Chapter 952 952 Exploration
[Data transfer is complete. A full analysis of the data storage system is complete. Can we get out of this tunnel now?] The team leader asked.
[Go ahead, Team Leader. Find an open door upward and proceed into the Biodome itself.
Keep us updated on the progress, and we will be watching your camera footage in case there is something that we need you to investigate.] Khan instructed.
The team was visibly excited to be away from the boring station at the server farm, and they began to jog toward the nearest location, where their scans had detected an opening leading upward.
It was only a few dozen metres away, but the first one that they came through was designed for a much smaller body than theirs, and the diameter of the opening was insufficient for them to move through it.
[Just a minor side effect of dealing with alien construction. One of the major doors should be large enough. If you find one, attempt to open it with a barrier in place and without causing damage.] Khan consoled the annoyed Huntresses.
That didn't take long. There was a large set of double doors at the top of a long ramp that was clearly marked as the main access to the biodome from the utility area.
The team got right to work setting up a barrier to prevent anything from escaping or entering the dome, then tried the handles on the door.
The round crank spun with minimal effort, and the locks disengaged with an audible click, allowing the door to swing inward toward the service area.
[The air on both sides is identical in composition and pressure. The ventilation system is either functional or open to balanced flow throughout the facility.] The Team Leader noted.
Nobody else was really concerned about that. The sight through the open door was much more entrancing. There was an entire living forest in front of them, with a dirt-covered clear dome above them and many rows of artificial lights.
Only about a quarter of the lights were still working, but it was enough that the interior of the dome could be called twilight, and the plant life was getting by.
[Impressive. They really made this place for durability if the lights are still working after five hundred years. The walkway has completely grown over with plant life, as expected, but the scans suggest that the forest is primarily around the hill that was built over this access.] The Team Leader informed them.
[That should be correct, as of the time of creation anyhow. There were originally three biomes inside the dome. A small forest, open grasslands, and a lake.
If possible, move forward and check the current condition of the rest of the dome.] Khan replied.
The team moved forward through the trees and found that there were very few of them left, and some sort of tree-sized fern had taken over the area in front of them.
[Could these be a low light evolved version of a Palm Tree? It would fit with the general design, but it feels like they were not intended to be here. The whole point of a biodome is not to introduce invasive and aggressively spreading species.] The Team Leader pondered.
[We haven't had time to analyze the contents of the original biomes yet, but we will keep it in mind. How does the interior quality of the dome look?] Nico asked.
[It appears to be completely intact. There are no apparent leaks or broken panels from our position. As far as survival probability, I would say that the biodome itself has centuries left on its life expectancy, though the biomes will be limited by the survival of the last quarter of the lights.]
The team moved a little further toward where the shore of the lake should have been. It was still present according to their scans, but some sort of vines had overgrown the surface and were serving to aerate the lake as well as speed evaporation due to the unique nature of its stems, which constantly circulated water.
It wasn't currently raining in the dome, but the humidity was trending upward, and the sensors on the Hunters' armour indicated that it should reach critical levels within a week and then reset through rainfall all through the dome.
They had seen this before, with forests in a bottle, where the interior eventually became self-sufficient without any maintenance, but seeing it on such a large scale and sealed away from the world was still impressive on an abandoned planet.
[It looks like everything is in balance here. We probably shouldn't interfere with anything, just in case we break the balance and shorten the stasis life of the dome.] The Team leader sighed.
[Understood Team Leader. You can return to the topside and refill the tunnel with its plug to shut everything down.] Khan agreed.
That was exactly what they were planning when sudden movement in the corner of their eyes caught the Hunters' attention.
[Huntress, there is something active here. We spot movement. No signs of it on the sensors, so it might not be an exothermic species.] The Team Leader announced.
[See if you can find it. Also, double-check the barrier to make sure that nothing is getting out through those access doors. It might be a wild animal of some sort, but it might be the descendant of a survivor, and that would be a monumental occasion.
The Harvest usually only takes 9 out of 10, from what we have heard, but this whole planet is empty. A survivor might be a clue as to what happened to the rest or why they were all taken.]
[Understood Huntress. We are searching now.]
That put the team back in a good mood. It might be a small enclosed area, but they finally got to hunt something. Even better, it was something that didn't show up in their default sensor settings, so they had to actually search for it.
It was all that they had hoped for and more when they were sent to explore ruins.
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