Chapter -69: The Unforeseen Signature

Outer Sector Outpost 7, Imperial Periphery

The summons Valerius had been dreading finally arrived. He was to report to Auxiliary Control Bravo. The deep-penetration scan beneath Outpost 7, utilizing the newly assembled and calibrated ground-based scanner – a different unit from the one catastrophically disabled by the anomaly – was about to commence. Investigator Thorne would oversee the operation remotely from Moon 7C, where Scanner Unit One continued its painstaking work. Lieutenant Commander Jian would be the ranking officer on site, and Lieutenant Kaelen, his theories now central to the investigation, would be present to correlate the findings.

Valerius walked through the corridors, now thoroughly under Navy control, his Wargod energy a tightly suppressed ember. His System remained a fractured ruin, offering only sporadic, corrupted updates. He was operating on his own impaired senses and intellect, facing an instrument designed to lay bare every secret hidden beneath the outpost.

<>

Eighteen hours. The scan was happening now.

Auxiliary Control Bravo was a hub of quiet, focused activity. Navy technicians manned gleaming consoles, their energy signatures disciplined and alert. Jian stood before the main holographic display, which showed a detailed schematic of Outpost 7 and the geological strata below. Kaelen was at a secondary console, his gaze intense, datapad already active. Thorne's stern, holographic image shimmered into existence above a central comms unit.

"Lieutenant Valerius," Thorne's voice was crisp, relayed from Moon 7C. "Be seated. We are commencing the scan. Your familiarity with the outpost's previous anomalous readings may be required."

"Understood, Investigator," Valerius replied, taking a peripheral station, his senses straining to pick up any nuance, any shift in the room's energy.

"Technicians, initiate low-intensity geological survey sweep, Sub-Levels 1 through 5," Jian commanded. "Investigator Thorne, Lieutenant Kaelen, please flag any areas of immediate interest."

On the main display, the virtual representation of the new scanner unit began its work, its powerful sensors projecting downwards. Layers of ferrocrete, service conduits, and bedrock scrolled into view.

"Investigator," Kaelen interjected almost immediately, pointing to a section of Sub-Level 2. "The decommissioned Xenobotanical Lab 3 is in this sector. I logged a faint energy transient and atmospheric anomaly near its access corridor during the last reactor shutdown." His gaze flicked towards Valerius.

Thorne nodded. "Focus a narrow-beam resonance scan on that area as we pass, technician. Log all findings."

The scanner complied. Valerius watched, his expression impassive. The System had purged his digital tracks, but he knew the lab access might show faint physical traces.

"Minor residual atmospheric ions detected, Investigator," the technician reported. "Consistent with a recent, brief environmental seal bypass. No significant energy signatures."

Kaelen frowned slightly. Not the smoking gun he'd hoped for there.

The scan continued deeper, reaching Sub-Level 4. "And here, Investigator," Kaelen pressed, indicating another area. "Near the old conduit access for Tunnel 7C, leading towards the primary geothermal vent. This is where the exotic particle traces and thermal scarring were noted by the previous scanner before its… incident."

"Acknowledged," Thorne said. "Maintain detailed analysis of that stratum."

The scanner's virtual eye descended further, its beams now probing the depths where the main anomaly resided. The display resolved into the familiar, unsettling image of the vast, amorphous energy nexus, its rhythmic pulsing a faint, echoing heartbeat.

"Primary anomaly nexus targeted," the technician announced. "Energy readings stable, consistent with passive state. Resonance with Omega-734 signal from Moon 7C confirmed and holding steady."

Thorne leaned closer to her holographic projector. "Increase sensor resolution on the nexus core gradually. Monitor for any signs of reactivity. We do not want a repeat of the last incident."

The image of the nexus sharpened. Its swirling energies seemed to writhe with ancient, incomprehensible power. Valerius felt the faint psionic pressure again, even at this distance, a reminder of the force that had crippled his System.

Suddenly, as the scanner's beams subtly shifted, attempting to penetrate the nexus's outer layers, a technician spoke up, his voice tinged with surprise. "Investigator, Lieutenant Commander… I'm picking up an unexpected, localized energy signature. It's not part of the main anomaly. It's… shallower. Much shallower. Within the outpost's upper structural levels."

All eyes in the control room snapped to the main display. Jian frowned. "Define shallower, technician. Pinpoint the source."

The display shifted, zooming out from the deep anomaly, then refocusing on the schematic of Outpost 7 itself. A small, concentrated blip of energy pulsed erratically on Sub-Level 1, within the officer's wing.

"Energy signature is artificial, Investigator," the technician reported, his fingers flying across his console. "High density, poorly contained… showing signs of instability. Location… Sector Delta, Officer's Quarters, Room 17."

Valerius froze. Room 17. His room.

The unstable plasma core.

Somehow, impossibly, the powerful, diffuse beams of the deep-penetration scanner, perhaps interacting with the outpost's own energy grid or even the faint tendrils of the anomaly's influence, had detected the faint, shielded energy leakage from the core hidden beneath his bunk.

Kaelen stared at the display, his eyes widening as he processed the location. He looked at the roster of room assignments visible on his own console, then slowly, deliberately, turned his head, his gaze locking onto Valerius with an expression of dawning, absolute certainty.

"Room 17…" Kaelen breathed, his voice barely a whisper, yet carrying across the suddenly silent control room. "That's… Lieutenant Valerius's quarters."

Thorne's holographic image turned, her eyes like chips of ice, fixing directly on Valerius. Jian's head snapped around, his analytical gaze instantly transforming into one of sharp, focused suspicion.

The unblinking eye of the scanner, searching for ancient mysteries in the depths, had inadvertently stumbled upon a far more recent, and far more personal, secret. Valerius was caught, not by Kaelen's theories or battlefield anomalies, but by a tiny, unstable sun hidden beneath his own floor, revealed by the very instruments meant to uncover other truths.