Page 13 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

in colour and of light musculature. The chest cavity was large by comparison and the neck long and
slender. The head had an elongated skull structure with almond shaped eye sockets. The lids were
closed, but Rupert could imagine the cold black eyes they held. Its mouth was a basic lipless slit, but
it was parted revealing two rows of sharply pointed, pin like teeth. Even as dead as the creature
seemed, its sheer presence commanded respect.

“Well, well, well! Computer; patch my visual unit to the coms at Lunaris and ask that Dr Galena Fry
sees this immediately!” Rupert smiled wryly.

Dr Galena Fry was the current Unity Chief Xeno-Archeologist. She had only been in this role
since the retirement and subsequent death of her Father, Dr Felix Fry-Longfellow. He had taken the
role some three hundred years earlier. Thanks to longevity treatments and long periods of enforced
Stasis (She was an unruly teenager with a history of criminal damage) she was able to outlive both of
her parents disassociating herself by dropping the last part of the hyphenated surname. With
nothing else to do she had gone back to her studies and earned many degrees and the respect of
most of the scientific community. She had specialised in the Ancient races of the Galactic rim and,
when the opportunity to study a race as old as The Elders came, jumped at the chance with all the
fervour of a Vynerian Hell Cat. (Note by the Author: The Vynerian Hell Cat isn’t actually a cat, it just
looks like one. In fact it’s a form of Omnivorous Rodent, with a viscous streak, similar to the
Tasmanian devil and that creature’s nasty demeanour, mixed with the tenacious grip of a Pit Bull
Terrier.)

The image that confronted her over the screen on her desk had struck deep into her love of
the quirky. She had studied all the ancient reports of the race that Old Earthers called “The Greys”
for one of her course studies as a student. The Old Earthers had got one thing wrong with all their
conspiracy theories. These “Greys” were giants, and this intrigued her.

“Rupert; I’m coming over, DON’T touch anything till I get there. Damn those Old Earthers and damn
the Roswell incident. We have to keep a lid on this until we can get confirmation.” She grabbed her
field kit and barged down the corridor to the Trans-Pad station.

Rupert grinned to himself. It’s not as if they were going anywhere, the Greys were obviously
dead, and just one look at the decayed circuitry of the chambers was the tell-tale that they perished
long ago. He began to have mischievous ideas as to pour more frustration on his hated superior. An
idea struck him.

“Computer; are these chambers sealed? Is there any trace of the original atmosphere?” he asked

“They are hermetically sealed and locked from within. There is a trace of atmosphere, but it’s nearer
a vacuum inside.” the Computer replied

That made Rupert grin even wider. The results of Galena’s overenthusiasm could end up having
hilarious consequences. He began to giggle, and then stopped as he heard the Xeno-Archaeologist
approach the chamber. Galena entered the bridge and froze. The dimensions of the space
overwhelmed her for a few moments. Her jaw dropped. The walls were covered in inlayed silvery
glyphs from various races. She shook herself free of the spell that transfixed her. She reached into
her kit and retrieved a small device. Pressing a series of buttons she quickly did a scan of the form in
the recess. Realising there was only a trace of atmosphere she took a further reading. Rupert’s’ heart
sank; he was not going to get any fun out of this after all. Galena approached the chamber further.

“Have a Biology Tech bring an atmosphere replicator here as soon as possible Rupert, and,
congratulations on making a vital discovery.” She said after a while. “I have enough of a reading to