The Polish Discovery: The Society of Orion 1-3 (Colton Banyon Mystery Book 17) Read online

  The

  Society of Orion

  The Polish Discovery

  A Colton Banyon Adventure/Mystery

  By

  Gerald J. Kubicki & Kristopher Kubicki

  Introduction

  I became semi-interested in Greek Mythology as a young boy when I saw a movie called The Lliad and the Odssey. To my surprise, in high school I was actually required to take a course in Greek Classics.

  While I realize that the myths are pure fantasy, even make-believe stories are based on something real. In other words, there probably was someone named Orion. He was probably a womanizer, a hunter, and a folk hero.

  The stories about Orion were written thousands of years ago, but he may have lived many thousands of years earlier. No one knows.

  The Society of Orion series is my spin on the age old story. There are eight books in the series and are filled with adventure. The first three books are included in The Polish Discovery. I hope you like the books.

  Gerald J. Kubicki

  Other Books by Gerald J. Kubicki

  A Dubious Mission #1

  A Dubious Secret #2

  A Dubious Dream #3

  A Dubious Terrain #4

  A Dubious Plan #5

  A Dubious Artifact #6

  Books by Gerald J. Kubicki & Kristopher Kubicki

  A Dubious Position #7

  A Dubious Curse #8

  A Dubious Crime #9

  A Dubious Device #10

  A Dubious Race # 11

  The Society of Orion Series

  The Weapons #1

  The Recovery #2

  The Deception #3

  The Orion Codex #4

  License Note

  This ebook is for your personal enjoyment.

  It may not be re-sold.

  The Society of Orion

  The Polish Discovery

  Published by Gerald J. Kubicki & Kristopher Kubicki

  Copyright ©2015 by Gerald J. Kubicki & Kristopher Kubicki

  All rights reserved

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  The Society of Orion: Weapons #1

  The Society of Orion: Recovery #2

  The Society of Orion Deception #3

  Epilogue

  Authors Notes

  Acknowledgements

  Bonus Reading

  About the Author

  The

  Society of Orion

  The Weapons #1

  A Colton Banyon Adventure/Mystery

  Prologue

  It was late afternoon on the huge delta of the river called Iteru, the modern day Nile River. Most people were heading home to rest for the evening, but one man bucked the crowds as he fanatically attempted to cross the modern city. He was on a quest which could not be denied.

  The bearded man was old, by ancient standards. He rushed through the alleyways of one of the largest cities in the known world. His leather sandals slapped against the rough, hard-packed ground that served as the street. The process gave him an unpleasant jolt of pain with every step. He was badly bruised, but tried to hide that fact from anyone he encountered. His body was covered in a scratchy cloth tunic which was several sizes larger than his short, thin, wiry, frame. He had stolen it to hide his wounds. His head was on a swivel as he pushed his way past the throngs of people buying food and other wares for their homes in the busy open market. Their life was simple, his was not.

  The twenty-nine year old man was named Amos. It meant “to carry” in his language. He had inherited the name from his father, who had inherited it from his father. In fact, there had always been an Amos in his family tree, all the way back to antiquity. The name was as ancient as his tribe was old. But he not only carried the name, he also carried a burden bestowed on him by his secret society. He was responsible for the safety of the burden, just like his father and grandfather had been. It was an artifact that he could not allow to fall into the wrong hands. He (now) carried it under his tunic, strapped to his waist. Amos was destined to carry his burden until he died or passed it to another Amos. The legend dictated his life. His single thought was to protect it until he could not protect it any longer.

  Amos was a complicated man. He was an Israelite and followed the teachers of Judaism, but didn’t practice his faith in the open. It was too dangerous. Instead, he pretended to follow the God Pharaoh’s complicated system of polytheistic, beliefs in many deities and gods. It had kept him and his family safe for many generations. He also followed many practices which revolved around Greek mythology and the occult. These he inherited from his father. As a result, his everyday beliefs were based on four very non-practical subjects. They were: reality trumped religion, religions required sacrifice, the mythical fantasy he followed was reality, and the honor that had been bestowed on him could not be forsaken. Today, he had to deal with a cataclysmic event that could destroy everything he believed in.

  Amos was a tanner in the ancient world. He cured, molded and produced leather products for the masses now living in the capital city of Pi-Ramesses. His shop was the perfect setting for his other activities. Few people wanted to spend much time inside his work area. The dirt, chemicals, and leather pelts created a smell that drove people away. It gave him the privacy that he needed. He sold his wares from a small stand in front of his shop. It gave him the ability to covertly meet with the others in his secret group. He also was able to take advantage of the news and information system that buzzed up and down the busy market place. In Pi-Ramesses, the news on the street flowed at the speed of sound.

  Pi-Ramesses, at that time, was the capital and center of Egyptian power, with a population of around 300,000 people. The Pharaoh Ramesses II built the city many years earlier, to be near Egypt’s vast Asia holdings. Many tribes moved in and now made the city their home. They all lived in peaceful harmony, except for the ever persecuted Jews. People who admitted to follow the Jewish faith were always enslaved as punishment. The Egyptians promoted their own beliefs in specific gods. Those that openly disregarded their beliefs were enslaved. The Jews denounced the gods. This was unacceptable to the God Pharaohs. The current Pharaoh was a man named Thutmose III.

  Amos and his family never told anyone that they were Jews. The others in his group did likewise, thus allowing them to have some freedom in the slave driven society. Many other Jews also preferred freedom over enslavement. They never acknowledged that they were the children of Israel. The people were still overtaxed, subject to unannounced searches and seizures, often conscripted into the Pharaoh’s army, and could not practice their religion openly. It was freedom at a price.

  But things had changed in the city. Three days ago the Pharaoh announced that all Jews could leave the empire. This meant real freedom. Word spread quickly and a mass exodus ensued. The Jews were leaving, but didn’t know exactly where they were headed. They were going out into the desert. Real freedom had its price as well.

  Amos and his group decided to leave Pi-Ramesses as well. They met with the organizers and sent their families ahead. The men of the society had to collect their burdens. They also had one more meeting to attend. They needed to set up a communications system in the event they became separated along their journey. They needed to keep in touch, just in case the myth which they coveted came true.

  Amos had gone to his shop to collect his burden. He had hidden it below the stone hearth in the back room of his shop. The others in his group were doing the same thing, collecting their own burdens. They intended to meet a
t the other end of the sprawling city, in a cave under a tavern that had been constructed hundreds of years ago for their secret meetings.

  Amos stepped out into the busy street with his charge and noticed a commotion several blocks away. That was when his current crisis began.

  “The Pharaoh’s army is coming,” A woman sang out. Amos could see the tops of their spears in the distance. He could hear the rhythmic pounding of their sandals on the hard-packed earth. They were heading directly towards his shop.

  “The Pharaoh has gone back on his word,” a man shouted. “They are going to round up all the Jews and put them back in slavery. His edict was just a ploy to identify more Jews. He wants more slaves.”

  Suddenly, it all became clear to Amos. He had wondered why the Pharaoh had brought so many soldiers into the city. They usually were camped some thirty miles away. The Egyptian leader had tricked the populace into believing that all Jews were being set free, but what he really was doing was finding out how many Jews had kept their secret.

  Amos knew the Pharaoh’s slave supply was dwindling. It had been for some time. The Pharaoh wanted more slaves. He had big plans to build more monuments in his honor. He needed the free labor.

  ***

  With sudden horror, Amos realized that his entire family was already part of the exodus, and the Pharaoh undoubtedly had spies watching all the Jews leaving the city. The spies would already have reported that he was a Jew. The families of all the secret society’s members were in jeopardy. He wondered if he would ever see his family again.

  Amos quickly realized the soldiers were combing the city for any stragglers who were attempting to leave while confiscating their homes, businesses, and valuables, in the name of the Pharaoh. It was an easy way to add riches to the Pharaoh’s treasury. He would have more money to build more monuments dedicated to his reign.

  He also knew the Pharaoh had many fast horse-drawn chariots that could easily catch up to exiting people who were struggling on foot through the hot desert. They only had a day’s head start. The wandering Jews had no defenses. The Egyptian army would capture all of them. They would all be enslaved.

  He had to get away from the approaching soldiers before deciding if there was any chance of saving his family. Amos quickly turned to his left. He noticed more soldiers approaching from the opposite end of the street. They would trap him in a matter of minutes. He could not let that happen. He turned and ran into his work area. The structure didn’t have a back exit, but he had made a hole in the wall to allow waste and overflow, from his work, to leave. It could drain into the open sewer behind the building. He realized that despite his small statue, he might not fit through the opening. But he had to try. The future of everything he believed in hung in the balance.

  He stripped off his clothes and rubbed some animal fat from one of his newer pelts on his body. He could hear the soldiers outside breaking down his stall and pounding on the door. They would soon find him. He threw himself into the small hole. To his surprise he fit. He quickly squirmed through the opening, but he had forgotten that there was a four foot drop to the bottom. He plunged to the ground and landed in an awkward position.

  As he lay stunned, bleeding, and bruised on the ground, he saw a soldier stick his head through the opening. He realized they would be on him quickly, he had to move now. He looked around for any avenue of escape and spied an open door across the alleyway. He painfully climbed to his feet, ignoring the shouts of the soldier to stop and bolted through the opening. He ran past several startled people who were making pottery in the small shop and burst onto the next street. Along the way, he grabbed a tunic that hung on a hook near the door. He threw the tunic over his head and blended into the crowds.

  He had avoided an attempt, by the army, to capture him and now, bruised and battered, hurried to warn his cohorts. He wondered if they were already captured, or if their secret cell had been compromised. The streets and alleys were crawling with the Pharaoh’s soldiers and many spies, eager to please the Pharaoh. Amos had to change directions many times. As he passed people on the streets he expected them to shout out that he was a Jew. There were precious few people that he could trust now and they were all on the other side of the city. But Amos was a determined and motivated man.

  He eventually made it to the tavern, but noticed soldiers up the street conducting a house by house search. They had several Jews already in tow. They would be at the tavern shortly. Amos ran inside. The place was empty except for the keeper. His name was Levi, which roughly translated to “attached”.

  “Where have you been Amos? There is much unrest in the city,” Levi barked at his friend.

  “We must hurry,” Amos replied. “The soldiers are just up the street.” Amos slammed the wooden door. He placed the timber used as a lock against the structure. He knew that the obstacle would not hold the soldiers for long, but he hoped it would hold long enough for them to make their escape.

  The two men quickly went through a doorway in the back of the tavern and pulled open a trap door in the floor. It led to a cellar where Levi kept his supplies. Once down in the cellar, they moved to a back corner of the musty room. The wall appeared to be made of solid bedrock. While Amos held a small torch, Levi reached his fingers into a small hole and pulled a latch. The two men pushed frantically to inch the rock open. The opening revealed a tunnel which angled downward. Once inside, they pushed the rock back in place and made sure they heard a click. Then they headed down the dark tunnel.

  They soon came to a room chiseled out of the rock eons ago. Everything in the room was carved out of the bedrock. There were several stone chairs and a round stone table in the middle of the room. Seated around the table on the floor were the five other members of their cult. Each had their burden on display. The room was lit by candles spread around the fortress. Amos nodded to each of his friends, but had no time for joyful greetings.

  “The soldiers are almost upon us,” he told everyone.

  “How will we survive?” one of the men wailed.

  “We stay right here until they leave, then make our way out of the city,” Amos stated strongly.

  “I hear them already, they are in the cellar,” Levi blubbered as he went to the entrance of the tunnel so he could hear well. “I fear that they will soon find us.”

  “This sanctuary has been here since our ancestors settled in the area a thousand years ago. No one has found it yet,” Amos argued. “Please return to your seat, Levi, we have things to discuss.”

  “Our families are about to be taken into slavery and you want to discuss something,” Levi roared.

  “Keep your voice down, you idiot,” Amos ordered sharply. “You don’t want them to hear you.”

  “What do we have to discuss?” another member of the group asked. His name was Ethan, his translation meant, “enduring”.

  “We have two things to discuss,” Amos replied calmly. “First we must develop a means to communicate if we become separated, and second we must find a way to free our people.”

  “How can we do that?” Levi asked skeptically. “There are only six of us. We cannot stop the Pharaohs army.”

  Ignoring Levi, Amos continued. “First we need to be able to communicate in case we become separated. I propose that, if we are separated, we meet next year in the holy city now named Jerusalem.”

  “But our faith was banished from there many generations ago. The Pharaoh controls the city,” Levi argued.

  “We won’t go there as Jews. We’ll go as traders. We’ll meet by the entrance to the largest open market place in the city. We’ll meet on the current Pharaoh’s birthday, one year from now. We can set up additional meetings then. Have any questions?”

  “Let’s not become separated,” Levi said fearfully.

  “Good, then everybody agrees,” Amos quickly said to end the topic. “Now we must discuss saving our people.”

  “How can we save them? They are wandering around in the desert. The Pharaoh has sent a lethal army after th
em,” Levi cried out.

  “I propose that we use one of our burdens. They all have special powers,” Amos said with passion.

  “But we are supposed to protect them, not use them.” Ethan said.

  “How can we protect them if they are no longer are in our keep?” Amos said hotly. “We know what they each do. This is a time of crisis. Our family’s lives are at stake.”

  “What do you propose?” another member of the group asked.

  “I propose that we create a miracle in the desert. Let’s part the Red Sea.

  Part One

  The Contact

  Chapter One

  October 14th, 1817

  A horse ambled along the cobblestone streets in the center of the small city. The man riding the horse kept a sharp lookout. He was attempting to find a street with the address of a particular building. He and his five other travelers, all on horseback, created quite a stir in the ancient settlement of Solothurn, in modern day Switzerland. The men were heavily armed individuals wearing military uniforms, covered by long coats. To the locals, the men looked like veterans of many vicious war campaigns. The horses also appeared to be war veterans. To anyone that encountered them, they clearly appeared to be a protection detail. The leader rode high in the saddle. He was dressed in the fashion of a nobleman.

  They rode through the town with the air of definite purpose. To the locals, these men looked like big trouble. Their presence disturbed the tranquility of the autumn season in the Alps. The chilled morning air magnified the sound of twenty-four horse hooves clip-clopping along the small cobblestone streets. The sound announced their menacing arrival. Most of the residents along their route stayed inside. They viewed the intruders through small windows in their dwellings. Many of the openings were covered with white lace curtains which people secretly peered through. The city residents wanted nothing to do with the foreigners. Foreigners meant war to them. Their mountainous countryside was finally at peace, but to the residents, it looked like another invasion was about to begin.