2049-09-09

From:              Ens. Quillroy
To:                   Cdr. Ezra Stone

Subject:           Operation 52 Pickup Debriefing Report

Event Summary:

Dear USN Command, I don’t do many of these reports. Lt. El Ray usually handles them, but as he is not here, I will do my best. Here goes nothing: 

Albert VII and I piloted a pair of AKLUT Minisubs back to the last place El Ray had pinged. Far under the water, we found a bunch of little rectangular stones arranged neat-like in a grid. The sub’s geomap ID’d this area as Bimini Road. I’d never heard of it, so I toggled the geomap AR for more info. It didn’t have much. Really, all it said was that no one knew how the stones got there, but they were really old—ancient even. 

Al-7 went northeast. I went southwest. For Command’s reference, I’ve included the transcribed recordings of our communications during this time.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: 

Radio communications between Ens. Albert VII and Ens. Quillroy:

Albert VII: Albert VII calling Quillroy.

Quillroy: Go ahead.

Albert VII: [inaudible] discovered a structure that appears [inaudible] and the [inaudible] building [inaudible] activity inside.*

Quillroy: Al Seven, where are you?

Albert VII: [inaudible]

END TRANSCRIPT

I turned the sub around and headed northeast up Bimini Road as fast as I could. The farther I went, the deeper the ocean floor grew. Soon, I found the road lined on either side with stone obelisks. They got taller and taller as I traveled. The obelisks were carved with characters I didn’t recognize. I tried using the VR cameras on the sub to analyze the writing, but all it said was “unidentified hieroglyphs.” 

Slowly, the road rose again. Then, suddenly, it dropped off into another valley. Below me I saw what Al-7 had encountered. 

His sub was docked next to some kind of temple in the center of a crazy underwater city. I don’t see that well—and the haze in the water didn’t help—but I could make out the general shape of the city. It was laid out in a perfect square, with more roads encircling it. Hieroglyphs, like the ones on the obelisks, had been carved on the buildings. They appeared between carvings of straight lines and shapes. 

Looking at the city, it felt like architects from the future had decided to build ancient structures. The placement and shapes of the buildings seemed random at first, but the more I looked, the more I started to notice patterns. Strangely, although I could see that there was a pattern, I couldn’t figure out exactly what the pattern was (I’m not one of those SNI eggheads). Stranger still, though, were the lights. I couldn’t see the whole thing through the haze of the water, but I could see enough to know that the city was lit up somehow. An underwater city with lights? I knew that was weird.

I started to wonder if something would pop out of nowhere and attack. I had no idea if there were people in this city! Was this some kind of secret base? Did Alpha or Sabotage have the resources to build something this complex? 

I was honestly scared, but I’d never let that stop me from doing what has to be done. I always figure you can’t have courage without first being afraid. 

I docked next to Albert VII’s AKLUT. Then, putting on my custom re-breather helmet, I exited the sub. Even though the comms were all fritzo, the AI link between the re-breather and the AKLUT seemed to be working fine. As I got closer to the thing we now call “the temple,” I could see what it was made of. Lines of stone zigzagged and crisscrossed the building in geometric patterns, kind of like those in the skyline of the city. The same kind of stone was used for doors and the outsides of what I can only assume were windows. The windows themselves were made out of a clear material like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It seemed to be some cross between a strong plastic and a stretchy rubber. The windows were tall—rounded on the sides and pointy at the top, kinda like a cat’s pupil. 

I reached the door nearest to Al-7’s AKLUT. It had a sort of upside-down tombstone shape, rectangular on the top but rounded at the bottom. It had gaskets with that same plastic-rubber material, and I had to use all my strength to lift it. 

After what seemed like forever, it finally budged. I pushed harder and the door opened. A flood of water swept me inside the building. I was tossed around like a Bracket Ball in a tornado. At last, I was able to grab onto some of the deep carvings in the wall. 

Holding tight, so as not to be washed away again, I heard Al-7’s voice coming over the comms again!

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: Radio Communication between Ens. Albert VII and Ens. Quillroy

Albert VII: [inaudible] . . .and aircraft. I think it must be some kind of storage warehouse or something.

Quillroy: Al-Seven. Help!

Albert VII: Quillroy! Where are you?!

Quillroy: The entrance near your sub . . . Hurry.

END TRANSCRIPT

Around me, the water kept rushing in. I lost my grip on the wall and got tossed around for a few more minutes. Finally, the room filled with water and the current stopped. 

Drained of all my energy, I just floated there for a second. Then I noticed the water level was dropping. It happened so fast, I didn’t have a chance to get upright. As the last of the water drained away, I faceplanted on the floor. 

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: Radio communications between Ens. Albert VII and Ens. Quillroy:

Albert VII: QR, you alright?

Quillroy: Al-7!—

Albert VII: Jeez, talk about klutzy. You even manage to break mysterious paranormal technology. Did you at least try to find a door handle first?

END TRANSCRIPT

Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot to describe the door controls earlier in my report. The “doohickey” as Al-7 calls ’em. He showed me it opens and closes the door and manages the pressure difference between the inside and outside. It was right next to the door, but I guess I went straight to relying on my guns, Lefty and Righty. In my defense, you would, too, if you could curl 240. 

I got a look around at the white-gold room we were in. It had, I dunno, maybe forty-foot ceilings. More geometric lines ran around the room in different directions. In a corner, Al-7 pulled a panel away from a wall and climbed into a passage.  He told me it was a way into the “super-secret” part of the temple. 

I followed, barely. Inside was a steep, diagonal chute that was almost too small for me to fit in. 

It took all my endurance, but I finally reached the top of the chute. I climbed out into a huge, dimly lit, warehouse. Inside I saw planes from the 20th century, pirate lookin’ ships, and really just a ton of water and air vehicles from every era. 

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: Radio communications between Ens. Albert VII and Ens. Quillroy:

Albert VII: Looks like we found out what happened to Ameilia Earhart, am I right? 

*NOTE: At this point, we were interrupted by lights shining in from one of those cat-pupil windows. We cautiously peeked outside and saw it was the headlights of our AKLUT Minisubs. 

Albert VII: The AKLUTs! They’re leaving without us!

Quillroy: We need to get back or we’ll be stranded here!

Albert VII: Too late. They’re gone. 

Quillroy: We can’t just give up! No one knows where we are!

Albert VII: I’m not worried about that. We’re the Navy’s most valued assets. They’re sure to send a search and rescue team.

Quillroy: Good point.

Albert VII: Exactly! The real thing to worry about is dying of thirst or malnutrition before they find us!

END TRANSCRIPT

That Al-7 can be a real jerk sometimes.