8. Mars

[Mierin]

Jessica simply gestures to the depressions that she's discovered in the ground. "Does this look familiar to you, Doctor?" Jessica asks in a polite, formal tone of voice.

[dakota]

McKenna moved up to where Jassica was and looked at the imprint in the ground. She shook her head, "I've never seen anything that leaves tracks like that before, but it wouldn't take something very heavy to make an imprint that deep in the sand with such a small profile."

She looked up to see if there were any more," I remember seeing on a show that you can tell how big something is by the spread of the prints. Anyone see any more?"

[Renekin Skywalker]

"Yep. Plenty." Said Miner Joe. "And they lead this way." He added, pointing down the new tunnel.

Things 1 and 2 (the runners from the bus, And yes, I watch The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That), both wheeled in fright as the door closed again behind them.

In the new tunnel: Miner Joe
Thing 1
Thing 2
Jessica
McKenna
Foreman
and Mensk

[dakota]

" Doesn't that mean we should be going the other way?" McKenna asked timidly

[Mierin]

Jessica shrugs at McKenna as she says "Well, the door is closed, so we might as well press forward." Trying to sound calm, she adds, "However, if you have an idea of where might be a safe place to go, please share it with the rest of us."

[Dome]

"Bring any guns Jess," Flip asks as he too looks down at the marks. "I would feel better if someone had a gun."

Then he begins walking down the tunnel.

[Mierin]

Jessica sighs and there is definite longing in it. "I wish I had a gun" she pauses before adding "or two or three guns." Shrugging, she says "This was supposed to be time off to relax."

[Renekin Skywalker]

Like I would just let you have guns... with all those boring combat rolls. Who wants combat rolls when bread rolls are soooo much tastier. I'll let you have gun play, later.

Maybe. If you're good. *Eyes parentally*

"Well, going back, besides the door, takes us to the bus." Miner Joe said to McKenna, heading into the tunnel, looking up, down and all about. Wondering whose house this was, and if they were in, or if they were out.

"I was hoping for the tour of the water vapour plant, myself." Thing 1 ventured. "I heard the new geo-thermal passive water extraction, combined with classic membrane filtering, and rust cracking, was supposed to be the most efficient use of the Mars strata for atmospheric modification. Like you said, time off to relax."

[Dome]

"I'm wondering what we are going to do now. Everyone look for a comms panel, maybe we can call for a rescue," Flip says as he begins to walk around the room and look around.

[Renekin Skywalker]

It's a tunnel, not a room. There's an end at the other end, but they're not there, yet. When I write "cave", it's so you get a sense of the appearance, not because it's a fixed smallish place.

Also, it's all stone. There are no signs of a comm panel that FLip can find. Do note you're under dozens or hundreds of feet of iron silicates and suchlike that NASA can tell you about. Direct radio communications, more than a hundred feet within the tunnels, is possible.

[dakota]

McKenna just shook her head at Flip, "and maybe the captain will fly the ship out here looking for us because they lost the bus' signal." She countered. " Let's just find an exit before whatever is in here comes looking for us."

[Dome]

Flip turns and looks at McKenna. Totally confused as to why she would be upset with him. He then thinks, 'well I have been moping and just acting like a sad sack of shit since we landed. I need to get over myself,your human, you I made a mistake, but no one got hurt. I'm only human. Now to push that to the back of my mind and focus on what we have down here.'

He says, "your right M... he pauses having started to say MJ and instead continues, "I mean Doctor. When the rescue crews or the Captain come they will be sweeping the surface. We need to find a way to the surface to make some kind of signal. Lets head down this tunnel and see if this is the way out." The looks on his face changed now to determination. The same determination he had shown when trying to land the damaged ship, and get them safely through the frozen baguette field.

He turns and starts heading down the tunnel, pausing occasionally to examine the ground for more markings.

[Mierin]

Jessica simply nods at McKenna and says, "I agree. Our priority should be finding a way out of here and get to someplace safe." She then cautiously starts to follow Foreman down the tunnel, keeping an eye out for anything that could point them in the right direction.

[dice=20][rand=622773555370953423980342873233176307493231043530656671593728]

[dakota]

McKenna was sort of suprised the others were taking her suggestion seriously, but she didn't let it show as she followed the others closely.

[Renekin Skywalker]

After following the tunnel for another hour, something very odd started to happen. Everyone started to notice their ears popping as the pressure changed.

Then something really interesting. Foreman got a little vindication when a spider-insect-looking-thing (it was hard to tell what it was in a lightless tunnel, except for limited suit lights, and being hurriedly pressed against a wall to avoid it) came up from behind, and passed them, and moved down the hill.

"That one didn't have anyone." Miner Joe confirmed. "Looked pretty armoured. Want to follow it?"

EDIT: GM should add more descriptions:
It walked on 6 legs, and had a pair of clawish arms, and a carapace-styled insectoid body, and a head with a single cyclopian eye. It was about 5 and a half feet tall, and equally long.