The Sol 3 Agenda

by Brian Kitchen

  They all left the chamber, Kate grabbing John’s arm and pulling him back, as it seemed he was going to confront the woman he called Susan.

  “Who is she, John?” Kate wanted to know. “You’ve obviously got some history.”

  “Damn right we have! That’s the woman I told you about!”

  “What, your father’s lover?” Kate asked realisation dawning on her.

  “Yes, the bitch that caused the arguments between us. What the hell is she doing here!”

  Sceolan stopped by a door guarded by two battle droids and indicated they should go into the room . They walked on into a large chamber, where seated around a large semi-circular table were Oisin, Iseabail, Fionnuala and Fenella. To one side of it was a large wall mounted screen which had a number of chairs arranged in a semi-circle before it. Conn stood to one side of the screen with a small tablet device in his hand.

  “Ah, everyone’s here now, including our guest, the President of the United States of America,” Oisin announced, sitting back in his chair, arms folded.

  “You’re the President of the USA, Susan?” John said in disbelief.

  “Shona is her real name and she is a Leanan Sidhe who I employed as a spy, but she betrayed me,” Fionnuala said standing up and walking over to her, stopping about a foot or so from her. Shona cringed. “However, fortunately for her, I am very forgiving. Are you very forgiving Oisin?” Fionnuala asked turning to him. John’s father shrugged.

  “Yes, I suppose so, Fionnuala,” Oisin replied and then turned to John. “I don’t know about my son though. Are you very forgiving, John?” John shook his head.

  “Not after all the trouble that she caused,” John answered angrily, giving the woman who had caused a rift between him and his father, a look which would have killed, if it had been able to.

  “Well now, Shona, the final decision on this matter will be left to the Morrigan in Waiting,” Fionnuala announced, indicating Iseabail. “Of course, the ordering of the assassination of the Badhbh in Waiting is a capital offence, for which the penalty for is death.”

  “I didn’t order the death of the Badhbh in Waiting.,” Shona cried out, turning deathly pale. “I didn’t know there was one. “

  “You ordered the killing of Kate Penrose, who is the Badhbh in Waiting, Shona,” Oisin informed her, indicating Kate.

  “JT said she was a terrorist who was plotting to kill me. I didn’t know she was the Badhbh in Waiting. You have to believe me,” Shona pleaded, dropping to her knees.

  The doors to the chamber opened and two battle droids came in and seized Shona by an arm each and effortlessly lifted her back up onto her feet.

  “Put her in the brig,” Oisin ordered and still protesting her innocence, Shona was taken from the room.

  “What will happen to her?” Kate asked. She didn’t want the woman to be executed, even if it had been her, who had ordered Marcus King to kill her.

  “Oh, we’ll let her stew for a while in the brig and then interrogate her,” Oisin said. “We need to find out what JT is really planning to do with this planet and its population.”

  “We couldn’t execute Shona, if we wanted to Kate,” Iseabail added. “She is the President of the USA and also the President of the Aossi Corporation. Being the majority shareholder has full control of the Aossi Corporation. We’ll need both the resources of the USA and the Aossi Corporation if we’re going to have to fight the Andromedans.”

  “We’ll leave you to hear what Conn has to tell you,” Oisin said as the four of them seated at the table stood up and moved off towards the door.

  “I’ve found this video footage of Etain leaving the cottage on the day your mother disappeared, Joshua,” Conn said as soon as the others had left the room. The screen came to life as the rest of them found a seat before it. The video showed Etain getting into the old Morris Minor Traveller and driving away from the cottage. “I couldn’t follow Etain’s journey to wherever she was going, but I managed to locate her about 45 minutes later, here in Sneem,” Conn tapped the screen of his tablet and the screen refreshed to show Etain walking towards a very picturesque grey stone church with a tall tower. “That’s St Michael’s Church, Sneem, that Etain is walking towards, but look, she goes down the steps to the right of the church and enters what is now known as the Pyramid Garden.”

  “Pyramid Garden?” Joshua queried.

  “Nowadays, it’s a sculpture park with a collection of structures resembling pyramids and the beehive huts that Ireland is famous for,” Conn informed him. “Then, however it was just an area of unused land by the river. It did have this on it however.”

  Joshua watched the screen as Etain walked down the steps and onto a path which led towards the riverbank. In the distance, Joshua could see a woman with their back to them, standing in front of what appeared to be a small ruin of some kind. Etain walked on and as she approached the woman, the woman turned around and Joshua gasped with surprise.

  “That’s my mother,” he managed to say, overcome with emotion.

  “It’s what happens next that is most interesting Joshua,” Conn said. “Watch very carefully.”

  Watching the screen intently, Joshua saw Etain join his mother and then both of them turned and faced the ruined structure which was shaped like a beehive. Next moment they had both disappeared.

  “They’ve gone!” Kate exclaimed. “What happened there.”

  “Probably the same as what happened to me, when I touched the standing stone, back in Cornwall in 1969,” John told everyone. “I couldn’t see properly, so I’m not sure whether they touched it or not, but I’m sure they both moved an arm towards it.”

  “Can you zoom in anymore?” Padraig asked, turning to Conn.

  “I’ll try,” Conn replied, “but you have to realise that this satellite wasn’t under our control in 1974. I’ve had to hack into the Confederation files on Sol 6 base to get the video footage. The Confederation weren’t at all interested in Sneem and so what was available was very limited,” Conn paused looking very thoughtful. “For some reason, the Confederation seemed to be more interested in what was happening 13 miles away at Staigue Fort.”

  “What’s Staigue Fort?” Kate asked as Conn tried to zoom in more on Joshua’s mother, Siobhan and Etain.

  “It’s a Ring Fort,” it was Aithne who answered her. “One of the largest and finest in Ireland,” she added proudly.

  “I’m sorry I can’t get it better than that,” Conn told them, having done the best he could with the video.

  They all looked at the screen again. Conn had zoomed in a little more, but it was still impossible to see whether either Siobhan or Etain touched the pyramid.

  “Well there was definitely arm movement towards the pyramid like John said,” Morann agreed.

  “I saw it too, “said Fergus.

  “Well, I can only suggest that you return to Sneem and go to what is now the Pyramid Garden and see what you can find there,” Conn told them.

  “Seems a good idea,” John said, looking to see if the others agreed. They nodded assent.

  “Before we do, I’d like to see any video you have on this Staigue Fort,” Padraig requested. “I’m intrigued too, to know why the Confederation were so interested in the place.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Conn answered and started tapping on tablet again. “Ok, what year do you want?”

  “Start about the time Siobhan and Etain were at the Pyramid Garden,” Padraig told him.

  The screen refreshed and now it showed a low hill with the fort upon it. In the distance beyond the fort could be seen the sea.

  “That’s Kenmare bay you can see in the distance,” Aithne informed them.

  “How tall are those walls,” John asked.

  “About 5.5 metres in places, oh sorry, John, that’s 18 feet high,” Aithne answered. ”The walls are also 4 metres or 13 feet thick.”

  “I don’t think the Confederation was particularly interested in the fort,” Conn suddenly said. Kate had noticed h
e’d been scrolling through information on his tablet. “I think it was this man they were interested in.”

  Everyone turned to look at the screen as Conn focused and zoomed in on a man who was wearing a Duster coat and a black Stetson hat. He reminded John of one of the cowboys, in the Western films he used to enjoy watching.

  “He looks like John Wayne,” John said.

  “No, he’s wearing a black Stetson,” Padraig observed. “He must be a baddie.”

  “Most curious, “ Conn announced. “According to the information I’m getting, the man’s facial features do not fit any known human on this planet.”

  “What do you mean, Conn?” Kate asked. “You’re saying he’s not human?”

  “What I’m saying Kate, is that the man’s features do not match any of the photographs, of any of the billions of human males, that have been photographed on Earth since photography was invented on this planet,” Conn answered. “That also includes footage from all of the Aos Si sources including video footage from CCTV cameras, satellites and drones. The man theoretically does not exist.”

  “Could he be an android, Conn?” Morann asked.

  “I have no idea, Morann. I need to do more research. I think however, that it is now most urgent that you return to Sneem and find out whether the beehive-shaped structure, that Siobhan and Etain were standing by before they disappeared, was a planetary surface teleportation relay station to the Morrigan’s Depository. That’s of course if it still exists.”

  “I agree, Conn,” Padraig said looking at his Fianna comrades who all nodded. “I think we need to take a Deltoid with us. I’ll clear it with the Ceannaire,” he turned and hurried from the room, Morann, Aithne and Fergus close on his heels. Kate, Joshua and John looked at each other..

  “Looks like you’ll be making your first Deltoid trip, Kate,” John told her.

  Chapter 30

  The Beagalltach,

  Friday 16th September 2005

  Marcus King had been scared witless when he’d arrived on board the Beagalltach following his shooting by Terry in the gardens of Haddon Hall. The teleportation process had completely disorientated him and then, when what looked like two robots had put him on a trolley and rushed him down to what looked like an operating theatre, he’d passed out. He’d no idea what period of time had gone by when he woke up in a room with subdued lighting and found an attractive woman with green spikey hair looking down at him.

  “So, you are awake, Marcus King, “ she said, touching a device she held to his wrist and then to the right shoulder where he’d been wounded. “Obviously the surgery I carried out was successful. The shoulder is healing well, and you be will be fully recovered in a very short time. Obviously, your general health was very poor before you were wounded, but the medical nanobots I’ve implanted will take care of that and you should soon be at 100% expected human health level, for someone of your chronological age.”

  “What’re you on about?” King managed to croak, looking blearily eyed at her. ”Who are you?”

  “I am Liadan and I am an android and also the Medical Officer of the Beagalltach, the Fianna Command Deltoid which you are on board,” she told him. “The Ceannaire will want to speak to you, and you would be well advised to answer his questions truthfully. Now I will leave you to rest.”

  “Hold on a minute, what’s a Deltoid?”

  “It’s what you would call a space craft,” Liadan answered King. “A starship that can travel between galaxies.”

  “Bloody hell!” King swore as the android left the room, leaving King in a state of shock.

  For a while, King was unable to process all that the Android had told him, and he wondered what he was going to do. King had been shot and wounded before during his career in the police force and one thing he soon realised was that he felt nothing like he’d felt before. In fact, he wouldn’t have known he’d been shot, as his shoulder wasn’t at all painful. To his surprise, he also felt better physically and mentally than he’d done for a very long time.

  King at heart wasn’t a bad man. Yes, he’d had no compunction at shooting terrorists, or criminals and had blindly followed orders for a very long time. True, he’d believed in Albert Brown’s policies when the man had first come to power, but when during what was nowadays called the Second English Civil War, civilians, men, women and children had been massacred, King had had grave doubts about what he was doing. Then when King’s brother had been killed, when troops loyal to Brown had fired on people rioting over food shortages, that had been the last straw.

  The problem was however that King was too deep in the Rectifiers by then and when he’d tried to break free of the organisation, he had been threatened that other members of his large family would die if he didn’t toe the line. Even when leaving prison, he’d been pulled back into what remained of the Rectifiers, with threats that he and his family would suffer severe consequences if he didn’t do as he was told. How he’d found the courage to try and stop Terry from killing Oisin and John Trevaskis Junior, he didn’t know, but he had lived, and Terry was now dead, and King had a chance now to try and put things right.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  About the same time

  Journey back to Sneem

  Morann returned to Kate, Joshua and John a short time later and took them to the Deltoid Hangar and then over to a Deltoid where Padraig, Aithne and Fergus awaited them. Shaped like an equilateral triangle like the Deltoids that John was familiar with, this Deltoid was larger and appeared to be made of a different kind of metal.

  “It’s built of a special alloy, called Velzizzium developed by Diarmuid who now designs our Deltoids. It’s incredibly strong and can withstand tremendous pressures and it also has special properties which make cloaking easier, “ Morann informed them, before John could ask. They boarded the Deltoid, walked to the flight deck and took their seats, which were arranged in semi-circles, in two rows facing the viewing panel which looked out over the nose of the craft. Someone John hadn’t seen before, a female android with purple hair cut in a Mohican-style was in what was obviously the pilot’s seat.

  “Would you like to sit by Alannah, John?” Padraig asked, indicating the female android with purple hair cut in a Mohican-style. “You won’t have flown a Deltoid V2s before and although I’m reluctant to admit it, she’s a damn fine pilot.”

  “Praise indeed, Padraig,” Alannah retorted, “Here’s hoping that you didn’t teach John to fly.” Then, in a quiet aside to John as he took the seat next to hers, “Morann tells me you’ve flown the original type Deltoids. “

  “Yes, and it was Morann who gave me my first lessons in flying them,” John answered.

  “Good, she’ll have taught you well,” Alannah said smiling at him. “As Padraig said, this is a Deltoid V2s, which is faster than the original Deltoids, has better weapons and defence systems and can operate efficiently in a planetary atmosphere. It is also submersible and can travel underwater, like a submarine. Primarily it’s functions are reconnaissance, transport and defence and support of its mother ship, which in this case is the Beagalltach. “ John nodded. “I’ll be flying you all to Sneem where I’ll teleport you down to the surface and then standby in case you need further support from me. So, let’s go”

  John noticed that an opening had appeared at the end of the hangar and he could see out beyond it into space. Slowly the Deltoid started to move forward towards it. As they reached it, John saw on Alannah’s display screen, two lines of green lights, wide apart to start, but which narrowed to a point. In between the lines was the silhouette of a Deltoid, presumably the one he was on. Alannah saw him looking at it.

  “Our flight path, John, if you were wondering.”

  “I was, Alannah.”

  By now they were outside the Beagalltach and John saw on the display they were reaching the end of the lines.

  “I’ll fly past the Beagalltach, as I don’t expect you’ve seen the outside of it,” Alannah said turning the Deltoid so that they could fly along
the length of it.

  “Wow! it’s huge,” John said looking awestruck at the craft as they flew along it. The Beagalltach was shaped like an isosceles triangle and was at least ten times bigger than any Galaxy Class Deltoid that John had ever seen before.

  “Yes, the Infinity Class Deltoids are the largest space craft that the Aos Si have ever built and they can carry up to fifty Interplanetary Class Deltoids. That alone makes them a formidable task force for any enemies to contend with.” Alannah looked at another display to the right hand side of the main one. “We’ll be within teleportation range of Sneem within about two minutes, but we’ll do a quick reconnaissance flight over the area before you all disembark.”

  “I suggest that we teleport first to Etain’s cottage and then drive back into Sneem. I don’t want us suddenly appearing before any of Sneem’s inhabitants and frightening them half to death,” Padraig announced.

  “No that would never do,” Morann agreed.

  Nothing untoward was spotted during the reconnaissance flight over Sneem and so a short while later, all of them apart from Alannah, teleported down to Etain’s cottage, materialising in the living room. Joshua locked the cottage up and replaced the key where he’d found it. They then drove back to Sneem, parking up near to St Michael’s Church. Arriving at the Pyramid Garden, they saw that it had changed considerably since 1974 and was now full of different stone built, pyramid looking structures.

  “Where do we start?” Kate asked, looking down into the garden. “There are pyramids everywhere, but I can’t see anything that looks like the one that Etain and Joshua’s mother were standing by, when they disappeared.”

  “Well, we have its map reference and so we’ll try that location first,” Padraig said looking at a small handheld device whilst he led the way. They walked down the steps that Etain had walked down and then through the garden.

  “This is where it was,” Padraig said suddenly halting and looking around and then looking back at the stone pyramid he was standing before.

  “The stones look similar,” Aithne said, looking at the pyramid like structure, which had what looked like a circular window in it.