Page 166 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

directives. The excavation team were also being harassed by some of the native fauna. The
inquisitive creatures looked like a cross between an upright standing chicken and a lizard. Highly
intelligent for a primitive form; some of the crew had nicknamed them Dino-clucks after the strange
clucking noises they made. They were totally unafraid of the team members; and seemed to enjoy
being petted and fussed over. They also liked the dry food pellets from the survival rations that
nobody else did; even when reconstituted with water and heated. Lucy; Jennifer’s Flutvarn assistant,
was “adopted” by a pair that seemed to be the dominant or Alpha pair of the flock. They followed
her everywhere; even sleeping by her like guard dogs. They let her take DNA and blood samples
without any fuss. Hubris and the others found this highly amusing. “It’s as if they see you as the
Matriarch Lucy” he told her “They are going to be very disappointed when you leave” he added. Lucy
became worried about that for the rest of the mission. As it happened; she needn’t have worried as
the pair took the separation well; they were highly intelligent after all.

When the debris had been cleared; the protective dome was extended to cover the area and
lighting arrays and other equipment set in place. The storms that had been predicted came early.
Aggravated by the proximity to T’Shon and P’rada, the storms became more like a series of
Hurricanes, battering the dig sites with Tempest fury; and it wasn’t even High Summer yet. The Dino-
clucks didn’t seem too phased by this weather; being in the shelter of caves and other natural cover.
They went into a sort of torpor; an evolutionary trait no doubt to aid their survival, to wait out the
storms. It took eleven days for the winds and pummelling rain to subside. The team were thankful
they were not near the coast during this. Lightning on She’brakda was unique to say the least. Most
lightning throughout the galaxy was usually a vivid white, but here it came in a variety of dazzling
hues. The thunder rolled and echoed almost continuously. The occasional bolt that struck ground
made it shake; with the vibrations travelling some distance. A test of the strike areas showed high
mineral and metallic ore concentrations. Often the strikes would be hot enough to vaporise or
liquefy the metals and they would splatter coat a wide area around the impact point; leading to
some spectacular natural sculptured works of art. When bolts struck the domes the resulting
grounding sparks would dance over the outer surface in a spectacular display. It seemed pointless to
continue working during such an amazing phenomenon; so the team just stopped and watched it all
happen around them.

The Doorway uncovered

With the distraction of the storms passed; work began in earnest to remove the last of the
debris to reveal the Doorway in all its
splendour. The doors did appear to be
made of bronze and the enamelled
panel was still just like the Monk had
described; however the Arch had
suffered some damage at some time
and sections of the carved Glyphs were
missing. He had given them a drawing
of what he remembered they looked
like. He’d been remarkably accurate in
his recall. The wall into which the
doors were set seemed to be part of a
buried structure built in the manner of
the ruins on the ridge. They were
extremely sturdy and the sculptured
blocks they were made of seemed to

be of some granite like rock. It showed signs of Hagunenon type melting of the surface to fuse them
into position. It looked like one of the ancient dwellings that Cain’s people referred to as Round