Galactic High

“Your target is straight ahead,” the nasal voice of Tagrilla whispered into their commlinks. “Shaskasaki Cybertronics have a distribution centre outside of their main territory, and as such are in the process of shifting resources to focus on their counterattack against Corvin Enterprises. While their local guard presence has diminished due to transfers or desertion, their technology is still in play, so be careful. We shall do our best to monitor their activities from our end while we keep the cargo drones out of the area of operation. Just locate the fabricators and mark them. Once that’s done, you’ll need to open the roof access and latch the cables, then fly out with your one. Understood?”

“Sure,” Nika answered as professionally as she could. “How do you propose we get in?”

“Don’t ask me, that’s your job. Call me when you’re ready for pickup,” the slicer nonchalantly replied, before he cut the comms, leaving the group hanging.

“What a twat, does he expect us to just know everything?” Jack grunted in annoyance as they approached the complex up ahead.

The brightly lit front gate of the district was imposing, standing tall and constructed from thick, reinforced metal plating. Its design seemed to incorporate both aesthetics and functionality, with the prominent logo of Shaskasaki being a dark, neon blue background with a radiant silver sword, modified with cyber designs. Though there were only two nervous-looking guards and a security drone on duty outside that they could see, they were reinforced by several cameras and turrets, and Sephy could also detect barrier controls and alarms within easy reach.

“We’re not going through there," Nika noted. “Not many guards, but they look twitchy as hell. Looks like they got the shit shifts tonight, so maybe we can bribe them to fuck off for a while, but I reckon that’s way too risky with so many eyes on them.”

“I agree, Sephy, can you send a drone up?” Alora asked the Skritta, looking around to make sure they were alone. “I know we’ve already got a rough topography but I want to see what we’re working with.”

“I’ll give it a shot but I don’t have an unlimited supply of these!” Sephy warned before grinning. “Let’s find a spot to hide out and see!”

The group casually walked down a street that overlooked the district in question. The group could see a squat, flat building that overcast the district wall, though that was all. According to Tagrilla, the exclusive footage he had obtained was from a former employee who had gotten fired recently, who had a habit of recording videos while working for their small NetTube channel. Clearly Tagrilla had seen some potential in that security breach, and had contacted the fired employee to get a look at their unedited, unreleased material in exchange for some money, drugs, and the contact details of a CorvMart store manager who needed a replacement to work the graveyard shift after their previous worker got shot.

It is likely that they’ll have some kind of masking from overhead sight, Chiyo cautioned. The overhead display we have is old and out of date.

“If they have it, I’ll be able to detect it.” Sephy nodded. “I’ll need to see what kind of rating they have before I attempt to bypass it, but if it’s too tricky any attempts might trigger an alarm.”

“Would this ‘masking’ cover beyond the district, or just what is within the walls?” Jack asked, having an idea. “Because if it’s the latter, then we can just look at what’s just outside their borders and work out the best entry point from there, maybe even find a vantage point?”

“Good idea, Jack,” Alora acknowledged. “Let’s see what we get first.”

As the drone casually hovered in the sky, Sephy frowned as the picture of the district itself became blurry and blocky, preventing them from properly understanding what they were seeing.

“Well this sucks,” Sephy pointed out. “They’ve updated their security rating and I can’t get past it remotely from here. Expensive for a company to do, but maybe they don’t want Corvin Enterprises coming to say ‘hi’ before they’ve pulled key resources out.”

“Maybe we can take a look around the district the old-fashioned way?” Jack asked. “Also, some of these buildings along the edge might be climbable, and if one of us can get to the top of the district wall we could climb in?”

“Not a bad plan.” Nika shrugged. “It’ll look suspicious if we all go together and get picked up by the cameras, so we should split up and go in opposite directions to case the area. If we find anything, call it out on comms.”

“I’ll go with Jack along the left,” Alora decided. “You three go together around the other side and see what you can find.”

“You’re going with Jack, eh?” Sephy teased with a smirk. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!”

“No promises!” Alora stuck her tongue out at the Skritta as she and Jack began walking away, looking for anything that they could use to get in.

“Don’t worry,” Alora quietly told Jack as they rounded the corner. “Usually there’s a bit more pre-planning involved, but we have time. I think you’re probably right and we’ll be going over the wall, but if we can find a maintenance hatch like you and Sephy did with the Prefect’s Lockup that might be better.”

“As long as Sephy makes sure the defences don’t reactivate on the way out.” Jack chuckled.

“That would not be good, especially if we botch this,” Alora agreed. “But we should be fine. I would expect the guards to rely on whoever is at the front to maintain a presence and not be bothered about what happens inside, so hopefully it’ll be easier once we get to the other side. It’s unlikely we’ll find any side doors or other conventional entrances here outside of the main door, though.”

“If that’s the case, then we might be better off coming in from as close to the rear of the complex as we can,“ Jack reasoned. “There will probably be fewer people moving around.”

“That’ll be a good place to start. With luck, the fabricators will be nearby too and we can make this quick.” Alora nodded as they turned into a deserted residential street. There were a few lights on from residents who were clearly awake, though Jack noted with some concern that many of the windows were boarded up. Taking a closer look, he could see that several of the windows had metal shutters clamped down shut. It was apparent that shit was expected to go down.

“These guys don’t seem to care too much about the outside of their complex,” Jack noted as he pointed to a shady corner of the district wall, which was covered by a smattering of graffiti marks that slung various anti-corporation messages against Shaskasaki.

“That doesn’t look new,” Alora noted. “There’s even some moss growing underneath. If I was the local Shaskasaki district manager I’d try to at least make a display of paying someone to have that cleared to ingratiate themselves with the locals.”

“So you’re saying that either the manager is incompetent and lazy, or Shaskasaki doesn’t have the resources to deal with low-priority stuff?”

“A mix of both I suspect.” Alora shrugged as she hastened her pace, keeping an eye out for any cameras that could pick them up. “But most likely the former, it’s an easy fix and it’s probably been there a while.”

“Hopefully they’re this lax with their security too.” Jack smirked. “Even if there’s pressure to be on high alert tonight, there could still be some things that they’ve missed that we can take advantage of. Faulty lights, cameras on the fritz, that kind of thing.”

“We won’t know until we’re there.” The Eladrie sighed, feeling the anticipation building. This wasn’t the first time she and her friends had conducted a heist like this, but any time they did it was normally planned heavily and they made sure to go for weaker targets with softer reputations. This one was more advanced than they were used to, but considering what they had all been through since Jack had joined them, she was still confident they could handle it.

“By the way,” Alora continued casually as Jack noted what was once an entrance to the Shaskasaki district that had been long sealed off. “I have everything I need to conduct the ritual that will sever the magical ties my family has placed on me. I would like to conduct it once we have taken care of business and have the time.”

“Oh…” Jack simply replied, not sure what to say. Ever since Alora had told them she was some kind of royalty of the Eladrie people, and the kind of influence certain family members tried to wield over her, she had not mentioned it, simply acting normal, like nothing had happened. “I know we all agreed that we’d stand with you for that, and we still will, but will you be alright?”

Alora simply chuckled dryly. “I’m fine. I’ve been in exile for a large part of my life and I think they expected me to have died already. Honestly, that may have been the reason for the bond in the first place, though when it activated when we…well you know, it may have just been such a new sensation for them that they reacted out of instinct. They won’t know about you or any of the others or how far I have come, but either way they are still clearly a parasite that needs to be removed from play. I’d just rather not add to our problems until we’ve moved past them, it’s not an immediate concern.”

“If you say so,” Jack reasoned. “What will you do after?”

“Aside from enjoying my newly found freedom?” Alora quipped. “Expect a response from my family, stay in school and try to keep us all alive!”

“I like that last one.” Jack grinned as they walked down a twisting alleyway that echoed with an eerie silence, only punctuated by the occasional noise of a nearby bird or distant gunshots. The streetlights around them were either flickering or completely dark, likely due to power shortages or deliberate shutdowns as a result of the ongoing war. Jack almost regretted not bringing Dante along, as the ‘dog’ was very good at detecting threats, but the others had agreed that it would be better if they sat this one out.

“I don’t think these buildings are going to help us get over the wall,” Alora lamented. “I hope the others found something, I know there were some residences leaned up against it, so I’m holding hope for those.”

“As long as we can get someone up to the wall and we have a rope long enough, we should still be alright,” Jack added. “Might mean I’ll have to pull some of you up though.”

“Hopefully we’ll find something better.” Alora nodded before she called the others. “Hey guys, have you found anything?”

“We found a ladder!” Sephy grinned. “Just abandoned on the grass by a rubbish heap! Nowhere near enough to climb the district wall but it could be useful! We haven’t found anything else too great but there’s a building up ahead near the rear that overlooks the district, so we were going to check it out.”

“Excellent, Jack and I were thinking that the rear of the complex would be the best place to make entry,” Alora told them. “There’s evidence of neglect and mismanagement around the perimeter, so with luck it will be the same once we get inside.”

“We’re gonna want to get a move on getting in as well.” Nika cautioned. “We spotted a group of gangers looking for trouble. They didn’t see us, but I think things might be going down.”

“Yeah, we’ve got boarded-up windows and other defences set up around here as well,” Jack added, noting a balcony that had sandbags piled up to provide better cover. “The locals are expecting something - we’re still tuned in to live updates, right?”

“Yes,” Alora confirmed. “Though Tagrilla has promised to keep an eye on things, I’ve also got Vanya to check the local feeds and call us in an emergency if they report something coming our way.”

“Chiyo’s pointed out that it could work in our favour,” Sephy added. “If this means the guards are at the front and too preoccupied with keeping a mob from breaking in, it means fewer people to worry about anyone already in there.”

“But it could also mean that Shaskasaki calls for reinforcements,” Nika pointed out. “And they’re temporarily aligning themselves with Myrodin against Corvin Enterprises - it’ll be even worse if they show up.”

“Then we make sure we have a good escape route if we need to run,” Jack told them. “But we could always work that out when we get to the top of the wall. Presumably we can just walk along it, right?”

“Depends, they could have defences,” Sephy reminded him. “So we’ll have to see what we’re dealing with when we get up there.”

“Alright, let’s meet up at the back and see if we can climb on one of the buildings,” Alora ordered. “Call out if you see anything, but we can’t see any maintenance hatches that we can use.”

“None here either, it looks like it’s one way in and out, unless they have a Gloom Paths entrance,” Nika confirmed. “I agree that over the wall is the only way to go, there’s a tallish white building Sephy picked up on her drone that looks promising, see you there?”

“On our way!” Alora confirmed, as she and Jack picked up the pace.

“A ladder is a good find!” Jack mentioned to Alora, feeling the need to fill the silence as the anticipation got to him. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would ever be taking part in a robbery like this. On Earth, he would usually hear about how dumb criminals who tried to rob businesses would easily get caught, and he had seen many a YouTube video of them getting trapped in the store, falling through a ceiling or otherwise getting humiliated before either getting arrested or getting shot trying to escape. Videos which he and many others would laugh their asses at.

However, this was no laughing matter. There was no denying that their group was skilled, and he had helped Sephy rob a place before, but robbing confiscated property was far, far different than breaking into a MegaCorp facility and making it out with anything. The stakes were higher, and the security at these places would not hesitate to shoot to kill. They would all have to be careful. Any slip-up could be deadly for them.

“Definitely,” Alora agreed. “There are some portable ladders we’ve used before when we know we’re going to need them, but even the foldable ones are cumbersome to carry around. Unfortunately, we didn’t know we might need one tonight.”

“Yeah, I think we’d all be much more comfortable if we were able to know more information in advance.” Jack sighed. “We assumed that if Tagrilla knew where the fabricators were he’d tell us a lot more than simply ‘go and fetch’. Have your jobs always been like this?”

“Sometimes.” Alora sympathetically patted Jack on the shoulder. “It’s impossible to predict and prepare for everything, but we do the best with what we have. Don’t worry, the anticipation gets to us all, but once we get going for real I think you’ll feel better.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s hard to believe I’m actually starting to get used to this kind of stuff.” Jack shrugged nervously.

“Don’t let Sephy hear you say that!” The Eladrie chuckled. “She’ll probably think you’ll end up enjoying it as much as she does!”

They carried on in silence, keeping an eye out for any local security. At several junctions along the streets, makeshift barricades had been set up - a combination of old furniture, vehicles and debris, with a few even having local militia guarding them, armed with a mix of crude-looking weapons that didn’t look too impressive, but the two of them simply avoided them, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Here and there Jack could see the occasional remnants of a more peaceful past that gave him hope for the deadly, chaotic city. Things like a closed playground, swings swaying gently in the wind and a mural of Astara on a building wall depicting unity and hope, now partially defaced, which he took a few moments to wipe with his sleeve before moving on.

“There they are,” Jack whispered as he spotted the white building up ahead, with three figures well hidden in the shadows that waved them over. Looking up, he could see that the building backed right up to the district wall, and more importantly, that there was some kind of external staircase, like a fire escape, that led right up to the building rooftop.

“Looks like this is our best option.” Nika grinned, pointing up and voicing the obvious. “We ready to get this underway?”

“Let’s go up and take a quick break first,” Alora decided. “Eat, drink, whatever you need to do. Once we start climbing the wall it’s game time.”

Jack, could you please carry the ladder? Chiyo asked. It’s much heavier than it looks!

“No problem!” Jack chuckled as he picked the hefty thing up and began following the others up the stairs. “Who the hell just leaves a ladder lying about? You said it was a rubbish tip, right?”

“Yeah, maybe a worker had to abandon it or something, you’d be surprised!” Nika snorted with amusement. “And no Sephy, we’re not taking the ladder back with us.”

“Awww,” Sephy jokingly complained.

“But, if we can take it with us and use it for the heist we will,” Alora noted with a playful smirk at the Skritta. “Just don’t get too attached.”

Eventually making it to the top of the stairs, the group made it to the roof of the building that matched the weathered appearance of the rest of the sorry-looking residential district, with random debris from years of neglect, though several discarded beer bottles and a random garden chair suggested that this place did see some use by the locals as a hangout spot before factions within the city decided to go to war. Quickly taking the chance to rest, they snacked and drank water as needed, before stretching their muscles and preparing themselves for the heist.

“Alright, are we all good?” Nika asked, looking around at the others who all nodded, eager to get this over with. “First, let’s see how high we can get with the ladder.”

Unfurling the ladder and holding it steady at an angle, Jack was dismayed to see that it did not reach all the way to the top, missing it by several metres.

“Damn,” Alora cursed. “It’s not enough.”

If I climb the ladder, I could levitate the rest of the way, Chiyo told the others. However, I wouldn’t be able to pull you up.

“Maybe you don’t have to,” Jack slowly replied, expression becoming more confident as an idea formed in his mind. “Could you carry some rope with you?”

I could. I’m not very good with knots but I could try, and you could climb it?

“That’s not what I was thinking.” Jack grinned. “If I tie a knot to the top of the ladder and you carry it with you when you float to the top of the wall, you could wrap it around something sturdy and throw it down. If the ladder is made to be vertical by pulling the rope to support it rather than at an angle we gain some height-”

“And if you pull the ladder up some more we can more easily climb up!” Nika exclaimed, realising Jack’s plan. “Assuming it can be held in place securely! Let’s do it!”

“Last person might have a harder time getting up if we want to recover the ladder and rope,” Sephy pointed out. “I’m lighter, so I could do it.”

“I’ll work something out.” Jack shrugged, more confident now that he was in his element as he unclipped the climbing rope attached to his belt and checked the length, relieved to see that it was more than long enough for what he had planned. Silently thanking ‘Skip’, his Scout Leader, for patiently drilling him through knot practice as he tested the ladder to make sure it wasn’t going to break apart, Jack tied a bowline knot around the top of the ladder, making the loop secure as he made sure it wouldn’t come undone under pressure. Handing Chiyo the rest of the rope, he lifted the ladder up against the wall at the steepest angle he could as the Ilithii ascended, while he held the ladder steady and tried his best to be subtle in appreciating the Psion’s bottom as she shakily made her way to the top, eventually floating up and onto the wall.

Okay, I can loop this around one of the ramparts, Chiyo confirmed, before throwing the slack down.

“Alright, now if I pull the ladder vertically we can see what we’re working with.” Jack told the others as Sephy brought the garden chair over to stand on. He looped the rope through several rungs of the ladder to try and keep it taut as Nika stepped up.

“Alright, I’d better test it next.” The Kizun grinned at him. “If it’s alright, then help Alora up.”

Nika then grinned as she used the chair to springboard herself onto Jack’s shoulders, playfully ticking his face with her tail before jumping up and grabbing the ladder, easily scaling the wall and joining Chiyo at the top. Alora soon followed as Jack boosted her up, trying not to be too shaken as the slender Eladrie’s touch brushed him as delicately as possible, though Sephy still rolled her eyes at him.

“You’d better go next if you can,” the Skritta told him. “Even if you drop the ladder I can climb the rope.”

“Alright.” Jack nodded as he took a shaky runup, leaping and grabbing the ladder, which groaned hard under the strain. Not wanting to stick around and find out if it would be a problem, Jack ascended the ladder as quickly as he could, getting to the top and getting a hand on the rampart as he heard the girls straining as they held the rope.

By the gods how are you so heavy? Chiyo panted as the three girls at the top relaxed their hold of the rope to recover from holding the weight of the human, despite wrapping the rope around a rampart for support.

“It’s a Deathworlder thing.” Jack shrugged, not being a scientist, as Sephy quickly clambered up, and Jack delicately pulled the rope and ladder up behind them, careful not to make any noise, before turning around and seeing what they would be dealing with…

“Well, this is probably gonna suck,” the human finally sighed.

The most dominating sight from their elevated vantage atop the wall was the sea of crates and containers below, arranged in rows around the central building, a sprawling expanse that looked like a modern-day labyrinth. They varied in size from small wooden boxes to massive metal containers, while the various markings and colours on them hinted at the diverse contents within. Many of these were stacked on top of each other, forming towering columns that cast long, dark shadows under the gleam of the blinking overhead lights. This illumination varied greatly, creating pockets of well-lit areas amidst the gloomy darkness. The group quickly pointed out the slowly rotating surveillance cameras that were mounted on tall poles to oversee the maze, though their quality was suspect.

It’s larger than expected, Chiyo noted. And it’s not even packed to capacity.

“It’s large and dense, but that can work to our advantage. We should be able to sneak in close to where we need to be,” Sephy pointed out.

“Let’s not get complacent, it’s not like this place is abandoned,” Nika noted, pointing with her finger. “Let’s observe for a bit.”

Sure enough, scattered around the vast landscape were workers on the job. Even from this distance, their bright blue hi-viz jackets gleamed, almost like fireflies in the night, and though they moved with a sense of purpose in marking and loading the containers, they lacked any urgency despite Shaskasaki wanting to move key assets, indicative of a wage-slave working a routine graveyard shift. Jack could see some operating various logistics vehicles near the front that resembled forklifts in function, loading up a lorry with various pallets of equipment, while a foreman could be heard yelling orders while checking their dataslate for details, clearly micromanaging their sullen-looking team.

Alora pointed out what looked like a guard who was making the rounds, who kept a hand on their pistol, walking around with a torch but looking relatively at ease for the moment. It was likely that they were checking in with the front gate or someone else monitoring external activity for any news, but for now there was nothing that gave them cause for concern. Despite this, the sparse number of employees operating around the rest of the building was minimal, reinforcing their belief that the complex was running with a skeleton crew.

At the centre of the district stood a colossal warehouse structure, with several sets of enormous sliding doors on the ground floor that were partially open, presumably to allow for more transports to be parked and stocked. Occasionally a worker could be seen entering or exiting, which granted the group a fleeting glimpse of the interior, which looked to be rows upon rows of shelves for smaller items, and an intricate conveyor system. At the top of the building, however, was a wide hatch that was partially open, with clear space to expand further. Clearly this was to allow for flying transports or drones to be able to traverse without disturbing the ground traffic. However, adjacent to the central warehouse and dotted along the perimeter of the district were several unassuming smaller structures; several were presumably refuelling stations for the vehicles, others were less clear in their purpose.

So what is our plan? Chiyo asked the others after several minutes of observation.

“I’m guessing our first step is that we’re going to need to get access to the inventory system somehow and use it to work out where the fabricators are?” Jack asked.

“That will massively narrow down the search,” Alora agreed. “However, we still need to find out where the system is and how we can access it.”

“I can’t risk bringing the drone in close until I get a better idea of what security measures they have,” Sephy told them. “I hate to say it, but we’ll need to sneak around on foot, maybe start going through a few of the outer buildings and see if we can find a terminal.”

The back buildings beneath us are the best place to start then, Chiyo reasoned. I’ve not seen anyone come in or out of them, and with luck they’ll have something we can use.

“Sounds good,” Nika agreed as she looked at the nods of everybody around them, happy with the plan. “We’re probably gonna need a spotter to guide us and keep us out of trouble until we gain access to the cameras. Alora, you’re probably the best pick for that, then once we have cameras and access to the system we can reconvene here where it’s safe and see if we can find what we’re looking for.”

“We can use the ladder to climb down onto one of the stacks of crates, as long as we’re quiet and it won’t be seen by the guards,” Jack pointed out. “Though before we go I’m going to tie the rope a bit better so we have our escape route ready. Abseiling down the wall is much easier than climbing up, after all.”

“Agreed, I’ll take ropeburn over gunshots any day.” Alora smirked. “Alright, let’s do this!”

“There’s a good place for the ladder.” Jack pointed a few minutes later, as the group snuck along the top of the wall, looking for an ideal place to climb down. It was a staggered set of large containers stacked on top of each other that looked easy enough to descend, with a particularly tall stack perfectly placed in the way of any idle gazes from the workers, that also cast a deep enough shadow. Though if they had to run, they had marked the spot they climbed up the wall with chalk so they wouldn’t miss it while being chased.

“Alright, I’ll stay up here and try to follow you from the walls,” Alora whispered after casting a few blessings. “Our commlink network is secure, right Sephy?”

“Yep, it’s the bare minimum for burners.” The Skritta shrugged. “Low-vocal, not sub-vocal, but should be within range and I’ve slaved them all to mine which is hidden as well as I can. I’ll be able to tell if there’s a problem and send a subtle warning in that case.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Nika nodded as she tugged on a second climbing rope to check that it was secure. “It’s currently clear, so I’ll go first.”

“Good luck!” Alora whispered to them as they descended, wrapping the rope around the route they were taking down to make sure they could get up again.

Alright, the closest building is back towards our left, Chiyo told them. Let’s see what’s there.

As Jack, Nika, Sephy and Chiyo crept along the outer wall, they kept silent, staying hyper-alert for anything to appear in the darkness. The metal containers did little to put them at ease, as even the softest of noises echoed unpredictably in the still air. The distant hum of machinery, the occasional shout of a worker, or the beep of a reversing forklift kept them focused as they moved, quickly reaching their intended destination without anything happening.

No cameras and no lifesigns, Chiyo informed them, as Jack moved up to check the door, finding it stiff but openable, realising that it had probably been locked as it gave way with a muffled noise. They all stayed there in silence for a few moments to confirm nothing was amiss, before quickly entering the structure.

“Shitty lock,” Nika noted. “I doubt picking it would have gone any better.”

“This looks like some kind of janitor’s office,” Jack told them as they softly closed the door behind them, leaving it slightly ajar. “And that nobody’s been home for some time.”

The already small shack felt even more cramped due to the amount of clutter that had been allowed to accumulate on the floor. The walls, once painted the Shaskasaki shade of neon blue, showed signs of water damage, with patches of paint peeling away to reveal the crumbling grey plaster underneath. Flicking the lightswitch didn’t work either, so Chiyo did something with her power to create a warm, blue glow that was just enough to be able to make things out.

Most of the clutter was various cleaning supplies, many of which looked to have leaked or spilt over time, which explained the unpleasant smell. A battered desk sat against the wall with a thin layer of dust with several papers, next to a crumpled filing cabinet and nothing else, save for a dilapidated broom that stood propped up against the wall.

“Check the drawers,” Sephy told them. “Janitors may be looked down on, but often they know more about their work’s layout than anyone else. A map of the facility or notes about maintenance hatches are always useful.”

“Shame they don’t have a terminal.” Nika shrugged. “But if we can find something to go on I’m all for it. Jack, could you check the pockets of those old overalls there?”

Jack did so, quickly rummaging through the pockets, quickly checking and discarding a few crumpled up store receipts, candy bar wrappers and a pen, dried out from long lack of use with chew marks along the cap. The name tag for whoever this belonged to was long worn out, with the janitor’s name, picture and employee code barely legible. Finding nothing else useful, Jack checked a small notebook in the breast pocket, but only found mostly illegible scribbles, a few notes about which sectors to clean, and a few doodles of alien penises.

“Got nothing.” He reported. “I think whoever worked here is long gone.”

I have a calendar here, Chiyo reported, reaching up to touch it for a closer look. Hasn’t been updated in a while…oh! There’s something else, I think this might be some kind of map!

The paper that Chiyo showed them was a slightly yellowed, dog-eared folded-up sheet that appeared to have been torn from an office notepad. At first glance it appeared cluttered and illegible, with a bunch of annotations, scribbles and yet more drawn penises of dubious artistic design, but all of them recognised the crude circle signifying the complex, with the square within closer to the top of the circle signifying the main building. All across the page with various lines and arrows were numerous notes in a mess of unusual symbols and shorthand that made little to no sense to any of them. However, on inspecting it further, Jack could make out various splotches that almost looked like landmarks to him, possibly signifying the smaller buildings around them, but just as likely stains from spilled cleaning products.

“I mean…it’s something.” Sephy shrugged. “This star symbol shows up a lot, so once we get some context we can know what it means.”

We’ve got a few question marks too, Chiyo added. Perhaps more sections that don’t see much traffic?

“We shouldn’t rely on this too much,” Nika warned. “It’s out of date, but it gives us something.”

“What about anywhere that could have a terminal for Sephy to use?” Jack asked, reminding them of their gameplan.

This symbol here could indicate a power station, Chiyo began indicating on the map. Assuming we’re here, it’s not too far away. If there’s not a terminal here we might be able to find out where there is one from there.

“Hey, Alora?” Nika called the Eladrie over the comm. “We found an old janitor map that might indicate a power room of some kind somewhere back towards our right along the wall. Have you got eyes on it?”

“One moment,” Alora called back. “I have eyes on something, but it’s not a building - it looks more like an electrical panel up against the wall. I do have some cables moving across the walls, but it’s difficult to keep track of them, especially with the containers. If it’s not up against the wall it’s probably underneath the asphalt, makes sense to keep it out of the way.”

“Can you see any buildings nearby that might have any exposed cabling?” Jack asked. “Or any air-conditioning or something like that?”

“Nothing obvious.” Alora sighed. “I will say that I think most of the cabling moves further to the right along the wall. Logically that might indicate that there’s more draw from there, but whether that’s used by the nearby buildings or if it snakes around to power the security huts closer to the front isn’t something I’m able to determine. I can see that the first building to the right of the panel may have people in it since it’s got lights on, but the next one likely doesn’t.

“Logically there’s gonna be power from other spots, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other electrical panels like that one closer to the front of the complex as a redundancy,” Sephy reasoned, encouraged by Chiyo who quickly found and pointed at more symbols closer to the front of the map. “We can check out the other buildings, maybe get a better angle on what’s going on in the building with people, but I’d say it’s more likely they have power.”

“So looks like we’re gonna backtrack your way then carry on to the panel,” Nika confirmed. Anything of interest to the left of the panel?”

“One building, smaller than the one you’re in,” Alora informed them. “No sign of activity, could be a maintenance shed or something like that.”

“We’ll check it out, thanks Alora.” The Kizun grinned. “Any change in activity?”

“None, same as before,” the Eladrie confirmed. “I’ll let you know if anything changes. I can’t see any patrols near you either, so you’re good to backtrack.”

“Alright, let’s do that,” Nika ordered. “There’s nothing more for us here.”