The Captain’s Logs
— Book Two of Her Greatest Adventures
The annals of Aura Raines (based on her Captain’s Logs and geocaching list) show why she is a genuine hero and friend to geocachers all.
Will Aura be able to return if she follows a portal into other dimensions? Can she discover why there was a serial stone turner? Did the Egyptians craft the Great Sphinx at Giza? These and other adventures will be featured in Book Two.
Follow Aura as she undertakes missions to explore earth and beyond.
Most gorillas are not known for their art. Nevertheless, Aura is always interested in art that depicts her friends or shows if the Draco and Pleiadians are up to no good.
The circles of Cornwall are sometimes said to be portals to various worlds. Aura was on a specific mission to investigate reports that Hurlers and Pipers therebhad been turned into stone. Unfortunately she could not help the ones who had been a victim of a serial stone turner, someone who cast their magic and made people into stone for not respecting certain things. Too much time had passed. Rusty ran deep scans and found only stone. Even going to the Underworld did not help.
The Airstrip is advertised as being the first choice for discerning travelers. Indeed, it may not seem very fancy, but it’s secret underground facilities include a choice of Venusian, Aldebaran,and Pleiadian cuisine, special chocolate delicacies, and of course antigravity lounge chairs for those with a long wait over. Fortunately, flights are regularly scheduled and Clarian Travel has the best record for on time departures. The Clarian portal tech allows you to land before you started.
The riddle of the Sphinx has attracted any number of theories about alien involvement. The Arcturians got tired of all the questions and now refuse to discuss the matter, but of course this has led to even more speculation. Aura inspected the site and found no evidence that any alien culture was involved. Indeed, the Egyptians disregarded Clarian engineering advice. Sometimes humans can be clever in their own right.
There is nothing better than enjoying a nice meal and company while traveling over the desert, particularly if your craft needs a quick repair or you just want to relax. The Inn enjoys a stellar reputation for good reason
There are some of the usual kinds of things that travelers should note, particularly the secret menu if you are traveling from other planets. Some of the Dracos wanted to spice up Terran beef but the genetic experiments raised concerns about whether the cattle abductions were covered by treaty and Clarian negotiators were called in to resolve the matter. The Clarian Travel Authority assures that no travelers have to worry after the Dracos made some unfortunate mistakes.
The Interrupted Journey came to define the abduction narrative, but was more important as a story with racial and cultural implications than as a narrative of an abduction. Clarians, of course, do not abduct. Rusty, Aura’s ship and science officer, would complain about having to carry extra passengers. It likes to remind Aura they are not a taxi service and dealing with geocachers is hard enough without adding other factors. Because Clarians monitor interstellar treaties and investigate various claims, Aura interrupted her journey to look at the incident.
Clarians always are willing to help out travelers in distress and the pilot of this craft was flying in a craft that hardly seemed spaceworthy. It’s always wise for someone in a private craft to purchase assistance protection from the Galactic Guardian Group. Because the pilot is covered by the GGG, he will receive help within the usual 20 years. The cloaking device protects against unwanted visitors while the pilot waits, although if you have a Praying Mantis or a Bugblatter Beast sniffing around you might want to take care. Aura gave the pilot an all purpose towel that should help in most situations.
When Aura returned a year later she learned that the pilot had fallen in love with the Betty Boop figure not too far from the craft (see the photos included with the log linked above). That often happens with Betty. Although she is quiet, that does not bother private space pilots who are used to traveling alone.
With Congressional hearings and media attention, have the saucer nuts been right all along? Does it depend on the nut? Is there a reason why real tin foil is so hard to find?
Aura is too busy to try to answer these questions, especially when the nuts and bolts used on interdimensional craft need attention from time to time. More than one saucer crash has been attributed to nut failure following various jolts. The work is not as glamorous as some of Aura’s adventures, but it is important. The desert is a good place to do some routine maintenance.
By chance we met Aura at the 2023 Alien Con in Pasadena. Pasadena has a history of strange and dark characters, including Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard so perhaps it was a good choice for a Con. We learned that Aura had planned to meet a certain mysterious figure there but things had not worked out so she spent her time gawking at the earthlings who were taking it all in. There was more than enough to gawk at.
