Multiverse War 05 Bootstrap by Chris Nuttall

Author:Chris Nuttall [Nuttall, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-07-17T09:02:15+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two: Little England

London

United Kingdom

The shuttle was greeted by a flight of Spitfires as it descended through the atmosphere, heading from the west towards London. Sandra stared at them as the shuttle pilot slowed the craft to allow the Spitfires a chance to surround them; they looked very different in reality to what she’d seen in movies.

“Wow,” she breathed. The British air defences had come under a new attack, following the defeat of German forces in North Africa. Fortunately, they’d had help; the Marines had provided a basic sensor network that had no problems at all tracking German aircraft. Still, the Spitfires were clearly unwilling to let their guard down; Hitler might even have been thinking about trying to jump the channel again.

“They are impressive, aren’t they?” The pilot agreed. His dark face brightened into a smile. “Do you think they’d let me fly one?”

Sandra smiled back. “I think they’d be delighted,” she said. “How long until we land?”

“We’re just coming over London now,” the pilot said. “Have a look down.”

Sandra peered through the porthole, waving to one of the pilots as he looked at the shuttle, to see the path of the River Thames moving east. That was familiar; everything else was not. Where were the massive domes that had been constructed all around the landmarks? Where were the mega-manors that held thousands of people; their London had had four massive buildings holding nearly three-fourths of the population.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, as she gazed down. “This place is far…simpler than anything in our world.”

“That river is more polluted,” the pilot said dryly, as they swooped over the palace, heading towards the park. Churchill had apparently overridden concerns from his own security people, inviting them to land right in Hyde Park. It hadn’t posed a problem to the shuttle, but she knew that the Spitfires would have had trouble if they had tried to land there.

“It hardly matters,” she said, too excited to care. “Taking us down now?”

“Yep,” the pilot said, adjusting his controls. Sandra waved at the Spitfires, which waggled their wings at them, as the shuttle began to descend. The greenery of the park, slightly spoiled by trenches and stakes designed to make life hellish for German aircraft, rose up towards them as they descended, finally landing near a fountain. The small welcoming committee, led by Churchill himself, started to walk towards them.

“Good luck,” the pilot said. “I’ll hide behind you until you’re finished with the boring part.”

Sandra glared at him, and then pasted a diplomatic smile on her face as the hatch opened. The air…wasn’t as clean as she had expected, but it was breathable; far more so than on several planets she’d visited. Churchill came up to her and shook hands firmly; his famous cigar stuffed into one corner of his mouth.

“Welcome to England,” he said, his voice somehow firmer than it had been when they had met in Washington. “Did you have a pleasant flight?”

Sandra smiled and allowed him to lead her towards the other men, waiting for her.

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