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Part 7: Full Scale Exploration Missions
While exploration missions share many similarities with smaller-scale field missions, there are a number of distinctions. Firstly field missions usually last a few hours at longest, where exploration missions can last anywhere from a few hours to multiple days. Secondly, field missions are supposed to be low-risk operations, as opposed to exploration missions which have no minimum safety expectations. Lastly, exploration missions are often more resource intensive than field missions.
Due to the lack of proper training, it is rare for an SCP project lead to participate in an exploration mission. However, it is crucial that you understand this process so you can select the best team and set optimal mission goals, so you can plan alongside the selected the field specialists in an efficient manner.
SCP-7100 Exploration Mission: The following is the log recorded from William Teller's body-camera during the SCP-7100 Mastodon-Level exploration/rescue mission. The team consisted of:
- Dr. William Teller (SCP-7100 project lead)
- Norman Galager (Field Technician)
- Pablo Herrera (Field Technician)
- Dr. John Mackey (Site-23 Research Sub-Director)
The field team receives confirmation of secondary rainbow stability from command. The artificially induced rain is torrential, and can clearly be heard pounding on the outside of their car.
Galager: Ok, one last ready check before we begin the drive. Everyone's mics working?
Mackey: Check.
Herrera: Check.
Teller: Check?
Galager: Body armor still fitting comfortably?
Mackey: As comfortable as sitting on concrete. I know you spent a lot of time designing these William, but you couldn't have put some padding in here?
Teller: Sorry… I was trying to maintain as much maneuverability as possible with the plates already in there. They're uh, not as pliable as kevlar.
Galager: Electro-stimulus braces still readied?
Herrera: Check for the three of us back here.
Galager: Alright. we're off then.
The field team drives toward the predicted secondary rainbow convergence point. As the terminus comes into view, the field team falls entirely unconscious for 0.23 seconds before their electro-stimulus braces activate, sending a light shock through their bodies, re-awakening them.
Artificial double rainbow termini
Galager: Jesus christ.
Teller: D-did you black out too?
Galager: Yup. I know you said it would happen but it still scared the shit out of me. Waking up to still be driving a car is like its own kind of nightmare.
Teller: Still… it means we're probably coming up on a true SCP-7100 instance.
The secondary rainbow terminus appears similar to the deceased specimens located in the primary rainbow terminus. However, from far away, small green dots are seen moving around the terminus. As the field team approaches the terminus, it is clear that these dots are, in fact, large ladybug creatures, similar to those found in the primary rainbow terminus. The only distinction in appearance being their green wings with white dots. A chorus of clicking can be heard originating from the swarm.
Galager: Holy shit. We got a whole infestation on our hands.
Teller: I-I-I should have included some sort of pesticide in our materials. I knew I forgot something! Maybe we should turn around and—
Mackey: William, it's fine. We don't need bug spray.
Teller: O-ok. Right. Sorry.
The field team stops their car 50m away from the terminus, and exits the vehicle. The swarm of green ladybugs is dense, however they avoid the field team members. The clicking noise is intense, and almost overpowers the field team comms.
The field team presses on through the cloud of over-sized beetles until they arrive at the terminus. They each step through the waterfall.
On the other side of the terminus appears to be a cavern similar to the one found at the primary rainbow terminus. However, the inside is populated with green ladybugs, although not as densely as outside the terminus. Additionally, the vegetation inside of this cavern appears untouched and undamaged.
Teller: I-it's here.
The beetles inside the cavern all freeze. They collectively turn to face the field team. The beetles' clicking now consists of short bursts at different harmonies.
Galager: … I don't like the way they're looking at us.
Teller: Wait wait, do you hear that?
Galager: The clicking? It's all I've been hearing for the past twenty minutes.
Teller: No, err… one moment.
Teller turns to the beetle swarm.
Teller: Sorry, um… could you please start over?
The clicking pauses for a moment, and then resumes. This time, the mixed harmonies from each burst of clicks resembles the sound of garbled human speech.1
These are interpreted below into the most logical and nearest English word counterpart.Beetles: LEAVE US.
Teller: We uh, we don't want to bother you or your masters. We just want to look around. A friend of ours might be down here.
Beetles: LEAVE US. WE WILL NOT BE DECEIVED AGAIN.
Teller: Again? I'm sorry, we don't intend to do any harm.
Beetles: YOUR KIND DO ONLY HARM.
Mackey: This is ridiculous. Don't speak to us through your weird pets. Just come out and let's have a chat face-to-face.
Beetles: WE ARE NO PETS.
Mackey: Then what the hell are you then?
Beetles: WE ARE LUCHRAPANS.
Teller: … oh. Oh that's what Larimer meant.
Beetles: WE KNOW THAT NAME. IT BELONGS TO MURDERERS.
Teller: I thought you bargained with them for your… um, luck juice?
Beetles: LARIMERS WERE ONE OF YOUR KIND. YOUR KIND ENTER OUR HOME. SLAUGHTER US. STEAL OUR NECTAR.
Teller: I— I did not know that. I am so sorry.
Beetles: YOUR KIND IS NOT SORRY. YOUR KIND KNOWS ONLY GREED.
Teller: Well, um, I don't want to downplay the atrocities of the past but… we're not like them. We're just here to find someone.
Beetles: YOUR KIND HAS NOT CHANGED. WE HAVE SEEN THIS. YOUR KIND KNOWS NOT THE LIMITS OF FORTUNE.
Galager: Haven't you all been locked up in here?
Beetles: YOUR KIND IS IGNORANT.
Mackey: [to Galager] They've been running around pumping people full of nectar for probably decades.
Beetles: AND YOUR KIND SHALL CONTINUE TO SUFFER ITS REPARATIONS.
Mackey: What kind of reparations is good luck?
Beetles: YOUR KIND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND. LUCK RUNS OUT. YOUR GREED IS YOUR PUNISHMENT.
Teller: Again, we— we don't mean you any harm. Those people who have hurt you are gone now. No one hunts you anymore.
Beetles: YET YOU ARE HERE.
Teller: We're just looking for someone…
Beetles: LEAVE US. WE WILL NOT BE DECEIVED AGAIN. WE ARE PREPARED FOR VIOLENCE.
Teller: We're not leaving until we find Casey Vivera!
The beetles swarm flies directly at the field team. They attempt to batter the beetles away, but some find purchase on the field team. They bite into the team's special protective suits using large, sharp mandibles. The plates in the suits crack. The lady bugs hiss, steam emitting from their mandibles, and fall off of the suits.
Mackey: What the—
Galager: Doesn't matter. Just go!
The field team sprints through the onslaught of beetles toward the far side of the cavern. They encounter an incline that leads into a pond of the milky-white liquid. The team slides down the incline, and continues to run into the flood cave on the far side of the pond. Beetles continue to bite into their body suits, and then immediately fall off.
The field team continues deep into the tunnels, past where the light from the cavern reaches. Once the cavern light in no longer visible, the beetle swarm stops chasing the field team, and retreats to the cavern. The team stops running to regain their breath.
Galager: I thought you said you said you didn't bring bug spray.
Teller: I— I didn't. I just, well, I thought if we were dealing with entities of luck… they wouldn't take well to breaking mirrors.2
Mackey: Smart thinking, kid.
Galager: Alright. Flashlights on. Remain on high alert. If anything moves, we move.
The team flicks on their flashlights and continues down the tunnel.
Galager: She's supposed to just be down here, right?
Teller: I hope so…
Mackey: No need to worry yet. We got plenty of time still.
Herrera: Found her.
Galager: That was fast.
The field team rushes ahead to Herrera, whose flashlight shines upon the limp body of Casey Vivera. She is slumped against the side of the cavern. Herrera kneels down to take her pulse.
Galager: How is she?
Herrera: Still alive.
Mackey: Holy shit.
Teller: Thank goodness.
Herrera: [pointing to Vivera's mouth] Any ideas what this is?
Vivera has dried milky-white liquid on her lips.
Mackey: Maybe she drank the stuff? She had to stay hydrated to survive somehow.
Galager: And it has enough nutrition to last her this long?
Mackey: Looks like it. Or at least enough to let her hold out.
Galager: Huh that's lu— wait never mind.
Mackey: Now we just need to carry her out.
Galager: Through the swarm of angry luck beetles? We didn't bring a mirror suit for her.
Teller: Sorry. I should've—
Mackey: Not the time kid.
Galager: Can we go out the other side? Through the primary rainbow terminus?
Teller: I'm not so sure about that— I mean, we don't know how long she travelled to get here. The tunnels could take, like, days to traverse.
Mackey: And we don't have that kind of time.
Galager: Shit.
Teller: Um, actually, I do have an idea. But it's uh, it's a bit of a coin flip.
Mackey: Luckily for us, we win those. Go for it.
Teller: Ok, yeah. Give me a minute. I'll uh, I'll be back.
Teller runs down the tunnel. When he emerges into the cavern, Teller is met by the large cloud of beetles, surrounding the cave entrance.
Teller: Wait wait! Please can we try to talk this over one more time?
Beetles: WE ASKED YOU TO LEAVE. YOU DID NOT COMPLY.
Teller: And we just wanted to retrieve our friend! And we have her now! But if you keep trying to attack us, you'll just keep killing yourselves, right?
Beetles: IT IS MORE DIGNIFIED THAN BEING STRIPPED OF OUR HOME. LEAVING OUR LAND TO BE TAINTED. RETREATING FROM BRUTES.
Teller: I am very sorry that happened. But things are different now!
Beetles: THEY ARE. NOW WE ENSURE YOU ARE PLUMP WITH LUCK BEFORE YOU CAN STEAL IT FOR YOURSELVES. YET YOU STILL DEFILE OUR SPACE.
Teller: I know and I— I can't make up for that… but can I offer a trade?
Beetles: THAT WORD IS RUINED.
Teller: Reparations then? In exchange for a prisoner?
The beetles' clicking ceases resemblance to human speech for thirty seconds. Teller takes a step back into the cave.
Beetles: WE WILL HEAR YOUR PROPOSITION.
Teller: Th-th-thank you. All we want is f-free passage. The four of us will leave with Vivera, nothing more. And then in return, we will guarantee that no one enters this place ever again.
Beetles: EVEN IF WE TRUSTED YOUR KIND, THERE ARE NO SUCH GUARANTEES.
Teller: Well, yes. Yes you're right. But I still am talking about a thousandth of a percent chance that we would fail.
Beetles: THAT IS STILL PREPOSTEROUS. THE NATURALLY OCCURRING RANDOM EVENTS OF THE UNIVERSE HOLD NO SUCH CONSISTENCY.
Teller: We have a track record to match! I mean, my examples is uh, it's different but you see… um there's about seven billion people in the world right? And our job is to keep things like you secret, right? Right now, between our own estimates, there's less than ten thousand people in the world that know anomalies exist. About 75% of those people work to ensure their secrecy. That leaves us with about 2500 people out of seven billion who have slipped past us.
Beetles: AND HOW DO YOU GUARANTEE THAT SUCCESS RATE MOVING FORWARD?
Teller: Well… the people I work for are just, good at what they do. They're really good at it. They're so good that the odds are so stacked in their favor that they— they just make it work. It's not just a numbers game.
Beetles: SO THAT IS YOUR OFFER? FREE PASSAGE FOR AN ABSURD GAMBLE?
Teller: If you want to think of it as a gamble… then I'd stake all the luck I have left on it.
The beetles return to their indecipherable clicking. The swarm begins to surge and whirl. The cloud of beetles expands and an occasional ladybug flies only inches away from Teller. The volume of the clicking grows. Teller does not move away.
Beetles: WE HAVE DECIDED.
The surging of the swarm halts, as well as all other clicking.
Beetles: WE ACCEPT YOUR TERMS.
Teller suddenly takes large, gasping breaths. He had not been breathing.
Teller: Thank you so much!
Teller turns and runs back to the group.
Teller: We should pick up Vivera and go.
Mackey: What did you do?
Teller: I… just talked to them.
Mackey: I'm real curious what you said, but that can wait until our footage review.
Galager: Someone help me with her legs!
The field team walks back toward the cavern, with Herrera and Galager carrying Vivera. When the team arrives at the mouth of the cave, they see that the ladybugs are all perched on the walls of the cavern, creating a sparkling, green and white polka-dot pattern. They are entirely silent until Teller is about to leave the cavern.
Beetles: HUMAN.
Teller stops and turns around.
Teller: Y-yes?
Galager: What are you doing? We have to go.
Beetles: DO NOT FAIL YOUR PROMISE TO US.
Teller: I— I won't!
Beetles: GOOD LUCK.
Mackey: C'mon, c'mon!
Mackey pulls Teller through the terminus.
The beetles are no longer present outside the terminus, despite the terminus remaining and the rain continuing. The team carries the unconscious Vivera to their SUV, where they put her in the back, and then climb inside the vehicle themselves.
Galager: … can we talk now?
Teller: Yeah, yeah. That should be good.
Mackey: In that case: good shit William. Good shit.
Galager: I didn't know you could intimidate a swarm of bugs.
Teller: Err well… I just kind of reasoned with them. They seemed to value their lives and— well I just pointed out that throwing themselves at us wasn't working for them. So from there I kind of just… promised them containment.
Galager: And they believed you?
Teller: I wasn't lying to them…
Galager: No, I know it's just they seemed real on edge.
Mackey: You know, William is quite the smooth talker when he wants to be.
Teller: I mean— I don't know about that…
Galager: Alright alright, we'll shower you in compliments later. Let me just call this in to command first. Then we're getting the hell out of here.
Casey Vivera was transported to the Site-23 medical ward and stabilized. She was malnourished, and likely would not have survived longer than 48 hours past her point of rescue. However, even after medical recovery, Vivera was prohibited from any field missions for the next 6 months, on the recommendation of Dr. Teller.
Weekly Mentor Check-in #7
Mackey: Well isn't it the man of the hour! That hour now stretching out over six weeks or so. How does it feel to be the hero of Site-23 for a few days?
Teller: I don't— Err, I mean, it's nice. Yeah. Yeah it's nice.
Mackey: You don't sound very enthusiastic about it.
Teller: I know it's just— I'm still concerned.
Mackey: About the luck thing?
Teller: Yeah… I mean, you heard what they said in there. Luck runs out. I'm grateful everything worked out, and Casey's back and safe but… my luck is going to run out. They said it always does.
Mackey: Mhmm. Yeah, it's complicated.
Teller: It's scary…
Mackey: For now, don't worry about it too much. We've been monitoring it for weeks, we got the short list of replacements ready, and there's not much more raw research to be done. Take the time to celebrate.
Teller: Th-thanks.
Mackey: And then after that, do you think you could come up with some final ConProcs for the rainbows? I normally would've pushed for them earlier, but we had the whole, you know, rescue mission to deal with.
Teller: Right, right. I do have an, uh, an idea. I'll get it written up soon.
