by Bob Cooper
While on Antares, Dirk and his team received assistance from the alien inhabitants with deciphering the Codex. It was a blueprint for clean energy, and its technologies were now fully understood thanks to Acey’s help and Dirk’s technical team. After leaving the Academy, Dirk started a nonprofit company dedicated to implementing clean energy technologies derived from the Antares Codex. He employed a team of technicians and was well connected with the titans of industry and politics.
Dayton Clifford put his hand on Dirk’s shoulder and interrupted his thoughts.
“We have discussed the matter and decided to fund the first phase of the implementation,” he said, smiling.
***
Acey patiently waited in the JPG Interstellar Mining Company office in Mexico City for the Brothers to show up. Joe accompanied her. Even though he wasn’t a big fan of having Acey on mining operations, he grew to like and respect her—mainly, because she was the only one who could keep the Brothers focused on the mining business, which meant employment for him and his crew.
The Brothers, Jose and Ignacio Gonzalez, inherited the business from their father, Juan Pedro. Juan grew the company from scratch, working first in the mines of Sonora, Mexico and eventually expanding his operations to the moon. With the help of Joe Turner, his operation expanded into the asteroid belt, which provided a comfortable living for his family. His sons, Jose’ and Ignacio, traveled all over Central and South America partying without a care in the world—until Juan Pedro died. In his will, Juan left the business to them and made them promise on their mother’s grave they would keep this legacy going and eventually hand it down to their children.
Knowing nothing about the mining business and wanting no part of the responsibility, the Brothers relied heavily on Acey and Joe. Acey’s newfound business talents helped them keep the business solvent. Joe handled the operations end, allowing Jose and Ignacio to continue their life of excessive partying.
Jose was the first to enter the room—barefoot and disheveled. Ignacio followed shortly thereafter, not looking much better, carrying a box full of documents. Acey and Joe looked at each other shaking their heads.
“Good morning, my friends. It is nice to see you. I understand we have some issues to discuss,” Ignacio said elbowing Jose’ to stay awake.
“Good morning,” Acey replied. She wasted no time, showing them the pictures and telling them the story of what she found.
“I have contacted the Academy, and they are extremely interested in exploring the artifacts I found at the site.”
“How long will this take?” Jose’ asked.
“It could take upwards of three months, depending on what they find and the significance.”
The Brothers looked at one another, each waiting for the other to speak.
“So, what do we do now?” Ignacio finally asked.
“We put things on hold there and push to get our permits approved to begin work in the lava flows of Eris’ moon, Dysnomia. The crew there found several veins of Bortinite that look very promising,” Joe said.
“Then, it is settled. That’s what we’ll do,” Jose’ said getting up ready to leave.
It was over like that. But before Ignacio left, he turned to Acey.
“I have these financial reports that need to be filed with the Federated Bureau of Mining Affairs, and our quarterly statements are due. Would you please attend to them, Acey?”
“I will work on them while I plan the dig with the Academy,” she said, taking the box.
Then the Brothers were gone. Joe looked at Acey with a puzzled look on his face. She shrugged her shoulders.
“They have no idea what they’re doing, nor do they care,” Joe vented.
“Yeah, I know. They didn’t sell the business after their father died because of the promise they made to him—to continue it in the family name. If it wasn’t for you, they would have been out of business a long time ago,” Acey said pawing through the box of reports.
“And if it wasn’t for you handling the finances of the business, this company would be in bankruptcy court,” Joe added.
“I’m heading to the Academy to meet with the archaeology team tomorrow and discuss plans for the dig.”
“Contact me if you need help with those financial statements,” he said, walking out of the office.
Returning from Mexico City, Acey arrived at the Academy an hour early, sipping coffee at the student union. The meeting to plan the dig was scheduled to take place in the Astro-Archaeology building, which she knew well having spent many hours there with Dirk, her Grandfather before she graduated. She studied the work her father and mother did on Antares. After deciphering the set of Codices given to them by the Antarians, that body of knowledge became the basis for Dirk’s business to provide clean and free energy to Earth.
It also held many painful memories. When most of the Antares atmosphere was destroyed, the Antarians moved underground since they had no protection from the radiation. Most Antarians became complacent and lived their lives without ever knowing or caring what was on the surface. But some Antarians wanted to restore and, once again, live on the surface. It was the latter who helped Acey and Dirk secure these codices.
The Earther movement remained a strong force to contend with, even now. Protests against the Academy continued, especially when news of contact with new alien races or discoveries of artifacts surfaced in the media. They believed Earth should not make contact because of various religious and political beliefs. She knew her discovery on Eris would come under protest.
As Raina walked in the student union, Acey stood up and waived. The sisters embraced a long time as if that would make up for the time they had been apart.
“You’re looking good. How are you doing?” Acey asked.
“Great! I really missed you. I’ve been totally immersed in study for my Bar Exams, which are coming up in a few days. The law firm where I intern has assigned a tutor to help me. I’m meeting with him this afternoon. Have you seen Dirk yet?”
“No, not yet. I told him I would stop by after my meeting with the archaeology team here at the Academy.”
“So where do you go from here?”
“Back to Eris. We found some fascinating artifacts in one of the mine shafts there.”
“You’re never here for very long anymore,” Raina said with a sigh.
Acey could tell that Raina truly missed having her around. Ever since Acey found out that Raina was her older half-sister during her time on Antares, she wanted to get closer to her.
“Look. I’m here for at least another week. How about dinner at my place tonight? I’ll invite Dirk.”
“That sounds great. I’ll bring some dessert.”
Raina knew there should be one more person there. She saw him the other day.
“Did you know Aidan is in town? He asked about you.”
Acey held her breath for a second, grasping her coffee with both hands to help steady the jolt that went through her body.
“How is he doing?” she managed to ask.
“He moved back into the city. He looks confused to me.”
The memories of that night rushed back to her. After Dirk’s retirement party from the Academy, Aidan announced his departure to “sort things out.” His dishonorable discharged from the Citizen Guard left him empty with no sense of direction or self-worth. He broke his sworn allegiance to the Guard by following his conscience to help Dirk escape to Antares after Dirk was falsely accused of murdering his colleague. Back on Earth, he left to put his life back on track, leaving Acey standing alone in the dry, cool desert. Acey first met Aidan after a scuffle with the Earthers. He was the officer on duty at the Citizen Guard HQ when she went there to press charges. His blue eyes got the best of her and their love for each other blossomed.
“He gave me his address,” Raina said handing Acey a slip of paper.
Acey took it and slipped it into her purse without looking at it.
“Thanks,” Acey whispered softly.
A tall man in his early thirties walked up to the table holding a briefcase. Acey noticed his with black hair braided down to his shoulders and his sharp, tailored, cream-colored suit.
“Hi,” he said to Raina while looking at Acey.
“Oh, hi,” Raina replied. She turned toward her sister and said, “Acey, this is Robert EagleFeather, my law tutor.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand as she stood to leave.
“Well, I have to get to my meeting. I’ll see you at my place tonight at seven,” she said to Raina as she walked away.
***
The auditorium looked the same as when Acey studied there at the Academy. A sign at the entrance read: “Closed Session—Restricted.” Two security guards posted at the main entrance checked identifications as they entered. Acey had the artifact shipped there along with video, ground-penetrating x-rays, and a complete geologic study of the area. Acey recognized the crème de la crème of the scientific community hovering around the artifact, enclosed in a force-field protected display case in front of the podium.
Most of the attendees dressed in jeans and very casual attire. Some of the men appeared unkempt with scraggly beards. They looked like they never made the transition from academia into the real world. You wouldn’t know it by looking at them, but Acey knew these men and woman held the knowledge and power that she would need to mount a thorough exploration of Eris. Only a novice, Acey had earned the scientific community’s respect by playing a pivotal role in deciphering the Antares Codex. Even those outside the scientific community knew her—mainly for her notoriety in the trial that vindicated Dirk from the false accusations of murdering his longtime friend and colleague from the Academy.
Approaching the podium in her very professional, gray business suit, Acey asked to start the proceedings. Attendees found their seats, and after a quick check of the sound system, it was showtime.
“Good morning, esteemed colleagues and Academy Staff. The report I filed with the Interstellar Antiquities Commission on behalf of the JPG Interstellar Mining Company details my findings to date.”
She instructed the AI unit to turn on the holographic projection unit. The Artificial Intelligence Interface responded with “Unit On” and displayed several images of the Eris, some of the glyphs, and the room in the mineshaft that she discovered.
“This hologram doesn’t do justice to what I saw in the room. The cylinders you see here were much brighter and pulsated with a red glow as if they were alive. They are protected by an energy field. The console is also functional, and a low hum emanates from it.”
“Do you know where the energy source is located?” asked one scientist.
“After scanning the area, I detected an unknown source below the room. I made no further attempt to dig due to the unstableness of the mine shaft.”
“You described the cylinders as being almost alive. Can you tell us why you chose those words to describe them?” asked another scientist.
“Even though I couldn’t see what was inside the cylinders, scans indicated an energy level that usually is found within living organisms.”
Murmurs and whispers shot across the auditorium. Acey let them digest what she said for a while, knowing that she piqued their interest and would have no trouble getting their support to mount an expedition. She continued by explaining what she needed from the Academy and how she would lead it.
After three more hours of discussion, it was a done deal. Acey convinced them she should lead a team back to Eris and continue to explore the site. They needed formal approval to use Academy resources, but the scientists would no doubt do what they needed to do to get that accomplished.
Acey agreed to prepare the budget, the scope of the expedition, and present it to the Academy Oversight Committee within two days.
On her way home, her smile beamed from ear to ear as she realized what she had accomplished. This was going to be her first time to lead an expedition, and she couldn’t wait to tell Dirk.
3
T he box from the Brothers was crammed with reports overdue to the Mining Bureau, along with unpaid bills and a letter from a jilted woman in Lisbon. Acey prioritized the work into neat piles, poured a glass of wine and dug in. Even though she had no formal training in corporate accounting at the Academy, working with debits and credits came naturally to her. Growing up, Dirk was always too busy to deal with the mundane, day-to-day finances of running a household, so Acey made sure the bills were paid on time, and some money went into savings.
She knew nothing of the mining business when she started working for the Brothers. Joe helped her learn all about mining regulations and reporting. Her experience in archaeology with categorizing and classifying enabled her not only to collect the raw data for reporting but also to analyze it for efficiencies, which made the operations run more smoothly and less expensively.
After Acey completed a set of preliminary financial reports, she sent them to the accountants along with a copy to the Brothers. Not that they would read them, but she always included a summary page for them that contained: YTD NET PROFIT OR LOSS, NEW REGULATIONS SUMMARY (which was really for Joe's benefit), and a PERSONAL SECTION (mainly advice to deal with jilted women and other oddities).
The door monitor buzzed and flashed a picture of the delivery team while the AI announced the Bayberry Catering Service. Acey glanced at her watch and gasped when she saw the time. In two hours, Dirk and Raina would arrive for dinner. Giving the command to open the door, Acey ran to greet them.
“Hi, Billy, come on in. How are you doing?
Billy walked in, motioning to his employees to bring in the food.
“Great, Hillary says hello,” Billy shared.
Hillary was Acey’s best friend, and Billy was her boyfriend.
“The Gallery is putting on a major exhibition with some well-known artists. The CEO of a major firm commissioned Hillary to create an entryway piece for their corporate headquarters. I’m helping out at my father’s catering business.” He turned and faced Acey, “How long are you here? You must stopover to the Gallery,” he said.
“I’m here for a week. How about I stop over tomorrow night?” Acey asked, searching her briefcase for a pen to sign the bill.
Something fell out. It was the slip of paper with Aidan’s new address and phone number. She picked it up and squeezed it into her hand.
“Sounds great! See you then,” Billy said as he left.
Acey stared at the paper. It had been a long time since they last saw each other. Why didn’t he call? she thought. They had been so close, and now they were far apart. Acey tried to understand, but the pain always clouded her feelings. Picking up her com link, she was about to call Aidan when it rang in her hand, startling her. It was Raina.
“Hey, what’s up?” Acey asked.
“Do you mind if I bring a guest tonight?”
“Not at all. There’s plenty of food. Anybody, I know?”
“Robert EagleFeather—my law tutor. You met him yesterday morning.”
“Yes, I remember. Not a problem.”
“Okay. See you in about an hour.”
The food sat in the galley. She had a lot of work to do for tonight’s dinner. She took the crumpled up paper with Aidan’s contact information and shoved it back into her briefcase.
Dirk arrived before Raina and Robert. Hugging Acey, he gave her a bottle of wine and a small brown wooden box.
“Thanks. What’s this?” Acey asked.
“Open it and see,” he replied.
Acey lifted the lid and took out a clock-like device. The case was gold, and the needle inside had a small ruby at the tip.
“This is an antique compass. Where did you get it?”
“Turn it over.”
Acey turned the compass over, and at the bottom, she read the engraved script—To my loving husband Henry. May you never lose your way. Love Laura. The painful flood of memories of her parent’s demise came back. Closing her eyes, she blocked them out.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, clutching it to her chest.
“It was in their personal belongings. When the Academy gave them to me, I stowed them away. Except for this—I knew I would someday give it to you. But I couldn’t find the right circumstance. But now that you’re leading your first expedition, I wanted you to have it.”
“Thank you so much,” she said, hugging him.
“Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Where’s Raina? I’m starved,” he said, pouring himself a scotch.
“She should be here any minute. Did you know she was bringing someone?”
“No. Who is it?”
“It’s her law tutor, Robert EagleFeather. I met them at the Academy before my presentation.”
“Hmmm. Anything serious going on?” he asked, sipping his scotch.
“I’m not sure. “
The door monitor sounded and displayed a picture of Raina and Robert. She told the AI to let them in, and it acknowledged her command with a chime.
Raina entered, hugging Acey and Dirk.
“I’d like you to meet Robert. He’s helping me with my law exams,” Raina said, mainly for Dirk’s benefit.
Hello. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Acey,” he said, handing her fresh cut flowers.
“Thank you,” Acey replied, taking the flowers from him.
“And it’s an honor to meet you, Sir. I’ve heard so much about you,” Robert said to Dirk.
“Thank you. I hope what you heard was all good,” Dirk said, smiling.
“Well, pour yourselves a drink and let’s catch up,” Acey said.
***
Colonel Jack Stryker hunkered down in his vehicle outside Acey’s apartment, sipped his hot coffee, and waited for Dirk and Raina to leave. The Interstellar Intelligence Agency (IIA) had assets all over the world and some off-world. He was one of the more senior agents. Too much had already been revealed. There could be no mistakes made here. He had been notified of the situation. For now, Stryker’s mission was to observe and record Acey’s movements and report back. And that’s what he planned to do.