Without saying it, it was a sweeping decision between us that we were not going down that tunnel any time soon.

While it contradicted our commitment to stay by the given path no matter what, there was just no question after the horrors we had witnessed. It just wasn't safe at all to navigate that conduit any longer. We needed to find another way around it, and the detour we were now taking looked like it was yielding some promise.

For one, this sublevel we had arrived at shortly after hopping off the lift appeared to be a sort of observation station. Shephard and I found ourselves in another laboratory setting with metal walls, floors, and support beams that had many divots for screws to be bolted into. The room wasn't particularly large, but it had a few cozy rooms filled with desks, monitors, and loads of loose office supplies and research equipment strewn about messily. The power wasn't on either.

This felt like a much more permanent establishment, given the sturdier material that made up this interior, reminding me a lot of the Kansas teleporter base we spawned into Xen from. The actual observation area, as previously mentioned, was the largest room in this little compound, fitted with a long, reinforced viewing window in front of a row of seats, overlooking a large basin of some kind that was about twenty feet below us with tall sloping cliffs and a plethora of plant life. And, most peculiarly, a long line of steel cables ran from our end of the basin to elsewhere beyond the dewy mists rising from the basin, which looked to be produced by the rich plant life growing in the water.

While it was on the immediate agenda to investigate this compound further, Shephard and I decided this was an ideal spot to take a breather for a lengthy moment and took a load off in the observation room. We sprawled out on our ends of the metal bench with our helmets set aside on the floor, mindlessly indulging on the rations we had kept in our packs―which were also set down on the floor. Despite bearing witness to the most disgusting and explosive delivery made by any pregnant animal I had ever seen in my life, my appetite wasn't left as decimated as I thought. Neither was Shephard's, as it turned out.

We allowed ourselves the time to relax a little bit as we both consumed one of the few waterproof bags of meat jerky we both had in our packs. While being very salty and considerably past its expiration, it was a source of very needed protein, and I found the dried strips of meat rather nice, considering what we had. Shephard complained a bit that the jerky was really tough to chew through, but I was able to do so just fine. My teeth were much sharper and longer than his, so there was no surprise that I was able to tear through it with relative ease, but I agreed that it was still a little tougher than preferred.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little frustrated about the amount of distance we need to travel before actually getting to that damn relay station," Shephard vexed, wrapping one arm behind the bench rest while his legs were fully extending out towards the glass, stuffing some more jerky in his mouth with a gloveless hand. Our suits actually had an intricate way of detaching their gloves, so we found that useful as we let our hands breathe a little bit, along with our heads. The air was clean in here, after all.

"I agree. It is a rather tedious trek if not perilous," I nodded, letting my eyes wander around the observation area outside, scratching my ears, cheeks, and chin. I frequently groomed my fur subconsciously, so being cooped up in this suit had begun making it a bit itchy. My developing case of helmet hair wasn't helping much, either. At least my ears had room in my modified helmet.

"Ain't that putting it too kindly," Shephard chuckled a bit, almost choking on the flaky chips of his jerky, which was quickly thwarted by one forceful cough. "But, seriously, what's the deal with this god-awful route we're taking? Why'd they set up that station so far away from the teleporter? I thought Doctor Postum Pants said it wasn't far away. I distinctly remember him saying that. This doesn't seem very close to me," he grumbled. I was sympathetic to his frustrations.

"I don't believe he truly knew himself," I reasoned, trying to give Doctor Mofuni the benefit of the doubt. "He's never been to Xen. He must have underestimated the true distance we needed to traverse."

"Perhaps," Shephard considered, "but that still doesn't answer the question as to why it's so friggin' far. You'd think it would be closer to where they set up the teleporter."

"Maybe it was at the beginning," I offered, sort of developing my theory as I went, but it had been brewing subtly in the back of my mind during our journey. "Being how erratic the landscape is, the island that they installed the relay station on might have floated away some time ago, and they have since been trying to keep up with it."

Shephard pondered on that as he chewed on his rations. "Shit, anything's possible," he shrugged, looking out the window some more at the two sets of steel cables travelling above the basin. "You know, from here, those almost like something a cable car would ride on. I wonder if that's something people were meant to travel on?"

"Anything's possible," I considered, echoing what Shephard had said a moment ago. "As soon as you're up for it, we'll go over and see where it leads."

"Yeah," Shephard nodded, crossing one armoured foot over the other. "But do you mind if we give it another minute? My dogs are still barking."

I giggled under my breath. "More marine lingo?" I wondered, greatly amused by such a strange phrase―at least in the context of where I come from.

"More or less," Shephard answered, a little entertained himself that he made me laugh a bit. "It just means my feet are still tired."

"What a funny phrase," I said, rolling some of the jerky chips in my exposed hand. "That would definitely garner you a few nasty looks where I come from."

"I would likely imagine," Shephard mused, still finding it fascinating that I hailed from a realm where domesticated animals were sentient and intelligent people capable of more than spaceflight. "Just out of curiosity, is there any trace of human…well…anything in your neck of the 'multi-verse'?" he asked, making air quotations with his fingers. I understood what he meant.

"The word 'humanity' is non-existent, as far as I know," I admitted. "You are unique to your world based on the extent of my knowledge."

"Well, that's not very fair," Shephard said. "I remain hopeful of the discovery of little midget quadrupeds with man heads to be discovered on one of your planets."

He made me laugh again. I was so touched that he remembered my passing suggestion that animals resembling humans might exist somewhere in my universe over supper one night in Red Bay. That already felt like a lifetime ago somehow.

So much had changed so quickly, and I had a feeling that this trend was in no shape to stop anytime soon. All the more reason to succeed in our mission here. Our people were counting on us.

Before long, Shephard and I were up and about again, feeling more refreshed after putting our wrappers and emptied water bottles in the designated rubbish bin by the room's exit.

With our gloves and helmets secured tightly back onto our airtight suits, we grabbed our packs and weapons before heading out to investigate where those cables over the basin led to. There was another exit out of this little research flat which directed us to a narrow ledge in the rockface that led around to another gantry platform, where two stations for two identical lifts could be seen adjacent to each other. There was only one lift present at this station, and it was suspended above the basin by a motorised sheave assembly that was indeed designed to run along the stiff and sturdy metal cables with exposed metal wheels, just like what Shephard first presumed.

The lift system was powered down much like everything else up here, but the stationary generator just off to the side of the control module informed me that getting this thing up and running would be a sinch with the mobile battery that was my magic staff. Still containing plentiful charge within it, I expelled a healthy portion into starting up the generator again, and it sputtered to life with a crude eruption of black diesel smoke shooting from its exhaust pipe. It would have been a dreadful assault on my nose had I not been wearing an air-filtration system.

The controls for the lift were straightforward to operate, and in no time at all, me and Shephard were gliding over the basin at a temperate pace suspended beneath the cable above us. We even got to see the observation room we had been lounging in several minutes ago scroll by as we vanished into the haze of the dewy mists rising from the water below, which was a strong indication that it was quite warm. The icons in my visor's display showed an increase in overall atmospheric temperature as well as humidity.

Perhaps this basin was a hot spring of some kind? Were there volcanic fissures present in some of these islands? We could never know for certain, which only heightened my fascination with this realm.

Our little journey over the basin was a relatively quick one but chock-full of scenery that kept our eyes occupied. More and more of the basin revealed itself to us as we travelled along this line and its abundance of life. While somewhat lacking in breadth when concerning space, as this environment was somewhat narrow―about forty metres wide―a fully contained ecosystem looked to be thriving down here.

Massive lily pads floated tranquilly above the waterline, looking big and sturdy enough to hold a person up―if only for a short moment. Lush vegetation was growing along the moistened walls, such as thick vines with glowing blue leaves, red coloured moss that hung above the waters, and even what looked to be exotic trees growing horizontally out from the rocks, though they didn't reach out that far.

While the water was a little milky from all the warmth being generated down there, warm glows of yellow and blue could be faintly visible, casting hazy shadows beneath the depths and highlighting definitions of underwater cave networks, suggesting this habitat was much bigger than what was currently visible. This ambient glow, which could have been made by crystals or underwater luminescent plant life, made it possible to spot the faint silhouettes of aquatic life forms swimming around beneath the depths. And while the green nebulae in the open sky were still visible, the dense water vapour rising up the ravine obscured it considerably, almost acting like miniature cloud tops, which only seemed to further isolate this little semi-aquatic world from the broader harsh conditions of the border world.

"Well. This is kind of a nice change of pace," Shephard admitted, quite captivated by all the wonders of this secluded little world, looking out and over the railing at everything he could.

"It is rather pleasant. Yes indeed," I said with a little charmed grin on my face, taking it all in as we glided along the fixed suspension cable, keeping a steady grip on the railing as the platform subtly swayed back and forth. "I lament we haven't seen more of this kind of scenery along our journey. The presence of thriving life, even if it is alien, feels more satiating."

"Yeah. It's certainly better to look at, that's for sure," Shephard remarked, mindfully looking down at the water and all the mysterious shadows of activities under the waterline teased at by the light sources underwater. "I wonder how far all that goes down there? Looks to be kickin' if I'm looking at it right."

"I would be cautious of what I ask for up here, Popeye," I warned with a little whistle in my voice. "Fate has a cheeky sense of humour sometimes."

"Hey, I said I wonder, not I'd like to see," Shephard corrected. "I'm very careful with my words."

"But you just said it right now."

"It had an ironic subcontext," Shephard insisted. "I never said outright with total conviction that I would like to…"

Shephard promptly silenced himself, practically feeling the arching eyebrow I was shooting his way without actually needing to see it. He began retracting the raised finger he had and relinquished himself from further jinxing. "Good boy," I smiled, nodding with approval.

"Yeah, whatever," Shephard grumbled a bit, crossing his arms and looking around some more. "You know, when I'm foraging by myself, I never actually say anything at all. Have you considered that your presence is making me careless?"

Again, with the self-satiating jibs at my expense. If that's what this chap wanted to keep his nerves cooled.

"I'm not responsible for the words you say aloud, Corporal," I said sternly. "I suggest you learn to know when it isn't an ideal time to entice life to throw unexpected surprises at you―"

Before I could finish my petty counterargument, the water several metres in front of us erupted as a giant aquatic beast leapt out of the water directly in front of us. It was a massive bugger with pincer-like front appendages, greenish oily skin, a long tail and dorsal fins, and a massive jaw with wide rows of jagged teeth holding some kind of prey in its grasp. It flew an astounding fifteen feet into the air (lower gravity at its finest), nearly at our platform's level as it spun around midair before careening back down into the water on its back, sending a wallop of water dousing over me and Shephard.

The water didn't damage the mechanism rolling us along, thank goodness, but it did leave us feeling a little shaken, given how close that beast was from knocking us right off of our platform during that admittedly graceful leap. The two of us were stiff and silent as steamy water trickled and dripped off of our suits, indirectly giving them a good wash. If there was one thing to stop good friends from arguing for no reason, it's getting splashed on.

"Yeah…maybe lead by example first?" Shephard offered, trying to rub some of the water off his arms.

"Why couldn't this just stay a lovely safari…?" I moaned yearningly.

We eventually reached the end of the line with thankfully no ironic tricks inflicted on us by fate.

The loading platform we arrived at was also where we found the second lift idling, but we paid little mind to it as we discovered that this side of the cable way was in much more decrepit shape than the station we had departed from. Xen mould had been having its way along the walls, growing unsettling follicles that danced around almost autonomously. We were definitely keeping our helmets on around here.

The layout of this station was similar to the previous one, only succumbing to a serious mould infestation. It was growing all around the walls, floors, and ceiling, with a few sections growing what appeared to be large, pus-filled boils convulsing slightly. After witnessing that giant four-legged crustacean-thing unleash her thousands of babies into this forsaken dimension, the sight of these repulsive growths barely fazed me.

Looking past the aggressive Xenian growths, we began to notice several key details about this station that were missing in its counterpart. There were more pipes winding around and through certain walls. They were red in colour and bore yellow texts that referenced Methane Flow and arrows that indicated its direction. There were also warning labels placed by some of these pipes (ones that weren't completely covered in mould, that is), which cited the importance of keeping these pipes maintained in keeping the biometric radar station up topside operational by maintaining a constant flow of methane gas to its hybrid engines.

"It's a good thing that neither of us is good at blowing things up," Shephard commented, clearly not taken much away from that little lesson of irony over the basin.

"Let's pray neither of us has to because I'm sensing several faint signals in one of these rooms," I reported, holding my staff tightly. "Be ready for anything."

"Always," Shephard confirmed, tapping his shotgun's forearm readily. "Watch a whole truckload of aliens be at our only way out of here."

"Corporal Adrian Shephard, I've had it with your jinxes," I scolded with an exaggerated but less serious reproach.

"Look who's talking, Krystal…erm…Fox. You're the one who goaded that big shark thing to jump out at us," he retorted sassily, mocking my apparent accent towards the end. Being the bigger person I liked to think I was, I zipped my lips as we neared a door that looked rather inviting with plenty of signs that read "Surface Access". That was a proper exit if I ever saw one. There was a greater chance of finding the path of the yellow rope again once up there. We needed to find the right way again.

With this in mind, we cautiously motioned towards the door. Shephard, being the gentleman that he was (most of the time, anyway), pulled the sliding metal door open for me. It squeaked and groaned a little bit, but it opened up easily enough. The alien signals were at their strongest now since that door opened. We both peeked our heads inside and discovered something particularly disconcerting.

Not only was the room covered in a breach of Xenian growths, but a brand-new type of Xen residents was presented to me inside. Around the room were nine identical, moderately-sized creatures with bright yellowish-green bodies, white underbellies, and most peculiarly, only three legs: two in the front and one under the rump. I could see bright blue stripes along their backs and ridged spinal columns. They all appeared to be sleeping on their sides, with massive pink fleshy skin covering their wide faces.

"Oh…no…" Shephard gawked in total surprise and horror while I was left more curious by these creatures. It was obvious he had prior experience with these, and he did not seem happy to see them at all.

"Are they dangerous?" I asked, keeping my voice down so as to not startle the creatures awake.

"You're damn right they are," Shephard informed with plenty of dread, looking at me very intently as we both moved out of view from the doorway. "They…explode."

"What?"

"I don't know how they do it, but if you get too close, they charge up some kind of scream or something and the blast sends you flying. They would have been bad enough by themselves, but look at what room they're crashing out in…"

I braved another look inside and took a closer look at what else was in the room, and I resonated much more with Shephard's dread now. Not only did the methane pipes flow through here, but oxygen and other flammable gas canisters were being held in various sections of the room, some of which were covered in Xen mould, but I doubted that made them any less explosive. That did not leave me much to be encouraged with.

"Oh dear…" I said, having a clearer understanding of our situation. "If what you say about these creatures is true, if one of them gets startled…"

"Ka-blooey," Shephard finished, illustrating his point with a hand gesture, discouraged by our odds but seeing no other way around them if we wanted to get to the surface. With a bit of psyching each other up, we began to venture very delicately inside the room with barely a sound from our boots, creeping past the little buggers as they slept.

They made high-pitched clicks and whistling sounds as they slept, breathing in and out tranquilly. I was mesmerised by the giant fleshy eyelid in the front of their faces, for Shephard informed me quietly that they had one massive compound eye. Quite a fascinating feature for a creature of this size to have.

It was then I discovered their mouths, which appeared to be large beaks located on their underbelly close to the eye. These were certainly one of the more intriguing creatures I had seen so far in Xen, and they were admittedly a little cute. Their hooved feet twitched and wobbled as they slept, making me even less compelled to harm these brightly-coloured creatures even more, but I knew better than to be lulled by deceptive appearances.

"So far, so good," Shephard announced quietly through our comm as we successfully made it halfway across the room with no issue, heading straight towards the steep staircase that led to the coveted surface access.

"Indeed," I replied, very mindful of my steps and where I placed them as we neared the steep steps.

"Yeah. As long as we're―oh shit―!" Shephard suddenly began to lose his balance after stepping in a slippery but nearly invisible residue produced by some of the Xen growths, consequently taking a tumble sideways and into one of the creatures. Shephard and the weight of his heavy metal suit startled the creature awake, flashing its ginormous dark compound eye open as it began to make frightened high-pitched whistling sounds, subsequently alerting its kin to being as wide-awake as it was, squealing and chirping in a cacophony of whistling aggression. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong happened in under three seconds.

"RUN!" Shephard screamed. His feeble attempts for escaped were proven to be tragically fruitless as most of the creatures closest to us, including the one that Shephard bumped into, began to wail in a deafening sonic frequency as the blue stripes along their backs began to glow with intensity before each let out a devastating shockwave that was dwarfed only by the chain-reaction such an attack indirectly caused, as now all of the fuel pipes and canisters began to consume the whole room in a surge of fire and devastating combustions that eradicated all life in the room.