3

As the vehicle’s propellers hummed in the background and the initial sight of the ruins entered James’s field of vision, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. After a while traveling in the metal gray expanse that seemed to compose the entirety of the Wanderer, any kind of variation was certainly welcomed. And even at a distance, the ruins of what appeared to be an entrance to an underground city looked promising.

James beamed under his helmet and spurred the vehicle onwards, increasing the speed as his uncontained anticipation also increased. Soon, he reached the ruins, and his gaze feel on the structure, while an intelligent inquiring glint overcame his eyes. Now the challenge truly began, because if James was honest, he had been intrigued by the metal surface of the planet…and he could only guess that the interior was even more interesting. And as a bonus, he would get to see something other than a wasteland, which at this point James was growing weary of.

James hopped out of the vehicle, bringing his heavy duty tool set in tow, and approached the gateway area in a quick marching pace. His eyes roomed the remainder of a once great civilization, and a rogue shudder made his way down James’s back.

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It always gave him the creeps to be in old decrepit ruins of any kind, but these ones… these ones were unlike any he had been to. While ruinous structures on other planets were a reminder of life long gone, that one could assume was once vibrant even at a glance despite the cracks or vegetation that covered them…the gateways on the Wanderer were just like the rest of the planet: devoid of any evidence of life. Or even any indication of a past besides their own existence, for they were made of the same regenerating metal, and so seemed untouched by wear and tear. The heavy hand of Time had not had its touch on the Wanderer, and it was simultaneously unsettling and awe-inspiring.

James started thinking to himself that the Wanderer was very much like a planetary-scale time capsule, perpetually floating through cold space, completely unchanged by the time spent on its travels. A relic of the past, that didn’t seem to have a past itself…and yet was so full of it. Now, he would be the one to unbury it, and discover the secrets within, to unveil it’s mysterious story, at last. And perhaps, make a few coin in the meantime, like the people of yore would say.

James chuckled at the thought as he woke from his reverie, moving towards the closest gate with tools in hand, and determination on his mind. He would find a way in, he would not let a piece a metal humiliate him like before. Or his name wasn’t James Rider, darn it!