The landing wasn't very smooth. One of the planetary engines broke down, but thanks to the great expertise of the pilot the Equinox managed to hit the ground with only a few scars. However it would take a few days, till they could get off the planet. "At least we have more time to admire this wonderful planet" was the first reaction of the professor. Actually with the new supplies they could stay for months, but no one wanted to stay that much in the ice desert, where the highest temperature was 58 degrees. Below zero.
The robot was almost ready. They only needed the AICD to transfer its program into the hard disks of the new born. So the captain went down to the docking bay, and activated the Xaror. The program was updated to the Equinox's main computer and then downloaded to the robot. It didn't take more than 20 minutes. After a short testing it was ready for it's actual mission.
A small group was assembled to gi into the caves. The professor also insisted to go. So the group was Alexander, the professor, Carlos Rilera, a material scientist of the Equinox's crew and an engineer calles Calista Bronn. This time, thanks to the damaged engine, the vessel landed further from the cave, so it took more than 2 hours to reach it.
They approached the tunnel, which lead down, and the engineer checked the robot again. As everything seemed functional it received the orders to get those samples. Thanks to the AI hoovering technology it was able to descend in the tunnel.
However 20 kilometers took it more than half an hour. Finally it arrived at the water. It was almost unbelievable that this water wasn't frozen.
The batteries didn't allow too much exploration as the way up needed enormous amounts of energy. Although there was time to gather various samples from different depths, and even from one of the lateral tunnels.
With the gathered materials the robot began it's way back. It almost reached the top of the water, when seismic activities happened. It didn't las long, and it wasn't strong either. However it opened up a completely new tunnel, just before the robot. It took a sample from there too.
After that it began it's more than an hour long ascending back to the group, whom were already waiting for it's return.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
Finally the robot reached the group of scientists waiting for it at the edge of the flue. They quickly checked it's status and programmed it to get back to the Equinox.
The robot led the way, but there was another earthquake. It didn't stop, but the people actually halted in the small tunnel waiting for the end of the shaking. Unfortunately the tunnel's ice walls were not able to sustain the quake, and it started to collapse. Calista started to run towards the way out and this was her last mistake she made in her life. She fell on a smaller piece of ice, and a huge ice dripstone crushed her body. Then the whole cave started to collapse.
There was very little chance that they could survive.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
-I want to know the reason of the seismic activity!
Roy was able to outshout the multiple warnings what the ship's computer was reciting and the overall confusion on the bridge.
-Open a channel with the research party!
-On it, sir.
Thanks to the earthquakes the ship slipped and hit dozens of the ice sculptures. They proved to be very resistant and damaged several sensors and equipment on the outer hull of the ship.
-I don't receive a response, but it seems like our com systems are fully functional. Wait... I'm receiving a very faint signal.
Quote:...do you read... ...Equinox, do you... ...This is profess... ...There... ...cave in... ...engineer dead... ...medica... ...is unconscious... ...suit damaged...
...I repeat... ...fessor... ...in... ...ista... ...need...
-The transmission is over. I'm not receiving anything.
-Continue trying to contact them. Get ready a search party! I want them to move out in 5 minutes. Screw it! I want the medical group prepared too. And open a channel to that doctor Alexander contacted before, he may be able to help.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
It turned out, that Doc Holliday and his medical forces are not available and it would take weeks till a corvo would get the necessary papers to enter bretonian space. That would be too late for the injured. But the doc promised he would do as much as possible for them if they could reach freeport 1.
-Captain, it's the search party. They're reporting that they found the drone, it's coming to the ship.
-Don't bother with it! Get to that freaking cave. I want them alive! -He was so edgy that he started to walk up and down on the bridge freaking out the crew. He wasn't very friendly when he was angry.
Why did I let the professor go out at all? He should have stayed at his own lab in Cambridge.
It took half an hour and the radio man could finally give good news.
-Sir, the search party reached the cave. At least what remained of it. They managed to make radio contact with Carlos. Calista is dead, the professor is unconscious, maybe he's got internal lesions. Alexander broke his leg, and possibly various ribs and his environmental suit is damaged, he's very low on oxigen. Carlos managed to seal the hole, but the batteries are not working, so he's using his own suit's energy to keep Alexander alive.
-Do we have any exact coordinates?
-Yes, they managed to calibrate their position, they're about a hundred meters from the search party. They already started digging, but they're progressing very slowly.
-Just continue, if they need anything send it to them immediately, we can use one of the X-shuttles to get them the things as fast as we manage to repair the engines, and make the docking bay accessible. I'll check the repair team, contact me, when you have any news.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
Soon the captain received the repair log of his ship in which it was stated that the planetary engines were operational. He immediately gave the orders to approach the cave.
The search party already started digging them out, but they weren't able to advance any faster with the equipment they had. It would take days till they could reach them.
There must be another way -Thought the captain.
-Wait? It's only ice? Why not heating it up?
-It's possible with lasers. But I wouldn't recommend it. It would need extreme precision. Just one meter, and they die. -answered the man second in command of the Equinox.
-You forgot, that we have the AICD. I think it's quite precise.
-You're right sir, but it doesn't have lasers...
-Let's equip it with a few guns.
The other man nodded, and went down to the docking bays.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
The AICD sensed a bio signal that came closer to it's location as the engineer entered the docking bay. It recognized him as one of the Equinox's crew and didn't resist as he powered up it's personality core.
After a short talk X-ATM092 advised the engineer how to install the laser guns and how to calibrate them for its targetting system and its power core.
Once the equipment was implemented into it's systems it added a program to the OS of the AICD and turned of the personality core by itself.
The AICD left the Equinox's docking bay and headed for the coordinates of the professor's last location.
Once it arrived it activated the lasers. At first the lasers were overwhelmed by the large powercore and almost combusted. But the new program easily adjusted the energy flow and started to cut it's way through the thick layer of ice.
After a few minutes it reached the depth it was heading for and closed in to the professors location, creating a path a shuttle could easily pass. After passing through it eminated liquid carbon dioxide from it's cooling system in order to freeze the tunnel again and make it a safe passage.
Finally the professor and his party were freed. Even the corpse of Calisto was retrieved, even though the crushed body didn't look human anymore.
The Equinox has managed to leave the atmosphere of the planet, with one planetary engine barely working. Fortunately Commander Sarah Coyle was already waiting on Med.Force.Two and took over the injured.
<span style="font-family:Lucida Console"><span style="color:#33CC00">*personality core activated*</span>
Science consists of stating the obvious and linking the facts. </span>
Even if they survive it will take a few months till they could rejoin the Cambridge Stellar Research group, and the professor would be a terrible loss for the researcher's world. The funder of one of the most important independent research groups lies unconscious on a bed at Freeport 1. And the current leader of the group is not in a better shape either. And all of this why? Because of an earthquake which cause is still unknown.
The scientists aboard the Equinox work very hard to find it out, and with the samples gather by drone there was still hope. Theese were already being analized when Roy entered the lab.
-Good day cap'n!
-It should be a lot better.
-Don't worry they're in the best hands available in all Sirius.
-Tell this to the dead.
-She's a great loss for the team. But we all accepted the risks when we joined you. Be it a nomad weapon or eventually a big chunk of ice. Have you contacted her family?
-Not yet. I'll do it when I manage to gather enough strenght.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
[font=Lucida Console] [color=#33CC00]*initiating data upload*
*~~~~~~~~~~~*
*upload complete*
The analysis program of the AICD started computing and started linking the new data the drone collected.
The ice of planet Waterford contained sulphur what explained the yellowish tone. But the most interesting fact was,
that there were two kinds of water to be found. The charge of the two elements was just slightly different.
One kind of the water molecules was only to be found within the ice sculptures and in the ground close to them as well as in the liquid underground lake,
while the other kind was much more abundant in the flat areas. Also the ice cores the team collected showed a very interesting fact.
The whole surface of the planet seemed to have melted about a millenium ago and the element found within the sculptures were not to be found
before that point. The AICD's program ran for a couple of hours before it transmitted the most likely scenario to the main computer of the Equinox.
It seemed that another stellar body, a large asteroid made of sulphur and water entered the atmosphere of planet Waterford and entered an orbit,
slowly closing in on the planet. The asteroid started melting in the atmosphere and due to it's size
and the long time it stayed in the orbit before it hit the surface it heated up the planet so the upper layers of ice melted.
It's materials were scattered all over the planet and the sulphur it contained sank into the molten surface. It was mixxed with the water and later froze to the yellow ice that now is typical for planet Waterford.
After some time the asteroid hit the ground and because of the high temperature it gained it melted the ice around it, sinking into the depths of the planet.
The underground lake the scientists found Is the location where it melted completely and the materials of the intruder kept the water down there from
freezing again untill the present day. The steam the asteroid emmitted created the large vertical cave which lead down to the lake.
This also explains the extreme concentration of sulphur within the liquid body of water.
For the origin of the ice sculptures it seems that the ice from the asteroid seems to be harder as the molecules stay tighter due to their slightly higher electrical charge. The ice that originally existed on planet Waterford is less stable and is slowly being eroded by the wind. What stays are the amazing ice sculptures, almost entirely made of the remains of the asteroid.
Without the personality core activated the AICD made a conclusion of the operation. The loss of a crewman seemed to be rather insignificant and was only marked as a side note. Once the core was automatically activated at the end of the AICD's analysis program it looked over the report it changed that point and extended the
side note into a whole passage about Calista and her work, showing off her legacy which was to be read by all those who would take a look
on the results of the surveillance mission of Camebridge Stellar Research on Planet Waterford, Leeds.
<span style="font-family:Lucida Console"><span style="color:#33CC00">*personality core activated*</span>
Science consists of stating the obvious and linking the facts. </span>