Chapter Text
Paris was meticulous about most things. Reading the manual, placing the light switch in a place she could reach it, even learning the console controls before they took a single step off the ship. The sticky note on the wall had concerned her - was it really a good idea to investigate random files on a ship after it had been returned? I mean, obviously they hadn’t returned… though she couldn’t be sure why that was. Maybe they transferred ships; some crewmates were split automatically after a period of time in order to increase efficiency. Not a promotion per se, but a lateral transition. Nobody ever really stopped collecting scrap, as far as she knew. But maybe she was wrong. She’d only been with The Company all of thirty minutes.
Eventually, her curiosity won out as Hana went to investigate the sound of the ice cream truck. She typed in ‘Sigurd’ as the sticky note instructed, and was surprised to find a log. A few, really, though it seemed there were still more to find. They were obviously young - maybe even still a kid. It didn’t seem like the company had any strict requirements for joining up. He was pretty funny. She pursed her lips as she perused, leaning one elbow on the console. A thought struck her as she read the other names. Sigurd was one password, so what if she…
richard
'There was no action supplied with the word.'
She almost stopped there, just for the sake of not making a fool of herself. Something itched at her brain though, and she found herself typing the next name before she could think too much on it.
desmond
'DATA CORRUPTED OR OVERWRITTEN'
She blinked at the green words, letters large beneath her query. So there was something there. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest at the excitement of a mystery.
jess
'No data has been collected on this creature. A scan is required.'
Her heart rose in her throat. Surely… surely that was an error? Or maybe there were logs on a creature with a similar name? Still, even in the acrid heat with the door open, she felt chills down her spine.
It would have to wait. She could hear Hana humming her way back into the ship, their equipment in tow. “Two walkies and two flashlights, yeah?” Hana asked as Paris turned.
“Yup! You got it. It’s nice of them to give us some starting credits… sort of a sign-on bonus I guess,” she said as she took her two items. “Do we want to stick together going in?”
Hana nodded. “Yeah. First time getting around… maybe we can scare off some creepy-crawlies if we’re loud enough.”
“And attract whatever’s big enough not to be scared of some noise?” Paris asked, one brow raised, half-teasing. “But I agree, let’s stick together. Considering they barely tell us how to get in…”
So the two took off for the main entrance, the ship running behind them. It was barely nine in the morning, which would give them plenty of time. Twelve hours for exploration, plus another three to get back to the ship if they needed.
Paris kept her scanner up on their way in, scanning at each turn and each noise. She only found a report of roaming locusts and manticoils, but both dispersed as they approached.
The entrance was close on this world, fortunately. It only took about fifteen minutes for them to get from the ship to the main entrance, guided easily by simply scanning to check their direction. Paris took a deep breath as they approached the doors. She turned her gaze to Hana, who seemed to be staring down the door. With no words exchanged, Paris entered and let Hana follow behind her.
The entryway was barely lit, the lights buzzing from above. There were no signs of movement beyond the fan turning beneath them. She could see nothing but void beneath the metal mesh beneath their feet. She looked up again toward the doors, trying to soothe her churning stomach. The noises in here were eerie, even when they had just barely entered. She let out a deep exhale and shifted closer to Hana. “I’m sure it’s just the sounds of an old building… I bet maintenance hasn’t been here in decades.”
Hana cracked a small smile at that. “As if they ever came here when it was built.”
Paris grinned and clicked on her flashlight. The beam barely traveled in the midst of all the dust, but it was better than what they had. “Left first,” she decided, turning down the hallway. There was no door this way, which meant no chance of being spooked, right?
“Oh! A… V-type engine!” Hana cheered as she turned into the hallway, the chirp of the scanner already growing familiar. Paris couldn’t help her grin as Hana hefted the engine up.
“Nice. Let’s keep going.”
They continued without much of note; the keys were frequent finds, it seemed, though there were no locked doors to speak of. Paris picked up a yield sign she felt comfortable swinging, an egg beater, and a metal sheet. The items clanged against one another with each step, and the deeper they went the more Paris’ hairs stood on end. “What do you think about getting back to the ship and regrouping?” she asked as they took another turn, only to find an empty hallway.
“Sounds good to me,” Hana agreed. “I think if we go up we’ll find the fire exit.”
Paris nodded without any further commentary, climbing the stairs. She caught a glimpse of metal near the ground on the second floor, but was disappointed to see it was only a vent. “Aw… thought we might’ve gotten something.” She turned to continue up the stairs, but was stopped by a solid weight dropping on her shoulders, coiling around her head quickly. She let out a shriek, muffled by the thick membrane of the bug that threatened her suit’s integrity. All items were forgotten as she scrambled for it, nails carving bloody lines into it.
A solid smack dislodged it from her face, the metal sign still reverberating in Hana’s hands as she brought it down again once, twice onto the screaming bug. Distantly, paris registered scanning the device and the New Creature Data message flitting across her cracked screen.
“You okay?” Hana asked as she brought the shovel up, trying to shake the snare flea’s guts off the sign. Hopefully The Company didn’t mind messy scrap.
“Yeah. I think. Mostly?” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Little breathless but fine. I guess that’s really our… sign to go?” she giggled. Wow, the adrenaline kick was real. She tried not to flush, embarrassed with herself.
Hana laughed, bright and startled at the bad joke. “Yeah, okay. I think it's just across the right platform there.”
When they opened the fire exit, no alarms went off. Paris breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly turned her gaze up to the sky. It was darker than she expected. Her HUD read 4:30 - still early. Under the lip of the roof, it was easy enough to see why. “It's raining,” she told Hana as she stepped outside, fighting to get the engine out the door without dropping it.
They continued down the stairs without another pause. Paris' hairs stood up on end again, and this time she could see Hana's doing the same. Her eyes widened with the implication. “Drop it and run!” she shouted, praying she could be heard.
Hana did just that, throwing the engine to the ground and booking it away. Paris backed up quickly, barely avoiding her own feet. Lightning struck fast and sure - but now where she'd hoped.
Where Hana had been running was simply a scorch mark on the concrete. Paris’ vision swam, devastated. Could she have known any sooner? She tore at her bottom lip with her teeth, guilt drowning out the sound of rain. She grabbed the engine and made her way back to the ship as quickly as the now-treacherous terrain would allow her.