A Drop in the Ocean

by James Cooke

  The Special Operations Group didn’t take long to realise the coincidence of the detection, which just happened to be in the vicinity of the last known whereabouts of MS Berge Vanga, carrying the classified cargo known only to themselves. Of course, they couldn’t be entirely sure that it wasn’t an atomic weapon detonation, which would have constituted a breach of the ban on nuclear weapons testing. They initially suspected a possible attempt by South Africa or even Israel, as they were already one-hundred per cent sure it wasn’t the Chinese or Russians. Following several high-level inter-governmental phone calls, they were able to discount their initial theory of an illegal weapon's test. This left only one other plausible theory; it had something to do with the MS Berge Vanga and the UFO that it had been carrying. In going with that theory, that meant that there was only one course of action; the incident had to be entirely and utterly classified, and any documentation associated with the disappearance of the Berge Vanga eradicated.

  Captain Trent would later confirm that just before he vacated Marion Island, he had seen a very bright flash out to sea and that he just assumed it was lightning. Several further classified reports were subsequently issued over the following weeks, months and years giving the most reasonable explanation that it was a covert South African nuclear weapons test, and possibly a joint test with Israel. None of the reports ever mentioned the MS Berge Vanga and why it should have made an unscheduled stop at Marion Island. In fact, all evidence of arrangements made with the Brazilian and South African governments were quickly destroyed, and the CIA would later go on to deny that it had ever been within a thousand miles of Marion Island.

  The Brazilian government was left to conclude that the only possible explanation for the disappearance of the MS Berg Vanga, was that it had either sank in extreme weather conditions, most likely a giant rogue wave or that it had suffered from a catastrophic explosion, possibly caused by the ignition of the oil-ore cargo. It was a known fact that both cargoes produced large amounts of flammable vapours, but it was only a hypothesis. Whatever caused her disappearance and the tragic loss of life, left a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of grieving families behind. Throughout this period, Trent’s group continued to keep a secretive eye on Marion Island, just in case it ever became of interest in the future.

  Chapter 8

  March 2016

  Brian still had doubts that he was still in the middle of a horrible dream, lying unconscious in his truck. It was either that, or he really was just about to enter a crashed UFO. He slapped both sides of his face, hard, just to make sure. It stung, he was. Shit.

  Lucy regarded Brian with a puzzled expression.

  ‘Are you okay, Brian? Why did you do that?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m okay, just, you know, making sure.’

  ‘Sure? I do not understand. Can you please explain?’

  ‘Ah, don’t worry honey, let’s just get inside shall we?’

  ‘Okay, please follow me.’

  Lucy led the way inside through an oval-shaped doorway and into a small room. The first thing Brian noticed was a horrible pungent smell, similar to rotting eggs. He’d first discovered the unforgettable smell in his truck, by way of a practical joke involving hiding an egg, only to be discovered a few months later. Whatever it was, it made his stomach heave. The interior of the spaceship was unlike anything he had ever seen or could have imagined. It was difficult to make out if it was metallic in structure or made from some other kind of strange material. The room they both stood in was difficult to comprehend, in that there were no discernible floors, walls, or ceilings as you might anticipate. The surfaces appeared to be wet, but when touched, they felt like frosted glass. Further on, the room narrowed and then following a short ramp, it opened up into a larger room which Brian found to be slightly more recognisable in that it had a structure and form to it, and it contained what he assumed to be a helm surrounded by some chairs.

  The pungent smell Brian had noticed earlier was now even stronger, and he could now see what might be causing it. Slumped over a row of chair’s next to a long console, were several lifeless bodies. Each corpse was about the size of an average six or seven-year-old child, each one having thin arms and legs and very long bony fingers. Their skin was green and pocked marked, not dissimilar to a garden toad. Hair of any sort was absent. Arguably, the most shocking feature were their heads, which seemed far too massive to be supported by the small and slender body frame. Each was about the size of a basketball, only longer with a well-defined egg-shaped rear. The face had a small closed mouth, an even smaller nose with two elongated nostrils. The two eyes were the size of tennis balls, almost black with no resemblance of an iris or pupil. The ears were equally oversized and pointed, about eight inches in length.

  Brian was reasonably confident that they were all dead, he couldn’t see any signs of breathing in the sub-zero air nor any movement. He naturally assumed that the nauseating stench was due to their decomposing bodies. He wondered how long they might have been dead for and how long it might take for people to cause the same effect, several days at least he thought. Lucy stood beside Brian, staring at the corpses.

  ‘Lucy, what happened to them. How did they die?’ Brian asked, trying his hardest not to gag.

  Brian hadn’t noticed at the time that Lucy seemed oblivious to the smell.

  Lucy went over to the central console and activated a large holographic video screen, which seemed to slowly materialise out of thin air. Brian was impressed at the way she deftly operated several parts of the console's interface and in doing so, a picture formed within the screen of deep space.

  ‘I will explain everything to you very good,’ she explained. Lucy’s grasp of English wasn’t quite perfect. Nevertheless, Brian could understand precisely what she was saying. He thought she had a slight accent. It had a distinct southern drawl, which reminded him of John Wayne for some stupid reason. Lucy carefully explained where the alien spaceship had come from and the reasons why it had come to earth. She went on to explain how the crew had collided with a terrestrial satellite, forcing them to crash land; only by chance in the frozen wilds of the Nanuvut territory.

  Brian sat down in one of the empty chairs, trying hard to process what Lucy was telling him. In his mind, things were going from bad to worse, and he shook his head slowly in disbelief. He figured the alien visitors must have been relatively fragile, and they had been unable to survive the hard impact of the crash landing. Lucy went on to explain how she was only activated just before the last of the crew died, and that she was already pre-programmed to complete the Quassac mission and save earth from disaster. The Quassac mission specifically entailed finding the remaining alien spaceship and destroying the terraforming device contained within it, namely a Kel-Taire. If the device wasn’t located and de-activated in time, it would self-activate and end all life on earth, after a period of time.

  Brian struggled to make sense of everything.

  ‘Whoa, just a minute, what exactly do you mean activated and pre-programmed?’

  ‘I am what you humans’ refer to as an android. Despite my appearance, I am not human. I was manufactured and installed within this ship as a contingency measure, in case they all died.’

  Brian rubbed his eyes, wondering if this was all some kind of giant hoax; and he was taking the bait; hook, line and sinker.

  ‘Okay Lucy, I think I understand what you’ve told me so far, as crazy as it seems. So, assuming everything you have told me is true, and you are what you say you are; where the hell is this Kelter or whatever you call it?’

  ‘Kel-Taire.’ Lucy replied.

  ‘Right, and where did you say it was?’

  ‘According to my data, it is located near these earth coordinates; 46°56` south: 37°43` east.’

  Brian had absolutely no idea where that was. Rubbing his forehead, he replied, ‘That’s very interesting Lucy, but where the hell is it?’

  Lucy brought a map up on the screen, and slowly, it zoomed into the precise locat
ion.

  Brian frowned.

  ‘Are you quite sure? It’s in the middle of nowhere, a tiny speck in the south Indian ocean. What’s it called again?’ Brian exclaimed.

  ‘According to my databank, it is called Marion Island, a South African territory.’ Lucy replied.

  ‘Of course, it is. Fuck me, couldn’t you have found somewhere easier to get to?’

  ‘It would seem that the rulers must have selected this location specifically for its remoteness, in the hope that it would never be found by your fellow human beings.’

  ‘Well they certainly got that bit right I guess.’

  Lucy acknowledged that it wasn’t going to be easy to get to Marion Island, given that it was approximately 10,700 miles away, and that she couldn’t do so without human assistance.

  Brian shook his head in disbelief, it was a lot to take in and at the time didn’t seem even remotely possible. How the hell I have ended up here he thought to himself? There I was, minding my own business, out in the middle of the nowhere, and you happen to find me! It just seemed so bizarre that Brian found himself pinching his arm just to make doubly sure he really wasn’t dreaming. It was then that the horrible feeling started, it was hard to describe; he felt shaky and weak as if he was going to pass out. He even felt hot, despite the sub-zero temperature.

  ‘No, no, not now for fuck’s sake, I don’t need this.’

  He knew what it might be, although he had never been properly diagnosed; he was having a hypoglycaemic attack and needed sugar fast. He took his ruck-sac off and emptied it on the floor, and rummaged through the contents, hoping to find some candy he always packed.

  ‘Thank God for that.’

  He had two snickers bars and quickly ate them. Brian sat down and tried to relax, it was just a case of waiting. Usually, the symptoms faded away after fifteen minutes or so. He felt cold and shivered.

  He thought about the pro’s and con’s of helping Lucy for a few minutes, and since he felt she was telling the truth, there was only one option.

  Brian thought of his daughter back at home, and that immediately sealed it for him. There was no other choice but to help Lucy complete her mission and save the world.

  ‘Okay Lucy, I’ve thought about it, and yeah, I will help you as best I can. We have to succeed, you can’t let everyone die, that’s not an option. Just one thing though. If we’re to stand any chance of getting to this island, you’ll have to follow my lead, okay?’

  ‘Very well, thank you, Brian. I think we should go now?’

  ‘Good. We might as well walk back towards the mine, up on the ice road. Hopefully, someone will come along and give us a lift. Either that or we’ll freeze to death out here, sooner or later.’

  Brian re-packed his ruck-sac and went outside.

  Chapter 9

  Lieutenant Eghert sat stony-faced in the Bell Venom helicopter as it homed in on the area of the UFO crash site. He couldn’t help but think about the time he was in the Columbian jungle back in the nineteen-eighties, struggling to survive. He’d been a member of a covert Green Beret team conducting clandestine operations against the drug cartels. After completing one particular mission, to assassinate a cartel leader, the helicopter that he was a passenger in, was hit by an RPG while flying over a dense and remote part of the jungle. The RGP took out the helicopter, and the pilot and co-pilot were killed instantly. After crashing through the jungle canopy, the remains of the helicopter came to rest twenty feet off the ground, tangled within the trees. Eghert and two other soldiers then spent two weeks surviving hand to mouth in the dense, uncharted jungle, living off insects and evading territorial cannibals; before being rescued by a navy seal team.

  The experience always brought back bad memories for Eghert whenever he was in a helicopter and over the years came to hate flying in the things; he couldn’t wait to get this part of the operation over as quickly as possible. He glanced across at agent Foss, sat opposite. Foss was, in comparison, much younger than Eghert being in her mid-twenties. Eghert had read her bio, which in summary portrayed someone considered to be a rising star within the agency. That was all well and good, Eghert thought. But in his mind, she couldn’t have had more than a couple of years field experience, and yet here she was about to visit a bona fide UFO crash site, something he’d never seen before. Not bad for a rookie, he grudgingly admitted to himself. Eghert assumed Westlake must have thought very highly of her for some reason, and he wondered if he was becoming obsolete within the agency. He quickly put that thought out of his head.

  Over the headset, the pilot came through, ‘Sir, we are in the target zone.’

  ‘Okay got it. It’s Roberts, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes Sir, Sergeant John Roberts.’

  ‘Okay listen up Roberts, I want you to do a slow spiral sweep from the mark point.’ Eghert replied. Eghert’s assistant, agent Carol Foss, was busy reading data on her laptop. Heat seeking, and gamma-ray detectors devices attached to the helicopter, automatically fed data back via a heavily encrypted wi-fi signal.

  ‘Sir, I’m picking up something ahead, about two clicks, it’s a strong point signal source.’

  ‘Good. Roberts, did you get that?’ Eghert asked.

  ‘Yes sir, we’re on our way.’

  As the pilot flew low, along the highway, the pilot saw broken tree tops and scattered debris, two hundred yards or so to the west. The pilot headed west, and just ahead, at the end of the disturbed snow and conifers, in a large clearing, they viewed the crashed UFO, or what was left of it. They had located whatever it was, the thing that had taken out their expensive satellite.

  ‘Can you set this thing down over there Roberts, in that clearing?’ Eghert asked impatiently.

  ‘Yes sir, on my way.’ Roberts replied, with a slight strain in his voice.

  After landing, Eghert and Foss alighted the helicopter and were accompanied by three heavily armed soldiers. The preparation team back at base hadn’t been exaggerating, Eghert though; it was bitterly cold, about minus twenty Fahrenheit. Eghert was glad that he had agreed to wear the arctic gear after all.

  ‘Pretty damned cold sir.’ Foss said, trying to be friendly.

  Eghert forced a smile and nodded, ‘Yeah. Okay, Foss, which way?’

  Foss scanned the area with her Geiger Müller counter which clicked away in response to the normal background radiation, but when pointed north-west, the rate of clicks shot up, indicating an area of interest.

  ‘This way sir.’ Foss confirmed.

  ‘I hope you know how to use that damned thing, Foss. We’re not here to waste time.’

  Eghert gave a hand signal to his men. ‘Okay Foss, lead the way.’

  Foss nearly reacted but managed to stop herself from saying something she might later regret.

  As they got closer to the crash site, the Geiger Müller counter went off the scale, and Foss switched it off. After walking through a densely wooded area, they entered a clearing and could see for the first time, smoke rising from the remains of the crashed UFO. There was a deathly silence all around, and a faint odour of something not right.

  ‘Whoa, what the fuck do we have here? Secure this area immediately and check for casualties.’ Eghert ordered the three guards. ‘Foss, you follow me, get your camera out, I want lots of pictures, got it?’

  “Secure the area?” Who the hell does he think he is, doesn’t he realise that we are in the middle of god damned nowhere, thought Foss. Together, they walked around the UFO and eventually found a way in, the very same way that Brian and Lucy had used earlier that day.

  They found their way into the bridge and saw the dead alien’s. They alone accounted for the UFO theory.

  ‘Don’t touch anything Foss, we’ve no idea what we’re dealing with here.’ Eghert said.

  ‘No, of course not Sir. Just here to observe.’

  Eghert glanced at Foss, not sure if she was being condescending.

  Then he bent down to look at something that had caught his eye.

  ‘
Well, well. Looks like our little Martian’s enjoy a Snickers bar or two. Pass me a sample bag, Foss.’

  Eghert collected the snickers wrapper with his pen and placed it the sample bag.

  ‘What d’ya make of these Foss?’

  ‘They certainly look like Snickers wrappers, perhaps that’s why they came.’ Foss said, then added, ‘I’d have to conclude that someone has already been here ahead of us Sir.’

  ‘Don’t try and be funny Foss.’

  ‘Yes Sir, point taken.’

  A short while later, they came out, and Eghert appeared to be very agitated, stomping around like a sulky teenager. He grabbed the secure satellite phone from one of his men and reported back to Director Westlake. While Eghert was talking, Foss continued to search around the outside of the spaceship, in amongst other bits of debris lying around the area, when she noticed strange footprints. She hadn’t been specially trained in tracking, but she thought it seemed obvious; that there were two sets of prints, one slightly smaller than the other. At least two people had already been here before them. Reacting quickly, she asked one of the soldiers to cordon off the tracks so that they wouldn’t be trodden over and destroyed. By the time this was done, Eghert finished his call and came over to Foss.

  ‘I’ve reported back to – never mind, you don’t need to know. So, come on then Foss, what are we dealing with here?’

  I’d thought that was fucking obvious, how the hell do I know where it’s come from. Surely, he doesn’t expect me to say it’s a crashed UFO, Foss thought.

  ‘Okay, I found these, footprints leading to the UFO and another set that seem to lead away, heading south. The strange thing is there appears to be two sets leading away,’ Foss explained excitedly, hoping Eghert would grasp the significance.