Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure (13 page)

The Constellation slipped away from Titan and
into space. "Captain, our course takes us close to the Saturnian moon Iapetus. One side of the moon is coated with dark surface material. If you want to stop before Mars this would be the best place as we likely wouldn't be seen.” Sarah said.

"That's a good idea Sarah. We need to paint the ship again. The tratium stands out and can be seen. It's a good time to regroup and gather our thoughts anyway."

With the
Lexington moving closer to Titan and the Constellation moving further away, the Lexington was finally able to communicate with the station as their signal became stronger. Captain Samuels was not happy with the Commander of the station. "What do you mean they got away? Is it your policy to let any ship just wander off during the transfer of hazardous materials? What’s the name of the ship?" Captain Samuels asked. The Commander told Captain Samuels the name of the ship but didn't have any other answers which were satisfactory. Captain Samuels had the Commander transfer all associated video of the Constellation and the crewmembers who had been on the station to the Lexington. He ordered his navigator to follow the heading the Constellation was on when it was last seen leaving the station. The communications officer was ordered to send the video to Earth for review and to request identification of the three people on the station.

During his time at the safe house in Tucson Randy was not allowed to leave the house or use the phone.
He did receive a new identity. His appearance was altered and he was given a new drivers license and passport. After three days in Tucson Enzo called and told him he would be driven to San Francisco where he would board a cruise liner to Australia. He was told not to contact anyone, and to lay low and not draw attention to himself if he wanted to stay alive. Enzo would meet him when he arrived in Australia. Randy decided he didn't need any drama and a nice ocean cruise across the Pacific sounded pretty good. He would have no problem with staying out of the spotlight. It sounded much better then jail or death.

William Spencer received the
message and the video from the Lexington. He recognized Vincent Moretti. If a Moretti was involved he had no doubt the Constellation was the ship he was looking for. He instructed his analysts to find out who the other two people were. The general location of the Constellation was now known. He wanted to launch more ships to help in the search but none were currently available. The Lexington would have to get the job done on her own. He had a meeting scheduled with President Louis to provide an update on the situation. He still would not be able to tell the President the situation was resolved. The ship and her crew would have to be destroyed before they reached Mars or it would be his ass. He continued his preparations for the meeting with the President.

The Constellation landed on Iapetus and Monique was worried. She knew the ruthless nature of the government. No expense would be spared, and no life would be safe to keep the secrets of the solar system hidden. Government by the people and for the people were honorable words, but words which had lost any truth a long time ago. Now it was all about the special interest groups and how much power over the people the government could amass. She put on her suit and left the airlock to help the rest of the crew finish painting the ship. At this point just getting to Mars might be a long shot.

Isabella was tinkering with some of the parts which had been recovered in the hanger on Rhea. She was trying to route power through what looked like a navigation display for an interceptor. After some trial and error the display lit up. Displayed was a representation of the solar system with their current position being identified by a simple purple circle. She manipulated the control pads and figured out how to zoom in on specific areas of the solar system and had even managed to set a couple of courses. As she zoomed in close on specific areas of the solar system, she was able to tap the display and set a course from their current position. Some locations within the solar system appeared to have been preprogrammed. She had been able to program a course to the Prime Pyramid, the pyramid at Cydonia on Mars, and the hanger on Rhea with the preprogrammed commands. She summoned Vincent to engineering.

"You've figured out how to set a course on the alien navigation computer?
That's impressive. What else do we know, and what about these other parts?" Vincent asked. "That's part of the reason I wanted to talk with you. We know electronic warfare was a major component of their battles. I'm concerned I might set off an EMP if I experiment with these other parts. I knew what the navigation display was, and figured it was safe to experiment with. I think experimenting with these other parts might be too risky. We simply don't know what their purpose is or how dangerous it might be. Fooling with them would be like giving a monkey a hand grenade and hoping he doesn't blow himself up trying to figure it out. I just don't think it's a good idea unless we can conclusively identify what these parts are and what purpose they were meant for." she said. "You make a good point. I don't want to die quite yet. Let's keep them in storage for now. I'll spread the word to the rest of the crew. Perhaps somebody will have an idea what some of the other parts might be for. We’ll play it safe until we know what we’re dealing with." he said.

The exterior painting of the Constellation was complete once again and the crew gathered in the command center.
Their mood was grim. "We are being hunted like animals. I think we should try to get back to Earth and disappear into society. There can be no doubt the government knows who we are and where we are going. Who knows how many ships they have? We will be walking into a trap." Patrick said. "You're right Patrick. They will be waiting for us. But we have the advantage. Our enemy needs to board this vessel. We have alien technology and the artifact Maria discovered. They want it. We don't need anything they have. We have the easier task of simply destroying them. We will approach Mars slowly and identify anything in the area and in orbit. If we maintain our vigilance, keep our heads on straight, and have confidence in ourselves we will prevail. The enemy ships won’t fire on us until they get what they want.

Doctor Johnson
had put in another long day with his one and only patient. Very little progress was being made. Other then being sixty years younger then he was supposed to be, his patient was in perfect health. The cellular regeneration in the man was unparalleled and amazing. He pulled his car into his garage and went upstairs to have dinner and relax with his wife and kids. When he walked into his kitchen he found his wife and twin sons strapped to chairs. There were two men with guns waiting for him.

“Good evening D
octor. I hope you had a good day at work. Don’t be scared by our weapons. If you cooperate we will leave your wife and children alone and we will leave. If you don’t cooperate your family life will become very complicated. We’re here on some business and your assistance will be necessary. Tonight we will all stay together and you will be restrained with the rest of your family. We will try to provide as much comfort as possible. Tomorrow you will return to your patient. You will keep him alive by whatever means necessary, but you will declare him dead to the CIA. You will then place him in a body bag and tell the CIA you are following the standard operating procedures you were given, and you are moving the body. You will issue instructions to the gate to let an ambulance enter the facility to recover a body. Once the body has been transferred, your wife and children will be released and you won’t ever see us again. Do you understand?” one of the men asked. “It’s hard to argue when you have my family held at gunpoint. I understand what you’ve asked of me. What you have asked will not be easy. There will be nurses present and they will know the patient is alive.” he said. “The nurses have been given motivation to cooperate. They don’t make as much as doctors. You will call us fifteen minutes before the ambulance needs to arrive.” the man said.

Tony could see Doctor Johnson pre
paring to enter his room. The Doctor would likely give him another update on his condition. He was curious to see if any of the new tests would reveal anything. For the first time since the incident a change had occurred within him. When he woke up he noticed a color change on his arms and legs. The change was subtle but it was there. The color of his skin had started to change white. It was the same color as the bed sheet. Somehow he was developing chameleon like properties in his skin. He had also been able to read the fine print on the bottom of the clock across the room. His vision had never been so good. There was nothing within his range of vision he couldn’t see, and his vision was becoming telescopic. “Tony, I don’t know how you did it, but you must have very resourceful allies. I’m going to make this very simple for you. I will give you something which will put you in a very deep sleep. When you wake up you will no longer be in this facility. You will awake in a body bag, but you will be among friends I believe.” Doctor Johnson said. “Why are you doing this?” asked Tony. “My family is being held hostage. Once you are in safe hands my family will be released. I’m going to give you a shot now. I want my family safe as quickly as possible.” Doctor Johnson replied as he administered a shot to his patient.

Gary
wanted to be done with this assignment. He was nothing but a glorified guard watching a scientist who would never taste freedom again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Doctor suddenly rush to the patient. The nurses were summoned and it looked like the medical staff was trying to resuscitate the man. From outside the room he could see the flat line on the heart rate monitor. After ten minutes the Doctor and nurses gave up trying to revive Tony. He had seemed so healthy earlier in the day. It was a definite surprise but now Gary would be freed up to do some real work. A nurse removed a body bag from one of the closets and the nurses placed the scientist inside. The Doctor made a phone call, left the room, and addressed the lead agent. “Tony is dead and I have standing orders to have him moved to Langley. You can relieve your men, there’s no reason to guard him anymore. He won’t be trying to escape.” he said. “Fine, I’ll need a copy of the orders before he leaves.” the agent said. “Sure, after I prepare the body properly, I’ll leave the orders on your desk.” Doctor Johnson replied.

Doctor Johnson was helping to load Tony into the ambulance when he was approached by the lead agent. “What are you doing? I don’t have a copy of those orders yet, Doctor.” he said. “Relax I just put the orders on your desk a minute ago. Everything is fine and we are following the procedures which have been given to us.” When the agent left to retrieve the orders, Doctor Johnson quickly put Tony in the ambulance. The second the back door of the ambulance was closed the engine started and it pulled away. Tony was out the gate thirty seconds later. Having done what was required of him, he drove home to check on his family. He would have a lot of explaining to do when the CIA caught up with him. When he arrived home he found his family in the kitchen again. This time they weren’t tied up and the men were gone. “They got a phone call, untied us, took our phones and left. We were thanked for cooperating. Those men were actually quite nice, other then keeping us captive.” his wife said.

Tony had never been claustrophobic but recent events were making him that way. He panicked again when he woke up enclosed in blackness. It took him a moment to remember the conversation with Doctor Johnson. After just a few seconds the bag was unzipped and he was free. “Where are we going? he asked. “You must be an important person. The man himself will be meeting us at a small airport not far from here. It won’t be long.”

Enzo didn’t like leaving
Australia. Especially since he was returning briefly to the United States. He stayed on the plane waiting for his passenger. There was no sense in taking a chance of being seen. After an hour his passenger was escorted onto the plane. “You took quite a risk with that phone call. I had to ship my phone across the globe in case it was being tracked. It was a very smart move on your part however.” he said. “Thank you Mr. Moretti, I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I owe you a debt of gratitude and my life.” Tony said. “Well you won’t be completely free for a month or so. I know some people in the medical field, and with your permission we’d like to run our own tests. It wouldn’t hurt for you to listen to some good advice for awhile as well.

You are now one of the most wanted men on Earth. Once you leave my gracious company you will be on your own. Perhaps you can learn a few things during our time together which will help you evade the authorities in the future. Whatever is happening to you is the most extraordinary thing which has ever happened to anyone in the history of man.” Enzo said. “I would be happy to accept your hospitality Mr. Moretti. Where are we going anyway?” Tony asked. “We’re going to a quiet town in
Australia. You will be given the opportunity to relax and recover from your ordeal. What I wouldn’t give to be a young man again. You are one lucky person Tony.” Enzo replied as the private jet took to the skies.

Director Spencer received the Titan
data packet from his analysts. The two unidentified people were Patrick Weeks and Dominic Moretti, the son of Enzo. The last thing he needed was organized crime gaining a foothold in space. He was surprised to find out the body in the alien ship was the Captain of the Constellation. The Moretti family was really getting on his nerves. The only other useful information in the packet was the analysis of the material which covered part of the Constellation. The analysts concluded it was the same indestructible material NASA and the Air Force had been harvesting from the ring around Rhea. The director cursed under his breath. Bureaucratic red tape and logistical issues had kept the Air Force from applying the tratium to the Lexington. Now his enemy was protecting their ship with it. If the Constellation had enough of the material and applied it to the entire ship it would be invulnerable. He typed a few comments into the data packet and forwarded it to the Captain of the Lexington. He was about to leave for lunch when his phone rang. The agent on the other end informed him the infected and suddenly younger scientist had managed to escape. From the description of the escape he suspected it was once again Enzo perpetrating another act of treason against his own government.

Monique was studying
video from the battle the Roswell ship was in. She replayed parts of the battle over and over, pausing the video each time an interceptor could be seen firing a missile. She was sure she had seen the missile launcher in the hanger bay with the other parts. She found Isabella in the cargo bay and she agreed with the analysis. The part in the cargo bay was the same as the one seen on the video. "We have a gun but I'm not sure if we have any ammunition." Isabella said. "I think we do. I zoomed in real tight and paused the video when the missile launched. It looks like it's the same as that piece over there." Monique said as she pointed across the hanger. They moved the two dirty pieces next to each other in the bay. Isabella looked at the image on the data pad. "It does look the same. We have only one and I hope we won't need more then that. I think we can mount it next to the laser if we’re careful. We better make sure we point it the right way. Let’s go tell Vincent."