Chapter 704

Ship

“Can your sensors pick up anything?” Jeff asked Ship verbally so everyone would hear.

“There is a profusion of hot surfaces from the rocks and gravel heating in the sun. Still, I should be able to detect the Science Team easily enough, but I have not been able to so far.”

“Pilot. What is our height above the surface?”

“Still a thousand feet, Sir.”

“Very well. Move us in an ever-expanding circle while continuing your scans. Science, do you have any more ideas?”

“Afraid not, Captain. I am also scanning, but I have not detected anything either,” Helen responded.

“All right. If I remember correctly, the Science Teams have powerful and sophisticated radio systems capable of transmitting on several frequencies, but they have an emergency frequency they are supposed to use in time of trouble.”

“That is correct,” General Whitworth broke in to say, “and I have given both Helen, Kayla and Ship those frequencies, in addition to the chat frequencies of their personal radios,” he told Jeff. “I don’t have the communicators that Ship has given the Wing and your family, but the Science Team has an excellent radio that is capable of broadcasting to orbit.”

“Do you have their emergency frequency locked in?” Jeff asked Kayla.

“Ready and waiting,” she returned.

“Good. Put me on.”

At Kayla’s nod, Jeff looked toward the screen and said, “Science Team on the surface, this is Colonel Matthews along with General Whitworth. Acknowledge, please.”

Helen increased the volume, even so, all they heard was a slight background hiss.

“Science Team, this is Colonel Matthews along with General Whitworth with your requested supplies. Acknowledge, please.”

Jeff made a cutting motion, and Kayla stopped the transmission. With frustration creeping in, Jeff began pacing back and forth before catching himself to stand and stare at the planet’s surface seemingly slowly moving under them as Ship continued her search in an ever-expanding circle.

“We received the first shipment of new tents, and I ordered them given out to the Fire Teams, then to the Research Teams. Eventually, all our tents, personal or otherwise, will have the new electronic camouflage that renders the tents virtually invisible as they blend into the background. I didn’t think to ask if this team had received their new tents or not, but they might well have. One thing that can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending, is that the new tent material blocks virtually all communication frequencies, but ... cutting a hole for an antenna destroys the tent’s electronic camouflage capabilities. However, they can simply put the radio outside until the scientists can get the bugs out of the system. I assume they are now living on the surface because of the cave-in, but they could have moved back underground, I suppose.”

Whitworth continued, “I’ve read everything the Science Team has sent back about the cavern so far, but they have been in there only a few days, and consequently, the information they had derived to date was quite sketchy. They did mention having discovered some artifacts, though. Perhaps the cavern is sufficiently large that a cave-in in one spot doesn’t necessarily affect another location a sufficient distance away. I just don’t know. They hadn’t mentioned finding another entrance, but they had set up in what they thought was a secure location. According to them, the Portal coordinates they gave us were at the entrance, but obviously, they aren’t there now.

“Depending on the suddenness of the cave-in, the team might be holed up in their camouflage tents awaiting our arrival, but I don’t know how much of their gear, if any, they managed to secure. They must have lost a lot of gear, or they wouldn’t have asked to be resupplied, though. They know about Ship, and we sent our acknowledgment before the Portal went down, so they would expect that I would send a rescue team with supplies.”

“Or, the cave-in could be the result of an attack...” Helen verbalized what they were all worrying about.

“There is that,” Jeff concurred. “Also, they might well have gone back inside when they thought the cave-in was over, in an effort to retrieve critical supplies.

“Why haven’t they posted someone by the cave entrance to listen on the radio, or if they lost that, to stand watch for our arrival?” Whitworth worried.

“Sir,” the Pilot offered, “we have searched outward to the five-mile point without any indication of the Science Team other than multiple signs of a past campsite at the river. Ship sent down a mechanical in case the camouflage was overriding our instruments, but there are no tents at the campsite now.”

“So, they must have moved back inside the cavern or else moved more than five miles away, even though they would surely expect us to be here soon with the supplies they requested. This makes no sense,” Helen said.

“So much for no intelligent life on this planet...” Jeff growled out. “Something or somebody has to have spooked the team, and they went back inside the cavern, cave-in or not.”

“They might not be hiding but just taking a nap in the middle of the day, if they’re blocked out of their research area. Assuming, of course, that they managed to go for their supplies, and if I’m remembering correctly, the Science Teams have two-person tents, except for the leader, a larger tent for group work or meetings, and a couple others for supplies,” Jeff said.

“And a tent for their food and other general supplies, plus another for their equipment,” Whitworth said. “None of the tents are excessively large, but it would take a while to move everything. If they were at the river, why would they move again?”

Jeff just shook his head as he turned to Kayla, “Did you record my transmission?” the Prime asked her.

“Certainly.”

“Please set it to transmit every ten minutes using both their emergency frequency and any other frequency the General has given you.”

“Yes, Captain,” Kayla responded.

Helen spoke up, “Kayla put enough power behind her transmission to be heard for quite a distance, maybe even halfway across the continent, but as I’m sure you are aware, the signal won’t penetrate far into that cavern? But it doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t put someone near the entrance to listen for a call.”

“Yeah, I know. We all do. Something is wrong — maybe even badly wrong.”

“Ship?”

“Yes, My Prime?”

“Please move to a position a hundred feet up and approximately a hundred feet from the cavern entrance.”

“Done, Prime,” she said as her inertialess drive moved them almost instantly.

“General, would you please accompany me as we check out the cavern?”

“Gladly, Colonel.”

“I took the liberty of moving your gear into the Captain’s Ready Room,” Ship told them.

“Captain, I request permission to accompany you,” the First Officer said.

“Sorry, First, but someone needs to be in charge here.”

“But, Sir. You might need me. Remember my precog, such as it is, has never given me a false positive.”

Jeff hesitated for the barest of moments before, “Ship, there is a spare Glock 9 mm pistol, belt and holster in my quarters. Would you please move them to the Captain’s Ready Room?

“Done, my Prime,” she said as the weapon belt bearing a holstered Glock 9 mm, two magazines, a small pair of binoculars and a flashlight appeared on the big table.

Jeff removed the weapon from its holster, showed the First Officer how to drop the magazine before reinserting it into the pistol and warning him that there was a live round in the chamber. “There are no external safeties; just point and pull the trigger. From our past conversations, I know that you are very familiar with handguns. Surely this one isn’t that much different, other than firing a projectile instead of an energy pulse.”

The First Officer accepted the weapon in a safe manner, removed the magazine, racked the slide and expertly caught the live round. After examining the weapon and the round for a moment, he reinserted the magazine and racked the slide. He then removed the magazine again, inserted the extra round and returned the magazine to the weapon, even expertly tapping the bottom of the magazine to make sure it had seated properly. After returning the weapon to its holster, he grinned at Jeff. “I have studied your sidearms. They are rather crude, but I imagine this one will get the job done — if you trust an alien to carry a weapon, that is.”

“Just put the damned thing on and let’s go find the Science Team,” the Prime said with a grin.

As Jeff expected, the door slid open, and Kayla walked in wearing her pack, sidearm and carrying her pulse rifle.

“Do you want a rifle?” Jeff asked his First Officer.

The First hesitated, “I am unfamiliar with the variable settings on your energy weapons. I might choose a setting inappropriate for a cavern, especially one that has already had a cave-in. I also understand that this handgun is quite loud, and there is no predicting how sound might affect the possibly delicate structure of the cavern; consequently, I will fire it only as a last resort.”

“Valid points,” the General said, impressed.

Helen wasn’t pleased when she realized she would not be able to accompany the others into the cavern, but would be left in charge of Ship and the crew.

A few minutes later, the four stood at an open hatch looking at the cavern entrance.

The Castle

Before either young woman could answer, Glenda noticed the three shiny rings of curved metal that made up the blocking helmet Arlene had in her hand. “My goodness. I’ve never seen anything just like that. May I ask what it is?”

Arlene held the strange-looking helmet up so everyone could see. “To put it simply, this is a blocking helmet.” Before anyone could question that, she went on, “It’s a long story, and we’ll tell you everything, but first, each of you needs to give your consent for this helmet to put in mental blocks that will prevent you from discussing our secrets with anyone not blocked or outside the family. No outsider must learn of Little One or anything that she has done, and this applies to all of you. Unless you try to tell someone not blocked or outside the family about Little One, the block and our other family secrets that we’ll disclose to you later, you will never know that you have been blocked. When the helmet is used, most people think the block didn’t take. So, unless you decide to tell our secrets, you will never be concerned with the block. Even if you should accidentally mention something, or try to, the block will give you a mild warning jolt of nausea. Should you persist, the nausea will increase. I give you my word that it will do nothing, save what I’ve just outlined.

“Before you ask, Ann and I are no longer blocked. We were, but our husband decided that it limited some of the things we needed to do; however, he trusts us to continue to keep the secrets the block was designed to maintain.

“Each of the Matthews clan has had the block, and the only effect we experienced was that we couldn’t speak of the things that we had agreed to keep secret — to an outsider. There is absolutely no effect other than that, and even then, you will be able to discuss all the details with the family or anyone who is blocked. You just can’t do it with someone not blocked. Don’t ask me how it works, because it’s alien technology that only our scientists understand — or I presume they do,” she finished with a chuckle.