It had been 2 years since the alien satellite weapon Transobject left orbit. The Tower Complex remained silent under its dome. The solar flares that caused the gilled beings to leave the planet had virtually disappeared. The colonial government decided that it was safe for more scientific exploration. A science station had been established on the western shore of the alien continent to be the base for detail exploration of the continent’s interior and the large inter-continental ocean (Eastern shore of the Colonial Continent and western shore of the Alien Continent).
Jack (Military Base Commander) called for a conference concerning one of these recent explorations. In attendance were Jack, officers of the Detriped including me, officers of the Aurora, Captain Sharon of the navy’s submarine Hunter Explorer and Captain Henry of the scientific station’s ship Clipper. Captain Sharon opened the meeting with a map of the oceanic region that concerned the government. She showed that the region in the southern hemisphere in the large ocean between the equatorial continents. She said that “It has more islands, seamounts and volcanic formations than was found off the alien continent’s northeast shore where the gilled beings launch sites were discovered. On one of the southern hemisphere seamounts there seems to be doors. The last mission to the islands also found an installation on one of the islands. The government assumes that the gilled beings are the builders. Hopefully we will find answers to who the gilled beings were.” Captains Dennis(Detriped) and Mark(Aurora) remarked that the military show of force represented by their spaceships seemed excessive. They asked why the starships for underwater exploring. The Hunter Explorer has torpedoes and lasers. Jack answered with “Remember how dangerous Transobject turned out to be. Who knows what lurks in that ocean?” After some more discussions, it was decided that the Hunter Explorer would check out the seamounts. The surface ship Clipper would be there for any rescue, supplies and island exploring. The Detriped would be there for defense even though no expected to bump into an alien being. The next day, the Detriped would return Captains Sharon and Henry to their respective ships.
The Detriped glided over the alien continent. The domed Tower Complex stood silent in the desert as we passed over it. Conversations about what knowledge could be hidden in that complex circulated on the bridge. Our destination, however, was soon in sight. The Hunter Explorer and Clipper awaited in the harbor of the new coastal Science Station. The shuttle landed on the scientific station beach. Sharon, Henry, Rosemary and I walked out of the shuttle to meet the welcoming personal of the sea ships. Henry rejoined his shipmates while the rest of us took a small boat to the submarine Hunter Explorer.
The submarine was quite cramped compared to what Rosemary and I were used to on the Detriped. After settling in, we went to the submarine’s conference room to join Captain Sharon and her officers. Captain Sharon opened the meeting describing the last mission to this region. She pulled out a map of five total seamounts and islands that sea surface ships had visited before. The map had markings for this mission’s planned route through the islands and seamounts. She said “You will notice a steady decrease in fish as we near the seamounts. The seamounts seem to be hiding something. My science officer thinks that we will find entrances to structures inside the seamounts.” I responded “That explains why I’m here. Another science officer’s opinion.” Captain Sharon then told Rosemary that “We might find traces of aliens like you did at the settlements you explored.” Rosemary and I had more questions about the exploration details. Captain Sharon told us to wait until tomorrow. It was soon time for dinner. Dinner was served in the adjacent room. The day ended with playing cards and listening to music in the same room.
Rosemary and I woke up to a crew member nudging each of us. Sharon let us sleep longer than usual because of not being used to a submarine. We quickly went to the bridge with breakfast in hand. Sharon was talking to Captain Henry on the Clipper about its submersible. Captain Sharon next signaled Linda on the Detriped. Linda answered that The Detriped was ready in case of trouble. Everybody was ready. The Hunter Explorer bridge crew looked at the seamount before them. It looked normal except for lack of fish. It had a caldera at the top, jagged sides, streaks of calcium layers and coral. The Hunter Explorer’s sensors focused on the seamount’s slope. The jumbled basalt rocks didn’t quite hide what appeared to be a smooth surface. When the Clipper arrived, Sharon signaled the Clipper to send down its robotic submersible. The submersible’s arms cleared rocks until enough surface was cleared for the next step. The Hunter Explorer couldn’t just blast through the seamount without risking flooding what was behind the exposed surface. The solution was for the Clipper to send down a remote-controlled cylinder that could be put between the Hunter Explorer and the seamount. The Hunter Explorer got in place as the Clipper released the cylinder. The Clipper’s tech crew guided it to the depth of the Hunter Explorer. Then came the nervous part for Rosemary and me as we watched the proceedings on the bridge screens. The submarine notched its way into one end of the cylinder. The tech crew turned on the cylinder’s magnetic ring to secure it to the submarine. The Hunter Explorer then pushed the cylinder to the cleared surface. The submarine’s Science Officer Steve assured Rosemary and I that this action was safe and had been done before. In case of trouble, the cylinder could surface using small engines. It was over in 10 minutes. A crew team with scuba gear and cameras next swam to the cylinder’s bottom part. They opened an air lock to enter the cylinder. The scene was different than anything I had seen before. The crewmen were standing on a platform stretching from the airlock area to the seamount. Around them was the curvature of the cylinder. They calmly walked to the seamount surface and placed explosives in strategic places and set timers. They then returned to the air lock. As expected by Captain Sharon, the surface fell in with the explosions. It indeed was a door. It reminded Rosemary and me of the exploration of gilled alien settlements when we blasted open a tower door. Steve, Rosemary, a submarine crewman and I got into 2-man submersibles. After leaving the submarine, Steve and the crewmen steered their submersibles to the bottom of the cylinder. Soon the 2 submersibles were inside the cylinder. Everyone stepped out onto the platform. I grinned at the scuba crewmen and said “I didn’t know that an underwater vehicle such as this cylinder existed”. They answered “Most people don’t. It was built 3 years ago and is the property of the Science Station as is the Clipper”. The six of us walked down the platform and into the room beyond the door. Rosemary’s first reaction was that it looked like an earthquake hit it. Steve and I agreed. We could see cracks in the walls and floor. Cabinets forced open. Containers, mining tools, metallic objects and lighting equipment lay stern on the floor. Some metallic objects even looked like explosives. There was a lack of any heavy-duty equipment such as boring drill machines. It seemed that the miners did their mining with explosives, hand tools and brute strength. At one end of the room was the remains of an elevator. The strange thing about the scene were the lack of chairs near a center table. We also saw tunnels leading away from the room. Each of them, we assumed could lead either to living quarters or to mine shafts. Steve and I sent drones down several tunnels. The drones sent back pictures showing evidence of mining operations including railroad cars and tracks. Unfortunately, the drones also sent messages saying that the tunnels were not safe to explore due to cave ins. Rosemary, meanwhile, collected artifacts. The calm was broken when one of the drones sent back pictures of lava flowing down a tunnel toward us. We quickly headed for the Cylinder’s air locks. It was good to see that the builders of the cylinder had provided an escape submersible for the scuba divers. Steve signaled the Hunter Explorer that there was an emergency. Captain Sharon signaled back that the submarine was registering quakes on the seamount. She responded that the submarine would detach from the Cylinder as soon as our vehicles were safely inside the submarine. The door was open when we got there. Even before we left the Hunter Explorer’s Bay room, we could hear on speakers what was happenings. The Hunter Explorer detaching from the cylinder. Captain Sharon giving orders to put the submarine in full reverse. The trick was that both the Hunter Explorer and cylinder having enough time to back away from the seamount before an eruption. By the time Steve, Rosemary and I got back to the bridge, everyone was looking at the bridge screens. Both the Hunter Explorer and cylinder were safely distant from the seamount. The screens showed lava pouring out of the seamount’s sides. Thankfully, the seamount didn’t explode in a volcanic eruption. Instead, it collapsed like air leaving a balloon. The sea ships captains decided to forego further exploration and return to the science station.
Several days later, the same group of people as before gathered at Commander Jack’s conference room. In addition. Captain Dennis brought Steve from the Hunter Explorer to join the meeting. Commander Jack opened the meeting with “Glad you all survived the volcano experience. We thought the seamount was going to blow its top.” Jack could tell that Rosemary, Steve and I looked at the artifacts like Christmas presents. Each of us grabbed one of the seamount containers still intact. They were made of a tin alloy. The tops required a tool to open them. I took out a scroll. It was a map. It showed
• The Polar Continent
• Location of several seamounts in the southern hemisphere
• An island with a marking for an installation or operational base
• Cargo ships going between the island and the alien continent
• A marked location on the north-west of the alien continent’s coast
Steve’s container even had an alarming surprise. It had pictures of the aliens. They were not the gilled beings but instead reptiles looking very similar to carnivorous raptor dinosaurs. Nobody wanted to meet them. Groups of them were standing in the now destroyed seamount room holding mining equipment. There was even a shot of miners on a beach with buildings in the background. The group at the conference soon voiced their observations. John (Detriped’s Security Officer) started with neither the seamount’s evidence nor the container pictures showed that the reptiles used either laser type technology or heavy equipment for mining. I suggested that the mining operation was small in scope. Maybe the reptiles came to the planet only for mining something specific such as fuel. Steve agreed with me saying “It is a possibility, since no evidence of a large-scale settlement had been found.” Rosemary and Aurora’s counterpart Kevin offered this question. “We know that the gilled aliens lived on the alien continent and had spaceships. We also know that the reptiles established a coastal site on the same continent. How could have the gilled beings not been aware of the reptiles at some point?” Linda responded “It is unlikely that the gilled aliens and reptiles were on the planet at the same time. The carnivorous reptiles would have been too much of a danger to the gilled beings. The existence of the reptiles complicates both who were the planet’s natives and who built Transobject.” Captain Sharon next took the lead saying “The artifacts need to be dated to answer that question.” Commander Jack asked Captain Dennis to leave the artifacts at the base for analysis. He wanted to move on to a more urgent topic.
Captain Mark quickly took the podium. His report sounded foreboding. Astronomers had spotted an asteroid headed toward the planet. They expected the asteroid to hit the Polar Continent. Luckily, it was small enough to cause damage only to polar ice. The bigger worry why was Transobject returning to the planet. Everyone knew that it was capable of firing lasers at any ground target and that its overall purpose was still a mystery. Commander Jack, Captain Dennis and Captain Mark all agreed that it was time to come up with a plan. The Aurora would position itself in orbit to await the asteroid’s and Transobject’s arrival. The Detriped, meanwhile, would check out the reptile’s continental location to find out if the reptiles had access to better technology than found at the seamount. The Hunter Explorer and Clipper would return to the southern hemisphere islands trying to find anything more about the reptiles. All three vessels would look for evidence of gilled beings and reptile interaction, a time gap between them or any reptile connection to Transobject. The three vessels would then meet at the Command Base after completing their missions. The time required for the sea ships to get to southern hemisphere islands from the command base, allowed Captain Dennis to offer some leisure time before Detriped had to be at the reptile location on the alien continent.
It was a rainy day when Linda, Rosemary and Me arrived at the Crescent Beach resort. Medical Lieutenant Jennifer and her husband Tom also came. We had to wait for the next day to make use of the hotel’s new sauna and wave pool behind the public beach. Linda and Rosemary wore their flower bikinis to be comfortable jumping in the wave pool. Jennifer also wore a similar bikini without strings for the same reason. Jennifer wanted to start the afternoon by going into the sauna. The five of us did. After about a half hour, everyone was ready for the wave pool. We slowly went into the water to cool off. Soon we were bopping in the water and jumping into waves. Sometimes we held each other around the waist to keep our balance. Since the wave pool had cycles, the five of us spent time on the beach between cycles. I suggested to Jennifer that she and Tom take the hotel’s coral sub ride the next day. I showed them some pictures. They were delighted.
The next day Lt. Jennifer and her husband took the resort sub ride. Linda, Rosemary and I went to the hotel’s secluded beach. Linda spread out the towels. The girls then took off their coverups revealing their blue string bikinis. The crowd that day was spread out. So, the girls weren’t shy about the skimpiness of them compared to the previous day’s swimsuits. We started playing with a frisbee. Returning to the towels, I put it down. The three of us then ran into the water to get sand off. Afterwards, we intermittently spent time on the beach and swimming. One time, we sat in the water letting the waves cool us. On the sand, we applied sun screen to each other. It was getting late in the afternoon, when Jennifer and her husband found us sitting on the towels. They told us about the fish that they saw. Before leaving the beach, everyone wanted to go into the water for a short last swim.
Upon returning to the hotel, Linda got a message from Captain Dennis that a shuttle from the Detriped would be there in the morning. The next morning came early as Linda, Rosemary, Jennifer, Tom and I walked to the shuttle for the Detriped bound shuttle for reptile mining location.
While in route, Captain Dennis told us he had good news. Captain Dennis told Linda that she was right. The seamount reptile artifacts were older than the oldest gilled alien artifacts by several centuries. John, as usual, brought up two interesting points. Where was Transobject in those centuries? Was it there when reptiles were mining? Linda and I shuttered at the thought that the raptor like reptiles built it. The answer, hopefully, was somewhere in the mission to the alien continent coastal site.
The Detriped descended to safe level and approached the coastal site cautiously. The sensors indicated that the site was abandoned. No one expected the reptiles to show up. Linda, Rosemary, John and me stepped out of the shuttle and looked around. The first thing we saw was a pier and building that matched the container photo. To the right of the mostly intact building were scorched jumbled rocks. My first reaction was here we go again. Something like Transobject had blasted this site too. Everyone walked over to the building to get a closer look. Before us to the right were the remains of a quarry. It was typical of a layered operation. John said “Let’s go inside the building.” He went over to the door and turned the knob. It opened to a spacious room. We were disappointed at what we saw. It looked like a campsite cabin before someone moved in. There were empty cabinets, light fixtures, a cooking stove, a table and some type of chairs. Someone would have had to supply everything else. Investigating adjacent rooms looking for artifacts to find out how the reptiles lived didn’t help. One adjacent room, however, did contain plaques proving that Transobject helped the reptiles do their mining. They showed reptiles setting off ground explosions and Transobject firing laser beams at the quarry rocks. Rosemary said “Whomever built Transobject was being benevolent. Since the reptile artifacts predate the gilled alien’s artifacts and Transobject was there for the reptiles, we could rule out that the gilled aliens built Transobject.” Linda signaled Captain Dennis from the shuttle that we found some answers and were returning.
Rosemary, John, Linda and I meet Dennis in Detriped’s conference room. Dennis had news from the Clipper. Captain Henry’s crew was able to send video images of what they found at the southern hemisphere island shown on the reptile map. Henry’s description and pictures of an installation told of a site more deteriorated than the coastal site’s buildings. Vegetation and weather had collapsed building roofs and walls. Rusted equipment was visible. Sea ships were submerged in pier water. The pictures transmitted by the Clipper showed a mining site long abandoned. The only helpful clue was his crew found was a working solar powered generator next to a main building. The lights worked. A crew member was able to start a video device which showed the reptile spaceships leaving the planet. The last image copied from the device showed Transobject leaving orbit.
John, Rosemary, Linda and I then gave Dennis our collective opinion. We concluded that the reptiles had no intention of either building permanent structures or coming back. They came temporarily to the planet to mine. They left before the gilled aliens came. Transobject left orbit when the reptiles left the planet. Transobject, therefore, was not continually in orbit between the two groups of aliens. The time gap between the reptiles and gilled beings’ arrivals on the planet was significant. It is unlikely that the true builders of Transobject stayed on the planet continually between alien arrivals. Captain Dennis agreed. He then video conferenced Jack. Jack then added Captain Sharon to the meeting. Dennis repeated what we told him and added "Transobject and probably the Tower Complex seem to be linked to temporary planet inhabitants. Who built them and their primary purpose is still a mystery? We have seen that Transobject could be helpful or very destructive. Speaking of being helpful, Transobject fired its arc energy at the asteroid completely destroying it. Thankfully, it is still programmed to defend the planet against asteroids even before settling into orbit."
Captain Sharon, nervously, said “Good that It helped those miners and now destroyed an incoming asteroid. But what is it coming back to do? We still don’t know who the builders of it are.” Jack decided that only way to find out would be for the Detriped and the Aurora to await Transobject’s arrival to the planet.
Jack’s intuition was right when the two human spaceships faced Transobject. It was in a synchronous orbit above the north pole sea. It had not done that before. It, unexpectedly, brought companions. One was a triangular ship the size of the Detriped or Aurora. The other two ships were more saucer shaped and ¾ the size of the triangular ship. Captain Dennis put Detriped on yellow alert. He didn’t know if the smaller ships were holograms as he dealt with before or to expect an attack from Transobject, the triangular ship or both. I and Aurora’s counterpart Science Officer Catherine tried all the sensors on the Detriped and Aurora. The reading said that the ships were real. No evidence of such ships had been found on the planet before to estimate their danger. Rosemary guessed that whomever were in the ships were the true builders of Transobject and the Tower Complex. The bridge crew agreed. The alien triangular ship then confirmed it with the message across Detriped’s bridge screen saying “YES. We are the builders and periodically live on the planet. We are not the Reptiles or Gilled Beings returning. We don’t need the continent you are inhabiting to live here.” The communication officer then tried in vain to communicate with the alien ships. After about a half hour of trying, Transobject started its tricks obscuring itself. The smaller saucer shaped ships, meanwhile, started changing its shade of maroon and blinking. Aurora also detected Transobject sending radio signals to the Tower Complex. Many of us on the bridge felt as if we were in some sort of television show. Both the Detriped and Aurora put up its shields. Clouds from the large alien spaceship came toward us. Our sensors indicated that the clouds were not dangerous. Instead, they would just obscure our view. True enough, Captains Dennis and Mark told each other that their bridge screens were useless. First Officer Linda, however, was able to get images from Detriped’s aft cameras. The smaller ships were descending toward the ocean below. Dennis and Mark exchanged words as to which spaceship should follow them. Transobject had another opinion. As soon as the bridge screen cleared, another message appeared on it. The message said “Don’t chase them.” The two captains saw that Transobject meant it. So did the large ship. They fired lasers at each human spaceship. This time, the energy was destructive and the shields were necessary. The laser beams were fired only at a couple of non-critical places on the Detriped and Aurora where the crew wasn’t. John wanted to fire back at Transobject but Linda said to wait. On our bridge screen, we could see the two smaller ships plunge into the sea. Transobject soon afterwards dissipated its cloud shield.
By now, Base Commander Jack was requesting what was going on from the two captains. On a secondary bridge screen, everyone could see Jack. Jack thought it was best to leave either the Detriped or Aurora at the north pole. Transobject butted in again with “Please meet us at the Science Station in about a week. We will explain who we are. Go relax.” Rosemary and her Aurora anthropologist/sociologist counterpart Kevin said “Sounds like a friendly invitation.” Both Detriped and Aurora bridge crews wanted to meet them rather than fight. The triangular alien ship then departed headed for the larger ocean between the continents. Transobject, meanwhile, headed for its familiar orbital position. With the alien ship gone, the two human spaceships departed the north pole. I thought of what a show the Tower Complex must have recorded.
In the evening of the next day shuttles from both Detriped and Aurora touched down on the Science Station vehicle pad. The accommodations at the Science Station were limited. The visitor bungalows had a maximum capacity of 8. Captain Dennis, as well as Captain Mark, had to both share 4 bungalows and come up with a schedule to maintain a sufficient bridge crew. Neither captain wanted himself, the First Officer and the Security Officer all off the bridge if the new aliens came early. As for fun, the bungalows only offered the beach and campfire facilities to watch the stars. The Science Station, however, did have more to offer. Namely, nearby picturesque waterfalls and a large art gallery thanks to many of the station’s personal. Before leaving Detriped, First Officer Linda called the Science Station to ask what to bring. Director James advised her to bring clothes for hiking and expect to get wet at the waterfalls. He also told her to plan for cooler than tropical temperatures because of the ocean current in the area.
Everyone met at the Science Station’s main building. It was getting dark, by the time everyone had greeted the Science Station personnel. After dinner, everyone from the spaceships wanted to get to the bungalows and settle in. We took the ferry to reach the station’s bungalows island.
A beautiful sunrise greeted us the next day. Linda, the Communication Officer, the Navigation Officer and me packed for the day. We hurried to the ferry. Breakfast awaited us at the Science Station. Our minds, however, were on the art gallery and places to hike. James greeted us at the art gallery lobby. He pointed to sections for paintings, photographs and other things. The group first went to the paintings. They were the expected scenes of seascapes, landscapes and wildlife. The most curious aspect was that a few artists had managed to get a considerable distance into the northern interior of the alien continent. Mark, Linda and I made notes about it and then headed for the photographs. Linda found the waterfall pictures that James had told her about. In about 2 hours everyone was ready to decide on where to hike. James had arranged for everyone to be in 2 groups of 5 including guides.
It took about a ½ hour for my group’s car to get to where the hiking trail started. At first, all I could see were trees. Our guide said “Keep hiking”. The trees gave way to a canyon with colorful rocks. In a reasonable time, we got to the falls. They were high and had uneven drops. On one side of the falls was a rock formation that jutted away from the main falls. Water was coming from the bottom of it. Using a drone, the guide showed us water swirling into an opening above the falls. The sunlight on this water made it sparkle in a circular rainbow. The waterfall’s base pool also shimmered in the sunlight. Some rocks with quartz also sparkled. The group wanted a picture of everyone next to the waterfall. The guide, however, said it was not safe to do. On the return hike, a cascading waterfall surrounded by colorful trees was ideal for taking pictures. The four of us went into its clear base pool. The two girls were glad that they brought one-piece swimsuits. I was glad that I brought a warmer swimsuit. The guide took the pictures of us next to the falls and sitting on rocks with trees in the background. Allowing time for drying, we put our hiking clothes back on over the swimsuits for the rest of hike. Along the way, the guide twice pointed to ruins. The scientists at the station thought that they were remote outposts of the gilled aliens. Naturally, Linda and I wondered why Jack didn’t consider them significant. We made a note to request a trip for further investigation. It was late afternoon when the group got to the pickup point.
Upon arrival at the Science Station, there was still a little daylight left. A short walk on the water’s edge was convincing enough of its coldness. After everyone changed out of the hiking clothes, the station’s staff brought chili to the beach for dinner. They told everyone that the station was north enough to get a glimpse of the planet’s northern lights. Everyone stayed long enough to see them. At midnight, everyone boarded the ferry for the bungalows. The next morning was the day to switch bridge personal. Captain Dennis, John and Rosemary stepped out of the shuttle. Linda, me and the two other bridge members boarded the shuttle for the Detriped.
With all of the bridge crew having had time for fun, Captain Dennis changed the schedule for the 5th day at the station. He, Linda and John stayed onboard the Detriped. Only Rosemary and me got the privilege to meet the aliens. Captain Mark did a similar spilt with his bridge crew. He wanted his First Officer Robert and Kevin(Rosemary’s counterpart) at the Science Station. Jack at the Command Base, meanwhile, wanted the Hunter Explorer to be on alert in case the alien craft came underwater. On the 6th day the alien trio of spaceships came in the air to the Science Station. As the Detriped, Aurora and Hunter Explorer went to yellow alert, the aliens made the first friendly gesture. A platform rose from the hull of the triangular ship. Almost everyone ran down to the water’s edge. Upon the platform stood the builders of Transobject and the Tower Complex. They were humanoid looking but like fairies. They were the size of children. They had wings that looked like those of a monarch butterfly. Rosemary decided to call them the Monarch Fairies. It was impossible to determine either age nor gender due to distance and their uniforms. They only waved long enough for everyone to see them. In silence, the platform and them then disappeared into the craft.
For several minutes, the crowd looked at the maroon saucer wondering what next. Once again, Transobject had the answer. This time the message was transmitted to the science station’s communication equipment. A person waved at the bridge members of the Detriped and Aurora to come inside the building. We did. To our relief, the message was “You can call us the Monarchs whatever. We have seen those butterflies before. We plan to peacefully stay in the southern hemisphere islands in the large ocean. We don’t intend to set up an embassy. Don’t look for us. You will not find us. Transobject will protect you from asteroids.” Rosemary and her Aurora counterpart Kevin recommended that the human colonists should respect their desire to stay reclusive. As Linda discussed the message with the group, First Officer Steve from the Hunter Explorer came in. He said that the Monarch Fairies departed going southwest toward the central part of the large ocean. I then contacted Captain Dennis. Robert contacted Captain Mark. They, in turn, contacted Jack at the command base. The communication specialist at the Science Station then connected everyone into a video conference. Commander Jack asked those there “Should we chase them into the central ocean?” The unanimous answer was no. The aliens meant what they say by “don’t” and Transobject is too powerful to ignore the alien ultimatum. Jack responded by ordering all the military ships back to the command base.
The Detriped landed at the command base’s specially built pad. The Aurora landed a shuttle with Captain Mark, Catherine and Kevin. Captains Sharon and Steve were to arrive the next day on the Hunter Explorer. There was time to relax as well as preparing for the conference meeting. Just outside the base, was a botanical garden with a water way going through it. The bridge crews of both spaceships welcomed leisurely sightseeing on its boats. While on a boat, a person from the command base asked Linda and I about our pictures from the Science Station. We told them that we would send copies to him. The pictures, also, sparked enough interest that another person suggested wilderness outings from the Science Station at some future date. Both captains said “Talk to the Science Station manager but the issue tomorrow is the arrival of the Monarch Fairies.”
The mood at the command base conference room the next day was mixed. The government officials were glad that the mystery of who built Transobject and the Tower Complex was solved. They were also glad that the Monarch Fairies could be helpful. One of them, still fearful of their technology wondered why the Tower Complex remained domed and why Transobject destroyed the gilled alien settlements. John said “I’m a security officer and don’t think the Monarch Fairies are a threat. If the aliens wanted to harm the people on the last missions, they certainly could have with Transobject and their spaceships. Remember that they easily destroyed the asteroid and the Gilled Beings settlements. Reducing them to rubble and dust.” Another government official asked John “Where do you think they are hiding their saucers?” John replied “In the large ocean southern hemisphere islands and away from us. I’m not worried about their reclusive policy.” Still another government official asked Rosemary and Kevin “Did they tell you how old they are?” Kevin simply answered “No. Maybe we will find out the next time.” Captains Dennis, Mark and Sharon along with Base Commander Jack then concluded the conversation by collectively saying that the Monarch Fairies had peaceful intentions. In his opinion, the Monarch Fairies would become hostile only if they felt threatened. The government officials agreed that the Monarch Fairies intended to peacefully coexist with the human colony.