Ancient Arsenal by Jeffery H. Haskell

Author:Jeffery H. Haskell [Haskell, Jeffery H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Molten Press
Published: 2019-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

Three hours, four cokes, and a ham sandwich later, I’m standing on the Delphi Hill. I smile as I walk up to the top. It’s nice to be able to move again, even if it is artificial. Epic is back to projecting his words on the screen for me, and he’s busy running through all the last-minute checks. I don’t want to get up ten thousand feet only to have a critical system fail.

He starts putting everything on the HUD for me to see.

ZPFM... 100%

Kinetic Manipulates... 100%

IP Cannons... 100%

Particle Beam... 100%

Emdrive... 100%

We are as ready as we are going to be, Amelia. Let us go break some laws.

I chuckle. “Activate Emdrive in three...” It’s not like I think the suit is going to explode or anything but... the damage Red Gem-Luke did to the ankle and knee was pretty extreme.

“Two… One… Launch!”

The Emdrive saps power from the ZPFM and the whine they generate fills the air around me. The suit shakes for a second then shoots into the air like a rocket.

“Woohoo!” Excitement runs through me as we blow past the sound barrier. A slight shaking of the suit tells me my flight controls need some calibration, but other than that, everything works perfect.

“Epic, let’s take a look at the Basilica, the area around it, and pull up anything we know about Vatican city at this time in history.”

For one, there is no Vatican city at this time. The area that will later be known as the city is just called The Vatican. The Papacy is legally confined to that area.

“Cool. I feel like Indiana Jones. We’re looking for an honest-to-gosh religious artifact.” The implication of that hits me. “Epic, mom is going to freak when she finds out what we’ve done. Oh man, the look on her face is going to be priceless.”

You are correct. Given the importance of faith in her life, this will be a very significant event for her. Cruising speed of Mach 3 achieved. Time to target: thirty-nine minutes. Would you like to watch a movie?

“Tempting, but no. I need to fill in some gaps. Find me every major event that happens over the next two days and let’s read about it. I want to brush up on my history.”

All I have is a scattering of pictures, journals, and newspaper articles that are questionable at best.

On that cheery note, Epic starts filling me in on things. Before I know it, we’re descending over Rome, decelerating to a manageable three hundred miles an hour.

The Italian peninsula at night is gorgeous; I’ve only ever seen it from orbit as I flew to and from Greece, and then only a handful of times. I cut the power a few thousand feet up and freefall—more out of habit than any need for security. They have no radar, no infrared, nothing at all that can detect me.

I power back up at three hundred feet, throw my hands out in front and hit the jets. The thrust slows the suit down so that I land on the thousand-year-old cobblestone outside the Basilica as light as a feather.

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