#W: So uh. We'll be home soon's what I'm sayin'.

[pyxisastronautica]

[A video depicts the long dark tunnel of a natural cave, lit by dim green light that's been amplified. There's a sound of dripping coming from somewhere up ahead.

Whiskey's voice can be heard over the speaker but is also automatically converted to captions.

W: Well. I reckon this is the one. I hear it too a lil' bit. That signal, dim as it is.

Despite the ambient noise of the cave, it's audible in the upload too, as if playing over the video rather than from something within it. It's little more than a faint layer of pitchy white noise, though.

W: Welp, nothing to do but follow it. Check back in in a lil' bit.

The video cuts ahead.

There is a large pit cave up ahead- limestone perhaps, that had once been eroded by groundwater. The water is still flowing, in fact, though the flow down the sides is fairly weak, little more than a trickle.

The first thing one might notice is the noise. It is as loud as a crowd of people talking, and there's something about it that's not dissimilar, a chaotic but not quite random signal, like birdsong or frogs or cicadas. But it's not quite the same as any of those, either. There's no directionality to it, as before, it's not a physical sound but a signal that's been picked up and translated into it.

The second thing is tiny sparks of light pulsing and flickering ahead, like stars, or a swarm of something bioluminescent. The dim light given off reflects off of what casts it in a way that looks either metallic or waxy, giving it shape- short, dense shapes that are almost coralline or perhaps fungal. They carpet the walls of the cave completely in both directions, swaying gently, and a slow cascade of what looks like glitter rains down as it does. It's beautiful, in a way. The only thing that mars that beauty are the occasional oddly shaped lumps on the wall.

W: Methane detected. Not at dangerous levels. Lima, you alright? What is that stuff?

Lima stands about 200 feet from where the cave opens up ahead, silhouetted and standing stock still. Though presumably the message is received by her, she doesn't seem to respond immediately, transfixed. Whiskey shakes her shoulder, and Lima shakes her head a little.

W: Yer startin' to scare me a little, Beans. L: Sor-sorry. I'm sorry. I don't...know what I'm looking at either. It's unlike anything that should be on Earth. W: But it's what's makin' all this racket then? L: Yes. The data it transmits its noisy, but I think I'm starting to see the pattern within it. It's...talking to itself, I think. W: Well...what's it sayin'? L: Uncertain. The patterns changed when you approached, though. I think they know we're here. W: They? L: It's like...a colony, I think. W: Well...at least it ain't dangerous then, right? L: I don't think it is...But. Something tells me it is...curious, about us. Maybe it will allow me to take a sample...? W: I...I dunno Beans. I don't like this much. We seen some weird things in our tour but...None of 'em been able to broadcast directly to us. It's givin' me the heebie jeebies. L: No samples then. Shouldn't I study it's signal regardless, though? W: Nnnnah. Nah we're headin' back, Lima.

Whiskey grabs his comrade's wrist tightly, tugging her away.

Video ends.]