1.5 Mines - Sirius
Prev: 1.4 Night on Colibris - Sirius

The morning began calmly, even musically, thanks to Brax’s “alarm.” Wasting no time, we quickly got ready, double-checked our gear and equipment loaded onto the grav-platform, and headed to the lower levels beneath the mining town. Well, “we” being me and Brax. Lina stayed behind on the ship, catching up with us later at the elevator, while Drake remained on board to rest, replaced by the steel bot.
The journey to the mines was uneventful this time - apparently, after yesterday, the gangs had bigger problems than us.
A cargo cart was prepared for us, and we were given four hours. Without further delay, we loaded up and set off, hoping the mining railway hadn’t destroyed most of the ruins. Our path mostly ran through a perfectly round tunnel carved by massive equipment. Dim lanterns flickered overhead, and the tunnel occasionally branched off, its walls interspersed with natural cave formations. Our monorail dipped into one such large cavern, its walls and ceiling studded with crystalline formations that glimmered like stars in the dark under the lanterns’ light. It's a pity that all this beauty will be destroyed after us.
Finally, we arrived.
Thankfully, our fears were unfounded. Yes, the railway had damaged part of the ruins - the drilling machine had brutally wrecked some local landmarks, collapsing several support structures and blocking a passage deeper inside. One bas-relief, miraculously untouched, marked our arrival, but we had to clear the debris.
As we unpacked gear, set up lights, suited up in exoskeletons, equipped tools, and launched drones for detailed surface and deep scanning of the ruins, Brax had a run-in with a local lifeform called a “Kugi.” The curious bot leaned down to see what had scurried among the rocks, only for the slug-like creature to leap onto his face. These critters were popular among miners, as they “brightened” their dreary days.

Beyond the rubble was a small tunnel with a trap, destroyed by mining work and collapses. Ahead lay a gaping hole lined with sharp spikes, its depths filled with fine, loose material. Due to constant vibrations from the mines and the station, this mixture behaved like quicksand.
To cross, we rigged a winch. Using the exoskeleton’s manipulators, I secured a cable on the other side, allowing the others to follow.
On the far side of the chasm was a large chamber, its walls carved with numerous small niches filled mostly with ash, dust, and tiny fragments. A few contained small wooden cases. One held an Eitzne* with a long-faded Akentush crystal shard. Other cases contained jewelry, objects, parchment, or tablets, suggesting this place was once a storage or archive.
At the central wall was a stone protrusion resembling a small crypt or stone chest. Inside was an unexpected find: a helmet, wrapped in rough, nearly decayed fabric, once belonging to an arcan named Vizdas. Long-forgotten memories stirred - this place must have belonged to one of the ancient ones, a great teacher.
From everything we saw, it seemed this entire mass had been hurled into open space from a long-lost world, likely shattered into countless pieces by some catastrophe.
We didn’t linger. Packing our finds into containers, we left the now-empty chamber, gathered our equipment, and headed back. To Colibris. And then - to Khates Katzite.

Eitzne: An ornament containing an Akentush crystal shard. These can be pendants, brooches, bracelets, necklaces, belts, and so on.

Next - 1.6 Farewell Meeting

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