Location: Scirocco
Planet: Aster
A quick recap of Episode 4 "Darwins Closet"
Mae patched up Eveline while Kieran covered the doors to the warehouse. Eveline passed out from the pain while Mae sealed the injury and patched her vacuum suit. The duo hid Eveline in the shadows, away from the doors. Eveline woke briefly to tell them that they needed to stop the trespassers who had infiltrated the settlement.
The stepped out of the building and found themselves on a gantry that was bolted to the cavern walls above a giant magma pool. Ahead of them they could see a building unlike any other they had seen in the settlement. It wasn't carved or built into the rock, a clean newer structure secured to the roof and could only be reached by the gantry.
Kieran, with Mae right beside him, rushed to the building, taking two aggressors as prisoners - the third succumbing to wounds from the fight. They quickly discovered they were inside of an research lab that harbored a secret in the chambers below Scirocco.
*talk to Eveline
*talk to Arnav
LEFT OFF AT KIERAN SWEARING A VOW TO RESCUE THE RESEARCHERS - PICK UP PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY
Arnav points at one the other constables and tasks her to escort Kieran and Mae up to the surface. The three make their through the subterranean colony, the air smelling faintly of humanity, sulfur and machine oil. As they clamber onto an elevator, the colony-wide public address system sputters to life, quiet at first and then louder until the chambers echo with it's robotic voice:
"This is not a drill. A seismic event will happen in the next two to four hours. All residents must seek shelter immediately. Residents who cannot make their way to a shielded shelter should shelter-in-place in their quarters or work areas."
It repeats itself three times, between which alarm bells klang and echo through the halls, before it stops. By the time it's ended, the trio have made their way to the surface hangar for ground vehicles.
The constable points at a skiff that hovers a few inches above the floor. It's scarred from it's life at Scirocco, appearing to have more scratches and dents than it does an outer skin. Some six meters or so long, it hums quietly. The front end is dominated by a small somewhat armored cabin, big enough for three people if they squeeze in. The back is open, room enough for many people and their equipment, but exposed to the elements.
Kieran smirks at the constable, the corner of his mouth rising slightly. "You sure you don't want to come?"
"Hells, no, wait until I open the hangar and you see what's out there. It's worse than hell." She points at the skiff. "That's for you two."
Mae hops in the back and grabs Kieran's arm. "C'mon, let's go."
Kieran steps in and follows Mae into the pilot cabin and takes a seat at the controls. As he moves the throttle into position, his comm unit lights up.
"Hey, it's me, your friendly constable, Laris." Her voice crackles into his ear. "There's an outer airlock after this one. Once you're in the lock, I'll close the inner door and open the outer. Just so's you know, the skiff has a basic transponder signal that's linked to the base. You'll need it to find your way back to the entrance. Unfortunately, it won't work until you're close because of the storms."
"Thanks, Laris," Mae pipes in. "We'll be ready to go."
A few minutes later, with the inner airlock closed behind them, the outer door opens and the pair drive skiff out into another exit tunnel that leads outside. The exit the tunnel and the skiff lurches and Kieran has to yank the controls to the side.
The surface of Aster is a furnace, the basic sensors report that the temperature outside is somewhere between 125-150 centigrade. Inhospitable to humans, but thankfully, their suits can survive in it for long periods of time.
Even with the skiffs lamps on, the two can barely make out the terrain around them. Using their locally-aligned compasses they are able to steer in the direction of the nearest base of the volcano to find the researchers. They rumble off into the dark, buffeted by wind, ash and stone as they make their way towards the volcano.
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