The Secrets of the Outpost

DAY ONE - NIGHT

That makes two, Shynar thought.

Technically, Nils was simply no longer responding to his service com-link after Jake had lost contact with him during out-of-hours maintenance in the Labyrinth. In his last communication, the technician had reported that he'd heard some sort of singing and that he would investigate its origin. Jake's account of events was confusing. From what he said, a strange signal had appeared on Nils's MESP which had led them both to believe that there might be someone close to Nils's position.

Shynar didn't want to think the worst.

She was walking with Kane through the silent, empty corridors. It was past midnight after all, and the base personnel were probably resting after a long day of work. Both had left their quarters almost simultaneously after being alerted and were hurrying to the third underground level, at the entrance of the service tunnel that Nils had used. Chief Dirk was already on site.

"We'd better get used to this. If these emergencies continue, we'll have to stay up for three more nights in a row," she said to her deputy, trying to downplay the situation.

"I'm sorry, Shy. I know you haven't gotten much sleep lately and I could've handled this myself. You'll see, it's probably just a com-link malfunction and Nils must've gotten lost down there. Those two always get in trouble when they're on shift together! They shouldn't have bothered you," Kane replied.

"It doesn't matter" Shynar said, but grateful for his words. "And besides, Nils knows the tunnels too well to not be able to find his way back. Still, it's an emergency and it's my job to deal with it to the best of my ability. Let's try to figure out what happened and hope it's nothing serious."

They reached the trapdoor that led from the third level to the first section of the Labyrinth. Jake was waiting for them. He waved.

"Dirk's downstairs with Ice. He asked me to take you to him."

He was visibly shaken.

Shynar and Kane exchanged a worried look.

"Okay, let's go. After you," Shynar said, motioning to the other two to go ahead.

They went down the service ladder and into the tunnel.

"Man, I've never been down here before. It's pretty cramped, don't you think?" Kane had to bend forward slightly to walk. While it wasn't much of an issue for Shynar, who wasn't as tall, it was difficult for him with his almost six feet of height.

"Yes! So let's get a move on. I hope the spot isn't too far," Shynar grimaced.

As the headed deeper into the Labyrinth, she realized that Kane was watching her closely, with that look that always made her flustered. He knew she wasn't keen on enclosed spaces. He'd probably figured out that it was related to something from her past which she'd never shared with him. He'd tried to gently pry it out of her, but his tactful questions had gone unanswered, inevitably followed by awkward silences.

"Hey! Watch out!" Shynar grabbed his shoulder, pulling him toward her before he bumped his head against a low-hanging pipe. She snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Come back to Earth. We've got work to do."

"Yes, sorry, I was thinking about... well, nothing special," he replied, sounding a bit uncomfortable. He looked away from her face, gesturing for her to go ahead.

"It's a real labyrinth down here! How do you not get lost" Shynar asked after their fifth turn.

"We've been coming here for years, so we're used to it," Jake shrugged. "And the hundreds of sensors placed when the Labyrinth was built help a lot," he continued, pointing to a small flashing device attached to the intersection of two pipes. It emitted a faint green light that was almost invisible because it was so dirty. Now that Shynar was paying attention, she saw a bunch of them, at two-meters intervals along the pipeline.