Sunny woke up with a start. The familiar sounds and vibrations of the Rhino told him that everything was okay, and that the vehicle was moving at high speed toward its destination. No one seemed to be attacking them…
And yet, for some reason, he felt a sense of deep unease. Sunny frowned and rose from his bed, then went over to the pilot's cabin. On his way, he passed Kim, who was running diagnostics on the secondary control panel, and Samara, who was tinkering with her rifle on the workstation in the cargo bay.
Reaching the front of the Rhino, Sunny silently looked through the armored windshield at the white wall of the blizzard that enveloped the world. Of course, he could have just accessed the feeds of external cameras from the command suite, but he trusted his own eyes much more.
…Nothing seemed out of place.
He hesitated for a few moments, then spoke to Luster:
"Did something happen just now?"
The young man glanced at him in confusion.
"Uh… no? Oh, there was a tiny spike of seismic activity a few minutes ago, but that's nothing unusual. Happens all the time. Don't worry, sir… we'll reach the installation in about half an hour."
Sunny scowled.
"...Good."
He returned to the lounge area, poured himself a cup of coffee, and then walked over to the command suite.
"Kimmy, contact the research facility. Tell them we'll be arriving soon."
She paused the diagnostic software, activated the transmitter and sent a communication request to the installation they were approaching. For a few minutes, there was only static on the channel. Kim frowned, then repeated the call, this time extending the antennae of the Rhino to their full length.
Still, nothing.
Sunny took a sip of coffee.
"What, no one's responding?"
She studied the monitors, then said in a tentative tone:
"No, it's not that… it's just… uh, our signal doesn't seem to be coming through for some reason."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Contact Army Command then, ask them for an update on the installation's status."
Kim did as she was told, but there was still no result. Her face grew a little dim.
"That… I can't contact Army Command, either, sir. All communications seem to be down."
Sunny remained silent for a few moments.
"So we're completely cut off from everyone? Is it because of the blizzard?"
Establishing a stable connection had grown a bit hard lately, but they were yet to experience a complete communication blackout. After all, Sunny had spent a ton of contribution points to upgrade the Rhino's comms array.
Kim hesitated.
"I can't say, sir. A simple blizzard is not supposed to mess with the signal so much."
Sunny rubbed his face.
'That doesn't sound good…'
He sighed, then sent his shadows out into the snowstorm. They spread around the speeding Rhino, searching for any sign of danger that could have been hiding in the white haze. However, no matter how hard the shadows looked, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Sunny remained on guard throughout the remainder of their journey. Minutes passed by without anything happening. Soon, there was a soft sound and some movement in the lounge area — Belle, Quentin, and Dorn returned from the Dream Realm and climbed out of the sleeping nooks, looking rested and refreshed.
Even though the big man still showed some discomfort, his injury was well on its way to being healed.
Just like that, half an hour flew by. Sunny caught sight of the research installation long before the powerful projectors of the Rhino flooded its gates with light.
The facility looked more like a small fortress settlement than a scientific base. It was perched dangerously close to the ocean shore, and had a thick wall surrounding it, with powerful turrets aiming at the dark waves. There was a large dome-like structure towering above the formidable fortress, painted white on the backdrop of the black sky. It resembled a giant, perfectly smooth egg.
The facility had no official name, and was known simply as LO49. Sunny had no idea what kind of research was being done on its premises, but considering that there was a sizable garrison of Awakened guarding the installation — complete with an Ascended commander — it had to be pretty important.
The best evidence that the scientists living here were doing very valuable work, though, was the fact that Sunny and his soldiers had been sent to retrieve them.
"Luster, slow down. We're near."
The Rhino gradually reduced its speed and approached the settlement. Beams of light soon illuminated a small fleet of transport vehicles parked in front of it, seemingly waiting to take the staff away as soon as the reinforcements arrived.
For a moment, Sunny felt a pang of fear. It was as though the whole facility was empty, with only ghosts populating its streets.
Then, however, the turrets above the gates moved, taking aim at the approaching APC. Powerful spotlights ignited on the wall, cutting through the snow and flooding the immediate area with stark light.
The Rhino drove to the fleet of transport vehicles and parked nearby. At the same time, the heavy gates of the fortress opened, and a lone human figure walked into the blizzard.
With a sigh, Sunny opened the hatch of the Rhino and climbed out into the cold.
He walked forward and studied the stranger.
The man was tall, strong, and looked to be around forty. He was dressed in a black bodysuit similar to one Sunny wore, with an unzipped parka resting on top of it. He had dark hair and calm, intelligent eyes. There was a composed expression on his stern and weary face.
Overall, everything about the stranger spoke of experience and discipline.
Sunny stopped a few steps away and gave him a nod.
"I am Ascended Sunless, captain of the First Irregular Company of the Evacuation Army. You should have been informed of our arrival."
The tall man lingered for a few moments, studying him, then returned his nod.
"I am Ascended Verne."
He offered his hand to Sunny and said in a steady voice:
"...Welcome to LO49, Master Sunless."