Intersection With Nibiru - Danilo Clementoni 3 стр.

"Good grief!" exclaimed Elisa. "My old physics professor will be turning in his grave."

"And not only him, my dear," added the Colonel. "If I have rightly understood what these two gentlemen are trying to explain to us, here we are talking about toppling a good many theories and concepts that several of our scientists have spent their entire lives trying to analyse and study. The principle of anti-gravity has been theorised more than once before but nobody has ever been able to prove it completely. Now we finally have the proof, here in front of us," and he pointed at the strange object "that it really is possible."

"I'd be a little more cautious," said Azakis, dampening the Colonel's excitement a little. "I feel obliged to inform you that this thing has never been tested on large objects like planets, or rather, we tried it two cycles ago but it didn't turn out exactly as we expected. Moreover, events might occur that we have not anticipated and..."

"There you go, bringing bad luck as usual," said Petri interrupting his companion. "The mechanism has been demonstrated more than once. Our own spacecraft uses part of this principle for its propulsion. Let's be optimistic for once!"

"Because there don't really seem to be many alternatives anyway, or am I mistaken?" asked Elisa in a disappointed voice.

"Unfortunately, I don't think so," said Petri disconsolately, with his head hanging down slightly. "In fact, the only thing I really fear is that, given the reduced size of our toroid, we will not be able to completely absorb all the effects of the gravitational pull and a part of the gravitons will manage to do their work all the same."

"Are you saying that this thing might not be sufficient to prevent a catastrophe in any case?" asked Elisa approaching the alien threateningly.

"Perhaps not completely," replied Petri taking a small step backwards. "From my own calculations, I would say that about ten percent of the gravitons could escape this kind of ploy."

"So, it could all be wasted effort?"

"Not at all," answered Petri. "We'll reduce the effects by ninety percent. There'll be very little left for us to manage."

"We'll call it 'Newark'," said Elisa satisfied. "Now we'd better get a move on. Seven days go by quickly."

Camp Adder air base- The get-away

The two strange characters, still dressed as Bedouins, had just walked into their hideout in town when a faint intermittent sound from the laptop, still running on the living room table, attracted their attention.

"Who the devil's that?" asked the thin guy annoyed.

The big guy, who was limping more than ever now, approached the computer and, after keying in a decidedly complicated password, said: "It's a message from base."

"They'll want to know if the operation was successful."

"Give me a second to decode it."

A series of incomprehensible symbols appeared on the screen then, after entering a combination of codes in sequence, the message slowly began to appear.

General captured and taken to the air base at Camp Adder. Requires immediate rescue operation.

"For crying out loud!" exclaimed the fat guy. "They know already."

"How on earth did they manage that?"

"Well, they've definitely got more direct links than us. They don't miss much."

"And what do they expect us to do?"

"I don't know. It just says here that we must go and free him."

"Dressed like this? I don't think that's a good idea at all."

The tall, thin guy pulled a chair out from under the table, spun it around ninety degrees and then, uttering a series of intermittent groans, slumped on it. "This is all we needed!"

He rested an elbow on the polished surface and looked absently out of the window in front of him. He noticed the windows were decidedly grimy and the one on the right had a crack in it running almost its entire length.

Suddenly, he raised his eyes towards his companion, and with a sardonic little grin said, "I've just had an idea."

"I knew it, I know that look."

"Go and fetch the first aid kit and let me have a look at that bump you've got on your head."

"To tell the truth I'm more worried about my wrist. I wonder if it's broken."

"Don't worry, I'll fix it for you. I wanted to be a vet when I was a boy."

After a little more than an hour and massive doses of painkillers and various ointments smeared everywhere, the two cronies were almost as good as new again.

After looking at himself in the mirror hanging on the wall next to the entrance door, the thin guy said with a grin, "Now we can get going," and slipped into the bedroom. He emerged shortly afterwards holding two well pressed American military uniforms.

"Where did you get those?" asked the fat guy in amazement.

"They're part of the emergency kit I brought with me. You never know."

"You're completely crazy," said the big guy, shaking his head slightly. "And what are we supposed to do?"

“Here's the plan," said the thin guy, with a satisfied air, throwing his companion an XXL. "You'll be General Richard Wright, head of a top-secret government agency that nobody knows about."

"Obviously, if it's top-secret. And you?"

"I'll be your right-hand man. Colonel Oliver Morris, at your service, sir."

"So, I'm your superior. I like this."

"Don't get used to it though, okay?" said the thin man raising his forefinger. "And these are our papers with our identity badges."

"Heck! They look real."

"And that's not all, old chap," and he showed him a sheet of letterhead signed directly by Colonel Jack Hudson. "This is the official prisoner handover request for transfer to a 'safer place'."

"But where the devil did you get that?"

"I printed it out earlier while you were in the shower. Did you think you were the only computer wizard?"

"I'm astounded. It's even better than the original."

"We'll get into the military base and let them hand over the General. If they should object, we could always tell them to call Colonel Hudson directly. I don't think mobiles work in space," and at that they both roared with laughter.

About an hour later, when the sun had dropped behind a high sand dune, a military Jeep, carrying a Colonel and a General in full dress uniform, stopped at the entrance barrier of the Imam Ali air base or Camp Adder as the Americans had renamed it during the Iraq war. Two servicemen, armed to the teeth, came out of the armoured sentry box, and moved quickly towards the vehicle. Two others, at a distance, kept their sights on the passengers.

"Good evening Colonel," said the nearest soldier, giving a smart military salute. "May I see yours and the General’s documents, please?"

The tall, thin Colonel who was sitting in the driver’s seat, said nothing. He took a yellow envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to him. The serviceman spent quite some time reading and shone his torch in both their faces a couple of times. The General distinctly felt the drop of sweat which, starting from just under the bump on his forehead, began to slowly trickle down his nose, to then drop onto the third button of his jacket, which was being unbelievably strained by the mighty thrust of the enormous stomach underneath.

"Colonel Morris and General White," said the serviceman, again pointing the torch in the Colonel’s face.

"Wright, General Wright!” answered the skinny Colonel in a decidedly annoyed tone of voice. "What's the matter Sergeant, can’t you read?"

"Wright, General Wright!” answered the skinny Colonel in a decidedly annoyed tone of voice. "What's the matter Sergeant, can’t you read?"

The Sergeant, who had pronounced the General’s surname incorrectly on purpose, smiled slightly and said, "I’ll get someone to accompany you. Follow those men," and with a nod ordered the two servicemen to lead them to the prison.

The Colonel slowly started the Jeep. He hadn’t gone barely a dozen metres when he heard a shout behind him, "Stop, Sir!"

The blood froze in the veins of the vehicle’s two occupants. They remained motionless for a few very long moments, until the voice continued saying “You’ve forgotten your documents."

The corpulent General drew such a large sigh of relief that all the buttons on his uniform risked popping.

“Thank you, Sergeant," said the thin man holding out his hand towards the soldier. “I'm getting old faster than I thought."

They set off again in the jeep and followed the two soldiers who, proceeding apace, quickly led them to the entrance of a low and decidedly shabby building. The youngest soldier knocked on the large door and went in without waiting for an answer. Shortly afterwards, a large, completely bald, coloured man, with the stripes of a sergeant and the face of a tough guy, appeared on the threshold and stood to attention. He saluted and said, "General, Colonel. Please come in.”

The two officers saluted in response and, trying to ignore the various pains that were starting to reappear, entered the large room.

“Sergeant" said the thin guy with determination. “We have a written order here from Colonel Hudson authorising us to pick up General Campbell," and he handed him the yellow envelope.

The large sergeant opened it and took his time reading the contents. Then, fixing his dark, penetrating eyes on the Colonel’s, he sentenced, "I’ll have to check."

“Go ahead,” replied the officer calmly.

The large coloured man drew another sheet of paper out of a drawer in the desk and carefully compared it with the one in his hand. He looked at the Colonel again and, without showing any emotion, added, "The signature is the same. Do you mind if I call him?"

“It’s your duty. But let’s try and be quick, please. We’ve already wasted too much time," replied the skinny Colonel, pretending to be about to lose his patience.

By no means frightened, the sergeant slowly put a hand into the pocket of his uniform and drew out his mobile phone. He dialled a number and waited.

The two officers held their breath until the serviceman, after pressing a key on his phone, laconically commented "he can’t be reached."

"So, sergeant, shall we get a move on?" exclaimed the officer with a decidedly more authoritarian tone than before. "We can’t stay here all night."

"Go and fetch the General”, the large Sergeant ordered one of the soldiers who had accompanied the two officers.

After a couple of minutes, a totally bald man, with a large moustache and grey eyebrows, and two small bright black eyes, appeared on the threshold of the door behind the sergeant. He wore the uniform of a General, but one of the four ordinance stars was missing on his right shoulder. He was handcuffed and, behind him, the soldier from before held him at gunpoint.

The General jumped for a moment at the sight of the two officers, then, guessing the plan, remained silent and looked as sad as he could.

“Thank you, Soldier," said the skinny Colonel, removing his Beretta M9 from its holster. “We’ll take this scumbag now."

Theos spacecraft - Action plan

"Isn’t it exciting to think that the two of us are going to save the Earth, my love?" said Elisa, gazing at the Colonel with the eyes of a loved-up kitten, as she reached for his hand.

“‘My love’? Isn’t that moving a little fast?” Jack chided her frowning.

Elisa winced, then when the Colonel smiled affectionately and stroked her cheek, she realised he was teasing her. “Swine! Don’t play tricks like that on me again or I’ll show you” and she began pummelling his chest with both hands.

"Okay, okay" whispered Jack, hugging her lovingly. “It was just a silly game. I won’t do it again.”

The sudden embrace had a calming and relaxing effect on Elisa. She felt all the tension she had accumulated up to then, suddenly melt away like snow in the sun. After all that had happened in the last few hours, it was just what she needed. She melted into his arms and slowly closing her eyes, leant her head against his strong chest and let herself go completely.

Azakis, meanwhile, had slipped into the dreadfully cramped H^COM booth and was waiting for an answer to his communication request on the holographic screen in front of him.

A series of multicoloured waves, starting from the centre of the screen, began creating an effect similar to that of a stone thrown into the calm waters of a pond. All of a sudden, the waves gradually began to fade and the hollowed and time-marked face of his Elder superior, started to appear.

“Azakis," said the man smiling slightly, while he slowly lifted his bony hand in greeting. "What can this poor old man do for you?"

"We revealed the truth to the two terrestrials."

“A bold thing to do," commented the Elder, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “And how did they take it?"

“Let’s say that after their initial legitimate amazement, I think they reacted very well." Azakis paused briefly then said, in a very serious tone, "We suggested using the superfluid toroid to them."

“The toroid?" exclaimed the other, rising to his feet so fast even a youngster would have been jealous. “But it hasn’t been fully tested yet. You do remember what happened last time, don’t you? We could create an uncontrolled gravity fluctuation with that thing and there’s even the risk of creating a mini black hole."

“I know, I know only too well" replied Azakis quietly. “But I don’t think there’s an alternative. This time, if we don't use drastic measures, Kodon’s passage could be fatal for the terrestrials."

“What’s your plan?"

“The orbits of the two planets are estimated to intersect in just under seven days. If you could get them to prepare the toroid and have it brought here to me at least a day in advance."

“That’s not much time, you know."

“You’ll have to leave me a small margin for the positioning, configuration and activation procedure."

“I’ve got a bad premonition," said the Elder running a hand through his silvery white hair.

“Petri’s with me. It’ll all be fine."

“You’re two clever guys, I don’t doubt that, but be very careful. That thing could become a lethal weapon."

“You just try and let us have it in time, leave the rest to us. Don’t worry."

“Okay. I’ll get back to you as soon as everything is ready. Good luck."

His superior’s face vanished from the monitor that went back to showing the same multicoloured waves as before.

Azakis slowly rose from the uncomfortable chair and stood with his hands resting on the top of the narrow desk for a while. A thousand thoughts were flooding his mind and, while a slight shudder ran down his back, he had the distinct feeling they were about to land themselves in a sea of woe.