Weapon of Atlantis (6 page)

Jack pretended to be insulted, then smiled. Col. Slatz moved beyond the humor and got down to business.

“Right… I studied the search plan you sent me and it looks good. I felt I needed to modify it a bit though. The plans have us flying east-west grid lines over the forty square mile search zone. I elected to add north-south flights to the mission as well.  With the target being so small, I’m afraid that flying the east-west grids alone could cause us to miss the target. I think the added north-south searches will virtually eliminate that problem.”

“How long do you think it’ll take to search the entire area?” Javi asked, now concerned about the added effort.

Col. Slatz’ face took on an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry guys, but it
will
exactly double our flight time. I estimate around two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Jack blurted in surprise.

“Sorry, I’m sure that seems excessive but it’s the only way to be sure of a thorough search,” he responded.

Javi smiled to Jack, then back to Col. Slatz.

“I believe Jack’s shock at your estimate isn’t what you’re thinking,” he responded. “I think we both are amazed at just how quickly you’re able to search the area. When we were searching for Zeus’ golden pyramid, we had two teams flying two helicopters and it took a month to complete a smaller search zone. Kind of makes us realize how inefficient that search was,” Javi explained.

Col. Slazt grinned proudly.

“The radar platforms on the Hercules are state of the art, I’m guessing far more advanced than those on the helicopters. We can also fly twice as fast as any rotorcraft.”

Jack’s eyes widened with apprehension.

“Hmm, state of the art radar… what’s the learning curve on something like that?”

“It takes several weeks of training to understand how to use the electronics package, but don’t worry, my guys are fully trained and experts with the equipment,” Col. Slatz explained. “All you and Javi will have to do is sit and enjoy the ride. We’ll do all the work.”

“This just keeps getting better by the second,” Javi responded, shaking his head in amazement. “It almost sounds like our biggest trouble will be trying to stay awake for the next two weeks.”

Jack grinned at the reality of Javi’s statement, then asked, “
Do you guys have nice comfy recliners on that plane? I just hate it when I fall asleep and my head hits the computer monitor,” Jack joked.

“All seats are the standard military issue six-position reclining type design, without leg extensions. I’m sorry Jack, but you’ll just have to rough it for the next two weeks,” Col. Slatz teased. “I might be able to scrape up an old box or two for you to prop your legs up on while you sleep, if that’ll be up to your standards.”

“That would be nice,” Jack responded thoughtfully.

Javi rolled his eyes, feigning disgust.

“Ok, shall we get this circus started?” Col. Slatz joked, now donning his parka.

Minutes later, the three climbed the stairs to the plane. As they entered, Col. Slatz introduced Jack and Javi to the crew
: Lieutenants Javis and Samuelson.  They took their seats next to the two airmen, while Col. Slatz hopped into the pilot’s seat and prepared for takeoff.

As his copilot, Capt.
Jørgensen, read his checklist aloud, Col. Slatz repeated the item after physically completing the task.

“Brakes set and ignition,” Capt.
Jørgensen stated.

Col. Slatz increased pressure on the rudder pedals, locking the brakes, then press
ed a button to start the engines. One by one, the four turboprops roared to life. Even before Capt. Jørgensen shouted the next checklist item, Col. Slatz was already monitoring the engine’s instruments.

“All systems in the green,”
Slatz said aloud.

Moments later, the two stowed their checklists and taxied out to the beginning of the runway. Col. Slatz positioned the plane on
the center of the long white landing strip and advanced the throttles to full takeoff power. Instantly, the plane lurched forward and quickly accelerated to takeoff speed.

Jack grinned to Lt. Jarvis seated next him. The young lieutenant’s face carried a
blasé expression that indicated a familiarity with the aircraft and systems. He seemed almost unconcerned.

“How long have you been flying?” Jack said into the microphone of his headset.

“Almost ten years now,” Lt. Jarvis responded.

Jack stared at him in surprise. He quickly examined the man
s’ baby face and shook his head in disbelief.

“When did you join the military… when you were in grammar school?” he joked.

Lt. Jarvis chuckled, then responded, “I was wondering when you were going to asked that. I don’t look thirty-two, but my driver’s license will prove me out.”

“Thirty-two? No offense, but you look like you’re about eighteen,” Jack responded, still shocked by the discovery.

“Must be all that clean Danish living,” Javi remarked, seated across from the two, next to Lt. Samuelson.

“Sir, he may look young,
but he’s one of the best at running the SAR,” Lt. Samuelson said.

“What’s that stand for: Surface Aperture Radar?” Javi asked.

“No Sir,” Lt. Jarvis cut in. “It stands for Synthetic Aperture Radar. It’s the ground penetrating radar platform I’ll be running. It can produce high resolution images to depths in excess of fifty feet. I won’t boar you with the technical details, but suffice it to say, if there’s a spacecraft buried beneath the ice down there, I’ll find it.”

Only minutes after takeoff, both lieutenants started their radar platforms and tested them for accuracy. Jack and Javi looked on in fascination as they tweaked and monitored their systems, producing grainy, yet detailed images of the ground below.

Nearly fifteen minutes into the flight, Col. Slatz announced, “Saddle up boys. Time to get to work. We’ll be entering the first grid line in two minutes.”

“Yes Sir,” the two lieutenants responded.

Jack watched out his window as the southern edge of the peninsula’s coast quickly approached. Looking down, he observed the upper ice sheet that covered the land. In some areas it seemed relatively flat and featureless, while other areas appeared as rolling hills with ragged blocks of ice strewn about. The ice sheet that covered the peninsula ranged in thickness from ten feet, to over a hundred feet thick in the deeper hidden valleys.

Minutes later, the aircraft crossed a line of steep cliffs at the coast and headed out to sea. Col. Slatz turned the plane around, then head west back toward land.

As Jack watched the ragged sea cliffs cross back under the plane, Col. Slatz picked up the first track in a long line of many he would be flying over the next week.

“Entering the first grid, boys. Begin your analyses, starting
now
,” Col. Slatz ordered.

The two lieutenants marked the geographical location of their starting point on a map superimposed over their radar screen. As the plane headed west, gray and white pixels began to emerge on their monitors, indicating the general properties of the land that lay below the ice.

Over the next ten minutes of flying, Jack divided his attention between Lt. Javis’ computer and the varying terrain outside. Just beyond the sea cliffs, a flat plateau extended for several miles. As they flew beyond the plateau, the landscape dropped off sharply to a narrow valley containing a frozen river. Almost immediately, the snow-covered land climbed up to another plateau. Moments later, all snow had vanished and now the terrain had become brown, mountainous and rugged.

Finishing the forty mile leg of the first grid, Col. Slatz exited the search area, made a one hundred and eighty degree turn, then lined back up on the next grid line in sequence. Jack glanced back to Lt. Javis’ computer.

“See anything yet?” he asked, more for general conversation than for information about the search.

“No Sir, just a lot of dirt and rock, as far as I can tell,”
Lt. Javis responded blandly.

“The terrain looks so rugged down there. Even the coastline looks dangerous: virtually no beach to speak of. Hard to believe there’s a spa
cecraft down there somewhere,” Lt. Samuelson said.

Lt. Javis nodded.

“I’m thinking the same thing. Are you sure we’re looking in the right area?” he said.

“As best as we can tell, yes,”
Javi responded, uncertainty in his voice.

Lt. Jarvis glanced outside momentarily, and shook his head.

“I’m not even sure a small bird can land down there safely,” he added.

Jack grinned at the comment, but the truth of the statement gnawed at him. Minutes later, as the plane completed its second leg, it flew across the sea cliff. He watched the land drop away, then become raging dark seas. Although he knew he was relatively safe, the unforgiving landscape left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Col. Slatz came around for their third pass. He lined up on the next grid line in the search pattern and called out to his men.

“Ok, were on course. Be
gin your scans on my mark,” he announced.

Seconds later, he shouted a simple “mark” over the intercom. Both lieutenants marked their positions on screen, then watched for any visual cues that appeared suspicious.

Jack focused on the Lt. Jarvis’ monitor. The varying shades of grays and whites seemed nondescript and confusing. Glancing over to Javi, he too appeared somewhat perplexed as he watched Lt. Samuelson’s computer screen.

“You getting all that?” Jack shouted to Javi, th
rough his mic.

Javi turned quick and stared. A slow smile crossed his face.

“It’s all Greek to me,” he joked.

“Don’t worry Sir, any target of interest, we’ll be sure to call it out,” Lt. Samuelson assured.

“That’s a good thing. After a half hour of looking at that dang screen, I
still
can’t tell there’s a planet down there,” Javi joked.

“Don’t feel bad, Sir. These new readouts do take some time getting used to,” Lt. Jarvis responded.

“Preparing to exit the search area,” Col. Slatz announced. “How’re you boys doing back there? Are we making progress?”

“No Sir, nothing yet,” Lt. Jarvis responded.

A minute later, Col. Slatz called the end of the third leg, then circled back around to reenter the search pattern on the fourth grid line.

Half way along their path, Lt. Jarvis straightened in his seat and sharpened his focused. He c
licked on several menus, fine tuning the external antennae.

“Samuelson, you seeing this,” Lt. Jarvis asked.

“Yeah, looks big. What do you think?” Samuelson replied.

“Not sure. There’s nothing distinct about it… kind of irregular,” Lt. Jarvis responded.

“You have something, boys?” Col. Slatz asked.

“Not sure, Sir. We’ll know shortly. There’s a gray mass down there, about a quarter mile ahead,” Lt. Jarvis responded.

Jack and Javi both strained their eyes to pick out the anomaly.

“It’s right here, Sir,” Lt. Jarvis said to Jack, pointing to a small cluster of gray pixels.

Jack stared a moment, then realized the shape.

“Looks oblong, like a cigar,” he said aloud.

“Yes Sir, a little suspicious I’d say,” Lt. Jarvis responded.

Moments later, as the plane flew directly over the top, the image sharpened. The cigar shape became wider and its depth increased dramatically.

“Sir, that’s not a spaceship down there,” Lt. Jarvis announce.

“What do you think it is?” Javi asked even before Jack could speak.

“My guess is its some kind of ore deposit,” he responded.

“That would be a good guess,” Jack replied.
“When we were searching for Zeus’ pyramid on the other side of this peninsula, we found batches of those damn things. Drove us all crazy.”