In the main holographic conference room on Planet Solendel, the atmosphere was thick with tension and intense focus. Zen, Zaria, Karess, and the entire research team were staring at the stream of data flooding the main screen... data from the mission on planet CKD-142.
"Sora... pull up the entire history of planet CKD-142, everything you can find," Zen said, his voice grave.
The scene for the reader shifts. It is no longer the conference room, but an image of the three rescue team members rappelling down from another tunnel shaft, several hundred meters from the original conflict zone. S-67 uses his sonar abilities to guide them, finding the safest and most stable path back down to level 45.
The scene cuts back to the exploration team, who have now returned to the tunnel where the battle took place. They stand before the motionless carcass of the "Ferrocarne." The smell of metal and ozone still hangs heavy in the air. S-153, the team leader, raises a hand, signaling for the operation to begin.
"Most of the resources on this planet have already been mined," Zaria's voice is heard in the conference room. She points to the mining data on the screen. "Jadka Company is just a small firm that took over the contract... they've been drilling deeper and deeper, getting closer to the planet's core."
The exploration scene continues. S-24 kneels cautiously beside the Ferrocarne's remains. She uses a small bio-scanner to examine its structure and collect tissue samples from the fatal wound on its underbelly, while S-153 uses a laser cutting-torch to meticulously carve out a piece of its toughest carapace.
"I've found something interesting," Zen spoke up. Everyone in the conference room turned to him. "Sora... open the incident report files from Jadka Company for the past five years."
Back in the mine, S-67, who is scanning the surroundings with his sonar, frowns slightly beneath his helmet. He points to the tunnel floor deeper inside... there are tracks that are neither human nor machine-made... they are the massive drag marks and sharp-clawed footprints of something huge... and there isn't just one set of tracks.
"Continuous drilling... constant noise... and getting closer to the planet's core..." Karess murmured from behind his mask. "They might have been 'woken up'."
"Or worse..." Zen continued, his voice grim. "We might not have woken them... we might have just 'opened the door to their home' without realizing it."
S-153, seeing the tracks, understood the situation instantly. He gave a hand signal for the team to go on high alert. They began to follow the tracks deeper into the darkness, with utmost stealth... until S-67 raised a hand, signaling them to stop.
Before them was a massive cavern. And on its walls... were the tracks of giant creatures... dozens... perhaps even hundreds of them.
"Our team estimates there are at least another 5 to 10 of them in the immediate vicinity," S-153 reported via a private commlink back to the command center.
"That's too many!" Zaria interjected in the conference room, her voice firm. "Abort the rest of the exploration. Return now!"
S-153, hearing the order, turned his head towards the drone camera that was following them and spoke to Zen directly. "Mr. President... in that case, I will cease the exploration and proceed with the carcass retrieval as planned."
Zen gave a single, sharp nod in the conference room... a calm and decisive authorization.
After the exploration team had temporarily aborted their mission and were preparing for retrieval, the discussion in the main conference room on Solendel resumed.
"We should buy that planet... and then seal it off for the safety of others," Zaria proposed. "Inform Jadka Company that we've detected a toxic, acidic gas in the subterranean levels that's too dangerous for further drilling... then we can make them an offer to buy the entire planet and manage it ourselves."
Karess muttered to himself, but everyone in the room heard him clearly. "That carcass... it's interesting... Ferromagnetic carapace... nano-crystal teeth... We could definitely build some strange 'toys' for our company with that."
The scene cuts back to the exploration team. They have returned to the Ferrocarne's remains. S-153 takes a small, dark blue, marble-sized sphere from a pouch on his waist... it is a portable "Runic Cell Gate."
He tosses it onto the ground in front of the Ferrocarne's carcass...
VWOOM!
The marble flashes with light, before the rune ᚱ (Raidho) appears and expands into a vertical dimensional gate, emitting a stable, soft blue light. It is connected directly to the research lab on Planet Solendel!
"Begin transport!" S-153 commanded.
He and S-67 used their gravity and sonar powers to lift and push the heavy carcass of the Ferrocarne through the dimensional gate... until the last part of it vanished through the portal...
S-153 walked over and picked up the Runic Cell, which was levitating silently in mid-air... and the instant he retrieved it... the dimensional gate dissipated as if it had never been... leaving only the silence and the darkness of the death-mine behind.