Weapon of Atlantis (24 page)

Jack and Javi sat at the back of
the room and watched the men work. Monitoring the descent, the men continuously called out readings to mark its progress. Nervous tension grew with each passing minute.

Two hours after they started, the two men from the sub called out a sighting.

“We have visual contact with the cavity,” Ensign Massey announced. “All systems appear normal.”

Capt. Elders shot a quick glance to the large screen, then back to Lt. Rucker’s computer, focusing on the depth: thirty-six thousand feet.

“Appear normal?” he questioned. “You don’t sound confident.”

“Well Sir, we’re picking up a large quantity of condensation.
Droplets seem to be streaming down our port holes. There’s also considerable pressure sounds: lots of crackling. It’s expected, but kind of nerve wracking, to be honest,” he admitted.

“I understand,” Capt. Elders responded sympathetically, then said, “You should be descending below the rim now.”

A moment of silence, then, “Yes Sir, the rim is above us by approximately a hundred feet.”

Jack looked to Javi. Both men could see intense fear in each other’s eyes.

“My stomach feels like there’s a circus entertaining inside it. I can only imagine what those poor guys are going through,” he said.

Javi only nodded. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pant legs, then wiped the nervous sweat from his brow once more.

“Passing through thirty-eight thousand feet. You’re deeper than the previous dive. All systems are still normal on our end,” Capt. Elders announced into his mic.

Staring at the large wall screen, the captain watched the two cameras inside the sub that monitored the men’s behavior. Although an internal microphone picked up their communications, he noticed the two men speaking but no sound was being broadcast over the control room’s speakers.

“Lieutenant, can you reach them on the discreet frequency?” he asked.

“One moment sir,” he responded.

He flicked a switched and keyed his microphone, “Ensign Massey, this is the Corrine. How do you read?”

The captain stared
at the video screen, watching for a reaction from the naval men inside the sub, indicating they were hearing his transmission. The ensigns seemed oblivious the message.

“Try him again,” the captain stated urgently.

The lieutenant nodded, then said, “Ensign Massey, do you copy?” With no response, he repeated his message.

“Dammit!” Capt. Elders blurted loudly. “What now?” he said in frustration.

“Shall we bring them back up, Sir?” Lt. Rucker asked.

Price stepped forward with authority and said,
“No Lieutenant. They haven’t reported any issues prior to losing radio contact and are only minutes from the bottom. We’ll let them touch off the sea floor, then pull them back up.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Capt. Elders challenged. “The radio loss could be caused by a big
ger issue. We need to bring them up and find the problem.”

“Negative Captain. We could lose a day or more with that exercise and still not know for sure if the sub can survive those depths. If we continue, we’ll have our answer in less than five minutes,” Price reasoned.

Jack focused on the large screen intently. He watched as Ensign Massy reach past his controls and touch the port hole to his front. Bringing his hand close, he massaged the droplets of water in fingers, then reached back again.

“Something’s not right,”
Jack said in a low tone.

“What’s
not right? You see something?” Javi whispered.

“He keeps reaching for droplets of water… right after he’s wiped away all the condensation. If there’s no more condensation, then where’re the droplets coming from?”

Javi stared at the screen. He watched the ensign wipe away the porthole once again. He turned back to Jack, his face filled with worry.

“Oh no…”

Inside the tiny sub, Ensign Massey rubbed another drop of water in his fingers. Turning to the other ensign, he showed him the moisture with concern. The two stared at each other in horror, each man’s fear feeding on the other. A strange echo sounded in front of them. Ensign Massey quickly touched the metallic skin of the craft above the porthole. It felt cold and wet. He ran his fingers higher, pooling the moisture at his fingertips as they rose up along the inside surface of the sub. Slightly above his head, he felt a tiny vibration. He instinctively curled his fingers, then knocked on the spot. A tiny crack instantly formed. His eyes darted to the other man. Terror registered in them.

Instantly, the tiny crack exploded with tremendous force. In a split second, metal and flesh became one, as thousands of pounds of pressure crushed the sphere.

Inside the ship’s control room, thirty-eight thousand feet above, the large wall-mounted screen seemed to flash abruptly. All eyes watched in surprise as the video displays suddenly went blank. Only numerical data seemed to be reporting.

“Oh shit!” Jack shouted aloud.

“What just happened?” Hammond asked, rushing toward the display.

“Ensign Massey, do you read me?” Capt. Elders shouted into his mic in desperation.

Price stood next to Hammond. Both men nodded, acknowledging reality.

“Captain, don’t bother. They’re dead,” Price said. Pointing to the display, he continued, “All the data feeds are flat-lining. There must have been another catastrophic failure down there. Only the depth gage is reporting.”

The room fell momentarily silent as Price’s words penetrated their minds and became a reality.

“I can’t believe this. You two idiots killed two more of my men,” Capt. Elders wailed in anger.

“We didn’t kill anybody. It’s just the nature of the mission,” Hammond retorted.

“You two ordered the next sub knowing full well there was a problem. Now we have four men dead and two top secret submersibles destroyed. This mission ended in complete failure. You
are
responsible,” he spat acidly.

Price stared at Capt. Elders with intensity, his eyes purposeful and
determined.

“The mission isn’t over yet,” he said coldly.

Capt. Elders stared back incredulously.

“The hell it isn’t. How do you propose to access that lab now? You don’t have the technology to get down there and I sure as hell am not going to let
you use any more of my men even if you did… and I’m quite certain General Kirby of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will back me up on this,” Capt. Elders exclaimed.

Price glanced to Hammond, one agent seemingly reading the other’s mind. With a simple nod, they appeared to come to an understanding. Hammond shot Jack a hardened stare, then turned back to Capt. Elders.

“You’re only half right,” he mocked.

“How do you figure?”
the captain spat in challenging tone.

“We won’t be using anymore of your men,” Hammond said, momentarily staring at Jack and Javi with purpose.

Capt. Elders understood the inference. He shot Hammond an angry scowl.

“And the lab? There’s only one other sub that can reach those depths and I’m
sure the Russians won’t be loaning you that other one,” he mocked.

A smug expression crossed Price’s face. The corners of his mouth curled in condescension.

“There
is
another,” he said, simply.

Chapter:
6

Langley, Virginia

CIA Headquarters

Director of Special Operations, Steve Grayson watched the large-screen TV on his office wall and read the caption at the bottom of the display:
“Alien spacecraft stolen in daring early morning raid.”

Quickly, he reached for the remote and turned up the sound as a news reporter began to speak.

“
Breaking News: In a daring early morning raid, thirty miles south of Nord Greenland, two helicopters swooped in to the location of the recently discovered alien aircraft and managed to steal it in broad daylight. Eyewitnesses claim the raid seemed to be carried out with military-style precision when two helicopters stormed into the isolated camp and surrounded the workers at gunpoint. One witness claimed that as they were being held hostage, a team of men hooked cables to the spacecraft and hauled it away. Although no one was injured, the sight of the heavily armed men left little doubt about their intensions. No one has claimed responsibility and there are currently no leads…
”

Dir. Grayson pressed a button on the remote, muting the sound. A broad smile crossed his face as h
e thought about agent’s Price and Hammond, and the details of the raid. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

“I really need to give those guys a raise,” he said jokingly.

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

Two weeks later…

Subic Bay Naval Station

Manila, Philippines

Fifty miles west of Manila, the nine hundred foot long container ship, Horizon, steamed westward toward the Marianna Trench. Deep in its hold, the Araean spacecraft lay hidden behind transport containers, and guarded by well-armed, highly-trained military personnel disguised as common seamen.

Reminiscent of their previous voyage, Jack stared out the porthole of his cabin and watched the lights of Manila fade on the nighttime horizon. Seated across from him, Javi studied a thi
ck folder containing data regarding the spacecraft. He flipped through several pages, then looked up toward Jack.

“What do you think are our chances of survival?” he asked.

“Survival inside the spacecraft or survival from those two goons?” Jack asked in reply.

“Both.”

Jack turned from the porthole.

“I’m not worried at all about us being sent down inside the spacecraft. It was obviously designed to withstand tremendous pressures. From the videos we saw, it’s already proven its strength,” he said.

“But it’s been seven thousand years since that craft has seen any service. Aren’t you worried about deterioration?”

“Not at all. You’ve been inside it. Have you seen any rust or corrosion?”
Jack asked.

Javi shook his head.
Jack continued:

“I don’t know what materials they used to build it, but whatever they were, they’re strong and they’re resistant to everything,” he said confidently. A worried expression crossed his face and he
added, “What I am worried about is how long we’ll have to live once we deliver the data they’re looking for. My guess is, once we figure out how to retrieve the data from the alien lab, we’ll have outlived our usefulness. With all the criminal activity these two are involved in, I’m sure they won’t trust us on our word to keep quiet about it. It’s much safer just to get rid of us.”

Javi shook his head in denial.
“Jack, they can’t kill us. They need us to translate,” he countered.

“These guys are smart and resourceful. My guess is they already have a team of guys who are learning the hieroglyphics as we speak. Furthermore, I’m betting they’re programing the symbols into some kind of translation database so in the future, all they’d have to do is scan a document and have the computer spit out its translation. It’s what I’d do if I were them,” he said, shrugging his shoulders in resignation.

Javi thought about Jack’s words and realized the truth in them.

“Maybe we should hold back data… keep ourselves valuable until we find a way out of this mess,”
he suggested.

Jack smiled. “I’m hoping we won’t have to do that,” he said in cryptic tone.

Javi stared with intensity.

“You have a plan?” he asked
in a low hushed voice.

Jack shook his head. “Just an idea,” he said simply.

“Don’t keep me in suspense, Jack. What is it?”

“Once they send us down in the spacecraft, they’re going to have to disconnect the tether cable in order for us to get into the loading hanger and seal the doors, right?”

Javi smiled, now understanding the plan.

“Once they do that, we activate the propulsion system and get the hell out of there. I’m pretty sure we can out run them once we’re free of the
tether cable,” he said confidently.

“You think you
can fly that thing?” Javi asked with suspicion.

“I don’t know, but I’m not going to let that stop me.”

“Jack, I’m just as worried as you are, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. The smallest inputs could throw us into outer space,” he speculated.

“It could or it could move us forward at manageable speeds. I
’m betting it’ll be the latter,” Jack replied confidently. “Besides, I really don’t think we have much of a choice. I’m pretty sure if we don’t find some way to escape, that lab will become our burial pit.”

The grim reality of Jack’s words registered in his mind. He nodded once more and accepted their fate.

“Now would be a good time to buy flight insurance,” he responded humorously.

“Have faith,” Jack assured.

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

Two days later…

Marianna Trench

Southern end

Jack looked out the porthole of their cabin and watched the high-intensity lights of the ship illuminate the black seas around them. Sitting behind him on the bed, Javi fidgeted nervously with a small backpack filled with research data. Jack glanced down at his watch and noted the time.

“8:35pm. I wonder where the two stooges are at?” he mocked.

“Maybe they forgot us?” Javi responded in hopeful tone.

Jack was about to respond, but heard a loud knock at their cabin door. Without wait
ing on an answer, Price and Hammond opened the door and entered the room.

“Ready?” Price asked
abruptly.

“I guess manners weren’t taught at the CIA secret spy school, huh?” Jack said sarcastically. “Ordinarily,
barging into people’s rooms is viewed as socially unacceptable.”

Hammond glared at Jack, mildly irritated by the comment.

“Grab your things. Let’s go,” he responded bluntly.

With Price leading the way and Hammond trailing behind, the four made their way up to the main loading area. Stepping out onto the expansive deck, the bright lights were blinding. Jack shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted across the ship’s length. Silhouetted by the lights, he spotted the alien spacecraft in
the distance. He felt a light shove on his shoulder and turned.

“Keep moving,” Hammond ordered
sternly.

Jack shot him a disapproving scowl, then continued to follow Price.

As they neared the spacecraft, Javi pointed to the military-style netting that clung tightly to the outside. High above the craft, a cable ran from the netting to an overhead crane. He stared at it disapprovingly. Apprehension swept his body.

“I just hope that
thing holds,” he said nervously.

“It does,” Price responded
over his shoulder. “We’ve tested it to depth already. You guys should be fine,” he added.

“So that explains the solitary confinement
for the past couple of days,” Jack retorted.

“You were treated well, weren’t you? W
e provided you with three meals a day,” Hammond defended.

Jack watched several men loading supplies from a platform, into the front of the craft.

“Bottled oxygen, water, food. Looks like you’ve planned an extended stay for us. How nice,” he said, his voice edgy and sarcastic.

“We have a three day window of clear weather. We plan to take full advantage of it. The faster you guys work, the sooner we’ll bring you up,” Price responded.

“What if we can’t get in?” Javi asked. “Zeus’ scepter may power the spacecraft, but I’m sure it can’t power that whole facility.”

“We had our engineers test the scepter. At its maximum power setting, we feel it will produce more than enough ener
gy to run a variety of systems,” he explained.

“But what if we
can’t
get in? What I mean to say is: what if we can’t figure it out? It’s not like we’ve done this before. It could take weeks to understand how to get in there,” Javi responded.

Hammond stared at him unsympathetically.

“You have three days. That should be plenty of time to figure it out. If you can’t, we’ll find others who can,” he warned.

Jack shot Hammond a disgusted glare.

“So that’s it. If we don’t come through in three days, you plan on killing and replacing us with someone else?” he asked bitterly.

“It could happen,”
Hammond grinned sardonically.

“That’s ridiculous!” Javi blurted loudly. “Who do you have that knows more about this than us? You need us!”

“We need you until we don’t need you…” Price cut in. “If you can’t do the job, we’ll find someone who can. It’s that simple.”

Jack held up his hand to Javi, urging restraint.

“Don’t waste your breath. They’re just a couple of government robots: unreasonable and unbending,” Jack spat angrily.

Hammond glared at Jack with contempt.

“I almost hope you don’t get in,” he said in threatening tone.

Jack stared coldly back, unwilling to give the agent any satisfaction of fear.

Price pointed toward the spacecraft’s loading platform.

“Move!” he said
simply.

Standing on the loading platform, Javi and Jack stared inside the cockpit of the spacecraft. Nervous apprehension surged through them and their hearts pounded nearly to distraction. As they stepped inside, makeshift seats were bolted to the floor, replacing the two that were missing.

“Nice of them to give us a place to sit,” Jack mocked.

Stepping out from the engine compartment, a tall, muscular plain-clothed man studied Javi and Jack as they entered the cockpit. Price nodded to the man and flashed a familiar smile.

“Boys, this is Special Agent Barry Wexler. He’ll be chaperoning you two on this little adventure, insuring you make the ‘right’ choices,” Price said in veiled threat. “He’ll be riding along in the back. He’s been given full authority to shoot you if he thinks you’re sabotaging details of the mission.”

S
pecial Agent Wexler rested his hand on his holstered handgun, then shot Javi and Jack a sardonic grin.

“Don’t mind me, boys. I’m just a fly on the wall,” he teased.

Javi shot Jack a grim stare, then nodded and took his seat on the right. He picked up a small headset that hung from the armrest and tried it on. Price noticed the action.