Unknown Location

October 4, 2558

Drew's eyes snapped open, himself in agony as pain throbbed in the back of his head and a tingly sensation throughout his entire body. As much as he wanted to get his own bearings, his eyelids were like lead and any movement sent his head into a frenzy pounding from a killer headache, something he absolutely despised. He was glad that his boxer shorts still kept his dignity intact, although around his ankles and wrists he felt the cold steel restraints. The air vent right above blew chilled air that made goosebumps appear all over his exposed skin.

It all came back to him in a hurry, as the narcotics Verdoorn had used on him finally began to start wearing off. Vasili had hopefully escaped and told the Blades the news. He was unsure of the fates of his son or Hope, which hopefully either of them was not dead.

Verdoorn had run a wand over his prone body like an airport metal detector and he then zapped him with a stun baton to neutralize the transmitter embedded inside. Even with the numbing of narcotics, the pain from the electrical volts surging through his body was excruciating, but not enough to be lethal. He had no memory of his pained cries during that process.

Inside his leg, the digital transmitter had been fried and unable to resume operating. Before Drew had slipped out, he heard the killer express even more anger at being beat. He apparently didn't like it when a bigger kid was at the playground. Vasili must have fought him and kicked his ass. Maybe he should take that as a hint not to mess with the Blades. Rayson gave a little smirk at some of their past opponents, Weld, Renaud, Covalus and Vaal's former patriotic ass teacher Sovl Talam. Look what happened to them. Very soon, Verdoorn was about to join those in their horrible fates.

That was the last thing Drew had remembered until now.

He now realized that he was on a bed, with somewhat rough edgings on the mattress that scraped against his bare back. No idea how long he had been there and the urge to check himself about the injury degree was there, but he was sure that he was under surveillance. Looking around, he saw no cameras, but it didn't mean they were not present.

The deprivation of the time of day was nagging at him. They had taken Drew's ability to determine the day or night. That was an essential part of an interrogation, so he was glad that he lost his internal consciousness of it.

The door suddenly clicked. Drew hadn't heard anyone approaching so he knew that the door was quite thick. That meant the room was designed to be a prison cell and not a temporary room converted into a place to hold a captive. That fact meant that the Societists had such a room did not bode well. Before the other person could determine his status, he breathed steadily and closed his eyelids.

Two pairs of footfalls walked inside, after the door opened with a light creak. One of them had a heavier sound, possibly Verdoorn. However, he couldn't place the second one.

"He should have awakened by now." The accented voice clearly was Verdoorn.

"Everyone is different." A second voice with a slight trace of British said.

Verdoorn put his hand in front of Drew's nose. To indulge him, he exhaled a little harder and caused the big Dutchman to retract his hand. "At least he is not dead. It's been twenty-four hours. If he does not awaken in an hour, I will double the hyper dose."

"Verdoorn, you are going to risk cardiac arrest."

Drew's blood pressure wasn't the best, so he damned better be awake next time they showed up.

"Does not matter. Mr. Odgers will be here very soon. We have to figure out what had happened between this man and his son in a hurry."

So they needed intel quickly huh? Interrogation could take weeks and even months. The only real way for an interrogator to extract any valuable information is tremendous amounts of pain. Any victim under that circumstance will tell the interrogator just about anything he wants to know. The tricky part was for the interrogator to not reveal his intentions so the captive had no choice but to tell the truth.

He had no idea how much time Odgers was going to arrive or what he wanted to know. There was no way he was going to tell the Verdoorn bastard the truth. Not even in hell.

Abakan, Faryo Archipelago, Uniform Alpha

Heading to Uniform Alpha had taken the better part of seventeen hours after changing craft first on Mars and then to Criterion. Getting from there to the port of Abakan on the same journey, though now in the air rather than ocean travel that the ill-fated Sub-Aqua had taken had taken just as long.

To remain incognito, they rented a sturdy older warthog when they reached the port city and spent the night there in one of the hotels since they arrived near evening.

The morning after, they had a light breakfast and drove away from the urban confines towards a massive five mile bridge that spanned Abakan's Island to the rest of the Faryo archipelago.

The bridge was already backed up with traffic, all blaring horns and honking. Maintenance under the snarling eye of a quartet of engineers was underway across the entire span. It didn't help that trucks nearby had a horrid smell emitting from their holds and squealed of sliding metal every time they moved.

Worrying about surviving the bridge crossing was actually a welcome distraction for Aegis, it had him stop dwelling on Drew. He had hung his head along the side while Vaal gave his twentieth sigh since being in gridlock behind the wheel. Although it would be suspicious for him to drive, Aegis hadn't slept very well last night and driving was at the bottom of his priorities. When Vaal eased on the gas again now that traffic had cleared up a bit, his thoughts immediately returned to his old friend.

Trip knew that Drew would do whatever it takes to protect both his son and the Blades, even at the cost of his own life. He was only concerned about finding leverage over the Societea that could get him back. There was no telling what Alec Verdoorn would use as a means to extract information, but his days were numbered once he would start to talk.

Aegis comlink vibrated in his pocket. He opened the channel, "This is Aegis."

"Hi Commander. It's Leah."

"Had any word from Odgers?"

"Nothing as of yet."

"Dammit." It had taken fifteen calls to the front desk of the Societea's leader and still nothing in response. Aegis called as the head of the private security company that was "hired" to rescue Chase. The receptionist was so predictable, as he had talked to her enough to know she read cheesy romance novels during her spare time. Every time, it was nothing but apologies, saying that Odgers was not available and put him into voice messaging. He had offered any reward that would even be considered and for the last time called, Aegis demanded Drew's safe release or he was going to go after the Odgers family.

Jason Morgrave was what had prevented it from being a real threat, but Desmond and Karin Odgers didn't know that. Either they were unafraid or they simply did not care at all.

"Anything else?"

"Vasili just got back and we've gotten some good recordings at Macau, but nothing important so far."

Aegis nodded, "Good to hear. Keep me posted on updates."

"You got it." The line clicked dead.

"Nothing on our Macau adventure?" Vaal Talam wore a black suit minus his Ranger armor components and was a black shadow sitting in the driver's seat.

"Not yet at least. I should have realized that before."

"Comander, we've been on a wild goose chase for days now. We get what we need and depart. Nothing more or less."

"I know. It's just that…"

"I know what you are thinking. Drew's life and honor is on the line. This is the best lead on our adversaries we have yet. If what we are looking for is not here, then there will be at least something that will open a door once the one we went through has closed."

Trip was glad he had taken Vaal along. The sangheili didn't always make sense when he spoke, but his intentions usually brought up something that he was initially overlooking. No detail was small enough to escape his attention.

The end of the bridge was in sight, with the narcotic strong smelling truck falling behind. Vaal waved a hand in front of his face to dissipate the smell.

As they wove through the island, the roads became less developed. The Societists operated out of the other side of the island and it took nearly two hours to reach it. The sun lay low, casting a hot harsh glare overhead. The warthog had neither air conditioning units nor a roof to block out the sun. Aegis slipped a pair of silver lensed shades over his eyes and Vaal accepted a water bottle to remain hydrated, although this temperature was nowhere as hot as Sanghelios. There were a couple of towns that they had passed, mostly including concrete buildings that were no taller than two stories. All of them were rather run down, having few construction companies and being a very slow growing colony since the foundation about one and a half centuries ago. People had older car models and houses that looked more updated than its downtown. Abakan's metropolitan area was roughly six hundred thousand in the city and another two hundred thousand in the remaining islands of the Faryo chain. Traffic was very little, since they were off the highway. If one wanted to be anonymous, this was a good place. Life here was simple, no booming fads, no super latest-tech vibe and a lack of a streeful business that Aegis found on more developed colonies.

Vaal parked the warthog in the dense jungle about two miles away from their destination. It was in foliage thick enough to easily hide the olive colored vehicle. They had no idea if the Societists left guards at the facility, but there were no chances to be taken. He and Aegis spent a couple of minutes erasing any man-made traces such as tracks and applying a small camouflage pattern to the vehicle. To help remember where it was, Trip planted a pair of long branches into the soil so they pointed up towards the front bumper. After they were done, both stood back to admire their handiwork, even when they knew where it was, neither of them could see the warthog from the road.

Their packs stuffed with gear, they slowly walked into the jungle starting the long hike. The jungle gradually began to grow thicker, eventually shading all but tiny patches where sunlight's golden glow managed to filter through.

Despite the enormous size of Vaal, he moved through the jungle with the easiness and finesse of a stalking panther. His feet seemed to barely brush the ground and his weight would have been more than enough to turn the mud into a sucking quicksand. The stealth was so quiet that nothing changed, the whine of insects hidden didn't silence.

Aegis traveled right behind him, vigilant and scanning their flank for any sign of them being trailed. The air was quite humid and he was strangely uncomfortable without the cool crisp confines of the MJOLNIR armor. Sweat ran down his bare arms and soaked the ends of his tanktop underneath the light combat vest. His glasses were being fogged from the humidity. It was almost as if his trachea was being filled with water every time he inhaled.

They stalked through the jungle for another hour until Vaal held out his arm and then lowered himself to the ground. Trip followed suit and they began crawling up a few meters, using slow and steady movements. Quick movements could alert a burrow scorpion to their presence, a highly venomous and dangerous animal that could be found in humid areas like these. They were now at the jungle's edge looking out ahead of a twenty foot cliff drop that spanned into a quarter mile field. The surroundings all spelled abandonment. The Societea had built a massive gray metal building that was large as a warehouse with angled roofs and a small moat structure surrounding the area to direct Abakan's higher than average rainfall. He didn't see any windows, so there were vents overhead covered with opaque panels. Aside from the building, there were areas where grass had began to wildly grow at a later time than what surrounded it.

There were also various scorch marks on the ground, all blackened sites seen from the patches that looked very familiar.

Trip felt a tap on his shoulder. He saw Vaal next to him. The big spec ops sangheili made a series of finger motions and most prominently set three of them straightforward and fanned them open to insert his fist inside. When his other hand moved out, the fingers closed shut. He then arced his fist upwards and then down again, opening the fist when it met the ground in a gestured impact.

Aegis understood, this had been a former Covenant motor pool of some sort to house T-26 wraith tanks, maybe a prison, special intelligence facility. Either way, it was perhaps that they had been searching for forerunner relics on the islands and merely didn't find anything, being very careful to either silence or discourage any humans wandering close. A discovery of Covenant activity would prompt a highly strategic response. However, Aegis was more interested on how long they had been there, especially since it was supposedly undetectable by humans. Most signs of any presence left by the alien invaders was decommissioned and removed from existence. Was it a significant presence or did the Societea construct their compound because there was already an existing foundation?

They observed the structure for three hours, passing the optics back and forth whenever their eyes got tired. Nothing was moving except for the swaying of vegetation.

This was a waste of time and money. Aegis cursed and stood up.

"What?"

"Nobody is in there. Just listen."

"Nothing except the serene ocean hitting the cliffs."

"Exactly." Aegis' head was burning with frustration. "It has to be at least eighty degrees Fahrenheit so that means it's probably a hundred and ten inside that metal warehouse. Those massive sockets in the roof once held giant air conditioning cells or something else and since they've been removed, anyone inside won't last an hour unless there's enough water for a swimming pool inside, which is probably just as hot if it were."

He was fairly sure about his assumption, but they still approached the giant metal door with utmost prudence. Pistols were drawn and never aimed at the same spot until there wasn't anything deemed threatening.

Trip's brow was soaked in sweat and he took a drink from his now cool water bottle. There was no ice inside despite him filling it nearly the whole way with chilled cubes.

The doorknob had to be scorching hot, but Vaal's expression went unchanged and he didn't even flinch when his hands touched it. He slowly turned it and eased it open just enough to let the duo peer inside.

"Wasn't even locked."

"There is no need to if there isn't anything to hide."

The interior was a bit murky thanks to the windows filtering a pale sunlight through. It was completely empty. There were patches of places where dirt had not accumulated due to large objects inside, but the shape made it impossible to exactly determine what it was. Aegis would have suspected that it would have been an aircraft hangar, but saw only small doors, not one large enough for even a general aviation vehicle to fit through. There was a faint scent of something that probably was cleaning material. Trip didn't recognize it, but apparently Vaal did.

"Looks like the unggoy slave cleaners beat us here."

Aegis' heart sank. There was nothing here to incriminate Odgers and no leverage for Drew and Chase's safe return. All hints at what had happened inside were removed from the building. There wasn't even a piece of broken glass from the shattered window on the floor.

"What a fuckin waste." He angrily spat.

Vaal knelt down, his huge frame only slightly shrinking, "It is unclear on how the Societea is using such a large building."

"My first guess was an airstrip or base, but the place is still to hilly for aircraft to take off. Even for VTOLs."

"Storage perhaps."

Aegis slipped out his comlink and dialed the Ballista. With Tongju extracting further intelligence from their bug transmission, he asked the substitute communications officer to get him to Danny Tyler.

"Hey boss," Tyler had a grin that was detectable even over the line, "What can I do for ya?"

"Is there a page for suspicious activity off the city of Abakan in Uniform Alpha? I'm interested in any secretive sightings."

"Now?"

"This takes priority. Haley can wait."

"Hold on." They could hear Danny's fingers dancing on the keyboard. "It has a report here that a girl and her boyfriend who wished to remain anonymous saw a UFO while out camping in the woods very close to your location. I narrowed it down to where the incident was pinpointed and the UFO's appearance was over the clearing you are in now."

"Any idea who or what?"

"Sorry boss. I have no idea."

"Keep looking." He killed the connection. "They've been hearing stories of a UFO around these parts. Perhaps even this complex. If your theory if a secret archaeological Covenant force was here, then it was likely that aircraft spotted was a phantom or spirit dropship."

"Indeed. Well if this was where the virus had originated when the Societists came after the Covenant, it's probably not a wise idea to be here without protection."

Aegis remained confident, "I think we'll be okay."

"I'd still settle for my ranger suit."

"You should try yoga, and then you can breathe through your eyes." He teased the sangheili.

They used lights to examine the shadowed corner and every single square inch of the building. There wasn't even a dust layer on the floor.

"Nothing here." Trip finally admitted.

"You sure about that?" Vaal's eye had the look that he had a trick up his sleeve.

"Why? What do you have?"

"Just a thought that might strike me."

Vaal has something in mind!

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