"Are the anchors set?" Jace asked as looked down the crack in the asteroid. He could just drop down, but they did not know how intense the gravity got. He also did not feel like testing the upper limits of the Spectre Armor’s impact resistance.
"Affirmative." Charlie answered. "So who is going first?"
"I am," Jace informed them with a chuckle. "I will be going first. Josef are you up to the climb or would you like to stay up here?"
"I would like to stay up here sir." Josef rotated his new arm. "I am not quite used to it yet. But I can still act as a support in case the anchor starts coming out." Josef waved at the two rope anchors that had been set up on the edge of the crack.
Jace nodded and pulled on the rope before lowering himself down. "Jul’an with me on the other rope. Nila and Charlie and Ulin, take up the rear." Jace ordered as he began lowering himself down. As he moved down he saw several different minerals and metals in the rock.
"Sir? I am spotting some rare minerals even by Victorium standards." Jul’an pointed out as they descended lower. Eventually it grew darker as they went around a bend and the minerals absorbed the very little light that was trying to get through.
"I know," Jace agreed as he made a few notes using his HUD so they would know to come and mine this asteroid belt for the rare materials it contained. "Switching to night vision mode." Jace’s vision changed to the green tinted reality that came with night vision. But after a moment it just became a black void. "Never mind, switching to external lights. Nila and Charlie, you can start down the ropes now. Nila, call out when Ulin can start descending."
"Affirmative." Nila responded as he could still feel a slight tug on the rope as they descended further. He looked around, the flashlights built into his helmet moving with his head.
They continued to find deposits of minerals when they suddenly stopped. "Sir, it looks is the bottom of the crevice. Are we sure this is the right asteroid?" Jul’an asked and honestly Jace did not have a clear answer for him.
Jace grumbled and looked around which was not much. It was still a narrow passageway, one that Josef most certainly never would have fit inside of. But to one side was Jul’an who was waiting for his answer. Then on the other...
It was right there. He did not see it at first because of the continuous layers of minerals and the illusion it created. "Give me a moment." Jace told him as he detached himself from the rope and then began shuffling to the side.
As he arrived at the edge he could see it more clearly. It was another twist in the pathway. He did not see it at first because one part of it dipped out and the other dipped in. Making a round pathway that could not be easily seen from their point of view.
He started moving through the path and soon arrived at an opening, one that blinded him for a moment so he had to look away and turn off his helmet flashlights. He then looked back and whistled.
It was a large open space with one of those bright crystals hanging from the roof. The walls were almost all covered in minerals and various unrefined metals. But on the wall opposite him he could see specs of a refined material. He could even see a large letter in black on it. Then there was the opening that was very clearly a door.
"Found it, get down here." Jace told them after he stared for a moment in awe. He then moved forward toward the door as he held up his arm and used a device that was attached to his armor for this mission. It beeped and began doing an in-depth scan of the ship as he moved forward.
"Is that... a spaceship?" Jul’an asked over comms as he entered the open space.
"At the very least it is part of one." Jace told the Mar’talic as he got close enough to the doorway to pull out the pile of rocks that were covering it. "The entrance is severely damaged but I can still get access."
"Ulin you can start descending." He could hear Nila over the communication channel.
As Jace continued pulling rocks out of the doorway there was beeping noise as his device finished its scan. He looked at the results and frowned. "The ship is still semi-operational at least. Its dormant systems blocked the scan of the ship I attempted."
Jace put his gloved hand against the ship and then used his power to absorb and read the ship’s current schematic. His eyes shot wide open in surprise. "This ship... is completely intact. It is roughly the size of a Caravel-Class ship. It has a hangar we could easily fit the Guardian inside of. Then there are so many things on it that I do not understand the purpose of."
"How is the shape?" Charlie asked over the comms in what was clearly suppressed excitement.
"Bulky, short, and with plenty of edges. But also several rounded areas." Jace told her with a chuckle as he crouched by the now unblocked door and began figuring out how to open the door. He plugged the scanning device on his wrist into the door.
At first he was just going to hack into it, but looking at the coding even he could easily realize that would take too long. "There seems to be a nine digit code attached to the door." Jace told them as he looked at the internal works of the door. "I can also open it by hardwiring the door, but the ship’s schematics are so complex I might end up damaging something else. Charlie, what do you think?"