Malinovyĭ: "We should stay here on Malinovyĭ and return to the rock to look for clues about the American´s whereabouts"
From Create Your Own Story
"I-I..." Sergey stutters, this is the first time you´ve seen him hesitate. "I suppose you´re right Vladimir. We need to locate the American base and find out what their intentions are."
The others nod along, you can see it calms them to have some sort of clear directions.
"A few of us should stay here however to watch the spaceship and see if the communicator becomes operational. Vladimir, Yamuna, Kerim, you three take a rover and return to that rock where we placed our flag. See if you can find some evidence of American presence and where they might have gone, return here if you find anything. I and Aelita will stay here and watch the ship."
"Yes comrade cosmonaut!" the three of you confirm as one.
...
You drive out into the desolate, red wasteland with Kerim and Yamuna in the rover. It doesn't take long to reach the rock, and this time, nobody complains or even speaks a word as you proceed with the arduous climb to its top.
The Red Banner still stands, you´d almost except it to have been stolen in revenge.
"Alright," you say and breath heavily in your helmet, "let´s search the area, try to look for clues or tracks in the ground."
"Hey Vladimir, maybe we should check the base of the rock for rover tracks?" Kerim asks.
"Good idea, really good idea actually! But you´ll have to climb down to do that," you reply.
Kerim looks irritated that he came up with the idea. But begins the climb back down again without verbal complaint.
"Let´s just start looking," Yamuna says, whose already hunching over - looking at the ground.
You too begin keeping your eyes on the ground as you casually stroll on the flat top of the giant sandstone rock-complex. The top is covered with red earth and small red rocks. They lay like sand over the hard material that leaves footprints as you walk upon it, but no footprints can be found of the Americans.
"Found anything?" You shout to Yamuna after a minutes search - just to uphold contact.
"No... Wait, yes! Get over here Vladimir!" Yamuna yells back with excitement.
You perform a instant U-turn and run over to her as fast as you can. Yamuna is kneeling down, holding something in her hands.
"What is it?" You ask.
Yamuna holds up her open palm, "I saw it shining on the ground," she says. The item is a Christian cross in silver with a chain attached to it forming a necklace.
"A cross?" You say as if asking.
"You sound surprised Vladimir. Isn´t it what you´d except to find from the American´s?" Yamuna retorts with a clever voice.
"I guess so," you admit, feeling a bit dumb that you said so.
Suddenly Kerim´s voice is heard from the base of the rock, "Come here!"
The voice ends your fascination with the cross, and Yamuna puts the cross in her suits pocket. Both you and Yamuna quickly run down the rock to where the sound came from. Kerim stands by the base on the opposite side where you arrived from. On the ground there are clear tracks from rovers. Two tracks to be precise, one leading to the north, the other, to the west.
"This is it - these tracks will take us to them," Kerim says, excited that these mysterious Americans might finally be seen in the flesh.
"But which track leads to their base? And why is there two tracks?" you wonder, stating the obvious questions. "We´ll need to split up, we can drive back to the Volga-3 and report this and then get the second rover so that we can cover both tracks."
"Agree," Kerim says determinedly.
"That... sounds good," Yamuna says with a bit more nervousness in her voice.
