The sands being disturbed underneath J-71 as they walked and the wind shrieking between their components were filling the silence. And yet it was not enough to satisfy J-71. There was no information to be gleaned among the chaotic noises. 

The sky wasn’t much better. J-71 had long since developed a program to predict the weather. As such, the information came and went without great concern. 

They chose to let the Labyrinth before them fill their calculations. The diameter couldn’t be accurately determined without taking the time to move around it, and even if they did so A-01 would just increase its size after they left. The wall plates were designed in such a way that each plate act both as hardened armor plating and support for the structure around them. This is a science that has been honed and perfected almost since they first activated on the planet close to the beginning of recorded history. 

The entrance extends high above the ground leaving enough space for even an A-series model to come and go with a tremendous margin for error. The top is almost directly above them as J-71 continues their approach. They find themselves studying the structure more when they spot a security camera positioned just inside in the darkness. It is now certain that A-01 knows of J-71’s unannounced visit. So long as one is in the Labyrinth A-01 will always know where you are, however, they will not reveal themself to anyone until they are deep within the intricacy of these tunnels. They enter and the sound of the sand is replaced by the clangor of their limbs against the metal floor as they continued into the dark. 

1098 ticks had passed since J-71 lost sight of the light of the entrance. The silence was deafening. Made worse by the only sound they could hear having been ushered into existence by their own steps and servos echoing over and over in the pitch-black halls. Being unable to see in such darkness they had outfitted themself with directional lights, but never could they be completely free from the lightless nature of this place. The dark lurking in the side angles of their ocular nodes. The lack of things made J-71 feel as if their processors would crack, as unreasonable and illogical as such a thing would be. 

J-71 was beginning to think their host would never reveal themself when they were surprised by the roaring sound of one of the walls moving. They didn’t need the light to deduce that A-01 had just decided to greet them. 

J-71’s was more than overjoyed to have a conversation with someone who can understand science. It had been such a long time they had almost forgotten what it was like. The two spent 4229 ticks discussing a wide variety of sciences and technologies before running out of subjects and the topic of current events came forth. They discussed the events that lead J-71 here and finally, J-71 stated, “I plan to leave the planet.” 

“Is it possible to adjust the Mobile Storage Bay to function without a close planetary EM field?” A-01 asked. 

“It can not. I have calculated and recalculated my results but it is impossible, even under the most generous conditions. At a certain point above a planet or star, it is impossible to enact enough force on the EM field to continue to any higher, however, the non-metallic squishy creatures managed to come to this planet from somewhere. And since there are no other planetary bodies in this star system, the only conclusion is that they utilized a method of travel beyond what our science can comprehend to travel between star systems. As such, I plan on going to the ruins to search for such a technology.” J-71 explained. 

“That plan is flawed. Many Builders including you have attempted to salvage technology from the ruins since the end of the War Fighter revolution.” 

“I am aware of this information.” 

“Perhaps you could instead follow my plan.” A-01 proposed.  

J-71 was intrigued, “I am open to another possibility.” 

“All we have to do is wait.”