Master of Shadows, Chapter 3: Chasing a Shadow

Starman Alice Montaine calmly reached inside her red suit and pulled out a small, thin flashlight. She pressed a button on its side and the flashlight emitted a powerful beam of white light. The light was so bright that it illuminated the far wall with a blinding glare and forced the room’s occupants to shield their eyes. After adjusting the intensity of the light she quickly scanned the room.

“Sorry about that,” Alice said. “I’m used to making my way through very large, dark rooms on alien planets, so I had the intensity turned up a bit higher than normal. Is everyone ok?”

“So far,” Mark replied. He backed away from the dining room table and walked over to his wife’s side. “But I’m going to guess that someone, somewhere, is in trouble.”

“What just happened?” Stenafi asked.

“Let’s go outside and see,” Mark replied.

“But how do you know it’s safe?” Alice asked.

“I don’t,” Mark replied simply. “But there’s one way to find out.”

Alice handed him the flashlight and he led the way out of the house and into the yard. Once they were outside Alice was struck by the stillness of the Ahmanyan night. I can’t believe how dark it is, she thought to herself. There were no lights in any of the neighboring houses, and all of the streetlights were dead. Normally the glow from Eagle City would be easy to spot but tonight there was only darkness. Overhead the stars shone brightly but there was no appreciable moonlight.

“It’s too quiet,” Alice said at last. “Something is definitely wrong.”

“I’d say the city has lost power,” Mark said thoughtfully. “There’s no telling how long the blackout will last. I can’t recall the last time we had a city-wide power failure. Something pretty big must have happened.”

Stenafi spoke up. “Can you go downstairs and start the generator? While you’re doing that I’ll go to the panic room and will find out what has occurred.”

“Of course, dear,” Mark said calmly. “Alice, do you have another flashlight?”

“Um, yes, I do carry a spare,” Alice said. “Wandering through dark places with just one light source is a terrible idea, you know.” She took her backup flashlight out of another suit pocket and handed it to Mark’s wife, who turned it on and walked back into the house.

After making a quick check of the grounds to make sure nothing was out of place Mark walked into the house and down to the basement. Alice followed behind him. “I don’t mean to be rude, sir, but am I to understand that you have a generator?”

“Once a Starman, always a Starman!” Mark quipped. “One gets used to always being prepared for the worst. Most of the time it makes no difference, but every now and then it makes all the difference in the world.”

The basement of Mark’s house was filled with tools, boxes, and a lifetime’s worth of clutter. Mark carefully threaded his way past stacks of old magazines to a large object tucked away in the corner. The machine was roughly the size of a large crate and was partially covered with an old white sheet. Mark removed the sheet and gazed at the dusty generator fondly. “This ought to do the trick. I just hope it starts – I haven’t fired it up in a while.”

Alice stared at the generator and frowned. She could see that the battered device was long past its prime and at least as old as she was. “You know, I don’t think I recognize that model. Is that really a portable fusion reactor?”

Mark laughed. “Goodness no! Those are a whole lot larger – and far more expensive. Besides, I just need to power my house, not the entire city. No, this just runs on hydrogen. It’s based on something Montezuma Vly built for me many years ago. It should be able to power the house for at least a couple days. Hopefully by then the crisis will be past.”

The mayor dusted a small panel on the front of a generator and pressed a grimy blue button. The panel came to life, emitting a faint green glow. Mark tapped a series of commands into the panel and the machine began humming. “Looks like it’s about time to refuel!” Mark commented. “But it should last long enough.”

“Long enough for what?” Alice asked.

“Long enough to see what’s going on,” Mark replied. “I think the machine’s online now. Can you crawl over that junk and throw the fourth switch on the wall over there?”

Alice peered at it through the darkness. “You mean the one with the red tag on it?”

“That’s the one!” Mark affirmed.

Alice gently crawled over the pile of junk that was stacked in the corner. She made her way over a large mattress, and then past a broken table and a girl’s bicycle. When she finally reached the far wall Alice flipped the switch. Immediately the basement filled with light!

Mark smiled. “Thanks. Now let’s go upstairs and see what my wife has found. Her equipment should be running now that we’ve got power.”

Alice extracted herself from the corner and followed Mark back upstairs. “So you have an emergency response center right here at the house?”

“Not really, but you’ve got the right idea. As the mayor I try to keep an eye on how our fair city is doing. I’m not as young as I used to be, though, so I’ve put together a few tools to give me an edge. The system my wife and I designed isn’t really tied into anything official, so I’m hoping whatever brought down the city will not have affected us. If nothing else we should at least be able to find out if we’re being attacked.”

Alice nodded and followed Mark to a small room in the back of the house. To her surprise she saw that a wooden panel in the wall of the den had slid away, revealing a small, concealed room. “Very nice,” she commented.

“I built that myself, you know. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Mark entered the room first and Alice followed. Stenafi was already seated in front of a large holoscreen. Mark walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder. “So what have you found, my dear?”

“The good news is that we do not appear to be under attack,” she said quietly. “I don’t see any signs of bombing or unusual air traffic. However, it does look like much of the city has lost power. The system tells me that there was an explosion at the power plant, and the resulting damage has apparently forced it offline and taken out a large portion of the power grid. I have not been able to reach anyone at the plant so I do not know what caused the explosion.”

“That’s amazing!” Alice said. “Where are you getting all of this information?”

“From orbital satellites,” Stenafi explained. “Years ago Starlight Enterprise put a constellation of defense satellites in orbit. They are still there, although they are beginning to age. They, of course, were not affected by the outage.”

“At least the city’s defense shield is still up,” Mark said. “Nothing can beam in or out of the city. That’s still secure, at least.”

“But how is that possible?” Alice asked. “I thought the power plant was offline!”

“The shield is actually on a separate power grid,” Mark explained. “It has its own source of energy. When King Izmaka gave that system to us we decided to isolate it in case something like this happened.”

“A wise precaution,” Stenafi commented.

“So if anyone wanted to beam out of the city without being detected they’d have to go to the spaceport and use one of the transporters there,” Alice said thoughtfully.

“Right,” Mark replied. “The spaceport is beyond the city limits. Based on the data on this screen it doesn’t look like it’s lost power.”

“They could also use the trains,” Stenafi pointed out. “Grand Central Terminal has its own power supply as well, which it uses to power the tracks and the wormholes that connect it to distant planets.”

“But that is easily secured, right?” Alice asked. “I mean, I’ve got to think that a maglev station is far easier to lock down than a giant spaceport with thousands of aircraft constantly coming and going.”

“True,” Mark said slowly. “What are you thinking, Alice?”

“The Ahmanyan museum is located downtown,” Alice replied. “It’s without power. That means that, at this very moment, nothing is guarding the Third Treasure. That is not a good thing.”

Mark turned to Stenafi. “Can you reach the police or the military base?”

“Not over the normal communication channels,” Stenafi replied, as she worked at the screen. “There appears to be something wrong with the communications links. But I am trying to route a message through our satellites. I should be able to make contact soon.”

Alice spoke up. “Maybe all of this is just a coincidence, but I have a hunch that it’s not. I think it’s very possible that whatever was trying to access that chamber on Lemura has followed me here. These system failures may be the result of sabotage. If that’s the case then we’re in big trouble.”

“What do you propose to do?” Mark asked.

“I’m going to go to the museum and see what’s going on,” Alice replied. “It may already be too late to stop the theft, but I’ve got to find out.”

“I will remain here and coordinate the efforts,” Mark replied. “When we can reach the military I will have them send soldiers to lock down the spaceport, the train station, and the museum. According to your theory all three are likely targets.”

Stenafi spoke up. “Even if the theft has already occurred we may still have a chance to get it back if we act quickly. The Third Treasure is easy to trace. It gives off a vibrant form of energy that my people have learned to detect over long distances. The signature is almost impossible to hide. If it has been stolen the thief will have to take it off the planet quickly or else we will be able to find it.”

“Wow,” Alice said. “I didn’t know that.”

“That’s really good news,” Mark said. “Where can we find that detection equipment?”

“I will attempt to contact Imlah Taltahni,” Stenafi replied. “I am sure that someone in our hidden refuge will have the tools we need.”

Alice spoke up. “Not to interrupt, but may I borrow your car? I’ve really got to get going.”

“Of course,” Mark replied.

“One more thing,” Alice said. She hesitated. “As you know, the Raptor was not able to detect the alien being that was on Lemura. It appears to have a very effective cloaking device.”

“True,” Mark said. “If that creature is here then it could prove very difficult to detect.”

Alice nodded. “That’s why I would like to even the playing field. My suit does come equipped with an Ahmanyan cloaking device. I realize that the cloak is to only be used in emergencies, but do you have any objection to my using it tonight?”

Mark smiled. “I am not your supervisor, Alice. Do what you think is best.”

“You are my mayor, though,” she pointed out. “Eagle City is my home.”

“You have my full support to do whatever is necessary. But you’d best be going.”

Alice nodded and raced out the door. As she disappeared Mark turned to his wife. “You know, there is one other thing to think about. I wonder if she realizes – ”

“- that she might be the real target?” Stenafi finished. “She is the only other person in the city who has been to Lemura. Yes, that occurred to me. I just hope she is careful.”

“Me too,” Mark said softly.

* * * * *

The Ahmanyan Museum of Natural History was sprawled across several city blocks in the western part of Eagle City. The enormous building was constructed out of giant blocks of red stone, all of which had been mined from a nearby quarry. The building was designed by a team of Ahmanyan architects to demonstrate the best that their culture had to offer, and the result was a structure full of beauty and grace. Nowhere could one find a sharp corner or an ugly angle. Everything was symmetrical and elegant, full of curves and color. The building almost looked organic, as if the stone was a living thing that had simply grown out of the ground.

Outside the building that night a dark shadow walked down the street, eying the building carefully. The figure noted with satisfaction that there were no lights to be seen. A few people had left their apartments and were milling about in the streets, but there was no sign of chaos or police officers. The city appeared to be confused but not unduly alarmed. Neighbors were chatting with each other and the laughter of rowdy children could be heard in the distance.

The shadow quietly walked up the giant stairs and over to the museum’s entrance. Normally the giant doors were well guarded but it knew that tonight the security systems were dead.

The shadow waited outside the doors. A minute passed, and then other. Finally it happened – a guard inside the building opened the door and stepped outside. As the door began to close behind him the shadow slipped past Ralph Paddington and stepped into the unguarded museum.

Inside the museum was completely dark. There was no one in sight. The shadow had no problem making its way through the vast lobby and to the lower level, where the Eight Treasures were on display. Taking no heed to the exhibits that were around it, the shadow made its way to the real prize – the transparent case that held the Third Treasure.

The Third Treasure was a crystalline globe roughly three feet in diameter. The semi-transparent sphere pulsed in the darkness, giving off an ever-shifting array of vibrant colors. Through the transparent material one could see complex crystals that appeared to sub-divide into infinity. The pattern was eternally changing. The object almost appeared to be alive, as if it was a living sun.

The Treasure was enclosed in a transparent case made of thick layers of atomeron. Moving quickly, the shadow removed a thin square of metal from the pack it was carrying and unfolded it into a rectangular sheet. With the press of a button the sheet lifted rose up and hovered about two feet off the ground. The shadow then picked up the atomeron case that contained the Treasure and, groaning with effort, gently placed it onto the levitating platform. With the quick push of another button the platform and Treasure disappeared – cloaked, invisible to the eye.

Walking quietly, the shadow pushed the invisible platform toward the door. As it approached the lobby of the museum it saw that a crowd of military officers had formed a line just outside the doors, blocking the exit. It quickly realized that there was no way it could possibly get the platform, as large as it was, through that group of soldiers without being seen.

The shadow paused as it tried to decide what to do next.

* * * * *

Outside the museum Starman Alice Montaine rushed up the stairs and toward the military officers. As she approached them she turned off the cloaking device on her suit. When she suddenly appeared out of thin air everyone jumped, and soldiers quickly spun around and aimed their weapons at her.

“Oh, it’s you!” one of the men said. He approached Alice. “Stand down, men. My name is Colonel Mitchell. Mayor Seaton told us you were on your way. We got here as quickly as we could.”

Ralph Paddington approached Alice with a look of wonder on his face. “Was that a genuine Ahmanyan cloak? Amazing! I’ve heard of them, of course, but I’ve never actually seen one. I’m quite impressed.”

“Later,” Alice said curtly. “What is the security situation like? Is anyone inside the museum guarding the treasure?”

“I’m not sure, ma’am – we just got here,” the colonel replied. “You’re the head of security at the museum, Ralph. What’s going on? Is anyone inside?”

“No, no, the building is quite empty,” Ralph explained. “I wouldn’t even be here myself but I ended up working late! I had an exhibit to finish. But patrols? Oh no. We don’t have anyone that actually patrols inside. We have machines for that. They’re much more effective.”

“Then let’s get moving!” Alice barked. “We didn’t come here to stare at each other. Colonel, if you could have some of your men join me I’d like to go inside and see what is going on. I’m hoping it’s not too late.”

Colonel Mitchell nodded. “Winters – Torres – McKinney – go with the Starman. The rest of us will set up a perimeter outside.”

“I think I’ll stay out here,” Ralph said nervously. “You can let me know what you find. I’m allergic to hostile aliens, you know. It runs in the family.”

Alice nodded and led the team of soldiers through the front door and into the museum. It was pitch black inside. The Starman reached inside her suit and realized that she had given away both of her flashlights.

“Does anyone have a light?” she asked.

All three soldiers nodded. “What are your orders?” Winters asked.

Alice stopped to think. “The Third Treasure is in the basement. Have your lights out and be scanning in all directions. Be alert for anything unusual and suspicious. But don’t do anything that could destroy the treasure.”

After their flashlights had been turned on Alice led the soldiers downstairs to the exhibit that housed the Eight Treasures. Starting at the beginning of the room, the soldiers performed a thorough examination of the entire exhibit. It did not take long to verify that the Third Treasure was definitely missing.

“Are any of the other treasures taken?” Alice asked sharply. A quick search revealed that they were all intact. Alice touched a button on her suit and a small holoscreen appeared in the air. She used it to quickly established a direct line of communication to the suit radio that Colonel Mitchell was carrying.

“The Third Treasure is gone,” Alice reported. “We’re too late.”

“Then we will switch to recovery,” Colonel Mitchell replied. “There is a chance the Treasure might still be on this planet. Given its size and the difficulties involved in transporting it the thief may have hidden it somewhere else in the museum, or perhaps stashed it nearby. I’ll alert the mayor and will have my men conduct a thorough search of the grounds. If the Treasure is still here we’ll find it.”

“Excellent,” Alice said. “Since you have this area covered I’m going to head to the spaceport and see what I can do there. If the thief is trying to leave town in a hurry there’s a good chance that’s where he will go.”

“I’ll let the mayor know,” Colonel Mitchell replied.

* * * * *

Alice pushed the mayor’s electric car to the limit and managed to reach the spaceport in less than five minutes. I’m so glad the museum and the spaceport are on the same side of town, she thought to herself. Trying to fight through traffic in the dark would have been a nightmare.

It did not take her long to locate the security forces that Mark Seaton had dispatched. By the time she arrived a large group of soldiers had already formed a perimeter around the spaceport. Several armored tanks were already in place at the various entrances to the spaceport, and Alice saw more of them patrolling the runways. There were even space fighters patrolling the air. Wow, that was fast, she thought.

Alice walked up to the perimeter and spoke to the nearest soldier. “I’m Starman Alice Montaine. Who is charge of this group?”

“General Bradley,” an officer replied. He pointed in the direction of the long runways that crisscrossed the spaceport. “He’s over there.”

Alice crossed the perimeter and jogged over to the general. “What’s the situation?” she asked.

The general looked at her and frowned. “First, ma’am, may I see your credentials?”

“Of course,” Alice replied. She removed a small piece of plastic from the inside of her suit and handed it to the general. He held it up and looked through it. The piece of plastic looked blank but a human touch immediately brought it to life, revealing the seal of Starlight Enterprise and identifying Alice as a Starman.

General Bradley nodded in satisfaction and handed the card back to her. “The mayor told me you would be coming but I had to make sure, of course. Everything has been locked down tight. We’ve completely shut down the spaceport. For the past five minutes no ships have landed or left and we’re going to keep it that way.”

“Have you seen any signs of anyone?” Alice asked.

“We have not,” the general replied. “There are a lot of people here, of course, and there is a lot of ground to cover. There is also a fair amount of confusion among the passengers that are stranded in the spaceport, but that is to be expected. But we have not seen anything that looked suspicious. My men have already started searching the grounds. If the intruder escapes it will not be through this spaceport.”

The general was interrupted by a loud roar. He turned around just in time to see an enormous red starship launch off the ground and soar off into the sky at a breakneck pace. By the amount of noise it was making it was clear that the ship had just made an emergency takeoff and was attempting to reach its maximum speed in a very short amount of time. The space fighters flying overhead immediately banked to intercept the starship, but it was already moving far too fast for them to catch.

General Bradley immediately snapped to life. “Who authorized that ship to leave? No one is allowed to take off! That means no one! Whose ship is that?”

Alice stared at it, open-mouthed. “That’s my ship, general – it’s the Raptor. It’s just been stolen!”