Page 1 of Found Treasure Bride

1

Nancy

Peloynus IV was a treasure hunter’s dream, ancient ruins left behind by an advanced civilization. They had been master engineers, and several of the atmospheric domes still worked. This meant encroaching vegetation, and wild animals were held at bay, stopped by the domes. It kept people out, too, unless you were lucky enough to obtain the entry passcode to one of the few domes hackers working for the various archeology departments had figured out. The access point keypads were impervious to blaster fire even!

Unfortunately, just as we legitimate types had IT guys working to crack these codes, so did black marketeers. I’m also pretty sure that sometimes the money they offered bought a code or three from our own guys, too. I was reasonably confident that was the case this time, seeing as The code to this small dome had only been deciphered last month, and I’d come straight here.

The only thing I should have encountered while inside what used to be a small thriving city should have been the maintenance bots that still ran, keeping everything ready for their long-gone owners’ return. When the Neread upped sticks and abandoned this place, as they strangely did every other world we’d found their ruins on, they took everything of personal value and left everything else. The only toys left, for example, were inside shops, ditto with artwork and so on. That’s what made my discovery here so very exciting.

Whatever had prompted them to leave here had caused some haste. Either that or they had simply run out of room on their ships, and this was among the last of their settlements to be abandoned. This meant the building with the abstract sculpture in front was still full of what I could only describe as art exhibits had its collection still intact. It even had what looked like a gift shop area, with merchandise filled with miniature replicas of exhibits for sale. I’d gawked when I first came in and discovered this right by the entrance area. There were even what looked like souvenir t-shirts still hanging up on racks, only with four armholes instead of two.

Unfortunately, when I touched one, it disintegrated, so I made a note on my data recorder that a future expedition would need to bring something appropriate to remove the delicate fibers of the remaining samples without destroying them in the process. For there to be another expedition, though, there had to be funding, and I needed to bring back something of note for that to happen. Something that would make our wealthy patrons stand back in awe while waving wads of cash at us. Something like they’d never seen before.

Yeah, there were plenty of souvenirs with miniatures of the paintings on them, but keychains weren’t going to seal the deal. I needed one of the actual pieces of artwork. Unfortunately, most of them were too large for me heft by myself, and they would crowd my ship. The Lindholm Institute was an academic’s dream and had helped me secure funding for my foray here. As a newly minted professor of exo-archeology, that meant they helped me secure grants for a small runabout and obtained the access code for me. That was it. Our department was small, but if I played my cards right, we’d garner ourselves wealthy patrons who would fun a full-size expedition here with my department running the show.

It was a huge deal, so I knew I had to get my skates on as more prominent universities and museums around the galaxy would also be mounting their own, better-equipped exploration groups. Only the first back would grab the necessary patronage necessary to file for exclusive rights to the location. So, as soon as I had my ship, a supply of rations, and essential tools to complete my mission, I was off. Today was my third and last day. I had a data recorder full of video, a hold full of more minor artifacts, and today, I was going to bring the grand prize back to my ship and take off.

The item I was after was a small figurine. It was made of some sort of glazed pottery and looked like a mother holding her infant child while she swayed to some unheard music, a small animal at her feet. The trick to getting it was I had to remove it from the base after disabling the alarm, which was likely still on since everything else in the city still worked (thank you, maintenance bots!), and I did not want to trigger any sort of anti-theft response.

Getting shot by a guard bot that might pop out of some storage area or receiving an electric shock from the base or whatever else could happen did not appeal to me, so yesterday, I’d scrutinized the display and returned today with the appropriate tools and packaging container for the artifact.

What I had not counted on was the arrival of another ship filled with dangerous-looking blue aliens late last night. I had also, rather stupidly, thought that these guys would end up stymied by the dome’s access code, so had hurried in at the break of dawn to retrieve my prize and leave as fast as I could to notify local law enforcement of the illegal looting trying to take place.

I was inside the pedestal’s alarm and lighting control panel, carefully disconnecting the wiring and removing the controlling chipset, when I heard footsteps, followed by voices. I licked my lips nervously as my translation chip told me what they were saying.

“Move the grav pallets over there and start packing the paintings,” a voice barked.

“What about whoever came in that ship?” another one growled.

“There can’t be more than two of them, and they’ll be eggheads. You telling me you think we can’t handle two little human scientists?”

“No, just wanted to know what to do with ‘em.”

“If they fight back, shoot ‘em. Use stun, though, as we might be able to sell them later, especially if one of them is pretty enough to fuck.”

I heard laughter from several males then and shivered. I pulled the chipset, and the lighting on my panel went dark, as did the purple blinking light that told me the alarm was powered. The display’s plinth lighting also went out and the forcefield protecting the display shimmered and then vanished. My breathing sped up.

Common sense dictated I get the fuck out of here now before they moved into this room from the next. I could escape by going to the one on the far side if I hurried. If they had a lookout out front, I could probably get away by sneaking out the side entrance via what looked like had been a cafe with an outdoor play area. The fence there was short enough I could hop over it and sprint off away from them before they detected me.

I couldn’t do that and take the time to crate the statuette properly. I looked at it regretfully, but then an idea struck me. I quietly took everything out of my rucksack, food, water, tools, everything except my datapad. That I laid flat in the bottom, then I shrugged off my shirt. I carefully wrapped the statuette in it and slipped it into my bag. It would have to do.

“Hey, what do you think any of this junk is worth, anyway?” I heard one of them ask.

“Whatever we ask for it,” came the growled reply.

I heard the sounds of them shifting something heavy.

“Easy! If you break it getting it onto the pallet, it’ll be worthless!”

I peered around the plinth. The big blue looters had moved away from the connecting archway and were out of sight. I toed my boots off, stuffing my socks inside after stripping them off, tying the laces together before fastening them to a loop on the bottom of my bag, which I then shrugged on over my shoulders, making sure the straps were secure.

For the first time, I regretted not carrying a blaster while exploring. I had one, and I’d had to defend myself with it more than once, but this was a relatively new discovery, and one or two of the dome keys had been decoded, so I thought I’d be safe. I now understood just how naive an assumption that had been. A fat lot of good it was doing me back on my cruiser.

I stood up, careful not to bump the plinth or the pile of stuff I’d removed from my backpack, and began to trot as silently as possible across the tiled floor. I made it as far as the next archway when disaster struck.

“Hey! There’s somebody else here!”

A stun blast followed, lighting a fire under my ass. I broke into a run, wincing every time one of their shots missed but hit part of the museum structure or one of the valuables it housed. The assholes weren’t just looting; they were destroying valuable history! I hoped they rotted in a very special circle of Hell for their crimes. I made it to the cafe, cursing the tables and chairs that were in my way but grateful they could slow down the pricks chasing me as I flung them out of my way and behind me. They’d stopped firing now, one of them shouting how I was just a little slip of a thing and to just catch me without damaging any more goods they could sell.