I never believed in alternate dimensions, I always believed there was one universe, and nothing else. How wrong I was. A few months after Hargove's arrest, things went back to normal. The soldiers laid down their arms, the injured were taken care of, and the reconstruction of Armonia was underway. But there wa one thing that was difficult for everyone. Church's death.
Grif ransacked the mess hall and ate almost everything, Simmon's kept to himself and helped with any technical needs. Sarge was barking orders and throwing insults at Grif, but people could tell his heart wasn't in it. Then there was Tucker, he worked hard to help rebuild with his son Junior, Carolina worked day and night to keep her mind off of things. But the one who took Church's death the worst was Caboose, he barely talked to anyone, not even Freckles, and he just stayed in his quarters. We didn't know how to help. I on the other hand, I just worked, kept occupied, took on the occasional mission to rid regions of any remaining Pirates and to scout out the occasional abandoned outpost. Then one day, Kimball wanted to see me.
I sighed as I walked up to Kimball's door and gave it a light knock.
"Enter." Was heard from the other side and the door slid open with a hiss. Kimball's office was a medium sized room white walls. The desk was large enough to house a computer, some books, several large stacks of papers, and a coffee mug. The walls were bare except one which was lined with framed diplomas and photos, none of which belonged to Kimball, they were Doyle's.
"How are you feeling Wash?" Kimball asked as she stood up from her chair. Kimball was in full armor except for her helmet, shel had brown hair that was done up in a loose bun, shocking blue eyes and an angular face that housed a tired expression.
"I'm fine. But you should be asking yourself the same question. You look worn out." I said as I walked up to her.
"I'm okay, but our well being isn't why I called you up here."
"Let me guess, there's a small outpost of Pirates you want me to get rid of."
"No, I actually want you to investigate an alien temple that our scouting team found to the southeast." This took me by surprise, why send me, why not Tucker, and I voiced this Concern.
"Wait, why me? Why not Tucker, he has a key?" Kimball sighed, turned around and looked out the window that was behind her.
"He's worn out. After Church. . . passed. Tucker started to work hard. He barely eats, barely sleeps. So I want to give him a break."
"Without Tucker, we won't be able to activate the temple."
"That's the point, I don't want the tower to be activated, for all we know it can be another purge. But I will be sending Santa with you, with his help we should be able to understand what it does." As Kimball finished, the aforementioned alien construct appeared on her desk.
"I will be able to aid you with knowledge on what this temple will be able to do. Though this certain temple vexes me a bit." He said in his deep monotone.
"Wait, how does this one confuses you?" I asked a bit worried. "Didn't your creators build the temples?"
"My creators built the temple, but something happened, so they avoided it whenever possible. There is little recorded data on it." Santa said, but he seemed off, like he was holding something back.
I sighed and placed my hands in my hips "Okay, when should we set off?"
"As soon as possible. I have a Pelican ready for you. Gear up and follow the coordinates to the temple." Kimball said as she turned around, i could see her worn face that seemed to have gotten even more worn out in a matter of a few seconds. I nodded my head and walked out of Kimball's office and made my way to the hangar.
"Santa, is there anything else you can tell me about this temple?"
"No. Not even my masters understood this specific temple. One thing they knew was that is was different and more advanced than me. It also proved to be highly dangerous, so they avoided it as much as possible."
"So, we're going to scout out a temple that the creators don't even understand, and stayed away from, and to study it. Why isn't Grey here? She would have a hay day with this one"
"I thought it would be better if we were the only ones to scout it out, besides, I should be able to get information from it with enough time." With that Santa blinked out of existence and left me with an uneasy feeling, like he was holding something important back. But I just shook that feeling off, I shouldn't be getting jittery of this. It's just a simple in and out mission, there shouldn't be any complications. I hope.