Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure (4 page)

“You were right about the moon around Jupiter. It is Europa. Has the biologist contacted you yet?” Vincent asked
Dalton. “Yes, I just heard from him yesterday. The results are interesting. Tests were conducted on one cylinder from each of the eight chambers. Specimens from three of the chambers resulted in known DNA matches. The three known DNA matches were a Falkland Island wolf which went extinct in 1876, one was a Malagasy Aardvark which went extinct in 200 BC, and the other was a common modern catfish. They are still looking at the other five cylinders but the initial tests didn’t return any known DNA, and the biological material was something the biologists hadn’t seen before. Tony doesn’t think the other five samples are from Earth. He is going to conduct more tests but it doesn’t sound like he’ll turn up anything new from what he was saying. Testing is ongoing and quite interesting. The cylinders had a semi permeable membrane which let in the lake water. The lake water was likely providing a long term energy source for the material in the cylinders. He is going to experiment with some of the samples. He will update me on any important developments when he knows it’s safe to do so.” Dalton said.

Staring at his computer Vincent was trying to make sense of the photos which had been taken at the Prime Pyramid. There were clearly four pyramids which weren’t manmade indicated by the hieroglyphs on the map. There was one in the Antarctic, one on
Old Snowy Mountain, one on Mars, and the one on Europa. He knew what was in two of them. He had a strong belief the artifacts and treasure were moved to Mars. He stopped looking at the map and starting working on translating the remaining hieroglyphs in the pictures. Some of the hieroglyphs were recognizable, and some he hadn’t been seen before. It wasn’t similar to anything he had seen on Earth in the past.

Throughout his life Enzo had made a great deal of friends and a great deal of enemies. He had plenty of each. At times some seemed to be both. His friends knew he was as good as his word. His enemies knew it as well, and knew better then to cross him. He found he still had an old friend who could be counted on in
New Mexico. In his youth he spent some time and did some jobs with Randy Stedman the current CEO of Leviathan Transport. He had worked with him and helped him earn the money to get out of New York permanently. The work wasn’t always honest, but money had to be made in their youth. Some of the work consisted of relocating corporate money into the hands of those who could make better use of it. Being young and naïve, it was nothing short of a miracle each of them had escaped relatively unscathed and were successful in their advanced years. Randy had spent his money wisely and always made a profit on his investments. It had been five years since he had spoken with him.

Enzo
called Randy and told him what he wanted and reassured him he would only be sending passengers to Mars. The captain Randy selected would be fully in charge of the expedition. He had told Randy a potential gold mine might be found, and there would be value for the services he was providing if the mission were successful. It would need to happen quickly. Randy agreed to the mission provided Enzo would cover any expenses if nothing was found on Mars. The transport would be leaving in six days. It was time to tell his nephew to pack his bags and notify his friend Dalton.

The phone Enzo gave him in
New York was ringing. Vincent picked it up on the third ring and had to remember not to speak. “Pick up Dalton and arrive at the spaceport in New Mexico tomorrow. You have a meeting with Randy Stedman and I at four in the afternoon. You will not be returning to Seattle and will be leaving in just a few days. Be careful what you say. Don’t talk to anyone about our plans. See you tomorrow Vincenzo. Stay safe.” The clock was ticking and it this point it didn’t matter who was following him. He would be off the planet soon enough anyway. He called Dalton and told him he would be at his house in an hour. He didn’t tell him why, and Dalton knew better then to ask. He hadn’t known Dalton long, but he trusted him. His grandmother wouldn’t have associated with him if she didn’t believe he was a moral and decent man. Vincent packed the essential items he thought he would need and left to pick up his new friend.

Dalton
had left the front door open and Vincent walked in. Vincent handed him a note explaining where they were going and why. Not a word was said as he started packing. They were now more determined then ever and the excitement began to build. With the packing complete the two of them left for the airport knowing very soon they wouldn’t have to worry about the government watching them anymore. Once they were off the planet the government would be handicapped by the ruthless nature of space. He began to worry about getting off the planet after what had happened with Maria. The government could hide his death even easier. Space launches still weren’t one hundred percent safe. It was comforting to know his uncle was now involved. He hoped a safe plan was in place to get them off the planet.

Dominic Moretti sat and watched his father Enzo and his associate Randy discussing his future. His father was concerned about him. According to his father his short temper was making him too much of a public figure in
New York and a liability to his father’s organization. The local police had their eye on him for a couple of petty crimes. The police would never have enough evidence for an arrest, but his father was not happy. Dominic believed he was being overprotective. Having just turned nineteen it was past time he became his own man. The plan to send him into space to cool off and to learn patience seemed to be a waste of time. It ruined what he had planned for his own future. He had paid his dues and followed the advice of his father most of the time. His methods may have brought too much attention, but the results justified his actions. He could learn to be more discrete.

Perhaps his father might be convinced a different plan would be more effective. Space seemed boring and uneventful. With so much to offer his family, Dominic believed his destiny was on Earth. There was no reason he couldn’t stay on Earth if he exercised more caution. “Dominic, I know what you’re thinking. I was young once too.
You must trust me on this.” he said. His father was the one person he wouldn’t cross. “If you say so Dad. But I still think I can help you in New York. If I do this, I would like more responsibility when I come back.” he said. “When you come back we will discuss your role in the family business.” his father said.

Vincent and
Dalton were impressed with the spaceport. It was big and it was busy. There was a time when it sat mostly abandoned with very few projects to keep the place busy. Times had changed. It was busy and in the coming years it would only get busier. Launches were taking off daily and other spaceports were in the planning stages in Arizona and Louisiana. As they passed through security Vincent wondered if the security would be able to keep the CIA out of the facility. The CIA likely had someone planted inside already. He would speak with Enzo about passing along any messages from Dalton’s biologist friend Tony if he should have anything to report. The mysteries surrounding the findings in the Antarctic needed to be answered. If it could be proven alien biological material had been found, it would prove Maria’s claims.

The two of them were escorted to a large office where they had expected to meet with Enzo and Randy. Instead they found a third person. “Gentlemen let me introduce Randy Stedman. I believe you know my son Dominic as well Vincenzo. Please sit down as we have much to discuss. I will say a few things and then I will hand it over to Randy. First things first, Dominic will be accompanying you and
Dalton. Dominic needs a change of pace and he will also be representing my interests as well as the interests of Randy in this expedition. I’m growing old and have acquired a great many things. I’m still interested in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow however. For operational reasons Dominic will be required to follow the instructions of the Captain and he will be there to assist you with anything you might need. He is young but he gets things done. I haven’t made any progress yet in finding the individual responsible for the death of Maria. I will find this person no matter how long it takes. It’s only a matter of time. That’s all I have right now, I’ll turn it over to Randy.” Enzo said.

“Thank you Enzo. I know the reasons for your expedition and I’m aware there are other parties interested in your whereabouts. With that in mind I’ve selected a captain I can completely trust, and who can independently make smart decisions. He is a long time associate of mine with unquestioned loyalty. Expenses for this trip will be exceedingly higher then normal.
It is my expectation that I will receive some compensation for my investment. It will be of utmost importance for this mission to appear like every other. Everyone on board will be expected to pull their own weight and put in their fair share of work until you reach Mars. Listen to the captain and do what he says. Make no mistake, he is in charge of space operations. Do not bring extra attention to yourselves prior to launch. Once in space be very careful. You haven’t been properly trained and space is very unforgiving of mistakes. Launch will be tomorrow at fifteen hundred hours. That will be all for now. You can go and visit the ship and become familiar with where you’ll be spending the next few months." Randy said.

Never having
been aboard any type of spacecraft Vincent was impressed. The ship was designed primarily for the transportation of cargo. Randy treated his employees well. Each crewmember was assigned their own cabin which was spacious for a transport. He wondered if all the ships in the fleet were designed this way. After taking a tour of the ship Vincent exited and met with Enzo and Randy. A slight change in plans had been made.

Thirty minutes before launch Enzo and Randy watched from the observation window as the transport was prepared.
Equipment and supplies were being loaded into the ship. The ship was ready for launch as one last cargo container was offloaded and returned to the hanger bay.

In the control room the
launch technicians were going through their normal routines. All eight heart rate monitors were well within the normal range and the countdown was at thirty seconds. Randy was nervous. "Do you think this is going to work?" he asked Enzo. "I do. I can't think of anything we might have missed and I've gone over it quite a bit." Enzo said.

Fire
bellowed out as the transport lifted into the blue sky on back of the newest model Vanguard rocket. It would take the transport about ten minutes to reach orbit. After a system check the fission engine would be started. The ship would rendezvous with the cargo unit already in orbit, and the trip to Mars via Titan would begin.

The liftoff began without incident. After eight minutes a launch technician spoke up "Mr. Stedman, we have a problem.
An object is approaching at high speed. It is on a collision course. Estimated time to impact is fifteen seconds. There is no time to intercept the object." she said. "Bring up all external cameras now." The forward facing camera picked up the missile two seconds before impact. The internal cameras had been disabled. "Sir we have lost contact with the transport. All systems are down. It appears it has been destroyed." the technician said.

"Damn it!
That ship cost eight million dollars." Randy exclaimed as he and Enzo left the control room. "We knew this was likely to happen. That's why you have insurance. You just better hope PETA doesn't get wind of this." Enzo laughed. Eight large pigs were substituted for the crew on the last container into the transport. The crew had been taken off the transport and was safe. "Those poor hogs, it's too bad they have the same heart rate as humans. The CIA is going to want eight heart rate readings. We’ll give them the data for the eight heart rate readings on board the transport. The CIA has nearly unlimited resources, I’m sure they’ll request the medical data. You definitely called that one well Enzo. It was a brilliant plan." Randy said. They went outside and watched the debris from the transport as it began raining back towards earth. "I think we'll see treasure from Mars when pigs fly." Enzo quipped.

Monique was
at CIA headquarters and had observed the destruction of the transport. Her boss had watched as well and didn’t show any emotion when the eight people onboard had been killed. The agency had someone inside the Leviathan complex who had provided intelligence. Vincent and Dalton had been on the ship. Once again she had argued with Benjamin. She told him the transport could be intercepted once it left earth. Once the ship had been intercepted everyone on board could have been interrogated. In her opinion she still could have got the information from Vincent or Dalton. Benjamin argued the resources available to the agency in space were severely limited, costly, and there would be no guarantee of success. The agency knew Vincent was going to Mars. Whatever he was searching for would be found by the agency now that he knew where to look. He was adamant in his belief any artifacts or alien technology belonged in the hands of the United States Government. Monique was ordered to New Mexico the next day to conduct the clean up operation and to ensure there were no unexpected surprises.

The reality of the situation was felt by all members of the crew in the safe house.
Enzo himself had picked them up in the hanger and driven them to the safe location. All the employees at Leviathan believed they were dead. None of them knew the crew hadn’t been on the ship when it was destroyed. A small memorial service had already been scheduled. The danger was real and it was deadly. Vincent was angry and his need for vengeance went up a notch. The United States Government was killing people needlessly in order to keep secrets hidden.

The crew for
the next launch at Leviathan was notified they had been replaced. A reason was not given, they were given a bonus, and instructed to take extended paid vacations outside of the United States. Instructions were also given not to talk about their work at Leviathan under any circumstances.

It was just over two hours before the next launch.
Randy picked up the crew from the safe house and brought them back to the hanger at Leviathan. Once in the hanger the crew entered a cargo container which was immediately sealed and brought on board the transport. It was a crew of eight which consisted of Vincent, Dalton, Dominic, Captain James Basso, pilot Patrick Weeks, navigator Sarah Dew, engineer Isabella Bilotti, and specialists Julia Parsons and Gary Schmidt. The crew had been told the true nature of their mission and was nervous. They had seen the video of the previous ship which had been destroyed. The extra money for this mission would be nice, but it wouldn’t be much use to a dead person. Randy addressed the crew. “This is your last chance to withdraw from this mission. Let me know now. Once you leave it will be too late.” he said. “I’d like to withdraw. I have a family and the risk is too great.” Gary said. “I understand Gary, you are dismissed from this mission. You will get a paid vacation just like the rest of the crew who were originally scheduled. Do not talk about Leviathan while you’re abroad. Everyone else, it’s time to leave Earth.” Randy said.