Weapon of Atlantis (27 page)

Javi began to write feverishly on his notepad. Wexler caught the action out of the corner of his eye, and rushed to his side.

“What did you find?” he asked
anxiously.

Javi shot him an uneasy stare.

“Where do I start?” he asked rhetorically. “I guess from the beginning,” he said, answering his own question. “Prior to developing this lab, the Araeans were at war with another alien civilization, specifically, another planet named Endoria. From what I gather, the Endorians were overpowering the Araeans. Desperate to win, the Araeans conceived of an interesting plan to change the balance of power.”

“Using biological weapons?” Wexler guessed.

Javi shook his head.

“No, something far more ingenious than just creating a better weapon of mass destruction. The felt if they could improve their survivability, they’d win the war through attrition.”

“I don’t get it,” Wexler responded.

“What they were working on was some type of formula that accelerated cell repair and regeneration,”
Javi explained.

“Cell repair?” he responded
, astonished.

“The Araeans were losing because of death and injury. If they had the ability to prevent death and recover from their injuries, and their enemy couldn’t, by simple mathematics, the balance of power would eventually shift in their favor.”

“So, their solution wasn’t so much a biological weapon as it was a healing agent?” Wexler asked somewhat skeptical.

“That’s ho
w I’m reading it.”

“Like a cure-all?” he reiterated.

“I believe so,” Javi replied.

“Hmm, not quite what we had expected but I guess it does ha
ve enormous potential,” he said mildly disappointed. “I suppose if we could withstand any attack on our soil, we’d be invincible. That would certainly create a stabilizing effect on the world.”

Jack shook his head in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you’re still classifying this as a weapon. Do you realize what something like this would mean to the world? It would mean no more illness or diseases. Cancer would be a thing of the past. Healthcare costs would virtually disappear,” he said, his voice growing louder by the moment.

“I don’t think government would share your philosophies on utopia,”
Wexler shot back in condescending tone.

“You speak like we come from two different countries,”
Jack retorted.

“You just don’t understand the realities of governments,” he responded bluntly.

“It doesn’t matter much anyway. They never finished their research,” Javi cut in, ending the escalating argument.

“How close to the end were they?”
he asked anxiously.

“I think they were close. According to the rest of the log, they were developing it on Arae, but needed to find a more isolated location. During one of their space explorations, they discovered
this planet. They decided they could build this facility and finished their research uninterrupted. Zeus was close to completion but lacked a certain protein not found here on Earth. He was waiting for the protein to arrive when they were attacked. I’m guessing the Endorians must have followed the Araean spacecraft here. The rest of the story we know…”

“Man, that really sucks,” Jack responded.

“Do you think the protein can be replicated today? We
are
an advanced civilization now,” Wexler said smugly.

“Anything’s possible,” Javi responded simply.

“This is good. We can make this work,” he said, nodding his head in satisfaction. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We need all the data on the cure-all recorded. We still don’t have an interface between their computers and ours, so we’ll have to record everything manually. We’ve got video cameras in the spacecraft. We’re going to set them up and you two will start at the beginning and simply flip through every page on the database. Our guys will then take that data and move it to our own computers.”

“What then?” Jack asked
suspiciously.

“Are you asking what will happen with the data or are you asking about the fate of this place?” he asked.

“I mean everything: what happens to us, this place, and the data on the holograms?”

Wexler stared at both men coldly. “That’s not my decision to make,” he responded.

“That doesn’t sound encouraging,” Jack shot back.

“Our country considers loose ends a threat to
our national security,” he said cryptically.

“Are
we
loose ends?” Javi asked directly.

“As I said, that’s not my decision,” he replied, once again evading the answer. He stood from his chair and pointed toward the spacecraft. “We’re wasting time. Let’s go. We need to get the equipment and start recording the data as soon as possible,” he ordered.

Jack glanced to Javi with apprehension. Javi nodded subtly in understanding. Both men followed Wexler to the spacecraft.

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

As Jack and Javi carried the equipment into the lab, Wexler placed a call topside…

“We’ve located the data. We’re setting up the video equipment now,” he reported into his mic.

“Great work! How long do you think it’ll take?” Price asked excitedly.

“The related data: lab experiments, formulae, hypotheses and results, should take a day to record. The unrelated data such as: general operations, mission history, etcetera, might be another half a day,” he responded. He paused a moment, then added, “We do have
a problem though.”

“What is it?” Price asked, his voice suddenly filled with apprehension.

Wexler spent the next half hour explaining the Araean’s mission. Although his superiors were initially disappointed, they quickly realized the importance of the discovery.

“I have to give it to the Araeans. That’s a pretty clever solution,” Price admitted.

“This protein they were waiting on. Is its molecular composition detailed in the database? Specifically, can our own people replicate it and complete the formula?” Hammond asked skeptically.

“As far as I could see, yes,” Wexler responded.

“Excellent,” Hammond responded in relief. “Keep the pressure on.”

“
Have we been compromised?” Wexler asked in worried tone.

“Not yet, but we’re starting to attract attention out here. A container ship loitering in one spot this far out at sea doesn’t go unnoticed, if you know what I mea
n,” Price insinuated.

“Yes Sir, I do,” Wexler replied. “I’ll report back when we have the pertinent data recorded.”

“Do you see any problems with setting the charges?” Hammond asked.

“I’ve examined both doors on the airlock
s. Should be a piece of cake. Once the charges go off, pressure should do the rest. This whole place should collapse faster than a house of cards.”

“Excellent,” Price responded once again.

“What about Arista and Roberts?” Wexler asked.

“I don’t see any reason to expose ourselves to unnecessary risk… if you understand my meaning,” Hammond stated coldly.

“Yes Sir, I do,” Wexler responded simply.

“
See ya in two days,” Price said, ending their exchange.

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

Jack swiped his hand across the hologram, turning the next page of the data. He glanced over to Wexler, then down to his weapon. He felt a wave of anxiety churn his stomach at the sight. As Wexler played his handheld video game to pass the time, Jack’s mind raced with thoughts of survival. He considered his plan with great apprehension, the success of which depended entirely on hypothesis. If he guessed wrong, there would be no second chance in his future.

He opened his mouth and let out a great yawn, distracting Wexler from his game. Jack casually glanced at his watch.

“I’m reading 1a.m,” he said, now speaking directly to Wexler. “It’s really late and we’ve been up now for nearly twenty-four hours. Any chance we can get some sleep?”

Wexler felt his own exhaustion overtaking him. He checked his watch and nodded.

“Five hours… each man take an empty crew’s quarter,” he instructed. Pointing, he continued, “I’ll take station one. Jack, you take station two. Javi, you get station three.”

Jack stared at Wexler in shock. He shook his head defiantly.

“Dude, there’s a dead guy in station two. You can’t expect me to sleep in there with him?” he protested loudly.

“He’s been dead for seven thousand years. I’m sure he won’t bite. Just move him,” Wexler responded, mildly annoyed with Jack’s objection.

“That is so messed up,” Jack blurted back in disgust. “How about I just take station four? It’s not like I can go anywhere. You’re guarding our exit.”

Wexler considered the request, then nodded.

“Frankly, I don’t care where you sleep,” he responded casually, then warned, “but if I see either of you taking one step into that lab, I’ll cut you down like an animal. You’ll be dead before you hit the floor.”

Javi glanced to Jack nervously. Jack nodded in understanding.

“No need for threats,” Jack responded. “As you already pointed out, the spacecraft is tethered to the ship. We wouldn’t get very far in it anyway.”

Wexler only stared, then said, “Get some sleep.”

Jack paused in the corridor just outside his room. He looked up the hallway and watched as Javi entered his sleeping quarters. For a moment, he made eye contact with Wexler, then entered his own room. Sitting on his bed, he yawned, then adjusted the alarm on his watch.

“An hour should do it,” he said quietly to himself.

He laid back on the bed and closed his eyes.

An hour later…

Inside his head, Jack heard the systematic buzzing from the alarm on his watch. Frantically, he rushed to quell the sound. As the noise echoed inside his room, he was surprised by the volume. Still groggy, his fingers fumbled with the stubby buttons, finally depressing the correct one. He sat up quickly, hurried to his open door and listened intently. He poked his head into the corridor and craned his ear toward Wexler’s room. Loud and distinct, he heard two men snoring. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Deliberate in his movements, he quietly tiptoed down the long corridor, away from the two sleeping men. Every few steps, he listened intently, insuring he remained undetected. Three doors down, he stopped and raised his hand to the room’s control panel. His heart beat faster as he considered the noise it was about to make. With a quick sweep of his hand, lights on the panel illuminated and he selected the ‘open’ symbol.

A low grinding began to sound, then suddenly the door swept open. As it disappeared inside the wall, it stopped abruptly with a dull ‘thud’. The entire sequence took only a second, but seemed to last an eternity. Jack shot a frightened look up the corridor. He could still hear the door’s echo. Once again, he listened for any change in sounds from the sleeping men. He exhaled softly, realizing his actions were still unheard.

Looking into the room, he noted the mummified corpse on the couch. He entered, then turned right. In the corner, he saw the crystal scepter still standing upright where he last saw it. He walked to it and grabbed the handle, lifting
it into the air. It looked and felt identical to Zeus’ scepter inside the spacecraft. He pointed at the couch and lightly squeezed the handle. Instantly, he felt a surge of energy rush along the shaft and out the tip of the weapon. The bolt of light embedded the corpse, then rushed along its entire length. In a blink of an eye, the body simply collapsed in a pile of dust and old rags.

“Still works,” he said, nodding
in approval.