The Long Walk - An Ancient Trap - Episode 20

Chapter 25 The platform's bright white halo of light dispelled the shadows for a good 50 meters, exposing reddish-brown gabbro.

Jordan idly thought the gabbro might be the most unremarkable he'd ever seen, almost too normal.

The incongruity or weathering of the hills looked wrong to him somehow, as if portions had been more exposed to elements than others.

Considering the planet's lack of atmosphere, any so-called weathering was more likely caused by debris clouds, meteor showers, and collisions with who knew what.

If it had been from rain, glaciers, or even high winds, the Gabbro would have slowly been pulverized into sand, and that sand would have further polished the sheer cliff he saw in the distance.

With the planet permanently shrouded in deep shadow, it was impossible to know what it all looked like unless he was up close and with a powerful light.

Then again, who the fuck cared? Still, it just didn't seem right.

Jordan walked a few steps on the surface, half expecting to feel it give.

A little dust puffed up and a few pebbles moved, but nothing more.

He pushed the creepy feeling away and focused on clearing the area, such as it was.

Since the camp was some distance away, there weren't exactly any obstacles or equipment around.

That also meant he had no way of determining their status.

Unless...

Jordan blinked through his HUD and attempted a connection to the base camp.

He immediately got a ping return.

Smiling, he finished the connection and began looking through the available systems.

The mining camp drones were all offline, every single one of them dead to the world.

The ones he'd retasked, on the other hand, were still up and running.

That didn't much surprise Jordan.

Prospector's drones were far more powerful and resilient than the mining crew's.

A miner's drone could be repaired.

If a Prospector-class drone malfunctioned, it was permanently lost and couldn't be replaced.

As such, they were hardier, stuffed with sensors, and extremely expensive.

Jordan brought up the first of the drones after divining its location.

It was some distance away from the cliff where they supposedly drilled the first cores.

Chapter 25 The platform's bright white halo of light dispelled the shadows for a good 50 meters, exposing reddish-brown gabbro.

Jordan idly thought the gabbro might be the most unremarkable he'd ever seen, almost too normal.

The incongruity or weathering of the hills looked wrong to him somehow, as if portions had been more exposed to elements than others.

Considering the planet's lack of atmosphere, any so-called weathering was more likely caused by debris clouds, meteor showers, and collisions with who knew what.

If it had been from rain, glaciers, or even high winds, the Gabbro would have slowly been pulverized into sand, and that sand would have further polished the sheer cliff he saw in the distance.

With the planet permanently shrouded in deep shadow, it was impossible to know what it all looked like unless he was up close and with a powerful light.

Then again, who the fuck cared? Still, it just didn't seem right.

Jordan walked a few steps on the surface, half expecting to feel it give.

A little dust puffed up and a few pebbles moved, but nothing more.

He pushed the creepy feeling away and focused on clearing the area, such as it was.

Since the camp was some distance away, there weren't exactly any obstacles or equipment around.

That also meant he had no way of determining their status.

Unless...

Jordan blinked through his HUD and attempted a connection to the base camp.

He immediately got a ping return.

Smiling, he finished the connection and began looking through the available systems.

The mining camp drones were all offline, every single one of them dead to the world.

The ones he'd retasked, on the other hand, were still up and running.

That didn't much surprise Jordan.

Prospector's drones were far more powerful and resilient than the mining crew's.

A miner's drone could be repaired.

If a Prospector-class drone malfunctioned, it was permanently lost and couldn't be replaced.

As such, they were hardier, stuffed with sensors, and extremely expensive.

Jordan brought up the first of the drones after divining its location.

It was some distance away from the cliff where they supposedly drilled the first cores.