continued from bakerstreet due to captcha

[commanderforehead]

(continued from here)

I did some digging of my own and found out the Orchid made a stop on Thetis Prime before coming here, and Thetis Prime has just made some 'incredible archaeological discoveries'. It could be nothing, but it's just an hour ride by transport away.

Doctor Urvidian just got back to work from his little forced three month vacation so he doesn't want to leave the med bay, and Jane just said 'I'm not going to prison' when I told her where we were going. So that leaves you.

[And obviously Levi can't leave the station, though Akmazian ranks slightly higher than Levi on 'people already in the know who Ryan would be okay being stuck with for 48 hours'.]

Comments

[cargobay]

[ akmazian is admittedly a little dubious as they continue their trek into the cave, but he doesn't voice any of these concerns. not yet. he and ryan were there for a reason, and this was far from the most dangerous thing he'd done in his life. hell, it wasn't even the most dangerous thing he'd done this week. still: having ryan here to protect complicated the situation more than he was happy to admit.

he takes the flashlight, testing the brightness. when he speaks, it's in a quiet murmur, as if the lights themselves wouldn't alone be enough to give them away entirely. ]

Be careful. Yell if you run into - well. Anything.

[ because the thought of sticking together is nice, but there's no way they can, not with the absurd amount of ground that they're needing to cover in the time they have to do it in. he hesitates before he moves, and then adds: ]

Awful pretty here, though, ain't it.

[commanderforehead]

[Ryan smiles a bit, and in the privacy and darkness there's no hiding the fondness there. Not that Ryan would even if he could, not now.

He's glad to be here with Akmazian. Both as a backup and to see the sights. It's sad that this probably is the closest thing they'll get to a vacation together for a long time.]

I see why it's popular with honeymooners. You call if you run into danger too.

[If there's another mind control device here and Akmazian runs into it without Ryan around... He'll deal with it. He has to. Setting off into the darkness on the eastern side of the ruins, Ryan begins his own careful exploration all the while wishing he had thought to bring actual caving equipment with them.

He does uncover a few things - part of the lake has spilled into the ruins and totally flooded a lower level, causing the crystal to grow even more in the sinkhole which glitters like it's filled with diamonds thanks to the light of several faintly blue glowing jellyfish that appear to have made their home there.

There's some pottery too, mosaics on walls that stretch for the length of what must have been a city block. Beautiful, but up close showing the similarity in detail work to the artifact on the Orchid is superficial at best. Consecutive circles rather than angular lines here and there. Enough to make you stop and doubletake, but the more you take in the clearer it is by a different hand.

He sighs, annoyed at himself for having wasted both their time on this, before he finally heads back to meet up with Akmazian.]

[cargobay]

[ honestly? it's one of the prettiest things akmazian has seen in a long time. he's never really been in a position where he's had a lot of free time to just take in the sights, to really get his tourist hat on. even now, the two of them very much have an ongoing mission, but part of that involves getting up close and personal with these crystals.

he likes them. it'd be relaxing, if he weren't so impossibly on edge at the moment, hyperaware of any other light or noise that he might encounter. but nothing happens: they're not caught, and he doesn't really find anything particularly useful, so when he heads back to their rendezvous point, it's with a little disappointment, even if he tries to mask it.

yeah, he knows it's not going to be easy, but can he be blamed if he wishes that it were? he just wants this over with. ]

Any luck, doc?

[commanderforehead]

None.

[Seeing Akmazian and hearing his tone, however, he feels a little better. Because if Akmazian also didn't find something, it probably wasn't that Ryan just overlooked it.]

Found a pretty sinkhole filled with jellyfish, but that's about it.

[cargobay]

Well. [ it's disappointing, for sure, but this had been a wild lead that ryan had been chasing. akmazian hadn't really been expecting this whole thing to be blown wide open, as nice as if would have been. ] It's alright. We'll take 'em down. Maybe not today, but soon.

[ he believes it because he has to. ]

[commanderforehead]

It was a long shot anyway. [Ryan has enough conviction for the both of them that they'll get the bastards. This would have been a great shortcut to it, but it wasn't meant to be. That's fine.]

Sorry that I ended up wasting your time. I suppose I should leave the treasure hunting to you.

[cargobay]

[ akmazian's nostrils flare, his eyebrows going up at that. ]

Doc, I will wander around a dozen creepy caves if it means getting to keep bunkin' with you. Personally wouldn't call it a waste of time. All I'm sayin'.

[ he is gonna start trying to lead them in the general direction... back, though. ]

[commanderforehead]

[Ryan laughs in a bit of a self-depreciating manner, but he doesn’t protest and follows Akmazian. Yes, getting out of here would be good, before the morning crew arrives.

Except there’s sounds from the mouth of the cave right then, and Ryan freezes just for a moment before quickly turning off the light he had.]