The scan results of the tree was even more surprising than finding out life on the planet. The results showed something that was thought to be impossible since ancient times. It was a really established fact that Noble gases doesn't react with any other elements. They didn't need to. They were atomically stable and were self sufficient.
But the results showed that the main composite of the tree was made up of Xenon, Which wasn't a solid in the first place. So how did the tree manage to transform a gas into a solid form? That was the big question.
"We need to figure out the process.", Dr. Helen said as she sent further instruction to the ground team.
"I need you to set up the JSIT around the Tree. I want to know how it works.", She instructed through the Terminal.
The JIST was a highly specialized scanner used for scanning the molecular functions of an object in real-time. It could scan the individual atoms in the said object and track their movements and the way it interacted with their environments. It could scan everything. From the way the individual atoms moved to the way the object in question used it.
But the scanner itself was very cumbersome, It took some time to set it up and it took a bit of time to get the results. But it was worth it. The way this tree took simple intake of Carbon and somehow turned into Xenon Composites could prove ground breaking for material scientists as well as botanists in the Empire. So this took priority.
"Um, Honey, It takes time to set up the JSIT and it'll also take some time before we get the results back. We won't be able to stick the schedule and analyze the other planets if we don't hurry up.", Kita hesitated a bit before reminding her that they were on a time limit. They still needed to survey and analyze 3 other planets before heading over to their main destination. They couldn't waste too much time here. Although this discovery may seem really important, but it could always wait for a dedicate team to come and analyze the phenomenon. The planets moved really slowly, so they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Do you know how important of a discovery this is for me? I need to know their inner workings! We need to prioritize this.", She said in a determined tone. She wasn't going to change her mind on this.
"But…."
"No But, I'm in charge of this expedition and I'll run it as I see fit. Unless you're ordering me to rush it and finish surveying the planets?", She said in a suggestive tone.
Kita was still her superior. Although they were Married. She still needed to abide by his orders in a official capacity. So if he said this as an order then she'd have no choice but to finish up the analysis of the Planet quickly.
Kita was caught off-guard at her words. He didn't think that she'd react like that. He honestly just didn't want her to get side tracked and wanted her to focus on her current goals. But it seemed that he didn't realize how important this discovery was for her. Although it was his job to make sure that all the Researchers met their deadlines and decided what was worth pursuing, She was in charge of the expedition. So he decided against using his authority to tell her to speed things up.
"You can carry it out as you like. Just keep in mind the time constraint. We need to be on schedule.", He said in a calm tone.
"I will.", That's all she replied before turning her attention to the terminal and giving instructions.
"Deploy the JSIT. Focus on the Tips of the tree where it grow from. That's where the magic should be happening."
"Ground Team Copies."
The ground team on the planet started to walk back to the shuttles before they inputted a few commands. Soon, a bunch of specialized builder robots came out of the shuttle along with the different parts of the JSIT. They started to carry the parts to the tree and started to set it up around the parameter of the tree according to the instructions provided by the researchers. As the JSIT was quite big and heavy, instead of assembling it manually robots were used to make the job easier.
As the main team was busy doing that, the other ground team was busy studying the surrounding environment of the tree. At a glance, It looked a rocky plane with valleys and cloudy skies. The land had a grayish color to it. It went for miles and miles in either direction. The scanning results from earlier probes pointed that there were only terrain for a few hundred kilometers in either direction from the tree. Together with the light coming from between the clouds, It looked quite serene. It certainly had it's own charm to it, it seemed clam yet wild.
The Air was clear and one could see far and wide with the naked eye. But the lack of light still posed a bit of obstacle. If one looked from a bit far away, the singular tree in the plain and the gradually rising valley presented quite a breath taking sight. It lacked foliage, it was like an expansive gray desert. The singular tree presented a sight to behold it was quite large, it towered over an average human in vac-suit but still was a bit smaller than a mech. It didn't have any leaves. Rather, it had leaf like structures that were only at the tip of the branches. Together it looked just like any other alien tree that didn't really follow the shape and growth pattern of a tree from earth. But shared some of the similarities. But the crux was that it was fully metallic. This made it the first metallic tree ever to be discovered. The discovery of this tree alone made it worth it to send this expedition to the B1. Currently this tree represented the most important discovery on the planet. But there were still many parts of the Planet that was still being mapped. The scanning probes already found huge mountains who's peaks almost reached the Cap.