Chapter Four: Long Buried

February 12, 2017. Abandoned CoH Hideout, Florida Island.

"Remind me what it is exactly we're doing here?" asked Rook.

Daniel, James, and Ichigo, on orders from the former, had all flown out to one of the Children of Homeworld's many meeting sites used in their conflict with BAINE. This one in particular had already been cleared out years before, as well as investigated thoroughly, and now was doing little aside from providing shelter for the local wildlife.

"Simple," answered Daniel. "Not only was this hideout one of the Children's last bastions against BAINE, where the stragglers dug in after we captured Aster, but its proximity to one of Polaris Industries' major supply lines makes it the perfect place to launch raids in order to acquire some serious hardware."

"And while I get that, do you really think they're still active?" James continued. "We haven't dealt with the Children for years now, even though we're holding their boss prisoner. What makes you think they're still here?"

While Ichigo searched for signs of activity, Daniel hung back to observe. "It might not be them," said. "It could be, or it may be some other group we haven't even heard of. Or some Koh'i'Noor holdouts. Or even a still-at-large SEEN cell we missed." He shook his head. "The point is, someone is supplying those smugglers with their tech, and if their reach is as large as I think it is, there's no doubt they at least used to operate from here."

"I can see your logic," said Ichigo, "but it looks like nobody's operated outta this place for years." He lifted some ivy covering a wall to peer down a hallway, seeing only more overgrowth. "Unless you count all the raccoons and possums living here…"

"We'll just have to go further in," Daniel said, leading the way. "We're bound to run into signs of occupation before long. If we're lucky, it'll be something easy to spot: garbage, bedding, basically anything that shows someone lived here."

Though skeptical, James kept an eye out for these and other signs. "And who's to say if we do find signs of people, they're not just from an old homeless camp?"

"Because I can't imagine anyone would use this place for shelter, even if they had nowhere else to go," replied Daniel. "Even if we say someone did find a way in, its history means that anyone who knows even a little about the Children would go right back the way they came the moment they realized where they were."

"Right, yeah, makes sense," said Ichigo. "But since the Children left a while ago, how would they know that it's a–What was that!?"

Both James and Daniel whirled in the direction Ichigo was looking, readying their sidearms. He was staring down the length of a corridor, but they didn't see any movement. "What was what?" asked James.

"Did neither of you see that giant-ass shadow on the wall!?" he said in disbelief, readying his own pistol. "It was massive! It had to've gone all the way up to the ceiling!"

The three of them crept down the hall, heads on a swivel as they watched for signs of their elusive host. They didn't see anything, and all they heard was the sound of water dripping into a puddle. "If there was something here, it's gone now," said Daniel. "Are you sure you didn't just see your own shadow?"

Ichigo was not amused. "Yeah, I'm sure." Now that the adrenaline was coming down, he holstered his weapon. "Whatever's in here, it better not be one of those Frankenstein mutant Gems. Those things freak me out." He kept glancing behind him as they continued on their way.

"Pretty sure they freak everyone out," said James. "This place was already combed pretty thoroughly, so I doubt there's anything worth looking into left." He looked at Daniel. "Hint, hint."

Their Captain ignored him. "It's entirely possible they covered their tracks. In which case, we may need to come back here with some forensic equipment. Hopefully, though, we'll find something definitive to tie to one or more groups of interest."

"Maybe it's Polaris Industries," Ichigo suggested, sounding tired. "Maybe they're stealing their own stuff to make it look like it's somebody else."

James was fairly certain Ichigo was just being facetious, but intentionally or not, he raised a good point. "And what if Polaris is the one supplying the smugglers?" he asked. "There'd be no need for them to hide out in a run-down place like this. There'd be no need for them to hide at all! What if we're just wasting our time?"

"And what if we're not?" said Daniel, turning around to face him. "What if there's a definitive answer as to what's been going on down here, and we can stop it before it turns into another crisis? BAINE's job is to look for threats to the populace that the usual teams can't handle, and sometimes, that means trudging through an old bunker with little to no idea of what we're looking for. You've fought monsters, militias, an insane cult, and two alien invasions. An hour or two of urb-ex won't kill you."

"It might, if there's a Gem mutant down here," Ichigo said under his breath. Once again, Daniel ignored him.

The minutes ticked by, but there continued to be no sign of human habitation anywhere they looked. Both James and Ichigo were growing frustrated, the former mostly with Daniel. While the Captain was occupied elsewhere, he voiced his displeasure. "Is it just me, or are we wasting our time?" he asked.

Ichigo shrugged. "Look man, Danny Boy's a smart guy, so if he says something's up, I believe him. But we've been down here for, what, almost forty-five minutes? And we haven't found anything. Just humor him for a bit longer, and once we get to an hour we'll tell him there's nothing. And try not to rub it in, please."

"I'll try. Trust me, it's very tempting." After a bit more searching, they found Daniel in an adjacent room, staring intently at a wall. "You find the secret entrance yet? Look for a bookshelf, maybe there's a lever there to open the way."

After shooting James an annoyed glance, Daniel looked back to the suspicious wall. "I swear I heard something moving back there," he said. He stepped closer, putting his ear to the panels. After listening for a moment, he signaled to the others to approach.

"What? What is it?" Ichigo asked. He put his ear to the wall as well, and to his surprise, also heard some light scratching coming from behind it. "Actually, there is something back there. James, c'mere and help us get this thing off."

James reluctantly made his way over, producing a knife from a sheath on his shin. "You're lucky I came prepared," he said. He slid the knife behind the panel, before working to pry it off. "You're all making a big deal about nothing. It's probably just a possum of something, like you said. You'd just better hope it's not an alligator, 'cause I am not gonna be happy if one jumps out of there and bites off my–"

The panel gave way, clattering loudly to the floor. The noise and sudden influx of light startled the source of the noise into leaping out from its hiding place. James cried out in surprise as a raccoon dove past him, scampering away to somewhere with less people. "Yup, raccoon. Mentioned them," said Ichigo.

Getting over the shock, James sheathed his knife. "There's your mutant Gem," he said, pointing after the fleeing procyon. With the woodland critter gone, everyone turned their attention back to the hole he had just opened up. "So, that's where he was living, huh?"

Behind the panel was a sizable room carved into the rock, far larger than a single raccoon would be able to make alone. "I'm no rodent expert, but I'm pretty sure raccoons don't carve out burrows, especially ones this size," said Ichigo. "...Are raccoons rodents? Either way, this is something different, I'm pretty sure."

Daniel kicked the remaining panels out of the way to make a doorway large enough for them to step inside. "This can't have been here last time, could it?" he asked nobody in particular. "It would have been in the reports." He examined the walls, which seemed to have been carved with precise machinery. "And why is it here?"

"Beats me. Storage?" suggested Ichigo. If that was indeed the case, the room was entirely empty. Unless it had been picked clean before BAINE arrived, it still should have held some supplies. "Hang on, what's that?"

"What's what?" asked James, following Ichigo's gaze to the ceiling. "Looks like a manhole cover. Some sort of escape route, maybe?"

"With no ladder? Seems impractical." Ichigo stepped right underneath it. "Help me up, will ya? Let's see where it leads." James lifted him up–or more accurately, he climbed on top of James–to see what lay beyond the mysterious hole.

As strong as he was, and while Ichigo wasn't exactly bulky, James struggled to hold him steady. Daniel headed over to help, eventually stabilizing him. After pushing the manhole cover aside, Ichigo pulled his upper body through the opening. "Anything?" Daniel asked.

Ichigo shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked around. "Uh, no, not really. Some grass. Some trees. I think that might be a bridge in the distance."

"Bridge… Hold on, did you come out on a road by any chance?" asked Daniel.

"Now that you mention it, I do seem to be on asphalt," Ichigo said. "I thought this place was supposed to be far from civilization."

"It is," Daniel continued, "but there is one major road: one used by Polaris Industries to transport cargo." Everyone understood what this signified. "So, in essence, we have all the evidence we need."

James wasn't so convinced. "Now, don't go celebrating just yet. True, you were right about something going on here, I'll give you that. But until we know the whos, whats, and whys, this is nothing but a hole."

"True, but it's a hole that wasn't there before," said Daniel. "In fact, I'd wager this entire room was carved out after we took this place. This is clearly a bigger operation than some disorganized smugglers. And if it was Polaris themselves, they wouldn't need a bunker like this to steal their own stuff."

With the other two no longer supporting him, Ichigo fell back through the manhole, landing on the floor before picking himself back up. "Well, whoever it is, it doesn't look like they've been here in a while. St. Augustine probably grew wise to their tactics and beefed up security, so they had to take their operation somewhere else. Don't suppose you've got any idea where, Danny?"

As much as he hated to admit it, he was counting on there being a bigger lead here than this. "No, but I have a feeling I know someone who does. Come on–we've done all we can in here."

With their investigation finished, the trio headed back the way they came, possibly to return another time if Daniel's intuition once again proved worthwhile. Finally, however slightly, it seemed like they were getting somewhere.

BAINE Headquarters.

As much as Rhodes realized that Valdain was a qualified expert in his own right, he still felt a little uncomfortable having him root around his computer systems like this. "So, what exactly is it you're doing?" he asked the alien.

Valdain had hooked himself up to BAINE's servers while Rhodes watched from a seat nearby. "I'm integrating BAINE's satellites to better detect foreign objects approaching the planet," he said, giving him a confused look. "I thought Director Mills explained this."

"Well, I know that, but I meant how are you doing it?" Rhodes replied frustratedly. "Blue Diamond's apparently been making regular visits to Earth, and we've been none the wiser all this time. What exactly are you doing to our satellites that we couldn't do?"

"Compensating for warp technology," he replied. Rhodes couldn't be sure, but he detected a hint of smugness in the robot's voice. "While your systems are calibrated to detect incoming objects, they will only activate when a ship is practically within the planet's atmosphere, to say nothing of those equipped with jamming arrays, as Diamond flagships likely are. By the time you are alerted to the incoming threat, Homeworld's forces will already be on top of you."

Rhodes shook his head, getting up and strolling over. "Alright, so if our human technology is so inferior, what could you possibly do to remedy this glaring oversight?"

"While it is not immediately obvious," Valdain continued, "warp technology actually leaves traces of itself at the intended destination. Tiny, all but imperceptible distortions in space-time where the ship is planning to emerge. Your technology is certainly able to detect these, but many instances are so miniscule and fleeting, you wouldn't pay them any mind even if you did. But when they appear and remain consistent and stable…that is a good sign a ship is heading your way."

"Huh. Never really thought of it like that. Guess they call it 'warp' for a reason." Rhodes looked over the adjustments Valdain had made, silently noting to himself that they all added up. "So any Gems coming in, we'll be able to detect?"

"In theory, yes. As well as other ships…" Valdain stared off into the distance for a moment, which Rhodes picked up on.

"You worried your people are planning on coming back for you?" he asked.

Valdain shook his head. "No, no. They likely believe I am dead, and even if they do not, I am not important enough to waste resources trying to eliminate. Rather, I wish to prevent another event like your last encounter with my people, or at least one that is not due to my oversight."

Rhodes gave him a quizzical look. "How do you mean?"

Waiting a moment before answering, Valdain then replied "No matter how many times I replay the events in my mind, I cannot help but reach the conclusion that I might have stopped the invasion entirely if I had just paid closer attention to Alkaria. It is my fault she was mentally overpowered by the Primax…"

"Sounds like the two of you were close," said Rhodes. "Can't have been easy, having to fight somebody you loved."

"Indeed. I only hope that someday, I will be able to free her from Teptromina's control. We can be together again, as we intended…" Realizing that he was trailing off, he returned his focus to the computer. "But until that day, I will focus all of my efforts into protecting this planet. It is the least I can do."

That was something Rhodes could relate to. "Well, just don't burn yourself out. You're a big help, it'd be a shame to lose you so soon after we just got you."

Apparently, Rhodes wasn't the only one who thought so, as Gina chose that moment to enter the room. "Yo, Val, you got a moment? Some of the guys need your help."

"Oh? And what is it they require?" He glanced back at the satellite data, hoping theirs was an easy fix so he could get back to it.

"So, you know how Bridge's been going on and on about how he thinks someone was helping those smugglers? Well, he took some guys to an old Children of Homeworld base on Florida Island to look for proof. And apparently, he found some."

"Did he, now?" said Rhodes.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you," Gina said. "Anyway, he asked if Valdain could come down and do some forensic analysis to verify his suspicions. Like, for him specifically. Sorry, Eddie."

Though a little disappointed, Rhodes shrugged. "Ah, it makes sense. Don't worry, I'll just wait here and…watch the skies, I guess. Your satellites should be almost ready, right?"

"Just about. Actually…would you be willing to finalize my calibrations?" Valdain asked him. "I would do it myself, but duty calls, apparently."

"Really? You'd trust me with something like this?" he asked.

"Of course. You are BAINE's top scientist for a reason, after all. I have complete faith you will be able to finish this project." Valdain went to follow Gina. "Now then, lead the way to this Florida Island. I do hope this endeavor is worth our time…"

"You and me both," Gina said, as the two left the room.

Now alone, Rhodes turned to the screen. It was quite a task ahead of him, but it was in no way insurmountable. He was BAINE's top scientist, after all. "Alrighty then," he said, cracking his knuckles, "let's get to work."