Captain Wiggles Greatest Adventure
Part 3 - Silver Dream Machine
For a moment Wiggles half expected the craft to fade away like a mirage, but it didn't. Wiggles and Cringley were strapped into extremely comfortable high backed cushioned leather seats, their bodies were criss crossed by yellow straps which held them securely in place without restricting movement. The entire spacious cockpit was enclosed in a clear canopy which gace excellent all round visibility.
Directly in front of Wiggles was the control panel. The only familiar thing he could see was the joystick. The rest was distinctly unfamiliar. The front panel was dominated by a glowing green glass sheet on which strange symbols were dancing across. There were dozens of coloured glass buttons, some illuminated, some not. Wiggles stared in bewilderment at a technology far beyond his comprehension. Behind him, Cringley also looked around with equal astonishment, and more than a little fear.
"Wiggles, what have they done to our plane?" he said.
"Our plane ?" exclaimed Wiggles. "Our plane is back up their somewhere,"
He pointed upwards towards the hatch where the little machines had come from.
"This is not our plane," he continued. "It's,, something else,"
Wiggles turned his attention to the exterior.
"It looks a bit like a plane, it feels like a plane. But a bloody peculiar one."
"Wiggles," said Cringley, "It doesn't have a propellar,"
Wiggles stared straight ahead. "Bloody hell, you're right, it doesn't. How the hell is it supposed to fly ?"
"Could you fly it Wiggles?" asked Cringley.
"That's a good question," muttered Wiggles. "This thing is lit up like a christmas tree. I can't read the indicators, or whatever they are because their written in some foreign language."
Suddenly a mechanical voice spoke from the green glass panel. The language was incomprehensible gibberish.
"What the devil was that supposed to be ?" snapped Wiggles.
There was a burst of static, and the voice spoke again, but this time in english.
The voice said " Thank you, language analysis indicates colloquial english. Please prepare for disembarkation."
Wiggles turned his head to stare at Cringley, then back at the panel.
"Beg pardon ?" said Wiggles, addressing the panel.
"Automatic pilot engaged. Thrusters to one quarter power." Said the voice.
There was a hum of power, and the silver aircraft started to move slowly forward towards a set of doors on the other side of the dome. As they approached, the doors opened, revealing the storm filled skies outside. Wiggles shook his head in disbelief.
"They wouldn't,they couldn't ?"
Wiggles seized the control stick and started pulling on it. He shouted at the panel.
"Stop, stop this bloody thing !"
It was no use. The craft moved gently forward. Wiggles looked up. The little silver machines had returned and hovered above them, watching their departure.
"Come here you mechanical morons," berated Wiggles. "Stop this thing at once do you hear !"
The little machines just hovered there. Wiggles could have sworn one of them waved at him. Wiggles continued his tirade.
"Let me talk to your superiors, there's been a terrible mistake."
The lip of the chamber passed beneath them. They were now in open air. Wiggles expected the metal craft to plummet to the ground, but it stayed aloft, magically, impossibly, it stayed up.
The mechanical voice spoke again. "Initiating turbo boost. Please prepare for a brief accelleration,"
"What the…?" started Wiggles.
He didn't finish the statement. There was a roaring noise from the rear of the plane, and the craft lurched forward at a terrifying velocity. Wiggles and Cringley were pressed back into their seats under the accelleration. Wiggles felt his gold tooth filling rattle. There was a sonic boom as they broke the sound barrier. The storm clouds hurtled by and then fell below them as the craft climbed into the heavens.