Mosaic (Breakthrough Book 5)

by Michael C. Grumley

  When there was no reply, Clay looked at the others. “Everybody stand back.”

  When the long cable was released, it took less than a minute to plunge through the ocean water and reach the bubble of open-air inside the alien ship. From there, it fell the last two hundred feet, slamming with a deafening clang against what they believed to be the smaller ship’s main cargo hold.

  At the top of the ramp, all four men focused their attention back on the block. Which had resumed its slow, controlled course.

  “This is getting spooky,” Caesare said. He raised a hand, pushing gently on the block. He witnessed it edging a few inches away from him, then returning.

  On the other side, Beene reached out and grasped the nylon strap closest to him. The strap was now sagging below, still connected to the main tether cable and steadily dragging it behind.

  “Anyone else think we should take this off?”

  The other three nodded and reached over the top, unclasping each of four steel metal rings, allowing the straps to fall away and onto the floor.

  They continued moving forward with the block, one step at a time. Meanwhile, both Corbin and Beene now held their helmets under an arm for their cameras to record what was happening.

  Onboard the Pathfinder, everyone remained huddled, watching both feeds from the helmets—equally enthralled at what was happening inside the ship.

  They could see when, once Clay and the others were less than ten feet from the center of the room, the block’s movement began to change, lowering and rotating counterclockwise.

  Its distance reached less than a foot from the floor. Then six inches. Then three. And finally, zero.

  With a loud, deep, echoing thump, the block came to a stop. And landed perfectly still.

  Then things began to change. Around the edges. The seams along each side began to shimmer and move.

  “Clay, what’s happening?” Borger asked.

  “We’re not sure.”

  On screen, Corbin’s helmet cam shifted and suddenly drew nearer, as the SEAL held it closer to the block. The seams around the lower edges appeared to be linking or perhaps fusing themselves back in place. One by one, tiny faint lines reconnected themselves between both the block and the floor.

  This went on for several minutes, until once again everything abruptly stopped.

  Inside the ship, all four men remained on their feet, waiting.

  “What now?”

  Clay shrugged while Corbin drew even closer with his helmet, but there was nothing.

  “Well, one thing’s for sure. Something is still working inside this ship.”

  Barely moments after he’d spoken, a ball of light suddenly burst from the top of the block, startling all four men. There, it froze in midair, then slowly began to spin. Rotating while the ambient light in the room began to darken, until the LED lighting from Corbin and Beene’s helmets were the only light sources left.

  On top of the block, lines and diagrams began to illuminate, forming what resembled controls and instruments. At the same time, the image hovering above continued to rotate, darkening further and further until it became black––dotted with thousands of tiny pinpricks of light.

  The entire laboratory aboard the Pathfinder was utterly silent. Everyone watched the monitors in disbelief.

  Until Corbin’s voice crackled over the speaker.

  “You guys getting this?”

  The room nodded in unison, prompting Tay to reply. “Oh yeah. We see it.”

  There was no point in asking what it was. Everyone knew. The black field over the object, rotating slowly in place now, was clearly a view of the universe. Or a part of it. Filled with thousands of tiny sparkling stars.

  It was unquestionably the alien ship’s navigation system.

  166

  We go Alison?

  “Yes, Dirk. Now we go. Are you ready?”

  Yes. We ready. Heads happy.

  Alison stared at the computer screen and glanced down at the time display in the lower righthand corner. The moment had finally come to give Dirk and Sally what they had been asking for. Or more specifically, what their elders had been asking for.

  Of course, it had taken time. Not just to get it approved, but to procure the actual hardware they needed. Flown from San Diego and delivered to them in Trinidad, the acquisition came straight from the headquarters of the Navy Marine Mammal Program.

  Alison stood up and exited the room, passing through two doors and finally emerging outside. She then traversed the catwalk in a series of reverberating steps. She descended two more ladders, reaching the stern of the Pathfinder––to find Tomas Lopez and his fishing trawler waiting.

  When she hopped aboard, the thump caused Chris and Lee to turn around, inside the boat’s small and crowded cockpit. In front of them sat a screen, its computer counterpart situated directly below the marred wooden table.

  They needed to use a smaller version of IMIS during their trip back to Trinidad since Alison’s vest worked only with a direct line of sight. And that would be virtually impossible once underway.

  She stepped up onto the port side of the boat’s main deck, moving forward past the cockpit toward the bow. In the water, she could see the dolphins waiting eagerly––Dirk, their three heads, and several others.

  Smitty cast off the trawler’s lines from the Pathfinder, tossing the thick, worn ropes onto the floor of the trawler and allowing the smaller vessel to float free.

  Lopez looked out from behind the wheelhouse. “Are we ready, Miss Alison?”

  She smiled and nodded. Then gave a thumbs-up through the Plexiglass window to Lee, who typed a short message on his keyboard.

  “Here we go, Dirk. Follow us.”

  ***

  It took hours at low speed, which was necessary to allow the dolphins to keep up with the boat. The pace gave Alison some downtime and the opportunity to gaze out over the glistening water, lost in thought. She occasionally checked forward to make sure Dirk and the others were still with them.

  Across from Alison and the wooden bench she was resting on, Chris smiled at her, his black hair blowing in the breeze.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  She grinned and turned her face into the warm air. “I’m not even sure where to start.”

  He motioned forward toward the dolphins. “It’s nice to be doing this for them.”

  “Yes. It is.”

  “The least we can do.”

  “Yeah. They’ve done a lot more for us than we have for them.”

  “Too bad Sally couldn’t come.”

  Alison acknowledged in disappointment. “We’ll be back.”

  “I know. It’s just that she’s also done so much. She deserves this.”

  “Something tells me Dirk will share everything with her. Maybe even more than she wants.”

  At that, Chris laughed and glanced absently down to his feet. “It really is amazing how similar we all are. At least cognitively. How so many themes in what we say and feel seem fundamentally the same. Even across other species.” After a long pause, he continued. “And funny how all species like to play and grow. And have a place of safety where they can raise and protect their young. Sure, there’re a lot of variations out there, but a lot of the basics feel pretty similar.”

  Alison peered at Chris with a trace of amusement. “And is that what you want too? To raise some little Ramirezes?”

  He laughed. “Eventually. But I have a feeling you’re a little closer to that than I am.”

  “What?”

  “Oh please. You two are so in love. It’s pretty much impossible to miss.”

  Alison frowned. “Do I detect an air of jealousy?”

  “Not at all. I’m happy for you, Ali. Genuinely. You’ve been through a lot. And you deserve to find someone like him. And I’m guessing he deserves someone like you.”

  Alison’s expression softened. “Thank you.”

  “And I’m not worried about you running off anymore either. You couldn�
�t leave all this if you wanted to.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Dirk, Sally,” he gestured out over the water. “Sally’s baby. And now Vize. There is still so much to learn. We’ve barely scratched the surface.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Not to mention my amazing idea of viewing their echolocation through the hydrophone.”

  Alison wrinkled her nose playfully. “You didn’t exactly invent that.”

  “No. But I did think of it as a way to find the wreckage.”

  “Okay, I admit. That was pretty cool.”

  “Then Vize comes along and does his thing.”

  She laughed. “Ya, no kidding!”

  “Speaking of which, we should come up with a better name to give him. Calling him special doesn’t really cut it.”

  “You’re right.” Alison paused and looked forward again, allowing the breeze to blow several strands of hair from her face. After a long moment, she decided, “Let’s name him Edwin.”

  “Edwin?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where did that come from?”

  She stared past him with a soft, almost affectionate expression. “It’s kind of a long story.”

  ***

  Clay and Caesare spotted the trawler when it rounded the point on the northeast corner of Trinidad Island. With a bright sun overhead, they could just make out the repeated splashing on either side of the trawler’s bow.

  It took several minutes for Lopez to close the distance, given the slow speed. Both men were patiently standing on a concrete dock just west of the Trinidad and Tobago Yacht Club. One of the few docks on this side of the island with the necessary width.

  Behind them, parked in a line, were four flatbed trucks, each carrying an oval fiberglass tank. And behind them, a small construction crane dangled a loose fabric harness from its clutches, twisting gently in the warm breeze.

  As they approached the dock, Alison stepped out onto the deck, moving forward to the bow while eagerly beaming at Clay.

  Behind her, Lopez pulled the handle of his throttle back into neutral and allowed the boat to coast to a stop. The change prompted the dolphins to slow in unison before Dirk made a brief circle and popped his head above the water near the back of the boat. Where Alison quickly returned to the cockpit and powered on her IMIS vest.

  Alison. We go.

  “Soon, Dirk.” She eyed the tanks atop the trucks behind Clay and Caesare. “First we need to take you to a larger metal.”

  The larger metal was a Lockheed C-130 transport plane, mammoth in size and waiting on a private tarmac when they reached the airport. Colored navy blue, several call letters and a giant American flag were proudly painted on its tail.

  “Wow,” Alison breathed. “It’s bigger than I thought.”

  Clay grinned beside her and spotted three men waiting outside the aircraft, near to the rear loading ramp. Where their truck driver ultimately came to a stop and waited while they climbed out. They were followed by Caesare, Chris, and Lee exiting the trucks directly behind them.

  He and Alison approached the tallest of the men who waved while walking forward to greet them.

  “Commander Clay?”

  Clay nodded and shook hands. “Mr. Landon. This is Alison Shaw.”

  “Ah, Dr. Shaw,” he said with a warm smile. “Pleased to meet you. Call me Trevor.”

  Alison returned the smile, trying to hide her surprise at how young the man was. “You’re Trevor Landon?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “The director of the Marine Mammal Program?”

  “Let me guess, you were expecting someone older.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, laughing and a little embarrassed. She then looked past him at his cohorts. Neither appeared much older than he. “Are you a commander too?”

  Landon smiled. “No ma’am. I’m a civilian.”

  There was another surprised reaction on Alison’s face as Caesare, Lee, and Chris approached from behind them. “A civilian? I wasn’t expecting that either.”

  Landon swung back and motioned his own colleagues over. “Most people don’t. But believe it or not, the only Navy personnel in our program are in fact the dolphins.”

  “Really?”

  “That’s right,” Landon replied, eyeing Clay with a hint of humor. “And there’s a rumor going around that you may not be one of our team’s biggest fans.”

  “Well…I…uh,” Alison stammered. She glared at Clay and watched him chuckle.

  “That’s okay,’ Landon said. “That’s not uncommon either. Truth be told, there’s a lot of misunderstanding around the program these days. But I can assure you,” he said with a wink, “we’re the good guys.”

  Landon introduced his colleagues. A woman and a man, one named Platt and the other Bayan. When all introductions were made, Landon and his team escorted the five visitors up the ramp for a tour of the aircraft.

  It was incredible. An older model of the Hercules, it had four powerful turboprop engines. Plus, it featured an interior customized specifically for the transportation of the Navy Marine Mammal’s dolphins and sea lions.

  Located on each side of the wide cabin rested two long, slim tanks of saltwater, one forward and the second aft. In the middle was a bevy of systems, including filters, pumps, valves and wiring. All to circulate and maintain safe air and water levels within each tank.

  Overhead, a complex railing system ran the length of the fuselage, extending down the ramp. This allowed animals to be moved quickly and safely to and from each tank. Over the tanks and along the walls, more piping and wires were neatly secured and bundled. It disappeared into an ever-increasing web of overhead systems.

  After explaining their equipment and procedures, the Marine Mammal team led the group of five back down the ramp. Then the team went under the belly of the plane where Landon came to a stop and waited.

  Alison could only shake her head in amazement. “This…is incredible.”

  “Thank you,” Landon replied. “Transporting our animals to where they’re needed is a fairly common occurrence, so we’ve tried to get things down to a science. The only modification we needed to make before flying out here…were these.”

  Landon scanned upwards and pointed to four large panels removed from the bottom of the fuselage. Each section revealed the thick acrylic bottom of each water tank inside.

  He grinned. “They are going to have one hell of a view.”

  ***

  “Dirk, can you hear me?”

  Me hear Alison.

  Dirk gave a restricted wag of his tail in his tightly confined tank but seemed little worse for the wear.

  “And can your heads hear you?”

  After a pause, Dirk responded with a simple yes.

  “Excellent. This metal is going to get very loud. And shaky.” She waited for a translation error, but it never came. With a shrug, she went on. “Do not be afraid. Okay?”

  Okay Alison. We happy.

  She smiled and placed her hand on the clear top of his tank. “We are too.”

  When the plane lifted off, the shuddering of the aircraft passed quickly, allowing Landon and his team to stand up with the assistance of harnesses attached to each. One by one they checked the dolphins, seeking any signs of problems.

  After examining the mammals in all four tanks, Landon turned and gave a thumbs-up to Alison, who remained strapped in her seat next to Clay, near the exit. Beside her, Lee and Chris were visibly less sanguine.

  Landon explained they had a maximum flight time of five hours before most dolphins began displaying anxiety or signs of stress due to the constrained environment. So, given the limited distance they could cover, it was decided to give the dolphin elders as much of a view of the human world as possible––by flying southwest over the capital city of Caracas, Venezuela. Followed by Barquisimeto and Maracaibo, and then Barranquilla, Columbia. The route would be more than enough for the dolphins to experience the modern expanse and density of human p
opulation.

  Even with the loud engines making in-flight communication with Dirk difficult, as near as Alison could tell, the elders made no effort to communicate at all. Instead, they remained almost perfectly still, studying the view through large, round, dark eyes.

  To them, it was just as they thought.

  167

  A little more than a hundred miles away, Li Na suddenly bolted up in her bed. Arisen by a strange feeling.

  It had become increasingly difficult to tune out everything she was sensing, especially onboard the Pathfinder. The entire ship seemed to be constantly shifting and creaking.

  But what she felt now was very different.

  She rose from the bed and searched for her clothes. After throwing on a pair of shorts and a shirt provided by Neely, she found her shoes and left––winding through two passageways before stepping outside into the fresh air.

  The feeling became even stronger outside.

  Cautiously, Li Na moved over the catwalk and descended one level before making her way through to the starboard side.

  There, from the railing, she could see something in the water. Different from the other dolphins. This one looked smaller, with a much larger shape comprising the front of its head.

  She took a deep breath and gazed out at the animal. It was much stronger now that there was nothing between them. The sensation felt similar to what she experienced with the other dolphins, but this time it was much more intense. And different. As if more precise.

  It wasn’t just feelings this time. There was something else. Dozens of pieces, fragmented within the strange vibrations, that felt much more like…words.

  EPILOGUE

  I

  “What am I looking at?”

  Steve Caesare studied the sheet of paper in his hand before glancing up at Will Borger and Lee Kenwood.