Stellar Objects

Chapter 19: Going For Gold

Andra gripped the shuttle's steering column.

She was in command of the small ship, controlling its every move. It felt amazing. Rys, the annoying boy-king of Eygptia, sat beside her and Shakes, the even more annoying actor-turned-pickpocket was strapped in behind her. Their mission was simply to zip down to the surface of the moon where Rys was going to ask his grandfather for a bunch of gold.

Andra tried not to be envious of Rys' wealth, but failed. She couldn't imagine a life where money was not something to worry about every night. This kid had said, "I have money," the way she might say, "I have lice."

It wasn't fair. But the universe wasn't fair. Andra knew that from experience but she was still trying to teach George that lesson. He carried a type of optimism that would only lead to disappointment or death. The sooner she broke him of his habit, the safer he'd be.

As she decoupled from the Ghandi, she thought about her little brother. He was naïve and helpless in this cold expanse of space, and yet, just today, he volunteered to operate the engine room and had got the Ghandi moving again. The ship was sailing over the stars thanks to him, thanks to her baby brother.

"You ever actually done this before?" asked Shakes, interrupting her thoughts.

Andra lined up their entry trajectory on the shuttle's computer.

"Like so many times," she said.

"For real?" asked Shakes.

"In real viseo games, yeah," she replied.

Rys squirmed in his seat. "I'd like to get off now."

But Andra pushed the steering column down and pointed the nose of the shuttle towards the curve of the moon's outer atmosphere. She tapped the glass pad beside her to message the Ghandi. "Thank you, Captain," she said. "We're on our way."

"You can thank me when you come back," Nayar replied.

"If we make it back," said Rys, shuddering in his seat.

Andra guided the shuttle into its geosynchronous descent. She marveled at how easy it was to fly when blood-sucking aliens weren't fire bombing her. Viseo games, it turned out, were a great training for real life.

As she lowered into the atmos, the windscreen lit up with fire. The shuttle's nose burned brightly, taking the brunt of the entry procedure. The flames licked the glass and obscured her sightlines. The shuttle shook and rumbled. The noise was almost unbearable, but she could still hear Shakes screaming like a Heap raccoon over a fire. Andra wasn't worried. She had the computer to guide her and knew that she still had seventy thousand feet to go.

Once she punched through the atmosphere, the shuttle stabilised and Andra exhaled. She hadn't realised she was as nervous as she was. She just didn't want these two guys to see her as anything less than fully confident and competent.

The ground below was dirty beige, an endless expanse of sand.

"So where's ol' grandpa money-bags?" Shakes asked.

"Respect, please," Rys said, then pointing to a tiny spec on the horizon. As they got closer, the spec grew into a triangle. It was a three-sided pyramid. Andra approached the structure and circled it twice. She noticed there were no doors and no windows.

"Don't look like he's home," she said.

"Oh, he is," replied Rys.

"Doesn't get out much?" asked Shakes.

"You could say that."

Andra engaged the landing gears and touched down on the sand, just a few hundred metres from the pyramid's south-facing side. The computer confirmed that the air was breathable, but when they opened the back hack to disembark, Andra had wished the computer had also surveyed for smells.

The moon stank of sulphur, like rotting eggs.

Rys inhaled through his nose. "Smells like home."

Shakes laughed, covering his nose. "You're one sick little Gypti."

"Hey!" shouted Andra, punching Shakes on the arm. "That's not nice and you know it. Say sorry."

"You're right," he said. "Sorry man."

Rys approached the pyramid and knelt down on the ground. Andra wondered if he was going to pray - if he was into that sort of thing – but Rys reached down and gripped a metal ring. He pulled, and a door in the floor opened up, revealing stone steps.

Andra gave them each a torch light from her pack and they descended into the darkness, tunneling down into the moon. They finally reached the end of the steps and Rys took the lead. He guided them along a triangle shaped corridor laced with funny squiggly lines and drawings, many of them triangular.

"So you guys l-ove triangles, eh?" asked Shakes.

Andra traced the markings with her fingers.

"These are hieroglyphics," Rys explained. "They tell the story of this moon, and its relationship to the Egyptian empire."

"And what's his relationship?" asked Shakes, pointing to a stick-figure drawing of a man laying down on a rectangle.

"He was governor once," Rys said. "My grandfather. But stand back if you don't want to pass into the after-world."

Andra and Shakes took a few steps back as Rys stood in front of the image. From above, a yellow laser scanned his body. Andra guessed it was some kind of verification program; ensuring that only the highest class of Egyptian gained entry to the pyramid. Once the laser stopped, Rys pushed on the hieroglyph and the wall gave way. The stone scraped against the floor until it was big enough to pass through.

"After you," said Rys.

Andra stepped forward, then hesitated. An anxiety shot through her, giving her a chill. What if this was a trap? What if Rys was planning to lock her and Shakes in this pyramid. She tried to recall something about pyramids from one of George's books he used to read her. Weren't they places for the dead?

"Why don't you show us the way?" Andra said to Rys.

"Ladies first," he said, pointing his torch light into the dark chamber beyond. "I insist."

Shakes barreled past. "While you two fight over manners, I'm going to get the gold."

Surprisingly, Rys followed him in, and Andra felt relieved when he stepped into the chamber. When she joined them, she noticed the air was stale, but not scented. It was dry, devoid of moisture. She licked her lips, and felt a fine layer of dust coat the tip of her tongue.

Andra pointed her torch beam around the chamber; it was massive. She found the three walls, each leaning in and rising to a pinnacle above her. But when she shined the torch above her head, the beam barely reached the top.

"Is this a joke?" asked Shakes, training his torch beam on a horizontal stone statue in the middle of the chamber.

"Not at all," said Rys.

Andra approached carefully and ran her torch over the statue; gilded stone. The figure was a man, adorned in a royal headdress and wearing decorated armor over a tunic.

"Hello grandfather," said Rys, resting a hand gently on the statue. He turned to Andra and Shakes. "You two, help me get this off him."

Rys pushed on the top of the statue and it moved. The top section was a lid, covering a cavity below. Andra pushed a button on her torchlight and the monopod stand extended telescopically. She planted it in the dirt ground and Shakes did the same. Now, they had enough light to see without holding their torchlights. She and Shakes grabbed opposite ends of the lid and hoisted it off.

Andra peered over the lid to see inside. The cavity was partially in shadow, but Andra could see enough.

Rys' grand-daddy was a...mummy.