Owner	Pose
Amy Sue Allen	Not long ago, a USAF transport plane delivering cargo to a military base in South America went down in a storm over the mountains of Peru. There was one survivor, who stumbled back to civilization delerious and raving about finding a road on a high plateau. A road made of green glass running perfectly strait as far as the eye could see. The Air Force is interested in finding out more about this road, which does not exist on any records. They are sending Lieutenant Amy Sue Allen to ferry the archeological team up to see if they can find out more about this strange phenomenon. The Plateau is too high for helicopters or most other VTOL craft. It is possible that rumors of the ravings of the pilot have reached local drug lords or other unsavory types.
Lara Croft	An archaeology dig that's hard for vehicles to get to and might hint at out-of-this-world doings? That sounds like a job for Lara Croft, the athletic parkour expert of an archaeologist. Her recent dealings with alien shenanigans has made her SHIELD's choice, and her notoriety as an archaeologist means people won't look too closely at an agency sending her on an archaeological expedition.
Amy Sue Allen	Lt. Allen is young and fit, looks like she is only a year or two out of the academy. She is rated to be at least competant in nearly all flying vehicles. She acts as copilot until it is time for the drop. She checks her prachute and Dr. Croft's. It appears the archeologist is an experienced Parachutist, so she gets her to check her rig-up in turn. Using a laser siting apparatus, they wer able to pick out the road from the surrounding vegetation and were dropped where they could land nearby. She tries to look calm and professional, but is secretly glad that they have someone else in charge of the exploring. She knows nothing about Archeology, even if she has done drops into high country before in training. The drop required opening the chute just after exiting the craft and fighting a crosswind as they got lower, in order to land near the myserious roadway. After landing safely and freeing herself of the Parachute, Amy checks on her companion and then walks over to look at the road. It appears that under the glass is a grouping of fitted stonework, something vaguely similar to an old Roman road, if not for the glassy substance on top. The road is a bit over 8 feet wide and the glass is roughly four inches deep and seems flat and unmarred as far as the eye can see, though some dead plant matter covers the edge at places, it appears that the plants are unable to grow on the road or break it down. There are a couple of nearby mountains, one of which has unusually strait sides...it is called by locals "temple mountain", though it may have a different official name.
Lara Croft	Lara has parachuted before, but not this high up. The air is thin up here, but it's not above the death zone where they're landing. She's asked all her questions already, so when the time comes to drop, she's prepared. She's the project lead on this, the civilian contractor that has just enough clearance to be the one put on the archaeology portion of the mission. After Lt. Allen jumps, Lara counts as instructed, then runs out and jumps herself. She knows her gear is right behind her. She pulls the cord immediately, as instructed, but there's some updrafts. Consequentially, she's got plenty of time in the air.     From above, the road is hidden by a lot of trees. However, as she gets closer to where Lt. Allen landed, it looks like someone poured antique bottle glass on the ground remarkably uniformly. She actually comes down on the road like it's a runway. At least she didn't get stuck in a tree, this time.     Stepping off of the road, she jogs to where Lt. Allen was landed. "Allen," she says, taking the convention of last name identifiers. Her Surrey accent shows fairly strongly with Amy's surname. All she's had to do is follow the road to find her. The brief was right, too. As far as Lara can see in either direction on the plateau, there's road.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy comments, "You are the expert here, any idea how old this road is?" She frowns at the strange glassy mterial, it looks familiar. She adds, "We have checked the records, through the State Department. As far as we can tell, there had never been a construction permit issued to build anything within 50 miles of here. Some local group might have something unofficial, but who would cover a one-lane road with glass like this? How would you even do it without a crack or seam anywhere in it?"
Lara Croft	"Hard to say," lara says. "The construction beneath the glass looks to be a few thousand years old." She pulls a GPS from her belt as she squats down and runs her fingers over the glass. "It's hard to tell without doing tests." She looks for a few moments before she holds up her GPS to look at. "Come on, I need my gear." She doesn't take long to get her bearings before she begins trudging through the foliage toward where her gear dropped.
Amy Sue Allen	The foliage on the plateau is fairly sparce, it is a bit of a trip to where the gear dropped though, since there was no one guiding it down. It takes about ten minites to reach it. Amy has her own pack and gives it a quick check to mane sure that nothin on that it is breakable, broke. She checks her compass and frowns, then checks the sun. She comments, "There mush be a magnetic anomaly in these mountains, my compass is off by a few points."
Lara Croft	Lara looks at the compass and lets out a soft and curious, "Hmmm." She looks at her GPS and says, "At least we have this." She moves to her gear and opens the top box. In it is a bow with arrows. The other box below it contains a mobile lab she can use for testing things. Holding her bow in her hand, she says, "Why don't we find the source of that magnetic anomaly," she suggests, locking the boxes with her free hand. "It might be even more interesting than the road itself." That was hard to imagine, given the sheer magnitude of the road's amazing properties.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy suggests, "If we head back to the road, and check to see if the amount the compass reading changes is measurable, we can possibly triangulate the source. That way you can test the road and figure out the reading at the same time." Unless the source if very far way, or we are walking directly towards or away from it, that should work.
Lara Croft	Lara nods. Putting her bow on her body, she unstraps the bottom crate and uses the special design to slide it along the forest floor. It's another half hour to get back to the road, since it's slower going, but eventually, they're there. "This is a big plateau," she says. She looks at Amy and asks, "What's the reading like?"
Amy Sue Allen	Amy checks the reading, "Still off, which shows the source is not close to where the gear dropped and small. It will take a minute to check, but I am guessing it is that cindercone over there." She checks a satellite photo of the region she pulls from a pocket in her bag and marks the lwo locations and the angles of deflection.
Lara Croft	Lara nods before sitting down and getting to work. She has to dig under the glass to get at the road, as the glass itself doesn't seem to want to yield to anything, including the passage of time. She manages to chip off a bit of brick from the underside of the road from digging a hole. She begins her testing. "It's going to be hard to get an exact reading on the age of the material," she admits as she puts the piece through some chemical cleaning followed by a trip through a mini autoclave.
Amy Sue Allen	Ceramics and metamorphic rocks, which are heated and transformed by the heating, have the property of emitting a unique spetrograph when heated again to the proper extent. Whatever put the glass on the roadway should have vitrified the rock that was in contact with the glass, making it possible to date it by that means...given that nothing else should have heated it significantly since then. It will be best to check by other means as well, to verify the result. Especially given that the test seems to give an impossible age of approximately ten thousand years old. Meanwhile, Amy confirms that the source of the magnetic anomaly is the nearby volcano.
Lara Croft	Lara lets out another, "Hmmm," before putting the bit of rock into another device, then another and another. Finally, she tightens her lips, locking up the lab and standing. "Let's go check out the volcano," she says. "I'm getting some nonsensical results, and that anomaly might shed some light on it." She readies her bow before jogging along the road toward the volcano. She'll leave the road either when it ends or when they're nearer to the volcano itself.
Amy Sue Allen	It is quite a walk to the volcano, which lies off the edge of the platau. The edge on that side has been broken off leaving a lot of rubble at the bottom where the rock fell. The fall was a long time ago though, the ways is rough, but climbable. Lara notes as they travel, that the abnormally squared sides of Temple Mountain seem to line up with the cardinal points. The ash from the volcano and the magnetic anomaly had made that less than obvious before.
Lara Croft	Lara notes this to herself but turns to Amy. "Compass still focused on the caldera?" she asks as they draw near. "I'm relying on you to find whatever this is," she lies. She's got a compass, too. Who doesn't have a compass?"
Amy Sue Allen	Amy remarks, "Personally I think it is just the volcano, it may have had enough iron or nickle in the magma to sayse he disturbance." She may be wrong, what does sheknow of vulcanology? She wonders why the archeologist does not hae a compass. It seems odd for anyone used t travelling the back country.
Lara Croft	Lara shakes her head. "I doubt it," she says. "The tephra would look like shiny steel if it had that high of a metal content. Electromagnetic inferference decreases with the square of the distance. Something is actively and strongly magnetic around here." She still holds her bow. Maybe that's why she's not going for her own compass. Or maybe it's that two compasses would interfere with each other. "We're on the hunt. Hunt us up a magnetic rock, at least."
Amy Sue Allen	Reaching the base of the cindercone takes until near nightfall, given the mountains blocking much of the light and the fact that the lower area between the mountain and the plateau is full of vegetation. It looks like it will be a rough climb. Amy says, "My instructions about these lowlands say something about swarms of biting insects called Monta Blancha that come out after nightfall and having a good bugproof shelter set up for overnight. I think we better stop before it gets dark."
Lara Croft	Lara looks around. "Alright," she says. "I'll set up my hanging tent." She looks up and around. "Are you afraid of heights?" she asks. Lara is slowed to normal human speed by that backpack she's wearing. Normally, she's got a lot less weight on her back. Taking a bit of rope, she quickly prepares an arrow before sending it flying. It flies up and over a sturdy-looking limb before falling back down. She then begins to climb the two halves of the rope together like she's in gym class.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy laughs, "What pilot would be afraind of heights?" She follows suit, climbing the tree after Lara. Admittedly, this is a different style of roughing it than she is used to, but she manages to get her rig set up before the white blanket descends. The small white insects cover the area like the blanket they are named for. Fortunately, they can be kept out by the prepared.
Lara Croft	Lara's hanging tent is really meant for one, but it can fit two. It's a snug fit, and it's like sleeping with someone else in a hammock combined with a mosquito net combined with a privacy screen. It's an expensive tent, too, but Lara doesn't seem to mind sharing it in this instance.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy could set up her own, but thinks it better they stick close. She can take care to herself. She sits thinking for a bit, then asks, "Could a meteor have hit, setting off the volcano? I know metal meteors are often magnetic."
Lara Croft	"Maybe," Lara says, considering. "I don't know a lot about the geology of the area," she admits. "It's unlike most things I've seen." She takes out her GPS and looks at it. "The volcano and the plateau are largely unexplored," she adds, "but there are low res satellite images of the entire world." She takes in a breath and lets it out as she scrolls around the GPS screen. She says, "I wouldn't think a meteor would hold magnetism after ten thousand years, but if it's an alien ship--well, I might need to call my superiors if that's what we find. Xenoarchaeology is a bit different."
Amy Sue Allen	Amy nods, "I suppose it would be. How many aliens do you suppose have landed on Earth, not individual ships, but groups?" She supposes that aliens could have built the road."
Lara Croft	"It's hard to say," Lara says. She considers for a bit. "The number could be in the millions, and we wouldn't know it. With antigravity and a mass exodus, we could have had a fully alien intelligent population in the time of the dinosaurs." She shakes her head and presses her palms over her eyes. "I'm still wrapping my head around all that," she says. "Then angels and demons and everything else, lately. It's a lot to take in."
Amy Sue Allen	Amy notes, "I have read a book or two where the dinosaurs were intelligent...well some of them anyway. I do not suppose we will ever know for sure." She tries to rest, trying to pay attention to the normal night sounds so that she will awaken if anything either makes them stop, or makes a sound that does not fit.
Lara Croft	Lara turns off her GPS and reclines. She says nothing else, but the heavy conversation has definitely brought some stuff up for the young Lady.
Amy Sue Allen	The night passes with nothing causing trouble more than the cries and eyes of the local light hunters, who leave the strande thing in the tree alone. Amy awakens at first light, but waits to move until the insects take flight. Amy says, "Rise and Shine, let's dee if we can find that magneic disturbance. Should we move arouns the outer edge of the volcano a bit to triangulate more closely?"
Lara Croft	"Sure," Lara agrees. Once Amy's out of the tree, she closes up her tent and packs it away. She slides down and pulls down the rope, storing it as well. Getting some stretching in, along with an MRE and fresh water, Lara greets the morning pretty quickly. She follows Amy to triangulate, though really, she pushes them to simply get closer. When they're close enough that, by comparison, Earth's magnetic field is weak, the compass will just lead them right to whatever's causing it.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy checks carefully and says, "Well the good news is it is not under the center of the volcano, the bad news is it is on the far side...and if this topagraphical map it right, it is buried about eighty feet deep."
Lara Croft	Lara considers for a bit. "A climate like this," she says, "digging eighty feet is going to be problematic." She looks around the forest for a bit. "There might be lava tubes," she suggests. Pulling out her GPS again, she moves to Amy and asks, "Could you triangulate the position on a GPS map of the area? We still might need to dive if it's in a lava tube that's filled with water, but if there's a lava tube and if our mysterious supermagnet is in it, we might get lucky."
Amy Sue Allen	Comparing the three lines and the satellite image she has, she points out the area, "Within twenty feet if that spot I think. I can not estimate any better."
Lara Croft	Lara looks over the map for a bit and scrolls around the low-res satellite maps. "Alright," she finally says. "My instinct tells me that magnetic anomaly is the best clue we have." She clips the GPS to her belt. "We'll head there and see if we can find a lava tube that might connect. Otherwise, we may have to improvise some digging. We better get moving." Pulling her bow into her hand again, she begins jogging off. That woman...does she not walk anywhere?
Amy Sue Allen	Amy follows, used to hiking long distances, though she has to pick up the pace from her normal long march a bit. It takes about six hours, so it is a bit after noon as the get near the area. Amy says, "I have no isea how to find lava tubes. I might be able to figure out a way to rig an explosive...but geology is not my field."
Lara Croft	"I know enough to be dangerous," Lara replies. "If we get close enough to be right over it, we can simply dig. Eighty feet might put us in a big puddle for digging if it rains often, here. I'd rather not blast if we're doing archaeology. Blowing up the artifacts is a good way to lose your grant money."
Amy Sue Allen	Amy says, "Judging from the types of plants on the plateau, it is fairly arid. I think, however, there is a lot of runoff from further up the mountains, which is what keeps this area down here so lush. That might suggest flash flooding is fairly common. If we dig down from above the flood line, it may not be a problem."
Lara Croft	Lara continues to lead the way at her pace until they get within a mile of the location. The compass is more or less accurately pointing directly at the source of the anomalous readings. The landscape is curiously shaped. Even the flooding-produced alluvial hills aren't really in the right orientations. Lara's pace slows as they crest a hill. She runs and jumps, grabbing a tree limb before climbing out of sight. It isn't long before she's dropping back down through the leaves from branch to branch, finally landing on the ground. "I think I found it," she says.     The last bit of the way is a bubble over a hundred and fifty feet in diameter. Dust and plant matter have made it over millenia, but it is still incredibly round. Lara walks up the sloping hill to the place where the trees stop. She begins digging with her little shovel at the side. About a meter in, she breaks through, though the soil collapses sideways and is pushed away from the hole. Shining a light in, she stops and sits in front of the hole. "You have the sat-phone?" she asks.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy digs it out of her pack, it is cushioned in several ways to keep it from being damaged.
Lara Croft	Lara takes the rugged satellite telephone and radio and appreciates that it's so well protected. She scoots her butt back against the hole she made as she turns the device on. She pushes the button on the screen that connects to command. It doesn't take but a single ring for the commander's voice to echo through on speaker. "Goose here," the officer says. His name isn't actually Goose, of course, but it's a code name they're using. Lara and Amy are ducks. It's probably clever to somebody.     "Lady Duck here," Lara says. She is, after all, LADY Lara Croft. "We've got an ugly duckling."     "Understood," the mission commander says. "Flying Duck with you?" Amy was called that because Flying F--well, it rhymed with something amusing, anyway. Again, probably clever to somebody.     Lara holds the phone out for Amy to take. "It's for you," she says with a sly smile.
Amy Sue Allen	"Lieutenant Allen speaking," responds Amy to the phone. Pobably whoever it is intends to give her orders, if so and if they are not in her known chain of command, he better have the proper authorization passcodes.
Lara Croft	Of course, she'll get absolute hell for not sticking to her code name and mission protocol, but the discipline will have to wait for later. Right now, the commander's voice says, "As of now," the commander says, "you are to speak to nobody but Lady Duck about what you've seen until you get back to the nest." That's...odd? There's not even anyone else out here. "Escort Lady Duck to the extraction zone, and do not ask questions about the ugly duckling."
Amy Sue Allen	Amy has a pofessional poker face, but she was literally born and raised on a top secret military base, so she understands secrecy and need to know. She will respons, "Yes sir, as ordered." She says, after handing the phone back, "Do you think we should try to cover up here before leaving?"
Lara Croft	"That will be taken care of," Lara says. "Walk back the way we came. When you're over the ridge, I'll join you." She then simply waits for Amy to either comply or not. She's not moving off the spot that blocks the hole. She does, however, hang up the call and hook the sat phone to her belt. It's just a military communication device. If they were using code phrases and code names, they were concerned about people being able to overhear. If someone could overhear, SHIELD overheard. Not that anyone here worked for SHIELD, officially...nope. Just a civilian archaeologist and an air force pilot.
Amy Sue Allen	Amy walks over the ridge, but when out of sight she excretes her Dilustel Shell and uses her energy sense to rake a look at what is past the ridge...look not being the right word, more like listen or taste. Then she turns back before Lara arrives. She may not know what the energy source is, but she will be able to help identify its signature later...just in case.
Lara Croft	The source of the strong EM field is clear, as it was even pulling on the metal in their clothes and gear when they got closer. The gravitational energy is intense as well, but negative, hence the bubble, it seems. There's also another energy source that's quickly approaching. It's fast and silent and in the air, which is curious.     Lara crests the hill just after Amy is flesh again, conveniently missing her secret while Lara keeps her own. She realizes Amy has stopped and is waiting for her, so she stands atop the ridge for a moment before jogging down toward her compatriot. The plan for extraction was to parasail from the plateau down to where a helicopter might pick them up.