Chapter 16 - Part 1

The observatory was shrouded in darkness, with only small streaks of light penetrating the murk. Plastic sheeting rippled gently, briefly revealing the dated grey computer equipment below. The vast telescope was aimed at the closed ceiling, patiently awaiting a view of the night sky. 

A brilliant white flash illuminated the entire chamber in an instant, before retreating back to a single point in the centre of the room, leaving behind a party of seven. Three of the team, Art, Jake and Krank, immediately stepped forward in three separate directions, guns pointed ahead, primed for any potential ambush. As the trio swept the room, Anthony lit a flare, filling it with a red glow, which threw quivering shadows of Ebbe, Carter and James across the towering walls.

"Hello sweetie," Ebbe cooed gently, as she made her way to the telescope, running a hand lovingly across the eye piece and checking her fingers for dust. "Some white light would be appreciated Gannymede," she shouted to James, who nodded, and scurried across the floor to a side wall, where he flicked a few switches. After a few seconds, several strip lights on the side of the walls started to blink into life, finally bringing a clean white light into the building. 

"Clear," Art yelled from the left. This sentiment was echoed by Jake and Krank, and all three swiftly returned to Anthony's side. 

"A little help?" Ebbe shouted to anyone willing to listen, as she started to pull the plastic sheeting away from the computer panels. Anthony nodded to Art and Jake, who both immediately stepped up and began pulling away the thin sheets and tossing them to one side.

Anthony eyed Carter with suspicion. He didn't like the way he was watching Ebbe, and he didn't like the way he seemed unperturbed by the events that had unfurled in the last few minutes. What reasonable minded man would remain so calm when transported across space and time without a word of warning? Besides, Anthony had an innate distrust of politicians. Especially their esteemed leader, who had surely reached his position by duplicity and corruption. Anthony could tell Ebbe a thing or two about her friend, that was for sure. 

"Secure the room," he barked to James and Krank. James gestured to Krank, who followed, James leading him towards a pair of large metal doors with frosted glass panes. Krank tested the door, and found it was locked. Wordlessly the pair planted small amounts of explosives where the two doors met. Before taking up position, one either side, a few metres from the doorway, guns trained on the entrance.

Anthony acknowledged their confirmation that the only way in was now protected, and started to feel a little more relaxed. He turned his attention back to the prime minister, Hunter, as Ebbe had called him. Carter seemed blissfully unaware Anthony was eyeing him with mistrust as he slowly spun around, taking in the vast chamber that housed the telescope.

"Need any help Ebbe?" Anthony asked. She didn't answer, but he was pretty sure she shook her head. The lady was in her own world now, that was for sure. 

"Pretty cool, eh," he said to Carter, who was staring up at the ceiling in awe. At first he got no reaction, and was about to ask again, when Carter turned and offered a wide smile that Anthony found hard to dismiss as anything other than a politician's mask.

"Spectacular," Carter agreed, "I've often wanted to visit, but the job rarely permits a getaway."

"All those foreign visits," Anthony replied suggestively.

"Quite so," Carter responded bluntly, refusing to rise to Anthony's jab at recent headlines. "Though with Ebbe's box of tricks, I could visit Russia, China and the US in the same day." 

"It's some next level sci-fi shit ain't it!" Anthony enthused. While he had the man engaged on strange phenomena, Anthony thought it was a good chance to check how extensive the lapse of gravity truly was. "It's been a few days of crazy shit, don't you think sir? What with the sun, and the gravity."

Carter nodded thoughtfully.

"It's been the most difficult few days of my term so far," he confirmed. "Ebbe, dear girl, do you need any help?" he then shouted, before turning back to Anthony, "pardon me," he said, before striding off to Ebbe without awaiting a response from either. 

Slimy son of a bitch, Anthony thought. Typical politician, never actually confirmed or denied anything. Look at him, leaning over Ebbe, placing his arm around her shoulder, as if she were a vulnerable waif, in need of his protection. My God, he snorted, she's actually playing into his act. He watched, wide mouthed with incredulity as the hard-edged Ebbe twirled her hair, and even seemed to giggle girlishly at something he whispered into her ear. Is this the same woman who defied his V6 and placed herself in the line of fire? 

"Jealous mate?" Art remarked with a wide grin plastered on his craggly face.

"Fuck off," Anthony spat, "she's playing him like a violin," he countered. 

"Whatever you say," Art grinned.

"At least you talked less when you were in a coma," Anthony joked.

"He doth protesteth too much," Art chuckled. Anthony responded by jabbing him gently in the ribcage with the butt of his gun. "She's an amazing woman," Art added, his grin dropping away.

"No mate," Anthony corrected, "she's so much more than that." 

Art turned to eye Anthony with a lopsided smile. With an amused snort, he returned his attention to Ebbe and Carter.

"I suppose you're right mate," he added, rubbing the back of his head.

Ebbe suddenly stood and gestured dramatically at the ceiling.

"Release the Kraken!" she intoned with mock authority, as a loud hum began to vibrate through the building. A sliver of light peeked through the emerging crack in the ceiling above. The whirring vibrations intensified as the dome split apart and daylight spilled through. The mechanism shuddered to a halt once the roof had opened to the full width of the telescope. A eerie silence fell upon the room, as all the occupants stared up and out at the light blue sky now visible.

"Gentlemen," Ebbe started, "you have all seen recent phenomena that defies your understanding of the world as you know it. Am I correct?" 

Everyone nodded, and mumbled she was correct.

"Sadly, you are all far beyond the curve in this matter. Some, I believe, have been aware of our precarious situation for some time now, but out of ignorance, or fear, or out of greed and malice, they have opted to shield the world from the truth. Now, I fear, it may be too little too late to reveal to all humanity what the few had learned. What do you think, Hunter?" 

"Ebbe?" Carter replied with a frown.

"Your government have had a team protecting that control room for years now, have they not?"

"I, I..." he stuttered, much to the delight of Anthony. Gotcha!

"To be fair, I never expected it to be you who'd order my assassination," Ebbe added bluntly, much to Anthony's surprise. Instinctively he reacted, anger boiling up within. Stepping forward, he aimed the tip of his semi-automatic at Carter with a scowl.

"You son of a bitch," he cursed.

"Ebbe, I can assure you," Carter began to plead.

"Hiring a strike team to attack your own men was a stroke of genius, I must say," Ebbe continued, her steely gaze fixed upon Carter. "Eliminate me, and take control of the cubes below, all under the radar. Tricky tricky." 

Anthony flicked a glance at Ebbe and she nodded back him, her eyes gesturing to Carter. The woman was a natural at this, Anthony thought, before signalling to his team that they should encircle and restrain the prime minister.

Within seconds Carter Huntington was tied up on a swivel chair, his hands behind his back, his feet secured tightly together with a plastic pull-tie. 

"Lucky for you I'm not the vengeful sort," Ebbe glared at Carter, before turning back with a sweep of her hand, to gesture at the sky, "besides, sad to say that I shall be needing your help. And," she paused and turned back to face him, "if you're wondering why you would do any such thing, I shall show you why you have no choice, through the lens of this telescope."

"You'll have to wait until dark to show me a missing moon, and by then my team will have found us, and you and your team will be nothing more than a bad memory for me to digest," Carter scoffed.

"Wrong again," Ebbe smiled, eyes sparkling.

A bright white flash blinded the men, all turning their heads with a shout of surprise. When they turned back to the telescope, Ebbe was absent. 

"What the?" Jake rasped incredulously.

Anthony just watched the area she had been standing only seconds later intently. He was certain she would be back shortly. She had simply returned to the control room. 

"Dear lord," Carter gasped, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. 

Every member of the team slowly followed his line of vision, and all allowed their guns to drop to their sides. Through the wide opening in the roof, the formerly light blue sky had began shimmer, wave and within seconds vanished. In it's place was the night sky. In the time it takes to blink, the mid-morning had jumped to the dead of night. 

Before Anthony had time to process this switch, a blinding flash announced Ebbe's return. 

"Now, Prime Minister," she continued as if nothing had changed, "give me just one minute," she added before taking a seat beneath the telescope and silently adjusting the view-piece. Everyone watched in awed silence, seemingly unwilling to comment on the newest impossibility their minds were having to process.

"There!" Ebbe declared with satisfaction. "You first Hunter," she said, giving a nod to Anthony that his legs could be released. 

Anthony slowly unsheathed his blade and leaned in towards Carter. He held the sharp blade close to the prime minister's nose and let the man catch his own reflection in the weapon, before lowering it to cut the binds. 

"No funny business," Anthony hissed after the cut released Carter's feet. 

Carter opted not to respond, and instead stepped up obediently to the viewing chair, his hands still bound behind his back.

"This is a little awkward," he suggested, shaking his tied arms before he sat.

"Deal with it," Ebbe replied harshly, "now look," she commanded.

Carter exhaled, and shuffled awkwardly into position, grumbling a little as he did. 

"What? What the?" he muttered incredulously. He pulled his eye away from the lens with a heavy brow, his eyes fixing upon Ebbe. "What, what does it mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure we are on planet Earth," Ebbe responded point blank. 

Chapter 10 - Part 2

The walkway was unnervingly straight. Ebbe expected there to be at least a gentle curve, where the mystery creators of this tunnel hit some form of igneous rock that could not be excavated. It did not strike her as a recent creation, quite the opposite, the metal floor seemed positively ancient. Even in the dull light that emanated mysteriously from the rock walls it was clear the metal was severely rusted, to the degree that in many places it had been eaten away completely. These patches were mercifully small and sporadic, though Ebbe thought it wise to keep her eyes down in case there happened to be a bigger gap. She could ill afford to twist an ankle or worse. Such an old tunnel would not have been made with aid of modern technology that could carve through pretty much anything. Had this been the case the walls would be smooth, not rough and angular.

At first the group had remained tight knit and cautious. But as the walk dragged on interminably they began to separate. Now Krank was so far ahead of Ebbe, still bringing up the rear, that she could not see him. Only the clanging of his steel toed boots upon the decaying walkway gave away his presence. Jake and James were carrying poor Art, still out cold, with silent determination in the middle of the group. No one spoke a word. Ebbe wasn't sure if this was because no one could think of anything to say, or because any sounds reverberated around the corridor until they became distorted and tortuously inhuman, before at last fading out mercifully.

Ebbe's mind strayed to Anthony. Was he alive? There was no way he could be, surely? And even if her were, he'd be mortally wounded, or slowly suffocating to death, buried alive under countless tons of rock and rubble. The thought of his pale face gasping for air pathetically made her stomach turn and she forced herself to think more constructively. But everything she had in her mind were unanswerable questions. Callisto vanishing, the supposed V6, the sun 'switching off', the assault on this remote outpost, all planned and calculated to get into this echoing catacomb. And, Ebbe supposed, that was the ultimate question at this very moment; what the hell had Krank been protecting, and from whom?

"We're here," boomed the very man himself, as if on cue, his voice swiftly coagulating in the tunnel and becoming a ghostly reflection of the original words, slowly fading into the dark oblivion. 

Ebbe suddenly found her chest tingling with nervous excitement. The walk had become so timeless and monotonous that she had all but lost track of time. There was nothing in the way of unique landmarks to assess progress. Behind them lay the unswerving walkway, vanishing into a pit of black, and in front, the same. Now, at last, they had arrived at what she hoped was their intended destination. Ebbe wasn't sure if she was scared or thrilled to finally be seeing whatever had been so fiercely fought over. Nevertheless she didn't break her stride, soon catching up and passing the stretcher bearers, who had already stopped and laid down Art, a few feet from the towering Krank. 

At first Ebbe saw nothing new. Ahead lay what could have been another hundred miles of walkway, as far as she knew, and Krank appeared to just be standing in the middle of a nondescript part of the walkway. But as she approached him she realised that the metal path to his left split off into a new tunnel. Her initial excitement fizzed away in a instant. Not just more endless dingy tunnel heading off in another direction, she signed. East instead of North. 

She was about to speak and voice her distress at the thought of wandering ceaselessly without food or water down this never ending corridor when she saw that this junction led, not to more corridor, but to a hatch. Whilst still not the glowing salvation she could have hoped for, it was certainly a new development and offered the potential of a change in scenery.

Krank gestured at the hatch with his head, clearly reluctant to hear his voice morphed into the ghastly echoes again. Ebbe nodded back to him and he took that as approval for the next step. Ebbe presumed this hatch also had the biometric system that had allowed them to gain entry to the corridor. This presumption was immediately proved as Krank again placed his hand upon something to the right of the hatch. The light from the scanner temporarily blinded Ebbe, her eyes suitably adjusted for the ghostly dark glow of the rock. As the patches of white faded from her bleary eyes, Ebbe saw Krank, seemingly unfazed by the light, turning a wheel atop the hatch. With a light tug the hatch was opened and suddenly more blinding white light spilled outward. For the first time since they entered, Ebbe could see the rock corridor. It become immediately apparent that the walls, that had appeared random and coarse in the dark, were actually perfectly carved in the same pattern throughout. This entire tunnel had been excavated by some sort of machine that had left this rough, jagged, repeating pattern on the walls. 

But more revelatory than this was the concept of the brilliant white light fleeing the small open hatchway. What was down that hatchway? Ebbe couldn't bear the suspense, but for a moment found herself rooted to the spot. Something deep inside told her that if she entered that hatch everything she thought she knew would be destroyed. A lifetime of knowledge would count for nothing. That scared her more than anything. Moons don't just disappear, suns don't go out like a lightbulb, and, there should not be brightly lit hatchways buried in the English countryside. 

At last her muscles relaxed, as Ebbe told them she needed to get into the hatchway; she convinced her body that nothing was more important. With leaden feet she started to step forward. Krank nodded to the men behind her and she turned and added a waving gesture to Jake and James. Silently they picked the stretcher back up and made their way to the light.

Ebbe watched Krank step up and into the hatchway and disappear from sight. For a second she froze again, unable to understand the fear that was seizing her. It was only James jostling into her unexpectedly that jolted her back into action. 

With slow purposeful steps she approached the hatchway, the light spilling out so bright it seemed almost luminous. With the caution of someone peering over the edge of a sheer cliff she peeked into the hole. She could see nothing but a ladder that descended into whiteness. Again she paused, feeling a little uncertain. 

"Well?" Krank's voice drifted up, sounding small and hollow, lacking the disturbing echo of the corridor. Ebbe nodded in response, as if he could see.

She turned to James and Jake and gestured they ought to go first. With military efficiency James unquestioningly clambered into the hatch, before gesturing to Jake that he could lower Art down. Ebbe watched the men swiftly carry the dead weight into the mysterious white hole and vanish, all the while trying to ignore all the questions racing through her mind. How curious, she thought, that from a lifetime of looking to the skies, she was now seeking answers from deep below the surface.

Holding the thought that she may at last start getting some answers by entering the hatchway, she took and deep breath and made her way to the ladder. She gingerly clambered onto the ladder, looked down and found it disconcerting that she could see no floor. With one last glance up at the mystery tunnel, she began to slowly step downwards into the glaring white light below. 

Chapter 8 - Part 1

Ebbe stared at the reflection of the waning moon, looking like a chipped pearl drifting on the gently lolling water. She allowed herself a little wistful sigh, thinking back to the days when she had the luxury to soak up such moments. Now it was merely a snatched opportunity as she made her way back to the observatory, two hot cups of coffee defrosting her hands pleasantly.

The crunch of the leaves and the snap of the bracken beneath her feet always made her smile. It seemed so much more agreeable to have sound and texture underfoot, rather than the insensitive solidity of a pavement. It was for this, more than the need for the bad coffee served by the café on the tiny viewing station up the path, that brought her out into the cold air. That and the need to escape the observatory for a couple of hours. Kielder Observatory was of course, not so far away and that had a magnificent telescope. It was even easily accessible by the public. But that was also the problem. What Ebbe wanted to look at, she wanted to look at without herself being observed, without the questions and the probing. People could never just let you be in such places. Besides, such places were bound to be watched. Ebbe had already sensed via the chatter on the usual paranoid websites that the government wasn't keen on anyone taking too much interest in the skies. 

Ebbe suddenly froze on the spot. To the far right, up a small slope and in a tiny opening amongst the towering trunks disappearing into the dark heights above, was a petite deer. Ebbe suspected it was a Roe deer, probably not fully grown yet. She watched fascinated as it tentatively trotted towards something indiscernible on the ground. It dipped it's neck, legs still relatively straight and gave a curious sniff. Without warning the deer gave a scared jump backwards and turned to flee, before pausing and and slowly, perhaps bravely, turning back to face the mystery foe. Ebbe found she was holding her breath, perhaps out of fear she would spook the creature, but she had no choice but to exhale. She did so with utmost care, though she was well away from the deer, and, if her smell had not spooked it she presumed a little breath would be harmless. But it was such a rare experience Ebbe was not willing to risk it even for a breath. She was trying to guess what the young deer could be battling. Her guess would be either a frog, toad or spider. Again the deer stepped forward. Ebbe admired it's dark brown, almost black winter coat. From her perspective she couldn't discern any antlers, but that may be because of it's young age or just the distance between them. Ebbe was sure they only had very small antlers, but she couldn't remember. Something spooked the animal and it's sharp little head bobbed up and Ebbe could see the bulging black eyes, like river polished stones, peering in her direction. Again she found herself holding her breath, sure it wasn't her who had caught it's attention. She strained hard, also trying to listen, and yes, somewhere is the distance she too could hear voices from behind. Laughter and chatter somewhere far in some distant part of the wood, bounced from vast trunk to trunk until Ebbe had no idea where the origin was. Her little Roe seemed more sure, however, and with a kick of it's hind legs it vanished from sight. 
Ebbe waited, staring at the same spot, in the vain hope it would return. But she knew it had been spooked and regardless of it's small, unseen foe, it was not going to come back so readily.

With another heavy sigh she continued on her well trodden path to the observatory, giving a quick glance all around to ensure the voices really were somewhere distant. Unable to make out anything or anyone nearby she crunched and cracked her way back to the barely visible concrete entrance. It was a simple concrete structure shrouded in creepers and vines. In the centre was a rusting metal door that to an outsider looked as if it hadn't been opened since World War Two, when the former bomb shelter was built. They would, of course, be right. Ebbe took a swift turn to the left and made her way to the side of the structure, draped like a green waterfall, with lush vines. Here Ebbe stood waiting patiently, staring at the dark leaves. Hunter green Ebbe thought as she stared at one thinly veined leaf in particular. Makes sense, she concluded, hunter green would be the one that best serves as camouflage for those sneaking about in such a forest.

Growing impatient Ebbe gave a low cough, more a clearing of her throat and shifted her weight. The formerly warm cups were starting to feel decidedly tepid in her hands are her unexpected interlude. Never mind, it's bad hot or warm, she told herself.

Clunk! The sound of a solid bolt being lifted and then a squeal as the metal slid out from the catch and released. The draped foliage began to shiver before being swept aside and an opening became evident. A young man dressed in fatigues was grinning apologetically as he held the door open.

"I think I saw a Roe deer," Ebbe said as she stepped through the entrance gratefully, glad to feel the heat envelope her as she did so. The lad shrugged as he always did when Ebbe said pretty much anything. She had concluded the extent of his knowledge was terrifyingly basic. Barely scraping secondary level, she thought. Either that or he knew but wasn't much for talking. Ebbe had yet to truly pin down this old little guard she had inherited. "Do they have Roe deer in this forest?" she persisted, in the small hope she may eventually stumble across something he was interested in discussing.

"Dunno," came the blunt answer behind her as he slammed the thick door shut again. The natural moonlight was cut off and they were in a tight corridor lit by yellow lights lining the walls.

"They do have antlers don't they?" Ebbe continued, no longer caring if he knew the answer or not, but wanting to say something out loud to someone. Even though she was ahead of him, she knew he had simply shrugged, clearly not feeling the need to answer. "It was adorable," Ebbe finished, sensing she was pushing her luck.

"I like deer," came the unexpected reply. 

Ebbe stopped abruptly, to be immediately bumped by the young lad who had not expected her to halt so suddenly. She maintained her balance, steadying the sloshing liquid in the coffee cups. She turned, beaming from ear to ear.

"James! What did you say?"

The bewildered lad stared at her mouth agape.

"I. I like deer?" He stuttered, obviously a little taken aback.

"That's simply marvellous my boy! Truly wonderful," she beamed at him before turning tail and striding down the corridor, humming The Girl From Ipanema quietly.

The pair emerged into a cavernous room, in the centre of which was a vast telescope, stretching from a small chair and expanding until it reached a cathedral-like dome, with a large split down its centre. 

"Hello sweetie," Ebbe chirped, "James likes deer! Did you know that?" As she chattered to the equipment she turned and thrust out one of the cups. The still baffled James tentatively took the coffee and with a sideways glance made his way over to the CCTV desk on the far right. Ebbe smiled and popped the lid from her cup and swigged the coffee down in two big gulps. "Yuck!" She spat with a mix of disgust for the taste and satisfaction at the warmth.

James seated himself and sipped his own cup, eyeing Ebbe with suspicion, seemingly cautious of what she may say next.

"Let's crank the old girl open and check which stars are still with us eh James?" Ebbe shouted across the room.

James shrugged, as he always did.

"I'll tell you what I love James!" Ebbe shouted as she pressed the button that started the domes opening mechanism with a creaking gasp. "I love an 8.1 metre aperture pointing at Io, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa!" With that she took her seat at the eye of the telescope and peered through. Occasionally she cranked the mechanism to make the scope turn left or right, lower or raise. But once her eye was pressed up against the viewer she was, as always lost in a cosmos of stars, watched silently by her curious guard.

"Hello Ganymede," Ebbe suddenly piped up, making James jump. She turned with a cheeky grin and jabbed a longer finger at him. "That's you!" She exclaimed, before turning back to peer through the lens again. "Ganymede was one of Zeus' lovers, boy of exquisite beauty," she continued as she studied the small dot that was the largest moon in our Solar System. "He was kidnapped by Zeus to serve as a cup-bearer in Olympus," said Ebbe, unable to stop herself elaborating, "of course Hera was deathly jealous. But that was just Hera!" Silly cow, Ebbe thought to herself. "It's nice, us having this chat," Ebbe started, well aware that James wasn't contributing, but somehow feeling like his blurted revelation that he liked deer was the closest to a conversation the pair had had. The source that had gained her access to this facility, a place that theoretically didn't exist, had assured her he was perfect for the job. He was too dim, they had said, to know she didn't belong, and too green to be involved with anyone she wanted to avoid. That was for sure. The kid was wet behind the ears and she honestly felt he was unsuited to a military life. She had decided early on his father was in the forces and had bullied him into service. But that didn't matter, he just had to let her in and let her out and keep his mouth shut. It seemed he could follow orders, that was one thing most certainly in his favour. Ebbe just hoped that one day someone wouldn't take advantage of that.

"So Ganymede," she started, taking her eye off the skies, "how is it that I, Zeus, have to bear cups for my cup-bearer?" She eyed him with a smile, wondering if anything she had just said had meant a thing to him. He was looking back at her, his face the picture of concentration; brow furrowed, mouth pursed.

"Because I am Zeus and you are Hera?" Came the cautious reply.

Ebbe mulled this over in her mind. The boy was the mighty Zeus, God of the skies, the greatest of all the Olympians, and she his long-suffering, eternally jealous wife, and sister, Hera! She looked at the skinny little lad slouched at the security desk and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Within seconds James had been infected by her heaving gasps of uncontrolled laughter and joined in with her.

"You're a funny guy," Ebbe managed to gurgle, not really thinking he was and not entirely sure what was so funny, but still unable to halt the shaking laughter nevertheless. "You should talk more often," she spluttered, sending them both into further fits of cackling giggles. 

Making an effort to maintain dignity Ebbe wiped her teared eyes and sighed. Back to work you idiot, she told herself, forcing a moist eye up against the the viewer. With great effort she ignored James, still attempting to quash his mirth behind her. Deciding viewing Ganymede was not going to help her sober up Ebbe began to shift the telescope in the hunt for another Galilean moon, namely Callisto.


"And there..." she began, "you are?" she ended on a question. All humour drained from her face and Ebbe pulled her head away from the telescope and turned to James. "I've lost a moon," she said seriously.


"That was careless," James snickered in reply.


"No James, it's insane, quite quite insane," she countered bleakly. Her heavy tone quickly sunk in and James forced out the last chuckle.


"Are you sure you're looking in...?" He started.


"Of course I bloody am," Ebbe snapped, cutting his sentence short. Inside she was churning. She pressed her forefinger down on an unseen button and to the side a printer began to buzz and whirr. Within a few seconds and crystal clear printout emerged and Ebbe tore it out from the printer impatiently. With an incisive eye she peered at the printout, before exhaling loudly. Even with her own, limited equipment, she had started picking up anomalies. One or two you could write off as the mind playing tricks. Three or four, equipment failure. But once she had gone beyond that she had hit upon the idea of using something more substantial. The Spartan Observatory complex, a highly secret outpost hidden within a restricted wildlife preserve, was her number one choice. It merely took the right connections, and Ebbe had made a habit of collecting those.

And here it was, the most powerful telescope in the United Kingdom could not see the third largest moon in the solar system.

"James, if anybody knows we are here. If anybody knows what I have seen. We are going to be in serious of trouble."

James returned her statement with a looked of fear and puzzlement. Ebbe gestured he ought to come closer. Tentatively he stood, his chair squealing on the flagstone floor. Again she gestured for him to come forward. She could see he was uncomfortable and uncertain. Again, she wordlessly gestured to him to come to her. With the awkward shuffling of a teenager asked to dance with a girl he likes, he made his way to her. When he was within grasping distance she grabbed him by the nape of the neck and pulled him close.


"You tell the man who got you this job that Callisto is awol. Tell him I'm going to ground. Are you getting this?" James nodded nervously, "Tell him I expect it will take them two or three months, four at most, so that's his time frame. You got that James?" She peered into his dark brown eyes. Yes, he's an orders boy, give him orders and he'll respond. He obviously got that from his bully father, for better or worse. "I don't think we shall see each other again after tonight, so Ganymede, get yourself some balls, before Zeus comes for you." With those parting words Ebbe grabbed her printout, gave him a kiss on the cheek and made for the exit.


As she reached the corridor, she stopped and turned.


"If we do meet again, be sure you've grown a pair!" She shouted before striding into the corridor.