ARRIVAL- Chapter Three: Into the Alien
15 Jul 2017Tranquil (BORGGY)
III
The star shines upon the magnificent crater which holds the sunken alien base and all parts of it, some like giant claws and others appear as spikes sticking out from the barren ground. As the Wraith hovers above it gets a clear view of the entire crater- a massive circular mark filled with alien material ripe for the picking.
“So, now what?”
“We must possess an unknown artefact or probe to unlock the entrance into the Thargoid facility”, Ali says.
With a sigh Joe indicates his stupidity of not considering to get one earlier, regardless of Ali telling him multiple times yet why bother when somebody else can do the job for you? Indeed that is his reasoning behind it and here now the two of them gloat amidst the weird structures that are strangely alive yet dead. A constant familiar humming, the SRV Deacon which is also integrated into Ali’s control.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to do it, hey, if INRA provided them then I would have took them gladly although my bet is on independent pilots...and especially Canonn”
“What are you going to do in the meantime then whilst you wait for...whichever one comes?”
Joe whips out an electronic data-pad and skims through multiple icons of applications until coming to the game section.
“I shall play a game, you?”
Ali is shocked and at the same time hesitant, what is she going to do? Of course their is the site of uncertain activity in which they still need to check out.
“Their is site not far from here that is hosting uncertain activity, I cannot tell if it is robotic or organic but something is going on”
“Oh?”
“Yes, sorry to put you off your gaming experience as work needs to be done. If we head over there we can investigate and collect data”
“Uh huh, something for you to do then?”
“Well of course...you can play whilst I rummage through the stuff”
They drive over slopes and up a hill to a part of the structure that is filled with activity. A group of drones hover about whilst collecting material from a piece of the structure to then release some sort of liquid or spray over another piece of this structure. The purpose for this is unknown however theories can be suggested.
“It seems like these drones are extracting materials from this structural piece and then spraying the extracted substance over the ground where this green residue is, possibly like the one on the corvette”
“Hmm, could it be related to the Mycoid virus?”
“Unable to clearly identify, it is a possibility, as well as a possible offshoot from the original virus and has somehow evolved”
Joe winces, “I thought INRA knows everything”, he says.
“If they did we wouldn’t be doing this Joe, besides it is fresh data...which in that case can be compared to old information”
A bleep rings throughout the SRV alerting both Joe and Ali.
“A ship has just been spotted, Diamondback Explorer, it is landing nearby”
Joe turns the wheel and begins to drive back down the hill to reach a near enough distance between himself and the ship. An SRV slowly descends from the ship and then meets up with Joe. The pair open communications and talk before proceeding into the ruins, luckily the person carries an unknown artefact, whether he is independent or part of Canonn is unknown. Joe or Ali cares not as they only thing they are interested in is getting into the alien base. As they get closer to one of the entrances the unknown artefact resonates in the other persons SRV and opens the irregular circle-shaped door. The pair enter and as Joe follows, Ali starts processing the interior of the alien base.
Once inside they are presented with a long round hallway with multiple junctions that lead into separate chambers which should have instruments known as Unknown Links however this does not seem to be the case. They travel to the central hub regardless and find decent positions to gaze upon the Thargoid machine that lies hanging from the ceiling with three tables placed around it. These tables give off a holographic image of certain objects suggesting that these specific objects are required to activate the machine. Joe and Ali has seen it action via recorded video logs by pilots as well as public media networks. One holographic image stands out and that is the Unknown artefact, whilst the other two is an Unknown Probe and an Unknown Link. Neither Joe or the other person has them, only the unknown artefact lies within the other persons SRV. Nonetheless it doesn’t stop Ali from taking scans and examining different parts of the Thargoid machinery. They know about the star map which appears once the machine is activated. Whether this is its only function is currently not known but the star map could be an interpretation of the Milky Way or their home galaxy.
“It’s amazing, look at it...apart from being eerie”, Joe remarks glancing from part to part. Of course without the other two objects they can’t see the star map personally. Though that does not bother Ali as she has collected data from other INRA agents who have collected data upon the star map. Currently she is merging their data with their personal collection.
“Okay I’ve gathered a lot of data from this place, that should do for the time being. Perhaps our next objective could be one of the Guardian ruins?”
“You’re asking me?”
“No, sorry, I’ll inform INRA and hear what they have to say about it”
“Why a Guardian site?”
“Because, remember? The Thargoid machine rejects Guardian technology if it is introduced”
“Okay...”
“I want to gather more intel on Guardian tech and try to match up with the Thargoids, just to see if their is some kind of dislike between the two”
Hours passed and the other person leaves giving a farewell to Joe and Ali. Alone again the pair watch the stars go by and the gas giant. Soon it becomes “Night time” for the world and with a few ship adjustments and checks they prepare to leave.
