“Hell yeah, let’s do a Houdini before this Russian bird flies by,” Snap said.
Mark Jackson dramatically smashed down the button on the keyboard, and nothing happened.
“What the fuck was that?” Snap asked.
“I don’t know. It should have worked.”
“Do I have to remind you that a Russian MiG-31 carries dozens of missiles?” Snap asked, sarcastically.
Jackson was frantically pounding at the key board, but nothing seemed to work. Snap looked over his shoulder to make sure the rest of the men were already inside the downed space ship. Snap took a deep breath and walked around the rover, examining it closely.
The PID was built into the rover, so that it was really one device. The equipment had been stored in saddle bag type compartments on the outside of the rover. The rover itself was constructed mainly of steel and had been painted white. Sitting above the tank-like treads was a large armored container-like structure affixed to the rover platform that stood about seven feet high. On the side of the rover was a hand lever; above it was written ‘pull to activate.’
Snap pulled the lever, and the top of the container opened. A crystal sphere rose out of the rover and began to spin. As the man-sized crystal sphere spun it began to glow, and then shards of light shot from the sphere, reaching farther and farther away from the rover.
“Bob, what are you seeing up there?” Snap asked.
“I got a Mig-31 three minutes from visual.”
“Jesus Bob, that’s the most I have ever heard you say.”
“I can still see you, the ship and the fucking fireworks display that you and Johnson are putting on,” Bob said from the ridge above.
Just then, the shards of light smoothed out and disappeared. The crystal sphere glowed with a dull, whitish gray color, radiating evenly from its surface.
“Bob, what do you see up there?”
“A MiG-31 in the distance”
“And?” Snap asked.
“And you have disappeared.”
“Hell yes. What else?”
“The tower and super structure have completely disappeared, looks like freshly fallen snow banks,” Bob replied.
“And the bow of the ship?”
“It can be seen, but it is buried up against the trench wall. So unless you are looking for it, you could miss it.”
“Stay tuned into the pilot’s radio frequency. If he says anything that makes you believe he sees us, shoot him down with the EMP cannon,” Snap ordered.
“Roger that.”
Snap and Jackson stood next to the rover monitoring the diagnostic reports for the three-dimensional projected holographic image.
“Everything looks fine. We have enough power to last several hours. Just under 75 percent of the ship is hidden from view,” Jackson said.
The MiG-31 flew overhead, and Bob did not take a shot at it with the EMP cannon.
“Major Slade, no radio communication from pilot. If he spotted us, he didn’t mention it.”
“Jackson, stay here with the rover. Leave on the PID until the MiG is safely out of the area, then shut it down to conserve power. I’ve got cargo to move,” Snap ordered, as he stomped off toward the ship’s smoldering hulk.
“Bob, good work. You and Taylor stay up on that ridge and keep an eye out for any Russian movement.”
“Roger that.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Moscow Russia
Nox Bellator stood on the flight deck next to his anti-gravity fighter, five levels below the tarmac, just outside of Moscow. There were five antigravity fighters sitting in a circular formation on the flight deck, directly below a large shaft that led to the surface.
“Open the blast doors; I will be leaving soon,” Nox commanded the Russian officer.
“Yes Sir,” he replied, as he quickly moved to the control panel.
“General Bellator, we have received reports back from Magadan,” Popov said.
“And?”
“So far, the pilot’s reports are less than helpful. All six sites were located. All six show signs of massive explosions. Well, actually, one shows a smaller blast radius.”
“Anything else stand out about the smaller site?”
“Not really, just that its impact zone was strange in appearance, not as symmetrical as the others.”
“Anything else?”
“Based on the pilot’s reports there were no signs of manmade debris or people at any of the locations,” Popov replied.
“When will we have the analyst’s reports on the pictures taken from the fly over?”
“That is our top priority; they should be complete before you land in Magadan,” Popov said.
“I’m not going to Magadan first,” Nox said.
“Where will you be heading first, Sir?”
“I’m going straight to the anomalous site,” Nox answered.
“By yourself? Do you want back up?”
“I commanded an interstellar warship for hundreds of years. I think I can handle a crater in Siberia.”
“Very well. I will make sure the folks at the Magadan airport expect your delayed arrival.”
Nox was wearing his full armor and helmet. He stood head and shoulders over the Russian General. “Where are we on troop deployment?”
“Sir, I have deployed the Pacific Fleet to the Port of Magadan. They should be there in 10 hours, along with air support. We keep the Sea of Okhotsk free of ice and open for shipping traffic year around. Magadan Airport however is another story. It is under a winter storm advisory and is facing near whiteout conditions. Your antigravity fighter can make it, but the fighters are having trouble landing. Also, it is a small airport, not really prepared for large scale military functions. Moving planes through there will take time.”
“How long until I get boots on the ground at these locations?”
“The fighters detected low levels of radiation from the impacts.”
“I didn’t ask about radiation levels, General.”
“No Sir. We will have paratroopers at each location in a few hours.”
“How many?”
“We can drop 90 paratroopers from a Mi-26 T2 helicopter. They are being readied now, as we speak.”
“Very well, I want boots on the ground at each location, ASAP. I will be at the anomalous site in a little under one hour.”
Nox turned and entered his anti-gravity fighter. In a few minutes, he was flying through the gray, winter Russian sky at over 7,000 miles per hour. The anti-gravity technology allowed for the smoothest of rides, even through the harshest weather conditions. Nox verbally commanded the ship to the known coordinates and leaned back in the pilot’s seat to ponder what he might find in Magadan.
Nox, a leader of leaders, did not give into fantasy easily. But lately his plans to unite the Earth under one rule had stalled out. The Council of Three Hundred were bickering over the same old crap and unable to see the big picture. He needed a break, something to force the world leaders back to the table. This may be just the thing, or it may just be a strange meteor shower.
Then, his thoughts wondered to the past, a time when things were simpler. When politics were black-and-white, good was good, and evil was evil. He thought of his old adversary: Dale Matthews. Often, he wondered how Dale was doing. At this point, Dale was a very old man, weak and frail. But that’s not how Nox remembered him. Nox remembered Dale as the fearless warrior that stared him down in an underground tunnel. The only man that ever bested him. He would pay Dale a visit someday, someday soon, because Dale did not have much time left.
As Nox was mentally visualizing what Dale would look like after roaming the Earth for 90 years, the emergency siren rang, and the cabin lights faded to red. Nox was jolted back to reality. Apparently, his technologically advanced anti-gravity fighter was not completely impervious to harsh Russian winters.