Ridge had, at some point, rested enough and helped to clear the ground for not only the fire but also their sleeping spots. Didn't want to catch fire while they were sleeping, after all.
They didn't actually bring any tents or the like with them, surprisingly enough, but Ridge wasn't really too worried about that; a soldier could sleep anywhere. What he was worried about on the other hand was that the lack of such protection or cover, even if only cloth, would basically be like inviting themselves to be attacked in their sleep; it was something unavoidable, though, so he just advised the others to be cautious.
The next thing that came to mind as he worked while thinking about it was simply using the cave, but to be quite frank, he didn't actually feel comfortable sleeping in an area just after cleansing some enemies from the exact same spot. These fungi seemed pretty sneaky, so who knows if they didn't kill everything. Clearly, they missed something from the frigate the first time when they were clearing it out to rescue Becke and Reno, so he wasn't confident in that regard.
While the rest of the group had ripped out and cleared the foliage that was on the ground, the two scouts who had volunteered to gather firewood periodically returned and then left the camp to gather more. Some time later, after the sky had darkened even further, the camp was done.
Positioning the fire in the center of their designated sleeping areas, they also made sure to place the small disposable lights a little further away to light up parts of the dark forest as well as the cave. Though only a little bit, to be visible for the lookouts.
Ridge had also at some point grabbed some of the foliage and used it as a pillow, which worked surprisingly well. With his suit on, he wasn't exactly afraid of getting dirty, and they hadn't spotted any bugs, so he was quite relaxed. The others also followed his example and made themselves a pillow.
With the fire going and the camp settled, Ridge crossed his arms while lying down and went to sleep. The two scouts who had volunteered to keep lookout first kept themselves occupied with the fire while periodically checking their surroundings.
Hours passed...
Faint voices echoed through Ridge's ears when he finally opened his eyes groggily. "Commander," one of the scouts shook him, "Commander."
Now fully awake, Ridge sat up and stretched his neck. "Our turn for watch, huh," He said after looking around, letting out a short yawn in the process.
"Yup."
Hearing the scout's reply, Ridge sat up fully and went to tend the fire. Looking up, the sky was still relatively dark but beginning to turn light. His watch was the very last one; he would let the others sleep for a few more hours before they moved on.
He planned to continue north after leaving this little habitat within the mountains. Naturally, going back the way they came, they could scale the mountain within this area, but it would simply be more effort than it was worth, he believed.
The crackling of the fire focused his attention on it, and he put some more wood to keep it burning. They had luckily found relatively thick branches of wood that had fallen down onto the forest floor; otherwise, they very much so had a slim chance of actually getting their hands on logs or the like to burn in the fire for this long.
Occasionally, Ridge got up from his seat and walked the perimeter to try and spot anything; he also kept an eye on the cave at all times.
This routine simply repeated itself over and over again, until finally the dark skies above had turned lighter and lighter, transforming night into day. Ridge kept an eye on his wrist panel to keep track of time and noted that it was 06:30. That was the time they got up around the base to get to work.
"Let's wake them up; it's time to go," Ridge said to the other guy keeping watch, and so they went around the makeshift camp, waking one scout after another, mostly just shaking them till they woke up. They were soldiers anyway, so it was far better than shouting at them to wake up like during their academy and training camp days.
Stomping out the fire, Ridge waited for a few more minutes and saw that everyone had pretty much woken up.
"The plan is to return from where we came from through those winding tunnels, and then we'll very likely travel northeast, going around the mountains somewhat. Apart from the lake or ocean or whatever it is in the west, the east is also largely unexplored, so I think it's a good idea to scout it out," Ridge explained.
The others nodded, and some groggy let out noises that Ridge assumed were them agreeing. Either way, they didn't have a choice in the matter. Doing some morning stretches to get his blood pumping, he gestured to the others to follow him, and they made their way back.
Travelling through the forest wasn't eventful, except they did find more birds in the air, the same species unfortunately, so nothing new. Coming out of the forest, they hiked at a rather brisk pace up the pathway and entered once again the passageway that got them here.
Being familiar with the place, even if only recently, gave them the confidence to travel through it at a much faster pace. Of course, because it was dark, needing to use their lights slightly slowed them down.
Winding passages and the occasional tight squeeze were nothing new, and they finally made it out once again. Everything that Ridge first saw was the exact same; the base didn't seem to have any additions, and the damaged frigate hadn't been moved. Thank goodness, he thought.
Being one of the few in the front of the pack, he quickly moved to the side on the ridge and waited for the others to make their way out.
"We'll have to climb down freely since we didn't bring any type of rope," Ridge said.
"Let's do this then," One of the more reckless scouts exclaimed before starting the descent. Ridge followed closely behind once everyone was out and accounted for.
All eleven of them carefully made their way down, and this time there weren't any incidents. Ridge was quite surprised, considering the climb down was usually more difficult.
Looking east, Ridge saw that the plateau they were on was simply a cliff in that direction. They would have to take the path they used to get up here in the first place and start down on the forest floor in Tall Trees.
"Retrace our steps; it's going to be much more convenient to do so. Less risk involved as well," he told the others.
"Affirmative," They echoed.
Time passed relatively quickly; it was now 07:46. They had spent most of this time simply going back to where they came from, but finally, after all that climbing and walking, they returned to the forest.
Ridge didn't say much and simply led them on. Continuing east, or more specifically northeast, led them to more mountains and occasionally a cave that they explored.
During their exploration of one of those caves, Ridge had noted that there were some animal bones, which he collected. Perhaps the scientists could use these was a prominent thought in his head at all times.
An hour turned into two and then into three. They walked and walked for ages. The most common sight was the trees and foliage. Ridge had begun at this point to wonder why that small hole within the mountain seemed to be so filled with animals and plants like those bushes. The trees seemed to be the same species, except for that one black tree that had nothing growing on it. There weren't even bushes of any kind, just the usual foliage on the forest floor acting like long grass, annoying but nothing special.
Wanting a better vantage point, Ridge and the scouts found a decent mountain to scale and, with some prep work, made their way up.
Grunts and rocks being pulled were the only sound; occasionally, Ridge would stop to check on the others, but eventually, after climbing high enough, they were able to find stable spots, not exactly ledges, but something to hold onto while they turned their back to the mountain wall and looked out.
"Nothing, just more trees out east, and I can already imagine that this mountain range continues," he said somewhat tiredly.
"Most likely, I think it would be best to make our way back to base and then travel south. Maybe we can find more ore deposits that way," One of the scouts recommended.
"Yeah, let's. I Don't think we'll find anything else; furthermore, we can deposit these research materials we grabbed earlier and maybe even grab some other tools," He nodded in agreement while holding up a container that he was carrying on him.
The same old story repeated itself. They retraced their steps after carefully climbing down yet another mountain and made their way back to base.
A rather uneventful and unfulfilling day, but sometimes it's days like these that should be cherished. At least that's what Ridge thought. Can't be fighting all the time, after all; it's bad for the body.