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HANGAR 5:
“So it’s all true,” Christa says as Henry leads her and Alex across the floor of the hangar. “All the rumors I’ve heard. I didn’t believe them.”
“This is the only spacecraft we have found. I seriously doubt it is capable of flight.”
Henry moves around to the other side of the craft, and steps through the six-foot by eight-foot airlock into the ship. Christa and Alex follow, fascinated as they look around.
Alex notices the ten-foot-diameter, vertical cylinder in the center of the room. “What’s in here?”
“That is the engine compartment. An interesting piece of technology, which we do not understand. That is why having a new set of power crystals is vital to our understanding of the alien craft.”
Henry leads them up the metal steps following the curved wall, and steps onto the second floor. “This is the control room,” Henry explains as he steps in front of the control console and presses a button. A small tray slides out, and he indicates for Alex and Christa to look at the flat surface of the shallow square drawer. They do, and see four small, circular shaped depressions, three of which are empty.
Henry’s hand is shaking as he holds the crystal above one of the depressions and sees it’s the same size. “When we first entered this ship, there were small remnants of these crystals in each of the depressions. At first, we did not know what they were, but over years of tests, they kept getting darker and smaller, and we realized they were the power source. The depleted crystals were taken to the laboratory for study, and there is only a small charge left in this last crystal. Just enough to power the lights and the door we entered. We decided to end our experiments lest we deplete it and end a way to get back inside.”
With a sense of reverence, Henry slowly places the new crystal into an empty depression. It immediately radiates a soft neon blue light. The ceiling and sides of the control room shimmer for a few seconds before becoming transparent, allowing the interior to be illuminated by the overhead lights. They see the walls and floor of the hangar around the ship, and Henry smiles as he clasps his hands together.
Christa looks around the room, then her eyes settle on Henry. “This is incredible!”
Henry cannot stop smiling. “Let us go see if you can create more of these power crystals.” He heads down the steps and out of the ship.
***
The test area for the experiment is located three-hundred-yards east of the farthest structure. It’s a one-hundred-square-foot concrete pad, with a two-foot-high cement wall around its perimeter, and a fifty-five gallon drum of crude oil in the center.
An underground bunker with thick-glassed view ports is located one-hundred-feet away, and Alex and his friends stand outside, watching four scientists position a robotic arm over the drum.
Christa points up at the stars, glimmering like jewels in an ink black sky. “Look how bright the moon is tonight.”
Alex looks up and has an immediate sense of Déjà vu. He sees Colonel Sterns standing with two security guards, and hurries over to join them.
Christa watches Alex talk to the three men for a few seconds, then he points up at the moon. A moment later, one of the security guards jumps into a jeep, kicking up a cloud of dust as the vehicle speeds away.
Alex jogs back to the group and looks at Henry. “That isn’t a moon. It’s another spacecraft like the one in the hangar. We’re going to follow it in the helicopter.”
Henry stares at Alex for a second. “Are you sure? How do you know? How can you follow it if it returns to outer space?”
“I’m betting it won’t.”
“What is your reasoning?”
“Just a hunch.”
Henry raises an eyebrow. “You would waste irreplaceable jet fuel on a hunch? Colonel Sterns will never approve it.”
“He just did.”
Alex jogs back to Sterns, and they climb into the remaining jeep and drive off.
When the scientists finish setting up the experiment, everyone takes shelter in the bunker to watch what will happen. The robotic arm dumps a small portion of rainbow powder into the drum of crude oil, and everyone holds their breath. Several moments pass before a brilliant beam of blue light shoots up from the barrel and destroys the extended robotic arm. It only lasts mere seconds before the light stops, and then a few rainbow crystals spill over the side of the fifty-five-gallon drum onto the ground. Inside the room, everyone applauds as they congratulate one another for their success. Now Henry can send two men out in silver, fire retardant suits to inspect the situation and determine if it is safe to approach.
***
Menno smiles as he watches Elizabeth walk around the inside perimeter of the control room. She is staring at the view in rapt fascination as she moves out of sight behind his chair.
“Menno, come look at the rainbow.”
Menno stands and moves around to see what she’s talking about and recognizes the process of changing the crude oil to crystals. “I don’t believe it.”
Lewis moves over to join them. “It appears the scientists at Area 51 will have the crystals they need to power the other spaceship.”
Menno’s mind races with thoughts of the possible repercussions. The other ship is capable of tracking its counterpart, even underground. If they discover the supply of crystals, the United States will be the dominant country on the planet. “I still have time. It doesn’t appear they’ve detected us. We need to get back underground.”
***
While he waits for the helicopter to warm up, Alex calls Martin and explains what he suspects about the false moon. He also asks if one of the spy satellites can be tasked to look down at his area of the United States. “It will need to be ready to photograph several hundred square miles when I know the approximate destination of the alien ship.”
“You’re talking about thousands of dollars to divert a satellite on a hunch.”
“We have to find out where that spaceship is hiding if we want to stop Menno from depleting the world’s oil supply.”
“All right, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks.”
Alex hangs up and sees Sterns standing in the doorway, staring at him. “Ready when you are, Colonel.”
Sterns is still skeptical about finding another alien spacecraft, but knows he can’t take the chance Alex is correct. “All right. Let’s go.”