Chapter -63: The Descent Begins

Outer Sector Outpost 7, Imperial Periphery

The summons for Valerius arrived precisely as Lieutenant Commander Jian had indicated. He was to report to Auxiliary Control Bravo. The deep-penetration scan beneath Outpost 7 was about to commence. Investigator Thorne, having returned from her initial survey of Moon 7C, would be personally overseeing this critical phase, and Lieutenant Kaelen, his theories now carrying significant weight, would be present to correlate findings with his meticulously logged anomalies.

Valerius walked through the corridors of Outpost 7, now thoroughly under the disciplined control of the 7th Battle Group. Navy patrols were frequent, their energy signatures crisp and alert. Access to the lower levels and engineering sections was heavily restricted. He felt the subtle but pervasive hum of the outpost's enhanced sensor grid, a constant reminder of the scrutiny he was under.

His System remained a fractured ruin. The nanite network was slowly repairing, but core analytical functions and sensory augmentation were still offline. He was operating on his innate Wargod senses, honed by desperate practice but lacking the System's precision and depth.

<>

Thirty hours. Too long. The scan was happening now.

He entered Auxiliary Control Bravo. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation. Investigator Thorne stood before the main holographic display, which currently showed a schematic of Outpost 7 and the bedrock beneath. Lieutenant Commander Jian was at her side, and Lieutenant Kaelen was at a secondary console, his expression alight with focused intensity. Navy technicians manned their stations, their movements economical and precise.

"Lieutenant Valerius," Thorne acknowledged his arrival with a curt nod, her sharp eyes sweeping over him. "Be seated. The scan will commence momentarily."

Valerius took his designated peripheral console, the same one from which he had witnessed the previous scanner's destruction. He kept his Wargod energy tightly suppressed, his demeanor one of professional readiness. His Spatial Sense, though blunted, reached out, feeling the potent, contained energy of Scanner Unit Two as it powered up in its deployment position deep within the outpost, ready to probe the earth below.

"Scanner Unit Two online and calibrated," a lead technician announced. "All systems nominal. Awaiting your command to begin sweep, Investigator."

Thorne stared at the holographic display. "Our objective is to identify and characterize the anomaly beneath this outpost, determine its connection to the Omega-734 signal on Moon 7C, and assess any potential threat it poses to Imperial interests. Lieutenant Kaelen, you will flag any energy readings or structural anomalies that correlate with your previously logged data."

"Understood, Investigator," Kaelen replied, his gaze already fixed on his console.

"Begin initial low-intensity survey scan," Thorne commanded. "Sub-Levels 3 through 5, then descend into the primary anomaly zone. Proceed with caution. If there is any indication of a hostile reaction similar to the previous incident, cease scan and retract immediately."

"Aye, Investigator. Commencing scan."

On the main display, the virtual representation of Scanner Unit Two began its descent, its powerful sensors peeling back layers of ferrocrete and rock. The familiar geological strata scrolled into view, interspersed with the outpost's deep foundations.

Valerius watched, his senses strained. Without the System to filter and analyze the overwhelming data stream from the scanner, he was reliant on observing the reactions of Thorne, Jian, and Kaelen, and on his own impaired ability to sense any unusual energy fluctuations.

The scanner passed through Sub-Level 4. Kaelen leaned forward, pointing. "Investigator, the residual exotic particle traces and thermal scarring are concentrated in Sector Gamma-9, near the old conduit access for Tunnel 7C. That aligns with my logs."

Thorne nodded. "Noted. Continue descent."

The scanner moved deeper, beyond the outpost's lowest foundations, into the primordial bedrock. The display shifted, focusing on the ill-defined zone where the anomaly resided. The rhythmic pulsing Valerius had sensed before was visible now as faint, regular energy waves on the display.

"We are approaching the primary anomaly nexus," the technician reported. "Energy readings are stable, consistent with previous passive scans. Resonance with Omega-734 signal confirmed, Investigator. The harmonic correlation is… remarkably precise."

"Increase sensor resolution on the nexus core," Thorne ordered, her voice tight. "But maintain low-power output. We do not wish to provoke it."

The image on the display sharpened, revealing the amorphous, swirling energies of the nexus in greater detail. It was vast, ancient, its nature utterly alien. Valerius felt a faint psionic pressure even through the outpost's shielding, a distant echo of the wave that had crippled his System.

Suddenly, Kaelen stiffened. "Investigator! I'm detecting a focused energy signature within the nexus – very faint, heavily shielded, but it's not part of the main anomaly's pulse. It's… different. Almost like a contained power source."

Thorne leaned closer to her display. "Magnify that signature, technician. Filter out the anomaly's primary resonance."

The display shifted, isolating a tiny, almost imperceptible point of concentrated energy deep within the swirling nexus. It pulsed with its own distinct rhythm, out of sync with the larger anomaly.

Valerius felt a jolt of recognition, a cold dread that had nothing to do with the anomaly itself. That signature… it was faint, distorted by distance and the anomaly's interference, but his Wargod senses, even impaired, recognized its unique, volatile thrum.

It was the unstable plasma core.

Somehow, impossibly, the scanner was picking up the faint, shielded signature of the core hidden beneath his bunk, kilometers above, its energy perhaps resonating or being subtly amplified by the anomaly itself or the scanner's probing beams.

'System! Is that the core? How is that possible?' he projected desperately.

A flicker of garbled text was his only reply. He was on his own.

"That's… unexpected," Jian murmured, staring at the isolated signature. "It doesn't match the anomaly's primary output. What is that, Kaelen?"

Kaelen frowned, analyzing his readings. "It's highly concentrated, Investigator. Almost like a… a failing containment field around a high-density energy source. But its location within the anomaly nexus makes no sense unless…" He trailed off, a new, dawning suspicion in his eyes as he looked up from his console, his gaze sweeping the room, finally settling on Valerius.

The unblinking eye of the scanner had descended, and it was beginning to see far more than anyone had anticipated.