Project Solaris 2: Hero Rising (5 page)

Jillian walked with me for a little ways before speaking. "David, what the hell did Osiris say to you?"

"He said we have a spy in our midst," I said, pulling out the metallic object. It was a USB drive. "He slipped this into my pocket."

"What's on there?" she asked, slowing as we reached our little stone apartment.

"A video," I said, feeling the data. I closed my eyes for a moment, willing the ship to display the video as a hologram. Telemechanics was such a handy ability.

Osiris appeared, sitting behind the mahogany desk in his office. He leaned forward, then spoke into the camera. "David, this is difficult for me to say, because I understand the burden it places upon you. I waited until I was absolutely certain before relaying my fears. I believe you have a spy in your midst."

Jillian and I looked at each other, then turned back to watch the recording. Osiris continued. "I've been carefully leaking information about the locations of fictitious supers, then monitoring where those lead. Initially I assumed that the leak was inside Mohn Corp, but no one acted on the false information I disseminated. I've done this four times now, and no one has taken the bait.

"Each time you attempt to recover a super the grey men or their agents are there first." Osiris' expression darkened. "That's suggestive, but didn't prove there was a spy. So I conducted a final test, and the results are why I've contacted you. I've recovered three more supers using Mohn resources. The grey men weren't sighted in any of those instances. The only time we've encountered them or their agents is when Project Solaris is involved.

"As you know, I am very old, David," Osiris said, loosening his tie. "I know what treachery smells like. Someone on your team is compromised."

The recording ended, and all Jillian and I could do was stare at each other.

Chapter 9- Taking a Trip

I was the last to arrive at our first official team meeting, having taken the time to get cleaned up after returning to the ship following our dinner with Osiris. Summers and Marcus sat together, of course. Janaki and Kali did too, which made me smile. Kali had even taken off her sunglasses, and was smiling as she whispered something to Janaki. That spoke volumes about how much she'd opened up even in such a short time, as I knew how self-conscious she was about her eyes ever since the grey men had modified her. They were flat black, just like the grey men.

Her hair had grown back to her shoulders, and she often allowed it to screen her face. Today it was pulled back into a short ponytail, further proof that she was comfortable around Janaki.

Jillian sat next to the last empty chair, which I slid into. All eyes moved to me as conversations ceased. I licked my lips, trying to think of something leader-y to say. I decided to just stick to the facts. "Everyone knows why we're here. Osiris has given us a tip, one that we feel might have merit. We're here to discuss the best approach, and if the team agrees, we're going to head to Cairo to investigate. Kali, what did you turn up?"

"Me?" Kali asked, looking up from Janaki. She blinked once, blushing. "Uh, the search went pretty well. I did some investigation about satellites predating history. Most of it is the kind of crap you see on Prehistoric Aliens, but there are some useful tidbits. Several of the more credible reports mention a pair of 'Black Knight' satellites that astronauts have seen while in orbit. They claim they aren't man-made, though they have no explanation for why they haven't been found by more modern satellites. There are over two thousand orbiting earth right now, and even though space is big, you'd expect someone to have found one by now."

"We know the grey men ships can cloak." Jillian pointed out. "Maybe their satellites can, too."

"What about Cairo?" I asked.

"The information there is a little more sketchy," Kali said, giving an apologetic shrug. "The pyramids have all sorts of legends around them, and it's hard sorting fact from fiction. The Sphinx, though, has fewer. Apparently, it's older than most people assume, which fits with Osiris' story. Quite a few stories dating back to Alexandria claim that there is a room under the Sphinx's paws. Legends claim that it contains a tremendous store of knowledge."

"Access to a satellite would certainly qualify as a lot of knowledge," Summers said. She sipped from a glass of water. 

"Did you find anything else?" I asked. 

"That's pretty much it. I know it isn't much, but the Internet is full of baseless claims and weird stories." Kali looked uncomfortable, but smiled when she caught Janaki looking at her.

"That's plenty, enough to get started anyway." I straightened in my chair, trying to decide what to do next. "It sounds like we're going to have to take a trip to Cairo, and chase down some of the more plausible leads."

"What about Osiris? Can he give us any more useful intel? Or any resources?" Marcus asked, sourly.

"He's arranged a guide, and also set us up with lodgings so we don't have to stay in the ship," I supplied. I didn't blame Marcus for the way he felt about Osiris, but I also didn't have time to get sidetracked by animosity. "We'll head to Cairo and get checked in, then we can split up and chase down individual leads. I want to learn more about the Sphinx, and see what it will take to investigate the possibility of a secret room under the paws. Kali, can you prepare a report on that?"

"On it," she said, giving a confident nod. 

"What about me?" Janaki asked. She blinked owlishly.

"Kali, do you have work for her?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll keep her busy." 

Marcus chuckled. Kali's eyes widened, then she blushed.

"Not like that," she muttered, rising from the table and hurrying away.

"Okay everyone, get what rest you can. We're heading for Cairo in the morning."

Everyone filed from the room, leaving Jillian and I. She waited until they were all gone before speaking. "We don't exactly have a lot to go on. We're not sure there's anything even under the Sphinx, but if there is, do you have a plan for handling it?"

"Nope," I said. I wrapped my arms around Jillian, pulling her closer. "I have no idea what to expect. If there is something down there, we're going to have to wing it. Hopefully this satellite exists. If it doesn't, I'm hoping my abilities will show me how to access it."

Interlude

The grey man waited until its host body was asleep before asserting control. It willed the female to wake, guiding her silently through the forest of obelisks until it reached one of the shuttle craft. Unfortunately, the host lacked the ability to pilot such a vessel. There was no means of escaping the mothership, but that didn't mean the grey man was powerless. It would use the humans' primitive technology against them, in just the same way the Builders' creations had been subverted.

It withdrew a boxy black communications device from within a pocket, studying the archaic little thing. A cell phone, it was known as. The grey man understood its usage from the host's memories. All it needed to do was select a sequence of numbers, and the device would broadcast data to the intended recipient. The Progeny of the Builders orbiting this world couldn't be reached in such a fashion. They considered the communications of Earth largely worthless, and chose not to devote the necessary time to studying them. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake. They could have learned much from such a study. Should the grey man find a way to rejoin the collective, it would lobby for a change in this policy.

The grey man flinched as a human voice sounded from nearby. Someone was awake and conversing in soft tones. It wouldn't do to be caught, even though it could likely fabricate a believable lie. No, any suspicion was dangerous. The human known as David possessed the necessary abilities to identify the grey man within the host consciousness, and could incite the others to destroy her.

So the grey man hunkered down behind several thick obelisks, unmoving as two of the humans passed by. Its heart thundered, the primitive fight or flight reaction irksome. Grey man physiology had long since done away with such things, as they understood that such evolutionary dead ends weakened the species. Their intended purpose, surviving against predators in a jungle, had long since become obsolete.

The pair of figures passed within a dozen feet, it was David and the female known as Jillian. They wore loose, comfortable clothing unlike their usual garb. The host's memories identified them as gym clothes, which suggested the humans had been training. Their combat techniques were impressive, and had been used to devastating effect when this mothership had been commandeered from the fleet. The fact that David continued to train in them was troubling. He was enough of a threat, and anything that strengthened him needed to be prevented.

The grey man shook its head, returning to the task at hand. It had a task to tend to, and such frivolities could be considered later. Right now, it needed to find a way to stop Project Solaris. They could not be allowed to reach the Builder's satellite. It would provide too large of an advantage in the coming war. 

Since it couldn't communicate directly with the Progeny, the grey man did the next best thing. It composed a text message using the cell phone, then sent it to one of their most reliable agents, the one known as Dick. 

Chapter 10- Cairo

I opened my eyes, blinking once. Feeling returned to my body as I disengaged from the ship's data network. The others were clustered around me, studying the holographic map projected into the center of the clearing. I'd created it for the others, allowing them to see a 3D representation of the ship's surroundings. Right now, it showed a sprawling city beneath us, one of the largest in the world.

The vertigo faded quickly as I gave up the hundreds of senses afforded by the mothership, and settled into the five I'd grown up with. Doing so felt limiting, and for a moment I understood why the grey men considered us to be so primitive. Their consciousness was always linked to the ship, and through the ship was linked to the consciousness of other grey men. They had access to a wealth of sensory data we'd never really understand.

"So we're meeting a contact in Cairo?" Kali asked, adjusting her oversized sunglasses as she studied the map. The Pyramids were recognizable, but they were dwarfed by some of the skyscrapers in the massive city's downtown area.

"That's the plan," I said, rising from the makeshift throne I'd created. It flowed back down into the black marble floor as I joined the others. Marcus and Summers were conversing in quiet whispers, and Marcus was even smiling. Seeing him so happy was eerie. They stopped as I approached. "Osiris has arranged for us to meet a Mohn contact here. He claims this guy is the foremost anthropologist in the world, one who specializes in Egyptology. If anyone can find us a way to the Black Knight's control module, it's this guy."

"And we're really okay with dressing like this?" Jillian asked, looking down at herself. I didn't see what she was getting at, as she had her usual jeans and T-shirt.

"It's sweltering there, so we can get shorts if needed," I said, shifting uncomfortably. I was growing more accustomed to leading, but I had the sense that I'd somehow missed something important.

"She means is it okay to dress as tourists," Marcus supplied, giving me a playful punch to the arm. I'd never seen him in that good of a mood. Ever. "Egypt is a Muslim nation, and you hear stories about women being kidnapped, that sort of thing. Western style of dress may not fly here."

"That's a great point," I said, realizing I knew nothing about the city we were about to visit. "If we need to buy new clothes, we'll do it here. I imagine we'll be fine, though, at least in the short term. There are bound to be a ton of tourists here to see the pyramids or the Sphinx. If we keep to touristy areas, we're probably fine."

"How are we getting down there?" Kali asked, still studying the holographic representation of the city. 

"Jillian, how many people can you 'port?" I asked.

"I've been practicing. I can probably manage four people in addition to myself," she said. Her tone was confident, but I could see a little doubt in her eyes.

"That means leaving two behind. Kali, are you okay with remaining here and monitoring communications?" I asked, knowing she'd be looking for a way to avoid going anyway. She rarely left the ship.

Before I'd have chalked that reticence up to her being self-conscious her all-black eyes, but Osiris' words rang in my head. Was there really a spy? Were we really compromised, and if so, was Kali the spy? Just what had the grey men changed when they'd modified her? 

"Yeah, I'm fine with that. Janaki, do you want to stay behind as well? I could use your help going over the data Mohn provided." Kali brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, turning to face Janaki. I'd almost forgotten the quiet Indian woman's presence.

I didn't need telepathy to see that there was something going on there beneath the surface. Janaki blushed, and she avoided Kali's gaze when she replied. "Sure. I mean, if you think I'll be helpful."

The exchange filled me with relief. If Kali was the spy, why ask someone else to stay behind? Unless that was also a ruse.

"Okay, that's settled. Everyone, group tightly around me," Jillian ordered. I did as instructed, wrapping an arm around her waist. She gave me a wink as Marcus and Summers moved to join us. "Can you give me a visual on where we're going?"

I mentally ordered the ship to zoom in on the city below. The view centered on a two-story building with a wide, flat roof. "That's our hotel. If you can get us to the roof, we can drop into the alley and just enter the front door. Our contact should be waiting inside."