Yeti Mountain
First Contact
No convincing proof of giant anthropoids existing on Baseline has yet been found, but they indubitably exist elsewhere, such as here. The breach point opened in a cold, mountainous region; the air pressure indicated it was several miles up. A team comprised of several breachers with established mountaineering skills was sent in for at least a quick look around. To their surprise, they spotted plumes to the west, downslope a little, and chose to investigate. They had just gotten close enough to identify a small settlement with rocky walls (and smoke pouring from chimneys in a few buildings), when they were set upon by the locals, a variant of Dianthropoides Nivalis. One team member was killed instantly; two others were wounded before the attackers were driven off (with two of them dead, and one badly wounded). The survivors managed to get back to the breach and return, just ahead of a larger group. Their attackers wielded heavy clubs set with sharp stones, and wore various pelts and what might have been bracelets or necklaces, though, for obvious reasons, the fleeing first-in team did not perform an IAS, despite it being standard protocol for FCSL situations.Further Contact
Far more surreptitious surveys revealed only a little more; the locals were at a late Stone Age level, they primarily hunted for food, but had learned some basics of cultivation, even in the harsh climate, evidently for root vegetables and an herb that seemed to have ritual importance, due to it being burned rather than consumed (but as critics noted, it could just be they enjoyed the smell). They have no pottery, but are skilled at crafting with bone and leather, incorporating colorful stones as decoration, or perhaps marks of status. Four of the small settlements have been located, and one example of interaction between groups, which was a peaceful trade of a stack of dead rabbits for several spears. To the extent body and spoken language could be understood, this exchange was accompanied by jokes and camaraderie; regardless of how they reacted to the First-In team, the species was clearly not incapable of peaceful interactions.Many mysteries remain: Is this the dominant, or only, sapient species? Are there other settlements further downslope, or possibly across the world? Is this the pinnacle of local technology, or are they a lost "stone age" tribe in a world of steam, oil, or even fusion? As much as researchers would like to know, the fear that attempts at peaceful contact will lead to more violence (it is possible the locals considered the small, fur-suited humans to be an animal species they could eat, and it might be possible to show them otherwise before an attack; it is just as possible humans exist on this world, and the locals have had enough bad experiences with them that they will attack on sight; and there are many other unknowns, besides) has held back more intensive exploration. Alert humans with modern weapons will face minimal risk from stone age natives, no matter how large, and that's actually the problem: Shooting locals who are merely defending their territory is something BREACH PR would rather not deal with. (That there's also no evidence of exploitable resources, unusual technology, or a geopolitical situation that can be leveraged for a Baseline nation's benefit also factor in to that equation.)
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