The Orbital Warehouse spun silently above the Earth, a glittering jewel in the void of space. Warehouse 14 was a marvel of engineering, built as a sanctuary for humanity's strangest and most dangerous artifacts. Far removed from earthly constraints, the station was both a fortress and a laboratory, with Claudia Donovan at its helm as the new Caretaker.
Claudia stood in the central command hub, her fingers gliding across holographic displays. The screens showed everything from artifact containment statuses to the biometrics of the agents aboard. She sipped her coffee—synthesized, not brewed, much to her annoyance—and sighed as an alert chimed softly.
"Artifact retrieval team incoming," the AI, Artemis, intoned. "Status: Incoming with artifact."
Pete Lattimer leaned back in his seat aboard the Icarus, a sleek orbital shuttle designed specifically for transporting agents to and from the space-bound warehouse.
"I still don't get why we couldn't just build this thing somewhere cool, like the moon," Pete said, flipping through a digital tablet filled with sandwich recipes.
"Because" Myka Bering replied, strapping herself in with precision, "the whole point of putting Warehouse 14 in orbit is so the artifacts are as far away from Earth's natural magnetic fields and tectonic activity as possible. Plus, zero gravity helps with containment."
"Yeah, yeah," Pete muttered. "Still, no delis in orbit. Seems like a downside to me."
Across the cabin, three younger agents were busy double-checking their equipment. Rafael Garcia, the team's tech expert, tapped away on a handheld device, muttering calculations under his breath. Elena Torres, the combat specialist, sharpened her tactical knife, her eyes focused and intense. Leo Park, the rookie of the group, fidgeted with his helmet strap, a mixture of nerves and excitement plastered on his face.
"First time in space, Leo?" Pete asked, smirking.
Leo nodded, swallowing hard. "Yeah, but I'm good. Totally fine. Just, uh… never been off the planet before."
"Don't worry," Pete said. "If you throw up, it'll float around like a snow globe. Super relaxing."
"Pete," Myka warned, her tone sharp.
"Fine, fine," Pete said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Just trying to lighten the mood."
The shuttle shuddered slightly as it began docking with Warehouse 14, the automated systems guiding it into place with precise efficiency. The station loomed outside the viewports, a massive structure of interlocking modules and glowing containment bays.
"Welcome to Warehouse 14," Rafael said, grinning. "Home of the weird, dangerous, and the unexplainable."
The agents disembarked and made their way through the station to the Central Hub. In the background a familiar vacuum made it rounds.
"Hey, Claudia!" Pete called, tossing his helmet onto a nearby console. "Guess who snagged the Compass of Zhang He?"
"I'm guessing not you," Claudia replied dryly, raising an eyebrow at Rafael, Elena, and Leo, who were clearly worse for wear.
"Okay, fair," Pete admitted with a shrug. "But we did supervise. Veteran stuff, you know."
"Supervise?" Myka snorted. "You mean 'ate snacks while the kids almost got flattened by collapsing ruins.'"
Elena carefully set the case on a nearby table and opened it. The Compass of Zhang He gleamed inside, its bronze edges intricately carved with symbols and its jade inlay shimmering faintly. The needle spun erratically, glowing blue.
"Cool," Claudia said, leaning in for a closer look. "So, what's the deal with this thing?"
"It manipulates gravity fields," Rafael explained. "According to the intel we got, Zhang He's army used it to cross rivers and navigate mountain passes. But it's not just directional—it can actually warp local gravity to change terrain."
"And, apparently," Myka added, "it can also collapse unstable ruins. Nearly killed us before we even got to it."
Leo chimed in, his voice tinged with awe. "It felt like the whole building was trying to eat us. Walls, floors—everything was pulling toward us."
"Killer Compass...Neat," Claudia said, then frowned as the Compass started to vibrate.
"Uh, is it supposed to do that?" Pete asked, backing up slightly.
Before anyone could answer, the needle spun faster, and the floor tilted beneath their feet. Loose objects floated upward, and the team scrambled to grab onto anything solid.
"Microgravity distortion!" Artimes alerted, sirens going odd across the station.
Claudia barked out a quick command, "Artimes! Active the emergency containment field!" Suddenly a sphere of purple energy formed around the compass. The needle's glow dimmed, and the room's gravity stabilized as everyone dropped back to the floor in an ungraceful heap.
"Okay," Claudia said, straightening her jacket. "We are not touching that thing again until we figure out how it works. Any guesses?"
"The Compass might be reacting to the station's gravity generators," Rafael said, brushing dust off his uniform. "If it's designed to manipulate gravity fields, being in microgravity probably amplifies its power."
"Fantastic," Myka muttered. "An artifact that's already dangerous on Earth becomes a ticking time bomb up here."
Claudia sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright, here's the plan. Rafael, analyze the Compass's energy output and see if we can neutralize it. Leo, I need you to scan the database for any mentions of Zhang He's compass—find out exactly how it works. Elena, you're on security. Make sure this thing doesn't go anywhere."
"What about us?" Pete asked, leaning casually against the wall.
"You two," Claudia said, pointing at Pete and Myka, "are going to babysit. If that thing so much as vibrates, I want to know about it."
"Babysitting duty," Pete groaned. "Man, I miss the good old days of running from fireballs."
"Welcome to space," Claudia said with a smirk. "Where nothing burns, but everything floats."
After a little bit of research, they found that if the needle is removed and neutralized separately then the compass would remain inactive until it was reassembled.
As they placed the Compass into storage the veteran agents handed the display plaque to the rookies, "You snagged it. You bagged it...So you get to tag it." Rafael, Elena and Leo exchanged a quick glance as they placed it together. "I think those kids are gonna do good." Claudia said to herself as she watched from the Observation Tower.
