Book IV - Ancient Aliens
Summary: A year in the life - The gang finds out the Clan are not the first aliens to visit this corner of the universe. Other ancient aliens have left their junk behind, like high tech driftwood.
Chapter Summary: A visit to a red planet.
Chapter Word Count: 5,426
"Welcome to Mars," Brittany said, opening the shuttle hatch.
"Not what I expected," Quinn said, standing next to her and scanning the horizon.
"It's a great big dustbowl," Santana said, joining them. "Kills equipment faster than one of Quinn's troopers."
"My troopers don't kill equipment," Quinn said, turning to glare at her.
"That's not what my techs say," Santana said.
"Ladies! Not the time or place!" Brittany said. "Save it until we get home."
"You wanted to show us something," Santana said. "Couldn't you just take a picture?"
"You have to see this in person," Brittany said. "Come on." Closing her suit's helmet, she stepped through the safety field holding in the air.
Santana and Quinn quickly followed her out onto the sand.
"Not like walking on the moon," Quinn said, giving a slight bounce.
"Yeah, it's less like walking on powder, more like sandpaper," Santana said, kicking at the ground.
"How far is it?" Quinn asked Brittany.
"Ten klicks," Brittany said, leading the way towards several low hills.
"We couldn't land closer?" Santana said, grumbling.
"Nope," Brittany said. "Too dangerous."
"This is Mars," Santana said. "Big empty planet. What could be dangerous?"
"Besides the sandstorms and low atmosphere?" Brittany said, correcting her. "You'll see."
"How are the defenses going?" Quinn asked. "When will we be able to set up the training facilities for my troopers?"
"The eyes-in-the-sky are all up, and connected to our security network," Brittany said. "We'd finished surveying the area you wanted when we ran into this." She pointed ahead to an object that seemed to rise up out of the ground.
It was a wall, at least twice her height, that disappeared off into the distance.
"A wall," Santana said. "Could have sent a picture."
"It doesn't photograph very well," Brittany said. "It just looks like a line from space. A very thin one. The tech who found it thought something was wrong with her camera."
"So… wall…" Quinn said. "Who built it and why?"
"It's the only known structure on the planet that looks made and not just the result of nature," Brittany said.
"What's it made out of?" Quinn asked.
"Rock," Santana said, grimacing.
"Actually, it's made out of an unknown crystal substance. It's not really this color." She rubbed her hand across the dull surface, revealing an opaque material.
"Huh," Santana said, following suit. "Is the whole thing like this?"
"As far as we can tell. Almost two klicks of crystal, in a big circle."
"A circle? What's inside?" Quinn stared up at the top of the wall.
"Nothing you can see from the outside," Brittany said. "Fortunately, we found the door." She gestured for them to follow her. After five minutes of walking, they came to a slight depression in the surface of the wall.
"How'd you figure out how to open it?" Quinn asked.
"We have our ways," Brittany said, her grin clearly heard over the comm. "Watch!"
There was a low pitched whistle, centered around her suit. With a huge rumble they could feel through their suits, the depression slowly deepened, becoming an oval opening.
"Be careful," Brittany said, blocking the entrance. "That first step is a klick deep."
"Whoa!" Santana said. "We didn't lose anyone down it did we?"
"No, we followed safety protocols," Brittany said. "That's how we know how deep it is."
"So, it's a long wall around a deep hole, and you can't see it from the air?" Quinn asked. "How is that possible? It should stick out like a sore thumb."
"Look," Brittany said, shining light into the opening at an upward angle. The light reflected off of something shiny. "It has some kind of shield, hiding it from the surface. We think it's the same material as the wall."
"Two kilometers around, with a cover?" Quinn said. "Any idea what it's for? I'm assuming you sent in probes."
"And you have pictures, so we didn't have to come down here in person?" Santana said, grumbling.
"You have better places to be?" Quinn asked.
"Yes," Santana said. "Your 'little' training base isn't the only thing going on."
"Ladies, enough," Brittany said. "I brought you down here for a reason, and not just to hear the snark. Lovely as it is."
"The reason being?" Santana said. "I love you babe, but this little field trip could have waited."
"Watch," Brittany said, stepping through the oval. Instead of plummeting to her death, or at least falling from view, she stayed level with the entrance.
"Don't do that!" Santana burst out, grabbing Brittany by the arm.
"It's perfectly safe," she said. "There's no gravity."
"Well, you don't know that!" Santana said.
"I've tested it," Brittany said. "Besides, it's only a couple thousand feet deep. My suit can handle it."
"What's down there, Brit?" Quinn asked.
"It's an underground base," she said. "Or it might be. Come on!"
Quinn and Santana cautiously joined her inside. They couldn't see the other side but looking up, they could see something overhead, a featureless shiny flat roof with no markings. Their suits sensors gave them dimensions and a general idea of size but that didn't dispel the feeling of being in a dark cave, standing on nothing.
"Artie says it pre-dates the Confederation," Brittany said.
"And this anti-gravity thing still works?" Santana asked.
"Yup," Brittany said. "I have some techs looking into it."
"How do we go down?" Quinn asked, tired of staring at lots of smooth nothing.
"It's like zero gravity," Brittany said. "Use your suit jets. Like this." There was a low flash and Brittany started to move down into the dark shaft. Quinn and Santana once more following her lead.
They went down for several minutes in the dark.
"Could use some decorations," Santana said.
"I don't think it would last," Brittany told her. "It's some sort of launch tube as far as we can tell."
"You found ancient spaceships?" Santana asked, excitedly.
"No, just a launch pad of sorts. The only thing working is this. And some lights. It's been abandoned for a very long time. Probably before Mars became a desert," Brittany said.
"Not seeing the excitement," Santana said. "Sure, this gravity free tube is interesting but no ships? Are there any documents of any kind?"
They can to a stop, landing on a slightly angled oval. As soon as they stepped off of it, the room lit up. They were standing at the edge of a huge room.
"This, is impressive," Santana said. Quinn murmured in agreement. "The tube was huge. A shuttle could fit in it, if we got the cover open. A small cruiser could fit in here with room to spare."
"Or a small city," Quinn added. "What are your plans for it?"
"Plans?" Brittany said.
"We know you babe," Santana said. "You didn't bring us down here to see a big hole in the ground or that fancy gravity trick tube."
"We haven't really discussed plans for Mars, other than a training base for Quinn's troopers," Brittany said. "We have a base out on Pluto, and our main space station out in the asteroid belt but there's so much room in this system that we haven't begun to use."
"We don't have the people," Santana said. "We aren't even half staffed yet. We can barely handle the few out-system patrols we have going now. And we aren't going to be huge when we are. We're just the local cops, not a whole world."
"I think we should have a backup base here," Brittany said. "We can do things we can't do on Terra, because of tech issues. Or maybe we can terraform it. Earth needs room to grow and there's plenty of room here."
"That doesn't usually go well," Quinn said. "There are dozens of stories of what could happen if people colonize Mars and the other planets."
"It worked for Star Trek," Brittany said.
"But getting there was not easy," Quinn said. "It took them a long time."
"Terraforming takes centuries," Santana said. "And that assumes it even works. Even with top of the line Confederation tech there's still a sixteen percent chance of failure."
"I think we should still do it," Brittany said. "As soon as the Bugs are gone. By the time it's complete the people will be mature enough to handle it."
"These are Terrans we're talking about," Quinn said. "They're worse than the Clans were. It could be millennia before they are civilized enough for what you have planned."
"I'd rather be positive," Brittany said. "We need to start planning for the direction we want to guide them to for after the Bugs."
"You and Rachel can do the post-Bug planning," Santana said. "Q and I still have a war to plan, and defenses to build. Is there anything else to see here?"
"Just the tech that makes the gravity tube work and the environment," Brittany said. "Everything else is long gone. Any objections to turning this into a base?"
"Not from me," Santana said. "If you can figure out how to actually get a ship down here, that would be good."
"Is this going to be separate from my desert training base?" Quinn asked.
"I'm thinking that it should be our private space port," Brittany said. "But we should put your training base underground like this."
"Order the equipment once you agree on the design," Santana said.
"Will do," Quinn said.
"Anything else?" Santana asked. "If not, I need to get back to Flag. The planning sessions for mapping the rest of the sector are starting tomorrow so I need to clear everything else from my desk."
"Just a minute," Brittany said.
"Hey boss!" a voice on the team comm interrupted her.
"Yes, Jayce?"
"You need to come see this," Jayce said. She sent a short video down channel.
"Where are you?" Brittany asked.
"In the south quadrant, second tunnel. The one that looks like living quarters," Jayce said.
"Jayce found something in one of the side caves," Brittany said. "I need to check it out. Can you spare a few more minutes?"
"I've got an hour," Quinn said. "Rachel's expecting me for dinner tonight."
"I can do an hour," Santana said. "Or I can send the shuttle back for you."
"If you can't stay, I can catch a ride back with Joy," Brittany said.
"Is it something interesting or something only a Shadow would care about?"
"Don't know," Brittany said. "But I need to go. Are you coming?"
"Sure, why not," Santana said. "My desk can wait. It isn't going anywhere."
Quinn and Santana followed Brittany deeper into the cavern. As they walked the faint glow became stronger, making it easier to see.
"So, big cavern, no evidence of the previous occupants?" Santana said. "Nothing? No clues to what they looked like or ate?"
"Nothing," Brittany said. "We know that something built this but there's not enough info to know anything about them. Not a thing our archaeologists can use. Just dust and this empty place."
"We have archaeologists?" Quinn said, surprised. "Clan archaeologists?"
"They're part of the Memory's Office," Brittany said. "Rache started requesting them after we found that cruiser in Cancun. There's enough work to keep a team of them busy full time."
"Doing?" Santana asked.
"I have them analyzing old Clan bases, and Andy has one on her staff," Brittany said. "They bring a unique perspective to things. We've managed to have Clan trained ones so far. The Indiana Jones films are a great recruitment tool. Things aren't quite so exciting in real life but it has its moments."
"Huh, guess I never thought about it. So you've got one around here somewhere?"
"Jayce," Britany said. "That's who we're meeting down here."
"What do you think she found?" Quinn asked.
"No idea," Brittany said. "But we'll know in a minute."
"Sorry," Quinn mumbled.
They came to a stop in front of a tunnel, three meters from floor to roof. They were met by a short woman in an enviro skin suit.
"Come on," she said. "You won't believe this!" She quickly disappeared down the tunnel, the three women following closely. As the walked, she talked. "We've been exploring the back rooms," she said. "Mostly dust. Nothing organic. Interesting design, sort of like that cave base on that planet in the Ring system. But much older. And then Frankie noticed that one of the rooms had thicker walls. So we started scanning it to see if we'd missed anything."
"Secret door?" Santana guessed. "Or hidden closet?"
"Bathroom?" Quinn suggested.
"Better," Jayce said, stopping in front of a tall doorway. She led them in, joining another woman similarly dressed at the far wall. "Show them," she said.
Without saying a word, the other woman, Frankie, reached over and pressed on the wall. There was a slight humming and a large lit oval appeared in the wall. The humming continued and the oval split, half disappearing into the ceiling and the other down into the floor, revealing a shelf with a jumbled pile of small square crystals.
"Shiny," Brittany said, leaning down to scan them with her suit's sensors. "Crystal storage?"
"Possibly," Frankie said, in a surprisingly deep voice. "But no way to read them at the moment.
"Janice and Joy brought back several different readers from their Ring trip," Brittany said. "They might have something that'll work with these or at least tell you what they are."
"We were waiting for you to see this before contacting anyone," Jayce said.
"Did you find anything else down here today?" Brittany said. "They seem to have picked up after themselves really well."
"It's been millenia, Lady Shadow," Jayce said. "Anything they left behind that wasn't crystal or metal is long gone. If there was a reader it went with them."
"Maybe there are more closets," Quinn said.
"Keep looking, and let us know what else you find," Brittany said. "You've got two weeks before we start remodeling."
"Yes, Boss," Frankie said.
"And we need to head out," Santana said. "Coming with us?"
"Part of the way," Brittany said. "Need to check on another project south of here."
"More hidden alien bases?" Quinn asked.
"Nothing as exciting," Brittany said. "One of the construction teams is drilling for water a hundred clicks from here."
"Pass," Santana said. Quinn just shook her head.
"Okay," Brittany said. "I just need a drop-off. The drilling team has transportation I can use to get back to Flag."
"Okay," Santana said. "Now how do we get back to the shuttle from here?"
"Easy peasy," Brittany said. "Just follow the breadcrumbs." She pointed at their unique footprints on the dusty floor.
"That was mildly interesting," Santana said, after dropping Brittany off.
"If it makes Brit happy," Quinn said.
"A happy Brit is a sexy Brit," Santana said. "But sand doesn't mix well with hard suits."
"That's why we need a training base here. Too many of our battles are in sterile conditions. They need to be able to operate in all kinds of weather and terrain."
"Not arguing," Santana said. "But I prefer the nice clean of space."
"Understood," Quinn said. "How are your plans to explore the rest of the sector going?"
"Well, the Ring system is a bust. At least until we can figure out how to send equipment through. It's not big enough to send a shuttle, even in pieces," Santana said.
"I'm sure you'll find a way. Did they fix their navigation problems?"
"Navigation?"
"The one way trip. Forward or backward only."
"Not yet, but Brittany's crew thinks they have an idea," Santana said. "And she has some bright kids on her crew."
"Have you gotten the 'don't poach' speech yet," Quinn asked.
"Who'd you try to steal?" Santana said, laughing.
"No one," Quinn said. "Harriet Potter is spending a lot of time with Janice."
"Not surprised," Santana said. "They spent months working together and probably like each other."
"Really not time for romance," Quinn said.
"So I hear," Santana said, laughing.
"Rachel told you?" Quinn said sheepishly.
"The partner earring and the long speech about responsibility?" Santana laughed again. "Brittany would have staked me out on the nearest ant hill if I did something like that to her. Not very romantic."
"She didn't talk to me for a month afterward," Quinn said, grimacing.
"She must have gotten over it," Santana said. "She was bragging about it the other day."
"Had to take her out to dinner in Paris," Quinn said.
"There're some nice restaurants near the Eiffel Tower," Santana said. "That's Brit's go to city for make up dates."
"Expensive," Quinn said.
"As long as you don't buy them, the Clan budget can afford to make the Memory happy."
"How many do we own now?" Quinn asked.
"In Paris? Two. World wide? A dozen. But they don't last very long. Restaurants have the shelf life of a box of donuts at the Fleet Chief's annual staff meeting. Measured in seconds." Santana shook her head. "By the time they start making money, the celebrity chef will be tired of it and move on."
"What do you do with a failed restaurant," Quinn asked.
"Rent the space out to another one," Santana said. "That's where the money is."
"Have there been any Bug sighting yet?" Quinn asked after several minutes of silence.
"Nothing," Santana said. "Artie still says they're headed this way but they must have stopped for a nooner because there's no sign of them anywhere."
"Maybe they aren't coming?"
"No, they'll show up," Santana said. "We're in the way of their exit from the Confederation. They have to go through us."
"Not around?"
"Sure, but it's longer and they probably think this is an empty sector. Radio traffic from Terra hasn't even reached the nearest star system yet."
"Good," Quinn said.
"Not in a hurry to squash some Bugs?" Santana asked, as the shuttle landed gently on Flag's deck.
"Nope," Quinn said. "Gives us more time to train, and plan."
"Still planning to fight them in the asteroids out beyond Pluto?"
"I'd rather we stop them in a different system," Quinn said. "The less local fighting the better."
"As long as you record it and bring the Press," Santana said, locking down the controls. "Otherwise they won't believe it."
"You've seen those old recordings," Quinn said. "Unless we get up close and personal with the Bugs, something I hope to avoid, if Fleet can keep them from landing anywhere, it's going to be boring. Real wars in space are not Star Wars."
"No, they aren't," Santana said, "And we'll do our damnedest so you don't. But, either way, I have confidence that between Brit and Rachel we're going to look like heroes. Big ones."
"As long as we're not dead ones," Quinn said. "I'd rather my troopers be alive, than have Rache write epic ballads about them."
"She's getting better," Santana said. "She only wrote two about the 'Search for Miranda Priestly'."
"That's because Lady M threatened to leave and take the whole family with her if she didn't stop. And you don't ignore her. Ever."
"Or call her an asset in her hearing," Santana said, as they entered the bridge. "That doesn't go over well."
"She's like a more evil, but stylish, Sue Sylvester," Quinn said. "Not sure what Andy sees in her."
"Evil can be sexy," Santana said. "As long as she's on our side."
"Definitely," Quinn said. "And maybe someday they'll actually explain where Andy's family comes from. Though, Lady M's first husband being from another Clan is almost believable," Quinn said.
"You didn't believe their last story either?"
"No," Quinn said. "There's no such place as Krypton."
"They've got evidence," Santana said.
"And you believed it?"
"Of course not," Santana said. "But hearing them construct such an elaborate explanation can be fun. Eventually they start contradicting themselves."
"I'd like to station troopers on every planet in the ring system," Quinn said, when they reached Santana's office.
"You don't need my permission," Santana said, pulling off her suit. "It's exploring our defenses. Looking for holes."
"No, but I want a ship for each in case my troopers need to evacuate in a hurry," Quinn said.
"Not a problem, once we can get ships out there," Santana said. "We can get some of the cost out of the surveillance budget. You just need a solid plan that'll survive the inevitable Shadow review."
"I have multiple plans," Quinn said. "With multiple layers. Ogres full of layers."
"Does Rachel know you can reference her favorite childhood movies?"
"Of course," Quinn said. "It's hard to stump her, but she never really watched that kind if thing."
"Wildlife shows and specials about puppies on PBS?" Santana said, laughing and taking the captain's chair.
"And shows about Broadway," Quinn said.
"Of course, how could I forget," Santana said, laughing.
"Her childhood wasn't really that narrow," Quinn said. "Her fathers insisted on a well rounded childhood."
"In Lima?" Santana said, not trying to hide her disbelief.
"They traveled all over the place," Quinn said. "Every summer and school break they were off on another 'adventure', according to her."
"Well, we're all living a huge adventure now," Santana said, sitting behind her desk. "Are you sticking around?"
"I've got a meeting with Tech about a new hard suit design," Quinn said.
"Better you than me," Santana said, poking her desk.
Shaking her head, Quinn left her and headed towards her meeting.
Sand. Lots and lots of sand, as far as the eye could see. Her suit sensors weren't much better. The high wind blowing over the plateau obscured anything more than a click away. Dropping into a sandstorm from orbit was looking like a bad idea, Quinn thought, but it'd seemed like the perfect opportunity to test the new suit design.
Like all hard suits it was nearly impervious to all forms of radiation and stopped most forms of direct blunt force, but that didn't mean it was perfect. A well directed energy weapon could still knock a wearer out of action and shake them up. It didn't matter if they couldn't get killed if their suits became so damaged that they were basically just a lump on the battlefield.
Apparently, sand was also something to watch out for. It was like walking through sandpaper, she decided, looking at the bare suit structure where the protective coating had been worn away by the sand blasting it had been subjected to for the last hour.
"How's it going?" Rachel asked over their private comm. "When are you going to get to the base?"
"Right now I'm grounded," Quinn said. "I can't hop in this weather, and my sensors don't see through a wall of solid sand."
"Solid sand?"
"Close enough to it," Quinn said, pausing in the swirling sand. "My suit tech is going to kill me when I get back. I haven't taken this much damage to my suit, ever."
"I thought it could withstand a nuclear blast," Rachel said, sounding worried.
"The radiation of a nuclear blast," Quinn said. "And it wouldn't be much use afterward. These suits are designed for fast moving combat, not extreme weather conditions like this."
"You're going to be okay, right?" Rachel asked.
"Peachy," Quinn said. "It's a valid equipment test, just a little extreme. Hopefully we won't need to fight the Bugs in a Martian sandstorm. But this will give us data to make them better."
"Why you?" Rachel asked.
"You didn't just ask her why she's risking her cute butt in an experimental hard suit, did you?" Brittany said, joining them on the comm channel. "You know why."
"I'm sure there are other ways to test a new hard suit than sticking yourself into a blender," Rachel said.
"I won't send my troopers out in a suit I haven't tested myself," Quinn said. "You know that."
"I rest my case," Brittany said.
"Did you have a reason for joining our discussion?" Quinn asked.
"We're getting a strange signal ten clicks to your west," Brittany said. "Our satellite sensors can't see through that storm. can you check it out?"
"I'm not moving very fast," Quinn said. "Might be a little while."
"It's still faster than anything else we could send," Brittany said. "I've got a team headed your way but they're several hours out."
"Sure," Quinn said. "Send me the co-ordinates."
"Already sent," Brittany said.
"What if it's a Bug?" Rachel asked. "You aren't armed."
"I'm still wearing a hard suit," Quinn said. "I'm always armed."
"And there's an experimental beam weapon on that suit," Brittany said. "If it's really a Bug they don't stand a chance."
"See? Not a problem," Quinn said. Flipping on several sensor pack modules in her helmet, she sped up. She couldn't go full speed in a sandstorm but in the new suit she was faster than anything else currently on Mars. "Do we have any data on this 'strange signal'?"
"It doesn't match any known profile," Brittany said. "It started broadcasting when you hit ground."
"So, something is watching me?" Quinn said.
"Possibly. If it is, it's using tech your suit and our sensor arrays can't detect. It's also possible it's a coincidence," she said.
"And you're sending her right to it?" Rachel squeaked. "Send someone else, now!"
"Rachel?"
"Yes, Quinn?"
"What's my title?"
"Lady of the Hands of the Council of the Serpent Clan," Rachel said, enunciated every word.
"And what's my job?"
"You're the Council war leader."
"War isn't a sport," Quinn said. "You know this. It's deadly serious. And I lead from the front, like all Hands."
"I don't like it," Rachel said. "Come back."
"I can't," Quinn said. "If this is a Bug we need to stop it before it takes root. If I promise not to get myself needlessly killed will you be okay?"
"You can't promise something like that," Rachel said. "It could be a trap."
"My team is an hour out," Brittany said. "And San has two cruisers inbound."
"Cruisers?" Rachel said, her voice going up. "So you really think this is a Bug?"
"No," Brittany said. "We would have detected it as soon as it came in-system. But it is an unknown so we're being cautious."
"And it makes a good training exercise," Quinn said.
"Yes, there's that also," Brittany said. "It's probably something harmless."
"An unrecognized signal that's harmless?" Rachel said.
"Yes," Brittany said. "It's a big universe. It could be a random visitor who snuck through our sensors."
"To Mars." Rachel said dryly. "Land of infinite beaches."
"You don't need water to have a beach," Brittany said. "Though there are some large underground lakes that we've found."
"I must be close," Quinn said, slowing down to a jog. "I'm picking up a signal. It's not very strong."
"That's the one," Brittany said. "The strength fluctuates."
"You're almost on top of it," she said. "Any second now."
"Whoah!" Quinn said, stopping suddenly. "Can you see that?" she asked. "A large silver cylinder. Looks familiar."
"I've seen one before," Rachel said. "Can't remember where. A movie?"
"Historical record," Quinn said. "It's not a Bug but it is definitely an unfriendly."
"Oh! Usually they're a different color," Rachel said.
"Sandblasted," Quinn said. 'Brit, search for escape pods. Specifically the kind used on troop transports used during the Bast Queen wars."
"That was a very long time ago," Brittany said. "Thousands of years."
"That gravity elevator in sector seven is a lot older," Quinn said. "This predates the pyramids on Earth but isn't much older."
"Stasis pod?" Brittany asked.
"Possibly, but it's been here for a very long time. Stasis is meant for a short term emergency."
"So, ancient escape pod. Occupants?" Brittany said.
"Maybe," Quinn said. "The Bast Queen wars took place a long way from here. They must have had a drive failure to end up here."
"It isn't going anywhere," Brittany said. "Look at the ground around it. It's been here a long time. Stay back until my team gets here."
"Can we look inside," Rachel said. "How close can Quinn get?"
"It probably has automated defenses," Quinn said. "We'll need Brit's crew to turn it off. The tech in this suit doesn't have the right kinds of tools to hack something like that."
"This is exciting!" Rachel said.
"And it wasn't before?" Quinn asked.
"That was dangerous. This is archeology. Historical."
"Team inbound. Ten minutes before they reach your co-ordinates," Brittany said. "We'll have answer soon."
"Are we recording this?" Rachel said.
"My suit's log is always running," Quinn reminded her. "Of course you'll get your recording."
"It's important," Rachel said. "First people to examine a Bast escape pod."
"First in a millennia at least," Brittany said.
"Hey Lady Q," a familiar voice said, as she was joined by a three member Shadow search team.
"Ladies," Quinn said, acknowledging their arrival. "What can you tell us about this?"
The team quickly started setting up sensors around the pod. "It's old," Janice said. "But not the oldest tech I've seen on a planet."
"It's empty," Joy said, glancing down at her sensor pack. "It was probably empty when it landed."
"Can you open it?" Quinn asked.
"It might be booby trapped," Rachel said. "Be careful."
"Careful is my middle name, Lady Memory," Janice said.
"Right next to 'not'," Joy said, laughing. "But we can spring it and take a look inside."
"When you're ready, ladies," Quinn said. "The storm is dying down."
They place sensors on the pod itself, until it looked like a freckled tube. "That should do it," Joy said. "We should get back just in case."
The four of them backed away from the pod, until it was just visible in the storm.
"Ready?" Janice asked.
"Go for it," Quinn said. "I'm sure we have insurance for acts of antique tech."
There was a series of quick clicks, followed by a large thump and sharp flash.
"You weren't supposed to blow it up," Rachel said.
"We didn't," Janice said. "That was the pod safety letting go. It should be safe now."
"Hatch?" Quinn asked.
"They didn't have hatches," Brittany said.
"How do we get in?" Quinn asked.
Janice leaned forward and pressed on the pod. After several seconds, a large panel detached itself from the pod, leaving a dark hole. Smoke poured out for several seconds."
"Fire?"
"No, just an old stasis field shutting down," Joy said. "They didn't work very well back then. Half the time they didn't even work."
"That must have been a surprise," Quinn said. "Not a ringing endorsement."
"Definitely," Brittany said. "There was a reason why the Bastites lost that war. They couldn't handle those kinds of losses."
"So the Clans had better equipment?"
"Much better," Brittany said.
"Is it safe?" Rachel asks over the comm. "What do you see?"
"Just lots of dust," Janice said, leaning in.
"Accessing the logs," Joy said. "Looks like it was ejected accidentally when a troop carrier jumped into the asteroid field. No mention of passengers."
"So there's a troop carrier from the Bast wars out there somewhere?"
"Possibly," Janice said, "though it's not something we'd have missed."
"Space, it's huge," Joy said. "If it crashed into a planet we'd never find it."
"We can use the emergency beacon," Brittany said. "Reverse the polarity."
"Yes, Boss."
"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, over the comm.
"Ancient Shadow secret," Brittany said.
"Do you want us to box it up and take it back to the lab, Boss?" Janice said. "Maybe we missed something."
"Go ahead," she said. "Sorry to distract you, Q."
"Not a problem, Brit," Quinn said. "Just another mystery. This system is full of them. It probably came through another one of those dimensional portals."
"Well, if it was I feel sorry for whomever might have landed here," Brittany said. "It was a desert out here back then also."
"Are you coming in," Rachel asked Quinn returning to their private channel.
"I think i'll finish my trek," Quinn said. "Make it a fair test of the suit."
"Well, don't go falling into any portals or deep holes," Rachel said. "We have a date tonight."
"No plans to miss it," Quinn said. "Brit, I'll check in with you later. Still more sand to look at."
"Don't get lost," Brittany said, echoing Rachel, "or fall in a hole."
"A bunch of comedians," Quinn grumbled. Shaking her head, and shaking off the layer of dust that had accumulated while she was standing there, she turned and headed back out into the storm at speed.