At random, the stone pillars emit a noise horrifyingly like a human scream.

Nova sat at the edge of her cockpit, legs dangling idly over the 8m drop to the grassy sands below. Technically this was a [THREATS UNKNOWN] mission and they were supposed to eat their lunch still sealed in their mechs, but that sucked shit and they hadn't seen action for the three days they'd been on-planet.

It was a peaceful view from the ruins. From up on the cliffside, you could see for miles, over the nature-reclaimed city and out to sea, midday sun glistening off the calm waves and white sands. Nova had spotted these ruins — some old sculpture? temple? water feature? — as they were making their morning journey, and made a tactical decision to reroute to check out the pillars. You know, height advantage. That's tactical, that is.

Actually being up here, it turned out, was a little less peaceful. Every few minutes — 271 seconds, according to Hex — the pillars let out... well, they fucking screamed. Nova didn't give a shit, and Hex was mildly curious, but Riz...

"It's fucking ghosts, Nova! We didn't know what happened here, and now we do: everybody's fucking dead!"

"Ghosts ain't real, Riz," replied Nova, unwrapping a delicious bar of MEAL: STANDARD (CURRY).

"You don't know that! There's all sorts of weird shit we don't know about!" said Riz.

"Not ghosts though."

"You don't know that!"

"Sure I do. If there were ghosts, science could explain them," said Nova through a mouthful of dry mush.

"You don't know that!"

"Yeah I do. Ghosts don't make sense."

"Neither does jumpspace. Neither does, does... shimmer complexes, but you believe in them."

"Ah, but that's science."

"Shit isn't "science", Nova. They're fucking weird."

"Nah, it's science."

"Super dense hyper intelligences," cut in the disjointed voice of Hex, who was sitting in the open cockpit of her mech, fiddling with the feed port on her neck.

"Yeah, see, computers. Hex knows 'bout that stuff."

"Not computers," corrected Hex.

"Basically computers," said Nova with the same confidence, not letting the correction knock her off course. "That's science."

Riz made a scornful face at Nova that didn't quite work when standing several metres below. "Yeah, well, maybe that's what ghosts are! Either way, I'm not sticking around. You fuckers can eat with the ghosts, I'm eating in Charlotte."

Riz stomped off towards her mech, burning with the indignation of a dying star, and the intimidating aura of a small cat.

Nova sat, chewing passively, watching Riz climb into her mech and slam the cockpit shut.

"Hex, could you-"

"Already on it," said Hex, hooked back up to her mech's system via her wrist quick-connect.

There was a muffled scream from Riz's mech, followed immediately by a yelp and some banging.

"Motherfuckers! Eat shit and die, I hope the ghosts get you!"

Nova chuckled to herself as she bit into the last of her lunch.