The Alpha Protocol: Alpha Protocol Book 1 by Duncan Hamilton (free ebook reader for iphone .TXT) 📗

more to find inside the buildings, but none of the ones he had seen had any obvious doors or entry points.

He walked up to the nearest one, this time giving in to the temptation of placing his hand on it. It was a pointless act, as he could feel little and sense even less through his thick gloves, but it was a primal impulse, and in some way felt as though it connected him to the place, and the beings who had built it. The surface was made of the same material as everything else. It was like a blend of metal, concrete, and plastic, giving it a surface and appearance unlike anything Samson had seen before. His gloved fingertips slid across the surface with barely any resistance as they traced a path through the dust.

‘It’s so smooth,’ Samson said.

Price reached out and did likewise, but appeared less excited by the experience.

There were no grooves or seams on the wall as far as Samson could tell. Nothing that gave any hint as to how the city’s inhabitants got in and out of the buildings, or where light could enter. Humans had the technology and smart materials to create hidden doors and windows that could change from transparent to opaque, but they all required power, and that was something the city clearly didn’t have anymore. Finding a power source could take weeks, learning how to turn it on even longer—and the risk of destroying the city in the process seemed significant. That was a task for someone else, and Samson had to come to the regretful conclusion that he was going to learn far less about the place than he had hoped. Still, he had seen it all with his own eyes. Touched it. He had experienced something almost no one else had, and was among the first to know there was more out in the galaxy than anyone believed.

It made him wonder where the locals had found the artefacts they had looted. Judging by how little there was out on the streets, they must have broken into one of the buildings. If you were less discerning about how you got in, he supposed, it mightn’t be all that difficult. Samson didn’t fancy having to explain to government scientists why he had cut and blasted his way into one of the buildings. As much as he wanted to know what was inside them, it simply wasn’t worth the hassle.

‘This place is dead, and I don’t reckon we’re going to make any great discoveries,’ Samson said. ‘I think it’s time to get out of here. We’ll have to leave the exploration to the scientists. We can move on to the settlement and start interviewing the colonists to see what they know about the site, and if they know anything about the mystery ship. We’ll put the area under naval interdict. Hopefully that’ll stop anyone else from helping themselves until the site can be properly secured.’

‘What did you have in mind, sir?’ Price said

‘Just some casual chats for now,’ Samson said. ‘If the Admiralty wants more robust measures taken, they can bring in some professionals to handle it.’

Samson took one more look around the rotunda and spotted something sitting on the ground, obscured by a layer of dust. It was the first artefact he had seen, and he gave in to his curiosity. He walked over and shone his torch over it.

‘Souvenir?’ Price said.

‘I’m not sure what it is. I think it’s a good idea to secure it though. Just in case. It won’t hurt to have something to show the admiral when he arrives with the Third Fleet. The video of our walk around is all well and good, but nothing says “real” like holding something in your hand.’

Samson ran his scanner over the object to make sure there was nothing outwardly dangerous about it, then brushed the dust away with his hand. There was nothing remarkable about it, and it occurred to him that it was most likely a discarded piece of rubbish. Nonetheless, one man’s—or alien’s—trash was another man’s treasure. He took a tightly folded mesh bag from a utility pocket on his suit and placed the object in it. It was encrusted with dust and could wait until he got back to the Bounty for a closer look, but he would make sure to include it in his report, and hand it over when the time came. After his research on the depot, he knew only too well what falling afoul of the Alpha Protocol could bring, and had no desire to experience it personally.

‘All right,’ Samson said, ‘let’s get out of here.’

22

Samson sat in the command chair on the Bounty’s bridge, turning the alien object over in his hands. It was a rectangular piece of shiny metal, as long and thick as his forearm, and was covered with the same inscriptions as the piece they had found in the Bounty’s cargo hold. He was convinced that it was writing rather than decoration—not that it made any sense to Samson. He wondered what had become of the other pieces—back in alien hands, or in the process of being smuggled back to a buyer in the Core?

None of their scans had been able to determine a use for the object, nor if it actually did anything. They couldn’t penetrate beyond the surface of the metal. If it was more than a simple ingot of metal, it seemed there would be no way to find out other than cutting it in half. And according to the scans he had carried out on it, that wouldn’t be easily done either. It was harder than any alloy humanity had created, and even a diamond cutting tool would struggle to make a scratch.

There was beauty in its simplicity. There was not a single unintended mark on it, and its edges and corners were crisp. It was as though it was brand new, even though it must have been lying down there for hundreds,