4
If the gateways to the underground had been impressive at a distance, they were imposing up close. Composed by the self regenerating metal, they displayed unknown alien patterns on the dark metallic grey surface that seemed to shift and move just in the corner of one's eye. Blink, and you'd miss the throbbing subtle energy that seeped out of the gates, a testament to the power contained within.
Mesmerized by the architecture of the structure and remembering his mission on the Wanderer, James made sure to transmit images and recordings of the gateways to his ship before getting himself ready to start working on opening the gateway. Examining the entrance, it was very quickly very clear that the locks that shut the city in safety were extremely complex and intricate. Too complex for a one-man crew to tackle using finesse, anyway. And James really wasn't the best at lock picking regardless, much less ancient alien civilization lock picking.
But there are very few things that don't break with the right amount of pressure and scorching temperature. Self regenerating metal or not, James smiled confidently knowing his heavy duty tools would chew through it. And he knew just what to use. With an almost lovingly look in his eyes, James started readying what he liked to call "The Destroyer". Original? Not quite. Efficient? Very.
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The tool consisted of nothing less than a high speed, radiation powered, vacuum blaster. For what he had gathered, this tool created a deep local vacuum, then heated up absurdly by exposure to radiation, only to blast off highly compressed matter at high speed, destroying anything in its path. All under 2 minutes and a half.
A thing of beauty, James would say. Brings a tear to the eye it does, he would also say. Had saved his hide a couple of times too.
With a grin on his face, James finished setting up The Destroyer, and as his excitement mounted he prepared to link up the last component to the gateway, so he could commence what he considered a very thrilling dismantling operation.
However, it wouldn't be the first nor the last time that the blasted planet would play tricks with him. As James's hand contacted with the gateway when he was hooking up his machine, the entrance flung open so suddenly that he couldn't quite catch himself, falling unaided for a few seconds, before landing face flat on a hard flooring.
Just as he was thanking the skies that he had a helmet on his intact head, James heard an obnoxiously loud thump. Oh dear. It most certainly seemed he might have to figure the locking mechanism out, after all.