I came back to the outpost ruins with the heavy drilling equipment. To my relief, no-one else had been at the site during my absence. Jakri is a calm backwater system, God be thanked.
I first made a small, focused bore, just wide enough to send a miniature camera drone in. I aimed towards the center of the cavity. As the drill got through, air flowed from the hidden room. I made a mass spectrometer analysis. The oxygen level was depleted, but the isotope content revealed that this compartment has been sealed for well over a thousand years. Praising God for this well conserved find, I sent in the camera drone.
It was dark, and the tiny drone's flashlight does not have a very wide beam size. It revealed the contents of the chamber piece by piece as the drone and its light spot turned around.
It must have been a panic room or a hideaway of some sort. The first thing I could see was the sealed door on the wall opposite to where my drill entered the room. Given the layout of the outpost, the door must connect to one of the central halls of the complex, a room I call the command center. Earlier, in this command center, I could not see any trace of a passage to a secret chamber. Now that I know what to look for, I can see some traces, but... what great craftsmanship!
The tiny camera drone swiveled around. On the left wall there are various devices; at first glance they look like communication devices and station diagnostics. The communication devices are on a bench which also has notepads - they have writing on them!
Against the wall
where my drill entered is a bunk bed, and next to it is a
stool with a lid, probably some sort of toilet. The wall to the right of my entry point has shelves with some supplies, a faucet (water?) and a little shrine with an idol. Scattered on the floor are opened containers which may have had food in them.
The last thing I noticed was what was just below the drone, on the lower bunk bed. A corpse, mummified but well preserved. She is lying down peacefully, face up, arms folded. She must have suffocated, waiting in vain for help until oxygen ran out.
I will move the laser drill to the "command room", and drill an entrance to the chamber large enough for me to crawl through and enter the room. It will take the better part of a day to do it carefully.
