Gaian Pyramids XII

Not without struggle, Keira, John and corporal all managed to reach the spot where sarge Krawczak was waiting for them.

- What did you do to that creature, major? - sarge asked Marlow as they helped corporal sit down - I saw pieces of its body raining...

John was unaware of how it might have looked like from afar since he lost balance for a moment after shooting, but pointed at his left arm.

It seemed that Krawczak did not need more for the explanation.

- I was wondering from the first moment I saw it on you, major - he said - Now I know it is indeed the thing I thought it was.

Marlow sat down to catch a breath - even with all the equipment they had, moving around was still using quite a lot of energy.

He extended his left arm, examining it after using its military functions for the very first time.

- Based on your reaction, it seems you must know something more about it - John continued talking to sarge - I've noticed the logo when I woke up with this thing attached - he pointed at a print located on a forearm part of the artificial limb - Knowing this company, I kinda suspected this may be quite... lethal. I wasn't planning on using it in other way than an actual arm, and here I did something like this.

Krawczak sat next to him to see the arm better, and slightly smiled.

- Yes, this thing is one of prototypes I heard about - he said after a short moment spent on checking the major's arm - I was actually curious when I first noticed, but didn't want to be nosy. To be completely honest here, this is not a type of equipment I would expect being taken onboard, though higher-ups must've had their reasons, I guess.

- I had no idea it was not the regular, mass-produced equipment - Marlow lowered the arm, putting his left hand on the lap - I mean, I noticed from the very beginning it is a high-end piece, but thought they just took only top notch stuff for this expedition.

Sarge scratched his head before speaking further.

- I honestly felt relief when you said you would only use it as a last resort - he said - It did help us today, but I heard some bad stories related to test equipment from this company. I know, and - in some cases - knew people who tested their products, and I must agree that they are good at making solid, powerful stuff, but at the same time, they often pose quite a burden on users. There were injuries, and couple of people ended up with mental problems, leading to death. That's what I heard at least, not that I saw anything with my own eyes.

- You know that's not reassuring? - John smiled at him when saying that - Either way, thank you for telling me. I'll be even more careful from now on.

Marlow did not tell Krawczak about it, but he actually heard quite a bit about this company in the past, and most of this rumors were not positive, to put it nicely. Supposedly, they disregarded many safety rules when manufacturing new equipment, and for prosthetics testing they would use veterans whose wages were not enough for limb regrowth procedures, granting them the tested equipment as payment for participating. However, as sarge mentioned, there was a number of deaths among the people testing their equipment.

John was worried about this for some time already, and the only reason why he did not think about it much was too many things happening right now. Still, involvement of such a company in the mission was something to be wary of, especially if one had piece of their equipment connected to the body.

- So, how do we proceed now? - Keira approached them after tending to wounded soldier - Corportal will be fine, he needs just a moment of rest - she added, seeing them looking in the direction where the man was resting.

- Then we move out once he feels well enough to walk - major said - We still have quite a distance to pass. Good thing it is less dangerous than the climb down we did a moment ago.

- Well, you say that, but this monster you shot wasn't a part of the plan, right? - miss Evergate pointed at bloody remains of the creature they could see in several places.

- You sound as if we can foresee things like this happening - Marlow replied - Instead of complaining, let's focus on reaching our goal safely. For example, you could help us with scanning the area this time. Maybe you will be able to notice something we are missing and warn us all?

Keira pouted before replying:

- I didn't mean this like that, so you could skip on such snarky talk. Still, if you feel my help is needed, I will go and do this scanning for you.

Marlow's and Krawczak's eyes met after hearing miss Evergate talking.

- Please don't look at me like that, major - sarge said - I trust your decisions, so I will follow your orders, whatever these could be.

"He sure knows how to dodge a problem", John thought to himself after listening to Andy. In the end, major preferred to have Keira stay with wounded corporal instead of having her involved in scouting - she was not from military staff after all, so not perfect fit for this kind of work.

Following his decision, it was up to Marlow and Krawczak to check the remaining route they had to pass in order to reach the location agreed on with Kris.

Obviously, when planning the descent, they already made scans of the area, but animals movement was a different topic. As Keira pointed out moments before, they did not anticipate this flying lizard attacking them as none of the scans caught its presence, so this time they planned to extend the range to the limit and pinpoint locations of any threats that could affect further route down.

Having said that, it was not like they were able to ensure complete safety, and it was merely to increase the chances.

- My PEC isn't picking any dangerous beasts in the zone - John communicated after enhancing the signal with pairing Andy's PEC - Check yours to see whether it's not the malfunction.

- It seems that there is indeed nothing at max distance, major - Krawczak communicated after checking his implant - All clean in regards to known threats.

- Let us hope we don't come upon something unregistered.

They returned to the other two, and gave them an update before continuing the descent.

After getting a longer moment of rest and special nutrients, colors returned to corporal's face, and - except for the limb loss - he looked quite healthy and was able to walk without assistance.

The route from this point on was also much easier with no climbing required, just a regular mountain walk far away from their home planet. Well, except for the fact they needed to remain careful about the surroundings.

Due to one wounded person, the four of them were proceeding in a different formation than usual - John was walking up front with Andy at the back, and Keira with corporal in the centre, having the soldier be the one closest to the scarp foot.

About thirty minutes of walk from the last stop, sarge Krawczak received a communication from Kris, providing them with brawler's current coordinates.

- We are almost there - sarge informed others, his face showing a sight of relief - Just past this elevation and we can rest.

- Too bad it's going to be temporary - said Keira - Given what happened down there, we have quite a lot to do. I doubt we have luxury of taking a longer break, right John?

Marlow sighed, focusing on the road in front of them and not looking back.

- We need to properly tell others about Jackie, and I don't think the mood will be good for focusing on any kind of work for now. I think letting people take a breather is a must. Just need to be sure we secure the site so no one gets hurt when we rest.

They reached the highest point they aimed for, and now could see the vehicle waiting for them about one hundred meters below. As the group appeared up above, one of the men standing by the brawler waived his hand - even from the distance, everyone could tell it was Kris.

- I'm happy to see you alive - the man welcomed them - No luck in finding Jackie?

The group of four looked at each other, all having grim faces out of sudden. In a matter of seconds, the mood changed completely, and Kris immediately felt it.

- I guess something happened then? - he asked.

John walked to the front and put a hand on his arm.

- We did find him, but couldn't retrieve the body - Marlow decided to be straightforward about it - I'd rather tell everyone properly when we get back to the rest of the group.

Kris cursed at first, then nodded and led them into the vehicle.

- How's the situation back in camp? - sarge asked once everyone sat down - Did anything happen when we were outside? Was anyone hurt?

Brawler already started moving when Kris began to reply:

- When you left to look for Jackie, nothing was happening at first and everyone continued with planned work. Only after some time, we started feeling slight tremors, which were getting stronger each minute. In the end, we evacuated to a higher level, couple of people getting some small bruises because of falling rocks. Nothing else really. Well, maybe aside from electromagnetic interference getting weaker, but you already noticed since your signal managed to reach our camp.

- So, you are saying there is a difference in readings? - major was curious - Anything happened to the pyramid?

The driver shrugged.

- I cannot really say. We didn't check it after we fled. Science team wanted to go back in, but we disagreed, preferred to wait for things to calm down.

Marlow noded.

- You did well - he said - We need to investigate what happened there, but rushing won't do us any good.

- I agree - sarge Krawczak supported - Let's get back to the camp and regroup. No point trying to move farther when it's already close to dusk.

Indeed, they spent quite a long time underground and both suns were now partially hidden behind horizon, marking the end of the day approaching. Fortunately, the route back to camp turned out to be calm with no major events worth mentioning.

As their brawler entered the vicinity of the current hideout, they noticed several people moving around outside, just by the cave's entrance, and Kris proceeded to slow down.

- Is it just me, or did the entrance get smaller? - Keira asked something that was not obvious to others.

- Yes, now that you say it - John also had a closer look - It doesn't seem natural - he instantly turned on his implant's sensors - You didn't mention anything like this, Kris. What's that thing?

The man looked confused.

- No idea, this wasn't here when we were leaving to pick you up.

He drove the vehicle inside, where the layout of the chambers changed, and stopped near the entrance as to not lead it too deep, allowing a quick evacuation in case of emergency.

When they got out of the brawler, people from the group gathered to hear the news. As expected, most of them thought they would see Jackie returning with the others, and ended up being shocked by hearing what happened.

However, there was one single person for whom it was more than a shock, and she started crying before running outside. Keira immediately followed Alina.

- Alina, don't go away from the camp! It's dangerous!

Miss Evergate had to dash in order to catch her.

- Calm down, you are being irrational!

This made Alina suddenly stop and turn around.

- Irrational!? - in a second she went from crying to being angry - You know what's irrational? Going after a man to the other end of the universe and him dying before I could say it... - her voice started breaking - We knew each other since studies...

Keira hugged her and led her back into the cave, but away from everyone else, listening to the full story about Alina and Jackie.

- How is she? - John asked Keira once she returned after Alina fell asleep - Was she that close to Jackie?

Miss Evergate sat on the ground and sighed.

- She had a crush on him, for a long time - Keira hid face in her hands - but didn't tell him, and now she won't have another chance. Tell me, John, have you ever thought about death? So many people died during this expedition, and here I focused on myself so much that I didn't care. Those people, many of them had families, close ones... It's too sad to think you won't be able to talk with person you hold dear...

Marlow sat next to her.

- I actually did, lost both my parents years ago - he told Keira - I was depressed and had a really hard time, but managed to recover somehow, though I doubt I'm anywhere close to the way I was back then. Things like that do change people.

She hugged him.

- Sorry for bringing back the bad memories. I really am bad at understanding others.

John shook his head.

- I wouldn't say that. You were there for Alina after all.

- Do you think she's going to be fine?

He shrugged.

- It all depends on a person, but the times we live in are quite rough on us. You either learn to push through or the life is going to beat you up.

Keira stopped hugging him and sighed, looking into the sky.

- I honestly hope this new world will change the way humanity lives now.