Sargasso of Souls – Session 17

The following day, the 4th August, I was finally able to put together a team to seal the breach in the power room. By that time Santino was sufficiently recovered to make the attempt and, while catching up with Maya the previous evening, I had discovered that she was in fact a more accomplished climber than he was. Between the two of them it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

In addition I opted to take Katalina Johansson, because she also had some limited climbing experience, and Nadya Voronova, as well as the archaeological engineer, Harrison Vaughan. Santino had suggested it would be a good opportunity for Vaughan to make his first inspection of the Ancient complex, commenting that, “Watching videos and reading reports was a poor substitute for witnessing things first hand”. Given that Vaughan’s role was to help unravel the mysteries of the Ancients, it seemed like a good idea.

Veldin was busy assembling the equipment he had brought down from the station, so on this occasion he decided not to accompany us; which suited me. Six was a large enough team to be taking into the complex and it would mean that I wouldn’t have to keep my eye out for him pilfering interesting artefacts to study.

As before, I held a pre-mission briefing and made it clear that Santino was in charge of the exploration. Nobody was to touch anything without his say-so unless it was a matter of security. Katalina and Nadya had heard it all before and I knew I could rely on Maya to do what she was told. She wanted desperately to make a good impression and establish herself as a regular on these missions. Vaughan on the other hand was an entirely unknown quantity. He seemed civil and well spoken, though I had the impression that he and Santino were vying for the title of biggest brain in the room. Vaughan accepted the specified chain-of-command without comment however. It would be interesting to see how his and Santino’s egos got along.

Once again we took one of the small rover units with spare oxygen cylinders, the climbing gear, tools and a charged power cell aboard. It was always good to have options in the event of an emergency.

And, as an added precaution, Vaughan had made certain modifications to the EVA suits that would harden them against damage should their be a reoccurrence of the energy pulse.

We arrived at the complex without incident and set about sealing the hole in the ceiling while Vaughan wandered around taking readings and examining the strange alien control panels. I was reassured to note that he didn’t approach anything too closely and certainly showed no inclination to touch anything.

After a few minutes he suggested that we stay clear of the energy columns because they were highly charged and any contact with them could prove fatal. He also observed that ‘random gunfire’ had caused a fair amount of damage in the room. I scowled. It had hardly been ‘random’, I thought.

With little difficulty Maya and Santino scaled the wall and used a liberal application of bonding-gel to fix a metal sheet over the fissure. Satisfied that it would hold against even a fairly determined attempt to dislodge it, Santino and Vaughan took the lead as we turned our attention back to exploration.

At first, upon receiving Santino’s authorization to do so, Vaughan took a closer look at one of the control panels. As he scanned it in more detail it lit up. When his examination was complete, he stepped back and the lights blinked and changed colour. Seconds later the lights in the room went out one by one; only the illumination from the spiralling energy columns remained. We turned on our torches.

“Intriguing” Vaughan muttered, reviewing the readouts on his scanner.

“Any idea what just happened?” I asked.

“At this point I have collected insufficient data to answer that question” Vaughan replied.

“I suggest we move elsewhere,” Santino interjected. “It would seem unadvisable to risk provoking an escalating reaction by continuing here.”

“I concur,” Vaughan agreed.

We left the power room and made our way to the flooded cavern. Vaughan and Santino went down the slope a short distance and spent some time scanning the walls and floor tiles. They exchanged observations about ‘crystal growth’, ‘energy resonance’ and ‘diffraction levels’. It might as well have been a foreign language as far as I was concerned.

When they had finished we headed up the corridor towards the room that we had christened ‘the Lab’. Part way there it started getting hot. A bead of sweat dripped from my brow and I stopped to check my suit thermostat. As I did so I heard Santino say, “Is anyone else feeling hot? Somehow my suit temperature has been turned up to 24 degrees.”

Upon inspection the readout on my suit was the same. I looked around at the others but only Santino and I had been affected. We adjusted the settings and were about to move on again when Voronova seemed to get spooked by something.

“Nadya?” I said uncertainly.

“Sorry” she replied. “That chittering noise we’ve been hearing; for a moment it sounded like it was actually inside my helmet”

Concerned, I asked her if she was OK. I could imagine how such an experience might freak her out a little.

“Whatever it was it’s gone now” she assured me, sounding calmer.

We turned our attention back to exploring the complex but I couldn’t help wondering what the apparent increase in unexplained phenomenon might mean.

When we got to the lab another surprise was awaiting us. In the centre of the room was a large, hexagonal, 3-dimensional structure. It was about six metres across and seemed to have grown out of the floor.

“What the hell is that?” I said.

Vaughan took some readings and then shrugged. “At this point your guess is as good as mine”, he admitted.

“Stay here” Santino instructed, as he moved cautiously into the room. “And I would appreciate it if everyone could try to appear as benign as possible” he added flippantly.

Keeping his distance, the professor carefully skirted around the edge of the object. We covered him from the doorway.

“Careful” warned Vaughan as Santino moved towards the far side of the room. “I’m picking up some kind of energy reading from over there. Can you see anything?”

“Not from here” Santino replied. “Can you pinpoint it?”

Vaughan shook his head. “It’s gone now,” he reported.

“OK stay alert everyone” I advised.

Santino edged further forward. When he finally got around behind the object, Vaughan said, “I’m getting that signal again”

“One of the consoles has just become active” Santino observed.

Before the professor could take any further action however, Nadya Voronova interrupted. “I’m reading movement behind us” she suddenly warned.

The tension in the group immediately went up a notch.

“Santino, get back over here” I said. “Katalina, is anything back there?”

Our rearguard raised her SMG to cover the dark corridor behind us. “Nothing I can see” she replied.

Voronova adjusted her motion tracker. “It’s on the far side of the door” she informed us.

Then suddenly the door opened.

“Hello. Is anyone there?” came Phipps’s voice over our communicators.

“Jesus Veldin!!? What the hell are you doing here?” I responded.

“Thank god!” Veldin gasped. “We came to warn you. You’ve got to get everyone out of here! It’s another flash flood. The river in the canyon is rising by the second. It’s going to cut us off from the base at any moment. We’ll all be trapped here.”

I knew that, even counting the spare oxygen tanks, we would only have sufficient air to sustain us for a maximum of twelve hours and the last time the canyon had flooded it had taken two or three days to subside. Do the math. It didn’t take Einstein to figure out that it was going to be a serious problem for us.

We immediately double-timed it back to the entrance, joining Phipps and Jankowska on the way. However, by the time we emerged from the cave mouth it was already too late. Rain lashed down from above and the water had quickly risen. Looking at the torrent gushing down the centre of the canyon, it was pretty clear that none of us could make it across without being washed away.

“What about the emergency shelter?” Veldin suggested, “I think we can still make it there”

He was right. For the time being the edge of the canyon remained clear, but the gap between the torrent and the canyon wall was rapidly diminishing.

“Come on” I said.

We moved up the canyon as fast as we could with the water rising ever higher. With only a few minutes to spare we made it to the shelter.

Once we were inside we remembered that the construction team had thoughtfully dug an access tunnel between the two bases but, when we investigated, we discovered that it was full of water.

Given that we were wearing environment suits, Vaughan, Phipps and Voronova were all in favour of making the crossing but I didn’t like the idea. Under water, in the darkness visibility was zero and our firearms would be useless. We had no idea if there was anything down there. I felt it was safer to wait it out. The emergency shelter had sufficient air and provisions to sustain us for a few weeks if need be, so we settled in and I contacted Locke across the fibre-optic link to inform him of our intentions. He reassured me that the main base was locked down and everything was secure.

And so, for the next twenty-four hours, we did our best to keep ourselves occupied. The three scientists analysed the readings they had taken and discussed the implications of what we had found. There was a degree of frustration about the lack of equipment available to them at the shelter, but after some bitching they resigned themselves to the fact that we weren’t going anywhere.

The security team were more relaxed about it and took the opportunity to get some rest. For a change, there was little else for us to do. It was nice to have Maya there and my friend Katalina too. As we all talked I got to know Zofia and Nadya better also.

The night passed relatively peacefully. I kept one of the security team on watch at all times, just to make sure.

Mid way through the following morning there were signs that the water had begun to subside and we were surprised to discover that the access tunnel to the main base was no longer flooded.

This was curious since the water shouldn’t have been able to drain away that fast, particularly as the canyon above was still inundated. It raised the question of where had it all gone?

Santino was keen to investigate and so, a short while later, he, Nadya and I ventured cautiously into the tunnel.

It was almost immediately apparent that the floor had partially collapsed, and I was reminded of when Maya and I had been trapped by the cave-in a few weeks earlier.

“Careful” I said, to Santino as he lay down and crawled to the edge of a large crevice that had appeared across the tunnel. He tied a length of cable to a small camera he was carrying and lowered it into the darkness.

The video feed from the camera showed what appeared to be another larger tunnel below us. However it was almost entirely filled with loose rock and gravel. So now we knew where the water had gone but the next question was where had the tunnel come from?

A few seconds passed and then we heard a distant roaring noise. It sounded a bit like an avalanche. Gradually it grew louder as if something were approaching.

“Santino, get back” I instructed.

Letting out the cable so the camera remained suspended in the tunnel below Santino backed away. The roaring suddenly grew much louder and reached a crescendo as a large cloud of dust erupted from the hole in front of him. Then the noise receded again. It definitely seemed as though something had passed by underneath us.

The dust cloud had totally obscured any useful footage from the camera, we could see little more than a rush of movement, however when it cleared all the loose rock had gone. In its place was a large, smooth-sided tunnel, around six metres in diameter.

Vaughan was keen to go down and take some readings so we lowered him into the fissure.

After a few minutes we pulled him back up and Veldin went down to do some bio-scans. The data that the two scientists collected showed nothing conclusive however. It seemed that the planet had left us with yet another conundrum.

Pulling back into the shelter we reviewed our situation. It was clear that the access tunnel was no longer safe and I had no desire to be caught in another cave in. Our options were to wait where we were or return to the Ancient’s complex. By then the water had receded to a level where the strip of land along the canyon wall was clear again, though it was still not possible to cross over to the main base.

After some discussion it was generally agreed that the risk of the water rising again and trapping us inside was not significantly greater than any of the other dangers we faced each time we entered the complex. Besides Vaughan and Phipps were both eager to return there.

Once again we informed Locke of our intentions and then kitted up and set off again.

Much to Maya’s disappointment, while the rest of us went inside the complex, I took the precaution of posting her and Zofia Jankowska outside in the cave mouth. It would be their responsibility to monitor the level of the water and warn us if it showed signs of rising. Unfortunately for Maya, she was the only member of the team who had no obvious justification for being there, as she had been included to assist with sealing the fissure in the power room. I could think of no rationale to leave another in her place. She wasn’t happy but understood my reasons.

And so, shortly before midday on the 5th August, it was Santino, Vaughan, Phipps, Johansson, Voronova and I that went back in to the complex.

This time we proceeded anti-clockwise from the entrance hall rather than heading directly back to the laboratory. Vaughan had expressed a preference for taking a look at the rest of the complex before returning to study the hexagonal object and Santino was happy to accommodate him. As far as I was concerned it was the scientist’s that had the lead there, so for the most part I was content to do what they wanted.

When we reached the ‘workshop’, Vaughan, Santino and Phipps went in and spent some time looking around, examining the various alien tools and equipment that were inside. Leaving Santino to keep an eye on Phipps, I remained outside on guard with Nadya and Katalina.

When the scientists had finished we moved on towards the storage room.

Not long after we had left the workshop Vaughan asked us to halt. He told Santino to take a couple of paces forward and then back again.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“I’m reading faint energy fields in the walls that appear to be shadowing our movements” Vaughan replied. “I have made some adjustments to my scanner and can discern six distinct bands of energy. One for each member of our group.”

“Curious” he added a moment later. “I have just detected a seventh signal approaching us from up ahead. It is approximately twenty metres distant.”

The security team immediately readied themselves, though nothing was visible at that time.

Vaughan continued counting down as the signal drew closer. “Ten metres… Five… Four… Three…”

Still there was no sign of anything there. We braced ourselves in case something happened.

“Two… One… Zero…”

Nothing.

“It has continued past us without pausing” Vaughan observed, “and is now moving away in the opposite direction. It’s velocity remained unchanged throughout. I do not believe it interacted with us in any way.”

“Any thoughts on what it was?” I asked.

“At this point anything I said would be pure conjecture” Vaughan replied.

“It could be some form of periodic scan”, Veldin interjected.

Vaughan gave Phipps a look as though he had just found something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. As usual Veldin seemed oblivious.

“That is one of numerous possibilities” Vaughan acknowledged tersely.

It was apparent that, as Vaughan had stated, there was little that we could be sure of at that time, so we continued on towards the storage room. We were almost there when I noticed my suit was heating up again. As I checked the thermostat, I heard chittering from somewhere close behind me.

Then Vaughan said, “Ramona, it may be some kind of ghosting on the scanner but I appear to be reading a second signal which is almost coincident with yours. Are you experiencing anything out of the ordinary?”

“My suit temperature is up to 24 degrees again” I replied, changing the setting back to something more comfortable, “and there were chittering noises”

“I definitely have a second signal” Vaughan confirmed a moment later. “It has now separated from yours and is moving away.”

The signal withdrew some twenty metres and remained there, as though it were waiting for something.

“Perhaps it’s trying to communicate with us” Santino offered hopefully.

He knelt down and began drawing various symbols in the dust on the floor but shortly after that Vaughan reported that the signal had retreated.

Once again we returned to our exploration of the complex. We checked out the storage room and then moved on to the ‘last stand’ room.

Seemingly substantiating Veldin’s ‘periodic scan’ theory, a signal that was moving clockwise around the complex passed us at regular intervals.

A short while later I was startled by something giving me a ‘playful’ slap on my rear. I flushed and span round but as usual there was nothing there. It was similar to what Jankowska had experienced on the previous mission. I found it unsettling but did my best to ignore it.

As we moved on towards the bunkrooms Vaughan picked up some readings that he believed were indicative of another doorway. However, at the point where we were standing, there was a large crack running down the wall and it seemed that if there had been anything there it was no longer functional. We left it and moved on again.

Then we heard the sound of a door opening somewhere back down the corridor in the direction of the workshop. We waited for a few minutes but detected no signals moving towards us. Then, I suddenly realised once again my suit temperature was up at 24 degrees. I set it back but almost immediately it increased to 28 degrees.

Was it an escalation? What did it mean?

Not long afterwards, while the scientists were investigating the bunkrooms, we encountered another change in behaviour. This time Nadya’s laser-sight inexplicably came on. She turned it off but it immediately switched itself back on again. Then, as she moved around, it went off. Then it came on again.

“I think it’s directing us towards the lab” Nadya observed. “Look, it only comes on when it’s pointing down the corridor in that direction”

She swept the laser back and forth and it behaved as she had suggested. We called Santino, Vaughan and Phipps and showed them what was happening.

“Well I think we should follow it” proposed Santino. “At least for the time being”

Vaughan and Phipps were in agreement so that’s what we did.

When we got to the lab we discovered that the hexagonal object had disappeared. In its place was an Ancient symbol that Santino recognised as one of the ones he had drawn on the floor.

He squatted down and scratched another symbol in the dust. A moment later one of the nearby panels lit up and lights flashed. Then the alien symbol changed to another one.

“Incredible!” Santino gasped.

He drew a second shape and again the alien symbol responded.

The exchange continued in this fashion for five or six iterations.

“What’s going on professor?” I asked Santino.

“I have been able to communicate with it in simple mathematical terms” Santino replied, obviously enthused by his accomplishment. “It will take time to build up any form of dialogue but I cannot begin to describe the magnitude of what we have discovered here. At the very least this represents an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the Ancients. It could well be the single most important find in Human history.”

At that moment the door on the opposite side of the room mysteriously opened. The security team levelled their weapons but nothing happened.

“I believe it wants to show us something” Santino commented.

He turned his torch on and pointed it towards the corridor that led back to the entrance hall. When he moved it away it went off and when he moved it back it came on again. It behaved exactly as Nadya’s laser-sight had done to bring us to the lab.

We followed Santino along the corridor to the entrance hall, turning left and continuing until we reached the workshop. Inside was a canister containing pale green liquid. The canister itself had been there on our previous visits but now, suspended within it, was a mask-like representation of an Ancient’s face.

“Fascinating” Santino muttered as he moved closer to get a better look. “From its features it appears to be an adolescent”

He knelt down and began drawing in the dust again. A nearby console lit up and lights on it started to flicker on and off.

“Perhaps you should endeavour to ask it what happened to the crewman that died here” Vaughan suggested. He brought up a file on his PDA and scrolled to an image of Bell. “Can you think of anything that we could use to represent him specifically?”

However, at that moment, there was an agonized wail across the comms as an energy pulse surged through the complex once again. The lights flickered but this time it was not as powerful as it had been before and thanks to Vaughan’s modifications our suits were protected. When it passed the alien manifestation had gone.