by Terry Mixon
When they were away from the edge, she stared back down. “I can’t believe we just did that. Worse, I can’t imagine going back down. Whatever you brought me up here for better be worth it.”
She gave him a smile, probably to take any sting out of what she’d just said.
“I think you’ll find it fascinating.”
He led her to the depression and pulled the brush out of the way. “We’re going down there. I brought lights for us.”
“You brought me up here to go spelunking?” she asked incredulously. “I don’t want to find myself wedged in some tight crevice I can’t get out of.”
“It only goes down a few meters and opens up almost immediately. Trust me.”
With seeming reluctance, she sighed. “I hope to God you’re not just a nutter.”
“The jury is still out on that.”
He clicked his light on and went down into the passage. Once he’d reached the bottom, he turned and shined the light back up. “See? Just right to here.”
She made it about two-thirds of the way down before the ground slid beneath her feet. She shrieked as she came the rest of the way down.
He caught her arm to steady her as she came to rest. “Are you okay? No twisted ankle or anything?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. Now what is this place? A cave?”
He helped her to her feet and then turned his light down the corridor.”
“Bloody hell!” she said. “This is artificial! No way straight lines like this happen in nature.”
“This may be hard to believe, but somebody put this here before New Zealand was colonized. I’m not joking. When I said aliens, that wasn’t an exaggeration or a joke. Human beings associated with them dug this mesa out and constructed a facility inside of it.”
He took a few steps and gestured for her to follow him. “Let me show you a few things I found last night. I’m afraid some of this is a little grisly.”
Harry had already identified several of the skeletons as heavy-worlder. He wasn’t interested in frightening her with the bones, but the dead warriors had left armor and weapons scattered about as well.
It only took a moment to find one of the latter under a thick layer of dust. “See this? You’ll note that I haven’t disturbed it. It’s been here for a very long time.”
Taking care not to scatter choking dust all around them, he raised the weapon off the floor and shook it a little. The power pack was undoubtedly dead, so there was no danger in allowing her to examine it more closely.
He put his flashlight between his teeth and extended the weapon on his palms.
Molly stepped closer and examined it. “I’ve never seen anything like it and most of my family likes to shoot. So do I.”
“Let me give you the nickel tour. Once I show you the bottom level of this facility, you won’t doubt me any further.”
“I don’t need to see any more to believe you. This is tremendous. Momentous. Is that what your father was after when he came here? Is that why the United States sent military people to take him into custody?”
She wiped her face with a hand. “You know I have to report this. I can’t possibly keep my mouth shut.”
He nodded. “I suspected that would be the end result when you figured out my identity. Come on, if you’re going to report this, you’ll want to see everything.”
Harry took her down to the very lowest level and showed her the engineering room and then the gate room.
Molly stared around in awe. “You weren’t joking about aliens. Even in decrepit condition I can tell this was high technology and it’s been here a very long time.”
She turned toward him and put her hands on her hips. “I want to hear the full story. I deserve to hear everything.”
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but I think I should mention the glowing square right there is powering the arch on the wall. I can’t control it yet, but that isn’t a solid wall. It’s actually the entrance to a quantum tunnel. One that leads to other worlds.
“You’re not going to find my father or anyone else you’re searching for. They went through that. They won’t be coming back unless I figure out how to go after them.”
She gaped. “Even having seen all this, I find that hard to believe. You mean like Mars? Did you get back here with something like that?”
“Exactly. We found a base in much better condition on Mars. Honestly, I’ve been to other star systems already. I’ll be happy to show you, once I get it working.
“The aliens that designed this technology had a civilization that spanned some unknowable distance and probably included thousands or tens of thousands of star systems. That gate is the key to the universe.”
Molly made a slow turn, looking at everything around her. “This is going to change the world. This is what America wanted. They’ll probably do anything to get this technology. Hell, so will my government. Do you realize you’ve just started a mad scramble to possess this? Wars have happened for far less.”
Harry nodded grimly. “I do. That’s why we have to keep this quiet for as long as possible. Do you want China coming here to take it? They will. How far away are they and what is the relative military strength?”
It was her turn to pale. “Bloody hell.”
Chapter Eighteen
“We got some codes that might interest you,” Kevin McHugh said to Jess.
She looked up from the screen on her desk and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I went with your friend Colonel McCarthy to the base in France and looked at the ships before he started bringing them back here. There was one open when your people got there and it had a code that led to the ship you guys are looking for. I’m betting that’s how your bad guys got in.”
“We knew it had to be something like that,” she said glumly.
“We found something else interesting,” he said. “It seems the person that used the fighter as a controller also viewed a couple of videos of the fighter using the gate. That stood out to me, so I took a peek.
“It turns out that the fighter used two different sets of coordinates that I think you’ll find very helpful. One of them opens up on the far side of the moon. I can’t tell you where, but it’s definitely the moon.
“The second one opens a gate on the side of a mountain over a jungle. The night sky looks familiar, though I’m no expert. I think it might be South America.
“That’s great news,” she agreed. “I don’t suppose you have any ideas on activating the big gate?”
He shook his head. “The people you assigned to examine it found a few more access panels but the equipment isn’t familiar to me. I’m still working on my vacuum certification, so I can go out and see for myself.
“I’m not too hopeful, though. I might not be able to figure out what it does in a short period of time. Anything that I can access, I could probably work out. Sealed components are another story.”
She’d been afraid of that. Well, there was nothing she could do to speed the process along.
“Do the best you can. We appreciate it.”
He bowed his head. “You bet.”
Once he was gone, she considered her options. The exploration of the Asharim site on the planet below was going well, but slowly. It might yet prove to be a gold mine but she was tempted to focus her attention elsewhere.
The latest update from Harry indicated he was going to discuss the situation with the government of New Zealand. No doubt that would stir up a whole bunch of new trouble.
Up to this point, their people had controlled the gates, except for the one Brenda Cabot and the Families had. Of course, no one wanted to reveal their existence to the world at large, so they wouldn’t be broadcasting the knowledge.
Bringing one of the alien spaceships out into the light of day was a different story. That would prove to be a huge deal for everybody. The United States knew about the Asharim. No one else did. Not yet.
Once that became common knowledge, it would star
t a mad scramble to possess the technology. That would inevitably lead to war.
With the number of people learning about what was going on, that day wasn’t too far off, either. Would it be better to control the method in which they revealed what they’d learned? That was something to discuss with Harry.
In any case, it wasn’t going to stop the government of New Zealand from taking the ruined base. That was a given.
Based on what she’d heard about its condition, it wouldn’t do them a whole hell of a lot of good. If Harry took the power cube from the gate, they wouldn’t even be able to use it. Of course, to do that, he needed to get what he needed from it first.
Unfortunately, the damned thing seemed to be locked. If they could figure out how to do that themselves, that might prove very useful in keeping unwanted visitors out.
For the next few minutes, she considered the various options and made her decision. Things were about to spin out of control, so she might as well make some friends down under. They’d need allies against the United States and possibly China.
New Zealand was not powerful enough to deter China from invading. Its military just wasn’t up to the task of defying a superpower. If she could bring Australia into the deal and possibly Japan and South Korea, that would change the equation.
She thought about adding India to the list, but rejected them. That was too risky. While they weren’t as volatile as Pakistan, they had elements inside their government that would be much more problematic than she’d care to deal with.
Her mind made up, she rose to her feet and headed for the gate room. As expected, McCarthy was looking one of the ships over.
The room held more than the last time she’d been here. These new ones must be the ones from the base in France. Room was limited until they figured out a way to get these ships outside, but the information Kevin had provided might be the key.
She was pleased to see the pilot working inside the same class of small craft as the crashed cargo ship. It had room for Kevin McHale and some military types.
Jess walked through the lock and up to the front of the ship. “Everything working on this one?”
He shrugged a little. “That’s what the automated systems are saying. I don’t know enough to double check anything.”
“Excellent. We’re taking it to New Zealand. Harry needs Kevin as soon as we can get him there and he found a way to make that possible. He found gate codes that supposedly lead to the moon and possibly South America. The moon would be better, I think.”
He nodded slowly. “Probably. Are you sure this is the best idea? If something goes south, we’ll be a long way from any kind of help.”
“I think we have to. Time is growing short and I want to make the biggest impact I can on our potential allies. We’re international pariahs and need some governments in our court.”
“You’re the boss,” he said agreeably. “I’m ready to head out whenever you are.”
“I’ll get everyone together.”
That took almost half an hour, but they finally had everyone in the shuttle. McHugh sat behind the pilot’s couch where Jess could look back and see him. She’d taken the copilot’s seat, of course.
Five of Harry’s men took up the remaining seats. They were armed for bear, so to speak. All had advanced body armor and flechette rifles. She devoutly hoped they didn’t need that kind of firepower today.
“We’re ready,” she told McCarthy. “Open one of the gates.”
They’d held off testing the addresses because she couldn’t be sure of the conditions on the other side. Honestly, she wasn’t sure the gate would stop a vacuum from sucking all the air out of the chamber and wanted all her people away before they made the attempt.
“Here we go,” Black Jack said. He tapped a control on his console and the gate activated, filling the arch with mist and lightning that quickly cleared.
At first, she thought it had opened to another chamber, but she finally picked out the stars. She was looking through the gate at open space.
Jess checked her console and found the chamber still had an atmosphere. It seemed as though the gate was somehow keeping the air from rushing out.
“At least we know we can have people in here next time,” she said. “Let’s see where that is.”
McCarthy lifted the shuttle into the air and edged forward. Moments later, they’d slipped through the gate and into space. The sky opened up as soon as they were through and she saw they were in a crater.
He took the shuttle up and Jess got her first good look at their surroundings. It sure looked like the moon. That would be great news. It was a lot closer to Earth than any of the other external gates they’d found.
McCarthy pointed at part of the sky in the new screen. “I recognize that constellation. Virgo. It looks just right, so I suspect were still in our own solar system. Let’s take a trip farther up and see if we can determine where.”
He brought them up high enough to see the curvature of the body they’d emerged on. That brought the planet it was orbiting into view. Earth. The gate had indeed opened on the moon.
She grinned. “This is perfect! We need to make note of where the gate is so that we can create a base there.”
McCarthy glanced at her. “How do you know there isn’t one there already?”
Jess blinked. “I guess I don’t. We’ll have to send through a search party to make sure. We still have radio contact with Freedom Express?”
“Sure do. The gate is still open. I’ll pass word back for them to do that.”
Jess looked at the Earth hanging in front of them as he murmured into his headset. Once he finished speaking, she continued. “It looks like we’re in a good position for a trip to New Zealand. I can see it right there. Do you have the coordinates for the base?”
At his nod, she pointed. “Then let’s get going.”
“Aren’t you worried they’ll detect us?”
She shrugged. “If China isn’t aware of what we’ve found yet, they will be soon enough. They have to have spies all through the American government.
“Still, I take your point. Let’s not make a production out of this. Keep our speed to a reasonable level and maybe they’ll dismiss us as some type of aircraft once we get down into the atmosphere.”
He seemed to consider that for a moment. “I’ll take us in out over the deep ocean. From there, we can come in low and fast. Radar is good, but if you’re on the deck they probably won’t spot you.”
“You’re the pilot. Make it happen.”
She spent the next half-hour worrying someone was going to come after them, but they made it down to the ocean without anyone raising alarm. At least she didn’t think they did. No one sent any jets after them or called them on the radio.
Once he was down into the atmosphere, Black Jack McCarthy leveled the shuttle and increased its speed until they were flying across the water at an insanely low altitude. The waves seem to be lapping just below her feet.
“Do you think you could pull up just a little?” she asked nervously.
The ex-Air Force test pilot grinned at her. “Feeling a little nervous? Don’t worry. We’ve got plenty of space. There’s at least ten meters of open air between us and the water.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
He laughed. “I’m scanning far enough ahead to pick up any ships. Unless we have a rogue wave, we should be okay. Frankly, I should see that far enough in advance to hop over it, too.”
That didn’t stop her from feeling as if they were about to crash land on the water. The only thing she could do was close her eyes and cross her fingers. And her toes.
Twenty minutes later, McCarthy cleared his throat. “We’re coming up on New Zealand. I’ve edged around so we’re coming into a relatively unpopulated area. If somebody calls the government and complains about a plane flying low and fast, they’ll send someone to check it out. I’d rather avoid that.”
So would she. An armed confrontatio
n was something they could probably avoid, but she’d rather not take unnecessary chances.
It seemed to be taking longer to get to the landing area than it had taken to get to New Zealand, but she imagined Black Jack had slowed the shuttle down a little.
“We’re about to the mesa,” he said half an hour later. “I’m picking up some aircraft off to the south. I think they are helicopters out in the search pattern. They don’t seem to have spotted us.”
Jess sat up and watched the approach on the screens in front of her. The land around the mesa was beautiful. Wild and untamed.
Black Jack waited until they were almost to the mesa before he lifted the shuttle higher and brought it to a hover over the rocky top.
That’s when she noticed the area wasn’t completely empty of people. Harry and an unknown woman stood several hundred meters away. Her partner waved while the woman gawked at them with her mouth open.
“Set us down somewhere close to them,” she told McCarthy. “It’s time to meet the neighbors.”
Chapter Nineteen
Brenda woke when someone knocked on her door.
“Just a minute,” she called out groggily as she sat up. A glance at the clock on her nightstand told her it was just before dawn.
She pulled her thoughts together, stood, and threw a robe on. If someone wanted her this early, she probably didn’t have time to get dressed before she heard their news.
Victor Holyfield stood outside her door. The large man bobbed his head. “I’m sorry for waking you. They need you downstairs. It’s urgent.”
If they were sending for her at this hour, it had to be. “Do I have time to get dressed?”
He nodded. “I’ll wait out here.”
She closed the door, dressed quickly, and stepped out to join him. “Give me the rundown.”
“It was my turn on the night shift. Cyrus just sent a runner over with information I think you’ll want to hear directly.”
“Is there a reason you didn’t just call me down? We have these new devices called telephones.”