FSE

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Having been up all night answering questions, Avy sleeps on some chair cushions in the corner.

Key sits, slowly re-spooling the wire. As he does, he gently pinches it, letting Drudge repair it as it passes between his fingers. Not having proper tools, he's had to improvise. The spindle has a piece of bent rod stuck through it for him to turn it with, while all the wire has been wrapped around one of the depleted power cells. That sits in his lap, slowly turning as he carefully guides the hair-fine wire back onto its spindle.

He turns it slowly, trying to keep a steady pressure and even spacing with his wraps. Too tight, he breaks the wire. Too loose, it slides around.

Having been at this for a few hours, he feels his hands want to cramp. "Come one, just a few more meters."

"More like fifty," Drudge corrects.

Key sighs. "Didn't really need to know that. Can you do something for my hands. They're cramping."

As his hands start to feel better, Key breaths a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

With his hands feeling better, he soon finishes and then wraps his hand around it so Drudge can seal the wire in place. He then grabs his tools and heads outside to see if he can finish repairing the pods com.

* * *

"Testing, testing. One, two." Key looks at the probe's readout, hoping for a successful transmission. With the pod's diagnostics still reporting no problems, it's the only way to fully test the system.

He waits for a moment, watching the readout on the tablet connected to the probe's data port. Nothing happens.

"Something still has to be broke," he states.

"The probe has already responded to short range communications. Both short and long range use the same system."

"I'm talking about the pod's."

"There is not much else we can do, we simply lack the spare parts to swap out."

Key frowns. the com array in his original pod was smashed, only a large dent remained where it was. With the second pod, most of it's parts were destroyed or blown away by the storm shortly after he found it.

He taps on the tablet for a moment, then starts changing settings. "Let's see if the probe can find the homing beacon."

It doesn't take too long for him to find the frequency, and the tablet starts to play the homing signal.

"Well, the receiver works. So it has to be the pod."

"I will temporarily disable the pod's homing beacon. Let us see if we can find another signal."

It doesn't take long for the probe to pick up a second signal. It's weak, telling him it's going to be a job to find.

* * *

Having been walking for 6 hours, most of which was down hill and his armor sealed from the heat. Key parts some branches and finds himself on a cliff edge, looking across an odd, silver/gold colored sea. Behind him, Avy occasionally buzzes her wings to cool herself.

"That's not water, is it," Key mutters.

"Not with the current temperature exceeding 100 Celsius. From its color, I would speculate it is liquid caesium."

"Caesium? How is it not a big ball of fire?"

"Right now, I have no answer."

Key pans the probe side to side and frowns as he looks at the tablet. "Looks like we'll find out. Signal's coming from somewhere in the middle."

A tapping sound gets key's attention, and he turns to see Avy pointing to a slope.

"Looks like our way down."

As he starts down the path, Avy stays at the top.

He looks back at her, "Not coming with?"

She shakes her head and buzzes her wings again.

"Too hot, huh?"

She nods, so Key adds, "Well, you'll be able to watch from here. It doesn't seem like it's too far out.

She gestures to her eyes and then point to the lake.

"You can see it?"

She nods.

"Good. Not much farther."

She nods again and he heads down the hill.

About half way down, the ground turns barren, and Drudge states, "We are entering layers of noble gasses, and pressure is nearing three atmospheres."

"Heavy, inert gasses...that could explain why the sea isn't igniting."

"Indeed. The water vapor content is near zero."

Reaching the shore, Key sits on a small boulder to catch his breath. The air pressure it tangible and moving through it is like walking through chest deep water. Beside him, on the ground lies the arm-sized corpse of a worm-like creature he's hasn't seen before. It shows very little decay.

Seeing it, Key leans over and put his hand to it's shell.

"It suffocated," Drudge states, "and it's been here for quite some time."

"Can you get a DNA read?"

"Searching for viable DNA...Oh."

Key waits for a moment, then asks, "Oh what?"

"I believe this is related to Avy."

"Oh." He sadly looks up the hill towards Avy. "Think she knows it's here?"

"We can find out after we get the pod."

Key walks to the shore, kneels down and puts his hand out above the liquid. "What are we dealing with here?"

"It is mostly caesium, but I am unable to understand how this could have formed."

Key sighs. "Bernie would have loved figuring this out."

"Indeed."

"Is it safe to swim in that?"

"I am currently reconfiguring the armor to repel water, but I would recommend waiting till night. It may get cold enough to solidify the caesium."

"Night," Key mutters. "That's still 5 hours off." He looks back at the worm. "I'll take that up the hill. See what Avy wants me to do with it."

From the hill, Avy watches Key shoulder the larva. She's known about it for a long time, but has never been able to get to it. Seeing him start up the hill, Avy quickly clears some ground. When Key nears, she starts tapping a the cleared ground.

When Key lays the larva down, Avy quickly scurries over and lies down on top of it. After wrapping four of her legs around it, she picks it up and heads off into the trees.

Left alone, Key heads back down the hill to wait for night.