Captain Samuels was still talking with Captain Hunter when he received a text message from Agent Thompson. "They're all guilty." It was time to wrap up his conversation. "Tavaris tells me the inspection is complete. It was nice catching up with you Hunter. Have a safe journey." He said. “It was good talking to you again. It’s nice to know we have somebody out here watching out for us.” Captain Hunter said.
Agent Thompson greeted Captain Samuels at the airlock. "She's locked in a holding cell. We have a full confession. It was their mission to assist the Constellation and to continue the mission if the Constellation was destroyed." Agent Thompson said. "What was the mission?" Captain Samuels asked. "To recover artifacts in the pyramid on Mars. It's in the dead zone in the Cydonia region." Tavaris said. He had heard the rumors about Cydonia. Supposedly there was evidence of both alien and Martian civilizations in the ruined city. "Do you think Captain Hunter could provide additional information about the pyramid?" he asked. "It doesn't look like it. She said everyone attended the same briefing together.” Agent Thompson replied.
"Undock the ship and prepare to launch missiles." Captain Samuels said as he arrived in the command center. The order was acknowledged and the Lexington was almost ready to fire.
"Captain, the Lexington is pulling away and we are no longer docked. They did not follow proper docking procedures and just left." Captain Hunter knew something was wrong. "Is all personnel accounted for?" he asked. "No, Sandy is not on board." replied the pilot. With his communications officer absent the Captain opened a channel to the Lexington himself. "Captain Samuels, we are missing a crewmember. Do you still have Sandy aboard your ship?" he asked.
The Lexington was almost in position to launch their missiles. Captain Samuels just had to delay for a few seconds longer. "No Captain Hunter, she was escorted back to her quarters aboard your ship. She is there somewhere." He was notified the ship was now in position. "Fire one!"
Captain Hunter was about to order an evasive course when his pilot yelled "Incoming!" the last thought he had, was how much he hated that man.
Captain Samuels watched in satisfaction as an explosion rocked the Avenger. Their subversive acts had cost them their lives. Each and every one of them deserved it. Only the military should have access to any advanced technology or information. If someone else had access, it would eventually be turned against the United States and lives would be lost. It was time to hunt down the Constellation. "Resume course to Mars."
When he entered the oval office William Spencer was surprised to see the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the head of NASA already seated with the president. "Please sit down Bill." President Michael Louis said. "We've been discussing the situation on Mars and the Constellation. So far the ship has managed to avoid capture or destruction. We need more assets to find this ship and to handle any future issues. With that in mind, I'm restructuring our space resources. The Air Force will no longer conduct any operations in space once the mission to hunt down the Constellation has ended. The primary mission of the Air Force will be to protect the interests of the United States against our enemies on Earth, and to develop a strategy to protect the planet against an attack like the one in 1947.
For all intents and purposes the role for NASA will remain the same. NASA will continue to explore and develop technology for use by the other branches of our military. From this point forward the Navy will be responsible for patrolling the solar system and taking care of problems which arise. Submariners are better equipped and have the training necessary to undertake long voyages in cramped quarters and withstand the rigors of space. I've been planning these changes for some time and now we have a good reason to make them.
For the last few years we've been developing the beginning of a space fleet. The Navy has five ships which will be ready to launch in about three weeks. These ships are the most advanced we have ever produced and are invulnerable to earth based weaponry. They are protected and coated with tratium. If the Constellation hasn't been destroyed by the time these new ships launch their first mission will be to find and destroy the Constellation.
The CIA will be allowed to place operatives wherever necessary when needed. It's my expectation the agency will use discretion however. We will only assign operatives when necessary in order to avoid disrupting normal operating duties. I want you to work together on figuring out how to access the dead zone in the Cydonia region. There's undoubtedly a wealth of knowledge and technology we currently can't access. I expect progress and results. Get it done and get it done quickly. I hope I've made myself clear. That will be all gentlemen. Keep me updated as conditions warrant. Thank you." he said.
"There's still no response Captain." It had been two days since the Avenger signaled they had been boarded. The ship hadn't been heard from since. "Even if they were having equipment problems we would have heard from them by now. It's a good assumption they’re dead. Isabella, I want you and Monique to go out and try to power up the missile launcher. Do your best to see if you can figure out how it works. Make a recording of your efforts, perhaps someone else might have some additional insight.” he said.
More time at sea would have suited Randy just fine. He had enjoyed the cruise and was thankful he was still alive and free. Enzo and another man were waiting for him as he disembarked. "Welcome to Australia. Did you have a good voyage?" he asked. "No, it didn't last long enough. What's the plan and who's your friend?" Randy asked. "Just a little extra security. We'll be taking a short flight to Trundle where things are nice and quiet." Enzo replied. "What's a Trundle, and have you heard from our friends?" Randy asked. "Trundle is a small inland town where not much of anything happens. I bought a remote villa in the area. It’s got a nice manmade lake, you’ll like it. I haven't heard from our friends lately. I was waiting on you so we could collaborate and see if there was anything useful we could do to help them. When we get to Trundle I'll send a message and ask for an update."
Powering up the launcher didn't look like it would be a problem as far as Isabella could tell. It was very similar to the display console she had been able to get working. "That should about do it. If we did this right there should be power when I make this last connection." she told Monique. Isabella made the connection and the small display on the launcher lit up. The display was blank. Isabella touched each of the three control pads and the display remained the same. "I don't know what else to do. We have power and there are only these three controls." she said. "Let me try." Monique tried all three controls and then tried a combination of the controls without success. “What do you think? Is there anything else we can try?” Monique asked. "There's nothing left to do. Let's get back inside." Isabella replied.
Monique and Isabella met with Vincent and informed him of the failure with the launcher. He had wanted a powerful weapon to use against his enemy and thought he might have one. Unfortunately he would have to rely on the laser. "It was worth a try. Send a copy of the video to everyone. Maybe you overlooked something." He knew figuring out the missile launcher was a long shot. He'd need to defeat his enemy a different way.
Isabella was disappointed with the attempt to get the launcher working. There had to be a way to make it work. She was cleaning up the cargo bay and moving equipment around. One of the alien billiard balls found in the hanger was free and floating around the bay. When she grabbed it, she inadvertently activated a power source on the alien device. A light blue shimmering light suddenly surrounded her. She panicked and didn't know what to do. She took a few deep breaths and realized she was alright. As she moved around the bay holding the sphere she remained encased in the bubble of light. She decided to conduct an experiment while encased in the bubble. She saw a wrench and was able to pick it up without a problem. She moved to a wall to see what would happen. The front part of the bubble disappeared into the wall when she got close to it. She became excited as she realized what she had stumbled across. Manipulating the alien sphere she was able to turn it off and the shimmering blu
e light went out. She left the cargo bay and headed for the command center to tell Vincent and the rest of crew.
Vincent was talking to Monique about the launcher when Isabella rushed in. "I think I've found what the aliens use for a spacesuit. Watch this." She activated the sphere, and the light blue shimmering bubble surrounded her again. She danced around the command center in the shimmering blue light for a couple of seconds before turning it off. "It doesn't seem to be harmful in any way. Did you feel any different while inside?" Monique asked. "No, I didn't notice anything different. I was able to breathe fine and didn't notice any change in temperature or atmosphere." Isabella responded. "We're going to have to test it. Would anyone like to volunteer?" Vincent said. "I'll do it as long as we do it safely. It sounds fun." Patrick said.
"We'll test the sphere to see if it works and how long it works. You might be in the airlock for quite some time. Bring a chair and your entertainment pad." Vincent said. Patrick had put on a regular EVA suit for extra protection, and would activate the device before entering the airlock. "Make sure you test the air inside and outside the bubble. Check for changes and test it every five minutes or so." Vincent said. Patrick activated the alien sphere and entered the airlock. He reported the pressure changes and atmospheric conditions outside the bubble first. The changes were expected as the atmosphere was being replaced by the emptiness of space in the airlock. He then checked conditions inside the bubble. "There are no changes in the interior of the bubble. Pressure and oxygen levels are the same as they were in the cargo bay." Patrick said. "That's so cool, we have a couple dozen alien spacesuits." Isabella said. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch. We thought we had a missile launcher, and that didn't work out so well. If we are to consider ever using this device we will need to conduct a lot more tests." Vincent said.
Chapter 9
In the holding cell on the Lexington Sandy couldn't stop crying. Her crew was dead and she was to blame. She had been interrogated two more times by Agent Thompson. There was no additional information she could give him. She told him everything she knew during the initial interrogation. He approached her holding cell once again. "What else are you hiding?" he asked. "I told you everything I know the first time you interrogated me. I don't understand why you keep asking. For the last time, that's all I know. You told me I would be free and could return to my life once I confessed." she said. "I say a lot of things in the interest of national security. You should be more careful who you associate with." Agent Thompson said. "When will we be returning to Earth so I can see my husband and son?" she asked. "It was foolish of Leviathan to brief the entire crew before launch. We had to assume each member of your crew might have talked to their family before departure. The family members of each crew member are dead by now." Sandy felt like she had just been punched in the face. "You can't do that!" she screamed as she began crying. "The United States is the most powerful nation in the world. We can do anything we want." Agent Thompson replied.
It had been eight hours since Patrick entered the airlock. The readings from within the bubble remained unchanged. Isabella reported the findings to Vincent and told him Patrick was getting tired. The airlock was pressurized so Patrick could exit and take off his EVA suit. "The Captain wants to know if you'd be willing to test the device without the EVA suit tomorrow. The changes would be gradual and we'd be able to pull you out if necessary. He wants you to use the same one to determine if there is a time limit with the device." Isabella said. "Sure, not a problem. It works flawlessly. I'm calling the device an ETS." Patrick said. "What does ETS stand for?" she asked. "Extraterrestrial suit. It seems to work well for humans too. Maybe I should change the name." he said. "No, I like the name. You should keep it."
Dalton was viewing the video of the EVA which had been conducted by Monique and Isabella. He noticed the display on the launcher became dimmer when Monique manipulated a combination of the controls. He concluded more combinations should be tried in order to bring up the display unit. Another attempt to make the launcher functional would need to be made. He made a list of different combinations to try and found Isabella. "Let's take another shot with the launcher. If we use a series of combinations with the controls it might work. You and Monique didn't see it when you were out there but there was a slight change in the display at one point when you were manipulating the control pads."
Isabella and Monique were conducting the second EVA to try to get the display on the launcher to work. Each combination they tried was failing. Dalton was inside the ship transmitting each combination which needed to be tried. Isabella was manipulating the controls as Monique looked on. The display remained unchanged on the launcher. There were only a few more combinations left to try. Just when Isabella thought there was no hope, the display changed and began displaying alien data and images. "That's it Dalton. The last combination you gave me brought up information of some sort. Let's see if there's a way we can target something.” Dalton went to the cargo bay and found an unused cargo container to use as a target. The container drifted out of the airlock into empty space. After about two minutes the container drifted in front of the launcher and was shown on the alien display. After some trial and error Isabella felt confident she had been able to target the container. "I think I can target anything which comes within range of the launcher. Thanks for your help, we should have tried more combinations the first time. I guess we were just impatient." she said. "Not a problem Isabella. Let's get inside and find something to eat, I'm hungry." Monique said.
Trundle was indeed a small town Randy thought. He was tired from the trip inland and took a nap when he arrived. Enzo was standing in the doorway when he woke up. "You take a long luxurious cruise and you need a nap? I have some new information. It’s not good, you’ll want to stay seated for it. My sources tell me the Avenger has been destroyed. The ship was boarded and one of the crew members confessed the details of their mission. At the moment the Lexington still has the crew member in custody. The United States government will likely kill whoever it is before the ship returns to Earth. As best as we can tell, the Constellation is still out there. Captain Basso was killed on Rhea in an accident. An unmanned alien ship powered up and left the hanger. The ship struck the Captain as it was leaving. At Titan the Constellation escaped just before the government ship arrived."
Randy was heartbroken. He had personally selected the crew of the Avenger and had worked with most of them. Captain Basso was one of the first employees he had hired, and he considered him a personal friend. "Is there anything we can do to help the Constellation?" he asked. "I've been thinking about that. For all intents and purposes we are out of business. You were the only deep space contact I had. It would be a big risk to try and find someone else who would be able to send ships and assist. At this point it's probably too late anyway. There is one thing we can do. Even the government has limited resources in space. We will broadcast messages to ships which don't exist and let our enemy try to find them. If we play our cards right we can distract and misdirect any ships looking for the Constellation. I’ll need your help. We'll have to send messages which they believe were not meant for them. Randy hadn't worked on technical issues for quite some time. After some research and a couple of discreetly placed phone calls to his old hacker friend John he was ready to send the first message. “We’re all set up, we can start sending messages whenever you’re ready. The messages will be audio only. We'll send the file to John and he will handle the transmission." Randy said. Enzo had already prepared a script for this performance and was ready. "Start recording. The following is a change in operational orders for the Reagan. You are to proceed immediately to Europa and rendezvous with the Constellation. You are to provide any assistance needed in the recovery of artifacts found on the surface in the northern hemisphere. Additional orders will follow as needed." he said.
"I like the message, it should confuse them for a time. They've been interested in Europa ever since life was found in the underwater ocean. You realize t
he closest ship will investigate and try to intercept our fictional vessel?" Randy asked. "They will eventually figure it out. At least this might buy the Constellation the time it needs. We need to give our people a fighting chance. God knows they deserve any help we can give them. Vincenzo can still accomplish the mission undetected if the timing is perfect. If you come up with any other ideas no matter how crazy, let me know. We'll send a message to another fictional ship in a couple of days. If nothing else we'll have a little fun and drive a few people crazy. Come with me. There’s a seventy five year old man I want you to meet. There’s never been anyone like him." Enzo said.
"Captain Samuels, we've intercepted a message. The message instructs the Reagan to rendezvous with the Constellation at Europa and to assist with the recovery of artifacts." the communications officer reported. "The Reagan? Wasn’t she decommissioned years ago? Send a message to command and update them on the situation. Inform them we are changing course and will attempt to intercept the Constellation at Europa." he said. "I thought the pyramid on Europa was inaccessible due to the massive ice sheet covering the surface. Why would the Constellation be going to Europa?" Tavaris asked. "Our intelligence sources may have missed something. The Constellation wouldn't be going to Europa without a reason. Set a course for Europa. Let's get there as quickly as possible and end this." Captain Samuels said.
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