NationStates Jolt Archive

Emperor Mathias donned his ceremonial robe and prepared for the press conference. He had a great announcement to make, one that would change the world as everyone knew it, if true. He walked up to the podium as the red light on the camera came on.

"My esteemed citizens, today I have wonderful news. It is something that will enlighten us spiritually and emotionally. Our Biblical scholars have studied the documents that we've recently found during our excavation. They are now leading us towards one of the greatest moments in human history. We are on the verge of finding the Ark of the Covenant."

Muffled gasps, and then a hush fell over the room. The reporters began to write furiously. Every eye in the nation was glued to their televisions.

The Emperor went on. "Unfortnuately, I cannot expound on the location of the Ark at this time. We certainly want to keep this a secret, and our excavation teams are being kept under tight security. We wouldn't want this to fall into the wrong hands. We have been in contact with the nations that would be hosting our searches, and we are in the process of getting permits for our archaeological project.

"Questions?"

The reporters were hesitant at first, stunned by the revelation of the conference. Soon, they regained their composure.

"What nation will be hosting our crews"

"Like I said, I can't be specific, but the general area is in the Middle East."

"What will this mean for Mathias Prime?"

"We will not keep the Ark, but return it to its rightful place. Our mission is only to find it, and perhaps to display it to the world."

"Is there any truth to the stories about the Ark?"

"There are many stories dealing with the Ark, from its awesome destructive power to its gateway to Heaven. I don't really know what we'll find if we get it, but we're going to have many specialists looking into it."

"Are other nations going to be involved with this?"

"We have sent messages to some other nations that have expressed interest in our search, and we hope they'll give us any information they have... That's all for now, I'll give another conference when we have more information. Until then, good luck to our men out there!"

The reporters didn't shout questions at Mathias like others did at the press conferences in other nations. The Emperor was good to the press, and they treated him as they were treated.

"On other business, comrades, we have received word from Mathias Prime that their emperor is launching a search for the Ark of the Covenant and has invited us to join in," Minister Savchenko reported.
"What on Earth is the Ark of the Covenant?" President Jensen asked.
"Don't ask me," Savchenko replied.
"Send a telegram and ask them," said Jensen.
"Apparently it's some all powerful device capable of enormous destructiveness," Savchenko said.
"Ah... maybe we should send people to make sure this... thing doesn't fall into the wrong hands. We'll consider it..."

The program director, John Henderson, met with the Jordanian and Israeli diplomats during his tightly-held secret trip to Jordan.

"You see, gentlemen, we have studied these scrolls, and they are pretty revealing," he said, laying them out on the table. Mathias Prime normally didn't let Biblical artifacts out of the country, but the originals were needed to assure the countries that Henderson wasn't chasing after wild geese.

"On the West Bank, there are numerous subterranean caves like the ones where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1940's. There's a lot of rock in that area, but we have estimated the Ark's location to be... here." He pointed to a spot on the map.

"Gentlemen, we are ready to begin our search, but we need the permission of the Jordanian government to proceed. There will be a team of diggers and scholars along with a sizable security detail, of course. We've asked some other countries to join us, and we are waiting for their response. Both the Israelis and the Jordanians are welcome to bring along their own teams as well."

Greetings from Xeraph!

We are pleased and excited that the Holy Order of Mathias Prime has sought to undertake this great Quest. I have directed Lord Asmodeus of the Principality of Raavenii and our newest ally Prince Jean Luc Deneauve of Le Order de St. Stephen to render all aid, both scientific and military, to the search for the Ark of the Covenant.

I will have additional military aid standing by, as this is a sensitive situation. There are undoubtedly some nations who would try to use the miraculous powers of the Ark to their own nefarious ends.

respectfully,


Alaric, King of Xeraph, Master of the Knights Templar (XF), Councilor Prime of GAPTS

King Alaric,

This is excellent news! We are quite glad that you could help us on this quest, as our working together will help us see the results in less time. Today is a wonderful day in the world, and our find will hopefully help us to bring all of civilization together in finding religion.

If you'd like, I can have our project coordinator, John Henderson, speak with your scientists of what we've done so far.

Sincerely,

Emperor Mathias

"The Jordanians have allowed passage into their country, and we have obtained permission to begin our excavation," Emperor Mathias said in another press conference. "Things are going to starrt slowly while we get our crews and machinery in place, as well as the security for the dig. Once we get ourselves organized though, things are going to move very quickly, I can assure you."

*************
The first wave arrived in large cargo trucks and HMMVWs. They were dressed in desert BDUs, and sporting the new liquid armor. They began rolling out chain link fences and establishing a preimeter.

While the soldiers were securing the area, the rest of the crew began pitching tents and setting up housing. They expected to be at the site long enough, but hoped it wouldn't be too long.

Lord Asmodeus of the Principality of Raavenii is deploying 500 armored troopers as a security force around the site. When area has been swept, the scientists/archaeologists of St. Stephen will arrive to aid Mathias Prime in the excavation of the site.

Raavenii, your troops and scientists will be allowed through our perimeter. We are strictly adhering to Jordanian law though, and we ask that you do the same in dealing with your troops. Defending the site is our upmost priority, and it is the only way in which we will break the laws of the country.

****************

The teams had set up their living arrangements, and now the dig area was secure. The fences were up, and sentries patrolled the area in their HMMVWs. Apache helicopters performed maneuvers every half hour.

An area was set aside and bulldozed to make an airstrip long enough to land some of the smaller cargo planes. Once the landing strip was available, the planes came in a few hours later. Cranes, bulldozers, backhoes, and a number of other heavy machines were unloaded and cued up to start work.

Henderson watched as everything was taken out. He was very optomistic about this site, and he had the best people in the world to help him out. It was starting to get dark, and a lot of work had been done already. They'd roll out at 0600 tomorrow, and see what they could get going.

Morning came. As the sun was rising over the desert, they all knew it would be a hot day. The machines were rolled out, and digging began. The caverns were deep into the ground, covered by more than a thousand years of dirt. The backhoes started their digging. There was not much to do now but wait until it became unsafe to use mechanical digging. They didn't want to damage the Ark with a giant claw, after all.

Henderson was in his tent reading over maps and seismographs. He received calls of nations wanting to join in the dig, but he would have to request an audience with a diplomatic corps before anything could happen. He had already given the OK to Raavenii, and the only other party that was allowed to show up without notice was a Papal expedition.

They started to comb through the layers, depositing the excavated sand into dump trucks. It would be returned when the quest was finished. They were digging in selected spots, those that matched the findings of the scholars. The diggers were no more than 20 feet deep when they came upon something...