On a beautiful autumn morning in Walmington-On-Sea the silence was briefly broken by the discordant arrival, in a churchyard, of a fairly old, slightly battered time and space machine.
In the church hall, the Local Defence Volunteers went about their business undisturbed.
***
"Right Sergeant, get the men to fall in!" was the brusque order from Captain George Manwaring.
"Fall in you men, if you would, come along now, there's good chaps." came the rather ineffectual order in reply from Sergeant Arthur Wilson.
"Oh do hurry up, the enemy's hardly going to wait around while you lot shuffle about!" barked the Captain with a disparaging look at his Sergeant.
As the men arranged in haphazard formation a slightly sheepish looking stranger entered the hall.
"Permission to speak Sir!" blurted Lance Corporal Jack Jones.
"Eh, oh yes go on." his Captain replied absent-mindedly.
"Sir, we have a visitor!" Jones replied in far too excited a voice.
"Oh, ah..." Manwaring flustered, seeing the visitor for the first time. "This is an important meeting you know, national safety involved, you can't just come barging in like that."
"Oh I don't intend to take much of your time." the elegant new arrival answered softly. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."
Captain Manwaring frowned on hearing the cultured accent.
"Friend of yours I expect Wilson, old school friend?" He enunciated the last words separately, mockingly.
Wilson started, surprised, "Ah well no, quite sure we haven't met, but it really is a pleasure, umm, Doctor. This is Captain Manwaring," He indicated his superior, "I'm Sergeant Wilson."
Manwaring huffed, "Yes, and you're interrupting an important exercise of the British forces here."
"Again I apologise, " said the Doctor, "I was out for a bit of a spin. My ah, transport has only recently been repaired. Needed a few new parts."
"Well there is a war on." Manwaring gruffly offered.
"Ah yes... the war."
"I've always got an eye out for parts..." piped up a voice from the ranks.
"That's enough Walker!" growled Manwaring.
Sergeant Wilson rolled his eyes in embarrassment at the familiar actions of his fellow men.
"I imagine our guest drives a far better class of vehicle than you cater for Walker, yes?" inquired Wilson.
"Oh yes, you could say that." the stranger replied with a twinkle.
"Anyway," he continued "being off the umm... road for so long seems to have played havoc with my sense of direction. I was wondering if you could tell me where I've arrived at?" he explained meekly.
"Eh, oh, Walmington-on-Sea." offered the Captain. "Well, is that all?" he continued impatiently as the platoon fidgeted awkwardly.
"Ah, yes many thanks. I'll be on my way then. Might make Metebelis 3 this time." The visitor gave a cheery wave and slipped out quietly.
***
The platoon hastily regrouped again as their Captain turned his attention back to them.
"Metebelis 3?" he wondered aloud. "Never heard of the place. Probably the kind of place you'd go Wilson." he added with something of a sneer. Then a sudden thought, "It's not German is it?"
"Ah, no Sir, quite sure it's nowhere in Germany." Manwaring's Sergeant replied, but he was no less perplexed himself.
***
All at the same time, just as it seemed they might carry on, an ARP warden thundered into the Church hall.
"Who's left that thing out there?" he demanded at the top of his voice.
"Oh do go away Hodges." Sergeant Wilson said dismissively.
"Yes," laughed the Captain, for once agreeing, "do go away."
"Go away! Go away!?!" he screamed. "I would, except someone's parked a great big... is this some kind of joke?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"No, no you do not." Came an unexpected answer in a broad Scots burr.
"That's enough from you as well." the Captain said icily.
"Well, how am I going to move my car?" shrieked the increasingly agitated warden.
"Oh do make sense Hodges, and go away." murmured Sargent Wilson, now anxious himself to get on with the morning's exercise.
"Make sense!?! My car's blocked in by that great stupid..."
"Shoot him Uncle Arthur."
"Stupid boy."
***
Outside the morning was still beautiful; the great big whatever it was had left unnoticed and when Hodges convinced the troops to come outside he'd have a tough job explaining the whole thing.
***
Having only briefly disturbed the silence himself, the traveller wake would disturb it for a little while longer.
Let's hope the residents of Metebelis 3 don't value their silence too much. Wherever it is...
