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Tampa, Florida. 05:11am. EST

Brian drove back towards their field office, wondering what they had just found. Not much had been revealed by the director and he feared that little would be within the 'need to know' category. Much of what they found wasn't what he had normally seen in previous clean-ups, the seat-filled pod was the most curious. Hopefully, anyone who may have been inside would be caught soon. Maybe the local hospital would get a visit. His report however, would only reveal what had been physically located. Nothing else.

As the sun rose in the clear sky, his missed sleep told as he tiredly turned into the parking garage, nearly hitting a trio of other agents coming in for their day. Shocked, he straightened, then turned into an empty spot, pushed the gearshift forward, then turned off the car. Time for hours of paperwork.

Walking from the elevator, he stepped out into the carpet filled lobby and turned to approach the front desk to notice the director smile, then step up. "Good morning, sir. Breakfast?"

"Actually, no. They're going to need you at Eglin to meet with the director of NASA and an engineer from LaRC. Sorry."

Brian nodded, already exhausted. "I guess I can sleep next month."

Smiling, the grey haired agent neared. "The helo is up on the roof, Agent Williams is going along also. Why don't you grab something from the cafeteria on your way up."

"Alright."

Houston, Texas. 04:12am. CST

Randall stood within the small lounge which overlooked the private landing strip, drinking his fourth cup of coffee as he waited to board. Next to him, dressed in a rare suit, Sam McKinnon fidgeted with organizing the money within his leather wallet.

"The pieces should be on their way from MacDill to Eglin within the hour," Randall stated, eyeing the crew as they prepared the jet for takeoff.

"I can't wait to see what we've got," Sam added, eagerly. "Allen Conley should be on his way from The Center," he informed, referring to the Langley Research Center in Virginia. "When I told him earlier, he was already packed and out the door before we finished the conversation."

Randall smiled. "He's as excited as we are. There's never been an opportunity like this before."

"No doubt," Sam returned, folding his wallet back up and replacing it within his jacket's breast pocket. "No survivors, I take it?"

Shaking his head, the director took another sip from his cup, then set it on the counter behind them and grabbed his briefcase as the door on the far end opened, revealing the crew chief motioning them to the plane. "That's us," he informed as they began heading to the double set of doors. He had neglected to tell anyone about the escape pod for the moment. More investigation would be needed to see whether or not anyone had actually escaped the collision. He couldn't imagine anyone surviving that but, stranger things had happened.

Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. 05:58am. CST

Brian stepped from the tall, olive green panel van with Agent Terry Williams in tow and approached the large hangar door. Inset, a smaller entry door stood near the center of the tall building's face as two Security Police, armed in camouflage uniforms, M-16's across their chest. Flashing their badges, the leftmost sergeant opened the door for them and stepped aside. Within, Brian's brown eyes adjusted to the interior's dim light as the concrete floor was further cordoned off by orange posts and rope. Within the abnormally shaped pieces that had been recovered he noticed seven men clustered around the pod. Footsteps echoed from the high ceiling as they approached, gaining the attention of an older, grey haired man. Lean, his average height revealed the astronaut who had given up his spacesuit for a desk job.

"You must be Agent Strauss," the blue-eyed director stated.

"Yes, sir. This is Agent Williams," he mentioned, turning to Terry on his left.

"Pleasure. You've found us some interesting trinkets, gentlemen. Of course, you understand all of this is Top Secret."

Brian nodded, not needing to be reminded as he gazed over to the egg-shaped vehicle, now supported by angled metal struts to either side. "Anything interesting in there?"

"Nothing other than what it is. You didn't find anyone around it, wounded?"

"No. Only the concerned neighbors. They didn't see anyone come out of it either."

"Then why was the door open?"

"Perhaps it popped open during the crash," Terry interjected.

Randall nodded. "Probably. You have the names of the people that were around while you picked it up, I trust?"

"Logged in my report." Brian crouched to see into the interior, now lit by a flashlight as another engineer sat on the heads of the seats within. The owner's names of the two homes had been logged, no one else.
His eyes followed the round circle of light to notice something small and shiny beneath the dark grey, metal plating at the foot of one of the seats. Allowing it to pass, he watched and waited for their investigation to center on several panels on the outside of the craft. Opportunity availed, he crawled into the entry and smelled the stale air within as he took out a small penlight and then reached down beyond the seat to find a silver necklace. As he pulled it from the darkened hide underneath the seat, he noticed a small, oblong pendant which sported a tightly wound rope around its border surrounding what appeared to be an elongated skull with two horns protruding from the cheekbones. Concealing it within his fist, he shoved the evidence within his jacket pocket and leaned into the red, padded chair below him as Terry crouched at the entryway.

"What you got, boss?"

"Just wondering what's in these compartments," he stated, reaching underneath the seat to a small, inset door which seemed to coincide with a ringing compartment around the interior of the pod. Tapping and pushing on various points of the barrier, nothing moved or made a sound. Pursing his lips, he finally gave up. He may have already found what he needed to anyway.