"There has been", barked the megaphone, "a major colossal announcement!". The door flew open and a man from somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse leapt out wearing an Imperial jumper.
David grabbed his megaphone from out of the taxi and started bawling at the crowd through it.
"Make way," he shouted, "make way, please, this is a major, colossal breakthrough. You and you, get the equipment from the taxi."
Completely at random, he pointed at Micheal and Zac, who wrestled their way back out of the crowd and clustered urgently round the taxi.
"All right, I want you to clear a passage, please, for some important pieces of colossal announcement," boomed David. "Just everybody keep calm. It's all under control, there's nothing to see. It is merely a major colossal announcement. Keep calm now. Colossal announcement. Clear the way."
Hungry for new excitement, delighted from this sudden reprieve from disappointment, the crowd enthusiastically fell back and started to open up.
Zac was a little surprised to see what was written on the boxes of colossal announcement in the back of the taxi.
"Hang your coat over them", he muttered to Micheal as he heaved them out to him.
Hurriedly he manoeuvred out the large supermarket trolley that was also jammed against the back seat. It clattered to the ground, and together they loaded the boxes into it.
"Clear a path please," shouted David again, "Everything's under proper scientific control."
"He said you'd pay," said the taxi driver to Zac, who dug out some notes and paid him.
“Move along there,” shouted David, “and no one will get hurt.”
The crowd surged and closed behind them again, as frantically they pushed and hauled the rattling supermarket trolley through the rubble towards the ramp.
“It’s all right,” David continued to bellow. “There’s nothing to see, it’s all over. None of this is actually happening.”
“Clear the way, please,” boomed a police megaphone from the back of the crowd. “There’s been a break-in, clear the way.”
“Breakthrough,” yelled David in competition. “A scientific breakthrough and colossal announcement!”
“This is the police! Clear the way!”
“Colossal announcement! Clear the way!”
“Police! Let us through!”
“Three new ships!” yelled David, and pulled half a dozen miniature spaceship models from his pockets and tossed them into the crowd. The resulting seconds of utter confusion allowed them to get the supermarket trolley to the edge of the ramp, and to haul it up on to the lip of it.
“Hold tight,” muttered David, and released a button on his Electronic Thumb. Beneath them, the huge ramp juddered and began slowly to heave its way upwards.
“Ok, kids,” he said as the milling crowd dropped away beneath them and they started to lurch their way along the tilting ramp into the bowels of the ship, “looks like we’re on our way.”
