fiction stories are not so wrong, after all? This, to Gejalik, also was amusing.
“While they may be aware of aliens among their kind,” she continued, “they know nothing about us or our mission, and they will learn little from Etlun.” She disliked the callousness of her statement, but it was a prudent observation.
Nodding, Adlar said, “I know. At least if we had managed to make use of the ship, her death might have more meaning.”
They had been surprised to discover that a small cadre of human military and civilian scientists had been working with the craft in the first place, which Etlun determined was reconstructed from the remains of a vessel that—through no small feat of skill and good fortune—had been brought down by Air Force fighter planes. Despite their best efforts, Etlun and Adlar had been unable to decipher any clues as to the ship’s point of origin, though they had rationalized that it must have been dispatched from a larger vessel. That much was evident from its propulsion system as well as its relative lack of consumables and other long-term subsistence equipment.
Adlar had first detected its presence on Earth using the limited scanning devices at their disposal, and he activated a communications signal he believed the ship capable of receiving while being well beyond the ability of current human technology to detect. As he had hoped, the vessel intercepted the signal and even dispatched a response, which had allowed Adlar to pinpoint its location in Yuma, Arizona. The region’s relatively isolated terrain coupled with the restricted natureof a military installation had allowed the humans in possession of the craft the freedom to conduct experiments on the ship while reducing the chance of any unwanted attention.
Upon arriving in Yuma, the Certoss agents had wasted little time disposing of the humans guarding the craft in the secluded storage facility, after which they came to understand at least some of what the humans were attempting. It was obvious that a reverse engineering effort had taken place, with the Earth scientists working toward an experimental flight with a human at the ship’s controls. Accessing the vessel’s compact onboard computer, Adlar had learned that the ship was an unmanned survey vessel tasked with simple passive reconnaissance, and upon the completion of its automated mission would follow its programming and signal for further instructions. Another, larger ship was waiting somewhere in deep space to receive that signal, all while continuing with its own survey tasks at another, unknown destination.
It was Adlar’s idea to use the craft to somehow make direct contact with its owner, a plan requiring modifications to the ship in order for it to carry a passenger including the installation of a life support system; something the humans had not yet done. Much of the computerized survey and recording equipment taking up space in the cockpit area had been removed and a seat installed for a pilot—a human pilot. Adlar and Etlun had planned to fashion a serviceable environmental control system to support a lone occupant, using whatever materials they could find on the army base without attracting attention. After a short test flight to verify the operational status of the new and modified onboard systems, it had been their intention to once more try contacting their fellow operative, Jaecz, before deciding which of them would make the attempt at a rendezvous with the other alien vessel,after which it was hoped their benefactors might help them make contact with Certoss Ajahlan. All of that careful planning had come undone at the hands of the human soldiers who found them at the military base.
“The humans now have proof of what they have always suspected,” Gejalik said, “that they are not alone in the universe, and that representatives of several different civilizations have visited their world. Their anxiety over this revelation surely will motivate their desire
“While they may be aware of aliens among their kind,” she continued, “they know nothing about us or our mission, and they will learn little from Etlun.” She disliked the callousness of her statement, but it was a prudent observation.
Nodding, Adlar said, “I know. At least if we had managed to make use of the ship, her death might have more meaning.”
They had been surprised to discover that a small cadre of human military and civilian scientists had been working with the craft in the first place, which Etlun determined was reconstructed from the remains of a vessel that—through no small feat of skill and good fortune—had been brought down by Air Force fighter planes. Despite their best efforts, Etlun and Adlar had been unable to decipher any clues as to the ship’s point of origin, though they had rationalized that it must have been dispatched from a larger vessel. That much was evident from its propulsion system as well as its relative lack of consumables and other long-term subsistence equipment.
Adlar had first detected its presence on Earth using the limited scanning devices at their disposal, and he activated a communications signal he believed the ship capable of receiving while being well beyond the ability of current human technology to detect. As he had hoped, the vessel intercepted the signal and even dispatched a response, which had allowed Adlar to pinpoint its location in Yuma, Arizona. The region’s relatively isolated terrain coupled with the restricted natureof a military installation had allowed the humans in possession of the craft the freedom to conduct experiments on the ship while reducing the chance of any unwanted attention.
Upon arriving in Yuma, the Certoss agents had wasted little time disposing of the humans guarding the craft in the secluded storage facility, after which they came to understand at least some of what the humans were attempting. It was obvious that a reverse engineering effort had taken place, with the Earth scientists working toward an experimental flight with a human at the ship’s controls. Accessing the vessel’s compact onboard computer, Adlar had learned that the ship was an unmanned survey vessel tasked with simple passive reconnaissance, and upon the completion of its automated mission would follow its programming and signal for further instructions. Another, larger ship was waiting somewhere in deep space to receive that signal, all while continuing with its own survey tasks at another, unknown destination.
It was Adlar’s idea to use the craft to somehow make direct contact with its owner, a plan requiring modifications to the ship in order for it to carry a passenger including the installation of a life support system; something the humans had not yet done. Much of the computerized survey and recording equipment taking up space in the cockpit area had been removed and a seat installed for a pilot—a human pilot. Adlar and Etlun had planned to fashion a serviceable environmental control system to support a lone occupant, using whatever materials they could find on the army base without attracting attention. After a short test flight to verify the operational status of the new and modified onboard systems, it had been their intention to once more try contacting their fellow operative, Jaecz, before deciding which of them would make the attempt at a rendezvous with the other alien vessel,after which it was hoped their benefactors might help them make contact with Certoss Ajahlan. All of that careful planning had come undone at the hands of the human soldiers who found them at the military base.
“The humans now have proof of what they have always suspected,” Gejalik said, “that they are not alone in the universe, and that representatives of several different civilizations have visited their world. Their anxiety over this revelation surely will motivate their desire
Similar Books
