The Wastes Exploration

“You know, if you stick around longer, you might be able to actually see the progress I make on these things. It’s almost like you don’t care about all my science I do for you.”

Dealing with Lambren was a bit of a hassle at times. He was helpful, yes, but he was also a bit dramatic. Way too friendly for Alcyone’s personal tastes. And, admittedly, a little entitled. He took on projects very emphatically and poured all his free time into them, and Alcyone had seen her fair share of scientific burnout from the little pipsqueak.

“You can’t get more resources if I’m not doing the heavy lifting for you, Lam.” Alcyone pointed out, not moving from her spot against the wall. “I have to leave if I'm going to bring you stuff. I can’t just snap my fingers and materialize all the plants you need for this.” To prove her point, Alcyone snapped her fingers, gesturing to the vacant ground before her with a paw.

The scientist let out a begrudging sigh, draping himself across his desk. It was noticeably more cluttered than the last time Alcyone had been here. Dropping off the mushrooms and weird object that had made itself acquainted with the back of her skull had been an adventure the night before, seeing Lambren nearly running around like he’d lost his head at the sign of a misplaced pipette. Something must be going on with him with his actual job. Alcyone didn’t care enough to pry.

“Think you can find me something cool?” He asked, giving Alcyone the biggest weepy baby eyes he could manage. “You’ve been doing such a good job of it so far.”

“If you stop making that face, then yes.” She replied, folding her arms over her chest.

Lambren picked himself up rather swiftly after that, bouncing in his little swivel chair. “Excellent! I knew that I could count on you.” He scooted his way around his workspace, turning his back on Alcyone for the moment. “You know, I think that getting out and doing this is doing wonders for your social skills. Maybe if we keep this up, you’ll meet a nice girl out there.”

Alcyone choked on the water she had begun sipping, sputtering as a paw reached to cover her mouth. “What?!” She asked, blinking a bit in disbelief.

“Whaaat?” Lambren asked, a smile crossing his face from ear to ear. “Haven't you heard the saying, ‘All scientists are romantics’? It would be good for you to have someone to share that small little hovel you call a home with. If she’s strong, you could have a teammate to run alongside and get me even more supplies!”

“So the reason you want me to find a girlfriend is so it will benefit you, huh?” Alcyone laughed. “Figures you’d be in it for yourself.”

“Not Just me, don’t twist my words, Alcie. You’d benefit too. Come oooon, it couldn’t hurt.” Lambren protested, twisting his head around to beam at the Work Stock.

“I’d rather go back to the wastes and get you supplies.” Alcyone responded, raising a brow.

“Atta girl!” He cheered, turning back around in his seat. “The weirder the better!”

“If that’s the case, I ought ‘ta bring you a mirror.” Alcyone muttered under her breath, taking her leave of Lambren’s abode. He could handle himself for an afternoon.

---

The wastes were just as unforgiving as they’d been the few days prior. Alcyone had decided that the warmth of the sun had to be the source of her false sense of security on that first day out the gate. Phuzomedes were cold blooded, so of course they would all be attracted to the wastes. It was just unfortunate that the pursuit of comfort led to so many problems. Then again, pursuing comfort as a Work stock wasn’t much better inside the walls. She’d seen coworkers get turned into paste or end up with their guts hanging out after being caught in poorly-regulated equipment, and all that was done was a slap on the wrist for their upper-stock commanders and a cleaning fee shipped out to the grieving families. At least in the wastes, nobody gave a damn if you died or not.

That was a lie, she decided. Lambren would care, as crazy as he was sometimes.

Alcyone hadn’t intended to return to the cave she had bade farewell the day before, but among all the chatter from other adventurers, nobody had said a single thing about the crystals she’d seen. She resolved to go back and check it out. If not for her own curiosity, she could use the excuse that the Intellect who was paying her for information requested it. The lie there was twofold, considering that Lambren wasn’t paying her jack shit.

It was pretty easy for Alcyone to find her way back to the entrance of the cave. She was starting to consider calling the place a second home at this point. What she didn’t expect was for the stench emanating from it to nearly knock her off her feet. This definitely wasn’t mushrooms. She’d smelled the stench of death before on one of her older rigs. Not even the strongest respirator could filter that out.

Entering the cavern led to Alcyone being met with the corpses of a considerably large research team, all half buried and scattered about around the sands. How they got there, Alcyone hadn't the slightest idea. It had to have been sometime after she’d left the day before, but what would have drawn such a big group here? Surely if nobody had mentioned the crystals, there’d be no reason to come back. 

Picking her way over the corpses, Alcyone paused at the sight of two horrendously mangled and picked apart corpses. She wasn’t even sure if they were Phuzos at this point, or something… else. She had heard word of some of the creatures out in the wastes, but nothing had been committed to memory enough that resembled… whatever these were. The heat seemed to have caused them to bake and eventually explode, leading to the accursed smell of rot filling the cave. There went the joking concept of a second home.

The strange tech littering the corpses seemed familiar to Alcyone, pausing to get a closer look. It too was weathered, almost in a similar way that the object she’d been pelted with had been. Maybe they were related in some way. It didn’t seem entirely functional, however. Core pieces were obviously missing. You didn’t have to be an engineer to see that.

The question of what these scientists were doing still lingered amidst Alcyone’s mind as she investigated. Peering over, it almost seemed like some kind of… Dig site? It seemed to be the source of all the tech. Hopping down to get a closer look for herself, Alcyone soon caught sight of what appeared to be bones? They had to be some kind of fossil, way too big to be from a Phuzo.

Seemingly sensing the thought, Alcyone’s PDA elected to dispute it, sensing traces of Phuzomede DNA within the bones.

“Well thats… huh.” Alcyone paused, covering her mouth as she thought. It was definitely weird. And interesting.

Lugging herself out of the dig site with two of the bones in hand, she made her way back across the Wastes towards Praque. It seemed that she’d have something intriguing for the aspiring geneticist after all, much more than whatever he’d been up to with those mushrooms she’d brought back.