Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure by James Bisceglia Page B

this incident. Tony suddenly felt dizzy. Perhaps he had been working too hard. He sat down to clear his head and regain his balance.
    Guarding a snobby scientist was boring work. Gary was smart and wanted to advance his career in the CIA. He longed for more important assignments. He saw the scientist in the biohazard lab clumsily sit in his chair. He had almost fallen off. The scientist was probably taking another break. Standing around all day had to be hard, he thought sarcastically. With nothing else to do, he continued to watch as the man began leaning in his chair. After a few seconds the scientist fell off the chair, hit the floor, and didn’t move. He called his supervisor and an alarm sounded throughout the facility moments later.
    It took twenty minutes to find a doctor and another ten minutes to have him ready to enter the quarantined lab. Doctor Johnson entered the lab and began to take the vitals of his patient. As far as he could discern there was nothing wrong with the man. All the vitals were within acceptable limits. He was unconscious and the Doctor didn’t know why. After another half hour the scientist was surrounded with more doctors and nurses. An epinephrine shot was administered without results. The scientist was moved to a quickly assembled intensive care unit. The only abnormality the Doctor could find was a body temperature five degrees above normal. He was approached by what could only be a member of the CIA. “What’s the prognosis doc’?” he was asked. “All vital signs are within acceptable limits except for his body temperature. The only other unusual symptom is an unknown white substance which is being excreted with his sweat. It’s something I’ve never seen before. There are no records of anything like this happening with other people. Samples have been sent to be analyzed, but at the moment it’s coming from every pore on his body. At this time there is no known treatment which might help him as far as I know. He is alive and healthy. As long as his vital signs remain stable we’re going to observe him. We will know more when the test results come back. For now he’s in a self induced coma as far as I can tell.”
    After consulting Dalton, it was agreed the video would be shared with the entire crew. The crew gathered in the command center and watched in awe. The reactions were mixed. "It sure makes you feel a lot smaller." Isabella said. "I'd hate to come up against any of those ships. We wouldn't have a chance." Captain Basso said. “I don’t think they’re around anymore. Since we’ve become a space faring species over the last eighty years or so, we haven’t seen any in use.” Monique said.
    "Captain , can this ship land on Rhea? With Titan and Rhea so close it's an opportunity we can't pass up. We could capture some of the tratium material in the ring. It's only known to exist in two of the pyramids and on the alien ships. That's after it’s been processed somehow. It could prove to be a valuable resource." Vincent said. "Rhea has very little mass. The gravity wouldn't be a problem. Landing and lifting off again would be a piece of cake. Mining the material in the ring appears as if it would be relatively easy as well. It's simply a matter of getting close enough and getting it onboard. My concern is the safety of the crew. Could the material be toxic and deadly? Are there mines or other devices we’re not aware of? There's no telling what kind of danger might be on the surface of Rhea. We still have plenty of time before we arrive in the Saturn system. I'll take it into consideration. If an expedition on Rhea is undertaken, it will be on my terms with safety being the highest priority."
    Vincent escorted Monique back to her quarters. "The information in the video was unbelievable. I'm sure there is still more we can find. Thank you for sharing what you knew. I'll live up to my end of our arrangement and ensure your safety provided you follow the rules. You should