Ancient Astronauts

The Hold

Gently, Hans moved Aly off his arm and got out of bed. A memory was stirring. It wasn't like his other memories. It felt real, yet also not real. Like something that originated in his mind, but was tangible in the outside world as well. He didn't like the feeling associated with it, even though he couldn't quite grasp what it was. One thing he was sure of, danger was coming and coming fast. He could trust his instincts on that one.

Unwilling to be idle, he decided it was time for an inspection of the Astral Ark's supplies. The hold was one of the critical areas hit by asteroid fragments and he, the captain, hadn't even inspected it yet. Granted, he wasn't able to while in a coma, but it seemed to be about time.

He knew most of the ship had been stripped down for building materials. That was aside from the sections of the ship that were already deployed as factories, warehouses, the hospital, and several other pieces of critical infrastructure like the water treatment plant. But the hold where the critical supplies were kept was still secure.

He passed by the fort and collected some men. Laptop was on duty and the soldier immediately approached waving four more young men along with him.

"Can we help you, sir?"

"Yes, Laptop. Gather your men, it's time for an inspection of the Astral Ark's supplies."

"At 1am, sir?"

"Yes, Lt. Freeman."

"Yes sir."

Hans checked his Sig Sauer to make sure it was loaded and functional. He stopped by the arms depot and added a small M4 to his gear along with night vision goggles.

"Are we headed for trouble, sir?" Laptop asked as he and his men also checked their weapons.

"I don't know, Laptop. I really don't know, but we'll find out won't we? Gather a few more people including Lt. Harrison. Tell her to bring her materiel."

"Yes, sir."

The group of twelve left the fort silently, and made their way to the husk of the Astral Ark. Quietly they boarded the ship. It was guarded by a handful of troops. Hans waved them aside and motioned for the engineer on duty to follow. The group made its way down to the hold.

A quick ID and keypad entry unlocked the door and they went in.

Everything appeared to be in order, large metal shelves rose toward the ceiling and stretched down twelve city blocks. The hold was three quarters empty now but that was understandable. Mostly it had contained building materials, technology needed for critical infrastructure, weapons, and mining equipment including a host of C12 Logistics Drones usually just called C12's. The remainder was largely medicines, a bit of emergency food, and a large assortment of specialized replacement parts for the tech.

"Everything seems to be in order, Governor." Laptop said.

"It's not," Hans answered, "Get a light on that wall there."

One of the men switched on his headlamp and pointed it at the wall.

The light from the lamp illuminated a series of deep scours in the wall. A memory stirred at the back of Hans' mind. He reached for it, but it eluded him.

"Lt. Harris, take a look at this."

The brunette operative walked over to the wall, and set down a heavy pack. The rest of her gear was distributed between two privates tasked to her. She pulled out various instruments and set them on the ground, but started the inspection with a simple high powered flashlight. She looked closely at the marks then shined her flashlight through them at one point where the wall was punctured.