"Must we allow the existence of the ignorant and the coward to continue to plague us?" - Imperial Reeducation Department motto

40 meters above the Siberian Wastes, Eurasian Research Zone, Earth, 11/23/2433

"Are we almost there yet?" Scientist Cameron Liamson said as he and the rest of his squad rode in the Manticore helicopter. The Manticore was one the few rotating propellor aircraft models in existence that are still used in the Technocracy, saved only by the fact that it's more fuel efficient in short-range duties, hit surprisingly hard for its weight class, and simply safer than standard VTOL dropships. Still, that didn't help in reducing the noise, which many find nostalgic, but to the squad currently being transported inside, it wasn't very pleasant.

"Almost," came the reply from the squad leader. "If the historical data is still accurate, we should be fifty kilometers away."'

"What are we even looking for anyway?"

"Something that's need to know."

"And I'm assuming the group who's supposed to search for the thing didn't need to know?" Another squad member asked.

"Correct," the squad leader replied.

"I don't like it."

"It's not your job to like it or not, smartass. What matters is that the Imperator himself ordered this expedition, and would you like to tell him that we came back empty-handed?"

"No, but still, it would be nice to know what we're getting into."

"The place has been abandoned for centuries," another member said. "Plus, who would want to go through this?"

Cameron looked out his viewport at the white Siberian landscape below, or what he thought was the landscape through the blizzard raging outside. The weather was lethally cold outside except for people wearing specialized cold weather survival gear, and even then it was still uncomfortably cold. He had read somewhere that before the 21st century, Siberia was in a state similar to this, but industrialization and climate change caused global temperatures to rise, receding the ice caps and melting the permafrost in the ground. It was only when the Technocracy unified the world and developed climate control technologies that Earth finally stabilized, but even that took a few decades. As the winds of the blizzard rocked their transport, he doubted that they would arrive in one piece.

"Is anyone concerned that we won't reach our destination?" He asked.

"The nearest base is over twenty kilometers away," the pilot said. "If it's any consolation, the snow will save the Technocracy the trouble of burying our remains if something goes wrong."

"Oh, joy..."

"We're arriving in ten seconds, get ready."

The science team then grabbed their rifles and prepared for their drop into the desolate, frozen wasteland. A few seconds later, the helicopter landed, and six of the fifteen members exited first and held a perimeter as the remainder disembarked. Although they weren't officially a part of the Imperial Planetary Guard, every citizen in the Technocracy had been conscripted in the Planetary Guard for five years before being allowed to leave. Their experiences in the Planetary Guard had bestowed upon them survival skills that saved them many times over on alien planets, outwitting any fauna that was present. Now, however, they were on the cradle of humanity, yet felt like they were being pushed to their limits.

"It's so cold," Cameron said, voice shaking. "How far are we now?"

"Two kilometers," the leader said above the howling blizzard. "Straight ahead. Let's get moving."

"Through this?" Another squad member said incredulously.

"Do you have a better idea?"

With that, the twelve-strong squad headed out.

1 hour 30 minutes later...

After walking through the blizzard and barely managing to avoid being frozen to death, the squad finally arrived at their destination. For the entire way, Cameron wondered why the Manticore would drop them off so far from the target, but as soon as the squad reached their destination, he realized why. It was a small forest of evergreen trees, a small island of green in a sea of white and blowing snow. In the center, what at first glance looked like a small hill, was a large, single-story building. A bunker's surface portion, most likely. As the squad approached, the wind of the blizzard was blocked somewhat by the trees surrounding them, but the biting cold and snowfall were still present. Reaching the door, it was, unsurprisingly, frozen over. A holo-plaque was attached to the frame which read:

"这里躺着勇敢的男男女女，他们为技术优势、创新和理性的延续而奉献和牺牲了生命。 愿他们安息。 国家光荣，人类光荣. (Here lies brave men and women who dedicated and sacrificed their lives for the continuation of technological superiority, innovation, and rationality. May they rest in peace. Glory to the state, glory to humanity.)"

The plaque then proceeded to list two-hundred-and-thirty names below, all of whom were probably scientists that were employed here.

"Get the cutting torch," the squad leader ordered as another member pulled out said torch and tank and got to work. Within five minutes, the ice was melted and the doors cut open. As soon as the squad entered, two automated turrets tried to activate, but the combination of ice build-up and centuries of disrepair only caused them to spark out and die. They then turned on their rifle-mounted flashlights and proceeded deeper into the facility. They saw many things, from archaic PCs and modems to generous use of fluorescent lightbulbs. They then saw their first set of bodies, or what was left of them, lying in the middle of the hallway. Two members searched them and found a tablet, clearly dead, in surprisingly good condition on one of them.

"Hey," one member said. "Doesn't the colors on the bodies look familiar?"

The squad took a closer look and realized that the colors were that of the Phantom Reavers, the Technocracy's secret police, albeit on more archaic armor, but the colors were undeniable. Cameron walked up to the wall and brushed the frost coating it. A black and red logo, the Asian continent with five stars surrounding it, greeted him. Brushing away more frost, the words "亚洲主权技术统治 (Asiatic Sovergrin Technocracy)" showed themselves.

"Holy shit," he said, astonished. "We're in a pre-unification era complex, which means..."

"No, no way," another member said nervously. "It got buried over five centuries ago, there's no way that..."

Cameron hurriedly brushed even more frost which revealed the name they had all been dreading; "A.P.E.X 项目 (Project A.P.E.X.)"

He stumbled back as he read those words, the implications only just sinking into his mind. As the rest of the squad proceeded through the complex, they passed by more and more corpses, some skeletal, some mummified, all of whom wore lab coats bearing the logo of the A.S.T. that indicated they were all scientists and researchers. A more concerning detail was that every corpse they came across seemingly died of bullet wounds, with many slumped over their workstations or scattered about in the hallways and rooms, indicating that they tried to flee from something. Or someone. Would the pre-unification Technocracy murder an entire facility of scientists to bury a secret?

Of course, they would, thought Cameron. They still do it now, even well into the future when humanity was unified and had FTL capabilities.

The squad split in half, Cameron taking half to search for the generator room while the rest searched the area for surviving documents or notes. As Cameron's group walked the decrepit halls, they passed by numerous propaganda posters; one with three scientists each standing above each other holding chemical flasks with rockets flying in the background that had the text "我们的创新将刺破黑暗! (Our innovation shall pierce the darkness!)" Another had a soldier in the armor of the then Technocratic Ground Forces holding a flag and a rifle that read "让正义得到伸张，让人类团结! (Let justice be done, let humanity be unified!)" Yet another had a picture of a pilot standing in front of an R-67 "Banshee" fighter reading "技术统治的勇敢飞行员将征服天空! 立即注册! (The brave pilots of the Technocracy shall conquer the skies! Sign up now!)"

As they went, they saw more bodies, more scientists, as well as finally found the generator room, the door having frozen shut. After a few more minutes of cutting, the team assessed the main generator itself.

"Fuel's frozen," an engineering specialist said. "This ain't starting."

"Well, that's just great then, isn't it?" Another squad member said, frustrated.

"Wait," Cameron said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of a greyish dust-like material. "Use this."

The squad member sprinkled the entire vial over the top of the generator, which instantly converted into a modern model used by the Technocracy. The material, nanites, also had the effect of melting the solid gasoline within, which made it work, despite the polar conditions of the facility.

Meanwhile, the other half of the squad was searching what appeared to be an old laboratory filled with archaic monitors, PCs, and various analytical devices along with research notes scattered around the desks. Bodies and skeletons of various scientists were slumped over some desks while others were scattered around the room, evidently trying to escape from something. Just like the bodies in the hallways and other parts of the facilities, they each had bullet wounds in their skulls. They then found a keycard off of the body of one "Dr. Laura Collins" just as the power turned back on, along with the various monitors and keycard readers. A quick search of Dr. Collins' monitor showed nothing of interest, mostly weapon shipments from the weapons R&D lab in the now energy collection-focused Sahara Desert, fresh genetic samples from a biological facility in the Indonesian rainforests, and reinforced titanium from the Ural Mountains.

"Let's keep moving," the squad leader said. "No point in disturbing the dead further."

They continued to walk through the dark and frozen complex, their footfalls echoing off of the walls, eventually reaching a security office, the door smashed open with ice covering the majority of the surface, including the monitor. Surprisingly, the monitor still functioned with the last saved footage present on the screen, horribly corrupted and in an image-by-image format, but still there nonetheless. The first still showed the squad scientists walking around, going about their usual tasks, doing their usual duties. The next still showed roughly fifteen Phantom Reavers wearing A.S.T. standard-issue armor, their leader talking to a security officer. The next showed the squad leader shooting said security officer. The final still showed the Reavers going room to room, executing anyone they found before the monitor died for good.

"So," a squad member began. "The then Asiatic Sovergrin Technocracy sent the Phantom Reavers to execute the entire facility."

"But why?" Another member asked.

"Most likely the Imperator realized A.P.E.X. was a dismal failure and buried everything in an attempt to save face. I mean, I would've done the same thing."

"Squad leader, come in," Cameron's voice came through the radio. "We've reached the main testing area, you all should get down here."

"Copy," the squad leader said before the group left the security office. They met Cameron's group while they were cutting through yet another door that said "A.P.E.X. 收容室 (A.P.E.X. Containment Chambers.)"

"This is where the good stuff's hidden," Cameron said excitedly as the torch continued to cut through the door. Before long, the door yielded and fell open, revealing three rooms, all in view due to viewing windows; a monitoring room, a subject storage room, and a testing chamber, the remains of a subject still present. Like the rest of the facility, bodies of scientists with bullet holes littered the room, except these had wounds in the front of their skulls, indicating that these scientists in particular had faced the Phantom Reaver purge squad as they were executed. As the squad descended, they came across an A.P.E.X. predator, or what was left of it. The body was completely skeletonized, the rusted exoskeleton frame still grafted to the bone, the neural link still embedded in their neck. The remains of Phantom Reavers that were scattered around indicated that the scientists in the monitoring room released an A.P.E.X. predator subject in an attempt to fight back against them, but their attempts were ultimately futile.

The group then proceeded to the subject containment room, which also doubled as a data storage room. The door was already open, likely due to the scientists in the observation room releasing a subject in an attempt to fight back. The inside of the room had humanoid specimen tubes lining the walls, with about a dozen databanks on the back wall. As the squad approached, Cameron read some of the subject profiles off the now active screens, as almost all of the subjects were in various stages of decomposition.

Subject: Ross, Violet
Age: 27
Gender: F
Status: Deceased
Cause of Death: Total organ failure
Crime(s): N/A

Additional Notes: Willing volunteer.

Subject: Cooper, Forest
Age: 22
Gender: M
Cause of Death: Augmentation rejection
Status: Deceased
Crime(s): Arson, Murder (2 counts.)

Additional Notes: Low intelligence.

Subject: O'conner, Sylvia
Age: 33
Gender: F
Status: Deceased
Cause of Death: Total organ failure
Crime(s): Espionage, Treason, Assault (19 counts,) Destruction of Property (2 counts)

Additional Notes: Is unnaturally suggestible, and additional persuasion methods are unnecessary.

Subject: Dana, Grey
Age: 22
Gender: M
Status: Deceased
Cause of Death: Massive blunt force trauma to the skull
Crime(s): High Treason, Crimes Against Humanity

Additional Notes: P.O.W. captured during the Siege of Lisbon, is highly aggressive and uncooperative, recommending immediate termination.

A shudder ran down his spine, exacerbated by the coldness of the facility. Being inside a glorified mass grave would make even the most hardened non-nanite-infused individual uneasy.

"Could you hurry it up?" Cameron asked nervously. "I don't want to be here any longer."

"Give me a second," a squad member said as they yanked a data shard from a frozen-over server vault. "Is this the one we're looking for?"

The squad leader took the shard from the squad member and inserted it into their tablet, to which the leader scrunched his brows. They muttered something unintelligible, but Cameron knew by the flashing red screen that it wasn't the right one.

"Get another," they said, tone indifferent. "We're not leaving until we find what we came here for." Cameron sighed at that, not being excited to spend another minute in this cold burial chamber. He and three other squad members stood at the containment room entrance while the rest of the squad looked through various data shards, disposing of most of them. All the while, a random creak or groan immediately snapped him to attention, much to the amusement of his fellow guards. He knew it was impossible, but he could've sworn he could hear a distant scream-howl somewhere deep inside the facility, far beyond them for it to be a threat. After a few long, agonizing minutes, the rest of the squad finally emerged and they all headed for the exit as fast as possible, wanting to leave this place of tormented souls and misguided experiments behind.

Ministry of Science, Beijing, two hours later...

"And you're sure you've got the correct data?" Imperial Science Overseer Lin Zhi asked the squad leader through his communicator. He had dispatched them towards the Eurasian Research Zone two days ago, and they had been radio silent since, not answering status checks, nor providing updates. Although one would seem that the existence of a Ministry of Science might be redundant, given that the Imperial Science Department can essentially govern itself, due to recent restrictions imposed by the Galactic Community, its role is to make the ISD obey the law just enough to avoid the Technocracy being sanctioned which for some reason the Community is so eager to push to the queue. That, or some non-important empire keeps adding the Tiyanki Pest Control resolution to the queue which the other empires inevitably dog-pile oppose.

"Yes, sir," the squad leader replied. "I checked it myself."

"Well, could you send it over, then?"

"Right away, sir."

Within the minute, the Overseer received the data from the team; the exo-frames, the neurolinks, and most importantly, the animalistic devolvement as a consequence of overloading the link. A smile crept across his face.

Perfect, he thought. This is precisely what the Imperator wanted.

"Excellent, I'm surprised this even survived for this long down there."

"Trust me, all of us were surprised too."

"Well then, the Technocracy thanks you for your service, and you will be remembered."

"Wait, what do you mean-"

Overseer Zhi then turned off the communicator. As soon as the squad leader finished transmitting the data to him, he ordered a missile to be launched from the nearest research center to their location at Mach five. The risk of leaks was too high to ignore, so that was the best preventative measure to prevent such an event from occurring. He didn't care, of course, the pursuit of knowledge had its risks, and this was yet another example of said risks. As he finished processing the information, a clerk entered his office and saluted him.

"Overseer, sir," they began. "Research center Apollo is reporting a positive hit, target destroyed."

"Excellent," Lin replied. "Inform the Imperator that I have received the data and will transmit it to him shortly."

As the clerk left, the Overseer couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Was it really necessary to condemn twelve people to death just because they saw a piece of humanity's dark past? He shook the thought out of his head, for unease begets weakness, and weakness begets death.

Information Data Logs

RBHV-2321 "Manticore" helicopter: Based on the old Earth Ka-50, the Manticore is one of only five types of propellor aircraft still manufactured by the Technocracy, even when Falcons, Sparrows, and other types of VTOL aircraft are used commercially. It is roughly three meters longer and half a meter wider than its inspiration and carries a standard armament of three autocannons and twenty-four rockets, each reloaded via nanites, coupled with a system that integrates the pilot's nervous system directing into the controls, allowing for unmatched response times, akin to a symbiotic bond. Often nicknamed the "Mantigore," the Manticore is primarily used as a cheap, simple, and effective cargo and troop hauler, as well as punching well beyond its weight class, often finding itself amongst the likes of the Planetary Guard for law enforcement purposes. It is also safer, as when it loses power, it can autorotate back to the ground, whereas if another VTOL aircraft loses power, it gains the aerodynamics of a slab of iron. It's most often used on newer colonies on the frontier that do not have the infrastructure to support larger, specialized crafts as a cheap and effective general-purpose problem solver. Cities on gas giants often utilize these crafts as well, when atmospheric conditions permit, of course. Despite its usefulness, however, the Technocracy acknowledges its antiquity, and no self-respecting star empire would ever field such an archaic piece of technology on the battlefield, it is barely armored and its shields are laughable at best, and if it didn't eliminate criminals, enemy troops, protesters, or dissidents with pinpoint accuracy, it would've been long retired by now.

Earth: Earth. 地球. Terra. Gaia. Eden. Sol III. Home. These are all names given to the birthplace of humanity and the capital of the Technocracy. Although we as a species now span countless worlds, all of us, no matter where we're born, are still connected to Earth in some way or another, akin to how children are connected to their mothers. But we have not always been good children, far from it. We've choked our mother's breath, poisoned her blood, waged war on each other, and gouged out her flesh in our short-sighted attempts at progression and profit. However, we have repaid our debt to the Earth and then some; climate monitoring platforms in the atmosphere continue to balance global temperatures, de-acidification processes were implemented in the oceans, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was finally removed, and four vast swaths of land have been spared the transformation that the rest of the planet was subjected to. Her vast oceans remain untouched, save for Technocracy constructs, mostly aquaculture, orbital defense batteries and missiles, scientific complexes, and oceanic naval bases, while the land is almost completely urbanized. The North American continent became a massive industrial complex, churning out alloys and consumer goods that fueled humanity's early expansion, the South American continent became a massive farm, the Amazon Rainforest being one of the four areas preserved, Europe became a massive mine, while Africa focused on energy production. The Asiatic continent serves as the governing body of both the planet and the empire at large, as well as housing the Imperator/Imperatrix, while the Eurasian landmass is the focus of technological advancement. An Orbital Ring construct acts both as a last line of defense as well as a commercial complex, welcoming thousands upon thousands of visitors, tourists, and residents, alien and human. We as a species may spread across numerous empires, house numerous alien races, and reside on an uncountable amount of planets, but we only have one true home: Earth.

Recovered data from tablet recovered and transmitted by [EXPUNGED]:

CODE: AL(corrupted)
TARGET: ALL 230 MEMBERS OF THE (corrupted) COMPLEX