"Pschuuuuuuhhhh....."
My hand flies upwards through the darkness.
"Klunk!" I feel some hard knob, and grab onto it. It has a gnarley, wooden structure – it has to be one of the countless spacial mangrooves growing here.
"Wreeeeeeeee..."
I retract my arm, and tug myself upwards. I have not much to carry, so travelling is rather easy. So far, I have not been disturbed so much by primordial beasts.
I ran into a Grave Gecko, and unfortunately, I had to exterminate it. Normally, we keep them alive if possible, as they are useful for cleaning up corpses. This one however was in mating season and therefore very aggressive. I was forced to use the blaze reap, and seeing this weapon in action, I understood how Lyza was able to blast through the Ethereal Stalkers.
Air flows over my skin as I speed the retraction of my arm up. Finally, i arrive at the end of it, and grab a mangroove root. Then, I repeat the procedure.
"Pschuuuuuuuhhhh...."
"Klunk!"
"Wreeeeeeee..."
This area of the abyss is a very vertical one. Relics are embedded here and there into the roots. Normally, I would stop and inspect them, such is my job as a Recon Unit. But now I got a mission, and therefore I do not have time to waste.
Vision range is sparse at best. My eyes need only very little light, but I still can make only guesses as to where i shoot my hand to. This bad light condition, luckily, also makes me harder to spot for most hostile creatures.
"Pschuuuuuuuhhhh...."
"Klunk!"
"Wreeeeeeee..."
I climb a bit further from the point my hand grappled, and finally reach a small flat area. This should be a good spot for a break.
Moss is covering the ground here, and I see various egg-shaped relics lying around. Most of them are uninteresting, but one catches my sight: A perfect sphere, emitting soft rainbow colours.
I think back to my storage building, in the city. This sphere would make a nice decoration for it.
I seriously contemplating about taking this with me, but I decide I can't justify the extra burden.
"Ahem." Someone is clearing their throat loudly behind me.
"WHAAAA!" I jump onto my feet, and turn around, readying the Incinerator.
"What are you doing, R36?"
My shock subsides. "Oh, you are it, S6."
S6, a science unit, is designed similarly to me, only with longer hair, and integrated substance containers. She is also lacking the extendable Arms and legs. "Correct. I ask you again: What are you doing here, Recon-36?"
"I... I am going upwards." I feel like S6 would not approve of me helping a Curse-Ridden. Therefore, I decide to keep quiet about my mission, and Lyza. "Recon Job in the fifth layer: Amaranthine-Deceptor activity."
"Understood. Estimated time of return?"
"Unknown, sorry." I feel bad to lie to her.
S6 nods. "I will continue collecting samples. Be careful with the relic on your back."
"Okay! Best of luck!" No answer.
I swear, those Science Units are built different. I sigh, decide I had enough of a break, and continue.
"Pschuuuuuuuhhhh...."
"Klunk!"
"Wreeeeeeee..."
"Pschuuuuuuuhhhh...."
"Klunk!"
"Wreeeeeeee..."
