Gaian Pyramids VIII

As per what they agreed, Keira and the rest of the science team were allowed to work further despite finding a pyramid underground, and potential problems its presence could cause.

Of course, it was only for limited amount of time, and under specific conditions, but all scientists appreciated John's decision - since the moment they landed and established the camp on the New Gaia, there was a number of voices coming from scientists about not being able to proceed with their work, to the point of openly stating they were feeling useless.

The discontent level raised even more after the decision was made by colonel McRae to make the first pyramid they discovered a restricted area. Major Marlow was also to be blamed here as he was the one to confirm with McRae that the first pyramid may be considered dangerous.

It might have been partially due to him feeling the blame for blocking scientists from investigating the previous pyramid, but his personal curiosity seemed to be the main factor for taking a risk after having conversation with Keira.

While John went away to a different chamber within the cave in order to help the soldiers with fixing one of the brawlers, Keira was focused on her own tasks alongside other scientists.

She might have said this was also a pyramid, and seeing the wall's structure, Marlow assumed this was the case too, but in fact - they only saw a small part of the wall, and the only clue for it being another pyramid-like structure was its curvature. It was definitely not enough to be completely sure, and additional measurements were needed to confirm this theory. However, it was not an easy task given the magnetic interference and instability of the surroundings - tools they had at the moment were not giving them that many options, and uncovering buried parts of the building could have caused a catastrophe if done too hastily.

Most of the science team focused on documenting the site and investigating materials' structure, specifically their physical properties. Only miss Evergate seemed to be doing something more advanced, comparing pieces of writing to the data in her own database. All the work she has done so far started paying off as short strings of signs were lining up for her as somehow understandable pictures she could interpret.

It was not at the level to be called the actual translation yet, but the meanings she identified were already giving some clues towards what the purpose of this alien object was. While Keira was pretty sure her idea is correct, she knew it meant nothing without a solid proof, and the best thing would be uncovering the pyramid's function. Well, as long as they were right and it was indeed the same type of structure as before.

- If it could react like this wall from before - she said to herself, touching the metal-like material, though without response - Did John do something special there?

- I doubt it had anything to do with him - Jackie appeared out of nowhere as Keira thought he was working quite far from this spot - To be honest with you, I already tried the same out there, but there was no response too. I guess it's either some specific spot that needs to be touched, or maybe this one is inactive.

- Weren't you supposed to focus on these bugs of yours? - Keira asked jockingly - You seem to be more focused on everything else other than that.

- I set the main equipment, and going around looking for other spots to place the remaining sensors - he explained - It doesn't hurt to check other stuff on the way, does it?

- Well, if you say so - miss Evergate was not really interested in conversation with him right now.

- C'mon, don't be so cold. It's more interesting here.

- I don't doubt it, but I prefer to be on my own when I need to think. Feel free to check around, though be careful, I promised John we will watch out and move back if we spot anything of concern. So, don't mess anything up, okay?

Jackie smiled.

- Why would I? You seem to be treating me like a child.

- Because you seem to be careless. Like with that barrier. Remember, we all are aliens here.

- Ok, got it. I won't bother you anymore.

He walked a dozen meters away, looking at the structure's wall all the time. Keira was observing him for a moment before focusing on her work again. She did not like events like this happening as reaching proper level of concentration was not a fast process for her.

Now that distraction was away, miss Evergate could again lose herself in data processing. Or, that was what she thought at least.

Moments later, a loud noise echoed, forcing her out of focus again. Immediately after hearing it, Keira started looking around for the source of this peculiar sound, and the first thing she noticed was that Jackie was no longer anywhere close. This noise was really specific, as if something big had just moved, and the first thought that came to her mind was related to the pyramid.

Cave's structure made it hard to pinpoint the area from where the sound originated, but miss Evergate had a gut feeling it might have something to do with Jackie nosing around, so she turned towards the place where she saw him the last time.

As she was walking in that direction, carefully looking around for any traces and trying to reach him on his PEC, she heard the sound of someone's steps, and someone calling her name. When she looked behind, it was John who appeared, backed up by sarge Krawczak.

- Keira, is everything fine here? - Marlow asked immediately after seeing her - We checked with the guys on the other side, but none of them saw anything, so it's only this area left. Do you know what was that sound?

Miss Evergate shrugged.

- Nothing yet. Though Jackie went that way moments before I could hear the sound, and I'm on the way to check on him.

- I guess he didn't respond via his PEC? - his question was answered by Keira waving her head, making him sigh - Better call some backup just in case, sarge - he turned to Krawczak when saying that - I hope nothing happened to him, but we cannot be sure what's waiting in there.

Sarge nodded, and used his PEC to call two additional soldiers, who appeared really fast.

- Me and major will take the front, miss Evergate in the centre, and you two take the back - Krawczak gave quick instructions and they started walking into the direction where Jackie went.

- Did you notice anything suspicious before that sound appeared? - John looked back at Keira.

- No, it was all quiet, aside from Jackie - she replied - I wondered why he was going all around the place, instead of focusing on a single area, but he explained he needed to put more sensors in the area. No idea about details since it's not my field of expertise.

- Neither is mine - Marlow said with yet another sigh - I should've told everyone to stick together, and not go anywhere alone. Honestly, I hope he didn't do anything stupid.

- Major, with all due respect, but we all here are adults - sarge walked one step in front of John - and scientists are supposed to be smart people, so we shouldn't treat them like children.

- I guess you don't know that much - Keira smiled - Scientists are like children quite often. Just give them some new toy and they get lost in their own world.

This caused a moderate laughter as everyone was focused on the path.

- I found a trace - Krawczak notified others out of a sudden - Not sure if it is a sand or some kind of dirt, but she marks are visible quite well here.

- Good thing, we are following the correct route - John said - Still, better be careful. I will try to call him on PEC again.

They kept walking for another minute.

- So, any reply? - miss Evergate asked - Are you picking a signal?

Marlow shook his head.

- Nothing at all. Cannot get a reply, and position tracing also doesn't work. Either interference or his PEC is off.

- Seriously, I got a feeling he may mess things up... I should've either stop or follow him.

- And how would that help us if we lost track of both of you? It's important we have a trace now. Just keep your localizers on, and stick together.

Several more minutes passed by as they continued to follow the tracks, and unexpectedly.

- Ok, prints end here - sarge stopped, and started looking around - The path continues over there, and I don't see any trace past this point.

- We need to check the area - John instructed - Look for anything unusual. Anything out of place. But don't go alone. Keira, with me and sarge, you two check over there.

They had an advanced equipment at their disposal, not limited to PECs. However, even with all of this, it was a hard task to find something in such conditions, esepcially with the electromagnetic activity caused by the alien structure.

- John, have a look at this - it was Keira who called him, pointing at a patch of ground, just by the wall - It seems something shifted here.

Marlow approached her, crouched down and delicately touched the ground.

- Yes, you are right - he confirmed - It's barely noticeable because the dust slid down. It may be the reason why we don't see any foot prints around here. Though, if it's the case, there should be a movable object here.

- Still, how are we going to move it?

- It's likely that Jackie somehow triggered the mechanism, or whatever moves it. Let's try to figure it out, but proceed with caution.

They called the soldiers who were with them in order for them to help in search. Major reminded everyone to stay alert and be always within others' field of view.

Soldiers focused more on the ground, while John and Keira started investigating the wall.

Similarly to the rest of the area around them, walls included parts made of natural rock formations and exposed outer layer of building believed to be another pyramid.

Neither Marlow nor miss Evergate believed natural rocks were the key, so both were looking at the structure's wall instead. However, minutes were passing by and nothis was happening.

- C'mon, he somehow managed to do something here - Keira was getting impatient - Why can't we figure it out?

- Maybe we are trying to much? - John suggested - Let's stop for a moment, and organize our thoughts.

Miss Evergate seemed unsure for a second, but gave up and agreed to take some rest in the end.

No one carried anything to sit on, therefore they had to either sit directly on the ground or lean on the wall. Everyone, except for sarge Krawczak, sat on the ground - sarge was the only one who preferred to remain standing, explaining this with a need to have someone stay on watch. Still, he decided to lean on a wall to ease up, even if it was for just a little bit.

They tried to have a regular chitchat, but each attempt would still result in wondering about Jackie. In the end, the rest took around fifteen minutes before they decided to continue. In the very moment they started raising, sarge tripped and cursed loudly. It ended up being the key to the mystery they were trying to solve as the loud noise echoed just afterwards.

Everyone looked around, but not everyone managed to react in time. Keira and one of the soldiers got themselves caught in a sudden landslide caused by the wall opening up. However, not only them got in there as John jumped in, trying to help them.

The fall took a longer while, and was really rough, but they were fortunate enough to have a soft landing on some kind of a plant.

- Where are we? - miss Evergate looked around, visibly confused - This place is quite bright for something underground.

- I would like to see it, so could you please come off of me? - Marlow was lying face-down, with miss Evergate sitting on his back - It's not really comfy for me.

- Oh, sorry about that, I didn't notice.

She stood up, allowing John to turn around. He first sat down, had a short look around and noticed the soldier who fell with them - the man lied on the ground, motionless.

Major panicked at first, but got up and approached the soldier to check on him. Fortunately, he turned out to be alive after a short check, just unconscious.

- Sarge Krawczak, do you copy? - they tried reaching out to their comrades - I repeat, do you copy?

- Ye... Barely... you... - there was a lot of interference, so only parts of communication were reaching them.

- Try text comm, maybe it's going to work better.

It was indeed better, though still portions of text were lost on the way. Then again, it was enough to provide pieces of information. Couple of minutes later, sarge Krawczak joined them.

- We need to take him out of here - he concluded after talking to the soldier who got hurt - He is in no shape to help us. I will get Kris to take him out from him.

- Ok, we will start checking the vicinity in the meantime - Marlow replied - If Jackie got here, we may find a trace.

- I actually have one, but I don't like it - it was miss Evergate who said that, pointing somewhere.

John approached her and looked into the direction she was showing - there were blood marks on the ground and the wall, leading outside the room they ended up in.