Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible television series are all owned by Disney.
Days 10 - 16: Eureka II
Day 10
Still uncertain in regard to number and location of the 'kidnappers' and 'Venezuelans' the sentries at the Egyptian-Global Justice camp were extra vigilant as morning prayers were said by the faithful and breakfast was had by all.
Leslie Atwood-Long proved surprisingly difficult and muttered something about ungrateful colonials on being informed that discovery of an object gave him no claims over it.
"If Egypt rules it part of our cultural heritage all you have is the fame associated with its discovery," Col. Abbas told him.
"And publication rights for your book, of course," Kim reminded him.
"It isn't part of Egypt's cultural heritage!" Leslie insisted. "It isn't human technology."
"If your assertion can be borne out by analysis on the site," Will waded in, "the United Nations will seek to have it recognized as transcending national sovereignty."
Col. Abbas smiled, "It has been a little more than a week, do you think my government and the UN will have really reached any conclusion?"
"Not if the bureaucrats working on it are anything like Will here," Kim answered.
The Col. laughed. Leslie, knowing they would discover it shortly whether he helped or not began to cooperate to maintain a voice in the events.
In the late morning a phalanx of soldiers and Global Justice agents surrounded Atwood-Long as he led them through the jumble of boulders at the south edge of the valley.
After breakfast Jim and Joss brought Wade to their spot on the top of the ridge where they could spy on the camp at the east entrance to the valley. After a little while they moved back from the edge. They were far enough away those below they didn't need to worry about being overheard, but still found themselves whispering.
"Well?" Jim demanded.
"You're right, it's Shego. I saw David Donner down there also," Wade answered.
"Isn't he that guy who can order Shego around and got a couple jobs for us?" Joss asked.
"Yeah, that's him. He's in sort of a liaison office for the intelligence agencies, not sure whether you call him CIA, NSA, DIA, FBI, or who knows what."
Joss seemed worried, "So, they're on our side?"
Jim snorted, "I wouldn't be too sure about that."
"Well, yeah, theoretically they're looking out for US interests," Wade answered.
"What about them two prisoners?"
"Heck if I know," Wade admitted. "Maybe they captured two people from the Global Justice mission, or maybe they're from the group that grabbed Atwood-Long."
"But no sign of the Brit, right?" Jim asked.
"No, none at all. Why don't we go back and see if Tim has found anything out by watching the Egyptians?"
Joss accepted the suggestion, "Okay, but I don't want to hear no talk about telling the Egyptians about the US guys."
Anxiety dominated the US camp. Joseph and Misha had started to worry less about summary execution and wondered how to cooperate enough to keep in their captors' good graces without doing anything to betray their homeland.
Donner worried about what the missing Russians might have found, or planned. He knew that today everyone would mostly be focused on what had happened to Happy. Once the news arrived about the Ranger's health - good or bad. There would be more suggestions like the one Sneezy said yesterday - questions about whether they should just go home. Donner hoped to keep them in line without revealing details about any of the possible contingency plans.
"There it is," Atwood-Long proclaimed.
"Doesn't look like much," Col. Abbas remarked.
"Mostly covered with sand and rocks, I believe it extends to there." Leslie pointed to a spot a considerable distance away.
Will let out a low whistle.
"If that's true," Kim remarked, "you can see why people thought it was big enough to be a city."
"Or the gates of Hell," Leslie told them. "There are a few devices still functioning in there. Would have seemed like magic to anyone in the past."
Abbas turned to his aides, "Begin organizing shifts to clear away debris, I want to know what's under there."
"NO!" the archaeologists screamed, "We have to start by taking photographs of everything, exactly where it is, in place!"
"You're not going to find anything in situ in there," Atwood-Long told them scornfully, "animals and humans have disturbed everything."
"We must make an exact photographic record!" the archaeologists insisted.
"Wonderful thought, Chaps," Leslie remarked, "Do you have cameras that take pictures in the dark?"
The archaeologists looked at each other. One said something to the other in complete disgust. Kim didn't ask for a translation. She strongly suspected it was a potent Arabic curse.
An Egyptian lieutenant asked for volunteers who considered themselves decent sketch artists. Ten soldiers and nine Global Justice agents volunteered. They were given pencils and paper along with candles and placed under the direction of the archaeologists who led them into the ship and started making assignments about who should draw what. Those who had appeared less promising were left in the first areas where every object had presumably been more disturbed.
Kim and Will were among the few still going deeper into the ship when they found the room of horrors.
The remains of a man, strapped to a dissecting table were the first thing they noticed. Only later were the acid eaten remains of a second man discovered in some sort of viscous goo on the floor. Before the discovery of the late Dmitri Will ordered one of the Egyptians out to bring in Atwood-Long and Col. Abbas.
"Is there enough to identify him as one of your kidnappers?" Will asked.
Leslie, who had turned an unhealthy shade of green, gulped, "No," and left hurriedly.
Abbas shook his head in disbelief as he considered the two corpses. "I do not know how anyone could inflict such torture on other creatures… But sentries will be given orders to shoot anyone not responding to a challenge. I will assign Sergeant Khalid another unpleasant duty."
Kim found her own stomach queasy and she joined Will in searching for evidence before the burial squad arrived. "Kidnappers or Venezuelans do this?" she asked.
"Venezuelans is my guess." Will looked at the body on the dissecting table and shuddered, "I can see why Atwood-Long would be incapable of definitive recognition."
"Will! Come look at this."
The Global Justice co-leader let out a low whistle as he looked at the trail Kim noticed through the dust on the floor. "Something big being dragged across the floor?"
Kim knelt down and looked closer, wishing she had better light, "I don't know… It looks like something… I don't know what could have made marks like that."
They went back and looked at the body on the floor. Somehow the remains now looked less acid-eaten and simply more half-digested.
"I suggest we only allow exploration of the interior by pairs of soldiers or field agents," Will suggested.
"Make it in threes," Kim answered.
Will did not accuse her of being overly cautious.
"There was a guy down there who looked a lot like a picture of Atwood-Long I saw," Tim told the others. "What's happening down at the other end?"
"Some bunch from the US-" Jim began
"And Ms Shego's with them," Joss added.
Jim finished, "Anyway, they may the ones who freed the Brit. They've got a couple prisoners with them."
"Where does that leave us?" Tim wanted to know. "I can't see us turning in Shego."
"Not sure where it leaves us," Wade admitted. "Doc and I both had some back-up plans before we started… Heck, this could still be some sort of big hoax and we'd just look foolish if we go waltzing in to camp down there offering to help. I say we hang around a few more days on the sly and see what happens."
"The interference with electro-magnetic devices?" Jim asked.
"Could be natural. Why not?"
Their discussion continued until the growing excitement in the Egyptian camp below made the possibility of a hoax seem too remote to defend.
"What's up with Happy?" Sleepy demanded as four men arrived at the US camp with supplies.
"Happy?" a man asked.
"The wounded man who went back yesterday."
"Should be fine. Ship surgeon said he'd never seen better field treatment. He'll probably be on board ship a day or two then med-evaced to Germany."
"Which two of you are staying?" Donner asked.
"Us," one of them said, pointing to himself and another man. "We heard someone up here is freaking paranoid about names."
"That would be me," Donner said dryly.
"No wonder he called you Dopey."
"I hope one of you is a halfway decent medic."
"I'm okay, not sure I could do what Steve-"
"Call him Doc!"
"Not sure I could do what he did."
"Well then, let's not have any more wounded men," Donner suggested. "Any other messages?"
"Well… This made no sense. He said, 'Find Dopey. Tell him Sleazy and Slappy.' I've got no idea what that means."
Bashful laughed, "It means welcome to the seven dwarves."
The two new Special Ops men looked at one another and wondered what was happening.
Day 11
The day after the discovery Abbas kept most of the troops to work moving rocks. Despite the continued protests of the archaeologists most of the soldiers cleared debris off the ship to obtain a better idea of its size. A smaller squad received the assignment of opening up a wider passage between the camp in the valley and the actual location of the space ship.
Atwood-Long, the geologist, suggested that a southern ridge had once defined the south edge of the valley as the northern ridge still defined the north. The ship had been in the larger valley until the destruction of the southern ridge buried it.
The process of moving rocks to clear the ship and a path led to the destruction of many happy homes for poisonous snakes and scorpions, many of whom gave notice of their displeasure. Dr. Farouk set up a first aid station near the ship and treated a steady trickle of bites and stings.
In the ship itself archaeologists worked feverishly with anyone who possessed drawing ability to record the positions of everything they could see. Colonel Abbas had made it clear that the next day he planned to order men to begin the process of crating up everything that could be moved for shipment to Cairo until final plans were put in place.
The more the archaeologists saw of the interior the more they regarded their labors as an exercise in futility, but sometimes an archaeologist has to do what an archaeologist has to do.
"Damn," Donner complained, "We're in no position to see anything from where we are now. What are the chances of climbing up on this ridge and moving west until we can look in from the top?"
Grumpy eyed the cliff. "Not very good right here, too steep. If we looked we might be able to find a spot where we could get up."
"We'd be closer if we could get into those rocks along the south edge of the valley," Sleepy suggested.
"How do we manage that, with the Egyptian army right there?" Sneezy demanded.
"They're pretty much just at the west end. We could go in at night, find a little hide-away in those rocks on the south side and-"
"Supplies?" Donner demanded, seeming to warm to the idea.
"Our pack mules could leave stuff here during the day, then we slip out at night and haul it in."
"More chance of being spotted," Shego pointed out.
"Yeah, but gives us a lot better access to information," Donner mused. "Sleepy, Bashful, you two get some rest today. I want you to go in tonight and see if you can find a good place for us."
Wearing only his underwear and sunglasses Tim lay out on top of the ridge working on his tan while Joss and Jim monitored the Egyptian camp below. Wade and Drakken remained below on their side of the cliff, talking Lipsky and Load business.
"I can't make up my mind," Jim mused as he watched the Egyptian camp through his binoculars. "Part of me wants to hang around here and see history happening first hand. Part of me wants to go down and join them. And part of me wants to just go home and stay in a swimming pool for a week. I don't know whether I want us to stay or go."
Joss closed her eyes in thought, " I want to go home… Real home, Montana… I feel like I need some time for myself."
They were far enough away from the Egyptian camp, which produced so much of its own noise, that they didn't need to speak softly and Tim threw in his two cents, "If we head back now Mom and Dad will want us back in classes at the U."
Jim grinned, "Sorry, Joss, but Tim makes a real persuasive argument for staying."
Late in the afternoon Will and Kim approached Ron, "Would you be so kind as accompany Ms Possible and myself to the alien craft?" Will requested.
Ron shrugged, "Sure," and joined them.
As they headed bask to the vessel Kim asked him, "Did you ever wonder why Betty Director really wanted you to come along with this expedition?"
"I sort of figured it was my good looks and boyish charm."
"Seriously Ron!"
"Sorry, KP. Because you're used to me having your back and this was so big she wanted you to be more comfortable?"
"She's counting on the Ron factor to help with this."
"Ah, man," Ron protested. "I thought they disproved that."
"That had been my opinion," Will interjected, "But Dr. Director felt you possessed unique abilities which might increase the odds for a beneficial outcome."
"What did he just say?" Ron asked Kim.
She answered as they lit candles and went into the ship. "He says he doesn't think you can do it. I think you can-"
"Do what?"
"We'll explain in a minute." Kim hesitated. "Ron… I have faith in you. And a huge bet riding on you… I really need you to pull this off."
Ron groaned, "You're betting with Mr. Moneybags?"
"Not money, Ron. Loser has to eat a whole bowl of molokhia," Kim explained as they worked their way back in the spacecraft.
Ron noticed a curious lack of any Egyptians or Global Justice agents in the vessel. "Hey, the stuff isn't that bad! I'm not a big fan - but it's okay. LaTisha likes it!"
"Oh, there's a great recommendation," Kim shot back. "The stuff is disgusting! I should know - I ate some."
"It's not that- Hey, where are we?"
"We can not assign precise functions to these machines," Will explained. "While we don't have any world class engineers among the personnel we had a group perform a cursory examination of the infrastructure and-"
"What's he saying, KP?" Ron whispered loudly enough for Will to hear.
Kim wished they had Wade, or even Drakken, there with them. "Best guess is that some sort of atomic engine and propulsion unit were in the rear. They were probably broken to begin with, and after centuries there's really nothing left there. So there has to be some sort of auxiliary power supply. There seem to be some sort of cables running from this-" Kim pointed to the device from which Dmitri had detected a sort of vibration, "to anything else that seems to be working."
"And what am I supposed to do?"
"Can you turn it off, Ron?" Kim asked.
"This is like, totally alien, and I mean really! And I'm supposed to turn it off?"
"We suspect it is somehow responsible for the field which interferes with our technology," Will explained.
"Hello, what part of alien are you missing?"
"Ron, please, we can't do any analysis of anything while the interference field is on. Nothing we make much more sophisticated than a hammer works around it. We need it turned off to start working on it. You have more experience with shutting off doomsday devices than anyone else in the world!"
"It isn't a doomsday device, KP!"
"You can do it, Ron!"
"I told you he couldn't do it," Will said scornfully.
"It's not a matter of experience," Ron insisted, looking around. "Aliens. Cue the scary music. They don't do things like we do." He walked over to a section of wall and punched it. "You think that is going to do anything? How should I even know what a control panel looks like?"
Kim sighed, "I'm sorry Ron. It was unfair of me to ask."
"It's okay, KP. But where do we go from here?"
"I don't know… Will?"
"Forgive me for asking, but is it getting warmer in here?" Will asked, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his forehead.
"Feels like it," Kim agreed, "but the hottest part of the day is over… Ron, you just turned on the ship's heater."
"I what?"
"They must have needed it for the cold of space," Will said, starting to sound excited. "They wouldn't need it here in the desert. Agent Stoppable, you found the control panel!"
"This section of wall?" Ron peered closer.
Kim offered encouragement, "Try something else."
Ron pressed hard on another section of wall, and the machine with a couple lights suddenly blinked off. For the first time in more than sixty thousand years the beacon went out.
"Did that solve the problem?" Kim asked Will.
"Hold on." He pulled a small multi-tool from his pocket and pressed a button that should turn on an LED. "Nothing," he told her.
"Try again, Ron… Ron?"
"Yeah, KP?"
"Uh, try not to trigger any self-destruct switch… Or see if you can turn off the heater…"
"I'll doing the best I can, KP."
Prodding another section produced the grinding noise of something not working. And then the featureless piece of equipment emitting the low hum died on Ron's next attempt.
"Will?"
He shone the red LED in Kim's face. "Yes!"
Kim gave Ron a hug and kiss, "Will has to eat a bowl of snot!" she laughed.
"It's not that bad," Ron protested as they headed back to camp.
A little gambling went on in the American camp also. With not much else happening Grumpy dug out a deck of cards and he and Sneezy cut up anything on hand to fashion poker chips. Everyone put their evening dessert ration into a common pool and the 'chips' were distributed. They played until someone had won all the chips, and that person got one dessert. Then the 'chips' were redistributed for another round and another dessert ration. They even invited the Russians to sit in, and found them as awful as expected.
At the end of the afternoon Shego had most of the desserts.
"Is there anything you don't do," Sleepy asked in disgust as she took the last bar.
Shego hesitated for a minute, "Nope, to steal a line - anything's possible for me. Except maybe eating this much. Got to watch my girlish figure-"
"I'll help," Bashful offered.
"I'll give a bar to any of you losers who'll give me an IOU for dessert tomorrow in case the gods curse me for hubris and I play as lousy as you did today."
With Doc gone no one knew what hubris meant, but they took her up on the offer.
Day 12
When Bego arrived at the edge at the rendezvous point with Ibrahim and uncle Mehemet she found the field off. She considered piloting the hovercraft in to try and find them, but without knowing why the field was off she decided to remain her customary distance away. She did, however, send a few electronic devices in with the food and water.
Interior areas closest to the openings in the hull had been sketched, and archaeologists worked to label each item with a description of where it had been found before they were packed into crates for analysis elsewhere.
Portions of the craft were now visible, and the path between the ship and the camp had become easier to use. Worries about whoever had freed Atwood-Long continued, although days of quiet had lulled a majority of those there into the hope they had fled the area. While more sentries were posted around the camp no effort was made to search all the possible hiding places, the Col. explained it would take too long to be practical.
Bashful and Sleepy had gone into the valley during the night and found a good spot just outside the perimeter of the Egyptian camp. With shade, sufficient room for a small group and a couple spots which offered a view of the Egyptians they decided to spend the day. They had brought in what they needed for a day and took turns watching and resting. Bored in the afternoon Sleepy worked his way back through a narrow opening and discovered a spot where he could see part of the spacecraft.
In the US camp Donner spent the day wondering what had happened to the Marines. Had they found a good location? Were they holed up in a bad location and waiting for night to escape? He wanted desperately to know what was going on.
Wrappers from last night's meals had been cut into additional poker 'chips' and the contest for the evening's desserts began early and the rounds went longer.
When supplies arrived the men carrying them in were warned that they might need to simply leave the supplies on future days if they US base camp relocated into the valley.
As Bego waited on for the return of Ibrahim the radio in the hovercraft crackled into life, "Little Blue, You there?"
"Cousin T?"
"Got it, cuz. Someone here wants to say hi."
"Bego?"
"Joss!"
They both squeed. Joss began telling Bego about the trip in, while Bego gave Joss news from home.
"Dad. is. not. happy. we. didn't. tell. him. before. we. left."
Joss laughed. Eventually someone else would take the radio away with a request for something Bego needed to send them tomorrow, but for the next hour and a half she stayed on the radio with her metal sister.
"Where's LaTisha?" Kim asked looking around the Global Justice agents who tended to eat together in the evening. Molokhia hadn't been on the menu last night, but Abdul had been happy to prepare a pot this evening. Kim thought the black woman might enjoy the show of Will eating it.
Ron swallowed a mouthful of food, "I think she's fraternizing with the allies."
"You don't fraternize with allies, you do it with people you aren't supposed to be in bed… Where is Dr. Farouk?"
"Well, according to you, he's in his tent not fraternizing with LaTisha. Unless they shouldn't be there. In which case, they are."
It took Kim a minute to translate the meaning from Ronish to English.
"Great," Kim muttered. "Global Justice is trying to keep a high moral profile here and-"
"Kim?"
"What?"
"You're sounding like Will."
"Sorry. It's just that some people need to keep their pants on."
Ron coughed, "Excuse me."
"Sorry, with you it just comes natural. I'd hate to think it just came natural for her too."
"Oh, I don't think so," Ron assured her, "she's thanking him for saving her life."
"He saved her life? How?"
"Well, he didn't actually save her life. But she figured she could get more mileage if he thought she thought that he thought-"
Kim put a hand over Ron's mouth. "Can you explain in English?"
He nodded yes and Kim removed her hand. "You know how the sting of the yellow scorpion can be really bad?" Ron continued.
"Yes, was LaTisha stung by one?"
"No," Ron answered. "Brown scorpion - some pain but not really dangerous."
"So, a brown scorpion stung her, but she told him it was a yellow scorpion so she could thank him for saving her life?"
"Exactly," Ron said. "And those suckers aren't easy to find. I think she looked for one for more than an hour."
Day 13
Ibrahim and his uncle met Bego at the accustomed place for their journey into the desert.
"I. do. not. need. you. to. take. supplies. in. today," she told them.
"But-" the boy started to protest.
"I. can. travel. into. the. area. myself. now. I. will. pay. you. and. your. uncle. for. today, if. you. fly. in. with. me. to. show. me. where. they. are. And. I. will. give. you. and. your. uncle. two. days'. wages. to. be. ready. if. I. need. you. again. They. might. turn. whatever. it. was. back. on."
Uncle Mehemet feared for the boy's safety and the two men argued for a long time in Arabic before Ibrahim was allowed to go.
The hovercraft engines were poorly muffled. At the Lipsky and Load camp Tim and Joss looked up, excited.
"Hear that?" Tim asked.
"Sure 'nuff, Joss grinned.
By now even Drakken and Wade heard the sound. Joss noticed the 'wrinkle' in the air caused by the light bending technology and ran out the meet them.
"Sis!" Joss yelled and grabbed on tightly to the blue girl, "I'm glad to see you! What in the heck you doin' here? This is too dangerous; you got to go back! Did you called mom an' dad last night? How is everybody? Why did you come out here? That thing could go on any minute and-"
"Glad. to. see. you. too. I. thought. you. might. want. some. of. the. electronic. equipment. you. had. to. leave. earlier-"
"Cool," Tim interrupted, "What did you bring?"
Jim and Wade didn't wait for an answer, but headed for the hovercraft to find out for themselves.
Tim listened to Joss and Bego for a few minutes, wondering how it was physically possible for them to both be talking and listening at the same time.
The US camp moved in to the position the Marines found. At night they brought in the supplies they needed which had been left outside the valley. The intelligence agent put the Special Ops men on rotation for keeping the Egyptian camp and space ship, or at least what they could see of it, under constant surveillance. It seemed a little pointless to the men, but provided them with something to do beside playing cards and cut down on the grousing over a pointless mission.
Donner himself kept close watch on Joseph and Misha. He got a lot of points in DC if either defected. He got his head handed to him on a platter if they messed up what he had planned. The two realized they were best off where they were and received the run of the camp during the day. They still slept bound. Donner was taking no chances on their trying to steal weapons during the night.
Even though engines and electronic gadgets now worked there was no way to bring trucks within the last few miles of the site. Human and animal muscle still moved whatever needed to be brought in for the last portion of the journey. Nevertheless, a couple small generators and fuel allowed some refrigeration, and Global Justice set up a communication link for agents.
With a single line available, and everyone wanting to make calls Will and Kim enforced rationing, each agent limited to two calls and ten minutes.
Kim's call went to the house, to talk with Shego and find out what was happening with the twins.
She could not immediately place the voice of the man who answered, "Hello?" It seemed familiar but out of place.
"Who is this, and why is he at my house? Did I call the wrong number?" Kim wondered. "This is Kim Possible, I-"
"Kim! Great to hear from you! Georgie asked her mother-"
Kim identified the voice now, it belonged to Shego's father.
"-to come and watch the girls. And I decided to come along too. You don't bring them to see us nearly enough."
"I'm sorry, awfully busy. Is Shego there?"
"No. According to your mom she left about the same time you did."
"Great, why didn't she tell me?" "Can I talk with the girls?"
"Let me find where they are, I-"
In the background Kim could hear Susan ask her husband, "Is that Kim?" Kim imagined George nodding his head yes, because Susan said, "I'll get the twins. They'll want to talk to Mommy."
Tears came to Kim's eyes as little voices told her how much they loved and missed her. She resolved to spend a whole day hugging and kissing and playing with the girls as soon as she got home.
Kim talked briefly with Susan also. Susan knew nothing about what had happened to Shego. Her big news consisted of the fact Ed had proposed to Connie, who had accepted, and Shego's brother was hoping to use his nieces as flower girls at the wedding.
The redhead smiled. She guessed Susan had the kids whipped into a frenzy of excitement over frilly little dresses and a wedding, which was probably many months away - an eternity to three year olds.
When the twins got off the phone Kim glanced at her watch. She didn't have enough time to make a second call, and asked George to call her parents and tell them she was fine. She expressed a note of worry about Shego's absence, and George tried to reassure her.
"Kim, she isn't going to leave you and the girls. You know she just got called away on business and will be home as -"
Annoyed, Kim looked over. Will pointed to his watch, and Kim surrendered the phone to another agent.
When Ron got his turn he placed a fast call to his family that used less than two minutes. He let his mom and dad know he was fine, and said hello to Hana. She asked if he would bring her home a mummy for show and tell.
His second call went to California. Bonnie was cross at being disturbed during her workout, then delighted to hear Ron's voice, then disappointed to learn his time was rationed. The two made sweet small talk to each other until Ron mentioned in passing that he was sharing a tent with Kim on the mission. Bonnie went ballistic over the news, before she reached the height of her anger, however, Will cut the connection and told Ron it was another agent's turn. Ron wasn't sure if he should be grateful to Will for cutting the call short or worried that Bonnie might think he hung up on her.
Will took last place in the calling rotation. He hoped he might be able to extend his call to Monique a little longer if there was no one else waiting. He remained uncharacteristically quiet during his call. He let her tell him about what was going on at home, and hung on her every word with a look of love-sick puppy devotion. Watching his expression Kim almost had a sense of what her friend could see in the glacial Mr. Du. Monique always said a real human heart beat under his formal exterior and realized it was true.
Six minutes into the call Will gave a startled, "Are you sure?" When?... But we were careful!" "No, it's wonderful, you're wonderful."
Kim desperately wanted to know more, but at exactly ten minutes she cut off his call as he had cut off hers. If he'd ask for more time Kim would have given it to him.
"Do you need congratulations?" she asked.
He looked dazed, but nodded 'yes'.
Shego's absence from Middleton raised suspicions in Kim's mind, and she sought out the Englishman. "Could you describe the pale woman you said was there with the people who freed you?"
Leslie had not seen her well enough to give a good description. There were probably at least five million women in the world who fit the description he offered, but one of them was Shego.
Day 14
The Egyptians suspended most work on the site when Dr Zahi Hawass of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities came out for a day with a film crew from National Geographic. They spent the day filming, and the various cameramen probably took thirty hours of video in total.
The archaeologists who had actually come out were told to stay off-camera. Kim stood by one of the them and listened as Dr. Hawass gave a lecture to the National Geographic audience. After the camera had been turned off the crew moved off for pictures inside the spaceship Kim turned to the archaeologist. "So, just how good an archaeologist is Dr Hawass?"
"You need to understand that archeology is a complex disciple. Besides the variety of skills necessary for field archeology it requires fund-raising, publicity, and political connections."
"And Dr. Hawass?"
"He is the greatest fund-raiser, publicists, and political voice for archeology in the world."
"And as a field archaeologist?"
The archaeologist hesitated, "He's my boss."
Kim took that as her answer.
Before leaving camp Dr. Hawass explained to the expedition that Egypt had signed an exclusive contract with National Geographic for all photographs used for educational and publicity purposes. If any of them had personal pictures they were to remain personal pictures. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities would sue the ass off anyone who published any pictures anywhere - including web logs.
Bego insisted on staying with the team that night. Joss couldn't decide whether to be delighted at having her sister there to talk all night, or scared that something might turn the field back on and possibly kill her. Tim had set up monitoring equipment and knew that Ron had turned the device off, but Joss worried that as the device was crated and prepared for removal it might somehow accidentally switched on.
Bego convinced her they would not be attempting to move it at night, and promised to fly into Cairo early tomorrow for anything they needed.
Conversation at the camp was kept low, even though there was no danger of being overheard.
"Have you decided where you're going to college yet?" Tim asked the girls.
"Didn't you hear I got in to MIT?" Joss replied. "I thought everybody in town heard the whoop I let out when I got their letter."
"I. have. been. wait. listed. at. Harvard. Boston. College, and. Tufts. both. accepted. me. No. word. from. Boston. University. yet."
"I, ah, haven't seen a lot of you the last few weeks," Drakken commented lamely. Neither girl had been out at Lipsky and Load since the breakup of Joss and Wade. "You're not interested in MIT?" he asked Bego.
"The. fact. Joss. is. interested. does. not. mean. I. am. interested. I. may. major. in. philosophy. The. question. of. the. intersection. between. mind. and. brain. fascinates. me. since. I. have. a. mind, but. do. not. possess. a. brain. in. the-"
"First time I've ever heard a girl admit she didn't have a brain," Jim snorted.
"Then. there. are. boys. who. possess. neither. brains. nor. minds," Bego shot back. "As. Descartes. said. I. think. therefore. I. am."
"Sounds like we need to debate whether Jim exists or not," Joss laughed.
"What's the housing sitch?" Tim asked, hoping to steer the conversation back onto peaceful ground
"Lousy," Joss said. "We don't have to live on campus if'n we find an apartment with a sister who goes to a different school."
"But. the. cost. of. rent. is. terrible! How. can. people. afford. to. live. there?"
"Sounds like it's going to be tight."
"Yeah," Joss sighed. "Daddy didn't budget for two more kids in college."
"I. don't. think. he. wanted. to. give. anything. towards. college. for. me. But. Joss. said. we. would. share. any. money. Harvard. has. a. great. financial. aid. package. if. I. can. get. in."
"Or we end up with part time jobs askin', 'You want fries with that?'."
In a lull between topics of conversation Bego worked up the courage to ask about something which troubled her. "Doc? Wade? Could. the. two. of. you. look. at. my. speech. synthesizer. before. I. leave. for. college? I. would. like. to. be. able. to. ask. questions. in. class. without. sounding. like. a. cheap. answering. machine."
"Doesn't Dr. Porter work with-" Wade began.
"Dr. Porter. has. been. trying. to. give. me. a. sense. of. smell. and. to. improve. my. tactile. sensations. My. voice. does. not. bother. her, but. it. bothers. me. Please?"
Drakken shrugged, "The designs changed a lot over the years. I used cheap components on some parts of the original design. I didn't think speech represented an important function and-"
"Joss. and. I. have. meant. to. ask. about. what. you. considered. important. given. the. occasional. anatomical. detail. in. my. construction."
Wade's stomach tightened in a knot, but Drakken came through for him. "The Doombots were for size and strength. At one point I attempted Bebes who could pass for human on close examination-"
"How. closely. did. you. think. people. would. be. examining?"
"And just how much anatomical detail do you have?" Jim asked.
Bego changed the topic, to the relief of everyone but Jim.
Day 15
Expediency and cash entered into the formal arrangements for the study of the spacecraft. Egypt maintained the title to the discovery and everything on the ship, but realized the cost of study would likely run into the tens of millions and take years. The United Nations would fund the project, with an Egyptian recognized as the formal head of the project and Egypt being allowed to name scientists to the examining committee and to veto UN appointees. Global Justice would provide security. The location for the center for studying the alien technology would be decided later.
A case of good champagne and two press photographers arrived in camp with the news. The photographers took dozens of shots of the Egyptian officers and Kim and Will offering toasts to each other. The good humor was not all for the press either, both sides seemed relieved to have a practical solution to the potential problem. Leslie Atwood-Long and the other Global Justice agents made it into a number of photos, and the two photographers even managed to bribe the Egyptian sentries into letting them take pictures of the site. National Geographic would not be happy, but the law suit didn't begin until long after Kim was home.
The BBC had told the world of the development before the champagne even reached the base camp. "Lipsky and Load going to write up a prospectus for the UN?" Tim asked.
"Maybe," Wade told him.
"You're not so vain that you think they're going to come knocking on our door looking for us, are you?" Jim demanded.
"One should always be hesitant about predicting the future," Drakken remarked. "The idea that I'd be in the desert with four Possibles?"
Tim and Joss laughed "True 'nuff," Joss said. "But you should still let 'em know what you can do."
"No point," Jim grumbled. "Things been sitting there so long its just junk inside. We're better off just doing new work than trying to figure out a pile of rust."
"Whatever produced that field kept working," Wade reminded him. "Might be the answer to all our energy needs."
"Might be carcinogenic, or emit more carbon dioxide than burning the Amazon basin."
Uncertainty over what would happen with the technology had caused a little tension between the Egyptians and Global Justice, but with the issue resolved everyone pitched in with renewed effort to crate up everything which could be moved.
The machines Ron turned off were viewed as special prizes. Getting them loose, when none of the tools found on the ship were meant for human hands, had proved difficult, and hauling them out even more difficult. A lot of jokes were made about people understanding what it took to build the pyramids as muscles creaked and the crates slowly made it out of the ship and down the trail (which seemed narrower and bumpier than it had just a couple hours earlier) to the camp.
The vantage points for the Americans only allowed them to watch part of the process.
"Glad we didn't need to try and haul that sucker out ourselves," Sneezy remarked.
"Looks like our job is just about over. A couple days and we should be out of here," Donner told them.
"Hallelujah," Shego commented.
"And us?" Joseph asked.
"Like I said, you're not coming with us. I'll leave you plenty of water, maps, and we've got GPS working now. Can you get out the way you came in?"
"Through the Egyptian lines?" Misha muttered.
"Hey, you never told us how you got in," Donner pointed out. "I remember the map showing a village to the north. You should be able to reach it without any problems."
Day 16
By mid-afternoon the Egyptians and Global Justice breathed a sigh of relief. They had crated up all the small and medium sized artifacts from the ship, and tomorrow would be able to start transferring them out of the desert. The spaceship itself, along with its long-broken engine and some of the larger mechanisms would come later. The Egyptians would keep military units on the site for the time being. The terrain would make it difficult to bring in heavy equipment. The absence of much of the contents make it a less attractive target for thieves, along with Egypt's willingness to share the knowledge gained from the discovery with the world. Will guessed the ship would eventually have to be cut into pieces to make transport easier. Kim wondered if blimps or other lighter than air craft could be used to lift it out in one piece.
Ron left work on the ship early. Abdul and the mess crew prepared a special dinner to celebrate the end of the mission. Hamaam, pigeons, would be served and stuffing the birds with seasoned rice and grilling them took much of the afternoon. Ron wondered whether he should warn Kim and the other Global Justice agents that Abdul put the heads in the stuffing to add a little extra flavor as the birds cooked.
To show Ron how much he trusted the young man, Abdul assigned two assistants to Ron and put him in charge of making the fatir. Ron figured he'd just tell the GJ agents they were stuffed pancakes. Most were filled with fruits and honey or eggs, or a cheese mixture, but Ron did a little experimenting with some non-traditional stuffings which brought tears of joy to the eyes of the Egyptian cook. "You, Jew-boy," Abdul said in broken English, "You got Egyptian heart." He thumped his chest with his fist, then grabbed Ron and kissed him on both cheeks again.
Ron didn't care for the kissing thing, but when the cook released him Ron suggested, "Maybe Abdul has Jewish heart?"
The old cook grinned and shrugged, and everyone in the mess crew laughed at the joke.
The dinner was marvelous. Everyone was in a wonderful mood. Even the soldiers who would remain in the field couldn't object. The hard work was done and a solid supply line had been established.
Even Agent Haskell seemed in a good mood, preparing plates of food to take out to the sentries.
"While I would very much like to believe Agent Haskell has experienced a change in attitude I fear his current behavior only reflects a euphoria over the end of the mission," Will remarked.
Kim and LaTisha both agreed with him
A minute later Kim found the pigeon's head in the stuffing. Her expression made Ron's silence worthwhile.
In the American camp Donner celebrated, "Well, we start back tomorrow."
"About time," Shego grumbled, "these last days were a complete waste. They've got an army unit out there! What in the hell were we supposed to do if something large enough to take them on attacked?"
"You'd be surprised what a handful of people can accomplish," he told her. He pulled a bottle from his bag. "I was saving this for a celebration if we found it first. How about a little celebration of the fact the mission is just about over?"
"I'll drink to that," she agreed.
Lethargy fell on the Egyptian camp like a blanket. No one seemed able stay awake. Even the sentries staggered in, most making it to their tents before falling asleep. Everyone was too caught up with his or her own need for rest to even notice the actions of others.
"Emotional exhaustion," Kim told herself. She barely managed to get the zipper closed on the tent before falling asleep. Ron was already snoring.
A single figure moved through the Egyptian camp, checking for gas flames left on in the mess area or other potential dangers.
Shego and Donner killed almost half the small bottle. Shego didn't usually drink that much, but it still didn't seem excessive. Still, Shego found herself becoming unexpectedly sleepy.
"Clean living's gonna kill me," she muttered.
"Something wrong?"
"So tired. Don't drink… much aroun' Kim… an' girls… I…"
"Been a long mission, we're all tired," Donner told her. "Why don't you just lie down and go to sleep. Tomorrow it's all over with."
"Souns good," Shego mumbled, heading for the tent.
Donner closed the zipper for her, she had passed out before she could complete the task. Then he went to the edge of the US camp and threw up. The antidote he'd taken to counteract the drug in the liquor made him sick. He felt delight he had managed to control the nausea until Shego passed out, and regret at what he needed to do - the two of them had started to, if not respect each other, at least tolerate each other.