Nephenee whispered, "Jask, please tell me that's not what I think it is."
"Unfortunately, this object matches the one you found when you first arrived," Jask responded, "However, this device is active."
"What! Are we in danger?" Nephenee flinched.
"Not at the moment," Jask answered, "This device is a highly sophisticated sensor. It has likely already transmitted data to its storage location."
Nephenee walked a little closer, "What kind of data are we talking about? Is it sending a signal right now?"
"Analyzing now. Surprisingly, their technology is fairly secure," Jask commented, "The orb contains atmospheric sensors, audio amplifiers, and tectonic indicators. Additionally, it has an advanced proximity array that deactivated upon impact, but before then, it would have scanned all life within ten miles."
"So, did it pick up the FOB or not? Are they on their way?" Nephenee began panicking.
"Unknown. There is no storage capacity on this device, so any data it took has already been sent," Jask informed her, "I will begin running projections to determine the chances its trajectory included the FOB."
Nephenee frowned, "Well that's just great. What should I do about the orb?"
"I would suggest you leave it be. My deep scans indicate that it sends a disabled signal back when it becomes inoperable. They will know someone destroyed it," Jask advised. Nephenee didn't need to be told twice, so she immediately headed back to the rest of the scouting party. Because of the basin, it was a little more difficult to make it back up the hill, but once she got to them, she immediately instructed them to return to the base. It was a silent ride since Nephenee seemed to be deep in thought over what she found or didn't find as she hadn't said one way or the other. Her tone, though, had been serious and short; combined with her constant wrist checks, all the evidence pointed to bad news. Finally, she froze as they pulled up to the base and waved everyone away when they came to a stop.
"What did you find out there?" Innes asked once he got close, "The rest of the team walked back into the base with worried expressions thirty minutes ago. I thought you needed a minute, but now I'm concerned."
Nephenee's voice cracked, "They sent another probe."
"That doesn't necessarily mean they know we're here, right?" Innes tried to assure her, "I mean, even the scanner had a good range, it would have had to go right over the FOB. What are the chances of that?"
"According to the analysis I had Jask run, there's a thirty percent chance the range of the scanner overlapped with our base. Better than one in four odds," Nephenee squeaked as she raised her wrist for Innes to see.
"But it also means it's more likely that it didn't overlap," Innes grimaced, "We have to remain positive. Jask is still running long-range scans from the ship. And Emory will have her backup plan ready soon enough. Just breathe."
Nephenee sighed, "I suppose you're right. Thank you for bringing me back. But we need to start preparing for it better. Jask, gather everyone to cargo hold." An alert instantly chimed on both of their wrists which caused Nephenee to get out of the vehicle. The pair walked slowly to the open ship doors and waited while the rest of the squad filed in over the next few minutes. Word had already spread through the small group about the impact and Nephenee's reaction to the situation, creating a heavy air amongst the people. Once everyone was in the cargo hold, Nephenee walked to the front and raised her hand to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone, I have some important news to go over with you," Nephenee began, her voice more determined than before, "As all of you know, one purpose of this mission is to find the Mantoan home world. While we have clearly not found it here, we have found technology that resembles theirs. Unfortunately, unlike the technology found on Proxima Centauri B, we found an active device." Whispers immediately started building with this shocking comment. Nephenee took a deep breath before continuing, "I know this is scary, but we have plenty of reasons not to worry. Jask has yet to detect anything on the long-range scanners. And Emory is working on a backup plan should they arrive. In the meantime, we will halt all construction and focus entirely on training and resting. Thank you."
Most of the squad continued to chatter amongst themselves while Nephenee left for the command center. Once there, she had Jask pull up photos of the area and began to look over them, hoping to find several defensible areas. Unfortunately, the base was in a flat savannah, surrounded by grass and shrubbery in all directions for a couple miles which provided very little shelter from combat. With this problem in mind, she began making marks or drawings as she passed each picture to indicate temporary defensive structures they could put up. Innes finally walked into the command center after she had been working away for fifteen minutes. He asked, "Trying to make a battle plan if they do come?"
"We built this base in a wide-open area so that construction would be easy," Nephenee muttered, "Ideally, the base would be largely fortified before an attack; then again, we didn't anticipate an attack this quickly."
"So, we'll defend the best way we can. Put the blasters on the uncovered second floor and the rest of us near the gate. I'm guessing your notes are to build makeshift defensive structures," Innes gestured on the photos.
"My biggest worry is the number they could send," Nephenee frowned, "I've read the stories; the Mantoan invasion force was estimated to be several million strong. If we've ventured into their part of the galaxy, how long can our twenty-five-person squad last against the full force of their power? And what if one of these other races shows up with them?"
Innes placed his hand on her shoulder, "We'll have to deal with the big one ourselves, if one shows up. Everyone else is on the second level of their sphere."
"Let's just hope backup arrives in time. Will you have the squad start working on these? I'm going to continue planning," Nephenee gritted her teeth before returning to look over the photos again. Innes lifted his wrist and downloaded the notes from her screen before saluting her and leaving the room. Time no longer seemed to exist for Nephenee as she studied the broader area without interruption. Yet no matter where she looked, the situation appeared grim. In order to get to an area with more tree or rock coverage, they would need to travel hours away from the base. But if they abandoned the base for better protection, they would lose all of their equipment like the ship and the RRS, without which they couldn't return home. To make the situation more ominous, Jask reported that animals in the area had moved or were moving south, away from the fallen orb.
After several hours of reviewing the same information over and over again, an alert popped up on Nephenee's wrist that indicated she was receiving a call on the RRS. When she got outside, she saw the star setting in the sky and realized how long she had been studying the area. Still, she didn't delay and headed straight to answer the call. Once she stood on the platform and the holograms began to form, Nephenee found Emory finally on the call instead of Tethys which calmed her down significantly. Tana's team, the last to check in, also encountered advanced intelligence on their planet, just like the other three. Nephenee tried to pay attention to the report but couldn't concentrate on someone else's issues when she was barely treading water in hers. After the call ended, she considered calling Emory directly to inform her about the growing possibility of an eminent alien arrival yet decided to wait for the time being.
Since she was off the ship anyway, she chose to check on the defensive measures she had come up with earlier in the day. To her surprise, they had surpassed her expectations as spikes, barricades, and caltrops littered the open area made from earth and stone. Furthermore, wide trenches had been carved in the soil, and the grass in the area had been burned away. As she turned to look at the face of the base, she noticed they put arrow slits on the second floor to give some cover to the blasters. Still, she wondered if it would be enough to defend them against an invading force. Filled with doubt and anxiety, Nephenee walked slowly back to her cabin and found Innes standing guard outside of it. She motioned for him to follow her in, so the two entered the room. Innes could feel the depressing atmosphere surrounding Nephenee and went straight to making her tea while she sat up on the bed.
"Do you want sugar in your tea?" Innes asked kindly as he poured hot water into the mug.
"Just a little," Nephenee sighed, "Thank you."
Innes shook his head, "It's no trouble. Did you look at the defenses we made after your call? I saw the 'in use' light on for the RSS."
"Oh, it was just Tana's team. I'm sure you read her report already; they also encountered advanced intelligence," Nephenee breathed quietly, "The outside looks good with a wide variety of defenses. Of course, who knows how much that will help?"
"We'll do the best we can. That's all we can do," Innes comforted her as he sat beside her with his own cup of tea.
"What if it's not enough?" Nephenee asked as her eyes got red, "I mean what are we going to do if a horde drops down on us? We're just kids; why didn't they send anyone experienced on this mission?" Her breathing started getting sharp and shallow until Innes wrapped his arm around her.
Innes spoke calmly, "It will be okay. You need to relax. It won't help anyone if the commander is all out of sorts."
"Will you stay here tonight? I'm not in the mood for messing around, but I would welcome some company," Nephenee expressed as she finished her drink and got under the covers. Innes smiled and nodded before finishing his drink as well. As they lay down, Nephenee tossed and turned for some time before drifting off to sleep; Innes, being the gentleman, waited until she fell asleep to close his eyes. Sometime after falling asleep, Jask flashed on the screen with an alert, "Cruiser-size ship inbound. Arrival Time: sixteen hours."