14348/Return to Proxima Centauri B

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Return to Proxima Centauri B
Date of Scene: 12 May 2022
Location: Proxima Centauri B
Synopsis: The team investigates the danger pudding and Tony needs time for research so they miss their window and end up spending the night. IN SPACE!
Cast of Characters: Captain America, Winter Soldier, Black Widow (Romanoff), Iron Man
Tinyplot: Avengers Exploration Corps


Captain America has posed:
    The return to Proxima Centauri B began with little fanfare.
    A day before the operatives were set to return the drones were remotely deployed and set to gather their data. The two that were aerial sat upon the larger roller and were keyed to launch as soon as the roller reached the designated target area. It should ideally get a good mapping of the lay of the land, one for above the ground... the other for below. And when the three figures were set to appear a wifi connection was meant to lock the feeds from those drones to the datastream connected to the suits.
    Ideally it should have worked flawlessly.
    So when the blast of multi-colored light crashed into reality once again on the surface of that red planet, depositing the team of explorers near where they had departed from... it might be irritating on some level to one particular soul of their party when the data stream came from only two of those drones.
    "We're down," Captain Rogers said as he touched a hand to his ear just in case of a response. Heimdall was never talkative, and some day Cap might be shocked out of his knickers if the Asgardian ever actually answered him. But today would not be that day.
    Then to the team his voice rises, "This looks familiar." An attempt at levity before he adds sidelong, "How are we looking, Tony?"
    The data would come to Iron Man first, then updating the onboard maps each other team member has. The aerial overland drone is intact and on standby, having provided a detailed topographical of the area. The roller is near the larger cave entrance near the ruins. But the subterranean, even set to circumnavigate the liquid discovered comes back repeatedly with a flashing...
    NO FEED.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    In time, perhaps, Bucky will become used to traveling vast interstellar distances in the eye watering blink of an eye, surrounded by bright light. Today, however, is not that day. It takes the Soldier at least two seconds to become oriented before training and instinct kicks in, taking stock of his surroundings and then leaving the landing area at a jog, settling down in a kneeling position about twenty yards away. In the lower left corner of his HUD, the countdown timer has begun... it's been something he insisted on after the first sortie.

    The other thing he insisted on is carried via a three point sling to his suit, the marksman version of the XM-8. At least it doesn't look immediately like an offensive weapon, merely mildly belligerent. "So, remember that movie where a large slug fed a space wizard to some kind of giant lamprey in a hole in the ground? I'm getting that kind of feeling from this place."

    One day he may even remember the name of that movie.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Return of the Jedi."

Natasha automatically filled in the blank for her less pop culture savvy associate. He probably was asleep for a lot of it so it was understandable.

Or she was used to filling in the blanks for Steve. His list of stuff to catch up on was probably longer than his arm by now.

The travel was getting easier. Something she had never expected. She /almost/ enjoyed it. It was kind of like a thrill ride. Something that wasn't typically her cup of tea. She risked her life enough to not do it for fun on a roller coaster or bungee jumping.

She took up her own position, checking her HUD to take in the new information coming from the drones. The mapping was excellent, giving her a better feeling to have some idea of exit strategies. Outside screaming 'now Heimdall'.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's been almost completely incommunicado since the first mission to Centauri B. He'd locked himself away, not answering calls or texts. Even Pepper didn't see him; though she did know he did live. Food was eaten, but sleep was gained in the lab. He worked and worked around the clock, working with all the data he'd received from the first trip, including the jumping liquid, because that is exactly what it had done. Bruce hadn't seen the data stream, hadn't been watching the flows. Didn't analyze the afters.

It. Jumped.

To that end, then, Tony's also upgraded the suits. They are completely contained in that there isn't a whisper of power that bleeds from them. Nothing. There's a fine layer of shielding that dissipates any electrical flow out, which in turn makes them completely invisible on a couple of the spectrums.

You're welcome.

Tony spent a great deal of time with those drones, too. Upgrading their shielding, armors, their signals. This time, Tony's going to remind everyone, "We all have the raw data flows. That's why we're not bringing the black box, remember." This might be important later!

Back down on the landing site, Tony moves off, his own personal HUD in the form of sunglasses over his eyes is locking on and the downloaded streaming begins. "Okay, kids," he announces loudly. "Count off." The tone of his words make it clear that he's not talking to the humans, but instead, the machines, the drones- his children. "Top Gun, I've got you buddy. Thank you for your help in this matter," and to the next?

"C'mon, buddy. Should've named you Sloth or something. Give me what'cha got. I don't have all day."

It's that third, however.. and he shakes his head, tapping the side of his sunglasses. "Hey.." this time, it's for the team. "We lost below ground. The kids have the data stream," and there, to his eyes, at the very least, everything is the same, except the location.

"Um.. guys?" Tony's moving forward even as the others are, however he's moving towards the spot where his drone had been. The above ground mark, however. "It was here.. down there. But, we'd marked the area clear."

Captain America has posed:
    Somewhere in between Bucky mentioning the movie and Natasha providing the name of it, Steve's voice comes in a little distractedly. "I think I saw that one..."
    But then he's moving ahead, his own suit still that white and grey of its default coloration save for the U.S.A. patch on the shoulder. Though one concession he made for the second hop was the pair of augmented gauntlets that would hopefully help in case of an emergency.
    When Tony starts feeding them information he turns and pays full attention to the man, though glancing to the inlay on their HUDs when Stark starts giving them information on that display. Stepping up to stand beside him, he keeps his own head on a swivel in the direction opposite Bucky's angle, covering the skyline as they often would do.
    "Clear of the liquid?" Which would make sense, since that was the main thing that stood out to the team.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Are you saying the liquid moved?"

    Like back in the older olden days, Bucky is adding on to Steve's queries, filling in the information gap as he perceives it. But they're a long way from Bastogne... at least as far as they are from Kansas which, as he remarked on last time, they were clearly no longer in. The new upgrades for the suits feel surprisingly... comfortable. Especially now that he no longer has to worry about stray electromagnetic interference messing with his arm. Honestly, he has learned to never operate a microwave with his left hand. Subconsciously, as that thought creeps in, he rolls his shoulder and scans the skyline. "We're going to have to down there, aren't we?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"They didn't make this easy," Natasha mutters as she takes in what Tony had said. So the drones didn't work for the perhaps most important part. Which implied to her there was a lot more going on with the aliens.

Wait, the inhabitants weren't actually the aliens here. They were the natives. Meaning she and the team were the aliens. Considering how well Earth had dealt with the first visitors from other places, which hadn't been all that well in modern times, she was having more concerns about how this was going.

Iron Man has posed:
"Yeah," Tony nods his head and checks the stream that the others had recorded for each other, and there? "Stop," Again, it is more than apparent that he's not talking to the human portion of the team, but rather the drones. Stepping forward a couple of steps towards one of the holes that lead downwards, the tech genius shakes his head slowly.

"Any of you wondering what happened to everyone on the planet yet? I know I am." It's a quiet quetion, but one that is weighed a little heavily.

"Oh, and the data is identical to the last time. The drone came across some of that liquid, and it subsumed it.. and not in a place where it had been previously." In other words?

"For those of you who didn't catch that the first time, either our maps are off, and I'm pretty sure they're not, or the liquid drone-eaters moved."

Captain America has posed:
    "I don't think it's wise for us to go down there if we're losing equipment." Cap says over his shoulder toward Bucky, though the sound just comes across over the comms. He turns and shifts his weight on the small hillock area where they stand, his hand coming up as he keys a few buttons slowly on the datapad on the wrist.
    "We gather intel, establish contact if possible, and if that's not forthcoming..." Keeping the team intact seems to matter more to him than solving the mystery. For now at least.
    Then he turns back to Tony an d murmurs, "Some sort of seismic activity? Shifted things?" Not said with the utmost of confidence, more perhaps trying to play devil's advocate or find reasonable suggestions. "Displaced atmospheric pressure?"
    Though chances are if Cap has thought of these things... then Tony's already been through them and discarded the already.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Been thinking about that one a lot, actually." The fact that they were expecting some sort of sentient life and found only a barren wasteland where the Asgardians had reported 'trading partners' had been eating at Bucky. He returns that glance over his shoulder towards Steve. "Nothing about this is wise, Steve. But since we're here anyway..."

    But he's not happy about being on a planet that seems to have suffered some sort of extinction level event, and after a few moments he stands and pulls the XM-8 to the front of his chest plate where he can grab it in an instant. "Just so we're all on the same page, Tony, you're saying we've got some sort of sentient ooze on the loose that's eating equipment and possibly anything it encounters?"

    Momentary pause. "But if that's what it is, what's it been eating before we came here and fed it drone snacks?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha opted to play devil's advocate. "Perhaps because we have sent something in twice now to try and get information, the life forms chose to move to try and protect themselves?" It was a working theory at least. After all, if she was in a safe place and something strange kept showing up, she'd move on.

At least, if she was a pacifist. Meaning this might be a good sign.

"I am wondering if they would react better to someone alive instead of equipment. If you had a drone buzzing around your house repeatedly, you probably wouldn't like it either." She gave a little shrug. "The ooze could be the life form. It could be their equivalent of a guard dog. Or it could be something the eliminated the previous life forms. Or probably a dozen other things I'm not thinking of."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony rolls his hand as if to urge Cap to continue the list, and he does so regardless, "Shifting of the magnetic poles, sunspots, EMP flares, some little kid with a straw pushing it around like it was a ball of mercury.." He went through all the permutations, and came up lacking then.

Now?

"Could do a visual. We know it eats metal. Or pulls down the electrical." More to the point, given his readings. "Haven't tried inert materials."

Twisting around, Tony clarifies for Bucky, "That means dead and not electronic." To it's basest definition, that is.

"We have a little bit left to learn."

Captain America has posed:
    "Less wise?" Steve says as he tries to fit the phrasing for the moment. But he does seem relatively calm considering the situation. He takes the time to start to check over their gear that had been flashed through with them. Mainly storage and supplies in case they end up hitting the 47 minute window. Though for now they've been here barely ten minutes. They have a good ways to go.
    "I might be more inclined to consider contact with it..." Cap says as he checks the seals on the gear, then turns the helmet of his suit towrd Natasha, "If we saw it exhibit some other form of behaviour... might be something to consider."
    Though when Tony offers his insight, Cap's suit turns to face his squarely. "You're the big brain on this op, Tony. If there's a way you want to introduce another element to this then let me know." He tilts the wrist of his gauntlet again, likely checking the data display there before he adds. "But main thing I want right now is to know how much time you're going to need." And if it'll exceed their window.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Nearest entrance to the underground is a two minute hike that way." And just to clarify, Bucky does in fact point in a clear direction, almost dead straight towards where the drones had mapped one of the holes. "Dead and not electronic... like the hope of the Dodgers ever winning the world series?"

    And since there don't seem to be any threats, he stands and turns to face Steve. "You can't talk to this thing, Steve, it's an ooze. If Natasha's right, and that happens a lot, it either doesn't want to have anything to do with us, or it's eaten everything there is to eat on this planet and is moving on to find something else to snack on. Or find the source of these new snacks which, not to sound alarmist, is us. You really wanna go poke that thing?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"If it is going to react to electronics or the like, we are going to have to think outside that box. You can't really make a drone with no power though, can you?" She glanced at Tony for the answer to that.

But Natasha was taking a few steps in the direction that Bucky had indicated, though not heading that way at speed. She stops and glances back. "If we find it, I'm going to make a radical suggestion. Removal of any electronic devices and one of us approaches. See if we get the same defensive response. Obviously being ready to run like hell," she adds with a half smirk.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony listens to Steve, his head nodding slowly in agreement. "Easy enough," he says slowly.

Turning away from the group, he's calling down Top Gun, and once it lands, he's kneeling beside it. Most of the work is quick, easy, and once complete, the flying Ace drone has a grabbing arm. "Yes, well.. and once again, Top Gun is aloft, "Question is, did it move before and the drone just sort of ran into it, or was the drone chased down?" Yet another test! And more data to run through.

He nods in Natasha's direction, and then Bucky's, adding, "I was wondering where the inhabitants are, too. Tunnels are sentiently made. That ooze doesn't seem capable of making all of this, and I'm being really speciest here, but the whole 'no opposable thumbs' is a biggie for me." He forages for a branch and pokes at the three-fingered grabber until it opens, and he sets the stick in place. The 'fingers' close in again, and it hovers straight up, setting out for what is probably certain drone death.

"First, I want to see if the drone can avoid it. Then, see how it reacts with an inanimate object. I'm not going to hunt down and animal and sacrifice it.. because, guess what." Animals give off electrical impulses, which is exactly why he's got the suits deadening all electrical activity. Even that big ol' arm of Bucky's.

Tony stares at Natasha and shakes his head. "You, by the very merit of being alive, are giving off electrical impulses. Your heart, your brain. You're telegraphing. That's why I made your suits blacked out." The question is, now should he test it? He does it all the time with his Iron Man suits. But he pushes the iterations, and tests them all carefully. Here?

"I'll do it." He trusts the suits so much that he'd offer. "I know how to read the data, and you all have it recording anyway."

Captain America has posed:
    "Two minutes," Cap says as he echoes Bucky's words, turning his helmet in the direction gestured, then nodding once. He looks back toward Tony to hear the man's thoughts as he continues to work on the data he's able to extrapolate.
    For a moment the Star-Spangled Avenger crinkles his nose and he brings his glove up to the faceplate of his helmet with a faint clonk of sound, then chuckles slightly as he shakes his head, though offers no insight as to what he found funny. He steps over toward Bucky and Natasha...
    But when Tony volunteers he shakes his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Tony..." A glance is given, "Maybe let's wait to see what the results are with the drone first."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    As the decision is made by increments to start heading to the nearest hole in the ground, Bucky sets off and takes point, setting an easy walking pace. "Just saying this once, Tony, I'm not going to be the one to tell Pepper you were eaten by some kind of danger pudding. So, you've got two minutes to think of an alternative."

    And just for good measure, he gestures a warning to Steve. "We talked about this. I'm here to stop you from being too heroic." Fine, they talked about it nigh on a century ago, and in much different circumstances, but some things once discussed stay discussed.

    And since the topic of heroic sacrifices seems to come up, he gives a surreptitious glance at his own left hand, muttering a 'dammit' under his breath, since he seems to be disqualified from the 'no electronics' crowd. Even without the suit. "If this is the guard dog, not sure I want to meet the people who live here."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I vote no on Tony being volunteer. We need your brain." So he doesn't go thinking that Natasha likes him or something. Can't have that happening. "Let's see what happens with the drone. Then we'll figure out who volunteers, if we even opt to go that way."

She fell into step, following Bucky's path as they headed toward that opening. Though the drone would hopefully already be underground and providing information before they ever even reached that cave.

Iron Man has posed:
Two minutes.

Tony shakes his head and turns his back to everyone. The drone flies towards the hole, passing up Bucky as it does so, and in the next second, it drops down. Everyone can see the readings on their HUD, if they have it programmed that way. Everything is nominal, and the stick is released. The moment it's released, however, there is a *blip* and the drone is no longer transmitting. It's completely off the array.

Tony watches as the little red light on his HUD flickers out of existance; Top Gun is gone, but he's got data. He's got three now that he can put together and correlate, see if there are any differences, see if there's any..

Minute and a half.

"Don't go down there," Tony calls out. "The stick was negative in terms of reaction. Drone is a hundred percent. Do I need to tell anyone that it //jumped// again?" What the hell is it? What..

"Cap?" Tony hates doing this, but he has to. "I'm gonna need some time to go over this. I have ideas, but I need the final data." Looking around, he points to a building with no holes, "We'll be safe there. Just, keep the suits on, okay?"

Captain America has posed:
    "Didn't either of you remember anything from the military?" Steve's voice rises on the comms as he walks along, checking the gauntlets and running a few quick tests before he adds. "Don't volunteer for anything."
    Which at least goes to show that perhaps even if he didn't entirely believe in that advice... he'd heard it often enough in his time. Then the drone whirs by, slipping down into that cavern and disappearing into the dark out of view.
    For a time everyone's waiting, then the response comes back. The blip blinks out. More tax payer money down the drain. He turns his helmet in Tony's direction and listens to the man, then nods again.
    "Alright, we're going to be here for a bit. Nat, guard Tony while he does his investigation and gets his ducks in a row. Bucky and me we'll get the camp set up." That said he turns and starts the walk back, thumping Barnes on the shoulder as he passes.