IC - 19 - Barnard's Rest - Kiara

[Mephistophilis]

'It could have been us,' says another voice, it sounds like Sam. 'Richter probably won't let any of us off Titan, even if we're able to deal with the problem.'

Then a third voice, unmistakable French accent. 'They’ve got a lot of money invested in this moon; if we can solve the problem hopefully Richter Dynamics will reopen the colony. Pity Steinmann’s dead, he would have found a bureaucratic argument out of here. We could always blame the whole problem on him.'

[jp1885]

“Not if they’re listening in on our comms,” says Kiara wryly.

“Regardless, it looks like we’re gonna get to Waystation earlier than planned. Anything you want us to do while we await your arrival?”

[Mephistophilis]

'You could survey the area from above before you land, if you have the fuel to spare,' says Sam. 'Then you could let us know what to expect.'

'Try to stay away from any contamination while you're waiting for us.' That flat, dispassionate voice could only be Jojo. 'This alien life seems to prey on individuals or people separated and it affects your mind before you know you're infected. Nonetheless, try to be safe.'

[jp1885]

“We’ll see what we can do,” Kiara replies.

She looks at Li.

“Reckon we’ve enough fuel to hover around Waystation before we land?”

Before she can answer, a thought strikes Kiara and she speaks into the radio again.

“Hey, did you encounter those weird waves over the lake? That was definitely not right…”

[Mephistophilis]

Li nods, 'We can't make it back on this tank now, so we've got spare fuel when we get to Waystation.'

As Kiara gets back on the radio and asks her question, 'Hey, did you encounter those weird waves over the lake? That was definitely not right…' the radio crackles and then goes quiet, leaving the background hissing noise.

Well, not just hissing, there is something else there, quiet, barely perceptible, a grating sound, like sheets of metal grinding together, but also, somehow, like speech. When Kiara focuses on it she thinks she can make out a single word, it says 'Come'.

[jp1885]

“We’ll that’s not at all sinister…” mutters Kiara meaningfully as she fruitlessly twiddles with the radio.

“C’mon then, let’s circle around Waystation and hope this somehow goes without a hitch.”

[Mephistophilis]

'Still a good while until we get to Waystation' says Li, wheeling the copter around and flying back out over the black surface of the methane sea. The strange ripples seem to have subsided and the surface is smooth and flat. Li keeps low over the black surface but not too far out this time so the orange crenulated shoreline remains in view.

They sit in silence as the featureless terrain scrolls by the broad windows of the copter, Li's attention divided between the view ahead through the window and the control panel. Kiara gazing out the window. She thinks she catches a glimpse of the sun beaming through a break in the orange haze.

After twenty minutes or so Kiara begins to find herself feeling uncomfortably warm in the stuffy surface suit. Her breath condensing on the inside of the helmet visor. The heat feels strange, almost like the warmth of the sun on her skin.

Then she sees those ripples again. Not as pronounced but there on the surface. Radiating towards the rocky shore.

Li's voice interrupts her thoughts, 'Something up ahead, in the sea.'



The copter flies over what look like islands in the black liquid sea. Orange islands protruding from the surface, islands with what looks like greenery on them.

Roll SAN 0/1d4 for seeing greenery on the freezing and barren surface of Titan

[jp1885]

[46] = 46
SAN 61 d%: [ 46 ] = 46

“What the hell?” Kiara exclaims, eyes wide at the supposedly impossible flora blooming beneath them.

“Can you see that? How the-?”

Too stunned to finish her question, she fumbles for her datapad and attempts to record and interpret the phenomenon.

[4] = 4
Science planetary 65 d%: [ 4 ] = 4

[Mephistophilis]

'Yeah, I can see it. But don't ask me what it is' shrugs Li. 'I just do the flying. You do the science.'

Kiara knows that there is simply no way for terrestrial-type organic life to form on Titan. There's been rumours about islands condensing out of the methane lakes but nothing like this. They look like they're made of grey sand or sediment mixed with orange-brown soil, the glassy black liquid lapping against an almost terrestrial landscape. Great ferns emerge from the dark rippling methane, patches of luxuriant grasses surrounded by tall trees. The green-hues completely alien to Titan with its monotonous orange from ground to sky.

Although, now that she looks, the atmosphere seems clearer, less hazy, she can even make out the yellow sun, it looks bright, much brighter than it has any right to be. In her sweltering suit the sensation of the sun on her skin is overwhelming.

Kiara gets Li to fly down a little lower. There's something not quite right about those plants, they're more angular than terrestrial flora maybe, but then who knows what strange shapes trees would form if they could grow in such an extreme environment.

As Kiara stares closer at the impossible trees, she becomes sure, they are definitely wrong. Not just wrong in being here on Titan. But wrong for trees. Their limbs aren't smooth and organic but angular, iridescent. The leaves look more like incrustations of small emerald-like crystals.

[jp1885]

[60] = 60
Spot hidden 37 d%: [ 60 ] = 60

Despite her so-called ‘brilliance’, Kiara is too bewildered to make any meaningful observations about the phenomenon.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the heat, she shakes her head in a futile attempt to clear the sweat from her face.

“Let’s keep going; I don’t think landing to take a closer look will be good for our survival prospects.”

[Mephistophilis]

Moving here.