Shocca yelps as she realizes the power of this system. "Y'all better get back in here! Don't worry, no confusion finger pricks this time." She goes over the system's guts with the group, then turns off the defense measures and then enables power to the area. "We need to stop by the storage room again. Now that our charges are safe, we should grab what information we have for our employers. If we can keep future explorers safe, we should." She looks across the group. "Might take a little bit of coding. Maybe you can search those shelves for items of note while I work." She stands up and steps away from the terminal. "This mainframe is the source of the hostile technology takeover on the surface, but it's beyond my skills. After we clear the area, let's head back up and see if there's a computer nerd in Abadarcorp's employ who can deal with this."
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Arcalinte listens and nods.
"I agree...everything we can do to make this place safer should be done."
He follows Shocca's recommendation to search the shelves.
"If this place has compromised that much of AbadarCorp's tech that quickly...they may really need to reconsider their plans here. It seems like it was woken up long before Talla's expedition, and all they did was reveal the extent of the damage it was doing, and it could pose a great danger to the rest of the Pact Worlds if compromised items from here returned to AbadarCorp's facilities whether through their fulfilled purpose or for repairs or because the project is abandoned."
His expression turns grave.
"I will make sure to alert my Order as well...the Empty Orbit will DEFINITELY want to ensure whatever technology's here is contained or destroyed."
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Achlyss scratches the decaying flesh on his head, perhaps more of a habit than having an itch to scratch.
"This is foreboding. If it can capture and take over tech--it can adapt. We will want to report this information back to AbadarCorp as soon as possible. My employer will want to know. I wonder if this is what did me--and my crew--in."
Yes, but given that i think Arc is right, we have to check even our own tech that we brought here before departing. This is starting to look like a virus that cannot leave this planet.
You return to the storage room and take a couple of hours to search through the shelves for salvageable technology. Once the explorers have recovered a little, they join you in your work. The vast majority of the ancient equipment stored here has either broken or degraded with time, and some of the parts completely defy Pact Worlds technological understanding. However, with the group of you working together, you uncover several functional pieces of equipment that you are able to index against existing Pact Worlds tech:
Shocca works on the storage room computer to search for the remaining information.
She looks at the group. "Alright, before we head out lets give that mainframe one try. But I'm staying in the room on my own, but try to keep an eye on me through the door. If that doesn't work, then we head back up to the surface. Once there we can get y'all to safety and a good nights sleep. Then I can come back down and take another crack at it. Sound good?"
Ajithu nods. On the lookout. Try not to set off any more deathtraps. He smiles vaguely at his own joke, hoping it translates for once.
With all her experience bypassing genetic locks and getting into Siivan computer architecture, Shocca has an easier time this time. Most of the information on the storage room terminal is fragmented or corrupted, but as you work on it you slowly piece together bits and pieces. Rudimentary translations of the language prove only good enough to get a vague picture of the information stored here, but its enough.
You learn from the storage room terminal that this location was once a military research facility of an organization known as the Sivv Dominion. The facility was overseen by one Commandant Vheiransch, who oversaw a project from this location that is referred by two different terms "Ark Prime" and "Worldseed". From the way the terms are used, you conclude that though these two things were part of the same project, they are distinct devices, locations or structures. The goal of the project is noted to be "the continuation of sivv supremacy in the face of a kishalee upset."
The most recent logs indicate that the completion of Ark Prime was rushed and that some of the facility's "servitors" are "collapsing under the workload" to finish. Though not stated explicitly, it seems the project was urgently needed for some reason. A few final logs mention a facility-wide accident.
Furthermore, there's enough information here that by studying the assorted logs you would probably be able to learn more about these Sivvs and their society, should you be so inclined.
Learning what Shocca reports back about the files, Ajithu is interested to study the files on Sivv society.
Shocca looks over at Arc with a worried expression. "If I remember my Kishalee history correctly, there definitely was an upset. Do you think the Sivv's could be back, and madder than ever?" She shakes her head. "Collapsing under the workload, sounds like a few corps I know." After the team finishes up in the storage room, she heads back to the main terminal. "Alrighty, if I don't come back out in a few seconds... come get me."
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Achlyss didn't know much about either of these civilizations, but the names of the projects on the planet made him think of something.
"Perhaps this planet has been terraformed before--maybe to house a civilization that had lost its home planet. Or perhaps it was an important military base underground. This is good information you've found. We must report this soon."
Shocca heads to the main terminal and gets to work, pulling out all the stops as she works to reverse the virus-like propagation of the sivv signal across Jedarat. The process is painstaking, with the terminal challenging her for authentication at every turn and the strange coding practices of the Sivvs making every move a tricky one. However, two hours later she emerges from her work, victorious! You all file into the room to watch as a second sivv signal - this one modulated by Shocca and visualized across the various holographic displays - snakes its way across the planet at a lightning pace, hitting each piece of Pact Worlds tech along the way. Readouts show the second signal canceling out the first, and in many cases also adjusting the corrupted directives already ingrained in the satellites, terraformers and smaller robots.
Just as the last of the wipe and reprogramming seems to be complete, a tremendous crash throws you off your feet! Dust, stone, and loose metal conduits tumble through the room, the crash having thrown the whole space into disarray. Amid a sudden cloud of smoke, you see the main terminal's displays turn to a haze and then flicker entirely out. A second crash hits along with a terrible grinding as the ground shakes all around you. Then a third, weaker now, but still fierce.
The aftershocks continue for another minute before the complex lies still once more. You find yourselves covered in dust and loose stone. The main terminal sparks and flares - it seems to have been utterly ruined in the earthquake. Luckily, other than a bit of battering and bruising, neither you nor the explorers are hurt.
Whoa! Earthquake. That's quite a countermeasure. The computers in this place are truly tricky.
Wait. Did anyone else see that? For just a a second before the quake struck, I saw a pop-up on one of the main terminal's holograms. It read "Communications Failsafe Activated" or something similar. So... there's a backup element somewhere here?
Shocca cheers as her program works, then immediately dives beneath the chair with her hands over her neck to wait out the shocks. "These racists and their thorough traps. A planet-wide earthquake, really?!" She curses the Sivvs with all her might before coming back out. "Well, I certainly cut off their communications. Here's hoping the quake didn't unearth a mega-lizard who's busy destroying all of the spaceships on the surface."
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Shocca looks over at Arc with a worried expression. "If I remember my Kishalee history correctly, there definitely was an upset. Do you think the Sivv's could be back, and madder than ever?" She shakes her head. "Collapsing under the workload, sounds like a few corps I know." After the team finishes up in the storage room, she heads back to the main terminal. "Alrighty, if I don't come back out in a few seconds... come get me."
"I'd call the theft of a star-destroying superweapon and sealing it in a pocket dimension, triggering the collapse of the entire empire an upset, yes," Arcalinte replies with a nod. He doesn't say anything regarding the corporation, but watches and reads what he can before Shocca goes in to work. The quake catches him off guard, as he focuses to try and maintain his own personal gravity!
"Dawnflower protect us!"
Once things stabilize, he immediately goes to check on the others.
"Is everyone well? Does anyone need medical attention?!"
He gets an uneasy look on his face when he spots the final message.
"Communications Failsafe...Oh gods...that 'Ark Prime' or 'Worldseed' thing...we might have just woken it up!"
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Achlyss sways with the earthquake, his lumbering form dangerously close to toppling. But he manages to maintain his footing.
"What did you do?!" he asks Shoccain an accusatory voice. "Wake it up?!"
He moves toward the doorway they had entered and looks outside, looking for any other signs of danger.
Arc checks the others and finds that no one is too badly hurt. Even the explorers got through mostly unscathed thanks to their instincts to drop low and get cover.
Meanwhile Achlyss tries to head out of the control room and finds the door unresponsive and slightly ajar. He pries the door open further to create an escape path. The surgery room beyond seems to be in just as bad shape as the control room, with tables tipped, conduits hanging and sparking from the ceiling, and several buckled sections of flooring where the earth and stone the complex is built into must have shifted. Achlyss looks a little further and finds the main circumferential hallway largely intact and traversable. After prying open some more doors you find that the way back to the surface is still open - you're not stuck down here.
What do we say about getting out of here and getting some fresh air while the way is still open... not that fresh air gets through the water in my helmet. But the rest of you...
Ajithu's frail form gestures in the direction of the exit.
Working through the damaged complex carefully, you help the explorers back up to the surface. You head up the spiraling staircase and ascend through the magical barrier to emerge among the massive snowdrifts surrounding the excavated ruin. It seems your actions in the complex below have taken immediate effect. While the snow is still coming down, the winds are far less intense and the visibility is noticeably better.
Navigating the trail back to the operations center set in the chalet in Hardpack Valley proves much easier with the better conditions, though you do end up having to carry your two bound Nifris after they struggle to move through the snow. A few hours later, with night starting to fall, you find yourselves approaching the welcoming glow of the chalet. The snowfall is light and the winds relatively calm. The explorers eagerly pick up their pace to reach the comfort of the lodge.
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Achlyss is in better spirits when they get closer to the chalet.
"What would our efforts below have to do with the improving weather?" he wonders on the snowy trek.
As they approach the chalet, he points at the two Nifris with a smirk. "What about them? Should we hand each of them a zero pistol and see what happens? Two is one too many."
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"The facility's ancient tech had seized control of AbadarCorp's terraforming equipment, presumably attempting to either undo their effects and restore this world to its original state, or actively make conditions here more hostile drive off intruders like us," Arcalinte says.
When Achlyss proposes letting the twin Nifris fight, he shakes his head.
"They have the same thought process and presumably that means the same reaction times. They'd probably end up both dead..."
He pauses, clearly uncomfortable with what he's about to say.
"I suppose the only thing we can do is give them the truth: we know which of them is a quantum clone, and they have a right to know what they are...I just hope it doesn't trigger that existential stress Shocca mentioned."
With that, he turns to Shocca.
"You still have the data from when you read their vitals, right?"
You have to admire a planet that can reject new inhabitants' invasive activities. I hope it doesn't mistake us for a new virus. As for the Nifris... even if we do tell them I think we would want them very separated first.
Shocca nods. "Yes, at least we are close enough to civilization now to get help if the reality of new-Nifri's position is too much for them to handle." She plays with her micro lab. "Perhaps I can give her something to help..."
Pulling the Nifris apart, you settle them out of sight and earshot of the other. You first inform Nifri-1, the old Nifri, that they're the original and the other is a quantum clone. Nifri-1 takes it with open relief, saying "I knew it. I admit I did doubt for a few moments, that perhaps my memory had been somehow altered, leaving me utterly convinced of my own identity. Thank you." He nods, glad to be secure in his personhood once more.
Shocca readies herself with Nifri-2 with various drugs to help if the revelation destabilizes the kasatha. However, those prove to not be needed. When you explain to Nifri-2 that he's a quantum clone, he nods solemnly "One of us was going to be the duplicate. We had a long walk back. Long enough that I could feel things weren't quite right. I didn't feel quite like my body was normal. It's... uncomfortable. Knowing that I'm some kind of clone just..." He stares off at the ground. "I suppose what now? We can't have two Nifris coming back. Abadarcorp will see nothing but credits counting up in their coffers when they get a hold of a true quantum clone. For experimentation and study, if nothing else. If I understand you right, they're quite rare. I... I am quite rare." He shakes his head.
"What do I do with my life? I can't go back to what I was doing before... there is already another me there. The original me." He takes a deep breath, shaken by the thought.
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Shocca releases a big sigh of relief as Nifri-2 does not melt into a million billion particles. "Yes, unless you want to be a lifetime 'employee' of Abadarcorp... or worse, company property, I'd suggest you find another way off this planet. Our ship is a little busted at the moment, but we could take you with us when we find a new ride." She eyes Achlyss for a moment, waiting to see how loyal to his employer this mercenary would be. "They don't know you exist, so their precious accounting ledgers won't be upset. I have some colleagues who study abnormal genes. They could work with you to find a way to give you some stability back. Something to help you feel more 'normal'." She shrugs. "Or, if you'd rather not go through all that, we have enough connections between us that we could find someone who needs another helping hand at their workplace without asking too many questions." She smirks. "Universities always need more lab assistants."
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Pulling the Nifris apart, you settle them out of sight and earshot of the other. You first inform Nifri-1, the old Nifri, that they're the original and the other is a quantum clone. Nifri-1 takes it with open relief, saying "I knew it. I admit I did doubt for a few moments, that perhaps my memory had been somehow altered, leaving me utterly convinced of my own identity. Thank you." He nods, glad to be secure in his personhood once more.
Shocca readies herself with Nifri-2 with various drugs to help if the revelation destabilizes the kasatha. However, those prove to not be needed. When you explain to Nifri-2 that he's a quantum clone, he nods solemnly "One of us was going to be the duplicate. We had a long walk back. Long enough that I could feel things weren't quite right. I didn't feel quite like my body was normal. It's... uncomfortable. Knowing that I'm some kind of clone just..." He stares off at the ground. "I suppose what now? We can't have two Nifris coming back. Abadarcorp will see nothing but credits counting up in their coffers when they get a hold of a true quantum clone. For experimentation and study, if nothing else. If I understand you right, they're quite rare. I... I am quite rare." He shakes his head.
"What do I do with my life? I can't go back to what I was doing before... there is already another me there. The original me." He takes a deep breath, shaken by the thought.
Arcalinte breathes a sigh of relief as the discussions with the Nifris goes surprisingly well.
"You're one of a kind," he says to Nifri-2 warmly, offering a hug. "Like I said before, this is as a chance for a fresh start. The Dawn Brings New Light. As a Starfinder, I've got quite a few connections with different organizations, and I'd be happy to help you find a place where you'll fit. Groups who'd appreciate your unique skills, help you make your new path. What do you say?"
Nifri-2 looks uncomfortable as the options are presented, especially at Shocca's suggestion at being studied by some scientists. Arc's suggestion is a bit more reassuring. He murmurs "My life... I'm not sure if I'm ready for a fresh start. My friends... my family. Losing all of them and starting somewhere new?" He closes his eyes "I suppose I do not have a choice in the matter."
He eases himself to his feet "I do know that I don't want to be here any longer. If you'll take me with you when you leave, I would appreciate that. As for what happens after that, I think... I think I need to study the options more carefully."
He looks over in the direction of the lodge "As nice as it would be to warm up, I suppose I should not show myself inside. I know there are several unused structures nearby. Perhaps I can hide within one of them until you are ready to leave. I suppose that would be as soon as you report in and locate another ship?" He looks hopeful.
If you think about it, your identity and existence it frees you from the strictures of the original Nifri. You have all the choices in the universe and they do not! As for the manner of your making, think of yourself as a long-lost twin. Twins often share identical DNA anyway. Emphasize the long-lost part and don't stick around with the original!
After Nifri-2's plan run-down Ajithu weighs in.
I suppose that could work, but we want to make sure you're comfortable in the place you're hiding out. Hmm... locate another ship and get out of here. Maybe... something in my ghost tells me we're standing at the tip of an iceberg. I can't put my finger on it, but it may consume us soon... We'll find a way for you to get off this rock though.
He tries to make a reassuring expression from his watery helmet.
Shocca shrugs, content that Nifri isn't freaking out. "Sounds good. Avoid any carpenter robots. I think I turned them all off but this earthquake has me worried." She nervously adjusts a plate on her armor. "Speaking of, let's get inside. We need to find out what the rest of this iceberg looks like."
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Arcalinte nods.
"We can start with getting you to Absalom Station. It's the perfect place for finding yourself: I speak from experience. I started as a poor kid from Akiton, and on Absalom Station I ended up becoming a spiritual warrior-archaeologist."
Then he acknowledges Ajithu-Ko.
"It's a familiar feeling...very much like how the ruins on the Drift Rock led me into a race for a star-killing war machine."
"A long lost twin?" Nifri-2 shrugs helplessly "I suppose that is one way to imagine it." He subsequently agrees to keep an eye out for any wayward carpenter robots and heads off for safety and obscurity while you tackle the debriefing.
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The other members of the exploration team have already entered by the time you arrive within the chalet, and already they are surrounded by a small horde of workers. All the panicked frenzy of activity that previously filled the chalet has been put on hold in the face of the sudden return of the very group whose disappearance had presaged the cataclysmic shift in weather on Jedarat. Friends and colleagues of the three explorers catch them in hugs and offer them all manner of help, all the while excitedly asking questions. Tears of relief stream from Nifri-1's face, along with puffs of silicate vapor from Talla. Nifri-2 has been forgotten in the snow, at least for now.
While they're occupied, Eisyfina Nott and an assistant meet you all at the entrance. The elderly project manager gives you a crooked smile, nodding particular appreciation to Achlyss. "You've all certainly outdone yourselves. Not only are Talla and her team all back, safe and sound of mind and body, but the unexplained technological and meteorological anomalies have cleared up - almost as though they never were. I want to hear all about it. Once you've had a chance to defrost yourself a little, of course. I'll meet you upstairs once you're ready." The assistant steps up, bearing a notepad, and asks for what you'd like to eat and drink.
As Ms. Nott hobbles back toward her office she calls back "Oh, and after that, I can tell you about the Spire."
Ajithu leans into the group and begins conspiring telepathically.
So... how much of everything do we want to divulge to her? I mean, obviously not about the Nifri clone. By the way, did we tell the original to keep that under his hat? If we tell her about the system rejecting their terraforming and inducing unfavorable weather patterns, perhaps the Company would be persuaded to put their operations on hold until we can dig further?
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Arcalinte requests some tea and a bowl of tonkawa noodles when prompted, and regards Ajithu with a raised eyebrow.
She will need to know about how they were hacked. They HAVE to heighten their cybersecurity, or it will just start all over again, and this time people may actually be killed.
Then he turns to Eisyfina, a cool expression on his face.
"The anomalies are unfortunately linked, Ms. Nott. It turns out AbadarCorp's terraforming work woke up an ancient facility located beneath Jedarat's surface. Some of that facility's technology, unfortunately, was still functional. And it produced malware that allowed it to hijack your equipment. It even managed to take control of the weather satellites, and that's why the anomalies occurred. Either the facility's programming wanted to reverse your progress...or it was actively attempting to make Jedarat inhospitable to you so you'd leave."
Eisyfina eases herself into a chair in her office as you arrive to fill her in. After Arc speaks, she narrows her eyes "An ancient facility? We found other ruins before, but they were vacant and empty of any technology. Strange that one would somehow remain functional." She frowns "Ancient and yet capable of hijacking New Horizons terraforming equipment at planetary range, with incredible speed and such tenacity that our IT experts could not budge it."
She steeples her hands "We are clearly dealing with no ordinary ancient alien remnants. And what did you do that you managed to reverse the infiltration? Were Talla's team involved?"
Shocca requests two cups of hot chocolate and nuzzles against the warm cups during the conversation. "Yes, there's still plenty of technology down there. But watch out for evil reincarnated guard golems... they punch harder than you'd think." She shakes her shoulders to get rid of the memory. "Yes, it appears an ancient race of racist aliens are back from the dead with possibly nefarious plans to restart their civilization." She holds up a finger. "You can't see it, but I was pricked here with their mind-wracking poisons several times. Uh... I wasn't so good at opening the doors." She smiles. "I got a little lucky hacking into their main terminal. Working in another language isn't easy, but I pulled it off this time. Y'all really should bring in better computer experts next time. By the way, before I totally saved the day with my mad coding skills we saw a reference to "Ark Prime" and "Worldseed"... you haven't seen anything odd like that have you?" Then she gets nervous. "Talla's team? Nope, the three of them mostly just cowered in the corner while we did the saving. Yepp, all three of them... all three just sort of followed us rescuers around. By the way, you mentioned making a donation to the Xenowardens?" She smirks, obviously bluffing.
Before Shocca is even close to done, Eisyfina is already holding her hand to her forehead. "An ancient race of racist aliens? Do we know who these are? Someone we can negotiate with, perhaps?" She doesn't look too hopeful "And you say they are back from the dead. Does that mean you came across some in your exploration?"
As for the terminal hacking, Eisyfina shakes her head with a wry smile "Clearly you're selling yourself short if you managed to reverse this virus. I'd say we found the 'better computer expert' already, haven't we?" She breaks into a grin for a moment before growing serious once more "As for 'Ark Prime' and 'Worldseed', we did not encounter those terms before. Do you have any idea what they might be? Something to do with your racist aliens, I presume."
She raises an eyebrow carefully at the comments regarding Talla's team, but the comment about a donation to the Xenowardens distracts her "Ah, I had high expectations for you all after looking into you, but you still managed to exceed them. In the face of the tumult assaulting the project, we stood to lose quite the investment. And you all managed to turn that entirely around. I would say a donation to the Xenowardens has been more than earned."
Hearing her friendly statement towards the Xenowardens, Ajithu decides to push a statement of potential restraint on commercial operations. He understands that profiteers rarely like to hear such talk but in light of what they've uncovered, there's no better time...
So then you would hopefully trust our advice when we say it would be wise to halt operations on Jedarat until we can get a better handle on the situation. I'd say you've hit a colossal, planet-sized snag in your plans. We need time to learn what may even be reasonable and safe in th long run.
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Before Shocca is even close to done, Eisyfina is already holding her hand to her forehead. "An ancient race of racist aliens? Do we know who these are? Someone we can negotiate with, perhaps?" She doesn't look too hopeful "And you say they are back from the dead. Does that mean you came across some in your exploration?"
As for the terminal hacking, Eisyfina shakes her head with a wry smile "Clearly you're selling yourself short if you managed to reverse this virus. I'd say we found the 'better computer expert' already, haven't we?" She breaks into a grin for a moment before growing serious once more "As for 'Ark Prime' and 'Worldseed', we did not encounter those terms before. Do you have any idea what they might be? Something to do with your racist aliens, I presume."
She raises an eyebrow carefully at the comments regarding Talla's team, but the comment about a donation to the Xenowardens distracts her "Ah, I had high expectations for you all after looking into you, but you still managed to exceed them. In the face of the tumult assaulting the project, we stood to lose quite the investment. And you all managed to turn that entirely around. I would say a donation to the Xenowardens has been more than earned."
"The 'racist aliens' were called the Sivv. They were an ancient Pre-Gap empire that had incredibly advanced technology, technology they primarily used as weapons of war. Most of what we know about them comes from the accounts of their enemies, the Kishalee. You may remember the Dead Suns crisis a few years ago? The Stellar Degenerator, that horrifying thing at the heart of the conflict, was a Sivv war-machine. They built it as a final, decisive means to turn the tide of the war and ensure their empire's dominance into the future, and when the Kishalee managed to steal it and locked it away behind the Gate of Twelve Suns, it was the beginning of the end for the Sivv," Arcalinte explains. "The technology we saw in this facility was just as disgusting: creatures mashed together into pained amalgams able to spread their mental anguish to their foes, drug-filled syringes used as hacker countermeasures, nanite golems and experimental data seemingly including dissections of living people...bantrids in specific, which surprised me. All of it make it very clear that at least the Sivvs in power at the time were flaring monstrous...and given the descriptions like "Worldseed" and "Ark Prime," it wouldn't surprise me if this facility was part of some contingency project to preserve their Empire to resurrect it in the future...This is mostly speculation on my part, but I've SEEN the Stellar Degenerator! I helped blow it up!"
Shocca nods fervently. "You should listen to him, he's basically the leading expert on them." She raises her hand to her mouth. "And a celebrity too!" She chuckles. "But apparently I'm the best computer whiz on this world, so I suppose we all have something." The ikeshti smirks and hops up and down twice. "There was some wild technology in there, most of it unfriendly. I don't recommend you go down there at all, and definitely don't touch anything. It could attack you, make you attack your friends, or transport you to another dimension!" Her eyes go wild, realizing what she said. "That's just a wild theory though. Probably never happened."
"While we didn't see any of the Sivv, we did come across their guardians and a few demon-spawn. Not nice folks we're talking about here, I wouldn't want to be negotiating with them." She sighs and takes a big gulp of her hot cocoa. "So everything seems back to normal up here? Did you feel an earthquake a while back? It happened right after we turned off the invasive computer worm, we thought we were goners for a minute. Felt pretty big from down there." She sets down the empty cup. "If everything is looking better that would be a relief. We might look like saviors of the planet but we took some lumps and scrapes while we were down there. A good long nap in these fluffy resort beds would feel real good on these bones."
Ajithu's comments earn a tightening of lips from Eisyfina "Certainly a snag, but one I expect we will address. After all, the investors will not be forgiving if their expectations are not met. Ancient facilities, horrors from ancient wars, whatever we uncover here, will not change that basic fact."
She listens to Arc's description of the Sivv and their facility stoically, though its clear enough from her expression that she's as disgusted by the finds as Arc is. "Bantrids? And the Stellar Degenerator... hmm." is the only commentary she offers mid way through, making a note on a datapad. Shocca's own take certainly doesn't improve her opinion on them. She follows by saying "Technologically advanced and lacking any semblance of morals. A poor combination. If we are lucky, only their automated systems remain to plague us. That at least, we - or rather yourselves - have shown we can manage."
"We did experience the earthquake. A significant one, though we had most of our instruments offline or disabled at the time." She shakes her head. "Scans and aerial surveillance after we regained control of our systems showed some extensive damage across the various work sites. The geological survey of Jedarat indicated a fairly stable geology..." She taps her datapad a few times and then places it on the table, turning it so you can all see what is on the screen. "One aerial drone picked up something else - something that we expect appeared during the earthquake. We're calling it the Spire."
The screen shows a blurry picture of a massive tapered cylindrical tower, stretching 250 feet into the sky. Two spiral ramps encircle the tower, and a double-pronged antenna is affixed to its pinnacle. The ground around the tower is cracked with fissures and wispy clouds cling to its surface. The construction looks very much like the exterior of the structure you were just exploring.
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"With all due respect, Eisyfina...may I call you Eisyfina? Anyway...with all due respect, depending on what else we discover the investors may not have a choice...active security risks to the project are bad enough, if Jedarat itself turns against you..." Arcalinte replies, sounding more sad than anything else. When she continues and reveals this "Spire" to them, his expression steels. "What's the location? I can only speak for my organizations, but I'd be a poor Starfinder if I passed up an opportunity to illuminate the past."
Eisyfina nods to Arc and gives a slight shrug, acknowledging his concerns about the project's risks, but taking an 'it is what it is' stance. She answers his question "Approximately 70 miles east of Hardpack Valley. It appeared within a wide plain, where there was a small hill previously. Most agree that it must have emerged from that hill, as if thrust upward, though a few think the whole building was teleported into place."
Teleported into place...? What evidence do they have of that? Ajithu asks, both dubious of this claim but not wanting to dismiss it out of hand.
"None at all, but its abrupt appearance has led the less technically minded of the work team to speculate in earnest."
Shocca looks to Ajithu. "This disruption to the local ecosystem must be investigated. Perhaps it is a sanctuary for local wildlife endangered by the work here. Or perhaps it is a need-to-know project by a trampling credit-hungry corp." She glances over at Eisyfina. "A different one, I'm sure."
She finishes her second mug of hot cocoa, thinking. "Walking through the storm on our way to the rescue was a bit tough. Are your transports up and working? And, are you able to get better scans than this?" She looks over the photo with disdain. "This one is a bit... rudimentary."