Dr. Chudnoffsky was mildly surprised to find the door left unlocked. After he was outside, he looked around carefully and shivered. It wasn't all that cold outside, just a sense of foreboding sent a chill down his spine. There was a small square with a fountain in front of a large building that said "City Hall." Dr. Chudnoffsky rolled his eyes and tried the front door, only to find it locked. A careful inspection revealed a biometric scanner hidden behind a stone panel. He pulled out his data recorder and plugged it into the scanner. "Reginald, I need this door open," he said.

Lines of data scrolled down the screen, then Reginald's voice said, "I am sorry to report that I currently do not have the capability to bypass the lock's security measures. There is, however, an alternate access point close by."

Dr. Chudnoffsky bit back a curse and looked around. When he came to the fountain in front of the building, he stopped. He looked around the fountain and saw it hadn't been operational for some time. Rust and grime coated the basin and the water spouts had corroded over. Dr. Chudnoffsky frowned and stroked his chin in thought. "What happened here?" he asked himself.

A sudden rustling broke the doctor from this thoughts and he quickly looked around. The sun had set and there was no moon to provide illumination. None of the lights in town worked and the shuttle was some distance away. The doctor felt his heart start to beat faster and he began to feel uneasy. He pulled out a small penlight and began inspecting the fountain.

Stop being so foolish, Dr. Chudnoffsky scolded himself. There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. It just might take some time to figure out. He discovered a tile in the bottom of the fountain with discoloration that didn't match the rest of the fountain. He felt along the edges, then pressed firmly on the tile. He heard a small click and the tile popped open, revealing an access panel. He plugged in his data recorder and several seconds later, the fountain split in half and swung open. "No thanks required," Reginald replied haughtily.

Dr. Chudnoffsky pocketed the data recorder and shined his light down the tunnel. He took a step and hesitated. What was this sudden feeling? Fear? Dr. Chudnoffsky shook his head. He didn't remember the last time he felt fear. In his line of work, there wasn't much he was afraid of. He took one last look around outside and took a deep breath, then proceeded down the stairs. When he was several steps down, the entrance closed behind him, sealing him in darkness. The lock engaged, echoing slightly in the stone tunnel. The small light only provided enough illumination to see two steps ahead, forcing the doctor to proceed slowly and take his time in an unpleasant place.

At the bottom of the stairs was a door that said, "Maintenance Personnel Only." Dr. Chudnoffsky tried the doorknob and was surprised when it was unlocked. He carefully opened the door and peered inside. From what he could see, he was in a main corridor of sorts. He carefully stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Dr. Chudnoffsky pressed himself against the wall and thought about what to do next. "The obvious thing would be to find a computer terminal," he said. "But where would that be?" He pulled out his data reader and turned it on. The sudden light blinded him and lit a good portion of the corridor. Reginald shimmered to life and looked around. "Any ideas?" Dr. Chudnoffsky asked.

"It is most troublesome this facility is without power," Reginald said. Dr. Chudnoffsky rolled his eyes and bit back a retort. Reginald's form shimmered as he processed data. "I do not have sufficient information regarding this facility to determine a proper course of action," he finally said.

"Of course not!" Dr. Chudnoffsky said angrily. Reginald was taken aback at the doctor's slight outburst. "I'm detecting an increased heart rate and perspiration levels," he reported.

Dr. Chudnoffsky took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I'm sorry. This place is...unsettling." He looked around and added, "Something happened here. I would like to know what."

The light from the data recorder provided more light than the penlight, so Dr. Chudnoffsky waved it around to see better. Across the corridor, a laminated panel caught his eye. He crossed the hall and discovered a floor map. "Now that's more like it," he said and ripped if off the wall. Reginald raised an eyebrow at the doctor's sudden strange behavior.

Dr. Chudnoffsky studied the map. "According to this, the main lobby is in this direction," he said, and set off down the hall.

Back on the shuttle, Isis chuckled to herself at her cleverness. Earlier while she was sharing data with Reginald, Isis slipped a small tracking bug hidden under many layers of complex Slipspace calculations. Isis was building a 3D map of the facility based on the information she was receiving. While doing this, she began to wonder what was the purpose of the facility. Obviously for super top secret research, but who's research and what is it for? Outside, the sun was beginning to rise. Isis decided to wake the Spartans. She turned up the cockpit speakers to the maximum volume.

"ON YOUR FEET SOLDIERS!" Isis shouted as loud as she could. Nothing. Allen and Steve didn't even twitch. Isis was shocked. "Are they really that tired?" she asked. Isis reached out to touch them, then realized how silly that sounded. "Hey boneheads! Wake up!" she tried again. Again nothing. Now Isis was stumped. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "Are they dead?" she wondered.

"No, we're not dead," Steve replied sleepily. "And technically, we're sailors, not soldiers." He yawned and stretched.

Isis color flashed red with indignation. "So you were ignoring me?" she asked. "What if there was an emergency?"

Allen rolled over and shut off the holo display, cutting Isis off in mid-sentence. "Snooze button," he slurred. Suddenly every alarm and indication started sounding, creating a deafening kaleidoscope of noise and color. Allen's eyes sprang open and he sighed. "Not even five more minutes huh?" he groaned and sat up. Steve turned on the holo display and Isis appeared. With a triumphant grin, the alarms turned off and the cockpit was quiet once again. "That'll teach you to mess with me," she said.

Steve sighed and replied, "You have no idea lady." Allen sat up and cracked his spine. He took a deep breath and leaned back, popping his sternum and ribs. Isis cringed. "That sounded disgusting," she said. Allen hopped to his feet and said, "Okay Boss Lady, why the early wake up?"

"Boss Lady?" Isis gave Allen a look of disbelief. She shook her head and said, "Anyway, while you two were sleeping, our friend Dr. Chudnoffsky has been a busy boy." Isis showed them the map she had made and explained what happened. "So you put a tracker on him and let him run off on his own?" Steve asked.

"Um, you could put it that way," Isis said.

Allen was impressed. "Good job. That sounds like something we would do," he said.

"Yeah, but we're not that smart," Steve replied. Before Allen could reply, Isis said, "In any case, we should go after him."

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Why not?" Isis shot back. "Something strange is happening here and we should find out what it is."

Allen thought for a minute and said, "Let's assess. Our original mission was to repair the station on Omega 4, then return to Reach. Even though some crazy stuff happened and now we're marooned on this forgotten planet, our objective is still return to Reach."

"And how do you suggest we do that, hmm?" Isis retorted and put her hands on her hips in a gesture of defiance.

"Easy. We steal something space-worthy and go back to Reach," Steve explained. "I don't see what's so hard about this."

Isis blew out a breath of frustration. "Don't you guys want to know what's happening here?" she asked. Steve and Allen shared a look then said together, "No." After a short pause, Steve said, "Well..."

"Ha! See? I knew it!" Isis said with a grin.

"All right, we'll do it this way," Allen interjected. "Once we get inside, we'll track down the doctor using your little map, download as much data as we can, find a space worthy vehicle, and get back to Reach before the Covenant."

Steve thought for a moment and spoke up. "Not to ruin your little plan, but Reach is probably a glass marble by now." Isis whirled around and glared at him. "Don't even think things like that!" she hissed.

"What?" Steve asked with a shrug. "I'm just saying that if you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed."

"Well excuse me for not sharing your ideal," Isis huffed. "Anyway, we need to head after the doctor."