You walked through the starport, past towering windows making up the outer walls facing the martian highlands of Terra Cimmeria, past shops and advertisements and a drone floor waxer moving about it's duties of keeping everything sparkling. Stepping into an airlock, there was a pressure change as decontamination gasses were sprayed over you, and the doorway to The Castle opened.
The Castle was made of a dark stone not readily found in Terra Cimmeria. It was heated and lit by space heaters and spotlights powered by portable fusion generators. The team gathered inside a staging area near the gateway, a platform, for now, surrounded by hieroglyphs. Dr. Rupert Langdon, the chief archaeologist on the Castle project, was waiting in a lab coat. Lockers on the side of the room had been set up with armored space suits and magnetic PDWs. Tools were arrayed on a table, including a Gauss rifle, demolitions pack, autodoc, and a portable manual repair kit. A man with a clipboard raised his hand and shook his head at anyone trying to claim one yet.
The Gate itself wasn't active. An empty dais at the center of the room was once thought to be a place where speeches or religious sermons must be made, until it was first accidentally activated. A number of archaeologists and physicists are in attendance, with gear scattered around various workstations aimed at the dais, along with laser stations.
In the corner, a pair of archeologists were quietly arguing.
"For all we know, we're about to dial a prison, or a trash compactor. This whole thing might be an elaborate system for sorting recycling."
"A lot of the evidence fits. The strange stone, the lack of any other structures in the area-"
"There are a lot of craters in the area-"
"That don't have black stones. Besides, who would put up with a recycling system this complicated?"
"Hate to stake my life on it.."
Landgon spoke louder, to draw the team's attention. "Suit up, introduce yourselves. In a moment we'll call people to receive specialist equipment."