The Red Phoenix 12: Strength Comes in Numbers (2 page)

“How fascinating,” he mumbled, taken with its electrifying qualities.

He imagined the blue phantasm as a fireball of power.  As he let out a chuckle over his juvenile-minded ambition, the apparition shot from Aldridge’s hand like a fiery cannonball, lighting up the dark plane until it struck the side of the nearest hill, blowing an enormous cloud of dirt and sand upwards, where it floated. He stood in shock, panting, watching the unexpected show of electrical currents as the huge blur of moon soil drifted above the surface. The blue vapor returned to Tim’s palm in a flash, like a faithful servant, and hovered.

“Holy shit,” Aldridge said as his heart raced, standing in a stunned silence.

The misty vapor made more echoing-whisper sounds, causing Aldridge to have thoughts about hiding it from the others. The apparition was his and only his. No one needed to know about it. It would be his to reveal to the world, if he ever chose to do so. More thoughts flooded his mind of becoming wealthy, powerful and the most feared man on Earth. His heart raced as he battled through these feelings, trying to use his intelligence and self-boasted sound judgment to decipher right from wrong.

Aldridge looked at the top of the hill. Howard’s and the others’ shadowed silhouettes were looming larger as they were just about to arrive. It was time to make a decision.
Do I tell the others or conceal it?
he thought.

He crouched down to the chest, lowering the mysterious, ghostly vapor into it. The chest closed up on its own. He pulled it from the soil and held it at his side.

“Here we are, boss!” said Howard, coming over the top of the hill with Dasner and Willis with enthralled looks on their faces through their space helmets.

“Just look at all this,” Dasner mumbled, sounding nervous, walking through the crash site.

“What do you think, Howard?” asked Willis in a cheerful tone. “I think we have your answer about life being out there!”

“Yeah buddy!” Howard replied, inspecting a panel from the starship. “But we’ll never know where the ship came from. Was it from our galaxy or from somewhere else?”

Dasner looked over the wrecked star craft and honed in on the destroyed cockpit. He began to breathe heavily, slouching over.

“Dasner?” said Aldridge, rushing over to him, worried.

“C’mon Daz, its okay,” stated Howard, trying to calm him, his gloved hand on his shoulder.

“It’s just a crashed starship,” Willis reassured him. “You okay, buddy?”

Dasner felt heat all over his body inside his suit as he began to perspire.

“Breathe, Daz! Breathe,” Aldridge coaxed him. “Take it easy there, cowboy.”

Dasner calmed down.

“You all right?” asked Howard.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Dasner answered, getting a hold of himself. “I’m just having a little anxiety, you know?”

“Just calm down. It’s going to be okay. Let’s just check it out then we’ll head home, bud, okay?” Aldridge stated in a pleasant tone, sounding like a caring big brother.

“Imagine. A crashed space ship from another world,” Willis stated, his voice sounding awestruck.

“Willis, take as many photos as you possibly can of the wreckage,” Tim ordered. “I have a feeling the guys back home are going to want to keep this a secret.”

“You got it, Captain,” Willis answered, adjusting his camera.

Howard noticed Aldridge holding the chest at his side as he carried it through the site.

“What’s that you’re holding, Captain?” asked Howard.

“What this? It’s just some of the wreckage I collected,” Aldridge answered, misdirecting them, hiding his new discovery of the mysterious apparition.

Howard watched him for a short time with a tad of suspicion.

“I’m taking this back to the Apollo and I’ll be right back with something we can use to box up some of this,” said Aldridge.

“Copy,” stated Willis in a cheerful tone, taking numerous photos.

“Hey, Captain, I found it!” yelled Howard, holding up the remains of the torn American flag from underneath part of the broken starship.

Aldridge heard Howard but ignored him, trudging his way back to the Apollo Nineteen. He had the greatest discovery known to mankind in the metal chest and he wasn’t about to slow down for a ripped up flag. Howard’s face sank with disappointment at Aldridge’s lack of interest in the great finding as he watched his captain make his way back to the ship.

***

At the Apollo, Aldridge looked behind him to make sure the others couldn’t see what he was doing. He placed the metal chest into a secret compartment and stared at it for a moment, running his gloved-fingers across the top of it. His obsession was increasing as time went on. He remembered the feeling of power the energy-filled apparition gave him at the crash site. The blue vapor’s ability to read his mind and to carry out his thoughts and desires was captivating. He locked the metal chest away in the compartment, hiding it from the other astronauts, knowing there was no way they would be comfortable on the voyage back to Earth with the mysterious apparition on the shuttle with them.  He’d found the ultimate genie’s lamp with enormous unknown potential.

***

A few hours later, Howard and the others returned to the Apollo with the last of the starship pieces they could round up in medium-sized containers. Aldridge leaned against the Apollo as though in a trance. He didn’t leave the ship the entire time after he found his new discovery of mystifying light in a box. The thoughts of wielding the mind-reading power of light were beyond distracting. He thought about all the talk shows he would be on, the books, movies that would be made about him. His ambitions even took him to the heights that he, Captain Timothy Aldridge, would be the most powerful man on Earth.

Howard glanced at the others, noticing Aldridge seemed to be preoccupied with something.

“Captain?” asked Howard.

“Yes,” Aldridge responded, giving his attention to him, pulling himself out of his daydream.

“I wasn’t sure if you heard back there but we found the flag, sir.” Howard held up the torn remains of the star-striped banner.

“That’s great. Why don’t you pack it up with the other stuff, huh?” Aldridge responded, showing little interest.

“All the boxes are in the ship, Captain,” stated Dasner.

“Well, I think it’s time to get back. Don’t you?” asked Aldridge.

“But Captain, shouldn’t we at least replace the flag with a new one, sir? We have one on board,” stated Howard.

“Uh, sure, go for it,” Aldridge answered in a casual tone like he didn’t give a damn, making his way back into the Apollo.

Howard watched Aldridge, puzzled at his unfeeling actions.

***

During lift off, Howard and the others were strapped in and ready to blast off the moon. Willis and Dasner were like excited kids getting on a theme park ride. They were ecstatic about getting back, seeing their families and telling the world about their amazing extra-terrestrial discovery. Howard remained straight-faced, watching the captain, knowing that something was off.

“Well, that was a damn good expedition, huh?” Dasner asked Howard with a cheesy grin.

“Yeah, it sure was,” Howard answered with no enthusiasm.

“Hey, don’t worry, Howard. You can always apply for the next trip,” stated Willis, supposing Howard was down over having to return home.

Howard didn’t answer but waited for the Apollo to jet out to the stars.

“Houston? We are at take off,” stated Aldridge. “Do you copy?”

“We copy, sir,” said a man’s voice over the intercom. “Have a safe journey back home.”

“Roger that,” Aldridge replied, pushing a few buttons and flicking a switch.

The Apollo Nineteen lifted up from the moon’s surface. The tiny thrusters on the bottom of the ship helped it remain balanced during its lift off. The huge thrusters on the rear of the ship powered up and blew fire out behind, allowing the Apollo to fly across the surface then away from the moon’s atmosphere towards Earth.

***

A few days later, at N.A.S.A., around two-thirty a.m., Aldridge opened the door to the hangar bay where the Apollo ship was kept, carrying a medium-sized suitcase. He looked around, hoping there were no late-night employees still working as he crept into the Apollo Nineteen. He opened the secret compartment that was near the Captain’s seat, secured the metal chest into his suitcase then high-stepped it through the bay with dim lighting. He had just reached the door to leave when the feelings of power consumed him…

“Hi there, Captain Aldridge!” a voice called out in the background.

Aldridge turned in fright. His pre-meditated plan of escape was foiled. Edwin Douglas, an elderly man wearing a civilian N.A.S.A. uniform, stood with a mop bucket, wearing a cheery grin as if Aldridge was a major celebrity.

“Hello,” Aldridge greeted him, smiling.

“Whatcha doin’ here so late?” asked Edwin.

“I know why he’s here,” stated Howard, coming around a corner, folding his arms, staring at Aldridge like he was a crook.

“Well I’ll be—! It’s Lieutenant Howard too!” Edwin said. “Well, that sure was a hell of a thing you guys found up there on the moon,” he stated, taking hold of his mop.

Aldridge stared back at Howard, knowing he was clued in on his secret finding. He had to find a way to brush him off and fast.

“It sure was,” Howard answered in a dry, suspicious voice, still staring Aldridge down.

“Yes, it was indeed, Edwin,” Aldridge responded, hiding his suitcase behind his back as though he didn’t want Edwin and Howard to notice it.

“Imagine that, a crashed spaceship,” Edwin added with a proud smile, continuing his moment of enjoying Aldridge and Howard’s presence. “I swear that’s gonna inspire those movie makers until kingdom come.”

“It probably will,” stated Aldridge, grinning.

“God speed to you guys,” said Edwin, plopping his soaked mop on the floor to begin his work. “I’m just going to start working out here in the hallway,” he added as he left the hangar.

Aldridge and Howard exchanged stares for another moment. Aldridge knew he was busted.

“You know, I joined N.A.S.A. because I wanted to explore space and make important discoveries,” stated Howard.

“And you have, you landed on the moon and found a crashed spaceship,” said Aldridge in a calm voice. “They’ll be talking about us for forever, Howard. You mainly.”

“But what if the discovery goes beyond a crashed pile of junk on the moon?” asked Howard.

“I don’t follow you,” stated Aldridge.

“Oh, I think you do, Captain,” Howard responded in a firm voice, stepping towards him, almost being intimidating.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Howard,” Aldridge insisted.

“Open the suitcase,” said Howard. “You found something else up there and I want to know what it is.”

“You’re out of your mind,” said Aldridge, giving a fake chuckle.

“Am I? Then just open it,” said Howard.

“I’m not opening my suitcase, Howard,” Aldridge replied in a hard tone.