Ancient Hunter

I woke to the sound of voices. I heard Joyce’s familiar tones as she addressed one of her team. It must have been the sound of a shuttle I had heard overhead earlier. Joyce had said she was bringing over some of her team to help. I was in two minds over that. The practical part of my mind agreed with it. I wasn’t too happy about strangers stepping over the bodies of my fallen ancestors. We were back in Grunnleggerby Joyce had supplied the name of the town. I would be forever grateful about that. I got up still feeling groggy from lack of sleep. Joyce had kept me up half the night enthusing over the lamp Jennifer had given me. According to Joyce it was a device on unknown design. The other half of the night Joyce kept me from a restful sleep with her snoring. Note to self get some earplugs I certainly needed them. I dressed and exited the room I designated as my bedroom. The main room had changed from the last time I was in here. Joyce and her team had set up a table and chairs. One of the side rooms had been set up as cooking area while another housed the analytical equipment she’d brought over from the dig site. I guess Joyce was throwing herself wholeheartedly into helping me. I don’t know why but I accepted her help despite my inner conflict over it. She had said it was to atone of all the difficulties I had in getting here. There was a hot pot of coffee on the table along with several mugs. I found a clean empty one and poured myself a mug. Sipping my coffee I listened in on the conversation outside. Joyce was talking or rather ordering her team.

“This is no different from any other expedition. I expect you work in pairs. Catalogue all finds and for God’s sake leave them in situ. Oh one other thing, do not, in any circumstance touch any purple crystals you find. They contain a deadly toxin.”

I suppose it was better to be cautious I understood her sentiment. I finished my coffee. At that moment Joyce came back in. She was dressed in a practical dark blue coverall. Around her waist her belt of tools and her canvas covered data rod over her shoulder.

“Had breakfast yet?” she asked.

“No,” I replied.

“Grab a couple of those ration packs and we’ll go and look at this platform of yours.”

I don’t know how she had decided that the dais was mine. I didn’t protest but grabbed several packs and headed out. We walked in silence Joyce expression fixed an angry glint in her eyes. I was glad I wasn’t directed at me. She could be quite forceful when she wanted to be. We wove our way though the ruined town often stopping while Joyce recorded the location of more remains, she didn’t say a word. Finally we pushed our way through the bushes that surrounded the dais. Joyce stood there just staring. When she spoke it wasn’t about the dais.

“Gwen no words can express the sorrow I feel for you. The Elders have much to explain and even more to atone for.”

I agreed with what she was saying but we needed to get off such a maudlin subject.

“This is the dais.” I said to her. “There is one exactly the same on Saros.”

Joyce knelt down and brushed her fingers along its surface. She held up her hand and looked at her fingers. “Remarkable not a scratch or a lick of dirt. Nor does it feel hot or cold.” She pulled out her scanner and ran it along the length of the dais. “Not getting a reading. It’s as if it didn’t exist.” She put her scanner away and stood.

“Ok Gwen it’s time to strut your stuff.”

“Strut my stuff?” I said and grimaced. I had to stop doing that.

“Yes, do what you have to do to power this thing up?”

“I’m not sure if this will work.” It would be a pain if I transported and Joyce didn’t.

I walked to the centre and gestured for Joyce to follow. I held up my hand and a holo panel formed underneath it. I took a deep breath and pushed down with my hand. Light surrounded us and felt myself drop.

Joyce turned the light on, on her comms while I fumbled in my pack for my flashlight.

“Wow what a rush,” Joyce commented as she turned her comms light on me. “You alright Gwen?”

“I’m getting used to it.” I had to be honest. I checked my pack finally finding my flashlight in a side pocket. Why was it in the last place you thought of looking for I though crossly. I turned it on it illuminated our surroundings better than Joyce’s comms light. The beam easily picked out the pile of remains.

“Hold it there,” Joyce said pulling out her scanned from her tool belt. With it she examined the nearest remains.

“Amazing!” she uttered.

“What is?” I asked her perplexed. Seeing what she was seeing reminded me that I hadn’t seen the top half of the skeleton leaning over the dais. It should have been there when we stepped onto the dais above. A puzzle for later for now I watched Joyce. She was like a kid in a sweet shop.

“Incredible!” she remarked.

I wished she wouldn’t keep her statements to single words. “What is?” proving I wasn’t that much better.

“These bones should be fossilised yet they are not?” She paused. “I wonder what’s causing that?”

I had no answer for her I was out of my depth here.

Joyce straightened up her face looking ghostly in the light of her comms. Considering where we were not the best look to have.

“It’s clear what happened here. They were slaughtered trying to reach the platform. The doorway narrowed the passage slowing down those behind it making them easy targets for their attackers.”

That much I guessed already.

Joyce’s ghostly face looked grimmer. “I’ll need to record all this so we can get a better picture over all. “She gestured to me. “Go ahead I’ll follow.

I lead the way stepping carefully in the boot prints I had made before. Joyce followed it was harder for her she didn’t have my longer stride.

I was glad we were past the worst. I showed Joyce the skeleton seated on his own his wings spread out behind him.

“This one of the two only intact skeletons I found,” I said as an explanation.

Joyce scanned the bones without commenting. When she finished she looked at me sadness in her face.

“Thank you for showing me this. We must move on.”

I understood her practicality we walked on making slow progress.

We arrived at the barricade.

“As you can see despite their efforts the barricade was still breached.” I explained what I had found.

Joyce ran her scanner over the breach. She put it back in her belt. “I can’t find any trace of any explosive residue but then it’s been a long time.”

I decided I’d better show her the crystal. “I tipped over a box and found this?” I tipped the box over holding my breath. “It’s like the ones in Grunnleggerby above us.”

“No, Grunnleggerby is five hundred kilometres to the west,” Joyce answered.

That surprised me. Which meant the Cavern on Saros could be anywhere. “That far?” I know it was a lame statement.

Joyce pulled out her scanner and scanned the crystal. She gasped. “Impossible!” she blurted out.

“What is?” I said and cringed. I really shouldn’t be doing that.

“This crystal.” Joyce looked at me. “You sure you found it under here?”

“Yes?” I hadn’t told her I’d picked it up and my arm went paralysed.

“May look solid but it filled with micro bubbles each one carrying a deadly toxin.”

I shivered at that I’d stupidly picked it up. “I don’t understand?”

“This crystal is over a hundred thousand years old but the toxicity levels are as if it was made only yesterday.”

I reeled at that in total shock. “What do you mean a hundred thousand years?” It was too much for me to absorb.

“That was when the Janari went extinct.”

My legs gave way and I crashed to the floor my heart beating like it was going to explode out of my body. My mind refused to take in what Joyce was saying. It would mean the Keepers, my Keepers been trapped as digital images for that long.

~~~