Because of the flat terrain, Nephenee could stick her head out the window and see the antenna most of the way to the ten-mile mark. They went straight east to their destination with the landscape changing only slightly during their trip. Once they reached the mark, Nephenee jumped out of the Jeep and looked around. "More of the same," she smiled, "Unless there's a good reason, we've probably just found our new home."
"Commander, please come check this out," one of the men said from the other side of the jeep. Nephenee slowly moved towards him, taking in the rich, clean air of her surroundings as she did, but stopped suddenly when she saw the soldier pointing at the ground.
"Everyone, stay clear," Nephenee cautioned them, "Jask, what are we looking at here?" She lifted her wrist and scanned this apple-sized, shiny, black orb partially buried in the ground.
Jask beeped, "This appears to be a disabled sensor of some sort. There are several irregularities with this device."
"Jask, is this Mantoan technology or not?" Nephenee pressed, "And how long ago was this disabled?"
"The orb presents some similarities to recorded Mantoan technology, but without reactivating the device, it is impossible to tell if it is theirs. This was disabled several days ago, though it is difficult to determine the method of that action on initial analysis," Jask chimed.
Nephenee rolled her eyes, "Jask, send a message to all other teams to be on the lookout for these orbs. I'm not taking any chances, and you're only semi-useful as usual." She pulled a small rod from her belt which extended into a metal pole almost as tall as her. A clear glow soon enveloped the staff and formed a claw of Force magik from the tip. Seeing what she was going to do, one of her teammates pulled a small disk from their belt, shook it for a few moments, and then set it on the ground. The disk unfolded itself a few times and reformed into a cage-like chest not much larger than the orb. Using the magik claw, Nephenee lifted the sphere over the chest and then dropped it in, causing the top to shut instantly. They packed it in the back of the Jeep and began surveying the area, both for other unnatural objects and to get a better understanding of the area.
Still, after searching for thirty minutes and finding nothing, Nephenee's team drove to another area. Unfortunately, none of the other teams found any signs either. An hour turned into two, and by four hours, the entire area had been scoured. On the positive side, the area they assessed was chock-full of fresh water, open space, and non-threatening wildlife. Adding to the perfection, deep scans from the antenna showed a striking resemblance between Earth and Temia's magnetic field, mass, and metallic composition. Yet Nephenee couldn't shake the feeling that the object they uncovered was in fact Mantoan. She brooded over the idea until six hours had passed from when they were dropped off, the time Nephenee and Innes had agreed to contact each other to compare planets. A ringing tone came from her wrist and Innes said, "Commander, I want to get straight to the point. Unless Temia is a desert wasteland or overrun by monsters, I would recommend we establish the base there."
"That's sudden," Nephenee joked, "Why are you so certain, Innes?"
"Paloth only has two biomes: active volcanic islands and frozen wastelands. We only encountered aquatic life. And if those two weren't bad enough, the winds here averaged sixty miles per hour, no matter where we went. We're on the ship now, waiting for your order," Innes relayed methodically.
Nephenee sighed, "Well, your day sounds worse than mine. Still, you should know that we found something. I'll tell you more when you get here. Warn the crew that it's going to be a long night; we need to get a secure shelter and the RRS set up before sleeping."
"On our way, Commander," Innes affirmed with a hint of worry in his voice, "Stay safe until we arrive."
"Aw, is that worry I hear in your voice? Don't worry, we're not in any immediate danger. Just to be sure, make sure the ship does a full sweep of the system and then focus on long range scans," Nephenee smiled.
Innes politely replied, "Yes, Commander. We'll be there in half an hour." The transmission ended, so Nephenee directed her group to begin clearing the area for a base. Once Innes returned with the ship, everyone got straight to unloading their equipment. As the squad started constructing the secure shelter, Nephenee and Innes stepped aside to discuss her discovery. "What did you find?" Innes asked after they were out of earshot. Nephenee handed a small cube from her waist.
"I found this. Jask's initial scans were very broad, so we're not sure what it is yet," Nephenee explained, "It's obviously advanced technology, but Jask said it's been deactivated. What do you think?" Innes opened the little chest and took out the orb.
"I'd guess this is a tungsten alloy, like the Mantoan use. It has a seamless construction and seems to be an indicator of some sort, meaning whatever disabled it overwhelmed the circuitry because there's no external damage. Have you seen any other kinds of weather so far?" Innes questioned as he studied the metal ball.
"It's been peaceful around here," Nephenee answered, "Though we could look through the data from the antenna after the shelter is built. But you're not seriously considering environmental damage, are you? The chances of that must be incredibly low."
Innes shook his head, "Not really, unless the weather was normally chaotic. Which leads to a bigger issue. If this was purposefully deactivated, who did it and are they still here?"
"I agree with you, which is why we have to contact everyone now. Jask said this was turned off in the last few days. We have to assume that whoever this device belongs to knows it's off. Somehow, without panicking everyone, we have to prepare for an attack immediately," Nephenee hissed while Innes gulped. Realizing what he could possibly be holding, Innes put back the object in the sealed container. They took a deep breath and returned to help the rest of the crew build the shelter. With the addition of Innes's strong fire and Nephenee's useful force magik, they were able to build and set up the RRS in an hour. Once it was operational, Innes took over directing the construction process while Nephenee stepped into the room and onto the platform. After a few moments, a holographic Shepherd and Tethys appeared before Nephenee.
Shepherd boomed, "Nephenee! You put up the RRS almost as fast as Emory's team. Speaking of which, where is Emory?"
"She's in the field, Supreme Commander," Tethys apologized, "I'll update her as soon as she returns. Congratulations, Nephenee. Temia looks incredible."
"Where we are is near perfection; however, we didn't set up the RRS because we wanted to do so. We've encountered advanced technology, possibly Mantoan. You should all be receiving the initial scan I had Jask perform as well as Innes's analysis. To summarize, a sensor of some sort was knocked offline a few days ago by an unknown source," Nephenee began fervently. Shepherd and Tethys looked to the side and read the information on their screens.
"If what you're saying is true, we don't have any time to waste," Shepherd frowned, "I'll send an army, but you're going to be on your own for thirteen more days."
Tethys looked concerned, "Nephenee, please get your crafting area ready to go right away. Emory is working on a backup plan."
"We will, of course, forgo all long-range scouting for now," Nephenee pointed out, "Is there any other news we should be aware of?"
"Gatrie hasn't checked in yet, but we aren't expecting him for another day. Emory's team seems to have found a habitable planet as well," Shepherd commented.
Nephenee bowed, "I'll return to my duties here then. Tethys, I'll prioritize the crafting and forging area; thanks for the assistance." Tethys bowed as well while Shepherd only nodded as the holograms faded into pixels of light. On the other side of the door, Innes was already waiting for the conversation to conclude.
"Well, what did they say?" Innes inquired.
"The army is thirteen days out," Nephenee sighed, "Tethys said to get the crafting station up and running because Emory had a backup plan but didn't elaborate."
Innes raised his eyebrow, "Tethys? Emory wasn't there herself?"
"Tethys said she was in the field," Nephenee relayed, "Do you have any idea what this plan is?"
"No clue. Although I know that right before we left, she got a package from one of the High Collective. Maybe that has something to do with it," Innes shrugged his shoulders.
Nephenee groaned, "Let's get the frame of the shelter put up and the crafting area assembled then rest. I want three people on look out at all times: one by the RRS, one inside the shelter frame, and one watching the ship's scanners. Everyone else sleeps in shifts. Can I trust you with the paperwork if I help build the frame?" Innes smiled and nodded as the two split off to work on their different tasks.
Going straight to the biggest group of people, Nephenee saw they were exhausted and only a quarter of the way finished. While some people had spheres that aided in the effort, many were only using their magik to enhance their physical characteristics. The Force sphere was different, though, since it could be used to move multiple heavy objects without damaging the materials. In effect, Nephenee could do the work of ten or so people. However, the benefits of her help were more than just her magik; simply seeing her do so much work herself encouraged and revitalized the rest of the squad. By the time Innes returned with the guard rotation, nearly half of the frame had been built, He had decided to keep two people per location for extra protection in case something was to happen. Once he had gone over the schedule with everyone, he went to help with the crafting area. Though he didn't know what Emory had in store, he knew he could rely on her word to help.
Two hours later the frame and station were finally complete, but the crew was exhausted. The few that were in a little better shape were the first on patrol duty since Innes had allowed those people to rest instead of helping with the construction process. As the rest of the crew were heading back into the ship, Nephenee walked up behind Innes and slipped a scrap of paper in his pocket conspicuously before speeding past him. He pulled it out, read it, put it back in his pocket, and called for her, but she was already deep into the ship. Sighing, he hustled to his bunk to grab clean clothes for a shower before speeding off to the bathroom. Once he had cleaned himself thoroughly, he changed into fresh clothes and strolled to a particular room separate from the rest of the sleeping quarters. After knocking at the door and hearing permission to enter, Innes started saying immediately, "Nephenee, we need to talk. This has been really fun." Then he looked up, blushed, and shut the door behind him.
Nephenee was lying on her bed with only a bra and underwear on. She cooed softly, "What was it you wanted to talk about?"
"You look incredible," Innes stammered as he stumbled towards the bed, "But we need to talk." She leaned forward and ran her smooth hands slowly down his chest while giving him an incorrigible look.
"That's the second time you said that, so it must be important. What's on your mind?" Nephenee whispered seductively in his ear with their bodies only inches apart.
Innes cleared his throat, "What I wanted to say was. Was. Umm, you smell very sweet."
"That's not what you wanted to say," Nephenee giggled as she tapped his cheek and left her palm there, "What did you really want to say?" Their faces were so close they could feel the air heating up as it passed back and forth between them. Just as Innes opened his mouth, Nephenee locked lips with him and wrapped her arms around him, gently pulling him down on top of her as the kiss continued. The two embraced and lay on the bed as Nephenee gently pulled off his clothes.
An hour later Innes and Nephenee were cuddled up underneath the haphazard covers with Innes on his back and Nephenee draped halfway over his chest. Innes calmly asked, "What are we doing?"
"I was laying here peacefully," Nephenee joked, "Until someone opened his big mouth."
"You know what I mean. What is this? At first, I thought it was just the illegal alcohol, but four days later, I'm thinking there's more to it," Innes pressed gently.
"Don't overthink it," Nephenee sighed before mumbling, "Besides, we have bigger problems to deal with."
Innes pulled her tight, "We're safe. Jask is constantly running long-range scans, so we'll have at least a few hours' notice. Anyway, I just want to say that I like you and wouldn't be opposed to continuing whatever this is."
"Good," Nephenee whispered as she curled up tighter around Innes before drifting off to sleep.