ENCOUNTER by Hep Aldridge (bill gates books recommendations .txt) 📕

out a landmark on the canyon wall in the distance that we could identify from the ground.

“I believe you will find the collector/receptor just above that rock outcrop,” she said.

“That looks to be about five hundred to six hundred yards away. You can see by the large piles of debris on the canyon floor that there has been a rockslide sometime in the past,” Dimitri observed.

“Seismic activity is not unusual in this area,” Jeannie said.

“Okay, let’s go; when we get topside, we’ll do a Comm check with you guys and then head out,” I said.

We climbed the steps of the platform and disappeared through the cloak. Reggie and Eduardo were right behind us and took their positions at the top of the platform as we ascended the hidden stairs cut into the rocks. Once on top of the rockpile, we did our Comm check with the message verbally going from Reggie to Eduardo, who ducked inside the cloak and relayed it verbally to Doc, seated at the computer. Thinking back on it, I had to laugh. Here we were in a Citadel of an advanced civilization using “old school” methods to solve this alien, high-tech problem. The irony was not lost on me.

We did another Comm check from the bottom of the rockpile and then headed down the canyon. As we went, I looked around at the familiar surroundings of our gunfight, and, true to her word, there was no trace of anything having taken place there. No bodies, no blood, no shell casings, nothing. Not sure how, but Jeannie ably took care of business.

We spotted our landmark and got into position to launch the drone. I checked with Reggie and received confirmation they had drone video in the Citadel. We monitored the screen on the controls as Joe flew the drone up the canyon wall. He got to the top and began to fly along the ridge edge. In a matter of minutes, we spotted a long rectangular block lying next to a flat base of the same length. No wires or anything like connectors were visible. We heard the call from Reggie, “Jeannie says that’s it.”

Joe put the drone in a hover and slowly descended toward the objects. As we got closer, we could see that the rectangular block looked like it had broken in half when it fell from the top of the base some fifteen or twenty feet to the rocks below.

“Ah, shit, that don’t look good,” Joe said.

We got the message from Reggie that we should fly as close as we could to the fallen block very slowly. Joe got down to about ten feet from it and flew its length, spending time hovering over the break. We waited to hear from Jeannie through Reggie for what seemed like an eternity. Then the surprising message came from Reggie, “She says it can be fixed. Jeannie said you guys should be able to fix it.”

“Really?” I questioned. “If it’s supposed to be one piece, then it looks pretty FUBAR to me,” I said rather incredulously.

Reggie was laughing her butt off at my comment. “I’m not going to relay that message to her, Colt. I don’t think she would understand GI lingo, but she assures me that you guys should be able to repair it with the right tools. She says to return, and she can provide the tools and directions for the repair.”

“Copy,” I said, “we’ll pack up and head back.”

As we were recovering the drone, Dimitri said, “I don’t know how it can be repaired, but a more pressing question is, how the hell are we supposed to get up there to do it? I mean, that’s a two-hundred-foot vertical climb, and I didn’t see any freakin steps cut into the wall.”

I threw both hands up in the air and said, “I’m with you, brother. I don’t see us safely being able to make that climb, especially carrying tools.”

Joe had finished putting the drone in its case and stood up.

“Well, guys, Jeannie hasn’t let us down yet, so if she says it can be fixed and we can do it, are you really going to argue with her?”

“I get your point,” Dimitri said. “Look at me; I’m fully recovered after being gut shot just a couple of days ago. So, I know the lady has got some serious mojo working, but…” as he looked up at the rock wall, “that’s some serious sh…”

I stopped him before he could finish, “Yeah, but Joe’s right. She has seen and assessed the problem and is confident we can do the repair job. So, if she has confidence in us, are you ready to say to her, no, we can’t do it?”

Silence, and then Dimitri said somewhat begrudgingly, “Well, hell, if you guys are in, so am I. I wouldn’t want you pansies to get halfway up there, get skeered, and freeze, and then me, in my injured condition, have to climb up and rescue you.”

Joe and I, standing on either side of Dimitri, gave his shoulders a solid punch at the same time. Joe said, “In your dreams, superman, in your dreams.”

We were all three laughing until tears came to our eyes as we headed back to the Citadel, as I wondered, “What the hell does Jeannie have in mind for us?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When we got back to the Citadel, there was a lot of activity and excitement. Doc and Jeannie were off to one side in deep discussion as the others were going through a pile of new equipment, separating it into three distinct stacks. I immediately recognized some of the smaller silver cubes attached to belts. There were some of those glove-looking things we had just seen in the storeroom and a couple of the rods with handles.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” I asked as we got to the bottom of the stairs on the platform.

O’Reilly paused in the sorting and replied, “Just getting your gear ready for the repair mission,” as she went back to work.

Doc