Golden thorns chapter 50
The large room in which they found themselves was largely in darkness, however after a while their eyes began to adjust to the gloom. In the dim light of the electric bulb, the team surveyed the damage. Azura had a severe burn on her right hand from the conflict outside, Coran's leg wound had re-opened and was gently seeping red through his trouser leg and Jo had a nasty, but shallow scratch down one arm. Marie and Devlyn had received a few minor wounds but had, for the most part, escaped unscathed. The five of them sat in thee little pool of light and nursed their injuries.
"So what the hell was that?" Coran asked, hissing as Marie re-dressed his leg.
"What? The bugs or the lightning?" the huntress' voice still quavering as her burned hand shook.
"Both. I've never heard of either. Thanks Em, but I think she needs the help more than I do."
"Well the lightning was a form of doctored Dust. It's still unstable so it's not for common purchase yet. I guess you could say I'm a sort of beta test- Argh! Good God, that stuff doesn't half sting!"
"Sorry," said a sheepish Marie, "but this burn salve is the best beacon could offer. It's quite effective" Coran finished tying his bandage and got up, testing his weight, before giving up and sitting down again.
"May I suggest we take some time to recuperate before going any further?" He groaned.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Devlyn said as he sat peering into the darkness, his Faunus eyes able to pierce the gloom better than those of his comrades.
They finished binding each other's wounds and rolled out their sleeping mats. Lying down and resting their tired and aching limbs. Coran's leg felt like there was a knife twisting in it every time he moved, preventing him from being able to settle. He sat up, staring into the darkness. For a second he thought he saw a shape lurking in the shadows. He flicked on his torch, revealing a stack of wooden crates, labelled "property of the Tarrion Corporation". A tarpaulin had been half draped over the pile, creating the effect that there was some giant creature looming over him. He smiled at his needless concern and took a sip of water from his bottle. He laid back down and closed his eyes, listening to the quiet, rhythmic drip… drip… drip of a water spring somewhere in the darkness.
"So the first job is to get the main generator on. This light is powered by a solar array on the cliff face but if we get the main generator operating then we will have power to the lifts, the hall lights, some of the machinery, the security records…"
"The people…"
"Yes Devlyn. If we hit the on button then the perfect governmental system will miraculously install itself in Vale and we shall all live happily forever getting everything we want, especially that rainbow pony that has been missing from my life for the past thirty-two years."
"Well consider me out-sassed. Are you really thirty-two?"
"It's impolite to ask a lady her age. And yes, is that so weird?"
"No, it's just you look younger."
"Thank you Devlyn, but we really should be getting on with our job now." She, reached into her pack and handed out four small metal orbs with a button and a small 3D projector, one to each of them. "These are Geological Mapping Devices. They will bounce signals off of the cave walls and create a 3D reconstruction of the caves. Bring 'em together now." She held out hers, as did the team. "Sync 'em up by pressing the large button on the top. Rotating it and pressing it again will activate a distress signal that will alert the rest of us and bring us to you. The maps should sync up to each other, creating a full map of the caves." She looked at each of them in turn before continuing.
"Now, be methodical in your approach. Follow a cave until you can go no further, then turn back and follow another fork. If you run into any Grimm, make a note of it. The GMD's will last for four days before dying out. They've been set to alert you eight hours before they drop, and every hour after that, which should give you enough time to get back here. How are you all for supplies?"
"We should have enough for three days each if we ration ourselves." Coran answered.
"Well that's alright then. You'll drop before your orbs."