Heading in was easy as it had no door, just a hall leading to stairs going up, as well as down into the earth. Doors split off from the hall, with large bars as handles set into them, and a slight electronic light around chest-height on the average caucasian man.
'Electronic lock system? But physical doors... an in between of the advanced ones we have for certain higher caste or valuable storage, but not as cheap as the lock-and-key kind most of the caste's doors have been replaced with.'
Simon thought about it for a second. 'Actually, most of the buildings for this "company town" for the outsiders to trade and interact with us don't have doors, just curtains in doorways from what I saw. Maybe they're like this building, with doors inside but not outside?'
Ben walked to the stairs and went down, and Simon followed as the walls went from rusty metal to stone in an instant, supporting structure of metal still present, like the skeleton of the building with stone as it's flesh.
"Hey?"
"..." Ben just prayed. 'By the Violet God, Librarian of Past and Memory, please let this be a normal question.'
"Yes?" He forced the question out through his teeth.
"Why don't you all use the stone of the ravines and mountain to build? Metal is too precious, yet it's in every structure around here..."
Ben was somewhat surprised by that insightful question. As he turned on a landing to go down the next flight, he considered how to answer. "Stone is hard to carry, and we didn't have so many people in the surface only a decade ago. More and more nomads and wanderers have begun to come here recently as word of a settlement got out."
Simon nodded slowly. "That is to say... it's not stone because you didn't have the manpower, and it was easier to just use metal than make machines to carry stone?"
"Exactly." Ben nodded, grateful this conversation was normal at least, without sudden jumps in logic or train of thought.
"So are plans already in place to replace some of the buildings with stone?"
Ben glanced at Simon sharply. "That's not your concern."
Simon paused. "Oh."
Ben stepped off the stairs, walking forward until he reached a door with... carvings?
Simon squinted.
It was a little stick figure man, with a speech bubble scratched into the wood of the door.
'Wait... this door is wooden? Where did they get wood?!'
Ben glanced at Simon as he lifted his arm. "Resources explorers bring back of their own volition can be used by them however they wish, to a reasonable extent."
"Knock-knock!" The wooden door rattled in its frame slightly as his fist knocked quick and hard, clearly the door was not perfectly sized to its frame.
Ben stepped aside, patiently waiting.
Simon drew closer and finally read the little speech bubble of the stick figure drawn with horns and a... pitchfork?
"Where's the Slosh?" Simon read aloud, raising an eyebrow. He turned to Ben. "The hell is 'Slosh'?"
"Think moonshine, but with actual heavy-duty paint thinner. It would probably kill you if you drank a bottle."
"...they use paint thinner in alcohol?"
Ben rolled his eye. "It's a figure of speech."
Simon then paused, rolled his own eyes, and frowned.
Ben watched as Simon kept rolling his own eyes and squinting. Simon even lifted a hand to hold over an eye while he rolled them.
"What are you doing?" Ben finally asked.
"Trying to only roll one eye, like you." Simon tsked. "Can't do it, not as talented as you."
'Talented?! The muscles around that eye are paralyzed by nerve damage, I can't move it at all! What the hell is wrong with your head!'
Ben took a sharp breath... and then remembered. 'Oh right. You're mind is still healing from psychic damage.'
One deep breath in... one out... one more in... last one out.
Ben opened his eyes again, and Simon raised his hand.
"...are you trying to ask a question?"
Simon nodded, hand still held up.
"..." Ben bit his upper lip in consternation.
"...just bloody-well ask it!" Ben finally broke.
Simon's hand lowered. "How come you can close your eye if you can't move it?"
"..." Ben took another deep breath, right as the door clicked and the metal bar locking into the door slid back.
The door swung open. "Yello?"
A young woman with skin so dark it was practically black peered out, frizzy hair held in braids tight to her skull that went to a bit past her shoulders as dreadlocks.
Her almond-colored and shaped eyes looked at Simon briefly before turning to Ben. Upon seeing the scarred older man, she let the door swing a bit wider open as she half-stepped out, standing straight as her hands shot to her sides. "Sir."
Ben gave a nod as she did, mutual respect and wariness present in both of them.
Simon's attention split between wondering why they each seemed so untrusting of the other, and the woman's rather attractive figure revealed by her tan-tank top and loose camo pants with a belt holding it to her hips.
"So he's our new guy?" She gestured to Simon with her chin, arms behind her back as she appraised him with sharp eyes.
Simon did his best to meet her gaze, but she seemed unimpressed as she turned away. "Dammit, you're giving us a newbie? We asked for a transfer Ben!"
"Jakob blew up the pipeline Amara. You need to show him to keep his dick measuring contests inside his own group, cause we don't want to fucking play. Got it?" Ben ignored her complaint and stared at her with his steely gaze.
"What are we hitting?" Amara easily cas t aside complaints as she focused on the task at hand.
"Supply trains, wreck as much as you think safe. Take anything special or notable, but if capturing is too dangerous, just blow it all up. Oh, and make sure they 'vanish'. Jakob wants to play at diplomacy after his shit show after all."
Amara nodded, looked at Simon, and wrinkled her nose. "Fuck it, on the job training it is. Be prepared to get your brains blown out newbie. If you live till tomorrow, I'll ask your name." She turned and stalked back inside, graceful athleticism in every movement she made.
Simon raised a hand, index finger outstretched as though to raise a point or question, only to falter and drop it. Giving Ben an awkward wave, he stepped inside. After a few steps into the pitch black, Amara's voice came from the depths. "Shut the door behind you!"
Simon turned and closed it, leaving himself in the pure darkness.
"Goddamn newbie..." he heard her mutter up ahead.