Conflicting Objectives VII

John and Keira proceeded with their plan of testing various symbol setups to better understand both the language and technology used by the alien race that once inhabited this planet.

For some of those selected for investigation of underground facility, the extent of work performed prior going there was questionable as they did not expect it to provide any useful support for their task, given the limited amount of time they had, of which vast majority was already used for different checks.

Much to their surprise, actions Marlow and Evergate bet on produced much better results than anyone expected, allowing the team to map several possible layouts that could be used for entering lower levels with settings applied on interface wall located in the building they were in right now. Not only did they map the area leading to specific chambers, but also managed to see how the mechanism was changing the paths leading downwards - the system was really elaborate and it turned out specific sections of the facility were only reachable with certain settings.

It was only speculation right now, but the way the facility was designed suggested its focus on something dangerous that required safety measures to be in place, including secure zones and areas that could be easily separated from other sections.

- The more I look at this, the worse I feel about going down there - Martin was looking through the available routes they narrowed down, complaining about potential dangers - I know that we are supposed to investigate the place, make sure it is safe enough to have a camp in the area, and possibly learn about the energy source, which is basically one of the most important goals we have set for this expedition and is potentially connected to the same thing we will be looking for in the megacity, but don't you think the amount of safeties here means going there is just asking for trouble?

John sighed before speaking:

- We already talked about it, Martin, and if I were to choose, I would also like to avoid stuff like this. But let's be honest, what's not dangerous when we are on this planet? Even going to take a dump can cost you life here. Remember, Jackie also went on a walk, didn't plan to go underground, and we all know how it ended. So, no matter how I hate taking risks, we need to go there, not only to investigate and make sure the area is safe, or not even to understand how this place operates, but to me it's also important to find Jackie's body, or whatever is left of him, and bring him back.

This reply from Marlow made Johnson shut up for now, and another person to speak was Rashid:

- So, what's the plan now? We have several options to choose from, now that you found the settings. Which one are we taking? Based on the length of route, I would say we should take this one - he pointed at layout labeled with a number "seven" - It is the shortest way to the main chamber which is considered the most important one we have on the list.

John nodded before saying:

- I agree this would be the safest bet we have here. At the same time, taking this route would mean we disregard other rooms we originally passed through.

- And potentially miss opportunity to find out what exactly happened to Jackie - Alina pointed that out.

Major was well aware this matter was personal to Alina, but he himself also wanted to find out what exactly happened there. Not to mention that he already went through this very route once before - usually, taking the old route meant having advantage, therefore even the perspective of having other options, including way shorter one, was not necessarily the best choice.

- If I'm to be honest, we should take the easy way, John - Martin Johnson suggested - We have a number of people who are going to be involved either by going directly underground or supporting us from up here, so it's both danger and exhaustion for everyone. I say, let's keep things easy.

- I disagree, we should take the route that will let us investigate what happened to Jackie - Alina said that firmly, shooting Martin down with her eyes - If guys here are afraid, we can go with a smaller group and keep others outside. I see no point taking the shortest route just to be forced into ultimately going underground once again, because it turns out we missed something.

It looked as if those two were up to get into argument, but then sarge Krawczak stopped them by saying:

- I don't mind any of these routes. It is up to major Marlow to make a decision, so no one should start fights over this topic.

This voice coming from the biggest person in the whole group stopped any further quarrels. In the end, John chose to take the very first route they used, and started preparations by sending drones downwards to learn about the possible dangers on the way.

- I don't want to complain, but why don't we just send only the drones? - Johnson asked Marlow moments later, when two of them were doing adjustments on the drones they were about to use - We wouldn't need to risk anything if we did that.

John nodded.

- I do agree we should rely on equipment we have here a bit more - he replied - However, we both know we have trouble with equipment shortage, and we already lost some stuff here. Even what we are preparing here is made out of scrap. I also expect we won't get much help from drones due to electromagnetism - I wouldn't be surprised if more equipment gets toasted.

- You really know how to raise someone's morale, John.

They looked at each other, and laughed nervously.

- Honestly, the situation we are in is crazy, Martin - Marlow started talking, while making final touches to a second drone - You guys told us about these weird Ghast things you encountered, but you are not the only ones who saw something unusual.

John used the time they had to complete their work to talk about the days they were separated - they discussed about creatures they met, unusual buildings, and various phenomena.

- I guess it was to be expected - Johnson sighed minutes later, once they finished exchanging their stories - I shouldn't have considered a new world to be something out of a science fiction movie. The amount of ideas our minds can come up with while leaving on Earth is ways from what the univers has to offer. What's this smile about? - he added, seeing Marlow's face.

Hearing the question, major continued smiling, then shook his head.

- You wouldn't have asked if you could see your face as you were talking just now - he replied, pointing at his friend - You seemed really into it, you know? Observing you, and remembering how you were approaching this expedition, it is unusual to see you having some bigger interest in topics out of your job specs.

Martin was looking at him for a moment, thinking, then laughed out loud.

- It seems I didn't even realize it - he said as they finished their work on the drones - This whole emergency landing and being separated changed the whole plan, and made us engaged in topics we would have never been involved in otherwise. I didn't expect to say it, but being a mechanic is not everything. New experiences do expand your horizons.

- And yet, you are reluctant about going underground - John pointed out - If you can't manage, I won't force you to go with us, you can stay with others monitoring from outside.

Martin gave him an angry look.

- Please, don't treat me like some coward. I didn't say all of that for no reason. Because of everything that happened during this expedition so far, I simply prefer to avoid trouble if I have such option. Having said that, whatever you decide, I will follow. After all, we've been through quite a lot since we first met for this job, and each time we've managed to push through.

Marlow put the finished drones on the ground, and looked at Johnson, smiling.

- Who would have thought you are superstitious?

- Am I? Well, if thinking that sticking to specific people enhances my fortune, I won't deny it.

Both laughed after these words.

- Oh, you seem to be in quite good spirits - it was Keira who appeared in the tent they were using for preparations - Sorry for coming like that, but you were too loud to hear me calling.

The guys calmed down, and John said:

- Don't mind it, have a seat - he pointed at one of the field chairs - Did anything happen?

- I actually wanted to do some data review before tomorrow - miss Evergate replied with enigmatic tone - I'm hoping to provide you with a good tool in case you come upon any new pieces of writing down there, hence here I am.

Martin stood up.

- I guess, there's nothing more for me to do here - he said, walking towards the exit - I'm going to have some rest. Don't stay up for too late, so you are in shape tomorrow - he added, smiling as he went out.

John sighed at what his friend did.

- This guy misunderstands quite a lot of stuff - he told Keira - Sorry about him.

- And what exactly did he mean? - she replied with a question, moving closer to Marlow - Is it something...?

- I bet you know already, based on what you did just now. And please, let us already focus on this topic you mentioned, so we can really have some rest.

- So you really thought I had a legitimate reason to come here and did not plan this out for Martin to leave?

Marlow raised his eyebrows.

- Then, you came here just to fool around? Given the amount of stuff you found recently, I cannot imagine you focusing on something else.

- You are no fun to tease. Yes, I really do have some data to go through and make some additional adjustments. The thing is, I know how to deal with creating frameworks for translation systems, but I'm not really good at programming, so I could use some help here.

- More work for me, then? Lovely - John smiled sarcastically - Show me what you have there.

- You don't need to do that, if it is a hassle for you - Keira said in reaction to John's sarcastic tone - Though, it's also to help you, so you should show some proper interest.

Major sighed.

- Being sarcastic about something, and having additional workload doesn't mean I won't do what is needed, so show me what you did so far.

Ultimately, miss Evergate shared access to her PEC's resources related to app she was building - a short look was enough for John to understand what needs to be done.

- I'll be honest with you - he told Keira - You did it in a crappy way. It will be better if I just re-write it from scratch.

- Wouldn't it take long though?

- Nah, given what I see there, it's a matter of an hour or so.

Miss Evergate looked at him as if he was crazy.

- I spent hours on what you just saw and you are saying an hour is enough?

- Maybe two hours, but yes, it's simple from what I see. You must be really bad at it, right?

Keira's face got a bit red.

- I said I'm not best, but based on what you said, I must be terrible.

John shook his head.

- You shouldn't be worried. I wouldn't consider you an amateur, though some solutions look questionable to me. Either way, it's just I'm quite handy at such topics, and my personal AI helps a great deal, so I can solve it rather easily. To be honest with you, I could have left everything to my AI and could potentially get the job done even sooner, but I don't trust AI that much - especially in terms of improving the performance.

- So, based on what you are saying. If I were to give you some raw data and requested creation of an app aimed to perform specific actions, how long would you need to complete it?

Marlow was already on the task of building an app for language translation and data gathering for the framework miss Evergate provided, therefore he left the work to AI for a moment to answer Keira.

- It depends on the size of the data and complexity of the app. Most of such works won't take more than a day.

Keira sighed and shook her head.

- You make it sound easy, but do you realize it is not really the case? If I had this kind of support before, it would have made so many things easier for me.

John actually smiled slightly, owing to what she said, being complimented.

- Well, you didn't know me back then, However, since it's no longer the thing, you can always reach out to me for help. Of course, I cannot guarantee I'll always have time, but whenever I do, you can count on it.

- Oh, so it means you won't be avoiding me? For some time now, I thought you were intentionally keeping the distance, so I actually wanted to ask you about it for some time now.

Marlow scratched his head, visibly embarrassed.

- Don't treat it like that, it's more complicated because of what happened between us. It's just, I don't want anything serious going on, not right now. I guess, the way I was behaving must have felt harsh on you. So, just to be clear, I don't want to keep you away, I just want to be clear I don't want to get too close, if you know what I mean.

Miss Evergate laughed.

- You sounded like a kid there, you know? Though, I get what you mean, because I understand the way I was could have been overwhelming a bit. What happened before is something I should be blamed for too. I guess my approach was childish, behaving like a little girl wanting attention. Of course, I get you and I won't be forcing myself with closer relationship - she stopped talking for a moment, looked around, and moved a bit closer to him - But I hope you have nothing against something like friends with benefits for now?

They were far away from their homes, within a selected group of people during an expedition on alien planet. While having a specific mission in front of them, they were still human with set of needs. Obviously, sexual contacts were also part of it, and with the amount of time they were expected to spend on the New Gaia, they had to find ways - to that extent, John had no reasons to decline, though talking about it right now was a bit embarrassing.

After clarifying that part of their conversation, they shifted their full focus towards the app Keira needed. Finally, John managed to complete the initial version with the support of AI in his PEC, and shared with miss Evergate.

- Tell me what you think - he told her after passing the program via link - All I did is following your framework. If I got things right, you wanted not only translation for others, but also a depository service that would register the data on new symbols we might encounter? Your AI support code looked quite advanced to be honest, so I just connected it to some higher level operations, which should complement other functions you need.

Keira received the data transmition, and installed the app within her PEC's interface. Moments after she launched the new app, an additional panel appeared on her retinal display. She tinkered with it for a couple of minutes before saying to John:

- Honestly, it looks great, but important thing comes next - checking it in field, All I can say right now is that it properly translates what we have transcribed, but real test will be anything new you guys may find down there - she talked for a moment, providing her evaluation, then swapped to another topic - Are you still against me tagging along?

Marlow looked at her and said:

- We are already having some good specialists going there. In case anything happens to us, there must be someone who takes care of the data.

Keira was obviously still pouting about it.

- I really don't get why you take Alina there, and not me.

John did not want to explain how his conversations with Ryan were, and the fact it was actually something major specifically negotiated with colonel, so he preferred providing a reply which would keep this part secret:

- She was selected as per specialty and relation to Jackie, whose body is one of the targets. Besides, our history, Keira, it could hinder the mission if we were to prioritize each other due to matters other than the objective.

Ultimately, miss Evergate gave up and agreed to stay with the team on the ground without further complaints, while John started readying up for entering the underground facility.