I have woken up before my alarm again, as per tradition. I sit up and look around my room, half expecting to see my old office, papers all over the floor because I forgot to clear up the night before. But no, I am in my room, sitting on my bed, sheets comfortably pulled up to my waist. I slip out of them and sigh. It has been a while since I slept in a bed. Of course, my penchant for falling asleep at a desk, working late into the night, is no help whatsoever.
“Right, what am I going to do for…” I check my phone to see how early I woke up, “Two hours now?” I said to myself.
Two things immediately caught my eye: my backpack with most of my notes and my luggage with all of my personal belongings. Ah, who am I kidding? There is no way I am clearing my luggage out; I live out of my suitcase even when I return home anyway. I grabbed my backpack, pulled out my notebooks and my file with my rough maps, and started rearranging them again.
Station 1 is located in a pretty expansive region of the hollow earth called the Jungle Crags. It is not the name I want it to be labelled by on a fully mapped record of the hollow earth, but for the purpose of knowing where someone is while exploring it, it will do. It covers most of the concurrent area between Outpost 32 in Antarctica, under Australia and parts of the Pacific Ocean, to the unnamed vile vortex in Hong Kong, the one created after the “Apex Incident”, as I like to call it. Of course, we have not mapped the whole place yet, but from preliminary observations and predictions, it seems like these forested mountains are not the only things we can find in the hollow earth.
Obviously, to the north, there are the Seared Caverns where Kong and his troop currently reside, though there seems to be movement from the troop headed back out to the Crags. There also appears to be a less green and rockier biome further to the west of the Crags, and somewhere below what would be the East Indies on the surface. That’s as far as we have gone, and Dr Pali intends to go just a bit further into these new biomes. I look at the open edges on the northern and western sections of my maps.
“Whatever are we going to find out there?” I whispered to myself.
If I were to guess, we should find some kind of region with volcanism. The Temple of Kong, where the Hong Kong vortex leads, where my maps end, seemed to be near a pretty geologically active area. We might not see rivers of lava or craters pluming with smoke, but I imagine at the very least there will be a lot of rock. As for the west, towards what would be under the Indian subcontinent, we have absolutely no data there. By all means, it seems to be another rocky area, but I hope it is not, because that would just be boring. And that is the target of the upcoming mission- to discover if there is anything to the west of the Jungle Crags. I hope there is something to find.
Right as I was finishing my musings, my phone lit up, signalling that I had received a message. I reached for it and brought them up, the most recent ones asking for my presence in the main office. I looked at my dishevelled clothes and felt for my bed head before sighing and heading to my suitcase to pull some clothes out and get myself freshened up.
About 20 minutes later, I was strolling through the main office doors, significantly more well put together. The station director and Dr Pali were there to greet me.
“Dr Ishida…” The director began to say.
“Just Ishida, or Phil. Come on, director, we’ve butted heads enough for you to lose the politeness,” I responded before he could continue.
“… Ishida, I believe you’ve already acquainted yourself with Dr Pali,” the director continued, gesturing to Dr Pali.
“I have, twice now. With any luck, we’ll be friends next time and best buds by the seventh.” I responded.
“Oh my, is that how quickly you make friends, doctor?” Dr Pali chimed in.
“Why yes, doctor, it’s a… talent of mine,” I responded.
The director cleared her throat. “Well, as I understand it, you both will be the main scientific officers on an upcoming reconnaissance flight to the west of the Crags. I was intending this to be an introduction to each other. But, seeing as you both have already met, I suppose we can get straight down to business. If you both could meet me in my office.”
The director turned and started to walk towards his office, and Dr Pali and I followed suit. We walked by most of the administrative and control points of the Station. The only parts that do not feed directly into this point were the military and engineering divisions, both of which had liaisons but otherwise operated relatively independently from the scientific and administration divisions. As we stepped into his office, the drone from outside got muffled, and we took our seats to begin our discussion.
“Right, I have read both your proposal and agenda for the mission you are undertaking, Dr Pali. If you would be so kind as to give a refresher, both for my sake and for doc- I mean, Ishida’s.” The director said.
“Certainly,” Dr Pali began before clearing his throat and then continuing, “We have ascertained and preliminarily mapped a pretty expansive region within the hollow earth already, referring specifically to the Jungle Crags, the Seared Caverns and the Temple of Kong. However, we can be certain that this is not the true width and breadth to the hollow earth expanse.
“We are aware that the Crags open up to expanses in all four cardinal directions, and perhaps even below and to some extent above. To the north, we are aware of the Seared Caverns and the possible openings deeper towards the east. This particular mission is intended to move to the west, towards the regions below Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean.
“The mission is expected to last about a week, during which we will be collecting topographic, weather and preliminary biological data of the regions we encounter. After this, we will return to Station 1 here in the Crags to conduct a debrief and further analysis of the mission’s collected data.”
As Dr Pali finished his explanation, I took in everything that was laid out. As I was doing so, the director spoke up again. “Understood, Dr Pali. And now, doc- Ishida, what is your take on the agenda? I was told that you are the tracker and primary cartographer for the journey.”
“Hmm, I suppose the only question I have is how we intend to rest and recuperate throughout the mission? The hollow earth is a dangerous place.”
Dr Pali turned to me, “I’ve known the HEAV pilots to break off from deployed scientific teams and stand by on locations where it can remain safe. I would imagine we can just stay with the HEAV as it takes that location.”
“Well, that would imply a standby location approaching 8 hours. That’s easily the longest a HEAV would stay on standby outside Station 1, and then it proceeds further instead of returning. Has Raven- I mean Crowe, accepted these possibilities?”
“He brought them up and tentatively agreed. Though I do understand the general danger of all of this.”
“Hmm… well, if Crowe agreed, I don’t see why I can’t do so as well. However, as the tracker, I hold final say in calling when and where we will stop for our breaks,” I declared.
“Understood,” Dr Pali said readily.
“Hmm… I don’t think I have any other notes beyond that.” I finished.
With that, I nodded to Dr Pali, and we both turned back to the director. “Well…” she said, “As I had mentioned, I had expected this to be the first time you two met each other and expected a much larger discussion. However, I see that the discussion has already been conducted amongst yourselves.
“With that being said, there is one unfortunate thing that I will have to do here. Dr Pali,” she said, turning to him. “I’m afraid I will have to order you to cut your mission short.”
I shifted my gaze to Dr Pali to catch his reaction to this information, and he was not taking it well, though he maintained his composure.
“May I ask the reason, director?” he asked.
“Simply put, after the events that preceded the devastation of Rio, we cannot safely allow a small group of individuals to effectively go AWOL.”
“If I recall, the worst did not come to pass, precisely because that group set out when they did.”
“I’m afraid my hands are tied, Dr Pali. Your mission is restricted to three days of travel once you pass the chasm towards Station 1’s west and officially enter uncharted territory,” the director said with an air of finality.
Dr Pali let out a sigh and was ready to resign himself to his fate. Before he could, however, a thought crossed my mind.
“Director?” I began.
“Yes… Ishida?” she replied.
“You mentioned the mission is restricted to three days of travel beyond the chasm.”
“Indeed.”
“So, if we were to set up a semi-permanent camp three days away from the chasm, we could then go as far out and back as we want, yes?” I said with a bit of a grin on my face.
The director was taken aback by my suggestion, in no small part because we have had multiple conversations like this in the past, and she was no doubt getting tired of me pulling off stunts with mission parameters.
“… One week, that’s as much time as you can buy yourselves,” she finally replied.
Dr Pali bowed down, some relief showing on his face. “Thank you, director.”
I bowed down as well.
She simply sighed and said, “If you all get in trouble, don’t say I let you guys stay out there.”
With that, Dr Pali and I left the office. As we walked back, I remembered I had a question to ask him.
“Out of curiosity, Dr Pali… Do you have a nickname?” I asked him.
“Hmm? Oh… Not amongst my colleagues, I suppose…” he replied.
“Oh… I’m afraid that will not do; no friend of mine does not have a nickname I can call them.”
“Oh, but it’s not the third time we’ve met yet.”
“Well, if we are going to be friends by the next time we meet, I will have to have a nickname by then. Do you have any preferences?”
Dr Pali thought for a moment before shaking his head, “I feel like I will rue this day for this, but… Surprise me.”
The elation I felt in that very moment was about as much as when I found out no one was calling Crowe ‘Crow’ anymore. “Oh, Dr Pali… I will strive not to disappoint you.”
“Right, what am I going to do for…” I check my phone to see how early I woke up, “Two hours now?” I said to myself.
Two things immediately caught my eye: my backpack with most of my notes and my luggage with all of my personal belongings. Ah, who am I kidding? There is no way I am clearing my luggage out; I live out of my suitcase even when I return home anyway. I grabbed my backpack, pulled out my notebooks and my file with my rough maps, and started rearranging them again.
Station 1 is located in a pretty expansive region of the hollow earth called the Jungle Crags. It is not the name I want it to be labelled by on a fully mapped record of the hollow earth, but for the purpose of knowing where someone is while exploring it, it will do. It covers most of the concurrent area between Outpost 32 in Antarctica, under Australia and parts of the Pacific Ocean, to the unnamed vile vortex in Hong Kong, the one created after the “Apex Incident”, as I like to call it. Of course, we have not mapped the whole place yet, but from preliminary observations and predictions, it seems like these forested mountains are not the only things we can find in the hollow earth.
Obviously, to the north, there are the Seared Caverns where Kong and his troop currently reside, though there seems to be movement from the troop headed back out to the Crags. There also appears to be a less green and rockier biome further to the west of the Crags, and somewhere below what would be the East Indies on the surface. That’s as far as we have gone, and Dr Pali intends to go just a bit further into these new biomes. I look at the open edges on the northern and western sections of my maps.
“Whatever are we going to find out there?” I whispered to myself.
If I were to guess, we should find some kind of region with volcanism. The Temple of Kong, where the Hong Kong vortex leads, where my maps end, seemed to be near a pretty geologically active area. We might not see rivers of lava or craters pluming with smoke, but I imagine at the very least there will be a lot of rock. As for the west, towards what would be under the Indian subcontinent, we have absolutely no data there. By all means, it seems to be another rocky area, but I hope it is not, because that would just be boring. And that is the target of the upcoming mission- to discover if there is anything to the west of the Jungle Crags. I hope there is something to find.
Right as I was finishing my musings, my phone lit up, signalling that I had received a message. I reached for it and brought them up, the most recent ones asking for my presence in the main office. I looked at my dishevelled clothes and felt for my bed head before sighing and heading to my suitcase to pull some clothes out and get myself freshened up.
About 20 minutes later, I was strolling through the main office doors, significantly more well put together. The station director and Dr Pali were there to greet me.
“Dr Ishida…” The director began to say.
“Just Ishida, or Phil. Come on, director, we’ve butted heads enough for you to lose the politeness,” I responded before he could continue.
“… Ishida, I believe you’ve already acquainted yourself with Dr Pali,” the director continued, gesturing to Dr Pali.
“I have, twice now. With any luck, we’ll be friends next time and best buds by the seventh.” I responded.
“Oh my, is that how quickly you make friends, doctor?” Dr Pali chimed in.
“Why yes, doctor, it’s a… talent of mine,” I responded.
The director cleared her throat. “Well, as I understand it, you both will be the main scientific officers on an upcoming reconnaissance flight to the west of the Crags. I was intending this to be an introduction to each other. But, seeing as you both have already met, I suppose we can get straight down to business. If you both could meet me in my office.”
The director turned and started to walk towards his office, and Dr Pali and I followed suit. We walked by most of the administrative and control points of the Station. The only parts that do not feed directly into this point were the military and engineering divisions, both of which had liaisons but otherwise operated relatively independently from the scientific and administration divisions. As we stepped into his office, the drone from outside got muffled, and we took our seats to begin our discussion.
“Right, I have read both your proposal and agenda for the mission you are undertaking, Dr Pali. If you would be so kind as to give a refresher, both for my sake and for doc- I mean, Ishida’s.” The director said.
“Certainly,” Dr Pali began before clearing his throat and then continuing, “We have ascertained and preliminarily mapped a pretty expansive region within the hollow earth already, referring specifically to the Jungle Crags, the Seared Caverns and the Temple of Kong. However, we can be certain that this is not the true width and breadth to the hollow earth expanse.
“We are aware that the Crags open up to expanses in all four cardinal directions, and perhaps even below and to some extent above. To the north, we are aware of the Seared Caverns and the possible openings deeper towards the east. This particular mission is intended to move to the west, towards the regions below Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean.
“The mission is expected to last about a week, during which we will be collecting topographic, weather and preliminary biological data of the regions we encounter. After this, we will return to Station 1 here in the Crags to conduct a debrief and further analysis of the mission’s collected data.”
As Dr Pali finished his explanation, I took in everything that was laid out. As I was doing so, the director spoke up again. “Understood, Dr Pali. And now, doc- Ishida, what is your take on the agenda? I was told that you are the tracker and primary cartographer for the journey.”
“Hmm, I suppose the only question I have is how we intend to rest and recuperate throughout the mission? The hollow earth is a dangerous place.”
Dr Pali turned to me, “I’ve known the HEAV pilots to break off from deployed scientific teams and stand by on locations where it can remain safe. I would imagine we can just stay with the HEAV as it takes that location.”
“Well, that would imply a standby location approaching 8 hours. That’s easily the longest a HEAV would stay on standby outside Station 1, and then it proceeds further instead of returning. Has Raven- I mean Crowe, accepted these possibilities?”
“He brought them up and tentatively agreed. Though I do understand the general danger of all of this.”
“Hmm… well, if Crowe agreed, I don’t see why I can’t do so as well. However, as the tracker, I hold final say in calling when and where we will stop for our breaks,” I declared.
“Understood,” Dr Pali said readily.
“Hmm… I don’t think I have any other notes beyond that.” I finished.
With that, I nodded to Dr Pali, and we both turned back to the director. “Well…” she said, “As I had mentioned, I had expected this to be the first time you two met each other and expected a much larger discussion. However, I see that the discussion has already been conducted amongst yourselves.
“With that being said, there is one unfortunate thing that I will have to do here. Dr Pali,” she said, turning to him. “I’m afraid I will have to order you to cut your mission short.”
I shifted my gaze to Dr Pali to catch his reaction to this information, and he was not taking it well, though he maintained his composure.
“May I ask the reason, director?” he asked.
“Simply put, after the events that preceded the devastation of Rio, we cannot safely allow a small group of individuals to effectively go AWOL.”
“If I recall, the worst did not come to pass, precisely because that group set out when they did.”
“I’m afraid my hands are tied, Dr Pali. Your mission is restricted to three days of travel once you pass the chasm towards Station 1’s west and officially enter uncharted territory,” the director said with an air of finality.
Dr Pali let out a sigh and was ready to resign himself to his fate. Before he could, however, a thought crossed my mind.
“Director?” I began.
“Yes… Ishida?” she replied.
“You mentioned the mission is restricted to three days of travel beyond the chasm.”
“Indeed.”
“So, if we were to set up a semi-permanent camp three days away from the chasm, we could then go as far out and back as we want, yes?” I said with a bit of a grin on my face.
The director was taken aback by my suggestion, in no small part because we have had multiple conversations like this in the past, and she was no doubt getting tired of me pulling off stunts with mission parameters.
“… One week, that’s as much time as you can buy yourselves,” she finally replied.
Dr Pali bowed down, some relief showing on his face. “Thank you, director.”
I bowed down as well.
She simply sighed and said, “If you all get in trouble, don’t say I let you guys stay out there.”
With that, Dr Pali and I left the office. As we walked back, I remembered I had a question to ask him.
“Out of curiosity, Dr Pali… Do you have a nickname?” I asked him.
“Hmm? Oh… Not amongst my colleagues, I suppose…” he replied.
“Oh… I’m afraid that will not do; no friend of mine does not have a nickname I can call them.”
“Oh, but it’s not the third time we’ve met yet.”
“Well, if we are going to be friends by the next time we meet, I will have to have a nickname by then. Do you have any preferences?”
Dr Pali thought for a moment before shaking his head, “I feel like I will rue this day for this, but… Surprise me.”
The elation I felt in that very moment was about as much as when I found out no one was calling Crowe ‘Crow’ anymore. “Oh, Dr Pali… I will strive not to disappoint you.”
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