CHAPTER 22

The Ancient Spacecraft

 

 

Later in the day, Jadan showers and is dressing when he detects a knock. He checks the screen, identifies Relo, and opens the door. “Man—I am glad you’re here. Come in.”

He relates how Kia confronted Gramps and her parents. He tells him about the elevator crash killing two, and how close he came to being the third. “I’m now a member of OFGRAT, and they are anxious to reach you. Take a few minutes and call Eath Marshon.”

“Hello, sir, this is Relo Kazza. I understand you’re attempting to contact me.” He listens, as the doctor speaks. “I’ll be here for a while. I got back from Krest and he, and I need to discuss some things—okay—good.” He hangs up. “You’re right—they’re anxious.”

“Okay, but let's take first things first. Did you find her?”

“Yes I did. I also met Kedraleona. You’re right. She’s quite a charmer. She’s planning to come to Abydos before long. Her interests in archeology and ancient languages are keen, and I promised her a tour of the museum—”

“Okay—okay—tell me about Rue.”

“I thought you would like a briefing about her. Jadan—Rue is expecting and due soon.” He pauses and studies the shocked expression on his friend’s face. “No—the baby isn’t yours. Unknown to either of us, Rue’s previous boyfriend happened to be an Annunaki. It turns out—she became his plaything. She became pregnant, and he wanted her to get an abortion. She refused, and he sent some thugs to persuade her, and she decided to disappear. She’s having a difficult pregnancy and is bedridden most of the time. Her tactics are to deliver and raise the baby. I get it—you want to understand how she plans such a feat. I raised the same question. She became a member of one of the resistance groups. They arranged her transportation to Krest, and they’re providing for her medical needs. Soon as the baby’s born and they’re strong enough, she and the child will go to a safe place where she’ll work, and they’ll live. No—she wouldn’t tell me which of the organizations.”

“I’m glad you found her. Are you sure she’s okay? Sounds to me like things might get serious.”

“I can tell you what she told me. I didn’t meet her sister, Lehad, but I met her brother-in-law, Balla. He assured me she’s being well cared for, and the doctor expects the baby will be full-term and healthy. At present, you understand as much as I do. I’ll go now. I need to go to my apartment.”

“Thanks for stopping by. We’ll talk soon.”

Relo takes his pack and leaves, and as he walks down the hall a voice behind him asks, “Are you expecting an invitation?”

 

THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE

 

Jerka’s assistant is sitting behind her desk performing routines at the direction of the Vice Chancellor Adue. She overhears the door open and glances up and recognizes Raefell Nuggen and two dark-haired men.

Take her into his workplace and extract the information I requested,” he says. The men take her into the room. He locks the door into the hallway, takes a magazine, sits down on the sofa, and begins to flip through the pages.

A short time later, the door opens. “She’s dead,” one of the men says to him. “We did not touch her. She passed out and fell to the floor. For a few minutes, we thought she fainted, but when she didn’t come to, I checked her pulse and couldn’t find one.”

He walks in and checks for a pupil response to the overhead light, and finds none. “You’re right—she’s dead. Put her at her desk and let’s go. The cleaning people will find her.” They check to make sure no one is in the hall before they leave.

“I checked with security at the main gate. He went missing three or four days ago. Did he go off and hide? Let’s go talk to the Adue,” he says. They walk down the corridor to his office. Nuggen walks around the desk and informs the assistant he wants to meet with him at once.

“I’m sorry sir, but he isn’t accepting visitors today.”

He points toward the door, and one of the men goes over and opens. He marches in to a surprised politician. The bodyguard closes the door and takes his position on one side while the other man stations himself on the opposite.

“Tell me where to find the supreme?”

“I last spotted him a few days ago.”

“I didn’t ask how long since you delighted in his company—I asked where he is? You control the option of making this easy or difficult. The choice is yours—I won’t ask again.”

He pauses for a moment and walks to the door. “The gentleman is suffering from some memory problems. How about you fellows stepping in and determine if you can help his recollection. I’ll wait out front.”

Soon, the door opens and the men walk out. “He says he passed away in his headquarters, four days ago.”

Nuggen walks back in. He is sitting at his desk bleeding from one nostril and the opposite corner of his mouth. “Tell me about Jerka?”

“We aren’t sure, sir. His niece happened to be with him when he died from cardiac failure. The medical examiner found no traces of drugs or poison. All the tests indicate his heart stopped. They’re doing advanced blood and tissue analysis, but they don’t expect to find anything.”

“Why the cover-up?

“With the riots and civil unrest, we feared news about his death would cause more problems. Several of us decided to suppress the information. We thought—”

“Okay—I get the point, Acting Supreme Chancellor, I guess you’re the one who must get The Dome back on schedule. What’s your plan?”

“He handled the project alone. I’m trying to get current—things appear pretty dismal from what I understand.”

“I’ll be back in seven days. I expect you to present me a layout and target completion dates. Am I explicit enough?”

“Quite clear, sir—”

Raefell Nuggen starts for the door, stops, and turns, “Who disposed of the body?”

“He’s in a freezer in the basement.”

“Did you inform his wife?”

“No—she thinks he’s away on business.”

“How long do you think the story will work?” He chuckles as he walks out the door, not waiting on an answer.

 

OFGRAT HEADQUARTERS

 

“Okay, Jadan, and Relo are on board as you requested. I think now’s the time for you to finalize your team and get out to the site,” Boze Landiz says to Eath Marshon. “We’re still having problems with the language on the controls. I think today would be a good idea for the two of us to tour the ship and evaluate the situation for ourselves.”

“I agree. What time can we go?”

“What’re your plans for the rest of the day?”

“My schedule is open. What’s on your mind?”

He tables Eath’s question for a moment, picks up his communicator, and gets an answer. “This is Landiz. Is a unit available? Okay, good—pick me up at my office—we’ll keep the bus tied up for the balance of the day and perhaps the evening as well. How soon will you arrive?”

“The AeroBus will be here in a half hour. The trip takes about two hours to get to the destination.”

“We’ll be taking the transporter all the way?” he asks with a puzzled expression, lifting his left eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“What about the heat detecting satellite? Won’t the device spot us?”

“Oh—you aren’t familiar with our masking technology. The ‘demon above’ must convert temperature readings into a digital signal for processing. We own a fleet of modified AeroBuses with special transmitters. They read the ambient heat and send a data stream skyward, which shows the people mover and its occupants as being the same as the surrounding area. We’re invisible. A sophisticated collector catches the disturbed dirt, removes the particles, and after adding enough moisture, they are deposited to the surface—no dust. The units also include high frequency directed beam guns to erase any tracks missed by the first system,” Boze says.

“I am astounded.”

Several hours later, they arrive at the site. The door opens and the two step out under the canopy of camouflage and overgrowth. Marshon is shocked at the massive size of the spacecraft, which is setting on three legs. Each one is located about thirty meters from the center. They are retractable and extend on a diagonal from the bottom and compensate for the slope of the terrain keeping the craft level. The foot on a leg is about ten meters in diameter.

“How big is this thing?” Eath asks in awe.

“The ship is one hundred and fifty meters in diameter, and thirty high at the center and tapers to about four hundred millimeters wide on the outer edge. Five decks make up the midpoint of the unit plus a six-meter transparent observation platform on top. They taper off to four as we move out from the middle—and three—followed by two and one around the outside perimeter, which forms a circular edging. A tube about a meter in diameter makes a complete circle around the interior of the craft. We aren’t sure what goes on inside, but wired connections form a spiral the full circumference of the ship. The wires appear to direct electromagnetism to the probes penetrating the outer surface. There appears to be a buffer zone between the tube and the outermost edge of the craft,” Boze says.

He continues. “The skin of the craft’s a material we don’t recognize. The color is silver, and the appearance of metal, but is semi-transparent, and—not metallic. We believe it is an organic compound compressed at astronomical pressures. About five centimeters thick, the substance is somewhat resilient—at least on the exterior surface. Around the external edge about every six meters is a round transparent spot in the skin about fifteen centimeters in diameter. The spots are seamless, but the tint’s gone from those areas, and they appear to be windows.”

A man in a jump suit comes to greet them. “I’m Kalleen Smid, the Chief Engineer of Reclamation on this project.”

“I’m Bo...”

“Yes, sir. I’m familiar with both of you men. You’re the head of OFGRAT, and I attended classes under Dr. Marshon at Abydos University. Welcome—may I give you a guided tour?”

“Yes, we would appreciate a walk through,” Boze says. “I told the doctor what I learned about the size and outer skin of the craft.”

“With the minimal power we’ve achieved so far, we can’t open the automatic doors, but we found a number of manual ones on the first level. Inside the rooms, we discovered what appears to be spare parts, electronic components, and wire—like nothing we’ve seen and several stacks of rectangular material like the skin. In another room, we located a wide variety of tools and what we think are diagnostic instruments. A library we believe contains a complete set of technical and service manuals, if we learn to read them. Elsewhere, in the room, we detected an irregular shaped piece of material. The section appears to be the offal from a previous repair job to the outer skin. We’re unable to cut the substance or even make a scratch—yet the surface of one side is spongy and returns to its original form when one presses and releases. I think the stuff can withstand tremendous impacts and not be damaged.”

They walk to the center of the craft and up a ramp to the first deck. The lighting is poor but adequate. “We’ve cleared away the overgrowth and camouflage from some of the solar panels. They give us enough power for minimum illumination. Over the next several days, we plan to clear more. Let me take you to the control room,” Smid says.

They follow him up four more sets of stairs. At the top, he turns and says, “I’ll be glad when we get enough energy to activate the elevators. The climb up and down these is a pain. Over here is what we believe to be the cockpit. We think this elevator goes up to the clear acrylic observation platform.”

They walk to a complicated panel of lights and screens covered with a layer dust. A large elevated screen, about three by five meters, is positioned in front two padded chairs with arm and footrests. An electronic number pad adorns the armrests with a series of touch pads with arrows pointing in eight directions radiating out from the center. The seats are located on a track allowing movement back and forth about two meters. The control panel displays a long array of switches, levers, wheels, and other controls along the outer side with a one-meter walkway between them. Boze blows away the dust and stares at the writing on the console. With excitement, he says, “This is the same language as the ancient scrolls at the Abydos Museum.”

 

AMC MANY DAYS LATER

 

They discharge Kia from the Medical Center, but she will stay with Riah for a while, since he lives nearby. She must return every other day for physical therapy, and Gramps or her parents failed to contact her, after she confronted them. He is protective, and Jadan can now get back to other aspects of his life.

He encountered another narrow escape. He checked both directions before crossing a busy intersection, and with nothing in sight, he walked into the crosswalk when a speeding AeroBus came out of a parking bay at high speed heading straight for him. Another pedestrian witnessed the threat and pushed him away at the last moment and received a glancing blow, suffered several broken bones, and they rushed him to the AMC.

“Love, I experienced two close calls. I find the situation unnerving—” he says, “I appear to attract a black cloud of late.”

“I want you to be careful. I can’t think about what I’ll do if anything happens to you. In fact, I can’t imagine life without you.” She stares him in the eyes and extends a broad smile.

“I don’t want to consider anything happening—I agree—I can’t envision my future without you either.” He pauses with an appearance of bewilderment. “How’re we going to resolve the situation with your grandfather?”

“The solution is simple—if he can’t accept you, he won’t be a part of my life. The same applies to my parents. I’m pleased Riah is with us.”

“You mean you’re willing to give up living the ‘good life’ in the Escapades for me?”

“I possess nothing but contempt for those who’ve exploited and lied to the population. How can I ever trust the people who created the Socio-Equal Order and benefit from the deceit? I glance around and those in the lowest pay tier struggling to get by, and I get angry. Jadan, Gramps is part of the deception. I wonder if my parents are.”

“What about Riah, where does he stand?”

“He and I talked, and we are in agreement. Nothing out there tempts either of us to become participants in the charade.”

“Are you aware numerous resistance groups exist dedicated to bringing down the NEX and reforming the government to include the people?” He stares at her expressions.

“What do you understand about the NEX?”

“More than I can tell you now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Knowledge of such can bring death. I’m unwilling to involve you.”

The sound of a key in the door is audible, and seconds later, Riah enters. He stops inside the door and asks, “What’re you two talking about, which is so serious?”

“Come on in and join the conversation,” she says. “We are discussing the excesses of our top government officials, the Escapades, and resistance groups.”

“Sounds like interesting topics. Jadan, do you mind if I’m part of the talks? I don’t want to intrude.”

“No—I don’t object at all.”

“He escaped another near miss.” Kia informs Riah.

“What happened this time?”

“I crossed an intersection. I stopped and checked in all directions, with nothing visible. About half way across, an AeroBus came tearing out of a parking bay straight toward me at high speed... The driver didn’t slow down but accelerated away. No one read the ID number on the side. One witness said the unit’s numbers appeared to be covered.”

“I don’t like this,” he says with anger in his voice. “First, the elevator and now this...”

“Jadan, tell us about the resistance movements, and what they hope to accomplish,” he says.

“I am aware of many small ones, but two large groups exist, and they’re negotiating an alliance to pool their data and resources. I also understand some specific information controlled by the government, and a few at the university is factual. Access to the facts by anyone not authorized means almost certain death. I sound like I’m a member of one of the groups,” he says with a sheepish grin.

“Yes you do,” she says. “Tell us more.”

“Assume I am a member—what would the status do to us?”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’m waiting for you to ask me to unify, but I’m not sure we share the same wish.” Tears begin to pool in her eyes. She grabs a tissue and dries them.

Riah realizes the conversation is getting emotional, and excuses himself. He goes to his room and closes the door.

“What do you think about me? I am from the country and the poor class—you are a talented city girl with ‘Royal’ blood and powerful and wealthy relatives—”

“I understand all I need to. You’re with me, and I’m safe—I’m warm inside—I’m loved—I trust I’m needed. I believe you’re a good man—I’m positive you possess a tender heart, and I want to be with you more than anything else. The rest—well—I want to spend the rest of my life discovering what I don’t already. I will live in poverty with you rather than in the Escapades with anyone else. Sometimes—I sit and try to create a mental image of the appearance of our children—in short, I don’t want fame, or fortune—I want you.” The pool of tears overflows her eyes and trickles down her cheeks.

A rush of warmth races through his body. His face flushes. She expresses her heart, and he finds out what he hopes to. Fear replaces the feelings of romance. “My Dear, Gramps would rather I die than accept us unified. I’m afraid all I can bring you is sorrow, and you deserve so much more. I love you more than life itself, but I fear the life I can give you.”

“The twins, Jadan, think about them. What if they lived—what would we do? Would you be so tentative if I still carried them?”

She catches him off guard. “How did you find out?”

“Riah went into my medical records to make sure Dr. Brison told him everything. He found the entry and told me. I questioned the doctor, and he told me he made you aware. He’s hoping you’ll be able to get the information off my database in the CDC.”

He is embarrassed. In all the confusion, he failed to clean up her record. “Oh Kia, forgive me—with all the things going on—starting now, I’ll do everything possible to delete the data.”

“What about the twins—how do you reconcile them?”

“I am heartbroken.”

“What would you do if I happened to still be with child?”

“First, I would ask you to unify. I would take you to a refuge where you would be cared for and the babies would be born and raised by us.”

“Jadan—treat me as if I’m still pregnant,” she says with raw emotions.

 

RELO’S APARTMENT

 

He answers the communicator. The caller is Eath Marshon.

“I need to meet with you and Jadan right away. Will you locate him, and tell me when you can come to OFGRAT Headquarters? I’m saving quite a challenge for you two—in fact, for all three of us. This is urgent.”

“Okay, I’ll try to find him, but I’m not sure where he is now. He didn’t return my call from this morning, but I’ll keep trying.”

“Good, get back to me within the hour with an update.”

“Will do—”

Relo calls Jadan’s mobile. He does not answer so he leaves a message. “Get back to me as soon as you receive this. The doctor needs to meet us right away.”

He hangs up the device and sits back contemplating Marshon’s contact and wondering what is so urgent. He is jolted out of his meditation. “Hello, Jadan, where are you?”

A pause lingers on the other end, and a voice giggles and says, “This isn’t Ja…”

“Kedraleona—I think about you a lot, since I returned from Krest. How are you?”

“Good, I’m good. How’s Kia? The Broadcast News reported she left the hospital.”

“She’s improving and taking physical therapy. They are getting on her nerves. All the talk shows want to get an exclusive interview with her, but so far, she refused them. She says she’s through being a celebrity. Jadan is well also. He spends most of his time with her.”

“I am glad to learn they’re both doing well. The reason I called is I’m planning a trip to Abydos for a clothing show in two days. I would like to meet you—you owe me a tour. I can stay a couple this time and one will be tied up with the exhibition.”

“Let me determine if I can fit you into my busy schedule. You will be in town when?

“Perhaps my visit is too much bother—”

“I’m anxious for you to get here. What day would you like to go to the museum?”

“I’m coming up a day before time. Can we go?”

“You’re on for the day.”

“Good—I’ll call you back when I confirm my projected arrival time. By the way, your friend Ryner made some calls and got me a seat on the Mail Express from Krest to Abydos. Later...” Click—she is gone. He puts his hands behind his head and his feet on the table in front of him. Kedra coming to town pleases me a lot. I regret I didn’t get more time to spend with her in the city.

The communicator jolts him out of his fantasy world. This time he checks at the ID. The caller is Jadan. “Hey pal, Dr. Marshon called and wants to meet us right away at headquarters. How soon can you be ready?”

“I’ll be at your apartment in one hour, and we can go together. What’s this about?”

“He didn’t say, but emphasized the meeting is urgent.”

“How is Kia?”

“Kia’s doing well—did you say critical?”

“Yes, so get over here. I’ll call him and tell him we’ll meet him in two hours alright…?”

“Okay, but you sound joyful. What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here.”

Jadan and Relo arrive at OFGRAT Headquarters on time. They go to a conference room where twenty others are awaiting their arrival. Dr. Marshon introduces them. In attendance are electric, structural, computer, and aerodynamic engineers, along with chemists, linguists, and materials specialists.

Boze Landiz calls the meeting to order. “Let me bring you all up to speed. Twenty-one days ago, one of our teams discovered a spacecraft hidden in the desert. The craft didn’t crash but landed by intent at the location, and a unique camouflage net covers the exterior. They concealed the ship, powered down, and evacuated. We don’t understand what material makes up the netting, but the cover shows little weather damage. We think the vessel landed before the Great War. The ship’s in remarkable condition, except for the vines growing over and the sediment. To our amazement, we found no corrosion. Apart from dust, the interior is immaculate. We suspect the unit will fly if we can figure out its systems and propulsion. From all evidence, the computer flies the ship with a minimal number of manual interfaces.

All about the discovery is alien to us. In fact, some of us are confident the thing is from another world. Jadan, Relo, and Dr. Marshon are our supercomputer gurus on the project. Men, your task is to learn how to communicate with the ship, but now, most of the craft remains inaccessible. None of the automatic doors operate, but the non electric ones allow us to get to a minimum of the critical systems.” Landiz pauses. “I now turn the floor over to Kalleen Smid, the Chief Engineer of Reclamation.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope at the end of this presentation each of you signs on to the venture,” Boze says. “This mission is all volunteers. In time, the staffing will be about a hundred technicians, electricians, machinists, and other crafts working around the clock. You’ll relocate to the site and reside onboard until the project is completed. You’ll stay at the job site for fourteen days and come back here for four of rest and relaxation. You’ll work fifteen hours a day and be on standby the other eight. I realize we’re asking a lot, but think about the loss if the NEX finds out about the spaceship and the location. Absolute secrecy is critical. Do any of you have questions?” Smid asks.

“How soon do we start?” Relo asks. “I’m committed for the next four days.”

“This is the beginning of the four-day rest period. We’ll be leaving in staggered shifts. Someone will be with the craft all the time. Do any want to back out now?” he asks. To his delight, no one does. “Okay, we identified our initial lineup. Remember—don’t talk about the project to anyone who isn’t part of the team. Even conversations must be in secured locations or over the encrypted network. This may become the most important advantage of the revolution.”

“Apart from those who’ve been notified to leave earlier, I’ll meet the rest of you here in four packed and ready to go. You’re dismissed,” Boze says.

They stare at one another with a ‘now what’ expression on their faces. “The excitement never ends,” Jadan says.

“Life isn’t boring.”

“This sounds much more exciting than our assignment at The Dome, but I hate being gone for fourteen days straight. Kia isn’t going to be too happy with the situation.”

“You’re right. By the way, I didn’t tell you why I sounded so pleased on the phone. Kedraleona called me and told me she was going to be in Abydos for a couple of days for a clothing show. She reminded me I promised to take her to the museum. Would you two like to join us?”

“I would like to go. She and I’ll discuss her ability. I last went there as a small child. I found the venture rather boring. Are you sure Kedra will approve of the invitation?”

“I’m sure she won’t mind. She asked about the two of you when she called. Is she strong enough for all the walking and standing?”

“I am not certain. We may stay for part of the tour, but if she tires, we’ll leave.”

“The plan makes sense. Let’s go talk to Dr. Marshon about the spacecraft. I wonder if he viewed the craft,” Relo says as they walk to where Eath and Kalleen are talking.

The doctor says, “Please, sit down and join us. He is telling me some of what they learned about the ship so far. They didn’t find the propulsion system. A one-meter tube runs around the outer perimeter with a spiral of wires attached to what appears to be electrodes. The bundle disappears through a section of the saucer-shaped craft we can’t access at present. At this point, we’ve no idea what the function is, or what the unit does.”

“Did they find the main computer?” Jadan asks.

“We aren’t sure,” Smid says. “We’ve identified what appear to be many small computers networked, but so far, we failed to find a large one.”