Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure Read online

  Sarah had been tracking and monitoring Patrick during the rescue. She had been updating Vincent each step of the way. He was impressed the rescue had gone so smoothly and his trust in Patrick had paid off. Vincent was glad he had relented and let him go. The Lexington was still floating silently in space. He wondered if anyone was left alive onboard. Some debris had been spotted and at least one body. “Captain, the Lexington just made a slight turn. There is someone onboard who is still piloting the ship. At least one or more people have survived the explosion.” Sarah said.

  Patrick and Sandy arrived in the command center. "Good job Patrick. Welcome aboard the Constellation Sandy. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. You're welcome to become part of our family now." he said. "Thank you for saving me Captain. To be honest I haven't had much will to live lately." she said. "Don’t thank me. Patrick insisted on going after you. I know this is a horrible time for you Sandy. There's nothing I can say which will ease your pain right now. We have a lot of friendly people on board you can talk with. In time, you will find a way to honor your family and to continue with your life. Your loved ones wouldn't want you to give up, and would want you to move forward. Is there anything you know which might help us defeat the Lexington?” he asked. “I’m sorry Captain, I was locked up the whole time. The Captain on the Lexington is a cocky son of a bitch.” she said. “Thank you Sandy, go get some rest. Patrick, find her some quarters and return immediately." he said.

  Patrick brought Sandy to his quarters. There wasn’t anywhere else to put her, and he was the only person on the ship she knew. “I’m sorry you can’t have your own quarters, I’ll do what I can to make sure you have your privacy. What happened is horrendous. Have trust in the Captain. We’ve made it this far with him. For what it’s worth I’m here for you if you want to talk.” Patrick said. “I appreciate it Patrick. I’m trying to come to terms with what’s happened. It will take some time. You better go, the Captain needs you.” she said. The Captain was right, we’re like family here. If you don’t want to talk to me, you can talk to anyone else onboard. Let me know if there’s anything you need.” Patrick said. “I’m going back to the command center with you, I need to know what’s going on. I’m not going to die without knowing why. I’ll rest later.” Sandy said.

  Chapter 11

  “Isabella, we’re now ready to fire the missile. Fire when ready.” Vincent said. Isabella had been ready and waiting for the command. She pressed the control to fire the missile. The missile came to life and began heading for the Lexington as planned. Suddenly the trajectory began changing wildly. The missile missed the Lexington and flew into deep space erratically changing course every few seconds. Isabella was crushed. The missile had been their best hope.

  Vincent watched as the missile flew wildly away from the Lexington. “Son of a bitch. I never should have counted on that missile.” he said. Isabella came through on the speaker. “Captain the missile failed. I’m not sure what went wrong. It was a guidance issue of some kind.” she reported. “I saw the missile failure. Report back to the command center.” Vincent replied. “I’m sorry Captain.” she said. “It’s not your fault Isabella. We’re not done yet.” Vincent said.

  "Vincent, the Captain of the Lexington is requesting communication." Sarah said. "Put him on the primary screen. Let’s see what he has to say." Vincent replied. Captain Samuels appeared on the screen. "All you've done is committed another crime, and delayed the inevitable death of a traitorous woman Captain. It seems you've found some advanced technology after all. If you give us all the alien technology and artifacts when we board your ship I will let you live." he said. "Rot in hell you piece of shit. Don't trust him Captain." Sandy interjected. "Quiet Sandy, I'll handle this.” Vincent said as he prepared to address his enemy again. “I've already told you you're in over your head Captain. You still have ten minutes left to surrender. If you try to board this vessel you're in for a world of hurt. You better think long and hard about your choices. You get to choose if you live or die. Close the channel." Vincent said.

  "What type of alien weaponry do you have Captain?" Sandy asked. "We had a missile which didn't work. We don't have any other advanced weaponry. I've been bluffing, and it looks like he's gonna call.” Vincent said. “So I left one death trap for another? Don’t we have any other options?" she asked. "We're not dead yet. I thought I told you to find some quarters. Please don’t interrupt me again while I’m speaking with the Captain of the Lexington. You’re anger won’t help us right now. Dominic, let’s go meet Isabella in the cargo bay." he said.

  Captain Samuels knew his career and possibly his life were on the line. He still didn't believe an interceptor was coming to destroy his ship, but his enemy did in fact have some type of alien technology. The failed missile was a surprise, and something he hadn’t expected. He would be dead by now if the Captain of the Constellation had the means to destroy him. He would take his chances and board the ship as planned.

  Time was up and Vincent returned to the command center. "Everyone needs to activate their ETS suits right now. We are out of options. I will be telling the Captain of the Lexington to board this ship. Don't worry, I have a plan, we will not be boarded. Request communication with the Captain of the Lexington." he said. Captain Samuels appeared on his screen. "So do you surrender Captain?" Vincent asked. "No, I will never surrender to anyone. Prepare to be boarded." Captain Samuels replied. "I expect you to keep your word and bring us back to Earth for trial. I will instruct my pilot to maneuver our ship for docking procedures. I look forward to meeting you Captain Samuels. End the transmission." Vincent said.

  “Patrick, prepare for docking procedures. Put me on ship wide communications. Get as close as you can to the Lexington before we turn the ship for docking. After we turn the ship, prepare to accelerate as quickly as possible.” Vincent said. The Constellation began to turn. The back end of the ship would be brought around to dock with the Lexington. With the turn almost complete it was time. "Isabella, disconnect the tether now." With the tether disconnected the cargo bay continued to slowly travel toward the Lexington. The cargo bay was now about fifty yards away from the enemy ship. "What are you doing Vincent?" Monique asked. "I had Dominic open the methane tanks. The entire cargo bay is filled with it. Stand by Dominic. Full acceleration Patrick." he said.

  On the Lexington the proximity alarms had been turned off since a docking was expected. Captain Samuels remained in the command center. Tavaris was leading the boarding party. "Captain Samuels we have a communications request from the Constellation." the communications officer reported. "Bring it up." he replied. When the image came up Vincent Moretti was staring at him. "What do you need Captain?" he asked. The Captain of the Constellation smiled. "I like to look into the eyes of my enemy when I destroy him. Now, Dominic!" Safely aboard the Constellation Dominic remotely instructed Sammie the robot to light up a blow torch in the cargo bay.

  At the last possible moment Captain Samuels realized what was going on. He tried to give an order but it was too late, and his ship exploded around him.

  The Constellation lurched in space and alarms went off throughout the ship. Vincent had hoped the coating of tratium on the hull would prevent any damage to the Constellation. "Captain, we have two small breaches of the hull amidships. Emergency bulkheads are in place." Isabella said. "Take whoever you need and make repairs. Patrick and Sarah give me a full systems check and damage report. I need to know the status of our ship." Vincent said.

  "You did it. I can't believe it. You saved us all." Monique said as she hugged Vincent. "Don't get too excited yet, we don't know what kind of damage we’ve suffered." he said. "Yes we do Captain, I have good news and bad news. The good news is there’s only minor damage to the descent engine, and we can land. The bad news is the fission engine will never work again. We're not leaving Mars in this ship." she said. The news came as a hammer blow to Vincent. The crew had no means of leaving Mars and a blood thirsty mob was waiting for them on the planet below. His ego migh
t doom them all. "I will prepare a message for Enzo. We will drop food and water near the pyramid and hold out inside until we can be rescued. We're sitting ducks right now if another ship arrives. Let's prepare our supplies and get ready to drop the parachutes. Load up all the food and water we have on hand. Sarah, make sure you load the emergency communications unit as well. Maybe we will find an opportunity to sneak out of the dead zone and send a message. If we're quick about this we can return to the surface in a couple of hours. Patrick prepare the Constellation for its final landing.

  It was a sunny day and President Louis was enjoying a nice round of golf. He watched as his ball hung in the air gracefully, made it over the sand trap, and landed gently eight feet from the hole. When he saw the look on the face of an approaching aide, he knew his round of golf was probably over. "Mr. President, we have a situation on Mars. The flight data recorder from the Lexington has transmitted data indicating the ship was destroyed." he said. "Son of a bitch, there goes my par. Let's get back to Camp David immediately.” he said. Returning to the retreat President Louis watched the internal video feed of the Lexington being destroyed. "Was the Constellation damaged or destroyed?" he asked. "We don't know. There is no solid data or video either way at the moment. To the best of our knowledge, we believe it's still in orbit. It’s possible the crew is dead due to a hull breach and the ship is dead in space." an advisor said. "I wouldn’t bet on it. Contact Mars base and Captain Stukey on the Kennedy. Advise them of current developments and tell them their mission has changed. This is now a shoot to kill mission. We will recover what we can in the wreckage.”

  Tony had spent his time in Trundle listening to advice from Enzo and Randy. They both had a knack for avoiding the authorities and conducting business in clandestine ways. "If you stand on a chair and shout your accomplishments to the world, everyone will know who you are and how much power you have. The wise man needs no such recognition. He quietly uses his power to dispense justice which is denied or withheld by the governments of the world." Enzo had said. Tony didn't plan on spending the remainder of his regained youth and the rest of his life in the hands of the government, and he had no craving for power or recognition. He now had a chance to do all the things he had regretted not doing in his youth. His thoughts were interrupted by Enzo. "We have a message from Vincenzo. Let's find Randy and see what he has to say.”

  After finding Randy, Enzo played the message. "Uncle Enzo, we found the treasure. It's the most amazing find in all of history and worth a fortune. We have evidence of alien visitation for both Earth and Mars. It’s undeniable. We've destroyed the Lexington, but the Constellation sustained irreparable damage to the engines. We are unable to leave Mars, and the Constellation is no longer safe or usable. On Rhea we found environmental suits the aliens used. The alien suits work inside the Cydonia region. The suits Randy provided do not. We will remain in the pyramid until help arrives. Hopefully our food and water will last. Please reroute another ship and send help as soon as possible. It's unlikely we will be able to broadcast from the pyramid, so this will be my last message. Have any ship you send circle the pyramid for ten minutes so we know it's friendly. We ‘ll be watching for it. Thank you for all you've done. I hope to see you soon."

  "They don't ask for much do they?" Randy quipped. "So they've found the treasure, and are trapped. The government is going to put a blockade around Mars. Rescue and recovery of the treasure will be close to impossible. You're the space expert Randy, what do you think?" Enzo asked.

  "It will be difficult to say the least. For all intents and purposes I’m out of business. I could contact one of my old captains, but I don't trust any of them enough to get the job done no matter how much we pay them. After what happened with the Avenger, no captain would be willing to take the risk. Getting an entire crew to cooperate in such a mission isn't feasible. It's just too risky and very unlikely to work. The other option which comes to mind is to commandeer a ship leaving Earth. I have a friend who runs space tourists to the moon and back. His ships aren't designed for long voyages, but it's a way to get into space. We'd have to find a reason to dock with a deep space transport, take the ship, and figure out what to do with the crew. That's assuming we can dock with the ship and forcefully take it in the first place." Randy said. "If that's all we've got, then that's what we'll have to do. My son is in that pyramid. We'll need to transfer as much weaponry to the transport as possible. I'll work on that angle. Call your friend Randy, we don’t have any other options." Enzo said.

  Vincent was nervous about the trip to the pyramid. Holding out until help arrived would be difficult. He didn’t know if the ETS suits had an indefinite operating life, and food would become a problem after a few months. "I think we're about ready. Only bring what's essential and what you can carry. Patrick, we don't know how high the dead zone extends vertically. Once you have determined our supplies will land safely inside the dead zone, land as quickly as possible. A mob is waiting for us on the perimeter. Come in flat, and slide across the boundary into the zone. The ship will be landing for the last time. You won’t need to be gentle when we touch down. Just make sure we survive the landing. It's imperative for the ship to stop inside the perimeter. We can make a run for the pyramid and avoid any hand to hand combat if we land safely inside.

  Does anyone else have anything else to add?" Vincent asked. “Will we be rescued, or is this an exercise in futility?" Julia asked. "We've made it this far. Enzo and Randy are smart and resourceful. I have no doubt it's only a matter of time before someone comes for us. The two of them will make every effort possible to save our lives and recover the artifacts inside the pyramid. In ten minutes we'll begin our descent. Gather anything you need to take. I'd recommend a blanket and pillow for sure. Do you believe you can get the parachutes with our supplies in the target zone?" Vincent asked Patrick. “It won’t be a problem Captain. I’ve done hundreds of drops.” he replied.

  Vincent went to his quarters and prepared for the most unusual trip any human had ever undertaken. He would bring a few books, a blanket, Maria's journal, and the orb from the Ark Pyramid. He was so excited he had forgotten the orb on the first trip to the pyramid. He was curious if it would change color on Mars like it did on Earth. He shoved the items into a couple of pillow cases and tied them both to a metal pole. When he returned to the command center the rest of the crew had made similar preparations. "We look like a bunch of hobos getting ready to jump on a train." Monique said. "No, we’re a bunch of hobos squatting in an abandoned building. We're still alive, which is half the battle. How much stuff did you cram into those bags Dalton? You're way overloaded." Vincent said. "The gravity is light, and I’m not that old yet. We’re going to have plenty of time to kill and I don’t want to be bored to death. I've brought plenty of paper. I plan to document everything down there. I've brought my data pad, archeological tools, and some equipment to take samples of the atmosphere outside the dead zone. The pyramid is an amazing find but there's a whole world to explore outside of the pyramid too." replied Dalton. "Good thinking, I should have done the same thing." Vincent said.

  "Alright Patrick, let's commence the final landing of the Constellation. When we get to the surface shoot for a spot with the least amount of people. We’ll do this just like last time." Vincent said as he handed each crewmember a gun. Only shoot if you have to defend yourself. The people on the surface are pawns of the government. Let’s try to spare their lives if possible. We already have enough blood on our hands." Vincent said as the Constellation began her descent.

  “The descent engine may be more damaged then we thought. I’m having trouble controlling our descent. We’re over Cydonia, I’m dropping the parachutes.” Patrick was as good as his word. The parachutes opened and would land within a mile of the pyramid. The Constellation circled the pyramid twice as Patrick searched for a place to land. The ground force had swelled in numbers, was better organized, and was spaced evenly along the perimeter. Spotting a small gap Patrick brought the ship in. “
Brace for impact, this won’t be pretty.” he said. The Constellation was ten feet off the ground when it passed over the boundary and into the dead zone. All electronic equipment ceased, the lights went out, and the engine died. The ship impacted hard on the surface. The hull was torn to shreds, but the crew was uninjured. “Let’s get to the pyramid, everyone move.” Vincent said. The crew exited what was left of the Constellation. Once outside everyone surveyed the ground threat. Eight people were close enough to be considered a threat. A few of them began to enter the zone and immediately turned back when their suits failed and breathing became difficult. Making it to the pyramid didn’t look like it would be a problem. The crew of the Constellation ran for the first one hundred yards, and began to walk as the danger passed. Vincent took a look back toward the ship and saw Sandy on the ground holding her leg. She had blood on her hands. He noticed a member of the ground force shooting at them. One by one the rest of the crew turned around and began firing at the shooter. The shooter went down quickly. Patrick and Dominic picked up Sandy and began carrying her toward the pyramid.

  It was a mistake to stop running, an error in judgment which might cost Sandy her life. Vincent kept waving his crew forward while defending their rear position. He wouldn’t feel safe until everyone was behind the small hill ahead. Safely out of range, Vincent turned and ran to the pyramid with the rest of the crew. The crew climbed the hill and entered the pyramid. Once inside everyone sat down and rested.

  “Mr. President, we have another message from Mars.” President Louis needed to hear some good news. If he didn’t get it this time, heads would roll. As he watched the message, he knew it was only a matter of time. The Constellation had crashed and the crew was now trapped in the pyramid. He decided no ships of any kind would be allowed near Cydonia except those personally authorized by him. Captain Stukey would be instructed to shoot down any ship which even came close. The ground force would remain and reinforcements with the necessary weaponry would be sent. He would starve them out and have the traitors shot when they tried to escape.