14317/AEC, Team Scene 2: Proxima Centauri B

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AEC, Team Scene 2: Proxima Centauri B
Date of Scene: 15 April 2022
Location: Proxima Centauri B
Synopsis: The team investigates Proxima B and comes away with interesting intel.
Cast of Characters: Captain America, Winter Soldier, Iron Man, Black Widow (Romanoff), Batman
Tinyplot: Avengers Exploration Corps


Captain America has posed:
    Some time ago,
    "I think in time you should trust them as you've trusted me." Steve Rogers had said even as the final moments of preparation came and went. "If this is going to have legs under it, we're going to need to be able to work together without hesitation. That's all I have to say." Small words shared as the team prepped even as Steve Rogers nodded to the man known as the Bat. It was all that was said on the topic. All that needed to be said, perhaps.

    The distant red star in the sky of Proxima Centauri B was smaller than Sol. Yet it was bright enough to cast a crimson sheen across the peaceful landscape. A landscape that had gentle rolling hills covered with thin leafed plant-life that seemed something akin to clover just with a darker coloration of grey and a hint of tan seen between the leaves that would be considered earth or dirt.
    There was wind, slow and dancing across those hills, leaving faint circular swirls as it passed from one side of the world to another. Though toward the rising star there was a raised plateau that broke away from the landscape. It was leveled, flattened as if by some great architect slicing off a chunk of mountain or hillock to create a section of the world that pleased him with its purity of level. Perfectly square, with some twisting structures that reached upward. Structures of some kind, yet no glint of metal, nor color of construction material as it is known to some. A curious meld of the natural in ways and shapes that do not so easily occur in nature.
    The quiet is broken. First hinted by the swirl of the wispy vaporous shapes that passed for clouds in the yellowish sky. Then there was the wind created by the Bifrost effect as its energy began to gather. Larger swirls of that clover twisted into subtle gyres until the rainbow energy lashed down from on high, slashing through the clouds and crashing down onto the untouched ground...
    The plant life was burned as the circle of the landing area was melted into being, smouldering flashes of energy dancing from crisped leaf to leaf, then fizzling as the energy abruptly ended. Leaving in its passing the newest visitors to Proxima B.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Another day, another horizon. This one simply happens to be on a different planet, in a different solar system, and never before seen by human eyes. Damn, but there are times when Bucky wonders how his life has gotten so strange and wonderful. It's true to say that he has seen things, but just occasionally he gets to see things that are worth seeing. An alien vista, literally, majestic in its grandour and sheer oddness, bathed in the crimson glow of the distant star which changes the way his eyes perceive the world. For a moment, he is simply stunned by the moment, the realisation that he was going further than any astronaut, possibly further than any human has ever been before.

    And then the moment passes, and the Winter Soldier stops looking around like a country bumpkin out in the big city, beginning to scan his surroundings through the visor of his suit's helmet. He breaks from the small knot of people that have just landed, taking a few steps out of the circle denoted by the burning glyph of their arrival, one hand casually on the pistol holstered at his side.

    "Dorothy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. And all appears clear."

Iron Man has posed:
The proof is in the preparation. Coming away from the last meeting had Tony Stark in the workshop again, in the labs, modifying, discarding and creating anew the things that could be used in order to make the most successful mission as could possibly be. There simply isn't enough time before the first mission, however, to incorporate everything the tech genius would want in an away array, and so had the difficult task of prioritizing.

And that meant life and limb first. Data is always there, in the background.

The suits, while built to specs, have been modified, which is a trick considering that each was in the possession of it's intended owner, or rather, he made sure they were. There's a low-powered AI within each suit to monitor vital signs, and a basic (for Tony, anyway) atmospheric sensor that will display the concentrations of gas onto either a hand-held device (also Stark-built) or, a HUD. Each suit also comes with a quick-flip helm, built off his new iteration of Iron Man (you're welcome, Nat!). The encounter suits are softly flexible, but made of a material that seems to have a rather impressive tensile strength, not to mention it is also an enclosed 'system'. In essence, it's the little brother of his suits. Each, however, has been modified to the individual in more than just the fit. Movement variations, augmentions for strength, 'hard points' for others.. each made with the intent of giving the wearer the best chance of using their gifts to survive.

Tony's however, he can't help but add a little flash of red to his.

The landing on a different world has Tony slightly out of sorts, if only for a moment. He's a touch wobbly, but makes that grand attempt to recover before anyone else notices it. He's not in //his// suit, so this also is a touch of learning curve for him. He is silent post-landing for those few heartbeats where he makes the effort to catch-up, but when he's finally in his own, as it were, he can't help it,

"You know, some phrases are really timeless." Considering that was.. HOW many decades ago? Almost a century now? "Let's hope there aren't little munchkins around. Those things were creepy."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"They were not creepy. The wicked witch was creepy. And the flying monkeys," comes the words from Natasha as she looks around the area, just swivelling her head at first. That makes it look like she is comfortable, taking her time. In reality, she was still recovering from the light show thrill ride that was bifrost travel. With a little 'oh God space' again thrown in for good measure.

When she was positive she was stable, physically speaking, she took a few steps away from the seared ground and looked at the plants curiously. Then off to the horizon to see that red sun hanging there. How many people from Earth would get to experience something like this? Few and she realized she was in a special group to get the chance.

So why was she still nervous as hell?

Batman has posed:
The Captain spoke from a place of wisdom. Trust was invaluable on missions like these and Batman didn't trust anybody. He says nothing to remark Steve's words, meeting him with his usual silence. He nods to him and remains at his post.

This was another planet. Another world. They took the Bifrost transportation and upon landing, Bruce's eyes examine his surroundings immediately. Tony added red to his suit and Bruce added enough black to blend in through nightfall. This suit still has specifics different from Batman's normal one so he has to manage different specifics. If he was nervous, he doesn't show it. "We'll need samples." Batman states with his usual expression: serious and cold.

Bruce briefly thinks of Superman. He wouldn't like it here. Selina might. But Bruce starts to pace. His eyes to the mountains. To the grasses and flora.

He doesn't comment on the Dorothy detail or what he finds creepy about the story. He's focused.

Captain America has posed:
    The first thing that Captain Rogers says is, of course, to keep focus on point as his voice comes over the comms. "46 minutes and counting. Let's get what we can in the time we have. Then make the judgment call to stay the night or not." Which raises its own bevy of potential problems.
    Three large metallic containers were delivered with the team. Square and plastic and durable, they held supplies for the explorers in case they decided to take the extended window. The one package that the Powers That Be wanted them to bring with them was not accepted and sent back. But they had gear and equipment just in case.
    The gravity on the planet is .92 of Earth, a slight ease to the step. The atmosphere? Displays show it has a slightly lower concentration of oxygen, as well as being thinner but breathable. Survivable. Though strong exertion would likely steal one's energy rapidly. There was no visible fauna, not at a sweep of a glance, though a lot of flora and some of it becoming more complex the more one's eye was drawn to that plateau and the distant twist of ruins? Or naturally occurring geometric shapes?
    Tony's sensors, however, does pick up microbial level life forms, as the small bio-hazard warning light illuminates signaling from the data systems that the gear will have to be sterilized upon return.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Let's hope we don't run into Baba Yaga." Bucky remarks to Natasha as he eyes the structures... shapes?... in the distance. Cyclopean, that's the word he's been looking for. Gargantuan. Monolithic.

    With a series of clicks his helmet flips back and retracts into the gorget, the control reached for the moment the 'rudimentary' AI in the suit declared the atmosphere breathable. And he takes a deep breath, then smiles over to Steve. "Smells like Bastogne." Whatever that means.

    His suit has been darkened, but not to the extent of Batman's, and has a few integrated hardpoints for weapons. Because he's not here as a scientist, or an observer, or a data analyst. He's here to kick alien ass if need be, and keep his eyes and ears open in the meantime. So while Tony worries about flying monkeys, Bucky finds a shallow rise to climb to survey more of the immediate area. But for a rifle with a suitable scope... next time, perhaps.

    "I really hope that those aren't buildings in the distance, because I wouldn't want to meet whoever built that."

Iron Man has posed:
"Okay, boys and girls. Good enough oxygen, but keep the scrubbers on."

Tony is advancing off the Bifrosts landcaping, and the crates, like before, rise and wheel.. some his robots repurposed. The crates have treads and are maneuverable. "As for staying, if it'll get me out of a shareholder's meeting, I'm all for it." Who does he think he's kidding? He hasn't attended one of those for years.

"Watch your step." Tony's thought process changes instantly, years of experience of thinking on multitasking on so many levels. "Don't get complacent. If you don't have to rub against the plants, don't." He doesn't have to say 'keep your eyes out' because, well.. he's with a couple of assassins and a sniper. And Steve and the Bats.

"And they were creepy," and as he's talking, Tony pulls out his small, easily pocket-sized tablet (everyone has one, btw!) and hits a cycle of keys. In the next moment, unless Bucky overrrides it, his faceplate rises again, "Not so fast, cowboy." The scrubbers remain, and it's not quite as difficult to work through the headcoverings as 'all that'. Lots of visibility, and even that is augmented for some. "Better."

Raising a hand in the directions of what could be structures, Tony takes the first steps, "Whole point is looking around, right? So, let's look." Even as he moves, the crates also do so, though quite a bit slower due to their payloads.

The shapes in the middle distance are, indeed, not natural to the world around them in that they have all the hallmarks of being manufactured. Not with glass, steel, concrete or materials that would be so recognizable to those of Earth, but undoubtedly created by manufacturing upon this own distant planet. After all, glass is not found in nature, and neither is steel.. nor concrete. The shapes of the buildings are geometric; no curves.. all straight lines..

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Well, it could be she's just from this planet," Natasha returns to Bucky, thinking to Slavic folk tales. Certainly there were some with that codename but she purposefully turns it to the witch, or ogre depending on the telling. With a hut running around on chicken legs, it certainly fit an alien concept in some ways. Or just way too many alcoholic beverages when the cautionary tale was created. Natasha leaned toward the latter.

She began working her way through gathering samples. She wasn't given the high level stuff. Just simple gather, seal, tuck away for later.

She was just about to follow Bucky's lead on the helmet when Tony reversed that and put it right back on. "I realize we might get exposed to an alien cold," which she seemed to remember a certain member of this group having happen in the past. "Better to get used to the thinner air just in case we need to be in action and our suit get damaged." But she isn't going to die on that hill either. Just made sense to her brain, thus probably why Bucky had done it. Or maybe he just didn't like helmets.

But her eyes kept distancing to those far off structures and she paused. "Do we have time to go look at those? See if there are sentient beings around or maybe at least get an idea of what the entities were like that made them? And be back in the first window?" Instead of staying overnight. She was not a fan of overnight option.

Batman has posed:
Lighter gravity often meant less oxygen. Oxygen on ground level here meant in upper levels of atmosphere would be like breathing through a wet rag. Batman's eyes stare at the flora as he kneels down to take a sample for analysis on the ship. He can link it and get a detailed composition of chemicals.

"No Fauna. The planet may be home to subterranean life forms where higher oxygen levels may be more present." He looks up to the sky. Does anything fly? Does anything squawk or chatter?

"Signs of civilization. Intelligent design in those structures." Bruce starts to walk towards the structures. They are here to explore, so let them all explore. He doesn't announce his intentions. He keeps his helmet firmly on his head, scanner active. "Watch your feet."

Captain America has posed:
    A short exhalation of breath is heard over the comms as Steve perhaps does not associate the name of Bastogne with pleasant smells. Though his own helmet slides back with that faint whir-click as he takes a breath though the scrubbers. Holds it. Then shoots a glance sidelong at Bucky and shakes his head with a ghost of a smirk. Not disagreeing, more perhaps simply experiencing yet another Bucky being Bucky moment.
    His own suit is a mix of white and gray though the colors subdued. In his one can see the hint of kinship with the gear astronauts might have worn though with the decidedly Stark Industries twist. But there's one thing prominent at least and that's the United States of America flag that's on his shoulder.
    "Tony, can we get some eyes in the sky?" He gestures with the wave of one gauntleted hand. "I'd like to get some idea about what's around us before we decide if we wanna camp out tonight."
    Though as he says that he seems to already be moving in the direction toward those ruins, his footsteps steady and quick though he does pause at points to take in the surroundings. But for those that have worked with him before it's easily recognizable to see what he's doing. He's shepherding, making sure everyone is accounted for and moving forward.
    In answer to Natasha he says, "If we hustle we should make it in twenty?" A glance is given Batman's way, then Bucky's, as if making sure his estimate is good.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    The lower faceplate suddenly reactivates and deploys. For an instant, over so quick that you'd have to be looking for it to notice, his hands seem to want to come up to fight with it, and then go perfectly still. One deep breath. Two. And when he looks back over his shoulder to Tony, it's a little too abrupt to be entirely natural. His expression has gone blank, and with his lower face covered by the air scrubbers, and the visor covering his eyes, he looks just like in the bad old days, when he met Natasha and Steve on the overpass. But he gives a thumbs up regardless. "Thanks Stark, appreciate it."

    No, he does not like things covering his face, or suddenly forming around his head. Bad memories...

    But whatever skeletons may have dropped out of that closet, he's back on track soon enough, taking point towards the structures and glancing towards Batman first. "I like this guy. Can we keep this guy? And where can I find a dozen more?"

    Then an almost imperceptible nod to Steve, and the surreptitious extension of two fingers. Twenty to twenty two minutes, he concurs. If they hustle.

    His eyes are always on the horizon, the ground, the sky... he's scanning for threats while everyone else scans for data. To each their own.

Iron Man has posed:
"Safety first," Tony replies back to Bucky. The man is more of an unknown than almost any of the others; if there's something on this world, he doesn't want to be guessing while trying to defend. The other man is quicker than he is, and trained better. After all, Tony's a man and his suit. The sum of those parts.

"I don't want those bits of bacteria eating our lungs, Agent Romanoff. Remember the Indians and small pox. We're not acclimated to this world's biologics. So, scrubbers on." Tony's not playing with that, at all. And because it was picked up in some concentration, better safe than sorry. While it wasn't in the red, it wasn't fully in the green either.

There's nothing in the air, nothing obvious at the moment, anyway. Things seem very, very still. Nothing in the air, of course, until Tony hits another key on his pad and one of the cases opens up, of course stopping as it does so. The inventor leans in, pulls out a smaller box, and with a hint of a *click*, opens it to reveal a small drone. It's smaller than his other ones, and there's a blue-ish tinge to it as it takes to the air. It's silent in its running, and closing the cases once more, stows it all away.

"Cap, it's on your visual now. Should be lower left. Control it with head movements, and it'll be your eyes." Within Steve's HUD, there are various states of spectrum as well.. and the ability to pass control. "Only have one right now, sorry kids. By next, I should have a couple more made."

Hustling.. Tony doesn't 'hustle' anywhere, but he's more than willing to hike. "I'd like to check out the place, absolutely. This might mean keeping an eye out for a good campsite, though." Which then answers the question of 47 minutes or less!

As they get closer, Tony nods his initial response to the Bat before following it up with, "Yeah. Buildings should give us a hint on that whole 'doesn't move like we do' thing." There's a pause before, "Peeking in windows is okay."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Plenty of time then. Natasha falls into step with the others, intent on getting to those ruins. Even if they were occupied, at least they would be learning something about the beings on this planet. Outside what little they had gotten from the Asgardians' history.

At Bucky's comment about Batman, she had to smile behind her mask. She'd worked with the man a couple of times. Well, both men. Both were people she respected for their skills. As for how they might mesh in the field? She had her own opinions but obviously they were now in situations where they were going to find out. "Pretty sure they broke the mold with Batman," she responded with an obvious smile in her tone of voice.

She wasn't as big on the samples as others. After all, it wasn't her thing. But she did follow instructions and gather things as they moved. Her own suit wasn't really modified. At all. She had left it just as Tony had designed it. Everyone else had added their more personalized touches. That wasn't really her sort of thing.

Batman has posed:
"18 if we waste no time." Batman remarks somewhat in a snap. He starts to move. He's hustling. He's not slowing down. He's moving with purpose! He notably doesn't reply to Bucky's comments to Steve. Did he not hear it? He probably didn't. Right? "Stay sanitized. Stark is right, diseases and microbiota are a foreign agent to us here. I might not be able to synthesize a cure in time." Batman states matter-of-fairly.

"So is knocking." Batman tells Tony in reply. He doesn't overheat Natasha's words about him, but he looks up at the drone. "Find the tallest building and see if you can get us 360 degree field of vision." Bruce grunts out as he keeps moving. He has no drones as part of his kit. More like sampling tools and a few gadgets from his utility belt.

Captain America has posed:
    It's good to have that reinforcement from Bucky. Steve can trust the details are in place, and that the right here and now is handled. Leaving Cap to focus on the mission and the next steps needed. Though right now the next steps needed are literal ones as they start that hike.
    Luckily, it is an easy one. The roll and slope of those hillocks that lead toward the plateau are smooth. The inclination and declination easily navigated especially in the lighter gravity. Then there's the ground which has a softness to it and lends itself to strong purchase to the heavy tread of their boots.
    Though his stride does pause for the moment when Tony works his magic and brings that drone to life, sending it flying high up into the sky when it revs into action. A rush of movement that has a few stuttering first starts and stops before Steve gets some measure of control to it. Then he nods as he lifts his chin and he gets a look.
    Resuming his stride he continues and murmurs, "Any way I can... any way people can get this feed, Tony? I'm seeing other structures. Similar to this one..." He gestures toward the one they're moving toward, "And if I'm reading this right it's saying... natural composition, no construction but... definitely sharing the same shapes we're seeing..."
    And if the feed does get onto the displays of the other explorers they'll see what Cap is talking about as he causes the drone to make a very high and slow turn, one rotation that reveals a large body of liquid toward the south and no less than... four... five other sets of ruins in the nearby vicinity. Also changes in the flora that depicts connections between one set of ruins to another. Almost like roads.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    The joys of the modern battlefield. Instant recon, on demand, with a live feed. Definitely not like Bastogne... When the drone feed appears on his HUD, Bucky takes a knee on the reverse slope of one of the hillocks, one eye on the horizon, the other on the recce taking place. And as he does, he holds up his right fist at shoulder height, the universal signal for 'stop'.

    Structures, a body of water, a pattern. "On the assumption they share a few simularities with us, that looks suspiciously like a reservoir for drinking water. Or drinking liquid, whatever it is."

    And as the view pans and takes in the whole vista, he actually frowns. "A city? No movement, either abandoned or the locals have gone to ground. No roads, no other infrastructure." A geologist might be seeing a fascinating landscape, a scientist might wonder at the composition of the stone, or whatever material that might be, but he's seeing an urban battlefield.

    And as soon as he has seen enough, Bucky stands again and gets moving, already having translated the pictures into a mental map of the area. "And I don't care if that thing says it's not constructed. One thing I remember from school, it's that nature never creates a straight line."

Iron Man has posed:
As the display flickers onto the other screens, Tony chimes in, "Just one user, Cap. They'll get their own soon enough. Let's not get to the point of breaking other peoples' toys because you don't have one." He follows up with, "You can change who commands it, though. You just need to give it a chance to adjust to the different sight patterns," and vice versa.

Tony's nowhere near as quick as Wayne, and he grins at the added comment regarding knocking. "If 'knocking' helps you gauge what the sonic frequencies are in this atmosphere, I'd say sure." He's picking, absolutelyBucky's moving to take point, or something that looks a great deal like it, so when he's putting up his 'stop' arm, Tony does take a pause. Reservoir? Or lake that happens to be by what is looking like buildings?r


Moving forward the group heads towards the structures, and as they get closer, they are obviously manufactured. There's a feeling of abandonment, however. Perhaps it's the growth of plants in the air, the fact that the 'roads' appear to be untravelled. It's silent. Nothing moves but for a touch of wind.

"Hey.." Tony's calling out to Cap, "Move the drone over to that area," and he point down one of the 'boulevards'. There are small divots in the 'road', and larger ones beyond. "Check that out?" The request is made, and even as it exits, the man is headed towards one of the 'buildings' to see what he can see.

The drone data, then, is showing heat signatures that are roughly the same all over. There is no heat generated from the city, nothing from the 'reservoir'. Should Steve move the drone towards the holes in the concourse, there is a cooler signature that emenates from one of the holes. One of the deeper holes, perhaps.

Batman has posed:
"The air is too thin." Batman replies to Bucky. "They might require more oxygen than present. Similar ruins may be present in the surrounding area. We'll see what the Captain's feed tells us." Though Bucky lifts his hand and Batman comes to a stop next to him. He narrows his eyes. It doesn't take a brainiac to tell Batman wants a sample. He's testing out that trust thing that Cap was talking about. "Carved." Bruce tells Bucky. "Like art. Used natural materials and filed it into geometrical shapes."

In response to Tony, Batman produces a disc-shaped object and offers it to him. "Attach this to a structure after connecting it to your HUD. It works like echolocation, should help with visuals, radio waves, and frequencies." Batman tells Tony before he keeps moving.

"...The flora may serve an additional purpose." Batman notes. Otherwise, he's moving for the water to scan it's chemical composition.

Captain America has posed:
    "Some crystal formations are the only things I could imagine... but these ain't them." Steve's accent creeps in with his response to Bucky's comment about nature and straight lines. Though the slowness with which he says that might lead one to believe that he's more supportive of Bucky's line of thought than the devil's advocate argument he advanced of his own.
    Then he finds himself nodding in answer to Tony's words even as he's manipulating that drone's flight and then when he's asked to move the drone in one direction...
    The drone whirs off at that angle displaying the data and those heat signatures which has Cap frowning. "I'll try not to lose it." Though he's getting more of a hang of controlling it as they finally reach the top of that plateau and see the elaborate towers and skeletal remains. This close it definitely seems to be more manmade. Or at least some sort of... intelligence had a hand in putting these forms together to make some sense. Rooms in those towers, and areas for... windows? Perhaps even doors. Though the doors are lower, and rounder? Which makes them different than most of those right angles used in the rest of the ruins.
    But Cap's attention is on the exploration of that drone as it ducks down into one of the many openings in that plateau that lead underground. A large hole that exposes a broad open area underneath the ground. Yet shaped like... tubes or tunnels.
    The tiny drone continues lower and lower, a small display on the side creating a map of where the robot has explored only for it to round one curve and suddenly it's in a large cavern with a heavy honeycomb of shapes hanging over top. Yet it's perhaps the liquid that glistens as the drone's light sweeps over it that is all the more interesting.
    "Wait think we have some... water?" Steve says. Though Tony's sensors are likely detecting the curious rise in energy each time the drone's light plays over that liquid.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Geoglyphs..." Bucky nods when Batman offers his take on the structures. "Makes sense." No loitering, he's leading the team towards the 'ruins', keeping half an eye on the video feed. He could get used to this kind of real time intel. But the closer the team gets to the structures, the more tense he seems to become, as if bracing himself for imminent violence. Like a spring that's been wound up tight, and just waiting for an excuse to unwind all at once.

    With the team splitting up, he gestures towards Natasha, pointing at his eyes, then towards that is nominally 'east', asking her to observe that direction, as he indicates he'll be looking 'west' towards what is, for lack of a better term, the lake.

    And there he waits for science to happen, right hand casually on the pistol, in case violence needs to happen. It gives him time to look at the video feed.

    Look at the underground cavern.

    The honeycomb structures.

    The liquid.

    "Steve..." he begins, cautiously, as if voicing his suspicion will just make it come true. "Remember Coney Islan, back in thirty-six? The beehives? Tell me that doesn't look like a giant hive to you." And the pistol is out now, his thumb on the safety. No bueno...

Iron Man has posed:
Tony takes the proffered object and weighs it in his hand for a moment, doing a quick runthrough of the potentials just in the physical nature of the thing. It's what he does with all tech that doesn't have SI somewhere on it. Not better, not worse, just different from his. "Ah.. cool, thanks." It's actually genuine, even if it doesn't sound it.

Part of Tony's attention is on the drone's data as it scrolls through. He's got his HUD set to the raw data, and as he moves, he's got that eye on it; it's just something he's used to, coming from the Suit to this suit. "Ah.. Cap? Yeah, it's definitely colder down there. Physics still is a thing. However, that said? Do me a favor. Run over that water again, please? I'm getting some strange readings out of--"

Science does happen, and right before their eyes. Well, his eyes. Everyone's eyes, even if they may not recognize it until much later.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Is anyone allergic to bee stings? Hope you brought your epi pen."

Honestly, it's a silly question. After all, even someone not allergic, if there are enough stings from thousands of the little creatures, it can still lead to death. But for someone allergic, a single small bee sting can be fatal.

Enter giant bees with hobbit hole sized doors. At least in her mind. Since they haven't seen such things yet. But a sting from a single bee of that size probably would be dangerous to someone human size. And that would be Earth types. Who knew what sort of toxins an alien one might have.

"Even if it is bee like, it could be the sentient being we are on an alien planet. Or it could be part of the wild life. We can't presume yet without more information."

Batman has posed:
Bruce nods only once to Bucky.

Honeycombs. Caverns. Sentient life right under their feet. Batman briefly nods to Tony in reply to his thanks but he looked at least slightly surprised at what they were looking at. He forgot what that feels like. Surprise. He's always so prepared for every possibility and eventuality that can be foreseen....and it takes an alien planet to surprise him.

"Indectoids. We know nothing of morphology. The only assumption we can make is that they are a foreign chemical and potential biohazard. Natasha is right." Batman states then. Batman reaches for something in his hip. Batarang? Bug repellent? He's ready for a fight. Let's hope whatever this is....hope it's docile. But free a reason these things are ruins.

Captain America has posed:
    "Alright," Is Cap's answer to Tony, though his head turns just enough to bring Bucky into view fully. Standing there with one hand raised to the side of his head, helping him to focus on the video feed from the drone, he's still at the least able to respond to the Winter Soldier's words.
    "You think bees? Insect-beings?" Which has him tilting his head to the side as if accepting that as a strong possibility. And not liking it.
    But bidden by the Man of Iron, Steve does play the light back along the surface of that water again. Slower this time, however, letting the light linger against the brackish surface of that liquid. Dark and greyish it seems, no transparency, like a sitting settled kludge of gelatin or thick liquid.
    But then the liquid gives off a bubble. Then another. Burbling as the light lingers. Then abruptly there's a /splash/ as the liquid spatters the lens of the drone's camera. Then a tenth of a second later the feed dies.
    "Damn. Lost it." Steve says as he turns his head then to look at Tony, then the others to see if they had any thoughts or insight.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Either ruins, or flues for the hive. Cooling or entrances. But my guess is they don't like light much." Seeing the drone feed suddenly drop out does nothing to assuage Bucky's suspicion of what's underneath their very feet. "And if 'they don't walk like us' is the Asgardian way of saying 'these things fly', we're going to have to consider their intel to be suspect from this point on."

    Although, in their defense, it is an accurate description. Flying is not walking. But poetry and mission planning rarely mix.

    "I firmly suggest..." and that's Bucky's way of saying he's not going to intrude on the authority of the mission lead, but believes he may have a valid point that could and possibly should be actioned "... we don't antagonise whatever is down there. If they're sentient, they might be a bit snippy about us suddenly showing up and poking into their home. If they're fauna, there's this great bit of advice about letting sleeping lions lie. About not poking bears. Surprising how many cultures have a saying to mean don't poke the thing that can kill you."

Iron Man has posed:
Hive-like structures.

"Asgardians did say they didn't move like they did," Tony repeats. "Could mean insectoid. They didn't say they moved like beasts. They didn't say anything like that, so maybe that's a hint?"

He's been silent on the potential builders of such unnatural natural cityscape, not wanting to draw any conclusions. "They also said they were good trading partners, so they're elevated onto that level." After all, at the time, Earth wasn't a good trading partner!

Tony is looking at one of the structures, not wanting to touch it, but instead, allowing for some sort of visual recon until suddenly the drone feed is gone. Not.. gone, gone.. and he jumps back with a "Whoa!"

Already he can feel his heart try and make its way back down to his chest from his throat, and he looks around quickly to lay eyes on everyone else. "Hey.. did you just see that? On the drone." For those who may not have heard it before, that is indeed Tony's 'concerned' voice.

"Okay.. rule one. No one goes down into any tunnel alone. No one touches any liquid." Tony pauses for a couple of heartbeats before, "Okay, two rules." He exhales in a breath, not truly realizing at first that he was holding it again. "I'm with Bucky on this one. No poking bears."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
So these might be the sentient beings. But they also might not be. "If these are the beings, they might be amenable to meeting new people. They traded with the Asgardians after all. But we don't even know for sure that what is in there is the sentient beings. Though the structures can be considered artistic extensions of a hive style 'home'." Using that last term loosely.

Natasha considered a moment. She glanced over to Tony and his reaction then frowned slightly. "My suggestion was a quick recon inside. Someone who can move fast and keep from being seen." There were a few people in the group who fit that but of course she would be suggeseting herself, not putting others in the line of fire. "On a timer so we have enough of a chance to still take our exit window. Unless you all think we should take longer and stay, see if we can learn more about the structures and what might be down there?"

Batman has posed:
Batman's eyes narrow.

When the feed is lost, he doesn't jump or appear startled. To others that might have been just a simple unlucky streak of liquid getting onto the feed. "A warning." Batman adds in addendum to what others have already said. "The liquid is either extremely corrosive or it has endothermic properties. It takes in energy." He looks at the others.

That there's no fauna outside right now in the daytime suggests that they are nocturnal. Barnes is correct. Natasha makes a fine point. If we are going to do anything, it needs to be done now while the light is still our ally." He looks at the group. "My recommendation is that we don't take any unnecessary risks. Whatever is down there, hostile or docile, has made no aggressive or territorial responses to our presence yet." He looks at Natasha. He doesn't say anything toh er, but he does look at Cap.

Tony's reaction is noted. "Breathe." Batman advises. If he holds his breath or jumps hard enough, he could accidentally give himself a heart attack or be too scared to breathe. That would be bad.

Captain America has posed:
    Checking the data display on his arm that passes for a watch he frowns at the number that is ticking away slowly there, then he looks up. A glance is given toward Bucky, then Tony as he speaks and they both make convincing arguments. It's clear the first Avenger is taking their opinion into the decision.
    Then he looks toward Natasha and Batman, meeting their gaze levelly as he considers them. "I don't like losing the drone. And I don't like the idea of anyone going down there alone."
    He takes a step back so he can bring everyone into his field of view on that crimson slope with the curious ruins all around them. The luggage on treads slowly trundles toward them as they speak. Cap glances at Batman, "I think we can all agree there is something worth studying here. Right now I'm of two minds about what we do."
    He rests his hands on his hips and says, "On one hand, I'm just a soldier. I hear artillery I go to ground or away from it."
    Which, as Bucky likely knows, isn't entirely true. Since there was more than one occasion when Steve ran in the direction of the big guns. Likely much to James Barnes' chagrin.
    "We hit our evac window, we know what we need and what we're facing better. We get regeared and come back next deployment."
    He lets those words hang there for a moment, then he says, "Other option. We stay the twenty four hours, investigate safely. No descent unless we can rig another drone. Perhaps from the rollers."
    A look around the group then he says, "Alright talk to me people." And from there he takes them one at a time.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Occasions? More than one, that's for sure. And Bucky gives Steve that look, even behind the visor and air scrubbers, that reminds his friend that he knows and remembers. But nothing is said on the subject, instead his comments are cogent to the situation at hand.

    "Much as I would like to know what's down there, even the best at staying hidden needs light to see. And that goop seems to react to light. We're not equipped for zero visibility situations." It's an operational objection, not one on principle. More to the point, he never questioned Natasha's ability to actually get in and out quickly and safely.

    "And I concur with Batman. Everything we see suggests that the fauna is either nocturnal, or has been eaten by the local alpha predator. Either way, we don't want to be here when the sun's gone. But I suggest we leave something here to record the night, see what comes out, and then come back during daylight to pick up the data. We need more information to plan this mission properly, something we hadn't considered until now. We learn, we live." That's... usually the other way around.

    "My suggestion is we plant a device to record, then bug out at our earliest opportunity" Poor choice of words, perhaps? But he's also aware of what seems like rising anxiety in Tony, and he can't blame the man for getting anxious. But Batman seems to have that covered, and covered well.

Iron Man has posed:
"I am going to assume that you missed the fact that liquid just travelled //up// to jump at the drone," Tony murmurs. In front of his eyes, he's replaying the data, up to the point where there was no more. "Liquid doesn't travel up unless there's some new physical law that I don't know about."

He shakes his head and looks around, "I say we don't wait out the timer. If you can do a quick recon, great. But if that stuff jumps through hoops for a drone snack," Tony's instantly giving it sentient features warranted or un-, "I'm not ready for that." He may have planned for a lot, even corrosive material.. but that?

"I say we go home with the data we have and give me 24 to unravel this and try and figure out what is going on." Did it move because of a frequency wave? "We lost our eyes down there, so we don't know how much is down there." He looks at the rest of the group and smiles quickly, the expression holding none of the humor. "I'm all for science, but we have a lot of data to sift through, and leaving in our window still means a success."

Leaving something to record, Tony's good with that, and he pulls out that little bit of tech that was given him by Batman. Holding it between a couple of fingers, he plants it beside a building. With the rumble of the cases now cresting, the tech genius is rooting through and picks up a dedicated recorder. No stamps on it that would send anyone back to a world, much less people, he rigs it to receive data flow. The work does give him the distance to get his breathing back under control. "I've seen gods, alien warships.. I've seen a lot. But that?" He gestures towards the entrance of the tunnels, "That's new."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
At the mention of bugging out, there is the faintest of a wince in Natasha's experession. Pun not intended she was sure. Since Bucky had his serious face on. In another situation, she might've thought he meant it.

"Fine. We go and get together better equipment to deal with the situation. Come back when we might have a wider first window, if that's even possible." She didn't fully understand the Bifrost so the window might be set no matter where they went. "I agree on leaving a camera or something to record while we are gone. See if there are beings and if they may or may not be sentient by their behavior when they exit tonight."

Batman has posed:
Batman knows multiple people who defy the laws of gravity and physics of their own free will due to unconsciously manipulating subatomic particles in the air. Physics and what they understand of physics got thrown out the window very early. "The liquid may be sentient or magnetic." Batman provides Tony with reason to help him calm down with his physics, give his brain something to consider: The liquid may be strongly attracted and adhese to certain metals.

Batman knows the opposite is likely true. They go around the block with thoughts and opinions. Batman is the last one to speak. "Leave reconnaissance equipment here. We observe and report. Return to the ship before nightfall and we'll watch their habits. I'll form a hypothesis on the creatures here. These...we'll call them Bees...might not be the only thing out here and knowing what we're dealing with gives us a pre-emptive advantage."

Without much of an additional word, Batman turns on his heel and starts to walk back to the ship. Tony is observed placing his equipment and Batman merely nods in approval. "You have the call Captain."

Captain America has posed:
    "Alright," Captain Rogers says as he takes one final look around at the team. "We head home and we come back better prepared." That is the plan and it's decided now. Again he checks the time, and frowns as the comms hear him taking deep breath then exhaling slowly.
    "You have five minutes to deploy what sensors and recording devices we can, then we're out of here. Let's move people." And as quick as that the team starts to bust a hump as they use the time remaining to get matters prepped for the future. The next window will still be 47 minutes, but at least now they can deploy to the ruins proper and buy some more time.
    It's once the hustle is over that Captain America gathers the team back around and makes sure the rollers are ready with their gear stowed. He looks up for a moment, then at the team, then back up again as he murmurs.
    "So." A pause, then he adds. "You just..."
    Then louder he says, "Heimdall?"
    Which is when the rainbow bridge carries them off into that blur of multi-color energy. For now safe. And sound.