Delta Sector Outpost 7, Imperial Periphery
The deep cycle silence of the outpost felt thin, stretched taut over an undercurrent of anticipation and Valerius's own driving need. Thirty-six hours remained until the Sector Command fleet's ETA. Thirty-six hours for the Red Scorpions to act. Thirty-six hours for him to gather more power.
His Wargod foundation was stable, his control improving daily through System-guided simulations, but the energy reserves required to push towards Mid-Level Wargod remained stubbornly high. The ambient energy of the outpost was insufficient for rapid progress. The geothermal vein in Sub-Level 4, despite its dangers, was the only viable option. Tonight, he would risk another descent.
Before preparing, he practiced extending his Spatial Sense down the corridor from his sealed quarters. The clarity was noticeably better than before. He could now differentiate more easily between energy signatures, even picking up the faint hum of Lieutenant Kaelen's personal datapad through the bulkhead several doors down – Kaelen was awake, likely still analyzing logs, searching for inconsistencies. The knowledge sharpened Valerius's caution.
He chose the Waste Reclamation Chute route again. The System analyzed patrol routes, sensor sweeps, and even Kaelen's recent network activity patterns.
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Kaelen was reviewing footage near the other access point. Had he found something? Or was it just thoroughness? Either way, the waste chute was the safer bet.
The descent was familiar yet tense. The stench, the grime, the unsettling silence broken only by dripping sludge and his own careful movements. He navigated the drainage tunnels, his improved Spatial Sense giving him precious warning of crumbling sections and deep pools of viscous liquid. He felt the growing thrum of the geothermal vein and, beneath it, the faint, discordant static of the anomaly deeper within the sublevels.
Reaching the debris blockage outside Tunnel 7C, he used his Wargod-enhanced strength, guided by the System, to shift the ferrocrete beams more quietly this time, minimizing noise. He slipped into the tunnel leading to the cavern.
The green glow pulsed, perhaps slightly dimmer than last time, the radiation levels stable according to the System. He moved to his absorption position.
'System, initiate energy absorption. Maximum safe rate. Monitor anomaly signature closely. Alert on any significant interference increase.'
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Power flooded him, cool and potent. He felt his reserves replenish, the slow climb towards Mid-Level Wargod resuming. He focused, absorbing greedily, keenly aware of the ticking clock of the ingress window and the potential threat lurking deeper below.
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Then it came. Not a gradual increase, but a sudden, sharp pulse from the anomaly. Stronger than before. The System Interface flickered violently, the lights in the cavern seemed to stutter, and Valerius felt a distinct mental touch – cold, alien, inquisitive. It wasn't just interference; it felt like something briefly noticed his energy absorption. A fleeting image flashed through his mind, unbidden: complex, non-Euclidean geometry shifting in utter darkness.
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Hostile awareness. That chilling phrase spurred him into action. He cut the siphon instantly, the System struggling to retract the nanite field through the interference. He scrambled back towards the debris pile, the unsettling mental pressure lingering for a second before fading as he put distance between himself and the cavern.
He didn't bother trying to conceal the entrance this time, squeezing through the gap and plunging back into the relative safety of the drainage tunnel. The System Interface stabilized, nanite functionality returning to normal, but the alert remained logged.
'System, analyze the psionic touch and visual fragment.'
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A dormant consciousness? Trans-dimensional architecture? This outpost wasn't just built on ruins; it might be containing something far stranger.
Shaken but resolute, Valerius focused on extraction. He navigated the drainage tunnels and ascended the waste chute, emerging back into the Sector Beta Maintenance Bay just as the System warned the diagnostic sweep was commencing nearby. He cleaned his armor hastily, relying on the nanites to purge residual contaminants more thoroughly later.
Back in his quarters, safe behind the sealed door, he assessed his gains.
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He had gained less energy than hoped, forced to retreat early by the anomaly's alarming activity. But it was progress. More importantly, the encounter underscored the danger lurking below.
A priority notification blinked on his console – new intelligence analysis compiled by the System from the outpost's comms intercepts, flagged for his review before official dissemination.
Chimera Manifest Transfer. Delta-7-Gamma. It wasn't a solution to the mystery, but it was another piece, linking the codename to a specific location within their own system. He quickly incorporated this into a formal intelligence update for Commander Vorlag, framing it as a result of continuous deep-level signal analysis.
He leaned back, the events of the night swirling in his mind. Kaelen's suspicion, the fortified Scorpions, the Sector Command fleet's slow approach, the terrifying potential of the anomaly below, and the tantalizing mystery of Project Chimera. His path was fraught with dangers from every direction. Yet, with every challenge, his power grew, his control sharpened. He was walking a razor's edge, but it was the only path to the power he craved.