//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: The Unexpected 
// Story: The Ones From Beyond 
// by Lordvessel 
//------------------------------//

The warriors from another world walk the halls forged by Equestrian magic, gazing upon it in awe and fear. They have reached their desired location, and now seek to act upon the primary task that has been built up. However, unbeknownst to them, their search would lead them to the man they sought to return home and uncover something that had been entirely unknown to them...................




Up to this point, the stealthy streak that Andrew and his team had racked up was now susceptible to an untimely end. Essentially, the hard part of the mission had arrived on their doorstep. He knew Viktor wasn't too keen on splitting up, and Andrew couldn't entirely blame him. Even in this dire apocalyptic age, the concept of splitting up in a sticky situation was still universally regarded as a stupid move. But for the moment, it was tactically ideal. The sensible thing to do was simply split into groups of four and sweep the interior as thoroughly and discreetly as possible. Seeing that he and Vik would undoubtedly lead their own team, Andrew would have to loan one of his own men to stand-in for Wolfpack's fourth man. Before they officially parted ways, Andrew gave a quick mandate.

"*Alright folks, this is where it gets tricky.*" he announced in a hushed tone. "*We split into teams of two. Vik, take Harris and the rest of your men to the right, make a sweep of the hallway and all its rooms. Stay out of sight and report back on anything you find. The rest of you are with me, same rules apply, we'll hit the left hallway. Stay frosty and watch for guard patrols.*"

"*If we find Berfield, do we rendezvous back here or outside?*" Viktor asked.

"*Outside.*" Andrew stated. "*Probably not the best idea to dwell inside here for any longer than we have to.*"

Viktor nodded and proceeded to round up the men and lead them down the right side of the winding hallway. Just before he and his team were out of sight, Viktor hailed them on the comms.

"*Good luck.*" Viktor said.

Andrew turned around to see Vik and his team fade from view as they gradually rounded down the hall. Andrew then sought oversee who he had left to work with. The Sergeant had enough experience and fortitude to garner the rank she carried and thus would no doubt handle herself in a sticky situation. Lamond seemed to have a firm grasp on their current situation, a stark contrast from earlier where he and Al-Kindi couldn't help but comment every ten minutes, Andrew guessed Ahab fed in that sort of behavior. It was nothing too detrimental, just grunts being grunts, but he thankfully Lamond seemed to have kept a lid on it at this time.
Then there was Achmed. When Andrew took a glance at him he could tell that alarms were going off all over his body. The way his stance seemed stiff and fidgety, the way he kept constantly looking all over the room, they fact that he held his gun in tightly pressed grip. Andrew walked up to the poor lad and put a hand on his shoulder, which almost made Achmed jump. Achmed stared at him with an almost terrified wide eyed expression. If he had to guess, He suspected that the high stakes had him on edge, and thus he made an attempt to ease some of that stress.

"*Hey.*" Andrew said as he placed the hand on Achmed's shoulder. "*It's okay 5, we'll get through this. Keep a steady nerve, follow orders and we'll find your friend in no time.*"

Achmed didn't say a word. But from the way he manged to take a few deep breaths, his nerves had calmed down a little, or at least enough to get a grip, which prompted Andrew to finally get things underway.

"*Okay, 5, 6, I need you two covering the rear. Sergeant, you're on point with me.*" Andrew commanded.

"*Yes sir.*" Sarah responded.

Sarah took her place next to Andrew, gun pointed and at the ready, with Andrew and soon taking the lead.

"*Nice and slow people. Check your corners, call out anything you have a visual on. You see anything that isn't a human being, don't keep it to yourself*" Andrew instructed.

With that last bit of instruction, they were underway. The hallway itself was quite spacious, being at least 10 yards in width. And the way it winded around the structure gave Andrew the clear picture that they'd be running into Viktor and his team soon enough. But right now, Andrew focused his thoughts on the here and now, paying close attention to his surroundings. Less than a minute had passed when they came across the first room. The door to it was closed and possibly even locked. Andrew gave the order to halt. As everyone stopped and held their position, Andrew did a quick look around for anything out of the ordinary, his results thankfully turned up empty.

All clear, for the moment at least. Andrew thought to himself

Andrew beckoned for his rear guard to follow as he and Sarah stacked up to right of the door. Once everyone was in place, he held his head in closer to the door. He listened carefully to see if he could hear anything from the other side of the door. Nothing. He continued listening for another ten seconds before he assessed that nobody was on the other side. He pointed to Lamond, and then to the door handle. He raised his hand up, and using his fingers, he began to count down from five, signalling when Lamond would open the door.
When the countdown ended, Lamond turned the doorknob slowly and ever so gradually inched the door forward. When the door was opened Andrew proceeded inside, rifle at the ready, taking a detailed look at his surroundings. From what he could tell, the room looked to be a large kitchen. In the center was a large island counter with several countertops and cabinets residing a few feet behind it, accompanied by several large kitchen appliances.  A few quick glances around provided no clues as to where Berfield might have been, if any clues at all. on a side-note, the kitchen might have been the cleanest Andrew had ever seen. Table and countertops wiped and cleaned to an almost mirror sheen, elaborate designs for all the cabinets and kitchen furnishings, as well as some rather antique, at least antique on a human level, appliances. Like many other things they had already encountered, this was quite was yet another contrast as any operating  kitchen in either New Damascus or some base or another more often than not had it fair share of grime or general decay. Add the general chaotic nature of having several people attending these kitchens at a time and you essentially had the workforce needed to feed a small portion of the overall 50,000 people left. Despite staying cool and collective up to this point, Andrew really had to admire the standard of living around here. To have everything kept orderly and presumably to one's self or his family made something as mundane as walking through a kitchen turn into a glance into the hopeful future. 
Andrew managed to put his personal feelings away for a later time and once again focused on the task at hand. he scoured the kitchen for any clues he could find. Sadly there were none. After about 5 minutes, he could tell that this kitchen wasn't providing anything in ways of clues. With that fact pretty much clear and his work turning up no results, he'd decided to move along.

"*Alright room clear, let's move on to the next.*" Andrew ordered.

"*Roger.*" Sarah replied.

Andrew walked back out into the hallway. As he made his way forward Sarah once again took her place beside him, with Lamond and Achmed quick to cover the rear as the group made their way down to the next room. The next section of hallway would prove to be just a bit more complex, with three relatively nearby rooms to search instead of one. Two doors side-by-side on the left with one more on the right. Safely assuming that the rest of the structures interior would be set up in a similar manner, Andrew decided he'd have to switch things up a bit. He'd have Sergeant Martinez take Achmed and sweep the room to the right. While they were preoccupied with that, Andrew would make the bold decision to sweep the two rooms on the left by himself, having Lamond watch for any activity in the hallway.
Andrew silently pointed to the Sergeant and Sabbag and directed their attention the to the room on the right. The Sergeant and Sabbag quickly picked up on the message and nodded affirmatively, patting Sabbag on the arm to stack up as they approached. Andrew did the same, beckoning for Lamond to follow. Sarah and Achmed had reached the door around the same time Andrew and Lamond had reached theirs. Andrew gave the order for Lamond to hold position in the hallway and keep watch. Andrew slowly opened the first door as quietly as he could. Sarah, under the impression that Achmed might do something brash if met with something unexpected on the other side of the door, decided she'd be the one taking point. She had Achmed take position on the right side to open it for her.
Meanwhile on the opposite side of the hallway. Andrew was already inside and searching one of the two rooms. The interior itself was much smaller than the last room, just a little bigger than his bedroom back home. On the far corner of the room was a small bean-bag chair along with several throw pillows all piled up in cluttered fashion. Littered around the floor were several thin sheet booklets. Andrew went to pick one up and looked at its contents. Printed upon the paper were several large illustrated images accompanied by speech bubbles written in a language he didn't understand. Andrew had heard of these. Certain they were called comic books, he knew they were a form of pre-war entertainment from surviving texts, but humanity had yet to ever find one that was even remotely intact. they weren't the most durable or sought after of things, and when the bombs dropped millions of them were simply incinerated in nuclear fire. He let the comic drop from his hands and back onto the floor with the rest of them. Whoever owned them clearly didn't take care of them in a proper manner. He looked to the other parts of the room and found a small bookshelf where, unsurprisingly, more comics resided, along with a selection of what appeared to be board games and small figurines depicting the native species clad in armor similar to that of the guards they had encountered.
Judging from the general make-up of the room, Andrew speculated that this was someone's private lounge, or recreational area. He then switched his search from the room itself to looking for clues on Berfield's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Sarah had already taken point in the room on the right. immediately upon looking inside she saw that the door didn't lead into a room but rather a staircase leading down 25 feet into some sort of basement level. She beckoned for Achmed to follow and the two made their way down. Once downstairs, the two took a look around in the new area. The musk of dusty paper immediately hit the senses. The place was a mess. Everywhere they looked, furniture, crates, books, scrolls, and other oddities were cluttered around the room, collecting vast amounts of dust and cobwebs alike. The room was enormous, spanning across at least a 45 foot radius. The walls of this room were drab grey and lacked adornment of any kind, a stark contrast o what they had seen on the ground floor. Judging from the dusty state it was in, it seemed as if this room wasn't used too often. Sarah placed a hand on her HUD-set controls to give the Commander an update.

"*Osaka 1, this is Osaka 2, we've breached the room across from the hall, seems we reached some sort of basement level.*"

Upstairs from Osaka 2 and 5, Andrew had stepped out from the room he had just searched and was ready to search the on next to it.

"*Copy that.*" Andrew responded. "*What do you see? Anything that'll point us in the right direction?*"

Sarah took a more detailed glance over, to get a general summarization of the room's contents.

"*Mostly old books, shelves, and a whole lotta dust. A bit of mismatched furniture. Room's a bit too congested at the moment to get a full layout from where I'm standing, but it's big. At least 15 yards wide. Regardless, I doubt Berfield, or anyone for that matter, came through here. search or regroup back upstairs?*"

Andrew gave it some thought. It was clear that the room served as storage. It might be faster to give that area a skip over, as he too doubted Berfield would have gone through there, of his own will or otherwise. But at the same time it was better to knock every room out as they go to prevent any back-tracking.

"*Search it.*" Andrew finally replied. "*We don't leave jobs half-assed. Report back with your findings once you're done and regroup back up here. Osaka 1, out.*"

"*Copy*" Sarah replied, disconnecting immediately afterwards.

While she had been in communications with the Commander, Achmed had spent the last minute scanning over some scroll he found on one of the shelves. The contents he found within were a gilded array of colors, depicting a native acting out some sort of sequence. It was quite pleasing to look at. Suddenly he found the scroll torn out from his hands, by his Sergeant. She gave him an annoyed look, which was enough to force an apology out of him.

"*Sorry, Sarge*"

She simply rolled her eyes and looked out towards the room. He decided to make up for his shortcomings with some context clues he picked up when they entered the room.

"*Judging from the look, I'm guessing this room serves as this place's storage room. With all of these books and scroll, it may serve as overflow for a library of sorts?*" Achmed said.

"*That or the maid took a holiday before cleaning this shit up.*" Sarah remarked. "*Either way, we have a job to do. Let's get to it, shall we?*"

Achmed nodded in agreement, ready to do his part. Sarah, recognizing he was ready, gave further instruction.

"*Alright, search the left side of the room, I'll cover the right.*" Sarah instructed. "*Holler over comms if you find anything.*"

"*Wouldn't it be smarter to search together, Sarge?*" Achmed inquired.

"*Yes, but unfortunately that takes a more time, besides we're the only ones down here, there's no risk by splitting up here.*"

Before Achmed could think of something else to say, Sarah was already walking off in the other direction to begin her search of the room. And so ended his procrastination, leaving him to carry out the task set before him. Achmed raised his rifle up to his shoulder and began inspecting his nearby surroundings, which mostly entailed more of the same old dusty scrolls and books. He began walking forward. As he delved deeper into the room the amount of literature only grew in quantity. Every so often he'd come across something that didn't involve binded paper, such as stacked chairs, folded tables, and the occasional empty shelf. 
Like their initial entry into the room everything was rather disorganized, yet tidy in nature. All the books were either stacked shelved or otherwise placed in a manner that would prevent unwanted damage. Achmed couldn't find any signs of his friend having come through here, or anyone for that matter. The level of dust that had settled atop the various shelves, books, and floor itself indicated that nobody had been through this room in quite some time, at least over year. Achmed's search seemed to have yielded more of the same when he came across something that instantly stood out amongst all else. Laying in wait between a large shelf and several chests stacked one on top of the other was what looked to be a ladder. At first glance, Achmed thought it was simply another loose object resting against one of the many larger objects. But when he gave it a second look he noticed that the base was bolted onto the floor. Now aware that the ladder was in fact part of the room, it no doubt had to lead somewhere. This instinctively lead him to look up, to which he found it leading to a small hatch in the ceiling. Achmed was quick to radio his findings to the others, and thus promptly went over comms.

"*Osaka 1, Osaka 5, I found a ladder bolted to the floor. Looks like it leads to an upper level.*" Achmed relayed.

Both Andrew and Sarah stopped whatever it was they were doing, the former in the midst of searching an empty bathroom.

"*Osaka 5, hold position.*" Andrew ordered. "*Osaka 2, work towards him and-*"

"*Sir.*" Lamond interjected. "*I have eyes on a guard heading our way.*"

Andrew exited the room to get a visual for himself. Sure enough, a guard was making his rounds down the hall way towards their direction. Unlike the guards at the door this one was clad in armor painted in shades of dark blue, like that of the night sky. The horn that protruded from his head was glowing with an aural hue in the color of cyan surrounding it. From the horn's tip, a ray in similar fashion to a spotlight emanated from it. He was about ten yards away and closing, signalling that Andrew needed to act fast.

"*Scratch that last order 2, Osaka 6 and I are coming to you. Standby.*"

With that, Andrew closed the door to the bathroom he was in. He and Lamond on the shoulder in a gesture for him to follow. The two quickly darted across the hallway and filed into the open door leading to the basement. Andrew was the last in and thus was the one to close the door behind them. While Lamond stood at the bottom of the stairs, Andrew remained at the top peering through a small keyhole beneath the doorknob. Any thoughts to how cliche that was were overwhelmingly replaced by the need to verify when the guard would pass.
Their he stood as a few seconds went by with no signs of movement. Suddenly the spotlight came into view, illuminating the doors of the rooms he had just searched. A few more seconds and the guard was now in sight. Andrew stood there, hand close to his sidearm holster as he watched the guard pass by. Seconds felt like minutes as he was fully attent, watching each step like a hawk. Suddenly the guard faded from view, and after a five seconds, Andrew began to ease up.
He turned to Lamond, who currently stood in wait with the Sergeant, who managed to make her way to the entrance. He gave relaxed nod before speaking.

"*All clear.*" Andrew said quietly as slowly descended down the staircase. 

"*What was in the rooms on your side, sir?*" Sarah asked.

"*Some sort of child's play room and a bathroom. No signs of Berfield having been there I'm afraid.*" Andrew conceded mannerly. "*But frankly, I'm more interested in what your man found, Sergeant.*"

"*A way up it would seem.*" she responded.

The Trio now made their way over to Achmed, who could partially be seen amongst the clutter, standing a few meters away. After winding their way around bookshelf after bookshelf, they were once again reunited at the base of the ladder.

"*So this is it huh?*" Andrew asked, inspecting the height of the ladder.

"*Yes sir.*" Achmed replied. "*Looks to go up about twenty feet. Maybe more*"

"*Well height's not a problem, but will it support our weight? That's the bigger question.*"

"*Why would that be an issue, sir?*" Lamond asked earnestly.

"*Well think about it Private, those who built it are of a much smaller frame then we, and thus of lighter weight.*" Andrew replied. "*As sturdy as it looks this thing might not be able to support more than one of us at a time.*"

"*So we go one person at a time?*"

"*Precisely.*"

"*So who takes point then?*" Sarah asked.

"*I will.*" Andrew replied back. 

Andrew slung his rifle around to his back and grabbed the ladder. But before he could make his ascent, the Sergeant grabbed him by the arm.

"*With all due respect sir, it's probably best I take point. Should something happen to you once you're up there or if you fall, it could jeopardize the mission.*"

The comment about falling off a ladder id much to dismay Andrew, as he took it as an insinuation that he was old.

"*I ain't a senior citizen yet Sergeant.*" He scolded.

"*I wasn't suggesting that sir, but if one of us should be taking risk it shouldn't be the Commander-in-Chief.*"

The way she conveyed her argument made her start to sound a lot like Viktor. But her argument was valid, and he was slowly coming around to seeing her point.

"*Alright Sergeant, be my guest.*" Andrew begrudgingly conceded. 

As her Commander stood away from the ladder as Sarah took his place. She began by putting her foot on the ladder and applying various amounts of pressure to test how sturdy the steps were. After that was done, she found them up to snuff and proceeded to climb up. 

"*Sergeant, when you get up there I want you to peek that hatch open and check for any movement before entering.*" Andrew ordered.

"*Yes, sir.*" Sarah replied.

Sarah made quick work of climbing, and soon found herself at the top within arm's reach of the latch that opened the hatch door. As instructed she carefully undid the latch barring her entry and ever-so-slightly inched the hatch upward. She took a quick 180 degree look around the room. Nothing seemed to be moving around, and any of the room's details were obscured due to her limited view. She then reached to her HUD-set and switched her receiving visual filter to FLIR Thermal. As she took another look around, all she could see were the blue cold-tones of the thermal imaging, indicating the room, at least on that particular side of it, was clear. 
Sarah looked down at the rest of her sqaud and the Commander, who stood waiting for a confirmation. Sarah gave a thumbs up, a simple indicating it was safe to proceed. Andrew gave her a nod, and proceeded to climb the ladder as Sarah climbed her way through the hatch. With the room now clear in view, Sarah's first instinct was to turn around to see what was behind her. To her relief, it was only a wall, ornate and decorative. Turning  around yet again, she inspected the room, which to her astonishment turned out to be a large cylindrical atrium area. By the time Andrew had made it up the ladder, Sarah had taken in most of the details. The room's most prominent feature had to be the large tree growth stemming from the ceiling, with strands of illuminating crystals of various colors hanging from the thick roots. At the base of the room stood six chairs and a round table constructed entirely out of crystal.
By this time everyone had made their way up from the basement, and now stood staring at magnificence of the room. Andrew however soon regained his focus, and was bent on getting inspecting the room.

"*Alright folks, enough sightseeing. Y'know the drill.*" he said, wishing to continue. "*Sabbag, Lamond, watch the exit.....s*"

With his attention now focused on entry points, Andrew found the the room had a total of six entrances, effectively serving as a hub area.

"*Uhm......which one, sir?*" Lamond asked.

"*Still figuring that out private.*" Andrew replied. "*We may need to use that hatch again if-.*"

"*That's going to be a problem sir.*" Achmed interjected. "*Look.*"

Andrew turned around to find that the current situation had taken a drastic turn. The hatch that was there had in fact been a one way entry, as it sunk into the floor and lacked a means of opening it. Andrew moved over to it, wondering if he could somehow get it back open. Suddenly, a flash of blue light emanated from the edges of where the hatch sunk into the floor. Before his very eyes, the floor began to quickly meld over the hatch, like how water spills on a flat surface. He jumped back, wide-eyed and uncertain as to what the effects of this energy discharge would do if it somehow came into contact with him. And then it suddenly, it was gone. Andrew staring at the floor where the hatch had once been. Several seconds of complete silence went by, with Lamond finally breaking in a perplexed manner.

"*What the fuck was that?!*" he cried out.

"*Does look like I know!?*" Andrew scolded back, still startled and irritated at what just happened.

"*Do you think it was a trap?*" Sarah asked. "*Do they know we're here?*"

"*I think the guards would be here by now if they knew we were here.*" Achmed suggested as calmly as he could.

The effects of the unexplained anomaly was undoubtedly having a withstanding impact on them all. Witnessing something that essentially bent the rules of what was possibly tend to do that. The guard and his horn light was one thing, biology can come up with just about anything, but to see matter manipulate itself over the course of a few seconds left little room for any scientific explanation. Suffice to say, in their mind, it was beyond normal. This Andrew to wonder what else in this place could do the same thing, or other surprises it had in store. Andrew recollected himself, focusing on the here and now. He calmed himself by assuring himself that this place had more than one route to the exit.

"*Okay, best thing we can do is remain calm, we still gotta job to do. We'll find a way back.*" Andrew claimed.

"*Ye-yeah, you're probably right.*" Lamond conceded, wishing to calm his nerves.

"*Well, I guess it wasn't intentional, whatever it was.*" Sarah concluded. "*Next step, sir?*"

"*Figure out where the hell we are.*" Andrew said, hand reaching his comm-link. "*Wolf 4, this is Osaka 1, I need a fix on my location, over.*"

"*This is Wolf 4. Copy on that 1, sending transponder signal to your comm-link...........now.*"

Suddenly a new display appeared on the very top of Andrew's HUD. It displayed several different radio waves  winding up a down it their own respected patterns with the words, "Locating Comm CN09. Please Wait...." directly below. A few seconds passed before the entire display was replaced with the words, "Connection established" before fading out entirely. As the process concluded, Nate came back on the comms.

"*Sir, it would appear you're on the second floor.*" 

"*I thought as much*" Andrew said in a displeased manner.

Andrew had thought they had simply made their way back to the first floor, but apparently that wasn't the case. Suddenly a new voice came over the radio, one with a heavy Russian accent.

"*I thought we agreed to taking the ground floor first then rendezvousing back where we split up? Was I misinformed?*" Viktor asked sarcastically.

"*Wasn't intentional. Wolf 4, are you certain we're on the second floor and not a sub-level of sorts?*" Andrew asked once more.

"*I can confirm it. You're position in accordance with the map scan has you placed in the atrium on the second floor. Luckily though, it's sorta of the eye in the storm. The bio scan you had me take earlier indicates the guards seemed to have left that room empty.*"

"*Wonder why?*" Viktor inquired.

"*Osaka 1, I take it you used the room directly underneath the one you're standing in to gain access?*" Nate asked.

"*You'd be correct in that assumption. But why they left it unguarded really isn't important right now, what I need is a way back downstairs.*"

"*Then why not go back down?*" Viktor asked.

"*Because it was a one-way exit............and it just...........disappeared.*

"*disappeared?*" Viktor questioned. "*How?*"

"*I've haven't a goddamn clue. One minute I see the hatch clear as day in front of me, the next thing I know the floor starts glowing blue and melting over it. Not only that, but when I saw one of the guards, his horn was glowing, with a light shining out from it?*"

A few seconds passed before Viktor came back with a response.

"*Chto? Andrew, are you hallucinating?*"

"*I know what I saw, and the others saw it too.*"

Suddenly, another recipient entered the conversation. It was Bradford

"*Osaka 1, this is Gateway, what on Earth are you going on about? What's this about hatches and glowing horns?*" he asked.

"*Apparently, the hatch he used to get to the second floor sealed behind him.*" Viktor explained.

"*Was it a mechanical hatch? Something that could have been operated remotely?*" Bradford asked.

"*No, it was made of simple wood, it wasn't a mechanical seal.*" Andrew informed. "*When my team and I were looking for an exit out of this room it lit up and disappeared. I can't explain it, but that's how it happened. If you want, you can ask my team, they'll say the same thing.*" 

"*That won't be necessary.*" Bradford explained. "*As curious as your encounter sounds to delve into, it doesn't take precedence. Be wary though, it could have very well been a trap for would-be intruders like yourselves.*"

"*I just hope it didn't set off any alarms.*" Andrew expressed.

"*Well like Wolf 4 said, the guard presence on that floor is substantial. Considering your time duration within the room, It's a safe bet they still don't know you're here.*"

"*Let's hope.*"

"*Then I'll leave you to your team. Should you encounter anything similar, report back at once. If things like disappearing accessways become a recurring them we may need you to pull your team back and rethink our approach. Gateway, out.*"

A few passed before Nate responded.

"*Commander, while what you're asking is feasible, it's gonna be tricky.*"

"*Guard presence?*" Andrew guessed.

"*Well yes, there is that. But the greater obstacle would be the distance and the lack of cover. Unlike the ground floor, the hallways are more-or-less of the traditional design. They kinda "box in" with each other. Some of these hallways are completely guarded with others being patrolled on a constant interval.*"

"So is there no way out of here?" Andrew asked.

"*I can you get you out using the drone no problem, but I'd have to do it one man at a time.*"

"*Seriously? Again?*" Lamond remarked.

"*Shut it Lamond.*" Sarah barked at him.

Andrew weighed in on Nate's plan of escape. It seemed risky. He no doubt knew he could do it no problems, he'd done it before on several occasions in his operator days, with more danger present and a higher risk of getting caught. 

"*Should I send a man to that sub-level?*" Viktor suggested. "*Have him open the hatch from the other side?*"

Andrew began to ponder that option a little, but ultimately allied with the first choice presented.

"*Negative. Keep your team together and press forward.*" Andrew replied. "*We start splitting up and doubling back it's gonna eat up time. We'll work our way out of this using the drone.*" 




"*Copy that, and good luck.*" Viktor said in earnest.

"*Appreciate it, Wolf 1. Osaka 1 out.*"

With that the transmission cut out. Viktor and his team had been holding position inside one of many bedrooms. So far their search was about as fruitful as Andrew's. Viktor turned to his men and the newcomer currently under his command.

"*Alright, let's keep it quiet, we're moving out.*"

"*What the fuck was up with that? How does a hatch just disappear?*" Hale asked.

"*I don't know.*" Viktor replied. "*But keep an eye out for anything suspicious, lest we find ourselves caught in one as well.*"

The men readied themselves to move out as Viktor began to open the door that led back out into the hallway. Viktor gestures for Lewis, his pointman to take lead. He did so in an efficient manner, with Viktor falling in immediately behind him, followed by his second-in-command, Hale, with Harris bringing up the rear.
Initially Viktor feared Harris would disrupt the flow of how his team usually performed, as he was unaccustomed to working on a First Recon level of coordination. Not to say that the regulars weren't capable, but First Recon went through a much more rigorous training process that ended up granting each of its operatives a heightened sense in every department imaginable. But to his surprise, Harris was not just keeping up but performing on par to where it didn't even feel like they we're working with a grunt. If he performed well enough on this op, Viktor might consider a recommendation for First Recon.
But priority at the moment was set on the search for Berfield. The four Began to space apart, with Hale and Viktor taking the right side of the hallway with Lewis and Harris taking the left. They worked their way down a few meters before coming across a large grand door to the left side of the hall. Viktor immediately eyed it and beckoned Hale to follow behind him as they moved to the other side of the hall with their compatriots. Vik and Hale stacked up on the right side of the door while their squadmates took the left. The door itself was composed of a golden frame holding chunks of crystalline glass cut into the shapes of diamond.

"*This looks important.*" Hale quipped.

"*With door this big and all by itself, I'd have to agree.*" Viktor replied.

Viktor then gave several command gestures, which translated that he and Lewis would open the doors while Hale and Harris would take point into the room. With everyone waiting and standing by, Viktor gave the order. He and Lewis began to push the doors open, the weight of the material making it a rather sluggish process. Harris and Hale were quick to fall in behind them, taking aim into the room inside. When the gap was wide enough, the two entered. As they searched for movement of any kind, the rows and rows of stacked books that stretched up 30 ft  made the room's purpose abundantly clear.

"*Looks like we stumbled into a library.*" Harris observed.

"*Yeah.*" Hale replied. "*Take a guess-*"

Hale was immediately silenced and stuck in place. Unsure as to why he had suddenly cut out mid sentence, Harris turned to him to see him standing as still as a corpse, staring directly ahead. Harris turned to where he was looking, and found himself suddenly taken aback as well. By this time, Lewis and Viktor had finished opening the door, only to look up and gaze upon the same things Harris and Hale had found. Viktor and Lewis approached from behind, walking ever so slightly up to what laid upon a set of two large round tables stacked alongside each other, only to gaze upon the thing towering behind it. Words couldn't describe the two unexpected finds.
Upon the tables, rested the severed head of a creature that Vik and his team had encountered many times before. The head was 12 ft in length, it's jaw long and narrow like that of a crocodile, with sharp and jagged teeth, misshapen and misplaced along the mouth as a side-effect of Earth's radiation. It lacked eyes of any sort, with only cancerous growths and thick pockets of radiation scarring where they would have been. Two large sets of nostrils dug into the tip of the snout, with layers of the most ungodly of nasal fluids forming crust around the rim. It's skin was covered in an abundance of radiation scarring, cancerous tumors, a misshapen jawline, with large protruding calluses as hard as stone paving a path from the scalp of the head and down the neck, gradually getting wider the further it went.
This monstrosity went by many names, the most common of which was simply, "The Obelisk". A mutated terror which can wreak total havoc if encountered in close proximity. That wasn't the issue though. Several questions popped into Viktor's head, first of which was how it got here. Which led him to the construction behind him, which bore an unmistakable similarity to the portal they used to get here. Just like the one on Earth, in was shaped in an arch, albeit 1/2 the size of the original. Suddenly, Lewis broke the silence.

"*Well, that don't quite settle well, does it?*" He said in a blunt manner.

Everyone was still quiet, but moving once again. Viktor and Hale approached the portal frame whilst Harris and Lewis inspected the head of the mutant. Harris began inspecting it in an attempt to speculate what method was used to kill the beast let alone decapitate it. The Obelisk gained notoriety for its difficulty to kill and the damage it could do. He remembered about 6 years ago one had attacked his outpost back when the 3rd was posted in Egypt in the ruins of Cairo of Old. It suddenly brought back memories.
The exact genetic makeup of an Obelisk usually varied as mutations are prone to doing, but shared a few commonalities which classified it as such. It was essentially a genetic-based parasitic virus, which would kill it's host and begin a large growth of muscle, tissue and organs ending in the iconic crocodilian head. This growth would usually stem from the back of some person or animal. The one that terrorized his unit had once been human, although any human features had been permanently twisted by radiation essentially. The growth from the back would systematically change the body to suit its needs, almost like a genetic parasite. Thankfully no human currently alive would have to endure such horror thanks to the McGuire gene, which warded off a number of radiation viruses and diseases. The one he and his unit fought was a monster that towered over 30 ft. It left a body count of 21 men, some left lying on the ground with mortal wounds while others we're simply crushed to death, or worse, devoured.
Nothing less of a .50 caliber bullet could pierce its thick callus hide, and even that did little to slow it down. Twelve 30mm shots and an ATGM rocket from a BMP-2 was what finally managed to put it down. This led him to inspect the back of the head, where it had been severed. He was most curious as to how a species whose weapons haven't progressed past swords and spears were able to take down what hundreds upon hundreds of bullets couldn't. He was taken aback by what he saw. The cut to it's head was clean, and more shockingly cauterized. Lewis had his eyes on the exact same thing.

"*I reckon this isn't the handiwork of your chap, Berfield?*" Lewis commented.

"*No, I reckon it's not.*" Harris replied. 

Lewis began to touch the wound, inspecting it in further detail.

"*What do you think did?*" Lewis asked.

"*Obviously something we haven't seen yet.*" Harris replied.

"*Like a weapon?*"

"*Perhaps. Whatever it was had a high energy output. Higher than any weapon I've ever seen.*"

"*Hmm? Guess those little buggers are tougher than they look.*"

"*I doubt the guards patrolling around managed to kill this thing, other than this laceration there's no other wounds. It was a clean cut.*" 

Whilst Harris and Lewis inspected the wounds on the obelisk in an attempt to decipher what had happened to it, Viktor and Hale stood a few feet from the downsized portal, with looks and feelings of disbelief at what laid before them.

"*How they do it?*" Hale asked.

"*I don't know.*" Viktor replied, just as shocked as his compatriot.

"*You think Berfield had a hand in this?*" 

"*No, I don't. Berfield's not a scientist, he wouldn't have the expertise to construct something like this.*"

"*Speaking of which, some pretty.................odd................construction.*"

Viktor knew instantly what he was referring to. The construction itself resembled the portal that they had passed through when they began their mission, but this thing looked almost abandoned. The metal exterior was rusted and bent in several places, with scratches, chips, and even bullet holes dotting its surface. At the base were old wooden planks serving in place of steps. The base was formed out of sandbags and barbed wire spools which traveled up and around the arch, embedding itself within the exposed circuitry. 

"*Odd?*" Viktor said stunned. "*It looks like they pulled it out of a damn war zone.*"

"*Our war zone.*" Hale suggested.

"*Da. That would explain the head on the table.*"

"*How the hell did they manage to kill it?*"

"*I'm sure 6 and Harris will figure it out soon. But this still doesn't explain where they found the portal.*"'

Hale and Viktor pondered how the natives came into possession of one of these portals.

"*They had to have built it.*" Hale suggested.

"*How? From everything we've seen, these natives seem to be stuck in their own medieval or renaissance era.*" Viktor asked.

"*Well they built this place, by any human standard this crystal castle seems like a pipe dream, yet they did it somehow.*"

The sudden realization of that fact hit Viktor in a dubious manner. Hale had a point, perhaps there was some other factor that played a major hand to this species that humans lacked. Perhaps the man they were sent to find had the answers.

"*Well, perhaps Berfield will know how they did it.*" Viktor proposed. "*Davai, we need to keep searching, I'll contact the Commander. He'll definitely want to know about this.*"

Before Viktor could step away, Hale grabbed him by his shoulder.

"*Alpha, we can't leave this thing standing.*" Hale urged.

"*What the hell are you talking about?*" Viktor asked.

"*If they have a way to Earth, we can't let them keep it.*"

Viktor saw where he was going with this, and made a prestigious to put a stop to it before it gained traction.

"*We're here to do one thing Hale, find Berfield and bring him home.*" Viktor asserted. "*That's it.*"

Viktor had hoped end it there, however Hale wasn't willing to let this go so easily.

"*Leaving it here for them to use is threat to humanity. See what they did to that Obelisk? What do you think they'll do to us?*" Hale argued. "*We need to destroy it.*"

"*Perhaps you forgot, but Commander Sawyer expressed clearly that we're to remain undetected to prevent hostilities. Planting satchel charges in the middle of their castle tends to have the opposite effect. We're not destroying anything, period.*"

"*Do you honestly think the Commander is going to share that sentiment? Any direct link to Earth is breach we can't afford. The natives undoubtedly possess some sense of combat capability, albeit primitive, and more importantly, a larger population. If they start pouring in we're done for.*"

Seeing how his firm stance had backfired, Viktor decided to take a more appealing route.

"*I'm not trying to shrug this off, I know it's a risk, but we're not in a position to make that kind of call.*"

"*The Commander is.*"

"*I'm not laying that kind of decision on him, not yet anyway. If he deems it necessary, we'll do it, no questions asked. But for right now, he simply needs to be made aware of the situation. And for the moment, that's all we're going to do.*"

"*This isn't something that needs to be discussed in a council session. We need to act now.*" Hale protested.

Viktor, not in the mood to be arguing with a subordinate, pulled rank to finish this argument. Stern-faced and cold-toned, he got up in Hale's face and made his stance very clear.

"*Alright, I tried reason as a friend. Now I'm commanding as an officer, you'll do nothing unless told otherwise by me or the Commander. End of discussion. Do I make myself clear, Major?*" 

By the look on Hale's face Viktor could tell he still had his own firm stance on the matter, but he wasn't foolish enough to voice his discontent.

"*Yes, Sir.*" Hale replied in a mildly seethed manner.

As Viktor stepped away, Hale turned to look at the portal, thoughts still going through his head. Viktor raised a hand to his comm-link and dispatched a message over the local comm.

"*Osaka 1, come in.*"

The response was almost immediate.

"*Kinda busy here, Vik.*" Andrew replied in a hushed tone.

"*Andrew, it's important.*"

Nothing for about a minute. Viktor began to worry if something might have happened when Andrew suddenly came back on.

"*Sorry about that Wolf 1, caught me in the middle of making my out of that room. Anyways, I'm safely back downstairs. What's the trouble?*"

"*Well, we found a library and................and.*"

Viktor determined this was too important to beat around the bush, sighing as he laid it out plainly.

"*Andrew. They have a portal.*"

Another lull of silence to fill in the void. Viktor, unable to see his friend's expression could only guess how Andrew was responding to the new information when he suddenly replied back.

"*What?*" he asked.

"*They have a portal. It looks in rough shape, but, it's an downsized replica of the one we used.*"

"*How many?*"

"*Just one from the looks of it. But I think it leads to Earth.*" Viktor replied.

"*Do you know that for sure?* Andrew asked, with hints of concern in his voice.

"*Andrew, I'm looking at the decapitated head of an Obelisk. A twelve-footer lying across two tables. So yes, I'm pretty damn sure it leads back home!*"

Viktor let his frantic state get the better of him in that last sentence, as his tone of voice gradually came across as panicked.

"*Well god dammit, don't snap at me! I didn't give the natives a damn blueprint!*" Andrew scolded.

Viktor quietly swore in his native tongue before responding

"*Then who did? No way this can just be coincidence. No way in hell!*"

Viktor's head almost immediately turned to the man they were sent to find.

"*You think Berfield helped them?*" Viktor asked.

"*I don't know Vik, but now's not the time to be throwing accusations..............................I'm curious though How they managed to do it.*" Andrew asked.

"*How they managed to copy our portal or kill an Obelisk?*" Viktor asked.

"*Both.*"

A round of silence soon ensued, each second adding tension and uncertainty to the situation. Viktor could only guess what was going through his friend's head, if he had somehow managed to link a culprit to this. A human had to have had a hand in this, and the only human that came in before them was Berfield. Whether or not he did it willingly was still unknown. But while one part of his mind wanted to find the cause of all this, another part wondered just how they were going to respond to this. When the comms came back, it wasn't Andrew, but Bradford, addressing him.

"*Wolf 1, this is Gateway, repeat, did you say you found a portal!?*" Bradford asked in a stressed tone.

"*Affirmative, Gateway. I'm currently standing next to it. Like I told the Commander, it's roughly half the*" Viktor replied.




Everyone in the Portal room was dead silent, scientist and soldier alike, all staring up at Bradford who was currently operating the communications node. Throughout this whole ordeal, Bradford had been on a slippery slope between ecstatic optimism on what they might learn and fear-inducing dread should the mission go south. He now found himself in the middle, somewhat disturbed at this new discovery and what this could mean for the Survivors and humanity as a whole. Should these natives so desire, they had a means of invading Earth. Humanity did too, but from what they had learned so far, with the general hospitality of their world and their ability to kill one of the most dangerous creatures of all time, it's clear the native equines would have the upper hand. 
Among the crowd, standing next to each other was Francis and Nick, who, like everyone else, was both puzzled and curious to this newly discovered revelation. Something then occurred to Francis, a sudden thought that came to mind, albeit a rare occurrence for someone like him. Francis turned to his comrade, to voice his opinion.

"You think Tim helped them build it?"

Nick looked to him. Francis could tell he was giving it some thought, but by the time he subtly shook his head, it was clear Nick had doubts.'

"Nah, not Tim." Nick responded. "Not to insult his intelligence, but he ain't no engineer. Something like that is way out of his league."

"Suppose your right, but if it wasn't him then who did?" Francis asked.

"I dunno."

That would have been the end of the conversation, but Francis' curiosity of the situation indulged him to think harder on it.

"Actually, I've been thinking." Francis stated. "You know how they've been saying they found no trace of the scientists that used to work this place?"

"Yeah? Why? You think a bunch of dead guys built it?"

"What if they ain't dead? We didn't find a single body in this place. Maybe they saw the end coming, figured the portal was their best bet?"

"Or maybe they were evaced by the feds back in the day, and died running away. Besides, if they did go through the portal already why would they build another one, they must have had a way to activate it on the other side. Right?"

"But the power went out remember? They couldn't have been able to activate it without power."Francis insisted.

"Okay, so if these scientists built another portal, why haven't The Sarge and them seen any other humans?" Nick inquired.

"Maybe they got taken prisoner? Like Tim."

"But we don't even know-"

"Hey guys." said a voice from behind addressing the two. 

They turned around to see it was Corporal Locke, with a most irritated look on his face..

"I hate to interrupt your conspiracy theory session, but it's rather hard to hear what they're saying up there when you two won't stop fucking talking. You mind shutting the hell up and save this conversation for another time?"

The two turned their attention back to where the source of new information was coming from. Apparently Bradford, The Commander, and The Colonel had been discussing how they we're going to respond to the new portal. Bradford opened his mouth to speak, but before he could suggest a course of action, Andrew interjected with a most extreme suggestion.

"*We need to destroy it.*" Andrew ordered.

Bradford was immediately taken aback by his counterpart's suggestion. Some in the crowd had a similar reaction, and began to voice their opinion quite loudly.

"What?!" one scientist yelled.

"Is he crazy?!" another yelled.

"What happened to going about unnoticed!?" one militiaman shouted.

Soon enough, counter arguments began to be shouted out.

"We don't have a choice! Those things come to Earth and discover New Damascus, it's over!" one of Bradford's scientists shouted.

"We won't survive a full-scale invasion!" one soldier yelled.

"Tell him to destroy it now!" another soldier voiced.

Soon the crowd was beginning to argue amongst themselves as the situation devolved into chaotic ramblings amongst one man to another. Fear of what the future could bring on either decision fueled an adamant stance on both sides alike. The argument got so heated that Bradford could no longer decipher what was being said on the comms, the noise was so loud. Suddenly, they began to yell and scream, and gradually showed tell-tale signs of devolving from heated arguments to violence.Suddenly a gunshot went off, the high-pitched bang bouncing off the walls. Suddenly it was dead quiet, and every man in the room looked for the shooter. They found him standing next to Bradford. It was no other than Lt. Bakowski from Ft.Bismarck, serving as standing CO in the Commander's absence. His face was a mix of anger and annoyance. 

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, holstering his still smoking pistol. "This decision is between the two councilors, they'll come to a decision on the matter, not you! Your personal opinions are noted, But I will not tolerate infighting, especially at a time like this! Whatever decision they make will be upheld by every soul in this room, any grievances you have on the outcome are to be kept to oneself at this time! Do I make myself clear!"

The soldiers in the room replied with a loud and attent "yes, sir" while the scientists resorted to a miss-mash of affirming phrases. The Lieutenant, content with the overall response, turned to Bradford.

"Go on." Bakowski said.

He nodded to him. Now that the disturbance has died down, Bradford could coherently respond back.

"Sawyer, are you mad!" Bradford exclaimed, nearly shouting into the comm. "An action like that will no doubt be perceived as an act of war!"

"*With all due respect kid, you think they made a portal for shits and giggles? Whatever their intentions are, it involves Earth and more importantly, it's going to involve us. One way or the other it won't end well. We destroy this thing before they get the idea t make more.*"




"*What did I tell you.*" Hale quipped in a condescending tone.

Viktor spun around, snapping a pointed finger at him with an irate look that told him to keep his mouth shut. When it was clear Hale would comply, Viktor voiced his own stance on the matter to Andrew and Bradford.

"*Andrew, you can't be serious! We can't act on a judgement like that. We need to know more before we do anything. Don't forget what we overheard the natives saying before. It might not be what you think it is*" Viktor insisted.

"I concur with the Colonel Antonov." Bradford stated.  "We need to know more of what's going on, just because they constructed a portal of their own doesn't signify aggression towards humanity."

"*No, but the fact that they killed an Obelisk is a major cause for concern.* Andrew argued. "*Besides, governments of he past age often kept numerous secrets from their people, who's to say that isn't the case here. Judging from that and the ability to down what nothing less of a 50. caliber bullet can't, my reasons seem pretty sound. So until I know how they did it, we perceive it as a threat.*"

"*Colonel, the head is in the room with you, did you have one of your men inspect it?*" Bradford asked.

Viktor turned to Lewis and Harris, who in turn, like everybody else, had been listening in this whole time.

"*I did.*" Viktor replied, "*Standby while I assess what they found.*"

"*Make it quick Wolf 1, we can't delay for too long.*" Andrew ordered, "*In the meantime, I'll be coordinating my team through the second floor with Wolf 4.*"

"*Very well, Colonel, we'll put this conversation on hold once you've convened with your men, but I urge you not take any action until we've come to a decision.*"

"*Of course, Councilor.*"

Viktor walked over to the table where the head of the mutant still lay motionless, where Harris and Lewis had been standing. Hale watched as his CO went over to discuss their findings. Every so subtly, Hale began to walk towards the rear of the portal. He looked over the frame of the portal's arch, simply looking it over. Looking it over he noticed several small holes in metal exterior had looked to burst open. He then found one that was large enough to stick his hand through, and just so happened to expose some of the portal's internal wiring. He found what he was looking for, as he quietly reached into a large pouch on the left side of his vest. Viktor was now within talking distance to discuss just what had killed the Obelisk.

"*What do you two got?*" Viktor asked.

"*We don't know what they exactly used to kill it.*" Harris started off. "*But whatever it was carried quite a punch.*"

"*How so?*" Viktor asked.

"*Wound's a clean cut, Alpha, and cauterized at that.*" Lewis explained. 

Viktor wish to inspect the wound himself. Sure enough, the cut was clean, and cauterized.

"*Can you determine if they used a weapon.*" he asked.

"*If it was a weapon, I find it rather odd how inconsistent it is with the guard.*" Stated. "*Every guard we've seen has been clad in armor carrying nothing but a spear, like in ancient times. That kind of gap in combat capability throws every plausible link I can think of.*"

Viktor felt the same way, and as he tried to find a possible link, he fell back to recent events. The moment when Andrew informed everyone how he and his team had gotten stuck on the second floor.

"*The Floor........*" Viktor murmured to himself. 

"*What about it?*" Lewis inquired. "*Y'know, other than it's quite clean.*"

"*Not here! The floor in the room where The Commander and his team got stuck. He said the floor melded over the hatch.*"

"*Don't forget the part where he mentioned glowing horns.*"

Viktor was about ready to snap at Lewis, who had a shit-eating grin on his face that was ripe for a smack to the head. However, he found what he said to actually have some relevance.

"*Da...that too.*" Viktor mumbled.

Lewis gave a confused expression, as that wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"*You think what they saw might link to this?*" Harris asked.

"*Not certain, but it's already clear these natives posses something that we haven't seen in full. But the Commander has.*"

With this new factor taken into consideration, Viktor deemed the time ready to relay his newfound findings back to Andrew and Bradford.

"*Gateway come in.*" he requested.

"*This is Gateway, go ahead Wolf 1.*"

Bradford's reintroduction to the discussion was soon followed by Andrew's.

"*Let's hear it, Vik. What did you find?*"

Viktor didn't hesitate.

"*Wolf 6 and Osaka 3 inspected the body. Total of two wounds. The first one is the obvious decapitation. The head looks to have been cut cleanly off. Oddly enough, the entire wound had been cauterized. Osaka 3 seems to think it had to be an energy-based weapon.*"

"*What could they have used to do that?*" Bradford asked. "*I............I........mean the gap between that and a couple of spears is pretty wide, don't you think?*"

"*Yes, me and my men expressed the same thing. But maybe it isn't a weapon.*"

"*What makes you say that?*" Andrew asked, as he too had reentered the conversation.

"*We think what Andrew and his team saw may provide a link.*"




Andrew instantly realized what he was referring to.

"*How the hatch in the floor just disappeared.*" Andrew said.

"*Precisely.*" Viktor reaffirmed.

Andrew shook his head, as he couldn't believe he didn't see a connection in the things he saw before.

"*I thought the horn might have just served as a light source, but considering this portal and the wound........... I'm thinking there may be more they can do with their horns.*"

"*Like what?*" Bradford asked, almost baffled at the concept.

"*Make doors or accessways disappear.*" Andrew suggested. "*Dish out high outputs of energy. Enough to slice the head off an Obelisk. If they can emit concentrated light who knows what else they can do. That horn might act as a catalyst of sorts.*"

Bradford on the other hand, wasn't buying any of this on the sole fact that he had no substantial evidence to back this claim, and thus lacked enough of a driving force for him to permit Andrew to follow through on the portal's destruction. Simply put, if they were going to make a decision, the needed more information first. And Bradford believed the source of this information would no doubt come from the man they came to rescue.

"*Commander, even if what you're saying is the case, that's still not enough to justify destroying the portal. Until we know more, I suggest we put a hold on making a decision. Right now Berfield is your priority. He may have the knowledge we're looking for, and if he can disclose or confirm our concerns, we can act accordingly.*"

While not willing to put this aside, the Councilor made a fair point. Berfield would have to know something, and if he didn't, they'd act in accordance with how he was treated. But this task would require his entire team, to whom which one of which was absent. By this time, All but Achmed had made it safely downstairs to him, and they stood there, or more accurately crouched by the set of stairs that they had come across when they had initially entered the place. There they waited patiently for his arrival.

"*Very well. My last man is being led through as we speak.*" Andrew informed. "*Once he's regrouped with the rest of us, we'll-*"

"*Commander, I hate to interrupt but we have a problem.*" Nate said in the midst of their discussion.

Fears and concerns as to what this trouble may entail had effectively garnered Andrew's full attention.

"*Wolf 4, report.*" Andrew said.

"*It's Osaka 5, I....I lost him.*"

"*What! How!?*"

"*The drone's feed started getting some interference, I tried to adjust, but everything just suddenly cut out. Video, audio, scans, everything but the drone's flight command just went dark!*"

This placed a very dire situation at Andrew's hands, as he couldn't afford to have their element of surprise be compromised. Not only that, but Sabbag didn't have the training to get through that thicket of security, not on his own. Andrew immediately sought a quick resolution to this predicament whilst Viktor inuired as to how the drone could have malfunctioned to such a severe degree in midst of simple operation.

"*The only time that could happen is if the RARD went out of range. That drone can operate within a 65 km radius and Wolf 4 is less than 10 away. How did everything just go out?*" Viktor asked.

"*If I knew I'd have it fixed by now.*" Nate said defensively.

"*Was it bug in the flight script?*" Bradford asked.

"*Trust me, I debugged the script to a mirror sheen. Flight's not the issue, I'm still getting a readout on it's operational status and script sequence, I think it's a signal problem.*"

"*Then what's impeding the signal?*"

"*I just said I don't know!*" Nate yelled, clearly in a state of panic.

"*You can work out what caused it later, Sabbag's running blind up there.*" Andrew barked. "*Osaka 5, come in!*"

Despite his callout, there was no response. Andrew made another attempt.

"*Osaka 5, do you read me.*"

Once again, no response. Andrew and the others looked amongst each other, with expressions displaying fear and concern that one of their team members wasn't responding. Andrews attempts to keep calm failed.

"*Shit!*" he hissed. "*Wolf 4, do everything to get that god damn drone back online.*"

"*Already on it, sir.*" Nate replied.

"*Vik, get your team and rendezvous at our current location.*"

"*First of all, our map-*"

"*It's right by the entrance, now just do as I say.*" Andrew barked over the comms.

"*What the hell are you up to Andrew, that wasn't part of the plan.*"

"*Plan's changed. I'm going after Sabbag.*"

Before either Viktor, Bradford, or anyone out range could protest, Andrew disconnected his comm entirely. He looked at Sarah and Lamond, who just stood with, wide-eyed at the bold move he was about to take. Before he ascended the stairs, he gave them a new set of orders.

"*When the Colonel arrives, tell him to have an exit secured.*"

"*Are we pulling out?*" Sarah asked.

Andrew climbed the steps without answering. Sarah, not too keen on the Commander proceeding on his own, offered her support as well as Lamond's.

"*Let us come with you at least.*" Sarah urged.

Andrew turned around, staring her down.

"*You have your orders Sergeant. See to it you follow them to the t.*"

And without so much as a reply, Andrew made his way to the top and onward to the second floor. Sarah and Lamond were by themselves, alone and left with their directive. Silence had prevailed over the two of them, as each turned t their internal thought as to what would come. A simple rescue mission had turned into something much greater in the span of a few minutes, and while the stake of humanity's future had been on the line before, humanity itself found itself struggling to gain it's balance on the tightrope. The clear-cut advantage they once thought they had over the natives wasn't so certain now, and the current status of their comrade being all but unknown did little to settle their nerves.




"*Andrew? Andrew? Suka blyat!*" Viktor cursed into his comm-link.

Just like old times, Andrew was off running to some unnecessary crusade at the worst possible moment. Viktor, frustrated with his old friend, began to beckon for his team to follow. 

"*We rendezvous with Osaka 1's team.*" He seethed. "*And then I put a boot up his ass once I see him again.*"

Quickly and quietly, Viktor's team filed out of the library. Viktor led with Lewis and Harris following behind. hale was the last to exit, and thus the one Viktor instructed to close the door as if they were never there. Hale nodded in compliance, while the others worked their way up the hall, Hale pulled a small device from one of his back belt pouches. In his hand was a small electronic detonator. On the side of it was a switch, with the worn and rubbed off words of "Off" and "Standby" placed on opposing sides of the switch. Hale flipped it to the standby setting, and as soon as he did, the faintest of orange lights lit up and began to blink within the holes of the exposed portal frame. Hale, content with his desired result, closed the doors to the library and began to catch up with the others.


	

The halls that seemed so generic at first glance felt like the walls of a prison constantly closing in and around him, approaching and receding as if to toy with him. Achmed found himself in the worst situation he could conceive at the moment. One minute he was following Nate's directions, the next, his comms not just cut out, but the entirety of his HUD-set was completely shot. Night-Vision was disabled, comms offline, his layout of the second floor gone in the blink of an eye.
He slowly began to adjust to the darkness, Whilst staying out of eye-sight. The guard patrols were constant, and were bound to come across him in due time. he currently backed himself up against a door just hanging off the edge of a four-way cross section. It kept him hidden, but that wouldn't be the case for long, he needed a place to hide and quick. All but the direction he came from was completely blocked off, sentries posted at every other door on both sides.
Amidst his panicked state and survival instincts Achmed made an effort to recede back the way he came, and joggle what he could remember about the floor layout that Nate had told him. He pushed himself to think quickly. From one of the halls he could hear the clanking footsteps growing ever more audible, telling him that another patrol was on its way.
Achmed figured it was best if he made his way back to the room with the round table, and thus began to backtrack. He moved silently, yet with haste. He had taken a left to get to the hallway he was in now, so naturally, he would take a right.  Doing so, he saw yet another obstacle. At the very end of the hallway, a three-man patrol had stopped at one of the sentry posts, talking with the guard stationing it. The four of them together served as an effective block in his path.

Shit, shit, shit. he swore to himself.

Achmed waited anxiously behind a large half-pillar, praying to god that the patrol would hurry up and move along. But minutes passed, and they hadn't budged. Achmed began to get nervous, wondering if what they discussed could signal that they had been tipped off to their presence. But as quickly as this panic came upon him, Achmed managed to temporarily keep a cap on.

Okay, Okay, calm your ass down Sabbag. Remember keep a steady nerve, like the Commander said. I can get through this...............I hope I can get through this.

Suddenly, he saw a door behind the guards begun to glow blue, the same blue that had sealed the hatch from earlier. As unnatural as that was, the frightening bit was when he saw it swing open. Achmed's focus was entirely grasped on what was unfolding in front of him. Stepping out of the door, donned in a crown and regalia like that of the very night sky, was one of the equine natives. This one stood taller than any of the guards that stood at their posts, with a blue coat of fur and main and tail like starlight, that slowly flowed on its own. Like some of the other natives encountered, she too bore a mark upon her flank, a dark splotch of black that housed a crescent moon. Her body was slender in contrast to the more bulky, with a more angular yet still feminine quality to her facial features. What really took Achmed aback was while some of these natives possessed either a horn, a set of wings, or nothing at all, this one proudly possessed both, and at a much greater side at that.
From the expressions he could read on the guards, they seemed almost surprised to see her. Achmed moved in a little closer, wishing to overhear what they had to say. He moved up about 3 or 4 feet. He dared not move an inch closer, lest they spot him. He crouched down, back against the wall with another half-pillar concealing some of his frame, and he listened.

"Your highness. Is something wrong?" he heard one of the guards ask.

The title he had addressed her with Highness indicated a position of royalty, and Achmed was able to determine that this taller equine might have been a queen or something else along those lines. He continued to listen.

"I believe something is amiss." She replied in a heavily British voice. "I request you four accompany me."

"Of course, Princess."

Princess, so she's not a queen. Achmed thought to himself.

She began to take steps towards another hallway, but she paused. He suddenly saw her lift her head curiously. Suddenly Achmed's skittish nature took hold of him, and he quickly backed as far up against the wall as he could. Although he couldn't see her, he could feel her eyes upon him. Several seconds passed before a guard spoke up, indicating that they were still there.

"Princess Luna?" The guard inquired, clearly not on the same page as her.

A few seconds passed, before she addressed them again.

"This way." she said.

Achmed peeked over to the side to see them heading down the hallway to his left, opening up his way forward. Achmed, not knowing whether it was just luck or God himself answering his prayers, was somewhat relieved, but he was well-aware he wasn't out of the woods just yet. He collected himself and began progressing forward once again, passing the hall where the Princess had taken herself and her guards. He walked about thirty more meet, constantly looking over his should to make sure he hadn't been spotted. There he could see the turn in the hallway to his right, which would lead him to a straight shot to the round-table room. 
However, as he began to approach the corner, he heard a slight scuffle come from the other side. It was subtle, but the mere fact that he heard it meant it had to be close. Achmed inched his way up to the corner turn. He stopped just 10 inches away. He listened, and after a few seconds, he picked up faint whisps of breathing. This breathing wasn't his own, and from the sound of it it was tense. He half expected a guard to turn the corner, but whatever was on the other side refused to do so. Achmed once again began to panic, as the signs pointed towards the very thing he wished to avoid. Whatever laid on the other side knew he was there. But suddenly, he felt a sudden intuition to place his uneasy panic with a more confident, if foolhardy initiative. Deeming it too late to go back now, Achmed flipped the safety of his gun off. The sound was clearly audible in the dead silence, and at that distance, he heard the breathing sharply rise.
Knowing that his adversary heard it, Achmed didn't hesitate. Quick as lightning he turned the corner gun raised at eye level and pointed at what was on the other side. In an assertive tone, he hissed the word.

"Freeze."

"Drop it." The other said just as assertively.

Achmed, to his surprise, saw not a guard, but the barrel of a rifle shoved in his face, just as he shoved his into his adversary. He strained his focus on the one holding the gun, and upon seeing his face, he eased up, eventually lowering his rifle all together. The figure, began to do the same, revealing a face Achmed hadn't seen in at least a week.

"Tim?"