Read Online Area 51: Excalibur-6 by Robert Doherty - Free Book Online
Authors: Robert Doherty
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, adventure, Historical, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Action, Political, Area 51 (Nev.)
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forces, climbed onto the bouncer and opened the hatch.
While two
55
of them grabbed Aspasia's Shadow and helped him out, the third picked up the Grail, which was covered by a thick white wrap.
Aspasia's Shadow staggered as his feet touched the ground and the Marines held him up. He had lost more blood than he'd thought. The Marines helped him into a tunnel lit by lines in the ceiling. The tunnel sloped upward, then leveled and turned to the right. Aspasia's Shadow and his escorts entered a cave. In the very center was a twenty-foot-high glowing, golden pyramid—the Easter Island guardian.
Aspasia's Shadow frowned as he noted that plastered on one side of the pyramid was a shriveled mummy with various metal leads connecting the guardian to the body. Aspasia's Shadow forgot about the figure as a Marine placed the shroud-covered Grail on a table to the right of the pyramid.
In his many reincarnations, Aspasia's Shadow had known much pain. It felt as if his missing right hand were still attached but on fire. He forced himself to ignore the feeling and went to the Grail. He removed the shroud, revealing an hourglass-shaped golden object. The end that was up appeared solid.
Aspasia's Shadow pulled a small wooden box from a deep pocket inside his cloak and opened it. Two stones were set inside—the thummin and urim of biblical note.
They glowed as if from an inner fire. With difficulty, Aspasia's Shadow took one of the stones. He held it over the edge of the Grail. The flat end irised open, revealing a small depression inside, the same size as the stone.
Aspasia's Shadow paused. He knew his forces were moving and that much was happening around the world. He forced himself to put the stone back in the wooden box for the moment and go to the guardian. He leaned against the side, placing his only hand flat against the metal. A golden
56
glow encompassed him as he connected with the alien device.
Acting with just a few commands from him when he had been headquartered at the Mission underneath Mount Sinai, the guardian had done an excellent job of preparing and initiating his plans. He was updated on his fleet moving toward Pearl Harbor; on what was going on above him on the surface of the island; he grinned when he saw the unanswered messages from the stranded Airlia on Mars spooled up and waiting for him—they could rot for all he cared, in retribution for the millennia he had suffered and fought here on Earth while they slept; his guides were growing in power all over the world—all was going quite well.
Centuries of battling, of maneuvering from the shadows in the halls of power, of seeing kingdoms and countries crumble, had made him suspicious of good news.
There was always a weak link, a blind spot where disaster could strike from.
Artad? Qian-Ling was shielded, the guardian informed him. While that might be an automatic defense reaction by the Qian-Ling guardian, it was just as likely that his ancient enemy had awakened. He knew the Ones Who Wait had been searching for the Qian-Ling lower level key.
He had to assume Artad was finally awake, or at the very least another Shadow of him had been imprinted. And if he were Artad or his Shadow? Aspasia's Shadow had learned early in his many incarnations to think like his enemy in order to outmaneuver his nemesis.
The Master Guardian. It was the tool Artad needed to destroy him and rule supreme on Earth. Aspasia's Shadow accessed the truncated line that had once been the link between that guardian and the Master Guardian. Nothing, which meant the Master was still powered down. He knew what was needed to free it, so he accessed the search pro-
57
gram for Excalibur, the sword that was much more than a sword.
In the course of their long war against the Swarm the Airlia had had ships captured and worlds overrun. In the course of that, guardian computers, including system masters, had been lost to the Swarm. Because of bitter experience, the Airlia had learned
While two
55
of them grabbed Aspasia's Shadow and helped him out, the third picked up the Grail, which was covered by a thick white wrap.
Aspasia's Shadow staggered as his feet touched the ground and the Marines held him up. He had lost more blood than he'd thought. The Marines helped him into a tunnel lit by lines in the ceiling. The tunnel sloped upward, then leveled and turned to the right. Aspasia's Shadow and his escorts entered a cave. In the very center was a twenty-foot-high glowing, golden pyramid—the Easter Island guardian.
Aspasia's Shadow frowned as he noted that plastered on one side of the pyramid was a shriveled mummy with various metal leads connecting the guardian to the body. Aspasia's Shadow forgot about the figure as a Marine placed the shroud-covered Grail on a table to the right of the pyramid.
In his many reincarnations, Aspasia's Shadow had known much pain. It felt as if his missing right hand were still attached but on fire. He forced himself to ignore the feeling and went to the Grail. He removed the shroud, revealing an hourglass-shaped golden object. The end that was up appeared solid.
Aspasia's Shadow pulled a small wooden box from a deep pocket inside his cloak and opened it. Two stones were set inside—the thummin and urim of biblical note.
They glowed as if from an inner fire. With difficulty, Aspasia's Shadow took one of the stones. He held it over the edge of the Grail. The flat end irised open, revealing a small depression inside, the same size as the stone.
Aspasia's Shadow paused. He knew his forces were moving and that much was happening around the world. He forced himself to put the stone back in the wooden box for the moment and go to the guardian. He leaned against the side, placing his only hand flat against the metal. A golden
56
glow encompassed him as he connected with the alien device.
Acting with just a few commands from him when he had been headquartered at the Mission underneath Mount Sinai, the guardian had done an excellent job of preparing and initiating his plans. He was updated on his fleet moving toward Pearl Harbor; on what was going on above him on the surface of the island; he grinned when he saw the unanswered messages from the stranded Airlia on Mars spooled up and waiting for him—they could rot for all he cared, in retribution for the millennia he had suffered and fought here on Earth while they slept; his guides were growing in power all over the world—all was going quite well.
Centuries of battling, of maneuvering from the shadows in the halls of power, of seeing kingdoms and countries crumble, had made him suspicious of good news.
There was always a weak link, a blind spot where disaster could strike from.
Artad? Qian-Ling was shielded, the guardian informed him. While that might be an automatic defense reaction by the Qian-Ling guardian, it was just as likely that his ancient enemy had awakened. He knew the Ones Who Wait had been searching for the Qian-Ling lower level key.
He had to assume Artad was finally awake, or at the very least another Shadow of him had been imprinted. And if he were Artad or his Shadow? Aspasia's Shadow had learned early in his many incarnations to think like his enemy in order to outmaneuver his nemesis.
The Master Guardian. It was the tool Artad needed to destroy him and rule supreme on Earth. Aspasia's Shadow accessed the truncated line that had once been the link between that guardian and the Master Guardian. Nothing, which meant the Master was still powered down. He knew what was needed to free it, so he accessed the search pro-
57
gram for Excalibur, the sword that was much more than a sword.
In the course of their long war against the Swarm the Airlia had had ships captured and worlds overrun. In the course of that, guardian computers, including system masters, had been lost to the Swarm. Because of bitter experience, the Airlia had learned
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