Uni's Unicorn

Chapter 8 - Tyson Arrives

When Carol's parents arrived on the Barassic, they were overjoyed to be united with their only child, Carol. After having precious time with her and a sumptuous meal, the trio were shown to their quarters.

Uni had been carried there earlier, fast asleep, and placed on the bottom bunk. Carol had chosen the top bunk as her preference.

A little before sunrise, The girls were shaken. Carol woke first. Disregarding the ladder, she jumped off and headed for the shower.

Shaking Uni a second time, Mrs Brown, said, "Get dressed, Uni. We're allowed to have a brief look inside the bridge. I'm sure you'll want to come, so hurry because we've been told we can't be there after sunup. Clothes have been laid out on the chairs here."

"I'm already dressed," Uni said, wide awake. "Where are we?"

"This is Carol's bedroom. She slept above you and is in the bathroom changing now. You should shower and put the clean clothes on."

*****

Emerging via an internal elevator, the girls stepped into the busyness of the bridge, followed by Carol's parents and two guards.

A man stepped to them, saying, "Let me introduce Captain Phillips." He turned to a man dressed in black as he spoke, "This our director's daughter, Eunice —and her friend Carol is with her parents, William and Pauline Brown, experts in software design, who are joining us in that department." The adults shook hands.

The wonder of the orange glow of the rising sun, the beauty of the ocean and the cloud-smudged horizon caused the girls to stare, wide-eye, beyond the controls and those seated before them, out the extensive windows all around the front of the bridge.

Before they could catch their breaths to exclaim at the wonder of the ocean, outside, the sky, the clouds; or the elaborate hi-tech surroundings inside, one of the controllers shouted, "Incoming! —Incoming! It appeared on the monitors from nowhere and is airborne. It's descending, two kilometres up... coming down fast... right above us now...

"Five hundred meters. If it doesn't stop it will impact in ten, nine, eight, seven... six...

"Its gone! No view of it now."

The captain joined the chief navigator. Turning he called, "Guards! —On deck!"

"Sit!" A guard in their escort commanded, adding, "Stay sitting!" Herding the girls with an arm around their shoulders, he walked them to a back alcove in the bridge control room, nodding as Carol's parents followed. They sat close together on a padded wall bench.

As commands rang out, the windows at the front of the bridge closed off and became one long screen, portraying the view outside, encircling the whole ocean around the vessel. Above this, the ceiling became one large screen. All eyes, turned upwards, to the centre of the ceiling.

"It's hovering above the bridge..."

"What on earth is that thing!" A man with a remote exclaimed. It wasn't a question. The director stepped across, pressing the remote he carried with him everywhere. He caused the far above object to enlarge as he zoomed in on it. "Yes, it's like —it's hovering up there," he announced unnecessarily.

The room was silent as their director zoomed in more and the underside of  a creature filled the ceiling.

A large white hoofed animal came so close that both Carol and Uni ducked back to the wall, closing their eyes. Carol's parents stood, heads back and eyes fixed on the animal as the director zoomed out. The creature swerved and swooped...

All around the chamber, the winged animal seemed to fly, across and around the bridge, it circled the Barassic, hovering above then moving to stop still, in the air, right outside the window screen...

The rider wore a costume that covered him from head to foot, like body armour, shining white and silver, reflecting the colors of the sunrise, the orange and blue and the grey and white in the clouds. It was difficult to discern his form. Only his eyes were visible in the fixed hooded costume he wore. 

The creature was huge with two wings, each longer than the length of the animal itself... a horse-like animal with a white flowing mane and a single horn in the middle of its forehead. The rider used no restraints, no reins, no saddle but sat more on the neck of the creature with one hand holding to the hair of its mane.

"It's got a horn and wings!" Carol declared with wonder in her voice.

"It's my unicorn!" Uni cried in joy. "You had someone bring my unicorn, Dad. Who's riding it? Is it Tyson?"

"It's not a unicorn, Eunice, it's a pegacorn. How is this possible?" he asked as several men grouped around him.

"We've no idea, Director," one man said, shocked and confused, as they all were.

"Who's riding that thing?" another asked.

A loud voice broke into the communication center of the Barassic, "I hear you. This is Tyson Marshall. I've come for my sister, Eunice Marshall. Release her to me now. I will take her to her mother and grandfather who have sole legal custody of her. It's illegal that you detain her there."

Six men grouped around their leader.

"Find out how he hacked our speaker system!" The director commanded.

"It's impossible!" the chief controller declared.

"Not anymore," another stated.

"Take my controller, Terry," The director said, giving it to him, "I'll go on deck. Tell them to bring tranquillisers, enough for two horses and one man." He strode to Uni, grabbing her arm, saying, "Come, Eunice. I think that's your brother up there."

Uni gasped. His voice was harsh and his grip too firm.

"Don't!" she retaliated. "I'll come, but you don't need to hold me like I'm a prisoner or something."

"Can I come too?" Carol asked. She longed to see Tyson, if it really was him. It sounded like him, but with a deeper voice. But, of course, he was older...

The Director ignored Carol, calling, "Bring the net on that new projectile they made, George. We'll capture him with that and shoot the beast at the same time. Tell them all not to foul it up."

Dread rose within her and Uni felt a sense of faintness, unreality, as if this all was a nightmare of some kind.

"Don't Dad, you're hurting my arm. I feel faint. I want to stay here, inside." She didn't want to see Tyson captured with a net and her unicorn tranquillized. This couldn't be happening. She felt herself sagging against her father's grip.

"Pete —take my daughter's other arm."

With her father still gripping her upper arm and the guard, Pete, on the other side, Uni felt herself dragged into fresh air. The cool sea-breeze vanquished her faint feeling.

The Pegacorn hovered above Tyson who stood on the edge of the vessel, his arms folded. The suit he wore was now black. Only his eyes showed. A circle appearing to be a black grill surrounded his mouth. 

"It's the same as the armed defenders wear, Sir," Pete said, adding, "how, how did he change it?"

"There's a hundred questions. Shoot a tranquilliser at him and then we can question him when he revives," the director said grimly.

Speaking in Uni's ear, he commanded, "Do exactly as I tell you, and everything will work out just fine, for us all..." Turning he beckoned another guard who stood behind them, "Logan, take Eunice's other arm."