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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Science Fiction
- Subject: Science / Science Fiction
- Published: 04/15/2018
Mikey, Jack, and Sally all got up early to meet for Breakfast at the Holiday Inn. They had seen Voyager safely shipped off to Nevada the night before. It amazed Mikey how quickly the Army took everything down after Voyager was put on that chopper. By sunset last night, you couldn’t tell that little patch of ground from any other ranch land in Montana. Talk about leaving no footprint in the wilderness- heck you couldn’t even tell animals ever even walked there. Clean as a whistle.
The three of them had just said their hello’s when Mikey’s phone rang. It was Mr. Conroy. Mikey figured he was just checking to see if it was okay to go back onto his own ranch land. And he was prepared to tell Mr. Conroy just that. What he wasn’t prepared for was what Mr. Conroy said without even a hello.
“Mikey, why did you leave that Voyager thing out in the open?”
“What?”
“That thing is right where Earl, Mark and I found it that first night. Although, come to think of it, this time it is upright.”
“What? Wa…wa..wait, what are you talking about Mr. Conroy. We shipped it out by chopper last night. I was going to call you on my way to the airport to tell you your land has been cleared and you can go back on it.”
This time the confusion was on Mr. Conroy’s end of the phone.
“But Mikey, I am looking at it right now. Wait…I will show you.”
There was some muttering, a soft swear word or two, and then the video came up on Mikey’s phone:
“See? It is right there, exactly where it was when we found it the first time. It is in a different position, you can see the sides and everything, but it is there. You didn’t have two of these things, did you?”
Mikey’s mind was scrambling. Sally and Jack saw the look on his face, squeezed in to look at the video on Mikey’s phone. Jack swore.
“Mike, you said Mr. Conroy was trustworthy, so why did he post this video? And how the heck did he get in the tent after we straightened Voyager up?”
Sally nodded in solem agreement with Jack. She wanted answers. But not the one Mikey gave.
“This isn’t a posted video. Mr. Conroy is standing next to Voyager II. “
Two voices sounded like one: “What?!”
Mikey had already forced his mind to focus, so he was a step ahead of his two brilliant partners.
“Mr. Conroy, yes there were two of them. I wonder if you could walk the video around the Voyager and see if there is a Gold Album and a Plague on the other side.”
“Sure.” Holding the phone out as steady as he could, Mr. Conroy did as he was told. The video didn’t pick up any Gold Album or plaque. Mr. Conroy’s audible comment was redundant.
“Nope. No gold album, or plaque. But the ground is really cold. I mean really cold. I can feel it through my boots. Funny, never noticed that with the other one.”
“Stay right there. We will be there as soon as we can. And Mr. Conroy, I am afraid that this time, you can’t tell anyone about this. No one. Is anyone with you?”
“Nope. Just me. I figured I would take a gander to see if your whole Army of folks messed up and left stuff for me to clean up. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the darn thing still sitting here. So I called you right away. “
“Good. Just stay put. Oh, and don’t call anyone on your phone until I get there. Okay?”
“Sure. Who would I call at this hour anyway? Your at the Holiday Inn right? “
“Yes.”
“Could you bring me a couple of those breakfast roles that Nancy bakes for the guests? I’d be obliged for a couple of those and a cup of black coffee. “
“Got it. Stay put. We will have the roles and coffee to you in half an hour.”
Nance fussed for a few minutes, once she knew the roles were for Mr. Conroy, but it was a minor delay. Mike felt guilty knowing that Mr. Conroy wasn’t going anywhere but to a secure facility for the near future. So the roles and coffee were going to have to do as a peace offering. Mike knew the high mucky mucks weren’t going to believe it was coincidence that a rancher in Montana found both Voyagers on his land. With no witnesses to their arrival, and no clue how they got there. Paranoia was a Government fixture, and a mystery this big made it the only feeling that was reasonable.
The tent was back. Mike, the Military, and the Media were back. And now…well, both Voyager I and Voyager II were back. Both missing only their Gold Albums and plaques. Mike had briefed the President - make that: Presidents, Premiers, Prime Ministers and a Host of other “need to know” folks. Conspiracy theorists were having a field day. Mike had a special team scouring the internet to see if any of these Quacks out there had an idea worth following up on. God knows he and his team had no clue.
Well, one. Mr. Conroy wasn’t kidding when he said the ground was cold. To be precise, it was as cold as Space. It took almost a week for the ground under and around Voyager II to return to normal. That gave Mike and his team the barest hint of a clue. It meant that Voyager I had been out there on a Montana hillside for at least a week before it was found.
It also gave them a clue that someone, or something, was watching. As soon as our backs were turned, whatever, or whoever placed Voyager I on that hillside, put Voyager II back in the same spot. Only this time, in its correct orientation - upright.
Jack and Sally agree with Mike. Somehow, a little bubble of Space, with Voyager II in it, had settled onto that little chunk of land. Freezing the ground under and around it to close to absolute zero. It was the only theory that made sense. Or at least, some sense. Because nothing made sense; both Voyagers should have been billions of miles away. So how did they get here without decades of time passing?
And who took the Albums? Or what?
Tonight they would ship Voyager II to that restricted Nevada site. Mr. Conroy would be a surly guest on that same chopper. This time, the spot where both Voyagers were found would not be monitored by merely curious local ranchers- but sophisticated technological instruments, watched by the best Intelligence Folks from at least forty countries, sixty militaries, and who knows how many Spook Operations. If there were anymore surprises from space- someone would see it arrive.
Wrong.
Mike, Jack and Sally were headed to Breakfast when his phone rang. The Voice on the other end was ragged, breathy, fearful. It said:
“Cassini is here.”
Mike dropped both his coffee and his phone, his grip on reality he barely held onto. He turned to Jack and Sally.
“Cassini is back.”
Sally and Mike had to catch Jack as his legs gave out with the news.
Hours later a grim faced Mr. Conroy confronted them all:
“I told you it wasn’t me.”
Voyager is back. Part III(Kevin Hughes)
Mikey, Jack, and Sally all got up early to meet for Breakfast at the Holiday Inn. They had seen Voyager safely shipped off to Nevada the night before. It amazed Mikey how quickly the Army took everything down after Voyager was put on that chopper. By sunset last night, you couldn’t tell that little patch of ground from any other ranch land in Montana. Talk about leaving no footprint in the wilderness- heck you couldn’t even tell animals ever even walked there. Clean as a whistle.
The three of them had just said their hello’s when Mikey’s phone rang. It was Mr. Conroy. Mikey figured he was just checking to see if it was okay to go back onto his own ranch land. And he was prepared to tell Mr. Conroy just that. What he wasn’t prepared for was what Mr. Conroy said without even a hello.
“Mikey, why did you leave that Voyager thing out in the open?”
“What?”
“That thing is right where Earl, Mark and I found it that first night. Although, come to think of it, this time it is upright.”
“What? Wa…wa..wait, what are you talking about Mr. Conroy. We shipped it out by chopper last night. I was going to call you on my way to the airport to tell you your land has been cleared and you can go back on it.”
This time the confusion was on Mr. Conroy’s end of the phone.
“But Mikey, I am looking at it right now. Wait…I will show you.”
There was some muttering, a soft swear word or two, and then the video came up on Mikey’s phone:
“See? It is right there, exactly where it was when we found it the first time. It is in a different position, you can see the sides and everything, but it is there. You didn’t have two of these things, did you?”
Mikey’s mind was scrambling. Sally and Jack saw the look on his face, squeezed in to look at the video on Mikey’s phone. Jack swore.
“Mike, you said Mr. Conroy was trustworthy, so why did he post this video? And how the heck did he get in the tent after we straightened Voyager up?”
Sally nodded in solem agreement with Jack. She wanted answers. But not the one Mikey gave.
“This isn’t a posted video. Mr. Conroy is standing next to Voyager II. “
Two voices sounded like one: “What?!”
Mikey had already forced his mind to focus, so he was a step ahead of his two brilliant partners.
“Mr. Conroy, yes there were two of them. I wonder if you could walk the video around the Voyager and see if there is a Gold Album and a Plague on the other side.”
“Sure.” Holding the phone out as steady as he could, Mr. Conroy did as he was told. The video didn’t pick up any Gold Album or plaque. Mr. Conroy’s audible comment was redundant.
“Nope. No gold album, or plaque. But the ground is really cold. I mean really cold. I can feel it through my boots. Funny, never noticed that with the other one.”
“Stay right there. We will be there as soon as we can. And Mr. Conroy, I am afraid that this time, you can’t tell anyone about this. No one. Is anyone with you?”
“Nope. Just me. I figured I would take a gander to see if your whole Army of folks messed up and left stuff for me to clean up. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the darn thing still sitting here. So I called you right away. “
“Good. Just stay put. Oh, and don’t call anyone on your phone until I get there. Okay?”
“Sure. Who would I call at this hour anyway? Your at the Holiday Inn right? “
“Yes.”
“Could you bring me a couple of those breakfast roles that Nancy bakes for the guests? I’d be obliged for a couple of those and a cup of black coffee. “
“Got it. Stay put. We will have the roles and coffee to you in half an hour.”
Nance fussed for a few minutes, once she knew the roles were for Mr. Conroy, but it was a minor delay. Mike felt guilty knowing that Mr. Conroy wasn’t going anywhere but to a secure facility for the near future. So the roles and coffee were going to have to do as a peace offering. Mike knew the high mucky mucks weren’t going to believe it was coincidence that a rancher in Montana found both Voyagers on his land. With no witnesses to their arrival, and no clue how they got there. Paranoia was a Government fixture, and a mystery this big made it the only feeling that was reasonable.
The tent was back. Mike, the Military, and the Media were back. And now…well, both Voyager I and Voyager II were back. Both missing only their Gold Albums and plaques. Mike had briefed the President - make that: Presidents, Premiers, Prime Ministers and a Host of other “need to know” folks. Conspiracy theorists were having a field day. Mike had a special team scouring the internet to see if any of these Quacks out there had an idea worth following up on. God knows he and his team had no clue.
Well, one. Mr. Conroy wasn’t kidding when he said the ground was cold. To be precise, it was as cold as Space. It took almost a week for the ground under and around Voyager II to return to normal. That gave Mike and his team the barest hint of a clue. It meant that Voyager I had been out there on a Montana hillside for at least a week before it was found.
It also gave them a clue that someone, or something, was watching. As soon as our backs were turned, whatever, or whoever placed Voyager I on that hillside, put Voyager II back in the same spot. Only this time, in its correct orientation - upright.
Jack and Sally agree with Mike. Somehow, a little bubble of Space, with Voyager II in it, had settled onto that little chunk of land. Freezing the ground under and around it to close to absolute zero. It was the only theory that made sense. Or at least, some sense. Because nothing made sense; both Voyagers should have been billions of miles away. So how did they get here without decades of time passing?
And who took the Albums? Or what?
Tonight they would ship Voyager II to that restricted Nevada site. Mr. Conroy would be a surly guest on that same chopper. This time, the spot where both Voyagers were found would not be monitored by merely curious local ranchers- but sophisticated technological instruments, watched by the best Intelligence Folks from at least forty countries, sixty militaries, and who knows how many Spook Operations. If there were anymore surprises from space- someone would see it arrive.
Wrong.
Mike, Jack and Sally were headed to Breakfast when his phone rang. The Voice on the other end was ragged, breathy, fearful. It said:
“Cassini is here.”
Mike dropped both his coffee and his phone, his grip on reality he barely held onto. He turned to Jack and Sally.
“Cassini is back.”
Sally and Mike had to catch Jack as his legs gave out with the news.
Hours later a grim faced Mr. Conroy confronted them all:
“I told you it wasn’t me.”
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