Event: Target Zone (Day T-1, Afternoon, Briefing Room)

[Comstar]

"Hope they won't mind too much if I take a look myself."

Jan logged into sensor operating console with some difficulty because of crude UI, and angled and tuned them a bit into impromptu spectrography. His bet was he could get something out of it even after accounting for equipment quality and conditions on the ground. Photons rarely lied. His preference was obvious at this point as he was already committed to cracking the mystery this way or another.

A-1. Hard-and-fast spectrography. VP. TN30.: 6d10o10k5 31

The scanners gave a convincing argument that there was *some sort* of metallic alloy down there.

Whatever it was, it was manmade.

It was hard to pin it down further than that, but there were elements of Gold, Iron, Aluminum, Titantium, Zinc, Copper, and a half dozen other trace elements. Not a natural formation, for sure.

[Lucretzia Winters]

Lucretzia glanced at the young woman, and then smiled coldly. "We hadn't. Perhaps a call might be due - but to which tower? The one near the mining camp, or the one up north? Where would you begin?"

[Colette Rupelle]

"Well Dr Ren would probably like to know more about ze mining operations and seems zey are looking at materials in ze crust. So... maybe ze one near ze mining operations." She thought that would be a good start. "Zat may also help with relations with ze locals."

[Lucretzia Winters]

Lucretzia nodded.

"Tomorrow, then, I will put you through to them to answer any questions they might have, and ask just what they're up to."

The cold smile didn't fade as she assigned the woman the task.

"I'm certain your charming personality will win them over in no time at all."

[Colette Rupelle]

"I can do human relations! I will do my best not to fail Madame."

[Jan Novak]

"So, I can say with good confidence it's a manmade thing, a complex alloy. I'd leave it to your imagination, and our exploration effort, to determine what class of an object it can be give the size, but this thing in Limbo looks less like a mining operation and more like a hardware retrieval at this point." Jan spoke, having waited for the women to conclude their thing, also busy muting the disgruntled sensors controller.

[Dr. Reinhardt]

"So the question really becomes, do we go to Limbo first, bringing possible attention to it, and then leave it to deal with other objectives. Or do we deal with the likely more dangerous northern objectives first and hope nothing happens that would make us unable to complete the Limbo objective afterwards."

[Lucretzia Winters]

Lucretzia listened, and then nodded, quietly. "Your opinions?"

[Jan Novak]

"I am no good with people." Jan said somewhat flatly.

[Lucretzia Winters]

"Noted."

Lucretzia glanced at Jan. "Your suggested landing zone is Limbo then?"