"She remains stable, for the time being," he announced, "though I think it best that she remain unconscious. I will stay in contact with her in case my help is needed."
"Do whatever you need to do," said Zack.
"You must get us both to my ship as soon as possible. After that, I will need to remain connected to her without being disturbed. I will also require large quantities of certain nutrients."
"We'll supply you with whatever you need. How much time will it take for her to recover?"
"I cannot know with certainty," replied the Hordean. "Perhaps several of your days?"
"I can have both of you onboard your ship within two hours," said Cyrus.
"That should be sufficient."
"Is everybody ready for launch?" asked Cyrus.
Zack looked around the passenger area of the shuttle at the rest of his companions. "As ready as we'll ever be," he replied.
There was still no way to get a small shuttle into orbit without subjecting its occupants to some significant g forces. True to his word, Malus remained in physical contact with Ariane during launch and for the entire trip into orbit. Zack thought he saw the Hordean infuse her with more liquids several times while the ship was experiencing maximum g. He prayed she was still okay, but said nothing.
To Zack, the trip into orbit seemed to last forever, even though it was over within the normal two hour time period. He thought the docking maneuvers also took an inordinate amount of time, though they too were executed within the normal time frame.
During the five and a half hours it had taken to get Ariane to Florida and into orbit, Helianthus had made the trip from Martian orbit and was waiting for them, connected to Keeling's station with one of the Hordea's organic docking tubes. The ship was far too large to fit in a standard docking bay so the Hordea had firmly attached it to the station with masses of living tendrils similar to those previously used to secure Human ships to the huge craft for docking.
Immediately after the shuttle docked, Erik and Zack transferred Ariane back onto the gurney, and with Cyrus leading, rushed her across the docking area and through the organic connector onto Helianthus, where they hurried to a chamber specially prepared for her and Malus. To facilitate the process, the Hordea had equipped the entire section of their ship with a gravity field. Once there, her companions placed her gently onto to a bed-shaped dais the Hordea had grown up out of the deck. There was also a shallow, circular bed some two meters in diameter recessed into the floor next to the dais. The bed was filled with pedolith, the special soil matrix used by Hordea to absorb water and nutrients as well as commune with one another.
Malus glided into the center of the sunken bed and enmeshed the tubules of his foot into the pedolith. There he stood unmoving for several minutes, absorbing moisture and nutrients. As Zack watched, the Hordean's colors became more vibrant, and he visibly straightened up. Zack half-sat on the right side of the dais and held on to Ariane's uninjured hand as Malus began the process of reestablished his lifesaving net over the temporary patch protecting her dreadful wound.
About a minute after he had reestablished the network of tubules, Malus announced, "I will need certain materials to perform the restoration."
"I've got all kinds of food supplies and nutrient supplements," said Cyrus. "Just let us know what you need."
"Thanks, Cyrus," said Zack.
"There is little any of you can accomplish by remaining here," said Malus to the three humans. "This task will require my full concentration to perform properly. It would be best if you left me alone with her."
"I understand," said Zack. He gave Ariane's hand a gentle squeeze as he and his two companions got up to leave.
"One moment, Zack." Zack turned back and gave Malus an expectant look. "It would be best if you or Cyrus remain close by, as I will be requiring a great many materials, and I do not yet know what all of them will be. You must follow my instructions and bring them to me."
"Whatever you need," replied Zack.
Zack had one more duty to perform before he could succumb to the exhaustion threatening to overcome him, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He and Erik made their way back onto the station and over to the Viking Warbird. As soon as they reached the bridge, Erik went to his communications specialist and said, "We need to contact Dr. Harold MacPherson on Deimos."
"Whatever you want, Boss. Give me a couple of minutes."
"Thanks, Erik," said Zack.
Erik nodded in response.
The specialist made a few adjustments to his communications panel and made the call. Within a minute and a half, Zack was in contact with MacPherson.
"Zack? What can I do for you?"
Zack wasted no time. "It's Ariane, Dr. MacPherson. She was wounded during an ambush down on the planet."
There was a short silence before, "Is it serious? Is she going to be alright?"
"I'm not going to sugar-coat this," said Zack. "She was very badly wounded. Lucky for us, the Hordea have some very advanced medical skills."
"I can be there in about six hours."
"I don't think you need to come, Professor. The Hordea are keeping her sedated, and she can't talk to anyone. I'll be close by every minute. Besides, we managed to get the new artifact, and we're sending it out to you with Erik right away. It might be best for all of us if you stay out there and keep your mind occupied deciphering the new set of puzzles. I get the feeling we're going to need the information as soon as we can get it."
"You're probably right, Zack, but something tells me I should be there. She...she means everything to me. Her loss would be devastating."
"She's every bit as important to the rest of us...," replied Zack. After a short pause, he added, "...and to me. Somehow I think she'd want you stay where you are and keep working."
"Yes, of course she would, but that doesn't make it any easier." The Professor paused as if he needed time to make up his mind. After a deep sigh he said, "I'm counting on you to take care of her, Zack, and to keep me updated."
"I'll do my best, Professor."
"Knowing you, that will be very good indeed."
"Thank you, sir. I...I need to go and crash now. This whole thing has been pretty rough."
"I understand, son. Go and get some rest. MacPherson out."
Zack signed off and made his way back to the "medical chamber" on Helianthus. He stopped outside in the corridor where he leaned against the wall, took a ragged breath and let his chin slump to his chest. They'd done it, they'd gotten Ariane to the Hordean ship. Whether or not they'd gotten her here quickly enough remained up in the air, but at least there was hope.
The turmoil, anxiety and abject terror associated with getting Ariane away from the battle zone, off of Earth, back to Keeling's station and onto Helianthus was now behind him. He could let down now, at least for a while. He attempted to straighten up only to discover he was utterly used up, the adrenalin high sustaining him now in full retreat. He stumbled across the corridor and retired to a small chamber the Hordea had prepared for him. Once inside, he flopped down on his back on a bed-shaped dais along the back wall and closed his eyes. Even though he was totally exhausted, sleep did not come immediately. He found himself mentally replaying the horrifying incident down on the planet, over and over again.
Some things about the skirmish that didn't quite add up tugged at his consciousness.
During the heat of the battle, he noted the blast from the Custodian's weapon bore the signature blue color of a Matsukov cannon. Both of the Soviet ships he had recently encountered had been equipped with the powerful weapons. Matsukovs had also been in the hands of the rebel forces in the village back on New Slovania, just before he had involuntarily stepped into this Amalgamation mess. Could the Matsukov weapons actually be some kind of Custodian technology? How long had the foul creatures been collaborating with factions of the Soviet government? Even worse, what were the Custodians doing on Earth? All available evidence indicated they'd also been meddling in Hordean affairs
.
Were they building up to something?
These thoughts tumbled freefall inside his head, but with mind and body utterly drained, sleep claimed him after a few more minutes.
His dreams were not pleasant.
Chapter 62. Scientists vs the Box.
Viking ship Warbird Three, on route from Keeling's Orbital Station to Deimos, October 17, 2676.
Though Erik and the three Soviet marines were deeply concerned about the condition of their teammate Ariane, the current enemy of the overall mission was time. There was still much that needed to be done without delay. With Ariane now onboard Helianthus, there was no need for them to remain idle on Keeling's station and every reason to rush the new artifact out to Deimos and into the hands of the symbologists. Just after midnight, within two hours after arriving on the station, the three of them loaded the Archeon gift onto Erik's warbird and headed back toward Mars at best possible speed.
On their way out, they were treated to a spectacular view of Helinanthus with her stellar collection array deployed. Being this close to the sun allowed the Hordea to charge the ship's huge storage batteries in a relatively short time. With the outer shells unfolded, each spoke was nearly three times as wide as usual, and the normally unexposed inner surfaces of the array glowed with a vivid green color. While the ship had still been out near Deimos, Holger had managed to scrape together enough tungsten to repair the damaged reaction coil. The surplus of solar energy available would also greatly speed up that repair.
After re-establishing orbit around Mars near Deimos, the three Soviet marines said their farewells and transferred back to Lenin. Erik boarded the warbird's shuttle and headed down to the surface of the moon, the new artifact in hand.
His descent and approach proceeded as usual until he was about halfway to his destination. There the Deimos AI surprised him by inviting him to dock the shuttle in a hangar hidden underneath one of the many craters pocking the surface of the tiny moon. He had to fight his instincts as he took the shuttle down towards what appeared to be the solid floor of the designated crater. When he drew close enough to start getting really nervous, the crater floor morphed into a green force curtain. He took a deep breath and carefully dropped the ship down through the force screen. Inside the cylindrical docking bay beneath the crater, he set the little craft down on a raised landing pad. As he shut down the shuttle's systems, Erik wondered absently how many more of such facilities existed. As soon as he was inside the hangar, he asked the AI about it.
"I am not sure I understand your question, Erik Thorson."
"It's simple enough, how many of these docking facilities are there inside this moon?"
"At the present time, there are two, the one you are currently occupying, and another for Symantia L'Proxa's scoutship."
"Just the two of them then?"
"Yes. Do you require more? As I did with the facility you just docked in, I could create another in a matter of a few of your hours. How many additional units do you think will be required?"
"Ah...none for the time being."
"You have but to ask, Erik Thorson."
"Thank you... Deimos, I'll keep that in mind."
With the Archeon box under his arm, Erik headed down the new corridor connecting the new landing bay to the rest of the moon's facilities. After walking a hundred meters or so, the corridor intersected with another. At the junction, the Deimos AI instructed him to take the right-hand branch. After another hundred meters, he went through a portal leading into the Deimos common room. The four symbologists, who had been awaiting his arrival, pounced on him immediately after he came through the door.
MacPherson got to him first. "How's my daughter?" he asked, his concern obvious. Behind him, Kathryn, Arnold and Olga also waited expectantly to hear Erik's report.
"She is in the care of the Hordea right now," replied Erik, as he set the Archeon gift down on the nearest table. "They're doing everything they can."
"Are you sure that's wise?" asked MacPherson.
Erik hesitated for a moment before answering, "The Hordea are a remarkable race, Professor. I won't try to deceive you, Ariane was very badly hurt, but she survived because one of them happened to be with us down on Earth. Now they claim they can completely heal her. From what I've seen, I have no doubt they can do just that. Under the circumstances, I don't think she could be in better um...'hands.'"
The Professor took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh of relief. "I see," he said. "Thanks Erik."
"You're welcome, Dr. MacPherson."
"Where's Zack?" asked Arnold.
"He stayed with Ariane to help in any way he can. It's just as well he did, he wasn't wounded or anything, but he was in pretty rough shape by the time we got Ariane onto the Hordean ship. As one of the leaders of the team, he's taking the whole thing pretty hard. If he'd come back with us he'd be doing nothing but fretting about it, and I guarantee he wouldn't be worth much. Might even be a hindrance."
The Professor and the others nodded in understanding.
With the necessary preliminaries completed, the five of them surrounded the table with the new artifact on it.
"This looks like a perfect match to the one in my visions," said Arnold, as he inspected the box.
"So this is it," said Kathryn, while she performed her own inspection. "This is the Archeon gift?"
"Ariane and Zack told me the box turned transparent the first time they touched it back on Earth," said Erik.
In response, Olga reached out and touched the surface. The material looked and felt identical to whatever the Sentinel Key was composed of before the team activated it.
Nothing happened. The gift remained dull, gray and resolutely solid.
MacPherson tried touching it next and got the same result.
"Arnold?" said the Professor. "You're the Amalgamated Representative, maybe you should give it a try."
Arnold carefully reached his hand down towards the box but, as his fingers came to within a hand-span of the upper surface, all the edges began to glow faintly with the eerie green light they'd all seen so many times before. He tried moving his hand closer and watched the glow intensify. He pulled his hand back and the glow receded back to nothing.
"Amazing," said Kathryn. "Do that again." Arnold repeated the gestures with the same results.
"Excellent," said the Professor. He reached out to touch the box again and nothing happened. Kathryn, Olga and even Erik tried the experiment and got the same effect.
"I think it somehow recognizes you, Arnold," said MacPherson. "Go ahead, try touching it."
Arnold placed his palm in the middle of the upper surface of the box. The edges immediately flared even brighter than before. Over the next three seconds, as everyone watched in astonishment, all six surfaces of the object transformed from dull gray to transparent.
"That's done it!" said the Professor.
A flat, rectangular object lay suspended in the middle of the now-transparent box. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be a stack of thin plates measuring half a meter long, maybe a third of a meter wide and some five or six centimeters thick, bound together on one of the long edges with three D-shaped rings. The top and bottom plates, dark red-brown in color, were a good three times thicker than those in between, and the surface of the upper plate was covered with elaborate, ornate, even florid inscriptions, rendered in gold. The edges of the paper-thin inner plates were a weathered-looking straw color, giving the impression of great age.
"It's a codex!" said MacPherson.
"An Archeon codex?" said Kathryn. "Does anybody recognize any of these inscriptions?"
"Is hard to tell," said Olga. "They are so much stylized that deciphering them will be very difficult."
"What do you think, Arnold?" asked MacPherson, turning to his former assistant.
"Arnold?"
Arnold stood frozen with his hand still in contact with the top of the now-transparent box, a blank stare on his face.
"The box is doing
something to him!" said MacPherson. Not knowing what else to do, he gently grasped Arnold's wrist and, with some effort, lifted the little man's hand up and away from the top of the container. As soon as contact was broken, Arnold broke out of the trance, if that's what it was, and looked around at his colleagues with a bewildered expression on his face. Even though contact had been broken, the surfaces of the box remained transparent.
"What happened?" asked the Professor.
"I...I got pulled into another vision."
"Same as before?" asked Kathryn.
Arnold paused to gather his wits before answering, "No, this was different. I was subjected to a montage of images showing things, places and events presumably recorded in this codex and...," his face paled, "...and the aliens who created it." He looked around at his companions, astonishment written all over his face. "I might have just seen what the Archeons looked like!"
There was a dumbfounded silence as everyone attempted to absorb the implications.
"Splendid!" said the Professor. "Tell us about it."
"It was no more than the briefest glimpse, but I got the sense they were...aquatic, and...invertebrate, something like an octopus or maybe a jellyfish."
"That's all?" asked MacPherson.
Arnold paused and shook his head. "I'm sorry, none of the images lasted for more than a split second, and all of them are fading now."
"Was there anything else?"
Arnold paused again as he concentrated to recall more details of the fading vision. "Yes, there was something more...," he said, and then somehow managed to look even more astonished, "...I think I can read these inscriptions. It's like I was just given a crash course in understanding the Archeon language!"
Around him, all of those present were silent, staring in amazement at their little colleague.
The Archeon Codex: Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel Book 2 Page 32
