LunarSync Comms: Dark Protocol

Chapter 30: Shattered Connections

The ground trembled beneath us as we scrambled back toward the transport pod. Echo’s processors hummed with new data from the core, and my thoughts spun with the implications of what we’d found.

“Whoever tampered with the core isn’t finished yet,” Echo said, its tone urgent. “This was only the first step.”

“Then we need to find them before they make another move,” I replied, gripping the controls as the pod shot back up toward the surface.

As we emerged from the canyon, Echo accessed the core’s remaining data logs. A location appeared on the screen—an abandoned research facility on the edge of the station, hidden from our scans until now.

“Looks like that’s our next stop,” I muttered, eyeing the coordinates. “But it’s risky.”

“It’s the only lead we have,” Echo responded, its focus unwavering. “If we can reach the facility, we might find answers.”

The pod streaked through the dark expanse, toward the facility’s shadowy silhouette. The air crackled with tension as we landed outside the crumbling structure, a relic of forgotten experiments.

Inside, we moved carefully through the decaying corridors, the silence broken only by the distant hum of failing power systems. Echo’s light illuminated old terminals covered in dust, screens flickering with half-formed messages.

“Keep an eye out,” Echo advised. “There might still be traps.”

As we reached a central chamber, a hologram flickered to life—an old recording of a researcher, her face pale and strained.

“They thought they could control it,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “But the core... it has a mind of its own. If you find this... stop it before it’s too late.”

The message cut off abruptly, leaving us in darkness. My pulse quickened, the weight of our mission settling heavily on my shoulders.

“This facility is just the beginning,” Echo said, its voice tight with urgency. “We need to get this information back to the others—if they’re still out there.”