Gaian Pyramids XIII

They might have returned to the temporary camp and could feel safer now they were in a larger group with access to variety of equipment, but it did not mean being at ease was possible in such conditions.

While it was already a dusk and nights on this planet were long, focusing solely on resting was not an option given the amount of events they went through, and matters they had to investigate.

The biggest concern was how the recent undeground activity affected the area, and whether the situation stabilized now.

John and Keira did not go to sleep despite being through a hard time not long ago, and went to do some scouting around to see what changed. For this activity sarge Krawczak did not tag along as he had to check on his subordinates and equipment, but he assigned Kris to helping them.

They have already noticed signs of it back in the main chamber just by the entrance, but the tremors caused by the alien structure's activity resulted in the cave's layout changing - not only due to ceilings falling apart and walls crumbling as it turned out there were many more artificial elements hidden under the rock.

It seemed that major part of the cave did not collapse not because of tremors being not strong enough, but rather the artificial elements acting as a support.

- Look at this surface, it is completely flat - Marlow pointed at the wide zone in one of the smaller chambers - Rocks crumbled and exposed some kind of floor. It's made of metal, definitely not something nature would create.

Way before going inside the structure, they noticed a number of patches not covered by rocks, and now the tremors made these even more visible.

- So it is not only a pyramid? - miss Evergate touched one of the exposed walls - Based on the size, it might have been a larger structure. Maybe some kind of city?

- Given the size of the one in northern hemisphere, I wouldn't be surprised if there were cities all around the planet - John replied, while using his implant for capturing data - Question is, why would only the biggest one stay looking untouched? They had high tech advanced enough for creating invisible barriers, so protection shouldn't be the problem.

- Unless there were some kind of additional factors - Keira pointed out, checking the base of the wall - It could have been some global cataclysm, energy shortage, or simply something typical of humans, a conflict that is. They might have even faced a number of problems at the same time.

- Possibly, but everything we can think about right now is nothing more than speculation.

- Obviously. In the end, we reached the planet not so long ago. There are things which are taking time, and doing an archeologist work I know that pretty well.

- You are right, but for now I'm more interested in what happened to electromagnetic activity in the area. It seems things stabilized after what happened down there, so it is likely that device we saw is connected.

- Too bad everything collapsed when it activated.

Marlow looked at her, slightly confused.

- I didn't see things collapsing, just walls blocking the way - he said - I expect the structure might have remained intact, though I doubt getting inside would be easy now.

- Wait, you don't seriously consider going back there? - miss Evergate sounded scared.

- Don't worry, I'm not thinking of doing that anytime soon, though I must admit it is something I believe should be done at some point. Of course, we would need to prepare way better before going in there.

- So, it means you won't check what changed to electromagnetic activity in the area for now?

- I didn't say that. We can definitely make measurements and compare the data from before to what we capture now. We won't be able to pinpoint the exact culprit, but confirming the mechanism below being related is a completely different matter. Actually, I already got some interesting info from the group that stayed here when we were below.

John led Keira to one of bigger exposed walls of the alien structure.

- We need to pair our PECs for me to show you what's this about - he told her while touching the wall - If you want to see, of course.

- We are here precisely for that after all - she replied, allowing the connection - So, what's this interesting thing?

- Give me a second to apply the filters and turn on the visual enhancement. Okay, now.

Miss Evergate did as instructed, and started seeing the area in front of her in variety of colors.

- Sorry, John, but I don't get it - she said - I can see the colors that are changing regularly.

Marlow smiled.

- That's exactly it. What you are seeing now is visual representation of radiation - he started explaining - This regular change of colors means that electromagnetic activity in this area stabilized. I will now show you the recording from the first few hours since our arrival, before Jackie going inside the structure.

Keira watched for no longer than several seconds before shouting:

- Turn it off, please!

She staggered, and sat on the ground.

- I thought I was going to puke. This flickering was nauseous.

- And that's how the radiation was around here before - John continued the explanation - There were several different types of radiation present, affecting the functionality of equipment we are using. If you managed to watch this longer, you would have noticed long periods of area being colored in blue, reflecting the power surges which were likely the thing causing the ground to shake.

- Then, it means this place is safe now?

- Definitely safer than it was. However, everything comes down to whether these conditions remain as they are. You know, the thing is... While I'm saying the situation stabilized, it is hard to tell whether the structure was causing this and stopped operating or it actually started functioning again, removing all the additional noise which was making us problems before.

Miss Evergate nodded.

- So, as long as nothing changes in terms of this structure, it is safe?

- I'm assuming that is the case. The problem we have here is that we have no idea how this whole device works. We didn't even figure out whether it started or stopped working when we were down there.

- It might have been just settings that were changed - another voice joined in the conversation, but that was not Kris.

- Alina, weren't you supposed to rest? - Keira immediately reacted to the presence of woman she was comforting not so long ago - Are you sure you can...?

- It's much better for me to work than just sit around and think about losing Jackie - she replied - That thing you mentioned about him being in a separate room, I feel he might have tinkered with some controls, and this caused changes in how this place works now.

- We couldn't confirm if he did do anything, so this is only just an assumption - John pointed out - I'm not saying it's not possible, though.

- I doubt this is a simple matter of turning something on or off - Alina continued speaking - You already saw that new walls became exposed, right?

John and Keira both nodded.

- And I'm guessing you already theorized that the cave we are in does not only hide a single building? - Marlow asked, but was not waiting for confirmation - Rather than that, it seems like some kind of complex.

- Complex, facility, city, however we are going to call it, it is going to be a provisional name - Alina said, walking by the metal wall - We need more time to figure it out. We would have to do some excavation work, but there is an actual archeologist with us, so she knows this the best.

Miss Evergate sighed, being mentioned by Alina.

- I agree, though this is nothing like archeology I know from Earth. Imagine uncovering such advanced technology back on Earth, it's hardly even close.

- That's why we will need more hands and various specialists to get this done properly. What do you think, John?

Marlow was not really sure why would she ask him such a question, but what he could do was to provide his honest opinion.

- I agree with you this place needs to be investigated. Having said that, being in smaller groups does not give us advantage in terms of science work. Because of that, we have completely different priorities right now with the main one being finding others and regrouping.

Alina's face immediately showed what she thinks about such approach, even before she managed to say anything.

- Sorry, John, but I feel learning about this planet should be our main priority. The more we know, the easier it's going to be to stay here.

Major sighed.

- I cannot completely disagree, and you have a point, but this kind of approach doesn't guarantee success. I would love to investigate everything and gain knowledge of this place. The problem is, we have limited resources and only after reaching the main group we can plan things out.

Alina turned around, and stood with her back leaning on the wall.

- It's all given there actually is this main group you and colonel McRae are talking about. We keep hoping that's the case, but what if it's not? We may just leave some important clues and then go back, taking additional risks.

Marlow scratched his head.

- I don't see a perfect solution here. However, I know one thing - having more people and more advanced facilities will give us an upper hand. Right now, we just lack resources.

- Then, maybe we should try and contact others now? - Kris, who was just keeping watch so far, asked this question - Major, since we managed to send and receive transmission, maybe it's going to be possible to reach the other groups?

It was a fact that data transmission in the area was impossible until now, and successful communication came in as a surprise, but reaching others, who were hundreds or thousands of kilometers away, was a completely different topic.

- It is something worth a shot - John agreed - Don't have high hopes though. Even if we manage to reach someone, I wouldn't expect getting in contact with those who reached the gathering point. It is likely a local change, and I don't know how big the range is, but if we reach some hundred kilometers away, I feel that's going to be the most we can do. To be honest, I would rather expect Future to catch the signal, though in order for it to happen, the ship needs to be in position above the opened window.

- You sure know how to motivate others - Keira commented on his reply, shaking her head - We should just try and see how this turns out.

- On that, I agree. Too bad we didn't have any equipment to strengthen the signal when we were up above after going outside of the structure. We could get a better range from there.

- Yeah, I can see doing that with these flying lizards around. If we did that, maybe none of us would make it back alive. There is no point in thinking what would have happened when we are already after the fact.

- I guess you are right, Keira. We will try that tomorrow, using a transmitter on one of the brawlers. I'd rather not try that during the night. Just let us hope this is not a temporary change in the structure.

- We won't know until we understand how this facility operates, so we can use that time to do some work - Alina suggested - You came here to investigate in the first place, so I don't think it should be a bother for you?

John looked at Keira.

- I'm okay with doing whatever we can in the meantime - she said - You mentioned that yourself, that resources are important, then we should use whatever we can. You showed me these visuals, and explained what's this all about. I guess you have ideas what else can be done for now?

- Yes, a couple of ideas.