by Unknown
Mike’s day had not been so easy. The run had made him bone tired as well, but two miles before they got to the base the tribesmen slowed and began moving with stealth through the woods. One of the tribesmen had told him that they had to be cautious of patrols in the area surrounding the base. Almost like a military unit, a lead man would advance and the others would catch up. Slowly they made their way moving from tree to tree and then carefully weaving between the undergrowth. Mr. Ramey had kept up with the group, but the strain of the run had taken its toll. He was breathing heavily.
Suddenly the leading native stopped and held up his hand. The men froze in place and Mike and Ramey ducked under the nearest bush. Then Mike heard it. The sound of men talking crept through the trees nearby. Peering through the brush, Mike saw each of the native tribesmen standing next to a nearby tree straight and still, not moving an inch. Only their eyes strained toward the direction of the sounds. Soon Mike could make out the rustle of the undergrowth as a band of soldiers worked their way through the trees on the other side of a small open space. They followed the tree line around the opening and then disappeared into the woods again.
Mike was amazed. The tribesmen had remained in the open for all to see, yet the soldiers had not noticed. Within a few minutes the sounds faded and vanished. Once again the natives turned and made their way to where Mike and Ramey were hiding. They all had wide grins on their faces.
“How could you do that?” Mike asked.
“Do what,” came the reply.
“Stand out in the open and not get seen,” he said.
The leader of the group smiled at him. “The eye looks for movement,” he said. “We learned long ago when hunting our food that if you stand very still, you will appear as a part of the forest. As you can see,” he said pointing in the direction of the soldiers, “it still works very well. There is no need to hide,” he said. The rest of the men chuckled and began to move into the woods again.
Mr. Ramey looked at Mike. “We’re supposed to be the advanced civilization,” he said.
Mike nodded. “And we’re the ones hiding under the bushes.”
The two took up their chase again as the tribesmen made their way. Within an hour the group stopped again, but this time they signaled for Mike and Mr. Ramey to come forward. Peering through the undergrowth, they suddenly came to a place where all but the trees had been removed. The bushes had been cut low to allow easy viewing through the trees. It was this way for approximately 20 meters, and then the trees themselves had been cleared away leaving a 10 meter wide clearing before a wired fence. There were several paths cutting through the remaining undergrowth to the clearing and Mike could see where the soldiers had just passed through one of them. Of interest were the several holes that appeared periodically through the area.
“This is where we must be very careful,” the leading tribesman whispered. Nearly every time we send our people here they do not come back. The soldiers seem to know when we are here,” he said.
“Do you send people here often?”
“We do not come often. The forest is ours, but this place belongs to them,” he said looking back toward the fence. He then motioned for one of the men to begin working toward the fence. He was stopped in his tracks by Mr. Ramey. The other men had a shocked look on their face as Ramey had grabbed the man around the waist and held him. Ramey eased the man back and then placed his finger to his lips to keep them quiet. He then motioned for them to look at where he was looking. There, only a few centimeters above the ground, was a small thin wire. The puzzled look on the men’s faces told the story. Mike pulled the leader to him.
“This is a device that tells the soldiers when anyone comes,” Mike whispered. “You see those holes?” he asked. The man nodded. “They are where hidden explosives have been placed to kill anyone who comes into the place. This is why few of your people return,” he said quietly.
At the sound of a motor, all the men backed into the trees a little further and froze. Just inside the fence, a small vehicle slowly drove by carrying three heavily armed men. The vehicle continued along a small road that appeared to follow the fence line. Within a minute they were far away.
“I need to see along that fence,” Mike said.
“But what about the things that explode?”
Mike smiled. “I have a device that will tell me where they are,” he said, reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a scanner and began scanning the area. The small screen accurately displayed the trip wire system and the mines planted in the area. Further scanning for soldiers, he quickly stepped over the trip wire and along a path other than the one with the footprints. He even chuckled to himself at how clever a trap they were using. It was a tribute to how effective the tribesmen had been. The second trip was next to the clearing along the fence.
The fence seemed to stretch for miles in a straight line with roads on both sides. He could see the vehicle and its occupants in the distance, and looking in the opposite direction, he could see the next one. They appeared approximately 15 minutes apart. Next, Mike examined the fence itself. One look told the whole tale. The glass insulators along the poles were another defense system. Just five meters from where he stood was the burned carcass of an animal that had tried to crawl through. There was little left of it. The scanner also indicated a few widely spaced underground objects just beyond the inner road. More importantly, the entire area inside the fence was grass. There was no cover for at least 300 meters. These guys are serious, he thought. After a few more moments of looking, he returned to where the other men were watching.
“Mines, trip wires, patrols, and a fence that has about 5,000 volts running through it,” he said to Ramey. “And a clear killing ground beyond.”
Mr. Ramey took a deep sigh. “That rules out getting in through the fence. All it would take is one explosion, one wire tripped, a signal from a patrol, or a drop in voltage and there would be a few thousand troops here in about half the time it would take to blink an eye.”
“Still, there may be something we can use. You notice how they have spread the patrols out and put a lot of emphasis on the perimeter? They are expecting someone to come through here,” Mike said.
Ramey nodded. “Between what these guys have been doing,” he said motioning to the natives, “and the expectation that the Alliance will come storming through here on a moment’s notice, I guess he has some cause to be concerned.” He motioned for the leader to come over. The strong tribesman squatted beside them. “What is the river like? Could we use that to get in the base?”
The native shook his head. “They have placed things under the water to prevent us from coming up along the banks. Out in the center the waters run too fast. Even canoes have a difficult time.”
“We have seen some of the patrols in boats too,” Mike said.
“True, true. When they first appeared they did no harm, then they began to kill anyone or anything along the river. We fish only at the times they have gone by,” the leading native said.
They stopped and watched as one of the tribe slithered down from the top of one of the trees. His agility going up and down the trunk and along the branches was very natural and graceful. Mike wondered at how agile they were and how tall the trees were in the forests. He imagined them to be nearly 50 meters tall or more in some cases. The man quickly reached the ground and rushed up and knelt beside them.
“There is another group of soldiers headed this way along the fence,” he said.
“We must leave now. I don’t want them to know we have been here,” Mike said.
With a nod, the leader signaled for the men to begin heading back. Silently they melded back into the dense brush and forest while the last of the group took a branch with leaves and wiped along their footprints to obliterate their trail. Along the way Mike wondered if they would ever be able to get in the base.
Chapter 12
Doors to the Underworld
As everyone else was away, Hadaie and Rokka finished their
morning checks of the aircraft. The morning and evening ritual would ensure that the craft was ready whenever they might need it again. On this morning, they had even allowed the chief and some of his elders to step inside. The tribesmen had wondered at all they had seen, not the least of which was the toilet against one bulkhead. The idea that they might use the thing for its purpose inside of the building they lived in baffled them. The rest they had no conception of, but marveled at how it had been put together. Upon leaving the aircraft, the chief invited Hadaie to sit with him beside the low fire. He produced a pipe from the folds of his bag and lit it, sitting back against another log and exhaling the smoke.
“You travel in interesting lodges,” the chief said.
“It was necessary to travel in the craft so that we would have a place to stay and keep dry,” Hadaie said trying to speak in terms the chief could understand. He was rewarded with a thoughtful nod from the chief.
“We have seen the black lodges of the soldiers as they traveled in the skies,” he said. “Yours looks very different, almost friendly,” he said with a faint smile. “The images on the sides are like the stars in the night sky. We believe all our ancestors are standing with bright candles, watching from above. It is a warm sign,” he said.
“Where this craft came from, those stars represented a great nation,” Hadaie explained.
Again the chief nodded. “It is the same then. All great ones are in the heavens,” the chief said with a far away look in his eyes. Then he seemed to shake his thoughts off and looked back at Hadaie. “What is this lodge of yours made of?”
“It is a metal crafted and put together by people for the purpose. I believe it is called aluminum.”
“I have seen such metal on the doors to the underworld,” the chief said casually.
Hadaie gazed at the man with a puzzled look. “That is the second time you have mentioned the doors to the underworld. What are they?” Hadaie asked.
Chief Mogar looked at him solemnly. “They are the entrance to the dark regions deep under the ground,” he said. “Tall and wide, they fill the great cavern and stand as the entrance to the world below. We only take evil ones there, for a creature guards the gates and would eat anyone who tries to enter. I have seen these gates and have felt their surface,” he said.
“Why did this creature not eat you when you touched it,” Hadaie asked.
The chief smiled. “It is said the brave ones frighten it away. And I didn’t touch the side of the door where the writing is.”
The mention of writing stirred Hadaie. “How far away is this place?”
The chief shrugged his shoulders. “Not far. Maybe a 30-minute walk.”
Thirty minutes later Chief Mogar, Hadaie and Rokka, along with several other natives were standing at the entrance to a cave. Vegetation had nearly covered the entrance and the path to the cave was nearly all covered over and difficult to follow. Upon command, some of the natives began pulling back the vines that covered the entrance while two of the men began slashing it the dense growth with machete like tools. Within minutes the opening was clear and Chief Mogar stepped into the entrance and began making a chant. Hadaie and Rokka watched as he spread his arms wide and called out deep into the darkness of the cave. Several times he clapped his hands together and then swung them wide again as if summoning the attention of some unknown spirit. While he was doing that, the other men produced flint and tender to light the torches they carried. Within a few moments the tender seemed to burst into flame and the torches were lighted in preparation. As Mogar completed his ritual, the men lined up beside him and began shining their torches into the darkness. After one final clapping of his hands, he turned and motioned for Hadaie and Rokka to follow.
The interior of the cave was much cooler that outside, but that was not what caught the attention of Hadaie and Rokka. They stared at the sides of the cave itself. Rokka walked over and ran his hands along the smooth surface.
“This is a man made tunnel,” Rokka said in amazement. “Look at how smooth the surface is.”
“I concur,” Hadaie acknowledged. The tunnel was circular except along the floor. “It appears that a machine was used to burrow through the rock and soil and then a layer of what appears to be a concrete has been applied. Notice how there is some pitting along the upper portions as moisture has reacted with the materials,” he said. Then he stared down the tunnel. “It also appears that this tunnel runs at least 100 meters into the mountain.”
“It was made by the spirits of the underworld,” Chief Mogar said matter of factly. “Our legends say that long ago, the underworld spit out the people because the spirits were angry with them. We were forced to live in brightness and heat with only the cool of the night to remind us of where we were truly from.”
Hadaie listened and nodded. “Often legends are based on some truth. I suggest we continue to the gates you saw.”
The chief nodded and began leading the way. After nearly 200 meters, the smooth round sides gave way to the rough stone of a cave and then opened into a normal cavern fissure wider than the tunnel and large enough for a large number of people to walk through.
They continued along the fissure until Hadaie called them to a halt again. He walked to one side and knelt down. Soon his hands were gently brushing the dirt away from an object leaning along the side of the fissure on the floor. Within a minute it was free and he held it carefully in his hands. The metal surfaces were deeply pitted, and in some cases gone altogether. But the glass that protected the inner workings was still intact. Hadaie turned and showed the object to Rokka. Inside the housing was a bulb and wires protruded out of the back and hung lifelessly.
“It’s an electric lamp,” Rokka said in some surprise. “Do you believe anyone else has been here?” he asked.
“Judging from the materials and the decay and other information I have come in contact with, this may have been around for several thousand years,” Hadaie said continuing to stare at the lamp. “They probably used this to illuminate the cave while they were using it,” he said. The look on Rokka’s face was skeptical at best.
“You know something I don’t?” he asked.
“There have been some recent discoveries on this planet that indicate a very early civilization that vanished. I believe this may be one such indication,” he said.
Rokka took the lamp from Hadaie, and as the others watched, he turned it over in his hands. The way the natives were looking at them it was evident they had no idea what they were talking about.
Rokka laid the lamp back against the wall. “Let’s see what else is down here,” he said.
Through the entire time the natives remained silent, but their eyes told of their fear and hesitation. None of what was said made sense to them and to hear a being they, in some ways, considered a god, talking of ancient times filled them with dread. But they were warriors and were supposed to ignore such things. They held their torches high and continued slowly and cautiously down the cave. After another ten minutes of walking the cave opened into a huge cavern, shaped like a giant dome. The walls were rough, but the shape was unmistakable. It was as if half a giant ball, nearly a mile wide, had been used to shape the dome itself. The dome seemed to swallow up the torchlight and they couldn’t see the opposite wall. But the huge machine sitting a short distance from the cave entrance immediately caught their attention. It had a round face with indentations and what looked like chisel like teeth arranged in concentric circles throughout the face. The whole face measured nearly 5 meters across.
Chief Mogar pointed to the machine and whispered, “The great beast of the underworld. See, it sleeps. We must not waken it.”
Rokka could see the fear in the men’s eyes. It was obvious that they would go no nearer to the machine than the cave entrance. He looked at Hadaie and asked, “A tunneling machine of some sort?”
“Correct. Notice the cutting bits along the face. I believe that rock and soil chipped away was fed through the face to additional machinery in th
e rear where it processed the shoring materials,” he said.
“Let’s see,” Rokka said taking a torch from one of the men and leading the way behind the machine’s face. The other men stayed firmly planted where they were; ready to dart out of the cave at the slightest movement.
Hadaie followed Rokka around and saw two enclosures just behind the huge drilling face. He climbed up into one and studied the controls. They were covered with a heavy layer of dust that he was able to wipe away. Because of his earlier translation from the computer, Hadaie was able to read the controls clearly. He flipped a switch on the upper right hand side of the console and the interior lights came on. Slightly surprised, he called down to Rokka. “I believe this equipment is operational.”
“See if it will start,” Rokka replied.
With a nod and a look of enjoyment, Hadaie pressed the button labeled “master.” With a slowly increasing whine, the hydraulic pumps and motors along the machine came on along with a battery of powerful lights along its entire length. A display came on and showed the status of the giant machine. All gages were moving into the normal range as indicated. Hadaie then engaged the gears to move and the giant drill began to inch forward and the face began to revolve. After moving a few feet, he disengaged the tractor motors and halted the machine, then shut down its systems except for the lighting. He hopped down from the cab and faced Rokka, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“Over four thousand years old? Even our machines are not this big,” he questioned. “But it is a brute,” he said, patting his hand on the side. “I could use something like this with some of our civil projects.”
“It is obvious that this machine was used to carve the tunnel near the exit,” Hadaie said.
“I would agree. And to give you credit, we have nothing like this,” Rokka said. “Are you certain other travelers didn’t come here before?”
