Chapter 20
"So, you're saying that a hundred-and fifty-year-old ship, somehow landed on Third Earth, and is causing all this trouble," Lion-O said. Mandora had brought the group up to speed in the large conference room.
"Yes. Our experts are trying to sort out how and why the ship landed here. Their final logged coordinates were nowhere near here. I checked the manifest and Manticores weren't on there," the former Evil Chaser let them know.
"Maybe they triggered something when they crashed?" Cheetara wondered.
"I consulted with the Ancient Spirits of Good and as I explained to Cheetara, they have no doubt that the only magical beings on this planet are myself and Wizz-Ra. I must meditate if I am to go back one hundred and fifty years to remember this ship," Mumm-Rana said.
"Please, if you could. Any information would be much appreciated," Lion-O looked at the ancient one.
"I can check our records that far back, but I must admit I would have thought that our ancestors would have left a note about something like that," Willa spoke up.
"I don't know what's worse. The fact that we just have more questions or the fact that our Manticore hasn't reappeared. The unicorns have completely calmed down and no one has reported seeing anything," Musa finally said something. He'd been splitting his time between the crash site and the unicorn paddock.
"Well, we do have some answers," Ayberk told him.
"What do you have?" Slythe asked. He finally had some clean clothes and was glad to be back as part of the group. Arzu, Esen, and Hafiz were finally on the mend. Doctors Philbert, Connor, Kellner, and Norman had been relieved to see their progress and they had also been glad to make sure that all of the Mutants on Third Earth were now current with their vaccines.
"The bones we found were definitely not from the crew of the ship. They are from an ancient people that lived in the area. It's quite possible that the crash displaced a graveyard. I have requested that we get some ground penetrating radar from the Evil Chasers to confirm," the vulture explained.
"I can add the results of the soil samples," Evil Chaser Scientist First Class Clarke figured this was the opportune time to speak up. He was humanoid like Mandora. He was also young and not an experienced field agent, but his love of science and the ability to travel the galaxy had led him to join the Evil Chasers.
"What did you find?" Panthro wanted to know.
"With the help of Ayberk's research and the samples I took, we found the source of the Avian Flu. The body that was found showed traces of the virus in the bone marrow. My guess is that when the ship crashed into the soil, it busted up multiple graves, which woke up the slumbering virus. It doesn't take much of a leap to figure that the birds on this planet have slowly adapted to survive it. What started as a virulent, deadly disease, eventually became like the flu, something that popped up every year but since its targets had adapted, it wasn't as deadly. The problem is when Mutants arrived here, they were not as prepared," Clarke filled them in.
"Makes sense so the birds spread it to our friends and possibly we have some carriers in our midst," Lion-O nodded.
"Ok, but I'm guessing that the Manticore didn't get woken up by the ship crashing," Tygra, who had been thoughtfully listening to the other scientists, said.
"I've got nothing on that one," Clarke shrugged.
"Well, we found that small shaft on the ship and had Snarfer crawl down into it. He went as far as he could, but we still have no way into the ship. No idea why the radiation or the door showed up," Ben-Gali let the group know.
"Something must have triggered the door but if Manticores were brought here on the ship… where has this thing been hiding for a hundred-and fifty-years…" Cheetara shrugged.
"I'll commune more with the Ancient Ones. They may have a better answer, now that we have some," Mumm-Rana offered.
"Much appreciated. I think I need to call my contact back. Something bothers me," Mandora frowned.
"Just one thing?" Commander Tiberius chuckled. She gave him a playful look before excusing herself to call Akshay.
To Be Continued…
