Chapter 19
As they waited for the soil expert to arrive, the group kept busy with trying to identify the ship, figure out a way inside, and trying to find out to whom the bones could have belonged. Ayberk had carefully extracted the bones from the side of the opening with the help of scaffolding and a few helpers, who he carefully instructed on how to remove them and the items that they found next to the bones. Willa and her people knew those woods and the leader promised to help the vulture try and ascertain who they were looking at.
Panthro, Ben-Gali, Captain Samson, and Torr had worked to do the impossible task of figuring out a way into the ship. The panther figured the only way to stop the radiation was to somehow turn off whatever was generating it. Problem was that had to be inside. They struggled to clean off the entire ship number. Still, they managed it after some hard work and gave the full number to Mandora, who passed it along, using her connections.
"Well, I think we might have something but… well none of us are going to fit…" Captain Samson admitted. The other three came over to the underside of the ship to see what he was talking about.
"What is that? An exhaust shaft?" Panthro wondered as he stared at the small opening. It couldn't have been more than three feet square.
"Could be or maybe a garbage chute?" Ben-Gali wondered.
"Either way, there would be a blockage at the other end – a fan or the chute closure device. Given how the ship is humming, we have to assume that we won't be able to force it off or open," Torr said.
"We can't shove a camera up there because of the radiation," Samson said.
"Then we need to borrow someone who will fit," Panthro moved his eyebrows up and down. The implication was clear. There was only one being who could fit down there.
While they were having their little chat, Mandora was on the phone with her Evil Chaser connection. The soil expert was expected in just a couple of hours so hopefully they would have enough information to finally get something moving. It had been very quiet on the creature end of things and the former Evil Chaser could tell that you could cut the tension and worry with a knife around the Lair and Mutant Village.
"Mandora, I thought you retired," her friend, Evil Chaser First Class Akshay, said.
"Yeah, well retirement really isn't my style. Especially since the ThunderCats can't stay out of trouble," she chuckled.
"I'm guessing. See the thing is that ship number you gave me… well it's old… really old. Like not in the first-tier database. I had to go digging in the third-tier database. You know how dirty and nasty that is," Akshay gave her a look.
"I do. The cobwebs and levels of dust are legendary. So how old is the ship?" Mandora wanted to know. She was beginning to wonder why he was dragging this out.
"Well, that's just it. You know that the third-tier database is saved for numbers that are so old, that we don't even format ship numbers that way anymore. They were formatted that way during the first Evil Chaser generation," he explained. The blonde blinked at what he said. That seemed like a mistake – that would put the age of the ship around one hundred and fifty years old. It would explain why the earth did not look disturbed, though. Akshay could sense her hesitation and possible confusion.
"I know. I had that same look on my face. I double and triple checked," he said.
"The condition of the ship wouldn't seem to indicate it was that old," Mandora pointed out.
"Yeah. I sent your photos to an expert. I haven't heard back yet but I'm betting that your soil guy might be able to weigh in too," the current Evil Chaser told her.
"Good work. Can you send me the file?" The blonde asked.
"Already did. Check your inbox. There is something that I don't think is going to help you much though," Akshay admitted.
"What's that?" Mandora was beginning to think they should fill that hole back in with every passing minute.
"The ship's name was Defiant and according to the records, she disappeared without a trace. Last communication from the crew was that all was fine. Quite obviously it was not fine since you found her buried," he said.
"Another mystery we hope to solve. I don't think we'll find any bodies, but can you alert command? There are some brave souls who never made it home and they deserve recognition," she told him.
"On it," Akshay promised. The call ended and Mandora quickly retrieved the file he'd sent her. There was more work to do.
To Be Continued…