Titan Stand

by Max Jager

  "So what do you think?" Asked Matt, "We need to get this information to someone who will take it seriously and do something about it." Snapping back into reality, Kaitlyn replied.

  "Well the guy everyone talks about is Doctor Norman Frik, he won't go on any of those late night radio shows or appear in any of those UFO shows on cable, he's pretty down -to-earth."

  "Look Kaitlyn," said Matt, I want to do right by Greg, all those people put everything they had into this project and Mr. Tate, he gave his life for this."

  "I'm curious," asked Kaitlyn, "Everybody thinks I'm a whore, crazy or both, yet you take a chance and ask me of all people to help you, how come?"

  "Because everyone I talked to said this kind of thing was right up your alley. I certainly couldn't risk sending everything to NASA, or the government, they would have just shit canned it all." Kaitlyn nodded in agreement,

  "That's true, but look, all I know is what I read, yeah, believe it or not, I actually read. Anyway, this Frick guy has a lot of respect; he's the one I'd send all this stuff to."

  Tears started to leak from Kaitlyn's eyes causing her heavy mascara to run,

  "Thank you Matt, thank you for believing in me, you took a chance, you're the first person to really believe in me."

  "It's all right Kaitlyn," he replied, I guess every dog does have his day, not that you are a dog or anything, it's just a saying."

  "You don't have to apologize," she said, "It's quite all right, but hey, tell me more about Amber, and this ship." Matt chuckled,

  "Well Amber, care to give another tour?"

  She did the same for Kaitlyn as for Matt, showing the girl the ships controls, as well as all the other features,

  "Out fucking standing!" Came the drawn out response from Kaitlyn's lips.

  "This is absolutely incredible; I always knew these things existed. So captain, what are we going to do next?' Matt frowned, and gave Kaitlyn a concerned look.

  "In the first place, I'm not the captain, secondly, what's this "we" stuff?"

  Seeing that her position was in jeopardy, Kaitlyn quickly responded.

  "I don't know what your plans are Matt, but take me with you, please…Please take me with you." Matt wasn't prepared for her response, and it puzzled him.

  "Why all this sudden interest in going along, you don't even know me?"

  Kaitlyn sat down on the bunk,

  "It's true, I don't really know you Matt, other than what the other kids tell me but I've got nothing…Really If I stay I'll end up just like mom, I'm trapped, but now I see a way out, you can save my life Matt, take me with you."

  He was very intrigued by her plea; this was something Matt hadn't counted on.

  "Well let's get something straight Kaitlyn, In the first place, I'm not even sure what I'm going to do just yet, Greg advised me to do it, I'm giving it a lot of serious thought, but we can't just go charging off without any plan, we've got to decide what we're going to do here."

  "Well…Yeah," replied Kaitlyn, "I agree,

  "So tell me Kaitlyn, what are you bringing to the table?"

  "What? What do you mean?"

  Right now I'm thinking that we're going to need money, and a lot of it."

  "Money? What are we going to need that for?" Asked Kaitlyn,

  Matt chuckled.

  "Oh for starters, to buy food, maybe a few medical supplies, maybe another gun or two, Mr. Tate hinted that there might be danger out there, which reminds me.

  "Hey Amber, does this ship have any sort of weapons on it?"

  "There are two proton cannons one in each nacelle, as well as a small rotating turret on top."

  "Cool!" Exclaimed Matt, "But back to what I was talking about, we just can't go charging off into space."

  "I agree," replied Kaitlyn, "But I've always had this crazy dream of getting abducted by some alien." Matt laughed,

  "What's this? Some sort of adolescent sexual fantasy?" Kaitlyn punched him on the arm,

  "Oww! I'm sorry; Kaitlyn but you left yourself wide open."

  "Fuck you, you know what I mean!"

  "So you want to get out of here, even dreaming about getting taken away by aliens, I get it, well maybe your wish has been granted. All right, but there are gonna be rules," Kaitlyn rolled her eyes at that.

  "First of all, Amber here is the captain, no argument, what she says or advises goes, is that clear?" Kaitlyn was sure Matt wanted to be the captain, but she would have voted for Amber as well.

  "Sure, no problem here,"

  "Good, secondly, and I've been giving this a lot of thought, I want uniforms, and I've got some ideas in mind."

  "Uniforms?" Exclaimed Kaitlyn,

  "Yeah, uniforms," replied Matt, "But don't worry they will look cool, and I'm going to have Amber wear one as well.'

  Kaitlyn laughed,

  "What? You don't like her running around naked."

  "Umm I've gotten used to that, but what I have in mind will look good on her as well."

  "Are you speaking of wearing clothing?" Asked Amber,

  "Yeah Amber, but the kind of uniform I've got in mind is sorta built around you, don't worry, you'll see."

  "You said something about money earlier," said Kaitlyn, "Aren't all these uniforms gonna cost money?"

  "Yeah, they will, I've got an ATV I can sell, there's around seven hundred for that. Say Amber, what do they use for money on other planets?" By her reaction, it was clear Amber didn't want to answer that question, her reluctance at answering, caught Matt's attention, but he didn't push it at the moment. Amber went to a small cabinet and pulled out a small box, inside were what looked like diamonds and rubies, all one hundred percent flawless.

  "Holy crap!" Exclaimed Matt, "Are those what I think they are?"

  "These white ones are focus stones, and the red ones are known as Surta's."

  "Well I don't know about that," continued Matt, "But those are diamonds and those are rubies, are these used as money?"

  "In some places," she replied, "They are made into special lens for certain types of electronic and medical devices."

  "Could I have one of each?" He asked, "They are very valuable here on earth, man! I could sell these; we wouldn't have to worry about money."

  Then he had a thought,

  "These aren't your's are they?

  "No," replied Amber, Greg kept them for barter."

  "You know Matt," said Kaitlyn, "I'll admit I'm not the brightest person, but how do you think you are going to sell those things? I can see it now, you stroll into a jewelry store go up to the clerk and ask to have them appraised. The first thing they are going to ask is what a kid like you is doing with rocks like that!"

  Matt nodded,

  "Yeah, you're right, maybe if I said I found them somewhere."

  Kaitlyn laughed,

  "Good luck with that as well; kids like us just don't "find" stuff like that."

  "Let me think about it," he replied, "I'll probably have to get my folks involved in in this, and anyway, we've got time. And that's another thing Kaitlyn, I don't know about you, but I am going to graduate from high school, I owe it to my folks, you would do well to do the same."

  "School sucks!" Came her reply,

  "Yeah, I know, but here's the thing Kaitlyn, completing school tells me you can finish a job, you're able to accomplish things, and when we pull the plug and head for the stars, something tells me our educations will have just begun." Kaitlyn stood there thinking, then with a frown, she replied,

  "Yeah, you're probably right, so what's Amber here gonna do until we're out of school?"

  "Amber, since you're our leader now, what do you want to do?" Asked Matt.

  "Are you sure you want me as your leader?"

  "Well we sure don't know what's going on out there," Replied Kaitlyn,

  "That's right," added Matt, "Speaking for myself, I would be honored to have you as our captain."

  "Same here," added Kaitlyn.

  Matt noticed that Amber seemed to take on a puzzled loo
k,

  "I-I don't know, I've always followed Greg, and before that my Neistra masters, this would be most unusual."

  "Look Amber," said Matt, "Only you know what's out there, as they say here on earth you've "been and done," it's time to step up to the plate."

  "But…But, I am only a Motok."

  "So, what's that got to do with it," stated Kaitlyn,

  "Very well, if you are truly serious about this, I will consent to be you're captain."

  Both teens cheered and patted her on the arm.

  Chapter 6

  Titan Stand Chapter 6

  "Here's the thing Amber," explained Matt, "We have to finish high school yet, we won't graduate until next June, and this is only the first of October, in a week or two, the snow is going to start falling, and falling hard, you wont be able to land here anymore, or otherwise, people will see that something strange has landed here. You could go back to the old ghost town, but again the snow's going to get pretty deep around there, and we won't be able to see you there either. We're talking maybe six months before the snow is gone, but it could be as long as seven. Oh, I almost forgot I brought you a bunch of books and reference materials, to study; they are in that bag over there."

  Amber sat down next to Kaitlyn on the bed, and said,

  "I do have someplace to go, in fact, when the time comes to leave together, we shall visit there, I shall prepare the way." Matt wasn't sure what she meant by that, but let it pass.

  "Well it's getting real late, we've been up here longer than I'd planned," stated Matt, "Take us back home…Captain."

  Before they left the Nora-Lee, both Matt and Kaitlyn hugged Amber, and wished her a safe journey,

  "I will return on this date in seven of your months,"

  "So long Amber!" exclaimed Matt and Kaitlyn. They stood back, as Amber lifted off,

  "Do you think we'll ever see her again?" Asked Kaitlyn, Matt grinned, and nodded, Oh I know we will."

  As they walked down the street, Matt said,

  "Don't take this wrong Kaitlyn, but it might be a good idea for us to remain strangers in public, nothing on face book or twitter. Don't store my phone number in your phone; if you need to talk, call me at home around eight o'clock in the evening."

  "So does this finally mean I get to go?" Matt stopped, and looked at the funny Goth girl,

  "Yes Kaitlyn, it does, I had you figured all wrong, and it's something I'll never do again, welcome aboard."

  Both agreed that getting the information to Dr. Frick and selling the two jewels, were first on their list, but plans had to be made right now.

  Kaitlyn took on the job of figuring out a way to contact the doctor, while Matt worked on the problem of the jewels, and knew how he was going to do it.

  Some time ago, he had read of a man who discovered a cache of ancient gold coins while digging in his garden someplace in England, the coins had apparently been stored in a metal box that had long since rusted away but Matt knew he could do much better than that.

  He paid one last trip to Coryville before the snow came. The day he rode there, the weather was really starting to get bad, but he knew the snakes would all be hibernating, so he could explore freely. With the aid of his metal detector, it didn't take long to find what he had been looking for. In the ruins of what must have been the general store, he found a small tin box, along with a couple old coins and a jackknife. Digging around in the bank, he found a couple silver dollars that must have fallen through the cracks in the floor; he also found a woman's wedding ring. Smiling to himself, he packed everything up, along with several pieces of old wood, and some small pieces of tin sheeting. He knew a place between the Amimas River, and the railroad tracks, that would be perfect for his scheme. There were traces of early mining attempts consisting mostly of old test holes, and the beginnings of mine tunnels that were never finished. A couple years ago, right after he moved to Durango, he had gone down there to poke around, in fact, it was where he had met Liam who was fishing with his big brother.

  Together, they had returned there to look fro gold that hopefully some miner had overlooked. They didn't find any gold, but instead plenty of traces of human activity that was where he would stash the jewels. Making sure he wasn't seen, Matt snuck down to where previous diggings had been found, then moving downstream several feet, he found a small test hole, almost like a mini-mineshaft.

  Carefully building a container with the old wood, and tin, he made sure it looked as though someone a long time ago had purposely built a protective box to hide their treasure in. When he was satisfied that everything looked "authentic" he carefully placed the tin box down into the cache, then carefully placing flat rocks over it all, he place a larger rock over everything. Then taking a picture with his camera, he made tracks out of there.

  All winter long, he worried that someone would stumble on his cache, then in the spring, the Animas River flooded, causing him several sleepless nights worrying that the water would uncover the box. Matt also had other problems on his mind as well. One of them was the matter with Kaitlyn, it was harder than he first thought to act as though they didn't know each other, or had ever spoken. Once, he was forced to keep moving when he passed some kids teasing her in the hall, pretending it was none of his business. Later, when they talked on the phone, he apologized.

  "I'm so sorry Kaitlyn,' he began, "I just wanted to stop those assholes from picking on you."

  "Ahh don't worry about it," she replied, "I'm used to it.

  "How are you coming on the business with the jewels?" She asked.

  "Everything is in place, I just have to wait until the spring, just keep watching the news. How are you coming with Doctor Frick?"

  "Actually getting in touch with him might be easier than I thought, he's got a face book page, I've also got his email address as well, but it might be better to get that stuff to him just before we leave, it might cause quite a stir, and it might blow back on us."

  "Good idea," replied Matt, "Well, it's going to be a damn long winter, Merry Christmas, and I guess I'll see you in the spring…I wonder how Amber is doing?"

  Spring couldn't come fast enough for Matt or Kaitlyn, all through the winter he knuckled down and worked hard in school, even Kaitlyn brought her grades up to the amazement of her friends and mother. Matt continued to collect reference materials, even asking for a Kindle for Christmas so he could download reference books. Once again his parents pressed him to make a decision on college, along with the course of study he was going to pursue. Around the end of February, Matt finally decided that he was really going to the stars and that all the plans his parents had for him just weren't going to happen. He started getting melancholy, every time he looked at his parents, as he thought how he was going to explain his decision, as well as disappearance. It was going to be damn hard on them, at one point, while riding in the car with his mother; he came right out and asked her,

  "Mom, if say, something happened to me would you and dad get a divorce?"

  She almost drove off the road, but replied,

  "What on earth made you ask a question like that for?"

  "I was talking with a guy at school who lost a cousin to cancer, he was an only child, and eventually his folks split up over it."

  "That's terrible!" She replied, "I like to think our marriage could stand up to something like that…No Matt, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't divorce."

  "That's good mom, I'm glad to hear that."

  The weather had turned unusually warm in early April, so Matt headed down to the river nervously wondering if someone was watching him, or if his treasure was till there. The riverbank was littered with washed up tree limbs and brush, but with the aid of his picture, he found his cache site. Carefully moving the rocks he let out a sigh of relief, when he found the tin box still inside, Water or snow melt must have leaked down inside the cache, because the box was even rustier than before he put it in there, but that was OK, it only made things more "Authentic." Quickly looking inside, he saw that the di
amond and ruby, along with the ring and coins were still there. Carefully sticking it in his pocket, he hurried home rehearsing he announcement of finding buried treasure.

  By the time he got home, Matt could hardly breath, his mom was at the store, and his dad was getting ready to leave as well.

  "Hey dad, look what I found down by the river."

  As he fully expected, he had to show his dad exactly where he had found the little box. His dad got down on his knees and carefully examined the cache, making Matt glad he had taken the trouble to "dress" it up with the old wood and pieces of tin.