Day 47.

Mike sat down across from Thomas. In the HUB, Thomas had produced a folding table and two chairs, and he was holding a data pad. Mike tapped at the table absent-mindedly.

"So, Mr. Gunn," said Thomas, "Do you know why we are here?"

"I... uhh... Project: Assembly?"

"Here in this room," said Thomas, "In an HR meeting."

"Oh, of course," said Mike, "Because you are the HR rep around here."

"I... that is why I am here," struggled Thomas, "Look, Mike... you can't keep trying to... guess Foreman Mackinlay's accent. It's against Ficsit regulations and protections and can create a hostile work environment."

"Oh!" said Mike, "But I'm so close... Simone says she knows."

"I'm sorry but Ficsit just does not care."

"It's got to be Earth Australian," said Mike.

"Look, I don't care if you guess it on the nose, you can't- Wait, seriously? An Australian accent? That's your best guess?"

"Well I grew up on the moon of Earth," said Mike, "I don't actually know fer sure. He could be Saturneese."

"Oh, my god," said Thomas, placing down the data pad, "Look, this right here. What is Saturneese? That's not even a language."

"Could be one of 'em. Speaking common."

"No, this whole conversation," started Thomas, "Is bad, Mike. This can create a toxic work environment. Imagine how Clint feels, everyone whispering around him about how he talks."

"Oh, boy. Never quite thought about that, I suppose."

"How would you like it if we were all trying to guess your accent?" asked Thomas.

"Well, you'd have a hard time with that," said Mike, "Cuz I ain't got no accent."

"You... wait, what?"

"Indeed," said Clint, "In all fairness, it's tough to develop an accent when yer from a small town on the Earth's moon where nobody's got no accent."

"Unbelievable..."

"It's true."

"Look, you can't. You have to stop," said Thomas, "Or this is going to result in disciplinary action."

"I... uhm... what would that be?" said Mike, "Am I going to get fired?"

"I... uhhhhh."

"Also, who fired me? You or Clint?"

"I... I do not know for certain," said Thomas, "Look, firing is really harsh for a worker of your... skills. I just really need you to work with me here."

"Love to."

"Also, I have a report here in your personnel file that shows when you first arrived planet side you confessed to falsifying your entrance paperwork in order to-"

"Wait, personnel file?" asked Mike, "How do you have that?"

"ADA has a file on all of us," said Thomas, "It's HR eyes only, though. I have access to-"

"Is there one on Clint?" asked Mike.

"There is. There's even one on me," said Thomas, "But that doesn't help very much."

"GREAT!" said Mike, slapping the table, "Than you can tell me! Where's Clint from?"

"Where's Clint from?" repeated Thomas, "Mike... come on. I cannot use my position to divulge personally identifiable information like that. Ficsit protects that stuff."

"Aw, come on," said Mike, "We could put this whole mess of stuff behind us."

"Mike... you have to drop this," said Thomas, "We honestly cannot keep traversing the same things. Promise me you'll stop trying to guess his ethnicity."

"I don't see the harm," said Mike, "But I'll stop."

"No, I need to hear you say it," said Thomas, "I need the full thing. You'll stop what?"

"You straight shooting?" said Mike, "My goodness. Fine, I will stop-"

"Alarm Sounding," came the voice of ADA, "Alarm for: Tutorial... time."

"Dismiss Alarm," said Thomas, standing up, "Look, we're honestly not getting anywhere. I have recommended to Clint that you do some exploratory work, alone. Perhaps some time away from the rest of us will be punishment enough for you to think about how those kinds of questions make others feel."

"Exploratory?" asked Mike, "Kind of like a Lunar Ranger. Sweet."

"Yeah, maybe," said Thomas, "Anyways, I have something to do. Meeting adjourned. Good luck with that!"

Thomas was out of the HUB and off into the field before Mike had a shot to ask another question.

Thomas squared his feet. He turned a switch on the Build Gun, and the guns displays altered. No longer did it show resources and distances. Following the tutorial, Thomas switched on the Build Mode, and a blue light shot out from him. His visor was painted over with a grid, which tried to map the ground in the area in front of him. On his HUD, a selection of blueprints showed themselves.

"Let's start simple," said Thomas.

"Ficsit Tutorials often suggest starting with a solid foundation," said ADA, "May I suggest a foundation? You have substantial materials."

In Thomas' HUD, the blueprints shifted and altered until he saw a selection of blocks labeled "Foundations". Thomas saw a pointer on his HUD that reacted to the motion of his right hand, with the Build gun.

Making a selection, Thomas jumped as the graphics went away, and he was greeted with a sudden blue brick standing in front of him. It was large, being roughly 8 meters by 2 meters.

When Thomas moved his hand, the blue square moved with the Build Gun. He smiled. He quickly jerked the square back and forth as it moved along. Hitting a track pad with his thumb, he was able to slowly rotate the square, shifting it slightly to fit his needs.

"Once you have decided to place the structure of your choosing," reminded ADA, "Be sure to confirm your decision with the trigger."

Placing it a little distance away, Thomas pulled the trigger on the build gun. The gun sent a beam of light out, highlighting the hologram where it stood. Out from the build gun, a mixture of materials flew to the hologram, slowly turning a bright orange with heat.

When the process was done, however, the light shut off and Thomas was left looking at a solid grey cube of foundation.

"Amazing," he murmured under his breath.

"The build gun uses resources from your personal pocket dimension to construct Ficsit approved designs in real time, exponentially increasing productivity."

"Magically, you mean," said Thomas.

He stepped forward. Reaching out his hand, Thomas felt the foundation's wall. He knocked on it, and it felt solid. He marveled at the cube now in front of him.

"If you misplaced and need to deconstruct a ficsit approved structure, just enter the deconstruct mode and the build gun will break it down into Ficsit approved materials and components for easier transport inside your pocket dimension. Remember: Ficsit doesn't waste."

"Deconstruct mode..." Thomas repeated, looking for the controls on his gun.

Finding it, he aimed it at the foundational cube. It once again lit up in a hologram, this time in orange. Holding the trigger, the build gun very slowly deconstructed the cube. However in the matter of a few seconds, the cube was gone, leaving only an imprint of grass in its shape.

Thomas checked the inventory of his pocket dimension and sure enough, the Build Gun had returned all the materials to him.

"This is amazing," said Thomas, "This is... this is magic!"

"This is Ficsit Inc patented property," corrected ADA, "Please use this tool to complete a working factory to service Project: Assembly at the direction of your work site's foreman. This ends the tutorial program."

"This is amazing!" said Thomas, "I have to show everyone!"

"Well, what a coincidence!"

Thomas yelped and jumped back. Out of the bushes, Mike came walking through.

"WHY?" shouted Thomas.

"I also have something neat to show you," said Mike, "It's real weird and ADA told me you were the closest to my position. Come on, quick. It's not far."

"No, I meant why are you out here sneaking up on me?" asked Thomas.

"I just told you, partner," said Mike, "Do you not remember reassigning me to off-site duties? I'm on cartographer duties mapping up a larger perimeter and taking note of any potentially dangerous lifeforms! I found something that I think you should see and you were the closest."

"Fine," said Thomas, "But it better be quick. After this we're running back to the HUB. I need to call an emergency meeting."

"Not much of an emergency if it can wait," said Mike, "But come on, it's somethin' to see."

Mike didn't even pause. He just strolled on ahead as if there wasn't a single thing wrong. Right into the mouth of a gigantic cave. It was giant and looming, and it did not take very long for the ground to dip downward into it, deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Thomas was frozen in his place, his knees starting to shake. What was worse is there would probably never be a good time to explore the cave, as above it on a cliff some giant mushroom cap reached out like an umbrella and blocked the rays of the starlight above.

Mike returned, motioning for Thomas.

"'Mere," waved over Mike, "The cave isn't it. It's this weird thing!"

"Uhh... maybe we need Clint," said Thomas, "And his gun."

"Naw, I've been rooting around in here all day," said Mike, "It's not scary. But it is interesting. Trust me, you won't regret it."

"I feel very strongly that I already do," said Thomas, shaking his head, "ADA, ping our position to Clint and Simone. Just in case something happens."

"Ficsit Inc would like to take this time to recognize your behavior as potentially leading to a high risk activity that may result in damage to Ficsit property," said ADA, "If this is the case, please refrain from said activity, unless it is necessary for Ficsit production goals."

"Thanks..." said Thomas.

"Come on, get along!" shouted Mike.

Thomas sighed and looked around again. The orange head of one of the 'Lizard Doggos' was poking out of the bushes nearby. Thomas looked quizzically at it.

"Hari?" he asked.

The creature chirped and whined, before turning and disappearing into the brush.

"That's not a good omen," said Thomas, carefully beginning to take steps into the cave.

The cave was terrifying to him, but strangely it felt... perfect? Thomas walked along the surprising smooth ground and into the cave and was shocked at how wide and smooth it was. Even the stalactites appeared randomized and jutting out of an equally smooth ceiling.

Mushrooms lined the cave floor where the walls met. Some of the mushroom species jutted up, providing a strange bioluminescent light. Thomas was amazed, and decided he would need to pick some of the mushrooms when he had a chance so he could analyze it back at the HUB.

When he caught up with Mike, he was standing over a strange third species of mushroom. The specimen was large and stood alone on the cave floor. Mike turned and waved Thomas over. Thomas' eyes never stopped scanning all around him, but he approached.

"This," said Mike, pointing at the mushroom, "Is it. It's so weird."

"Is it?" said Thomas, "It's a mushroom. What did it do?"

"Tom, I need you to do something for me," said Mike, looking up at Thomas, "I need you... to tell me what this smells like to you."

"What?" said Thomas, "You brought me all the way down here to sniff a mushroom?"

"Look, just... trust me, will you?" said Mike, "Just... sniff it. What does it smell like to you?"

"I'm wearing a helmet," answered Thomas.

"Just... wouldja just humor me," said Mike, "I wouldn't've brought yall all the way down here if I wanted to be seen as crazy."

Thomas sighed, but knelt to one knee and did a large, comical sniff of the mushroom. Despite the sarcasm involved, he was stopped when he did notice a smell wafting through his helmet protectors. Thomas gasped, however that only brought in more of the smell.

He was brought back to the space station training center he did his master's degree on. He was waking up the morning after finals, groggily sitting in the cafeteria. He was laughing and joking with his school mates. They were both going over their terrible performances the day before. On his plate were the remnants of breakfast.

"Bacon," is what he said.

"Bacon," confirmed Mike, "Unmistakable. This right here... is some sort of Bacon Mushroom."

"It can't be," said Thomas, "Impossible."

"I'm telling you," said Mike, "There's no question to it. Bacon. I'm going to take a bite out of it."

"NO!" exclaimed Thomas, "We have to analyze it. See if it's dangerous or something. You can't just assume it's bacon and take a bite out of it. It's obviously some form of fungus."

"Well, I found it first," said Mike, "So I'll get it analyzed. If it's edible, I want first bite."

"Gross," said Thomas, "Absolutely disgusting."

Mike picked the strange fungus and put it into his pocket. Thomas continued to look around the cave nervously. Mike began saying something about the other mushrooms growing around, and went to try and retrieve them.

Thomas stopped, however, looking deeper into the cave. His eyes could make out a faint glow, and as he tried to listen he could hear a distant hum.

"What's that?" asked Thomas.

Mike froze before following Thomas' gaze. He rose.

"Glowing?" he said, "Let's check it out."

"Oh, I don't really-"

However, Mike was already walking down the path deeper into the cave. Thomas followed along very cautiously.

The path didn't go much further before opening into a big chamber. The chamber was filled with rock formations making archways and bridges. Stalactites stretched down from the ceilings and some even buried themselves into the floor. Luminous mushrooms were scattered about, providing minimal light in the chamber. The ceiling appeared to be covered in more fungus, as the tendrils of black material stretched outward from dense clusters.

However, in the center of the room, a small gap of space between it and any other object, was a singular plant holding a large, luminous orb. This orb glowed a faint violet light and was surrounded by some form of wispy pink sparkles circling it.

Mike was silent, and approached the orb cautiously. Thomas, right behind him, was mesmerized by the thing.

"What is it?" whispered Mike.

"I've never seen anything like this my entire life," whispered back Thomas, "How would I have any reference in order to begin to speculate?"

"A no would have been fine..."

The two men approached it, and examined the strange plant. That is when Thomas noted that it was not all a single plant, the plant appeared to be housing and holding up the orb, which appeared to be some sort of metallic object.

"Woah," whispered Mike, "Like... a clam's pearl?"

"I... suppose," said Thomas, "Or an egg. Or some part of the plant. It's impossible to tell."

"Unless we analyze it," said Mike, "Back at the HUB."

Mike reached out his hands, and Thomas slapped them down again.

"What are you doing?" hissed Thomas, "Stop touching things. There are things on this planet you don't have to eat, you know."

"I ain't gonna eat it, I'm not thick," said Mike, "I'm gonna see if it detaches."

A rock fell from above, clattering noisily not far off. Thomas started and turned towards the noise, and Mike reached into his own holster and pulled out his taser.

Both of them watched the unmoving rock in silence. As the silence stretched on, they began to be increasingly aware of a rustling above them. Slowly, Mike and Thomas raised their heads, looking above them at the roof.

Horrifyingly it was buzzing with motion. The tendrils and the masses moved and clicked, becoming legs and bodies. The bigger masses opened eight, bulbous, black eyes. Smaller shapes were weaving in and around the ceiling. Scuttling around on exoskeleton legs.

Thomas felt his blood run cold.

"Sp-Sp-Spiders." he let out a hoarse, panicked whine.

"Naw, spiders aren't that big," said Mike.

The creatures were dispersing, running down the cave walls and the stone stalactites, appearing across the bridges and archways. The larger ones leapt from the roof, twisted in the air, and landed on the many stone formations in the cavern.

"RUN!" shouted Thomas, "Oh god, RUN!"

And Thomas turned and sprinted for the cave mouth, as if his life depended on it. The walk down, deep into the cave had felt like a lifetime of inching deeper in and looking all around them. The sprint towards the exit proved it was both way shorter than Thomas remembered, but also hopelessly far away. Thomas gasped for air as he sprinted with all his might. Behind him, the noise of seemingly hundreds of tiny insect legs scraping against rock filled him with a dread he had never felt.

Next to him, Mike caught up quickly. He ran slightly behind him, and held a glowing sphere in his hands. Thomas caught it out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you kidding me?" screamed Thomas, "We're gonna die because of that! Lose the egg!"

"It's not an egg!" shouted Mike.

"Whatever it is, it's slowing us down!" shouted Thomas, "Or its speeding them up! It's theirs! Give it back!"

"Too late for that now!" shouted Mike, "Giddy-Up, Son! Make tracks!"

The mouth of the cave was in sight. Thomas felt his energy waning. He was gasping for air. They were never going to make it back to the hub against these things. And what if they did? Could Clint take them all?

Build Gun!

Thomas brought up the build gun.

"ADA, I need a GUN!" he yelled, "I need a trap! Something!"

"Insufficient data. No blueprints for such a-"

A spider landed just next to Thomas, its legs slamming the rock at his feet by centimeters.

"GAH!" shouted Thomas, speeding up, "We need something! A door! WALLS!"

"Wall with reinforced door," said ADA, picking out a blueprint he could afford.

Thomas aimed it at the mouth of the cave and pressed the trigger. A rectangle section appeared in front of him, a small, normal sized door section right in front of him.

"Get through the door," yelled Thomas, "shut the door!"

"How-" started Mike.

"DO IT!" shouted Thomas.

Thomas scrolled over two spaces, to an image of a metal wall. It looked iron and reinforced with concrete. He chose it and aimed ahead. Instead of being free form, however, when the blue hologram rectangle met the edges of the door wall piece, it snapped to it, creating a sealed wall. Thomas had an idea.

He quickly began jamming the trigger. Pieces of wall began to fill. Beside themselves. On top of themselves. Soon the cave opening was almost closed up entirely, and only the light streaming in from the rapidly approaching door lead their way.

However, the spiders were catching up. Thomas could see them on the walls beside them, racing ahead to cut them off. He could hear them clicking and screeching behind him. They sounded so close.

Thomas leapt through the doorway, doing a baseball slide on the other side and turning around, trying to close up the gaps that were left. Mike was right behind him, tossing the sphere as he went through. He quickly grabbed the iron door and went to slam it shut. Instantly a large spider-beast got stuck in the doorway, its legs slashing and clawing at anything it could.

A few creatures slammed against the newly made walls, and began to scuttle up the sides. Legs and small bodies attempted to crawl out of the far edges.

Thomas wielded his build gun, finding where the blue hologram patched up holes and quickly pulling the trigger each time. Legs were severed and screeches were muffled as the walls took form.

Mike was struggling with the door, screaming as he struggled with it.

Bap. Bap. Bap.

The spider creature's eye exploded with the force of a bullet, and it was beat back with several more shots. The creature slipped back, but more were attempting to take its place.

Clint ran up to the group, rifle at the ready. He slammed into the door next to Mike, and the door slowly shut. With a crunch, Spider legs were severed and dropped to the ground. The door shut, and Mike slid a large lock bar into place.

The two men stepped back, listening as creatures banged against the door, and legs scraped and tapped up and down the wall in general.

A massive wall now stood in front of them. Clint held the rifle, ready to fire. Mike gasped for air, clutching his taser in front of him. Thomas lay on the ground, his arm struggling to keep the Build Gun pointed at the wall.

"What... did you two do?" asked Clint, coldly.

"What did Tom do?" said Mike, reeling on Thomas, "That was amazing! Where did all that come from? what the hell did you do?"

"Woah," said Simone, stepping out from the forest, "You weren't kidding, Hari. This is spooky."

"I need answers, now," said Clint, "What the hell is this place? An installation?"

"It's a cave!" said Mike, "And we went inside, but all of this? This is all new. Tom did something."

"I..." Thomas was gasping for breath, "What the hell were those things?"

"Trouble," said Clint, who stepped forward and lifted one of the large, segmented legs that had been severed, "Woah, look at the size of these stingers."

"They looked very big up close," said Mike, "They just appeared."

"If you get hit with one of these, you'll be hurt badly," said Clint, "Those stingers mean business."

"New designation: 'Stinger'," said ADA, "Discovery made by: Pioneer Mackinlay, Clint."

"Unbelievable," said Thomas from the ground, "ADA: I dispute! If anyone discovered them it was me and Mike."

"Shut up," said Clint, "None of this matters! Why is there an entire wall here? What were you all doing in there? What were those things? And what the hell is going on?"

"Build Gun," said Thomas, holding it up, "I can show you when I can breath."

"And that thing," pointed Mike, "It was in there. The creatures were... protecting it? Drawn to it?"

Clint turned to where Mike pointed. The sphere was lying not far away. Clint approached it slowly. It was still luminous, and the small things flying around it were still doing so.

"Is it... an egg?" asked Clint.

"Is it an artifact?" asked Simone, "Are those fireflies?"

Clint stood over it. He stared intently, lowering his rifle. Mike helped Thomas to his wobbly feet, and they both walked over to the sphere too. Simone was on the ground, staring at the orb.

"We should probably analyze it," said Mike, "Before it hatches."

"Yes..." said Clint, his voice a drone, "We should Harvest it. We are... legally compelled to harvest it... for Ficsit."

"Yeah," said Thomas, "Maybe it'll have some insight into what made those- What? Harvest?"

"We are lucky," said Clint, leaning down to pick up the orb and hold it, "To have found such a valuable artifact... It's for Ficsit. We must comply."

"Uhm... Clint?" said Thomas.

"So we're all in agreement," said Mike, "That's good. Tom! Your magic wall! Let's talk about that, partner!"

Clint opened his pocket, and slowly and deliberately put the orb inside. Soon after his pocket closed, he seemed to snap out of his trance, and look around.

"Magic wall," he said, shaking his head, "Yes! You have a lot of explaining to do, lad. It takes us a month to get any sort of progress, and then you throw up a wall in a moment of sheer panic?"

"What the hell just happened?" asked Thomas.

"According to you? Build Gun," said Mike, "Come on, we need more than what you are giving."

Mike and Clint helped the wobbly Thomas back to the HUB as he tried to explain the steps to his day and the tutorials he had been doing.

Simone was left behind. With a paint brush and bucket, she began to paint on the massive wall. Hari stayed close, but cowered at the scratching and tapping behind the wall.

"It speaks to him," said Simone, to no one in particular, "It speaks to all those without souls. Ficsit crushes our souls... but a few find it harder than most. I wonder, in time, If I will hear the luring call."

She stepped back, admiring her handiwork. Across the door and bleeding onto the wall she had painted the words "SCARY DOOR. KEEP SHUT."

She nodded at her handy work, and returned the paintbrush and paint to her pocket Dimension. Hari chirped worriedly.

"It'll be alright," said Simone, "I can hear them. However we lack the means to help. The darkest is always darkest before the dawn."

With that, she made her way back in the direction of the HUB, picking flowers for their pedals as she went. Hari whined at the door once again, before slinking off into the woods, following the team.