Read Online Jaunt by Erik Kreffel - Free Book Online Page B

the crash of an extraterrestrial object.”
    Out of the simulated night sky an interloper crashed the length of the terrain at an angle. A red circle flashed where the earth was impacted, corresponding to the crater.
    “This occurred midway in the evening...the soldiers present noted that a particular smudge was seen to advance against the constellation Cygnus. The crash you saw was an interpolation of the notes retrieved from the Allied topographical maps. A transcript I have created from the written report of the event notes two more related objects crashing somewhere beyond the horizon.”
    His blue beam continued on through the mountainside, descending slowly, while overhead, the stars drifted, edging closer to dawn.
    “The officers traveled through the night, following the observed crash. The distance from the sighting and the crater was twenty-seven hundred meters.”
    The blue beam met the valley floor and snaked around a dry river bend before hitting the red circle of the crash site.
    “Dawn, “ Valagua said, before the sun peaked over the eastern edge of the simulated terrain. “The officers arrive at the crash site, finding...?”
    De Lis’ form broke through the holograph. “That’s what we’re here to discover. We have all the right pieces, and Javier has provided us with a dramatic reconstruction of the crater’s first hours. But we still have inaccessible avenues. The DoD is researching their military and civilian archives, attempting to dredge up any records of the officers involved in this reconnaissance. The Global Security Network is currently scanning the region for the two other supposed crashes. Javier will also continue to modify his simulation as new data arrive to supplement it.”
    De Lis glanced at Valagua, then back to the group. “Dismissed.”
    “Take a look at this,” Waters said, plopping a clear rod into Roget’s hands. “I scraped the carbonized material off this morning. The rest is metallic hydrogen.”
    Roget lowered his glasses before bringing the rod closer to his eyes. He brushed his fingers along the odd material, which felt—and looked—like normal glass. “Metallic hydrogen? This?”
    Waters nodded. “Pure, one hundred percent, no bonding atoms at all. Tensile strength equal to thirteen times that of fullerene glass. It was locked inside that twisted debris we recovered.”
    “Beautiful.” Roget tapped the rod with his index finger, sounding a tiny clink. “DoD
    received a sample?”
    Waters scrolled down her holobook. “Dropshipped at noon. Lionel...I think we should...keep this one for ourselves and Richard. Perhaps even the other samples.”
    He raised an eyebrow; Waters rarely shared thoughts of confidentiality among the Ottawa group. He wondered why she bothered to now, after all of the trouble de Lis had gone in assembling the best and brightest Canada had to offer.
    “Why?!” Roget said, pacing in front of her desk. He carefully looked out the fullerene glass before continuing, checking for eavesdroppers. “There are no factions here. We don’t keep our research privy to a specific department. This is—”
    “I...I was wanting to keep our security in check. You know the rumors.”
    “Not the men and women here. No.” Roget watched the working scientists, like ants in a nest. “I’m not keeping this all to myself. If we’re to fulfill our respective assignments, we can’t hide research.”
    Pursing her lips, she rose from her chair. “It’ll be Richard’s call.”
    As Waters passed him to open the door, he said, “You’re making a mistake.”
    She ignored him as she left, leaving him alone in her office. How confidential was this?
    He could pour through her personal files, if he wished to.
    Roget stole a peek at the holobook on her desktop, sighed, then followed her out.
    De Lis rotated the holographic skull around 180 degrees. His index finger traced the virtual surface suspended before him, his eyes comparing the reconstruction to the