Taisen gazed thoughtfully through the viewport at the bluish-white planet below before being interrupted by the blaring of the comlink.
"Captain, go ahead. Any news of Colonel Lyn?" Taisen replied.
"Curious. What else did she say? Taisen replied.
Taisen considered her words deeply. Colonel Lyn, one of the stars of the science corp who Taisen had trusted and respected was in a cave, refusing to come out and requesting that he as well as Alita join her. It sounded a bit like she had lost her mind but Taisen decided that he would air on the side of caution.
"Do as she says, Captain."
With one final crackle of static, the comm cut off.
Ensign Swan turned toward Taisen to listen to the conversation on the comlink and as slowly as he had turned towards the commander, he turned back toward his console on the right side of the viewport. His movements were fluid and minute but had not gone unnoticed by the blue-skinned Avarosian. "A question, Ensign?"
Alita's buttery voice still cut through the low hum of bridge conversation easily.
"No, sir but I would just like to remind you that naval protocol dictates that whenever possible, the commander or his second in command must be on the bridge at all times."
For a moment, Taisen's eyes seemed to glow as they studied him and Ensign Swan braced himself for a reprimand or worse but the Commander suddenly burst into laughter.
"Do you always follow protocol so religiously?"
"It's why we put on the uniform, Commander."
"I get that. Your devotion to the rules and regulations is admirable but the Lieutenant and I will be going down to Argos's surface. You have the bridge."
***
Captain Dorian tapped his comlink carefully in order to mask the quiet scorn in his gut. It was typical and predictable that after hours of scrambling around in the dirt like animals, officers in spotless uniforms finish sipping their tea and start saying things like "don't hurt the trees."
It didn't help that signals were being dampened by the effects of Argos's metal-rich fauna. That's also why they couldn't pinpoint the location of the beacon that the scientists had activated.
Captain Dorian waited under the afternoon sun for another fifteen minutes before he caught a glimpse of Commander Taisen and Lieutenant Alita. They were taller than he expected. He was about six feet and two inches but they were slightly taller. Without saying a word, he led them to the entry of the cave. The last few rays of sunlight still hung in the air as they finally reached their destination. The cave that Colonel Lyn was in looked like it had been dug out from the surrounding high stone cliffs and was boxed in from either side.
As they got closer Taisen could make out text carved into the archway. He realized that this wasn't a cave but was probably a temple or tomb of some sort. Apart from the text, there were intricate designs carved into the top of the entrance. Taisen paused to take in the air of forbidden mystery that surrounded the threshold of this very old place.
Stepping into the entrance, he ran his fingers along the edges of the fissures. They were smooth and worn. The team of three made their way down the rough-hewn tunnel surrounded on all sides by solid rock. Their path was lit by the eerie blue light of glowsticks but further into the cave, the darkness completely blocked out the sunlight until the blue glow became the only source of illumination.
They continued down the tunnel, winding their way past various chambers until they reached a large room where Colonel Lyn waited impatiently as well as a pale-skinned woman with delicate facial features. She had extremely long, sweeping white hair, white clear eyes and her eyebrows were cut very short and round— a symbol of nobility perhaps, and she wore a red shade of lipstick on her lips.
She looked similar to the dead grey alien they found on board the derelict ship but instead of a tattoo scar and red flight suit, she had a wide-open third eye visible on her temple and wore a colourful garb comprising of many purple and pink hues.
Colonel Lyn looked paler than when Taisen last saw her but otherwise looked healthy. She had a well-defined musculature that made the grey woman look dainty in comparison.
Taisen concluded that they were in a burial chamber due to the massive stone sarcophagus in the centre of the room.
"You may leave now Captain," Lyn said. "You're not cleared to hear about my research."
Captain Dorian murmured something under his breath that sounded like "you're welcome" before quickly exiting the room.
"Who is she?" Taisen asked Lyn referring to the grey woman.
"So you can see her?" Lyn replied with a surprised and awed expression.
"I don't understand, you mean that you can't see the person standing next to you?" Alita asked.
Colonel quickly stretched out her hand in the direction of the grey woman but it passed straight through where her head was. Colonel Lyn continued to search with her outstretched arms for the woman that Alita and Taisen saw but only confirmed that she could neither hear nor see her.
The woman said in a sing-song voice.