up! You've made me forget which way to twist this wire!

    "Twist to the left, said CLEO. Stay calm."

    They all watched with bated breath as Little Sam twisted a wire on the exposed stick of explosive. There was a collective sigh of relief when CLEO announced: "The XYX is now safe and primed for underwater use. It will only be necessary to insert the XTX into a suitable cavity beneath the rock and then use an underwater match to light the blue fuse. The person who carries out this task will then have 15 minutes to clear the area. To be totally accurate, the person who lights the fuse will have 15 minutes unless the fuse is a faulty short."

    "What happens if it is a faulty short?" asked Jake.

    "The ignition carrier will have 5 seconds to evacuate and avoid being blown to bits! However, faulty shorts are fairly rare. In the previous demolition activities there were only fifteen faulty shorts in the total batch,"said CLEO.

    Little Sam should be the ignition carrier, said Grumpy, smirking. "He is the luckiest person on this boat! If his luck holds he will blow up the rock. Otherwise, he will get five seconds to say goodbye to all his rotten,undeserved Stuff It winnings!"

    They sat in silence considering the situation.

    "It's not even my Quest! said Little Sam, having thought about the matter. I have primed the charge at considerable personal risk. Someone else can now have a go! It's his Quest! He can light the fuse!"

    He pointed at Jake.

    Jake was busily scooping out the contents of a bully beef tin. He paused in mid scoop, thinking. On the one hand he might get caught by the Regent and be executed. On the other hand he might be caught by the police or the UFO soldiers and then be executed. Or, if he lit a faulty fuse he would be blown up!

    In all cases, as usual, he faced immediate disaster.

    He thought rapidly before settling on another solution.

    I suggest we wait for FIDO, he said. He can go down and blow up the rock. Then he can fly CLEO and myself to England for our train spotting trip.

    Brilliant! said Grumpy. "As usual, Jake does not intend to risk his precious person! He wants to risk poor old FIDO. A robot who has done nothing wrong but has always acted with incredible bravery! But when will Jake take a risk?"

    Grumpy made a face indicating that he thought the answer to his own question was never. Jake was now up against it. In order to demonstrate bravery he must undertake this obviously hazardous task.

    Images of his own body parts scattered over the lake bed flashed through his mind.

    Jake now sat with his face screwed up in a total funk.

    To divert attention from himself, he started eating.

    Then, Alaric came to the rescue.

    "I certainly do not think we should risk the Royal Personage of Prince Jake on such a risky venture, said Alaric. As a royal equerry I will carry out this task! With your permission, Sire?"

    Jake sat with his mouth full, thinking. All his troubles had started when Alaric arrived. If Alaric got blown up would it be so bad? On the other hand, the elf was polite and helpful. He was even prepared to risk his own life rather than put Jake into danger.

    Well... said Jake, meaning to add: "I think we should wait for FIDO."

    But before he could complete the sentence, Alaric jumped onto the submarine which was still moored to the prow of the army boat. The elf ran lightly down the hull and disappeared into the conning tower. The hatch closed.

    The mooring rope snaked back into the submarine.

    A few moments later the vesselvanished in a flurry of bubbles.

    Jake and the dwarves sat looking at each other.

    "He may be strange but he is brave, said Grumpy. I would not fancy going out there in a funny suit, sticking a banger in a rock and then counting down."

    "Counting down? said Stumpy. You can't even count up never mind down. In any case, elves are lucky, just like some dwarves who are always lucky!"

    He glowered at Little Sam who smirked in response.

    Stumpy continued. We will see him when he returns. Then we will hear the explosion.

    However, the submarine did not reappear.

    But after about 20 minutes had passed a booming explosion in the lake announced that the XTX had been successfully detonated. The explosion was followed by a series of massive waves which rocked their army boat in its anchorage.

    After what seemed to be hours of waiting Stumpy voiced the obvious thought.

    Alaric has blown himself to bits! said Stumpy solemnly. He added: We must hold a ceremony in his revered memory. Tradition states we should now auction the contents of his backpack!

    He indicated Alaric's backpack.

    "A traditional auction is not called for because the contents of Lord Alaric's backpack are not his personal property, said CLEO. They are the property of the Expedition. In any case, Elf Lord Alaric is not dead. He is on board the submarine. It is under his command."

    "Of course! Alaric has survived a massive explosion and is now cruising around the lake for unknown reasons, said Stumpy sarcastically. Naturally, computer CLEO has it all worked out! The explanation that the elf has blown himself up is not correct! No! It cannot be correct! Because CLEO says that the sub will reappear and we will all hear a rational explanation!"

    Exactly! said CLEO. "Here is the Elf Lord Alaric now!"

    On this cue, the submarine suddenly surfaced at its usual berth close to the army boat. The mooring rope snaked out. After a few minutes, the conning tower opened and Alaric appeared. He was now much more like his usual merry self. He almost danced down the steel deck before jumping back into the army boat.

    He sat down next to Jake and immediately reported: "Great News! I have found the entrance to the Gateway!"

    We all know that! said Stumpy. It was underneath that rock. But why have you taken so long?

    "The entrance is not underneath the rock! There is nothing underneath the rock except more rock. It was my intention to return to this dock once I had set the explosive in position and lit the fuse. Fortunately it was not a faulty short! But in the overwhelming pressure of my situation, with the fuse hissing away next to me, I used the wrong command! From the three words Pergando, Vircanto and Slantino I chose Vircanto! The sub immediately began moving around the underwater mountain! As we approached what appeared to be a sheer rock wall, a section of rock suddenly slid open to reveal a water filled cave! The submarine entered the cave and then docked itself. I put my breathing apparatus on,. swam out and took a look inside, said Alaric. I heard a distant explosion as the XTX went off. Then I found a lever hidden behind a rock in a wall. There was a sign.. Slish conta arento majestino! It is Very Old Elvish. It reads Beware! May only be operated by Royalty! I returned to the sub and left the cave. The rock wall closed behind me. I returned to the top of the underwater mountain. I could see that the large rock has been blown off but it has not revealed any point of entry. There is only solid rock beneath it. Conclusion: the Gateway entrance is inside that cave! And it can only be entered if a royal person operates the red lever."

    What happens if a non royal person tries to operates the red lever? asked Jake.

    "Probably instant execution!" said Alaric. "However, my Prince, I did not, of course, touch the red lever. I left it for you to operate!"

    Jake: "Me? But I am not a royal parson (person.) My only royal bits are my ears which have been…."

    Surgically exchanged for my human ears, the three dwarves intoned together.

    They had all heard the story of Jake's kidnap many times.

    Exactly! said Jake. Surgically exchanged! If I attempt to operate the red lever I will be blown up! Executed! What a dreadful end for a simple train spotter!

    "But even if your hypothesis is correct, surely the red knob would at least hesitate to blow you up? You have transplanted Royal ears, said Little Sam. We can all see tham! The Gate could also see tham. Possibly it would let you in courtesy of your ears!"

    But can I take such a gamble? cried Jake. "Will my royal ears be enough to save my conman (common) human body?"

    The alternative will be: Wait for the return of FIDO, said CLEO. "After all, he is expendable! He can try to open the doorway. He may be blown to bits. But if FIDO is blown to bits....."

    The plane will not have a trained pilot! said Jake. "And we will never get to Scotland. My life will have been spent in vain! I will never cop all the namers! "

    He sat wringing his hands miserably.

    On the other hand, said CLEO, "If you can operate the lever and open the Gateway we can all return to E Base! There are some definite benefits. You can have at least one good meal! You will have to stand trial. And when you are found guilty as charged E Base must, of course, open a new jail and put you inside. However, in the interim we can go train spotting since you can apply for an extended stay of execution! You can apply for a retrial based on something like new evidence that was not heard by the court. You do not actually need any new evidence! You can say that new evidence has been withheld for reasons of national security! You can also claim the previous judge was biased because he did not like your ears! You can demand a panel of judges to consider the matter properly. Two key appeals like that will definitely guarantee several years delay because it will certainly take a while. You can even object to every judge, objection infinitum. In addition you can claim that it will take some time for you to fully assemble your new evidence and find a suitable advocate. You will then be on parole while you wait a

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