Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure (17 page)

The Constellation was in synchronous orbit above Cydonia. With each passing minute Patrick felt more confident the expedition would be successful. "Patrick I've spotted an incoming ship." Sarah said. "How far out, and what type of ship?" he asked. "On its present course and speed the ship is about fifty minutes out. It matches the description of the ship which intercepted and destroyed the Avenger." she said. "Prepare to leave orbit. We will conduct a flyby of the pyramid as soon as we enter the atmosphere. We need to identify where the ground forces are most heavily concentrated, and land where we will have to
face the least amount of resistance." Patrick said. The Constellation left orbit and headed to the chaos below.

Vincent,
Dalton, and Monique went from chamber to chamber and continued to find each room filled with ancient relics, artifacts, and treasure. The majority of the artifacts looked familiar while some were unearthly. When the three of them went to the chamber on either end of the tunnel each one was sealed. Vincent asked Dalton to look for hidden releases on both of the sealed chambers. He could not find any. Returning to the passageway Dalton began searching for the entrance which led to the ninth hidden chamber which had been found in both the Ark and Prime pyramids. The release was right where it was supposed to be. He activated the release and the door slid aside. “The designers of these pyramids have been very consistent with the location of the hidden chamber. I wonder if there are other hidden chambers we’ve missed?” Vincent asked. “It’s definitely possible. I can’t help but wonder what’s in the sealed chambers at either end of the passageway. Perhaps there will be another passageway in this hidden chamber which lead to the sealed chambers.” Dalton said.

A short passageway led them into the largest chamber Vincent or
Dalton had ever seen inside a pyramid. The magnificent beauty of one of the alien transports seen on the Roswell video stood directly before them. The three of them surrounded the ship. Vincent had to try and find a way to access the ship this time. He didn't want this one getting away like the one on Rhea. He carefully examined the craft. The surface looked as if the ship had just been manufactured. There weren't any seams he could use to try and access the craft. Dalton and Monique weren't having any success either. After his third trip around the vehicle he saw a small grove with eight small holes. The pattern looked familiar but he couldn't place where he had seen it before.

Dominic was exploring the area outside the pyramid. He had found pieces of machinery and tools. Bone fragments littered the entire area. He had found two complete skulls. Neither of which was human. Looking down he saw a piece of bone which was partially uncovered. He picked it up and found what appeared to be a crude knife on the opposite end. Carved into the blade was the image of an alien. After searching for another fifteen minutes he sat down and tried to relax. He was perched on top of a small
mound admiring the martian sunset when he spotted the Constellation approaching. He immediately ran into the pyramid to find the rest of the team.
Dominic was overwhelmed by the gold and artifacts he saw as he passed the chambers. There was no time to admire the find. He had to find the rest of his fiends and head out of the dead zone for pickup. He was yelling for them and hadn’t received a response. He had looked in every chamber without finding anyone. Twice he passed the hidden entrance before finding it on the third try. The alien ship was beautiful, and was a wonder to behold. He found Vincent inspecting a specific spot on the ship as he approached. “The Constellation is back. Something must be wrong.” he said.

Vincent wasn’t happy to see Dominic, and knew instantly things were about to get more complicated. Vincent was not going to let the alien ship in front of him get away like the one on Rhea. He told the team to wait. He needed to think for a few seconds before everyone rushed out of the pyramid and back to the edge of the dead zone. "
Dalton, stay with the alien ship, do not leave the chamber. I don’t want to lose this ship too. We will be back soon." Dalton nodded his head in agreement, and Vincent waived Dominic and Monique toward the exit.

Patrick was getting annoyed. The planetary engine wasn't designed for flying and hovering for extended periods. Mars had enough gravity and atmosphere to create significant operational problems. Fuel levels were dropping and he still hadn't spotted Vincent. "Patrick, more people are arriving in the area. Most are currently at the domed base. They are beginning to spread out,
it looks like the ground force is trying to form a perimeter." Isabella said. It was now night and the lights on the EVA suits could be seen easily as three crewmembers on the ground finally emerged from the pyramid. "Sarah, get ready on the laser. We will lead Vincent as far from the ground base as possible. Only three of them came out of the pyramid. Someone is missing. I doubt if these are soldiers on the ground, they are too disorganized. Don't try to hit anyone, scare them away from our landing area." Patrick said.

Emerging from the pyramid Vincent saw the Constellation hovering above. He knew
Patrick had spotted them when the Constellation began moving. He waved the others forward, and followed the ship.

Once the team on the ground was headed in the right direction Patrick brought the ship to a landing area. The area had only a few members of the ground force nearby. "Alright Sarah, get rid of these people. Our team will be here in about fifteen minutes." There were five people close enough to pose a possible threat to the Constellation and her crew. Sarah began firing in their direction. None of the personnel on the ground were interested in advancing after being fired upon. All of them retreated and Sarah only had to fire on two newcomers before the team arrived. The team was out of breath and tired when they boarded the Constellation. After Patrick was sure everyone was on board, the Constellation left the surface.

Vincent was still out of breath when he reached the command center. "What's going on Patrick?" he asked. "I believe the ship which destroyed the Avenger has arrived. It was spotted forty five minutes ago. At that time it was fifty minutes from the planet." Patrick replied. "So it's up there waiting for us now then. Patrick don't bring us out above Cydonia. Take us at least three thousand miles away." he said. "I've already thought of that, we will reach orbit a long way from Cydonia. Hopefully we’ll enter orbit a fair distance from the enemy ship." Patrick replied.

Aft
er hearing the report from his Commander, Hector put his head in his hands. He had failed, and everyone was in danger because of his failure. The Constellation was headed back to space. He issued orders to maintain the perimeter around Cydonia in the event the ship returned. There was nothing else to do except inform the President. He returned to base and saw he had an incoming message. "Mars base, this is Captain Samuels of the Lexington. We have arrived in orbit and are requesting an update on the location of the Constellation. Respond immediately." With the Lexington in orbit, Hector would be able to communicate without a delay. He activated his monitor and called the Lexington. "Lexington, this is Mars base. The Constellation left Cydonia approximately ten minutes ago. It should be back in orbit by now." he said.

Watching the message from Mars base, Captain Samuels knew his time was at hand. He had just missed the ship at Cydonia and wasn’t planning on missing it again. He had no doubt he would find the traitors now that he was close. "Thank you for the update Mars base. Are you aware if the terrorists removed any
weapons or technology from Cydonia?" he asked. "My people on the ground did not see them with any equipment. To the best of my knowledge they left Cydonia without recovering anything. If that is all, I must send a message to Earth." Hector said. "That will be all for now Mars base. Have your people watch for the ship. Contact me immediately if it's located or if you have any other information which will be helpful." he said. "Pilot, increase speed and maintain orbit. We will go as fast as possible until we catch them. I'm betting the Constellation won't leave orbit for at least a few hours. Contact the Kennedy and give them an update. Ask them be on the lookout for any ships traveling in the direction of Earth." he said.

The Constellation reached orbit and the entire crew was in the command center except for
Dalton. Their emotions were mixed. There was a sense of relief as the mystery of the pyramid had been uncovered, and a sense of dread due to the enemy ship arriving. Vincent knew the historical and monetary value of the find was extraordinary and unprecedented. There were hugs all around. "There will come a time when mankind realizes what happened on this day. Right now we are still in danger, and have a job to do. We need more time on the surface to finish our work. Our task right now is to locate the enemy ship and destroy it. Once the ship is destroyed we’ll make more trips and remove as much of the treasure as we can." he said. "Captain there's a problem with that plan. We're burning too much fuel with our planetary engine. We have enough fuel for one more trip to the surface and back." Patrick said. "I guess we will make due with what we have. On the next and last trip, we will only leave two people onboard. Patrick and Sarah you will remain on the ship. Isabella you will join the rest of us." Once we get some of the treasure back to Earth I'm sure we can arrange another trip with a better plan, more ships, and better weaponry." he said.

Captain Samuels was becoming more aggravated by the minute. It had been almost two hours and he still hadn't found the Constellation. He checked again with Mars base. The base had no new information. The black ship would be hard to spot in the darkness of space. He glared intently at his screen and thought he saw some movement. Looking more closely he saw it again, it was on the edge of his screen around the curve of Mars. He called over to his navigator. "That has to be them. Nothing else is supposed to be there." His navigator nodded in agreement. "Set a course. Get into as low an orbit as possible. We'll come up underneath them and disable any weapons they have."

"What about those sealed chambers? If the aliens left the other chambers unsealed there must be something truly amazing in the sealed ones." Monique asked. Vincent was getting ready to reply when the Constellation was rocked by an explosion. "What the hell was that?" he asked. "Captain we've lost pressure in the cargo bay. Emergency bulkheads have been automatically activated." Sarah reported. "Captain, I'm not getting any signal from the laser. I think it’s been damaged or destroyed." Isabella said. "Get me video of the cargo bay, and have robot Sammie begin immediate repairs." Vincent said. "Captain they've found us first. The ship is behind and underneath us. They can destroy us right now if they choose to." Sarah reported. "Isabella, get to the missile launcher. Launch the missile as soon as you are ready. Don't check with me and don’t wait for my command." Vincent said.

Sandy
was depressed. When she wasn't sleeping she was playing poker on her entertainment pad to pass the time. Any desire she had to live was gone. She just wanted the Captain to get it over with so she could join her family. As she went to start a new game a message appeared. "One opponent available. Send request?" Nobody on the Lexington wanted to come near her, let alone play poker with her as far as she knew. She clicked on the link and was surprised to see the name which was listed. It was Patrick Weeks. The two of them had played internet poker against each other during their initial training at Leviathan. She didn't think it was possible he could be close enough to be in range. She clicked on his name and sent the request.

"Captain I'm receiving a communications request from the
Lexington." Sarah said. "Put it in the primary screen please." Vincent replied as the image of the enemy Captain appeared. "This is Captain Samuels of the Lexington. Prepare to be boarded. You are in possession of property which belongs to the United States Government. If you cooperate your lives will be spared. If you don't cooperate, we will destroy your ship, and walk over your dead bodies to recover our property. There will be no negotiations. You will either surrender or be destroyed." Vincent was angry he had put himself and his crew in this position. He wouldn't go down without a fight. "You have an interesting interpretation of ownership Captain. We are not in possession of any property other then our own. Do you plan to keep us alive like you did with the crew of the Avenger? Let me ask you, did you look into the eye of your enemy Captain when you slaughtered him and his entire crew? It is you who will surrender. We are in possession of technology you couldn't dare imagine. A member of my crew will be arriving shortly. He will be piloting one of the alien interceptors. Should he arrive and find us missing, he will come find you and kill you. I will give you one hour to surrender. You and your crew will be held in our custody. You will be returned to Earth to face charges of murdering the crew of the Avenger. If you fail to surrender you will leave me no other option then to destroy you and your crew."

Captain Samuels was impressed
with the bravado of the young Captain. He was almost positive his opponent was bluffing. He did have a small worrying doubt. “I know you weren’t able to remove any advanced weaponry from the pyramid. We know about your previous Captain. You placed his body in the interceptor on Rhea. We know he wasn't flying it when it went down. I'll give you your one hour. When your help fails to arrive, you will open your airlock and you will be boarded." Captain Samuels said.