THe Sentinal Satellite Read online

  “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

  “Yes your Holiness, it was confirmed this morning by a high ranking official of the House of the Nazarene.”

  Surprised, Esposito sternly asked,

  “And you put value in what an enemy of the Vatican has said. How do you know that it is not just another plot by them to destroy our authority?”

  “Because the House of the Nazarene no longer exists. The very evil that destroyed their island, killing over half of them, now has its weapon aimed at our heart. The threat is real and the danger is real. I am sitting here telling you this because the burden of what should be done is yours not mine.”

  Razk saw the weight of all eternity press down hard on an already tired Bishop. It confirmed what he had been struggling with all morning. Should he be the one to make the decision or should he delegate it to others. Razk understood that because of the dark veil wrapped around Vatican secrets and the threat to expose them, it was a heavy burden. Conversely, the Bishop did not want his name going down in history as the one responsible for the destruction of the Vatican as easily as the House of the Nazarene.

  Commander Razk was polite enough to sit and wait for the burden of responsibility to press down on the old Bishop even harder. After a few minutes of what he understood to be an almost impossible choice, the Bishop finally raised his head and did what most would do with an impossible dilemma. He said,

  “It is too big a judgement for me alone. I shall gather my supreme counsellors and let you know what we decide.”

  Razk was not naive enough to believe that a judgment would come down from just one meeting. He feared that bureaucracy would rear its ugly head and drown in the importance of time. So that it would not drag on and involve too many secret societies within these hallowed walls he stood and said,

  “Very well Holiness. However, the importance of secrecy must be stressed as well as the liability of time. Call your Council but emphasize expediency.”

  Commander Razk seemed very pleased to be making a quick exit for the door. At the door, he turned and warned,

  “No matter what you decide, take note of the last paragraph in the letter.”

  With that final warning, the door closed and Bishop Esposito was alone in his cold office. With the dreaded letter still in his hand he unfolded it and read the last paragraph,

  ‘The eye above knows all. If there is a covert attempt to remove secrets and treasures before the destruction, vengeance will be mine. If the leaders of the false faith try to escape the Vatican, fire and burning sulfur will cause their death. Let nothing escape or none flee before a decision on the seventh day.’

  A heavy hand picked up his phone. It only took one ring before uttering,

  “It is as you suspected. Either secrets are exposed that will destroy the faith or the secrets are held and the Vatican is wiped off the face of the earth. I seek your wisdom.”

  It was not the reply he was hoping for.

  “You know my orders. It is better to be destroyed by the hand of the devil than by the hand of truth. Gather your Council and prepare them.”

  The Bishop sadly responded,

  “They will not accept death as easily as you and I. I will not get the majority vote.”

  “Then it is time to convince them. Take your Council to the Chamber of Secrets and let them hear the wisdom of God for themselves.”

  In a chilling whisper of defeat Bishop Esposito said,

  “Yes, I suppose they will have to obey the wishes of God.”

  Chapter 19

  That night in bed, Santo was struggling to stay awake while maintaining attentiveness to Maria. In the darkness of the bedroom, she was excitedly talking about her trip to Tibet and recovering a piece of the weapon. Santo had already read the report and therefore knew exactly what had happened. Regardless, as she continued, he continued to be attentive.

  “But when I handed the glass to Zak he was disappointed saying that it didn’t look much like a weapon. Jessika also looked at it saying the same thing, that there should be more to it. She thought that maybe this piece was a computer program that activated the other two pieces of the weapon.”

  Hoping that would be the end of it, Santo leaned over and kissed her goodnight. He was not that lucky. After a minute of golden silence, he heard Maria sniffle and understood something was wrong. Although exhausted, he cared for her emotional state, turned to her and lovingly asked,

  “What is it honey? What’s the matter?”

  “I miss our daughter. This is the longest we have ever been without her and it tears at my heart.”

  Santo understood the reason Belle was in hiding and that consoled him. He too missed his daughter but it was overshadowed by knowing she was safe. It was not the same for Maria. Needing her daughter in her arms weighed more than all other reason. She wanted Belle safe in her arms.

  Santo tried his best to be supportive.

  “Of course, so do I but we have to take appropriate measures to protect her. As long as there is no communication that can be traced to her location, she will be safe with Liana and Quastima. As much as we both miss her, we can never attempt to contact her.”

  Suddenly Maria was glad that the lights were out and Santo could not see her guilty expression.

  In desperation to change the subject, hoping there was no need to admit what she had already done, she quickly asked,

  “What are you doing tomorrow?”

  Surprised at the sudden change of subject, for he should had been suspicious, he nevertheless replied,

  “I’m going to a deli in London for a pastrami sandwich. Do you want to come along for a cup of tea?”

  Although dearly desiring a subject change she was not prepared for one so cryptic. There was a pause in the dark while she tried to figure it out. Finally she was forced to ask,

  “London?”

  She heard Santo chuckle and say,

  “I know you do not remember many things about returning Aaron to his secret home guarded by the Second Creation. Do you remember how you saved the little man from a devious plot by the Vatican to have him and his whole race eliminated because of what they thought he represented to their faith.”

  She replied,

  “Of course I remember all that. Why would you ask such a thing?”

  “Because you do not remember the location or meeting a pure bred human in the land of the little people named Edward, do you?”

  There was a long pause while she desperately searched memory cells.

  Because he knew she was struggling to regain partially erased memories, he decided to fill in the missing parts. He told her Edward was an advanced pure human, a member of the Second Creation, those God created after Noah’s flood. They were hiding their advanced abilities from those who managed to survive God’s destruction of the disappointing first creation. Maria understood that the survivors of the flood were considered the faulty humans. Edward and members of those created after the flood had taken it upon themselves to be the guardians of a different race of people, Aaron and the little people.

  Because Aaron would not accept that their kingdom floated on top of a cloud, an irrepressible curiosity drove him under the cloud to the terrible land of the giants. When Maria and Santo discovered him, they risked their lives to return him to the land above the clouds.

  As appreciative as Edward was of their sacrifice and devotion to Aaron, he could not allow them to retain a memory of Aaron’s secret location in the Venezuelan Highlands. Regrettably, Edward was forced to erase that part of their memory thereby keeping the location secret. While all three talked in a secret chamber, Edward served sandwiches to the hungry couple. The memory erasing drug was in the sandwiches.

  Maria strained to force that memory to the surface with no result. Finally, she asked,

  “But how come you remember things that I don’t?”

  “Because I suspected Edward wanted to keep the mountain of the Little People secret and would do something like that
so I didn’t eat the food he offered us. While you were busy devouring the sandwiches and making comments about the delicious pastrami, he let it slip that he goes to the Hog and Duck Deli in London every Wednesday morning just to purchase it. Tomorrow is Wednesday so I’m going there to ask him a few questions.”

  While she continued to struggle with the chemically removed memories, Santo finally fell asleep.

  Early the next morning Maria was sitting at the computer table talking to Jessika Reynaldi. There was a weight on her conscience and it involved doing something that Santo had forbidden. Maria asked,

  “Can a transmission sent from here be intercepted and traced to its sent location?”

  After a thought Jessika slowly replied,

  “No, I don’t think so. We encrypt everything through the sleeper satellites.”

  Looking at a relieved Maria, Jessika, asked,

  “Are you worried that the message you sent to your daughter yesterday might be traced by whoever has done all this to us?”

  When Maria nodded, Jessika said,

  “Well don’t. It would take a very powerful computer to trace our communication. I don’t think anything like that exists, at least on this planet.”

  Just then Maria looked up to see Santo walk over to the D-wings. Not wishing to miss her cup of tea in London, she prepared to follow him. Before leaving, she said to Jessika,

  “I don’t want Santo to know I did this, okay?”

  Because of the planet’s rotation, the D-wing flight to London from the Three Sisters was eastward. Aside from a casual conversation at the beginning of the trip, the remainder of the flight was in silence. Santo was lost to thoughts of questions and the accusation that he was going to ask Edward, while Maria was lost to guilt. She was hoping that her misdemeanor would remain a secret. She had told fibs to Santo before but nothing weighed as heavy as keeping a security risk from him. Her solace was in knowing that no computer on Earth was capable of tracing the encrypted message. Still, guilt ruled.

  As there was no ‘Safe House’ in London, Santo opted to risk camouflage and put down in a dark alley close to the Hog and Duck Deli. It was not by accident that he landed next to a pile of reeking garbage. When the hatch opened, Maria thought the stench was reminiscent of London’s Black Death, putrid and deadly. With a hand to her nose, she hurried out of the alley onto the cobble stone sidewalk. Soon both merged with the pedestrians on the footpath.

  The Hog and Duck was a surprisingly small deli located on a side street across from Hyde Park. The bell above the door announced their arrival. Both went to the counter to purchase a scone and cup of tea. Sitting at a wrought iron table by the window, they waited, hoping Edward would eventually show up. While Santo nibbled at the scone and Maria enjoyed her tea, the bell above the door had rung many times but at no time was it the anticipated Edward.

  As it was now close to noon, the proprietor was getting suspicious of their lingering. Santo was losing patience and about to call the day a failure. A few minutes later, the bell rang again. Judging by Santo’s alertness, Maria knew that Edward had just arrived. Because her memory of their time in the land of the Little People had been erased, she was now seeing Edward for the first time. He was tall, dark hair, and pale skinned plus, as Maria thought, young and very handsome. Upon arriving, he did not see them sitting at the table by the window.

  Santo watched as Edward approached the counter to order his pastrami. It was not until after he had paid that he turned to see them sitting there staring at him. Shocked at seeing them, he recovered well enough to accept that he had been discovered. When Santo casually pointed to the empty chair, Edward realized that his only two options were to run or sit. Edward sat.

  Although Maria sat in innocence, both Santo and Edward knew that this was a very dangerous meeting. Despite Edward’s obvious discomfort, he managed a sincere smile at Maria. He then looked to Santo and said,

  “I knew I should have told my superiors you had not eaten the sandwich. I found it under the cushion a few days later.”

  Because Santo wanted information from Edward, he was willing to barter for it. He said,

  “If it will make things better, as a sign of good faith with your superiors I will gladly eat such a thing now.”

  Edward grinned.

  “Your silence to the House of the Nazarene about the location of the Little People has already proven our trust in you.”

  Because Maria understood nothing of the conversation, she sat baffled.

  Edward sat staunch, put his shoulders back and asked,

  “May I presume that the reason you have hunted me down is because of what happened to Ile de Celeste and your organization?”

  Santo thought it best to be amiable at first and then get to the accusations. He replied,

  “Yes, in part. I am concerned for the safety of your Little People. Because I know you have a similar Guardian Satellite protecting their mountaintop I have come to warn you that what happened to us might also happen to you. The satellite that destroyed our island now sits over the Vatican threatening to do the same thing. ”

  Edward understood what Santo was going to accuse him off and slightly nodded.

  “So you think whoever is doing this has similar intentions with the land of our Little People?”

  “I’m hoping not but just wanted you to know of the possible danger.”

  Edward appreciated the unnecessary warning and explained,

  “There is no danger of that. Unlike your satellite, ours is of our own making.”

  He then added,

  “I am glad that I convinced the Council allowing you to retain knowledge of us. I shall nevertheless alert our scientists to watch for an attempt to reprogram it.”

  What Edward said next was with an ominous tone.

  “Did you come to ask if the destruction of your island was the doing of my people, we of the Second Creation?”

  Santo was not apologetic in his reply.

  “Yes. Your people of the Second Creation are the only ones possessing the knowledge to re-program a Great Gray Sentinel Satellite.”

  Edward was quick to the defense.

  “Yes of course that would be the logical assumption. However, that satellite is not of our technology. We have not advanced far enough in satellite weaponry protection to understand the Great Gray technology. If I may be so bold as to say, if we could not re-program it, then the knowledge to do so did not come from this planet.”

  All Maria could do was listen and sip tea. Edward asked,

  “Perhaps if you tell me what you have discovered so far, I might be of better service to you.”

  Santo looked to Maria, who put her tea down and told him about the Great Earth War and the terrible weapons the Anunnaki and Rama tribes used against each other. He heard how the Great Grays feared those weapons and developed the Sentry Satellite as a defense. She added,

  “I have located one part of the weapon hidden with the Dropa tribe in Tibet but so far our researchers have not been able to find any references to the other two locations.”

  Edward pondered what he had heard for a moment, and then said,

  “Of course we knew of the Great Earth War but not of the Great Gray defensive satellite. I will say this thought, if nobody on this planet, including us has the knowledge to re-program the ancient satellite then clearly the Great Grays have given somebody on this planet the technology needed to do so.”

  Maria was not as sure, countering,

  “No, I don’t think so. Up until the killing of Kalian, the Great Grays ruled the House of the Nazarene. Why would they want to destroy it as well as the Vatican?”

  Edward produced a strange knowing smile.

  “Perhaps those two institutions are not all that the re-programmed satellite is after. Maybe you should apply some resources to find out if there are other targets.”

  It was clear to Maria that Edward had again gone into deep thought, so waited for him to finish. Santo was not as sure. He thought th
at Edward was somehow communicating by whatever strange means to others of the Second Creation.

  This was confirmed when Edward, as if to himself said, “I agree.” He then returned his attention to them.

  “I suppose there might be a mutual benefit to helping you. We cannot have whomever the Great Grays are helping to run all over the world looking for your new headquarters. There is no doubt that they will be scanning the world looking for anomalous energy sources and eventually discovering many of our secret locations as well. I am authorized to tell you that when the Great Grays were on Earth they were friendly with many other aliens on this Planet. You already know about the Great Dropa in Tibet. Another was the Great Ant People who directed the development of the Anasazi who later became ancestors of the Navajo and Hopi in North America. Perhaps there is something in their legends that might help you. You might also want to look into whom the Australian Aboriginals called the Great Wandjina. According to our records, they were friendly with the Great Grays as well. There are rumours among my people that in those days both of those tribes hid treasure for the Great Grays. Perhaps the two missing pieces to what you seek are with those people.”

  Edward gathered up his package of pastrami and said,

  “That is all I am permitted to tell you. I hope it was helpful.”

  Santo nodded and said,

  “Tell your leaders that the House of the Nazarene appreciates their help, that we are indebted to them.”

  “As we are to both of you. Not to the House but rather to you two personally for your sacrifice in returning Aaron to us.”