“What happened up there, Captain?” Petit asked, getting to the point.
“We were attacked. I don’t know by who.” He stared at the object sitting like a huge Christmas tree bauble with strange markings scrawled all over it. “They’re after this, aren’t they?”
Susan and Petit shared an uneasy glance.
“I think you’ve both got some explaining to do?”
Transport Pod Maybelle
The Maybelle dropped like a rock through the atmosphere of Orion V. The ever-reliable transport pod was one of two the Argo employed when going on excursions into an atmosphere. While E-Class cargo ships were rated to do planetary insertions, considering the Argo’s age, they’d stopped asking her to do that line of work many years earlier.
To be fair, as Jason inspected the Maybelle, it wasn’t like the pod was in much better shape. The upholstery on the chairs were peeling, the helm console was coming loose from its housing, and the frayed straps were digging into his rib cage. The ride was far from luxurious with every bump vibrating through the transport pod’s cabin.
I really shouldn’t have drunk all that bourbon.
He turned to Tyler and Althaus who were strapped in their seats at the rear of the pod. His uncle appeared a little queasy, though he was doing his best to hide it.
“How are you feeling over there, Althaus?” Jason tormented him.
“Shut up.”
Jason smiled.
As the Maybelle dropped farther, the creaks and groans of the craft increased. The hull seemed to twist and bend around them. But just as Jason wanted to vomit up the remnants of Blue Jacket, the pod broke through the lowest cloud layer and smoothed out. The viewport filled with the barren, brown surface of Orion V.
Imagining Althaus’s sphincter tightening, Jason pulled up, slightly later than he would normally. The engine roared, and the Maybelle’s nose pointed perpendicular to the surface, not even fifty meters before the ground. Behind him Althaus’s jaw clenched, while Tyler just rolled his eyes. The pod skimmed above the ground, weaving around rock formations and over the larger mountain ranges.
Then it appeared at the center of a large valley.
“How is that building still standing?” Tyler wondered, getting their first glimpse at the mining facility. The images from above hadn’t done it justice. It’d been pounded into submission.
Jason peered down at the scanners. “The vessel our friends in orbit sent down has landed near the central complex.”
“Have they detected us?”
Jason shrugged. “If they have, they don’t seem to give a crap.”
“Okay, find us somewhere to set us down. The quicker we get this done, the better.”
Jason surveyed the surface. The treacherous environment would make landing a craft difficult, but he managed to find a touchdown point half a kilometer away from the shaft cap.
The thrusters fired, and the Maybelle gently maneuvered downward and to the right of two sizeable rock formations, landing with little more than a thump.
The trio climbed into their EV suits, and Tyler cranked open the side airlock, unleashing a blast of freezing cold air upon them. Luckily the protection of their suits shielded them from the elements.
Jason stepped off first and waited for Althaus to follow. “Surprised yours still fits anymore,” Jason said to him.
“Come on, let’s find this shaft entrance,” Tyler interjected, joining the pair before they could spill any more bad blood.
Twenty-One
Decium Ore Mining Facility - Orion V
“What happened to the Vanguard?”
The object continued to mesmerize Nicolas so much, he’d barely heard Susan’s question. Its exterior was almost reflective. And the writing on it peculiar. While he was no history buff, he remembered seeing images similar to them back in high school during archaeology classes. They were like pictographs found on stones dug up from civilizations that existed on Earth thousands of years in the past.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “Our communications were jammed when they attacked.”
“Commander Perera is an excellent first officer.” She put a comforting hand on his arm. “He’ll have got the crew to safety.”
Nicolas hoped she was right.
“Did you find any other survivors on your way here?” Petit asked.
Nicolas shook his head. He sensed Petit’s guilt as he turned his head toward Susan. He walked over to the sphere and touched it, expecting it to be cold like ice, but instead, it was soft. Not reminiscent of a metal at all.
He glanced at his ex-wife. “So, are you going to answer my question or not? Whoever attacked, was it because of this?” He didn’t like speaking to her in that tone, but he wanted answers.
Petit stepped forward in her place. “While it’s the most logical answer, no one could be aware of the artifact’s existence. Ever since its discovery, every transmission that’s left Orion V was screened and all communications regarding the sphere encoded.”
“Well, someone knows. Do you have any idea who the attackers are?”
“Believe me when I say I don’t.”
Nicolas pondered. Whoever attacked were surely after the object. “It’s time you told me everything about this artifact, Professor.”
“Captain, you know as well as I that this is a classified project.” Petit hesitated. “Your clearance isn’t—”
“Not good enough, Professor.” Nicolas strode toward Petit, backing him up against the sphere.
The older man shrank with the long shadow cast over him.
“Nicolas!” Susan put a hand on his shoulder, but he ignored her, staring daggers at Petit.
“I don’t give a damn if I don’t have clearance or not! A lot of people have died for this. Tell me what I want to know.”
Petit sighed. “Very well, Captain.”
With their flashlights, Jason, Tyler, and Althaus walked cautiously across the rocky landscape. It was so dark and the fog so low. Their lights were having trouble cutting through the air, as the beams dispersed in the mist. With each step, Jason wasn’t sure whether he’d find proper footing or fall off the edge of a cliff.
“Can’t be too far now,” he said, reading his tracking scanner, hoping they were heading in the right direction. “A hundred meters at most.”
“Might as well be a hundred kilometers,” Althaus grumbled behind him.
“Oh, come on, this must remind you of your childhood. Sneaking out at night with your friends. Up at all hours.” Jason stopped suddenly. “You had friends, didn’t you?”
Althaus glared at him.
“Maybe not.” Jason chuckled and continued to lead them farther through the thick fog. The surface conditions changed, and they started to descend an incline. Jason’s feet slipped, but he regained his bearings and trudged on. Then a clang sounded beneath him and he stumbled, almost tripping over.
“What the—?” He kneeled and waved the mist away, revealing the cap beneath his feet. The circular metal plate was two meters in diameter and firmly bolted shut. “I found it!”
Tyler and Althaus joined him, and his uncle pulled out a handheld laser-cutter from his belt and pointed it at the cap. A red-hot beam shot out. After rounding the entire plate, Althaus closed off the laser-cutter and put out an open hand. “I’ll need help.”
The three of them bent down and grabbed an equal share. With a heave, they gradually lifted the cap into the air.
“God, this thing weighs a ton!” Jason winced. “Try not to let go of this on my toes, Althaus.”
“Don’t tempt me.” The older man sneered at him.
“Do you really think this is the time?” Tyler asked as he struggled to raise the large piece of alloy.
The trio moved it away from hole and found a nice clear patch of terrain to place it on.
“Okay, on three,” Jason said. “One, two, three.”
With a backward movement, the men pulled their hands away and the cap clanged against the ground. They chec
ked their suits to ensure they were still in working order, then walked over to the hole they’d unearthed.
Jason peered into the pitch-black abyss. “I hope you brought enough rope.”
Tyler took a coil off his shoulder and threw it into the void. There was no way of knowing if it touched the bottom or not. “Only one way to find out.” He pulled a rock bolt from his suit pocket and inserted it into the ground. He threaded the line through and passed it to Jason. “You’re up,” he said with a smirk.
“Tell me again why I talked you into this?” Before Althaus could say anything, Jason scowled at him. “And I didn’t ask you.”
“Just take it nice and slow.” Tyler put a climbing belt around Jason’s waist and buckled it tight. So tight that Jason thought his legs would lose their circulation.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“The fun is that you’re less likely to die that way.” His brother attached his flashlight to the top of his helmet so he’d be able to see where he was going on the descent.
With the rope threaded through his belt, Jason walked to the edge of the hole. He grabbed the line with both hands and then ambled carefully backward off the edge and into the emptiness beyond. With gentle ease, he abseiled downward.
The moonlight above his head got smaller with every step, and Tyler’s voice grew quieter. He was left alone with his own thoughts. And that was the last thing he wanted. Though he liked the fact he wouldn’t see Althaus’s face for a while.
As he continued to sober, everything that had happened in the last six months came back to him. From that first call from David Ortega on Odyssey Station to the realization in Frontier’s Reach he would never solve the death of his friend. His foot slipped before he swiftly regained his balance.
Keep your mind clear.
He continued farther and the bottom of the shaft appeared. But the rope hadn’t made it. Jason bit his bottom lip and unclipped the line from his belt and jumped. He landed on his back with an almighty crunch.
“Aw, my ass!”
He gingerly brushed himself off and stood, taking in his surroundings. Mining equipment lay dormant, while not a soul appeared in sight.
He pressed in the commband on his wrist. “I’m down.”
“Can you see anyone?” Tyler responded.
“No.” An elevator opening caught Jason’s attention. “But there may be someone farther down.”
He walked toward a carriage which had stopped at the end of the line. It was inactive, but there was heat coming from the engine.
“Someone’s definitely here.”
“Okay, we’ll begin our descent.”
Jason looked at the panel on the wrist of his EV suit. Even with the cap off, the climate-control system was circulating enough warmth acceptable for human life. He never liked how restricted the Argo’s suits were, so he opened his helmet and peeled it off.
He strode over to the elevator and punched in a command to bring the car from the bottom of the shaft to the top. By then, Tyler and Althaus had joined him. Both took their EV suits off too.
Tyler put a finger to his mouth. “Can you hear that?” he whispered.
Jason listened carefully to some buzzing, and the echo of screams.
“It’s coming from the tunnel,” Althaus said, pointing toward the tracks where the empty carriage sat.
Everything that Jason had assumed was correct. Whoever came from the ship in orbit were clearing the way to their part of the facility. They couldn’t be too far now.
“We have to go down this shaft now and rescue whoever’s there,” Jason said, stepping toward the elevator.
Althaus didn’t budge. “I’ll stay up here.”
“Are you crazy?” Jason asked, though he already knew the answer.
“I’m not the one being crazy, kid. If they get here before you come back up, you’ll be the ones dead in that tomb.” Althaus stopped as more ghastly yelling echoed beyond their position. “I’ll see if there’s another path out, because if we have to make a quick escape, we won’t be able to do it up that rope.”
Jason nodded. Althaus was right. He closed the safety rail and turned to Tyler. “Come on, let’s go.”
Twenty-Two
“Six million years old?”
Nicolas rubbed his brow. “I find that hard to believe.”
“The sphere’s exterior and the surrounding rock were tested when they were unearthed fourteen months ago,” Petit told him. “Both tests substantiate the same passing of time. Give or take a few hundred thousand years.”
“And it was buried here?”
“The sphere doesn’t appear to have landed, if that’s what you’re suggesting. There’s no impact crater of any kind.” Petit pointed to the door of the antechamber. “As you can see, our surroundings have been constructed deliberately. The tunnel system around it is coated in an artificial substance which acts as a barrier to moisture and bacterial infestation.”
“So, whoever buried it wanted to protect it?” Nicolas pondered. “They’ve gone to a hell of a lot of trouble.”
A truly alien object. The proof that intelligent life exists. Or at least did, millions of years ago. Nicolas couldn’t believe he had a front-row seat to such a profound discovery.
What would people back home think?
“I assume you have a theory on what its purpose is,” he said to Petit.
“That I haven’t determined yet. After doing my initial testing, I attempted to decipher the markings on the outer shell.” Petit led Nicolas and Susan around to the other side of the sphere where the container the Vanguard had brought to Orion V sat. Nicolas had almost forgotten about it. Its lid was open but faced the opposite direction.
“Like Egyptian hieroglyphics, I’ve surmised the language is pictographic. However, since we don’t have an intergalactic Rosetta Stone at our disposal to do the translating, it’s been rather difficult.” The professor kneeled and pointed at two particular pictographs. “Without going into the boring specifics, these markings became of the most interest to me.”
Nicolas joined him and studied the images. The first was a small rectangular shape with rounded edges. Next to it was what seemed like a trunk with branches. “A tree?”
“Ah, that’s what I thought at the beginning as well.” Petit smiled. “After reviewing it further, I came to the conclusion it may be a hand instead.”
Nicolas tilted his head, wondering if it might appear different from another angle. “But it’s got six fingers, not five.”
“Right. A second opposable thumb. After further study of the sphere, there was something I found peculiar. No door. No key. No lock. Nothing. But my tests have determined it’s hollow.”
“So, there should be a way in?”
Petit nodded. “That’s my hope.”
“If that’s the case, where’s your door?”
“We can’t see it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I believe the seal’s invisible, and these markings represent the lock to the door. It just needs a key.”
“If this is the lock, then what’s the key?”
“That’s where I come in,” Susan said, allowing the professor to take a breath.
Nicolas darted his eyes at the package. “The container?”
“When I instructed the Ministry of Defense of my findings concerning this particular pictograph, I informed them of my theory regarding the markings,” Petit continued. “I believe the key had been at TIAS all along.”
Nicolas stared at the container. Its secretive nature had bugged him ever since they’d left Earth. When he’d said goodbye to Susan above, he’d thought he’d never see it again. Now, he’d finally get to gaze upon the mystery that all this destruction had caused.
The elevator came to a halt at the bottom of the shaft and Jason slid open the safety rail. He and Tyler walked out, following the lights to the end of the tunnel where an entrance had been cut from the rock. Striding over the threshold, Jason checked himself
before slipping. He raised a curious brow at Tyler at the steps beneath their feet.
“Put your weapons down!”
Before them, half a dozen Marines approached. All aiming their rifles at Jason and Tyler. But it was the spherical object behind them that astonished Jason the most.
“What the hell is that?” he blurted out.
“Drop them now!” came the command again, by the lead Marine with major rank pins on his collar.
The stompers cautiously moved toward the brothers. Both Jason and Tyler put a hand up in surrender and dropped their rifles. Like tigers, the Marines pounced, bundling them to the ground and wrenching their arms behind their backs.
Even under the stress of the hulking soldiers, Jason couldn’t help but be drawn to the object sitting in the center of the subterranean cave. He tried to say something, but the gorilla with his knee in the upper half of his back wasn’t having any of it.
Another trio approached, but they weren’t Marines. A man wore a blue CDF uniform with a captain’s rank pin on his collar, while the other man and woman appeared to be civilians.
“Let them up,” the captain said.
The Marines quickly pulled Jason and Tyler to their feet.
“Who are you?” the captain asked, eyeballing them both for an answer.
“I’m Jason Cassidy. This is my brother, Tyler.”
“Jason Cassidy?” The captain’s mind seemed to wander, before he gave an accusatory stare. “Are you responsible for what’s happened here?”
Jason and Tyler glanced at one another.
“Of course not,” Tyler said. “We’re from the Argo. A cargo ship. We received a distress call from the UECS Vanguard.”
“They sent a distress call? My ship. Did you—”
“I’m sorry, we found its debris in orbit.”
The captain’s eyes closed, and the woman put a consoling hand on his shoulder. Jason recognized the agony he was attempting to hide.
Frontier's Reach: A Space Opera Adventure (Frontiers Book 1) Page 11
