by Kip Hartzell
“Aunt Helen?” He asked, already knowing the answer in Apollo’s face.
He looked at his handheld. “The damage is even beyond our technology. I’m sorry.”
Jay’s features went white with shock.
Bullets rang out again, indicating the enemy had regrouped. Apollo’s shield went up, while Rhe-A and Jay took Jonathan Rogers around to the other side of the pickup.
“Jay, we have to leave. We can’t spend weeks trying to explain this to the authorities.” Rhe-A tried to pull him away.
“But, my Pops?”
“He will be fine. I’ll see to it.” Gunfire could be heard in the distance. Evidentially, Maya was still causing trouble behind the enemy’s lines.
More shots came their way as the limo pulled up beside them. They went to get in, just as a light beam zipped through the truck and struck the car, causing damage. This put them back on the ground. Several more shots damaged the car more.
“What’s that?”
“Scanning,” Rhe-A said to Jay, reading her lenses through the handheld.
“I can’t get a lock,” Apollo said, moving around the truck. He was met by a blast that took him, and his energy shield down. Rhe-A pulled him back behind the truck. She knew they were pinned down, and if they didn’t move, soon, they would not survive. She was going to create a diversion so the others could get in the car, when a blast came from the sky, and then dozens more as enemy soldiers fell. The shuttle de-cloaked above them and continued its heavy borage, silencing the incoming fire. The limo floated into the open cargo bay through the open cargo door at the rear of the craft. The lights of the police and fire trucks could be seen in the distance, even through the thick haze of smoke.
“Jay, please! Come. He will be alright. Apollo, go.” Apollo shook off his concussion, stood up sadly, and floated into the cargo bay.
Jay released his father and stood over him. “I’ll see you later, Pops.” Rhe-A put her arms around him and lifted him, and herself, into the ship. The cloak reengaged as the door stood open. Jay could hear John mentally calling for Maya to return to the ship.
Without warning, she stood on the ships platform. She was in a blood rage. Her suit, and face, was covered in blood. She zeroed in on John, and attacked. She was so fast, Jay barely saw her go by. John had little time to react before she collided with him. Her momentum took them off the floor, and on top of the car. John was on his back, holding her shoulders. She snarled and snapped her fangs at his face.
“Maya, stop!” John yelled at her verbally and mentally. She did not relent.
Jay heard the low chanting of Athene-A, coaxing the others to join in. Apollo held out his hand and chanted, so he could focus his energy. Drof did the same, Rhe-A let go of Jay and followed. Maya stopped for a second, thinking something wrong. She was lifted off of John, and Floated to the center of the bay. She snarled and fought against the invisible force. The chanting got louder, and they formed their own floating circle a few inches off the deck. John joined in to complete the circuit. Maya lifted her head to the ceiling and let out a banshee scream that Jay would never forget. Shelly put her hands to her ears. It abruptly stopped. The group lowered her lifeless body into their arms, and then themselves to the deck. They moved the circle inward until John took her full weight and carried her across the bay to a chair. The chanting died down as he stretched out the chair flat, and laid her down.
Jay took a seat and put his head down on his arms folded over his knees. Shelly curled up in a chair and whimpered. The rest began nursing their wounds, or putting away equipment. Athene-A moved over to where Jay sat, and gracefully sat beside him.
“JJ,” she softly said, “I’m sorry about Helen. It was our fault, we were too slow getting to you. We’re sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I led them there. I showed them the skulls from the garage. Such a stupid mistake, that Aunt Helen had to pay for.”
“It’s still not your fault. We are supposed to be smarter than you, right? We failed.”
“Is Pops okay?”
“Reports say, he has been taken to the hospital. We have sent drones to keep an eye on him. He will be fine.”
Jay looked relieved, as he sat up, and then slowly leaned back in the chair.
“Just relax, I need to check on the others.” She put a loving hand on his knee, and got up and left.
Rhe-A eased her way over to Jay and elegantly sat down. Jay had his head back and his eyes closed. She studied his smoke streaked face with light speckles of blood. “Jay,” she lightly said. He opened his eyes and tilted his head toward her. “I’m sorry about what happened to Helen. She was kind and gracious. I liked her very much. She did not deserve that fate.”
A tear rolled out of the side of Jay’s eye. The pain on Rhe-A’s face was mirrored by the pain in his eyes. She put her hand on his. “You’ve done what was asked of you. All of you were our responsibility. I failed, again.”
He saw her real pain. “There’s enough blame to go around, and I blame the Destroyers. I swear I will do what it takes to make them pay for this.” His resolve and determination returned.
Rhe-A half smiled a smoky, blood smudged smile. “It may not be of much help now, but, you will see her again.”
Jay took her hand. “Thank you for being there.”
Shelly got a hold of herself, and was watching the intimate transaction. She got up and ran to Jay, falling into the chair with him. “Oh, Jay, are you okay? That was horrible. I’ve never been so scared, even when the Professor had me.”
Rhe-A let go, and stood up. Jay struggled to get up. “Who is Aunt Helen?”
“That is a matter for family to discuss.” She walked in the direction of Maya and John. Jay tried to get up, but Shelly pressed him down.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, and then began touching him all over.
Rhe-A walked up to John and Athene-A, they were hovering over Maya like worried parents. Through her lenses, she examined her. “She has been severely over stimulated. Going so long without human blood, and then over indulging, has sent her into shock.” Maya twitched as if having a bad dream. “It may take a few hours, but she will recover. Rhe-A took out a thermal blanket and put it over her. She then injected her with a sedative. Her normal eyes flicked open. They focused on John.
He held her cold hand. “Welcome back, you have a little something on your face.” She smiled, relaxed, and went back to sleep. John looked relieved as the commotion Shelly was making caught his attention. “I need some good news; did we at least get what we came after?”
“Yes, it is in the vehicle.”
“Let’s get everyone checked out and cleaned up. We have a meeting in Washington in a couple of hours.” He looked over at Jay. “Now, I must affect another rescue,” he finished and walked away. “Jay,” he said, stopping Shelly’s rant, “I need to speak with you, privately.”
“Okay,” he said, wrestling himself away from her.
They strolled to the other end of the shuttle bay. “I’m heartbroken over what happened to your Aunt.”
“Yah, your sister was always kind to me,” Jay said it a little angrier than he intended.
That statement brought it all closer to home for John. He felt even more sad that he couldn’t remember her. Maybe that was the reason the TSD stripped them of their memories, too spare them the pain of watching loved ones die. “Your father is in ICU. We are monitoring him.”
“Your Son needs us. When do we go get him?”
“We don’t,” John said, more forcefully than he intended. “He’s safer where his right now. From what the enemy can surmise, we have the skulls, and he had nothing to do with anything. We need to keep it that way. If we go poking around him, now, he will become a target. No, he stays. We will assist in his healing, but that’s it, for now.”
Jay knew he was right, but he was still angry, still wanted to blame someone. “Fine.” He turned away, reached into the car, opened the box, and took out the journal. “Y
ou wrote it, maybe you can decipher it, here.” Jay tossed it to him. “Oh, yah, Rhe-A says Aunt Helen was in a Dissociative Temporal State. Who is she?”
John looked surprised. “Uh, she hasn’t told me.”
“When you find out, let me know.” Jay turned away, and made his way to the clean room.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Treasure Map
Jay stepped out of the clean room, dressed and refreshed. He looked about to see everyone else cleaned up and ready to go again. They sat around a round table in front of the car, while bots completed its repair. Holographic computer graphics were lit up. Aidan met him at his chair. They slapped their hands together in their customary welcoming ritual.
“I’m sorry, my friend. I was late.”
“It wasn’t your fault, either, but your precision shooting probably saved us all. Thank you.”
He snorted, and went to his chair.
John sat with the book open in front of him. Maya sat timidly to his side, while Athene-A sat to his other side.
John started, “Hope everyone is refreshed. We still have important matters to discuss. The incident at Helen’s house was unfortunate, but we have information that could help us in recovering the key. Like many times in the past, sacrifices have been made to ensure the survival of all. Her sacrifice will only be forgotten if we fail. Maya has some information to share.”
Jay had never seen her this shaken, unconfident. She cleared her throat. “Before the blood rage took over, I had the good fortune of capturing one of our assassins, alive. He told me he was part of a faction called the Hagha’Kyum Priests.”
John continued, “We’ve had experiences with them for thousands of years.”
“Or, ever sense Aztek-Alon formed a legion to take care of the tracker skulls,” Maya finished.
John sat down. “They were quite fanatical before. Now, they appear to be under the influence of the Destroyers...an even more lethal combination. We must be more vigilant. In the past, they’ve gone around and collected all the crystal skulls they could find, mostly because they can’t tell the difference between the fakes and the real ones. There seems to be a lot more of the skulls than we suspected. Well, I can honestly say the book is still a mystery.”
“I think Gramps was right.” Everyone turned to Jay. “I believe he found one of the tracker skulls, deep down, he knew he needed to hid it to keep his family safe, but also, knew it was important, and needed to be found by the right people. He was smart not to hid it in the first place we looked. He knew we would be followed, so he hid it so only people who knew him could find it. It won’t be easy. It’s here.” Jay pointed to the book, “and here.” He pointed to his head. “A combination of the book and the history/mind sifter should be considered a treasure map. Except this one hides the useful information, overlaid by large amounts of information.”
John closed the book and sent it to hovering over to Jay. “I think this belongs to you. I believe you should set us on our next course.”
He slowly took the floating book and opened it.
Beep...beep...beep...
“It looks like we have a meeting with Colonel Masters. Miss Masters, would you come with us?”
The invisible car hovered over the park bench, where the Colonel sat. She was alone, but looked nervous as she checked the time on her phone.
“You were correct,” Aidan said, manipulating the screen. “She was followed. I’m not certain whether it’s a government agency, or the Hagha’Kyum. But they are here, here, and here.” He pointed at the topography. “No discernible advanced technology.”
“Thank you,” John said. “Rhe-A, did you get that?”
“Affirmative, on our way,” she said over the comm.
The Colonel jumped a little when she felt the pressure on her shoulder, and the whisper in her ear. “Mom, don’t talk. Go to the jogging tunnel to your right. We’re being watched.”
“Shell?” she softly said, smiled, and got up.
Once in the tunnel, a jogger startled her as she passed her. The Colonel’s hand mysteriously rose, she felt something clip onto her wrist. A dizzy sensation came over her as the area around her change to a shadier aura. There she saw her daughter and Rhe-A standing next to her. “Shell!” She hugged her tightly. “Oh, my God, are you alright?” She let go of her, looking her over, and then hugged her again. “I thought I lost you. How do you feel?”
Shelly hugged her back. “I’m fine Mama. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay, and here I thought archeology would be a quiet, and safe occupation.” They both laughed, and let go. “Rhe-A, thank you.” Abigail took her hand and lightly shook it.
Shelly gave Rhe-A an evil look, which, she ignored. “Quite unnecessary. I was only doing my job.”
“Thank you, anyway.” She let go. “Why the cloak and dagger?”
“You’re being followed.”
“I was very careful.” Suddenly, a woman looked down the tunnel, creped further in, as if looking for someone. She pulled out a device and pointed it at them.
“You are being tracked.”
“I cleaned myself before I left. I know her. She works in our office.”
“Who gave you your insignia?” Rhe-A asked.
She unconsciously put her hand on one. “My boss said he had a replacement for me. That son-of-a-bitch. Can she see us?”
“No, she can neither see, or hear us. May I have your insignia?”
Abigail unclasped the silver eagle, and then handed it to her. Rhe-A waved the handheld over it, causing the woman to stop just before she got to them. The tail slapped at her device, and then said, “We lost the signal.”
“Copy. Return to the rendezvous,” came a different voice.
The woman took one last confusing look around, and then went back the way she had come.
“Shall we go someplace more private.” Rhe-A walked out of the tunnel. Abigail followed, and could now see the car. Rhe-A opened the car door with a wave of her hand. Shelly and her mother sat in the back, while Rhe-A took a seat up front.
“Hello, Abigail,” Jay said, from the driver’s seat.
“Jay!” She put her hand on his arm that was stretched across the back of his seat. His smiling face looked back at her.
“I want to thank you for what you did.”
“No thanks necessary. I was just a bystander.”
“That’s not true, Mother, Jay saved me, twice. He’s a real hero,” Shelly said, deliberately leaving Rhe-A out.
“I’m just glad it worked out. Are you ready for the experience of a lifetime? Are you ready to be amazed?”
“Amaze me,” she said, holding her daughter’s hand.
He straightened up, and moved some symbols around. The car silently lifted into the air. It rose high above the trees. Abigail stared out of the windshield, at the ship they were docking with. The car stopped inside the ship, and its bay door closed.
“Colonel Masters,” John pleasantly said, “Welcome aboard the Andromeda.” She slowly took his hand as he gently pulled out from the car. She tried to look at all the technology in the bay at the same time. “Would you like to sit down?”
“No,” she said, and began wondering around. Some of the monitors showed different news broadcasts from all over the world.
“Is there anything specific you would like to see?” Aidan asked from behind her.
She didn’t look back when she answered. “Can you determine if the Chinese have ICBM’s in their Southern Islands.”
“Let’s find out.” His large furry arm reached around her and did some manipulation on a console. Her eyes grew as she followed the massive furry arm to its source. She looked up to see the bull man busy at work. She gasped, backed into the console, and slid sideways. “There are no missiles. There are artificial buildings and simulations. They are, how do you say, bluffing.”
“Uh, um, thank you,” she said, while scooting closer to Shelly.
“That...that’s a Minotaur,” she m
umbled, unable to take her eyes away.
Aidan snorted a laugh.
Shelly took her Mother’s hand. “It’s okay, he’s one of the good guys.”
He moved closer to her and held out a massive hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Colonel Masters. Your daughter speaks very highly of you.”
“Ah, sorry to stare.” She timidly took his hand.
“That’s alright. I always get this reaction from human Cousins.”
She let go. “Cousins?”
“Apparently,” Shelly began, “Atlanteans shared their DNA with us thousands of years ago, and consider us part of their family. Sort of, distant cousins.”
“Oh, like that makes any more sense than the rest of this. I think I should sit down, now.” Her complexion was much more pale than before.
John led her to a chair. “Colonel, time is short. We don’t want you away very long. It might draw too much unwanted attention. There’s going to be a climax to this war, I fear it is coming soon. If the Destroyers don’t kill us outright, worse, we will all be enslaved. The Destroyers are using humans, by persuasion, or possession, to fight for them. We do not have the man power for that kind of confrontation. We believe we are going to need human Cousin help.”
“So, you want us to join your side in this war?”
“You have been for centuries. We are just putting a name and a face to friend and foe, alike. Please, we have not trusted anyone, in any government with this much information. Mostly, because people can’t handle it. They go into complete catatonic denial, or insane. We feel the time has come, humans are more accepting now of the possibility of aliens and advanced technology. We want you to take our proposal to your highest level of government.”
“Is that all? Just come with me to the White House with your ship and technology, and I’m sure they’ll see it your way.”
“Alas, the sudden appearance of a space ship and aliens would rock the very foundation of your society. Unfortunately, we’ll have to do this as slowly as possible. I would like for you to start with your most trusted people, and go from there.”
