Dr. Helen was intently looking at a terminal through her transparent Helmet. The vac-suit was specifically designing not to obstruct the person inside from doing their work while in the suit. The things on the terminal demanded her full focus as she didn't even notice one of the operators came and stood behind her. She had a data pad on her hand and presumably wanted to report something to her.
She stood there as Dr. Helen kept working on something. She knew better than to disturb her while she was busy. And it was Her job as Dr. Helen's assistant to wait for her to finish.
Soon Dr. Helen was done with her work. She reclined back on her Chair as she noticed her assistant standing behind her. She turned her chair back and looked at her with a question-full gaze.
"Dr. Helen, We're done with the preparation. The transport vehicles are loaded with the the equipment you listed and are ready to depart at your notice. Just give us the order."
"Good good, Any news from the Med-bay? Has Dr. Melange said anything about what spook her so much?"
"Nothing yet. She's still sedated. I asked the Doctors about her condition."
"And? What did they say?"
"Dr. Melange's body is fine. There is no kind of internal or external injury what so ever. Her Vac-suit logs show that she crashed once her antigrav back-pack ran out of juice. But she didn't sustain any injury. However….." Her Assistant was clearly hesitating to say something.
"However?", Helen asked.
"However, her mental state is currently in a disarray. Before she was sedated, She was yelling at the Doctors and the guard to get out of the planet as soon as possible. She said that it's dangerous to stay here any longer and that we're not welcome here."
"Did she mention who said that to her? Or why she feels like that?"
"No, She didn't mention in during her rampage. As she was a total mess, The Doctors found it suitable to sedate her and keep her asleep for now."
"Hmm...." Helen fell into a thought as she touched her chin.
'Why did she say that we're not welcome here? From the looks of it, there aren't any alien fauna on the planet. What could've given her the impression of being under threat?'
These were the questions that they weren't gonna get the answers of anytime soon.
"Okay, Let's leave her be for now. We need to focus on the monolith. For better or worse, this is the most important thing on the planet. Finding out it's purpose has become the core of our mission on this planet. After this we can finally conclude our analysis of B1"
"Yes. We're ready for your orders." Her assistant gave her a reassuring smile.
"Is our security detail ready?"
"They are on standby. Ready to depart at a moment's notice."
"Good, Let's head out and see this monolith for ourselves.", Dr. Helen said as she began to walk towards the exit. Her assistant followed behind her as she spoke on her ear piece.
"All units. Prepare to depart. Dr. Helen is moving out."
Dr. Helen exited the Yuki through a elevator. It gently touched down the surface as Dr. Helen got out of the carrier. She looked at the 3 Vehicles that were loaded with the necessary equipment and ready to depart.
The Vehicles were kind of like small trucks that were designed to carry a good amount of equipment and passengers. These couldn't fly. They would work like any normal vehicles that ran on the ground. Kind of like a family ground car. But bigger, More robust and way more well equipped.
The vehicle had a modern look with a ivory white color. It could hold 12 passengers and a good amount of cargo. As the Yuki couldn't go there, These vehicles were gonna be their main mode of transportation to and from the Monolith site.
Dr. Helen stood before the personnel that would be joining her on this mission. All the eyes were on her. As the De-facto leader of the mission she bore the most responsibility and authority. She could've said something but she decided against that. She wasn't good with speeches.
"Let's go", that was all she said as she approached her designated vehicle and boarded it. Soon after, everyone followed and the vehicles were ready to depart.
Dr. Helen gave the green light and the vehicles started to tread towards the direction of the monolith.
The 3 vehicles weren't that fast. But they had decent enough speed that it was still efficient. They were equipped with a gravity module as to negate the effect of the heavy gravity of the planet.
As they kept going through the huge forest, The researchers inside marveled at the trees that gradually got bigger and bigger. This was a sign that the cube was related to the growth of the tree somehow. But how exactly was still a mystery.
The increased pulsing of the glowing energy lines provided them with a breath taking view that was rare to find in the galaxy.
Helen suddenly looked up from her data-pad and asked the driver.
"What's the ETA on our arrival?"
"34 Minutes."
Dr. Helen began to study the data from the scanner that Dr. Melange had taken with her. After positioning the data with her logged location. She figured out the first junction where two arteries joined into a single one.
She pinned the location and asked the driver to stop there for a quick inspection. The energy levels in these lines were already high enough. But as the data showed the quantity and density increased greatly after the junction. It was worth a look.
And it didn't disappoint. The data was in fact correct. The amount of Energy in those lines were astounding. How it got there was a mystery on it's own.
After inspecting the lines for a bit, They continued their journey. Soon they came across more junctions and the energy levels doubled after everyone. But the thickness of the artery didn't increase that much. Which posed many question.
Soon they had reached the clearing. The amount of lines beneath their feet had also increased greatly. They were coming from all around them. Soon the monolith that they had come here for was in their view. They had reached the Monolith.