“If the shuttle gets clipped, you’ll want someone aboard who can slap a quick fix on it before we’re stranded planetside. And if they blow us out of the sky…” he shrugged, flat and jaded, “then at least I can say I died helping instead of sitting up here watching the food stores drop.”

"You ain't touching my bird." The pilot was rather vehement in his statement. His tone broking no argument.

“Do we have a drone… or something? Not filled with us?” Ren asked, hoping for the yes and expecting a no. Due to everything automated and other systems got looked at pretty carefully if they became too smart or quiet, she thought. Useful.

"I didn't see any drones in the aviation section... and I tore that place apart." John's foray into fixing his bird had involved him shifting over the aviation section in detail before he had eventually deduced his parts weren't among them. But he didn't recall seeing any drones.

Which meant that his ship was the sole way up and down from the mysteriously comm silent world in front of him.

Which meant he was responsible for their safety to and from the ship.

Joy...

He couldn't see a way out of this short of straight up desertion. He would have to figure out something on the fly then.

"Guess I'll go pre-flight the bird then." He locked the console to his biometrics and made to stand. Stretching as he extracted himself from the crash webbing.

"So we have Mark, Ren, the Doctor, you, and me," Velia said to Mark, counting the names off on her fingers. She looked at him. It didn't take much to recognise he was uneasy about the mission, "I wouldn't have put my name forward if I thought this was going to be super-dangerous," she told him by way of reassurance, though given that she was a Communications Officer on her first actual mission that statement probably wasn't as inspiring as she had hoped it might be, "If anything hinky happens at all, just fly us out of there."

"There are some motorised trolley-carts in cargo," she called to the others, "Get a few of them on the shuttle... best to come prepared."

Reenneesuash (Ren to humans) daughter of veanamdarr

Ren nodded and made a mental list of what she would require for the trip, things that were available in her area or general stores etc. She had a plan at least. Forward motion, forward motion was a good thing. “Il get ready, see you at the shuttle.” Ren said, getting up from her chair and heading out the bridge to find some clothes that would be better for her trip to an unknown planet. “You know, try to not eat the killer plants, or get happy with an alien princess.” She said jokingly and headed out.

…

Ren took a while to pack, throwing rations, sample kits, water, and a whole list of things into a back pack. Boots, a weather jacket, Ren packed and prepared for a longer trip than she hoped. Ren at least had been part of a little field research and learned a few mistakes the hard way, like not packing spare water, snacks and replacement battery's…

Multiple sample kit sets, one could fail or had a bad chemical etc plus she could let someone like the Dr do part of the work.

Oh and a mask… because even it was just really really bad hay fever? Why risk it?



The Keiller was hardly packed up like a soldier and armed like one, but snuck her small pistol into her back and a knife which was good for many things. From poking, to taking samples. Just enough to be able to look after herself and not be a burden on them.

All in all Ren was prepared when she arrived, sorting her silver hair into place with a short round rod, it was a little more complex but also more comfortable than other methods for a prolonged time.

“Ready adventurenoughts for another fun trip!” She said imitating a kids Holo show line as she headed over to the shuttle looking for people. “I packed spare xeno test kits if anyone wants their science Explorer badges with Dr Ren.” She was serious but also a little silly as she thought more bodies meant faster work and more data to use. The test kit was easy to teach, long as they understood how to mix a chemical with a test strip and a sample. The colour on the handy chart would give them a rough idea what they were dealing with.

She also had the fancy machine, but that took training and that was days to learn how to use it properly. The test kit took a high school education and a pictogram instruction card / colour reference sheet.

The ship was sleek looking though, really fancy like those high end corporate models. Looked fast if they got in trouble at least.

"They really spared no expense with this one. Probably tougher than the transports normally used by civilian survey teams." Doctor Raphael Vitella said as he looked at the shuttle. It was a make and model that he had only read about on slow days back on Eden Prime, albeit one that appeared to have stronger armor than an ordinary exploration shuttle. More streamlines than the civilian transport he had taken to the shipyard by a wide margin. Doctor Vitella's attention then turned to the Kiellar. "You have everythin' you need for this mission? I brought a couple of Med-Kits and all the tools I needed to perform emergency surgery. No point in luggin' heavy machinery through the jungle when we might have to run from hostile natives." Raphael Vitella said to Ren before he glanced to see if the other members of the survey team were walking into the shuttle bay.

"Looks like we're the first ones here. I hope the others have the foresight to bring what they need. This is a dangerous mission, not a tropical vacation." Doctor Raphael Vitella said to the Kiellar.

@PrinceAlexus

A series of clanging resounded from within the assault shuttle. Muttered swears intermingled amongst grunts of exertions. A brief period of silence before John's boots clomped down the ramp; his flight suit peeled open to the waist and his undershirt damp from sweat.

"Alright... fancy carts are strapped down and loaded now." He began tugging the flight suit's arms back on. The pilot stopping next to workbench that held a semi-organized pile of flight gear he had shed to necessitate the loading. His gaze sweeping over Ren and the doctor while he began strapping on his flight armor and survival rig.

"When ya'll get a second I need weight for you and ya kits." He nodded at a scale tucked into an alcove; a massive thing that was designed for supply packets but would still function for personnel. "Pilot stuff and all that."

He didn't see the need to explain why he needed their weights.

Reenneesuash (Ren to humans) daughter of veanamdarr

Ren was padding her way to the shuttle, she had her mask hanging about her neck, a slightly over sized back pack on the shorter than average Kieller, turning to see the doctor with his own kit already prepared. Thankfully the mask was similar in design to one used in the labs, could switch and strap it on in a matter of seconds,

Prepared? Ren might look a bit younger by life stage than a human, but she was about his age, it was always a little weird working with non kieller until you work out all the variables and quirks. “Only the big bosses and the.. more specialist teams had stuff like this.” The company usually used fairly generic company painted cargo and other models. Well… that no longer existed anymore… oh. Yeah.

“Test kits, rations, water, etc. Not my first trip doc, least I'm doing something?.” Ren smiled even with the Dr being a weird one, spike, maybe a little distant? He was an odd one. But so where are they all? “Here, xeno test kit. Easy, picture instructions, it got the fancy one, but this one's easy to use.” She offered a small kit in a hard case with vials, test chemicals and a laminated instruction page.

“They know it's important.” Ren said easily, at least the Doc stopped being paranoid about pirates seeing the pilot arrive from the belly of the shuttle and point to the scales, Pilot stuff.. Ren had enough on her midnight without digging into that. “Sure Captain, my weight is classified to anyone else though, bags in the centre?” She said and kissed his cheek as they passed. Ren grew up in a .. outlying Kieller culture. She had been more careful and reserved for the sake of the crew and fact people had different limits but some of that upbringing was impossible to entirely suppress. “Any updates on the planet?” She asked in general if she missed anything during finding all her kit.

Yes a few issues but they had found an acceptable middle ground that kept conflict to a minimum.

Letting herself and her bag be weighed before the dr and blocking the screen before it passed and letting the Dr be done after.

Honestly Ren was just excited to be making progress.

@Terrans@Flarbinia

"You sure you need that?" Velia asked him with a raised eyebrow, though there was an amused smirk forming as well and she didn't actually put up any resistance to stepping onto the scales... 126 lb including her clothes, "I don't think I'm going to overload the shuttle!" she declared.

She stepped back, waiting patiently for everyone to be done, giving Ren a slight shake of the head, "Nothing new. It's a planet, nobody is talking to us. Hopefully they will when we knock on the door."

"All right!" she declared, clapping her hands together the moment the last one of the group stepped off the scales, "Time to get down to the planet! I have to admit, I'm a little excited! We are now in your capable hands, Captain Lockman!"

As the shuttle prepped to leave they were greeted by a snort through the communicator, "I see that that featherbrained girl has abandoned the communications post and left nobody here to actually run the ship." Divaldo had somehow taken charge, "Urgh... I suppose I shall manage on my own. It is the burden of my station to have command thrust upon me... I suppose I should try to say something inspiring. Do try not to die down there, but if you do, know it was in service to your Gloriont."

"Hey! I'm helping you slimy bullfrog!" Velia snapped, though without actually having the microphone, there was no way for Divaldo to actually hear her frustration.

The rest of the preflight process went off uneventfully. John taking down weight, calculating mass and trying to balance the load within the shuttle’s bay.

Once he had something approaching acceptable; it was a simple matter for him to give his passengers a succinct “touch nothing” and retreat to his cockpit.

The take off was slightly trickier on account of the shuttle being a larger dimension then the bay’s designed model. But the craft soon slipped the ship’s confines and fell to the planet below. A slow controlled descent as John followed the coordinates he had been passed.

The readouts all normal even as they began to break into the thicker part of the atmospheres.

Re-entry had him rely on instruments as they jolted and tumbled through clouds and burning atmosphere. A teeth rattling few minutes as he fought the stick slightly and the flight computer filled in where he failed.

Then they were through.

“Atmos insert complete. Fifteen out from coordinates.” Those within the bay that had donned any of the headsets or had borrowed a flight helmet from a crew station would have heard the announcement. Any who had not would only have noted the ship’s sudden cessation of shaking.

****

The passengers would feel the slightest sense of vertigo as John feathered the Kestrel in for a landing. Heady duty tires extending from recessed inner bays as he flipped the switch for the main ramp.

“Shamrock 1 on the deck. Ramp down and asses out.”

The doors of the ship opened to... nobody. None of the 'few million' humans seemed to be present. There were a half dozen other small ships and shuttles in the spaceport, neatly docked and apparently well maintained but no actual people. The port itself was reasonably modest, probably not a major interstellar trading hub.

The port itself seemed in a good state of repair, swept and painted, build close to a large town to their West, though there were no sounds of life coming from the town, nothing save from the sound of birds and insects.

The sun beat down on them, promising that today was going to be a hot day. Velia took a few steps out onto the concrete landing pad, before turning back to the crew and shrugging expansively.

To their East, the jungle closed in on the port, dark leaves of alien trees overhanging the perimeter fence of the port. Velia glanced out in the direction of the trees, frowning slightly. She felt like she was being watched though there was no sign of eyes.

She stepped back towards the group, speaking in a slightly hushed tone, seemingly unwilling to call out in this strange place, "Okay. I'm in favour of the city. Any other thoughts?"

Reenneesuash (Ren to humans) daughter of veanamdarr

[b][h2Ren had a headset on though the human designed set was a little less comfortable till she grabbed an oversized set that let her pointed ears fit under the cups. It let her keep track of the flight. Ren nodded to Velia, the planet was deserted still which made her even more glad she had the mask bouncing about her neck. “So, totally not weird then.” Ren joked as she thought about but did not back out.

“Lets go exploronoughts, go go adventure time.” Ren joked as the shuttle started to rumble as they passed the outer atmosphere of the planet and into a whole new world. It was not her first time but not also something totally unknown as they rode through the turbulence to the planet below them, a city of mystery wrapped in jungles.

She just reverted to her calm meditations as they fell further and faster down, channeling things inward and focusing on a fixed point within her mind instead of the wider one around her. It was only when things calmed down and something jarred her back into focus, they were 15 minutes out from the city. Their pilot had obviously played it safe and dropped them outside of the area to give them time to react to any hostile intentions.

And nothing. Zero. Nothing at all.

She expected someone to radio them, ask them to confirm ID or their landing clearance. Nope.

…

Ren had her mask up as she stepped out onto the landing pad, her head set returned and looked around to see a perfect… but empty planet. Clean, tidy, just…no one home. It was honestly more creepy than finding piles of dead bugs, radiation or some other sign of why.

Her head turned to the jungle but then back to the city, entirely 100% unsure but her sensor was saying it was within their breathable window.

“City, we need samples, but we can maybe find some information to work out what.. this is first? Even if it's just this place's name and so on.” Ren said wanting to head to it but deciding splitting up was an awful idea.

If it really is abandoned.. we might get some good salvage? Ren thought as she tested the concrete with her boot to find it, real, solid and felt like concrete did on Eden. “Creepy…” She said seeing how perfect yet … wrong the whole planet was. “Basic rules, do not eat drink or fuck anything. Even if she has 3 boobs. No. Air seems safe, but we have not tested anything else yet.”

Ren concluded and waited.

@Dyelli Beybi@Terrans@Flarbinia

“Basic rules, do not eat drink or fuck anything. Even if she has 3 boobs. No. Air seems safe, but we have not tested anything else yet.”

"Good call. We need to make sure that the plants and water and any food we find are safe before we bring back anythin' that looks edible. There's no tellin' what caused this place to become abandoned..." Doctor Vitella replied before looking around. "Or what could be lurkin' in the ruins." Raphael Vitella added, glancing in the direction at the others before turning his attention back to the buildings. "This city gives me the creeps. The buildings were covered in vines, yet there were no signs of external damage, no remains on the streets, no sign of a violent end. It is as though the city was simply emptied and left to the elements. Then again, we just entered the city. It might be more damaged the closer we get to the center." Doctor Vittela thought before looking up,

"I ain't an architect, but one of the buildings up ahead looks like it might collapse in on itself. We should avoid searchin' it if we don't want to end up buried under the rubble." Doctor Raphael Vitella said to Ren as he pointed at one of the abandoned structures, the walls on the eighth floor having massive cracks with leafy vines protruding from it.

@PrinceAlexus

---

Mark had kept mostly quiet after John’s little warning about the Kestrel.

The words sat in his mind even as they had boarded the ship to head down to the planet, Mark repeated the same words lowly as he sat down.

"You ain't touching my bird..."

Followed by a mutter low enough that only someone nearby might catch it.

“Yeah? Then don’t expect a helping hand with that fucking attitude.”

After that, he did what he usually did when people annoyed him. He shut up and let them talk.

The ride down was uneventful enough, at least by recent standards. No alarms screaming, no bugs tearing through the hull, no reactor deciding to turn itself into a sun. Mark sat strapped in with his service carbine besides his lap, one earbud tucked in under the headset. The other dangled loose so he could still hear if something important was said, it wasn't.

The music came from an old handheld player he had managed to salvage during the escape from Eden. Ancient thing, scratched to hell, loaded with music so old it predated half the stories people told about Earth. Right now, Creedence Clearwater Revival played low in his ear, Have You Ever Seen the Rain? crackling through the tiny speaker like somber music from a time long forgotten.

When the Kestrel touched down and the ramp dropped, Mark was one of the first to step out behind the others. The sun hit hard with heat simmering across the concrete landing pad, and the place opened up around them in a way that made his grip tighten around the carbine.

It was empty.

The spaceport was clean, painted and maintained. Ships were still docked in neat little rows, and the buildings looked like someone had swept the place that morning, then vanished before lunch. No bodies or burned-out wrecks nor panicked debris trail.

That bothered him more than a ruin would have.

Mark raised his carbine slightly, not aiming at anything in particular, just keeping it ready as his eyes moved from the parked craft to the terminal buildings, then out toward the town in the distance.

“This place is too well-kept to be abandoned,” he said, voice low. “If people left, they left orderly. If they didn’t leave, then something moved them without making a mess.”

He glanced at the jungle, then back to the spaceport offices.

“I wouldn’t head straight into the city blind. We should check the port first. See if there's any local maps, power grid data, port logs, flight records, anything that tells us who was here and where they went.”

His gaze shifted toward the docked ships.

“And someone should keep eyes on the Kestrel. I don’t care if it’s from inside the cockpit or right here on the pad, but if this turns ugly, I want a fast exfil and no surprises waiting at the ramp.”

He paused, then looked toward John.

“Don’t worry, Cap'n. I still won’t touch your bird unless it’s on fire.”

Mark brought the carbine up a little higher and nodded toward the port buildings.

“Let’s find a terminal before we go sightseeing.”

“And someone should keep eyes on the Kestrel. I don’t care if it’s from inside the cockpit or right here on the pad, but if this turns ugly, I want a fast exfil and no surprises waiting at the ramp.”

"I wonder who will stay with the bird." John said to nobody. Unlatching the pair of robotic carts and trundling them down the back ramp. Their control's temporarily slaved to his TacPad. The carts giving a slight jolt as they dropped from the hard ramp to the tarmac. "Who among us will stay with the bird that can get us off this potentially abandoned dirt ball?"

John stopped next to Mark. A few jabs of his TacPad transferred control of the carts to Mark's TacPad; a more ruggedized variant but the same OS.

"Don't get eaten Jarhead. I'll be in the 92." John wandered off at this point. Stopping briefly before Velia to sync his helmet comms to hers. A process he didn't need with Mark since the LG-92's internal comm system had already added the frequency of an Edenite marine's comm system.

"My number for when the grass tries to eat us all." A smile hidden behind his helmet before he climbed back up the ramp. The armored partition sealing into place with a whine of hydraulics as the shuttle turned sealed itself off. A lump of armor and angular edges squatting on the edge of the spaceport.

Reenneesuash (Ren to humans) daughter of veanamdarr

Ren surveyed the area, seeing no threats yet and no movement but this dead place was… Weird. It was like everyone vanished and left mid work day without taking even their coffee mugs. This place was dead, not a single signal etc?

She saw the damaged buildings, hangers, offices, ships and the still ticking sound of hot male talent of their shuttle engines and hull from planetary entry.

The Doctor, doc seemed to be…? Chatty, even if he was? More calm, less sharp and pointy off the ship. “Weird indeed doc, you got a sample kit, so bring any back and I can run them on my machine. Even if it's not edible, it might be useful. We might find some medical stuff.” Ren said as she patted her back pack. The concrete was pretty uniform, clear, marked… hardly ravaged by war.

The others chatted a little leaving the two doctors waiting, the shorter kieller checked her pistol and combat knife where she put them before she began to walk slowly towards the buildings. Ren was at least more prepared than your average civilian. “And no one offered to escort me, chivalry is dead in the post apocalypse.” Ren joked as she followed the group towards the terminal of adventures. "I might not share my MRE hot chocolate." Ren said but kept her eyes open and attentive, however jovial she night seem.

Doctor Raphael Vitella entered a nearby ruin with a sample kit, cautiously moving from room to room. "I've never seen this plant before. I ain't a botanist, but I'm pretty sure that those thorny leaves are poisonous. Best to take a sample and bring it back to Ren just to be sure." Doctor Vitella said to himself as he approached a strange plant and used his scalpel to carefully cut off a piece of a leaf. Once the sample had been collected, he wiped off his scalpel before continuing his search for anything of value.

He entered a room and found fragments of bone on the floor. "Looks like what's left one of the former inhabitants. It's been picked clean by scavengers. Not even the smallest speck of bone marrow left." Raphael Vitella thought as he looked around for anything else he could find, seeing what looked like a raggedy tablecloth. "I should take a piece of this before heading upstairs. If the inhabitants died of radiation or airborne spores or chemical weapons, Ren's machine should be able to detect traces of either." Doctor Raphael Vitella thought to himself as he put on gloves, ripped off a piece of the tablecloth, and put it in a vial.

He found a staircase and headed up it, noticing that the third floor had been completely blocked off by rubble. He entered a hallway. He was about to head down it when he heard loud footsteps around the corner. He immediately bolted into the nearest room and closed the door behind him. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I just had to walk into this place alone. If the others don't find me before that thing does, my ass is cooked." Doctor Vitella thought to himself as he heard the loud footsteps approach the room.

"We'll try not to dawdle," Velia frowned thoughtfully, "I don't like the lack of people... funny the ship was picking them up."

It wasn't a long walk to the city and the group soon found themselves in what looked like a built-up, though pleasant and leafy residential suburb with pristine well swept streets, neatly parked vehicles. The people seemed to live in three-storey apartments, that looked to have been built to plan - not unusual for colonies. They were all painted an off-white colour with balconies with chrome railings surrounded by patches of lawn for people to enjoy themselves on.

"Look nicer than most of ours," Velia commented as they walked.

The windows were universally clean. For those caring to take a peek through one, which Velia did, the interiors were laid out like show rooms: everything neat, tidy and spotless, "You know... I still don't see anyone. And I haven't seen a shop yet."

She paused, then walked up to the front door, trying it. It was locked, "Huh, thought this would at least be open." It seemed to be key-card access... as did the doors to the apartments inside, visible through tall glass windows on either side of the main door.

"Anyone got the skills and equipment to get through this?" she proposed, "I'm not usually one to propose breaking and entering... but this place gives me the creeps!"

---

Mark gave Lockman a flat look as the carts jerked under his TacPad control.

“I’ll try not to get eaten, 'Cap’n',” he said, letting the title run with just enough tone to make it sound like an insult, “Wouldn’t want to leave you short a deckhand for your majestic command of the parked shuttle.”

He glanced at the Kestrel as the ramp began sealing up, then back at the others.

“Try not to scratch your bird while we’re gone.”

After that, he kept the carts moving and let the rest talk.

Mark settled into the role easily enough. Armed escort, pack mule, general unlucky bastard with a gun. His service carbine stayed raised, muzzle angled low but ready as they moved away from the port and into the town. His eyes swept windows, corners, rooftops, then back again. The empty streets didn’t bother him as much as they probably should have. Empty meant nobody screaming in his face asking if the EDF was letting people through.

It was the neatness that got under his skin. The lawns were trimmed, the vehicles were parked straight, windows clean, paint fresh. Nothing smashed, nothing burned, nothing stripped for parts. The whole place looked less abandoned and more staged, he may have felt more comfortable if the scene was that of bodies after a bug infestation.

“Yeah,” he muttered after Velia commented, “I’ll give it that. Nice place.”

His grip shifted on the carbine.

He paused near one of the windows, giving the interior a quick look alongside Velia.

“That’s what bothers me,” he added. “People are messy, even careful people. Somebody should’ve left a cup out, a jacket on a chair, something.”

They reached the locked front door, and Mark watched Velia try it. Key card, of course.

"Anyone got the skills and equipment to get through this?" she proposed, "I'm not usually one to propose breaking and entering... but this place gives me the creeps!"

Mark looked at the lock, then at her.

“Step aside.”

A compact tool bag hung from his tactical belt. He unsnapped it and crouched by the access panel, carbine slung just enough to keep it within reach. From the bag he pulled his multitool, a thick, ugly thing that looked like a drill until he twisted the head and the attachments shifted with a soft mechanical click.

“Breakin’ and enterin’ is right up my set of expertise.”

He studied the lock plate, then the frame.

“Huh.”

Mark leaned closer, brow tightening.

“Whoever locked this worked hard at it.”

He twisted the multitool again. The tip reconfigured, a narrow plasma cutter whining to life with a blue white glow.

“But not hard enough.” He set up his dark visors, "Ya'll best keep your eyes away..."

He pressed the tool against the edge of the locking plate and the cutter began to hiss, bright sparks spitting down onto the clean steps as metal softened and peeled. The smell hit a second later, hot alloy and burned paint. Mark carved through the first catch, then the second.

The door gave a small, stubborn groan. Then in one final cut, Marked braced biomechanical hand against the frame and shoved.

The lock snapped with a sharp crack. The door swung inward a few inches.

Mark stopped it with his boot, then brought the carbine back up before opening it the rest of the way.

He looked into the darkened lobby beyond.

“Alright.”

A pause.

“Still think we should’ve checked the port logs first.”

The footsteps stopped for a couple of seconds before whatever made it walked away. "Great Scott. That was a close one." Doctor Raphael Vitella thought as he looked around, taking a couple of breaths, picking up a bone fragment, and putting it in a vial before opening the door and walking outside. "Looks like the coast is clear." Doctor Vitella whispered to himself right before something popped its head out of the room next to the one he had been hiding in and roared at him. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Raphael Vitella shouted as he turned around and ran as fast as he could, barely avoiding the creature's claws as it gave chase. It continued to chase him until Vitella headed down the stairs.

Doctor Raphael Vitella reached the ground floor, stopping to catch his breath and look to see if he was still being followed before bolting out of the ruins. Doctor Vitella immediately turned about and ran up the street, hoping to put as much distance between himself and what he had encountered as possible. He continued until he saw the others. "Man, I am glad to see you guys again." Doctor Raphael Vitella said to the others as he approached them. "Yes, I did make the decision to go into some nearby ruins alone, but did you guys even bother to check to see if the guy with medical trainin' on this Away Mission was with your group before you headed deeper into the city? You don't know if these buildings have dangerous wildlife or poisonious plants." Doctor Vitella said to the others.
@InfamousGuy101@Dyelli Beybi@PrinceAlexus

Mark A. Lopez

...
He looked into the darkened lobby beyond.

“Alright.”

A pause.

“Still think we should’ve checked the port logs first.”

"If you're worried, radio back to John and ask him to take a look," Velia replied with a shrug.

She tried the light switch in the lobby and, much to her surprise and probably the surprise of everyone else, the place lit up with a gentle, warm off-white glow. Everything looked well dusted and none of the bulbs needed changing. A cheerful, somewhat kitschy nautical painting hung on one wall. Someone had installed a security camera at one end of the hall though it was anyone's guess if it was being monitored.

Everything was spotless and well maintained, "Curiouser and curiouser," Velia muttered to herself as she tried the front door to one of the apartments. Locked. She wasn't surprised.

"Hey Mark, want to get this door open?" she asked, "Any good stuff is probably in the actual apartments."

---

Velia Larci

"Hey Mark, want to get this door open?" she asked, "Any good stuff is probably in the actual apartments."

Mark looked at the apartment door, then back at Velia.

“Sure. Why not...”

He stepped forward again, slinging the carbine to free both hands. The cutter was still warm from the last door so he didn’t bother putting it away. One twist of the multitool and the plasma tip came back with a low whine.

“Eyes away again.”

This lock wasn’t as stubborn. The plate hissed, sparked, then gave with a sharp pop after a few seconds. Mark wedged his biomechanical hand against the edge and shoved until the door opened inward. He quickly switched from the cutter back to his weapon and aimed it inside, making sure the room was clear of immediate hostiles.

Part of him still wanted to walk right back to the shuttle. But he caught himself leaning in anyway, trying to see past the doorway before stepping through. Curiosity was getting its hooks in him too, apparently, same as Velia.

“Alright. Let’s see what the ghosts left behind.”