The two in front held weapons ready, two behind scanners, the two behind them bio scanners and the two behind them sample and data retrieval. They all carried sturdy rifles and flashlights. The blast hole had penetrated through ten inches of metal, parting a series of wires and beams which emitted sparks every few seconds. Plunging into the ship, the team streamed in, cold boots echoed across a domain untouched by life since almost the beginning of time.
Casting glow sticks and lights around the area they got to work immediately, paying little attention to the sheer beauty of the sacred halls they had entered. It was a labyrinth of metal, corridors sprouting like roots within the rock hall. A cold wind rushing against their faces, the explorers took photos of the ancient scripture, and bagged and stored exquisite artifacts, working in a clear and highly trained manner. Articulate in every detail they collected samples of dust and dirt off of the floor, and chipped pieces of metal off of the wall with high-powered drills. Whatever essence of reality that could be grasped was stricken from the walls, pillaged, studied.
Their thousands of academics would slave for generations deriving all facts, cultures and emotions which can be found in the hollow objects. All quenching a thirst for knowledge, an ever-growing desire to discover, unveil the stories of old and relive the existence of the dead. Ancient scrolls and unintelligible instruments were cast along the bronze shelves. An astronaut lay his gloved hand upon a simple jar, the outside of the flask gave off a green glow, as he held it in his palm dust crunched and crumbled between his fingers.
The doors in the facility were ajar, most likely a result of some sort of massive power failure. The lights were working overhead, dim and flickering yet piercing into the dancing shadows. There were limited electronics in all of the rooms, and most were simply piles of objects each one bathing in expert craftsmanship and beauty, technology far more intricate than seen in the very halls of the Collective capital and outpacing the present by miles of intellect and devotion. For example, an ancient rifle, humming with power even after over a millennium of neglect was quickly seized and cherished by the scientists. Gentle hands placed it carefully into a coffin portrayed by a steel crate. Scripture and writing were quickly seized and carefully strewn into vacuumed containers as well, each bent page and torn corner to be studied. A Photographer stood, mouth open in awe as frost formed against the visor of his helmet. Every second he took thousands of pictures, trying to capture and map the entire structure by means of technology. Create a virtual copy of all that lay infront.
The first hallway they encountered was solemn and uninviting, the artifacts were soon devoured by the team, the metal floors smooth and polished allowing for each footstep to clang with immensity throughout the room. Strange drawings and pictures lined the walls, odd segments, paintings each capturing a fracture in time. Stick figures hunting animals across a deserted plane, soldiers standing infront of a muddied battle, spacecraft bursting into the open sky. They danced across the eyes of the onlookers, each one almost shouting to be viewed, cherished and studied. A soldier took a picture of the first encounter and began to chip away at a centrepiece, slowly but surely stealing the artifact from the hollow walls.
Passing through the second set of open blast doors they encountered a warmer area. Life support bleeped on the Commander's hand console. The area was safe to breathe. The soldier kept his helmet on and motioned to a scientist behind to do a more intense scan on the wiring. Writing, armour and boxes of technology lined the walls. All these artifacts were far more advanced than the ingenious devices that now seemed brutal and clumsy in the eyes of their Kestle and Aquir masters. The armour was soon too dismantled and taken into the custody of the group, its refined and cultivated design was similar to what leaders would think to don the guards of the almighty. Interlocking platers were incredibly flexible and swayed at the touch.
The next few rooms were similar, books, swords, pieces of medical equipment, frozen bottles, sealed metals, and walls covered in a startling and overpowering arsenal of guns and weapons.
The commander stopped in his tracks. He motioned to the aid at the side. The Doctor stopped putting a crumbled vase and scrolled into a metal box to look up at the next set of doors. Infront was something which shocked them both.
A large hangar, complete with three magnificent triangular ships, each unknown in design but seemed to be a mighty craft of war, if the Ominnion had faced them in the heat of battle it would be sure to perish in flames within a few meagre minutes. Their sleek design glimmered in the explorer's flashlight casting a glow about all. The Commander shouted for the scientists behind to relay information to the above. Then he barked at a nearby cadet.
"Get this hangar open, We'll attach pulleys and pull this out of here"
The soldier nodded as he set remote explosives on what seemed to be the hangar's doors. With care and consideration, he slowly wired them towards a detonator.
"Buckle up, beware of depressurization" The Commander noted.
The flagship of the Kestle empire itself would pale to the sheer vanity of what lay in front.
The soldier left two behind to steal the vessel and continued to walk down the hall. Electric lights now fully dissipated he turned on his helmet to full power. The explorers around him did the same. Rays pierced the darkness infront.
Climbing a series of metal grate stairs they passed rooms with inner workings incomparable, vastly alien and even small tool storage and living quarters.
The beds and food in the quarters were ghostly untouched, almost as if they were a precaution, built for a purpose but damned to lie dormant ever waiting for a species who had passed.
The final three areas are what interested the baffled creatures the most, first, Commander Quex approached an unopenable door, keypad damaged, it seemed the drone must have mistaken it for some kind of wall. Behind three inches of reinforced plexiglass were a massive terrarium and indoor garden. However these were not the luscious and biblical gardens that would have been seen dominating the blissful world of this station's origin, inside were hoards of decomposed plants, sterile water and pitch-black darkness, some sort of storage facility could be seen inside so the leader ordered the glass to be smashed and the organisms harvested.
It seems without the computer's life support the plants had perished in the sands of time. The rest of the doors in the hallway were all jammed shut, and having little time they decided to leave their secrets to perish in the collective’s bloodstained hands.
Positioning two soldiers behind to inspect and gather as much information as possible from the biological material he then entered a cold and versatile chamber, inside was a large lab-type creation, in which upon the walls lay thousands upon thousands of strange screens and scientific devices, in the middle was an operating table, full-body test tube and a series of workstations. All computers were offline. Upon further examination, it was found that frozen embryos and genetic samples had been stored but all had been ruined in the power failure, the last chance of a species rebirth swept away by a few hours of neglect. Moving forward there was only one last room that was accessible, a vast chasm in the direct middle of the asteroid. Tossing a flurry of glow sticks and work lights ahead they penetrated the abyss and walked forward. The room was very large, with dauntingly high ceilings streaching up into the rock. An eerie silence cascaded around all as the team stood, eyes wide.
The floors and walls were all expertly crafted with bronze-coloured metal to form some kind of visage of ancient writing and hieroglyphics. They could see their reflection staring back in every scrap of metal. Cursing under his breath the soldier stepped forward, staring into the thousands of electric lights which dotted the ceiling like stars.
In the exact center stood the power generator, a tall column of which thousands of cables spread, sprawling across the floor and above to invade the entire ship. The pillar was covered in various screens and buttons, even a glass panel could be seen on its exterior perhaps to see and monitor the source of the power. Around the room, various workstations and screens populated the area followed by countless tubes and ancient levers. Seats, clouded with dust lay dormant and waiting, neatly tucked into neat positions upon the walls.
The engine had several cogs on each side, half of the cog showing to the expedition, the other half embedded in the floor.
He soon sent two Aquir scientists to work on the generator, trying to bring it online in order to harvest the information. In the corner was the main workstation, a singular chair surrounded by controls with two stations on either side, perhaps for Captain and two crewmembers. The most interesting thing which came to the eyes of the Aquir was a series of eight pods that lined the farthest wall. At first, believed to be some form of cryogenics they sprinted forward and approached a tall smooth capsule with a window in the middle and several buttons on the steel side.
An explosion riddled the entire chamber, the team braced for a moment, a few of them cast to the floor. A scrambled shout was heard over communications.
"Second largest ship secured Sir, Tethers attached were bringing it out and going to ride home with it, awaiting approval" The two cadets required.
The commander picked up his radio and spoke.
"Sounds good, we're running out of time, thirty minutes left so get the hell out of there" He shouted.
He then walked over and motioned to his aid to check for traps.
Whipping the foggy ice of the glass with his gloved hand he cleared the frost from his view and peered inside to see what looked like a magnificent suit of armour. About six feet tall with a colour of blue, the armour caught the eye of all in the room. Yet this was no ordinary piece of armour, this was what looked to be like a full entourage donned by a humanoid species. Millions of tiny steel fragments overlap in perfect and symbolic design. The artifact was beautiful in almost every aspect, the eyes alluring with craftsmanship, its dignified and breathtaking design casting a shadow upon all the armours worn by the galaxy. It was the kind of armour one would kill for, just to cast a single glance upon its shell.
The kind of device which would pass through the hands of societies for thousands of years, a blood treasure constantly being fought over and held as a symbol of status for any deity who dare take the danger of claiming it to be their own. The only fatal flaw in the beauty was a charred scorch mark on the back of the head which looked to be the result of the power failure. The armour was short-circuited and completely fried by the event. The rest of the pods all carried the same splendour and minute detail however upon examination only one of the eight figures was untouched by the calamity.
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Having no way of contact with the outside ships due to some sort of immense distortion, Quex acted on his own command. He sent a runner to contact the rest of the crew and tell them to leave the asteroid in five minutes. The aid disappeared into the dark, footsteps echoing in the artificial gravity. Barking orders at a nearby Kestle Cadet he arranged for them to get the main engine online, taking out an array of scanners and tools they set to work.
The power source was strange and completely unknown yet the tech was fairly simple, almost immensely simpler than Kestle’s. Inspecting the entire device with extreme care they pried open a side control panel and examined the gloomy inside.
“According to my calculations the device is insanely refined, it derives a substantial amount of power from a crystal located in the center, enough to power the station for at least a few more thousands of years” an Aquir noted as she prodded the wires inside with a sonic scanner.
"A thousand years from that crystal?" Quex shouted.
"Yes," the other replied.
"Amazing" he breathed.
The commander walked forward and looked at the crystal.
"Grab it after we get the data" He cired.
“Is it possible to get it online? What is the problem?” another asked.
An Aquir scientist poked her gilled head up from behind a console. A wire was prodding from her gloved palm.
“It seems power is still flowing however the transverter is slightly bent along with server couplings. I do not have a replacement transverter however if we hook up one of our power cells to the engine we may be able to restore power for a short while, the battery will drain at a fast rate of course,” she replied
"How fast," he asked.
"Very, we're looking at minutes here this place is massive" she replied.
“Do it, and Aris come over here and help me download these data files when it comes online, a single slicer should do the trick” he howled.
Aris edged forward, a metallic device in hand. His suit was caked in dust from the exploration, dust which would be scrapped off and refined later for further inspection.
“Are you sure it's safe? We could enact a virus? Perhaps some form of robotic defence?” she questioned.
For a moment they paused, and weighed the options slowly.
“Use just enough power to maintain the ship's basic functions, if anything pops up we will pull the plug,” He replied.
She plugged the device along with jumper cables into the engine, falling back to avoid a spurry of sparks as soon the entire structure sprung to life. A magnificent hum spread through the air as a purple glow came from the machine. Rays of light streaked from the engine dancing in the shadows infront.
The lights flickered before illuminating the dark hallways. Nearby every workstation slowly booted, a hollow flicker of controls beaming through. The screens were all holograms and highly sophisticated however many were simple buttons and switches lighting up with the glee of a synthetic life finally fulfilling its purpose after years of incoherence. Words pierced the open air.
“Quen, Won Ark”
“Quen, Won Ark”
“Quen, Won Ark”
An alarm blared through the silence causing them to startle for a moment. Sliding under the main console and what seemed to be the captain's chair an Aquir slammed a clip into the panel and turned it on, slowly sucking information. In the meantime, another used the butt of her rifle to break open a metallic data drive and salvage what lay inside.
All with great haste, they were determined to seize as much as possible before the collective could lay their hands on it. The holograms were all the colour a dark blue and portrayed an unknown schematic of the ship, with strange symbols and numbers flurrying across the screen. Every second another light would flicker on, more and more springing to life.
“Is there any way we can get that last armour pod open?.... Can anyone find ship logs?.... We don’t have much time?... "
"I'll try Captain" another cried.
"Tell everyone to gather as much data and artifacts as possible. We can put the pieces together once we leave, we may have to torch this place afterwards, this kind of technology could bolster The Collective” the commander yelled.
They paused for a moment, stunned at the suggestion. It seemed like an atrocity, a crime to commit such actions.
“Yes Sir” they replied.
The commander cast his attention upon the main console. A light flickered on. H leaned forward, scrubbing away the dirt with his gloved finger. The alert seemed strange, a small figure of a creature emerging from a steel crate. He shrugged, slowly unbuttoning his holster and letting the revolver sit loosely at his side.
“Aion, can you get any signal through to our command?” he asked.
“No sir, the interference has heightened, it's almost like it has adapted to block our signals” the scientist replied. Fear cascaded throughout her voice as she spoke.
"Keep trying, all else, we run a cable to the surface" he shouted.
Just as the data slowly drained from the computer the entire rock shifted.
“What was that?” one of them shouted
A microchip and data pack attached by the explorers to one of the consoles flashed orange and a master alarm went off.
“Sir, the data collector? I think it's being hacked” a scientist replied.
"What? How?" the Captain lept over a console to inspect the machine.
Suddenly a soldier working on the pod with a series of drills and screwdrivers stood back in awe as it popped open. A hiss of gas pooled onto the floor and dissipated throughout the room.
Their leader screeched orders.
“Disconnect it and up the firewall, we don't want a virus... ”
The console was not beeping wildly, almost screeching over their voices.
“Yes sir!” They replied.
“Lauo Amazing work, get a crate over there now” Quex spoke excitedly and beamed.
The explorer backed away in horror walking over a cable, she slowly scanned the pod in awe.
“I don’t think it’s armour…” she said nervously.
All stood silent as a mechanical whirl resounded from the steel container. A click haunted the air as the glass began to lift, slowly churning upwards with every second.
Lauo backed up, her face lighting up in amazement, as the creature's reflection danced in her eyes.
From the swirling mist, a foot pierced the unknown stepping onto the hollow ground. Metal echoing across the ground its blue eyes lit up and penetrated the fog of gas. Emerging from a deep slumber, it moved with elegance and ease uncanny to its species.
Backing away they stood face to face with the godly masterpiece, its blue colour shone through. Platemail reflected in the light it shone from the heavens. Tilting its head, the creature cast a quick glance across the room. It touched the walls with its gauntleted hand, stroking the steel lightly. Striding forward it walked past a dumbstruck Lauo’s attempt to communicate and cautiously approached the engine. With every step, its statue seemed to grow, with every movement its eyes seemed to flicker. It was almost as if it were alive. Almost as if some heart in that metal soul had longed for the taste of freedom, desired to see the world it once loved.
They snapped out of their visage, calculating minds springing to action at the task in hand.
“Sir?, I think it's attempting a repair…” a scientist said, hastily backing away from his spot on the survey.
The team looked around, peering down the lit corridors to the exit in sight.
“If it gets the main power online doors may function, I don’t think we have enough charges to blast our way out,” he replied.
The commander pondered his options, he looked down at his watch, ten minutes until they reached the Nebula. Shivers cascaded down his spine.
“How much data have you downloaded?” He asked.
The robot was still moving, now resting his hand against the main console and typing a series of buttons. Wires seemed to sprout from his fingertips conjoining into the computer's ports and having electricity pulse within its veins.
“About 40% Sir” an Aquir spoke.
“Great, pull the plug now!” he shouted.
An engineer quickly disconnected the external battery attached to the engine and the entire ship slowly shook. The team screamed at this notion, grasping onto consoles and the wall for support. before fading away leaving only a series of glowsticks strewn throughout the room and the explorers helmet lights to fight the darkness.
The robot bent down on one knee to the electrical panels took out its hand and split the limb in two. They watched in horror as it produced a find laser cutter. The other hand part of the hand stayed the same but produced more fingers, metal sprouting from the steel nubs. The action almost made up for the loss of the full structure.
“Hello! Hello!, Azir, get the translator quick! this is Dr. Azir Oilo of The Aquir Empire, we come in peace, we found your vessel damaged and floating in space, we did not believe any form of life to be aboard, are you sentient life? Do you need help?” he asked.
No response came from the robot, it simply looked in the commander’s direction for a second before casting its glance upon the engines, then in a terrific flurry of movements it began to repair, slowly dismantling and reassembling the entire engine piece by piece, working at an inhuman speed it fashioned tools from its hands and paid no attention to its looming visitors. Like a possessed man it stayed unwavering, not a single movement wasted, not a single action uncalculated.
They watched as it took the panel in its hand, rewiring one section while welding another. Multitasking required two active brains at once.
“Translator?” Quex asked.
The Aquir turned to him shaking.
“The thing hasn’t spoken yet? What am I supposed to do read its body movements?” he replied screaming.
“Engineer, how long until the robot reassembles the engine? Is it possible to disable him?” he asked.
The Kestle soldier cast a glance at the creature infront.
“I would say we have three minutes at best, in terms of attack, this seems to be the only active being in the entire ship, I believe from analysis of firepower in the ship any assault would be unwise,” he responded.
“Lauo, lead the civillians and evacuate, take what data you have, contact the ship when you're out of the interference zone.” he barked.
Lauo complied happily, leading the remainder of the scientists down the hall, they sprinted at full speed. Not a single one looked back.
"Do comms work?" An Aquir soldier asked.
"They should work within the asteroid, none without" The cadet replied, monitoring their radio.
"We have five minutes until the asteroid reaches the nebula, no time to spare" The commander roared.
Lifting his mouth to the communicator the commander calmly breathed in a quick string of sentences.
“All team members, evacuate immediately, I repeat evacuate immediately and prepare all information and ships for boarding, take what you can, but leave with your life, wait for me and all of us in the engine room at the barges for three minutes once you have reached the ships, if you sense danger leave immediately, we have contact, I repeat we have contact.”
Now practically flailing his arms to get the robot’s attention, Quex repeatedly screamed messages of welcome and tried communicating by sounds, light and writing, all were futile in the robot’s wake.
“Sir, if it completes the repairs, we may not make it out, these doors? they .. they may not even be blastable,” an Aquir cadet spoke. His eyes traced their bronze structure, refined and strong pillars of metal sprouting from its wake.
“Then we have no choice but to stop it,” he replied
Finally, with a single wave of his hand, he reached for a blaster on his hilt and swiped the weapon forward. The rest of the explorers followed his actions with a swift raise of rifles. Silence consumed the room. At first, nothing happened, then the robot then turned its head and stared up at its attackers. Hate brewing in its mechanical eyes.