Location: Alliance Secure Storage Facility, Klensal, Hades Gamma Cluster
"It's so cold outside I think I can't even feel my balls anymore…"
"Probably because you haven't got any to begin with…"
"Why don't you just shut up?"
Security Officer Gregory Hardman was only dimly aware of the exchange occurring between his two fellow officers behind him, having been concentrating on the series of computer monitors in front of him. There were about ten monitors in total, each divided into four evenly sized sections and each section connected to one of the many cameras scattered throughout the compound, both outside and inside. The outside cameras never really showed much, visibility outside being just about zero with only the small light by the camera itself to illuminate the immediate vicinity. Snow, as usual, was the main calling card of this world since it was covered with it. Blizzards were happening all the time and to top it all off the planet seemed to have been put into permanent darkness, the sunlight from the distant and ageing sun almost constantly blotted out by thick dark clouds which hung in the sky and filled it completely...
The room Gregory was in was the security station, located on the ground floor of the facility and currently was the only populated room in the building. The majority of the guards were outside or in guard posts, made to put up with the cold and lack of breathable atmosphere while Gregory and his two fellow officers could sit in reasonable luxury, with heating and other climate control systems available to them. The oxygen inside the moderately sized facility had the taste of having been constantly recycled; being a bit sour on the tongue and a bit dry on the throat but otherwise it was better than being cooped up in an environment suit and made to stand guard outside.
Gregory was more or less the Alliance military equivalent of a security guard, the same going for the two others that were with him: they were trained in the use of small arms (only pistols and shotguns) and were trained to respond to any sort of offensive situation. In the case of a standard Security Officer, "offensive situation" meant to be prepared for any sort of attack by hostile forces (whoever those hostile forces might be). Defences were the specialities of Security Officers like Gregory and when things got a little too hot to handle it was a simple enough matter of calling for backup. You'd just better hope the backup would arrive in time.
Gregory had been born on Earth in one of the bigger cities and at the age of two his mother had died in a shuttle accident. His father, being a military man, had been the one to raise him, often taking him on board cruisers and frigates while his father served in the Alliance Navy. Gregory had grown up on ships but had never actually seen much combat.
This facility, here on Klensal, was more or less a larger version of the research stations so common on unchartered worlds such as this snow covered rock Gregory and the others were stationed on. There were three floors to the main facility, the ground being where the aforementioned security station was located as well as where a garage was located, able to bring in vehicles laden with recently arrived supplies and send them back out again. The other two floors were mostly officers and laboratories.
The complement of vehicles for this station consisted of one MAKO, an all-terrain transport often used by the Alliance military. This particular MAKO didn't have any weapons attached, possibly to save on the strict budget that had been put toward the construction of this facility. An unarmed MAKO cost considerably less than one with weapons attached and even Gregory thought that an armed MAKO would be a tad useless in a place like this. Nothing interesting ever happened here on Klensal, a frozen planet out in the Dis system of the Hades Gamma Cluster, so armed vehicles probably weren't a necessity. There were others who disagreed, saying that they should be prepared for any eventuality but Gregory firmly believed that nothing of particular interest would be happening here, ever.
Gregory had been a firm believer in this lack of action that he wasn't sure what to think of the silent cascade of white noise that had replaced one of the camera feeds on one of the monitors. He had been about to activate the radio on the desk to alert the guards outside but a thought crossed his mind, one that had crossed his mind several times during his stay here on Klensal: exterior cameras were malfunctioning all the time, their environmental shielding often being worn away and allowing the camera to be exposed to the harsh environment outside and freezing up the circuits. The loss of one was really nothing and actually quite common. With this in mind he removed his finger away from the desk radio's switch, his gaze moving from the fuzzy camera feed and then toward the bulky figure standing by the table behind him. Sitting at the table was an Arab looking man, dressed in the standard uniform of a security guard. The Arab's name was Ahmad Hassan, a Security Officer just like Gregory and one that he was good friends with. Ahmad hailed from Saudi Arabia, having been born to wealthy parents who had then sent him to join the army when he was old enough. Gregory had never asked Ahmad why his parents had been so intent on sending him off to join the military since the question had never really occurred to him. Usually the two of them simply spoke about home or their favourite foods, colours, movies…
The man in the bulky environment suit who had just shared insults with Ahmad then moved over to one of the heaters on the wall and started rubbing his hands in front of it, hoping to get warmth. He had hung his suit's helmet on a hook on the wall by the security room's door. Beyond that door was a short hallway and a door that lead to an airlock which in turn lead outside.
The man's name was Timothy Lassay and he was the man in charge of organizing the supplies that were brought into the facility that helped keep everyone stationed here alive and sustained. He was a likeable man with broad shoulders and a grinning face, as well as a five o'clock shadow that proved he hadn't bothered shaving for some days now. Lassay ran a hand across his suit's front, rubbing away the ice that had started forming in any sort of indentation in the armour itself. He shivered some more but this was already beginning to subside, Lassay turning around to face Ahmad who was bearing a wide grin. Lassay pointed an accusing finger at the Arab but didn't seem at all serious about it.
"Don't make anymore cracks about my balls," Lassay managed to say. The pair lost their smiles, Lassay moving on to a slightly more serious matter. "As I was going to say, those Alliance pilots, a lot of them aren't actually good at their job. Well, at least the ones they use to fly the drop-ships carrying our supplies. I had to go out and tag a supply drop for pickup by the soldiers which had been dropped way off course, way out into the icy wastes. There's fuck all out there and visibility's almost zero, so I had to take the MAKO.
"That would have been all well and good if the MAKO's jump jets hadn't malfunctioned," Lassay continued, pulling up a seat at Ahmad's table and sitting down. Gregory noticed that it had gotten considerably colder ever since Lassay had come in, as if the cold air had clung to him and carried itself inside.
"The cold must affect the circuits since the damn things weren't working," Lassay said, removing his armour's gloves and tossing them over into the corner, "sure, I could have made my trip here and back without the help of the jump jets but, like I said, visibility is almost zero…"
The cold had subsided inside the room, returning to its well heated former state. Gregory picked up the insulated paper cup of coffee on the desk which he had been sipping from the past twenty minutes but was surprised to find it empty which was enough of an excuse for him to toss it towards the waste chute in the wall to his right. Unfortunately he missed the open chute, the cup bouncing off the wall inches from the side of the chute and landing on the floor, rolling a short distance away.
"So, as I was saying," Lassay continued, "since I couldn't see shit out there even with the MAKO's headlights on I ended up getting the vehicle's back wheels stuck in some sort of crag in the surface. This was on the way back and I had to spend an hour chipping away at the ice in sub-zero temperatures until they came free again."
Lassay glanced at Ahmad, who shrugged, and then to Gregory who hadn't been paying much attention and instead had been taking a look at the camera feeds in front of him. The lost feed from one of the exterior cameras still intrigued him although he wasn't sure whether he should call one of the guard posts and get a few of the soldiers to investigate. He fingered the switch on the radio, unsure whether it would be worth it or it would just waste the time of the guards sitting in their cold guard posts outside.
"Now, first thing tomorrow morning I'm going to get in touch with Command and have them send a mechanic down here to take a look at the MAKO," Lassay continued although now he showed a trace of annoyance, seeing that no one had been really listening to him. Ahmad was sipping away at a cup of coffee, his gaze concentrating on the holographic screen on the table as he tapped away at the keys and sorted through data.
"I doubt the guy they send will be any good," Lassay said before smiling, "hell, I doubt they'll even send one. I bet they're too busy to bother with a place like this, located on some piece of shit ball of ice that not even Santa Claus would want to call his home."
There was silence when Lassay finished although the man's gaze at Ahmad implied he was looking for some sort of response. When he didn't get one he rolled his eyes before turning towards Gregory.
"Say, Gregory, what the hell's so fascinating over there that you ain't got time to talk to your old pal Tim?"
Gregory snapped out of his self induced trance, his mind having wandered off as it ran through all sorts of possibilities that might have caused this particular camera feed to be lost. None seemed incredibly appealing, especially when his imagination kicked in and began imagining all sorts of horrid things, many from the horror movies he had spent his younger years watching. Snowy shit-holes such as Klensal seemed to make excellent habitats for all sorts of monsters.
Gregory turned around, looking toward Lassay who was leaning forwards, expecting some sort of fascinating and meaningful answer. Gregory couldn't manage one of them, instead he said one word.
"Nothing…"
Lassay looked disappointed for a moment before speaking again, going into that inquisitive demeanour of his that Gregory and Ahmad had gotten used to. Lassay was always asking questions and treating everybody else like they were little kids who didn't know any better. This wasn't a bad quality but it did get annoying sometimes.
"You sure it's nothing?"
"Positive."
Lassay wasn't the type of person who would leave something at a simple ending like that. No, rather than leaving the discussion to end there he got up and shuffled towards Gregory, looking over his shoulder and towards the computer monitors in front of him. He peered at the lost camera feed one, a hint of curiosity crossing his face but nothing more.
"You worried about that camera?" Lassay asked, frowning. Gregory nodded although he wasn't sure what he should be worrying about.
"Well, it's probably just the blizzard is all," Lassay said, "I'd only start to get worried if we lost more than say, three cameras maybe?"
As if on cue another of the camera feeds disappeared and was replaced by silent white fuzz, this feed having been on the same monitor as the previous lost one. Now the top half of the monitor was taken up by white noises while the rest of the cameras kept functioning.
Gregory sensed Lassay's mood diminish. Even so the burly man placed a reassuring hand on Gregory's shoulder, having sensed the uneasiness that had begun to build inside the young security guard.
"It's one hell of a storm outside," Lassay said although now his voice was lacking the colourful quality it had had when he had first walked in. Gregory could tell he was concerned but then again who wouldn't be? Losing two cameras in one night was certainly uncommon but quite possible. The main thing that was worrying Gregory was that they would lose more than two. That would mean that something was definitely wrong and that maybe someone would have to go outside and check it out…
And be the monster's first victim, Gregory thought absent-mindedly. He smiled, losing that feeling of anxiety he had felt at the loss of the second camera feed but only briefly. He soon remembered the seriousness of the situation, especially when another feed on the same monitor disappeared, replaced by the now all too familiar white noise (although there was no volume so maybe the term "noise" wasn't appropriate for the situation).
Without hesitation Lassay flicked the switch on the desk's radio, speaking into it confidently but in a serious tone.
"We just lost three camera feeds on the southern approach to the compound," Lassay said, "who's available to investigate?"
There were a lot of groans sounding from the other end of the signal but one voice spoke up above it all, the man behind it sounding weary and annoyed.
"I'll look into it."
"Don't go alone," Lassay said, "and chime back in when you find anything." He switched off the radio and he and Gregory watched the exterior camera feeds that were still functioning as a pair of soldiers in environment suits left one of the guard posts, moving into view of camera after camera before they disappeared, now in view of the cameras that were no longer working. Another exterior feed disappeared and Gregory felt himself tense up. Lassay remained calm but Gregory could see that he was worried.
About a minute passed and no response came through the radio about the loss of four cameras. Lassay flicked the switch on the radio and spoke into it, his voice now in a dead serious tone.
"Hey, you two found anything yet?"
Nothing but static came from the other end of the signal and Lassay reluctantly closed the channel. Ahmad had been watching from where he had been sitting and seemed surprised when Lassay turned around and started for the locker on the wall, keying in the keypad code and watching as the locker slid open.
"What's going on?" Ahmad asked. Lassay didn't respond so Ahmad turned to Gregory, hoping for an answer from him.
"Hey, what's going on Greg?"
Gregory shrugged. He had no idea what was going on and neither did Lassay. The both of them just knew something was up, especially since four camera feeds had been lost as well as two soldiers. This was enough to warrant a full investigation, something which Lassay looked intent on doing.
The locker's contents had always been the type Gregory had hoped he would never need to use. One reason he had gotten such a crap assignment is because he had requested it: low risk assignments were certainly his thing. Getting shot at scared the life out of him and being a security guard that looked after an insignificant storage facility such as this would be ensure he would probably never end up getting into a combat situation.
There was more to this facility than what originally met one's eye, which had been the idea all along. The Alliance, ever since its expansion into space and to unchartered worlds, had decided that what no better place to dump the items one wanted kept secret than on an unchartered world? When Gregory had first arrived here six months ago he had been told that it was a mere storage and research facility, home to a small contingent of soldiers and a few scientists. Security officers such as him would be used to keep everything organized and keep the soldiers under control but if Gregory had known the full detail of this "crap" assignment prior to arriving here he might not have been so keen on coming along.
Currently Gregory was getting paid to sit around and watch a bunch of monitors for a few hours of the day which was as good as any job could get, seeing as he was paid for this simple but tedious task. It hadn't been until a week after arriving that he had discovered the true purpose of this facility and his attempts at getting a transfer had not been successful. He had gotten used to the idea that they might be attacked but he had hoped that it would never happen yet here they were, Lassay already getting into the weapons locker and removing the few weapons stored inside.
This facility and the vast underground storage areas were known as Alliance Secure Storage Facility No. 27E. Gregory hadn't known that until he had arrived and it had taken him a week to find out what it was that was being stored here, in the underground areas that he had assumed were where samples taken from this planet were researched and experiments conducted. Ahmad had been the one to tell him this place was more than a research facility but a facility which housed some of the very items the Alliance military wanted kept secret.
It had been a while since Gregory had last read about any conspiracy theories, that kind of thing having never really interested him. When he had found out the first time he had scoffed at the thought of their being a lot of "top secret" objects kept down in the underground storage areas. No one except the few scientists and Lassay were allowed down in those areas so Gregory had never been able to see for himself what could possibly be down there. Ahmad had said he had been down there a few times and had said that the stacks of crates went as high as the ceiling which must have been at least ten metres. According to him they contained the sorts of top secret items the Alliance wanted stored away. As well as that, Ahmad went on to describe the stacks and stacks of varying sized and shaped crates were kept down there, taking up the majority of the underground storage area. Ahmad estimated that there might have been at least five hundred of them, stacked on top of each other and well out of the way of any prying eyes by being underground and on a planet such as Klensal. Gregory had never been sure whether or not this was true but if it was that meant that whatever was down there could be interesting to somebody other than the Alliance. The thought of a raid had always been in Gregory's mind but he had always been confident enough to believe that no one would bother, this facility being on some far out and insignificant world where the worst blizzards ever recorded in the galaxy occurred.
Lassay, of course, was in on the truth behind this facility and was now fiddling with a Hahne-Kedar manufactured Kessler pistol. Hahne-Kedar was a popular Earth-based manufacturer which manufactured the bulk of the small arms that the Alliance military used. The Kessler pistol was a standard slug throwing weapon, capable of receiving upgrades but otherwise it was of sup-par quality compared to other pistol models and manufacturers.
"What are you doing?" Ahmad asked; the surprise was quite noticeable on his features. He scratched at his chin and the whiskers there, unsure whether or not he should ask anymore than what he had just said.
Lassay glanced at him, his face grim but determined. He took one of the two shotguns hanging up inside the locker and threw it towards Ahmad. The Arab caught it and gave Lassay a surprised, unsure glance as if the man had just thrown him a bomb primed to explode any second from now.
"I'm going outside to take a look myself," Lassay said, taking up the other shotgun. He took out one of the other Kessler pistols and threw it towards Gregory. The security officer fumbled it for a moment before getting it gripped firmly in his fingers, looking down at it with wide eyes.
"You seriously think we're being attacked?" Gregory asked but he already knew what the answer would be. They were under attack; a single glance at the lost camera feeds could prove that. Another few feeds disappeared and were replaced with white noise, Gregory noticing that the locations of the missing camera feeds corresponded to the path one would take through the southern approach to the base.
"I think we're being attacked but I'm not sure if we're actually being attacked," Lassay said, "so going outside is the only way to know for sure." He managed one of his always reliable grins but his eyes betrayed the grim truth. Before Gregory or Ahmad could say anything else Lassay had gone to the door which slid open as he approached. He managed one last look at the dumbfounded pair of security guards, his face serious and no longer showing that colourful mood he was often in.
"If anybody who ain't me or one of the scientists or even one of the soldiers comes by, you shoot him, you got that?" Lassay said. Gregory nodded, watching as Lassay disappeared through the door, heading out into the corridor. The door closed and the whole building was silent save for the slight hum of the computers inside the security station. Ahmad and Gregory exchanged anxious glances, Gregory holding up the Kessler pistol as examining it closely.
"You sure you can handle that?" Ahmad asked unexpectedly, pulling the pump back on his shotgun as if to prove he could handle his weapon. Gregory nodded, lowering the pistol and looking towards Ahmad.
This whole situation was unbelievable. He could not fathom the idea that they were under attack but it seemed that was the case, Gregory swivelling his chair back around to face the computer monitors and the camera feeds they showed. Cameras were going offline every ten seconds or so, all of them outside cameras and none of them able to supply a good view of who or what was making them switch off.
Ahmad got out of his seat and walked over to Gregory, looking over his shoulder and towards the rapidly shutting down camera feeds. This was enough proof of attack that he needed, Ahmad holding the shotgun up and into a ready position as he pulled up a chair and sat down beside Gregory, his gaze switching back and forth between the monitors and the room's door.
Gregory could feel his hands shaking, betraying his fear to anyone who could see him. They were under attack, no doubt about that, but who or what was doing it was unknown. It could be anyone of any species, whether they are krogan mercenaries, human smugglers or batarian pirates. Either one spelt bad news but it was the reason of attack that stumped Gregory. This facility had existed for a number of years now and was probably kept secret, well out of public records if Ahmad's musings to its true purpose are to be believed. So how could such insignificant groups like smugglers and mercs discover its whereabouts and purpose? Maybe they didn't know the purpose, maybe they were simply pirates who had spotted it during an orbital sweep and decided to raid it, unaware of who the facility belonged to and why it was here.
Regardless of who they were they were coming and they were shutting down the cameras as they went. Gregory felt his grip tighten on his pistol as he watched camera feeds disappear one by one. First it had been the cameras watching the base's southern approach, followed by those in the compound's perimeter. Now it was the ones near the guard posts, followed by the ones right outside of the facility.
Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity, Ahmad's gaze shifting to the door and Gregory's grip tightening ever more n his Kessler pistol. It was as silent as the grave inside this room, the hum of the computers having diminished entirely or simply blocked out of the pair's minds. No word from Lassay yet and somehow Gregory doubted they would be getting any sort of "word" from Lassay anytime soon, same going for the guards outside. The only cameras remaining were those inside the surface facility, seeing as there were no cameras down in the underground storage area.
The sudden crackling of the desk radio broke the silence and almost scared the life out of the two security guards in the room who, upon realizing what it was, calmed down and sought to find out what was going on, Gregory opening the channel on the radio.
"We have hostile forces inside the compound! I repeat, we have hostile forces inside the compound!" It was the voice of one of the guards who was yelling over what sounded to be weapons fire and shouting. An explosion rang from somewhere in the background throughout the signal and a few of the shouting voices ended abruptly.
"Damn it! We need backup now! Is anybody hearing this? We need backup, there's too many of them! I don't know who they are but they're all—"
The voice ended abruptly, the sound of a sniper rifle firing audible throughout the mess of battle noises over the signal. Seconds after the voice was silenced the radio itself was silenced, the signal reducing to nothing but the hiss of static.
Gregory switched it off, no longer interested in listening. He and Ahmad had both heard enough, enough to prove that they were definitely under attack. Gregory could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest and a few beads of sweat running down his brow as he turned to Ahmad, who simply frowned and stepped towards the door.
"Whoever they are that's attacking we don't stand a chance against them," Ahmad said. Gregory felt like saying that how Ahmad was speaking was defeatist in nature but somehow Gregory couldn't find the courage to speak out against his friend's downbeat manner. They both knew that if the guards outside were having trouble then a couple of security guards like them would stand less of a chance.
"We should head over to the garage and get the Mako," Ahmad said, "It's our only chance."
Gregory found himself nodding in agreement. Why stand around and wait to get shot when you could make a quick getaway and hopefully not end up stranded out in the icy wastes of Klensal? The thought of being cowards crossed Gregory's mind but it was only for a moment. Self-preservation always came first, regardless of what other people said. It was human nature to put one's self first, everyone knew that.
Gregory turned around and took a look at the camera feeds one last time in the hopes of catching a glimpse of whoever was doing this. Much to his terror all but one camera feed had been lost; it was the one that remained was showing the feed from the camera just outside, positioned in the hallway. Ahmad noticed this too and the pair watched with ever-increasing desperation as a bunch of black armour-clad soldiers walked into view, their whole bodies encased in this dark armour which seemed to be the medium to heavy type. It looked bulky but the three soldiers in view didn't seem to be affected much by the bulkiness, moving with surprising speed and in an orderly formation as they moved down the corridor. Their faces were hidden behind helmets with visible breathing apparatuses that stuck out slightly, the visor an eerie green and seeming to glow. They certainly looked to be intimidating fighters, their rifles held tightly to their chests, ignoring the camera completely. None so much as moved their heads as they marched past, displaying a severe amount of discipline in doing so. The sounds of their organized footsteps could be heard inside the corridor, Gregory and Ahmad exchanging glances. They both realized there was nothing stopping the soldiers from walking into the room and simply gunning the both of them down.
Relief surged through the two of them as the soldiers continued past but that relief was short-lived. The camera feed from the hallway camera cut out abruptly and the sound of more footsteps could be heard outside. Most were almost in unison, belonging to more of the well-disciplined armour-clad soldiers but there was one set of footsteps that was out of step with the rest as if they belonged to someone entirely different. Those footsteps stopped just outside the door as if the person they belonged to was thinking of whether he or she should check out this room.
Gregory was about to whisper to Ahmad to lock the door when his friend turned around and raised the shotgun, the pair watching as the door slid open. The figure behind it was dressed in some sort of blue-black suit of armour and wasn't wearing a helmet like the other soldiers and instead managed a glance towards the pair of security guards. Before Gregory could react Ahmad had fired, the figure through the doorway sidestepping as soon as Ahmad pulled the shotgun's trigger. The shots left a scorch mark on the wall through the doorway but the figure out in the hallway who was no longer in view was unharmed and whether that was for the better or not was impossible to tell: the whole place had fallen silent, all sets of footsteps out in the hallway having suddenly stopped.
Ahmad stepped forwards before Gregory had a chance to talk him down. There was a sudden movement through the doorway, it was the man again and this time he had a pistol drawn and raised. There was a flash and a gunshot and a spray of blood hit Gregory in the side of the face, part of Ahmad's back exploding outwards in a bloody cloud. Shredder rounds worked well against unarmoured organic targets and Ahmad was just that, the shot having torn right through his ribcage and shredded up into several separate, razor-sharp projectiles which cut through his flesh with ease. Gregory stumbled backwards in surprise, wiping his friend's blood away with one hand while holding the pistol out feebly with the other.
For a moment Gregory thought of shooting back in the vain effort of avenging his friend's death, Ahmad having fallen to one side and knocked over a chair. Gregory wanted to avenge Lassay's death as well seeing as all signs implied that notion. However, some stronger thought stopped Gregory from pulling the trigger and creating his own death warrant since soon enough the man had stepped into the room, his blue eyes scanning the small room and then resting on Gregory.
The man must have been six foot four, well-built and broad shouldered. He had close cropped blonde hair to go with those blue eyes of his but despite these typical good looks he actually looked quite malevolent. There was a darker purpose in those eyes of his but Gregory didn't have long to examine them before a pair of the armour-clad soldiers burst into the room.
With a slight accent the man directed the pair of soldiers towards Gregory and within seconds Gregory felt the gun pulled from his right hand and thrown to the floor. Each soldier grabbed an arm in a surprisingly strong, vice-like grip and they began to drag him out of the room, quite literally.
Gregory didn't bother struggling. He had the firm belief that these two soldiers could simply break his neck if he began to be too much of a nuisance to them so he let them carry him down the corridor, the blonde-haired man following closely. They arrived at the main elevator, Gregory noticing how several of the armour-clad soldiers were standing fixed in place by the elevator, standing guard and not moving a single muscle. All of them still had their helmets on despite the fact the atmosphere inside the facility was breathable.
"Take this one down as well," the blonde-haired man told the soldiers holding Gregory, "he might be of some assistance."
The soldiers didn't reply and Gregory watched as the blonde-haired man entered the elevator before both soldiers dragged Gregory inside as well. The doors closed and the man, whistling a somewhat familiar tune, pressed a button on the panel by the door and the elevator started moving.
The blonde-haired man looked down at Gregory with only slight interest. The elevator ride seemed to be going on for an awfully long time and so the man stopped whistling and was busying himself by twirling about his pistol in his right hand, spinning it around much like the gunslingers did in the old Western movies. Whoever this man was he had some obvious finesse with a pistol which might explain why he had been so quick at shooting Ahmad and not getting shot himself.
The elevator suddenly stopped and the doors opened, revealing a vast and dimly lit expanse in some sort of underground cavern. Metal support beams lined the walls but that was the least of Gregory's interests in this new room, one which he had never before seen. He realized this must be the storage area, the existence of which he had doubted for some time. Ahmad had been right about the amount of crates inside here, they were stacked up high on rows and rows of shelves.
The blonde-haired man was first out of the elevator. He stopped just outside the doorway and gazed around at the large room, taking in everything he could see. His put his pistol back into his waist holster and muttered something to himself, something which Gregory heard quite well in the silence of the cavern.
"How the hell are we going to find it in this mess?"