September 7, 2152
Red, dim light broke through the holographic screen in Emory's private cabin. Though the light was actually white light, it was strange in that it made the red pop in everything. Emory yawned and stretched as she turned off her alarm. Ten days had passed on their journey to the Ross 128 System, but the crew hadn't just been sleeping and lounging around until it arrived. Strict training regimens had been implemented, the same routine that Emory and her friends had practiced, and, although it had only been ten days, the squad was showing great improvement in their stamina and mana pool. After getting ready for the day in her ensuite bathroom, she sat down at a desk covered with charts and maps. She asked Jask, "What's on the agenda today?"
"We will be entering the Ross 128 system in twenty hours, Miss Reiss," Jask chimed from the walls, "Upon entering the system, we will head for planet B, named Yuzuno. The local climate on Yuzuno is expected to be temperate with several flora and fauna only found here. Be advised that light levels will be at or below normal, so you may require additional sources of light,"
"Have you detected anything on the sensors?" Emory inquired, not expecting anything.
"Actually, now that we're closer to the system, I have detected a small anomaly," Jask explained, "An intelligent creature or being is currently on Yuzuno. I apologize, but we're still too far away to confirm an accurate quantity or power level. Though based on initial scans, either there is a decent population, or it is an advanced race. I determined this by an energy signal near the south pole of the planet."
Emory paused before responding slowly, "Could this be the Mantoan? Even a scouting party."
"This energy signal does not match any recorded by the Mantoan. In fact, there is no record of this signal across any known databases," Jask replied robotically.
"Interesting. So, the question is do these people pose a threat?" Emory mused, "Jask, what can you compare the signal to? How strong is it?"
Jask beeped, "Well, the signal is gone now, but it was originally just a few pulses. These were roughly as powerful as your maximum output." Emory rubbed her chin when an idea sprang to mind: teleportation. Though she had practiced from the spellbook and talked with Perceval, she didn't yet fully understand its limitations. However, she had learned some differences between how Perceval described using it and how the spellbook explained it. First, Perceval insisted that it required an entrance and destination portal while the book described making a beginning inscription but not a destination one. She had asked the elder witch about it once, yet he had dismissed the idea due to the level of precision it required in the upfront work. Even more interesting was a description in the back of the book that explained a sufficiently powerful caster could avoid inscribing all together, though it didn't detail how powerful one needed to be.
"Jask, can you pinpoint where on the planet these pulses came from? I don't need a precise location, just confirmation that they came from different spot," Emory explained.
"Pulling the data now. I detected three pulses," Jask brought up the planet on the projected screen, "As you can see, the first two pulses were close in time but far apart in distance. The third pulse was much closer in distance but nearly ten minutes later."
Emory examined the planet, "Can you show me on this same map where the planned insertion point is? I may want to adjust it." A dot appeared on the screen, nowhere near any of pulse locations, causing a large sigh from Emory.
"I detect disappointment in your voice," Jask commented, "Would you like to amend the destination?"
"Show me suitable locations within thirty miles of the second and third pulses," Emory directed with a little smirk on her face. Zones appeared around the second pulse towards the edge of her requested radius; however, none appeared around the third. Emory frowned, "Why are there no zones highlighted near the third point?"
"While several zones exist near the first point and some around the second point," Jask elaborated, "There are no zones are the third point; you will need to travel on foot to reach this area."
"On foot? Not even by vehicle? Show me the topography of the region where the third pulse occurred," Emory scowled as the map zoomed into the area. Most of Yuzuno was flat or hills with mountain ranges in only a few select areas; unfortunately, this was one of those regions with sharp peaks that shot skyward. In fact, this third location was on the only large plateau on the planet, despite not being near the fault lines of any plates. She scratched her head and tried to come up with a good solution since the second and third locations were a hundred miles apart and fifty miles of that were mountains. "Any suggestions, Jask?" Emory groaned, "It's clear to me that this entity or group is still at the third location; however, the zones for the second location still put us over a hundred miles away."
Jask highlighted the larger area's geography and said, "Miss Reiss, if you see here, this zone is at the base of the rapid elevation change. Given that this does not appear to be a natural formation, perhaps it is best to land here and explore the base before targeting this unknown signal."
"You're right," Emory sighed, "After all, we've got time, right? Jask, reset course to the zone just north of the second pulse. The ground looks good, and in hindsight, I don't think we should build fortifications below a possible enemy." Jask chirped as the screen lit up green, confirming her request, while Emory got ready for the day.
When she left the room, she was relieved to find Tethys going through the morning training routine with the rest of the squad. The morning planning with Jask and getting ready for the day had taken longer than expected, but Tethys was a natural second-in-charge and could easily get activities started. Instead of interrupting, Emory continued onto the cargo hold where the initial supplies had been loaded. She started going through the different devices; after all, with fusion power on the ship and twenty-five proficient casters, there wasn't really a need to bring materials as they could use the resources of the planet itself. Although they did have some emergency supplies: food pills and personnel bubbles, a sleeping bag-like apparatus that acted as a much more protective one-person tent. Most of the devices were scanners, devices that recorded and analyzed objects using LIDAR, or means of transportation, including one Humvee-sized all-terrain vehicle. Twenty-five human-sized pods lined one wall, a collapsible motorcycle for each person that would serve as the main method of transportation. After being in the cargo hold for half an hour, footsteps echoed from the entrance once again. Tethys called, "Emory, are you in here?"
"In the back, Tethys," Emory boomed back, "I'm sorry I missed this morning. Jask told me some interesting information."
"What did he say? Wait, let me guess, something about the planet?" Tethys poked as she approached Emory.
"He caught a signal," Emory breathed, "Either a small but widespread population or a singular strong being."
Tethys squealed, "Jask picked up a person's signal!"
"Hush! We don't have enough information about it right now, so you need to keep this quiet. I was just down here checking our supplies as I'm building a new plan with this in mind. Then I'll tell everyone else," Emory hissed as she covered Tethys's mouth with her hand.
"Okay, okay," Tethys whispered, "What's the plan so far? How can I help?"
Emory put her finger on her chin, "Well, I came down here originally to check our high-altitude gear; however, I found those fairly quickly. Please make sure each group has a set." Though the one hundred students had been divided into four squads, Emory decided to split everyone even further into five groups. These five people would complete routine or specialty tasks for the bases as a team, whether that was cleaning the facility or exploring a new location. But these weren't fixed teams, at least not at this point, rather they were based on an order Emory had made initially: no one was allowed to leave the FOB's area unless it was in a group of five people. She made this rule in order to hopefully prevent any accidents or, if there was one, some could run for help. Despite telling Tethys she had found what she was looking for, Emory continued to meander through the cargo hold.
"Emory," Tethys cleared her throat, "Is there anything else I can help you with down here? You seem to be wandering aimlessly."
"I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. On one hand, we could go after the source of the signal; on the other, we could be going after an enemy. What if it's not though?" Emory mused as her opinion teetered back and forth.
"Look, let's get the FOB set up first like we planned," Tethys urged, "Then we can check out this information. At most, we'll be set back two or three days."
Emory took a breath and smiled, "I suppose you're right. More so, there is a chance they will come to us too. Thank you for recentering me. I let the information from Jask get under my skin." Tethys returned the smile, and the pair left to the crew area. Since they would reach Ross 128 tomorrow, everyone took it easy and played games or relaxed. Still, the tension grew as the day continued because no one truly knew what would happen on the planet.