- Pronouns
- he/him
- TNP Nation
- Arcanstotska
PROLOGUE
Monday
16 October, 2939
4:16 PM Local Time
Planet Antus IV
The transport came to a halt just outside of the cave entrance. The humming of the engines came to a halt as the vehicle powered down. Everything was shut off, save for lights and basic systems such as life support. Three stood up from their seats and moved to the lockers where they slipped on their EVA suits. They fastened their helmets and secured the pressure and oxygen before they grabbed their equipment and opened the door. They looked about their surroundings. Nothing but rock. The object of interest was about three kilometers away on the other side of the cave network. They had a bit of walking to do.
One member of the group pushed a button on his wrist. “Antus Colony, this is the survey team. We have arrived three klicks southwest of the anomaly. Proceeding to the site now. Over.”
“Copy that,” a voice came in from the other end of the commlink. “Let us know what you find. Antus Colony out.”
Aaren Crane looked over to his other team members and motioned for them to follow. The trio made their way over to the entrance of the cave system.
“Toggle your lights,” Aaren pushed a button on the side of his helmet, lighting up two pairs of bright white LED lights which illuminated the front of the cave. “Let’s go see what we’ve got on our hands.”
The team proceeded into the caves, into the cold, dark, tight caverns and crawl spaces. Eventually they came upon a large open chamber. But there was more than just rock this time. There were structures, definitely of intelligent design. Most of it looked to be artificial walls and terminals built into the cave walls.
“By the cosmos,” one of Aaren’s teammates, Jessica, remarked under her breath, “How did we miss all of this in the initial planetary sweep?” She moved over to examine one of the artificial walls. It was covered in small repeating markings and symbols which all looked familiar.
“This is Imperial Text,” Jessica exclaimed. “I thought we were the first ones here?”
“I don’t know why there’s Imperial tech out here but we’d best call it in with the colony. Aaren, get on the comms and tell them what we’ve found,” ordered Aaren’s other teammate and the group’s leader, Carsten. “Jessica, where’s that anomaly located?”
Jessica looked down at a tablet in her hands and pointed towards one of the artificial walls. “On the other side of that wall and another thirty meters of walking. There’s a console next to it but I’m not sure if it still works.”
Aaren pushed the button on his wrist again. “Antus Colony, this is the survey team. We’ve entered the cave network which leads up to the anomaly site and we’ve found old Imperial terminals and doors. Any records of previous Imperial presence on this planet? Over.”
It was some time before a reply came back. “Negative. As far as public records go, we’re the first ones out here. Proceed to the anomaly site. Over.”
“Copy that, Antus Colony. Survey team out.”
“Jessica, see if you can get that door open.”
“Roger dodger,” she replied before moving over to the terminal beside the wall. She dusted it off to be greeted by a touch-screen.
“Touch-screens? This really is old tech then,” Carsten remarked.
“Yeah, well it’s definitely Imperial in origin,” she replied.
“The government’s probably gonna wanna talk to us about what we found, ya know,” Aaren pitched in as he looked around the walls, brushing dust off of the text with his hand.
“Yeah, if they don’t arrest us for being in a restricted system first,” Carsten scoffed.
Jessica chuckled as she pushed a few buttons on the screen. “Just another illegal deep space mining operation for the company. Anyway, I think I’ve almost got this door unlocked. Just give me another minute or so.”
Aaren brushed some more dust off of the walls to be greeted with more text.
C-12, SPECIMEN CONTAINMENT
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Specimen containment, huh? Aaren thought to himself. He looked back over his shoulder to Carsten who was inspecting another door. “Hey Carsten, what’s your door say?”
“Nothing,” he replied with disappointment. “What about yours?”
“It says something about ‘specimen containment.’ What the hell do they mean by ‘specimen?’ I thought this was just another lifeless rock?”
“Maybe it wasn’t always ‘just another lifeless rock’ then,” Jessica chimed in. “Regardless, we’ve got a job to do and we don’t have the liberty of taking detours.”
Aaren and Carsten glanced at each other. “She’s got a point,” Carsten said.
“Of course I do,” she said as the door to the anomaly opened. “Door’s open. Let’s get going.”
The hallway on the other side of the door was covered in some sort of organic substance. Whether it was alive or not? They couldn’t tell. But it sure as hell wasn’t a rock. It was tan and dark brown and even a fleshy pink. And it was everywhere.
“What the hell?” Jessica remarked. “What is that stuff?”
“Not a clue, but the anomaly is somewhere down there. Let’s get moving.” Aaren walked into the hallway, trudging through the organic goop.
“Aaren!” Jessica called him out, “Are you insane! We have no idea what that shit’s made out of! This is violating every safety protocol in the damn book!”
“Relax, Jessica,” Aaren sighed. “You said it yourself: we’ve got a job to do.”
Jessica grumbled and pushed a button on her communicator. “Antus Colony, this is the survey team. We have encountered a hallway filled with some sort of organic substance lying between us and the anomaly. Should we proceed? Over.”
“Affirmative, you are to proceed to the anomaly site. Antus Colony out.” Jessica cursed under her breath before she followed behind Aaren.
“Hey wait! What about the safety protocols?” Carsten called out. Neither of the other two answered.
“Fuck it,” Carsten grumbled before he followed them into the muck.
The trio turned the corner and came upon a large opening leading outside the cave facility. Before them stood an obelisk shaped like two horns twisting around the other. It was large and black in coloration and covered in red symbols which they couldn’t recognize.
“Oh my god…” Aaren murmured.
“This must be the anomaly,” Jessica said, looking down at her holotablet.
“Aaren, radio the colony. Tell them we’ve found the anomaly!”
Aaren nodded and held up his communicator. "Antus Colony, this is the survey team. We've found the anomaly. Over."
"Acknowledged. Please send visual confirmation. Over."
Aaren held up an imaging device and pointed it towards the object. "Antus Colony, you should have a visual now. Over."