Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller by Brandon Ellis (best novels to read in english .txt) 📗

“Well, then nothing more from me today,” Donny mumbled. “If you two will excuse me.” He walked out of the room and disappeared around the corner.

“Get up, Jaxx. We have work to do.”

Jaxx moved to his feet. “What’s happening to me, Slade? Are you planting these memories in my head? What does the pen have to do with anything?”

“I’m not your damn psychologist, Jaxx.”

“What’s the Secret Space Program?”

“I suggest you keep your mouth shut about that. Not another word. Now, follow me.”

Jaxx screwed his intention all the way to the core and willed the door to fly off its hinges and slam Slade into the concrete floor. But, nothing. The moment passed. He was Jaxx again and had to do things the old-fashioned way. He plodded after his newest Master, determined to find out what he needed to find out in order to bend the world to his will.

8 May 25thUnderfoot Black, Grenada

Jaxx was in the RIOUT room, his thoughts everywhere but there. He stood behind Jon Shaughnessy, watching the man do his best to translate glyph after glyph. If Donny was correct about hypnotherapy making one more intuitive, well, it wore off quickly. Jaxx could barely read his own mind right now.

Jaxx yawned. He should help Shaughnessy out, seeing he was the expert and Shaughnessy wasn’t. Shaughnessy didn’t ask for assistance though and Jaxx didn’t know if he should butt in or not. Maybe he wanted to figure it out himself. To learn as much as he could on his own.

Jaxx glanced around the room. Everyone worked diligently, all eyes on their computers.

An image materialized on the desk in the middle of the room. It caught Jaxx’s attention. Nobody noticed. He walked to it and watched the holographic image slowly spin. “Is this on Callisto?” he whispered to himself.

Before him stood rows and rows of jet-like craft much wider than any jet he’d witnessed before. They appeared to be on rock-like ground or upon hard soil. The image was black and white, so he couldn’t tell.

He hit the controls on the console and pivoted the image through ninety degrees. A domed structure set far off in the background, an obelisk stood even farther in the distance behind the dome.

He wanted to gape at the scene for hours, amazed that such elaborate creations so near, but so far away. Who could have built these? The symbol said Atlantis, and he trusted his translation, but if Atlanteans colonized Callisto, then how exactly had they made the atmosphere breathable?

Jaxx had his theories, but they were just that, theories. He had never been able to activate a pyramid to see if his hypothesis was correct; that pyramids were indeed terraforming devices.

He paced to Shaughnessy, touching his back. Jaxx thumbed over his shoulder. “What’s that?”

Shaughnessy swiveled in his chair. “That’s just an image taken several weeks ago from TECS IV.”

“TECS IV?”

Shaughnessy went back to studying his screen. “Just a government satellite. That’s what’s been taking the pictures for us and sending them back here.”

“Do—”

“Wait a minute,” Shaughnessy spun around in his seat. “New images pop up on that holoscreen, not old ones.”

Shaughnessy stood and made his way to the hologram. He rested his elbows on the table, dissecting every facet of the image. “Something in the terrain must have changed for TECS IV to send this picture to us. If everything on the ground had remained the same, the on-board computer would have no reason to record new images. Do you see anything?”

Jaxx yawned. Hypnotherapy took it out of him. “I’ve never seen this image before in my life.”

“When was this taken?” Shaughnessy pressed buttons on the desk. May 23rd displayed above the picture. “Yeah, this is new. It takes a couple days for TECS IV’s data to reach us.” He rested his chin on his palm, pouring over the photo like a mechanic over an engine. “This would be easier if...” Shaughnessy pressed a button on the desk and Jaxx jumped back as a keyboard extended. Shaughnessy nudged Jaxx out of the way and typed on the keyboard.

Another image sprang; two images of the same terrain side by side. One dated a few days ago and the other dated weeks back.

“What are the changes here?” said Shaughnessy, more to himself than to Jaxx.

Jaxx shrugged, nonchalantly. He wasn’t running on all cylinders. He felt as if he was in two worlds simultaneously. He yawned again, pointing to the image that dated back a few weeks, then snapped to attention. “I think that image has one more starfighter than the new one. There’s a starfighter missing from the newest shot.”

Shaughnessy smiled. “Yeah, right.” He started counting, then grabbed the edge of the desk to steady himself. “Uh…well…” He ran over to his computer, checking the images there, just in case the holoscreen was malfunctioning. It wasn’t.

Shaughnessy picked up his phone. “I’m calling Slade.”

Jaxx grasped Shaughnessy’s forearm. “Are you thinking someone actually flew off with a starfighter?”

Shaughnessy nodded, then put his finger up. “Slade, Shaughnessy here. We have a problem.” Shaughnessy bobbed his head up and down. “A code four-one-three, and I think it’s the real deal. Someone must have detected the structures on Callisto. And they are already there now. One of the starfighters is missing...yes, gone.”

Jaxx could hear Slade swearing up a blue streak on the other end of the phone. Slade rang off and Shaughnessy pocketed his phone.

“Who could already be on Callisto?”

Shaughnessy thought for a moment, most likely doing his best to figure out a way to answer. “We don’t know, but whoever it is must have discovered the structures before us. And they must be on Callisto right now.”

“If someone was there, wouldn’t that send a barrage of pictures from TECS IV to this facility?” Jaxx asked.

Shaughnessy touched the base of his neck. “Why would it do that?”

Jaxx felt like putting Shaughnessy and the rest of the scientists in a head