Page 165 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

The work progressed quicker than anyone had expected and initial examinations showed no
trace of the bacterium that had caused the first expedition problems. The rubble and sand drifts
were not as extensive as they appeared to be. Adaptive geodesic enclosures covered most of the
important areas. Hubris had helped out with the Exo-suit. It’s lighter; flexible construction made the
heavy work simpler and faster. By the time the storms arrived from the south west; the site was so
weather-proof and protected work could go on twenty-four hours if it were not for the teams
biological members’ requirements. She’brakda lived up to its name the surface was a maze of cracks;
crevasses and ridges. In the area they were at there was a mixture of dense forest vegetation and
sparsely gown scrubland. The weather that had dumped the sand drifts had also left behind traces of
the surroundings that were present where the winds had picked them up. Seed of desert plants was
rapidly gaining a foothold in the dryer valleys and cracks. The ambient temperature was like that of a
tropical beach on Terra; but the party knew that that would not be the case some two months from
now; when the High Summer kicked in. They worked quickly. Documenting finds and the layout of
the outposts; it was established early on that there were in fact two outposts, the one here and
another hidden under the dense forest on a north south ridge nearby. That was composed of
structures built like the Mayan ruins of old Earth. The interiors had perished and disappeared long
ago. Very little finds came from there; but those that did showed that the Kryst were a very
advanced society that liked its luxuries. Remains of fine tapestries were found in chambers that had
been sealed off from the elements. Intricately carved sculptures in various materials; now in pieces
or broken, could be found in some of the dwellings. This was a rich society.

In what was declared to be a study room or
classroom and desks were found with clay tablets upon
them; some with the writing implement and various types
of nib or tools, this showed that the children learned to
write at an early stage in their growth. Examples of a
child’s study work; crude and haphazard, helped Hubris to
fine tune the Kryst alphabet. In what the team considered
to be a public open courtyard; next to one of the round
pool-like structures they found rubber faced ceramic soles
of a kind of sandal, faced with a synthetic rubbery
material. They showed intricate fine carving of name
cartouches in the heel area. The owner must have discarded them to soak tired feet in the inviting
pool. The soles were ergonomic and showed also that the Kryst had human like feet but with six
toes. A piece of graffiti that was scratched deeply into what remained of a wall depicted two
humanoid forms in an obvious embrace. The legend read vertically downward and gave the names
of the two represented. Alongside was a crude reference to their proclivities; that made the younger
Xeno Archaeologists giggle when it was translated. Jennifer thought how “human like” the Kryst
society seemed. Why had these people left the settlement? What could have happened to make
them abandon what looked like a very pleasant place? Evidence was found of garden spaces;
cultivated shrubberies, and vegetable plots. Traces remained of the power feeds of a Polaron grid.
No trace of the generators and other requisites were found, it was as if these had been uprooted
when the occupants left. They must have taken them away with them.

Excavating the doorway was taking longer than it was
thought it would. Some of the rubble had fused with resinous
sap from a local tropical tree and the sand; the tree grew
further south in a rain forest area near the equator, that
much was established from orbit. The conglomerate was as
hard as Cerama-steel; and just as durable. Trok sent a party in
search of the plant from which the sap came as detailed
examination of the native biology was also one of the mission