Futuristic Archaeo

[_Line 213]

Archaeo [Characters]

ArchaeOOC​

Depending on who's asked, there's never anything quite like space travel.

Generations ago, going into space was nothing more than a child's pipe dream. A strange thought, looking out into the long night, light-years away from the cradle of humanity, and realizing that the impossible had become all but normal.

Just as quickly as it came, the visage out into space disappeared, replaced with the flat, metallic inner wall of the UNIV Challenger, the accelerated tram continuing its path along the length of the massive ship. Windows were a luxury along the length of the main passage, and for good reason; it was always safer to have a length of metal or ceramics between you and the vacuum of space, as opposed to something else entirely.

For longer voyages, the Challenger might as well have been home; it had to be, if it was going to cram every possible facility it could into a ship the size of two airports. Were it not for the revolutionary spatial warping that governed its main engines, a ship of its size likely wouldn't be feasible. A testament of human engineering, surely; doubly so when one considered that most other vessels in the United Nations fleet were several sizes smaller. Yet, to most aboard it, it was home. Nothing more, nothing less.

But any idle musings on this fact, or others, were quickly cut short by the arrival of an expected, and perhaps familiar, man.

"Thank you, everyone, for your timely nature in these matters," came the voice of Overseer Garvey, a kind-enough looking man in his early fifties. His UN-stamped formal-wear was immaculate, as always, grey hair patterned into a fade along the lower sides of his hairline. He closed the door to the sterile, utilitarian, yet smooth briefing car quietly, moving to sit at the other end of the long white table.

"Team Inquisitive Mind," he said, reading off of the tablet in his hand for a moment, before flashing the team a knowing smile as he took his seat properly. "Glad to have you all on board. Any questions before we begin the briefing? Feel free to call me out if you've heard anything before; this isn't your first rodeo, and I respect that, but I think you'll be surprised when you see what exactly we've got in store for you."

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

Depending on who's asked, there's never anything quite like space travel.

Generations ago, going into space was nothing more than a child's pipe dream. A strange thought, looking out into the long night, light-years away from the cradle of humanity, and realizing that the impossible had become all but normal.

Just as quickly as it came, the visage out into space disappeared, replaced with the flat, metallic inner wall of the UNIV Challenger, the accelerated tram continuing its path along the length of the massive ship. Windows were a luxury along the length of the main passage, and for good reason; it was always safer to have a length of metal or ceramics between you and the vacuum of space, as opposed to something else entirely.

For longer voyages, the Challenger might as well have been home; it had to be, if it was going to cram every possible facility it could into a ship the size of two airports. Were it not for the revolutionary spatial warping that governed its main engines, a ship of its size likely wouldn't be feasible. A testament of human engineering, surely; doubly so when one considered that most other vessels in the United Nations fleet were several sizes smaller. Yet, to most aboard it, it was home. Nothing more, nothing less.

But any idle musings on this fact, or others, were quickly cut short by the arrival of an expected, and perhaps familiar, man.

"Thank you, everyone, for your timely nature in these matters," came the voice of Overseer Garvey, a kind-enough looking man in his early fifties. His UN-stamped formal-wear was immaculate, as always, grey hair patterned into a fade along the lower sides of his hairline. He closed the door to the sterile, utilitarian, yet smooth briefing car quietly, moving to sit at the other end of the long white table.

"Team Inquisitive Mind," he said, reading off of the tablet in his hand for a moment, before flashing the team a knowing smile as he took his seat properly. "Glad to have you all on board. Any questions before we begin the briefing? Feel free to call me out if you've heard anything before; this isn't your first rodeo, and I respect that, but I think you'll be surprised when you see what exactly we've got in store for you."

Dorian sat at the back of the group, the sound of stone scraping across Zirconium-carbide, filling the air as the former Special Forces turned government sanction sociopath honed the silvery blade to a razor's edge. This had been his second year with Squad 676, and it was always the same briefing. They would go into some alien ruin, and he would play baby sitter, not that he minded. It just bores him when he doesn't get to stick his fingers into some alien's eye-sockets, or disembowel something. Deciding it would be best to get things going along quickly as to finish the dull meeting and give him plenty of time to prep and get a little more rack time, Dorian spoke up. "Four questions. First, where are we being deployed? Second, what is our objective? Third, What are we to expect hostile wise? And fourth, If we do run into hostiles, are we to capture any or neutralize them?" he asked, sounding rather bored, as he drug the whet stone across the edge of his rather intimidating Krieg Messer.

 

[Sakura Seoul]

Dr. Croft, a man in his early forties, sat attentively. His dark brown eyes glanced from side to side, waiting to see if anyone was going to ask a question. Unsurprisingly, one of the crew members spoke up. It was quite obvious that the man was a soldier of some sort. Croft shifted his weight to one side of the chair as he interlaced his fingers atop the white table. He sat in silence, then turned his head to face Overseer Garvey in anticipation for answers.

 

[avira]

CARMELA ALVARADOTECHNOLOGIST

Carmela spun around in her chair slowly, clearly displeased as she read a report off the holographic display from her wristpad. "Richter," she muttered, shutting off the holoscreen in frustration. Her attention returned to the pragmatic car around her and the people inhabiting it. Reading her last psychological evaluation was almost enough to distract her from the fact that she was still there and not in her lab. Carmela's annoyance doubled. She tended to get impatient at these kind of briefings - there were a million things she could be doing, each infinitely more interesting (and useful) than this. Due to her tendency for disruptive restlessness, Carmela usually skipped the briefings and read the details after. She preferred it that way, really, less time wasted listening to the babble of others.

For this particular briefing however, Carmela's HR manager, Jerry, had told her that she'd better show up or else. Normally that kind of empty threat wouldn't concern Carmela, she ignored most of the things Jerry told her anyway. But since her incident with Perkins last month, Carmela had been hearing a lot more 'or else'es. She was treading on thin ice and had to play by the rules - at least for a little while.

Finally, Carmela thought at the entrance of Overseer Garvey, this show was going to get on the road. "Team Inquisitive Mind," the stately-looking man addressed them. Almost instantly her eyes rolled - the cliche names always got to her. Garvey asked if anyone on the team had any questions, and Carmela prayed to all that was holy no one did. Naturally the man behind her, a large toned man with a scar on his cheek, did. Carmela signaled her displeasure by sighing and awaited the inevitable exchange.

>

...

 

[Hangover]

Kilian spent most of the time he had either at the armory, or inside his quarters. Place, however, made only little difference and made his daily activities look monotone and unnecesary. Either he was checking his equipment is in order, or maintaining it into such state and he did so several times a day. It turned boring quickly, even for Kilian standards, but here was not much else he allowed to occupy his mind. And so when Kilian was alerted about the upcomming briefing, he made it his priority.

To his surprise, Kilian discovered he wasn't the first to arrive. Most of his colleagues already made themselves comfortable in the room. As a junior member of the squad, he found only appropriate to sit alongside Dr. Croft, being the only person in presence to have less time of service than Kilian himself. Until the arrival of Overseer Garvey, Kilian managed not to speak a single word. He was tempted to ask Dorian whether he could sieze sharpening his oversized knife, but judging with the little he already knew about the man, the response would probably not be the one he seeked. When the formalities that came with the Overseer were over and the present were politely asked to pass their queries before the briefing, Kilian was startled by Dorian's brief set of questions. He thought that everything Dorian asked was to be referred to in the briefing itself. This untraditional straight forward approach confused Kilian and led him asking with a fleeting austrian accent:

"Will not this be addresed in the briefing itself, herr Garvey?" unaware that the unfortunate way he formed his question brought a faint tone of mockery towards Dorian in it.

 

[_Line 213]

Garvey furrowed his brow, leaning back in his chair as he opened his mouth in preparation to speak, before letting out a snort and a chuckle in response to Kilian's contribution. "There's no reason to worry about that sort of response Mister Langmeier. I can appreciate eagerness, to an extent." At that, he flashed a smile towards the group, letting out a slow breath as he reached for his datapad, eyes flicking back and forth across the glowing screen for several moments.

Raising an eyebrow, he reached forward for the table's surface, pressing lightly against several subtle indents near him, pads beneath the white plastic glowing on contact. "After all, I'm sure that you've all been through this kind of ride far too many times for your own tastes. But, this time around, I think that you're going to like what you see. Take a look."

He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms as a rudimentary hologram flickered to life in the middle of the table, constructing a sphere--a planet, no doubt, judging by the slight irregularity in its shape. It was barely noticeable, but half-way around the planet, a slight incline seemed to be present, almost as if two differently-sized halves were haphazardly stuck together.

"This is Marvin 2b," Garvey said, speaking again as he shuffled his folded arms, "and it's where you'll be headed today. It's a tidally-locked planet with a gravity similar to earth's own, and a potentially habitable ecology just at the edge of that ringed incline, there." He paused, glancing down at his datapad with a raised eyebrow, before continuing.

"...Of course, there's a fair amount of catches that come with it, and I've got...A list, it seems, of bad news compiled jointly by your Pathfinder and the orbital surveillance team. So, which would you rather hear about first: the potential uses of the structure you'll be infiltrating, the constant storm with an eye just underneath the sun, the encroaching ice, or..." he trailed off again, once more glancing at his pad, this time with a narrowed eye as he read directly from it. "The...'unknown large clusters of carbon-based signatures.' Your call."

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

Dorian's eyebrows raised at the mention of such hazards, followed by a slow creeping smile. His whet stone stopping halfway down his blade's edge. "Surprise me Sir. It all sounds like a blast down there." He replied with glee, bordering on psychotic. "I've been cooped up on this damn ship too long, I could use some excitement." He added lying the blade across his lap as he seemed to be far more attentive at the moment, only to shoot a death glare at the Austrian recruit. "Lerne deinen Platz Fleisch..." He growled under his breath towards the new guy.

Hangover _Line 213

 

[_Line 213]

Garvey pursed his lips, showing a bit of sternness with Dorian as he leaned forward once again.

"...With all due respect, Mister Blackbriar, I've been asked by some of the other teams that we take this a little more seriously than usual. And I don't say that for the sake of taking a dig at you, or getting on your nerves. Granted, I was being a little bit jovial myself in order to keep things level, but the deal is that a lot of the other teams have informed me that there's quite a bit riding on this." He paused, licking his lips, his expression remaining one of increased seriousness as he continued.

"This is more than just a relic run. We've moved beyond empty hallways, inert artifacts, and the occasional sentinel machine. The things that the orbital team have picked up have started putting the relevant channels into overdrive. We've got energy signatures, multiple structures, signs of large portions of biological life." Garvey paused, and swallowed. The last portion clearly seemed to set him on edge. "You should be lucky that you're seeing all this first. And not only lucky. Careful."

Seemingly finishing his brief lecture, the overseer took in a deep breath, calming himself with a quiet exhale as he slowly swept a sweating palm down the front of his dark blue dress jacket. He pursed his lips again as he bowed his head, almost in apology, before clearing his throat and moving to continue.

"...Allow me to start with the structures."

The projection cued itself in tandem with Garvey's words, briefly flickering as it isolated a portion of the sloped region ringing the planet. Large struts, almost like supports holding up walls and roofs that were nowhere to be seen, were organized across from one another in neat, evenly-spaced pairs of two, all the way around the planet's middle portion. A small fraction of the downward slope spilled into the space between them, the elevation of the space in-between the two structural rows far lower than the top of the slope. The structures on one side almost seemed partially buried by the slope, or as if the slope itself had carefully crept around the tall towers.

"What you're seeing is two rows of superstructures surrounding a portion of this planet's habitable zone. These rows go all the way around the planet in a continuous loop, and, as far as we can tell, mark the beginning and end of the planet's most hospitable areas. They're also not just for show." Again, the projection shifted, a simulated "cover" surrounding the top of the area marked by the strips of structures, modeled in such a way as to communicate the likely case that the structures were the cause of the cover itself.

At that point, Garvey reached for his datapad, clearing his throat as he began to read and summarize the information displayed.

"These structures emit a barely-visible field of energy that the orbital team has taken to calling the 'storm buffer.' Though its presence jeopardizes the quality of our deep scans, it is nonetheless clear to us that it is intended to provide some amount of climate control, since exterior weather patterns seem to run up against it as if it was some sort of solid object. Objects with more mass, however, seem to be able to press through the field, as-is the case with the sloped portion that you see here."

The downward slope towards the middle of the area glowed a bright blue on the projection as an aid. Garvey cleared his throat again.

"...That, believe it or not, is snow," he said, lightly setting his pad back on the table. "Our astronomers believe that a few billion years ago, when this installation was still in business, and the dwarf star this planet now orbits was younger, the increased heat throughout the planet meant that that ice shelf was pushed farther back towards the edges of the towers...Of course, this is just a hypothesis. We don't know for sure."

The overseer cleared his throat, glancing between those assembled. "Any questions so far?"

 

[avira]

CARMELA ALVARADOTECHNOLOGIST

Carmela inspected the hologram of Marvin 2B when it popped up on the screen with some small amount of interest. She knew very little about the planetary sciences, but it's odd shape reminded her of a slightly squished orange she had waiting for her in her lab. The idea of eating it made her thoughts drift until the brutish man behind her pulled her back to reality. Dorian's words made Carmela give him a judgemental sideways glance. Why their superiors ever let that madman join their team would forever be a wonder in Carmela's eyes.

Garvey continued with the briefing. His mention of "the occasional sentinel machine" put a knowing smirk on Carmela's face. While she sometimes stayed onboard and worked with the team remotely, she had to join in personally when there were reports of mechanical or technological barriers, including moving guardians. The last time that happened, she created a distraction and had CHAD run a basic bash script till they could overide the sentinel's system. That was child's play for Carmela's talents, but she had a feeling this particular planet would hold a bit more of a challenge.

"What's the technology looking like?" piped up Carmela for the first time since the briefing began. "Do the barriers mean that we don't know what else is down there?"
>

...

 

[Hangover]

With only few phrases barely hearable, Kilian dismissed Dorian's comment with a subtle, disapproving shake of his head. When mister Garvey addressed Dorian's unprofessionalism, however, Kilian let his eyes slide from his otherwise static face, dedicated solely to mister Garvey, to aside just so he could see Dorian's reaction. A single, quick glance just to to satisfy his curiosity. After that, he turned all his attention back to mister Garvey.

Despite serving with the squad officialy for a whole year now, in reality, Kilian had only couple of runs in their company. Mister Garvey description of so called "Relic runs" was a simple one, yet from Kilian expertise also an accurate one. The path was most of the times already set for them. Any possible hazards were detected before deployment, thus making any approach other than proper and precise an unnecesary adrenalin coated luxury. The intel they were presented with now, as well as mister Garvey's personal notions, meant that this habit was to be changed soon.

Kilian's face was pinned to the projection. The number of times he tore this connection with the screen by blinking could be counted on fingers of a hand. The surrounding barrier itself was arguably the most fascinating subject for Kilian. He spent not a small amount of efford to figure out its nature by himself, but all the attempts turned futile in the end. With the information presented, his head alone was simply not enough to comprehend a phenomena of such a magnitude and scale, and thus he left it to be satisfied with only incomplete theories. This attempt soon turned out to be futile as well and soon after miss Alvarado presented her questions, to which Kilian paid little attention to, he turned in a set of questions of his own.

"Do we know more about of this 'Storm buffer'? Does it maintain itself or does it use external power source? What about the nature of barier? Have we tested its magnetic and electronic properties yet? If so what magnitudes are we speaking of? Could it interfere with our equipment and comunications?"

After this rather exhausting amount of queries, Kilian realized he hadn't give much space for others to join the debate. He was little ashamed by this act and even though his curiosity would like to dictate him otherwise, Kilian cut off this interrogation of his by gesturing that he has no more question for the time being.

 

[_Line 213]

The overseer paused, furrowing his brow as he bent over his datapad, scrolling through it briefly as he pulled what he'd need to answer the sudden barrage of questions from the list available to him.

"The barriers have put a significant stopgap on just how much our deep scans are able to pull. Mapping the geography properly has proven to be the most significant challenge; though we're able to put together a decent amount of information in regards to large changes in elevation and structural elements, there's nothing to be said for more subtle changes in terrain, or potential obstructions. If anything, we might as well be working with approximations."

He took a moment more to glance at his list of facts, before leaning back again, preparing to answer the questions from Kilian's set. "The Storm Buffer seems to draw most of its power from what we believe to be a facility situated in the eye of the storm just below the sun itself. Though not all of the buffer's power appears to be derived from the sun, a sizable amount is, which means that the buffer isn't nearly as powerful as it would have been during the star's younger years. Which might explain part of climate change," Garvey replied, likely referring to the slope believed to be snow. "As for technological interference, we can't say for certain, but there's believed to be at least some interference present. As a result, you'll likely be given those bulkier, longer-range communication packs, as opposed to the usual in-ear deal. The electromagnetic properties appear to be reasonably strong--likely a necessity, in order to influence the weather to the degree that it does--but considering its atmospheric height, compared to where you'll be on the ground, we don't foresee any problems caused by coming into close-contact with the buffer at this time...Sadly, that does mean that we won't be able to fly you in. Which, of course, brings me to the other thing that I wanted to talk about."

At the top of the slope cross-section, just outside of the perimeter of the Storm Buffer and its supporting superstructures, a familiar red marker indicating a drop-off point appeared on the holographic projection. "We'll be putting you down out in the cold; your Pathfinder and the orbital team found out that there's a way in through one of the superstructures themselves, almost like a back door. If you're wondering why he isn't here with you right now, it's because he's currently prepping with a technical team that's aiming to melt their way down to the supposed entryway as soon as we arrive. Once you've managed to make your way into the habitable zone, you'll double-check your communication systems to ensure that we can still hear you, and at that point, you'll await further instructions based on...Whatever it is you end up seeing."

 

[Sakura Seoul]

"With whatever it is you end up seeing." Garvey's ending comment made Scotty's last meal do flips. It was beginning to feel like a gymnastics routine: Scotty's Digestive Tract, Space Olympics. America was going for gold. He raised a hand to his mouth, trying to look more inquisitive than queasy.

A sharp realization shocked him back to life, forcing him to sit with a certain subtle uneasiness. Surely he wouldn't have to go down there, would he? He glanced at all of the team members present. They appeared calm and cool. One or two of them appeared bored even, except Garvey, whose current demeanor mirrored Scotty's. Raising his hand again, he scratched the short stubble along his jaw. A shave was slightly overdue.

Scotty cleared his throat. "Overseer Garvey," he piped up. "Who will be going planetside?" What in the hell did I sign up for?

 

[Dalamus Ulom]

Dr. Ruminare had been completly silent up to this point, listening intently to everything Overseer Garvey said. The storm buffer was somewhat interesting to the good doctor for it's mutliple possible applications in the field of science, but to him, it was mostly because of it's connections to where his true interests lie.

"What is the environment like inside the storm buffer? What do you mean when you say large portions of biological life? Are you implying that there is an entire artificial ecosystem inside of that so called storm buffer?" Ruminare questioned. He honestly didn't care how they entered the zone. All he wanted was information on the biologicals.

Then the newbie squeaked his little questions. Dr. Croft. Ruminare had vehemently argued against Croft becoming part of the squad when he learned the man was supposed to join them. Ruminare was able to easily handle the medical needs of the squad and act as their xenobiologist. He didn't need an assistant, let alone a replacement.

"Isn't it obvious, Croft? Everyone in this room but Garvey's going down there to investigate. It's our job, and what you bloody well know you signed up for. That is, unless you happened to ignore the bold print on your contract."


_Line 213 Sakura Seoul

 

[_Line 213]

Garvey smiled a little bit as Ruminare finally spoke up. A little later than expected, perhaps, but better late than never. And it was certainly no surprise that the man had latched immediately to his interests.

"That does indeed seem to be the case, good Doctor," he said, the hologram once more shifting in order to highlight large swaths of the ground with a large green overlay. "An ecosystem sustained by, and perhaps even designed for, the area within the storm barrier. Though we can't say whether or not the barrier is a necessity, or merely an element that gives rise to a more stable environment, we nonetheless feel comfortable stating that whatever you'll find in the habitable zone will likely have absolutely no counterparts anywhere else on the planet. If there is life elsewhere, it'll be drastically different from anything inside of the storm buffer, considering the...Surprisingly extreme temperature changes on both ends."

The green markers faded away, replaced by an overlay of some sort of picture, matched as carefully as possible onto the holographic terrain. "Satellite images seem to indicate some sort of upper canopy, though there's been a bit of hesitation as far as coming to the conclusion that that canopy is caused by 'trees' as we know them. Either way, we can state with some reasonable certainty that what we've been able to see through the storm buffer isn't the ground. No word on what sorts of fauna might be found, or types of flora. We don't even know whether or not this forest--if it is one--will at all resemble what we see on planet Earth."

 

[avira]

CARMELA ALVARADOTECHNOLOGIST

Carmela, who had actively been losing interest as the briefing continued past her own questions, perked up again at the new doctor's words. Just a few years ago she was in his shoes, green to the teeth and hesitant to admit just how much. She knew what it was like to head into the abyss with a team you didn't know how to trust. I might have fun with this one, she thought to herself.

As Carmela bounced around a few mild hazing ideas in her head, Ruminare - the other doc, spoke up with some bite. She expected that Dr. Ruminare would have a problem with a new doctor that shared such a similar function, Carmela would have felt the same way were the shoes reversed. Yet, Ruminare's words elicited an amused smile from her.

Hoping to cut the briefing short (in her opinion it had already run too long), Carmela interjected at the end of Garvey's sentence. "When do we leave?" she asked with flagrant impatience. "We don't seem to know much, we might as well get there and see for ourselves."

_Line 213 Dalamus Ulom Sakura Seoul ​

>

...

 

[Sakura Seoul]

Dr. Ruminare's words stung a little, but Scotty couldn't blame him. He had a sneaking suspicion that the other doctor felt like his toes were being stepped on. Hopefully he could change the other man's opinion of him, but it would take time and patience. Instead of snapping back, Dr. Croft flashed a nervous smile and took a deep breath. Garvey's description of the satellite images sounded so mysterious. The younger doctor wiped a tiny bead of sweat from his brow and swallowed. Time to steel your nerves, Croft.

A small reflection of the holograph flickered in his eyes as he examined the details closely. His mind began to drift from the conversation. He would need to learn to do more than just diagnose, perform medical care and surgeries. His contract did in fact include being part of the team as they explored the planet's surface, as Dr. Ruminare reminded him, but never included any requisite of combat experience - should it come to that. Perhaps it was implied. Whatever the case, Scotty was beginning to feel better about Dorian being on their side, despite how crazy he seemed upon first impression. Kilian, the guy who was brave enough to sit next to the newbie, came across as easy-going. Maybe he could be a mentor of sorts as Scotty learned the ropes.

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

Dorian Laughed at Dr. Crofts expense. "What's the matter doc? Afraid the aliens might getcha?" The soldier cackled, sliding the large blade into it's scabbard over his shoulder. "I'll make you a deal, Survive this run, and I'll teach you basic combat." He added with a smirk, though his eyes were serious as a killer with an ultimatum. "And before you say anything, it's non-negotiable... If we're working together, I'll need you to be able to not just patch me up, but also watch my back, and the others, if it comes down to it."

Right at this moment, he could probably tell the doctor hated him. With a mental shrug, he lounged back in his seat, returning his gaze to the projected image. Don't need him to like me, just to stay alive and do his job... Dorian thought taking in the projected images.

 

[_Line 213]

Almost as soon as Carmela asked when the group would be departing, the tram began to noticeably slow as it reached the far end of the gigantic craft; in a few more minutes, the briefing car would be locking itself into place at the station on the Challenger's forward-most portion.

"Well, as soon as we come to a stop, I suppose the answer to that question will be "as soon as you can get dressed," Garvey replied, offering something of a knowing smile in regards to how labor-intensive properly outfitting a team could be. "Your pathfinder and the drilling team are likely preparing to take off right about now; you'll likely be riding down with them unless there's a desire for more prep-time, for whatever reasons you may have." Briefly, the tram passed by another long set of windows, briefly allowing for a glimpse of the planet below, not that there was nearly enough time to make out any proper details.

"You'll enjoy the view though, I'm sure," Garvey said, moving to stand as the tram continued to decelerate, "it's quite a sight to see when the bay doors are open." He took a moment to adjust the buttons on his suit as the tram finally glided to a complete stop, the heavy sound of large bolts locking the car in place coming from one of the many mechanisms just outside of the car itself.

"And since we've just arrived, I suppose this makes this the final call for any pressing questions. If there are none, then I'll be showing you to your suits. Be sure to test and pressurize before you enter the bay; we have it open to the elements for the sake of easy deployment. I, of course, won't be heading in with you, but I will be on the observation bay, and on comms until you leave."

 

[avira]

CARMELA ALVARADOTECHNOLOGIST

A mischevous smile played on Carmela's lips. Poor thing. The new doc seemed sweet - almost too sweet. Like a puppy placed in a real dog fight. She silently made a note in her wristpad to alter CHAD's programming to keep an eye on the good doctor for the duration of the mission. She figured he'd probably need the extra help, plus it would be hilarious watching him try to deal with it. CHAD's circular blue eyes blinked on briefly, indicating the implementation of the new command. It quietly hovered into the air, out of the palm of her hand, and began to quietly and sneakily make its way over to Dr. Croft.

Once they had arrived, Carmela had no interest in sitting around any longer. If she wasn't going to be in her lab, she might as well begin prepping for the mission. Without waiting to see if any of the rest of the team would respond to Garvey's last call for questions, she got up from her chair and walked out of the briefing tram.

The familiar sight of the loading bay greeted her, along with their usual prep materials. Standard jumpsuits, along with everyone's weapons and equipment, including Carmela's tech. Mechanics and engineers buzzed by, doing last minute adjustments to their craft. There was something satisfying about this part, the calm before the storm. Carmela took a moment to breathe it in.

Sakura Seoul ​

>

...

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

As soon as the tram came to a halt, Dorian was up and quickly made his way out and into the armory wasting no time going into the arduous process of donning his SPA armour. With practiced ease, Dorian donned the armor with the speed and efficiency that came from years of drilling and practice. In the span of a few minutes, he had finished securing the last armour plate, before sliding his domed helmet on with a pressurized his.

Data scrolled across the inside of his visor, already showing his vitals and current inventory, which currently read Kreig Messer. Walking over to the rack of death dealing joy, he quickly grabbed up his XM29 OICW and 12 mags of fletchette rounds and three mags of APIE rounds, before snatching up his MP5 and ammunition. Doing a quick check of his inventory, he nodded in satisfaction before heading over to their current ride. Finally get to set foot on another world. I better be taking back a trophy. Maybe even an alie weapon to play with...

 

[Hangover]

Even though seeing Dr. Ruminare crossing blades with Dr. Croft gave him no pleasure, Kilian couldn't bring himself to call upon it. All newbies tend to stick with someone experienced, willing and able to show them the ropes. An unwritten rule, found in the core of every group. For Kilian, this person was Dr. Ruminare. Whether the doctor did so willingly or not was unknown to Kilian, but he taught him a great deal notheless. All that Kilian could give in return was respect. He held Doctor's opinions high, sometimes even higher than his own, and learned to follow him as a leader. This army-like sense of obedience kept him from poking into the Doctror's business and made him instictively turn blind eye on them whenever necessary.

Fortunately for all present, Doctor Croft kept his head leveled and the exchange of verbal blows came to an end before even starting. Kilian felt relief. More conflict within the squad was the last thing they needed. And with the tram reaching its destination, the second wave of relief came soon after. Finally, after days of doing nothing else but preparation, Kilian felt more than ready for the deployment. Following the example of Dorian and miss Alvarado, Kilian saluted his way out of the room and darted back to his chambers to collect bits of equipment he has been playing with in free time. With a bundle of mechanical tool and electronic gadgeds now in his possession, he made his way straight to the armory to collect the rest of the toys. There he met with Dorian. Kilian gave him a nod and then turned his attention into preparing himself. And even though it was hardly necesary, with the amount of attention Kilian put into his gear in past couple of days, he yet again felt need to double check that every piece is in a working order, before putting it on.

Just to be sure...

HighSanguinaryPriest ​

 

[_Line 213]

As the group exited the briefing car, and stepped onto the platform just beyond, Garvey immediately began crossing towards an exit marked as heading directly towards the hangar bay, fully expecting the rest of the team to follow. He stopped just before the door, gesturing politely for the team to head through. "I'll be heading through the other exit. You'll find your pathfinder out in the bay itself; I'll head over to the observation station and radio in for him to expect you." With that, the overseer flashed the group a wide smile, before stepping over to a separate exit.

After the group filtered out of the station and into their respective preparation areas, each found their way to the hangar bay itself, once their preparations were complete. The bay itself had already been depressurized; groups of engineers and launch technicians, all in sealed suits and helmets, passed by silently in the lessened gravity, taking care of their last minute rounds. A light classical selection, recognizable as a selection from one of the pathfinder's favorite operas, lightly played over the communications system. It was somewhat traditional for someone to play something during final prep-work, for the sake of easing the collective nerves of the launch bay; seemingly, the navigator had gotten his hands on such lofty privileges first this time around.

As the members of the team began to emerge from their respective staging areas, run lights guided them towards one of the waiting shuttles, outside of which stood several members of the staging crew, along with the easily-recognizable exploration suit of Cooper Klein, Pathfinder of Inquisitive Mind, and rarely seen outside of the reflective cover of his helmet.

"...Hi, hello again," his slightly high-pitched voice offered as he briskly raised an open palm to the group as they approached. Seemingly, two years spent with the group had done little to ease the twenty-seven year old's first-day jitters. "Welcome back. You're just in time, they were just preparing to de-gravitate entirely." Briefly, he glanced over his shoulder, looking to the open bay doors, before looking back to the group. "Oh. Do you like the view?"

He himself turned, clutching his tablet tightly with both hands as he glanced out at the planet. "We've come in from just behind the sun. The storm is remarkably reflective, actually, um--" Cutting himself off, he glanced back at the group, then out at the planet again. "...Rather remarkable to find another bright blue marble out there in the, um...Galaxy, isn't it." He looked forward again, quickly drumming his fingers against his tablet. "I think the rings are the most beautiful part. Personally. Besides the, um. Rest of it. I mean to say it's all quite beautiful when you think about it."

 

[Sakura Seoul]

Croft blinked at Dorian's offer to help. Was his anxiety so easy to read? The soldier must have read it on his face: I am good at wielding a scalpel, but that is the extent of my weapon expertise. Before long, the doctor found himself following the two soldiers around like a lost duckling. He carefully imitated each of them as he donned his space suit. Admittedly he felt a tad silly; a grown man with a Ph.D. mimicking the actions of two younger men. Regardless, they were experts in their field and he was not. It's never too late to teach and old dog a new trick, he thought, attempting to stifle his unease.

When they entered the hangar bay some light classical music played overhead. He imagined himself as one of the crew members in the movie Apollo 13 after they had suited up, marching over the platform to the space shuttle. What a long way mankind has come since then. There were countless objects of interest to observe; in fact, so many that Croft became absent-minded and exerted a little too much force in one of his steps and banged his head on a low hanging beam. Thankfully the helmet's reflective covering masked his reddened face. Idiot, not that you haven't given them enough reason to make fun of you, you oaf...

The pathfinder, Cooper Klein, awaited them next to a shuttle. The man was just as nervous, if not more nervous, than Croft. A faint wave of relief came over the doctor. Klein reminded him of Bob Newhart as "Papa Elf" in the movie Elf. Unsure of himself, but competent nonetheless. Klein commented to the team, "I think the rings are the most beautiful part. Personally. Besides the, um. Rest of it. I mean to say it's all quite beautiful when you think about it." Indeed it was quite beautiful; breathtaking, really. And although the focus was the planet before them, Croft couldn't help but focus on the stars floating in the distant space. It was hard to fathom how large space was. The stars appeared like pin pricks through the view of the open bay doors. What did they look like then? He felt himself shrink as the word "infinitesimal" came to mind. Were there other groups of tiny beings looking at them from thousands of light years away, too?