Table of contents
Chapter 1 - A Chance Encounter
Chapter 2 - Perfidious Dark
Chapter 3 - The Welcome Wagon
Chapter 4 - Sleep the dream of the apples
Chapter 5 - The Archive
Chapter 6 - GCHQ


“Dr Lang, this is a reminder to take your medication.” Demeter, the block’s AI concierge, announced. Freyr, who had been staring absently at a news cycle projected onto the wall opposite the sofa, rubbed her puffy, tear streaked cheeks. “I’ve told you before Demeter, I don't need a reminder.” The lights in her flat increased in brightness slightly, and one of the roller blinds began sliding up to let light through the window. It was cloudy and rainy outside; Freyr wondered what day it was. “I’m sorry Dr Lang. But I'm under instructions from Babylon Social Care Advisory to watch out for you as best I can.” Demeter did manage to sound regretful, but Freyr couldn’t tell if that tone was just something it’d learned.

Sighing deeply, Freyr gradually moved into a sitting position, wiping the tears from her eyes with a sleeve. Her normally pristine living area was littered with takeaway food containers, get well soon gifts from work, discarded clothes and empty bottles of wine. Cold, grey light shone across an exercise bike and a dining table with four chairs. Freyr’s eyes strayed to the entry hall, where a pistol hung in its holster from one of the coat hooks. Ostensibly, she had bought it after the incident, for protection. But deep down Freyr knew that it was a cowardly part of her looking for a way out. Freyr also knew that David would’ve wanted her to carry on, for all three of them. For some reason, this was clearer today than on many days previously.

So Freyr hauled herself from the seat, rushed to the bathroom and took both of the pills waiting for her by the sink before she got any second thoughts. “Thank you, Dr Lang.” Demeter soothed. “Is there anything else i can do for you?” Freyr walked through to the kitchen area and poured a cup of water before answering. “Are there any messages for me?” She’d stopped checking them herself some time ago, instead opting to have Demeter screen them first. He’d figured out which would cause distress, and could either hold onto them or reconfigure them into something more palatable.

“Yes. There is one message from Dr Karos Childermass, fifty one minutes ago. He asked if you were available to meet at your earliest convenience.” Freyr’s stomach dropped and her heart began racing. She let go of her cup and it bounced off the floor, spilling water all over her feet. She staggered to her sofa and collapsed down. After a few moments, the words began flooding out. “W-why didn’t you tell me fifty one minutes ago? What did he say it’s about? Has there been a development in the case?” She heard the whir of the kitchen’s floorboards tilting to drain away the sudden excess water.

“I elected to wait until you had taken your medication; It should be taking effect in a few seconds. Dr Childermass did not say in his message what the visit was about, so i’m afraid i don’t have that information.” Freyr leant her face against her clenched fist and rocked slowly back and forth on the sofa while she thought about what it could mean. The head of her department hadn’t been in contact since just after the incident.

“Call him for me please, Demeter.” Freyr finally spoke.
“I don’t believe that is wise. Your emotional state is still very-”
“Call him!” Freyr shouted. There was a pregnant pause before she heard a soft dial tone ringing in her head. Karos Childermass picked up almost immediately.
“Freyr, how are you?”
“Karos, what’s happened? Has there been a development with the case?”
“I uhh...I think it’s best if we talk in person. Are you at home?”
“Yes I am. How long will you be?”
“I’m close - twenty minutes?”
“Ok, see you then.”
“See you.” Karos ended the call and Freyr went to pick up the cup she’d dropped, almost completely numb.

For Vreta’Sori, there was frustratingly little to do at the moment. He was laid back on the couch his his hotel room, his feet hanging off the armrest, while he occasionally reached over and grabbed a handful of…mostly passable chips from a bowl on the table beside him. He had made something of a mess by this point with the crumbs he dropped, which might have been considered uncouth behavior for what was meant to be a high-class hotel. However, even an expensive hotel on this planet felt lacking compared to what he was accustomed to back on Rothia. It lacked as many luxuries, and the computer that managed his room was much less sophisticated. It felt like he had to give every single instruction himself, whereas back home, a Rothian computer would learn the majority of his preferences in a matter of hours. It felt like it had taken that long for this room’s computer just to learn the correct room temperature. Being cold-blooded, he preferred the air to be at a temperature that a Human would consider a bit toasty.

In any case, Vreta had integrated himself well into life on Outremer. He had been able to tell just by speaking with them that the executives at Zuraxi’Synkuur were nervous about cooperating with the Rahn’Masser on this operation, but so far, he had frankly been quite a boon to their company. Even though being their representative was his cover, he had still managed to secure them a lucrative deal with a local, Human corporation to sell them “export approved” Rothian processors for use in their consumer electronics. It had taken a few days of negotiation, but it was nothing unfamiliar to Vreta. Other species always tried to negotiate for higher end technology that the Rothian government would not approve for export, but he just had to be patient and not give in to their bluffs.

Vreta might have done well for the company he was representing, but his own mission still had a long ways to go. By his association with the Human corporation, he did at least have limited access to the Cradle, but he was not likely to learn anything substantial from that alone. If he could, the local government would hardly grant the privilege to anyone. He had at least managed to plant sniffer programs in a few different networks, searching for anything particularly interesting relevant to the Cradle. He had already received five different false positives this week, but there was at least some potential for a breakthrough.

---

Vreta awoke suddenly, having been jolted into consciousness by a priority alert through his neural implant. He had not intended to fall asleep, so he was not sure how long his nap had lasted, but as soon as he came to, he noticed a notification in the periphery of his vision. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and let out a yawn before directing the alert to open with a simple thought. He was being notified of discoveries by his sniffer programs, but unlike the false positives earlier this week, there were dozens of them.

The lethargy that had overtaken Vreta for most of the day was quick to disappear. Half of the programs he had uploaded were now sending him alerts; he could not imagine this being a false positive. He practically ran across his apartment into his bedroom and grabbed a fairly large, robust metal case from underneath his bed and held the scanner up to his eye to unlock it. For important representatives of major corporations, there was nothing unusual about locking away sensitive materials in a protective case, though it was perhaps uncommon for that case to deliver a massive electric current that would destroy its contents should it be opened improperly. Biometrics were not always terribly secure, but a lock that used an artificial eye as a key could be made exceptionally safe. Namely, it would only open if Vreta was alive, awake, alert, and willing.

Among other, more mundane materials relating to his cover, there was a small data pad which Vreta grabbed as he took a seat on the edge of his bed. The alerts that Vreta had received through his implants were non-descriptive and masked as personal messages. The actual data from his sniffer programs was sent to this device, which was made specifically to be exceptionally difficult to trace. The program on the device highlighted what it identified as the most important information, but Vreta still spent twenty minutes going through it all.

Overall, there was no doubt in Vreta’s mind that this was the opportunity that he had been waiting for. Something had happened in the Cradle, though nothing his programs had intercepted quit told the full story. There was some sort of disruption in a recent expansion in the Cradle, and it was major. Enough that the Outremer government was getting involved. Communications had been secretly cut off between that section of the Cradle and the outside world and a cover story was already being formulated. Evidently, even the Humans did not know what was happening, as experts were being called in for the purpose of investigation. But, what was most important for Vreta was the fact that the section was not currently being locked down from access. Clearly, they were trying to keep this under wraps, and an outright lockdown would be guaranteed to bring the public’s attention straight to it. This was an area he did have access to, so for now, he had an opening to investigate this himself without breaking any of the Humans’ laws. Though, this was still something he would have to approach carefully.

From the data pad, Vreta sent the command for his sniffer programs to erase themselves. It would be irritating to have to plant them again if this turned out to be nothing, but he needed to be cautious. His programs were exceptionally sophisticated by Human standards and were highly unlikely to be discovered, but even so, he did not want anything out there which could serve as evidence of his…misbehavior if something did go wrong. To that end, he also wiped the data pad before locking it back up.

Reaching over to the other side of his bed, Vreta grabbed his belt and searched through one of the pouches until he found a small container holding a clear liquid, which he promptly drank. It would help ensure he had plenty of energy for whatever might be ahead. He put on the belt as well, though as he would be entering the Cradle, he did not expect he would need it. Still, it never hurt to be prepared. His hotel had complementary Cradle entry gear available on nearly every floor, so he would not need to go far.

Freyr spent the next ten minutes clearing up mess strewn around her apartment. Demeter silently opened the rest of the blinds, letting in views of Boycott Park and rain pattering against the window. Freyr could also smell perfumed air being pumped in to replace the stale odor of her living area. Once the debris was stuffed out of sight, Freyr quickly changed into warm, casual trousers and a jumper before sitting nervously on the sofa.

Either she had been permanently let go from the department, or they had an update on her family. Those were only two reasons Freyr could think of for Karos to personally visit. The horrific events of that day threatened to consume her every time she closed her eyes. She could see it even now; her husband and child being carried away by those…things. Freyr forced back the tears as Demeter announced. “Excuse me, Dr Lang. Dr Childermass is in the lobby. Shall i send him up?” Freyr sniffled loudly and nodded.

A minute later, there was a knock at the door. Demeter opened it and Freyr’s boss walked in; she stood up to greet him. Karos was exactly as she remembered. The stocky frame, the longish grey hair and stubble, even the same old fashioned clothes. He smiled broadly when he saw Freyr, and they hugged for a long moment.

“I’m sorry i never stopped by in person, Freyr, work has been nonstop and I-”
“It’s ok, i understand. You’re here now. What’s happened?” Karos hesitated, smiling awkwardly. “How about we sit down first, hmm?” Freyr nodded, quickly sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed. Karos perched on the edge of a small armchair which sat at a right angle to the sofa. He took a few agonising moments to collect his thoughts before speaking, as was usual for him.

“I’m sorry Freyr, but i don’t have a direct update on David and Amy’s whereabouts.” Freyr exhaled deeply, blinking a few times to compose herself. Karos went on “What i’m here to tell you is that there’s been a disturbing incident in the Cradle. About forty hours ago, four suspected members of the Skinners Guild.” “Wait…” Freyr blurted out “You mean those anti-Cradle terrorists? How did they get in?” Karos spread his hands. “We don’t know yet. Somehow, they got access codes that allowed them to enter one of the new corporate developments near the Border.”

This was not the direction Freyr thought they’d be taking with this conversation. “Sorry Karos, i’m confused now. What does this have to do with me?” Her boss took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “They were all taken by those creatures from beyond the Border, just like your family. It was caught on camera this time. Just before, the Skinners looked to be interfacing with the Border, just like you were when...” He tailed off, running his hands through his hair. “I really didn’t want to involve you like this, but things are bad in the Cradle Frey. I need your help. If we don’t get this under control...we could lose the whole thing. Will you come back to the Cradle with me, check the tapes, and tell me if anything sticks out?” It was now that Karos’ facade slipped. Freyr noticed the huge black bags under his eyes, and the yellowy skin tone of someone relying on advanced stimulants.

Freyr didn’t hesitate. She knew that any chance of finding her family was worth it, even if she risked opening old wounds before they’d healed. If this new abduction held any clues to their whereabouts, she had to know.

“Let's do it. Right now, let's enter from my apartment.” Freyr pleaded. Karos pursed his lips, nodded slowly. “Okay. Are you sure?” Freyr nodded strenuously. Karos pulled a secure datapad from his pocket and flicked a line of data through the air towards her. It hovered in front of her eyes; a long string of numbers, letters and symbols. The periphery of Freyr’s vision flashed as her Cradle quick access module absorbed the new code. “That’s it. Your access is renewed. Let’s do this.”

Vreta received little notice from the other residents or staff of the hotel on his way to the entry gear. At least, no more than usual. Non-humans were not an entirely strange sight on Outremer, but it was still a very Human world, overall. The presence of the Cradle and its meaning for their civilization meant that they were considerably more cautious about outsiders than other Human colonies. From what Vreta knew, even other Human factions were not guaranteed to be entirely welcome. Still, Vreta’s cover story represented trade, money, and where there was money to be made, there would always be exceptions.

Upon reaching the room, Vreta was immediately greeted by a staff member: a young Human woman in a white, formal uniform with black trim. For hotel guests, many of whom were visitors to the planet, Cradle access was naturally a supervised affair. Though, to her credit, Vreta did not notice any difference in how she looked at and spoke to a giant reptilian compared to any of the other guests he had seen the employees with.

“Hello, sir. If you are looking for Cradle access, just give me your access pass and I will get you set right up.” She said right away with a smile.

For approved offworlders, Cradle access was given by a pass keyed to their identity. “Of course. Here you are.” Vreta said as he handed her a small card from one of the pouches on his belt, which she slotted into a datapad. She used the device to scan him and confirm his identity, which only took a few seconds.

The woman led Vreta over to an empty Cradle access point, which was built into a chair that he assumed would be rather comfortable…for a Human. For him, it was too small for his height, and he had nowhere convenient to put his tail. Regardless, none of that would matter once he was in the Cradle. It would just make him mildly sore afterwards.

Once the woman put the access pass in the machine, Vreta was given a list of destinations in the Cradle he was approved to access. For him, it was a rather short list, but the one that mattered was among them. It was a recent expansion by a corporation that he had been doing business with, though Vreta was not sure what he would find once he was there. He just needed to be ready for anything.

The transition took only moments. It was like falling, briefly. Vreta felt like he wanted to gasp for air, but his body no longer obeyed him. Within seconds, though, he had a new…and admittedly far inferior version of his body to command. He looked virtually the same on the outside, but the software the Humans used to access the Cradle could not properly account for his many enhancements. It meant he had to be even more cautious than usual, but he was not one who felt that he relied upon them.

The entry point Vreta had appeared in was a small room, currently devoid of other guests. He tugged briefly on the neckline of the jumpsuit the program manifested for him. It did at least fit him, but he found it to be more of an irritant than anything, especially when it rubbed his scales the wrong way.

They both got comfortable in their respective seats. Freyr laid her head back against the top of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she activated her quick access module. "Taking us in." She heard Karos calling in the distance. Pins and needles spread through her arms and legs. Freyr involuntarily arched her back and gasped out loud, unused to the procedure after so long away. After a few moments, all physical signals faded away. When she finally opened her eyes she was inside the Cradle.

They stood in a transit station Freyr didn’t recognise - it must have been built recently for this new development. It appeared as a spacious, square, high ceilinged lobby with a large metal receptionist’s desk and some comfy seats for furniture. Two walls featured works of art, the other two sides were composed entirely of windows and doors to the outside. She heard the doors behind her swoosh open and sharp footsteps approaching. She turned to find a young CraSec officer in full battle dress, save the helmet, striding toward them. He cradled an assault rifle in his arms.

“Doctors Childermass and Lang? I’m Lieutenant Rowe. Come with me please.” They followed him out of the see-through sliding doors he’d just emerged from, out into the open.

As was always the case with the Cradle, it was dark outside. The only natural light came from the faintly glowing network of purple arteries embedded in the sky above and the Border off to their right, which Freyr noted was worryingly close by. She’d spent many hours staring at those arteries, looking for clues as to their purpose.

The land (as far as it could be called that) immediately surrounding the transit station was so far untouched, leaving an ocean of blackness between them and a glittering oasis of light some way off in the distance. That, Freyr assumed, was the new corporate development Karos had been talking about.

Just outside the exit, three more CraSec soldiers waited by an enclosed buggy. They snapped smartly to attention as they approached. “Four guards? Is this strictly necessary?” Freyr asked. “It’s for own your protection, Doctor.” Rowe replied, motioning for her and Karos to get into the backseats before he and his second hopped in the front. The two other grunts hitched onto the outside of the buggy on either side of Freyr and Karos using the running boards.

As soon as the buggy purred into life, bright floodlights blinked on all around the transit station. Rows of similar buggies sat together nearby, along with numerous crates and terraforming equipment. The whole place seemed deserted apart from them. Freyr could see the station was in fact situated on a roundabout, with one wide metal road stretching out directly in front of them. It wound through the undulating landscape, all the way to the corporate development a few miles away. They set off down that road at high speed, before they’d even had a chance to fasten their seatbelts.

“As I mentioned, Freyr, conditions have changed substantially inside the Cradle since you’ve been gone.” Karos began once they were strapped in. “Our department’s budget has been expanded, as has that of our friends at CraSec here.”

“Our ranks have doubled in the last three months.” Rowe offered helpfully, his head constantly swiveling to watch the darkness either side of the road. Karos nodded. “So have our objectives. The emphasis has changed from reverse engineering Cradle tech to strengthening our terraforming infrastructure and developing systems to combat any further...threat...from beyond the Border. A lot of the team are finding it a tough transition, which is why I desperately need your experienced hand on this.” Freyr stared at him. “It sounds like we’re preparing for war Karos. A war we can’t possibly win.” Karos looked grave. “Perhaps you’re right.” He looked away, across the darkness toward the Border. “I’m hoping it’ll make sense once you see the video.”

Fortunately for Vreta, his entry location was not currently occupied. He was prepared to try and lie his way through any encounter if needed, but until he knew what precisely was going on in this place, he would prefer to remain hidden. He cracked open the door and peered out into the hall, cautiously. A few sniffs of the air and he caught a scent: a Human. His olfactory implants might not have been functional, but the natural sense of smell for a Rothian was still sharp. The scent was coming from the right, so Vreta moved left down the hall until he could find a door to slip outside.

Vreta had not been to this particular district before, but at least on first impressions, there was nothing remarkably different from any other section of the Cradle. Though, Vreta did admit to finding the Cradle, as a whole, to be an unsettling place. The violet lights in the otherwise dark skies bore little resemblance to any natural environment, and the complete blackness beyond any of the creations of the Humans was even more alien. It was an “unnatural” place by any definition. Although, it was not the idea of a virtual environment itself that unsettled Vreta. His feelings stemmed from the fact that the Humans did not completely understand this technology they now commanded. It was not their creation, and based on its sophistication, the species that had created the Cradle was peer even to the Rothians, at least. They were “terraforming” a world they did not understand to their own ends, even though they did not truly know why it was originally created. Vreta absolutely supported the idea of studying and learning from the Cradle, but he would never have entertained the idea of using it so recklessly before it was fully understood.

In any case, Vreta did have more present and immediate concerns right in front of him. Looking around outside the building, it seemed this district was something like an industrial park: plenty of similar-looking buildings and warehouses arranged in an organized grid pattern. Based on what he knew of the corporation that owned it, he expected it might have been a testing ground for new products and technologies, though he could not be sure. He quickly dipped into one of the nearby alleys to try and stick to the shadows, out of sight. He intended to move cautiously and see if he could spot any people and watch what they were doing.

The rest of the journey to the compound was uneventful. Freyr could feel palpable tension in the soldiers; several times it appeared Lieutenant Rowe spotted something, as he quickly looked into the sight of his assault weapon. Each time, after a few moments he slowly lowered it and exchanged looks with the driver. Within ten minutes of driving at very fast speeds, they approached the compound gates. Two more CraSec soldiers there motioned for them to stop, scanned the vehicle and then waved them through.

This new corporate development was a grid of ugly, cavernous testing sheds at one end, and a small assortment of basic office buildings at the other. Freyr had seen various corporate enclaves like this appearing since the rules on private sector Cradle investment were relaxed a decade ago. It had made their work at the government R&D department more difficult, as these places were often situated where the Cradle’s energy was most accessible. A phenomena that her team were trying to recreate, which often meant negotiating access to restricted areas.

They drove to the front of the most aesthetically pleasing of the office buildings and parked. An assortment of CraSec and civilian buildings were already there, as well as a full squadron of security personnel. They stood at attention while being debriefed by a senior officer Freyr didn’t recognise. She had never seen so many soldiers in one place during her time in the Cradle. Before she’d been put on leave, it was rare to see more than two of them at once outside of a barracks.

As they got out of their buggy, the squadron saluted and began dispersing towards the warehouse grid. The senior officer looked their way. “Let me do the talking.” Karos whispered urgently to Freyr as the woman walked over. “Welcome back, Doctor. Who is this?” she asked. “Good morning, Major! This is Dr Lang, my second. I’m hoping her unique perspective will help with the investigation.” Karos replied cheerfully. “Freyr, this is Major Osman, she’s overseeing this operation.” Freyr shook Major Osman’s hand. “I’m glad to hear it. At this point we need all the help we can get.” Osman smiled grimly. “It happened on the top floor of this building - follow me.”

Osman took them briskly into the lobby of the building and up in the lift to the fifth floor. When the lift doors opened, a hive of activity greeted them. The atrium had been repurposed as a command centre, with civilian investigators hunched consoles and other equipment arrayed on trestle tables. Through a large arch in front of them, was a large open space full of office equipment. Near the middle, Freyr could see some of the tables had been overturned and a large portion of the window had been smashed in clear signs of a struggle.

“Would you get Dr Lang set up with the video footage please?” Osman tapped one of the operators on the shoulder. He quickly punched up the start of a recording and vacated his chair for Freyr to sit down. Osman and Karos crowded round her to see the screen as well. Taking a deep breath, Freyr hit ‘Play’.

While Vreta had limited information on the event going into the Cradle, it did not take long wandering to find the location of the disturbance. All he had to do was tail one person walking along the sidewalk and he was led right to it. He stuck to the shadows in an alley, but even from a distance, he could see the flurry of activity surrounding a specific building. It looked to be an office, rather than a warehouse like many of the other structures, and was about five or six stories tall. There were people, especially soldiers, all around it. There were guards, barricades blocking off sections of the street, and plenty of other compelling reasons as to why Vreta was definitely not going to get inside. He did see other civilians in jumpsuits much like his heading in and out of the front door, and usually, bluffing his way into restricted areas was a fairly reliable option for him. However, in this case, he felt that he was a bit too tall, and a bit too scaly to blend in among the exclusively-Human civilians moving around in the area.

Lacking the option to blend in plain sight, Vreta instead looked around for other options. There was too much activity for him to see much on ground level from his angle, but looking a bit higher, there was some obvious damage to the building itself. On the top floor, there were many broken windows that drew his eye, though his attention was soon drawn to some even more curious observations. While less obvious than busted windows, there was also some noticeable damage to the outside of the building. His first thought was that someone might have tried to shoot up the place from the outside, but if that was the case, there would probably be damage to the windows on more than just the top floor. Not to mention, the marks on the exterior did not look quite like they came from weapon fire. Not projectiles, and especially nothing heat-based. He wished he still had his bionic eyes to zoom in on the marks, but from where he was standing, it looked like there were many small, piercing marks. By the way they were arranged, it was almost like something, or many “somethings”, had climbed up the side of the building. This was getting interesting…and stranger by the minute. Whatever was going on, he needed to be cautious.

Approaching the building was not an option, but if something had climbed up, or down, the side of the building, then it would have had to have come from, or gone to, somewhere. That meant there could be evidence of it somewhere outside the perimeter the soldiers had set up: something he could potentially find. Vreta ducked back into the alley and decided to try and move around towards the side and back of the building, steering clear of the perimeter, to see what he could find without being noticed.

The camera covering the incident was located in the same atrium they were in. Freyr looked up and over her shoulder to locate it behind her. The initial view was quite far from the action, but she could zoom and enhance it with little trouble. It was also a bit gloomy, as only the emergency lights were on. The timestamp at the start of the video was the dead of night in Babylon terms, so Freyr guessed everyone had long gone home.

After a few seconds, four dark shapes appeared from the stairway in the corner of the frame. Freyr guessed these were the Skinners. They didn’t look out of place, as they wore the standard issue Cradle newbie jumpsuit, however from the footage they were clearly on edge. The one in front brandished a pistol to ensure the office area was clear before motioning his colleagues forward. Two of the other activists were carrying bulky briefcases, which they laid down on two of the free tables. Once they’d been opened, Freyr paused the video and zoomed in. One of them was a laptop and one of them was clearly some kind of bomb.

“How the fuck did they get a bomb into the Cradle?” Freyr asked. Major Osman shrugged. “We’re looking into it now - they may have had help. Keep going, it gets better.” Freyr hit play again.

One of the activists armed the bomb, another connected their laptop to one of the consoles and then began typing manically. The other two checked out of the windows and generally looked nervous. “What was that?” Freyr asked, pointing to a section of the screen covered by the big side windows. “Just wait.” Karos murmured. One of the guys standing guard seemed to notice it as well, as he stuck his face to the glass and peered in that direction. He turned around, shouted, and the other person rushed over as well. Freyr turned the sound on.

“I didn’t see what it was… i think it’s below us!”
“Ok. We need to wrap this up now!” How long until it's armed and the data is ours?”
“Two minutes.”
“I need five.”
“We don’t have five fucking minutes, we need to get out of here right now.”
“Wait...did you hear that?”
“Yeah - get the scrambler armed and then we’re leaving. I’m gonna check downst-”

A loud crash made Freyr jump in her seat. In the blink of an eye, the activist standing by the window had just disappeared out of it. The man who’d just turned away to go downstairs whirled around, as did the two others on the opposite side of the space. The leader raised his pistol, but clearly hesitated when he saw what came through the window. Freyr leaned in til her face was almost touching the glass, not quite able to grasp what she was seeing.

It had six insectoid legs, shiny black, and a compact, armoured carapace. But quite unlike anything Freyr had seen before, the carapace and abdomen behind that were punctured by at least a dozen violet tendrils. They worked as appendages to heave the creature through the gap and also held the immobile man it’d captured like a limp doll. The thing had a short neck and a face… Freyr’s breath caught the moment she saw it. It was a human male’s face, pale and contrasting with the sheer black of the body and legs. The eyes were bulging and completely black, but she recognised the face nonetheless. Her mouth dropped open and a silent scream shook her body as her eyes filled with tears.

The creature had David’s face.

The rest of the abduction was very brief. Screams rang out on the recording as the leader fired his handgun at the creature. But when another of the things crashed through a window behind him, they were quickly overrun. The creatures held all four of them aloft like broken playthings and scooped up the unarmed briefcase bomb before exiting via the same windows they entered.

But the only thing Freyr saw was her husband’s visage through streams of tears as she howled in anguish at the screen.

Vreta’s investigation was a slow process. The marks on the office building were on multiple sides, so it was difficult to say at a glance exactly where those who made them had come from or gone too. He had to move slowly and carefully enough not to be spotted by the guards, while also keeping an eye on his surroundings for anything notably out of place. Fortunately, whatever damaged the office building did not seem to have the word “subtlety in their vocabulary. As he was circling the perimeter of the building, he noticed a high fence with plenty of marks, scratches, and a bit of damage of its own. Something had scaled it, and likely quickly. Now that he knew where to look, he could see traces of the intruders’ path towards the building, though since he could not follow in that direction, he instead looked to track where they had come from.

Following the path into the neighboring lot, Vreta soon realized there was a lot to track. He could not be sure of the exact size of the group that had scaled the office, but they had been moving in a rather loose group. Quite spread-out. It would take a while to investigate the area around the warehouse, and that was if he did not need to go inside. If he did, he would probably have to just be content with an incomplete search. Still, the soldiers guarding the office had not extended their perimeter to the neighboring lots, so it was possible he could find something before they decided to sweep the area.

“Freyr, i’m so sorry! I never wanted any of this, but now do you see how much we need you?” Karos soothed over Freyr’s howling. He knelt down next to her on the floor as she sobbed into her hands and placed a reassuring arm around her. “What is happening, why is she crying like this?” Osman demanded. “As I suspected, those creatures have the face of Dr Lang’s husband, who was abducted months ago.” Karos replied, looking up at her.

Osman grabbed him by the arm, pulled him back to his feet and moved him away from Freyr. “Are you out of your fucking mind? What kind of sicko brings a grieving woman to identify their husband as the face of a giant insect?” Osman hissed. “That grieving woman is also one of the most brilliant xenobiologists on the planet!” Karos hissed back, pointing to Freyr. “She may be the only person on Outremer who can figure out what’s going on. I had to try!”

“That’s exactly what it is.” Freyr said. Both of them turned to look at her. “What is?” Karos finally asked. “An insect. An ant, to be precise.” Freyr continued. “Human settlers throughout the ages have inadvertently brought them all the way from Earth, hidden in food or raw materials. And when we first entered the Cradle via the underground vault, we brought them into the Cradle.” Freyr got up, an idea tugging at a thread in her mind. She wiped tears from her eyes and rewound the recording to the first few frames where the creature was visible - she hid the face behind the second human man.

“In some of the first records about life in the Cradle, they noted the Cradle responding differently to smaller lifeforms like ants. As they strayed into the uncontrolled zone, it would hijack them, sort of like other well known parasites. Control the body and add extraneous features.” Freyr was searching through a database of scientific reports at this point, seeking to back up her hypothesis. There was something comforting about delving into information from the distant past to distract from the present.

“Here we are.” She said, pulling up pictures from three hundred and forty years previously, in the first years of the Cradle. It showed a common type of ant standing in a petri dish, with tiny purple stems sprouting from its body. “It’s pretty similar to our friends on the video.” Karos remarked. “Exactly.” Freyr confirmed, turning to them. “So, what are you saying, Dr Lang?” Osman asked. “Well, based on the evidence available, i’d say most of the genetic makeup for these creatures didn’t come from inside the Cradle. It may not have the means or the imagination to design it from scratch, so it’s hi-jacking our fauna, making it bigger, adding those appendages and that...face.” She exhaled deeply again.

“This is progress!” Karos beamed. A beam which folded into a guilty grimace in the face of Freyr’s obvious distress. “Listen, Freyr, I am so sorry again to bring you here. But this is exactly the kind of info we can use! I couldn’t tell you about it beforehand, as it would’ve coloured your judgement. I needed to see if you recognised that face without any-” The comm set on the table chirruped, and a voice called from it. “Major, there’s some kind of disturbance in one of these testing sheds, what would you like us to do?” Osman quickly picked up the handset and raised it to her mouth. “Establish a perimeter, we’re-” Suddenly, every light, screen and piece of equipment went dead.

They were plunged into darkness, until Osman’s suit torch clicked on. “Lieutenant, come in!” the Major quickly moved out of the atrium into the main office area to look out of the windows. When she came back, she had drawn her sidearm. “Everything is dark. Follow me.”

Vreta’s explorations had taken him all around the warehouse. There were traces of disturbances everywhere, but for a while, he did not find anything outright interesting. He went all around the outside of the warehouse to see if there was any evidence of someone breaking in to the warehouse itself, but there were no signs of a forced entry. That is, until he went around the side closest to the office.

What did catch Vreta’s attention as he finally moved around closer to the office was a certain scent. It was present around the other marks the intruders had made as well, but this was…stronger. Fresh, even. The scent came from one of the doors to the warehouse near the fence, which was something Vreta supposed was worth investigating. Cautiously.

As he stepped up to the door, Vreta immediately noticed that it had been opened rather forcefully at some point before. The door was warped and its handle broken. It was shut now, but only because a part of the bottom of the door was misshapen and pressing against the door frame. There was no handle to grab, so Vreta put his hand firmly on the door and gave it a strong shove.

“By the Rings!” Vreta could not help but to exclaim. What was inside was far from anything he had expected, and was far from natural.

This industrial warehouse was being used to test cutting edge interplanetary communications systems. The main feature was a tall, complex-looking comms array pointing to the ceiling, with banks of consoles sat around it. A creature very similar to the ones that had kidnapped the Skinners was perched halfway up this array. It’s thin, faintly glowing tendrils were stuck inside various control panels on this machine. It was obviously at full power, because a faint humming reverberated around the warehouse.

When the creature heard Vreta shout, it craned its stubby neck until the pale human face was starting right at him. After a split second, it screamed in an in-human voice that started shrill and ended in a guttural roar. At the same time, all of its tendrils exploded from their anchorages inside the comms array, sending a huge shower of sparks out into the Warehouse. The lights inside flickered and died, leaving a almost-total darkness, punctuated only by the effervescent glow of these appendages, reflecting off it’s glistening face.

It jumped down and skittered across the intervening space, until its face hung in front of Vreta, just out of arm’s reach. It’s tendrils waved gently in the air between them. It’s mouth moved, unsure at first, as though unpracticed. Just a wet ticking sound emerged at first, but gradually hoarse words followed. “Who....are…you?” It edged a little closer.

Vreta only had a few brief moments to take in his surroundings before the whole building went dark. Whatever this…thing was, he felt he could be pretty certain it was related to whatever the Humans were investigating. It was a creature more alien than anything he had seen in the real world. Something that might not even be possible to exist in the real world. But, the Cradle could be a much stranger world than reality.

After the being’s shrill screaming ended, Vreta started to back away. Unfortunately, in the darkness, he had lost his bearings enough that he did not end up heading straight at the door. Rather, he ended up backing into a table in a technician’s workspace. He felt around behind him until his hand found purchase on something metal, with a fair bit of weight, though he kept his hand hidden behind him for the moment.

Even for Vreta, it would be a lie to say he was not afraid, especially as the being drew closer. Its insectoid body, its quick and violent movements, and those teeth…he was not about to assume it had peaceful intentions. It was a surprise to him that the thing was even intelligent. “I guess you could call me a…concerned citizen. Or a concerned visitor, really. Obviously, this isn’t my home planet. I…think there’s some people on the other side of the fence over there that would like to find you. If you’d like to stay hidden, though, I won’t mention you. I’m hiding from them too, actually.”

The office building’s lift was offline, presumably like everything else in the compound, so they all carefully made their way downstairs by the light of Osman’s torch. The Major’s comms set squawked occasionally but for the most part it was unresponsive; there must be some kind of interference nearby.

They found four helmeted soldiers guarding the lobby, assault weapons at the ready. Freyr realised as one of them turned to greet them that it was Major Rowe. “Sitrep, Lieutenant!” Osman barked. “Comms are down sir, I can't make contact with our teams sweeping the compound. They are likely following your last order.” Osman nodded. “Take one of your men and see how we can get the power back on. You, escort these civilians back to the trucks and keep them sa- hey! Where are you going?” Osman called to Freyr as she jogged out of the front doors. Freyr stopped and turned.

“If this disturbance is in any way connected to the abductions, I need to be there.” Osman was impressed by Freyr’s resolve; the teary mess of a few minutes ago had transformed into a grim-faced desperado. She nodded “Copy that, I'm coming with you.” Osman gestured to the last unassigned soldier. “You - with me. Lets go!” Freyr turned and resumed running, with the Major and a CraSec grunt in hot pursuit.

---

The creature tilted its head menacingly to one side as it apparently listened to what Vreta had to say. It revealed rows of long, sharp teeth and made that same fast ticking, cracking sound from its throat. When it replied, it had the voice of a little girl, perhaps nine or ten. “Will you help me find my toys? I miss them so much. I lost them a very very long way away. Hidden and alone...asleep. We-” The creature stopped, looked up slightly and loudly sniffed the air; its teeth gnashed together in its mouth. It looked at Vreta again. “Would you like to meet my parents? I will take you to them.” It shuffled forward slightly on it’s spidery legs, the violet appendages dangling above the Rothian's head.

Vreta soon found himself with little room to move, and the creature hovering over him. He had hoped to be able to back away towards the door, but the being was not really giving him that option. He kept his hand around the metal object behind him, but he did make sure to keep that out of sight. With this thing right in front of his face, he did not want to show any possible aggression until it was necessary.

For just a moment, Vreta thought about what this beast could possibly be. It had a Human face and was talking in a child’s voice, about toys of all things. Was it a creation of the simulation, or even worse, some corruption of a person that had entered it? Either way, he needed to think quickly. The thing spoke as a child, so he could lean on that. “I…think that if we left together, the people in that building over there would find us. If we want to get away, we need to sneak away, quietly, and probably separately. But…these ‘toys’ you were talking about. Tell me about them. Maybe I can help find them?”

Freyr nearly tripped over a low wall between two industrial sheds before stopping to let the two soldiers catch up. When they did, Osman ordered the private to give his chest mounted torch to Freyr, leaving him with just the light at the end of his gun. They carried on running, Osman trying her comms again to no avail. After a couple of minutes, they saw lights flickering in the gloom and headed for them.

They found most of the CraSec search teams covering a warehouse a few plots down from the office buildings. They hunkered down behind a parked corporate buggy while Osman got a sitrep. “There are some really strange noises coming from inside, sir!” The sergeant hissed. True to his word, a mixture of scrapes interrupted the otherwise ominous quiet from inside the shed. “We’re surrounding the place now.” Osman nodded. “If it’s one of the things that abducted the Skinners, we should proceed with extreme caution. Rowe is turning the power back on, and then we’ll call for backup. Box this thing in ti- Freyr! Where are you going!” Freyr was quietly but quickly crossing the distance between the CraSec perimeter and the warehouse. “Fuck! Hold position until I give the signal!” Osman growled before setting off after the scientist.

---

A wet, gravelly crunching replaced the ticking noise in the creature's throat. It's anguished facial expression slipped away to nothing, replaced by a dead stare. When it spoke again, Its voice was no longer that of a little girl, but of something...older. "I remember so little of what I was. But I do remember you. I have seen you, crawling from the ocean to the rocks. How you've grown. I think i have a use for you after all…” The creature’s teeth rattled as it smiled widely and began inching across the intervening space between them.

---

Freyr just knew she needed to face what was inside. If it was one of those creatures, and she could communicate with it, she may learn if David was inside, or whether it had bastardised his features for some other purpose. Who knew what it was doing in this warehouse - it could be digging its way out, in which case waiting for backup would let it get away. She crept over to one of the staff entrances and tried the door; it opened. She slipped inside and turned her torch on but kept her hand firmly clamped over the end to stop it giving her away. She took it off for half a second, and saw she was in a small staff room, with sofas and a kitchenette. There was a door at the opposite end, which she quickly tiptoed over to.

The mesh window of this door didn’t give much away; Freyr could only make out a few faint lights and sparks coming off some kind of machinery. She gave the door an experimental push and it cracked open. Poking her head through, she could hear echoey talking in what sounded like a cavernous space. Her heart was pounding, and her breath came out as ragged gasps. Slowly and with shaking hands, Freyr raised her torch and uncovered her hand in the direction of the talking.

One of the creatures from the video lit up in the torchlight, as did a tall scaled being Freyr didn’t recognise. The creature briefly recoiled from the light before shrieking. It charged forward on it’s spidey legs and almost unbelievably, even to herself, Freyr stepped out from the doorway with her hands up. “I’m just here to talk!” She shouted over the sound of screaming, her torch pointing at the floor in front of her. After a couple of seconds, David’s familiar face appeared from the gloom, barely two metres away. Freyr couldn’t breathe.

Vreta was a claw’s tip away from striking the creature in the head with whatever it was he had grabbed in his hand when it shrieked, though it was quickly apparent that its scream was not directed at him. In fact, the beast rather quickly lost any semblance of interest in him once the Human woman made her presence known.

The words the creature had spoke were just as vague as before. It spoke of knowing him, which was almost certainly not literal, but it was hardly the time for him to introspectively ponder their meaning. He needed to get out. The Human was providing an ample distraction for him, but unfortunately he did not know his way around this warehouse, and he was not about to stumble around blindly in the darkness looking for a way out. The only exit he could see was the one he came in, and both the woman and the creature were between him and it.

Inwardly, Vreta felt that he was about to make perhaps the stupidest choice of his life, but nevertheless, he saw no other option. He needed to at least get closer to the exit. He kept the metal object in his hand, though also kept it hidden behind his back, as he moved forward in the direction of the creature. He remained close to the wall while trying to avoid appearing aggressive. “I’ve been talking with our…friend here too. It mentioned wanting to find its toys, so maybe we should take our leave here and go…look for them? To help our friend here.”

Freyr gulped, looking into the black eyes of the beast. It had stalled just outside of the glow of the torch she had aimed at the floor, and appeared to be waiting for her to do something. Shifting the light ever so slightly upwards, she noticed exposed cartilage between the top of its legs and the thorax, which presented a potential weak spot. She also observed significant scar tissue around the edges of the human face looking straight at her. It was like the face had grown from the insectoid head not long ago, in a not too pleasant transition.

She vaguely registered the scaled alien talking somewhere in the dark. But none of that concerned her right now; the only reason she was face to face with it was to ask one thing: “David?” she ventured. Her voice was wobbly and high pitched. “David, it’s Freyr. Is...is that you?” She took a few steps toward the creature as it tilted its head to one side. “Who...is David?” A wet, crunchy voice replied to her. “He...he’s my husband. Your face reminds me of him.”

After a couple of seconds, the creature laughed. Freyr could hear tools rattling on a shelf nearby. “They’re mine.” It replied. A glow of hope lighted in Freyr's head, mixed with incandescent anger. She rushed forward, until her torch clearly illuminated it’s large ant-like frame. “You let them go!” She screamed. The creature growled, revealing sharp knife-like teeth. It's black eyes bore directly into hers. “I have a better idea.” It squelched. Freyr felt the tendrils grasping the back of her legs a split-second before they pulled her off her feet. The ground rushed up to greet her as she fell over, her outstretched arms taking most of the impact.

Suddenly the warehouse was lit up by energy rounds, with dozens impacting the creature before it reared up on hind legs and screamed. Slithering round onto her back, Freyr spotted Major Osman behind her. In the flashing glare she could see her shouting, but it was drowned out by the deafening ‘drdrdrdrdr’ of her weapon. The creature charged toward the Major, stepping over Freyr but then dragging her behind by her legs.

Everything started happening quickly, especially after the Human started shouting. The monster Vreta had been trying to escape grabbed the woman with its tendrils. It might have been a good distraction for him to slip out unseen, but it was just an instant later that a soldier barged in, with likely more outside. That was a complication that he had no easy answer to, and one that would force his hand more than even this nightmare of a creature before them. With the soldiers knowing he was there, just getting away would not be enough.

“Damn it…” Vreta muttered under his breath. The only choices he saw in front of him seemed rather stupid in his eyes, but he did not have time to hesitate. Just as the Human woman was starting to get dragged away, Vreta leaped into action. He kept low to stay out of the line of fire and grabbed a hold of her leg with his free hand to try and keep her from being dragged away. Then, he smashed the metal object in his other hand, which seemed to be a hand-held cutting torch, against the tendril as hard as he could, crushing it between the torch and the hard floor. Hopefully, this thing actually felt pain enough that it could be “convinced” to let her go.