[ WP ] `` What I 'm about to show you is so top-secret that we had to invent a new security clearance level for it . ''

The steel blast doors groaned in protest as heavy actuators pulled them apart, revealing a room as devoid of light as the void of space. 
 
 `` Now, what I'm about to show you is so to-secret that we had to invent a new security clearance level for it.'' 
 
 The man reached into a pocket hidden within his formal jacket and pressed a button. With a series of heavy clunks, lights hanging far above in the vault's ceiling lit one row at a time, illuminating a chamber large enough to easily hold three aircraft carriers lined up end-to-end. Filling the hangar effortlessly was a vast, teardrop-shaped *something*. It looked as if it had been made of metal turned to liquid, a vast metallic pool contained within an invisible flask. At first, I thought it was being suspended from the ceiling, but suddenly I realized that it was somehow hovering in place under its own power. 
 
 `` You mean to say that the leader of this entire country does n't know what you have buried out here?'' I wondered, pushing my glasses back up my nose to get a better view. Suspicion, which had begun to grow in my stomach like a knotted root the moment that the armored car arrived in my driveway, suddenly blossomed into a rancid flower. `` Why show someone like *me* this place? Are you going to kill me?'' 
 
 
 
 The man just laughed. `` Oh, he has a good idea that we have *something*, but even he knows that we would n't keep secrets unless we absolutely had to. Papers detailing the object are in a sealed folder in his desk, right on top of the nuclear launch codes. He is under strict instructions not to break the seal except in case of emergency. Which...'' He lowered the dark sunglasses that he wore even in these tunnels far enough to fix me with a piercing gaze. `` is why we called you here today. Tell me, what do you think this object is?'' 
 
 Still not convinced that I was out of the woods, I turned back to the shimmering substance. `` Well... if you called me here, I would have to guess it was some kind of alien craft.'' 
 
 
 `` That is our assumption as well. Several decades ago, our men discovered a large deposit of metal underneath the Meteor Crater in Arizona using experimental sonar. We thought it was the Russians - back then, everything was about the damn Russians - but when we tunneled our way in, we found *this*. I doubt the Russians could even conceive of such a thing, eh?'' He let out a humorless laugh. `` Moving it was too hard, so construction began immediately to create a containment facility on-site. If you had n't guessed, that's where we stand now.'' 
 
 I grumbled at that, remembering the several-hour long car ride I had spent with a blindfold wrapped around my head. `` Yeah. And Area 51 is a decoy, I know.'' 
 
 `` So you have known about this thing for decades, and you have n't come to get me until now?'' I continued, giving him a sidelong glance before flicking my gaze back up to the ship. `` What changed?'' 
 
 `` I think it would be better to show you than tell you.'' Before I could stop him, the man reached out and stroked the hull of the craft with a single finger. From where he made contact, a vast ripple spread over the ship, like a wrinkle in the smooth metal surface. When it returned, it seemed to rush inward, and suddenly a gaping hole opened in the ship's hull. A ribbon of quicksilver that reminded me unnervingly of a tongue slipped out of the opening to rest at our feet. 
 
 
 `` Follow me.'' The man said, and walked up the ramp with easy strides. After a moment, I followed him. 
 
 The inside of the ship was remarkably different from the exterior. Instead of silver, it seemed as if it had been made out of a rainbow of crystal. The walls, instead of the austere gray I expected, were covered in what looked like stained glass, lit from within by a mysterious light. Scenes like out of a fairy tale, with dragons, knights, and castles, were depicted on every surface. A carpet of transparent plastic clearly of human origin, protected the floor, where a giant serpent seemed to lead the way deeper into the ship with its kaleidoscope of crystal scales. 
 
 `` Most of the technology in this craft we already have.'' My escort said, seemingly unimpressed by the view. `` The problem is, we simply do n't have the raw power to make it run... and we have as of yet found no way of replicating their engine. And *that* is why we called you here today.'' 
 
 At his touch, a panel depicting a burning orb slid back to reveal a spherical chamber that seemed to glow with a fiery light. Tentatively, I followed him into the room. 
 
 Soon, it became apparent what was causing the glow. The walls were covered from top to bottom with precious stones, arranged in a mosaic depicting flames so real that they seemed to dance before my eyes. A small gangplank-like platform stretched into the very center of the room, where it ended in a ring-like platform that surrounded an orb of light so bright that I had to avert my eyes. 
 
 
 `` Here.'' Said my guide, offering a pair of the same dark shades that he wore. `` Now you know why I kept these on.'' 
 
 Together, we strode to the heart of the chamber - and, if my suspicions were correct, the heart of the ship itself. As we got closer, a loud humming filled our ears, seeming to emanate from the sphere itself. 
 
 `` Once your eyes have adjusted a bit, look at the center of the light.'' Said my guide, peering at the orb with a pained expression on his face. To my surprise, I saw a small oblong shape the size of a tennis ball, almost invisible at the center of the sphere. As I watched, it shook slightly from left to right, rocking in a cradle made of light. 
 
 `` What is it?'' I called, yelling to be heard over the din. 
 
 `` We think it's one of their eggs.'' Yelled my guide. `` It has been stable for years, but recently something has changed.'' 
 
 `` We think it's hatching.'' 
 
 
 *** 
 
 *Well that was fun. CC appreciated, and if you enjoyed you can find more of my work over at /r/TimeSyncs! *
