Futuristic Transsolar

[InsanEleven]

Saami

​

With a soft splash Saami stepped into the centre of the basin, submerged to halfway his boots in remarkably clear water. Except for a few odd, nearly luminescent blue flowers creeping up the walls, which had their thick roots drifting lazily in the water. They seemed to be particularly eager to grow; already coiling around his feet and trying to sprout new plants, even if they were easy to shake off. However, by the time he had secured the line into the bottom of the basin, the plants had already curled around the rope.


"Saami to command: the rope is secured. It is safe to start the descent. I will live link the images of he perimeter until it is secure." Within a blink his eyes glowed a light blue, indicating both his vision and data systems were on. Stepping out of the water the plants left him alone, and they did not grow past the light. There were six openings in the wall, all leading to a pitch staircase. Taking his twin plasma guns out of their holster, he attached a suppressor modification to them; this turned the power of the shots down to medium lethal at best, but meant he wouldn't attract a whole swarm of hostile targets with one shot.


Carefully he descended down the staircase, not needing the aid of any light as he had his night vision. Carefully looking through every hexagonal nook and cranny, but most of them were empty, and the ones that were not just had fossilised cocoon shells. Hatched at least a few centuries ago. Yet he still was thorough and meticulous, not taking any chances. The staircase led to a lower room in the tower, clearly meant for storing eggs. There were hexagonal holes all over, even in the ceiling. A six pillars with little holes poked in allowed for the room to have some humidity, so the eggs wouldn't have dried out, but now the holes were empty, filled with shrivelled dead eggs, or sealed. The closed ones he took care of simply by double tapping with his gun, then searching for heat signatures or any organic fluids through infrared and ultraviolet sight. When everything was clear in the room below, he quickly scanned the staircases leading further down, and cleared the second staircase leading back up.


"The direct perimeter is cleared. I will continue to stand watch until touchdown or until further orders are given." Which meant he positioned himself in the centre of the lower floor, listening carefully for any movement. From this position he'd have a clear shot on any bug coming up either stair, and he'd be able to give the rest the advantage of a warning, if truly necessary.

Doc

​

Chrice chuckled at the words of her companion while she checked her medical kit over. Unbeknownst to him, this definitely wouldn't have been the first time she'd had to scrape flattened human off of the floor.


"If they stumble and slip, we can just take the clean-up out of their paycheck. If we bother to clean up at all that is." This was not the environment for people to start getting sentimental over dead bodies. She'd rather leave one behind, than to have to drag two back. "Just be sure it isn't you. We'd better get ready for the call, looks like we're next." Unlike Jericho she hadn't wasted any time staring down a hole, as a doctor, she'd stared down a few too many holes. Usually she didn't have to put on a climbing harness and helmet to get down into them though.

Nadanya

​

With cautious eyes Nadanya eyed the geometrical structures as she leant against the wall at the bottom of the staircase, and not as brave as her captain, she just stayed behind on the part she was sure was stable. The last thing she wanted to encounter was something as horrid as intelligent insects. In an attempt to distract herself she just awkwardly tried to talk to Adira.


"Good thing we got roboboy eh? At least none will miss him if he gets eaten." Occasionally she glimpsed at the images linked to her helmet, a horrified curiosity overtaking her, before she shuddered again and had to close it. When the all clear came, she just frustratedly mouthed; "Damn blinkeys... something that's that fearless can't be right."

 

[Unlimited]

JT was terrified as he looked over the edge and down into the deep dark hole in the planet, a scary thing to think about going into a planet that has tried to kill people multiple times. If things so horrifying lurked on the surface what could possible await them down below? His whole body shook with fear as he made sure his harness and helmet were secure before starting to lower himself into the black abyss, the deeper he went the more worried he became. Dangling from his belt was a single grenade filled with the bug repellent he had synthesized, a test would need to be preformed before going ahead with further production. He went deeper and deeper and looked up at the sky, admiring the strange atmospheric glow as it shrank ever smaller from him descending ever lower. He stopped and grasped tightly onto his rope and curled himself into a ball, fear overtaking the young chemist as he began to speak to himself."This is crazy, I shouldn't be here.." His voice was low in hopes of not alerting anyone to his sudden frozen state, but secretly he wanted people to hear so they could tell him it'll be alright. He still wasn't sure how the communication system worked so maybe everyone heard him, and maybe no one did."I'm a scientist, not an adventurist. I should be back at base, playing with my dead samples. Not out here, close to death and engulfed in darkness." He stayed there motionless not even half way down with his eyes clamped shut and his hands burning from holding the rope so tightly.

 

[SSgt Goodrich]

Seeing the doctor begin preparations for the descent, he followed suit and began the tedious task of strapping himself into the harness. Past all the ceramic plates and Kevlar, Jericho could barely fit all the hard-points to his armor, and when he did, he let out an audible sigh of relief. For now, he was pretty sure that nobody would have to scrape his body from the rock floor.


The reflective blue visor, shimmering in the sunlight above the cavern, turned opaque as he faced the abyss. Beside the doctor, he gave one deep breath before clutching the ropes in his hands, one of his wrists gave a whir as his grip tightened. In the peripheral of his vision, he saw the chemist hanging tightly halfway down the rope. Confused, he used his free hand to switch across the communication channels until a heads-up display told him that he was in direct comms with JT. Jericho had not gotten to known everyone in the crew, but he figured that it was his responsibility, just as much as the others, to insure the operation ran smoothly. His voice rang into JT's headset, the trademark gravel voice asking a question.


"Hey, boss, everything alright down there?"

 

[Tarmagon]

"Very astute of you Mr. Marshall, " Rae said quietly, keeping her eyes roving for threats despite the increasing number of personnel present. "Based on the type of life forms observed to date, I find your hypothesis about the body types accurate. However observe this please. "


Rae sent Marshal an image of the geometric carvings with the edges highlighted.


"Don't you think that this angularity of form is more consistent with late Bronze age? Once iron was in wide use, the forms tended more towards curvilinear, yes?"

 

[Unlimited]

JT's body jerked as the strange gruff voice came through his helmet, a startled breath escaping him. "I-I'm fine, just stuck." His voice shuttered a little as he lied, his last words trailing off into silence. "You can do this, just go." The words echoed in his mind as he tried to pep himself into moving, his grip on the rope loosening. "You're not safe up here, at least down there you're not dangling by a thin rope." He reasoned with himself in his head and finally started to descend again, wishing he was already on the ground."Thank you for your concern." He responded to Jericho in a slightly more confident voice.

 

[SSgt Goodrich]

From the bottom of Jericho's chest, a drum struck its beat and he laughed, a bellowing and warm rumble shaking JT's headset. Seeing the chemist fumble down the ropes had a childish humor to it, he figured it would be best to surface it, hoping to alleviate the stressful situation. After stifling the laughter, Jericho rounded back to speaking with the chemist, his voice still gravel—but much lighter.


"You look like one of those circus chimps back at the Harbourage! You clamber as if you are performing!"


He shared a warm smile with the moment, his teeth bearing and his lips curling back in a grin. The work on the Lullaby was business, no doubt, but it was the gorgeous environments and the comedic breaks that made working truly worth it. He had his way of finding light in the dark, and judging by where he was going, he needed to. It looks like JT needed to see the light too. He began to speak again to JT, this time, exhaling the words as a sigh.


"You and those chimps are going to share two things in common—a paycheck, and your survival to get that paycheck. You're doing good, kid. Radio us when you're off the rope."

 

[BookWyrm]

"Still doesn't mean I have to like him any.", Vince replied to Adira before looking over at Lydia. "Alright, hook up and stay safe. I'll see you at the bottom." Vince checked to make sure his harness was properly tightened before running once more over the remainder of his gear. Rifle, pack, mags, everything is in place. As Vince stepped up to the edge of the cavern he looked down and adjusted his visor, only to raise an eyebrow at the sight below.


Not wanting to get the teams tangled up Vince stepped off to the side to hook up a second line. "There is a stall about halfway down, I'm hooking up a second line." After a third check Vince finally hooked his harness in place, walked to the edge of the cavern, and started his descent face first. It was definitely a more steamlined, if not reckless, approach, but it allowed him to face whatever dangers might await that the other teams had missed. As Vince came upon Jericho and Jt he slowed his descent just enough to make sure they weren't in over their heads before resuming his descent. At the last approach Vince unhooked a little early and flipped forward to land on his feet. A bit of a showy landing, sure, but it wasn't really about impressing anyone as much as it was the fun of it.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia almost jumped a foot off the ground when she was addressed, but she composed herself. At Woods' words, she squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to not to ignore words that she had heard countless times. She nodded and replied.


'I do appreciate the promise of a "should." And I must admit, I would like seeing the inside of something via dissection more than I would through digestion.'


With hope, that wasn't the most disgusting of images that had ever been put into someone's head. Even after the not-necessarily-numerous years she had spent practicing it, humor was an elusive thing for her. Still, Lydia took her job seriously. Although her own interpretation of that tended to differ from others'. Some people who had worked with her would say she took the job too seriously. Others would say not enough.


Lydia watched each team before her go down, then stuffed on her helmet and sprung up from where she sat with a vaguely childish decisiveness, as if she were warning people to avoid trying to talk her out of dropping over the edge of a chasm into ruins filled with who-knows-what. In fact, the 'who-knows-what' was the only reason she wasn't hiding in her tent at the camp. Cave-dwelling life on earth itself had been exotic and unpredictable. Her eyes swept along their anxious scan back and forth along the chasm, pausing for long moments to bore into the backs of the heads of those ahead of them, as if it would make them hurry up. All the while trying to remind herself to avoid becoming over-excited.


When, finally, they were prepared for descent, Lydia was quick about strapping herself into the harness. While she waited for the all-clear to descend, she scrolled through the pictures that had been sent up by their friendly neighborhood cyborg. As soon as Woods started off, she glanced down over her shoulder. She made sure she was on the public comm when she muttered 'showoff.'


Lydia shook her head, scoffing at the small tick of hypocrisy. Woods had said to stay in line, and he was the one jumping headfirst off of cliffs. But the moment of caring what other people did stayed behind at the top of the cliff as she went down. It was a shame she had to wear a helmet, the breeze would have felt nice. About thirty feet feet above the cliff where a few people were loitering, Lydia slowed her fall and paused to look at the ruined work of the probably insectoid colony. She commented on the general comms,


'Daaaaaaaaang. Did nobody see this? Spectacular view... Does this helmet... have a camera, maybe?'


She was suddenly distracted by the various settings and filters of her helmet. But found nothing remotely similar to capturing what the person was looking at. A few minutes later, and somewhat miffed, she landed on the ground where the others were waiting.


'When we get back to our own solar system, I'm going to chew out whoever didn't think of putting cameras in the helmets.'

 

[Unlimited]

His foot finally touched solid ground after what felt like hours and he let out a heavy sigh of relief. " There are worse things to be compared to than circus monkeys." He muttered under his breath as he detached himself and looked around, his HUD switching to low light vision to compensate for the darkness of his surroundings. "You're an odd one Jericho." His laughter reminded JT of a young country boy he knew growing up, a small smile encroaching upon his face. " This place feels so familiar to earth, but so alien all at once." He knelt down where he stood and placed his gloved have one the ground, felling the stony surface. Out of curiosity he pulled a device from his bag that looked like a camera tripod and set it on the ground, pushing the start button. The machine hummed quietly to life and drilled a small hole in the rock below, sending detailed readings to JTs HUD. "Fascinating, the composition of the rocks is similar to limestone found on earth, but trace amount of other elements makes it more dense and durable." He saved the data on the small tripod bot and placed it back in his pack, planning to go over the data more thoroughly later. He joined the others who were already down and waited for the rest.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira smiled a bit as she glanced around at the gathered crew, not that anyone could see her grin past her mask. Now for the fun part, getting to the actual floor. Once she was hooked up it was no big deal, but she didn't like the idea of how long it would take for the rest of the security team to get to the ground. And seeing as how JT had so much trouble with the smaller line, there might be a bit of time where they were technically unguarded. After a minute or two, her boots hit the ground and she messaged that the next person could drop.

 

[SSgt Goodrich]

Seeing as Jericho was already hooked up to the harness, he began his descent down, taking rather reckless drops down the rope until he came to a screeching halt at the bottom. There was an audible 'oof' as he made the last urgent stop on the rope, his feet planting onto the floor as a paratrooper would. In paratrooper fashion, he even had bent his knees upon landing, spreading the shock of the landing across the body.


Initially, Jericho feared that his comparison would be seen in poor light, but as conversation expressed, JT at least understood where he was coming from. That brought a smile of his own, though behind the visor, he was able to snuff it out to continue talking. His voice had settled on its usual tone. "No doubt! It is like a dream, everything seems alright, but on closer inspection, its almost surreal."


Unhooking his harness, and quickly re-positioning to avoid whomever may follow him down the rope, he placed his hands on his hips and took a long stretch—his head cocking back to take a deep breath while his eyes soaked in the surroundings. In the beauty of all the rock, and the slight darkness, he could see the highlights of the cavern around him and toward the top of the abyss, he could still see the frolicking of leaves in the wind. A reminder that the world above is alive, and beautiful. "We are mankind exploring the stars. You know, we aren't much more evolved than the chimps I was talking about earlier, but look at us... Man seeks refuge in the stars. We explore its vastness. It is almost belittling, until you realize how much we are accomplishing here."


Finishing his stretching ritual, he shivered slightly, and his head fell into its natural resting place. His helmet cocked to face the chemist, offering up some final words. "I have a feeling we are gonna get along, kid. Let's get the job done."

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami

​

3487/12/17 10:48:20 SST


It had taken a while for the whole team to touch the ground, and in that time Saami had scouted down a few more floors to find out about the lay-out of the hive-like construct. Despite the winding nature of the stairs and paths, they did have a system too them. Like a greater form of order in what otherwise would be individual chaos. In each room there were more fossilised larvae and eggs, but he did not waste time on cauterising them all. So far there hadn't been any motion whatsoever, and the rooms all seemed particularly dried out. Too dry for larvae and eggs. At the bottom of the stairs he saw that this room branched out into six interconnected, far larger rooms, and decided not to venture further but instead return to the group.


When he rejoined the rest of the group, he first saluted the captain, and then Woods. When functioning as a scout he technically reported to the defence department, making Woods his direct superior for practically every task that he got given a gun with.


"The lower floors are clear sir, no signs of activity. It is advised to follow the standard rules for procedure." After this, he turned to his protectee, and nearly wondered if leaving Saundary in the camp had been a bad trade-off. From his body language Saami could tell that Jack either had just been scared, or still was. Both not an appealing prospect to work with when things really got dangerous.


Of course he never showed this, walking over in his usual solemn stature. If there even was body language to begin with, it would tell little to nothing. While talking, he had to look down slightly. Admittedly he had to do that with everyone, with the exception of perhaps two or three crewmembers, but it still added to the next message.


"Mister Tegan, as your appointed guardian, I expect you to remain within sight and hearing distance at all times. If given an order from me or any other defence member you will respond accordingly. Do not endanger yourself. Confirm if these rules are clear."

 

[Unlimited]

JT had been standing near the back of the group fidgeting with his fingers and looking around nervously, afraid of what might lurk in the dark. He nearly jumped from his skin when Saami approached him and began to speak, grabbing his chest in fright. "Understood!" A hurried response erupting from his mouth as he looked at Saami, but not really seeing him. His mind was racing too fast to process visual information like normal, he felt as if things were moving much faster than they actually were. He hadn't really done much during the time he was waiting other than shuffle around anxiously, which might have irritated some of the usual crew members. But, in his mind, this was an accomplishment. At least he was out here trying to do something worthwhile and hasn't died yet, both were good things in his mind. He fumbled on his belt for a moment and removed the grenade he had made, nearly dropping it as he offered it to Saami."I made this using a oil I extracted from a plant on the surface. If my theory is correct it should ward off smaller insects, maybe a direct hit would cause larger ones to run." For being afraid he spoke very clearly in hopes that his invention would be of some use."It's better off in your hands than mine, sir."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira took a few moments to examine their surroundings before pulling up her tablet and checking over some logistics. They had a good bit of time before the sun set, so they were in no rush. She put her tablet away and said to everyone, "Alright, let's get exploring and gathering samples as needed. Remember safety procedures, and stick with your partner, whomever that may be. Try to stay within sight of the group, or at the very least, your partner.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami stoically watched as Jack fumbled with his device, and he couldn't say he disagreed with handing it over to him. Taking it, he looked it over intently, analysing how it worked, and then put it on his belt next to his spare pistol rounds.


"I accept your bug repellent. I will utilise it as intended." At least the scientist had a brain on his head, then again, everyone on the ship had to to some extend. Jack had proven himself useful, making it slightly more likely for Saami to risk rescuing and saving him. The moment after he heard Adira give the scientists the greenlight, and immediately he stepped out of the way. "Lead the way Mr. Tegan. I will follow."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince had watched Saami practically scare Jack out of his skin and shook his head. His brow furrowed when Jack began to reach for a grenade, and he held his breath as he fumbled it around. Nerds and their fucking experiments. "Maybe if Jack doesn't kill us with some kind of school project we might make it home for supper.", Vince grumbled to himself as he finally slung his rifle around to his chest. "I am making the order now that all defense team members, or any team member serving as the protector of a scientist, is to take up position on the outer flank. All science or non combat personnel are to stay in the center of the cluster and next to their partner."

 

[Unlimited]

"Oh, I uh , alright." JT hesitated before taking a step in front of Saami with his hands clasped tightly together over his chest, a sure sign of fear keeping his appendages close to his body. He stopped when he head Woods speaking about him aloud and looked over to listen, making his way slightly toward the center of the security teams circle. "So, Saami, uh what do you like to do?" JT tried to strike up small talk as he continued walking slowly so he didn't get away from the others in the group, keeping close to his battle buddy.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami had followed Jack for his two trembly steps, and then immediately stepped to his side when the other order was given. Looking and listening for anything that might charge or attack them, while at the same time keeping track of everyone's location in a mental map. The question however slightly distracted him, and he doubted that Jack would be satisfied with his answer. He figured the poor guy just needed something to get his mind off of the surroundings, so he just went and told it anyway.


"I think you misunderstand the concept of my being Mr Tegan. I am incapable of liking in the definition of deriving pleasure or enjoyment. However, I am programmed to look favourable on fulfilling the orders I am given. If this answer does not suffice I suggest you restructure your question."

 

[Unlimited]

"Oh, I'm sorry." JT couldn't help himself, apologizing even when he did nothing wrong. He had never met someone like Saami before and couldn't stop himself from treating him like a human being. "I'm sure that we could fine something you enjoy, other than work." He spoke softly and ha finally relaxed a little as they made their way to an unknown destination, slowly. "There is so much more to life than work anyway, even if we are stuck on a ship light years from our homes." He stepped up over a rock and made sure to watch his footing so he didn't fall, even if it was only a small rock. Looking down he spotted a fluorescent clear stone, lightly glowing on the ground. He knelt down and pulled out a small pick and broke it lose from the ground, holding it up and rotating it slowly. "This would make a great souvenir if the archaeology department doesn't want it. What do you think Saami?" He pulled a small container from the bag on his back and placed it inside, sealing it to prevent contamination if it was brought back to the ship or camp.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami somewhat felt like he should be the one apologising, it had to be very boring to listen to his mechanical speech. Much rather he'd admitted that there were a few things he did actually take pleasure in; sure math was a strange hobby, cooking was just because he'd otherwise long since have gone insane from the nutrition sludge and he'd only just found out about dancing being fun, but those were things did enjoy. If he had the tell the truth, he would say that the rock was indeed very pretty and would make a good souvenir, but this wasn't the right place nor time. A gun in his hand and his head functioning fully with the prospect of dealing with death and blood; whether from insects or the crew, it wore heavy on his desire to be human. If he wouldn't admit in the safe setting of the camp or the ship, he would never admit it here.


"There are several modes of thought currently running. My mind is compiling all sensory data to ensure your safety. I am recording your position along with looking for signs of hostile life. Lastly I am attempting to pull data on your mineral from my database. Which has successfully returned with the information that your mineral is most likely fluorapatite or a very resemblant structure. Optical data tells me that it is fairly large, with a symmetrical form. As it correlates with other examples, I do think it would classify as an attractive trinket, gift or souvenir. Correct me if this data is wrong."

 

[Spazzycat101]

As soon as Adira spoke her words that essentially let her off of the little metaphorical leash, Lydia was just about to skip off to sweep out nothing less than every corner she could find. When Woods declared the arrangement in which they would be operating, her heart sank a little bit. She'd have to keep from straying off like a dog. But at least there were living things down here! Lydia splashed off to examine one of the many surrounding plants. She spent several minutes doing little more than poke and prod at its roots, watching them sweep and curl around her fingers, rather entertained. While she took several small samples from the plant and its little friends, she was reminded of her attempted spider trap. That in turn reminded her of Rea, and of the spiders that nested in their ruin. This started her pondering whether or not she would be disappointed if something or another didn't attack them. It might give her something that could hint at exactly what kind of creatures once inhabited this place, a better idea of their appearance or behavior. At the same time, she didn't trust Woods or anyone else to spare it from complete vaporization or crispification by means of one of their unnecessarily powerful rifle blasts. Lydia decided in the end that it probably wasn't worth the tension and changes of safety precautions that would almost inevitably follow.

 

[Unlimited]

"Well, I'm glad we can agree." He listened to Saami as he spoke about the rock he had collected, a small head tilt accompanying his confused expression."How do you get such detailed readouts?" He asked trying to maintain conversation, smiling behind his helmet."Down here I would think that your data capabilities would be limited."JT was honestly in the dark about Saami's capabilities and they brought a childlike curiosity out from deep inside, his mind filling with questions as he continued to trudge forward.

 

[InsanEleven]

"My database is composed of pre-stored data and all data I have captured since I was operative. Every piece of information ever given to me gets stored for later use. It is only seldom that I need the aid of larger data libraries or networks, and it will become more rare as I obtain more sensory data." The long and short of it was that he had a photographical memory, combined with an encyclopaedia stored in his head. Criss crossing and validating data against eachother until a wide array of knowledge came into place. Of course he didn't know everything, and some topics he was not given much pre-stored information on. However, those subjects he did need were nearly (if not entirely) perfected by now, plus a wider array of secondary information he picked up from bits and pieces in passing. "You are free to seek me out and ask for grade 1, or unclassified information at all times."


The group had slowly started moving, with the plants collected and archeological data taken. They were now going downstairs in colonne, team by team, with the defence members first and their team member behind them. On the lower floors it became completely dark, meaning that every member had to turn the night vision on their helmets on. As they were still working with insects it was forbidden to take out any flashlights or glowsticks, or to make loud sounds.

 

[SSgt Goodrich]

Listening to Vince, Jericho slowly shifted to the flanks, his head cocked to look to his designated flank. He paired with the Doc, officially, and even though Jericho is merely an engineer, he held it as his personal goal to watch out for the entirety of the expedition. JT's behavior in particular made him uneasy about the overall status and morale of the crew, and instead of letting the fear of their incompetence get to him, he took the responsibility of getting every single one of them out alive. Including him. That is a first.


Other than his footsteps, the armored man made little imprint on the environment around him. Like an apparition wading through mist, his swagger held only a conviction that he alone could keep the team safe, and while more traditional minds would find strength in that, his choice to remain quiet on the descent has proven unsettling for those that do not share the same appreciation for the stalwart and confident mind. At every overpass and place of interest, Jericho would reach his arm across to his partner to stop them, so he may give a hard look at the surroundings, before letting the group continue. Night vision, though advanced, had its faults and he took note of all the pitfalls that appeared along their path, for the absence of shadows created very poor depth perception.


He hoped his squad did the same.

 

[Anaxial]

"Very astute of you Mr. Marshall, " Rae said quietly, keeping her eyes roving for threats despite the increasing number of personnel present. "Based on the type of life forms observed to date, I find your hypothesis about the body types accurate. However observe this please. "
Rae sent Marshal an image of the geometric carvings with the edges highlighted.


"Don't you think that this angularity of form is more consistent with late Bronze age? Once iron was in wide use, the forms tended more towards curvilinear, yes?"

Marshall returned his attention forward and just gave the alien a short shrug in response. The rest of the descent was met with silence from the begrudging mercenary and his personality reflected the outfit he chose to wear. In the central chamber, Marshall flicked the safety back on his pistol and holstered the bulky weapon on his thigh. When confronted with the sight of Saami with a gun however, he was noticeably reclusive, holding fort in the back of the group as he paced anxiously, the cold eyes of the Mercenary's mask remaining locked on the INANES. When the order was given however, he snapped back into shape and took his place next to his alien counterpart.


"Well, pick a path." Marshall said aloud, lifting his arm to usher the alien to choose a way to go. He leaned in close and severed his communicator and continued talking. "But hell, we're down here. I want to find some serious remains, a mummified adult, a religious sculpture, some artwork, culture..." He sighed for a second. "Stay in sight of your partner, partner." He said after taking a moment to reconnect to the communication network.