Tears of Gliese

Chapter Four - Into the Terminator

Crepuscular Peninsula, 22H15, 24th of July, 2771

Six bumpy hours later, a seven-vehicle convoy rolled to a stop, its passengers mesmerized by an extraordinary sight. Rakaia slumbered peacefully for most of the way there, the HINT providing her with a softer ride than she would otherwise have had seated among her comrades. Gradually the land became darker and her night-vision was soon feeding her inquisitive eyes with high-resolution images of the remote landscape in differing shades of green.

It was difficult to fully comprehend the scale of the ascending structure without any neighboring landmarks of familiar size for reference. If she had been pressed to describe it, however, she would have referred to the edification's similarity with the ancient step-pyramids of Earth. There were some obvious differences, though. From the pyramid's summit, a tubular metallic structure extended outwards, a mobile supporting framework sustaining the cylinder until it's end reached the crest of the steep horseshoe-shaped hill which mostly surrounded the pyramid.

By Rakaia's reckoning, the metallic framework original function had probably been to move earth from the pyramid's summit to the hill, leaving only the east devoid of landfill.

It was also clear where the original coastline had originally been; a decrepit wharf structure rested to the east of the pyramid. She gazed out over the dry expanse that stretched beyond it towards the horizon, amazed by the visible proof of how deeply Mankind's arrival had changed the planet.

"Trainer One, dismount your transport and approach the pyramid's eastern face. Find us the entrance," the captain sounded over the comm.

Rakaia acknowledged the order and shifted her Suit's weight carefully off the flattop. The vehicle's suspension sighed in relief. She set off at a steady walk, her footpads treading over ground that had probably never seen a blade of grass.

The ground had, however, seen something else. Despite the absence of any clear-cut road, there must have been an immense amount of traffic sometime in the past; her avenue of approach was depressed relative to its surroundings over a narrow expanse that led towards the pyramid. The convoy-s lead vehicle had probably been following the artificial valley due to the softer ride it provided.

As she approached the pyramid, Rakaia was forced to reevaluate its size. The structure stood well over a hundred meters tall, not including the metallic structure at its summit. At is eastern base, an angular alcove about fifteen meters wide made her suspect a potential access-point. The possible entryway turned out, however, to be comprised of a monolithic granite block. Pushing against it quickly led nowhere. She reported the discovery to her annoyed commander; his following order caused her to briefly question her own nerve.

Support personnel produced a pair of pleated heavy-gauge ropes and mated them together with a surgeon's knot. Burdened with the rope, Trainer One began to cautiously ascend the pyramid's eastern face, the steep, unsteady climb one of the more dangerous exploits she had ever attempted. Once she managed to reach the metallic structure that encased the summit, however, the Suit's considerable strength came into play. An armored gauntlet slammed through rusted steel repeatedly until an improvised doorway wide, enough for a Moca to pass through, yawned before her. Within was a square-sided shaft that descended into the ancient edifice. The transport machinery once present there must had collapsed into the deep well a long time ago, leaving only rusty residue behind. She fitted the rope's grapnel hook carefully against the shaft's rocky lip and then held it in place with duct-tape to prevent slippage. She then initiated her descent, taking care to avoid making any sudden stops along the way.

Over the course of the descent, Rakaia passed by many small chambers, the remains of mechanical equipment, probably once dedicated to generating torque for the soil transport mechanism, still present within them. The shaft then opened up into a cavernous hall. As she stared straight down, her view illuminated by flashlights which had been taped to the sides of her Suit's helm, she saw that the shaft continuing onwards though a hole in the floor to unseen depths. The collapsing transport structure had done some damage on its way down, shattering the solid stone blocks that made up the shaft's lip in testament to the power of gravity. After a few uneasy moments of swinging back and forth to avoid the gaping hole, Trainer One touched down upon rocky shards and steel splinters. Swiveling her helm about, Rakaia located the huge rectangular block at the hall's eastern end that marked the entrance. She bounded towards it and quickly realized that no amount of pushing from the exterior would have made the stone gate budge; the monolithic block rested upon a rail system set into the ground. Finally locating the gate's mechanism to the block's left corner, she tore the engaging sprocket out of the gear-works and put her weight into the slab until, after some initial resistance, it finally began to slide with a horrific screeching sound.