《Going Bold》


 Chapter One

    Andrea found herself wondering what she was doing with her life, contemplating the choices and coincidences that brought her path to where it was. Then her feet hit the ground and she kept running. The Farrous was gaining on her, its loud bellows and the thunderous crash of its hooves grew closer and closer at a terrifying rate. Why did she have to run afoul one of those hulking beasts now of all times? She was nearly done with her part of the planetary survey and it was almost time for her to leave so the follow up teams could conduct more in depth studies.


    But noooo of course she had to take one last stroll though the alien forest and run into the most dangerous animal she¡¯d documented in her preliminary survey. Naturally she could kill it but that would be beneath her dignity as part of the Surveyor Corps. She was there to find new life not kill it and she had a perfect record on this expedition so far, despite the dangerous nature of her work. Since fighting was ruled out, flight was the only option and this huge beast was not happy with her in the slightest


    The smashing and rending of vegetation drew closer and closer as Andrea kept rushing straight ahead. The rock face she remembered from a week back was close, but the dense vegetation and confused lighting under the canopy was masking anything more than a few meters away, even with Andrea¡¯s extra sensors. The damp pats of ferns contrasted gently with the harsh whip cracks of thin branches, the harsh tugs of thorns, and the brutal thump of tree trunks as Andrea¡¯s headlong rush transformed the greenery into a viridescent kaleidoscope gauntlet. Suddenly she had to catch herself as the rock wall seemingly leapt out at her face from the dense greenery. With no time to waste Andrea started to desperately scramble up the rock her nails extruding hardened spikes to grip at the surface and work into tiny gaps.


    Within a handful of seconds Andrea was nearing the level of the lower forest canopy and not a moment too soon as the Farrous slammed into the rock below her with horrifying violence, the sound of cracking rock and shattering trees accompanied the blast of rock and wood shrapnel that sprayed the area and nearly tore Andrea loose from her perch with her fingers and toes all gripping desperately to the heaving rock face. With a bellow of frustrated rage the Farrous whipped its head up trying to dash Andrea from her place, but her position 10 meters above the loamy floor of the forest was just enough to put her out of reach


    ¡°Ha! Missed me big guy, now knock it off. Do I look like I want to compete for mates with you!¡± Andrea half panted and half yelled back as she resumed climbing again, soon reaching the top and hauling herself onto more even ground. She flopped down in relief, her enhanced body barely taxed by the rapid flight but the near miss left her a bit breathless anyway. ¡°An exciting last afternoon, huh?¡± Lin asked in Andrea¡¯s head. Lin was Andrea¡¯s surveyor partner and friend, as a body independent intelligence she was currently sharing space in Andrea¡¯s brain and implants. Andrea snorted and felt herself relax, after a few moments she climbed to her feet and gazed out from her newly gained vantage point.


    Spreading out below them was a staggering vista of one of the forests on Ristula 4 this region of the earth like planet was a tropical rainforest lush and teaming with life ranging from titanic to minuscule. Andrea and Lin were the first people to visit in person and truly experience the beauty of the place from up close. At this point they¡¯d been on Ristula 4 for about 5 months conducting preliminary surveys of the landing area for the in-depth study team that would follow in their footsteps. At this point they had a good grasp on the hazards and features of the area, though Andrea would definitely have to add an extra warning about the Farrous, it appeared as if they became far more aggressive at this time in the planet¡¯s seasonal cycle, though that was a bit of an assumption and discovering the real reasons was definitely a job for the follow up team, she¡¯d just add a note to be extra careful about situating any camps out of reach of the hulking herbivores and being particularly careful when working near them.


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    ¡°Thanks for building out these claws for me, you saved me enough time to not get smashed.¡± Andrea thanked Lin out loud, preferring to converse normally with her friend unless discretion was necessary. ¡°No problem Andrea, besides you were climbing for the both of us.¡± Lin couldn¡¯t resist slipping in her own ¡®unique¡¯ take on humor. Fortunately Andrea enjoyed Lin¡¯s way of lightening the mood and Lin was pretty good about not overdoing it.


    Turning away from the sweeping views of the forest below to look over the peak of the rocky plateau Andrea and Lin both noticed something interesting at the same time. ¡°You know the orbital and drone surveys of the top of this pillar really didn¡¯t capture quite how porous it is, we should investigate it while we¡¯re up here just to be thorough.¡± Lin suggested, matching her actions to her words by deploying a half dozen mini-drones from Andrea¡¯s shoulders while Andrea signaled her agreement with a thumbs up and started to pick her way across the small plateau.


    The mini-drones spread out and began to scan a detailed record of the area as Andrea took her time strolling a meandering path, pausing from time to time to check out interesting plants, animals, and rock features. Suddenly she stopped and said ¡°Well look at this, we almost left the planet without finding a good cave to explore, Jorge would have given me shit for ages if his team found this right in our survey area and we missed it.¡± The ¡®it¡¯ in question was ahead of them and hidden from almost every angle, a fairly large opening into the rock. Lin directed a pair of the mini-drones to immediately start mapping the opening and any deeper cave structure it might lead to. Never one to hold back from seeing something new, Andrea broke into an excited jog to join them.


    As they drew closer Andrea began to see farther and farther back into the rocky aperture until the main passage seemed to curve down and around out of direct sight, though one of the drones was already disappearing around the bend and Lin was seeing the passage as it continued. Andrea deliberately disabled her feed from the foremost drone, sometimes she liked to see things for the first time in person without having the view spoiled with an advanced screening. Lin could always bring anything relevant to her attention if needed.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting close to the level of the forest floor outside the plateau with that lead drone Andrea, and it looks like this cave keeps going, I¡¯ve finished mapping the top of the plateau so I¡¯ll bring the other 4 drones back to you and we can keep exploring, though we do need to be back in camp in 6 hours to chat with the study crew as they enter orbit¡± Lin stated


    ¡°It¡¯s about a 2 hour hike from the plateau to camp so we can keep exploring for about 2 hours before we need to turn around, hopefully we¡¯ll find something exciting!¡± Andrea enthused


    Andrea had always had a passion for exploring new places and pushing her, and sometimes others¡¯, limits. It had gotten her into a fair bit of trouble when she was younger, but eventually she¡¯d found the perfect place to harness her passions for adrenaline and curiosity, the Surveyor Corps; dedicated to the ethical exploration of the universe. People who felt out of place in more regimented parts of society, but who didn¡¯t reject outright the value of a code of conduct, were the majority in the Surveyor Corps. Most felt more at home on their own and unbound by overzealous scheduling. The edges of known space and beyond were dangerous even by the already hazardous standards of the universe, but alongside that danger came freedom to pursue her curiosity and thirst for excitement with few fixed deadlines and little direction beyond the directive to learn, and explore while not being a selfish monster.


    Andrea and Lin continued down into the cave as it coiled down below the forest floor and deep into the rock, the 4 trailing drones catching up quickly and landing on Andrea¡¯s shoulders again. After about half an hour the passage began to widen until Andrea¡¯s spread arms could no longer touch both walls at once, it continued to widen and then level out over the next 10 minutes as they continued to walk.


    ¡°Woah!¡± Lin exclaimed ¡°You¡¯re about to see something really neat Andrea!¡± Perking up even further Andrea strode forward at a faster pace, the passage seemed to have a change in lighting up ahead as it continued to widen. Andrea switched off her low light, infrared, and echolocation visual overlays and confirmed that a blue and purple glow seemed to be coming from ahead. Suddenly the passage¡¯s walls seemed to fall away and the ceiling to loft upwards


    Andrea had entered a vast chamber filled with mushrooms and fungi, many of which were glowing in entrancing shades of blue, green, and purple lighting a subterranean fungal forest that was vast enough that it disappeared into a horizon. ¡°This is beautiful.¡± Andrea whispered. Hushing her tone even in their shared mind space Lin murmured back. ¡°I think that Farrous did us a favor. This is spectacular.¡±


    Andrea began deploying mini-drones from her shoulders 8 of them joined the 2 that were already beginning to probe the edges of the fungal forest and sweep along the cave walls to either side. ¡°We only have about an hour till we need to leave! There¡¯s no way we¡¯ll even be able to scratch the surface of what amazing things might be down here!¡± Andrea lamented.


    Lin comforted her ¡°That¡¯s how it is being in the Surveyor Corps, the whole point is to only scratch the surface to make sure it¡¯s safe for others to dig deeper. Besides we both know you¡¯d be desperate to get off the planet within six months if you actually changed over to a planetary study team. Let¡¯s see what we can and then we¡¯ll go get ready to look for something even more spectacular somewhere else.¡±


    Andrea perked up ¡°You¡¯re right Lin, I was ready to move to the next planet when I woke up this morning, lets take a look around down here and then we can prod Jorge to tell us more about it sometime, after they¡¯ve gotten down here with the study team.¡±


    Having mustered fresh enthusiasm, Andrea turned her imaging overlays back on and proceeded away from the passage back to the surface and into the dense mushroom forest ahead, the hum of insects and mini-drones providing musical accompaniment the whole way.

 Chapter Two

    As the duo began maneuvering around the large trunks of fungus Lin focused on scouting with the mini-drones. She sent one over the canopy to gain an overhead perspective and look for gaps in the canopy of the mushroom forest she fanned several more out in front of Andrea to help keep an eye out for potential hazards. The remaining 6 mini-drones continued to map the edges of the cavern and accumulate more detailed scans of the area around the entrance. As she entered the forest of mushrooms Andrea noticed that the ground appeared to be a loamy soil, soft and deep, it made walking a bit more of a chore but would make identifying and/or tracking any large fauna far easier, assuming they needed to touch the ground. The blanket of rich earth also served to deaden much of the sounds that were filling the forest, the buzzing, clicking, and singing of insects, or creatures much like them, made the air alive with sound while also having an odd muted quality. Glowing pulsating lines of blue and green bioluminescence ran through the stalks of various mushrooms and the occasional glowing insect flying through the canopy created a shifting kaleidoscope of shadows and dim light that would have been quickly disorienting where it not for Andrea and Lin¡¯s large diversity of artificial senses.


    The deadened sounds as well as the shifting blue and green light lent a further surreal tinge to an already literally alien environment. Soon however the familiar sound of running water became audible as Andrea and Lin moved deeper into the mycelial landscape. Following the sound of water would have been difficult with the acoustics of the mushroom forest, but with Lin¡¯s help using the mini-drones triangulating the direction of the running water was made trivial. Once Lin confirmed a long gap in the canopy in the same direction with the drone flying overhead Andrea adjusted her course towards it. Andrea reasoned that one frequently found the most interesting animals and features near water of some kind and it was a good arbitrary goal to set for her limited exploration time regardless.


    As the leading mini-drones swept ahead, both Andrea and Lin began to notice various tracks from fauna, some familiar from the surface and others unknown. None of the traces seemed to indicate any creature larger than about 30 centimeters in length, though first impressions of that sort could be deceptive. In any event while the tracks were plentiful, neither Andrea nor Lin spotted any of the creatures themselves. This lack grew more odd the longer it persisted, as some of the recognizable tracks were of creatures that had proven to not be at all shy about being near humans or drones. The traces weren¡¯t that old, but they weren¡¯t fresh either, not knowing a great deal about the climate of the cavern meant it was hard to pinpoint how long the fauna had been absent from the area but Lin guessed no more than a week. ¡°Wonder what¡¯s scared everybody away?¡± Andrea wondered as they entered the clearing and the source of the water sounds into sight.


    Breaking through the edge of the mushroom trunks Andrea found herself at the edge of a clearing surrounding a sharp cut in the soil through which rushed a vigorous torrent of water that had carved a channel into the rock below. Looking around Andrea mused to Lin ¡°I wonder why there¡¯s a clearing here? I can¡¯t see an immediate reason for the mushrooms to not grow right up to the water. Let¡¯s send a mini-drone in closer and test to make sure there isn¡¯t something hazardous in the water.¡± As she spoke Andrea took control over one of the flanking mini-drones nearest the rapids and tasked it with scanning for radiological hazards while grabbing samples to test for chemical properties and microorganisms.


    Lin joined Andrea¡¯s brainstorm while sending two mini-drones up and down stream. ¡°There are so many possible reasons that we might have to live with not knowing, though so far the water appears to show nothing unusual that would explain the fungus avoiding it, the microbial life appears to roughly match samples from the fungi in the area and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any substantial difference between the water in the stream and in the fungi.¡± After a moment considering Lin¡¯s observations Andrea raised a possibility, ¡°It might be a mechanical explanation, something sweeping through in a narrow swath around the stream and scraping away the fungi but leaving most of the soil.¡±


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    ¡°That rules out flooding then¡± Lin remarked ¡°not only is the topography wrong to cause such a narrow band of flooding but the fact that most of the soil is still here, despite lacking fungal growths to bind it in place, wouldn¡¯t make sense if a flood surge swept through. The whole clearing should be scoured closer to the rock and the soil subsequently deposited in banks downstream at the edges of the clearing.¡±


    The growing mysteriousness of the situation excited Andrea ¡°This is great, this is exactly the kind of weird stuff I love finding!¡± Andrea began to move upstream herself looking at the ground to see if perhaps the tracks of some creature or creatures might explain the cleared region around the water. While there were various tracks and traces of unknown fauna none of them stood out as different from what they¡¯d noted marking the rich soil under the fungal trees.


    ¡°The water appears to be draining into a small fully submerged opening in the cave floor about 500 meters down stream¡± Lin suddenly mentioned ¡°I¡¯m bringing that mini-drone back to us, since it doesn¡¯t look like the passage is navigable by the standard scouting drones.¡±


    ¡°A dead end for us then, huh?¡± Andrea sighed ¡°I left the aquatic drone back at camp and we¡¯ve got 20 minutes left here anyway, lets pick up the pace a bit and see if we can spot something interesting a bit farther upstream, we might get lucky again.¡± Breaking into a light jog Andrea began rapidly winding her way through the fungal forest tracing the path of the water up a gradually steepening incline that appeared to be leading towards the top of a shallow hill, based on what Lin could determine with the drone peering down from overhead.


    ¡°The water is neither unusually warm nor cold and it doesn¡¯t contain the sort of usual chemical traces you might expect in a spring, I wonder how the water is gathering at the top of a little hill like this?¡± Andrea wondered.


    Her query was soon answered, though it only led to much more bizarre questions. The mini-drone scouting ahead began to orbit something at the top of the hill gathering data from multiple angles. Lin quietly cautioned Andrea ¡°Slow down a bit, there¡¯s something up ahead that we¡¯ll need to be cautious about. I know you don¡¯t like spoiling the surprise of first seeing new things with your own eyes, but I think we have evidence of deliberate construction at the source of the stream up ahead.¡±


    Andrea immediately slowed from a jog to a cautious prowl, stepping up her scanning of the surroundings and redeploying the scouting drones to begin a more detailed sweep of the immediate area around the hill. The Surveyor Corps¡¯ standard training for potential contact with an unknown intelligence included an emphasis on caution and gaining as much intel as possible covertly before attempting peaceful contact. The Corps recognized that while peaceful contact was ideal, the most dangerous beings in the universe are intelligent. Therefore even a hint of construction in an alien environment was cause for excess caution.


    Andrea¡¯s training led to her cautious approach but her personal feelings quickly became obvious as she gushed silently to Lin. ¡°Wow!, I can¡¯t wait to see this, we¡¯re totally going to be late for that com call, and I don¡¯t care, I have to explore this myself. It could be unknown humans or even aliens, I hope it¡¯s aliens. I don¡¯t care so much about getting in the history books for the first known contact with intelligent aliens, they would just be so interesting!¡±


    Andrea was almost to the top of the hill, she hunkered down by the trunk of a fungal tree a short ways from the edge of the clear area around the stream. Together Andrea and Lin began an expedited but still thorough sweep of the area within 100 meters of the hill looking for anything else of particular note, or possible danger. After 20 minutes of a tense coordinated examination of the area, Andrea stood up and carefully advanced the last stretch along the flowing water until a frankly surreal sight stopped her in her tracks once again.

 Chapter Three

    A broad mirror smooth polished basin made of something resembling white marble was thrust into the ground at the center of a small clearing. The basin formed a parabolic shape and centered at the focus point was a 1 meter diameter sphere of water that looked to be far deeper than 1 meter. Water seemed to emerge out of the sphere in all directions as if the universe itself was wringing water from the fabric of reality. The emerging water ran down and around the sphere before plummeting down into the basin in an eerily smooth laminar stream, the basin itself slopped over its sides and the water then ran together forming the stream that Andrea and Lin had been following.


    ¡°That is very odd looking, I imagine creative use of space warping machinery could make this, but achieving this effect should be drawing absolutely appalling quantities of energy, and there¡¯s no sign of any of the usual machinery needed to hold this sort of aperture open.¡± Lin commented


    Andrea started to circle around the ¡®fountain¡¯ keeping to the edges of the small clearing ¡°While this could be a natural phenomenon, my instincts are inclined to assign an artificial nature to something this geometrically regular and out of place in its surroundings.¡± Andrea began narrating her impression as she continued to trace a path around the object, adding her personal impressions to the high resolution scans being taken by the mini-drones that were joining her in orbiting the bizarre structure.


    Lin meanwhile was busy pouring over the huge quantities of data flooding in from the mini-drones, still no out of place chemical, or radiological, traces but even here at the apparent source of the stream it was noticeable that the fungi were not growing nearby, forming the clearing around the edge of which which they were currently navigating. The most suspicious potential culprit was the anomaly from which water was emerging. Neither Lin, nor Andrea when asked, could think of what exactly it might be, beyond perhaps some extreme warping of the fabric of space time. Though Lin was careful to remember that making any assumptions this early in the investigation was both unwarranted and could dangerously narrow an investigator¡¯s perspective. More information was needed and both Lin and Andrea knew that meant getting closer.


    ¡°Hang on a second Lin¡± Andrea reached back and tugged a small collapsible baton from it¡¯s holder on her uniform, ¡°We could use this to probe into the water and through the aperture a short distance, lets just adhere a micro sensor package to the end, let the binding glue cure for a few minutes and it shouldn¡¯t have any issues getting in there since I can just plunge it in manually.¡±


    Suiting action to words Andrea assembled their impromptu probe, spending about 15 minutes using her chemical synthesis organ-implant network to make a strong waterproof adhesive and print out a basic micro sensor package before quickly combining it all and waiting for the curing process on the adhesives to finish. While Andrea was occupied with that she pulled out an energy bar and rare element tablet from her hip pouch to make up for the expenditure on the fabrication. After eyeing the ostensibly normal water Andrea shrugged and decided to play it safe drinking from her canteen, they still weren¡¯t sure why the fungal life was avoiding the water so why take chances if she didn¡¯t need to.


    Soon their new probe was ready and Andrea made her way closer to the anomaly. ¡°Here it goes, let me know if I need to change the angle I¡¯m moving it at or anything.¡± Telescoping the baton out to a bit over 1/3 of a meter Andrea grabbed the handle firmly and slowly brought the tip of the probe to what appeared to be the surface of the bizarre sphere, fortunately the parabolic basin wasn¡¯t much greater in diameter so she didn¡¯t need to lean out awkwardly, instead Andrea stood as far back as possible with the probe held out with her arm straight as she just touched the surface gingerly. When nothing seemed to happen other than disrupting the water flowing over the ¡®surface¡¯ Andrea pushed a bit more and the probe slid into the sphere, feeling exactly like she¡¯d just gently pushed it into any other body of water with a strong current, the probe kept wanting to swirl around, but Andrea had no difficulty holding it in place despite having her arm at full extension.


    ¡°So far the sensor is telling me it¡¯s in clean fresh water with no remarkable contaminants, I didn¡¯t even get a noticeable distortion as it passed what seems to be the edge of the phenomena.¡± Lin reported


    Andrea pulled up a feed from the probe in the human visible spectrum ¡°I can see light that seems to be originating from outside the other end of the anomaly.¡± Andrea walked around the perimeter of the sphere a couple of paces keeping the probe at a constant depth pointed towards the center. The view swung around confusingly as they did so, appearing to be moving around pointing out from the surface of the far end of the spherical aperture.


    Suddenly both of them spotted movement in the feed from the probe something darted into the water towards the probe the bizarre view of the underside of a splash was soon obscured by what appeared to be an oddly colored and unusually proportioned human hand that shot past the viewpoint of the probe before the baton was wrenched hard, nearly being torn from Andrea¡¯s grasp. Whoever they¡¯d seen was pulling on the improvised probe and while she was fighting to keep a grip on the baton Andrea was dragged closer to the surface of the water sphere. ¡°Let go Andrea!¡± Lin urged.


    Letting go of the handle Andrea watched as it was rapidly pulled into the sphere to vanish. ¡°Better to lose a disposable probe than risk an unplanned trip through the anomaly.¡± Lin commented. Andrea readily agreed ¡°You¡¯re right Lin. Shoving body parts into familiar warps in space is already a bad idea, let alone unfamiliar ones. Besides it looks like we¡¯re still getting a feed from the probe sensors, so giving it to our new friend on the other side should let us look around quite a bit more.¡±


    While they were waiting for their mysterious new ¡®assistant¡¯ to pull the sensors and baton out of the water and show them something more interesting, Andrea and Lin began the job of placing signal repeaters to link up with their base camp. A discovery this significant justified a change in plans even if it disrupted the scheduled mission hand over. They knew Jorge and the team he was bringing would understand and agree. To minimize delays the duo proceeded along a more direct path back towards the entrance to the large mushroom forest cavern. They only had the standard load of half a dozen repeaters but Lin estimated that they would be enough to get the signal to the surface and then they could quickly synthesize a seventh by cannibalizing a mini-drone to get the signal back to their camp. While Andrea focused on the trip Lin kept an eye on the feeds from the other side of the anomaly.


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    After the nearest was steered back to land on Andrea, the remaining mini-drones were left in the cavern to continue mapping the surrounding area and look for hazards, again under Lin¡¯s supervision. They could always use the dedicated fabrication equipment back at camp to make even more. Moving around on a largely unexplored world without mini-drones to scout is generally considered a risky move, but together they decided that they¡¯d learned the region well enough and that the trip to the camp was short enough that they could take the chance. It wasn¡¯t strictly by the book procedure, but then again the Surveyor Corps didn¡¯t recruit people who were by the book sorts.


    As Andrea reached the opening of the tunnel to the surface Lin took in the view from the baton tip camera as it finally swept clear of the churning water and swept over glistening gray surfaces that formed smooth curving walls which glistened wetly and glittered as flecks of some reflective material caught the unsteady light that illuminated the pool¡¯s chamber. The source of that tremulous illumination soon came into view and drew an excited exclamation from Lin.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Lin called out. ¡°I think we might have first contact with a tool using alien species.¡± This claim was exciting enough to grab Andrea¡¯s full attention and caused her to pause in her hike back to their camp to check out what had Lin so excited. As she expanded the camera feed to fill more of her field of view Andrea could indeed see what appeared to be a pile of clothing, and a faltering lantern of some kind, by the edge of the pool and whoever had grabbed their probe was clearly heading in that direction.


    ¡°Hopefully they¡¯ll put the probe down at an angle that will let us get a proper look at them when they go to grab the rest of their stuff¡± Andrea commented. ¡°...aaaand they set the probe down facing the wall.¡± It¡¯s not all bad Lin consoled her ¡°We¡¯re still getting plenty of useful data on the wall¡¯s composition and so forth, but it¡¯s not terribly exciting.¡± Sound wise they were only picking up the expected splashing, rustling and echoes accounted for by the strange being¡¯s movements. The lack of immediate visual interest and absence of potential language cues soon had Andrea minimizing the feed from the probe and muting the audio before resuming the trek back to camp.


    Andrea clambered down from the plateau in which the cave entrance was hidden and entered the forest. As the dense foliage of the alien forest began to close in around them Andrea spoke. ¡°Hey Lin let¡¯s start planning out and setting up the equipment to test the safety of passing through that anomaly ourselves. I think I¡¯m going to use my discretion as an officer of the Surveyor Corps to pick the world through that anomaly as our next assignment, we needed to pick a new one anyway and there¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting someone else be the first to check out the other side. Assuming we won¡¯t be horrifically mangled by passing through of course.¡±


    Being just as driven to explore the unknown as her partner, Lin readily agreed. ¡°I can¡¯t wait Andrea, a whole new world to explore and we might be the first known humans to make contact with intelligent alien life, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m missing this chance.¡± In her usual efficient manner Lin was quick to propose their next steps. ¡°I know there are some existing test protocols for spatial anomalies that we can apply and we can probably work up a few more to account for the oddities, we¡¯ll also need to send through a more comprehensive sensor package to run the usual pre-landing environmental tests for new worlds.¡±


    The two explorers continued to plan out the details of the preparations they needed to make for this new journey as they made their way through the oppressive heat and humidity of the Ristulan forest. Andrea¡¯s brisk walking pace paused for a moment, cocking her head as she heard a familiar bellow of rage in the distance. It faded fairly promptly as the apparently still quite livid Farrous went charging off, presumably having been crossed by some fresh interloper to it¡¯s territory.


    ¡°Whew! Glad the big guy isn¡¯t coming back for a rematch.¡± Andrea commented as she resumed her course towards their camp, picking up her pace. About 10 minutes of jogging through the undergrowth later and the signal strength indicator on Andrea¡¯s HUD had reached a level indicating a signal booster was needed. ¡°How about you get us some altitude by climbing one of these trees, while I get the parts ready to rig our mini-drone into a signal booster.¡± Lin suggested. The telltale gurgle of Andrea¡¯s synthesis organs going to work let her know that she was about to be feeling a bit bloated as she climbed. ¡°Ugh, I hate mixing physical activity and using my chemical synthesis organs. It always makes me feel a bit ill.¡± Andrea grumbled. Despite her burgeoning discomfort Andrea began to rapidly ascend the massive pillar of a tree.


    ¡°No Way!¡± Lin¡¯s sudden exclamation caused Andrea to fumble her grab for the next branch, leaving her dangling a couple of stories above the ground as she nimbly twisted around to regain a solid hold on the tree. ¡°What!? What is it!?¡± Andrea asked, looking around urgently and running through her sensor feeds for possible threats. ¡°That being on the other side of the anomaly looks a lot like a human!¡± Lin enthused.


    Both relieved and excited Andrea secured herself on a sturdy branch and switched over to the feed from the probe. Sure enough what came into sight was not just humanoid but very human looking. Androgynous, tall, and slim the sensor¡¯s ranging abilities indicated they were nearly 2.5 meters tall with shoulder length brown hair that hung loose, still damp from their plunge into the pool. Currently the being in question had moved to the wall of the chamber sitting down and resting their back against it. They appeared to be furiously scribbling something in a physical notebook. Every so often they would glance up and examine the pool and the probe with eyes that appeared hazel in the dim and inconsistent light.


    ¡°Well we¡¯ll need to do all sorts of testing, but they sure do look uncannily similar to a traditional human.¡± Andrea hedged. One of the key lessons hammered into prospective Surveyors was to not rely on assumptions in alien environments, particularly when something appeared familiar, extra caution about assuming behaviors and properties was advised. Beyond some basic ranging, temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors the impromptu probe had a fairly simple camera and an unimpressive microphone. So until better equipment, or some other currently hidden indicator revealed the subject to be non-human it would be best practice to assume they were an unknown species anyways.


    As they examined the mysterious figure, they finally seemed to be picking up something interesting on the mic. It appeared that mumbling to oneself while note taking was at least one trait that this being shared with certain humans Andrea and Lin had met. Unfortunately nothing the microphone picked up was intelligible enough to identify, not even to recognize it as an unknown language. The figure seemed to finish their frantic scribbling with a flourish and leapt to their feet striding rapidly over to the probe disappearing out of sight before the whole view lurched and started to move. It seemed like they were about to get a view of what was outside the pool chamber.


    ¡°Wait a second Lin, how far away from the anomaly do you think the probe can go before we lose signal?¡± As Andrea finished her question the answer became all too apparent, as the view from the probe went black. ¡°Not very far at all, it seems¡± Lin responded dryly.

 Chapter Four

    Andrea and Lin were both disappointed, but a loss of signal was not too shocking. Apertures in space were well known for having deleterious effects on signal strength and the distinct possibility that the pool was in a subterranean location added another reason to expect rapid loss of signal. Since there was no longer anything to see from the probe Andrea finished her climb of the tree, her stomach gurgling as the part synthesis progressed rapidly inside her. ¡°Here we go, this height should be sufficient to ensure consistent signal between the cave entrance and our camp.¡± Andrea noted, as she stopped climbing and looked around. While the height may have been enough for the signal booster, it did not provide much of a sweeping view. Andrea was nestled comfortably inside the canopy and found herself able to see less than she could from the ground. ¡°I think you¡¯re right I¡¯m able to ping both the camp network and the mini-drones near the anomaly.¡± Lin affirmed Andrea¡¯s choice of location before noting ¡°Good timing too, the extra parts are about finished. Once we eject them we can hook them up to the mini-drone and leave it here.¡± As she said this Andrea felt the telltale sensations of synthesized parts and material transferring from her organs to her implants for finishing. It never hurt but it sure felt bizarre, and the first few times she¡¯d felt it she¡¯d had a minor panic attack at the utterly alien sensations. Fortunately familiarity had robbed the process of it¡¯s ability to horrify her on a visceral level, but it never felt normal to Andrea either. Probably why this sort of tech had never caught on as a mainstream addition, and was a voluntary part of the Surveyor Corps kit. It was invaluable in survival situations, but extremely unsettling to actually use.


    As Andrea waited she checked to see if Jorge and his crew had attempted contact, noting no signal from them yet. As far as Andrea was concerned this was fine, she didn¡¯t want to miss the first com window as they entered orbit and came over the horizon for the camp¡¯s antenna. So far she¡¯d always been there to welcome the follow up teams right from the start, and didn¡¯t want to break her perfect streak now.


    After about 5 minutes a port on Andrea¡¯s flank opened up and ejected the assembled parts into her waiting hand. With a few simple steps Andrea broke down the mini-drone and connected it with the new parts, turning it from a mobile scouting and research tool into a stationary signal repeater. After securing the device to the tree Andrea quickly climbed back down and continued her hike to camp.


    Remembering that they needed to replace the mini-drones, and to study the anomaly, Lin used their connection to the signal booster to remain in contact with the camp¡¯s fabrication equipment and queue up replacement mini-drones as well as an aquatic drone to form a pair with the one they already had stored at camp. After those were added, Lin drew on the documentation for studying spatial anomalies to queue the fabrication of the necessary equipment to run safety and stability analysis.


    By the time they returned to camp, Andrea and Lin were greeted by 10 newly minted mini-drones flying to meet them and land themselves in Andrea¡¯s shoulder ports. The camp consisted of half a dozen hemispherical inflatable dome structures. The largest two rising about 10 meters tall, one housing power generation and storage with the other holding the fabrication tools Lin had already put to work churning out new equipment. The remaining structures, at 4 meters tall, functioned as storage, sample testing labs, and housing for Lin and Andrea. Lin had numerous drones of varying sizes and configurations that she kept stowed among the various domes that she could use to explore and work independent from Andrea¡¯s body or when Andrea was sleeping and Lin wanted to remain awake and active. Though she mostly eschewed humanoid forms, Lin did have one humanoid drone for her to puppet around, largely because she felt she could connect better with Andrea if they could interact in a manner closer to standard human friends on occasion, and frankly, for a change of pace, acting at being a traditional human was something that Lin enjoyed, but in moderation.


    Lin wrangled some of her drones to start packing the gear for transport to the anomaly as it rolled out of the assembler. With nothing immediate for her to do, Andrea took the opportunity to hit the shower in their living quarters and wash off the accumulated mess of a busy morning. Once she¡¯d gotten clean and dry Andrea hopped into a fresh field uniform, she always kept a full spare set of basic gear and field uniform clothes ready to go for exactly these sorts of situations. She could get clean and comfortable while still being ready to go back into action at a moments notice. Not that Ristula 4 had proved to be a particularly dangerous assignment, in fact the morning chase from the Farrous probably counted in the top 5 most dangerous encounters she¡¯d had on the whole expedition.


    ¡°Hi Andrea, looks like you¡¯re ready to go again. I¡¯ve started ferrying the testing equipment to the cave mouth with a couple of my larger flying drones, and I deployed a few of the purpose built signal boosters on the route so our jury rig can serve as a backup connection.¡± Lin had been busy during Andrea¡¯s break to shower and change, one of the advantages of not being so deeply integrated into a physical body was less physical need for breaks, though overworking could easily become a problem without careful attention.


    ¡°Awesome, I¡¯m going to grab a meal bar and then we can head back to the anomaly, since we¡¯ve got a reliable network connection between here and the anomaly site we don¡¯t need to hang around waiting for Jorge and the Study team to get in touch. In fact after we¡¯ve got the preliminary experimental equipment brought over, lets fab another habitation dome and set it up near the anomaly so I don¡¯t have to lose exploration time on hiking back and forth.¡± Andrea¡¯s energy had been flagging a bit after her long morning but getting cleaned up and the prospect of a nice coffee and chocolate flavored meal bar had her enthusiasm buoyed back up. Not that it needed much help, the prospect of learning about the strange beings on the other side of a spacial anomaly was enough to keep Andrea going for days on nothing but sheer curiosity.


    Andrea made a quick stop by one of the storage domes to grab that food bar and another quick stop by the fabrication dome to grab a backpack load of new equipment to haul, already prepped and tested for balance by Lin with her humanoid drone. Now refreshed and ready to start properly surveying a new frontier Andrea set back out towards the mesa top cave with Lin busy orchestrating a dozen drones of various sizes to move more materials towards what was shaping up to be a proper outpost.


    Once Andrea reached the cave she quickly made her way back to the anomaly in the middle of the fungal forest. By this point the mini-drones they¡¯d left behind had finished mapping out the region within about a kilometer of the anomaly, low on charge they¡¯d grounded themselves and were waiting for free drone ports to become available for charging.


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    ¡°Nothing the drones found seems too different from what we noted in the area we walked through the first time. Once we set up a regular patrol of mini-drones from a hab dome and drop a few sensor packages around it should be safe to sleep here.¡± Andrea noted as she glanced through the data that her mini-drones had gathered over the past several hours.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of all that, the drones bringing down the testing equipment can drop some sensor packages in the area and set up the hab dome. Let¡¯s focus on the interesting stuff, like the anomaly and whatever it is we¡¯ve seen on the other side. The anomaly is big enough for us to pass through, so if these tests show it¡¯s safe I vote we go through and try to make friends with the locals on the other side.¡± Lin was often more cautious than Andrea, but clearly she¡¯d become at least as caught up as Andrea in the excitement of discovering something so strange and significant.


    The first step in testing the anomaly was to assemble a scaffold around the basin, getting close to the edge of the spatial warping but not contacting it. This took several hours of work from both Andrea and some of Lin¡¯s drones. During this process the assembler had finished building the second aquatic drone and the pair of them had been transferred to the burgeoning research station. Both aquatic drones were given the payload of a high strength signal booster (sensitive receiver antenna and powerful broadcast antenna) and promptly pushed into the sphere of water. They began mapping out a relatively shallow and broad pool that wound up being an oval about 200 by 150 meters and 1.5 meters deep the sphere of water on Andrea and Lin¡¯s side was mirrored in the pool as a spherical anomaly that, as best the drones could measure, was identical in size, and when one drone was directed through it, passed directly back through and flopped into the basin under the sphere.


    ¡°Well it certainly allows free passage both ways and nothing seems immediately hazardous on the other side. Even the atmosphere outside the pool tests as breathable, at least with your lung implants, it would be a bit too oxygen rich for safety and comfort if you weren¡¯t modded.¡± Lin summed up her findings so far, Andrea had been focused on finishing up the construction of the scaffolding and needed the update. ¡°Seems promising for a crewed expedition so far, have those signal boosters gotten us back in touch with the first probe?¡± Andrea asked as she wiped some sweat of her face and flopped down on the ground to rest for a few minutes, even with her augments, generally excellent fitness and drone assistants, moving half a dozen tons of scaffolding into place and assembling it was hard work.


    ¡°Unfortunately no. From what the aquatic drones can make out, the pool on the other side appears to be subterranean as well and the boosters aren¡¯t going to be sending or receiving much through any rock formations greater than a few centimeters thick.¡± Lin made a sighing sound before continuing ¡°We¡¯ll need to wait until we can send though a submersible landing platform that can float on top of the pool and let flying drones start exploring further and dropping signal boosters as they go. Running a physical power and communication cable through the anomaly to the floating landing platform will also let us gather more information about any fluctuations in the connection. Not as much as the dedicated equipment we¡¯ll be setting up, but every bit of information is useful. I¡¯ve added the necessary parts to the fabricator, we¡¯ll need to restock on raw materials pretty soon at this rate. Let¡¯s set up the rest of the testing gear while we wait.¡±


    Several hours and a half dozen assembled testing rigs later, both the hab dome and hardwired floating drone pad were ready to be deployed. The hab dome was first, since its built in backup generator was going to be keeping the outpost running, and feed power across the anomaly to the drone pad. Once Lin and Andrea were satisfied with the location, about 20 meters away from the scaffolding around the anomaly in the direction of the surface access tunnel, they stepped back from the large package and ordered their assisting drones clear as they triggered it to deploy. The outer casing unlatched itself and the tough inflatable wall of the dome began to fill. The surface mapping done by the drones allowed the dome¡¯s install routine to inflate ground barrier cells as needed to give the dome¡¯s interior a level surface, despite being deployed on the side of a shallow hill.


    After roughly an hour the inflation process was complete. The personnel entrance and the exterior generator access on the freshly deployed hab dome were now both, more or less, facing the anomaly. With the hab dome¡¯s power online the mini-drones that had been laying on low battery were reassigned to the domes mini-drone ports and given automated patrol sweeps to run around the newly established outpost. Having spent the duration of the inflation process getting the drone pad positioned on the scaffolding with a feed system for the power and communication cable, Andrea was about ready to be done for the day. She and Lin connected the scaffold¡¯s power network to the generator in the hab dome, before both decided to take a rest so they could be fresh for the next day¡¯s testing of the anomaly and scouting of the other side. Andrea slung a hammock from a couple of the built in attachment points in the hab dome¡¯s interior walls and quickly fell into a restful slumber, Lin decided she needed a break from work and joined her partner in sleep.

 Chapter Five

    Jorge was thrilled by the news of a mysterious aperture and the possibility of contact with an intelligent alien. He was even relatively sanguine about Andrea¡¯s declaration that her and Lin intended to use their discretionary authority to immediately take charge of surveying the other side. Jorge¡¯s strong chin and formidable mustache framed an expressive mouth that complemented his deep buttery smooth voice. ¡°huuuuu¡­ you two are going to kill me with stress someday. I know you¡¯re both well aware of the dangers of traveling through an unknown aperture, particularly one that is not obviously being stabilized, but the real risk, it seems to me, is that the aperture might shift or collapse after you¡¯ve reached the other end and prevent or delay your return. I insist you run a full set of assessment tests on the aperture before passing through yourselves.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re already a step ahead of you this time Jorge.¡± Andrea chuckled then attached a camera feed of the scaffolding around the aperture. ¡°Lin and I already started setting up for an aperture assessment, in fact, you and your team can help us run it when you come down to the surface.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Came a quiet but firm interjection from one of the Study team members who had until then been content as silent observers. This particular team member was short, thin, and spoke with the authority of someone with both great learning and great experience. ¡°I have a couple of suggestions. First we should send a planetary assessment package through the aperture and deploy it on the surface. It will tell us useful data on the atmosphere, gravity, magnetosphere, radiation exposure levels, toxins, etc. This will help you prepare for conditions and also verify that the aperture actually leads to a different world and not somewhere else on Ristula 4. My second suggestion is that we immediately begin synthesizing a full Surveyor kit such as the one you two are using on this world, it will take significant time to reconfigure the standard packing arrangements so that it can all fit through a 1 meter aperture. If we start now it should be about ready by the time testing is finished, and even if you don¡¯t go it¡¯ll all still be useful here on Ristula 4 so the opportunity cost is minimal.¡±


    Jorge nodded along as the slim figure spoke and was quick to agree when they finished. ¡°Thank you for your suggestions Doctor Arbordous. I¡¯ll get the ship working on designing and fabricating the custom packaged Surveyor kit now, and I think we can move on to our usual introductory briefing for the Ristula 4 Survey-to-Study transition. Unless anyone else has something to add at this time?¡± Andrea spoke up after a moments pause. ¡°I think Doctor Arbordous¡¯ suggestions are excellent. I¡¯ll start the fabricators at the base camp working on a planetary assessment package right now, and let Lin start our report on Ristula 4.¡±


    As Andrea quickly queued the fabrication at the base camp, Lin began speaking to the group. ¡°Thanks Jorge. Doctor Arbordous we appreciate your help planning our next expedition despite just starting your own. On that note, let¡¯s begin by covering the weather and atmospheric conditions in the region near the base camp, you¡¯ll need that for your landing in the near future and it hints at some of the more fascinating quirks in the local biosphere here that we¡¯ll cover later.¡±


    Lin and Andrea spent the next several hours giving a short introductory briefing on what they¡¯d discovered about Ristula 4 to Jorge and the Study team. After the briefing ended and the meeting broke up, Jorge and Lin used the local weather data to decide on landing at the base camp early the next morning while weather conditions were calculated to be ideal. While the small ship¡¯s crew would stay on board, the entire Study team would accompany Jorge down to the surface. Once landed the Study team would be settling in for years of living and working on the planet, unraveling its secrets and gathering useful information for possible settlement of the planet in the future.


    Andrea and Lin, mutually agreed to wait on further expeditions out of the pyramid with the mini-drones so they could focus on preparing the tests for the aperture. They spent the evening working on setting up the testing equipment. They were fascinated by its placement directly on a planet and the lack of obvious generation and maintenance structures for it, on either end. In their experience, aperture structures were neither easily missed nor placed directly on planets.


    While the technology to create, expand, and stabilize apertures was fairly mature, it still required megastructures to house the equipment and vast quantities of power to run. This meant that while it was theoretically possible to build and sustain an aperture connection from the surface of one world to another, few had even made the attempt since building megastructures in space was a far simpler prospect. On top of that, given the reliability and affordability of modern orbital lift technologies, putting apertures on planets directly had more downsides for security and disease control than the dubious economic benefits could justify ignoring.


    Andrea eventually stopped working on equipment setup in order to get a good nights rest so she could hike back to the base camp and meet the others as they landed. Taking advantage again of the freshly assembled hab dome Andrea was quickly cleaned up and deeply asleep after another exhausting day of physical and mental labor. Lin decided to continue working, piloting several drones in transferring components from the base camp fabricators and assembling them on the scaffolding. As the early morning hours crept up the planetary assessment package was finished and Lin moved it to the staging platform for deployment the next day.


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    About an hour before Andrea¡¯s scheduled wake up time Lin noticed something new on the feed from the original probe that had been sitting in what appeared to be a tent filled with a cross between an archaeologist¡¯s work room and an amateur chemist¡¯s lab. Since reestablishing contact with the probe no one had come into view and few clear sounds were detected. Now the camera showed a flap open and slim long fingered hands began to lift and secure it in a roll near the roof of the tent as a tall figure silhouetted against the bright sun of the day looked over its shoulder speaking with someone out of sight. It was clear that something had been deadening the sound in the tent until the entrance opened as distant animal calls, the grunts and thuds of physical labor, the sounds of speech in an unknown language now inundated the microphone.


    With the tent¡¯s entrance secured open the tall slender figure stepped out of the harsh glare of daylight and for the first time Lin was able to observe the being in the consistent light of the tent¡¯s interior. Based on the body shape Lin was fairly confident that this was the same individual that had grabbed the probe. It still appeared uncannily human, though the better light revealed skin with a pale reddish purple tint like cream stained with ripe plum juice. Small whorls and loops of darker pigmentation appeared on the skin in a pleasingly symmetrical pattern. A small pair of feathery antennae matched the brown hair, explaining why Andrea and Lin had failed to notice them in the poor lighting of the pool chamber. The eyes that had appeared hazel in the wavering lantern light now looked to be more green. Lin, judging by their appearance being close to a traditional human decided to interpret their expressions as if they were human though remained firm in her conviction that neither her nor Andrea should rely entirely on that assumption when they attempted to make contact.


    Soon three other similar beings entered the tent carrying overloaded backpacks made of canvas framed with wood. They ranged in height from 1.5 meters to a towering 3 meters with similar reddish purple shades of skin with darker patterns, and antennae matching their hair colors. With sighs of relief the three new arrivals carefully lowered their bulging packs to the floor of the tent by a relatively open work table. The first being¡¯s human like features curved into an indulgent smile and they spoke briefly to the others before gesturing towards the tent¡¯s entrance. The three gave broad grins and quick responses before rushing from the tent, loudly exchanging words and gently jostling to be first to wherever they were headed.


    Lin had already set up a language learning system to begin recording and attempting to parse any speech coming in from the probe¡¯s microphone. Now it was finally getting some data to begin working with. Lin was confident that they¡¯d still have to learn most of the language during first contact, since slowly building a translation without active help from fluent speakers would take far longer then either her or Andrea were willing to wait. As Lin pondered the challenges of linguistics she watched the one remaining being rub their hands together in anticipation before beginning to unload a mix of living and dead plant and animal samples as well as some objects that looked like the weathered relics of some earlier civilization.


    The sorting of samples in the tent laboratory had gotten halfway through emptying the first backpack when Andrea woke up and joined Lin in watching someone who was more and more appearing to be a colleague in exploration. ¡°This certainly makes for decent breakfast entertainment.¡± Andrea mumbled half aloud and half in their shared mind space as she munched on a maple and peanut butter flavored meal bar. The two took a last few minutes to relax and watch before heading back to base camp and what they expected would be a hectic week or more of preparation and testing before they got to meet this fellow explorer in person.


    Their expectations proved to be accurate, the next 6 days was an almost non-stop series of giving detailed briefings on aspects of Ristula 4 to the incoming Study team members, running the planetary assessment package just outside the pyramid structure, and running test after test developing a detailed model of the aperture. Not only was the other side of the aperture very definitely on another world it was one that was unusually compatible with traditional human atmospheric and temperature needs. The model they developed of the aperture predicted that it would remain stable for the next week but would then destabilize and retract for an uncertain length of time.


    In a fit of inspiration Doctor Arbordous helped resolve that uncertainty by taking core samples at various points along the length of the stream that flowed from the aperture. The alternating layers of loam, with and without fungal remains, pointed at an 8-12 year cycle where the aperture would close for 4-6 years, allowing the fungal forest to grow back, then for the next 4-6 years the aperture would open and the as yet undetectable property of the seemingly normal water that poured through would kill off the fungus, leaving clear layers.


    Now Andrea and Lin knew that they would be out of contact and out of reach of any help from the Study team for about half a decade at least and they had only 4 days to make a decision one way or the other. It took them 4 minutes to decide. They would still be able to get supplies and communicate through the aperture for a few more days after passing through but it was decided that having everything ready on the other side first was best in case something unforeseen occurred with the aperture. With the help of Jorge, the Study team members, and numerous drones the elements of the modified Surveyor kit were passed through the aperture and gathered on the rock near the exit to the surface in the pool¡¯s chamber.


    After Jorge wished them a safe journey, Lin sent her last drone through to join the others and Andrea climbed up the scaffold before jumping into the shimmering sphere feet first, launching them both into a new world unlike any they¡¯d seen before.

 Chapter Six

    Smash! The crash of water in Andrea¡¯s ears announced her arrival, her body rocketed up from the sphere with the momentum of her jump breaching the surface before she had really registered being submerged. Falling back into the water Andrea took a moment to find her feet, standing in her gear next to the aperture the water of the pool nearly topped her shoulders with the waves of her arrival rebounding and slapping her face as if in rebuke for the disturbance.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we moved the drone platform and other gear out of the way. A mild concussion would have really gotten us off on the wrong foot.¡± Andrea silently thought to Lin as she began to quickly swim to the edge of the pool where the larger drones had assembled the survey gear. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, though with your reinforced skull and other implants I was more worried about damaging our gear.¡± The fact that Lin¡¯s concern was probably valid meant her comment¡¯s status as a joke was ambiguous. Andrea didn¡¯t mind she knew Lin cared about her, they¡¯d been working together for long enough that they were comfortable communicating in ways that might come off as rude to outsiders. As she flashed a wry laugh symbol to Lin she reached the edge of the pool and climbed up onto the relatively flat rock surface that had been transformed into the duo¡¯s staging area.


    Andrea reported back to Jorge. ¡°We made it through the aperture with no issues and are proceeding with our planned startup, we¡¯ll keep in touch regularly, and send all our data back, till the aperture closes.¡± Some of the drones under Lin¡¯s direction were packing for the move to a new location, while others had already begun deploying concealed security equipment and communications relays to the surface to ensure contact through the aperture when it was open. The concealment would give an extra layer of security since the chamber was clearly known to the local inhabitants and if some or all of them proved hostile a covert method of communicating home when the aperture opened again would be critical. Lin had argued that overtly attempting to fortify and secure the aperture was more likely to attract trouble then prevent it. Better to let obscurity do the heavy lifting if possible.


    Andrea generally let Lin take the lead on matters of security and in this case Andrea felt that setting up an obvious armed camp and blocking access to a site that held unknown significance to the people they wanted to contact would make hostility far more likely. She was taking the lead on negotiating first contact and had decided that they should set up their base camp in a concealed location some distance away from the pyramid structure that rose over the entrance to the aperture cave complex. Even the being that discovered their probe might not realize that they came through the aperture, indeed, the possibility that the poor lighting and water had disguised the aperture¡¯s existence was possible. Andrea and Lin had decided to keep their use of the aperture to themselves, at least until they learned what the beings they planned to establish contact with knew about it, and what social consequences the truth might have.


    Andrea¡¯s first order of business was to deploy some high altitude high endurance observation drones. Andrea tasked one of their Donkey semi-autonomous cargo transporters with following her and loaded it with 3 of the sophisticated blimps that would be their eyes in the sky and long range com relays. Having the 3 meter long 2 meter tall Donkey looming behind her, shockingly quiet on it¡¯s four reverse jointed metallic limbs, would have been quite the intimidating site to any unlucky spelunker. Andrea and her artificial beast of burden only barely fit through the passageways to the surface. Lin was having her drones duck into side passages as they passed, still hard at work setting up the covert security and communications systems.


    Outside the pyramid the mountains surrounding the valley were Stygian giants, who¡¯s looming presence was apparent only as it was silhouetted against the glitter of stars and the hooked tip of the minor moon in waning crescent peering over the ridge behind Andrea as she exited the structure. Based on the limited observations so far there appeared to be two moons, one much larger than the other, while day cycles seemed to be about 30 hours in length. The timing of Andrea and Lin¡¯s activity was deliberate, they planned to use the cover of darkness in the hope that it would let them deploy their observation drones and establish a concealed camp away from the pyramid without being seen.


    Andrea unpacked and prepped the three observation drones on the bare rock field stretched out in front of the pyramid. As she worked Lin pinged her and sent a quick clip for her to see. The probe in the tent had witnessed a tired purple face yawn before stretching and turning off the source of the strong steady light they¡¯d been working under.  It was the being who¡¯d grabbed the probe, Andrea had nicknamed them Professor since they appeared in the tent for hours on most days carefully examining and testing both biological samples and what appeared to be archaeological relics. As Professor left the tent, the raised flap briefly let in sound and revealed a largely silent camp with the distant sound of one individual with a stentorian snoring problem. ¡°Looks like even the workaholic is finally calling it quits for the night, perfect for minimizing potential complications as we move out.¡±


    Andrea snorted at Lin¡¯s hypocritical dig at Professor¡¯s working habits. ¡°We don¡¯t know enough to be sure what their scouting and night guard abilities are like so we¡¯ll just have to work as discretely as we can and hope for the best. It¡¯s not the end of the world if we¡¯re spotted, I¡¯d just prefer to negotiate from a position of strength when we make contact, and the more leverage I have with knowledge about ourselves the more I should be able to guide our interactions towards a peaceful outcome.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m a bit more leery about potential trouble, but regardless of the level of danger, I¡¯ll make sure our base camp is as hidden as possible. I¡¯ll leave it to you to judge how much of our capabilities to reveal as we get to know the people here.¡± Lin was a bit frustrated by the prospect of having Andrea be the sole point of initial contact with the aliens, but agreed with the reasoning behind the decision. During planning sessions with Jorge, Dr. Arbordous and the rest of the Study team it had been decided that initial contact would be more likely to succeed if their appearance and behavior fit more within the observed paradigms of the strangely humanoid beings.


    While Lin did have experience using a drone that was practically indistinguishable from a traditional human she didn¡¯t generally like to be tied down to a single body closely enough to fully take command of it, and partially autonomous drone functions would take over the humanoid body as Lin¡¯s attention flitted between drones. This was normally no problem, as she could maintain conversation through a virtual avatar regardless of how or where she was embodied. However, the little that they had witnessed from the probe so far, gave them no reason to think that these aliens would have any understanding of this, and would be better off gradually introduced to the idea of a disembodied intelligence. Most importantly Lin just wasn¡¯t a fan of using humanoid bodies when in the field, they were fun to play around with during down time, but she overwhelmingly preferred other forms when working.


    Those other forms were on grand display as Lin finished the covert installations leading from the aperture chamber to the surface and began to shepherd a large train of 15 Donkeys hauling the packaged habitat domes, supplies, additional drones, assorted gear, and some heavy duty items including major power generation and fabrication equipment. As the Donkeys marched out from under the pyramid in eerie silence, a quietly humming cloud of drones of various sizes and configurations flew out from around them scattering around to scout the nearby area or keep pace with the caravan. The more attentive observer would, if they could look past the silently trotting giants and faintly humming swarm, see a third stream of movement that scuttled close along the ground with the fluid grace of spiders. These nimble arthropoid drones, neatly dodged under the feet of the Donkeys and many trailed behind the end of the line as Lin used them to clean up and cover any tracks and traces that would be left behind by this parade.


    Andrea finished prepping the high altitude drones as Lin sent some mini-drones out at ground level in every direction to start plotting the best trail for the Donkeys to follow, letting them place their steps so that they left minimal traces that the trailing spider drones could easily disguise. They weren¡¯t sure exactly where they wanted to set up their base camp but they knew it would likely be away from the location where the probe¡¯s signal was coming. As the high altitude drones began to climb silently into the night sky the duo were able to study a detailed model of the region that grew in size as their eyes in the sky gained height and moved further out from the pyramid. While the darkness did obscure some things, the numerous types of sensors available gave all the info Lin needed to plot out several possible base camp locations and send smaller flying drones to make closer inspections.


    While Lin busied herself with scouting locations for their camp, Andrea was keenly studying the low-light and infrared images of the encampment containing the probe. It was a collection of tents perched on the top of a low hill about a kilometer down the valley. It looked like the hilltop had been cleared recently, likely for the express purpose of setting up the camp, the felled trees appeared to have been incorporated into a defensive works around the camp with open areas for about 100 meters outside the earthen walls. ¡°This is interesting Lin, it looks like whoever these people are they felt the need to fortify their camp to some extent.¡± Lin pulled up what Andrea was looking at ¡°hmmm¡­ it could be for particularly dangerous wildlife, or for hostile sentients, or both. We¡¯ll just have to be extra cautious, whatever they¡¯re worried about could pose a danger to us and if they¡¯re fighting hostile sentients we might have a hard time making peaceful contact.¡±


    As Lin switched back to scouting for a camp location, Andrea continued to examine the camp. They had a few people seemingly on watch, but the majority of the camp appeared to be in their tents. Counting what she could see in the infrared imaging Andrea placed the number of humanoid beings in the camp at around 70, with a couple dozen large creatures penned up separately, and scattered inside some tents were numerous other heat signatures of various shapes and sizes that appeared to be a surprisingly wide variety of living creatures. Hopping onto the Donkey that had held the high altitude drones Andrea continued to observe the camp as Lin smoothly incorporated the 16<sup>th</sup> Donkey into the middle of the line and began to leave the area of the pyramid towards a set of promising locations.


    The caravan made steady progress moving quietly and occasionally detouring in order to avoid leaving an obvious trail. Lin maintained a security perimeter in all directions with various flying drones quietly watching for potential threats in every direction and stealthy spider drones scattering ahead and behind the route to settle in, feeling for ground tremors and quietly observing their surroundings in search of possible ambushes or covert followers. These extensive precautions were standard on new worlds where there was no knowledge of how dangerous the wildlife might be, and even more important when unfamiliar intelligent beings were known to be in the area. These layers of detection meant that Andrea was all the more shocked when, about an hour after leaving the pyramid, she suddenly felt a solid mass slam her off the Donkey throwing her a few meters through the air before she slammed into a tree. Andrea hadn¡¯t even reached the ground when the large creature that had slammed her from her mount let out a deep roar ending with a high pitched hollow trumpet and charged directly at her.

 Chapter Seven

    ¡°I¡¯m under attack!¡± Andrea pinged Lin with an emergency alert as she engaged her field uniform¡¯s low power exoskeleton and threw herself sideways into a desperate sprint through the nearby trees as the hulking furry beast bore down on her. The first blow had fortunately been mostly absorbed by her uniform¡¯s built in armor systems and her implants had kept her organs from splattering themselves against one another as she hit the tree. If she could keep the animal from pinning her down she¡¯d get away with some easily healed bruises.


    Keeping out of the predator¡¯s claws was immediately proven to be an ambitious goal. To Andrea¡¯s dismay the massive weight of the charging creature seemed to be effortlessly redirected as it made a nearly 90 degree turn and was at a full speed charge again in a fraction of a second, right on Andrea¡¯s heels.


    ¡°I¡¯m sending some airborne attack drones to assist you, if needed Andrea. Try and lead the animal away from our planned destination, I¡¯m seeing increased activity at the alien camp and I don¡¯t want the trail of the rampage to compromise our location.¡± Lin had been taken totally off guard by this attack as well. None of her drones had noted anything suspicious until a fraction of a second before what looked like a cross between a tiger and a grizzly bear shot through the perimeter and made it all the way to Andrea in less time than it took for Lin to process what was happening.


    Andrea was stretching her ability to move to the upmost. With her enhanced physique and implants she could sustain speeds of about 60 kilometers an hour and sprint in bursts of up to 90. Combined with the agility her light weight and small form allowed, Andrea was used to being able to outmaneuver most problems. The rush of air as a massive paw missed her head by a hairsbreadth demonstrated that this was one problem that she was not going to out maneuver for long. Despite appearing to weigh 7 or 8 times as much as Andrea the huge predator was almost more agile than her. Turning near instantly and with seemingly no loss of speed. Andrea wasn¡¯t sure what was going on, but there had to be some trick to what was happening because plenty of the moves she witnessed seemed physically impossible. She had noticed heating and cooling spikes in infrared every time the beast pulled one of its incredible maneuvers, and the whole creature seemed to being staying warmer and warmer after each stunt.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s going to wear itself out eventually Lin, but I¡¯m not sure I can keep out of its grasp for that long.¡± Lin¡¯s attack drones had been following along closely the whole time, strangely the animal appeared uninterested in anything except relentlessly pursuing Andrea. ¡°What about me specifically is setting this big guy off? If we can¡¯t think of anything soon, I might have to kill it.¡±


    Lin began studying Andrea comparing her emissions to the drones¡¯. This creature had bypassed all of the perimeter drones and virtually ignored the Donkeys in favor of Andrea¡¯s far smaller and less obtrusive frame. As she watched Andrea began to leap up onto the massive old growth trees planting her feet 5 meters up on the side of the massive trunks then pushing off, launching herself towards another tree trunk. Acrobatically rotating as she flew to land feet first again letting her momentum push her into the tree and wind up her legs for the next big leap. The ability to make those sorts of maneuvers in unknown terrain, in the dark, and without pre-planning was dependent on Andrea¡¯s implants and the augmented physical capacity they provided, not to mention the huge number of extra senses that came with them. Lin had a sudden realization, Andrea¡¯s sensors! A quick check confirmed her thought, the biggest difference between Andrea and everything else was her sonar system it was actively pulsing ultrasonically. ¡°Andrea! Switch off your active sonar! I think that¡¯s what¡¯s making the creature so aggressive!¡±


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    Andrea immediately followed Lin¡¯s suggestion and the results were apparent almost instantly. The predator¡¯s pursuit became far less aggressive and after another few seconds of pursuit the heavily panting creature broke off and retreated into the forest. Lin tasked one of the combat drones to follow the strange creature at a distance and observe, this task was made far easier by its fairly sedate pace and the glowing infrared presence of the bizarre heat build up in the animal.


    With heavy breaths Andrea took a moment to recover from her wild pinball like flight through the dense forest. After taking a minute, Andrea broke the silence. ¡°Lin how did that huge beast get by you, and how did it manage to maneuver like that?¡± Lin took a moment to consider before responding. ¡°It was on you before the drones that spotted it could get my attention. That last part is my failure, I¡¯m switching up all of the drone¡¯s protocols to send you alerts on nearby threats directly rather than pinging me first.¡± Andrea nodded along with Lin¡¯s assessment until the last comment. ¡°That¡¯s fine Lin, standard protocol has drones ping their primary operator first and right now you¡¯re the primary operator on all our drones. I didn¡¯t even bother to deploy my own mini-drones and I made the boneheaded mistake of leaving my active sonar going. So don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, we¡¯re both going into this mission way more blind than we usually would.¡± Lin paused a moment, appreciating Andrea¡¯s reassurance. ¡°We¡¯ve got this Andrea, it¡¯s a much bigger challenge than usual, but that¡¯s part of why we both wanted to do this in the first place, and we¡¯re the perfect team for challenging situations.¡±


    Andrea silently signaled agreement as she turned and began to carefully plot a course back to meet up with the caravan while leaving as little trace as possible. The handful of combat drones Lin had tasked with aiding Andrea kept pace with her and helped form a perimeter, Andrea also deployed her own swarm of 10 mini-drones from their shoulder docking ports and sent them out to help keep watch and map out good paths. Lin tasked a couple of spider drones to leave the convoy and meet Andrea before moving back along her trail to cover up any trace of her passage. Neither of them were sure yet how the large predator had escaped detection until moments before hitting Andrea but they were going to keep maintaining a perimeter as they had been and try to determine what the animal had done to get so close without being detected.


    By the time Andrea had rejoined the convoy the large predator had worked its way back to an area near where the ambush had occurred but well outside the edge of the area that had been covered by the main perimeter of drones. The still extremely hot creature reached the base of one of the larger old growth trees, put its fore-paws up on the trunk and suddenly hurtled almost 10 meters straight up the trunk as Lin witnessed this bizarre feat the infrared imaging system also made it obvious as parts of its body near instantly plummeted from feverishly hot, to nearly hypothermically cold. It continued to climb until it reached what appeared to be a sort of nest nearly 50 meters up the trunk of the tree. ¡°Well I still can¡¯t conclude much, but it sure looks like this animal can somehow convert its momentum into other forms of energy, at least partly heat, and convert that energy back into momentum following a vector of its choice. That might explain how it got the drop on us, it literally dropped from 50 meters in the air and used that energy to launch itself at high speed across the forest floor through my drones and attack you a fraction of a second after being noticed. I¡¯ve never seen or heard of anything like this, its fascinating.¡±


    Andrea had by this point hopped back aboard her slightly dented but still functional Donkey and was going through the footage of the creature¡¯s attack and its subsequent return to its nest. ¡°This is strange, and it implies some pretty extreme possibilities, what¡¯s letting that animal seemingly violate the laws of physics as we understand them? We¡¯re going to need to learn a lot more to even start to get a handle on what is going on, and we¡¯ll have to keep a closer eye out for other strange phenomena that doesn¡¯t fit with what seems possible.¡± Lin signaled agreement and began deploying her flying drones out in a wider net, activating some of the reserves that had been perched on various Donkeys and forming a thicker and farther ranging perimeter. ¡°I know one thing we can learn and act on immediately, at least some of the wildlife here can strike at speeds closer to modern attack drones then anything natural we¡¯ve ever encountered before. I¡¯m redeploying the perimeter in a configuration closer to what is called for when threatened with modern weapons systems.¡± Andrea shook her head a bit in wry amusement. ¡°Well we certainly hit the jackpot this time Lin, an animal that can manipulate physical reality in ways that seem impossible is a good sign that this world won¡¯t get boring anytime soon.¡± After a moment of thought she cocked her head and added dryly. ¡°Though it might kill us if we aren¡¯t careful.¡±

 Chapter Eight

    The alien camp was continuing to stir with activity and Andrea was getting a great deal of additional information about the appearances and possible roles of many of the different members of the group as they seemed to rush about preparing defenses and getting themselves deployed along the camp¡¯s perimeter. Andrea noticed that the being that had found the original probe was not standing to, along the wall but was positioned out of the way near another smaller being who seemed to be shouting orders, pointing, and gesticulating to direct and motivate people who would come rushing up to report and then rush back off again to fulfill some order.


    It seemed clear to Andrea that regardless of who was in charge of the expedition overall, she suspected Professor (the being who found the probe) was, the defenses seemed to be under the direct command of someone else. There did still seem to be deference to Professor and they were present in the command area of the camp, which meant they likely had a degree of influence even in matters that appeared outside their direct purview.


    This meant that Andrea was all the more eager to make Professor the first point of contact if at all possible, they seemed to have influence in their group, without necessarily being too militarily minded and seemed to be of a curious, exploratory nature and/or profession, all factors that would help contribute to a positive outcome during first contact, or so Andrea hoped.


    As the minutes wore on, the activity in the camp died down and the watchers at the walls settled into what seemed to be tense anticipation. The lack of any action seemed to build their anxiety, Andrea noticed the nervous shuffling and when the lighting was good rapid eye movements, among the sentries.


    As Andrea watched the activity at the alien camp, Lin guided their caravan through the forest, climbing a bit as they moved towards the top of a small rise nested in a low area surrounded by slightly higher hills. Of all the possible base camp sites, this was by far the most promising so Lin decided to check it out first, even if it was one of the farther options. Being sited on a rise while simultaneously being surrounded by taller hills to help break line of sight. Lin recognized the risks in not taking the local high ground from a defensive stand point, but fully intended to station concealed drone detachments on the surrounding hills and thus have firm control over the entire area near the base camp, as well as the best possible chance of maintaining secrecy during the initial contact phase.


    It took them a further 45 minutes of careful but steady progress to finally reach the site, they were slowed a bit by the extra precautions Lin had instituted, She had combined the more familiar exploratory drone scouting configuration with a wilderness infantry tactics field manual''s recommended deployment for screening against ambush from high velocity attack drones and munitions. The mass, agility, and terrifying velocities that the earlier attacker had managed to reach, were way outside the bounds of any natural fauna previously recorded by the Surveyor Corps. Lin felt that it was best to expect more surprises. ¡°Andrea, I think the sooner we can make contact with the locals the better, we can learn the dangers of the environment through careful study but we¡¯ll be a lot safer if we can get someone to explain things to us. I had viewed the aliens as the biggest possible security risk, but I¡¯m less certain of that than before.¡±


    Andrea sent over snippets of the footage the high altitude drones where sending her from the alien camp. ¡°I have to concur with you Lin, they certainly seem to be nervous about something, perhaps they¡¯re familiar with the roar of my earlier pursuer, or perhaps they know something else that has them spooked, either way it only makes me more eager to meet them.¡±


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    Andrea noted that the alien camp seemed to have settled in for a long night of extra vigilance, the vigorous activity had completely died down and ¡®Professor¡¯ seemed to have returned to their tent along with a small portion of the group, the rest occupied various posts, mainly along the perimeter barricade. This worked out nicely for Lin since it meant Andrea could set aside her observation duties and assist in setting up their base camp.


    The first thing they did was an extremely through sweep of the area, scanning for wildlife, and checking terrain stability. They detected nothing that seemed to be a threat, a few meter long 4 limbed reptilian looking animals briefly hissed at Lin¡¯s drones but soon decided that they¡¯d rather find a new burrow, abandoning the large fallen tree that they¡¯d seemingly begun nesting inside. The tree had fallen just a bit below the peak of the small rise and created an opening in the forest floor, without a more than a barely noticeable break in the canopy overhead. ¡°Look a perfect pre-cleared site for our largest two domes, the rest we can fit easily among the trees at the edge of the clearing.¡± Andrea was thrilled to have a naturally formed site for the large fab and power domes, placing them could be tricky, particularly if you wanted to be subtle and avoid too much heavy forestry work. While Andrea and Lin could easily clear even the massive old growth trees that dominated this forest, it would not be subtle, or quiet and would definitely garner attention, which they wanted to avoid for more reasons than ever.


    A flurry of activity soon overtook the little clearing deep in the wooded valley. A pair of heavy duty inflatable foundation platforms began to take shape over the fallen trunk as well as many smaller such platforms scattered at the periphery of the open space, vaulted overhead with a cathedral like roof of branches and needles, though in the dark the majesty was obscured from normal vision and infrared-LIDAR composite images tended to suck some of the majesty out of such sights.


    Once the foundations had all been set up the new stable platforms were then built upon further. Domes identical to those the duo had used on Ristula began to inflate and rise higher and higher into the air. The next several hours were laborious Andrea spent them directing a team of drones moving, assembling, and deploying heavy equipment while she got her hands dirty working on lighter furniture and devices, getting the interiors of the domes set up and the many tools installed and tested for function. They could still get back ups sent through if they discovered any critical equipment failures in the next couple of days, so Andrea was determined to be thorough about testing everything as soon as possible. While Andrea worked on the interiors, Lin maneuvered her drones around the exterior, continuing to probe the nearby areas for interesting features or possible threats as well as building up concealed sensor suites to provide redundant coverage of all approaches to the base camp, Lin¡¯s newfound concerns about the striking range and speed of the wildlife meant that she was already planning to queue up additional sensor suite packages, since she was going to use up all available reserves to establish a long ranging and comprehensive static early warning system for their new home.


    After hours of work setting up the base camp, it began to get lighter as the night faded into a red and gold morning light, the colors filtered down through the branches and needles of the trees overhead and gave a warm delicately patterned beauty to the vaulted chamber formed by the open area. Lin and Andrea both paused in their work to appreciate the view. Silently sharing a moment of peace and beauty, that reminded them of yet another reason they both loved to explore.


    Eventually the moment past, as all such moments must, and the duo resumed their work. By this point Lin had joined Andrea in setting up and checking the function of the equipment inside the domes. The power generation and storage systems where working properly and the test runs and then first batches of sensor suites all demonstrated that the main fabricator was also working. A quick sampling of the local environment provided a variety of raw materials to drop into the feed stock refining systems, which showed good functionality for breaking down raw materials into refined chemical compounds for use in fabricators. The Biochemical organs were showing healthy life signs and processed sterilized organic samples from the local environment with no noticeable issues. These four central systems where the most critical and could be used in conjunction with one another to produce virtually anything, Including more of themselves if needed. The Von Nuemann approach to exploration was not considered ethical or wise by the Surveyor corps, but they did recognize the value of being able to scale up production capacity in order to give Survey teams the maximum possible level of flexibility in meeting challenges.


    Having verified the functionality of the most important equipment that they brought through the portal with them The duo spent the morning going through the smaller and important, but not totally vital, equipment. They found few issues and the quick fabrication and replacement of a couple of parts that were slightly out of tolerance was the most that was required, otherwise it was a smooth setup and shakedown of all the equipment in their base camp. They were getting close to finishing when the observation drones that had line of sight to the alien camp pinged notifications about an uptick in activity that Andrea had set them watching for earlier. "I''m going to let you finish the last of this setup Lin, it looks like our friends over at the camp are starting to get more active again and I want to make sure I''ve got my eye on that as much as possible so I can learn anything useful for when we go to make contact with them."


    Lin signaled an acknowledgment and then kept working while Andrea moved over to one of the domes that had been set up as a living quarters. Upon entering Andrea quickly set herself to trying out the newly installed shower system to clean off the evidence of her chase with the predator and the hours of physical labor during the setup. Now feeling refreshed Andrea quickly donned a clean copy of her field uniform and started to fix up a warm meal with the kitchenette that shared dome space with the showers. While she worked at prepping a nice breakfast she kept part of her attention on the activity at the camp which, as it happened, matched her own in large part. With what looked to be large cook pots set up in an open-sided pavilion being tended to by a small team of the humanoid beings. Interestingly there didn''t appear to be any use of fire but there must have been some kind of heat involved as there appeared to be steam curling off the pots and a quick peek at the infrared imaging confirmed that they were quite hot. ¡°I¡¯ve spotted another interesting anomaly Lin, They appear to have some technology that¡¯s allowing them to cook without visible fire being used. Combined with the strange sound isolation of the tent the probe is in, I¡¯m starting to suspect that we¡¯re missing some pretty crucial information. I noticed their guards seem to be armed with simple firearms of some sort, or at least that¡¯s what they remind me of, at the same time they appear to be relying on draft animals for transportation, and their sources of light and heat don¡¯t appear to be produced by combustion of flammable substances. I¡¯m having difficulty parsing exactly where they are technologically, it doesn¡¯t quite line up with any of the surviving historical records for human technological development from before the Displacement, nor with the patterns of development during the second founding after that.¡±


    Lin took her usual pragmatic stance. ¡°Well ultimately, we just need to get a rough idea about how dangerous to us they could be, so we can plan contingencies for when we make contact. Once we start talking with them I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get a better handle on what kind of paradigms they¡¯re working within, technologically, socially, politically, and so on.¡±


    Andrea nodded ¡°You¡¯re right, especially since we want to make first contact before the aperture closes, in case it looks like an immediate disaster, so we have the option to withdraw completely one last time. After the aperture closes we¡¯re committed to being here for the long haul.¡±

 Chapter Nine

    The next few days were exciting but also loaded with anxious anticipation, both Andrea and Lin observed the activities of the small camp of alien beings. Expeditions would routinely leave, nearly always headed by the same being that had grabbed their probe, Professor. These groups wandered throughout the valley, sometimes digging in a particular location and pulling out a variety of objects that seemed to have been buried for a very long time, before hauling them back to the tent that contained the probe. Professor and several of the other beings seemed to spend a great deal of time sketching and taking notes as pieces were found and packaged up, while others tended to do most of the actual physical labor. Other times Professor led a group through a stretch of the forest, from what the high altitude drones could make out, those expeditions seemed to focus on hunting for both live and dead specimens of flora and fauna. Most of which seemed to be brought back to the camp at the end of each day.


    Andrea and Lin found themselves settling into a rhythm. Andrea would spend a large portion of the daylight hours monitoring the activities and behavioral habits of the aliens in the camp then during the night Andrea would get some rest while Lin, for whom sleep was largely optional, spread out a number of her drones and began taking samples of the flora and fauna in the region. It quickly struck the duo that they were engaging in the same practices as the beings they were observing, leading Andrea to speculate that the party they were observing were not themselves local to this region of the planet and were in fact explorers at least somewhat in the same vein as themselves.


    "Hopefully this will help when it comes time to make contact, they may already be in the frame of mind to encounter strange things and we will definitely qualify. Well I will definitely qualify to begin with since we''re going to let you remain hidden for the immediate future like we discussed. What we''ve observed about their level of technological sophistication is confusing when it is compared to what historical precedence I have available to measure against and the fact that they''re aliens only adds to the uncertainty about how they might process meeting a disembodied intelligence.¡±


    Lin understood, despite her frustration at being relegated to a background role during opening talks, she agreed that it was probably for the best to not come across as too alien to these beings at first meeting. Indeed considering the shocking and completely improbable, to the degree that it was impossible, similarity in appearance between the traditional human body and those of the aliens they had been observing it was entirely possible that Andrea would be observed and taken to be a particularly strange specimen of their species that they had simply not encountered before. Indeed both Andrea and Lin were beginning to suspect that that could even very well be true at some extremely distant point in the past. Perhaps during the Displacement that had cast Andrea and Lin''s distant ancestors into the unknown, these beings had also been cast here or perhaps similar events had recurred and they were encountering distant relatives of theirs evolved from traditional humans over thousands or tens of thousands of years. It was uncertain if their ancestors had been the first such people to be cast into the far reaches of the universe, and there was no way of knowing if it had happened again after. The Displacement had done a remarkably thorough job of shattering historical records as much of the relevant databases were fragmented or outright destroyed during the event and it''s aftermath.


    After nearly a week had passed, Andrea and Lin had begun to develop a bit more of a picture of a patterns that they''ve been seeing and decided that they could either wait and observe for months to eke out what details they could gather without direct interaction while constantly being at risk of discovery, or they could be proactive and make contact now while the aperture would be open for another few days. Considering the group appeared to be on a mission of exploration and that they seemed to be sweeping the valley, starting at the lower end and working their way up, they would eventually come across the base camp. Andrea pushed for going ahead and making the meeting with them, this was if she was honest with herself largely because she was impatient and wanted to do it sooner rather than later. She did not feel like sitting around and making an extraordinarily careful analysis before getting to get to know these interesting people and learning more directly from them, Andrea really wanted to sink her teeth into getting to know and interact with them. Lin always the more cautious of the duo, though admittedly not by all that much, was convinced to agree after some discussion with a fair degree of cajoling on Andrea''s part. Lin grudgingly conceded that they may as well go ahead and meet with the aliens before their camp was discovered so that they could at least engage in first contact on their own terms. "Very well Andrea you''ve convinced me against my better judgment, I will agree to moving up the meeting to within the next couple of days when weather looks like it''ll be clear and conducive to allowing them to spot us at a distance. We''ll have to pick our site carefully based on the patterns of their expeditions out into the valley. There''s a few possible locations they might be going to next and I think that the one on this hill over here¡­" At this Lin brought up a three-dimensional terrain map, that had been generated by the high altitude surveillance drones, she indicated an open and fairly rocky region that seemed like a boulder rich grassland stretching over a region with thin poor soil where the forest seemed unable to thrive. " This area will have massive sight lines and you will be able to show yourself silhouetted against the sky by waiting for them on this ridge, I''ll leave the details on handling opening communications to you, but I think silhouetting ourselves there on that ridge mid-morning when the party would most likely reach that location should allow us to take the initiative in choosing the location but then give them the option to decline contact and proceed cautiously hopefully making them more comfortable and reducing the likelihood of an armed confrontation. " Andrea examined the indicated location and noted the simulated silhouetting and movements of the parties and agreed that this seemed like a good position. "I think you''re right Lin this will be an excellent way to start. I think we''ll need to keep a pretty close eye on what the group at the camp is doing since, like you said, there are several places they may go in the next few days we''re not sure which excursion will take them in this direction so let''s keep ourselves alert and be ready to get there first.¡±


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    Lin was quick to respond, having already considered the need to arrive first at short notice. ¡°I plan on prepositioning some stealth drones along path from here to the proposed meeting point in that field along a relatively circuitous route that we can take to minimize traces while the stealth drones can ensure that nothing obvious moves into place along the proposed course over those couple of days and keeps the path fairly clear as well as covering our tracks before and after the meeting. You can hop on a Donkey as soon as we see them moving out in the direction of that open area. The Donkey should get you there well before them considering the spot is only a bit closer to them than it is to us. Based on how fast we''ve seen them moving as a group on their investigative missions we can easily outpace them without even pushing ourselves all that hard."


    Ultimately Andrea wound up going with Lin''s plan deciding that sounded far more preferable than potentially roughing it in a field shelter at the meeting location for two or three nights and more importantly far safer. The next couple of days consisted of Lin continuing her biological and mineralogical studies of the area near the base camp while Andrea reviewed and analyzed all of the audio, visual, and other sensor readings of the aliens and their behavior both from the probe in the tent and from the long range observation drones who could provide quite clear and useful visuals though were not able to pick up audio from the distances at which they were working. Both Andrea and Lin had agreed that slipping any kind of stealth drones along the ground into the camp at this point was an unnecessary risk that might cause problems during first contact and taking any actions that might set these people them on edge in general would not help with the first contact. The partial translations that the audio recordings from the probe in the tent were able to facilitate via the auto translation program were going to be nearly useless for the first meeting and would almost certainly not catch up as fast as Andrea¡¯s ability to just learn the language herself but they would be a helpful tool for future endeavors and particularly for future representatives who might come to interact with the people living here. Despite her somewhat limited information Andrea was able to get at least a bit of a feel for some of the gestures and body language that the aliens seemed to utilize and based on context she thought she had at a bit of an idea about how to conduct herself during the beginning of contact with them in order to convey peaceful and friendly intentions. She couldn''t know for sure of course, not until after meeting with them and learning more but she had what she felt was a pretty good guess at how best to comport herself.

 Chapter Ten

    As it turned out two days elapsed before the high altitude surveillance drones detected the expedition from the alien camp heading in the direction of the open field that Andrea and Lin had selected for staging the first encounter. Calling it an open field was a bit misleading, it was littered with patches of exposed rock and scattered fields of boulders that had tumbled like dice across a rather steeply hilled landscape dominated by a central elevation that commanded a clear line of sight towards the tree line where the alien expedition was most likely to emerge.


    Within the area growing up around and between the boulders was a variety of grasses and coating many of the boulders themselves was a feathery growth that from the observations that Lin¡¯s stealth drones had been able to make appeared to be similar to lichen, returning samples to the base camp for more detailed analysis was called for but not a priority.


    In any event this rugged highland was of an extremely shallow soil depth as could be attested to by the predominance of protruding bedrock layers and boulders this appeared to be the sole reason for the forest to not take over in this region as it had nearly everywhere else in the valley. During her preparatory survey of the region Lin noted some small herds of antlered quadrupedal animals that appeared to move together and pick among the boulders at the lichen-like organism growing on them.


    Lin had observed that the several disparate groups of these creatures, though seemingly of the same species, seemed to keep a deliberate distance from one another and on the handful of occasions that they had stumbled into close proximity she noted another bizarre phenomenon that she struggled to explain. Some members of each group appeared to shatter nearby boulders with great sweeping shakes of their heads that seemed to create a shockwave emanating in between their antlers and impacting boulders at ranges of 5 to 10 meters smashing them in quite a spectacular manner this actually explained some of the finer castings of rocky debris that she had noticed and that had seemed somewhat at odds with the geology of the region. These displays had so far ended short of the creatures directly attacking one another, apparently content to cede the right of way to the herd that boasted the most impressive boulder shattering member.


    Once she had noticed this phenomena Lin promptly bumped the threat rating of these herd animals up significantly and assigned stealth drones to begin keeping careful watch on the area near the high point where Andrea was intending to arrange the encounter with the alien exploration party. The last thing they wanted was a heard of angry boulder smashing herbivores to slaughter them and the people they were trying to meet, nor did Lin feel it would be particularly politic to demonstrate her firepower on these creatures even if it was in self-defense not if they wished to make a friendly first impression on these intelligent alien beings who so implausibly resembled traditional humans.


    ¡°Well Lin it looks like we''ve got an interesting biosphere here. We''ve explicitly observed two different animal species exhibiting frankly inexplicable physical phenomenon for an unaugmented biological organism Indeed the seemingly effortless and near instantaneous redirection of momentum is not something I''m aware of being replicable even in controlled laboratory conditions back home, at least not that I''ve heard since the last time I looked through the catalog of science journals the Surveyor Corp keeps us subscribed to."


    Andrea''s comment had been triggered by Lin''s briefing as she rode the Donkey along the pre-planned route to the first contact location. The obvious and blatant phenomena that they had observed seemed to be merely the tip of the iceberg as Lin suspected that many of the organisms plant, animal, fungi, etc. on the world they were now exploring exhibited some form of bizarre capability that defied immediate explanation by the physical laws that Lin and Andrea were familiar with.


    Since she had been busy with preliminary sampling and scouting duties as well as preparing various security countermeasures and contingencies for the first contact meeting and subsequent interactions with aliens. Lin hadn''t been able to dedicate much time or focus to in-depth analysis of the many samples that she''d been gathering and having processed by the automated systems in the laboratory domes. However the small amount of time she had been able to set aside for studying samples personally had already hinted at micro and macrostructures in virtually every biological sample that even at first glance appeared to be of questionable utility or even sometimes questionable functionality based on the physical laws that Lin was used to operating within. Since Lin didn¡¯t have even a tentative hypothesis yet she hadn''t gotten around to sharing it with Andrea in favor of letting her focus on the immediate task of establishing contact. Assuming that went as smoothly as they hoped, Lin was intensely interested in shifting her focus onto a much deeper analysis of the biosphere around them and what it could reveal about what exactly was going on and why something seemed to be even more strange about where they found themselves than usual.


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    Lin''s rumination ended as Andrea arrived near the peak of the Central Hill in the open area. The Donkey lowered itself into the standard position for loading and unloading, with Andrea''s level of augmentation and physical training she completely disregarded waiting for her ride to finish lowering her and leapt clear with her usual enthusiasm. Walking back up to the crouching machine Andrea patted the side of the Donkey. "Well I think it¡¯s best if we get this big guy out of here while I set up at the crest of the hill right over there like we planned."


    Lin transmitted a nod and instructed the Donkey to stand back up and return the way it came, along a carefully selected path that took it in an indirect course that did not point directly at their base camp and also minimized the tracks it left by attempting to step on areas of rock with minimal lichen-like growths that could be disturbed thus minimizing a trail while also keeping the crest of the hill between the large drone and any possible sight lines from the approaching expedition of aliens.


    Andrea took a moment to watch the Donkey retreat back the way they''d come before she turned and jogged up to the crest of the hill allowing herself to be nicely silhouetted and easily visible all the way from the border between the forested region and the rocky field.


    It was difficult to track the party coming from the alien camp very closely with the only available perspective being high altitude aerial views from the observation drones, but they had enough of a view to track their progress. They had between the two of them once again deemed it best to take absolutely no chances of having even a stealth drone detected in advance let alone one of the flying drones or mini drones since they thought that would potentially complicate the first meeting and they were not at all familiar with the social norms or technological paradigms of the people they were about to meet.


    Andrea had a very limited idea of what their perspectives on behavior and technology might be and basing it purely on what they had so far witnessed was a tenuous thread at best, a random sampling of what any given people from any given society might be doing, or what tools they use, over the stretch of a few days could very well be misleading and the name of the game with first contact was to keep as open a perspective as possible.


    The tracking that was possible still allowed Andrea to follow the progress of the incoming group over the course of the next couple of hours. For both comfort and in an attempt to seem more relaxed she unfolded a simple chair and seated herself on it still silhouetted along the ridge of the hill.


    Andrea was forced to conclude that the exploratory group was focusing its attention at a fairly short range and or was not paying very good attention since it seemed they had fully entered the field and begun making their way up the slope before Andrea and the overhead surveillance drones noted the first indications that she had been spotted. One of the smaller, and seemingly younger, beings that had initially been seen carrying samples into the tent started pointing towards Andrea and calling out to others in the group who began turning her way and talking amongst themselves, occasionally gesticulating.


    Both Andrea and Lin noted the apparently armed guards seemed to tense up somewhat as they were made aware of her presence. This was expected, the job of armed guards is to be ready for trouble, particularly with the appearance of an unexpected potential threat. Andrea''s main job was to ensure they didn''t feel she went from a potential threat to a definite one. To that end she remained seated and slowly raised her left hand and waved it in a gesture that from her observations seemed to be one of greeting. Andrea hadn''t noted any indications about it varying between rank or role that she could distinguish it had, as far as she could tell, the function of a universal gesture of greeting. This was what she deemed to be the best way to start based on the scant information she had available. Attempting to use a familiar friendly gesture seemed like it would have a good chance of taking the edge off some of the tension. She was aware that with her close but different appearance to them she may fall into their uncanny valley and thus familiar gestures might take on a sinister appearance she was familiar with the techniques used by horror entertainment creators after all, in fact she quite enjoyed some of that, but she felt it was worth the risk and that if anyone was going to be less swayed by uncanniness and paranoia it would be an explorer like the leader she''d nicknamed Professor.


    Andrea¡¯s confidence in her reading of Professor¡¯s personality was soon rewarded as, after several minutes of vigorous discussion Professor made a firm looking gesture to her followers and began to make their way the last few dozen meters coming to a stop as far back as possible while remaining within what was likely comfortable speaking distance.

 Chapter Eleven

    The first of the aliens to approach Andrea, after a quiet but obviously heated debate between the leader of the armed guard detachment and Professor, was Professor them-self.


    As they approached where Andrea was seated on the ridge Lin pinged Andrea with overhead shots from the observation drones highlighting several of the armed guards circling to Andrea''s flanks. Andrea silently and motionlessly sent an acknowledgment to Lin. ¡°Thanks Lin, I spotted those flankers moving around too, I think they''re just being cautious it seems like the person coming close is fairly important and if they want a clear line of fire to cover them for safety they do need to come around to the flanks I think it''s all right to assume that things aren''t escalating yet, besides I can also see the stealth drones you have lurking within easy leaping distance of the flankers so I''m not overly concerned.¡±


    Lin once again resorted to using her avatar to shake her head disapprovingly for Andrea''s benefit. ¡°While I appreciate your faith in my ability to protect you Andrea I would be more comfortable if you seemed a little more concerned about being flanked by obviously armed unknown sentients. On the other hand of the two of us you are definitely the expert on diplomacy and general handling people skills, so I''ll turn your confidence in me by trusting that you are correct about their intentions.¡±


    Professor, as Andrea had been calling them, stopped within easy speaking distance but well out of arm''s reach and began speaking. ¡°¦£H¦Åa¦Él¦Ál o¦Òd¦Áe?z, e¦Áb¦Ôe¦Óg?r?o e¦Öt¦Áe¦Ée¦Ñn¦Åm¦Óe?d e?v¦Ír¦Áe¦Íe m¦Òd¦Ôe¦Íl?i¦Ín¦Èg¦Ñi¦Øn¦Ðd¦Ïe z¦Òe¦Åa f¦Ág¦Ôe¦Ól?e?g e¦Ón¦Él?a n¦Ád¦Ðe¦Ïn¦Ì¦Á¦Ê¦Ñ¦Ô¦Ò¦Ì?¦Í¦Å? ¦Ö?¦Ñ¦Å?.¡± Andrea''s time spent listening to the speech samples gathered by the probe had not yet allowed her to learn much of the language but in conjunction with the language learning and translation models, she had managed to decipher what seemed to be a few common phrases and from what she could pick up and the automated systems agreed part of Professor¡¯s speech was a greeting. Granted this wasn¡¯t a great surprise but it did begin to give her more material to work with and more material for the computers to chew on Andrea slowly and carefully raised her hand again in greeting and repeated the part of the phrase that she was sure was a greeting before gesturing towards herself in manner that she had witnessed them using and said her name ¡°¦£H¦Åa¦Él?l o¦Ò¦Ï¦Ô¡­ Andrea.¡± A look of pleased comprehension seemed to cross Professor¡¯s face. Gesturing towards them-self in the same manner as Andrea, Professor gave her a new name to use: ¡°Unla-Ela¡±


    While Andrea began the first fumbling steps towards communication. Lin continued to keep a close eye on the actions of the other alien beings. She was ready to spring into action should any threat to Andrea materialize. Lin was relieved to find that after an initial tensing when Andrea first moved to introduce herself, the guards and other members of Unla-Ela''s party seemed to relax a little and shift their gazes more outwards as they kept watch, seemingly content to allow their leader to satisfy their curiosity chatting with this strange being.


    The trio of aliens who seemed to be direct subordinates or assistants of some kind for Unla-Ela seemed to share their leader''s passion for learning about Andrea and attempting to communicate with her. They began to scooch closer and closer to the ongoing discussion/game of charades between Andrea and Unla-Ela. It was fairly obvious they were trying to listen in and observe everything that was happening. Detecting no obviously threatening body language and not noting any tools or potential weapons that appeared to constitute a viable threat, Lin contented herself for the moment with merely gently drawing Andrea''s attention to the behavior of Unla-Ela''s subordinates. This allowed Andrea to take the initiative, repeating her gesture of greeting then pointing at herself and repeating her name before gesturing at the trio of obvious eavesdroppers trying to elicit their names.


    Unla-Ela huffed in apparent amusement mixed with exasperation before turning to the trio and gesturing them closer holding her hand up to stop them a bit farther back than she had approached it was clear that Unla-Ela was conscious of not making themselves or their group feel threatening or aggressive towards Andrea, which Lin chose to interpret as a positive sign that Andrea''s charm had yet again managed to prevail even through a species barrier.


    Meanwhile Unla-Ela gestured towards each of the three in turn Ilsoph Baluk-Nual, Ilsoph Trophirte, and Ilsoph Ela-Nu


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    It appeared that Ilsoph might be a title of some kind or else a family or clan name, the last and smallest of the trio also seemed to share part of the name that Unla-Ela had given. It wasn¡¯t clear if this indicated they were related in some way, some other cultural artifact perhaps Ela was a part of a job title that also served as a name, or was a coincidence, it was too early to tell. The following minutes consisted of a gradually smoother conversation between Andrea, Unla-Ela and the trio. Though calling it conversation was perhaps over selling the level of communication, noticeable progress was being made.


    After an hour or so Unla-Ela perked up as if suddenly remembering something and pulled their backpack close before rummaging around and pulling out a parcel wrapped up in some sort of waxy looking material that seemed to be printed with text. Andrea nudged Lin when she saw this, silently messaging ¡°Well it looks like they¡¯ve got both written language and probably printing, those symbols look far too uniform to be anything else.¡± Unwrapping the cover Unla-Ela revealed a block of material that looked to be various edible materials pressed into a portable brick, a quick search of her visual database turned up pemmican as a similar looking type of portable food. Unla-Ela broke a corner off of the brick and popped it in their mouth while offering the rest to Andrea. This sharing of food at the first meeting echoed practices in some human cultures that Andrea had studied and she knew that reciprocating with a gift of her own food was usually the correct response. Unfortunately Andrea was not sure if their digestive systems were similar enough to safely share food yet. While Andrea¡¯s implants and modified organs would be unlikely to have trouble processing anything in Unla-Ela¡¯s gift, Andrea was less sure about how one of her meal bars might affect them.


    Thinking quickly Andrea took a bite of the offered food, it certainly tasted rich and filling, kind of like a chunky slightly sweet protein bar with a bit too much salt to taste genuinely good, perfect trail food. Aside from experiencing the alien food, Andrea directed her implants to expedite a chemical analysis of the mouthful she¡¯d bitten off. To buy time Andrea smiled at Unla-Ela then mimed for them to wait and reached for her own pack and began pretending to search through it. Soon enough the analysis came back showing a mix of caffeine, fats, sugars, and amino acids that matched up with human food, one of the meal bars Andrea had brought along was fortunately composed only of chemicals that she¡¯d detected in Unla-Ela¡¯s food, it wouldn¡¯t do to find out the hard way that they were allergic to certain amino acids or other chemicals that were in the other food bars. Andrea was just glad that being able to fabricate her food on demand meant it didn¡¯t need to be loaded with exotic preservative chemicals, she was reasonably confident that it would be safe, she pulled out a chocolate peanut swirl meal bar and unwrapped it, before breaking off a corner and eating it and passing the rest of the bar to Unla-Ela. Taking a bite of the bar they then passed it to the trio who passed it around each taking a bite. Andrea noted with some amusement that Unla-Ela looked a bit disappointed when the bar came back to them mostly gone, apparently the flavor was a hit even across species lines.


    After several more hours of gradually improving communication, enough progress had been made that Andrea was able to arrange a meeting in the same spot, for the next day. It was well past midday and the Unla-Ela¡¯s expedition would need to leave promptly in order to make it back to their camp before dark.


    With a last wave goodbye Andrea turned and began hiking out of the field on a heading that led away from the base camp and away from the alien encampment. With Andrea¡¯s sensor implants, Lin¡¯s stealth drones, and the high altitude observation drones it was easy to justify showing her back to these people she¡¯d just met, a gesture that she hoped, if noticed, would help foster mutual trust in the future. Even if she didn¡¯t have the equivalent of eyes in the back of her head, Andrea would still have made the gesture, she had gotten a positive first impression of Unla-Ela, they appeared to be intellectually curious, while being both respected and well liked by their immediate subordinates.


    ¡°That went well. Nice job Andrea!¡± Lin congratulated her partner as she hopped on the Donkey now that they were out of sight of Unla-Ela¡¯s party. ¡°No one was hurt and I think we¡¯ll both get along well with Unla-Ela especially once the language barrier is fully surmounted. I¡¯ll send a positive report through the portal along with all of the recording data of the meeting. It''s supposed to close sometime in the next couple of days, and I think we¡¯re justified in committing to the expedition now that first contact has gone smoothly.¡± Andrea matched actions to words and began to write up a report of her impressions of the first contact while the Donkey strode with eerie mechanical grace through the trees.

 Chapter Twelve

    The rest of the day was busy for Andrea and Lin. Having sent her report on the successful  first contact through the portal alongside all the recordings of the event, Andrea worked diligently to practice the language she¡¯d learned so far from Unla-Ela and the trio of their subordinates. Meanwhile Lin felt she could finally dedicate a significant chunk of time and focus to studying the samples her drones had been collecting and attempting to automatically process. While she would still be watching Andrea¡¯s back as she met with Unla-Ela and their team the next day, Lin decided that her full attention on the meeting was not needed anymore. When she mentioned this to her partner, Andrea pointed out a critical reason for Lin to focus on her research instead of security at the meeting site. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of your time to focus entirely on securing the meeting point, especially since relations seem very peaceful. It¡¯s more important for our medium and long term safety to get a handle of the strange phenomena we¡¯ve been witnessing.¡±


    Their division of labor in the near term allocated, The two spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in base camp working on their respective tasks. After it had been dark for several hours Andrea took the time to clean up before heading to get a full night''s rest. Considering the multiple hours of hard foot travel Unla-Ela¡¯s group would need to get to the meeting place when compared to the half hour of easy riding that was Andrea¡¯s trip, it didn¡¯t make sense for her to push herself on time. She would have hours for further language practice and planning for the day¡¯s meeting before she even had to leave base camp in the morning. While Andrea was ensuring she was well rested, Lin decided to take advantage of her lack of physical need for rest by spending the night processing samples from the environment around the base camp and starting a borehole to explore the geological makeup of the planet''s crust underneath the valley.


    Lin utilized another type of utility drone to dig the borehole, it was a squat cylindrical machine able to bore a hole a little wider than the average human and pulverizing all of the excavated material into a particulate dust that would then be transported away from the mining face by a ribbon of graphene that was kept slightly charged to adhere the dust from the excavation this would run back up to the top of the borehole where a system to separate the dust off of the ribbon and begin processing it for refinement and/or disposal was set up. This system was a multi-purpose one intended to function for both scientific surveys, exploratory mining and small-scale industrial exploitation of resource deposits.


    Lin''s primary objective for the excavation was scientific, she sought a better understanding of the geological history of the region both for the sake of the knowledge itself and for safety since seeing indications of regular volcanic activity or earthquakes and various other phenomena would be useful knowledge. Boring down could also, in theory, be used to reveal the presence of certain types of contaminants in the geological record that might indicate intelligent tool making cultures in the distant past, this had never been found before but in theory it was possible and was another side item that Lin was keeping an eye out for.


    The secondary benefit of the borehole project was of course the raw materials it made available. Even a small excavation could be an excellent source of minerals, silicates being a major component of basically all rocks, were always being brought up, but traces of other elements could be found and if she was lucky she might run into denser deposits of rarer materials. The silicates were themselves incredibly useful of course, in fact a critical function of the refinery equipment was reprocessing some of the silicates to produce a geopolymer that could be sent back down the ribbon to the boring drone so it could print tunnel supports and variable utility features, such as ladders and cable runs.


    With the borehole operation running, Lin focused on examining the samples she¡¯d been gathering since the duo had arrived through the aperture. The automated systems had done a decent job of beginning to sort through the samples and test them against expected values for various physical, chemical, electrical, magnetic, and radio-logical metrics. So far no exotic elements had been detected in unexpected quantities and all of the inorganic samples had exhibited expected traits and behaviors. Lin had spent the afternoon and evening hours double checking the results of the tests verifying that the fundamental elements appeared to be behaving in the expected manner both chemically and physically. Her checks showed the results found by the automated systems to be accurate.


    Where those same automated systems had been running into unresolvable anomalies was in the organic samples, particularly the live samples, the testing algorithms had been throwing up flags for possible system errors before throwing up more flags when the self-diagnostics came back showing no issues. In the little bits of time Lin had been able to spare prior to the meeting earlier in the day, she had peeked at some of the flagged issues and noticed a number of strange phenomena. Now that she¡¯d gotten the relatively dull foundational work done Lin picked out several of the flagged items at random and began to study them more closely.


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    A particular type of bark from an exceptionally tall species of tree in the forest valley exhibited the electrical conductance of a superconductor but entirely failed to interact with magnetic fields. Lin was amazed at the phenomenon, a charge would equalize with almost no measurable resistance, but only when applied to the parts of the bark sample that would have been the top and bottom while it was on the tree. The bark of this tree grew in discrete segments and when Lin attempted to run current across the sample segment the resistance was what she¡¯d normally expect from tree bark. After more experimentation Lin realized that there were two small regions at each end of a bark segment that would transfer charge between them without detectably passing it through the bark between them. Setting the mystery aside for the moment, Lin decided to check on the next anomaly on her list.


    A tiny mushroom that never even made it to the lab. Upon being disturbed by the drone tasked with harvesting it, everything within several centimeters of the mushroom suddenly plummeted in temperature, with visible frost forming, before the mushroom cap launched vertically at nearly 90 m/s like a little rocket then bursting shortly after climbing past the upper canopy of the forest. As Lin reviewed the sensor footage of the event, she noticed that from the rough calculations she was able to run, the amount of heat energy lost to account for the temperature change in the estimated mass of air, soil, plants, and water around the mushroom was roughly equal to the amount of kinetic energy needed to launch the mushroom¡¯s estimated mass and detonate it. A detonation that Lin was fairly certain spread spores into the winds well above the tree canopy and dispersed them for kilometers. Needing to brainstorm how to secure a physical specimen to examine without having it explode, Lin decided to move on for the moment and look into another anomaly.


    While cataloging microscopic organisms from a sample of ground water the automated systems had detected microscopic points of high temperatures that reached boiling point for in a fraction of a second then cooled off normally. This tiny oddity was actually what Lin had decided to tackle first, and it had paid off. From what Lin could determine it appeared as if, somehow, certain types of amoeba were causing points of boiling temperatures in the cytoplasm of other microorganisms causing their cell membranes to rupture from over-pressure, then sweeping in and eating the resulting debris fields. This had Lin seriously reconsidering the level of danger posed by diseases on this new world, Andrea¡¯s engineered organs and implants were easily able to crush all known infectious diseases and parasites, and had in fact been vastly over designed to handle the most wild and unlikely worst case scenarios the designers could envision. However the designers had been working on a paradigm of physical reality that none of the organisms in this world seemed all too bothered with. Lin pinged Andrea¡¯s implants with a high priority bio-hazard threat, and queued an alert for when Andrea woke up so she could get permission to draw samples and data and make sure something strange hadn¡¯t already climbed aboard her partner. Despite the potential threat, when Andrea''s implants returned an "All bodily functions nominal." status report in response to the bio-hazard warning, Lin decided that it wasn''t so urgent a threat that she needed to disrupt her partner''s sleep. Having spent the last couple of hours in intense study of the specimens, Lin decided to take a quick break.


    While Lin was taking her break, she checked on the progress of the borehole, finding it had progressed about 16 meters over the course of two hours. The tunnel supports printed from geopolymers, refined from the silicates hauled up, appeared to be within tolerances. Seeing the rapid progress of the borehole reminded Lin of the ethical issues that could arise when considering the harvesting of non-renewable resources from a planet with an indigenous sentient species. Fortunately, these issues had also been considered in-depth by the Surveyor Corps and the policies they developed were subject to regular oversight and review by the Central Intelligence.


    The established guidelines for Andrea and Lin''s current situation was to gather resources to the minimum needed level with minimum environmental impact and effectively zero long-term environmental impact as well as documenting all extracted resources in order to later offer compensation to any relevant beings or organizations. It was one of the exciting frontiers that Lin and Andrea would be exploring, since they would be on this world for years and figuring out the socio-political landscape and who to provide compensation to would be one of their goals. Lin knew from talking with Andrea that there were a number of potential issues that could arise, not least of which would be dealing with cultures that didn¡¯t see the resources as theirs in the first place and who might even be offended by the offer of compensation. Andrea had told Lin that her plan in a case like that would be to offer a socially acceptable gift that just happened to be as valuable to the receiver as the harvested resources were to Andrea and Lin, repayment couched in other terms, thus satisfying the emotional needs of both parties.


    Lin''s contemplation of the difficulties in ethically interacting with societies acting under different moral and ethical paradigms was cut short by the automated sample processing systems flagging another new anomaly. She returned her focus to her laboratory''s systems and went back to work. There was something remarkable and groundbreaking waiting to be discovered and satisfying her curiosity might also just save their lives.

 Chapter Thirteen

    In the morning Andrea woke up and saw the biohazard alert notification in her implants. ¡°Good morning Lin. What¡¯s up with the biohazard alert from last night?¡± Lin whipped one of her mini-drones around next to Andrea¡¯s bed in the hab dome and waggled it in greeting. ¡°Good morning Andrea. You¡¯re not going to believe the crazy things I¡¯m finding in the bio samples I¡¯ve been looking over. I¡¯m going to need your permission to gather some blood and tissue samples from you, as well as permission to partially clone you and reproduce your immune system implants. Just a bit of muscle and a partial organ or two. I need to test how your body and implants might handle the truly exotic microorganisms on this planet. I found an amoeba that can make other cells near it rupture by boiling part of their cytoplasm at range! So far the viruses I¡¯ve found haven¡¯t seemed to exhibit any unusual abilities but several varieties of bacteria and mold have been capable of extraordinary actions. I want to be sure your systems will be able to suppress these threats even with their exotic abilities.¡±


    This speech rushed out of Lin ¡®s chat avatar while Andrea grabbed a breakfast of peanut butter and bacon meal bars, listening with a bemused expression. ¡°Sample and clone away Lin, I¡¯ve been feeling fine, and I can see my systems are reading all green, but it would be foolish to ignore the threat. I can always fab a fully contained hazardous environment suit to wear if needed.¡± Having answered Lin''s immediate question Andrea began to chow down on her breakfast while strolling over to the laboratory dome where one of lab tech drones collected the blood and tissue samples and began prepping cloning and growth media under Lin''s direction. As Lin got that process started she also added a copy of Andrea¡¯s immune system implants to the fabricator queue.


    Andrea finished up her breakfast bars before shrugging and chewing up the wrappers as well. "There we go, breakfast is finished, and I''ve already donated a medical specimen. That''s what I call a proper start to the day." As Andrea chuckled to herself and got up to stretch, Lin grumbled. "Ugh, I still think it''s kind of off-putting. The way you just chow down on the food packaging like that. There''s a recycling system input port literally within arms reach." As she said this one of her mini-drones zipped over to the aforementioned opening and managed the singular feat of flying a loop de loop with an exasperated flourish. Andrea shrugged and began to make her way back to the hab dome. "Eh, The texture doesn''t bother me, in fact I kind of like that crunch to it, besides it''s not like my digestive system isn''t just a miniaturized version of that recycling system so I don''t really see the difference ultimately." Lin sent a shrug in their chat. ¡°Whatever you say Andrea, I know when I have a bio body I prefer to feed it real food as much as possible, when I want to feel like a waste disposal I inhabit one. Alright, I¡¯ll let you get to work prepping for the meeting later. I¡¯ll keep an eye on Unla-Ela¡¯s team for you and let you know when it¡¯s time to head out.¡± Andrea entered the hab dome again and made her way over to her bed. ¡°Thanks Lin, I appreciate the help, it¡¯s so much easier to focus on studying a new language and culture when I don¡¯t need to worry as much about multi-tasking.¡±


    While Lin continued her work studying the anomalous phenomena that they¡¯d been encountering, Andrea lounged back on her bed and began to review and practice the language she¡¯d begun learning from Unla-Ela. While the curious being had been keen on learning Andrea¡¯s language as well, Andrea was fairly confident that she would become fluent in Unla-Ela¡¯s language much faster than the reverse. Andrea wasn¡¯t condescending to Unla-Ela, rather she was acknowledging the advantages of being able to devote more time in the short term to learning the language, having access to complete recordings of every exchange, and automated language analysis systems. From everything Andrea had seen Unla-Ela had a broad range of tasks and responsibilities calling for their attention, no recognizable audio-visual recording equipment beyond drawings, and while Andrea recognized that she was working in an unknown paradigm technology wise, she hadn¡¯t noted anything that appeared to function like her computing systems that allowed for language analysis.


    After about 4 hours, Lin pinged Andrea to get her attention. ¡°The group with Unla-Ela looks to be about half an hour out from the meeting point, you should start heading over.¡± Andrea hopped to her feet and stretched before jogging out and leaping onto the Donkey that Lin had designated as her ride for the day. ¡°Thanks Lin, anything else I should know?¡± After pausing for a moment to consider, Lin reported ¡°The partial clone and implant are making good progress, I should be able to test them sometime in the next few days, I¡¯d recommend limiting close physical contact with Unla-Ela and the others as much as possible until I confirm your immune systems are sufficient, their relatively sophisticated society is likely to be partly based on a high population and thus a significant source of epidemic diseases. Speaking of which it looks like their group is even larger today, is that going to be an issue?¡± Andrea shook her head, knowing Lin would see the gesture from dozens of different perspectives from the escorting combat drones and the Donkey¡¯s sensors. "I''m not worried, from what I could gather during our discussion yesterday, Unla-Ela and a smaller group are going to work with me, while most of the extra people are going to fulfill their original sample collection goals in the area.¡±


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    After an uneventful trip to the meeting location, Andrea disembarked before watching the Donkey lope quickly out of sight in the tree line. Lin reported. ¡°The high-altitude surveillance drones don¡¯t show any of those rock shattering herd animals near your location and I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have any weather issues, though we need a lot more data for proper meteorological prognostication. I¡¯ve got the combat drones within about 10 seconds flight of your location and the Donkey can get to you in about a minute and a half. The surveillance drones hiding in the field will be keeping an eye out and I¡¯ve arranged the system to pull my attention if any potential threats show up. I¡¯ll be focused on my own work in the lab, but that should be enough to keep you safe.¡± Andrea chuckled ¡°I¡¯m sure that will be plenty Lin, thanks for being so thorough about this. Now stop worrying about me and go enjoy your lab time.¡± As she spoke Andrea recalled her own mini-drones to their shoulder housings and set up her folding seat as well as four more that she¡¯d fabricated the night before, as both a gift to Unla-Ela and as a way to make everyone more comfortable as they learned to communicate.


    The meeting with Unla-Ela that followed went well, and both of them made noticeable progress learning the other¡¯s language. The trio of Baluk-Nual, Trophirte, and Ela-Nu began to participate a bit more in the conversation as well, though they readily deferred to Unla-Ela. It seemed that the term Ilsoph they had all been introduced with was an honorific for a position that sounded like a combination of apprentice and grad-student. It became apparent that Unla-Ela¡¯s formal name would be Soph Unla-Ela, with Soph being a recognized master of their field. Apparently Unla-Ela was fairly new to the title and felt uncomfortable introducing themselves with the formal title included, an attitude that Andrea gathered to be unusual, but Unla-Ela¡¯s students seemed to find their shyness about their achievement endearing. Andrea commiserated with Unla-Ela informing them that her full name would be Doctor Andrea Marie-Ahn but she never introduced herself that way. This naturally led to an attempt to explain what a doctorate was, for the moment they settled on considering it the equivalent of a soph. The more challenging explanation as it turned out was the idea of a family name. The closest translation Andrea and Unla-Ela managed to reach was: progeny origin label, which was not terribly helpful. After nearly an hour trying to get something better, they both decided to drop the topic for the time being, and continue improving their ability to communicate abstract ideas. As mid-day waned another meeting for the following day was scheduled and Unla-Ela¡¯s smaller group rendezvoused with the sample collection team and together they began the hours-long hike to their camp. After watching them leave, Andrea met up with the Donkey and rode back to base camp.


    The rest of that afternoon and evening passed in a similar manner to the day before with the exception of the aperture disappearing as expected, the duo received one last message from Jorge and the team on the other side congratulating them on their success at first contact and wishing them luck. "Well, That''s it then¡­ I know we''d already committed to this but having the aperture finally close makes it feel real." Lin told Andrea, exposing a vulnerability that she usually kept buried with her experience and professional competence. Andrea reached out and patted the nearest drone under Lin''s control. "Hey, we''ve got this! We''re seeing and learning things that no one back home has before, and I know you wouldn''t miss that opportunity for anything. Being cut off makes me a little nervous too, but I know with the two of us here we''re gonna do great!" Lin sent a mini-drone over to nudge Andrea''s shoulder and sent her a smiley face in their chat. That night Lin decided to sleep as well, it always helped her de-stress. Wishing an already half asleep Andrea goodnight, Lin let the automated security systems fully take over patrolling the base camp area and switched her consciousness into sleep mode.


    The next three days passed in a similar manner as the preceding couple. Lin spent most of her time and attention examining the exotic behaviors and abilities exhibited by many of the organisms they were encountering, while Andrea continued to meet with Unla-Ela who after the sample collection was completed attended the meetings with a smaller party composed of themself, the trio of apprentice-students, and a detachment of six guards to help them fend off aggressive wildlife. By this point Andrea could hold solid conversations with Unla-Ela, though so far she¡¯d avoided talking too much about her origins and society. When Unla-Ela pressed, Andrea had directly stated that she wanted to be able to communicate very clearly before sharing much about where she was from and how she got to the valley. She did briefly explain that she was there purely to explore for the sake of exploring and wasn¡¯t interested in acquiring territory or goods, but rather sought to gather and exchange knowledge. Unla-Ela was obviously dissatisfied with not knowing more, but agreed to wait until they could communicate fluently.


    It was on the fifth day after they''d made first contact with Unla-Ela, and were meeting once again in the rocky boulder strewn field that their peaceful attempts at conversation were interrupted and the location of their meeting spot was shown to be a dangerous mistake.

 Chapter Fourteen

    The first warning was a distant rumble. The conversation on the hill top stilled for a moment as they all stopped to listen. Andrea ran a quick check and noted that the high altitude drones hadn''t detected any signs of a lightning storm forming nearby. And their audio systems triangulated the source of the sound to the area near the meeting point. Just to be safe Andrea pinged an alert to the network, letting Lin know something odd was happening, and tasked the nearest high altitude drone with conducting a search of the area looking for large amounts of motion or significant changes to the landscape compared to initial mapping.


    Unla-Ela turned to Andrea "No like sound, morning signs say no storms." Andrea and her translation software both had a very basic grasp on Unla-Ela¡¯s language, but she was able to understand the gist of Unla-Ela¡¯s meaning. Before she could respond the rumble came again, not as loud as the first time, but this time it didn¡¯t stop. The sound continued and as it went on it grew louder and louder until after just a few seconds it dwarfed the initial noise. Now shouting to be heard over the sound, Unla-Ela called to their subordinates and guards directing them to retreat the way they''d come, before turning to Andrea "Something dangerous come. Andrea come with Unla-Ela, big group more safe!"


    By The time Unla-Ela was making their invitation, Andrea''s tasking to the high altitude drone had already returned results, part of Andrea''s vision was now occupied by an overhead view highlighting her location and highlighting what was both a great deal of motion and a visible mark on the landscape. A massive collection of the herd animals that Lin had observed cracking rocks, through some anomalous ability, were stampeding. Though perhaps stampeding would give the wrong impression, It was obvious at a glance that rather than one body of animals several distinct groups appeared to be engaging in a running battle. Ultimately that didn''t matter, the result was close enough and posed a definite hazard. Andrea was not worried for her own sake; she knew her physical abilities would allow her to easily outpace the stampede even if she chose to run ahead of it rather than simply get out of its way. She also knew that the contingent of combat drones staged nearby could drop lifting cables and a pair of them working together could easily provide enough lift to pull her out of harm''s way, if needed. Andrea''s main concern was the safety of Unla-Ela''s team. Aside from all of the major social and political issues that would arise from having all of her points of contact with a new alien species killed during a meeting with her, Andrea was not the sort to stand by and let others die if she could do something to stop it.


    The first thing Andrea had to do was change where Unla-Ela''s party was heading. The view from above was showing her that the running battle / stampede was rapidly barreling down on them and would sweep directly along the path of retreat that Unla-Ela and the others were intending to follow. Most of Unla-Ela¡¯s group was holding firm waiting for their leader as she tried to invite Andrea with them, but two guards had clearly lost their nerve and begun sprinting back the way they¡¯d come. By this point Lin had focused her attention on what was happening and was able to estimate about 150 seconds till the leading elements of the stampede reached Andrea and the rest. Lin directed the contingent of combat drones to lift off and attempt to redirect the course of the stampede through a judicious application of force, at the same time she directed the Donkey Andrea had ridden on earlier to Sprint at its best pace to rendezvous with Andrea and Unla-Ela''s group. Andrea noted Lin''s plan as it populated their shared combat coordination space. After just a moment''s consideration she indicated her agreement with Lin''s decision to drop some of the subterfuge about their capabilities. Andrea had decided that revealing some of their tools and blatantly demonstrating the level of threat she could pose wouldn''t be nearly as big an obstacle to good relations as letting all of her new acquaintances die on her watch.


    Within a couple of seconds of lift off the combat drones had a firing solution on a region about 400 meters away from the leading elements of the stampede, and nearly 2 kilometers and a covering ridgeline away from Andrea and the rest. With a standard engagement range measured in dozens of kilometers Lin had easy point blank shots for the heavy weapons systems on the combat drones. A series of loud cracks whipped out across the rocky field followed near instantaneously by a cascade of detonations sending fountains of dirt and shattered rock dozens of meters into the air as a dozen hypervelocity kinetic impactors blasted a long strip of rocky field into a dust choked moonscape. Unla-Ela and their party all stumbled from the sudden stunning force of the bombardment. As rock and dirt began to patter down, the rumble of the stampede continued to grow louder and Andrea waved to Unla-Ela ¡°Follow me, your way danger. My way more safe.¡± Unla-Ela stared dazedly at her for a moment before shaking herself, glancing towards the now distant figures of the two guards who¡¯d fled already before glancing back to Andrea, after holding her gaze for a moment Unla-Ela appeared to make a decision, they called out for everyone to follow Andrea. As soon as Andrea heard this she began running, Unla-Ela, their students, and the four remaining guards began to run after Andrea.


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    Lin noted the stampede had altered course negligibly due to the bombardment, while the leading animals were trying to shy away from the noise and the looming mass of ejecta. The problem was that the larger stronger members of each of the groups in the stampede were farther back and seemed preoccupied with fighting amongst themselves, sending shockwaves at one another that tore into hides and shattered rock. The noise of their clash and the focus it demanded meant that they didn¡¯t react to the explosions at all. This resulted in the main mass of the stampede continuing to barrel forward along their original course, indeed some of the leading animals that shied from the blasts were promptly sucked under the hooves of those behind them, a grizzly fate that the two fleeing guards were in grave danger of sharing. After spending half a minute sweeping the combat drones in closer to observe and considering available weapons Lin concluded that nothing else she had loaded would be able to safely delay or divert the stampede. She redirected four of the six combat drones to try and pick up the panicked guards and carry them to safety. While she could slaughter the entire herd and stop the danger dead in its tracks, that sort of solution would be entirely anathema to the ethos of the Surveyor Corps, wanton slaughter was a solution neither Lin nor Andrea would accept, if it even occurred to them at all.


    The remaining duo of drones diverted towards Andrea and Unla-Ela¡¯s group. They were in less dire straits than the lone pair of guards but still faced deadly danger. Andrea¡¯s knowledge of the path the stampede was likely to follow let her lead the group on a run perpendicular to the oncoming torrent of destruction. This meant they had a shorter distance to cover in their pursuit of safety but they had less time before the ground they were covering would be churned into a rocky slurry. Fortunately for them the Donkey came into sight, sprinting at a relentless pace directly toward Andrea and the others. Anticipating their reaction to the strange and intimidating form running towards them, Andrea waved in greeting towards the Donkey and called out to the rest of the group ¡°Friendly animal tool!¡± As the Donkey skidded to a halt and crouched in front of Andrea she gestured the four guards and Baluk-Nual, the largest and heaviest looking of Unla-Ela¡¯s students, to climb onto the metal beast.


    Without the time, training, or equipment Andrea felt trying to get any more of them out on the Donkey would be almost certain to end in someone falling off, as it was she worried they¡¯d fail to stay onboard. Pointing to hand holds Andrea yelled ¡°Hold hard, stay middle!¡± As they nervously scrambled aboard the Donkey, the two combat drones Lin had directed their way came to a hover close overhead and dropped their tow cables. Unla-Ela jumped a bit when the falling towing lines dropped into sight. ¡°More friendly animal tools!¡± Andrea reassured before gesturing over Unla-Ela¡¯s two remaining, and far smaller students. Both combat drones would be needed to lift Andrea effectively, she was extremely heavy with numerous implants and a heavily bio-engineered body that altogether had her weighing at least as much as the rather large muscular guards. Luckily for Unla-Ela¡¯s small statured students their lighter weight meant that a single drone each should just be able to carry them to safety.


    Quickly looping the towing lines into lasso like configurations Andrea slipped them under the arms of Trophirte and Ela-Nu, this was going to be a painful ride but it would keep them alive. As she was arranging their lines, the group climbing on the Donkey finished perching themselves on the cargo/passenger platforms. As soon as she noticed they were ready Andrea pointed to them and shouted ¡°Hold animal tool hard, move fast, GO!¡± As she shouted go in their language she sent the Donkey the command to begin running clear of the stampede¡¯s course. The unsettlingly nimble artificial beast stood up and carefully accelerated into a pace just fast enough to safely get clear in time. The slower Andrea could have it move, and the more gradually it accelerated, the more likely the poorly secured passengers were to actually stay aboard. It was a matter of a couple dozen more seconds to finish getting the lines secured on Trophirte and Ela-Nu, Andrea waited to send them both at once because she didn¡¯t want to panic Ela-Nu by having them watch Trophirte yanked rapidly into the sky, if they didn¡¯t realize what was about to happen they wouldn¡¯t panic and fight her. As soon as both were ready to launch, Andrea told them ¡°Scary, safe.¡± then signaled the combat drones to head out. As it was the pair let out high pitched shrieks of terror as they were rapidly dragged up and clear of immediate danger by the combat drones.


    This left Andrea and Unla-Ela with about 50 seconds before the herd was upon them, Andrea reached out to Unla-Ela who gave a startled yelp as Andrea swung them into a fireman¡¯s carry while saying ¡°Andrea run fast.¡± before beginning to run as fast as she could, harnessing all of the power her altered body and enhancing implants could bring to bear. As the first of the charging animals swept into view over the ridge Andrea began her race to escape the onrushing avalanche of flesh.

 Chapter Fifteen

    As Andrea began her race against the oncoming stampede,the combat drones that Lin had directed towards the pair of fleeing guards had reached them and began following the pair from above as Lin attempted to devise a workable plan to rescue them both. It was a tricky problem: how to go about grabbing someone with the limited tool set of a combat drone when the putative passenger would have neither relevant equipment and training, nor be likely to cooperate in the first place.


    Like the other guards that had accompanied Unla-Ela, the panicking duo were large, muscular, and heavy specimens of their species. Two combat drones would have to work in tandem in order to lift and move each of them. Before that could happen the pair needed to be secured so that the drones could even try to lift them in the first place. The combat drones were models of efficiency and effective tools in conflict situations. Inconveniently in the current situation, they were much less suitable for search and rescue missions, particularly when the ones being rescued wouldn''t recognize them as friendly. Non-lethal subdual, restraint, and transport was well outside the usual mission profile the combat drones were intended to engage with.


    The external speakers on the drones could be used in an attempt to communicate with the guards using the clumsy grasp of the language that was available to Lin through the translation routines Andrea had been working on. However Lin was confident that they were unlikely to trust strange flying objects chasing after them shouting reassurances in broken language. She was even more confident that in their already panicked state the chances of getting them to cooperate in their own rescue were non-existent. She was going to have to subdue them, somehow, preferably without injuring them much.


    If she could get them subdued for a solid minute Lin was confident that she could haul them to safety. The cargo lifting systems on the combat drones did include four small manipulator arms, so the work of rigging carrying lassos and arranging the tow cables to distribute weight evenly between pairs of drones could be accomplished quickly enough. Though it would take Lin''s active direction of the process as the task was outside what the automated systems on the drones were capable of doing themselves.


    While Lin was busy working out an acceptable rescue plan, Andrea was laser focused on pushing her body to its limits. Carrying Unla-Ela weighed her down substantially and changed her center of gravity. Despite this encumbrance Andrea was still capable of reaching nearly 36 kilometers an hour, her feet pounding the rocky ground as the half a kilometer to relative safety rapidly disappeared under the relentless pace. Keeping an eye on the overhead view from the high altitude drone Andrea tracked the rapidly closing range of the fractious stampede of beasts. By this point they were close enough that she could see the leading animals directly. Their large expressive eyes dilated in some intoxicating mixture of rage and fear, as the conflict between their groups whipped them all into an increasingly intense, all consuming frenzy.


    It was going to be close, really close. The, by now, deafening cacophony of pounding hooves, stentorian hooting calls, and shattering rock were an almost physical presence that would be completely overwhelming had Andrea not benefited from her ability to filter and dampen sounds. This had the side effect of allowing Andrea to hear her passenger hyperventilating while breathily chanting to themselves with an intensity that brought to mind some sort of prayer or comforting turn of phrase, meant to ward away death or the fear of death. It seemed to be in a new language and Andrea added a quick entry to her log of personal notes to ask about it when they weren''t seconds from being churned into hamburger.


    Her brief distraction was ended when her situational awareness system directed her attention towards a particularly fast beast that had, along with a scattered handful of others like it, gotten well ahead of the main body of the stampede. This particular creature was brought to her attention because it was on a collision course, Andrea could not afford to lose time by redirecting or slowing down and she was already running as fast as she could, given her cargo. With her usual excitement at the prospect of attempting new feats of physical prowess Andrea realized she was going to have to try something wild to get them out alive.


    As the large beast bore down, The scream of terror from Unla-Ela testified to the seeming inevitability of their collision. At the last moment Andrea drove her augmented legs down and launched herself up up and over the two meter tall beast. As she flew clear of the loudly hooting obstacle Andrea extended her legs, using her hang time to set up for a landing that would hopefully not shatter Unla-Ela''s ribs. Having arranged for the gentlest possible landing she could manage, Andrea spent the remaining time assessing how she would get them through the last 100 or so meters to comparative safety. A rough course mentally laid out Andrea slammed back down allowing her leading leg to flex till she was nearly crouching on it, Unla-Ela''s pained grunt spoke to being winded as they slammed down hard on Andrea''s shoulder but the absence of any cracking sounds reassured Andrea that she''d kept things gentle enough.


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    At this point Andrea stopped consciously thinking and dropped into a flow state. She leapt over another charging animal landing on the back of a third such creature before launching herself over a fourth and fifth. Her sprinting figure then landed in front of a sixth creature that passed so closely behind her it triggered the collision alarm sensors on her back. Andrea kept running, dodging, and jumping with an increasingly distressed Unla-Ela bouncing on her shoulder. It was several more seconds before she came back to herself and noted that they had cleared the worst of the danger area. She didn''t slow her pace just yet, the edge of a stampede is not a well-defined border and stopping to congratulate herself prematurely would be foolish. Andrea kept up her pace until they had reached the edge of the forest where the rest of Unla-Ela''s group was waiting, with visible trepidation, alongside the Donkey and the hovering pair of combat drones. As she gently lowered a bruised and shaky but otherwise unharmed Unla-Ela to the ground Andrea was finally able to give some attention to Lin¡¯s efforts to save the other two guards.


    Lin was running out of time, she was relieved when the virtual tactical space showed Andrea in the clear along with the others, but that was very much in the background of Lin¡¯s attention. She had finally decided on a course of action. It was risky, and would likely be traumatic for the guards, however Lin believed that hurting and terrifying them temporarily was better than abandoning them to die. Her decision made, a single combat drone each targeted one of the two guards then stooped down like a giant bird of prey or, considering their vaguely insectile appearance, like giant wasps. The fear blinded guards were busy running as fast as their terror fueled legs could drive them, their sides heaving desperately for air as the rumble of oncoming death robbed them of their senses. This meant their screams of startled terror were fairly subdued despite the intensity of their feeling.They simply lacked the breath to properly give voice to the deep animalistic desperation this surprise attack inspired. The impact of a combat drone trying to pin you to the ground at running speeds is not gentle and one of the guards wound up landing badly, the sensitive audio pickups on the drones hearing the crack of breaking bone coming from their arm as it was awkwardly wedged against the ground and hammered by the force of both the drone and guard slamming down.


    The impact stunned and winded both of the guards. This meant they were able to only weakly struggle for a few moments as they recovered and caught their breaths. Lin took advantage of this opening to begin the next stage of her plan; the unfortunate pair wouldn¡¯t like this part any better than the first. Much like a spider winding up a live victim, the drones pinning the guards down began using their manipulator arms to wind their towing cables around them starting with their temporarily immobilized legs and working up to their heads even as they recovered from their shock and began to frantically struggle and scream hammering at the body and limbs of the combat drones. Both guards managed to tear out nails scrabbling at the undersides of the combat drones, leaving them streaked with blood. The guard with the broken arm nearly managed to break the other arm in their struggles, before the drone grabbed it with a manipulator arm and safely secured it in the rapidly forming metallic cocoon. With both unfortunates securely cocooned in less than a minute, the other two drones dropped down with their tow lines and in short order the cocoons were each securely slung between a pair of combat drones. By this time the first of the charging animals out ahead of the stampede were beginning to run past. Lin directed the drones to haul the thoroughly traumatized guards straight up just barely clearing the path of a particularly large creature as it rushed ahead. Lin quickly had the drone pairs haul the cocoons clear of the stampede path and then began to more carefully move them towards a rendezvous with Andrea and the rest of Unla-Ela¡¯s party.


    Having observed with chagrin Lin¡¯s successful, if rather horrifying, rescue, Andrea let out a sigh of relief. Unla-Ela had just finished catching their breath and was gingerly standing up, calling over to their companions to reassure them they were alright. Pointing toward where the two guards had originally run Andrea spoke to Unla-Ela ¡°Two person safe, little hurt, more animal tools bring.¡± This last was said pointing at the pair of combat drones hovering overhead, their tow lines being wound up neatly and stowed by the drones'' winches and manipulator arms. It was obvious that Trophirte and Ela-Nu had thrown off the cables the moment they¡¯d touched the ground, though they continued to stare up at the hovering drones with a mixture of wariness and fascination. Before Unla-Ela made their way over to check on the others, they gestured to Andrea before wiping their hand over their mouth. Andrea had learned that was a method of expressing gratitude non-verbally, and returned the gesture in reverse to accept the sentiment.


    Giving some space to the aliens for a moment, Andrea finally had the space to send a hug pictogram to the team chat ¡°Thanks for the help Lin, you really made a huge difference in keeping all of these people alive.¡± As Lin focused on wrangling the cocooned guards over, tracking the stampede, and sweeping around the rendezvous point to check for threats she took a moment to send a hug back. ¡°You¡¯re welcome Andrea. I¡¯ve always got your back. Now let me focus for a minute, these two big lunks are wiggling around and it¡¯s making it hard to keep them in the air.¡± With a wry chuckle at the tactlessness of Lin¡¯s complaints, Andrea turned her thoughts to how she was going to keep this sudden display of power from disrupting the rapport she¡¯d been building with Unla-Ela.

 Chapter Sixteen

    The next couple of minutes, as everyone waited for Lin to carefully carry over the restrained guards, felt slightly awkward to Andrea. She wasn''t entirely sure what to say, or how to say it, to reassure Unla-Ela and their companions. Andrea had just very starkly demonstrated a wide range of dangerous capabilities and shown that she was not a lone explorer. Regardless of other factors, that sort of surprise revelation about a newly met stranger in the wilderness was likely to make the alien beings more cautious of her. Ultimately Unla-Ela and the rest were too preoccupied checking each other over for injuries and commiserating over their shared experience to require Andrea to immediately address the situation. Instead she took the spare moment to think while she ran a self-diagnostic routine on her implants and body.


    Her implants reported negligible wear from the experience. Her organic body had experienced some strain on the muscles and ligaments but nothing that wouldn''t heal on its own within a day. The excess adrenaline and cortisol levels were being scrubbed from her system to reduce stress, and fatigue, in the short term and to help prevent the development of PTSD symptoms longer term. This post action routine was considered standard and had long proven effective in mitigating the long-term psychological impacts of high stress events.


    While the diagnostics ran and Andrea luxuriated in the feeling of the stress being literally drained from her body, she began to consider what approach she should take to the conversation she was anticipating. She would need to talk about the capabilities that she displayed and wanted to minimize any perception they might have gained of her as a threat. Andrea¡¯s conspicuous role in saving their lives would speak loudly in favor of her benevolent intentions, but she was well aware that a failure to address any newfound fears about her unknown capabilities could fester into dangerous hostility. Andrea¡¯s training told her that unknowns were usually the most frightening, at least to humans. As she was lacking a psychological manual for Unla-Ela¡¯s species for the moment, Andrea decided that she might as well work from the diplomatic methods she knew worked for humans. At worst they¡¯d be no less effective than randomly deciding what to do.


    Based on what Andrea had been learning about their society, the concept of complex machinery would not be an alien concept, nor would weapons that could generate massive explosions. Indeed based on what Lin had told her about her findings so far, Andrea wouldn''t be surprised if there were wild animals that could generate explosions with the strength of artillery shells.


    Andrea''s primary concern was that the demonstration of the refined compact construction, diverse capabilities, and sophisticated behavior of the drones would unsettle or intimidate Unla-Ela and their companions at some level and cause them to be more wary of Andrea. She figured that, to a certain extent, a response of that nature would be inevitable. She would mitigate that as best she could by exchanging information with Unla-Ela, Andrea couldn¡¯t be a mysterious threat if she stopped being a mystery. However her primary tactic would be to continue emphasizing her good intentions and acting in good faith.


    Andrea suspected that Lin''s rough handling of the two guards she rescued, no matter how understandable under the circumstances, would need to be addressed immediately. Good intentions alone would ultimately prove meaningless if they were not reflected by subsequent actions. That did not mean Andrea in any way regretted Lin''s actions. Their top priority was preserving all of their lives and Andrea felt it was likely Unla-Ela¡¯s group would recognize, after a little consideration, that rough treatment was far better than being dead.


    A notification from Lin was followed, seconds later by some quiet exclamations from Unla-Ela''s huddled group, indicated that the pair of unfortunate guards and the drones carrying them had come into view. Lin gently deposited the cocoons on the ground and began using the combat drones¡¯ manipulator arms to carefully cut away the steel cable, taking pains to move the one guard''s broken arm as little as possible.


    Unla-Ela and the others exclaimed as the guards'' figures were revealed smeared in blood from their injured fingers as the improvised steel cocoons were cut away. The more injured guard had, perhaps fortunately, passed out from pain at some point. The other guard was very much conscious and clearly in such a state of abject terror that for a moment upon being cut out of the cocoon they did nothing but lay there frozen, staring up in horror at the drone perched over them, its arms sweeping away the remnants of the cocoon. Andrea had to give them credit though despite obvious and extreme distress it didn¡¯t take them long to come back to themselves and take action. Despite losing most of their equipment at some point before the drones scoop them up it seemed the guard still had a backup weapon strapped to their hip. They tore it free of its pouch and whipped it out to their side with an obviously practiced flick of the wrist. A metal baton telescoped out deploying to a length of about 50 cm past the handle, the strange weapon was tipped by a sphere of smooth polished wood.


    With a yell of desperate rage the guard swung the baton up at the manipulator arms of the drone as hard as they could. To both Andrea and Lin''s shock, instead of the dull thunk of wood hitting metal, there was instead a loud series of grinding popping cracks, and the drone in question immediately raised damage alerts for one of its manipulator arms. The relatively delicate, but still combat rated, exoskeleton of the manipulator arm showed high strain but no deformation, on the other hand the inner workings of the arm near where the baton''s tip struck were a different matter. From what the diagnostics could tell the inner workings of the arm near the point of impact had been scrambled into a slurry of warped and broken machinery.


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    Wanting to avoid further damage to the drone, and potential harm to the guard, Lin directed the drone to lift off and get clear. As it was doing so the guard managed to swing their weapon once more. The second hit smashed into another manipulator arm. Having seen the strangely effective weapon in action, Lin had directed the drone to sacrifice limbs in order to block future strikes from impacting the body of the drone. If this strange weapon damaged something too critical it could send the combat drone plunging down onto the guard. Having successfully intercepted the second attack, the second manipulator arm pumped out internal damage alerts and collapsed limply to dangle beside the first limb, as the drone rose into the air out of the guard¡¯s reach.


    Unla-Ela called out to the desperate figure as they leapt to their feet the baton raised, their head sweeping around frantically searching for threats. After a few moments Unla-Ela¡¯s calls seemed to break though their berserk state and they slowly lowered the baton. ¡°No attack, animal is animal tool, saved from stampede.¡± Unla-Ela¡¯s explanations to the still tense guard were partially understood by Andrea and Lin, as was the guard¡¯s dubious response. ¡°Attack from behind, capture like defiler.¡± Andrea made another note to herself, to ask about what a defiler was at a more appropriate time. Meanwhile Unla-Ela continued to talk their subordinate down ¡°You are free, not host of eggs, not eaten.¡± they gestured at the six combat drones hovering overhead. ¡°Animal tools, obey Andrea, see and hear I did, you see and hear, animal tools not attack.¡± As Unla-Ela spoke, the guard looked over at Andrea. Seeing an opportunity she spoke for the Unla-Ela and the guard¡¯s benefit ¡°Withdraw, I call if need help again.¡± Andrea then gestured slowly with a sweep of her hand and a pushing motion before sending the command to the drones to very slowly begin backing away and gaining altitude. At her gesture the guard tensed up and when the drones began to move they even began to raise their weapon again, but the slow and obvious withdrawal soon had the poor alien almost collapse with relief. Andrea noticed that Unla-Ela and the rest seemed to relax a bit as well, once the combat drones had retreated far enough to be distant silhouettes in the sky. ¡°Whatever a defiler is, it must be a common enough threat that they all seem to be at least uncomfortable with anything reminiscent of it. Maybe it¡¯s like how most people back home cringe every time flesh scorpions come up. ¡± Lin mused in their voice chat. As Andrea shuddered at the thought of flesh scorpions she slowly walked over to Unla-Ela and the guard. Meeting the guard¡¯s eyes Andrea spoke to them directly ¡°I apologize, my animal tool hurt you, help fast or stampede kill, not hurt. What name have you?¡± After taking a moment to parse Andrea¡¯s still clumsy speech in their language the guard responded. ¡°Wenou my name is. Forgive I do, better animal tool hurt, worse stampede kill.¡± Wenou¡¯s body language seemed to indicate that their acceptance of her apology might not be entirely sincere, their boss was standing beside them listening in after all, but they did seem to be genuinely grateful for the rescue.  Andrea felt that mixed feelings were better than straight up hostility, and since it seemed Lin may have triggered a phobia for Wenou, it was impressive how readily the guard was able to overcome such intense emotions. This made their earlier panicked flight seem almost out of character.


    Andrea messaged Lin ¡°On the plus side I¡¯m not as worried about having intimidated them. You may need to drastically increase your threat assessment of these beings. I would be shocked if the unexpected effectiveness against our drone was limited to just that one backup weapon that Wenou used.¡±


    At this point Unla-Ela joined Andrea and Wenou''s conversation. "Violent help is still help, we have gratefulness to you. We have much question feelings about you and the animal tools of you." Andrea grinned wryly at those words and took the opportunity to continue the mutual language lessons as she responded. "Question feelings, mean curiosity. This one, I, will answer many questions at time in future. Danger shared have trust built, I want to meet at camp of you, after this day."


    Unla-Ela and Andrea fell into their discussion, continuing to correct one another on the use of their respective languages as they planned their next meeting. Over the next half an hour they established a new schedule and protocol for their subsequent meetings.


    At first Andrea had considered proposing meeting inside their camp, but Lin nixed the idea on the grounds that if some unforeseen problem arose the unknown properties of their weapons could pose a real threat to Andrea. Lin was firm that she found that risk unacceptable and wanted to allow more time to learn the language, and culture of these people before fully trusting them.


    Taking Lin''s security concerns into account Andrea worked out a daily meeting with Unla-Ela. Andrea would arrive at the perimeter of their camp at least an hour after first light and make herself known to the guards, who would be told to expect her, by calling out a watchword established by Unla-Ela who would be informed of Andrea''s arrival. Unla-Ela would come out alongside some guards and students/apprentices. Together they would continue their mutual language lessons and begin probing more deeply into one another''s cultures and technologies.


    Having arranged for future meetings, Unla-Ela led their party back to their camp earlier than usual. The stress of the stampede and their narrow escape had left them all exhausted. While the injured guard was awake, with their broken arm set and bound, they were clearly going to slow down the party even further as they made the hours-long hike back to their camp. Andrea waved farewell before hopping on the Donkey and beginning her far less long and arduous journey back to base camp as Lin directed the combat drones to sweep back into guard positions around her partner.

 Chapter Seventeen

    ¡°You¡¯re going to die.¡± Lin¡¯s dire statement swept through the hab dome as Andrea settled down for breakfast the next day. ¡°The good news is it won¡¯t be from disease.¡± Andrea smiled at Lin¡¯s attempt at dark humor as she peeled the wrapper off her breakfast and continued to listen. ¡°I wrapped up the testing on your cloned organs and immune system implants. I exposed them to all the parasites, and microorganisms I¡¯ve managed to find, including some particularly nasty and contagious pathogens from the guards I nabbed. The blood and tissue samples they left on the cable scraps contained some real doozies, so I infected your cloned organs with them yesterday after we returned. Some of these things have really outlandish capabilities and will give your system a significant workout, but your immune systems, both biological and mechanical, are so overbuilt that even ¡®magical¡¯ plagues don¡¯t seem to push them to the limit. I¡¯ll hang onto the full experimental rig so I can test your immune systems against new parasites and diseases as I collect them. All that data will be perfect for training your immune system on new threats.¡±


    Andrea grinned at the good news. ¡°That¡¯s great, and the timing is perfect. I¡¯ll be coming into much closer contact with these people, now that I¡¯m meeting by their camp. Even with the limited information I¡¯ve gathered from my work with Unla-Ela so far, it¡¯s clear that there are a number of different and populous societies on this planet. At some point we¡¯ll probably be visiting many different towns and cities, so your collection of dangerous diseases and parasites will likely grow substantially.¡± Andrea took a bite of her cheesy potato meal bar and, with her mouth full, switched to using their group chat as she asked. ¡°Speaking of dangerous, did you get a closer look at the damage that weapon did to the combat drone?¡± Lin sent her a shrug in their chat before responding out loud. ¡°I decided to prioritize the immune system testing yesterday, I wanted to have that finished before you went to meet them outside their camp this morning. Inspecting the damage to try and figure out what that baton did is my first task for today. I''ll update you with what I learn. If you don¡¯t think it¡¯ll cause problems you could also ask them about it. I''d love to compare what I find with their explanation and I¡¯ll repair the drone while I¡¯m at it. Of course, there are plenty of extra combat drones already fabbed up, so for your meeting today you can just bring your compliment up to strength from our reserves.¡±


    ¡°Actually Lin, I¡¯d like to fab a heavy lift drone and a passenger module for it to carry. For now I¡¯ll have a pair of combat drones lift me to the meeting at their camp, but that¡¯s both uncomfortable and less safe than a purpose built air transport.¡± Andrea finished the meal bar and switched back to speaking as she continued. ¡°The early morning start to the meetings and the distances to be covered, means the Donkey is just not going to cut it. Besides, considering the wildlife around here, the less time I spend in transit through unsecured territory the better.¡± With a contemplative hum Lin spoke. ¡°Give me a couple of minutes to look through the fabricator queues and shuffle stuff around, a heavy lift drone is a pretty big job, so it might be a few days before it¡¯s ready.¡± Andrea nodded silently before gulping down a glass of water and grabbing a second meal bar, this time pastrami on rye.


    The rest of her breakfast in hand, Andrea stepped out of the hab dome. A shower and good night¡¯s sleep had done wonders. She felt fully recovered from the light muscle strains incurred by her rescue of Unla-Ela the day before, and Andrea¡¯s mind felt fresh and ready to work. Last night, with the residual stress of action and after hours of additional language study following her return to base camp she¡¯d felt pretty fuzzy headed, though she¡¯d made noticeable progress in picking up Unla-Ela¡¯s language.


    Andrea unwrapped and bit into the second meal bar as she strode towards the head of the bore shaft Lin started days earlier. In the intervening time it had steadily been driven deeper and deeper into the ground. Andrea decided that she¡¯d take a look at the geological data they were gathering once she had a lull in her work with Unla-Ela and the other aliens. The automated systems hadn¡¯t flagged anything as an urgent concern and that would have to be good enough for now. Both Lin and Andrea had plenty to do and, despite not needing to sleep, Lin still couldn¡¯t do anywhere near everything that needed to be done for a proper new world survey. Each of the duo had their own set of specialties and, while they did cross train on some things, neither was qualified to conduct every aspect of an initial planetary survey. Andrea¡¯s clear priority was the first contact with an intelligent alien species, but she intended to continue fulfilling as much of her usual duties during a new planet survey as possible.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    On the plus side, with at least 5 years before the estimated reappearance of the aperture Andrea and Lin had plenty of time to work with. As Surveyors their missions were about getting a broad and shallow understanding of a world before others came in to build on their work. 5 years was 10 to 12 times longer than the usual duration of one of their missions. The main reason for their current sense of urgency at their tasks was a combination of self-preservation and intense curiosity. The diverse and unusual phenomena they''d been observing were both fascinating and dangerous. When the presence of a mysteriously humanoid looking sapient species was added to the mix on top of that, the need to quickly learn as much as they could became urgent for both curiosity''s sake and for their own survival.


    While Andrea finished her breakfast by popping the second meal bar wrapper in her mouth, she sent a quick instruction to the food fabricators to start adding breath mint properties to the wrappers. Already anticipating the results from her latest culinary inspiration Andrea opened the access hatch for the borehole and stuck her head in, to peer down the shaft. The concrete walls and ladder had been printed with integrated lighting that illuminated the space clearly as it plunged dozens upon dozens of meters into the ground. Andrea could hear the distant crunch and grind of the burrowing drone at work deep below and when she engaged some of her visual enhancement implants she could even make out the tail end of the machine the ribbon umbilical running out of its back and up along a recessed channel in the printed wall of the shaft.


    "Hey Lin! It just occurred to me that pending a study on geological stability, which it''ll take me a while to get to admittedly, we might consider moving our base camp underground. With the strange phenomena we''ve witnessed it might be prudent to fortify our position, if something similar to that stampede began barreling towards our base camp it could be problematic. Even if we were willing to resort to lethal force, with the extreme range of capabilities we''ve already witnessed there''s no guarantee that we''d be able to successfully defend the camp. I don''t think that''s an urgent need but we''re going to be here for years even if it''s just to stash some backup fabrication and power generation equipment we should dig out some sort of underground redoubt. That way we''ll always have some sort of fallback position near the aperture chamber."


    Lin had by this point finished her work shuffling around the fabricator schedule and gave an exasperated sigh. "Wow, you are just all about giving me extra work to do today aren''t you? I think you''re right though, in fact this time I''m a step ahead of you. I''ve already scheduled the boring drone to excavate and reinforce a small chamber about 100 meters down. I was thinking we could stash a backup fabricator and power generator down there, then cap and disguise the entry shaft and leave it here when we move our base camp. I wasn''t intending for it to be a habitation so we don''t have to worry as much about the geological stability of the area. If it collapses that wouldn''t be great but at least we''re not going to be in it." Andrea nodded along as Lin spoke. "That makes sense. We can have some backup equipment safely stashed in short order rather than waiting till I have the spare time to do a proper geological survey. It''s not like it''ll be difficult for us to fortify our camp on the surface fairly substantially. At this point I think our original reason for staying low-key has mostly gone out the window. I''d still like to keep from being too obtrusive about our full range of capabilities, but next time we move our encampment fortifying it more robustly shouldn''t be an issue. We can pretty quickly print out some reinforced concrete walls around the perimeter and excavate reinforced ditch obstacles. Though I''m hesitant to do that too much since that will leave a fairly long-lasting mark on the landscape, even if we break down the walls and fill in the ditches as we leave."


    Andrea stepped back, closing the borehole access hatch as she did. Through their local network she tasked 6 combat drones with accompanying her. She watched them run through some quick preflight diagnostics before lifting off and forming up in the air overhead. ¡°I¡¯m heading out now Lin, it¡¯ll take about 20 minutes to fly over to their camp this way so I should get there almost exactly an hour after first light. Well we¡¯ve got a bit more time than that, we arranged the meeting using their units of time and the closest equivalent they¡¯ve got to an hour is about 8 minutes longer, as far as I can tell. Once I¡¯m fluent enough in their language I¡¯ll make sure to get a better understanding about how they experience and measure time. That can be pretty critical for maintaining good relations, particularly if we plan to explore and interact with their society more closely.¡± Lin messaged her a thumbs up and one of the nearby sample collecting drones paused in its work to wave at Andrea. With a smile at the cute gesture, Andrea directed two of her escorting combat drones to drop their tow lines down. She hooked the lines onto her field uniform¡¯s integrated hip attachment points and, with a wave back at the little sample collecting drone, Andrea launched into the sky dangling beneath a flying v of buzzing combat drones.

 Chapter Eighteen

    As Andrea departed Lin kept an eye on the view from Andrea¡¯s drone escorts, taking the time to appreciate the spectacularly dramatic views of the mist wreathed mountain valley flying past. Lin particularly enjoyed the sight of the pyramid as they flew past, somehow it managed to retain its looming air of menace even when viewed from above. Lin watched it, until it fell behind the steadily advancing drones and was enveloped by a thick bank of fog, disappearing from standard human sight in an eerie yet majestic display. Having taken time to properly appreciate this planet on an aesthetic level, Lin returned to her usual, more analytical, efforts at appreciating the wonders of the world.


    An additional goad to Lin¡¯s work was her recent realization of just how dangerous for Andrea the diseases and parasites of this world had the potential to be. Though she¡¯d been honest with Andrea earlier, Lin was still more concerned than she¡¯d let on and felt that the pursuit and study of new samples had taken on a fresh urgency. In addition to the usual tests and experimentation Lynn had now added on the stress testing of her reproduction of Andrea''s immune system. Lin would be exposing it to various microorganisms cultured from collected samples and even applying macro scale parasites she came across to ensure that the usual anti-parasite systems were effective. Lin intended to supply Andrea¡¯s defense systems with a comprehensive threat database in advance of those threats.


    A key element of those defenses was Andrea''s biosynthesis organ, which would be getting more of a workout than usual, since it was primarily responsible for producing the custom viruses targeted at foreign organisms. It was hard for bacteria, fungi, and animals like mosquitoes and leeches to cause much damage when Andrea''s immune system rapidly produced tailored viruses that tended to prove lethal to virtually all such threats. With Lin providing the data, Andrea¡¯s body was already beginning to produce and circulate new custom viruses ensuring that any threat Lin discovered in advance would soon find Andrea¡¯s insides a lethal environment.


    There were of course still dangers that weren¡¯t susceptible to tailored viruses. Toxins, foreign viruses, and prion diseases were all threats requiring other countermeasures. Toxins that might find their way into Andrea¡¯s bloodstream were largely unconcerning. Andrea''s engineered liver combined with portions of her implants were capable of handling virtually any toxin that wasn''t dissolving flesh on contact. This left Lin prioritizing her tests on any prions and viruses she found. Here, Lin¡¯s efforts at advance detection were particularly critical. Having not evolved to fool even a traditional human''s immune system, all the viruses they''d come across so far had been easily handled, however that was no reason to become complacent. Underestimating the adaptability and variety of viral threats was a mistake Lin was determined to avoid. Prions on this planet were much the same as the viruses, they hadn''t evolved in the same environment as humans and were based on proteins found in local organisms, this meant there was a very low chance that they could interface with Andrea''s biology. Low chances didn¡¯t mean no chance, and the best defense against both viral and prion threats was discovering them before Andrea was exposed and entering them into the threat database. Andrea¡¯s mouth and sinuses continuously sampled all incoming liquids and gasses, screening them against the threat database. Upon detecting a threat an automatic purge and lockdown would engage to keep it from entering the stomach or lungs. If a problem with airborne contaminants was discovered Andrea''s lungs would be locked down from normal breathing and either an internal air supply would be tapped into or the mechanical filtration systems would kick in, venting breathable air into Andrea''s respiratory system.


    Lin knew her partner¡¯s augmented body was incredibly resilient, but she was always concerned for anyone who chose to stay in a single body. They always struck Lin as so vulnerable. She had to constantly remind herself not to smother the embodied with concern for their safety, she¡¯d alienated people she was close to in the past by being overprotective, and had learned her lesson. It was better to be supportive of how they chose to live, and do her best to keep them safe when she could.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Lin respected Andrea¡¯s dedication to exploration, and her courage in  the face of danger. Lin¡¯s respect was all the greater since she knew she¡¯d struggle to act as decisively if she didn¡¯t have her detached, distributed perspective. Such a perspective tended to give Lin distance from feelings of personal danger. Of course distributed human¡¯s died all the time, it wasn¡¯t as if they were truly immortal. But knowing she had a multitude of bodies hosting parts of her consciousness at any given time certainly took the edge off any feelings of vulnerability.


    Lin had spent only a few minutes on her work when a priority flag popped up from one of the two additional high altitude drones that had been continuing to slowly spiral out mapping the region. By now their mapping sweeps had covered a roughly 20 kilometer diameter area centered on the base camp. This meant that most of the time one of the drones was now mapping the far side of one of the mountain ranges that formed the isolated valley. Outside the mountain range and protected valley they had found themselves in, at least to the southwest, was an open rolling landscape with prairie-like expanses broken by the occasional small stand of trees. Perhaps 60 kilometers from the mountain¡¯s foothills the drones could make out a large river sweeping through a lush riparian zone with distinctive trees, and bushes forming a dense green border. Exploring all of that would come in due course, and Lin had been content to leave a close examination to a later time, but the images one of the high altitude drones was sending her now, changed Lin¡¯s mind. The drone had just crested the mountains again as it continued its outward spiral, when it spotted a significant change by the river.


    A sizable convoy of pack animals and a number of what looked like some sort of self propelled vehicles were disembarking from a large ship moored by the near bank of the river. A ship, which Lin noted showed no sign of sails or oars, and flying from its stern was a large flag that featured a pair of sleek winged creatures that looked like a cross between a wasp and a spider, these unsettling beasts were depicted in a rampant pose facing each other. Many humanoid beings that looked similar to Unla-Ela and their group were bustling throughout the convoy and the lead elements appeared to be heading towards the mountainous border of the valley.


    Lin was understandably concerned about this large group heading their way and messaged Andrea who was still in mid flight, and seemed more excited than concerned. ¡°Well this is certainly an interesting development. If they really are headed to this valley, we¡¯ve still got at least a few days to figure out how to handle this new group, and I can probe Unla-Ela about them. That flag should be handy for identifying them. Hopefully they''re as friendly as Unla-Ela¡¯s group.¡±


    Lin had her doubts, but decided not to voice her concerns yet. Until they gathered more information there was little they could do differently from what they had planned. ¡°Go ahead and enjoy your morning flight through the fog, I¡¯ll get back to work studying samples and redirect one of the high altitude drones to maintain observation of this new group.¡±


    Of the three high altitude surveillance drones Andrea and Lin had deployed, one remained dedicated to overwatch of Unla-Ela¡¯s camp and its environs, one would continue it¡¯s spiral mapping pattern alone, and the third was now going to be remaining in position to peer over the mountains and observe the new group. Lin wanted to try to gather as much information as she could about how many beings were going to be in the group as well as what capabilities their tools displayed.


    The self-propelled vehicles on both land and water, suggested at least one type of compact generator of mechanical work. So far no smoke seemed to be coming from any of the vehicles, though with the odd phenomena Lin had been observing so far, this meant far less than it would have before. They could have some exotic power source, they could be electrical, or they could be burning fuel of some sort and the exhaust was managed by some other exotic phenomena keeping it from being obvious.


    Lin would wait for them to get closer before she attempted more detailed imaging and analysis. The fog and clouds around the valley helped keep the drone that much harder to spot, but they also obscured this new group from some of the drone¡¯s sensors. That desire to remain hidden was also the reason that Lin was keeping her distance from the new group, the high altitude drone could be directly over the group within an hour but, despite its high altitude and the camouflage, it would be all too likely for someone to spot it. Particularly if these aliens had evolved with predators that attacked from above, they¡¯d be more prone to instinctively observing the sky for threats. Wenou¡¯s talk about the creatures called defilers made Lin suspect that flying threats were an instinctive concern for these beings. So for the time being Lin kept her eyes in the sky lurking in the mist, silently peering down on the unsuspecting beings below.

 Chapter Nineteen

    The wind rushed by Andrea¡¯s face as she gently swung in the cold early morning air with the forest canopy rushing by a few meters below her. Thick banks of fog curled down from the cloudy mountain tops and sinuously wound over and through the still darkened forest. The only obvious sign that morning had come was the golden glow of the rising sun lighting up the clouds that wreathed the eastern peaks of the mountains that loomed over the valley. It was one of those experiences that started out thrilling, but as the minutes passed it had quickly palled. Comfortable was not a descriptor she would apply to her current position and, despite deliberately flying at an altitude and speed she could survive falling from, it was a dangerous way to travel. Andrea was glad she''d already mentioned fabing the heavy lift drone and passenger module to Lin, that would be safer, faster, and far more comfortable.


    Several more minutes passed and Andrea found herself flying past the pyramid, its stark geometric lines stood like some cyclopean sentinel over the entrance to the aperture cavern. The monitoring and security systems Lin had installed in the cave network below had reported no further visits from Unla-Ela or anyone else. Andrea fully intended to casually ask Unla-Ela for information about the pyramid. They already had that first probe in their possession and likely suspected Andrea to be in some way related to it. Particularly now that they''ve seen the drones, whose materials looked and felt the same as those used in the probe and different from anything that Andrea or Lin had so far seen from this planet. It was unclear if Unla-Ela noticed the aperture in the watery darkness of the cave, the distant dim glow of the fungus from the other side of the aperture would have been invisible in the pool with Unla-Ela¡¯s light scattering on the water. Additionally there was no real sensation associated with passing through the edge of an aperture, so other than the odd current induced by the water flowing through, Unla-Ela would have had little to hint at the aperture''s presence. The probe that they had grabbed from Andrea, could have its presence easily explained in a number of ways. Andrea felt it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to treat the pyramid and cave as merely interesting features of the valley. There was no question of revealing or admitting the aperture¡¯s existence or that they had emerged from it. The aperture was, to the best of their knowledge, the only path home and that fact was a vulnerability that could be exploited against them.


    As the pyramid fell behind her it was consumed by a roiling fog bank that swept over the structure shrouding it from sight. The visibility was shaping up to be very poor and it would be hours until the fog dispelling heat of the sun reached the valley floor. In the days since Andrea and Lin had arrived there had been some mist but this was the first dense fog they''d witnessed. It remained to be seen if the fog was unusual or if the duo had lucked into particularly clear weather for the start of their expedition. Fortunately, with the various imaging and sensing systems at their disposal, the fog was a nearly negligible concern. Right this very moment Andrea was still looking back at the pyramid, an image of it was generated by the networked sensor systems of her implants and the combat drones, before being overlaid into her field of view, the fog blocking traditional human sight but rendered effectively transparent for Andrea and Lin. The potential issue that did concern Andrea was how much the fog would impact Unla-Ela and their people''s ability to detect threats. The guards might be jumpy and Andrea would rather they didn''t attack her by mistake.


    Another few minutes of flight passed when Lin messaged Andrea about an unknown group approaching the valley. Andrea was a bit nervous at this news, an unknown party getting involved this soon into the delicate process of making contact with Unla-Ela''s group could be a problem. But predominantly Andrea was excited to learn more about these new people. This was additional evidence of sophisticated technologies, and thus implied the existence of complex societies to create and maintain them. This was making Andrea feel even more enthusiastic about what new cultures she¡¯d get to explore.


    Andrea was particularly drawn to the prospect of experiencing truly alien art. She had always had a keen enjoyment for experiencing exotic new forms and styles of art. Back home Andrea had been one of the first people to experience an emosensual composition. Her friend Charlotte had pioneered the use of hormone and neurochemical mixtures to tell stories and convey themes purely through artificially induced emotions and sensations. Her work The Vanquishing of Despair was still considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the new medium, and Andrea had been there for its premier. Art from an entirely new species definitely qualified as new and exotic. Andrea wondered what she might learn about their perspectives on life, death, love, or perhaps some new emotion not experienced by humans.


    Andrea''s brief daydream about the possibilities of alien art ended when the combat drones carrying her alerted her to imminent arrival at the drop site. It was time to put her game face on and transverse the area between the drop site and Unla-Ela''s camp. The four unencumbered combat drones maintained an overwatch position to scan for hazardous wildlife and other threats while the two carrying Andrea dropped below the canopy and lowered her to the ground.


    Andrea triggered her attachment points to disengage from the tow lines as she deployed her 10 shoulder mounted mini-drones to begin sweeping the area near her landing site. The mini-drones then established a screening formation around her, providing close range scouting and situational awareness as she walked the last half a kilometer to the edge of the camp.


    All six of the combat drones now began patrolling with irregular evasive patterns. Weaving through the banks of fog that were slowly sweeping through the valley while staying near her landing zone. The aliens may or may not have realized that the source of those massive detonations the other day was the combat drones. Andrea felt it would be bad form to have them hovering menacingly right past the edge of their camp. At only half a kilometer away they could arrive at her location in seconds if needed. Besides, many of their weapon systems could easily reach targets 500 meters away within a fraction of a second of getting the order. Andrea had plenty of support if needed and at the same time wasn''t blatantly displaying herself as a threat. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    By this point Andrea was not worried about an attack from Unla-Ela or their people, instead Andrea¡¯s primary concern was the wildlife. Being near the alien camp would likely mean any dangerous animals had been killed or driven from the area, but neither Andrea nor Lin had felt they should base their plans around assuming complete safety. That large inertial bear, Andrea¡¯s name for it, had surprised them both during their first day on the planet. It remained a vivid reminder for both of them that they needed to take the threat of animal attacks on this planet very seriously.


    Andrea carefully made her way through the forest toward the camp, her sensors sweeping her surroundings and the threat alarms set to a very low threshold. Her complement of mini-drones scouted around her, extending sensor coverage into areas that were obscured from direct observation. Within the perimeter the mini-drones were able to cover, hiding behind a tree trunk, or lurking on a large branch overhead wouldn¡¯t keep a potential predator hidden from Andrea. As the inertial bear had demonstrated, this wasn¡¯t a perfect guarantee of safety but if Andrea wanted to be perfectly safe she would never have joined the Surveyor Corps.


    Fortunately, it seemed that some combination of the close proximity to the alien camp and good luck meant that the worst threat Andrea spotted was a nest of wasp-like insects that seemed to fly with both unusual speed and in complete silence, indeed the sounds of the forest seemed oddly muffled whenever the insects came between a listening mini-drone and the sound source. Upon considering the hints of large animal remains scattered on the ground in a broad area near the nest, Andrea made a note of its location and changed her course to give it a wide berth, before continuing on.


    It wasn¡¯t much longer before Andrea¡¯s leading mini-drones spotted the clearing with Unla-Ela¡¯s camp. With the fog still heavily obscuring many forms of visibility, Andrea elected to call out the watchword from a mini-done''s speakers so any jumpy trigger fingers would be firing away from her. Ultimately the precaution wasn¡¯t needed, as the sentries replied to her watch word with the correct response and she was able to approach close enough to the stockade for them to see her without issue.


    Within a couple of minutes Unla-Ela, and all three of their students same out. The students were carrying chairs and a table, while Unla-Ela had a bundle wrapped in cloth in their arms. They all exchanged greetings with one another as the table and chairs were set up. Unla-Ela gestured for Andrea to have a seat before sitting down next to her and beginning to unpack the bundle. As the cloth was pulled away, a stack of slates and a box of chalk sticks were revealed. Passing Andrea a slate and piece of chalk, Unla-Ela smiled saying. ¡°Speaking is improving quickly, next¡­, the next step is to add writing.¡± Andrea returned the smile. ¡°Thank you, enjoy¡­, I enjoy learning new not there objects¡­, sorry, ideas. I will teach you my writing too. I enjoy trading at subtle cost¡­, sharing ideas.¡±


    The next couple of hours passed with learning the alphabet and beginning to construct a written translation dictionary. Andrea recorded all of their work on the slates as they mutually educated each other in their respective written and spoken languages. At the pace Andrea was progressing she anticipated being nearly fluent in their spoken language within a couple more weeks. Already she was more than able to handle everyday conversation, mainly coming up short on more technical or philosophical topics, and that was usually down to an ignorance of the appropriate vocabulary.


    They had paused for a break, setting the slates aside, and were chatting about the wildlife they¡¯d encountered in the region. When Andrea mentioned the strange wasp-like insects. Unla-Ela asked them to point out where it was located. As Andrea pointed in the direction of the nest Unla-Ela made a quick note on one of the slates before saying. ¡°From what you describe it sound¡­, sounds like you avoided something the local people call the silent death. Their bodies eat¡­, consume?, noise around them. People who are ambushed by them find their screams are also eaten, never to reach their fellows ears. They are dangerous, but only if location¡­, their location is unknown.¡±


    At Unla-Ela¡¯s mention of local people Andrea perked up with interest. ¡°Are you not a local Unla-Ela?¡± With a nod Unla-Ela gestured towards themself, then their students and the camp. ¡°Many of us are from another location group¡­, country, not all, some are local. Our countries trade people of learning to study each other¡¯s lands and people while sharing culture and knowledge. Exemplar organizers¡­, leaders in both countries want trade and peace, knowing each other is first step¡­, is the first step.¡± Andrea¡¯s excitement was palpable, while she was in a more complex political environment than she¡¯d first thought, it seemed that the attitude, at least on the surface, of these two countries was ideal for her mission. A desire for, and active practice of, diplomacy through sharing mutual learning was just about the best possible environment, since it matched the Surveyor Corps¡¯ first contact plans perfectly.


    This brought Lin¡¯s earlier sighting to mind. ¡°Which of your countries uses this flag?¡± asking this Andrea began to draw the rampant spider-wasp creatures she¡¯d observed on the ship¡¯s flag. Unla-Ela and their student¡¯s expressions darkened before Andrea had even finished her sketch of the second creature. Unla-Ela asked with uncharacteristic urgency. ¡°Where did you learn this flag?¡± Andrea pointed in the direction of the ship Lin had detected and replied, ¡°Scouting with flying animal tool, saw ship¡­, I saw a ship in the river with this flag, a large group is leaving¡­, disembarking the ship. They gave the appearance¡­, appeared to be coming this way.¡± Unla-Ela''s concerned expression had transfigured into one of alarm. ¡°The flag of twin rampant defilers doesn¡¯t belong to either of our countries and means¡­, and it means trouble is coming.¡±

 Chapter Twenty

    Andrea matched Unla-Ela¡¯s serious look. ¡°What do you mean by trouble?¡± Unla-Ela gestured for Andrea to wait for a moment before they looked over at Trophirte ¡°Go get Olan Lunere. They need to hear about this.¡±  Trophirte, the youngest, and the jokester, among Unla-Ela¡¯s students, gave a solemn nod ¡°I¡¯ll be back with the Olan as fast as I can.¡± The last of their words came half shouted over their shoulder as they wasted no time in beginning the run back into the camp.


    Unla-Ela turned back to Andrea. ¡°I apologize for my rideness¡­, rode¡­, rudeness Andrea, but that flag belongs to the Protectorate of Galyon, and while neither my country or Olan Lunere¡¯s are currently at war with them, tensions are very high and, sabotage¡­, assassinations¡­, ambushes¡­, skirmishes¡­, ¡®incidents¡¯ have been known to occur in more remote regions and near the edges of the known world. Since this valley is remote and isolated, as well as bordering the edge of the explored regions, it is quite possible the Protectorate expedition¡¯s presence will lead to another unfortunate ¡®incident¡¯.¡±


    Andrea had been delaying a discussion of this planet¡¯s political landscape till she had an excellent grasp of Unla-Ela¡¯s language; she was particularly concerned with the nuances of meaning that could be vital in understanding complex subjective concepts. With this new development, it appeared that Andrea couldn¡¯t put the discussion off any longer. She¡¯d just need to be cautious of the likelihood that she¡¯d be missing, or misinterpreting many of the details. She would have to make do, for the time being, with the broad strokes.


    The Surveyor Corps provided training on how to handle diplomacy, as well as navigating complex and potentially volatile political situations as an outside party. While it was deemed unlikely to come up for most surveyors, it was also reasoned that having even a little preparation would be invaluable if the improbable occurred. Pulling on that training now, Andrea recalled that making her own position clear first was considered best practice.  ¡°Unla-Ela, I wanted to hold off until I was speaking as if born to your tongue¡­, fully fluent in your language, but based on what you¡¯ve said we should discuss my country and how that impacts my involvement in any potential conflicts. Once your  counterpart arrives I want to go through our respective positions and countries before I speak further about the incoming group.¡±


    Unla-Ela took a moment to absorb Andrea¡¯s words before nodding slowly. ¡°It is true that we will proceed with difficulty¡­, struggle, to properly describe all the nuances of the political landscape, but I have been impressed by the speed with which you are learning our language. I believe you will understand well enough. It is unfortunate that we can¡¯t just work together as fellow explorers and ignore the rest, hopefully we are worried for nothing and we can return to focusing on what¡¯s really important soon.¡± Andrea smiled at Unla-Ela and nodded in agreement. ¡°Agreed, I didn¡¯t choose my work to get stuck dealing with politics, except perhaps the academic kind.¡± Unla-Ela chuckled and broke into a grin. ¡°So your people too have a tradition of petty bickering amongst those of great learning. It is somehow comforting to learn that that particular failing is probably universal.¡±


    Unla-Ela and Andrea spent another few moments in shared amusement before the sound of rapid footsteps reminded them of the situation. The sound presaged the appearance of Trophirte jogging back followed closely by another much larger figure whom Andrea presumed was Olan Lunere.


    Andrea¡¯s supposition was proved correct a moment later when Unla-Ela made introductions. The Olan¡¯s face seemed cast with a serious aspect, one rendered all the more intense by the news Trophirte had undoubtedly related. While they didn¡¯t tower over Unla-Ela, Olan Lunere was noticeably taller than the scientist-explorer and built far more broadly, they also seemed to have a lighter complexion than Unla-Ela and the trio of students. This paler tone was emphasized by the dark and obviously military uniform that was, despite being in a remote camp in the field, impressively well kept and seemed as if it was an extension of the Olan¡¯s body more than mere clothing. Olan Lunere turned to Andrea and spoke with a warm but somewhat brisk tone. ¡°A pleasure to meet you Andrea, I only wish it could have been under more auspicious circumstances. I heard that you have word of a Protectorate force heading in this direction. Are you able to tell me more detail on their composition, location, and pace of advance? Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Andrea fought the urge to raise an eyebrow, Olan Lunere was obviously treating the oncoming expedition as a hostile enemy formation. This was a definite escalation of stakes compared to the impression given by Unla-Ela. Though Andrea supposed that as a civilian Unla-Ela was bound to have a different perspective on the news than the Olan. ¡°Before I touch on those details, we need to discuss what our positions are and, in particular, I need to know your intentions with any information I might have about this Protectorate group.¡± At this Olan Lunere seemed to bristle, tensing up they bit out. ¡°While open hostilities with the Protectorate are the last thing their majesties want They have repeatedly made their claim to this region clear and directed that their forces firmly reject any unsanctioned incursion. Even if that were not the case, the safety of Unla-Ela and their team is my responsibility and I am not in the least bit eager to trust in the goodwill of the Protectorate.¡±


    Andrea allowed her face to shift into an impassive mask as she shifted her gaze back to Unla-Ela. ¡°While that is good to know, I am afraid I require more context before I can even begin to consider what position to take in this conflict. I¡¯ll start with the basics. I am from the Inannian Imperial Federation. As we¡¯ve discussed before, I¡¯m an explorer and empirical philosopher¡­, scientist. However, in situations where I meet unknown peoples, I do have diplomatic duties and some limited authorization to negotiate on behalf of the Inannian Imperial Authority. I had hoped to delay those duties for a while longer, but it appears I no longer have that luxury. What countries do you and Olan Lunere represent?¡±


    Unla-Ela looked over at the obviously impatient Olan. ¡°That seems entirely fair Andrea, we can¡¯t expect you to gladly jump into a conflict you know nothing about, against people who have done you no harm.¡± At those words Olan Lunere¡¯s tense expression seemed to relax a touch and they dropped with fatigue, and just the slightest hint of despondency, into a chair that was hastily vacated by Ela-Nu. Waving their hand to Unla-Ela, and revealing the ghost of a wry grin the Olan conceded. ¡°You are of course right, as usual, Unla-Ela give me a moment to pull myself together as you tell her your part. My apologies Andrea, at times my zeal for my duty outpaces my good sense.¡±


    Unla-Ela heaved a sigh, but smiled fondly in thanks at the Olan before beginning. ¡°I¡¯m here as part of an expedition from the Tahtrik League, while my primary responsibility is to my university, I am also acting as part of a joint program between my country and Malepre, represented by Olan Lunere. Our two countries have extensive trade connections and are moving towards a closer alliance, programs like this one are part of the process. My team and I are here to assist the Maleprian dual crown in their exploration of this border region. The double monarchies have long laid claim to the region that stretches from just past this valley, through the territory to the south and east up to their current hard borders. However they have been short on qualified personnel who were willing and able to spend the months, if not years, it would take to make this expedition. That¡¯s before you even mention the high risks involved in confronting the unknown creatures that are always sure to inhabit unexplored regions. Ultimately it was decided that the Tahtrik League¡¯s famed scholars would get their coveted first crack at the unknown and the Maleprian crowns would finally learn what they might be able to gain from this region. I actually had to fight off a number of colleagues who were competing with me for this position, though I digress.¡±


    Andrea was fascinated, even just this little bit of information already seemed to be painting a picture of the situation, though she reminded herself that she was still only getting a single perspective. As Unla-Ela paused for a moment Olan Lunere straightened up in their seat and gently interjected. ¡°Thank you Unla-Ela, I think this is a good point for me to take over. As you may have gathered I am an Olan in their majesties¡¯ royal army. I am widely reputed to have a scholarly bent.¡± The hard faced Olan actually blushed a bit as he mentioned this last point. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to make any real claims in the scholarly disciplines next to my colleagues from the Tahtrik League. But by the standards of many of my fellow officers I was deemed to be most suitable as a liaison. Considering how well we have all gotten along, I am forced to admit their judgement was accurate. Perhaps more important than my role as liaison, is my duty to ensure the safety of this expedition. While the primary threat we expected to contend with is, of course, that of nature I was briefed on other possibilities as well. Topmost among those potential threats was the Protectorate of Galyon. While I am no student of their history I know of it in passing, and was briefed extensively on their disposition and suspected intentions as of four months ago. Some of what I know is privileged information, but I think you¡¯ll be satisfied with what I am free to tell you.¡±

 Jorge鈥檚 Journal: Excerpt One

    3/5/1532


    Andrea and Lin entered the anomaly today. I can¡¯t help but be concerned when they take risks like this, but I¡¯ve known them long enough to realize that nobody¡¯s going to be able to stop them. Oh well, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m much better about avoiding dangerous jobs, and I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way either. That¡¯s probably why I get along with them so well.


    I¡¯ve sent a report back to the Imperial Authority, it always enjoys hearing about an exciting adventure, and unusual discoveries. It¡¯ll likely be sending a much larger team here to specifically study the aperture, assuming it reappears as we think it will. After all there are no known records of apertures outside the artificial ones created by humans. I know there are suspicions that a natural aperture was what caused The Crash .Though the original colony ship¡¯s flight records were mostly unrecoverable so there¡¯s no direct evidence that survived. My bet is that a whole bunch of academics are going to be climbing over one another in their eagerness to explore a possible clue about how we arrived in this galaxy.


    Fortunately that won¡¯t be my problem, I just need to babysit the study team for a bit longer and then I can get onto my next mission. I¡¯m still amazed that Andrea and Lin are getting to jump through an unknown aperture before me. I always figured being a ship¡¯s captain would mean I¡¯d be the first of us to fly into the unknown. Plus, they get to skive off on a whole bunch of paperwork for the next five years. I¡¯m not sure which of those things makes me more jealous. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Addendum:


    Doctor Arbordous practically had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from the aperture just now. It¡¯s not like the rest of Ristula 4 went away, though you wouldn¡¯t know it by talking to the Doctor. Fortunately the rest of the study team was able to help me get their leader to refocus on the original mission for now. Though I suspect that it won¡¯t be long until the Doctor is back down there, even after the aperture shuts.


    The first reports coming back from Lin and Andrea did not help keep the team on task. The sensor recordings of that strange predator that attacked them are mystifying everyone. It¡¯s ability to seemingly toy with its own momentum is fascinating, imagine if my ship could do that. I¡¯m more frustrated than ever that I¡¯ll have to wait at least five years to hear much more. It¡¯s been a real roller coaster of a day, so I think I¡¯ll end things here.


    Second Addendum:


    The ¡®Good¡¯ Doctor managed to set off one of the Farrous just now while directing a drone to collect dung samples. The crashing and trumpeting woke everyone else up from some much needed sleep. Sleep that Doctor Arbordous should have been indulging in as well. I respect the Doctor¡¯s abilities but I¡¯m glad I only have to work with them in short bursts. Now I¡¯m going to try and get back to sleep.

 Unla-Ela鈥檚 Expedition Log: Excerpt One

    513th cycle, 25th day of spring


    We arrived late yesterday to the base of the pass where we have made camp. We are spending today resting the pack animals, though the contingent of tormans we brought from home are the main beneficiaries. When I inquired with Olan Lunere they informed me that the beasts native to their country, known as lopecs, are far more comfortable in the warmth and humidity found in the lowlands here. When the Olan expressed their doubts about burdening ourselves with the tormans I explained that we could expect the tables to turn as we climbed into the cooler and more rarefied atmosphere of the mountains. Indeed the torman''s widely recognized facility in navigating mountainous environments is the whole reason I insisted on the not insubstantial difficulty and expense of bringing them along. I''m sure in the next few days my preparations will be proven most perspicacious. Tomorrow we begin our climb into the mountain pass that is purported to give access to a large isolated valley that has yet to be penetrated by any expedition.


    513th cycle, 26th day of spring


    We made an early start this morning, and progress up the shallow slopes at the base of the mountains has been met with minimal delays. The furthest point up the pass that any expedition has reached is still days away just on the other side of the mountain crest, however this hasn''t precluded fresh discoveries. Around mid-day I had the good fortune to capture and study a fascinating new specimen of butterfly that appears to have no unusual abilities, but is possessed of a most comely pattern and color. My research journals now contain a number of accurate sketches of the butterfly, its behaviors, and environment. Those illustrations should prove an adequate supplement to the preserved specimen I will be bringing back as well. Findings like this one, put the lie to the term ''explored regions''. Though I must confess that the thrill of pushing beyond the explored regions poses a temptation that neither myself nor most of my colleagues can bring ourselves to withstand, regardless of how many undiscovered wonders are, with near certainty, still hiding within the boundaries encompassed by our maps.


    513th cycle, 27th day of spring


    Nothing of particular note today. We again made good time, even as the rough mountain trail began to noticeably steepen. The tormans are already looking more comfortable as cool air occasionally washes down over us from the still distant heights.


    513th cycle, 28th day of spring


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.We nearly lost someone today. My youngest student on the expedition; Trophirte, overbalanced as they were scrambling up a rocky scree to examine a small shrub that caught their eye. Fortunately their tumble down the slope was arrested by a barrier in the form of a less than pleased lopecs. Had they fallen a bit earlier or later the impetuous rascal would have either been trampled or cast rapidly down the steep miles of slope stretching below us. In the end the shrub for which they nearly gave their lives turned out to be a common specimen that has long been documented. While I am glad they have such bravery and adopted my zeal for discovery, I find myself repeatedly chastising them for failing to properly exercise the caution and patience I have also been trying to impart. Ultimately no permanent harm was done, and perhaps even some good, Trophirte might have better sense scared into them.


    513th cycle, 29th day of spring


    The trail through the pass has narrowed to the point where we are relegated to passing single file for long stretches. On these narrow sections we find ourselves accompanied by vertiginous drops on one side and imposing cliffs looming over us on the other. One of the scouts from Olan Lunere''s contingent was good enough to point out the signs of tool marks still visible on the rock of the mountain slope in places despite what is likely millennia of weathering. The sign of some ancient and mysterious civilization has fueled a great deal of excitement in the archaeologists on my team. For my own part I can''t help but be grateful to our ancient benefactors. I shudder to imagine how much more harrowing our journey would be without the remnants of the roadway they left behind.


    513th cycle, 30th day of spring


    My insistence on bringing the tormans has been definitively vindicated. Our altitude has climbed precipitously with the temperature dropping and air thinning to match. The lopecs, while not at the point of total debilitation, are having their burdens lightened by redistributing more of the supplies to the hardier tormans. I¡¯m gratified to know that that contrary parsimonious blowhard Sem-Ter from the university bursar¡¯s office will be eating crow when we return, and yes I¡¯m aware you¡¯ll be reading this too Sem-Ter, I stand by my description.


    513th cycle, 31st day of spring


    We had our first glimpse of the valley today. The sight of so much fog shrouded greenery is a refreshingly lush contrast to the stark, if beautiful, vistas of the mountain peaks around us. Olan Lunere¡¯s scouts are estimating another two days of travel before we can establish a base camp on the valley floor and begin our explorations. I swear I caught a glimpse of some dark angular structure peeking through a gap in the fog but it was only for a moment in the corner of my eye.

 Olan Peegmar Lunere鈥檚 Private Journal: Excerpt One

    15th year of the reigns of Milfore and Yetnul 30th day of spring


    I can¡¯t help but to castigate my past self for speaking rashly. Unla-Ela has proven themself to be possessed of good foresight and planning. To my chagrin I had spoken ill of their insistence on bringing those hairy beasts of theirs, tormans, I believe they are called. The smell of those lumbering beasts is beyond the pale, worse by far than our own lopecs which are by no means absent a particular fragrance themselves. They eat twice what a lopec does while being capable of carrying little more weight. To top it off they are clearly distressed by the heat and humidity, to the point that it has slowed our expedition''s progress. It seemed clear to me that they were a costly liability and I raised the prospect of replacing them with an equal number of lopecs almost daily.


    Frankly I was beside myself at the prospect of half the gear smelling of the sweat of those animals, unsuited as they are to the heat of Malepre. Unla-Ela insisted however, and has proven to be in the right. As we have climbed into the cold and rarefied air of the mountains the tormen have gained in strength even as the lopecs lost it in near equal measure. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I can only be thankful that Unla-Ela has had the good grace to not say I told you so. Though the hint of smugness, attempt to conceal it though they might, in their expression this morning, as we redistributed the cargo spoke volumes. I don¡¯t hold this against them overmuch as I am, apparently, far from the first to give them grief on their insistence at bringing the animals, and their feeling of vindication has been an obvious boon to their morale.


    One of my scouts reported that they believe they¡¯ve caught sight of the valley that was reported by a group of prospectors. If we maintain our rate of progress, which those tormans may just allow, we should get our first glimpse of the valley tomorrow. Since morale is still high among the expedition members from both contingents, I think allowing the approaching vista to be a pleasant surprise, will justify keeping them ignorant of our progress for a day.


    I am looking forward to pushing Malepre¡¯s frontier, and Unla-Ela¡¯s enthusiasm for discovery and sense of wonder are contagious. My main lingering point of worry is the dangerous and unknown magical plants or animals that, going by history, will certainly be present. It can be almost impossible to properly defend against some threats without very specific preparations and I fear that we will be forced to learn the specifics of whatever new dangers await us the hard way. I am confident in my abilities as a military leader, but it is a rare person who can contemplate the near certain prospect of serious casualties with complete sang-froid.

 Chapter Twenty One

    Andrea nodded her acceptance of the Olan''s words. This did not mean she had any intention of accepting what they told her at face value. Setting aside the possibility of deliberately prejudicial testimony from someone who was clearly no friend of the Protectorate of Galyon, It was a near certainty that the Olan''s point of view would have a bias against an adversary of their country, whether they themselves realized it or not. Andrea was wise enough to not openly question the honesty or validity of the Olan''s words.


    Andrea messaged Lin, informing her that she was about to get some sort of briefing on the group heading towards the valley. Lin was in the process of examining and dissecting a new mushroom specimen when the message came in. She pinged Andrea with a thank you and a pictogram of an ear to let her know she''d be listening in. While the majority of her focus was on her lab work and the high altitude monitoring of the convoy, Lin had enough spare attention to pick up a little bit of information, she could always review the recordings later to glean all the details.


    Olan Lunere began their explanation. "First of all the Protectorate of Galyon is not actually a protectorate. Around 1800 years ago a small monarchy was engulfed by the Galyon Empire. Rather than resist and be completely destroyed, the royal family chose to cooperate and became a client state, a protectorate. When the Galyon Empire broke apart a few hundred years later, the royal family chose not to follow the example of most of the other warlords and governors. Rather than declaring themselves fully independent of the fragmenting Empire, they chose to lean into their ties to the Empire by referring to themselves only as the Protectorate of Galyon. This gave them an appearance of continuity with imperial rule that quickly attracted many of the nearby peoples who were used to imperial rule and saw the Protectorate as the most legitimate heir of those institutions. Over time the Protectorate worked to grow and maintain this perception as the inheritors of the empire and by now have become an Empire of their own."


    Andrea was fascinated, she had studied history of and on while earning her doctorate degrees and had developed a fascination with the subject. The prospect of learning about millennia of alien history was exhilarating. Andrea mentally shook herself, now was not the time to get lost in the past. ¡°That is fascinating Olan, and I would love to learn more about such history in the future. However, none of what you¡¯ve mentioned so far seems terribly relevant to a simple explanation of the current political situation.¡±


    Olan Lunere¡¯s purple blue face flushed in chagrin. ¡°I beg your pardon Andrea. I write historical treatises as a hobby and have recently begun to study the Protectorate and other Galyon successor states. My enthusiasm for the subject carried me away. I will try to be more succinct considering the circumstances. To begin with the Protectorate is not a local state, the capital Garnegal is about 35,000 kilometers to the south south east from Malepre. This means that direct interaction between the Protectorate and the Maleprian crowns has been limited until quite recently. Despite this, our long standing trade with the Tahtrik League meant that the Protectorate was not a complete unknown when their tendrils of expansion finally reached us.¡± With the mention of the League, Olan Lunere nodded to Unla-Ela, who took the opportunity to interject. ¡°The Tahtrik League is roughly equidistant from Malepre and the Protectorate, roughly 20,000 kilometers from each. Historically both Malepre and the League happen to have had direct access to the Coemen Ocean and the seaborne trade that flows around it. This is access which the Protectorate only gained ten years ago.¡± With that Unla-Ela fell silent and returned Olan Lunere¡¯s nod.


    Andrea was interested to note the vast distances they were describing, and silently messaged Lin ¡°I''m redirecting the high altitude drone that''s monitoring the area around this camp, I''m confident my other resources in the area provided adequate sensor coverage to make do for an hour or two.¡± After alerting Lin, Andrea directed the drone in question to begin ascending until it reached the highest altitude it could, before returning her attention to Olan Lunere as they picked up their part of the lesson again.


    ¡°Though they are relative newcomers to this part of the known world, the Protectorate hasn¡¯t been shy about throwing their weight around, both economically and militarily. Most relevant to our current circumstances is the fact that the Protectorate has claimed this unexplored region, despite its location on the border of Malepre. The general convention between states is that those with borders on the edge of the known world can claim sovereignty over a roughly wedge shaped area projecting outward into the unexplored region. There has yet to be a limit to new territory that anyone has determined, so conflicts over these unexplored, unpopulated, and undeveloped regions are vanishingly rare. That¡¯s what has made the aggression of the Protectorate frankly bizarre. All the more so as they are laying claim to a region so remote from their own borders with the unexplored world. Our expedition to this valley, which lies near the heart of the region the Protectorate is claiming as their own, is in part an attempt at discerning what possible motivations the Protectorate might have. If we can learn that, we might be able to determine why they are being so blatant, and so aggressive, in their efforts to secure this region.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Andrea sent Lin another message. ¡°Are you listening in at the moment?¡± Lin sent Andrea a nod ¡°I am, and I have an unfortunate suspicion that the aperture is somehow related to a strange and seemingly unproductive interest in this specific region. We may wind up in conflict with this Protectorate purely out of a need to maintain control of the site where the aperture will reopen.¡± Andrea shifted with discomfort at the idea. ¡°We¡¯re not soldiers Lin, not anymore, I signed up for the Surveyor Corps because I was done with the Imperial Navy and done killing thinking beings. I really hope you¡¯re wrong.¡± Olan Lunere wrapped up their briefing, none the wiser to Andrea¡¯s brief distraction and growing concern. ¡°There have been some incidents of skirmishes near the armed colony that the Protectorate has installed by the mouth of a river that we have speculated gives quick access to this region, if what you reported earlier is correct than our speculations were accurate. We will attempt to maintain the peace, but my monarchs have made it clear that our territorial integrity is to be enforced. At the very least I¡¯ll be reporting this incursion and asking for reinforcements, though they will not arrive anytime soon. Unla-Ela¡¯s team and their safety are still my highest priority, so if it comes to violence we¡¯ll be evacuating. I am certain that it will come to violence because the Protectorate have been shockingly bold when it comes to their attempts to secure this region, and I very much doubt our attempts at determining what has captured their interest will be treated with benevolence, they may attempt to silence all of us, just in case we discovered something they wish to conceal.¡±


    It was clear to Andrea that Olan Lunere, and to a lesser extent Unla-Ela, were both dead set on convincing Andrea to side with them against this expedition from the Protectorate, she needed to set their expectations; their word alone was not enough reason to take their side before talking with the Protectorate of Galyon. Andrea shook her head as she responded. "My government does not approve of military adventurism, participating in conflicts of those outside the empire is viewed with deep suspicion at best. I am required by my own ethics as well as the laws of my people to attempt to speak with these people and learn of their intentions. On the other hand I have no ethical or legal obstacle to defending myself if attacked. I will not strike against them on your word alone, but if they prove to be as aggressive and unscrupulous as you have indicated then you will have me fighting by your side."


    Olan Lunere and Unla-Ela took Andrea¡¯s preemptive rebuff of an immediate alliance with good grace. Unla-Ela replied for both of them. ¡°I understand Andrea, and I do not blame you for being cautious, but I beg you to be extremely cautious when you attempt to approach the Protectorate team. Their armed forces have a universally bad reputation when it comes to their treatment of foreigners who are subject to their ¡®mercy¡¯.¡± Andrea smiled at the genuine concern she could hear in her new friend''s voice. ¡°I will be careful. For the time being I¡¯ll discuss what I know about their expedition with you in exchange for some enlightenment on both their etiquette and their capabilities.¡±


    The next several hours were a productive exchange of information, incidentally Andrea learned that the language Unla-Ela had been teaching her was actually one frequently used in trade and diplomacy. Most people with any degree of learning would certainly have at least a smattering of the language, so Andrea would have no translation issues when attempting to speak with the leader of the Protectorate expedition. As the shadows deepened in the valley and the distant snow covered peaks took on rosy hues, their meeting was adjourned with promises to meet again the next day. As Andrea hiked her way back to her escort of combat drones her introspective and melancholy mood was disrupted by Lin¡¯s voice, shaking with uncharacteristic tension. ¡°Andrea, I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯m seeing. This world, It can¡¯t be a natural planet!¡±

 Chapter Twenty Two

    Lin''s bizarre claim was such a non-sequitur as it intruded into Andrea''s thoughts that it took her a moment to formulate a response. Making use of their text chat she eloquently entered ¡°?¡±. Lin responded with a bark of laughter tinged ever so slightly with her own feelings of disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping an eye on the high altitude drone you sent up earlier, so I saw its readings the moment it reached its service ceiling. I applied the equation to estimate the size of a planet based on the observed curvature of the horizon, as I assume you intended. Even with our current lack of certainty about the drone¡¯s elevation from sea level, and atmospheric refraction errors that will need more work to account for, I¡¯ve got a low-ball estimate for the size of this world of at least 328 trillion square kilometers! That¡¯s the surface area equivalent of well over half a million human habitable worlds, at a minimum!¡±


    Andrea stumbled to a stop for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s insane! That means the diameter can be measured in astronomical units! How are we only experiencing 0.98 gravities on average? How is a structure this large, and this lacking in density, not being torn apart by tidal forces from the system¡¯s star? This is amazing! This one world can contain as many living beings and ecosystems as hundreds of thousands of star systems. It¡¯ll be the work of generations to even begin exploring this place! No wonder the distances Olan Lunere and Unla-Ela were giving seemed unusually large, their ¡®known world¡¯ is already at least the size of a couple of normal habitable planets.¡± Lin interjected before Andrea could continue. ¡°Hold on, I know this is exciting but we are basing this on a lot of assumptions, so let¡¯s not get too carried away speculating and planning just yet. Once we¡¯ve settled our more immediate concerns with the locals and their politics we can build out the infrastructure to launch some low altitude satellites for orbital mapping, long range communication, and much more accurate measurements of the world''s size."


    Andrea resumed her course towards her landing site and the waiting drones. "All right, all right. I''ll try to contain my excitement, but only a little bit! Speaking of too much excitement, Will the heavy lift drone and transport pod be finished for tomorrow? I¡¯d rather not continue swinging around in the open air as I travel." Lin responded with a groan ¡°I already told you it would take a couple of days, are you going to start asking ¡®are we there yet¡¯ now too?¡± Andrea, glad to have Lin lighten the mood, laughed ¡°You better watch out or I just might.¡± reached the clearing and met up with the waiting formation of combat drones. The leading pair were already dangling their towing connectors for her to clip onto. In less than 30 seconds Andrea was secured to the tow lines and rising through the narrow hole in the canopy over the clearing, as the wedge of combat drones ascended.


    As Andrea began her return flight, Lin found herself contemplating yet another important project that required additional equipment to be manufactured. While she had admonished Andrea not to get ahead of herself with the question of the planet''s titanic size, Lin couldn''t help but spend some time brainstorming how best to go about setting up a satellite launching site while still trying to remain relatively unobtrusive. Lin wanted to ensure that when it eventually came time to launch satellites they would be able to do so in complete secrecy. While Andrea had managed to establish a good baseline of relations with what appeared to be two significant local powers, their incipient conflict with a third local power put Andrea and Lin in an awkward position. Lin was well aware that, particularly when war was involved, good intentions and promises frequently wound up holding little weight against the possibility of seizing an advantage over one''s enemies. Lin had no intention of revealing any more of their technology to any of the local factions.


    While the locals'' capabilities seemed more impressive than Lin had initially expected, much of the more impressive features seemed based on their harnessing of the strange phenomena found on this world. From everything Lin had seen so far, she and Andrea were making use of technology that was in many respects superior to what was available locally. Frankly Lin felt that they had already shown off a little too much for her comfort. She worried that, especially in the face of a major war, even the factions with which they had a tentative positive relationship would be tempted to try and steal or seize new technology from them, let alone this third faction with which they had no relations whatsoever. Naturally she anticipated they would approach first with offers of trade, however sharing technological information was one of the actions the Surveyor Corps explicitly prohibited during early contact with unknown beings. It was agreed, among an overwhelming majority of their experts, that leading with cultural and purely scientific exchanges were a far safer way to build rapport and judge the intentions and character of strangers before any chance of providing them with something they might later regret sharing.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Lin¡¯s thoughts moved from camouflaged launch facilities to the more complicated question of how, or if, they might manage to get satellites to work. The moment she started seriously thinking about the question a significant issue quickly became obvious. Assuming her estimate of the planet¡¯s size was anywhere close to accurate, the orbital period of anything they launched into a low orbit would be measured in months or years, a chain of hundreds or possibly thousands of satellites would be required to form even a narrow band of continuous coverage, something that Lin thought was both infeasible for their mission timescale and would stretch, beyond any reasonable interpretation, the idea of minimizing construction and resource extraction. Lin would have to find workable alternatives to the usual quick and easy satellite network.


    A series of non-orbiting high altitude platforms kept in space by electrodynamic propulsion tethers was possible, assuming there was enough of a magnetic field for the craft to interact with. So far Lin had been able to detect a moderate magnetic field everywhere their drones had gone, but there was no guarantee that it extended into space far enough to be useful for the platforms. The magnetic field would need to be of sufficient strength at an altitude well clear of the practical edge of the atmosphere, since electrodynamic propulsion tethers would be a huge source of drag unless they were in the vacuum of space. Another option would be sending a smaller number of satellites to a much higher orbit allowing them to maintain continuous contact around the circumference of the enormous planet. Unfortunately this solution would require a significantly more robust launch platform to carry the satellites far enough out. Since the ''planet'' was larger than many stars, the distance at which the satellites would have to orbit in order to allow a small network to remain in continuous contact would be commensurately astronomical. Launching heavy duty spacecraft from a planetary surface could be described in many ways, neither subtle nor low impact was one of those. Stepping back for a moment Lin considered that she had two main goals she wanted to fulfill with satellites or suitable replacements. First she wanted additional verification and refinement on the estimate she had made of the planet''s size. Second Lin wanted to dramatically increase their mapping, surveillance, and communication capabilities. The relatively slow high altitude drone sweeps were simply not a practical solution to mapping the vast area they were now presented with, nor would they make for a practical communication relay system when they began to travel farther from their base near the aperture.


    By the time Andrea was landing at the base camp, Lin had settled on vacuum aerostat platforms as a good intermediate solution that would achieve both of her primary goals. A fairly significant number would be required since their altitude would be limited to the upper reaches of the atmosphere but, unlike the open question about the magnetosphere, Lin knew for sure that there was an atmosphere which was all a vacuum aerostat needed to shoot up like a cork to the edge of space. Lin had also realized that the vacuum aerostat platforms would have no need for dedicated launch facilities and lift vehicles. Once manufactured they merely needed to be placed in the open and they could begin pulling a vacuum in their main lift envelope allowing them to rise all the way to their operational altitude and remain there for years, barring damage or malfunction. That neatly eliminated any concerns about trying to disguise a launch complex. If needed Lin could gradually assemble platforms with just the output of her current fabrication equipment.


    When Lin found herself beginning to calculate the number of vacuum aerostats needed to provide mapping, surveillance, and communication coverage she realized she was falling into the trap she had warned Andrea about and getting ahead of herself. It was time to take a break. Lin shifted most of her attention into a small maintenance drone and directed it to the table top where Andrea had just settled down to eat after having cleaned up from her trip through the valley. The duo set aside work and spent the evening unwinding, chatting and playing games. Tomorrow they''d be hard at work preparing for the future, but for tonight they''d decided to enjoy the present.

 Chapter Twenty Three

    The next couple of days proceeded in that strange manner where they seemed simultaneously interminable and all too brief. Lin continued managing the fabrication systems, researching the strange phenomena she continued to find as she explored the valley, and developing contingency options for conflict with the Protectorate. Andrea had continued to travel to meet with Unla-Ela and their students, polishing her skill in the trade tongue while continuing to build the language model to assist in future translation. Andrea was determined that, at the very least, her meeting with the Protectorate would not fail on the basis of miscommunication.


    During the meetings just outside their camp Andrea had also tentatively proposed a plan to Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere that might at the very least delay the possibility of open conflict with the Protectorate while simultaneously legitimizing Andrea''s position as a representative of a foreign government. She suggested that Olan Lunere lease the valley to her on behalf of the Maleprian dual monarchy. Andrea would then establish a small compound to function as an embassy. In the short term this would hopefully discourage the Protectorate from intruding in the region. In theory they should be leery of potentially provoking an unknown foreign government and handing their opponents in the region an additional ally. In the long term, Andrea made it clear that she fully intended to legitimately use the valley as the site for an embassy, cultural exchange center, and potential commerce hub between her empire, Malepre, and points beyond. In this process Andrea was careful to never explicitly state the exact location of her country. It was clear that both Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere assumed it lay somewhere in the unexplored region in proximity to the valley and Andrea was in no hurry to clarify that the sole point of access back home was both located in the valley and currently closed.


    Olan Lunere expressed interest in Andrea''s proposal though they also made it clear that they had their doubts as to how much of a deterrent the ploy would actually prove to be. The Olan also noted that while they could make a provisional lease agreement, and provide documentation for that lease for Andrea to present when speaking to the Protectorate expedition, they did not actually have the authority to unilaterally ratify an agreement of that nature. They thought it was unlikely that the dual crown would reject the idea out of hand, but Andrea would need to renegotiate the terms at a later date to establish a legitimate lease on the region if she still wished to do so.


    As Andrea continued her diplomatic efforts and intelligence gathering, Lin continued to explore the valley and expand the contingent of drones available, using the base camp¡¯s fabricators. She began carefully airlifting some of the small spider-like stealth drones into areas that appeared most likely to be crossed by the Protectorate expedition. While she had asked Andrea to get around to probing her new friends for information on the military of the Protectorate, Lin was neither content to wait nor satisfied with relying solely on unvetted second hand intelligence. She intended to very carefully begin reconnaissance, from her experience with Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere¡¯s expedition Lin felt that her stealth drones were very unlikely to be discovered, and even if they were, their self-destruct could easily be taken as yet another peculiar ability in an unknown species from an unexplored region. This meant she felt safe using them for close observation without a significant threat of revealing either her presence or capabilities.


    On the evening of the second day Lin used a light security drone to make an announcement at the table in the hab dome. Having climbed up it settled down across from Andrea before striking a pose reminiscent of a cat that was feeling proud of itself. ¡°Both the heavy lift drone and the passenger pod are finished and ready to be used! You¡¯ll get to ride in safety and comfort and I¡¯ll finally have the other half of our production capacity free for other uses.¡± Andrea finished the last bite of the smoked salmon and cream cheese meal bar she¡¯d settled on for dinner, her enthusiastic thumbs up at the small drone Lin had preening on the table presaging her sentiments fairly clearly. ¡°Awesome! I was really getting tired of being hauled around dangling in the open air. This¡¯ll be even better for when I go to meet the Protectorate, I¡¯ll be able to look the part of a diplomat rather than a wind wracked mess, a flight over those mountains in the open would have been really rough. Now that we¡¯ve got fast and secure transport, we need to discuss when I¡¯m going to actually go and meet our latest group of adventurous alien beings.¡±


    There were about ten days left until the earliest estimated arrival time Lin could calculate for the Protectorate expedition. Though that would only be reaching the heights of one of the passes that looked down into the valley, actually reaching the valley proper would likely take another full day. Lin had realized that they had a bit longer than she¡¯d initially thought, since the group would slow down significantly once they had to abandon the wheeled vehicles. The transports were proving well suited to traversing the open plains, despite the lack of roads, but Lin had examined the likeliest courses for them to take and none of them would allow the vehicles passage, without multiple significant engineering projects. Nothing Lin had seen led her to believe the expedition was intending to build bridges and cut wide cliff side roads as they went. In fact if that turned out to be their plan after all, she¡¯d have to add far more time to their estimated arrival.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    After some discussion, Andrea and Lin decided on waiting three more days before Andrea traveled over the mountains to meet the Protectorate expedition, this would give Andrea a little more time to learn what she could from Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere, this included conventional etiquette for diplomatic exchanges, a procedure that Olan Lunere was required to know as an officer of the dual monarchs. In a stroke of good fortune Olan Lunere¡¯s expertise in diplomacy was what had singled them out for leading the Maleprian portion of the joint mission, making them an excellent teacher on the subject. Additionally Andrea was going to be learning a smattering of the official language of the Protectorate. As a multi-state Empire there were many different languages spoken in various regions but the traditional language of the original monarchy was retained as the official language and anyone with any education in the Protectorate learned to speak it. While Andrea wouldn''t have the time to learn much, nor were there any experts in the language among Unla-Ela''s party, she would at the very least have a small vocabulary with which she was familiar and the translation software would be able to begin building a linguistic dictionary.


    Over the three days that Andrea was spending in learning what she could, Lin would be continuing to surveil the incoming expedition as well as seeding additional caches of spy drones ahead of their path. The expedition was on track to pass the first group of concealed spy drones, about a day before Andrea was going to attempt contact. Lin intended to make use of the limited language dictionary for the Protectorate''s official language by listening in on all the conversations she could, allowing her to both feed more data into language translation software. Ideally, Lin would be able to learn a bit about the intentions and dispositions of the expedition¡¯s leaders ahead of Andrea''s meeting with them.


    The three day deadline left them in a bit of a rush having to curtail some of the prep work they would have preferred to do before engaging in another first contact. The duo had however come to the conclusion that it was better to have this first meeting while the group was still at least a week away from actually reaching them. If the meeting went well, excellent, if it went poorly or it seemed like there would be trouble regardless of how the meeting went, then they would have seven or eight days in which to decide on the best response and prepare it.


    The next morning Lin continued her preparations, temporarily setting aside her lab work and research to entirely focus on gathering as much information as she could and fabricating the first vacuum aerostat platform. Andrea still pulled along the escort of half a dozen combat drones but now they all flew unencumbered in a fast moving formation around a vehicle that dwarfed them in size. Thirty meters long and ten wide, if the combat drones looked insectile, then the heavy lift drone appeared to be one of their oversized prehistoric ancestors. Clasped securely to the abdomen of this artificial flying beast was the large oblong shape of the passenger pod, much of its broad curving walls were currently set to be transparent allowing Andrea a spectacular view of the valley as it flew by.


    In a matter of minutes after take off, the large drone was descending back down towards the small clearing Andrea had been using. It slipped carefully through the small gap in the forest canopy and settled down on half a dozen landing legs that folded out smoothly as the ground rose up to meet them. Andrea opened up a hatch on the side of the transport pod and stepped out of her new ride. It was unlikely that Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere would miss the large vehicle, being both relatively noisy and landing only a moderate distance from their camp. Andrea had insisted, against Lin¡¯s protests, that they not try and hide the transport, both Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere had been gently probing Andrea on both how she was leaning when the Protectorate expedition might arrive and how she was planning on meeting them before they did. Andrea decided that a direct demonstration, including offering to take them on a ride would satisfy some of their curiosity and begin to establish her more securely as representing a legitimate sophisticated foreign government. With three days till she was to leave Andrea hoped that showing off like this would expedite the process of getting useful information, particularly out of Olan Lunere. The Olan had, up till now, balked at demonstrating any of their military hardware, or discussing how it compared to the Protectorate¡¯s equipment. While she had no interest in fighting another war, Andrea believed that ignorance could be deadly and that sometimes peace could only be maintained at knifepoint. It was time to see how good a whetstone the Olan would be.

 Summary Section of Lins Reconnaissance Report

    11/5/1532


    The incoming expedition, provisionally identified as operating under the aegis of the Protectorate of Galyon, has been subject to extensive long range aerial reconnaissance for the past 52 hours. The full detailed analysis of the gathered surveillance data is available and will be added to the official mission record along with this summary.


    Current outline of incoming expedition:


    Based on extended visual and infrared imaging I estimate 200 unique individuals that appear to be of the same intelligent species as the one we have already encountered. The most likely source of error for this estimate is the presence of 15 self-propelled vehicles with cargo enclosures that obscure the available suite of long range imaging systems. The vehicles themselves are clearly not drawn by the 30 large domesticated animals that also accompany the expedition, however their means of propulsion is unclear, thermal imaging shows no strong central source of heat emissions, or warm exhaust plumes, that might be associated with combustion engines. The expedition appears to be led by two individuals, though one clearly seems to wield greater day to day authority, they will meet with the other on a daily basis and appear to discuss their position and future path, if their body language, and use of cartography tools and binoculars is any indication.


    Plans for follow up mission:


    If the expedition¡¯s route and rate of advance follows expectations, further reconnaissance by stealth infiltration drones will be undertaken in approximately 72 hours. This mission will seek to fill in the gaps in the currently available data. The primary targets will be inspection of the vehicle interiors and gathering audio recordings of conversations among members of the expedition. Inspecting the vehicle interiors will provide vital data on their equipment and supplies, as well as refining my estimate of the number of personnel involved in their operation. A close inspection of the vehicles may also yield some insight into the nature of the propulsion systems they use. The infiltration drones are capable, when in close proximity, of detecting the sort of electromagnetic emissions that would indicate electrical components in operation, visual inspection of the undercarriage and ultrasonic imaging of closed compartments should also prove illuminating. Conversations between members of the target expedition may help confirm their identity based on the language they use, as well as potentially providing further insight into their intentions and capabilities. A particularly high priority will be placed on planting bugs on or near the two individuals who appear to be the expedition''s leaders. Since the intent is for Andrea to attempt peaceful contact with the expedition less than 24 hours after the infiltration drones¡¯ mission, discretion will be prioritized at the expense of data gathering. Even if there is a very good chance that an infiltration drone can pass itself off as some exotic fauna with special abilities, I have judged that it will increase the paranoia with which anything else unusual will be viewed, which is not helpful for Andrea¡¯s mission, and therefore detrimental to the overall mission objective of peaceful exploration.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

 Chapter Twenty Four

    Lin built up as complete a picture of the Protectorate expedition as she could. There were fifteen self propelled transport vehicles and about thirty large animals that were clearly rigged with the equipment to haul cargo, while just as conspicuously being largely unloaded. Lin speculated that they were planning on transferring gear and supplies from the vehicles to the beasts of burden once the terrain became too rough for the wheeled transports to pass through. Lin doubted that anywhere near the full load the transports could be hauling would fit on the pack train, and while some of the space was likely additional supplies intended to be left with a guard detail for the vehicles, Lin suspected there must be something else taking up a great deal of space. Frustratingly she hadn¡¯t been able to get much of a view of the interiors of the vehicles, therefore slipping into a few for a peek was part of the mission her first set of infiltration drones would undertake preceding Andrea¡¯s arrival near the convoy. Olan Lunere had, unfortunately, been rather light on their knowledge of the typical equipment and doctrine of Protectorate expeditions. Clearly, despite the increased tensions, the idea that a Protectorate force of any kind would actually violate the territorial claims of Malepre had not been taken seriously by Olan Lunere¡¯s superiors.


    What little the Olan knew was due to their own personal interest, though even that little bit was helpful. They said that their understanding was that the standard weapons used by the Protectorate were very analogous to those found in Malepre, the League, and the rest of the known world. The day before Andrea had informed Olan Lunere and Unla-Ela about her plan to make contact with the Protectorate expedition. Unla-Ela appeared concerned but accepting. "I understand your reasoning, I wish we had more time to help you prepare, but even the most renowned transference experts have yet to manipulate time, so we will have to make do and hope for the best. Olan Lunere was a bit more pessimistic "If you are going to meet a Protectorate force out in the wild with no witnesses, I suppose I''d better show you the sorts of weapons you might expect them to use on you to the best of my ability. With how short we are on time perhaps a practical demonstration will teach you something that saves your life when you''re meeting with them inevitably goes sour."


    When Andrea had accepted the Olan''s offer of a demonstration she was unsure what to expect. So far both Lin and herself had had the good fortune to see very little of these alien beings'' weapons. Both of them had observed objects that superficially resembled certain types of guns. They did not contain any active electronics that Lin and Andrea''s sensors had been able to detect nor had their chemical sensors picked up any traces of explosive compounds that might be in a propellant. The lack of an obvious mechanical mechanism for accelerating projectiles had left the duo somewhat stumped but they had concluded that in all likelihood they somehow harnessed some of the strange phenomena that was seemingly commonplace on this world. The only other weapon they''d seen had certainly demonstrated that harnessing those phenomena had been elevated to a reasonably sophisticated level. The impressive damage dealt by Wenou''s baton had genuinely surprised them both. Lin in particular was excited to be voluntarily given a demonstration of such devices, and to begin learning the methods the local population had developed to deliberately harness the strange phenomena, all the various forms of which, apparently, fell under the term transference in the trade tongue. Andrea had been pushing for using the term magic, but Lin had been resistant, she argued that the term was too loaded with cultural baggage and that transference was both descriptive and less likely to pre-define the paradigms by which they understood this strange new field of study.


    After her quick hike to the usual meeting spot, Andrea signaled her presence and was soon joined by Olan Lunere. ¡°Seeing as they aren¡¯t of a military persuasion, and have been too absorbed with liaising with you to gather more samples for study, Unla-Ela decided that they¡¯re time would be more productively spent returning to the work they came here to accomplish. They left on a sample gathering expedition at first light.¡± Andrea nodded in understanding. ¡°That makes sense to me. Indeed I rather envy them, as I would far prefer to be conducting similar work. I spent time in the military myself, but left years ago, so I could pursue my academic interests full time.¡± Olan Lunere lifted an eyebrow slightly but before they could reply they were drawn away by a question emanating from the stream of their subordinates who rushed back and forth under the Olan¡¯s orders. They were undertaking the cumbersome task of moving various different objects that were clearly intended to become targets, as well as shifting some of the heavier weapons from their positions in the camp. It seemed the demonstration would take place out in the open space between the palisade and the forest. Clearly the recently cleared area would soon be absorbing a fusillade from various weapons.


    Within a quarter of an hour the demonstration was ready and Olan Lunere waved Andrea over to a quickly set up table with a number of different weapons arranged on it. Once Andrea had come over Olan Lunere told her what amounted to the lesson plan for the day. ¡°I¡¯m going to go through the standard issue equipment I have access to, and feel comfortable showing a foreign representative, once I¡¯ve demonstrated a weapon you¡¯ll be able to try it out yourself if you¡¯d like. This should give you a rough idea of the sort of weapons Protectorate forces might field. In my personal studies about the Protectorate I¡¯ve learned some tidbits and rumors about other possible weapons you might face, while I can¡¯t demonstrate those I¡¯ll at least go over what little I know. I¡¯ll start with a weapon which I think you already saw in action.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The first thing the Olan reached for was a collapsible baton that closely resembled the one Wenou had used some days before to such surprising effect. After quickly demonstrating how it was deployed they strode over to a target that consisted of several rough cut thin slices of wood held slightly apart from one another. With a deceptively casual gesture the Olan the face of the first broad slice of wood with a decisive crack of impact. That first slice of wood seemed completely unharmed, however the rapid series of sharp cracks that rang out from deeper into the target as well as fragments of wood flying out through the gaps between the layers told all those watching that something far more devastating was happening just under the surface. Olan Lunere collapsed the baton and returned it to the table before leading Andrea over to the target so she could observe the layers of shattered wood that had once been the middle layers of the target. ¡°This baton is tipped with specially treated and shaped wood from a Mulch Bark tree. The tree is known for tearing apart most things that get within fifteen to thirty centimeters of the wood, this includes itself. When the tree grows too thick it begins to shred its own bark, hence the name. When the wood is carefully harvested and preserved it can retain this shredding ability for years before needing to be replaced. We¡¯re not sure how the tree has the energy to constantly tear apart everything that comes near it, but the harvested wood is actually harmless until it is struck or squeezed with sufficient force. Hence placing it at the tip of a baton, the force of a baton strike generates a mulching force that starts about fifteen centimeters from the actual tip of the baton and tears at everything up to around thirty centimeters away completely ignoring any armor or other barrier in the way. The thick steel of the baton is usually robust enough to endure the shredding aura and, when used properly, keeps the wielder from tearing themselves apart. You can see the holster for it here on the table, notice how the end of the baton rests inside a protective steel container lined with a cushion. There are some real horror stories about soldiers falling down with one of these holstered at their side before this style of holster was introduced. While devastating in close combat, a lot of soldiers choose to avoid them, considering how dangerous they can be to both the user and everyone near them.¡± After a brief moment of consideration Olan Lunere added ¡°From what I hear, these batons are no more popular among the rank and file in the Protectorate, and while soldiers from Malepre generally use mundane steel weapons in melee, I¡¯ve read some passing mention of a popular alternative in the Protectorate that packs a similar punch, though unfortunately I don¡¯t know any more on the subject.¡±


    Andrea was fascinated and horrified at the same time. Olan Lunere¡¯s mention of ¡®accidents¡¯ certainly conjured a vivid picture when paired with their demonstration of the baton¡¯s effect. ¡°Interesting, and dangerous, After we¡¯ve gone over everything I would very much like to come back and try using this for myself.¡± Andrea knew that Lin would very much want an opportunity to gather detailed scans of the weapon in action from as close as possible, though she intended to be extremely careful with the device, she had already concluded that anyone who chose to wield something so risky was probably not entirely sane. The Olan nodded at Andrea¡¯s comment before gesturing over to one of the large weapons that had been hauled out into the field. ¡°I¡¯m going to skip the rest of the small arms for the moment, we¡¯ll come back to them of course, it occurred to me that if I demonstrate this next weapon now it¡¯ll have more time to recover in the heat of the day than if I wait until later.¡±


    The next weapon the Olan demonstrated was clearly a heavy weapon, meant to be placed statically or on a vehicle, it had taken three people just to haul the entire set up out of the camp and arrange it for the demonstration. This device had no projectiles that Andrea or Lin could recognize, indeed the stubby ¡®barrel¡¯ of the weapon had no opening at all, instead it appeared to be entirely solid material sticking out the front in a solid spar with an aiming sight on top of it. Olan Lunere stepped up to the odd device and after shouting a stand clear and checking no one was in the way squeezed firmly on the handles while aiming out at a pair of thick targets, one a rock and the other a log, the targets were placed with the log behind the rock. When the Olan clenched the handles there was a moment¡¯s pause before the weapon seemed to project a blazing column of light that howled, as the very air screamed as heat bloomed along the near blinding line emanating from the weapon. That column of blazing heat and light seemed totally unimpeded by the targets and passed through them instantly, only to vanish abruptly a few meters beyond the targets even as the searing beam continued to howl like some primeval beast incandescent with rage.

 Chapter Twenty Five

    Several long ear rending seconds passed as the incandescent spear was shifted back and forth across the targets, lingering in the center for a few extra moments before Olan Lunere eased their grip on the handles and the weapon shut down. Andrea and Lin were silently discussing theories on how the dramatic effect was achieved. Both of them could see from their infrared sensors that the weapon itself had remained at much the same temperature as it had started, while the air above the path of the beam was a shimmering swathe of vortices as superheated gases rocketed upwards in plumes that traced the course of the beam as it had been swept back and forth over the targets. As for the targets themselves, at the moment the duo could only see from Andrea¡¯s perspective, the high altitude drone had yet to resume its over-watch of the camp.


    Their limited viewpoint meant that they could only see that the large rock shielding the wooden target was visibly glowing where the beam had passed through it and in the center where the beam had lingered the rock had obviously liquefied and begun to deform, though it had already cooled enough to stop visibly flowing. The hints of smoke curling up from behind the rock did seem to hint that their earlier impression of the beam penetrating the rock wasn¡¯t an illusion. Olan Lunere walked back over to Andrea. ¡°We should wait another minute or so to ensure we aren¡¯t burned by hot air and then we can examine the targets and you¡¯ll see the most insidious part of this particular weapon¡¯s nature.¡± True to their word, after a short interval had passed the Olan gestured for Andrea to follow them and walked across the visibly roasted ground cover before gingerly circling the no longer glowing, but still blazing hot rock.


    As Andrea rounded the obstacle she was able to see what was left of the wooden target, it wasn¡¯t much. A few scattered fragments of charred wood and scattered ashes were the sole evidence that any target had been there at all. Lin speculated that the wood had been heated so rapidly and unevenly that parts of it had undergone a steam explosion that blew it apart even as the scattering fragments were ignited from the heat. ¡°That¡¯s similar to the sort of damage high energy laser weapons would inflict, though it seems this weapon is not limited to direct line of sight.¡± Indeed, after a moment''s pause to let Andrea take in the sight, Olan Lunere¡¯s words soon confirmed Lin¡¯s supposition. ¡°As you can see, when properly harvested and preserved the natural weapon of the lesser coastal dragon makes for a lethal short range weapon. It doesn¡¯t shoot out any flames, rather within a certain area in front of the small horn that is embedded in the ¡®barrel¡¯ of the weapon. Objects melt, burn, boil, or burst depending on their nature. The only limitation seems to be the total weight of material it is able to affect at once before it stops getting things hot enough to cause damage. Everything in what we¡¯ve measured to be a narrow cylinder starting a dozen centimeters or so from the weapon and extending outwards is affected in the same instant when the weapon is activated. The maximum range seems to grow in proportion to the size of the coastal dragon¡¯s horn, though the longest range I¡¯ve ever heard of was around one hundred meters, though that horn was so large that the weapon it produced could only practically be mounted on either a fortress or a royal warship.¡± Olan Lunere paused for a moment, appearing to see things that pained them before, with a shake of their head, they continued. ¡°While there are some more exotic methods of defending against this weapon the main defense is to simply not be in range when it¡¯s fired. The beast¡¯s preserved organs can only store so much of the sun¡¯s heat at a time so baiting out the user into exhausting their weapon is a common strategy. Realistically there is no way to take cover from this weapon, for all practical purposes anyone within its range is a twitch of the operator¡¯s hand away from a swift and spectacular demise.¡± Once again they seemed to be looking past Andrea and remembering things they¡¯d rather not.


    Shaking off the skein of old memories, Olan Lunere walked back to the table they had started at. ¡°The primary way of charging that weapon is by gathering energy from the sun. In a pinch placing it near other sources of heat can charge it as well, though that is expensive and generally not very effective. I¡¯ve heard that some of Unla-Ela¡¯s colleagues are tinkering with methods of artificially providing heat at a rate that would allow for continuous use, but apparently their studies are widely regarded as an overpriced boondoggle.¡± Olan Lunere chuckled a bit as they spoke, clearly leaning towards the views of the skeptics in this instance. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve shown you the little bit of fancy kit that I was able to drag over the mountains, we can finally look at the real workhorse of weapons, pretty much anyone you come across who¡¯s armed will have some version of this these days.¡± As they spoke the Olan reached down and picked up one of the devices that Andrea and Lin had both thought resembled guns. The resemblance was primarily in the handle and trigger arrangement, a form factor that appeared to have developed similarly on this world due to the native peoples¡¯ uncannily human-like hand anatomy. When one shifted their gaze towards the rest of the weapon it was quickly apparent that this was not a gun. For one thing there was no enclosed barrel or chamber. Long slender metal darts appeared to be stored in a hopper near the rear of the weapon. As Olan Lunere walked Andrea through the basics of the safe use of a flechette thrower, it quickly became clear that the flechettes were gravity fed down onto a launch rail, that was no longer than the storage hopper, before being hurled at high speed out of the end with every pull of the trigger. Based on the readings from Andrea¡¯s sensors it looked like the small one handed version Olan Lunere was showing them could accelerate its light, thin, roughly ten centimeter long, darts to supersonic speeds, a measurement further corroborated by the telltale Krak! of the sound barrier being broken. Lin was impressed by the mechanism, though not for its destructive capacity but rather because the rate of acceleration was shocking. The flechette launcher didn¡¯t need a long ¡®barrel¡¯ because the dart had reached its top speed before it had traveled a distance even half its own length. ¡°Whatever they are using to propel those projectiles is remarkable Andrea! I would need to test it extensively in a lab to get better precision but it appears to be applying massive acceleration while, as best as your implanted sensors can determine, producing no waste heat or sound, I didn¡¯t note any obvious recoil either. The number of applications for that sort of propulsion is nearly limitless.¡± Olan Lunere had continued to fire rounds from the thrower until after twenty rounds they had emptied the hopper on top. They demonstrated how preloaded hoppers could be quickly swapped in for empties, then they popped a hatch on the back of the handle above the hand grip and pulled out a small, perhaps thumb sized, glass ampule. A green feathery moss-like plant and a small quantity of dirt, or something similar, were contained in this miniature terrarium. Andrea messaged Lin ¡°I bet that¡¯s the source of propulsion you were gushing about just now. I¡¯ll see if they¡¯ll give me some for you to play with.¡± Olan Lunere held the small ampule up and spoke. ¡°This little plant is what does all the work. It used to be called neck breaker weed for its propensity to launch people and animals, the rapid acceleration of the launch itself was often fatal, or incapacitating, while the eventual landing had much the same effect. Once people figured out it could be kept alive in a portable form, and have its propensity to fling people and objects controlled it quickly became known as warrior¡¯s weed.¡± they reached down to their belt which was covered in little open topped pockets that now revealed their purpose as they slipped the ampule into an empty pocket leaving it open to sunlight, while they pushed on the bottom of the next pocket over to extract another ampule of the plant which was rapidly slotted back into the flechette thrower. ¡°They do get tired, for this smaller weapon they¡¯re usually able to throw fifty to sixty darts in short succession but then about half a day of good sun exposure is needed to fully restore their vigor. You¡¯ll often see veterans laying out their ampules to get more sun exposure, if they have some down time during the day. These weapons come in all sizes, up to massive siege weapons and ship¡¯s armaments but they all function nearly identically, it¡¯s mainly a matter of scale.¡± Andrea opened her mouth but was interrupted as the Olan added ¡°and before you ask, no, I can¡¯t give you any of our ampules. We lost some to the cold during our trip over the mountains and we didn¡¯t bring a huge stock to begin with. I can¡¯t take the risk of being unable to defend ourselves against the wildlife, or any Protectorate interference.¡± Andrea shrugged, then nodded in understanding. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to deprive you of your protection, even in part, so I¡¯ll content myself with trying out these weapons myself to get a better feel for them.¡± That defined the rest of the day, with Andrea going through the weapons and trying them out, occasionally asking questions about the Olan¡¯s experiences with the weapons, and any other weapons he knew of. The Olan was happy to share their personal experiences, but they balked at discussing other rarer weapons. ¡°I would be overstepping myself if I revealed anything that my majesties might wish to keep confidential. I will tell you that you¡¯re unlikely to meet with anything more than what I¡¯ve shown you. The Protectorate has no reason to waste expensive and rare weapons and equipment on what I¡¯d guess to be an expendable scouting and/or raiding force. Our own expedition wasn¡¯t granted anything more than you¡¯ve seen, these kinds of weapons are plenty for keeping most wildlife at bay.¡± Just as the sky overhead began to darken and shade into crimsons, pinks, and oranges, Andrea parted ways with Olan Lunere, they wished her luck in her attempt to meet with the Protectorate, though it was clear from their attitude that they were certain it wouldn¡¯t end peacefully. Unla-Ela had yet to return, but the Olan reassured Andrea that they often got back just after dark, since they pushed to wring out the most possible time in the field as they could. Andrea hiked back to the heavy lift drone and climbed into the capsule, before being lifted rapidly into the sky. As Andrea lounged back and enjoyed the wash of evening colors painting the valley Lin spoke up ¡°Get some sleep when you get back, you have to be at peak performance tomorrow. When you wake up tomorrow I¡¯ll tell you all about what I learn tonight. In just a few hours my infiltration drones will begin living up to their name.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

 Chapter Twenty Six

    The comforting murmur of quiet conversation drifted through the cooling night air. The crackle of burning grass and wood hinting at the warmth and camaraderie to be found in the camp. A set of tents arranged in a circle around each fire. These tents were clustered on the crest of a low hill in the savanna just before the foothills of the mountains. The small herd of accompanying pack animals were bedding down for the night, though several continued to graze on feed and take water from the lightweight wooden troughs that someone had pulled from one of the expedition¡¯s trucks. The docile animals huddled in a group at the base of the riverward side of the hill. Finally the trucks were pulled into a loose half circle on the mountainward side of the hill. Small groups would patrol away from the hill, keeping within easy shouting distance of those keeping watch from the roofs of the trucks or those tasked with guarding the herd. Those who were venturing away from the warmth and comfort of the camp carried small portable lights that went bobbing along and revealing wedges of the darkened grassland as their owners swept them back and forth. The illuminated areas writhed with shadows, dancing as if to celebrate their freedom from the larger body of the night¡¯s darkness. The buzzing and singing of insects would hush as the light passed, only to burst forth once again as the protective cover of night gave fresh courage to the choir.


    One such group patrolled past a bush, their lights turning the usually immobile vegetation into a vision of shifting shadows and illusory movement. It wasn¡¯t the first time that evening that they¡¯d walked by this particular shrub, nor would it be the last. However on this particular occasion the movement among the shifting shadows of their lights was not entirely illusory. As the lights moved on and the songs of the night insects resumed something shifted in the depths of the stunted branches. A slim appendage, the color and texture of bark and leaves, carefully extended itself from the concealing embrace of the underbrush. This strange limb delicately gripped one of the branches of the low lying bush. Its claws firmly seated, the limb began to curl with an almost sinister grace, even as more such limbs reached out of the same recess, silently advancing a hand-sized spider-like form as it crept closer to the line of vehicles at the base of the hill.


    Rather than the unsettling predator it resembled, this form belonged to one of the half dozen infiltration drones that had been lurking nearby, waiting for just such an opportunity. The combination of their small size and adaptive camouflage skin made them difficult to spot, even if their latest subjects had been aware of their existence. Their fusion of organic and mechanical meant that more than just appearance linked them to spiders. The hybridized and gene-modified spider body, both housed the majority of the drone¡¯s electromechanical components and shielded them from easy detection. The overwhelming majority of the electronics were isolated in a Faraday cage in the core of the infiltration drone. The spider¡¯s body allowed the drone to climb on nearly any surface in near perfect silence, and was capable of shocking bursts of speed and agility. The modified octopus skin that covered the exterior could alter its color and texture with astounding versatility, providing active camouflage that wouldn¡¯t give itself away by leaking electromagnetic radiation. Though, Lin reflected, as she monitored the progress of half a dozen such infiltration drones. The electronic shielding features seemed unlikely to be relevant on this night. She was more concerned about what strange phenomena might be harnessed to detect her drones in ways Lin had yet to conceive of.


    In their base camp Andrea was getting a good night''s sleep. Lin had maintenance drones going over the heavy lift drone and passenger pod, ensuring that they had suffered no failures during their maiden flight, and were in peak condition to transport Andrea over the mountains the next day. The high altitude drones were now all tasked with monitoring the Protectorate camp from a great distance, and were moving to provide an overwatch for tomorrow¡¯s planned meeting area from different angles, covering each other¡¯s blind spots. The base camp itself had not had any of its patrolling stealth drones or concealed sensor network detect anything new or unusual in the vicinity, so Lin had decided that diverting all of the high altitude drones to maximize the support she could give Andrea was the best choice. Lin had already begun moving the four combat drones that weren¡¯t part of Andrea¡¯s quartet of escorts. Lin planned to covertly station them near the meeting point so they could strike from a different angle than Andrea¡¯s escorting combat drones, in the event that Andrea was attacked. This meant that only the utility drones conducting work around the camp, the Donkeys, and the stealth drones for scouting and sample retrieval would remain in the valley. If an animal with exotic abilities began destroying the base camp, there was very little that could be done to defend it, until Andrea had returned and Lin could shift the combat drones back. The entire base camp along with all of their drones and equipment were ultimately expendable, the only thing they had to preserve at all costs was Andrea¡¯s body. As long as that survived both Andrea and Lin would survive.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The infiltration drones continued to creep into the camp, dodging the patrols and evading the sight of the sentries was proving extremely easy so far. Lin was getting the impression that the expedition was primarily guarding against a potential animal attack, and clearly they didn¡¯t think the threat was a terribly serious one. That or they were some of the least disciplined and trained soldiers Lin had encountered. For all that Olan Lunere, and to a lesser extent Unla-Ela, had trumped the expansionist and aggressive attitude of the Protectorate, this group did not strike Lin as particularly threatening. Indeed Olan Lunere¡¯s small contingent of troops had appeared far more alert and professional ,even before Andrea made contact with them, and raised the prospect of something besides dangerous plants and animals in the valley.


    The first infiltration drone reached the line of trucks and began to climb up the tires and into the wheel well, from there it found a gap that it could squeeze itself though and as it unfolded on the other side it revealed the interior of the canvas hull to be filled with crates and sacks of food. This wasn¡¯t a surprise, since long range surveillance had already allowed Lin to determine the contents of most of the vehicles. The interesting part, and the reason an infiltration drone was even in the vehicle was the area in the forward section of the storage compartment that Lin had been unable to get any useful readings from externally. It always emitted flat even thermal spectra with no variation across its surface, while certain electromagnetic wavelengths had been able to penetrate the canvas walls of the rest of the truck, and give a limited idea of the interior layout, the forward compartment had remained stubbornly opaque. This strange section was located on several of the vehicles in the convoy, and Lin had tasked a couple of infiltration drones with inspecting those spaces directly if possible. Sure enough, the infiltration drone scuttled deeper into the storage space and spotted a wall with a closed door, partitioning off the mystery section from the piles of food and sundry supplies. A similar scene began to play out on one of the other trucks, as the second infiltration drone wriggled its way into the rear compartment and advanced towards another closed door.


    The remaining four infiltration drones continued to slip deeper into the camp, climbing the hill and perching themselves in out of the way corners, convergent pressures driving them to emulate their true spider ancestors. Lin used these lurking eyes and ears to help build the translation lexicon for the Protectorate¡¯s official language and gather samples of other dialects. Lin was also culling footage of social interactions for Andrea to study as she flew to the meeting, maybe she could wring some insight into how best to interact with the members of the Protectorate expedition. Lin returned her focus to the doors obstructing her infiltration drones. There were a number of possible solutions, though Lin wanted to leave no trace of her presence, and avoid causing any bodily harm or material damage. After all, Andrea and Lin both still wanted to act in good faith to establish a peaceful relationship with these people, just as they had with the expedition in the valley.


    The doors both appeared to have some kind of lock, there was no obvious opening for a key to be inserted. Lin was forced to conclude that either some unfamiliar form of combination lock was in use or else the keys required no direct mechanical access to the lock. Considering the various uses of, Lin sighed, ¡®magic¡¯ she had seen so far. Lin wasn¡¯t even sure where to start when it came to bypassing the lock. For now, the two infiltration drones crawled up to the ceiling and nestled themselves into a good vantage point.The previous days of aerial observation revealed that the vehicles with the mystery compartments received extra visitors on a near daily basis, these extra visitors also seemed to spend quite a long time inside the compartment with each visit. Lin had timed visits as short as fifteen minutes and as long as two hours. It was likely at least one of the infiltration drones would witness how the compartment was accessed, and potentially be able to slip inside. Now Lin had to take another lead from spiders and lurk quietly, waiting for her opportunity to come to her.

 Chapter Twenty Seven

    Lin¡¯s patient stakeout of the sealed compartments paid off faster than she¡¯d feared. After roughly two hours of quietly eavesdropping on conversations around the camp, many of which were in languages she was currently unable to translate, one of the vehicles finally received a visitor. The truck shifted and rocked a bit as someone hauled themselves up through the open canvas entryway at the rear, before squeezing through the stacks of supplies to reach the locked door. This individual might have been called rubenesque if they were just a bit less muscular. They were also one of the shortest of their species that Lin had observed so far. Their dark blue hands felt around in the dark as they navigated through the cluttered and enclosed space. For some reason they hadn''t bothered with a light, despite their obvious need. This odd choice made the infiltration drone all the more difficult to spot and the squat figure unknowingly passed directly under the camouflaged and completely still infiltration drone. After a few minutes of fumbling their way in the dark they finally reached the door, stopping to grab a cord from around their neck and pulling out a thumb-sized oblong of material from where it had nestled on their chest. The infiltration drone¡¯s sensors were gathering as much information as they could as the visitor pressed the oblong against a clearly marked spot on the door causing it to immediately slide to the left. Lin wasn¡¯t able to determine what mechanism was used to achieve this effect, but by this point she strongly suspected that the technological paradigm on this world deeply incorporated the strange ¡®magical¡¯ properties that a number of organisms seemed to exhibit. Regardless, this opportunity was not one she would pass up. Lin instructed the infiltration drone to switch to fully autonomous mode after entering the heretofore sealed chamber, once the door slid closed Lin would be unable to maintain contact with the drone. The chamber seemed opaque to every electromagnetic wavelength she¡¯d tried, and all of her communication methods, save hardwired connections, fell somewhere on that spectrum. Even a fairly hazardous, and rarely used, x-ray communication laser would be unable to penetrate, unless Lin wanted to take the step of burning a hole in the wall in order to punch the signal through. An infiltration drone was, for obvious reasons, often expected to enter situations where it either couldn¡¯t or shouldn¡¯t attempt to communicate with external controllers and observers. This meant that Lin was confident she¡¯d soon have some answers as the drone scuttled along the ceiling of the truck and through the doorway, just before the door slid shut again. Once again Lin had to exercise her patience as she waited for the door to reopen and the drone to slip back out and re-establish contact.


    Lin had detected and monitored four of these obscuring compartments, each on a separate vehicle and each apparently visited by a single dedicated individual on a daily basis. Lin was leaning towards the idea that the compartments, or their contents, were each assigned to some form of specialist. This particular specialist was one who Lin had tracked entering this compartment before, and they always lingered longer in their compartment than the other three did in theirs. This meant that Lin was not worried when more than an hour passed with no contact from the infiltration drone. Sure enough after more than an hour and a half Lin was suddenly reconnected to the infiltration drone as it left the small compartment and stopped acting autonomously. The unwitting door opener stepped out at the same time as the infiltration drone, still seemingly oblivious to the arachnoid skittering above them. Her main mission accomplished, Lin allowed the infiltration drones to carefully sweep through the camp, gathering as much additional data as possible before leaving as stealthily as they¡¯d come. Departing long before even the first hints of dawn light began to rouse the sleeping members of the Protectorate expedition. Lin was fascinated by what she found when reviewing the information gathered by the infiltrator that had entered one of the strange compartments. She couldn¡¯t wait to share this with Andrea, though judging by the time it would be several more hours before Lin would be able to gush about her findings. Sometimes she really wished Andrea would finally give up sleeping, it was frustrating when her friend missed out on almost a third of every day.


    Andrea woke up long before the sun began to emerge above the mountain peaks. She had about half an hour of flight ahead of her, followed by a hike of several kilometers to reach the meeting point before the lead elements of the convoy. The plan was basically the same as the previous first contact. Andrea would set up in an elevated position visible from a distance and allow the Protectorate expedition to approach her at their own pace. As she climbed out of her bed and stretched, one of the small maintenance drones raised a tiny manipulator arm and waved a greeting. ¡°Good morning to you too Lin.¡± Andrea smiled and made her way over to the kitchen area of the hab dome. Deciding to go with comfort food, Andrea ordered a pair of custom meal bars; waffles with peanut butter, crispy bacon, over easy eggs and maple syrup on all of it. She was always fascinated and impressed by how the meal bar synthesizers could incorporate all the correct textures and flavors of different foods into bar form without muddling them together. The main reason Andrea even bothered with traditional preparations of food when she was back home, was for the visual aesthetic. As she waited for the custom order to be fabricated, she walked over to the hab¡¯s shower and luxuriated in the feeling of warm water washing away the last remnants of the night¡¯s sleep. Eventually it became clear that Lin was losing patience when she flew one of her mini-drones into the hab dome and began flying circles, loops, and generally dancing around. Andrea laughed and shut off the shower. ¡°Fine, fine I¡¯m coming, let me grab the meal bars and you can tell me all about what you learned last night.¡±


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    Once Andrea settled into her seat at the table and had the wrapper on the first meal bar peeled back, Lin finally spoke. ¡°Well I¡¯ve got some good news for you and some strange news.¡± Andrea raised an eyebrow in silent query as she lounged back in her seat and continued to slowly savor the crisp bacon and fluffy waffle of her breakfast. Lin huffed good naturedly at Andrea¡¯s focus on breakfast before continuing. ¡°I¡¯ll start with the good news. I doubt the Protectorate expedition is any kind of covert military team. Based on the observed level of their general demeanor and level of discipline, as well as their poor showing when it comes to properly securing their camp, I suspect this group is largely composed of civilians. They are all armed and a few of them seem to have a better idea of what they¡¯re doing, but considering the nature of some of the stranger organisms we¡¯ve witnessed around here only a group with a death wish would venture into the wild unarmed. This makes it far less likely that they have been dispatched to harass the League''s and Malepre''s joint expedition. Instead I¡¯d say they have a more investigative purpose in mind, I noted a great deal of gear that matched the sample collection and analysis tools Unla-Ela and their students have been using. I wouldn¡¯t be shocked to learn that they don¡¯t expect to see anyone at all. Indeed they seem unaware this valley even exists. While I can¡¯t yet translate a majority of the conversations I overheard, a few people conversed in their, I supposed you¡¯d call it, official language. It seems they are definitely  heading in this direction for a reason that remains unclear so far, but they know nothing about what they¡¯ll find after they reach the mountains.


    Andrea continued to eat her breakfast but responded by messaging Lin ¡°That¡¯s great news! If they¡¯re interested in exploration and discovery, rather than political machinations then they¡¯re much more likely to be open to a peaceful and genuine exchange with a strange alien being.¡± Lin bobbed the flying drone in lieu of nodding. ¡°My thoughts exactly, not only do they strike me as being unable to pose you much of a threat, but also unlikely to be interested in trying to begin with. I¡¯m still going to maintain the extra surveillance and attack drone backup forces for the meeting location, since I already set them up we might as well utilize them.¡± Andrea shrugged ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll interfere with my work making first contact, and an excess of caution is usually better than its lack.¡± Lin couldn¡¯t help her skeptical snort at that last statement. ¡°That is real rich coming from Miss Regularly Endangers Her Life.¡± Andrea finally swallowed her bite and grinned. ¡°Do as I say, not as I do, is a time honored standard. Now tell me the ¡®strange¡¯ news you mentioned.¡±


    Lin forwarded a sensor feed recording to Andrea, ¡°This is from the interior of one of the four large compartments in the Protectorate expedition¡¯s vehicles. I dedicated extra focus to these since I had been unable to get any readings on the interiors and noted the regular dedicated attention that seemed directed to their contents. I now suspect that the compartments are actually standardized armored transport cradles that have been bolted into the vehicles¡¯ cargo compartments.¡± As Lin spoke Andrea was busy scrubbing back and forth through the footage switching between various imaging wavelengths from time to time, trying to get a handle on what she was looking at. The perspectives all seemed to be from a high angle, and Andrea realized that they must have been taken by one of Lin¡¯s infiltration drones skulking on the ceiling of the room. They showed a small brightly lit space with a tool rack attached to one wall above several large barrels each covered in distinctive labels. A tiny bit of clear space just barely allowed access to the tools and barrels. While the overwhelming majority of the small chamber was dominated from floor to ceiling by a mass of what looked like a mix of vines and saplings all tangled into an odd topiary that looked like a crude rendition of a bipedal creature without a head.  In the first images Andrea could see a short figure reaching to the small tool rack and grabbing a contraption that reminded Andrea of a large clamp. A few shots later Andrea realized it was a spreader as the figure was now standing in front of the topiary, the spreader was inserted into the plant near the center of mass and partly wedging an opening into the middle. The following images showed the small blue gardener measuring out quantities of liquids and powders from the different barrels. Once they¡¯d collected a number of substances, they carefully reached into the opening they had pried into the greenery and deposited everything they¡¯d collected inside the plant. ¡°The drone¡¯s automated systems weren¡¯t able to get a good look at what was being done in that plant, so I have to guess. The chemical sensors noted a high concentration of nitrogen in one of the powders, so I¡¯m leaning towards a mixture of fertilizers and perhaps medicine or other supplements.¡± Lin¡¯s voice sounded as baffled as Andrea felt. Why were they growing a plant in artificial lighting in a closed chamber, and why were they hauling the extra burden along on an arduous trip into the unknown? The duo were silent for a few moments asking themselves those questions before Lin broke the silence.  ¡°There are lots of possibilities, and that¡¯s before we even get to the possibility that it has some sort of ¡®magical¡¯ properties that we can¡¯t anticipate. It¡¯s a bit too outside any paradigm I know, so I think we¡¯ll just have to proceed without making any particular plans around it other than keeping a close eye on the containers, which I was already doing anyway.¡± Andrea continued to examine the oddity as she unwrapped her second breakfast bar and began to eat it while walking out of the hab dome and heading towards the heavy lift drone. She messaged Lin. ¡°I agree, there¡¯s no point in changing our plans when we have no idea what changes would make sense. I¡¯ll review what little we know about the Protectorate¡¯s official language on the flight out, just in case the trade language isn¡¯t enough for some reason. I¡¯d say wish me luck, but you¡¯ll be right there with me.¡± With a light crunch Andrea popped the wrappers from her breakfast bars into her mouth and settled into her seat as the heavy lift drone hummed quietly to life and shot up into the sky.

 Chapter Twenty Eight

    An unusually clear morning had left the mountain slopes around the valley clear of fog, allowing a crystal clear and spectacular vista to open up as the transparent passenger pod was hauled higher and higher into the air. The seconds passed until, with a sudden flash of illumination, the pod rose above the shadows cast by the mountains, coating Andrea in the bright golden patina of early morning sunlight. The quiet low pitched hum of the large drone¡¯s engines was a soothing background noise and in other circumstances Andrea might have been lulled into sleep as the early morning sun bathed the transport capsule. For now however, there was little danger that she would succumb. Andrea was both far to well rested, and far too excited for what would effectively be a second first contact. She was already probably the most experienced first contact specialist in the IIF by this point, so having the opportunity to double her experience, less than a month after her first practical application of theory, was exhilarating. Andrea was much less concerned about being able to communicate effectively this time. Instead she had to contend with potential political complications among factions of which she had only the most tenuous understanding, and having heard the perspective of only one side.


    Andrea took a moment to appreciate the spectacular view as the heavy lift drone continued to climb. It was followed by a line of combat drones like little ducklings after their mother. The escorts positioned more for efficient energy use during flight than for optimal guard positions, Lin having finally decided that airborne threats seemed a negligible possibility for the time being. As the small formation began to leave the valley in the direction of the open plains, Andrea returned to studying the limited information they had on the Protectorate¡¯s official language. From what Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere had told Andrea, it was a near certainty that the leaders and even a number of the rank and file members of the Protectorate expedition likely spoke the trade language that Andrea had been learning. This meant that Andrea¡¯s attempt to learn yet another language was not driven by urgency, instead Andrea was curious about the language for curiosity''s sake. Though she did also believe that a better understanding of a culture¡¯s language would allow for a better understanding of the culture itself, so the more languages she learned and the better she knew them the more cultural nuances and clashes would become apparent. Allowing Andrea to make better decisions on how to go about social, diplomatic, and scholarly situations in the various new cultures she was coming into contact with.


    While Andrea attempted to deepen her linguistic understanding, Lin focused on last minute preparations for the meeting. One of the pre-positioned backup combat drones rendezvoused with the infiltration drones Lin had sent into the camp the night before. They had slipped out of the camp after Lin decided the mission was finished and had waited motionless and camouflaged for the expedition to set out just after the sun broke over the horizon. Now the combat drone dropped to the ground just before the waiting infiltration drones, allowing them to climb into the small cargo pod suspended by the combat drone¡¯s miniature manipulator arms. The swarm of nearly invisible spiders safely stowed, Lin sent the combat drone in a long ground hugging flight, circling wide and out of sight of the expedition as they settled into their steady pace towards the mountains in the distance. The combat drone quickly zipped over to the planned meeting location, still many hours of travel ahead of the convoy. The cargo pod slung under the combat drone opened mid flight and the infiltration drones leapt out one at a time, deploying thin membranes between their legs allowing them to glide silently and invisibly to the ground, the infiltration drones were thus redeployed in a scattered pattern around the meeting location. Lin wanted plenty of extra eyes in the area while Andrea was there. The combat drone that had moved the infiltration drones then rejoined the contingent of extra combat drones that Lin had positioned nearby.


    Having completed the last of her preparations for the meeting, Lin turned her attention back to their base camp, checking on the progress of the boring drone and the subterranean equipment cache she¡¯d tasked it with forming. It was coming along very well, Andrea decided that it was actually time to begin shifting the set of backup power generators and fabricators into the site. Several of the Donkeys were tasked with assisting some of Lin¡¯s smaller and more dexterous drones with shifting the requisite gear to the borehole and lowering it down the vertical shaft. At the bottom of the shaft down dozens of meters was the chamber that the boring drone had chewed out of the bedrock and reinforced with printed concrete walls and arches, forming a small lightless vaulted chamber. The chamber was soon filled with the backup equipment, and after an hour¡¯s work the cache was complete. Lin spent most of that hour either directing the drones or supervising the fabricators as they neared completion of the components for the first vacuum aerostat. Lin anticipated launching it sometime in the next couple of days. With the cache complete, and aerostat production on track, Lin decided to plug the borehole and disguise the site. The base had a decent collection of various materials for the fabricators to use as feedstock, so Lin chose to ensure the backup cache remained hidden and prep the site of the base camp for their eventual departure. Leaving the minimum possible impact was part of their duty, so leaving the site of the base camp looking as if they¡¯d never been there at all was their goal.


    It took half an hour for Andrea to finally fly up and over the mountains and drop down to skim low over the rolling hills that merged into the base of the mountain range like the choppy waters of a lake splashing against a steep and rocky shore. The circuitous path through the mountains made the flight much longer than it might have been, but now that Andrea and Lin knew the size of the ¡®planet¡¯ they were on they recognized that the horizon wouldn¡¯t obscure them from view unless they were over a hundred and fifty kilometers away, and that was a minimum distance. One of the Protectorate expedition members might have a clear line of sight to well over two hundred kilometers just by standing on the roof of one of their vehicles. While they would be difficult to make out at that distance, particularly with the camouflage systems they employed, it was better not to allow for the opportunity to spot them in the first place. A further half an hour of high speed slaloming among the hills would have left Andrea nauseous if she had still been physically capable of the sensation, but it allowed the heavy lift drone to promptly drop Andrea at the base of the hill that she had selected as her perch from which to await the Protectorate expedition.


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    A brief walk to the crest of the hill gave Andrea an expansive view out over the undulating terrain stretching off into the distance. She was able to directly observe the distant line of the expedition as it continued to head in her direction. Deploying a pair of her mini drones allowed her to establish an impromptu optical array telescope and get a much closer look at the people she would soon be meeting as they slowly crawled in and out of sight among the hills. She¡¯d only been waiting for about twenty minutes when both Andrea and Lin spotted a sudden stir in the convoy that disrupted the loose line of vehicles, people, and animals. Andrea¡¯s position blocked much of the group from view at the moment, so it was the perspectives provided by the three high altitude drones that revealed a huddle of various individuals, with some obvious gesturing in Andrea¡¯s direction. It seemed that she had finally been spotted, and sooner than they¡¯d expected. In this case that was a good thing, Andrea was happy to give them as much warning as possible and she continued to wait, though now that they¡¯d spotted her she chose to lounge back on one of  the folding chairs she¡¯d brought along. Despite the differences in biology, it seemed the strange similarities between humans and this alien species extended into social dynamics. How far this similarity truly extended was an open question, but the implied invitation to peaceful discussion of seating herself and providing an open seat for a guest seemed to translate well. At least based on Andrea¡¯s experiences with Unla-Ela, Olan Lunere, and their people.


    Lin and Andrea calmly waited while watching a small group climb into one of the trucks, Lin noted it was one that contained one of the odd grow rooms. Indeed the very same vehicle she¡¯d infiltrated the night before, and sure enough one of the people boarding the truck was the particularly short gardener from before. Lin was still at a loss to explain what role that whole system of plants and caretakers played. ¡°Perhaps we¡¯ll find out what the portable gardens are for sooner than we thought, maybe communications?¡± Andrea hummed pensively in response. ¡°Possibly¡­ though why would they need their communications equipment to be in a box that seemingly allows no signals to pass?¡± They fell into silence again, both aware that further speculation would only bias their observations, while not helping them in any meaningful way. Their companionable, if somewhat tense, wait lasted nearly an hour and a half as the convoy waited where it was and the lone truck carefully made its way towards Andrea. When it reached the base of the hill at a spot some three hundred meters away, it rolled to a stop. A small group piled out looking around cautiously but wasting little time in making their way up the hill towards Andrea. Andrea noted that the gardener was among the people left with the truck, while four other members of their party advanced up the hill. She quickly realized that they seemed to be making a deliberate effort to be non-threatening in their approach. Their hands were kept clearly visible and they moved at a steady and moderate pace, obviously avoiding sudden movements. When they had closed to about fifty meters Andrea slowly raised a hand in greeting, before settling back to wait. The group of four all looked at one another for a moment before each made a series of hand gestures until, with a restrained look of excitement, one of them left their slightly disappointed looking companions behind and carefully continued approaching Andrea.


    They eased their way closer until they were close enough to communicate without having to shout. Before Andrea could say anything their counterpart beat them to it, speaking in the trade language Andrea was familiar with. ¡°Hello friend, I hope you can understand me.¡± Andrea was pleasantly surprised by their greeting. ¡°Hello, I can understand you quite well, fortunately, and it is always a pleasure to meet new people. My name is Andrea. Please, have a seat.¡± Andrea gestured to the seat opposite her own. ¡°My name is Orna ul Trantos, please call me Orna.¡± As they introduced themselves Orna made their way closer and settled into the seat Andrea had indicated. Andrea noted the slight double take as Orna settled into the seat, looking down at it in visible surprise before allowing themselves to relax a bit more and sink into the seat cushions. ¡°For what are clearly portable chairs, these are shockingly comfortable Andrea, my own camp chair will seem far less welcoming this evening as it suffers from the comparison.¡± Orna grinned as Andrea couldn¡¯t help but smile at their little joke. ¡°My companions and I have traveled a long way from the Protectorate of Galyon in order to learn new things and hopefully meet new and interesting people. Though meeting an intelligent person from a species so clearly different from our own, yet oddly similar at the same time, certainly manages to exceed our wildest expectations.¡± Orna paused for a moment to blush a pale burgundy before continuing.  ¡°I¡¯m hoping you¡¯d not mind settling a small wager we made as we decided who got to meet you first.¡± Andrea nodded in agreement, allowing herself to adjust to the striking lack of formality from Orna, who seemed shockingly casual for a person making first contact with an alien species. ¡°Excellent! Thank you my friend. Our little disagreement is on the matter of where you hail from. Either you¡¯re from the unexplored regions around here, or you came through the aperture we detected, my money¡¯s on the aperture.¡±

 Chapter Twenty Nine

    Andrea paused for a moment in shock, taking pains to keep her expression from revealing her surprise, even as her thoughts raced. Lin, who had been closely observing, pinged a message to Andrea. ¡°The translation and language analysis systems are near certain that Orna means aperture as we understand it, and not the literal translation of ¡®door through the world¡¯.¡± Andrea noted her friend''s message, and her own translation agreed with the automated system. Better to give an impression of straightforward honesty, than to attempt denials that seemed unlikely to hold up, considering Orna¡¯s attitude and their expedition¡¯s obvious destination. ¡°It seems that you will come out ahead in your wager, I did indeed arrive near here through an aperture, though I must confess I am surprised you¡¯re aware of it.¡±


    Orna smiled with satisfaction and clapped their hands briskly together ¡°Excellent! It¡¯s always gratifying to be proven right, even more so when it wins you a bet. This is fascinating, you¡¯re a genuinely alien being. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, though I must say you look far more familiar than any of us ever thought an alien would appear.¡± Andrea returned Orna¡¯s smile ¡°The pleasure is mutual. I also share your consternation at how similar we appear, at least on the outside. At some point we must compare medical information to see where our species differ.¡± Andrea was thrilled at the attitude that Orna was displaying, while she was cognizant that it could be an elaborate deception, she didn¡¯t really think that was the case. Even more than Unla-Ela, Orna gave Andrea the impression of someone much like herself, someone who liked to push themselves in body and mind by pushing at the edges of their known world, both physically and intellectually. Orna furthered this impression as they began to speak again. ¡°I¡¯m sure the biologists and the medical doctor we have with us will be thrilled at the opportunity. As for knowing about the aperture, that¡¯s due to some of my colleagues that have been attempting to study apertures. They are still theoretical, technically, though it seems as if you may be able to help us gather more evidence about them. In any event, as part of the research process we wound up with several sets of testing apparatuses in different universities around the Protectorate that, as it turns out, respond to the presence of an aperture even at extreme range, or that¡¯s the theory. They certainly responded to something over in those mountains, we were able to triangulate the location with decent accuracy, though it''s taken over five years to actually put together the expedition and get here. If you truly came here through an aperture as you say, then that is definitely exciting news, both for the opportunity of meeting you and because it proves apertures really exist and, better yet, can be transited.¡± Orna paused then, after a moment''s consideration, shrugged. ¡°While my own expertise is in the field of applied transference, several of my theoretical colleagues are in our group. I expect they may wish to pester you with questions once they learn about how you came to be here. I¡¯ll admit to sharing that urge, but I have the misfortune to be better with people than most of my colleagues.¡± Andrea cocked her head in puzzlement ¡°Why misfortune?¡±she asked. Orna laughed ruefully ¡°I keep getting pulled away from my real work, and pushed into managing my fellows. Speaking of¡­ would you mind if I invited over the three people who accompanied me up the hill? I know they¡¯d be thrilled to meet you.¡± As they asked, Orna gestured back towards the small knot of people who were keeping themselves at a generous distance.


    Andrea pinged Lin to ask her opinion. ¡°I say allow it. Three more of them aren¡¯t a significant increase in risk, and so far they appear to be far less hostile than we were led to suspect.¡± Lin¡¯s words meshed with Andrea¡¯s own impression of the situation, so she nodded. ¡°Yes I think that¡¯s acceptable, I¡¯m excited to meet them as well.¡± At Andrea¡¯s words Orna stood up and waved their companions over, before returning to their seat and speaking once more. ¡°I must say, you speak the Coeman trade language very well, does this mean you¡¯ve already met others out here, or have you traveled farther afield and merely returned here? I know Malepre is fairly near here, in fact I think they¡¯ll officially claim ownership of this region within the decade.¡± Orna¡¯s last sentence was accompanied by an eye roll. ¡°All the nonsense about sovereignty disputes has been a huge pain, what do we care about who owns the land in the end. We had to leave without the Protectorate¡¯s approval, since we knew they¡¯d tell us not to go. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, and there¡¯s no way any of us were going to give up even the possibility of getting to study an actual aperture in person.¡± Lin and Andrea both noted this revelation with interest, while it could of course be a deception, both of them were gradually growing more and more convinced that the Protectorate expedition was a genuine research mission, with no secondary political goals. There was the lack of heavy military equipment. Many of the expedition members exhibited civilian patterns of behavior when conducting tasks such as making camp and keeping watch. Now with the addition of Orna¡¯s words, the evidence all seemed to be painting a far more benign picture than they had feared.


    The last thing Andrea and Lin expected when they started their morning was a jovial chat with a person who would easily be right at home among the members of the Surveyor Corps. It wasn¡¯t long before Orna¡¯s companions reached them and, to the obvious amusement of Orna, contented themselves with sitting on the ground, forming a small circle out of the five of them. Orna quickly made the introductions. ¡°Andrea, in no particular order my companions here are Lori, Poel, and Poel. The bigger Poel usually goes by their nickname Podel, fortunately.¡± Orna¡¯s fast paced introductions were accompanied by their quickly shifting hands indicating each person in turn. Lori was the tallest and thinnest of the group and nodded to Andrea with a composed expression when they were introduced. Poel, the smaller one, was not actually all that small, rather they seemed to fit the definition of average at least based on the running average height Lin was calculating as they encountered new people. They gave a grin that matched Orna¡¯s for wattage and looked as if they were about to speak, but managed to restrain themselves from interrupting the rest of Orna¡¯s introduction. The bigger Poel, or Podel, was perhaps the largest person that Andrea and Lin had encountered on this world so far, nearly three meters tall and still appearing stocky due to the proportions of their body, meant that Podel was a huge presence physically, a presence they seemed to match with a large personality, as Orna had no sooner finished their round of introductions than Podel spoke up. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t a genuine alien, pleasure to meet you Andrea, I hope Orna hasn¡¯t been too off putting. I know they come across as a tad glib even in situations where they really shouldn¡¯t, but I¡¯ve never known anyone to be their match at getting along with everyone they meet. Speaking of meeting people, this is certainly not a spot I would have guessed we¡¯d run into someone. What brings you to these remote hills? Are you from around here or have you traveled a great distance like we have?¡± Podel''s verbal torrent was delivered with hardly a pause for breath, their excitement seemingly pulling away any brakes on their words.Their large figure looming larger and larger as they unconsciously raised themselves higher and higher from their seated position on the ground as they spoke. Orna gently broke in, interrupting Podel. ¡°Hold on Podel, I¡¯m pretty sure Andrea can only respond to one question at a time, besides we must let them get their own questions answered, anything else would be rude.¡± With a slightly sheepish look Podel settled back. ¡°My apologies, it seems I am the one who has managed to verge into off-putting, please forgive my poor manners.¡± Andrea had plenty of friends and colleagues who let their enthusiasm overcome their personal skills at times, so she found Podel¡¯s overenthusiasm more endearing than obnoxious. She smiled gently at Podel. ¡°You have nothing to worry about, I understand getting carried away with excitement, and I¡¯m pleased to meet someone so enthusiastic to learn.¡± At Andrea¡¯s mild response, Orna, who was standing to the side, subtly breathed a sigh of relief. A sign that Andrea would have missed if she didn¡¯t have her enhanced hearing and what was effectively a three hundred and sixty degree range of vision. It seemed that Orna wasn¡¯t quite as nonchalant about their meeting as he was trying to project. Andrea actually found this a relieving sign. It meant that Orna was actually taking her, and their meeting seriously. It also allowed Andrea to empathize with them a bit more. She wasn¡¯t the only one feeling the tension from meeting an intelligent alien being about whom little was known. Orna quickly stepped in to the lull in the conversation after Podel sat back. ¡°Well Podel, I can start by telling all of you that you each owe me a round, I wound up winning our group¡¯s little wager in the end.¡± This was met with a chorus of excited cries. Poel, the smaller one, exclaimed.  ¡°Really! That¡¯s fantastic! I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be so lucky. You¡¯ve truly been through a stable aperture? What was it like? Did you experience any physical strain during the passage? Is it a natural phenomenon or are your people able to make apertures artificially? Are¡­ Ah whoops, now I¡¯m doing it. Sorry, I¡¯ve been studying apertures as a theory for so long, it¡¯s almost overwhelming to hear I might be able to answer a number of questions that have plagued me for years.¡± Once again Andrea was thrilled with the excitement she was witnessing, it struck her as authentic and certainly indicated that these people were just like her and Lin, in their desire to push the boundaries of knowledge. Indeed, it suddenly struck her how starkly it contrasted with the relatively tepid response of Unla-Ela, though Andrea was well aware that not everyone wore their enthusiasm on their sleeves so blatantly.


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    Lin messaged Andrea that she was going to divert more of her attention back to her ongoing projects at the base camp since the meeting seemed to be going well. Andrea messaged a thumbs up to Lin, while making a proposal to Poel in particular, though she made sure to indicate that her words applied to them all. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet people who are as eager to discover new things as I am, it makes you far less alien to me, as I share your eagerness to learn. For example I¡¯m familiar with several methods one might use to propel a vehicle like the one you arrived in, but I can¡¯t figure out which you might be using, or if your people have some novel method. I¡¯d be happy to exchange information on many subjects with all of you. How about you tell me more about your current theories on the nature of apertures, and I¡¯ll describe the appearance of the one I passed through to arrive here as well as the sensation of the passage.¡± Poel jumped on the offer, before anyone else could speak up, positively wiggling with excitement they glanced around, before clearing an area of dirt in the middle of the circle, and beginning their lecture while drawing visual aids on the ground with their finger.

 Chapter Thirty

    Andrea was having a very good day, her encounter with the four members of the Protectorate expedition had shifted from a tense first contact meeting into an impromptu seminar discussion of apertures and related phenomena. Lin was frankly amazed at the shift, she could honestly say that a lively debate about physics was not within even her wildest possible expectations for how the meeting might go. This isn¡¯t to say she wasn¡¯t equally pleased, Andrea seemed to already be fitting right in as just another colleague among the group. Lin was actually a bit jealous, she was looking forward more and more to the point at which she could be introduced. It was frustrating to be forced to passively listen in on such a lively discussion particularly on a topic that she was as well qualified to discuss as Andrea.


    While Andrea was not going to share the complete details of all the knowledge and techniques that she was familiar with in regards to apertures, she was more than happy to openly discuss the underlying theories behind them. Her understanding and that of the Protectorate academic establishment approached apertures very differently but did bear striking points of commonality, though in matters of physics cultural perspective could only change so much as it interfaced with the mechanical realities underpinning the universe. That all being said, the strange phenomena that Andrea and Lin, largely at Andrea''s insistence, had begun referring to as magic seemed to throw a significant wrench into their models of how the universe functioned. When Andrea confirmed that her people could indeed artificially create apertures and regularly used them to transport people and goods across vast distances the topic of ''magic'' arose quite naturally.  ¡°We tend to open apertures of a large enough size that we can even pass ships through them. It is both expensive and time consuming to open new apertures and requires huge structures to help generate and then maintain the convergence of two different points in the universe. We have no records of any naturally occurring aperture, prior to the one that I passed through to get here. Though it is entirely possible that that aperture isn¡¯t natural either, neither I nor my colleagues have spotted any signs of the sort of massive structures we generally associate with managing apertures. We have noticed some odd phenomena on this side of the aperture, which you must be more familiar with, and might explain this aperture¡¯s existence. While we¡¯re not sure what¡¯s creating the aperture, we have noted it seems to cycle its connection, open and shut, over a roughly 5-year period." At those words Lori finally spoke up for the first time, having up till this point maintained their silence while listening with interest to the discussion. "I believe the 5-year cycle you mention is likely accurate, based on when you say the aperture disappeared after you came through recently and, assuming we are converting correctly between our understandings of date and time, it seems to have closed slightly more than 5 years after our detector array noted the last closure. Unfortunately we''ve been traveling for the past year to arrive here and will be unable to examine the findings from the detectors until we return. Considering the danger and expense involved it''s highly unlikely our colleagues will not take the trouble to send a messenger with the latest readings. I am curious how you arrived at a determination of an approximately 5 year cycle. Have you been studying the other side of the aperture for an extended period before attempting traversal?" Andrea swept smooth a portion of the dirt where they''d been drawing and began to diagram the sediment deposition layers they''d noted from the water flow through the aperture. "This is very rough, you understand, but hopefully it gives you an idea of our approach to determining that cycle. We discovered the aperture very recently, in fact it was open on our end and letting through a stream of water from the end on your side that is actually submerged in a pool. It was this flow of water that allowed us to gain a rough estimate of the cyclical nature of the aperture based on the discrete layers of mineral deposits left behind by the water flowing through the aperture which were distinct from the local rock and soil composition that would lay down a thin layer of dust and contaminants between depositions of further minerals from the aperture." At this point Andrea''s look turned a touch sheepish as she continued. "My colleagues and myself decided that that was a good enough basis for establishing that the aperture would eventually reopen and allow me to return. I will confess that much of that willingness was on my end and in my eagerness to explore I pushed for my trip through the aperture despite some of my more cautious colleagues clearly wanting to gather more data before risking anyone being permanently cut off. I''m sure you''ll understand the desire to be the first person in on a new discovery, and if I''d waited for a cycle or two to pass and verify the pattern I would likely have missed my opportunity to come here."


    Orna laughed at Andrea''s admission. "All of us, certainly understand, There were a number of our colleagues who were dubious about launching our expedition since we couldn''t be sure that what we detected was actually an aperture, nor could we be sure that we would find anything of relevance to understanding apertures by traveling to a place where an aperture had been open in the past. It appears that it''s our good fortune, that whatever its source, this aperture opens regularly." From there the discussion began to branch out touching on their lives, and their societies. Andrea described how the Imperial Authority was the final arbiter on the course her country took, the others were fascinated, but struggled to wrap their heads around how Andrea¡¯s people were led by something that was both not a person at all and simultaneously many people at once. Andrea waved away their confusion for the time being. ¡°We could spend days discussing just this one topic, at some point we can get into it more, but for now I¡¯d love to hear how your own country is led.¡± The others, particularly Lori, seemed a bit disappointed to have the satisfaction of their insatiable curiosity pushed till later, but they were happy to explain their country to Andrea. Orna and Lori took the lead in describing how the Protectorate was loosely organized, with local rulers, councils, or what have you, running the day to day lives of citizens of the Protectorate. This did mean that laws and customs tended to vary a great deal as one traveled around the Protectorate, though some standards were consistent everywhere and enforced by the central government. Lori had some expertise in law and civics so they were well qualified to lay out for Andrea how the central government of the protectorate primarily reserved sole rights to run three institutions; the Protectorate Military, the Protectorate Higher Education System, and the Protectorate Bank. These three central institutions formed the main unifying forces of the Protectorate and gave the central government plenty of leverage to enforce cooperation between the sometimes very different cultures and interests that all called the Protectorate home. The central government itself was run by the advisor¡¯s council; they''d originally been advisors to the monarch that had founded the Protectorate after the collapse of the Galyon empire. After a couple of generations the monarch¡¯s powers became more and more vested in the group of advisors, and now generations later the largely hereditary passage of power among council members meant that six well established families held the reins of power and worked together to direct the Protectorate as a whole. Andrea was fascinated by this, it seemed like a system that was well suited to incorporating new members with minimal changes, allowing the powerful and wealthy in a new territory to largely retain that power and wealth, while offering opportunities for more. It seemed, on the face at least, like a good system for a multicultural empire. It was, in many ways, not too different from the organization of her own country, though Andrea was far happier with trusting ultimate leadership to the Imperial Authority, than she would be with some selection of six influential families who lucked into power. It was at this point that Lin pinged Andrea, then informed her that the people waiting at the bottom of the hill were starting to look a bit restless and those waiting back at the halted convoy even more so. Andrea thanked Lori for the in depth lesson on the Protectorate before gently nudging her new acquaintances by asking if they needed to let their companions in the convoy know everything was alright. Orna and the rest all looked surprised for a moment, before glancing at the position of the sun, as if only just now realizing that they¡¯d been talking for over two hours and had yet to tell the rest of the convoy what was going on. Orna directed the others to return to the convoy and have them resume course before returning. Orna themselves offered to stay with Andrea but his companions objected to leaving the two of them alone, when the plain might have dangerous predators around. Andrea told Orna not to worry, her own colleague was keeping an eye out for danger. Orna waved his companions off. ¡°You¡¯ll be right back, if you¡¯re really worried about it; leave Tirnii at the base of the hill with their living armor, they¡¯ll be more than capable of watching for danger, for a couple of hours.¡± The others seemed mollified by Orna¡¯s suggestion, and Andrea suddenly suspected that she knew what the strange collection of plant life in the truck might be. Orna sighed and shook their head fondly before turning back to Andrea. ¡°You mentioned you have a companion here with you. May I meet them? The only thing better than meeting one alien is meeting a second, after all.¡± Andrea had decided to begin easing Orna into the concept of the form of Lin¡¯s existence. While she¡¯d known the members of the Protectorate expedition for far less time than Unla-Ela and their students, Andrea felt like she¡¯d both hit it off far better with the Protectorate group, and that they seemed much more open to just experiencing the strange and new. She wasn¡¯t totally certain what made her feel that way, but she¡¯d always had a good instinct for these sorts of social cues, it was part of the reason why she was their duo¡¯s designated lead on matters of first contact and diplomacy. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to introduce you to my colleague, however they look nothing like I do, so we both felt it best to ease our way into their introduction.¡± Orna nodded in understanding ¡°I think I can follow what your reasoning must be. Appearing to strange and mysterious all at once can certainly provoke fear, and that¡¯s never conducive to clear thinking or communication.¡± Andrea smiled at the demonstration of Orna¡¯s insight. ¡°You have it exactly Orna, while we ultimately know little about your people, we¡¯re pretty confident that my colleague, who¡¯s name is Lin, is an existence outside any paradigm you¡¯re familiar with.¡± Orna¡¯s eyes twinkled with excited curiosity ¡°Well now I really have to meet this Lin, I don¡¯t wish to push too hard, I¡¯m sure you have something in mind, but I hope it won¡¯t be too great a delay.¡± Andrea messaged Lin. ¡°Just double checking, are you comfortable with me going ahead and explaining a little about what you are and then introducing you if that goes well?¡± Lin, who¡¯d still been keeping a little bit of her attention on what Andrea was doing, replied quickly. ¡°Just like we worked out while we were planning this expedition, and yes, I¡¯m still totally fine with that approach. In fact hurry it up already, I¡¯m getting pretty sick of only being able to listen in on all these conversations.¡±


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 Chapter Thirty one

    Andrea paused for a moment to consider how she wanted to proceed. As she pondered various approaches to describing the nature of Lin¡¯s existence, she noticed a large figure carefully climbing down from the back of the truck at the base of the hill. A closer look showed her that the figure seemed to be made out of the plants from the grow room inside the truck. Bundles of thin flexible vines coiled around one another flexing and shifting like muscles, while a series of large flat leaves slid across one another as the figure moved, forming a thin segmented covering that, were it made of something other than leaves, might be called armor. Andrea flagged the sight to call Lin¡¯s attention to it. ¡°Oooh interesting. I bet those leaves have more to them than meets the eye.¡± Lin¡¯s message was enough to let Andrea know she could focus back on speaking with Orna.


    ¡°Do you recall how I described the Imperial Authority to you earlier?¡± Orna thought for a moment then answered. ¡°I do, though I can¡¯t say I really understood your description. A leader that is not a person and many people all at once just doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡± Andrea nodded ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, part of the problem is that the trade language we¡¯re using simply doesn¡¯t have all the terms needed to easily convey my meaning. Of course the other part is that, it is likely very alien to anything you might have experienced. I won¡¯t go further into the Imperial Authority just now, but it might be helpful in the future to know that there are some similarities between the physical form of the Imperial Authority and Lin. The easy part to understand is that Lin is a person just like I am, they process the world intellectually and emotionally in much the same way as I do, which incidentally seems to be shockingly similar to your own species.¡± At this point Orna nods in understanding. ¡°I¡¯m following you so far, when I converse with Lin it would be the same as if I were speaking to you, or one of my own companions.¡± Andrea nods back before continuing. ¡°Indeed, though the mechanics of conversing with Lin will be somewhat different. The part that may be difficult for you to understand is that Lin doesn¡¯t have a single fixed physical body like we do. Their thoughts and feelings are processed in many different locations and merge together to form Lin as a being. It¡¯s not perfect but you might think of the various parts of Lin as ephemeral streams and trickles of water that shift locations and forms with the weather and as the land changes. Those ever shifting and temporary streams merge together to form a vast river that shifts some, but is far more permanent. That is Lin, she can of course change and shift just like any other person but the physical parts of her can move and change, be replaced, destroyed, or created and Lin continues to exist.¡± Orna looks fascinated, and somewhat confused. ¡°I must admit, what you describe, assuming I¡¯m understanding you properly, is wildly different from anything I might have ever guessed. Does their body consist of many sections that they can move around as they like and replace if they are injured? Or are they like a school of fish that acts as a single being even as it''s composed of many smaller separate creatures?¡± Andrea signaled Lin that she should be paying attention to the conversation so she can introduce herself soon. ¡°She is definitely much closer to being like the school of fish, except she has a singular consciousness and is far less limited in both form and distance. Our people can make electronic brains, as well as grow organic brains, and Lin can reside in a multitude of both as best fits their needs and preference. At some point we¡¯ll produce a body, somewhat resembling mine, for Lin to use to meet more of your people. We would have already done so, but such a body is not Lin¡¯s usual preference, nor are they practical for most of what they¡¯ve been doing as we explore.¡± Andrea was silently kicking herself at this point, somehow she¡¯d forgotten to actually bring one of the smaller less threatening utility drones with her, for Lin to speak from. She could practically feel Lin rolling her eyes as she messaged Andrea that she¡¯d tucked a small flying drone into the cargo stowage on the transport pod and was deploying it now. ¡°Actually my friend has one of her smaller bodies waiting nearby, would it be alright if I signaled her to fly over to us and meet you?¡± Andrea¡¯s explanations had clearly raised many more questions for Orna, but they visibly restrained themselves and instead responded to Andrea¡¯s last question. ¡°I would be more than happy to speak with Lin directly, as well as to see a flying creature that can hold an intelligent conversation. Though I think it would be best if I had my guard at the bottom of the hill join us. Not, I must hasten to clarify, because I think you mean me harm. If I don¡¯t warn them about the creature flying toward us, they¡¯ll certainly assume it¡¯s some threatening wild creature and attempt to drive it off or kill it. I think that wouldn¡¯t hurt your friend much if I¡¯m understanding how their body, bodies?, work correctly, but I can¡¯t possibly imagine it¡¯s either pleasant or polite.


    Andrea chuckled at Orna¡¯s comment. ¡°I¡¯d love to meet another one of your companions, and we¡¯d both be excited to see what they¡¯re riding around in more closely. We¡¯ve never seen anything quite like it.¡± This last was a bit of a lie on Andrea¡¯s part, the conglomeration of plants actually reminded both Andrea and Lin of various types of exoskeletal suits they¡¯d seen and at times used. They were all but ubiquitous in both civilian and military life, providing protection and enhanced abilities that were a boon in many fields and that might otherwise be unpleasant, difficult, expensive, or just plain impossible to fit in more permanent implants or body modifications. It was, however, true that neither Andrea nor Lin had ever seen an exoskeleton made entirely out of living plant material.


    Orna waved the figure over and it came over at a deceptively fast lope. ¡°This is Tirnii, they¡¯re one of our living armor bonded.¡± The figure lacked a head to nod with, but instead dipped its torso in a slight bow, and a slightly muffled voice emerged from deep inside. ¡°A pleasure ta meet you, I¡¯m sure. Now, what¡¯d you need me for Orna?¡± With a sigh Orna shook their head. ¡°Andrea here is about to call over a friend of theirs and I didn¡¯t want you to overreact when something comes flying over.¡± Tirnii shifted in their verdant enclosure causing the hulking shape to make what might charitably be described as a shrug. ¡°I get ya Orna, no toasting the next flier that comes close. I¡¯ll just be over here while you chatty types do your business.¡± With that the taciturn guard strode with surprising grace to a position well out of earshot and seemed to settle in to keep watch on the surroundings once more.


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    Sighing once more Orna apologized to Andrea. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that, even for a living armor bonded Tirnii is notably lacking in social graces, lucky for them they¡¯re too good at their job to be held to account for it very much.¡± Andrea shrugged, not really caring. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Orna, I¡¯m not bothered. Look, there comes one of Lin¡¯s bodies now.¡± True to Andrea¡¯s words a small shape had popped into view, a small fast moving shaped drawing rapidly closer as it flew over the rolling hills of the area. Occasional glints of the late afternoon sun on the curves of the small utility drone served to further draw the eye, and in less than a minute Lin had her drone hovering at Orna¡¯s shoulder height at Andrea¡¯s side. She raised one of the drone¡¯s manipulator arms and waved at Orna. ¡°Nice to meet you Orna.¡± Lin¡¯s voice emerged from the drone, its deep and smooth tones sounding strange coming from such a small thing. Orna startled a little at Lin¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you as well Lin.¡± There was a short pause then Orna continued. ¡°How do you already know my name?¡± At the question Lin pointed one of her small manipulator arms over at Andrea. ¡°Part of me is in her too. So, while I haven¡¯t been entirely focused on your conversation, I did pick up some of it and that included your name.¡± Orna reached up and stroked one of their fuzzy antenna pensively. ¡°Fascinating, truly fascinating. You and Andrea are separate people, correct?¡± Lin bobbed the drone up and down, before realizing that Orna might not understand the gesture. ¡°Yes we¡¯re both our own individuals, I just happen to share some space in Andrea¡¯s. If it helps, think of me as being symbiotically attached to her.¡± Orna mused out loud. ¡°The symbiosis of two beings in a single body is something I can more easily wrap my head around. I know of a number of examples of that sort of arrangement, why that description applies to Tirnii over there. The part where you have no single main body is a bit more difficult for me to truly come to terms with. Fortunately that doesn¡¯t preclude having a nice chat.¡±


    For the next few minutes Lin and Orna dominated the discussion, getting to know one another a bit better. Once their conversation seemed to be slowing down Andrea decided it was a good time to broach the presence of the other group who was already in the valley. She told Orna about her encounters with Unla-Ela and the rest of the combined expedition. Orna seemed interested, but more puzzled than anything else. ¡°I¡¯m really not sure what¡¯s got them so paranoid about the Protectorate. As far as I know there¡¯s been no major incidents between Malepre and the Protectorate, nor with the League for that matter. I¡¯d be happy to meet with them once we reach the valley, I¡¯m sure we can come to some amicable agreement. Indeed, if they truly have leased the valley to you, then I mainly need leave from you to come in and conduct our studies.¡± Andrea grimaced a bit at that, suddenly realizing that she may have miscalculated when she accepted that lease. While she was inclined to allow the expedition access for their studies, she wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that giving that permission in order to overrule the objections of Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere, would be a huge diplomatic blunder. At the same time Orna and their people would be in a position to take offense at her failure to exercise her influence to accommodate what they viewed as an extremely reasonable request. A successful meeting between the leaders of both groups now seemed even more critical than before if Andrea wanted to maintain a good, or at least civil, relationship with the other parties. ¡°I suppose there is some merit to what you¡¯re saying Orna. However I think it would be best for all of us if you did meet with the other expedition¡¯s leaders, then all of us could reach an agreement. I don¡¯t want to be put in the position of choosing one of you over the other if I don¡¯t have to.¡±


    At this point Lin had caught on to the dilemma that Andrea had potentially set them up for and messaged Andrea with a pointed animation of a face palm. Having chastised her friend, Lin spoke up again. ¡°While Andrea will need to go ahead of us and arrange a meeting I can keep this body here and travel with your convoy. As long as that¡¯s acceptable to you of course.¡± Orna jumped on this offer. ¡°That¡¯s more than acceptable. Both I, and many of the people on this expedition would be thrilled to speak with someone so different. Besides, it seems as if you could relay messages to us from Andrea since you¡¯ll be with her and us at the same time. I assume your people must take advantage of that for communication all the time.¡± Lin bobbed her drone up and down again. ¡°In a sense we do, though perhaps not exactly in the way you¡¯re thinking. However your suggestion will work perfectly fine for our purposes.¡±


    With a loose plan in place, Andrea decided to leave earlier than she¡¯d originally planned. Lin could continue to acquaint herself with these new people, but Andrea was the only one of the duo that the other group was familiar with so it fell to her to speak with Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere to arrange a meeting with Orna. Orna and Lin decided to continue waiting on the hill with Tirnii standing guard, the convoy would eventually work its way over and then Orna could introduce Lin to the other members of the expedition. Andrea said her goodbyes to Orna, and set into a brisk trot in the direction of the valley. Twenty minutes and a concealing fold in the terrain later and Andrea was zipping along, once again seated in the passenger pod slung from the bottom of the heavy lift drone. Eventually Andrea and her escorting combat drones crested the mountains once more and looked down into the valley which, in contrast with the warm summery late afternoon of the foothills, was well into the evening twilight. It was too late in the day to meet with Unla-Ela and Olan Lunere, but Andrea was going to be ready first thing the next morning. Considering how concerned the pair had been by the Protectorate, Andrea knew she had her work cut out for her.

 Entry in Senior Bonder Tirniis Personal Journal

    Day 232


    There''s something dangerous about that strange person Orna was talking to earlier today. They look just like us, for the most part. But every once in a while you notice the missing antennae, or realize how strange their skin looks. Little differences for the most part, but enough that it¡¯s somehow even creepier than if they looked totally alien.


    They seemed friendly enough and the expedition''s brain trust all seemed to enjoy chatting with them. Personally I think they''re being a little too trusting, at least Orna had the sense to keep me around in case the stranger tried something, after the other¡¯s left.


    This Andrea creature just seemed a little too calm for someone on their own in the wilds. It''s almost like they don''t feel that anything near here can truly threaten them. I don''t know if that''s overconfidence or a sign that my instincts are right and they¡¯re not as squishy as they look, despite appearing to fit right in with the academic crowd. All the sane people I know would be at least a little uncomfortable being so isolated and exposed in the wilderness. Which means either Andrea isn¡¯t sane, or they¡¯ve got a good reason to feel perfectly safe, and Andrea may be a bit creepy looking but they don¡¯t strike me as someone who¡¯s recklessly out of their mind.


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    Milphny seemed nervous around Andrea too. It was all I could do to keep them from forming weapons on their own initiative after we got close. That doesn¡¯t mean Andrea¡¯s a bad person, I¡¯ll be the first to admit that Milphny is no judge of character, we¡¯ve been bonded long enough that I¡¯m able to recognize Milphny¡¯s limitations. However they are excellent at recognizing physical threats, in fact I¡¯ve never known them to be wrong. I¡¯ve rarely felt my bond react this strongly without having some huge slavering beast charging at us first.


    Speaking of Milphny, they seemed a little stiff when I took them out of the truck today. I¡¯m going to start taking them out more often for exercise. Even if they need more nutrients and water when they''re active, they won¡¯t be of any help if they¡¯re too atrophied to help move gear up the mountains or fend off beast attacks. I¡¯m going to talk to the other binders and try to talk them into regularly patrolling the camp in the evenings so we can keep all of our bonded at their best and ready to act at a moment''s notice.


    Anyway I¡¯ll be keeping an eye on Andrea¡¯s strange little; Companion? Pet? I¡¯m honestly not sure what that odd little flying creature is. It actually looks artificial, like it¡¯s made of some sort of metal, but Orna seemed to be conversing with it directly. I wish I¡¯d been listening in on their conversation. Andrea may have left for now, but that strange flying creature is staying with us. Milphny doesn¡¯t seem to see it as a threat, but if it''s associated with this strange person we met, then it''s probably more dangerous than it seems.