SG Nova Roma, Chapter 4.11

 11 – Ashes and Fallout

(Spera – Bridge – Year 3, Day 50, 1430) 

Levine had briefed Vale and Cadman when they had returned to the ship. Vale had left Cadman and Levine to oversee things, while he went to write his report on Moon One and their findings there. While the team was still exploring Tango One, Cadman and Levine and the rest of the people on the bridge were studying the other asteroids with the obelisks.

“You are right,” Cadman said. “Each is bigger than the previous one.”

“And look at the chemical composition,” Levine said. “I’m no scientist, but even I can see that each one is more complex.”

“Bigger and more complex.”

“That all lines up with the Practice Ground theory,” Porter said. “What do you make of this technology the team reported about ?”

Cadman made her way from the Flight Control to Science One, where Porter was sitting. The team had reported their findings over the radio, while also sending back several photos. Cadman looked at the readings on the Science console, which were far more extensive then the ones on the Flight Control console.

“Well, it’s clearly not one of the races we’ve encountered so far,” Cadman began. “Which makes sense. The only known race we know to have visited this place, was the Order. And why would the Order establish an outpost this far outside civilized space ?”

“They wouldn’t,” Porter said.

“Okay, enough theories,” Cadman began. “Tell the team they have five more minutes, then I want them get back aboard. The colonel wants to go back into FTL at fifteen-hundred hours. I want to get some closer scans of the other asteroids with obelisks before then.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Levine said.

Levine opened a channel and contacted Hailey and her team.

(Spera – Briefing Room – Year 3, Day 67, 1207)

It had been seventeen days since they had left Sector 3325 behind. Yesterday, they had received a report that they had the war between the Jynacko and Nakai – which had been brewing for more than a year – had finally erupted. This meant that the Nakai Central Authority was no longer in the race for Destiny. Even if they won the war, they would be busy rebuilding their civilization. But the New Rebels Nakai had relocated all the people they would be able to. And they were worried about the Jynacko coming for them next, so they wanted Destiny. The IOA believed that they needed the Ancient technology to upgrade their defenses.

~Great, as if we don’t have enough to content with.~ Vale thought. It was a good thing that they upgraded the hydroponics bays, because the planets they had visited since leaving Sector 3325 had been rather harsh. ~And no more signs of the Zovaris.~ They had delivered a thick report on both Moon One and Tango One a week after leaving the sector. But there was nothing new since then. Vale was sitting it the Briefing Room, reading the latest from reports from Colonel Young when Spera dropped out of FTL. Two seconds later, Alec Colson walked into the room.

“What have we got ?” Vale asked.

“There are four Gates in range,” Colson said. “One is looking like a good place to stock up on water.”

“Okay, let’s see what the MALP has to say,” Vale said as he got up. “Hopefully, we’ll have better luck than last time.”

Colson nodded as the two of them walked out of the briefing room. The last mission had been to H3K-094. And that planet has been home to some very nasty predators. So the whole team had ended up running for the Puddle Jumper. In fact - even once they had reached the craft - it had been a very close call. Several members of the crew had ended up in the Infirmary.

(Chaser – Gate Room – Year 3, Day 67, 1207)

Nicholas Rush watched as the Kino went through the event horizon. The ship and crew’s current status was a good news, bad news situation. The good news was that Chaser was now only one or two days behind Destiny. It fluctuated a bit, but that was the average time gap they had managed to lock down. The bad news was they were still in Hal’Iry space. This made collection resource considerably harder. They hadn’t lost anybody yet, but there had been several skirmishes with their ground forces.

Furthermore, they had successfully identified the technology that Spera had found on the asteroid they had named Tango One as Hal’Iry. This proved that the reptilian species had travelled as far Sector 3325. But that was something for them to research later. For now, he had to worry about H4A-701. They had detected a beacon in orbit of the planet, which had taken some time translate. It said that the planet was off-limits to the Hal’Iry. And that was why Rush wanted to take a closer look at it.

He made his way to the Kino readings console. The atmosphere was breathable and their was no sign of radiation. Rush hit several keys, but there was no sign of any obvious hazard. Next to him, Colonel Young was also studying the readings. The team would consist of Young, Rush, Volker, Chloe Armstrong, Eli Wallace, James, Greer and Varro. Camille Wray and TJ would be running things on Chaser while they were away.

“Let’s go.”

Young was the first through the Gate, with Rush being right behind him. Varro went through last. And then the wormhole disengaged. As it did, Johansen turned to Adam Brody, who was manning the dialing computer.

“I want hourly status reports,” She said.

“You got it.”

Johansen took out her radio and contacted Sergeant Barnes. She knew that this world was officially off-limits. But she was not taking any chances, so she ordered Barnes to assemble a team to secure the Gate Room. ~Just in case there are any nasty surprises waiting on 701.~ She had just done so when the ship’s alarm sounded. So she headed for the bridge.

(Spera – Gate Room – Year 3, Day 67, 1215)

Vale was looking at the readings on H5D-228. The planet had a toxic atmosphere, but nothing that the spacesuits couldn’t handle. They had considered using the Puddle Jumper, but the atmosphere was corrosive to the ship’s hull. The suits, however, would not be affected. As for why they were headed through the Gate, the MALP was telling them that there was some kind of anomaly about three hundred meters from their potential arrival point.

At first, 228 had seemed like a useless rock with a toxic atmosphere. And temperature was minus seventy degrees Celsius. But then the MALP had detected an area where the temperature was only minus five Celsius. But the probe could not tell them why. And that was what they wanted to figure out. So NR-1 was putting on the spacesuits.

“Time to test the adjuster circuit.” G’Yal said as he put on his helmet. “This is the first time somebody not Human is using the suits.”

“Well, if the circuit works, they should be one sized fits all,” T’Zalo said. “Sort of.”

G’Yal pushed a button and the suit slowly shrunk to fit him. Then T’Zalo pushed the same button and his suit adjusted as well. Porter was already in her suit, so they were waiting for Vale. The colonel put on his helmet and then activated his radio.

=/\=Okay, people, here we go.=/\=

=/\=Yes, sir.=/\= T’Zalo said.

Vale led the way through the Gate. He had a feeling that this was going to be an interesting trip.

(H4A-701 – Field – Year 3, Day 67, 1225)

701 was actually a nice planet. So far, they hadn’t run into any nasty critters or lethal radiation. Instead, it was a wooded planet with two suns. The planet was further from the suns then Earth was from her own star. But because there were two of them, the planet was still habitable.

Rush and Eli were in the front of the team. Eli was holding a Kino remote and checking the readings. He had send the Kino ahead to make sure that there weren’t any nasty surprises waiting for them. ~So far, so good.~ He had barely completed the thought when the remote beeped.

“Colonel,” Eli began. “We have a town up ahead, but no life-signs.”

“What about bodies ?” Rush asked.

“Nothing so far, but the place is very overgrown.” The town was a ruin, with large chunks of the buildings having already fallen down. And what was still standing, was covered in vines and other plants. “From the looks of it, this happened a while ago.”

“So the bodies could have decayed in the time since.”

The Kino reached a building in the exact center of town. Worryingly, it appeared to be both intact and totally free of overgrowth. Eli had a bad feeling about what this meant. And he also knew that there was only one way for them to find out. ~We’re going to have to go in there.~ So, he looked at Young.

“What did you find ?” Young asked.

“One building, intact and free of overgrowth,” Eli said. “Right in the middle of town.”

“We’re going to have to go in there.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Chloe began. “But the last time something like this happened, didn’t Doctor McKay end up blowing up a solar system ?” Young gave her a look. “What ? I’ve been reading up on Atlantis.”

“She has a point,” Eli said.

“That doesn’t change the fact the Colonel is right,” Rush said. “Whatever is in there could pose a significant thread to the ship,” He paused, while gazing towards the settlement. “We’re going to have to deal with it. One way or another.”

Young nodded and they continued on their way. Soon, they were would reach the settlement. And then they would have to deal with the fallout of whatever had happened here.

(H5D-228 – Desert - Year 3, Day 67, 1228)

228 might have a toxic atmosphere, but it was pretty. As the planet’s lone sun rose above the horizon, it was turning the atmosphere into a rainbow of colors. It also revealed that the anomaly was located at a deep gorge in the surface of the planet. As they approached it, it had become clear that this was not a natural formation.

Instead, it was a square quarry that went straight down. As he looked over the edge, T’Zalo saw that the there was no bottom, but a plain of water instead. ~I wonder why it hasn’t frozen.~ Looking around, he spotted a flight of stairs that zig-zagged down towards the water. Colonel Vale led the way to it, with T’Zalo taking up the rear. ~Here we go.~

The stairs were made from some kind of metal. As he made his way down the first flight of stairs, Vale passed through a forcefield. The rest of team followed, before Vale activated his radio.

=/\=This is what the MALP read.=/\= He began. =/\=It just couldn’t make it out, because the atmosphere was too thick.=/\=

=/\=It’s like we’re walking in soup.=/\= Porter said.

=/\=True.=/\= G’Yal said.=/\=But the forcefield appears to keep it out. The atmosphere is clear underneath.=/\= He turned to Porter. =/\=Is it breathable, Allison ?=/\=

=/\=It appears to be, but we have no idea what kind of bacteria and viruses are in the atmosphere. So I recommend keeping the suits on.=/\=

=/\=Okay, let’s see if we can find any signs of inhabitants.=/\=

They continued their way down the stairs. The walls of the quarry appeared to be smooth at first glance, but he could T’Zalo could see that…~Well, whatever they were mining here, they took it away in chunks.~ He could see lines on the walls. As they headed down, he realized that G’Yal was right and that the atmosphere was indeed clear. Finally, they reached the bottom of the stairs. The problem was that there was no way to tell how deep the water was.

=/\=Now what ?=/\= T’Zalo asked.

=/\=Well, only one thing I can think off.=/\= Vale said.

He stepped off the platform and ended standing in about five centimeters of water. The bottom of the quarry was gloomy, so Vale – and then then others – activated the light on his weapon. Using the extra lights to get a better look at the place, Porter spotted a rusty metal door in one of the walls. It was slightly bigger than an average humanoid and came with a handle.

Vale nodded and they made their way towards the door. The colonel gave several hand signals – which the team had been learning for the last couple of days – and Porter grabbed the door handle, while G’Yal took up a position to the left and T’Zalo went to the right. Vale took the middle and began counting down using his fingers. When he reached zero, Porter yanked the door open.

=/\=Bloody….=/\= Vale said.

There was no way to tell what the room had once been, but now it was a mass grave. It was clear that whoever the people had been, they had not been Hal’Iry. The remains were dressed in rags and they were handcuffed, with their legs being in chains as well. The walls were scared and black, making it clear that these people had died in a fire. Vale had the feeling that they were standing in the ashes of the other races of this galaxy.

SG Nova Roma, Chapter 4.10

 10 - …And Games in Town

(H2Z-118 – Village of Pal - Year 3, Day 12, 1015)

Scott had introduced his team and then Ga-25-H had given them a tour of the village. It was indeed a collection of farms, but one building – a large barn – had been turned into a large still. Ga-25-H had explained that this was an official government still and that soldiers were not allowed to go there, because the political leadership was afraid that they would get drunk and go around looting, raping and murdering. So they had authorized the still crews do what was necessary to deal with any violators.

Ga-25-H was now leading them into the lab next to the still. This was where they tried to refine and improve their product. There was also a table with eight chairs. The lab doubled as an office and town meeting hall. They all sat down, with Ga-25-H sitting across from Scott.

“So, Matt..,” He began. “…May I call you Matt ?”

“Only if I can call you Ga,” Scott said with a smile.

“Ga is fine with me. Now, Matt, our security sensors have detected your second team already. So would you please ask Commander Young to bring his team into the town ?”

“Scott to Young.”

=/\=Young here. We’re holding position outside the town. Are you okay ?=/\=

“Yes, sir. The locals have extended an invitation, sir,” Scott paused. “I think it would be best if you took them up on it. These people are friendly, sir.”

There was silence as Young considered his next move.

(H2Z-118 – Dry Creek Bed - Year 3, Day 12, 1015)

The medical team had arrived and treated the wounded. The bulk of that team had left – heading back to base – with their security officers staying behind to reinforce Dr-28-A’s patrol. The base had also send out another patrol to back them up. But the aliens were already making their move. A second team had circled around the patrol and was now entering the town from the other side. The problem was that he would have to wait for his reinforcements to make his move.

~Of course, I still have to figure out a way to get them out of there.~ He wanted to capture the aliens, learn about them. But if he went into a town with a Hive Official Still – or HOST, as it was officially called – his superiors would come down on him and his men like a ton of construction material. ~HOST ? Who came up with that name, anyway ?~ It sounded like something from a badly written piece of fan-fiction. On the other hand, the stills served an important function.

The booze they produced was shipped throughout Hal’Iry space. It was divided into rations that were given to the civilian population by means of lottery. The lottery was part of several measures that the higher-ups had taken to prevent dissention in the ranks. For now, however, Dr-28-A, had other things on his mind. He needed to come up with a plan to get the aliens out of Pal. So he kept watching.

(H2Z-118 – Village of Pal - Year 3, Day 12, 1022)

Young, Scott and Ga-25-H were sitting in the lab-slash-meeting hall, while most of the others – led by Lieutenant James – were outside and keeping a close eye on the Hal’Iry team just outside the town. The only exception was TJ, who was talking to one of the locals, Mz-10-X. There was a still aboard the Chaser, which could make medical alcohol.

But stills could also be used to distill water. And while the one aboard ship was big enough for ship’s alcohol needs – medical or otherwise – it was not big enough to provide a supply of distilled water. The Pal still, however, would be able to provide them with several bottles of the stuff.

“So, Commander,” Ga-25-H began. “we are in major trouble here. The Hal’Iry are not tolerant of other species. In fact, if it was up to our political leaders, we would conquer the universe and wipe out everybody not part of the Hive.” He paused. “The only reason we haven’t, is because we lack the numbers and resources.”

“Why are you telling us this ?”

“Because I became the leader of a HOST for a reason…” He leaned back. “….namely, that I am not the biggest fan of our political leadership. And most of the Supreme Commanders are fools. Villages like Pal had certain liberties that the average settlements lack. If you had entered a normal village, you would have been executed by now. Which brings up to the subject of the patrol outside the town limits…”

“So going further from the Stargate…” Scott said.

“Would be a real bad. They will either kill you, capture you, or both,” Ga-25-H said. “And if they find out how to work the Stargate, it would be bad. And not just for you. Because if we go to war, thousands of my species my will die. Not to mention all the people who will lose their loved ones. And that’s just our side.”

Young turned to Scott. “Lieutenant, can we talk outside ?”

“Yes, sir,” Scott said.

The two of them walked out of the building. As soon as they were out of ear range, Young turned to Scott. “So, do you believe him ? Because to me, this whole sounds way too lucky. A whole planet full of hostiles and we happen to stumble upon the one friendly town in walking range of the Gate ?”

“I know we are taking a risk by believing him, but if the Hal’Iry really are a predatory species and they figure out how to work the Gate…”

Young nodded. ~That would be really bad.~ Scott thought. And he got the impression that Ga-25-H was a straight shooter. Besides, if he had wanted to hurt them, he could have done so before. Instead, he had given them a tour of the town and kept the ground forces at bay. And Colonel Young was not the kind to gamble with the future of a species or a galaxy.

“Okay,” Young said. “Back to the ship it is.”

Before Scott could reply, Varro came running. “Colonel, we have a problem,” He began. “Our alien friends are setting up some kind of grenade launcher. I think they are done waiting.”

Two seconds later, the enemy opened fire.

(H2Z-118 – Dry Creek Bed - Year 3, Day 12, 1025)

Dr-28-A watched as another grenade hit and exploded. He had wanted to wait a bit longer, but his superiors had called him and demanded that he should move in now. They had also wanted the aliens alive. Apparently, they knew something about the Aliens Rings. Fortunately, they had several smelly bombs at their disposal. They had just fired all eight of them into Pal. ~Of course, these things are designed to work against Hal’Iry. Not….aliens.~

His troops were covering both paths from the town. As soon as the aliens left the cover of the buildings, they would be stunned and taken away. And they would have no other choice. The bombs had made the air impossible, or near impossible, to breathe. Dr-28-A gave his troops hand signals and then readied his weapon. Several more seconds passed and then….nothing happened. ~What the…~ He gave it twenty more seconds, then ordered his men to open fire.

The shots penetrated the cloud and hit…..nothing. He stood up and walked into the cloud. His troops followed. The bombs were no longer emitting gas, so the cloud was slowly starting to disperse. And through the thinning gas, he could see that the only people outside the buildings were his troops. And then all hell broke loose.

(H2Z-118 – Pal Underground - Year 3, Day 12, 1026)

What Ga-25-H knew and Dr-28-A did not, was that Pal had originally been an illegal still. And that as result of that, there were several tunnels underneath the town. And the current town had been built on top of an older version of the town that had burned down several years ago. Except the basements had survived. Finally, there were several maintenance rooms for the local sewer and the electricity grid. The result was an underground labyrinth. But Ga-25-H knew exactly how to navigate it. And he was leading Colonel Young and his people through away from the town.

“Won’t this get you into trouble ?” Young asked.

“No, if they arrest me, the still will shut down and that will causes riots all over the place,” Ga-25-H said. “Plus, they would have to admit that they were in the town to begin with, which is clearly against the rules. And anything regarding the Stargates is classified at the highest levels. The average citizen barely knows that they exist,” He paused as he turned a corner. “The last thing would want is to attract attention to them.”

“Playing games with the higher ups ?”

“Like I said, I am not their biggest fan.”

“Why do I have a feeling that you are not the only one in Pal who feels that way ?”

“Because you are right, I have been playing games,” Ga-25-H said. “And I’ve been gathering people who have the right skills and who agree with me about our leadership. Pal is a harbor for the rebellious. Of course, there is only such we can do,” They turned another corner. “But I had to start somewhere.”

They reached the end of the tunnel. There was a heavy wooden door, which Ga-25-H opened to reveal a stone stair that was covered in sand. Ga-25-H pushed one of the bricks next to the stairs and the structure turned into a slope, causing the sand to slide into the tunnel. He pushed the brick again and the stairs moved back into place. Then he led the way up the stairs. Scott was surprised to see that they were only fifty meters from the Stargate.

~How come we didn’t see this ?~ He looked around and saw that the entrance was hidden by several shrubs and a patch of long grass. They made their way towards the Gate. Rush took out the Gate remote and began the dialing sequence. Ga-25-H watched as the Gate did its job, then whistled at the wormhole formed.

“Temporary subspace wormhole ?” He said, looking at the event horizon. “Takes you apart at the molecular level, transmits you to another ring, where you are put together again. Does it hurt ?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Scott said. “And you can tell all of that by just looking at the Gate ?”

“Well, we might spend several nights doing some unauthorized research on the Ring,” Ga-25-H said, before turning to Young. “Like I said, Pal is a home for the rebellious, Commander. And we are playing for all the marbles. Get out of here and make as few stops as possible, Commander. And prepare for a running firefight.”

Young nodded and led the team through the Stargate. As he made his way out of the Gate Room, he thought about what he had learned on the planet. They were in hostile space, which would make resupplying harder. And it would only be a mattered of time before they tried to attack Chaser the old fashioned way. So the game was now truly afoot.

SG Nova Roma, Chapter 4.09

 9 – Fun In The Asteroid Belt….

(Spera  – Bridge – Year 3, Day 50, 1250)

Cinara and Nikita Aranov were manning the two science stations and studying the energy signatures on the sensors. At the same time, Major Levine was plotting a course past all the asteroids on their list. He was also looking for a place where they could take a closer look at the sources of the signals. So far, they had been able to confirm that said sources were Zovaris obelisks. These units were much smaller then the one on Eden. But they had not been able to find a place where they could send a team in spacesuits yet. The asteroids they had passed so far had been barren, except for the alien devices.

“Anything so far ?” Hailey asked.

“No,” Cinara began. “But every asteroid is slightly bigger than the one before.”

“That lines up with our practice theory,” Levine said.

Suddenly, there was a beep from Aranov’s console. He worked his controls and realized that one of the asteroids was not solid. Instead, there was a cave system inside. And the Zovaris had made the asteroid spin, so that centrifugal force simulated gravity. This created zero-point-nine G inside the caves. But there was no atmosphere inside these caves. Aranov reported what he had found to Hailey.

“Is the obelisk inside the caves ?”

“Yes, it is,” Aranov said. “If I’m reading this right, in the exact center, Colonel.”

“I’m still getting used to that,” Hailey said with a smile. “Can we get a team in there for a closer look ?”

“There are no hatches sealing the ends of the cave system, so we should be able to get in there,” Aranov turned his chair around. “And I think I’ve found a good place to park the ship while the team is inside.”

“Major Levine, set a course.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Spera set course for the asteroid. She was moving at full sub-light speed, so it only took her a minute to arrive. Aranov transferred the coordinates to Levine’s station and the Major parked the ship in that location. As soon as he reported that they were in position, Hailey decided that she would lead the team herself.

“So, who is going down there ?”

Hailey looked at the asteroid and made the decision.

(Puddle Jumper Two – Cockpit – Year 3, Day 50, 1235)

Vale flew the Jumper away from the obelisk. Next to him, Cadman was watching the temperate belt below them. ~I should have checked if she received the gene therapy.~ Of course, if the answer was no, then Doctor Bennett could fix that. In order to keep the silence from getting awkward, Vale decided to speak up.

“So, I know this is a cliché question…” He began. “…But, why did you join this expedition ? I read your file and your had a pretty sweet gig aboard the George Hammond. You had your own security team.”

“And now I have my own security team again. I’ve come full circle,” Cadman said with a smile. “But you’re right, life on the Hammond was good. Still, when Colonel Young asked me, I couldn’t say no.”

“We don’t leave our people behind ?”

“Exactly.”

“Speaking of clichés, have you had the gene therapy yet ?”

“No,” Cadman said. “It was on my to do list while I was assigned to Atlantis. And then I got reassigned…” She paused. “And what about you, sir ? Did you get the therapy or were you born with the gene ?”

“I got it from mother nature. And both of my parents, just like Lieutenant-Colonel Sheppard.” There was a beep from the sensors as they detected two cabins on the surface. They came with a pier, canoes and a steam vessel identical to the one they had found next to the cabins that had been next to obelisk. Vale told the Jumper to make a note, which it did. “Anyway, we should fix that. Get you the gene and then some flying lessons in one of the beauties.”

“Yes, sir,” Cadman paused. “You know, it’s been weeks since we’ve left Freedom Prime. How come we haven’t had this conversation ?”

“Hmm….maybe we’re both workaholics ?”

“Maybe,” Cadman said with a snicker. “So, is true that you used to be a Roman Centurion ?”

“Yes, it is. And don’t belief any of the romanticized things Hollywood tried to tell you were the truth. The Legions were brutal and so was I.”

“I get what you’re saying, but I’ve been in the uniform long enough to know that modern politicians, admiral and generals are far from having clean hands themselves. And don’t get me started on all the cloak-and-dagger games played by intelligence services,” She paused. “So, there’s plenty of hypocrisy to go around. I like working for a boss who tries to avoid it.”

“Thank you. And I can’t promise I’ll always succeed.”

Before Cadman could reply, the sensors beeped as they passed over another cabin complex. She made a note on the map and noticed something. ~They appeared to be equally spaced around the planet.~ She grabbed her backpack and took out an electronic pad, which she connected to the controls. Then she keyed in several commands, which made a several green dots appear on the plotter display. The complexes they had already passed over were blue dots.

“Got something ?”

“I think they are placed at thirty-six degree intervals,” Cadman said. “Providing the whole planet with a basic safety net for any Order ship in trouble.”

“But only one has a obelisk…” Vale had an idea. “Let go take a closer look.”

He increased speed as he took them towards the next cabin complex. It was time for them to find some answers.

(Spera – Jumper Bay – Year 3, Day 50, 1300)

The outer door to the Jumper Bay opened, revealing the asteroid that they had codenamed Tango One. Hailey had picked three people to come along with her, while leaving Major Levine in charge of the Spera. Nikita Aranov was coming along to cover the archeological angle, while Carl Grogan was the security officer for the mission. Alec Colson was off-world, but Xander Henderson was an electrician and had a degree in computer science. ~We didn’t make him Chief of Maintenance for nothing.~ So he was in the fourth suit.

“Okay, people,” Hailey began. “Here we go.”

Hailey jumped through the door, with the others following. Because of the gravity conditions – namely the fact that there was nearly none – they sailed towards Tango One slowly. The suits came with thrusters, so they were able to control their descent with those if the situation called for it. But the landing ended up being soft and easy.

“Welcome to Tango One,” Hailey said.

“The walls of these caves are relatively smooth,” Henderson said. “And there stone slabs on the floor.”

“The walls are natural, but the floor was clearly made or carved by the Zovaris,” Aranov added. “Of course, considering that this whole asteroid was build, the concept of natural is a bit flexible.” The pointed to a section of the call, where an arrow was carved into the stone. “And I think those are for people who don’t have the benefit of Spera’s sensors. They probably lead right to the obelisk, boss.”

“Let’s test that theory.”

They followed the arrow and found another one. Soon, they were approaching the heart of the asteroid. It was a large cave that came with stalactites and stalagmites. There was a carved path that ended in a circle, with the obelisk in the middle. As she walked around the obelisk, Hailey saw that the path they had used to enter was not the only one. There were three more paths heading into the asteroid. While Aranov and Henderson set to studying the obelisk, Grogan also noticed the other passages.

“Why more then one access point ?” He asked.

“Sergeant, Doctor, stay here and study our alien friend,” Hailey said. “Grogan, let’s see if we can find the answer to your question.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Grogan said.

“Studying the obelisk it is,” Henderson said.

Grogan and Hailey left, leaving Henderson and Aranov with the obelisk. Aranov led Henderson take the lead. Back in the early days of the expedition, he had asked Henderson what exactly a Chief of Maintenance did. Spera had several ICT personnel aboard, and a small team of electricians. There were also two crewmembers that took care of the laundry. Finally, the ship was self-cleaning. But if there had been a janitorial staff, they would have also reported to Henderson.

~It’s people like this that keep the ship afloat.~ That was a lesson Nikita had learned from his father. Ivan Aranov had been a sailor in the Russian Navy. He had retired with the rank of Senior Michman, which was the highest enlisted rank possible. ~Getting him and Nicholas Rush’s father together could have been interesting.~ Alas, Rush senior had passed. And Ivan didn’t have the proper security clearance. Which was fine with Nikita, because his father hated keeping secrets from the love of his life, Natasha.

Natasha was the one who had gotten him interested in archeology. Her father Boris had been a history teacher, who had taken up archeology as a hobby. After seeing his notes and artifacts, Nikita had ended up picking up the torch. His grandfather had passed away several years after that. But not before announcing that he was extremely proud of his grandson. ~Well, grandpa, I could use your help on this one.~ He smiled at the Sergeant and they set to work.

(Moon One – Grassy Field – Year 3, Day 50, 1252)

Colson was drawing a schematic. He and Porter had been studying the Order circuits. It turned out there were ten of them, with one of them being the big red button T’Zalo had suggested. The other nine were some kind of short-range transceivers. But the question was…where did they transmit to and from ? Suddenly, there was a beep from the console. G’Yal was standing next to the alcove. He looked at the circuits and saw that there was small display about the keyboard. And that display was now activate.

“Colonel, where are you ?”

“I’m in an Order cabin. It turns out there are sets of them at thirty-six degrees intervals.”

“So, ten sets of cabins in total ?” G’Yal paused. “That makes sense with what Porter and Colson have discovered here. Allison, we need somebody to do the technobabble.” ~And that certainly isn’t me.~ G’Yal thought.

Porter took over and began explaining what they had learned.

(Tango One – Tunnel - Year 3, Day 50, 1308)

They had reached the end of the first tunnel. It ended in a large, round chamber with a circle of light embedded in the walls. Grogan looked up and saw that the room was a metal door, which reminded him of the iris on Earth’s Stargate. ~Why wasn’t there a door like that in the tunnel we used to get in ?~ He looked around, but there was no sign of any controls for the door. Still, it was clear that this was meant for people who arrived by spaceship.

“Well, that’s one,” Grogan said.

“Why wasn’t there a door in the tunnel we used ?” Hailey asked. “If you want to pressurize this place, you need to close all the passages.”

“Yeah, I thought about that. We can take a closer look later, for now….” Grogan stopped, because he spotted something. He had been taking a closer look at the walls. “…I’m thinking we should….” He knocked on a section of wall, which sounded hollow. He noticed that this part was totally smooth. “….try this…” He felt an outline and pushed. There was a grinding noise and then the section slid aside. “….door. And the corridor beyond.”

“Lead the way.”

Grogan lead the way into the corridor. It passed a small control room, which had a single chair that faced a wall full of buttons, switches and displays. There was a thick layer of dust on all of them. Grogan stepped into the control room and cleared some of the dust. The markings on the buttons were not Zovaris, suggesting that this was a later addition by somebody else. ~And not the Order of the Other either. Just what we need, another alien species to deal with.~ He took out a camera and took a photo of the controls. Then he zoomed in on the clean section and took another. That done, he continued down the corridor.

(Moon One – Grassy Field – Year 3, Day 50, 1317)

Jumper Two had returned to the obelisk. The others were putting the supplies and equipment back in the Jumper, while Vale was taking a closer look at the controls that Colson and Porter had found. ~Nine short-range transceivers, which tap into the long-range transceiver that uses the obelisk as a booster.~ Besides allowing the transmission of a distress call, this also allowed for communications between the cabins.

~Which we saw firsthand.~ But he wanted to check if there was just one long-range channel. He hit several keys and a short list appeared. It had three channels. One was the distress channel, but the other two were locations in this solar system. ~Both in the asteroid belt.~ He took out a paper note-bloc and made some notes. Then he closed the panel and headed for the Puddle Jumper. He sat down behind the controls and seconds later the ship took off.

This time, the trip through the atmosphere was shorter. On their way in, he had taken them down slowly so that they could get a good look at the moon below them. But that was not a consideration this time around. As soon as they reached space, he realized that Spera was not there anymore. Fortunately, a scan quickly revealed that the ship was nearby. ~In the asteroid belt and…~ He focused and the display zoomed in. And realized that Spera was at one of locations he had just identified.

“Looks like they are having some fun in the asteroid belt,” Cadman said.

“It’s a short hop,” Vale said. “At full sub-light we’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

“You think that asteroid might be a Zovaris construct as well ?” Colson asked.

Vale nodded. He knew that Moon One had given them a starting place. And now the asteroid belt might provide them with the next piece of the puzzle. ~And, as always, there is only one way to find out.~ So he set course for Spera and pushed the engines to maximum.