“Found the entrance," Stone shouted from around the corner. Harper returned her data pad and sprinted to catch up with them. When he arrived, they were standing before a set of thin, stone, double doors. One door was lying flat on the floor inside, facing the wrong direction. The other was missing a large chunk, leaving a charred scar in the stone.
Harper started to walk in, then remembered Kelly’s request, and instead turned to Stone. "Officer Stone, on the off chance there are hostiles still inside, enter and clear."
Stone nodded his understanding, and began to give orders to his troops. They flipped on their barrel lights, and entered the pyramid with their guns raised. Harper leaned against the alcove that held the doors, and listened to the sound of combat boots on the stone floor inside. One by one, the SSEALs called out confirmation that the area was secure.
"All clear, Captain," Stone called out.
Harper removed his flashlight from his belt and stepped through the door. The beam washed over rows of glass display cases, supported by platforms made of the same stone as the exterior. He scanned over the chamber walls. The room was as wide as the base of the pyramid, and at least 40 meters deep. On all three walls were doors leading to other rooms. "What’s through those doors," he shouted, unsure of which shadowy figure belonged to Stone.
"The doors to the sides lead to rooms just like this one. The one on the back wall seems to be locked," Stone replied.
Harper decided to examine one of the glass cases closer. Under the glass was an assortment of seemingly random items. Each was labeled by accompanying metallic plaques in an alien language. Included with the random pieces were printed images of unfamiliar planets and mostly humanoid, but alien looking people.
He examined the larger plaque on the outside of the case. After wiping the dust from the brushed metal surface, he was able to make out more alien characters that he was unable to read, yet he couldn’t help but let out an excited chuckle when he recognized patterns.
"What are you laughing about," Thorne said from directly behind him, causing him to jump.
"This is a museum," he replied when his heart rate returned to normal. He pointed to the plaque. "See how none of the characters in the first line are used in the second? One of them must be numbers. The second line has nineteen characters and what looks like decimals, just like our own-"
"Galactic coordinates," she finished his thought, eyes wide with astonishment.
He smiled at her. "These are artifacts from other worlds. They were explorers. He moved on to the next case. It displayed artifacts alien even in comparison to the previous exhibit. Alongside the images of planets and their inhabitants, was also an image of the Andromeda galaxy. On the main plaque for the display case, the second line contained 38 characters as opposed to 19.
This species had clearly advanced to the point they could leave the galaxy at will. Harper pondered the loss of such a magnificent and advanced species. The researchers at the Smithsonian Museum of Interstellar History would rip their hearts from their chests just for the chance to stand in this room, and more to meet the people who collected the artifacts.
"John, there seems to be copper wiring in the walls here. Still intact," Thorne announced. Harper directed his light towards the ceiling, seeing empty globes hung in regular intervals.
He debated internally for a moment. The use of phantom power was dangerous, even in a familiar environment where unknown damage to an electrical system could cause electrocution or explosions. In an unfamiliar place like this, there was no telling exactly what would be turned on. The only safe place to use it is in a familiar place that’s fully intact, which more often than not, is a situation you wouldn’t need it.
He tapped his earpiece, having made his decision. "Go ahead, Captain," Parker’s voice came in.
"Commander Parker, where is Fischer?"
"With you off the ship, I felt better staying on the bridge. I sent Fisher off duty early."
"Very well. Do you think you can transmit a phantom power beam to the pyramid?”
"Shouldn’t be an issue."
"Make it so. Harper out."
A few moments later, the globes overhead sparked to life, casting dim but even light over the room. Harper was finally able to fully grasp the enormity of the room, and the extent of the collection. If the other three chambers were as full as this one, that would mean there were artifacts from thousands of worlds across the galaxy and beyond.
"Captain, I found something," Stone shouted from the center of the room. Harper joined him in front of the central display case. It was the largest by far, and seemed by design to be the most important exhibit. It only took a second for Harper to understand why Stone was so excited about it.
The pieces under the glass could have been stolen from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. A tablet with Egyptian hieroglyphics, papyrus, a printed image of Earth and a Middle Eastern man standing in front of the great pyramid, freshly built.
Harper was almost overwhelmed as the pieces of information fell neatly into place in his mind. He braced himself on the display, but immediately retracted when it began to speak. There were no visible speaker grills, but the sound seemed to emanate from the glass itself.
"I sure hope that’s not a no trespassing warning," Thorne commented.
Harper listened closely to the voice, ignoring the alien language, and trying to focus on the tone. "I think it’s an automated tour guide," He corrected her. He noticed a sparkling just above the display case and looked back inside. Along the bottom of the case were glowing hologram emitters. Clearing the dust above the first emitter, the hologram of a star system he quickly recognized as his own, sprung into place.
Most of the planets were transparent, but the third and fourth planets where at full opacity, and in stunning detail. It was as if Earth and Mars had been miniaturized, and sent into orbit above the display case. The image of Mars here greatly different from that on Thorne's data pad earlier. This Mars was dotted with desert oasis cities like the one where they were standing in. Lakes and rivers cut through the red landscape, and swatches of blue foliage surrounded the cities. The hologram was playing a repeated animation of ships, larger scale versions of the one he found outside, leaving the Martian surface for Earth.
"They're Martians," he exclaimed
"As in from Mars? Sol system," Thorne asked.
"Scientists always liked to theorize there might’ve been civilization on Mars before some cataclysm wiped out all life there. Between this and the stone composition, what more proof do you need?"
He cleared the second holographic emitter, and a larger image of the ancient Mars appeared. The animation showed a large comet deal a glancing blow to the planet, which destroyed its surface and ejected the molten core into space."
"They saw disaster coming and evacuated to Earth before coming here," he continued.
"You’d figure someone would’ve noticed that," Thorne added.
"Maybe they did. Considering how old the settlement we're standing in is, they probably came and went before we perfected recording our own history. They would have been lost in legend and myth.”
He cleared the next projector, but the image was corrupted and unrecognizable. The same with the next. He cleared the last and thought it was another corrupted image, until he recognized the small specks of light as individual stars.
"Well, at least now we know how the Salaxians found us," he said morosely. He looked over at her, and she furrowed her brow. "You don’t recognize this? Think back to the colonial history classes in high school."
She examined the points of light briefly before her eyes lit up with understanding. "These were the colonies before the war."
"They must have been keeping an eye on us. Then, the Salaxians busted their way in here, and made us the next target."
"It all fits. There’s only one thing I still don’t get."
"What’s that?"
"I looked through those files you gave us. They had specs
on the Salaxian ships, including their warp drive.”
"Yes, what about it."
"They’re only capable of about eight-hundred Cs. Meaning, they couldn’t have made it all the way from here to Vega."
Harper thought about it for a moment, but was distracted by a loud metal clank from the locked door in the back of the room, and the sound of stone scraping stone from behind it."
They rushed to the door and carefully opened it. The SSEALs went in first, followed by Harper and Thorne. Inside was another pyramid, with stairs on each face and a flat top. Above them, was a great black dome, pierced at various locations, allowing the light from the crystal top of the external pyramid to shine through.
When they had first entered, it was tilting and spinning at a substantial rate, but had now slowed to a near stop. "This must represent the stars," Thorne said. "It turns and tilts with the planet. When we brought the power back on, it had to catch up."
"Seems a bit like overkill. Why not just use a telescope?”
"Maybe they needed to be able to see them all at once. Or it could just be part of the museum."
They walked to the top of the pyramid and found what looked like a reclined chair. Surrounding the chair were short sets of deep shelves, mostly empty. Sitting forgotten on one of the shelves was a small pyramid shaped crystal. As he grabbed the perfectly clear crystal, it seemed to have a supernatural glow.
He gazed deeply into the transparent rock and saw, not his hand on the other side, but an eye. Jet black from the center of the pupil to the outer edge of the iris. It blinked at him. Before he could react, there was a thud on the back of the shelf, and a large serpent sprung from the darkness, clamping down on his arm. He cried out in pain, and the room went dark.
Chapter 12
Say yes to the Serpent
July 3rd 2213
1900
Redacted
Harper had to shield his eyes against the bright lights above the medical bed, before a face appeared above his. As his eyes struggled into focus, they revealed the smiling face of Doctor Dunfee.
"Welcome back, Captain," He exclaimed.
Harper shook his head, trying to bring the sick bay into focus. Other than the doctor and himself, the room was empty, quiet, and dim. “How long was I out," Harper asked.
The doctor was busying himself around the sick bay, and didn’t turn when he replied, "About two hours."
"How did I get here?"
"Petty Officer Stone carried you all the way back to the landing site. Impressive feat in of itself, given the distance. Not to mention the low oxygen levels."
"Remind me to thank him for not letting me rot there."
"As it turns out, you wouldn’t have died."
"It’s wasn't venomous?"
"Not in the typical sense, no."
The doctor swung around, the very same snake spiraling around his arm. Harper bolted upright. "What the hell is that thing doing here?"
The doctor smiled. "Relax, Captain. Thorne brought it along, in case it WAS venomous, so I could make an antivenin. He’s actually very docile. I would even call it, domesticated."
"If it’s not venomous, why did I pass out?"
"Along with its surprisingly gentle nature, its so called venom, is more of a sedative than a poison. In the smaller prey it eats, this would be euthanasia, but in a full grown human it’s the equivalent of the sedative I use for surgery. In fact, a little more effective. I could coat a knife in it, and stab them without causing any pain. He just mistook your arm for prey, and moved in for the kind, painless kill."
"I don’t know about painless. That hurt like hell before I blacked out."
The doctor furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment. "That wasn’t the snakebite," he replied, placing the reptile back into its holding tank. He picked up a small object from the table next to it. "You actually pressed this into your palm hard enough to break the skin. Still had a death grip on it when you got here."
It was the small crystal pyramid Harper had taken from the shelf on the planet. Harper looked at his bandaged hand with curiosity. He hadn’t noticed the injury until now. Extending the injured extremity, Harper beckoned the doctor to hand over the crystal.
It was foggy and worn, rather than transparent as he had seen on the planet, and the supernatural glow had also disappeared.
"Knowing you, I’m sure you analyzed it," Harper said, pointing the crystal at him.
"Of course," he replied, returning to his work. "It has a unique chemical composition, but otherwise nothing special. Just a rock.
Harper stared into the crystal again with disappointment. "When I was down there I could’ve sworn I saw…" He stopped short and looked at the doctor, who was looking back with curiosity. Harper thought about telling him how he saw an alien eye staring back at him from inside the crystal. He also thought about the doctor’s authority to have him removed from command if deemed mentally unfit, and decided against sharing what he saw. "Never mind."
The doctor shrugged and went back to his tasks. Harper spun the pyramid between his fingers and looked at the snake, which was coiled motionless in its tank and staring directly at him.
"Not exactly the kind of snake I expected to be attacked by when I got here," he thought out loud.
The doctor turned towards him and chuckled. "You think of the Salaxians as snakes?"
"Evil creatures that lurk in the dark to strike their victims without remorse? Yes."
"Do you know that most mythologies, before the Abrahamic variety came along, didn’t see the snake as evil?"
Harper rolled his eyes slightly. "Don’t tell me you’re an expert in comparative mythology too."
"No. Just a hobby."
"Well, you’ve piqued my curiosity."
"Most cultures actually had great respect for the serpent. It was the pure representation of the nature of life."
"How?"
"It spends its entire existence moving and eating. Nothing else. It sustains its existence by eating what it kills. All life, when you get right down to it, depends on death. And the serpent doesn’t act with malice. It simply does what it must to live."
"With logic like that, why even fight the Salaxians?"
"Don’t misunderstand me. If one of the others had been able to react fast enough, not knowing if the snake was deadly, they would have killed it, and rightfully so. The snake was not morally wrong for biting you, and your team would not have been morally wrong for killing it before it bit you."
"Of course not. It's a snake. It has no concept of morality."
"And that is technically what morality is. A concept. One unique to intelligent and civilized species. Our own version of morality is unique to humanity in the twenty-third century. Throughout history, our awareness of the concept of good and evil has both allowed us to do great things that nature does not require of us, as well as horrible things that we justified with our own interpretation. We do our best to play to the side of right, the nearly universal principles of humanity, but the concept is frequently under strain from subjective interpretation. If the serpent had a concept of morality, it would interpret the morality of its meal differently than the rodent that's on the menu would. I’m simply saying we can’t be angry that venomous snakes exist. They're existence is just a fact. We can’t say no to the serpent any more than we can say no to the nature of life, but that doesn’t mean we let them bite us or the people we care about."
Harper contemplated this for a long moment. Suddenly he was feeling much more at ease. Not only about his injury, but about the entire mission. "Never thought about it that way. Thank you, Doctor."
"Any time."
"Is it all right if I finish the night in my own bunk?"
"Absolutely. You're all patched up. Have a good night." Harper nodded and slipped the crystal into a pouch on his belt. He had almost made it to the hatch when the doctor called after him. "Oh, Captain"
"Yes, Doctor"
The doctor pointed to the tank. "What
do you want to do about the snake?"
Harper looked at it again, keenly aware that it had turned its head to watch him leave. "Would we be able to keep it fed?"
"Its diet isn’t so unique that we couldn’t come up with something."
Harper watched the snakes face. It did almost have the look of the family dog. As much as a snake could. "I’ll have an engineer put together a terrarium in my ready room. Take care of him until then?"
"Very good, Captain."
Harper walked out the hatch and towards his quarters, feeling like he could sleep for a year.
* * *
Glenn tried to twist his back in the limited space of the cockpit. Nearly 24 hours in the same position was starting to get unbearable. When they had first arrived, he almost wondered if they had gotten the coordinates for the system wrong. It seemed lifeless for one supporting a military complex. No traffic to be seen. Nonetheless, the small lavender colored moon orbiting a tan gas giant was nothing but a military manufacturing complex.
In over 20 orbits, taking detailed scans, there was only automated factories manufacturing weapons and ship parts. No sign of residences, schools, or parks. There were very few life signs detected on the surface, and surprisingly no clear signs of planetary defenses. Glenn had mixed emotions about what they had found over the past day. Part of him felt fear for a race so dedicated to violence that it would use an entire habitable world for constructing war machines. The other felt anger, that the species that caused humans to look to the skies in fear every day had so little to fear themselves, that they left a place like this practically undefended.
After all the monotony of circling the planet uneventfully, it took a moment for him to even register the danger. A bolt of light from the distance, culminating in a flash that quickly gave way to the hulking form of the Salaxian Battle Cruiser. Its weapons were tucked close to the hull and powered down. Glenn tried to get his heart rate under control as he flipped a switch on his radio. “Grayback, this is Orion. Are you seeing this?
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