Weapon of Atlantis (16 page)

“Hmm, what’s that encompass, I wonder?” he responded.

“Operations is a pretty vague topic. It could cover just about everything,” Roger responded.

“What’s the next heading read?” Fred asked.

“I think it reads something like environment,” Jack responded.

“Must have something to do with life support systems inside the craft,” Roger added.

“Is there anything specific about the control systems?” Fred asked.

Both Javi and Jack read through the list, then shook their heads.

“I’m betting it’s under the operations category: pick that one,” Roger suggested.

Javi moved his finger to the holographic image and touched the first line. Instantly, a new menu popped up. With far more detail than the main menu, this next screen took over an hour to process through. Near the bottom of the page, Javi read the heading out loud.

“Maneuvering.”

All minds stopped and the cockpit became silent.

“That’s gotta be it!
” Fred shouted, breaking the silence and startling his colleagues.

“Geese Fred, a little louder, huh?” Stan teased. Turning back to Javi, he continued, “Can you pick that one?” he asked.

Javi nodded agreeably and pressed his finger into the screen. A second later, the data was replaced with a diagram indicating the control systems of the spacecraft.

“
BINGO!
” Fred shouted again, unable to contain his excitement.

“That’s it. That’s what I’
ve been looking for,” Stan said enthusiastically. He pointed further and added, “The ports on the outside are definitely for maneuvering, but what’s really interesting is there’s no indication of any main exhaust for thrust. It’s as if the maneuvering ports supply all the thrust the craft needs. Seems hard to believe.”

“Unless of course, the craft uses external resources for thrust,” Jack responded.

“What are you getting at, Jack,” Roger asked.

Jack pointed to the diagram. At its center, the engine was depicted. Several curved lines radiated out from it in all directions.

“Look at the arcs around the engine. They’re basically omnidirectional, but it doesn’t really show how it’s omnidirectional. It’s as if it’s implied and the reason for that is, I think, the engine is actually an anti-gravity device. Seeing this diagram, I’m almost certain of it. Hypothetically speaking, if you can control the gravitational forces on an entity, thrust becomes far less a factor in space. You simply use a planets gravity to draw or repel yourself along your path. It’s almost like using a magnet’s polarity to attract and repel objects: if you can manipulate those forces, you can create movement.”

Jack could see the interested stares on the others and continued with his theory.

“I think they lock onto a planet’s gravity and regulate it somehow, increasing and decreasing its effects on the craft. Take for instance, if they wanted to depart Earth. If they decreased this planets gravity on the craft, they’d lift off. Depending on how they regulate the strength or weakness of the gravity, will determine the speed at which they depart. Once they enter space, they can continue to increase their speed by harnessing gravity from other objects.”

“I wholly agree Jack,” Roger responded. “We’ve studied this principle in great depth and you’re hypothesis is dead on. The question is, how do we operate it?”

“I’m sure it must tell us somewhere in here,” Jack replied.

He touched his finger to the image of the engine. Instantly, another screen was shown, this one showing the engine and consoles inside the cockpit. Extending from the engine hologram, lines pointed to various lighted buttons on the console indicating its function. Javi began to read their functions.

“Matter by percent, Nullification by percent, Shielding by percent.”

“Stop right there
, Javi,” Stan sai, excitedly. “Those are terms I’d expect to see when trying to control gravity. This is amazing. I’m certain that by regulating those buttons, we can control the gravitational forces on this spacecraft.”

“How about the maneuvering ducts: can w
e go back to those?” Fred asked anxiously.

Javi nodded agreeably. He touched the screen several times, backing out to the previous images and eventually ending up at the main controls screen showing the spacecraft. He selected a maneuvering duct and instantly the screen showed another hologram, this time of the duct and the buttons on a control panel that operated it.

“Ah ha, just as we suspected. The ducts are basically thrusters,” Fred responded confidently, then added, “Interestingly enough, that diagram shows each duct being manipulated either singularly with a button or in a collection when you use the hologram of the spacecraft. If I had my choice, I think I’d just grab the hologram and move it where I wanted to go,” he said in humorous tone.

Roger nodded, then cleared his throat: “So, the six
ty-four thousand dollar question is, how do we get that engine to run? It obviously was damaged in the crash, otherwise they would have flown out of here, so I guess we’re going to need to find some kind of operations manual in that database and work through various systems one by one, repairing what’s damaged.”

“Maybe the problem was simply a blown fuse,” Stan suggested. “If they didn’t have the technology to replace them seven thousand years ago, that could be the reason they never left.”

“It’s possible, but I have a feeling we won’t get that lucky,” Roger responded blandly.

----- ----- ----- -----

A week later…

Having dismantled the cover panels inside the cockpit, the five men were able to access the spacecraft’s operating systems. Working sixteen hours a day, they trudged through the tedium of identifying each system from the images on the holograms, isolating the operating components within the craft, then preforming analyses using their specialized electronic equipment. With power generated from the crystal scepter, the systems were tested and all appeared to be in working order.

By the end of the week,
the cause of the crash began to formulate in their minds. All indications pointed to one obvious conclusion: engine failure. With limited knowledge of anti-gravity design, the task of engine diagnosis and repair seem daunting.

Taking a break outside the craft, Jack stared at the entrance with intrigue. The outside skin of the spacecraft was completely smooth and devoid of flaws, except for a thick dark line that seemed to follow the contour of the doorway. One inch in width, the line was offset from the opening by nearly a foot all the way around the perimeter of the entryway.

Jack rubbed his fingers over the line. He felt nothing. He bent them slightly and scratched his nails at the surface. Examining his fingertips, he noticed a slight discoloration and wondered about the origin of the marking. Stepping back, he took in the overall sight and tried to envision what object created the line.

From inside the craft, Javi noticed Jack staring at the front of the ship. He watched a moment, then called out to him.

“You look puzzled, Jack,” he shouted through the doorway.

Jack snapped from his stare and nodded.

“There’s a strange line out here that follows the doorway. I’m guessing the markings came from another ship this one docked into,” he said, still concentrating on the line.

Javi came outside and stood next to
him. Both men stared at the line. Jack grinned as Javi performed the same crude test he just completed. As Javi examined his fingertips, Jack showed him his.

“Great minds,” Javi responded with a grin. “I think it’s pretty clear that line represents some kind of docking procedure.”

“Blows your mind when you think we’re standing in the space that another spacecraft occupied once,” Jack responded.

“And I’m betting it was a monstrous ship too, probably the mothership.”

Jack nodded simply. As they stood in quiet, they heard the unmistakable sound of rotor blades. Both turned and scanned the distant horizon to the north. Minutes later, the sound turned into a familiar sight as the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter hovered over the makeshift helipad and landed. Even before the blades slowed to a stop, Special Agents Price and Hammond leaped from the doorway and hurried toward the spacecraft.

“Here come
s the stiffs,” Jack joked.

“Jack, do you really think that’s fair? They’re a little reserved but I don’t think they’re bad guys,” Javi responded.

“I can’t put a finger on it, but there’s just something about those two I don’t like,” he responded.

“I think it’s your anti-establishment views that create that distrust in you,” Javi responded.

“I’m not anti-establishment. I just don’t like authority,” he joked.

Javi shot him a disapproving glance and shook his head.

“Kids,” he shot back in sarcastic tone.

Seconds later, the two agents stopped in front of them.

“Any breakthroughs since we left?” Price asked.

“All secondary systems seem to be undamaged. We’re still working on the primary systems,” Javi answered.

“So you haven’t gotten the anti-gravity engine running yet?” Price asked, concentrating on his greatest interest.

Javi shook his head. “There’s a lot of data we’re going to have to work through, I’m afraid. No one has ever worked on or even seen one of these things before. It’s going to take a long time just to read through the data, let alone understand it.”

Hammond pulled two replacement disks from his pocket and held them out.

“Guess we didn’t have to rush
these after all,” he responded mildly irritated.

Javi took the ruby-looking disk from Hammond’s hand and lifted
it to the sky. Staring through it, he smiled at its clarity.

“Nice job. Is the other the same quality?” he asked.

Both agents nodded in unison.

“Yes, Sir,” Hammond replied. “The one you’re holding is a first rate ruby and this second disk, believe it or not, is made from a diamond. Please be careful with them.”

Jack reached out and grabbed it from his hand. He studied it momentarily, then lifted it to the sky. Looking through it, he noticed it was perfectly clear too.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “How many carats?”

“You don’t want to know,” Price shot back coldly, then added, “Let’s just say, there are people out there that would kill for it.”

Jack studied his face. There was no expr
ession. Quickly, he realized Price wasn’t joking. An eerie chill shot down his spine.

“Well… maybe the best way to take care of them is to reinstall them,” Jack responded. Turning to Javi, he said, “Shall we?”

Javi nodded to the two agents in respect, then back to Jack. “After you,” he said, extending his hand.

As the four entered the craft, Roger knelt in front of th
e hologram and shouted requests to Stan and Fred in the engine compartment.

“Ok, we have continuity on
the starboard contacts. Let’s try the forward leads and see if we get a consistent signal?”

Roger looked up at the four as they entered and smiled.

“Thought I heard rotor blades. How was your trip? Any trouble with the fuses?” he asked of both Price and Hammond.

Javi held out the diamond disk and smiled. Roger stared at it a moment, then nodded.

“Looks clear. Nice work,” he said to the two agents.

“Just be careful with it. It’s made from a diamond,” Javi said, beating the agents to the punch.

“Damn, this thing must be worth a fortune,” he said, holding it up and staring through it once more.

“We’re heading back to replace all the fuses now. Care to join us?” Jack asked.

Roger shook his head politely.

“We’re right in the middle of checking another system. I kinda want to stick with i
t till it’s done,” he responded in apologetic tone.