An hour after discovering the mysterious borehole, the expedition team is prepared to head down. Weyland follows Lex at a slow pace, carefully securing each ice screw with meticulous care.
On the surface, a strong gust of wind sends one of Quinn's men scrambling and tumbling forward. He plows into the pulley feeding cord into the borehole.
Weyland glances up just as the cord he is rappelling from snaps. With a holler, Weyland loses his footing and sprawls onto the slick surface of icy walls within the borehole. He falls several feet in the span of a moment. Arms and screams go up, in an attempt to catch the wealthy expedition leader. They can ill afford to lose the man who is the very reason they are all down here in the first place.
Lex gauges the distance between herself and the elder Weyland. Retrieving her ice axe, Lex lifts it into the air and then slams it downward. Right on the hood of Weyland’s thermal coat. The wealthy mogul sways from the end of her axe, his teeth chattering with cold and fear. Lex offers him a sarcastic nod.
It's a long way down, Mr. Weyland,” she chides the older gentleman.
-
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Riding the storm into the ooman camp, the yautja mothership passes overhead undetected. A moment later, three transport pods eject from the ship and zip toward the frozen ground.
The three transport pods slam into the powdery snow with the force of two large automobiles ramming each other at top speed. Snow and buried debris explodes into the air. The few penguins which had sought shelter there swiftly scurry away--squawking their discontent the whole way.
A door opens on the side of one of the transport pods. Light spills out, illuminating a sliver of land in the distance. A large clawed hand grips the side of the pod.
With a loud chitter, Scar climbs heavily from the crashed transport vessel. He calmly surveys his surroundings. No heat signatures appear anywhere in the immediate vicinity. Celtic steps beside Scar and they both peer into the distance.
Stolen novel; please report.
Standing atop a large hill, the two warriors gaze down at the ooman settlement. Movement. Many oomans. More than would be necessary for a decent hunt. There will be many black serpents to slay. Chopper finally makes it to where they are standing. He looks to Celtic for their orders.
“The oomans…Have they gone into the chuf'trhat?” Chopper asks, murder playing behind gray eyes.
“Not all of them have gone down,” Celtic informs his hunt brother. “The few you see have stayed behind. Most likely as a security force. We will sweep them easily.”
Scar happily ejects his wrist blades, flexing the muscles in his clawed hands. Retracting his blades, Scar reclines one leg on a nearby ledge.
“A security force, you say? Haha. As if oomans would truly know the meaning of the words,” Scar laughs, his eyes narrowing menacingly.
“Even so,” Celtic says sternly. “We will exercise caution. Full stealth. We do not want the hunt ended before it has begun.”
Scar nods respectfully and then activates his cloak. With a shimmer of gray light, Scar fades from visibility. Chopper and Celtic follow suit, the two larger yautja warriors dissolving into the snowy background. Let the hunt begin.
-
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Lex is one of the first team members to reach the bottom of the borehole. She carefully studies everything around her, looking for signs of danger. A possible cave-in would not be beyond the realm of possibility. The flare in Lex's hand goes out and she gropes in the darkness for another. Before Lex can ignite her flare, Weyland steps beside her and lights his own. Lex jumps with the suddenness of his presence.
“I don’t understand it. No equipment, and no sign of a team,” Weyland laments. The company man is truly perplexed.
“Well, that tunnel didn’t dig itself,” Lex retorts.
Further away, the rest of the expedition team members are setting up UV lamps and other equipment. Before long, the cavernous space is illuminated in bright white light. Weyland steps forward, his face altered by surprise and utter giddiness. Lex is not far behind.
Meters in front of them, lies the pyramid—in all of its ancient splendor. Unnecessarily, but out of a sense of adventure, Lex fires off another flare. Weyland grins from ear to ear.
“Congratulations, Mr. Weyland. You’ve just made history,” Lex utters with a thin smile.
"We did it together," Weyland says.
The wealthy company man places a hand on Lex's arm and smiles warmly down at her.
"Thank you."
Lex only nods. For the first time, since ever, Charles Weyland actually resembles a living, breathing human being. The man's smile is more genuine than she would have thought him capable of.
"Thank you all for this!" Weyland says in a louder voice.
"Don't get too excited," Lex quips. "We still have to climb those steps."