[center][h2]Canaries[/h2][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/G6vYkt9.png[/img] [/center] NOTE: Cal Strand appears courtesy of [@wanderingwolf] The silence on the bridge was about as thick as Edina’s Protein Paste Chili. China Doll hovered over a broad plain, an uncharacteristic flat side to the otherwise violent landscape of the asteroid. The near total darkness was broken by pools of light, revealing a smooth surface whose ripples hinted at objects or disturbed ground beneath. Here and there could be seen fresh meteorite strikes, dark chunks of rock to break the pastoral calm of the grey dust coating. “Like snowfall,” Cal Strand observed of the scene as the boat’s lights swept the terrain. “And you conjure we might hit some sort ‘o’ paydirt down there?” Yuri’s eyes wandered over the plain; the whole thing reminded him of captures he’d seen from the bottom of countless oceans, of divers and submersibles making painstaking progress across such alien ground to find what remained of a vessel that had once proudly sailed above. For a tick, he was haunted by the ghosts of his shipmates, all down on another patch of inhospitable ground such as this. “We’ve got the radars trained down,” he replied. “Getting lots of little metal hits, which could be artifacts in a debris field…” Out came the cigarette case. “Could be raw iron, too.” The match flared, it’s bloom illuminating his face as he pulled the flame and sucked the first smoke between his lips. Cal lifted his chin, loosing a plume of blue smoke to the ceiling. “Way I conjure, we got us a fifty-fifty shot those containers found this piece of the black a-tall. After the do-si-do our pilot here put the boat through just gettin’ through the belt, my coin’s on three containers doin’ twenty thousand KPH are most like part of the dust we’re lookin’ at, [i]dohn mah[/i]?” The First Mate tilted his head. “Can’t argue with that,” he shrugged. “At the least we’ll take a full sweep of image and radar captures. Imani’s ready to go down to collect samples and set up a few experiments the museum sent along. Our window’s two days til we have to turn back, but if the asteroid’s a dead end we can be done here in one and still have a day to look around the neighborhood.” “I’m mighty partial to a rock show.” Cal rubbed his jaw absently, the cigarette dangling from his lips as dour prospects of an empty hold played at the corners of his mind. “Who knows?” he mused aloud. “Mayhaps Imani’ll find us some really rare an’ pricey mineral to bring home. ABIGAIL!” The captain barked into the intercom mic. “”Y’all suited up?” “Yessir.” “Shiny. You’re gonna be our canary in the coal mine.” He turned, wearing a self satisfied grin at his own joke. “A whut?” the girl asked. “She didn’t get it,” Cal muttered. “Nobody gets my jokes. You got it, right?” Yuri and the pilot both nodded dutifully. The ever tactful SAM had strategically chosen certain cockpit screens to display [i][b]Canary in the coal mine - a slang term from Earth That Was used to denote an early warning of danger. Canaries were used to test carbon monoxide levels in mine shafts…[/b][/i] “Oh yeah, yeah,” they traded sidelong glances. “We got it.” “You’re looking for trouble,” Cal said into the mic, “or treasure. “Take a long pry bar with you…something you can poke around with. See how deep that dust is.” “Roger that.” A moment later, the AI had switched the view to Abby’s helmet capture. The view was China Doll’s cargo bay, swathed in the poly sheeting that had been suspended the day prior. The snuffler still hung in place at the ready, though the much reduced gravity had given more definition to its’ loops. Edina stood at the panel, barely recognizable in her EV suit. Of Abby, all that could be seen was a gloved left hand, wrapped around the shaft of the metal pry bar she held in the basket. As they watched, her right came into view, offering ‘thumbs’ up’ before Edina sent the basket toward the surface. In an instant, there was blackness. Sensing this, the girl tilted her body forward to offer a view of the approaching surface. “Comin’ down…comin’ down.” she reported. Those inside could see first the boat’s truss skeleton gliding upward, then nothing but the harsh grey white of the surface itself. “Three meters….one meter….one foot….six inches….stop,” Abby said through her suit com. “Basket’s nigh on three inches above the dust.” As they watched, the deckhand pushed the prybar into the powdery surface. “Goes in about six inches.” “That’s what she said,” the pilot quipped, a crooked grin upon his face as he glanced from Cal to Yuri for some recognition of his joke. When none came, he folded his arms and grumbled, “well, somebody had to say it.” In response, Yuri went for his wallet, extracted a twenty credit note, and slipped it into Cal’s waiting hand. "Some day you’re gonna tell me how you…” “It’s a Captain thing,” Strand said smoothly. “Now, Abigail, this is what we call an auspicious moment. Two things you gotta think about. You’re the first person ever set foot on that piece of ground in the history of humankind. Means you got the right to name it. Also,” the Captain paused, “means that whatever you say when you set foot on that rock is gonna be history. So here it is, little one. First chance to make your mark. They could be teachin’ school kids about this moment for centuries to come. So what is it you’d want to say to folk about how you’re feelin’ right now? What does it mean to you? Go on…tell us.” “Didn’t conjure it bein’ so important,” she stammered over the channel. “But now…you got me thinkin’ on it…Ah jest hope…Ah don’t fuck it up.” The pilot collapsed into laughter. Yuri grinned, his eyes sparkling humor shared with Cal who remarked “I love that kid,” before shushing the raucous guffawing of the pilot. “And that, Abigail, links you to every great person in history. Now, step on down and poke about.” On screen, they watched as one heavy boot disappeared into the dust. Soon, Abby was on the surface, moving slowly about, shuffling her feet to avoid unseen obstacles. The pry bar pierced the veil around her as she moved. “Good news is this dust don’t really stick to nothin’,” the deckhand observed, lifting a boot from which all the particles just fell away as she did. Yuri nodded. “That is good news. No micro abrasions or cutting of our suit fabric.” “There’s somethin’ here.” All eyes turned back toward the screen. Abby’s pry bar was poking into the unyielding dust. Unfortunately, the capture wasn’t offering much reference to those watching from the boat. “Whatcha got eyes on?” Cal asked. “Somethin’,” she answered, “under all this dust. “Looked like a ripple…you know, like somethin’ got covered up after a snowfall? Here, I’ma grab at it…” “...Try using your pry bar til you see…” Yuri warned. But it was too late. As the object came up into the light, the dust of three hundred years fell away. She held it by one crossmenber, leaving it to rise up on it’s base and the other side. Audible gasps could be heard, both from the girl on the surface and also from three awestruck men in China Doll’s cockpit. The crucifix was easily two meters tall. But even the poor quality of Abby’s helmet capture revealed the gleam of solid gold. “Sweet Jesus,” Yuri whispered. “I’m no Shepherd,” Cal gazed upon the wonderment. “But I conjure you called that one right.”