Sorry guys it took me forever to update. Anyway, here is part 3. And don't forget to leave a little word, it always makes my day (and makes me write a little faster)...

Enjoy...

Part III

The silence in the Helix was overloaded, full of expectations. None of them had expected to find such a huge metallic thing orbiting around Jupiter. Their first hypothesis had involved a small satellite like the ones the NASA had launched decades ago when they were searching for extraterrestrial life. Their discovery would change everything.

Jesse was the first to overcome his daze. He maneuvered the small aircraft delicately so that it was close to one of the hatches. When they were close enough, he stabilized the plane, aligning it with the other ship. Automatically, he switched on several routine recorders; but he had little hopes to find anything else than the signal that they had already registered. The molecular took a good look at what had leaded them in space. And not for the first time, he wondered how astronomers could have missed it.

The ship was big enough to shelter a whole city. It was triangular shaped with a strange glass dome in its middle. All along the dome there was a kind of glass tube that probably allowed inhabitants to observe the stars around while going through the ship. The metallic hull was intact and shone brightly, its rugged texture reflecting light in different directions. Along the hull there were small channels that throbbed like blood vessels and were converging toward one side of the ship. Light traveled quickly through the paths and its speed had increased the moment they had gotten closer.

Mentally, he started counting the pulses. Twenty pulsations; thirty; it remembered him of strange fluorescent jellyfishes. Forty, sixty in less than a minute. Their speed was still increasing until he could not differentiate the pulses anymore. His eyes followed the light, mesmerized by the strange ballet. It was converging to the hatch they were close to, pooling there, on the door filling it with a yellow glow. Before he could say a word, the light faded leaving an empty black space. Startled Jesse turned to Brennan to ask him if he had seen the same thing. The expression on his friend's face was enough to confirm his worst fears. What he had seen was not a hallucination. His mind worked at light speed as he switched all the sensory probes and computers to record what was going on. Brennan worked frantically beside him getting all the weapons ready, just in case.

Probably feeling her boyfriend's surprise, Emma had come to stand behind his chair and was now peering at the black cavern that had opened in the side of the ship. It appeared like the mouth of a gigantic mythic creature; a mouth that could easily swallow them. The sight only reinforced her uneasy sensation. She couldn't help but remember her nightmares. Soon what had only been a displeasing sensation became a furious roaring storm of fear shouting at her that it was still time to take over their minds and run away. Yet she repressed the fear and took her seat close to Brennan.

Shal and Adam took their seats seconds later and the whole team got ready in silence, sending pre-recorded messages in different languages. The Helix moved closer to the hatch with lights directed toward it. Nothing could be seen inside. Coming back to his senses, Brennan touched his tactile screen to switch the infra-red detectors on. But the screen didn't react; and when it finally did, it showed an error message telling him that he had momentarily no access because an administrator was using it.

"Jesse, are you the one accessing our main computer?"

A frown tugged at Jesse brow. The procedures were all automated and he had given Brennan an administrator password. Something was wrong; the readings of the main computer were illegible. He tried to log on the computer but he was too slow. The writing on the screen switched back to English, displaying indications of movement. One of the engines fired a small gas pulse, changing the position of the plane. They felt delicate movements and saw the cavern getting closer and closer. They were too surprised to even say a word. The molecular tried to override the procedure but it was useless. The computer refused his password or any other orders. He watched helplessly the computer display as the Helix went through the standard procedures for landing. The moment they felt the plane touching the ground, the door materialised behind them and light came on, revealing a gigantic metallic cave, much like the one in sanctuary.

Seconds later, an automated procedure started, checking oxygen levels. Green lights appeared everywhere signalling them that the ship was clean and they could go outside without suits. No one said a word as Adam started to sample the air around the Helix to check for any signs of toxin.

All along the landing procedure, Emma had not moved from her seat. The psionic was too dazed to even blink. Her eyes were unfocused as if she could see things that were not there for the others. This time it was not one of her nightmares. She was wide awake. Her grip tightened on the arm of her seat. The ship they were in was not a figment of her imagination. The monster had swallowed them and they had not been able to fight back. With that realization came also the dreaded certitude that they would never come back to earth.

xXx

Adam did a thorough check of the different air samples. The last thing they needed would be to get a strange disease. While he was checking for any viruses or pathogen agents, the four team-mates started getting ready. Jesse quickly uploaded the scans of the ship he had done earlier. He mentally made landmarks where he could find high level of electrical activities. The computers should be there and he wanted to ensure the team would be able to open the door and leave when they wanted to. Emma was paralysed, caught in her own fears. Maybe if she willed the thing away, their surrounding would fade away and they would be back in Sanctuary, in a place that was safe. But as hard as she tried it was still there. A part of her knew that she had to move and help the others; yet her instincts were telling her, again, to leave. It was only when Brennan bent down to kiss her lightly that she was able to tear her eyes away form metallic walls. It took her several more minutes to finally move and get ready.

xXx

After nearly two long hours of analysis, Adam declared it was safe to get out of the Helix 2. The five friends parted to explore the alien spaceship. Brennan went toward the front while Jesse went to the sublevels where the computers where probably located. Emma and Adam had gone in search of the living quarters and medical units.

Shalimar had gladly taken the central part. She could feel something in the dome, something strong and nearly hypnotic that called on her deepest instincts. But so far, she had found nothing except a few panels that could be attached to the wrists. They looked suspiciously like computers and she had put them in her backpack hoping Jesse could find a way to make them work. If they were control panels, they would give them access to the whole ship.

Another door opened before her, and the feral walked in a glass-shielded corridor that extended along the ship for at least 250 meters and circled the central dome. On the ground a strange multicoloured dust crisped under her feet. She bent down and scooped some fragments. Her nose wrinkled a little taking in the scent. Their smell was strong, familiar, and reassuring to the feral. They reminded her of a forest with different varieties of trees. Before she had the time to consider the incongruity of this discovery, she caught a blue-green wave coursing on the windows. The leaves fell on the ground, completely forgotten, as the feral got closer to the glass. Her hand reached out and her fingertips brushed against it. The glass felt smooth and warm, almost flexible. Out of the corner of her eye she saw meandering blue light coming closer to her fingers. It had barely reached her that a strong electric wave swept through her body, making her retreat her hand quickly. She chided herself for being so confident. They were not in a familiar environment. She should have expected this.

She was ready to resume her search when she took in the scene of the moving cloud cover of Jupiter. Intricate golden and white lines mixed with brownish flecks. They spiralled endlessly, pooling in a bright white zone. She had never imagined that clouds could have those earthy colours and still look so much like an earth cyclone. The proportion of the storm was breath taking. The Jupiter sky was the only thing she could see. Everything around her seemed strange and yet so utterly familiar.

"Shal, did you find something?"

She sighed as she heard Adam's voice over her com-link. He always had the worst timing. After days she was finally able to feel safe and relaxed and he had to disturb her.

"Yep, but I still need to explore the central part. We still meet with the others in the hangar in two hours?"

"No. We'll meet at the front of the ship in half an hour. Brennan found something too and I want to see it as quickly as possible."

The feral quickly cut the communication and went to the first door she could find. Like all the other times, the door opened automatically. For the second time in less than ten minutes, the smell of a forest assaulted her senses. The scent of wood, leaves, and soil was intoxicating and she had to close her eyes. The sight that greeted her when she finally opened her eyes made her gasp in surprise. A huge dome, probably the same material as the windows in the hall, protected a gigantic forest. Trees nearly reached the dome and extended their leaves up to the stars. The diversity of shape and colours mesmerized her. Bright green of triangular leaves contrasted against velvety ochre, deep blue-greens and nearly purple oval-shaped foliage. Strange looking white flowers where hanging from all the tree trunks like orchids. The texture of the petals was feathery and seemed to move despite the lack of breeze. On the ground, patches of bright red flowers with white stamens contrasted with the near black grass.

As the young woman stepped in the greenhouse, light intensified making the glass above her head appear white. The colours of the different plants were even more intense than before and she couldn't repress the happy sigh. If all alien forests were like that one, she was willing to go to the other end of the galaxy. Carefully she got closer to one of the trees. The "orchid-like" flower seemed to hum, to call out to her. Remembering her experience with the window in the hall she barely brushed her fingertips against the feathery petals. They were silky, cold and when she retreated her fingers, the followed the heat of her hand. The young woman repeated her action a few times, entranced by the movement of the flower. Every time, she felt something microscopic clinging to her skin, entering her bloodstream and it left her slightly heady as if she had had too much wine. Adam had to call her three times to finally get her attention. The feral left the place disappointed. But she knew that she would be back. She did not remark the faint glow on her fingers or how it entered her skin.

xXx

When the door closed behind her, the dome turned transparent again letting the stars light the forest. Every single leave, every tree trunk, and flower had a strange golden glow that seem to vibrate with renewed strength. The white flowers suddenly released thousand of fuzzy little balls that settled on every available space, creating more strange looking flowers.

xXx

Jesse walked through the room quickly, hoping to find a way toward the sublevels. The readings he had gotten from the Helix computers indicated that there was a room under the one he was in but there seem to be no access at all. He had inspected every defect in the metal, every panel. But the moment the door had closed behind him, it was as if the room had sealed itself. There was only one thing left to do. The molecular went to the middle of the room and stepped in an oval ring. Without thinking, he took a deep breath reading himself for the impact of his fall through the ground. But before his powers were able to work, he felt the ground lowering itself and descending through what appeared to be a plastic pipe. As soon as it touched the ground of the other room, the barrier surrounding him vanished.

All around him cables were spread, connected with one another creating an intricate net, covering every wall. They converged toward multicolored spheres and pulsed just like what he had seen outside the ship. Suddenly it all made sense. The light was information and the spheres were like processors. Biocomputers. It had more storage capacity and adapted more quickly. That also meant that repairing whatever was wrong would take forever. The young man sighed and took in his surrounding.

What had appeared like a huge room on the plan was barely a hall. The computers must have filled the available space. From experience, the molecular knew that there must be a kind of central unit; the only thing he had to do was following the cables. Without realizing how long it took him, the molecular went through intricate halls, gradually loosing his way. But there was no sign of a central unit anywhere. It was only when he reached a huge room filled with opened pods that his mind processed how far he had gone. The sight made him wince. Wherever he went, even in alien civilizations, there were pods. It didn't reassure him about the people who had built the place or their motives. But right now, he had other things to think of; and the first one was to find a way out of here before the others got too worried.

TBC