Chapter 2 – Arrival
Outside Facility IX
"Line the bodies up over there," said Rozen dully, pointing at the edge of the forest on the North side of the track. He was not looking at the bodies, instead he was watching the smoke from the still-burning promethium fires drift out over the lush valley. His eyes were distant, his mind wandering, likely on some other battlefield on some other world. The sounds of the forests had come back in almost immediately, as if the planet cared nothing for the plights and squabbles of it's human inhabitants.
"This one is alive," said Edora in a strange, sing-song tone. She knelt over one of the insurgents. "There is something wrong with his eyes," she added.
The ragged, blood-stained Multessan had multiple gunshot wounds in his torso, and was bleeding from the mouth. The make-shift flak armour across his chest and stomach had been shredded and stained deep crimson. He breathed desperately and unevenly, his body racked with involuntary jerks of pain and the futile struggle to keep functioning.
As Edora had noticed, one of his eyes was brown, and the other a disturbing, pale gold. Both flickered and glanced around as if the man only faintly understood his impending death. Edora's mouth turned up in an odd little smile as she watched him closely.
Hasken grimaced and marched over, her red-painted lips curling up into a snarl. "This is what you get, Mutt!" She spat at him, dizzy from some victory-rush. She brought her non-standard stub pistol up and put a bullet through his brain. Edora didn't flinch. She looked down at the mess Hasken's pistol had made of the Mutt's forehead, a drop of bright blood on her cheek.
"Anyone else still awake?" Hasken added, posturing and waving her pistol at the other bodies. Many of them were barely recognisable as human, thanks to the efforts of Hein and Lander. The likelihood of any more insurgents still breathing was slim.
Nytus watched her cautiously as the others started to move the bodies away from the gate. He glanced at Rozen, hoping that the sergeant would tell Hasken to reign it in, but once again Hasken's dangerous behaviour seemed to have escaped his notice.
Instead, Rozen stepped up to the gate. The metal perimeter fence that enclosed the facility loomed tall. The monolithic posts were painted a chipped, matte green, with exposed metal rails at the top thathummed with a deadly electric charge. To the North the tall fence stretched on up the hills, the undergrowth creeping back in since the last time it had been cut back. To the South the fence stretched to where the ground dropped off steeply into the canopy below. On the other side of the high gate was a guard tower that appeared to be empty.
A control panel was housed in the side of the gate, but the insurgents appeared to have been trying to access it or sabotage it. The screen was smashed, the keypad was damaged, and there were exposed, sparking wires.
Rozen strode up to the battered control panel. The button that opened up the comms relay to inside was, miraculously, still intact.
He pushed it.
"This is Sergeant Mattius Rozen of the Aboran PDF. The insurgent threat at the gate has been neutralised. Please respond."
After a moment, a voice came back from an unseen speaker.
"This is Facility Administrator Astea Kress," the female voice said, and there was a sense of relief in her words, "I'll let you in."
The PDF transport limped through the gate and ground to a decisive halt, smoke rising from it's engine and fluid leaking from somewhere underneath. Behind it, the gate shut and locked either automatically or thanks to some remote operator. Rozen's unit started unloading ammunition and supplies from the sub-floor space in the back of the transport and stuffed their packs and pouches with whatever they might need. The solid form of the facility guard tower loomed over them. Sergeant Rozen shielded his eyes form the pale sun as he stared up at it's bulky silhouette.
"Jagg, Edora and Ridge, I want you in that tower," he said. The three soldiers stepped forward obediently and saluted.
Rozen pointed at the top of the perimeter fences. "Hopefully the security pict-feeds will still be working. Jagg, I want full perimeter control if you can, movement and visual."
"You got it, sir," Jagg replied.
"The rest of you, we're heading to the facility," Rozen finished.
He did not wait for the rest of his unit to confirm their understanding, and instead moved off down the track away from the guard tower, dragging an ammunition crate with his artificial limb. His pale eyes dead set ahead as he walked.
The rest of the unit stood dumbly for a moment.
"Let's go," suggested Nytus, then fell into line. Lander, Hasken, Hein and Kimura followed.
The facility itself was further down the track, around a bend that circumvented a large patch of jungle that encroached inside the perimeter fence. The wedge of jungle was some way back from the bank at the side of the track, and hid any sight of the facility on the initial approach from the gate, as if it had been planted there by design. They rounded the bend, and the facility came into view.
It was a large, single-storey, flat-roofed building with a central hub and three clear wings to the North, South and East, connected by linking corridors. The structure was functional and almost military in appearance, painted a matte green to blend in with the wooded hills, such that a pilot of a passing Valkyrie might not notice it at first glance. There was a single main entrance, a large door, plain metal and thick like a bulkhead, with a red stripe painted across it and a panel of reinforced glass at its centre. Other than that there were no visible windows.
The civilians that Private Jagg had inquired about were waiting outside.
A tall, well-groomed female stood prominently in front of them. She was dressed in a neat uniform comprised of a long coat and high boots. The coat was a dark, midnight-blue trimmed with pale green hems. She waited with the group and watched as Rozen and the others made the long walk down the slope of the track. While the others looked unsure and fearful, she looked calm and composed. When the PDF soldiers got to within a few feet she stepped forward to meet them. She approached Sergeant Rozen and offered a manicured hand. Her hair was short and neat, but feminine, her eyes were bright and intelligent. Rozen took the hand and shook it. A hint of some long-lost spirit flashed across his face, just for a moment.
"Thank the Emperor," the female said. She was well-spoken, she sounded educated. "I am Administrator Kress, but please, call me Astea. Things have been becoming … difficult around here. I am glad you have come."
Rozen nodded and introduced himself.
"Is it true what they are saying?" Astea continued. "Is the planet being invaded?"
Rozen paused and glanced at the group of civilians behind the administrator. Frightened eyes looked back at him, men and women between fifteen and fifty, around twenty of them amassed in a semicircle around him, most were wearing facility uniforms or maintenance clothes. Rozen looked away, glancing back at the rest of his unit. Nytus' calm demeanour caught his eye.
"We'll need to take a look around," Rozen said to Astea, avoiding the question.
"Of course," Astea replied with a smile.
The group behind Astea parted and she led Rozen through the bulkhead door. The civilians watched the PDF soldiers as they passed. Nytus eyed them carefully. They were scared, that much was clear. Perhaps it was the rumours of invasion, or the Mutts on their doorstep, but for some reason he could not put his finger on, Nytus felt that there was more going on here then met the eye.
Facility IX – Central Reception Area
Less than two hours later, the central reception area of Facility IX had been repurposed into a PDF command post. The large desk was fixed to a solid pedestal, and had already comprised of numerous screens and keypads, to which Rozen and Nytus had added bulky, military data slates, communications systems and hijack cables. The reception area was located at the cross-point of four wide corridors, One led shortly to the main entrance, the other three led deeper into the facility in three directions. From reading signs and listening to Astea's explanations, Rozen had discerned that the South corridor led to administration and medical, the North corridor led to maintenance and storage and eventually outside to the living quarters, and the East corridor, opposite the entrance, led to the generator room and what she had referred to as the core.
"I want this building scouted," Rozen said, "Hasken, take the North, Hein, East, Lander, South, sweep and report back here."
"Sir," the three said in near-unison before dispersing.
"Kimura, I want you on the roof," Rozen continued, "report the moment you see something." The soldier saluted and made for some stairs a short way down the South corridor..
Rozen looked around the reception area. The wide space was clad in dull metal panels and lit with clinical, green-tinted lighting. The walls loomed imposingly and the ceilings were low. There were bulky benches arranged along the edges of the corridors, along with various control panels and a single package dispenser.
The other civilians lingered here, murmuring amongst themselves in little groups and eyeing the PDF soldiers, and their weapons, cautiously.
"Nytus, stay with the equipment," Rozen said to his second in command, "see if you can link up with Jagg."
"Sir," Nytus confirmed.
"Astea," Rozen said next, addressing the charming administrator with a softer tone than he addressed his troops, "is there somewhere that we can talk?"
"I was expecting there to be a security team here. What happened to them?"
Sergeant Rozen looked far too large for the office chair, his muscular frame, his Guard-issue armour, and the bulky cybernetic arm, all of these conspired to make him look comically oversized in the small, neatly furnished side-office.
Astea, however, suited the room perfectly. She was neat and trim, her skin was smooth and had a healthy glow. A beautiful woman in her forties, he judged, not too much younger than he was. She sat opposite him, her legs crossed in front of her. He leaned forward, listening carefully as she spoke, watching as her mouth moved.
"They were called away … months ago," she replied, her bright eyes connecting with his. "The workforce has felt uneasy ever since."
"Do you know why they were called away?" Rozen continued.
Astea paused, then shrugged politely. "They never told us."
Rozen nodded. "How many civilians do you have here?"
"Eight operators, three administrators, five maintenance team, and a few who aren't direct employees, the cleaning staff and some partners who live in the barracks to the South."
"Are they all here?"
"Yes," she paused, "I believe so."
"How many recent insurgent attacks?" Rozen continued.
Astea shook her head subtly, a dainty movement that caused the light to catch her eyes. "Today was the first but ..."
Rozen shifted in his seat. He gave her a moment to organise her thoughts.
"...we have heard noises," she continued, pausing once more. "Engines … shouting."
"How long have you been hearing these sounds?"
She looked at him. "Weeks."
"I see."
Rozen paused and regarded her for a moment, then spoke again.
"About the facility," he began, "I had Nytus look over some data when we were given this mission back at the outpost. What he dug up was … interesting. It appears that the generators here are fed by imported, liquid fuels that are stored mostly off-site, with smaller stockpiles underground, near the core. Is this correct?"
Astea nodded, her fingers moved subtly against the material of her high boots.
"However..." Rozen continued, "this does not account for the facility's massive power output. Nytus tried to look into it, but he kept hitting encrypted walls and highly classified or missing files. He found a few mentions of … something else, patched into the facility power grid, but..."
Astea's smile was small but sincere.
"Administrator, can you tell me what this might be? Are you aware of any other technologies being used here, in this facility?"
"Sergeant Rozen, may I ask you a question?" was her reply.
Rozen nodded. It was a short, curt motion.
"What is it exactly that you are here to do?" she said. Her tutored accent was pleasing to the ear. She spoke with a professional air, he imagined that she could be very convincing in a boardroom type environment.
"Protect the facility from insurgents," he said. "This facility is vital in these … times of doubt."
Astea shifted closer to the edge of her seat, leaning close. "Sergeant Rozen," she said.
"Call me Mattius."
"Mattius … do you know what truly lies in the core of this facility?"
"I can't answer that question."
"I see. Then you know that I cannot answer your question, either. Tell me instead, how many of you have the clearance to access the core?"
"Me alone."
Her expression changed, it was grim and serious, and there was some other emotion present that Rozen could not quite identify. "Good," she said in a cautious, earnest tone. "You must understand, no unworthy soul should ever open that door. Ever. Not your people, not mine."
"Agreed," said Rozen.
Astea smiled, her posture straightened. She waited a moment, as if considering her words. "Then we are on the same page. I am glad that you are here, Mattius," she said.
Rozen paused. The close, quiet atmosphere of the small office hung around them like a blanket. The cool air tasted artificial. The green glow of the idling data screen at the desk melded subtly with the stark glare of the strip-light in the low, metal ceiling.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Astea," said Rozen eventually, then rose to his feet so that he filled the room. "I may call on you again."
Astea nodded, bright eyes watching him as he walked away.