The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,84
their infrastructure, and it evolves intuitively to provide constant—”
“Verne,” Dr. Wells interrupted.
“Sorry, Dr. Wells.”
“Oh, it’s no problem, Verne, but we’re on a very tight schedule and must continue on our way.”
“Oh, yes, of course, of course,” Verne replied apologetically as he dropped his head. All the excitement that had boiled up within him as he explained his inventions was immediately stymied. Landon felt as disappointed as Verne looked, for now he wouldn’t be able to hear about the new gadget. He couldn’t deny that he was interested, but Dr. Wells guided him out of the office and back to the lift.
As they stepped onto the lift, Landon noticed a door just to the right of it. “What’s in there?” he asked.
“Nothing to be concerned about,” Dr. Wells replied. Landon opened his mouth to ask something else, but before words could pass his lips, the doctor clearly stated, “The Stable.”
The lift ascended to the next level. As it passed through the ceiling of the Forge, Landon and Dr. Wells emerged into an expansive aircraft hangar. The faint smell of gasoline lingered in the air and parked side-by-side were two awe-inspiring machines.
Landon couldn’t take his eyes off them as Dr. Wells escorted him onto the hangar deck. Apart from sitting in a commercial jet, he’d never been within any sort of proximity to an aircraft, let alone those for military use.
The larger one looked like some strange hybrid of a helicopter and a military transport plane. The main body of it looked like a standard transport helicopter, but rather than a large propeller mounted on the top, two short wings extended out if it. Each had its own pivoting turboprop attached to the end. The blades seemed shorter and thicker than what Landon had always imagined a regular helicopter to have, and the entire vehicle was covered in some strange material of a slate-grey color. On the side, a matte black decal showed the same symbol he’d seen initially in the hologram at the Altar—an eagle carrying an arrow. In small type below it, “Alpha Chariot” was written in a modern, all-caps typeface.
The aircraft next to it was some sort of jet. Of all the movies and military documentaries Landon had watched during his life, he’d never seen anything like it. It was short and narrow with a cockpit that looked to hold two, and it was made of the same strange grey material as its larger sister. Above the wing, just behind the cockpit, was the same decal and the words “Pegasus One” printed below it.
“This one here,” Dr. Wells began as he tapped the nose of the large helicopter-hybrid, “is the Alpha Chariot. More agile and faster than your standard tilt-rotor, this guy gives us the ability for vertical take-off and vertical landing like a helicopter, but giving us a wider range of travel.” Dr. Wells circled around the aircraft, pointing out to Landon the different features of the machine. Landon followed behind him, taking as much time as he could to understand everything Dr. Wells was showing him. “It’s large enough to carry the entire team of Pantheon operatives, but efficient enough for use in less demanding missions. We’ve also been able to make quite a few modifications to the standard military design. We’ve managed to muffle the engines substantially, while reducing heat emissions. And by covering the hull in this dark, reflective bicarbonate alloy we’ve developed, it makes it nearly undetectable to most radar.”
“So it’s stealth?” Landon asked.
“For lack of a better word, yes.” Dr. Wells then moved to the jet. “And this beauty is the Pegasus One. We developed it for the military as a multi-role fighter jet. It allows for the same vertical take-off and landing as the Alpha Chariot, but unlike its big sister, this one vector-thrusts using turbofans with rotating nozzles. It is highly maneuverable and able to travel at nearly supersonic speeds. It only allows for two passengers, so we use it primarily for solo missions. It’s also stealth.”
As they walked back to the lift, Landon took a moment to look around the hangar. He had never fully grasped the immensity of the towers of the Gymnasium. The two aircraft were dwarfed within the open two-story area, especially when it wasn’t broken up by any rooms or walls. Apart from a few large drums of gasoline and mechanical tools, the Stable was dedicated to the two vehicles. The roof of the Stable was made of reinforced steel with a curved seam running down