"Hang on," said Ariane, "I'll join you."
Fortunately, the Deimos expedition had no shortage of food or other staples. Capri had been packed with months of supplies before departing from Nova York just over a month ago. The ship, with Cliff and Holger on board, remained parked out on the surface of the moon a short distance from the original entrance to the internal labyrinth of the moon. Every few days, Zack and Arnold would put on their spacesuits and take an hour or so to transport food and other necessities from the yacht/freighter back to the inside of the moon.
Zack had inherited Capri from his uncle, Marvin Pangborne, after the elderly man was murdered back on Haven, home planet for both of them. Marv was killed because he'd unknowingly taken possession of the Galactic Sentinel Key, a small, enigmatic tetrahedron composed of an impervious, unknown substance. Also known as the "Deimos Artifact," this pyramid was the central focus of a series of disturbing visions experienced by about three percent of the Human race. After it was determined the mysterious pyramid originated in the Sol System, an expedition had been formed to investigate and, hopefully, determine its purpose. The effort to discover the Key, transport it to the Sol System, decipher the inscriptions on it and discover how to use it, had required the combined talents of all expedition members.
Zack and Ariane returned to the table and continued their discussion with Professor MacPherson while they ate breakfast. Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, the trio were joined by the other members of the expedition. Won Ling-tsu and Sergei Popov arrived almost simultaneously. Won, who had been selected to be one of the Human Representatives, was leader of the Jovian Hegemony, the second most powerful of the independent, space-based governments who held sway in the ravaged Sol system. He was a slender and sinewy man of about average height with the dark hair and almond-shaped dark eyes typical of his oriental ancestors.
Sergei, who had been picked to be one of the Guardians, had joined the expedition after his spaceship, SPS Murmansk, was destroyed in a bizarre incident involving the deliberate sabotage of the ship's fusion reactor by one of her own engineers. Sergei was tall and slender and had the light-colored skin, blondish hair and hazel eyes of the Old Earth Europeans he was descended from.
Gertrude Tvedt, a tall, statuesque blonde who was the daughter of Holger and also one of the Representatives, was next to arrive, followed by Dr. Arnold Mobutu, MacPherson's former student and the first of the three Representatives to be selected. Drs. Olga Dostoyevski and Kathryn Harbour, both of whom were top-level archeological symbologists, were the last to arrive. Like MacPherson, they hadn't been selected to be either Guardian or Representative. With their formidable combined expertise, they had proven themselves to be vital members of the expedition and had also been asked to serve as advisors.
As everyone grabbed something for breakfast and began catching up with their tablemates, the noise level in the chamber rose considerably. Much of the conversation centered on the alien they were supposed to meet later in the morning.
As if on cue, the Deimos AI made an announcement. "Apologizing me," it said. "Symantia L'Proxa has arrived. She will be joining you within half an hour."
The noise level went up even higher as everyone began to discuss the coming event all at once, their breakfasts all but forgotten. When it looked like everyone had eaten all they were going to, Arnold got up and stood next to the table he'd been sharing with Olga and Kathryn.
"Your attention please," he said, almost shouting so he could be heard. The chamber quieted down within the next few seconds. He then continued in a softer tone of voice, "Our meeting with the Sentinel Guardian will begin soon. I think everyone will agree we have a lot to talk about. If you need anything out of your quarters, now would be a good time to get it. Let's meet back here in fifteen minutes. Won? Could I speak with you for a moment please?"
The chamber was nearly vacant in less than two minutes as most of the expedition members cleaned up their breakfast remains and headed back to their quarters to freshen up. Won Ling-tsu remained behind and, in low tones, had a grave discussion with Arnold lasting about three minutes. Afterwards, Won also left for his quarters.
Arnold had inherited the role of unofficial leader of the team by virtue of having been the first of the three Representatives to be selected. That he was a good choice had been proven a few weeks earlier when he defused a potentially explosive incident in the space above Deimos involving the Vikings, the Jovian Hegemony and another political faction from Earth itself. He had managed to avert a disaster by calming everyone down and getting them to talk with one another.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly and the chamber began to fill up again as people filtered back from their various errands. In the meantime, Holger arrived from Capri. His inclusion as an advisor had also been a no-brainer. He had invaluable experience as the leader of a nation, a somewhat small nation, but it was the most powerful and most influential force in the Sol system. He also was well versed in warfare, both out in the open reaches of space, and in close quarter hand-to-hand combat. He slid onto the bench next to his daughter.
"Mornin' Trudy."
"Good morning, Father. I trust you're doing well?"
"As well as can be expected with all this foolishness goin' on."
"It isn't like we can avoid it," said Gertrude.
"I know, but that don't mean I have to like it."
The Regional Guardian hadn't arrived yet, but Arnold decided to call the meeting to order anyway. "We might as well get started," he said. "We have more than enough items to occupy our time. He glanced over at Won, "First things first. I need to inform you that Won and I had another of the visions last night."
The revelation was met by a room full of concerned and expectant expressions. The shared visions seemed to have stopped four weeks ago, shortly after the Sentinel AI selected the Representatives and Guardians. Arnold continued, "This time there was no pyramid. Instead, I saw a flat, rectangular box. This scene was followed by some of the same disturbing images as in the earlier visions, depicting two sharply contrasting futures."
"I saw the same box Arnold did," said Won. "After that, our visions differed in detail but the gist was the same."
"We don't have any idea what it means," said Arnold. "But our earlier dreams were connected to the Sentinel Key. I have to believe these new visions are as well. Our symbologists have been working on translating the other two sides of the pyramid, and they may have something to add. Harold?"
"A flat rectangular box, eh?" said MacPherson. "Could this indicate there's another artifact?"
"I don't know," said Arnold, "Possibly? Probably?"
"Great," mumbled Holger, shaking his head, "more nasty Sentinel business. Does it ever end?"
The discussion was cut short by an announcement from the Deimos AI.
"Representatives, Guardians and Advisors, I would like to introduce Symantia L'Proxa, Galactic Sentinel Guardian Third Class, current overseer of this segment of the fourth quadrant."
With that, Symantia stepped gracefully into the chamber.
The humans had been semi-prepared for the meeting by virtue of having been shown video clips of the various species in the Amalgamation during their interactive training, so the appearance of the little alien had an almost familiar feel. Almost. They were still not prepared for the reality of meeting their first honest-to-goodness alien.
Symantia was a Lycan, a being that, at first glance, looked to be distantly related to the canines of Earth origin. Somewhat shorter than most of the humans in the room, she walked upright on her hind legs. What would have been rear paws on an Earth-derived canine had become slender, black feet evolved for bipedal locomotion. The paws at the ends of her upper limbs had developed into appendages with opposable thumbs. These were covered with leathery black skin, very much like the hands of a terrestrial monkey. Her foxlike head had a shorter muzzle and a greatly expanded cranium compared to any of her Sol-derived brethren, and her body proportions were also slightly more
human-like, though she was considerably thinner than a Human across her shoulders and hips. Her eyes were a breathtakingly beautiful liquid copper color, and she was covered in sleek and luxuriant orange fur which was nearly black on her back and faded to almost white in front.
The expedition members all stared at the little alien in awe. Even though the video clips they'd all seen included images of most of the species in the Grand Amalgamation, Lycans included, that meager experience couldn't hold a candle to meeting an actual alien in person. The humans had received training in the proper etiquette for the situation, but all of that was forgotten in the excitement of the moment. Everyone maintained a respectful silence, waiting for the Lycan to make the first move.
Symantia placed a container on one of the tables and looked around at the assembly of suddenly mute humans with what might have been the Lycan equivalent of amusement. "Greetings," she said, through a translator device hanging on a cord around her neck, "I know who each of you are from my briefing materials, so we can dispense with introductions. We will be interacting frequently with each other in the future and I'm sure we'll come to know one another intimately. I trust all of you are well?"
The humans bobbed their heads in agreement. Arnold spoke for all of them, "Thank you, Symantia." He looked around at his colleagues and said, "On behalf of all us, it is a distinct pleasure to finally meet you. We look forward to fruitful interaction."
"As do I," said Symantia. "I would like to congratulate all of you on successfully completing the first phase of your training. As you have probably deduced, the time has come for you to begin your mission in earnest. It will be my honor to assist you in any way I am allowed to, but you should all know before we begin the amount of help I can provide has some rather tight restrictions. By all means continue with your meeting."
Arnold seemed confused for a moment, as though he'd expected Symantia to assume more of a leadership role. "I suppose we should proceed then," he said. He glanced over at Won Ling-tsu and back to the little alien. "I was just telling the others that Won and I had another vision last night. It was the first one in several weeks and the images were very powerful and profoundly disturbing."
Chapter 6. Plan of Action.
Deimos Common Room, October 1, 2676.
"Tell us about the vision," said Symantia.
"Not much to tell. We're seeing an image of a dull grey rectangular block. That image was followed immediately by some of the same visions we experienced before, armies marching, people slaving in fields, that sort of thing."
"I've been wondering when that was going to happen," replied Symantia.
"You've been expecting it? What does it mean?"
"It's just one more indication your training period has ended," she said.
Arnold nodded in understanding before resuming the meeting. "Are there any questions or comments about the vision we just described?"
"I think Harold might be on to something," said Kathryn. "Is it possible what you saw was a depiction of another artifact?"
"I can't be absolutely sure," said Arnold, "but I don't know what else it could be."
"If what we are suggesting is so," said MacPherson, "then this last vision contains the first indication there might be more than one artifact. This information could make things easier for those of us who are trying to decipher the inscriptions on the Sentinel pyramid. Knowing there may be another artifact and having some idea what it looks like will almost certainly be helpful to our efforts."
"I trust you three will continue to work on the inscriptions?" said Arnold.
"Even if it wasn't important to the future of Mankind," said MacPherson, "this project is by far the most significant thing any of us could ever hope to be involved in. I think it's safe to say you'd have a hard time getting us to stop!"
"I expected no less," said Arnold. "Keep up the good work, all of you. In the meantime, we need to move on with other business."
He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before plunging onward, "As Symantia said, we've absorbed all the knowledge required to begin this citizenship process, and we need to get started on it without further delay."
Symantia nodded in agreement.
Arnold paused again and looked around at his colleagues. "I believe we've all come to know and trust one another over the last few weeks. For myself, I must say it has been a pleasure working with all of you, and I expect we can maintain this synergy going forward. The task before us will require the best efforts of everyone in this room. Which brings up a question: How do we make the best use of our limited numbers?" Again he paused to gauge the attitude of his audience before continuing. "After a great deal of thought, I think the best way for us to accomplish our task will be to split up into smaller teams, each of which will be assigned to take responsibility for some aspect of our overall mission. While we're apart, we'll have to do our best to maintain communications with one another."
Arnold was interrupted by the Deimos AI, "Apologizing me," said the computer, still employing its own version of Federation Standard Language, "while it is not a strict requirement, it is strongly recommended that each of the Representatives be accompanied by a Guardian at all times. This constraint will limit the number of teams you can deploy."
"Thank you..., Deimos," said Arnold, "we'll be sure to factor that into our plans." After the brief interruption, he picked up where he'd left off. "As I see it, one of our first orders of business will be to make contact with the Hordea. The AI informs me the recommended procedure for this task is for small teams of Representatives and Guardians from each race to meet in a neutral star system. I don't think it's necessary or even advisable for all of us to take part."
Ariane raised her hand, "Before we get into that, I have a suggestion," she said.
"Let's hear it," replied the chair.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Sergei," she said, with a glance in the Soviet captain's direction, "but as I see it, one of the most important aspects of getting the various factions of our people to stop fighting amongst ourselves will be figuring out how to get the Federation and the Soviets working together."
From the other side of the room, Sergei nodded in agreement. Then his brow furrowed into a frown, as though he had just experienced a sudden and disturbing thought.
Ariane continued, "In order to do that, we need to find out as much as we can about what's going on in the Soviet Bloc. The Soviet government, and everybody else, thinks Sergei is on a mission to an unknown location with Murmansk. This presents us with a golden opportunity. We need to know how widespread the Custodian influence has become and how high up the infiltration has gone. If Sergei went back to Soviet space and kept a low profile, he could probably find out a lot."
"I have had similar thoughts," said Sergei, "and I just now remembered something extremely important." With everyone's attention now directed at him, he continued, "I spoke with some of my fellow ship captains while Murmansk was laid up for repairs at the Nova York Orbital Station. Every one of them said they had an 'Ambassador' from some mysterious government onboard, and all were affiliated with the ships' Political Officers."
"How many ships?" asked Zack.
"There were five at the station while I was there," replied Sergei. "How could these five Ambassadors not be more Custodians? If five ships are infiltrated, why not ten, fifteen or even more?"
"Why didn't you share this before now?" asked Ariane.
"I've been so distracted by all that's been going on I didn't remember it until now."
"This is most disturbing news," said MacPherson.
"It gets worse," said Sergei. "If the political arm of the Military is involved, there could be Custodians everywhere, at every level of government."
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Arnold.
"As Ariane pointed out, my government does not know where I am. I could go back and scout the situation out. I know some people I can trust; I could start with them and branch out from there."
"From
the sound of things," said Ariane, "we'd better get moving on that part of the project immediately."
"I agree," said Arnold. He thought for a moment. "It seems to me the most logical arrangement would be for Sergei to team up with Won, and for the two of them to head into Soviet space and scout things out. Is that a possibility?"
Sergei and Won looked at each other and back at Arnold before both nodded agreement.
"Excellent suggestion, Ariane," said Arnold. "Won and Sergei, perhaps the two of you could begin making preparations for your mission as soon as this meeting is adjourned?"
Both members of the newly-formed partnership again nodded in agreement.
"I might be able to help," said Symantia. "As I said, there are restrictions on what I am allowed to do. However, the route to my next duties will take me very near Soviet space. I would be happy to transport Won and Sergei there in my scoutship. The stealth systems are good enough for us to get through Soviet security without much trouble. Would that be acceptable?"
"It surely would," said Sergei.
"Very good," said Symantia. "We can work out the details after we adjourn."
"There is one thing that's been bothering me," said Sergei. "How are we going to convince anyone our story is true? What proof do we have?"
The statement was met with silence as everyone looked around the room at each other. Finally Ariane raised her hand. "I have an idea," she said. "What if you copied the messages sent to us by the engineer on Sergei's ship just before it self-destructed? They contain video of an actual Custodian. You could show them to anyone who really needed convincing."
"That could work," said Sergei. "Good thinking, Ariane."
Ariane nodded in response.
"Excellent," said Arnold. "Next we need to move on to the meeting with the Hordea." He stopped and sighed. "As much as I would like to go, I think I will be much more useful if I remain here to help out with the translations. A big part of my orientation included historical information, and that knowledge could turn out to be very useful right here."
The Archeon Codex: Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel Book 2 Page 4