The Sands of Time 56

 

Who were these people? 

Joon strode across the sand, acknowledging the nods of people he didn't recognize. Apparently they knew him, which was just as well, given how heavily armed they were. He was armed as well, but kept his pistol concealed. He headed for the tower, although it would probably be wiser to go back to the Gate. 

Was Stella making a move? 

*******

Joon sighed as he looked over the machinery. So much they didn't understand. The machines hummed quietly, gave off their blue glow and no other hint of their function. Maia was nearby. Howie didn't like it here, had wafted outside. The doors had a sphincter valve aspect, they were noiseless as they opened. The tower was a greyish metal, looked like it had been constructed yesterday. How long had it been here? 

Everyone was tense. There was no sign of anyone being around, yet there were signs of recent activity. Drinking containers, various things that could only come from their timeline. Stella had put a strict, if hastily assembled, protocol into place. They couldn't, after all, just discard a water bottle on the sand, could they? No one understood the paradoxes and intricacies of time travel- it was so new- but they knew that much. 

Was it a catastrophic time meltdown just to come here? And they hadn't expected to find a tower, or a ruined ship. 

The previous team had clearly been here, and had their own protocols in place, but things lying around showed they must have relaxed their posture. 

Joon wasn't sure there was wisdom in that. 

So if they weren't here, where were they? 

The ship was a marvel. Joon had crossed over the wooden boards someone had erected to allow ingress. It was a bit of a climb but someone had helpfully left a rope ladder hanging from the opening. A great octagonal hatch was open and so there was debris within, but the interior was all ramps and strange arches- rather like the interior of the tower. Everything in the ship was dead though- no sign of power, no humming machinery. The silence of a tomb. 

Joon had wondered if they would find bodies, but they had not. He did see signs of recent activity, though. There were multiple indications that someone had been here, telltale signs of humans. Even a wrapper from a protein bar fallen by a workstation. How incredibly careless. 

The other disquieting thing he discovered was that parts of the ship were sealed off. There were bulkheads or arches leading deeper into the ship that they were not able to access. There were control panels of a sort, with odd glyphs and clearly not designed for humans- but they were inert and didn't do anything. 

What was behind those panels? 

Joon had wondered just what kind of digits or limbs the access panels were designed for. 

It was so muggy here. The sunlight beat down and they were hot in their suits. The oxygen levels seemed okay, within acceptable limits. Angie was taking readings and Maia was helping her most of the time. No one had come aboard the ship except for Joon and a select few. Hillier stayed close but didn't say much. They had sent one of the team back to make sure they could actually go back, and to report to Mallory and Stella. 

The tower was mushroom like in appearance, with a bluish grey sheen on the outside and no windows of any sort- just one entrance. Inside was an outer catwalk ring surrounding a sunken central area, where the machinery was situated. Much like the Ancients' set up on Poseidon and Ymir- the machines that ran, endlessly, by themselves. 

Joon was getting fatigued. They'd been going nonstop since arrival. Two days they'd been here now. He needed a nap and food. Where had Maia gone? Probably to see Angie about this or that. He rose from the alien extrusion that functioned as a chair and headed for the outside. 

And stopped. 

There was someone between him and the way out. Someone who looked familiar. 

Joon was staring at Joon.