airlock would have killed him.
Long:
Thanks for waiting for me there, chief.
Lawrence:
Yeah, no problem. You know, I don’t say this very much, but you look terrible. I mean it; you look like someone dragged you out of bed and beat the snot right out of you this morning.
Long:
That is very kind of you, thanks for noticing.
Lawrence:
Word to the wise: when hunting elephants, bring a big gun.
Long:
Okay. Next time I hunt an elephant I will be sure to do that. I thought I was losing my mind, but you are making absolutely no sense at all.
Lawrence:
Just a word to the wise, that’s all. I guess if you aren’t wise, it won’t make any sense.
Long:
Tell you what, before you try selling me some invisible clothes, I am just going to mute you. Sound good? Yeah, thought so.
Long reaches up to his wrist, and opens the computer control panel on his suit. He touches a couple of points on the smooth glass panel, and he picks his bags back up again. Lawrence grabs the oxygen, and follows Long out of the airlock as he starts walking toward the heavy rig, which also happens to be the only rig.
Lawrence loads his oxygen cylinders on the back of the weathered rig. He stops just after loading the third canister on the back; the quick movement of the thin air around attracts his attention. Small swirling vortexes of sand roam in their fury out on the plain below. Lawrence squints to get a closer look at one of them as it traverses the empty plain. Within it appears to be a raging blaze, smoke and ash look like they are pouring out of the top of the dust devil. “ What?”, he hurriedly throws the last canister onto the back of the rig before running alongside it up to the seating area. “Hey Long!”, Lawrence realizes that Long has just muted him on the radio, so he climbs up into the rig and grabs Long’s arm as he sits quietly.
Long turns to look at Lawrence, Lawrence points out into the distance, where he had seen the oddity; Long looks on and shrugs his shoulders. Long takes a moment to unmute Lawrence, and replies quite calmly, “Cool, we have those back home you know.” Lawrence turns to look at the dust devil that he had just pointed at; nothing out of the ordinary appears out on the horizon.
“Of course!”, Lawrence finishes crawling into the driver’s seat and presses the “on” button on the control panel.
The rig once again pulls away from the dome and begins to roll down the road. Countless rocks seem to float in an endless sea of rust-colored sand as far as the eye can see. The sun rises higher into the sky, shrinking the shadows that these rocks cast. After several silent hours of driving, Lawrence and Long finally arrive at the site that they have been tasked with sampling.
Lawrence:
Long, you don’t look very good at all; are you sure that you are alright?
Long:
For the last time Lawrence; I am just fine, just a little bit tired, that’s all.
Lawrence:
Well, here we are. Better go ahead and radio back to base that we have made it to the site without any problems. Why don’t you go ahead and get your gear out and carry what you need over to the opening of the tube. I will meet you there in a moment after I check in and secure the rig.
Long:
Right… so no one steals it while we are in there… okay.
Lawrence:
Stranger things have happened.
Long:
Of course they have. See you in a minute or so.
Lawrence completes his check in with Captain Cardiff and double checks the brake as the large rig is parked on a slope. It would take quite some time to fix the rig, or even longer to get a replacement if the rig drifted downhill and fell off of, or into something.
Sentries and guardians, the tall rocks stand watch over the entrance to the opening. The descent into the volcanic tube is obscured by windswept rock formations. Towering above the plain surrounding them, the rocks appear as bent blades projected upward. Pillars of sandstone have been carved by the wind that rages through the
Long:
Thanks for waiting for me there, chief.
Lawrence:
Yeah, no problem. You know, I don’t say this very much, but you look terrible. I mean it; you look like someone dragged you out of bed and beat the snot right out of you this morning.
Long:
That is very kind of you, thanks for noticing.
Lawrence:
Word to the wise: when hunting elephants, bring a big gun.
Long:
Okay. Next time I hunt an elephant I will be sure to do that. I thought I was losing my mind, but you are making absolutely no sense at all.
Lawrence:
Just a word to the wise, that’s all. I guess if you aren’t wise, it won’t make any sense.
Long:
Tell you what, before you try selling me some invisible clothes, I am just going to mute you. Sound good? Yeah, thought so.
Long reaches up to his wrist, and opens the computer control panel on his suit. He touches a couple of points on the smooth glass panel, and he picks his bags back up again. Lawrence grabs the oxygen, and follows Long out of the airlock as he starts walking toward the heavy rig, which also happens to be the only rig.
Lawrence loads his oxygen cylinders on the back of the weathered rig. He stops just after loading the third canister on the back; the quick movement of the thin air around attracts his attention. Small swirling vortexes of sand roam in their fury out on the plain below. Lawrence squints to get a closer look at one of them as it traverses the empty plain. Within it appears to be a raging blaze, smoke and ash look like they are pouring out of the top of the dust devil. “ What?”, he hurriedly throws the last canister onto the back of the rig before running alongside it up to the seating area. “Hey Long!”, Lawrence realizes that Long has just muted him on the radio, so he climbs up into the rig and grabs Long’s arm as he sits quietly.
Long turns to look at Lawrence, Lawrence points out into the distance, where he had seen the oddity; Long looks on and shrugs his shoulders. Long takes a moment to unmute Lawrence, and replies quite calmly, “Cool, we have those back home you know.” Lawrence turns to look at the dust devil that he had just pointed at; nothing out of the ordinary appears out on the horizon.
“Of course!”, Lawrence finishes crawling into the driver’s seat and presses the “on” button on the control panel.
The rig once again pulls away from the dome and begins to roll down the road. Countless rocks seem to float in an endless sea of rust-colored sand as far as the eye can see. The sun rises higher into the sky, shrinking the shadows that these rocks cast. After several silent hours of driving, Lawrence and Long finally arrive at the site that they have been tasked with sampling.
Lawrence:
Long, you don’t look very good at all; are you sure that you are alright?
Long:
For the last time Lawrence; I am just fine, just a little bit tired, that’s all.
Lawrence:
Well, here we are. Better go ahead and radio back to base that we have made it to the site without any problems. Why don’t you go ahead and get your gear out and carry what you need over to the opening of the tube. I will meet you there in a moment after I check in and secure the rig.
Long:
Right… so no one steals it while we are in there… okay.
Lawrence:
Stranger things have happened.
Long:
Of course they have. See you in a minute or so.
Lawrence completes his check in with Captain Cardiff and double checks the brake as the large rig is parked on a slope. It would take quite some time to fix the rig, or even longer to get a replacement if the rig drifted downhill and fell off of, or into something.
Sentries and guardians, the tall rocks stand watch over the entrance to the opening. The descent into the volcanic tube is obscured by windswept rock formations. Towering above the plain surrounding them, the rocks appear as bent blades projected upward. Pillars of sandstone have been carved by the wind that rages through the
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