They made their way back out to the airlock and punched in the code. The door did not open. Pogo looked at the lock and it read `air lock in use'. Denise said,

"Quick, put on your e-suits. Maybe we can bluff our way through."

They all quickly fumbled to get their helmets on. Just as Denise was snapping hers into place, the air lock door opened and out walked four men. Denise looked down and waved to them as she walks into the airlock. Closing the door behind her she let out a breath she did not even realize she had been holding. Looking around she said,

"OK. Let's get back to the ATV as quickly as possible. Don't run. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

They all nodded and Pogo opened the door to the cave mouth. Not having any trouble, they made their way to the ATV and got in. When everyone was out of their e-suits, Denise said,

"Anybody have any idea what that was?"

The group looked at each other, then Yalp replied,

"Well, I think we have a couple of possibilities. The first is it could be some sort of teleportation device. Or it could be some other location on the planet or maybe even off this world."

Christine said,

"Is that possible?"

Yalp nodded yes and said,

"The problem we have had is it takes too much energy and computer space. I read about it in some technical journals a couple of years back. There are other possibilities as well. It could be a worm hole generator of some kind."

Some of the group looked confused, so he continued.

"They are devices that can create stable worm holes between two points. Each point having a device. In theory this is possible, but to my limited knowledge no one has done it."

Pogo said,

"There is another possibility. It could be a dimensional corridor." Again some of the people in the group looked confused. He continued,

"We know there are other dimensions. For example, drive space. Well it has to be theorized and there is a strong mathematical probability to the existence of alternate dimensions. The theory is that every time a major event that could have more than one outcome happens, a new dimension for each alternative is created in the multi-universe."

"So this could be a doorway to a universe where the second galactic war never happened or another where humans never expanded off the planet earth", said Connor.

"Yes", said Pogo. "So you can see how many possibilities there could be."

Connor looked at Pogo and said,

"Do the Fraal know how to get to these alternate dimensions?"

Pogo looked as embarrassed as anyone had ever seen a Fraal get. He replied,

"Yes and no. We can go to them but only through a non-cuporial mind projection sort of thing. So we have seen them but could not interact. It has made for some interesting alternate history fiction."

Connor almost laughed at the thought of the straight laced Fraal reading a science fiction novel. Then he turned to Linda and saw her laughing to herself. He asked,

"What? A mental picture of Pogo there reading a romance novel?" Then they both laughed. Pogo turned on them and said,

"I will have you know I made my first fortune in the publishing industry, and yes, I read romance novels." Connor and Linda shut right up. Then the entire group had a good laugh.

When everyone had calmed down Christine said,

"There is another possibility. It could be a replicator of some kind." Linda looked at her in shock and said,

"Can life really be replicated like that?"

"Not by our level of technology, but who knows who or what made that thing. If you have the technology to break things down to their smallest components and can manipulate those components, then why could you not replicate living tissue?"

Pogo looked at her and said,

"So, all you would need are a couple of well trained fanatics and you would have a very powerful force?"

"Yes, and there is even a theory that once you know what every little protein chain does then you can manipulate these replicates to have new abilities and strengths. The possibilities are endless."

Denise looked at them and thought, `if it is any of these things, should they be letting anyone have this technology?' She knew that this thought had not crossed anyone else's mind yet, but they were not dummies and she had to have an answer ready. In the mean time she spoke again,

"I think we should let the outside world know what we have found. So who should we contact? Huntly, a pirate, or Beighur, or the Union of Sol Navy? Anyone have any ideas?" The group as a whole was thinking and Denise knew this is when it was going to happen, and she was right. Christine said,

"So, who can we trust with this technology?"

Denise looked at the group and said,

"We are going to give it to the Concord. It is the lesser of two evils, but should we tell this to Beighur and Huntly or tell one but not the other? I have an idea, but what do you all think?"

Pogo shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat. Then he said,

"Well I think we should tell them we found them but it is risky for either group to get this technology. In my opinion the best people to have this would be the Concord. We need Beighur tog et them here then we can explain what we found." The rest of the group nodded their agreement and Denise said,

"Good. That was my thinking also. Computer, open a communication channel to the Birmingham and Captain Beighur." It took a few minutes and Denise was talking to Beighur. She told him the Syndicate was responsible for the attack on Icewalker. She also told him about the site outside of Port Royal and how it was some sort of ancient ruins and that is where the Syndicate is getting their cybernetics. He asked a few questions, but Denise side-stepped them by saying they did not really get to look around to much. Beighur told her it would be invaluable if she could get some more on site intelligence and she said they would try. He also told her that the Lighthouse should be here tomorrow if they left on schedule.

Denise smiled and said,

"Thanks. We will be in touch." Then she had the computer send a written message to Huntly to update her. Turning to the rest of the group she found dinner was ready. Then some sleep would be in order.