Part Three

“Elenore, where's your familiar?” Theodore asked his daughter over breakfast.

“Hmm? I don't know,” she replied, looking up from her oatmeal. “He goes off from time to time like this, and usually comes back after a couple of hours. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was thinking that you could loan him to Miranda for the day. Let him help out with the heavy work, you know?”

“Sure Father,” she said as she stood up from their makeshift table. “Let me go call him with the tee-see-em.”

“Tee-see-em?” Theodore called out to her back.

Walking to her tent, Elenore waved to the other expedition members as she walked. Some were just rousing from their sleep, while others where busy with breakfast or preparing for the job ahead. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Elenore paused to enjoy the cold, mountain air, before stepping into her tent. Digging through her pack, Elenore made sure to make as much noise as she could to rouse her sleepy tent-mate.

“Can't you keep it down?” Helen muttered as she groaned and turned over.

“Wake up, Helen,” Elenore said as she rose, tee-see-em in hand. “If you don't get up, I'm going to kick you.”

When Helen groaned in response, Elenore, true to her word, delivered a soft kick to the approximate location of Helen's rear before exiting the tent, fitting the strange artifact on her head. Elenore shook her head as she walked back to the crate she was using as a breakfast table and to where her father was. It seemed like Helen would always be weak in the mornings.

“Lambda, do you hear me?” she said, tapping the side of the communication artifact.

“I hear you commander,” Lambda's voice came in clear.

“Lambda, I have a mission for you,” Elenore said as she retook her seat. “Do you know who Miranda is?”

“Affirmative, Commander.”

“Good. I want you to assist Miranda in digging out the ruins. Something could be waiting down there, you know?”

“I don't quite understand,” Lambda said, his voice becoming slightly louder. “But I am to assist Miranda in any way possible, without explosives?”

Elenore laughed, “so you finally get it. Well, if she asks for it, then you're free to use them. Understood?”

“Understood, Commander.”

“Good. By the way Lambda, what were you doing?” Elenore asked, her curiosity surfacing.

“Setting up the sensor network and eating,” Lambda's voice came from her ear and behind her.

Spinning around, Elenore saw Lambda, flecks of blood splattered against his black armor, with a deer pelt thrown over his shoulder.

“Did... did you eat a whole deer?” Theodore asked with a horrified expression on his face.

“No, just half,” Lambda answered nonchalantly. “I put the rest with our food provisions,” he said, gesturing to the camp's kitchen space.

Theodore stared at his daughter, who once again gave him a wry smile and a little shrug. It seemed that when it came to Lambda, this was going to be a common expression from Elenore.

“Well, okay. Just go wash up before you go help Miranda out, understand Lambda?”

Lambda looked down to his blood-splattered armor.

“Of course, Commander.”

It wasn't well known outside of those who worked with them, but all of the Nexus “vat soldiers,” such as the supercommandoes were known to develop personality quirks dependent on the unit class and series. For example, the Delta Four Scipii were known to have a strong sense of humor, while the Alpha Three Centurions had a preference for close quarters combat. The Lambda Six Myrmidons were known to have a fondness for digging – digging earthworks or preparing the earth for a pre-fab structure, for example. For a reason nobody could explain, they seemed to enjoy digging in the dirt – and the unit designated Lambda Six-Oh-Two was no exception.

Miranda watched with folded arms and a smirk on her face as Lambda cut into the dirt with zeal. Thinking that she'd have to babysit the large human, the dwarf found herself pleasantly surprised when the human immediately picked up a shovel and began to dig, moving swiftly and efficiently. He moved quickly and professionally, moving dirt and expanding the dig area without getting in the other workers' way.

“Nick, stop!”

The wolf-man Nick turned to see Lambda walking towards him with a hastened pace.

“The tunnel is getting unstable. We need to put supports here and here,” Lambda said while pointing.

“Got it, Lambda.”

Miranda was impressed. She had only seen the danger once Lambda called out to Nick. She laughed, wondering if they shouldn't trade places. She hefted her pick, ready to join the crew – she wasn't doing too much as the “foreman,” so she might as well get her hands dirty.

“We broke through!”

The words echoed through the camp, followed by cheers as the expedition members and students rushed towards the “pit.” Theodore could hardly contain his excitement as he ran forward, his good friend Al right behind him. Pushing his way past the group encircling the dig site, he arrived just in time to be deafened by a cheer when Lambda and Miranda, working side-by-side, broke through a particularly stubborn rock blocking their way into the underground portion of the ruins, creating a hole large enough for someone to slip through.

“Miranda, is it stable?” Theodore called out.

“Aye, Theodore,” Miranda replied as she wiped the sweat from her brow. “From the looks of it, the structure of the ruins was built to last.”

“All right!” Theodore turned to the crowd, clapping his hands to get their attention. “First, I'd like to congratulate the dig team, who did a fantastic job!”

Cheers and applause broke out. Theodore clapped as well, waiting for the noise to die down.

“But our work isn't over yet!” he shouted. “Dig team, I need you to widen the entryway. Investigative team, grab your gear and get ready to dive into these ruins! Madame Swiftfowl, you and the students are to follow us. Understand?” Theodore clapped his hands once more. “So let's get moving!”

The crowd quickly dispersed, with the expedition members and students moving with a fervor. Ten minutes later, the investigative team – Theodore, the shadow elf Al, Anthony the orc, an excitable elf named Hank, and Miranda were formed at the entrance to the ruins with Madame Swiftfowl and her students assembled behind them. With little fanfare, one-by-one they squeezed themselves into the gap in the dirt, into the inky blackness.