Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure (20 page)

“The descent engine may be more damaged then we thought. I’m having trouble controlling our descent. We’re over Cydonia, I’m dropping the parachutes.” Patrick was as good as his word. The parachutes opened and would land within a mile of the pyramid. The Constellation circled the pyramid twice as Patrick searched for a place to land. The ground force had swelled in numbers, was better organized, and was spaced evenly along the perimeter. Spotting a small gap Patrick brought the ship in. “Brace for impact, this won’t be pretty.” he said. The Constellation was ten feet off the ground when it passed over the boundary and into the dead zone. All electronic equipment ceased, the lights went out, and the engine died. The ship impacted hard on the surface. The hull was torn to shreds, but the crew was uninjured. “Let’s get to the pyramid, everyone move.” Vincent said. The crew exited what was left of the Constellation. Once outside everyone surveyed the ground threat. Eight people were close enough to be considered a threat. A few of them began to enter the zone and immediately turned back when their suits failed and breathing became difficult. Making it to the pyramid didn’t look like it would be a problem. The crew of the Constellation ran for the first one hundred yards, and began to walk as the danger passed. Vincent took a look back toward the ship and saw Sandy on the ground holding her leg. She had blood on her hands. He noticed a member of the ground force shooting at them. One by one the rest of the crew turned around and began firing at the shooter. The shooter went down quickly. Patrick and Dominic picked up Sandy and began carrying her toward the pyramid.

It was a mistake to stop running, an error in judgment which might cost
Sandy her life. Vincent kept waving his crew forward while defending their rear position. He wouldn’t feel safe until everyone was behind the small hill ahead. Safely out of range, Vincent turned and ran to the pyramid with the rest of the crew. The crew climbed the hill and entered the pyramid. Once inside everyone sat down and rested.

“Mr. President, we have another message from Mars.” P
resident Louis needed to hear some good news. If he didn’t get it this time, heads would roll. As he watched the message, he knew it was only a matter of time. The Constellation had crashed and the crew was now trapped in the pyramid. He decided no ships of any kind would be allowed near Cydonia except those personally authorized by him. Captain Stukey would be instructed to shoot down any ship which even came close. The ground force would remain and reinforcements with the necessary weaponry would be sent. He would starve them out and have the traitors shot when they tried to escape.

Randy called his friend without success. He had been told every company which had launch capabilities had been visited by the CIA. Any company found associating with terrorists would be shut down, the executives jailed, and their assets seized. “I hope you have something, because I can’t think of anything else.” Randy said to Enzo. “It’s not looking good. The only thing I can think of is to
find the family of one of the captains. We’d have to hold them hostage for an extended period and hope the captain will disobey orders. It’s not something I’m confident in and unlikely to work. But it’s the only thing we have left. I’ll get to work on it. Keep thinking, we need a better option. Try all your old contacts. I’ll begin negotiations to buy one of the deep space transport companies. I’ll have to sell all my assets. I hope it will be enough.” Enzo said.

After making it inside the pyramid, Dominic ripped his shirt off and Sarah tied it around
Sandy’s wound. The bleeding had slowed, and it didn’t appear any major damage had been done. “We need to get her some minor treatment to prevent infection, but otherwise she will be fine. She was lucky, the shot only grazed her.” Julia said.

The crew of the Constellatio
n would have an over abundance of time. There would be time enough to explore the pyramid a thousand times over before it would be necessary to start looking for a ship sent by Enzo. Vincent wondered if they would go mad from boredom. Safely inside the pyramid the crew split up and began exploring. Everyone needed some time to process their situation. Vincent wanted another look at the ship and Dalton was leading the way. He remembered the orb and removed it from his sack. It was translucent again. Dalton watched as Vincent tried to open it again without success.

Vincent marveled at the brilliant blackness of the craft. He could see his reflection in the mirrored surface of the alien material. He approached the area with the familiar eight groves in the surface. As he
got closer, the orb suddenly flashed brilliantly and opened. After being momentarily disoriented, he was finally able to pick up the artifact inside. He held it in his hand and looked at the grooves on the ship. The artifact felt cold in his hand. Looking closely at the grooves, it looked like the artifact matched. He inserted the artifact into the ship and heard a click.

Light suddenly emanated from behind the walls of the chamber, and a door on the ship opened.
Dalton looked at Vincent with a confused expression on his face. Vincent began to hear a high pitched sound. It began slowly and built in volume. Soon he thought he would lose his hearing as the sound became so loud. “What the hell is that?” he screamed. All at once the sound stopped. “Language detected. Earth. English. Atmospheric pressurization commencing.” A disembodied voice said. Dalton took out a sensor which was suddenly functioning and measured the atmosphere. “The atmosphere is changing rapidly and approaching Earth normal.” he said.

“Who or what is speaking?” Vincent asked. “This is the computer onboard the spacecraft.” the ship replied. “What is your purpose here?” Vincent asked. “New instructions have not yet bee
n given by the key holder.” the computer replied. “What were your previous instructions?” Dalton asked. “To record any unusual activity, and return with the information.” the computer replied. “Who built this ship?” Vincent asked. “This spacecraft was manufactured by the Alliance of the Milky Way Galaxy.” the computer replied. “How many species are represented by the Alliance?” Dalton asked. “Forty eight species.” the computer replied. “Do you know what is in the sealed chambers in this structure and why the chambers are sealed?” Vincent asked. “The information is classified and only accessible to an Alliance Council Member.” the computer responded.

“Oh my God!”
Dalton exclaimed. Vincent looked up and saw what Dalton had become so excited about. Covering the entire length of the ceiling was an enormous image of the Eye of Ra. “I never thought I’d see something like this on a planet other then Earth. These aliens definitely had a hand in ancient Egypt.” Vincent said. “I think we’ve underestimated how much of an influence they’ve had in the history of mankind. All of the anecdotal evidence uncovered by the supposed conspiracy theorists is likely valid proof of their intervention.” Dalton said.

Vincent knew he should be asking the alien computer more questions. He was suddenly overwhelmed and sat on the floor.
Dalton joined him. “It’s unbelievable, mankind just became so much smaller.” he said. “After what we’ve learned over the last few months we knew aliens existed. Think of what we have access to now Vincent. We can complete our mission and go home if we can fly this ship out of here. Only another alien ship could possibly stop us.” Dalton said. “I have a few more questions to ask first.” Vincent said.

“What is the status of this spacecraft?” Vincent asked the computer. “The ship is fully functional and awaiting instructions from the key holder.” the computer responded. “Computer, the ship is to remain stationary until I issue further instructions. Please confirm the instructions.” Vincent said. “Instructions from the key holder are confirmed.”

While Vincent was speaking Dalton began looking at the illuminated walls. Each of the four walls was filled with hieroglyphs and maps. Dalton tapped Vincent on the shoulder and pointed at the walls. “It’s amazing, look at the history. Let’s go find everyone. We have something new to talk about and a chance to get out of here.” Vincent said.

Vincent and
Dalton went from chamber to chamber gathering their friends. The full crew met in one of the chambers. Vincent shared what he and Dalton had learned. “Thank God. I thought we’d die here.” Monique said. “Forty eight species? Are you sure you heard right? How come we’ve never heard from them?” Isabella asked. “Yes, we both heard it. That’s the number we were given. Maybe we have heard from them, and didn’t understand the message or didn’t listen.” Vincent said. “It’s a wonder we still have control over Earth. It sure seems like a great resource for another species to exploit.” Sarah said. “Hopefully it demonstrates restraint by a higher intelligence. If our aliens have morals, it provides hope for the future of humanity.” Dalton replied.

Looking around the chamber at all the gold and artifacts Vincent began to wonder if everything should be removed. The aliens had put it here for a reason. “We’ll only take what is obviously from Earth. Anything which appears alien will stay here. I have a feeling this
Alliance has been protecting us for a long time. Let’s not piss them off and move what doesn’t belong to us. Let’s start loading so we can go home.” Vincent said.

Vincent entered the alien ship. The interior was designed for comfort. It wasn’t much different from what mankind would design. There were thirty separate quarters. The ship was spacious and beautiful. He wondered what type of weaponry might be
available. “Computer, what are the defensive capabilities of this ship?” he asked. “The ship is armed with five hundred missiles, fifty electromagnetic pulse bombs, and a plasma particle beam.” the computer replied. He laughed out loud. Every military force on Earth could be destroyed with this one ship. He left to help with the loading and to see how much progress was being made. Once outside the ship he couldn’t help but stop and admire what he had acquired.

Monique saw Vincent standing outside the ship staring at it. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” she said. “It is magnificent. The possibilities are limitless. I could explore the galaxy until I die.” Vincent said. “Wherever you’re headed, I’m going too.” she said. How do you know I’m not staying on Earth?” he said. “I see that look. You can’t wait to get out there and explore. You kidnapped me, and now you’re going to be
stuck with me.” she said. Monique finally had hope. There would be a future, and it wouldn’t be on Earth. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing a future of her own choosing was still out there for the taking. “I’m going through the gate. The risk is high and we don’t know what we’ll find. There’s no guarantee death won’t be on the other side.” Vincent said. “Death is always around the corner, and it will find us in the end. I’ll live my life the way I choose. It certainly won’t be on Earth running from an oppressive government.” she replied. “I was hoping you’d come with me. I didn’t want to kidnap you again.” Vincent said.

Dalton
was studying the illuminated walls, and trying to figure out what information the aliens had left. He was able to understand two of the four walls. One represented Earth and the other represented Mars. Both were fascinating. He was able to make out a timeline for each planet. If he was reading the Mars wall correctly an advanced civilization had been on Mars as recently as thirty five thousand years ago. The hieroglyphs indicated the aliens had helped to advance both the Martian and human civilizations. The timeline for Earth indicated the aliens had been visiting the planet for at least five thousand years. The martian timeline indicated a catastrophe of some kind occurred approximately thirty five thousand years ago. There were no recent entries. Mars had been essentially dead for quite some time. He couldn’t make sense of the other two walls. There were hieroglyphs, solar systems, and planets. None of it was familiar. The representations were of other worlds and star systems. Nobody had brought a recording device. At the time everyone knew electronics wouldn’t work in the dead zone. Dalton began to write it all down in detail with his pen and paper.

“What have you found?” Vincent asked. “Mars had an advanced ci
vilization as recently as thirty five thousand years ago. The martian civilization may have been even more advanced then ours. It’s hard to tell from this data. A catastrophic event occurred which left the planet uninhabitable. I can’t figure out exactly what happened. Whatever it was, it ended their civilization completely. The devastation was total. Part of me really wants to stay here. Exploring the history of the Martians is the opportunity of a lifetime. There are so many questions which need to be answered. Our solar system has a unique history. The civilization on Mars should be remembered and we need to uncover all they accomplished as a species. There are lessons we could learn from them.” Dalton said. “I completely understand. It’s always been our job to uncover the past and learn from it. With this ship we can make even more amazing discoveries. When we make it to the gate, who knows what might await us? Come with us my friend. Monique and I are going to travel through the gate after we return to Earth. On the other side of the gate forty eight intelligent species are there to be discovered and explored.” Vincent said. “I’ll go on one condition. You have to promise we’ll come back to Mars someday. As far as we know they were the only other intelligent species in our solar system. They were our brothers. We have an obligation to uncover their history and to share it with mankind.” Dalton replied. “You’ve got a deal. Let’s get ready to go.” Vincent said as he turned to go explore the ship again.

Dalton
was torn. He really wanted to stay on Mars and research the ancient Martian civilization. He also knew Vincent had a point. Endless worlds were out there and waiting to be uncovered. He would ask Vincent for a compromise. Dalton found Vincent on the alien ship. “Why do we need to leave now? The immediate threat is over with. We should take at least a week or month to conduct some research and see what we can uncover.” he said. “You make a good point Dalton. But you need to remember we are trapped here. I wouldn’t put it past our government to start dropping small asteroids from orbit. Their weapons may be useless inside the dead zone, but gravity is still working just fine. We need to get out of here on the alien ship where we will be safe. I don’t want to lose anyone else Dalton. We’re lucky we’ve made it this far. It’s time to cash in our chips and go home.” Vincent said.

“Give me three days. It’s unlikely the government can do much of anything in just three days. As far as we know there aren’t any other ships close to Mars right now. Even if there are, there’s not much they can do from orbit. Let’s at least take a few days to see if we can find out what really happened
on Mars Vincent. I think your grandmother would agree with me.” Dalton said. “You make a good argument my friend. I will give you three days provided we don’t encounter anymore problems. Let’s see what we can find.” Vincent said.

"Computer, is this ship capable of communicating with Earth?" Vincent asked. "The ship can send communications to Earth." the computer responded. "Sarah, provide the computer with the correct communication data so we can send a message to Enzo." Vincent said. Sarah provided the
information to the computer. "We're ready to transmit Vincent." Sarah said. "Thank you. Computer begin transmission. Enzo, you can cancel rescue operations. We've found a ride home and everyone is alive and healthy. Our new ride is out of this world. We’re going to spend a few days exploring the dead zone before returning to Earth. You can expect our arrival in three or four days. We’ll transmit a message when we leave. Your investment in us will pay off very handsomely. Please send us a reply which include landing coordinates. We will see you soon. Thanks again Enzo, you've given us the opportunity of a lifetime. Computer, transmit the message now.” Vincent said.

Enzo was lo
oking everywhere for Tony. The scientist had suddenly developed a habit of hiding in plain sight. He found it quite amusing, and burst out laughing when he finally gave himself up. His chameleon like abilities were improving dramatically. It was now only taking him minutes to blend in with his surroundings. Enzo was looking out by the pool when Tony grabbed his leg. "Careful you almost stepped on me." he said. "Start wearing some clothes, you're creeping us out. Come on, we have another message from Vincenzo." he said. "I thought the crew wasn’t able to send anymore messages." Tony said. "They've sent one somehow. Maybe they never made it inside the pyramid. Let's go find out." Enzo said. Randy was waiting for them in the study. Enzo played the surprising message. They were taken aback when they saw what had to be the interior of an alien ship. The three men were momentarily speechless. “Thank God. We never had a realistic chance of rescuing them.” Enzo said. Randy was smiling. “I’d say my investment paid off quite well. On top of the treasure we have an alien ship too. I can’t wait to get my hands on the technology.” he said. “I’m just happy they’re all going to make it back safely. The treasure is a nice bonus though. We’d better start getting ready for their return.” Enzo said.

“Since were all together let’s talk about how we are going to explore the dead zone. I think we should send out two rotating teams.
Keep the hills between you and the ground force on the perimeter. Since Dalton and I have both conducted field research, each of us will lead a team. Monique, Isabella, and Dominic will be with me. Patrick, Sarah, and Julia will be with Dalton. We will only explore the area near the pyramid and we will stay away from the perimeter. Sandy, you should stay on the ship and recover from your injury for now. If you’re feeling up to it, you can go out in a day or two. Each team will be armed. As far as we know the government can’t get in here, but there’s no sense in taking unnecessary risks. If we are fired upon from the perimeter it won’t hurt to let them know we can fire back. Unless anyone has any questions or suggestions let’s get started in four hours. For now, we’ll start out in roughly six hour shifts outside the pyramid. I want to look around the ship some more. Dalton you and your team will be the first team out. I’d recommend everyone who is on team Dalton gets some rest before you leave. We’ve had a busy day, and everyone should try and recharge.” Vincent said. He really wanted to get some good sleep himself before doing anything else. The battle with the Lexington and the run to the pyramid had wiped him out. He went to the quarters he had claimed on the alien ship and was asleep five minutes later.

Dalton
was too excited to sleep, and was ready to begin exploring immediately. He would lead his team to area of the lost city first. With limited time he wanted to explore the most obvious locations first. Without his equipment and working with amateurs the work would be rudimentary at best. He managed to sleep for an hour before it was time to go. When he arrived at the exit the rest of his team was waiting for him. “Alright people, let’s go see what we can find. We don’t want to disturb any sites unnecessarily. If you find anything which is partially buried, come find me so we can determine the best way to remove the item without damaging it.” Dalton said as he led his team out of the ship.

President Louis had just finished a meeting with the head of NASA. He had learned a small unmanned ship was delivering equipment and technical supplies to Mars. The ship would be landing within the hour and contained a replacement three dimensional printer. The previous one on Mars had been damaged and was no longer working. He prepared a message to Hector. “You will be in possession of the new printer shortly. Put the printer to immediate use and manufacture the weapons I’ve attached with this message. The weapons are accurate and will be effective from long range. Start with the grenade launcher first. It can be produced the quickest. You are to mass produce these weapons a
nd will target the terrorists when they emerge from the pyramid. These enemies of humanity are trapped and will eventually venture outside. You have standing orders to fire on sight. Send me updates as conditions warrant.”

Hector received the message from the Pr
esident and issued instructions to begin manufacturing the weapons. If he could get a few of the weapons manufactured quickly he would be able to fire on the terrorists before they returned to the pyramid. He had received a report which stated four of them had recently ventured outside. The weapons would need to be transported eleven miles from the supply dome. If he was lucky he would have his first weapon in an hour. He would personally fire the first shot.

Once outside the pyramid the team made the short trip to the lost city.
It wasn’t far and would be out of range from rifle fire. Dalton wished he could have seen the city when it was occupied with Martians and undamaged. He began looking more closely at some of the toppled columns and structures. He came across what appeared to be a small statue which had been partially buried. He began carefully removing sand from the edges of the statue in order to see what was below the surface and how far into the ground it went.

Julia wasn’t an archeologist, and wasn’t really sure what she should be looking for. She had seen the same bone fragments and pieces of metal everyone else had. She looked to her right and saw an abnormally smooth and flat surface. As she approached the area the surface didn’t look natural. She tried to scoop up some of the sand and her hand hit something hard. She began brushing the sand away and found a flat metal surface underneath. After she finished brushing the
sand away the surface was approximately twelve feet by eight feet. The outer edges disappeared deeper into the ground. She was unable to determine how far down it went.

Dalton
was still working on the statue when Julia interrupted him. “I’ve found something I think you should take a look at.” she said. Dalton found the flat surface interesting. It was obviously artificial. He was trying to figure out what purpose it served. There were no inscriptions or hieroglyphs he could see. Taking a closer look he brushed some of the sand away from one of the sides and found a small gap. It appeared the top piece was detachable and could be lifted away. He called Patrick and Sarah over to help. “It looks like the top can be taken off. Everyone take a side, and we’ll gently see if we can get it off.” Dalton said. On the first try the metallic lid wouldn’t move. On the second try the team lifted harder, and it came off. The lid was gently placed on the ground a few feet away. The team looked inside and found what looked like unending emptiness. “It’s a tunnel of some sort.” Patrick said. “As his eyes adjusted to the darkness Dalton could see a few hand holds which led to the bottom of the passageway which was only about twenty feet down. “This looks interesting. Let’s stay together and see where it leads. We’ll have some light from our ETS suits. We should be able to see just fine.” he said. Dalton and his team descended down into the unknown. Once at the bottom there was only one direction to go. The passageway went as far as they could see. “Everybody watch your step, we don’t know what we’ll find down here.” Patrick said. The surface continued descending slightly downward as the team continued walking. After about one hundred yards it opened into a large chamber.

The team emerged into an under
ground courtyard. As they looked around multiple passageways led in and out of the courtyard. “It’s like a labyrinth down here. How many exits from this room are there?” Julia asked. “I’m seeing at least thirty, and there’s probably more. As the team advanced further into the courtyard it appeared the floor ahead was shimmering. Dalton walked further ahead and found the shimmering was a small rusty red pool of water. As he looked up at the ceiling he could see the design of the chamber was meant to funnel water into the pool before him. “The Martians had a water supply system in place. This small pool was designed to hold water in the center of this courtyard. It’s likely water was supplied to this entire underground structure. I wonder how big it is? If this courtyard and these passageways are any indication, this underground complex could go on for miles.” Julia said. “There’s only one way to find out. We’ll split into two teams and start exploring the passageways. Patrick and Sarah pick a passageway over there, and Julia and I will go in the opposite direction. Let’s meet back here in approximately two hours. Don’t get lost.” Dalton said as he looked at Julia and pointed toward a passageway.

Patrick and Sarah entered the passageway and began seeing living quarters on each s
ide. All of them had a large oval depression in the floor. “The Martians must have kept water in the depressions.” Sarah said. Horizontal sleeping areas had been built into the walls. The living quarters were small and there were a lot of them. ”We must have already passed fifty of these rooms. I wonder what the population was down here?” Sarah asked. “If the other passageways are like this one it must have been in the tens of thousands at least. It doesn’t look very comfortable. Maybe the Martians were forced underground at some point due to a disaster on the surface.” Patrick replied. The passageway abruptly came to an end. “It looks like there’s a sealed chamber at the end. Let’s see if we can get through.” Sarah said. Patrick pushed on the sealed door. The silence was broken as the door screeched open and something fell out of the chamber shattering on the floor. Sarah screamed. The chamber was filled with the skeletons of dead Martians. A few of the bones and skulls had spilled out into the passageway. “We’re fine Sarah, they’ve been dead for thousands of years.” Patrick said. “It’s creepy, I want to go back. What were they all doing in that one room?” she asked. “I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s a good reason. Our two hours are almost up anyway, let’s start heading back. Dalton will want to know about this.” Patrick said.