“The thing is, gentlemen, whoever found it got the thing to work.” Appleby stepped up next to Jack and looked through the large hole. “And work impressively.”
“Colonel?”
They all turned and saw SAS Captain Mark-Patton standing at the open door.
“We’ve found a way into the second gallery.”
As Jack and the other officers went off to get the search element ready for the incursion into the second gallery, Niles, Pete, Ellenshaw, Appleby, and Dubois remained behind in the makeshift lab set up by McCabe and his benefactors. They found no research paperwork on the weapon that had been tested, but they did find small granules of what looked to be the mineral. After removing the power pack from the receiving unit of the weapon, it was Dubois, the MIT engineer, who discovered the ground-up meteorite dust inside. It was blackened and hard to the touch, but to everyone’s amazement it was still warm months after testing had been completed.
“The way it’s packed inside this sending unit, it’s just like a battery,” Niles said, as he held the thick magazine-like unit. “These must be conductors of some kind.” His index finger probed two copper wires that protruded from the thickened mass of hardened meteorite dust.
“I don’t understand how the power is converted to light,” Appleby said while examining the receiver where the magazine was inserted.
“You know, hanging out with Colonel Collins and Captain Everett of late, I have had a chance on several occasions to examine our own weaponry. The receiver for the M-16 rifle is basically a port. The real magic is in the ammunition. The gun itself is nothing more than the dumbest of tools. In this case,” Ellenshaw said, as he lowered his tall frame to look down the barrel past the smashed crystal, “I would say that this weapon is just as simple as an M-16. It’s the power that makes it special. Introduce a heat source or electrical source to the element inside the receiver and allow the material to be trapped inside, and this trigger releases the built-up energy that’s dying to get out.”
“I’m not following, Charlie,” Pete said. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and followed Ellenshaw’s example, looking down the barrel.
“Pete, the crystal that you are looking at is nothing but an amplifier and a lens. Together, they create light. Inside the receiver, once you break it down-which, from the shavings on the tabletop, it appears someone actually did-I believe you will find nothing more than a cooling port, and possibly a small light emitter. That is, you will find a lightbulb. A strong one, to be sure, but basically just a long-life lightbulb. Send power to this light source, a lot of power, and then release it to the only open port available, the barrel end of the weapon. It passes through this crystal, where it is amplified in strength just like the reflector plate on an old-fashioned oil lamp, and pow! You have a handheld laser device capable of doing that,” he said, pointing to the steel plate hanging from the ceiling.
As Ellenshaw straightened, he felt eyes on him. He looked at Niles, who was shaking his head.
“Can I ask you what the hell hanging out with Jack has done to you?” said Niles. “That’s amazing for just a five-minute examination.”
Ellenshaw looked embarrassed, not really knowing if Niles was pulling his leg or trying to make a point about concocting a theory without the least bit of proof.
“Actually, I think along the lines of forensic evaluation, as in my field of work there is very rarely any evidence to examine. I guess I have to use my imagination far more than my colleagues here.”
“Well, I for one think it’s one hell of an accurate theory,” Appleby said, looking closely at Niles. “Just who the hell are you people?”
Jack walked up to the area at the base of the cave-in. Several soldiers were removing the last pile of rocks from its base. As the top row was removed, Collins couldn’t believe his eyes. Underneath the uppermost portion, about fourteen feet off the gallery floor, was what looked like a lighted sign, long dead, its face smashed by the explosion that had sent the ceiling crashing down. Jack could guess the meaning of the bright red letters, but turned to Sebastian anyway.
“Galerie-zwei Gar keine Elektronik,” Sebastian read aloud.
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense, Major Krell. What does it say?” Everett asked.
“Gallery Two-absolutely NO electronics,” the German said, his own words giving him the chills.
Jack remembered the strange vibrations he and the others felt every time they used their radios.
“Well, then, if that’s what it says, I believe we’ll heed the warning,” Collins said as the men removed the rest of the blockage.
Soon they were staring at a set of double steel doors. Jack examined them closely and became uneasy at the sight.
“Well, the explosions really warped these things. They’re battered all to hell,” Everett said, running a hand over the steel plate of what looked to be a portal large enough to accommodate a small truck.
“This is worrisome,” Jack said, stepping back to take in the full length and width of the doors. Then he stepped forward and ran his hand over the battered material. “All of this damage is from the other side of the doors. Look,” he said. His hand rose as his fingers passed over a large indentation.
“Maybe rocks battered it from the other side,” Sebastian offered.
“I agree. Whoever handled the detonation to seal this off couldn’t control the fall of the ceiling on this side alone,” Captain Mark-Patton said.
Collins looked at Everett, who was seeing the same thing as Jack.
“If that’s the case, why didn’t the detonation cause the same damage to this side of the doors? Just as much rock from the cave-in battered this side, but the steel is so thick that not one single dent in this steel is evident.”
Sebastian and several others played their large flashlights over the double doors. Indeed, there weren’t any indentations pushed inward from this side-all of the bulges were from gallery number two’s side.
“I hate to be the first wimp to point this out,” Everett said while shining his light on the large indentations protruding from the steel doors. “But it really looks like something on that side wanted through that door, maybe after the Germans brought down the roof.” He looked at Jack. “Call it a hunch.”
Jack and Everett had seen things in their time at the Event Group that would have sent your everyday soldiers to a mental ward. They had seen things that went beyond strange, so they had come to respect their hunches about certain discoveries.
Jack studied the dents in the door for the longest time and then turned to Sebastian.
“Major, you have the most complete team here besides the fifteen Polish troops that we brought down into the mine. You and your men will follow me through the doors.”
“Uh, no way, Jack,” Everett said, stepping up to this boss. “Sebastian will take his men in with me tagging along. You’re the leader of this makeshift bunch of pirates. You don’t go in first.”
“Mr. Everett, I think-”
“I agree with the captain, Jack. you stay behind until the all clear is given,” Sebastian said. “That’s Assault 101. Remember what you said in your training sessions with us?”
Collins was pinned down by his own words. He just nodded.
“Captain Mark-Patton will form a fast reaction team for backup.” Jack turned to the British SAS captain, who agreed. He pointed to his SAS team and to the ten Marines that would back up Sebastian’s assault element.
“Okay, don’t wait too long. If the gallery is clear, give the call and we’ll follow up with the reaction team. We’ll wait until both teams are inside before we start the examination of the gallery.”
Sebastian and Carl charged their weapons and assembled the German commandos who would make the initial incursion into the second gallery.