In reply to Shukhunaar (msg # 374):

As Shukunaar touches them the old bones disintegrate into a brownish cloud that very slowly dissipates. Getting the box safely out of the water he swam down and grabbed one of the sections of pipe. It came away easily in his hand and it seemed like it and other sections were just lying loose in the silt on the bottom of the open tank/pond. He noted that also tangled in the rags was a pistol-shaped lump of plastic and metal attached by flexible cord to some kind of box on a belt.

Linus looked down curiously.

Pistol attached to a box? Maybe some kind of energy weapon...

"What's in the box?" he asked of the native holding it.

With a sarcastic tone the translator may or may not pick up, Shukhunaar says "I don't know. That's the thing about opaque boxes, you never know what's in them until you open them."

Shukhunaar then tries the box to see if it opens by hand or if it will need a knife blade to open.

"He's got you there Linus!" Angus chuckles.

Linus just grins.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 379):

Angus laughs out loud! a ringing laugh, a belly laugh.

The plastic box required a bit of prying to open. It was a tool kit of some kind, consistent with Sky Raider technology. There was water and silt inside and the various tools were corroded and rusted into lumps. However, there appeared to be a plastic key-card of some sort tucked into a slot on the inside cover. It was marked by a blurred photo and writing, and a silver stripe.

Disturbing the ancient bones caused them to disintegrate, and now the water was brown and cloudy. But before that happened Linus could see the box-like object on the belt was a power pack for the pistol-like weapon. Both were lying on the bottom of the now-opaque water tank. The section of pipe that was brought up looked like it matched the sheared-off drainage pipe from above.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:50, Sun 10 Oct 2021.

"Do you want me to dig around for any more objects down there? The crumbling bones make it hard to see, but there might be some stuff down there."
Shukhunaar shrugs. Everything looked a little too fragile or corroded, unlike many of the things he was used to.
This message was last updated by the GM at 05:27, Wed 20 Oct 2021.

In reply to Shukhunaar (msg # 382):

"Come on out of there, no need I believe in digging further into it."

As he dries off, Shukhunaar points to the two hatchways at the end of the room.
"Left or right?"

In reply to Shukhunaar (msg # 384):

"I say right, what do you think Linus? Is there a trail we can follow?"

There were two hatches at the end of the room.

The one on the left was closed, the right one was partly open with light coming through.

In reply to GM (msg # 386):

Angus walks to the door on the right and, gun ready, peers through.

In reply to Angus McStubbin (msg # 387):

Through the hatch was another closed manual hatch forming an airlock. Behind that was a deserted tunnel.

This tunnel was also circular, tunneled through the asteroid's rock. There were metal deck plates on the bottom, lighting strips and other electrical conduits ran along the ceiling. It was at least 100m long, which meant that the sounds of gunfire wouldn't have traveled.

Back in the water room the other portal was not a manual hatch but an iris valve. There was a card slot to the right of the door.

In reply to GM (msg # 388):

"Looks like we're going right no matter what."

"Do you know why there's a hole by the metal blocking the left path?"
Shukhunaar looks at Angus and Linus. He seems fine with taking the right path, long straight tunnels are great.

In reply to Shukhunaar (msg # 390):

You need a certain card to open that door, it has to be stuck in the hole for the door to open, We don't have that card, we can't open it."

In reply to Angus McStubbin (msg # 391):

Realising that the scientists might wish to examine their finds, Angus examined the artefacts Shukhunaar recovered from the pond. The laser pistol (probably) was useless but intact. Perhaps drying it out and connecting it to a new power source would make it functional again. Although if they ever got out of here it would likely reside in a museum.

The toolikit yielded something interesting. Inside the faded yellow box's front cover was a holder for an access card. It was brown with grey stripes and Sky Raider script.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:06, Sat 23 Oct 2021.

Linus looked into the box.

"Do you think the card would work after all this time? If it is the right one... and if the door even is locked. Nobody's tried it yet.."

Taking it, he went over to the door in question, gave it an experimental shove, then if it was locked tried the card in the slot.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 393):

When Linus inserted the card into the slot it went halfway in, then stopped at a natural "inserted" position. Nothing happened the first time.

Linus searched for anything else... a keypad or button, perhaps? He also tried pushing the door in case something had released, not that he'd heard a click.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 395):

After wiggling it around, the ancient card reader finally activated. There was a click. After a second the iris valve began to slowly and fitfully retract. It stopped about 70% open. Inside was a small control room with a bank of monitors on one wall with two chairs in front of keyboards. On the other wall was a lift door and a stairwell door. The two remaining side walls were covered in lockers.

It was obvious it had been ages since anyone had entered due to the thick blanket of dust that had built up on everything. Most of the monitors looked blank but a couple flickered to life, showing schematics.

"Aha!" said Linus, with some measure of satisfaction. His eyes lit up at the offering of schematics and he went over to look at them.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 397):

It looked like there were schematics for different systems and subsystems. Plus a map of nearby modules. One thing that looked very useful was a map of the water lines. Water would be crucial for when they found a ship and needed to refuel it. One line seemed to head towards a module at the surface. A possible docking bay?

Shukhunaar treads gently, trying not to disturb the dust. The maps bear little resemblance to the world he knows, but he tries to see what he can understand. The ponds and streams seemed to have all these underground connections. They looked too long to be able to swim, but the information might be useful to his tribe's survival.

"We are truly blessed to have found the maps of the ancients. I hope they guide us truly."