Weapon of Atlantis (21 page)

“Why do I get the feeling you’re nothing is going to turn into something?” Javi said sarcastically.

Jack turned from the porthole and grinned.

“Reputation,” he said simply.

----- ----- ----- -----

Three days later…

Twelve hundred miles east of the Philippines, the research ship Corrine dropped anchor at the coordinates retrieved from the alien spacecraft and prepared to investigate the secret laboratory, forty-two thousand feet below. In the darkness, men aboard the ship moved toward their stations.

After spending three days inside thei
r tiny cabin, Javi and Jack were allowed topside to witness the launch of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV, for short). The ROV was a highly-advanced underwater vehicle designed specifically for the Navy for their deep water missions. As the plain clothed naval men positioned the vehicle above the water, men inside a control room buried deep within the research ship, studied the remote cameras and actuated the articulating arms and propulsion system, in a final test before it disappeared beneath ocean’s surface. With all systems reported as ‘operational’, the ROV was gently lowered into the water.

Javi and Jack stood at the ship’s rail and watched it slip below the surface. A gentle wind blew a salty mist into their faces from the waves created by its entry, and its feel was exhilarating. For moment, they forgot about their captivity.

Jack wiped the spray off his eyes and scanned the blackness beyond the lights of the ship. Aside from the starlight that reached down from the sky and touched the distant horizon, there was no sign of humanity anywhere in sight. He marveled at the alien’s selection of such an isolated spot.

“Man, talk about finding a needle in a haystack. What a place to hide a lab,” he remarked. “I would’ve loved to have seen them building the thing.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I can’t even imagine the types of machinery they must have used in its construction,” Javi responded.

“Aside from the excavation of the site, I’m betting there wasn’t much construction going on down there. They probably built the lab in small sections above the water, then lowered them all in place once they created a stable platform for them to rest on,” Jack said.

“It’s interesting that they felt a need to excavate an extra five thousand feet of material just to lay their foundation. Seems a bit excessive if you ask me,” Javi considered.

“It’s really hard to wrap your mind around it. That’s a mile deep of material they removed. Why would they do that? I
t just doesn’t make any sense,” Jack added.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a clearer picture of why in a few hours,” Javi responded.

Jack shook his head in amazement.

“Hard to believe they can send a vehicle down there that fast. Usually it takes a few hours just to descend a few thousand feet. They’re doing eight times that depth. The equipment on this ship truly is advanced,” he said.

“I wish we could say the same thing about our cabins. I’m betting criminals get better accommodations than we do,” Javi grumbled loudly.

Jack grinned at the comment, then pointed, “Now’s your time to complain to management. Here come the two stiffs.”

“You guys will need to head back to your cabins. We’ll come get you in a few hours when the ROV reaches its final depths,” Price instructed.

“Mushrooms again: keep us in the dark and fee
d us bullshit,” Jack joked.

Hammond glared menacingly at him a moment, then responded, “There’re worse things.”

----- ----- ----- -----

Three hours later…

Price and Hammond led
Javi and Jack into the control room. As they entered, their eyes marvel at the advanced equipment and electronics. On a far wall, half of an eight foot screen displayed real-times videos as viewed from the cameras affixed to the ROV’s outside structures. On the other half of the display screen, numerical data ran from top to bottom, relating the specifics of the ROV’s descent. Arranged neatly around the room, rows of desks and computers were operated by plain-clothed naval men, controlling everything from the ROV, to the container ship’s hover over the alien site.

Javi studied the large display screen with confusion. At thirty-six thousand feet, light at that depth was virtually nonexistent. Only the brilliant lamps from the ROV illuminated the depths below. In the middle of the darkened display, a faint circle seemed to appear.

“What
is
that?” he asked in a puzzled state.

Both he and Jack
stared at the screen and watched as the ROV’s cameras slowly sharpened their focus the further it descended. Seconds later, the circular image began to take shape.

“That’s a hole,” Javi blurted in surprise.

“That’s an
excavated
hole,” Jack added in equal shock.

As both men watched in awe, Captain Tim Elders stepped forward and extended his hand.

“I’m Capt. Elders, in charge of operations,” he said, shaking both men’s hand. Turning back to the screen and pointing, he continued. “Our sensors are showing that structure to be five hundred feet in diameter an about five thousand feet deep. We can’t tell just yet, but we’re sure your secret lab sits at the bottom of that hole. It’s no wonder it’s never been discovered. It’s practically undetectable from the surface.”

“Incredible,” Javi said. “I’ve seen some impressive feats of engineering in my day, but this is unbelievable.”

“Sir, we’re approaching the rim of the hole. Do you want to hover over it and collect more data, or proceed lower?” lieutenant Rucker asked, controlling the ROV’s descent by joystick.

“Proceed lower. Reduce the descent to three hundred feet per minute,” Capt. Elders responded simply. Turning back to
Javi and Jack, he continued. “If my calculations are correct, we should be seeing the first signs of the alien facility in about ten minutes.”

“Three hundred feet per minute seems awfully fast for descending into a blind hole,”
Jack commented.

Capt. Elders smiled knowingly.

“This isn’t your stereotypical ROV. It has multiple thrusters and an inertial navigation system that gives us the ability to control its location while descending,” he responded.

“That thing must draw a lot of energy. I didn’t see any banks of batteries on it before it descended. How are you keeping
it running after all these hours?” Jack asked.

“It has two power sources: rechargeable onboard batteries and power supplied by cable from this ship,” he responded. “The vehicle has a quick disconnect that allows us to maneuver it freely, then reconnect when the onboard batteries run low. Once it’s reconnected, the batteries recharge again.”

“Very impressive,” Javi replied.

As the ROV passed by
the rim of the hole, it descended into blackness. Although the lights shined brightly, the only sights that could be detected were undetermined particulate that floated by the cameras. All eyes were now focused on a computer generated image of the hole and vehicle. The image displayed the ROV’s location inside the great cavity. The further it descended, the faster eyes shifted back and forth between the computer image and the video feed. Suddenly, at the bottom of the hole, the computer began to draw an image of a blocky-looking structure.

“Radar is picking up something at the bottom. That’s got to be the lab coming online now,” Capt. Elders announced.

“How soon before we see anything?” Javi asked anxiously.

“We’re twenty-two hundred feet from the bottom. If I had to guess, probably in another fifteen hundred feet,” he answered.

Jack elbowed Javi. “Check out that computer image. If their sensors are reading accurately, that lab looks massive,” he said excitedly.

Javi nodded, equally thrilled. “It’s just amazing,” he responded. “I sure hope it was able to withstand the pressures all these years.”

Minutes later, Jack took a step forward and squinted. Suddenly, his heart beat faster.

“I see something,” he shouted. “I think I see the edge of the structure.”

“Slow to a hundred feet per minute,” Capt. Elders ordered.

“Yes Sir,” Lt. Rucker responded.

He turned the shaft on the joystick, slowing the rate of descent. Slowly, the large screen came to life. A massive single story structure began to appear.

“It looks nothing like the video from the spacecraft,” Jack said.

“That’s because it’s covered in a heavy layer of silt and other matter,” Javi responded.

“It might make it tough finding a way in,” Jack speculated.

Capt. Elders turned to Jack and shook his head.

“We have specialized high-volume vacuums that should be able to handl
e the exterior debris,” he said confidently.

Jack shook his head in amazement.

“At forty-two thousand feet?” he asked incredulously.

Capt. Elders smiled.

“We have the technology to do what the general public hasn’t even thought of yet,” he said proudly.

“Sir, we’re two hundred feet above the target,” Lt. Rucker announced.

“Hold your elevation at a hundred feet A.G.L.,” Capt. Elders ordered.

“Yes Sir, one hundred feet above ground level,” the lieutenant repeated.

As the ROV slowed to a stop, every man in the control room stared at the structure that now appeared vividly on the video screen. Positioned directly above it, the cameras could just make out the far corners of the abandoned facility, one hundred and fifty feet away.

“Lieutenant, proceed slowly to the south-west corner,” Capt. Elders commanded.

“Yes Sir,” he responded.

He turned the joystick and slowly, the ROV began to move. As it inched its wa
y over the top of the structure, not a word was spoken. Every man stood in awe at the seven-thousand year old sight. Aside from a few silt-covered lines that marked architectural features at the top of the building, the upper surface seemed flat and unremarkable.

A minute later, the ROV passed over the south-west corner.

“Lieutenant, come about and hover at the roof line elevation,” the captain ordered.

“Yes Sir, coming about,” Lt. Rucker responded.

He moved the joystick slightly, shifting the ROV’s position, then rotated the vehicle around, facing the structure. The lights shined brightly, lighting up the corner of the facility.

“It’s a giant featureless
rectangle, covered in silt,” an ensign blurted out in surprise.

“Once the silt is removed, it’ll be anything but featureless,” Javi assured. “We’ve seen the video footage of this thing at the height of its activity. It’s an amazing sight to see.”

“Ok, let’s reconnoiter the perimeter, see if there’s a docking station or some way in,” Capt. Elders ordered.

For the next four hours, the
crew inside the control room surveyed the extents of the alien facility. With little else to see, they began the next phase of the mission…

“Ok Lieutenant, let’s head topside,” Cap
t. Elder ordered. Turning to Price and Hammond, he added, “We’ll need to spend the next couple of days vacuuming off the debris before we can see anything.”

Priced nodded. “You guys need anything from us?” he asked in businesslike tone.

“Just time,” the captain responded dryly.

----- ----- ----- -----

Three days later…

With the most of the silt removed from the lab’s outer structure, the ROV hovered at the outside entrance to an obvious doorway. Jack studied the video display closely and smiled.