Some distance away from the UAC base in Leipzig, the landscape was dominated by spanning factories, each taking up multiple acres of land. Railways lead directly to each plant, automated cranes unload cargo from the cars. Pipes wrapped around the area and large smokestacks pump steam into the sky. Various zero-g robots drift through the area, moving parts or making repairs. Over the years, the scale of operations had steadily risen with advancements from the aerospace sector. Giant-scale industrial sites like this were becoming more and more common throughout the planet.
Carla and Diane traveled along a sparsely congested highway, the hover-cars glide above the road with seamlessly fitted thrusters. Their vehicle takes an exit and strays into streets flanked by the towering walls of production plants, thick pipes in tight bending formations connected between buildings high above the road. Their vehicle stops at a blocked entrance, Carla sends a signal through her mobile and the gate opens. The passage takes them beneath the surface, they park the hover-car and ride a nearby elevator below.
"I'd rather not have to drag you out here, but if what you've recovered is as serious as it seems, we should bring it to the science team in Jupiter Labs, it's where the teleporter is kept"
"Are you sure they can be trusted?" Diane asks.
"Yes, it's fine. I already know who can't be trusted and I might as well just tell you, Carla answers, the Paranormal Division was looking for you. I was in pretty deep with them but I don't like the idea of turning over one of my friends. They have a pretty complex thing going on behind the scenes" Carla explains as they arrive at a massive security door.
Diane suddenly remembered the foul look the man in the crowd was giving her back at the press conference.
"They want the research, don't they?" Diane asks.
"Mm-hmm" Carla confirms, they don't like it when their activities get exposure" she explains.
Carla shows her corporate ID to the guard, they activate the authorization console and Carla scans the card. A short alarm sounds accompanied by flashing warning lights as the security door began to open, it swings back a thick curved wall of metal, the pair pass the narrow space and proceed inside.
Above the surface, a cargo van approaches the facility's gated entrance, the former humans inside use their host's authorization to open the gate and they drive inside.
In the Jupiter Labs complex of the UAC facility, technicians were making adjustments to the portal's dormant equipment. On the other side of the view screen a group of senior researchers were monitoring in front of the wide touch-screen control station.
"This configuration of the particle beams is operating better than expected. We should add testing routine eight to the operating schedule to see how it functions with those changes." Kasper concludes.
"That is likely going to require a greater plasma density over time. We can work out a fix, but I think we can stretch the control margins in the meantime" Henrick replies.
"That fresh graduate from the institute seems to have the right idea with this technology" Kasper reflects.
"Yeah, hopefully some other interest doesn't come along and carry them away to another project" says Henrick.
The door to the control room opens, Carla and Diane step into the lab and are greeted by the technicians.
"Diane has recovered critical research from Phobos" Carla says.
"This genetic study was inquiring the mutations that affected the teleporter's first test subject" Diane explains.
The senior technicians shared a curious look.
"That's very interesting to hear. There was some rumours circulating about that. We, of course, assumed it was true" Kasper recalls.
"The Paranormal Division was after Diane, and that was likely because she recovered this research, which means its probably one of the division's projects" Carla elaborates.
"Paranormal Division? I've never heard of it" Henrick admits.
"They operate covertly and regularly try to bring consequential science projects and technologies under their control" Carla explains.
"I'm aware of the Paranormal Division. I'm not one of them but it seems our project has had more than one brush with them. My superiors have told me not to talk about them" Kasper admits.
"They've definitely been looking into taking over the portal study from you" Carla states.
"I know, it's lucky we're still heading this project" Kasper replies.
"A member of station security was used as a test subject for the genetic study against his will. Apparently, everything about him was wiped from the database and his memories were altered" Diane continued, the Marine was somehow released from stasis, he rescued me from the Data Storage Vault"
"Hold on. He rescued you from the data vault?" Henrick asks.
"Yes, it was a narrow escape" Diane replies.
"No kidding? Henrick says, looking to Kasper, that really thickens the stew, doesn't it?"
It was like a light bulb above Kasper's head had turned on.
"Oh, right" Kasper confirms.
"After reviewing station logs and surveillance footage, it was theorized that the same marine that made that rescue was the same one that made an undocumented jump through the portal" Henrick explains
"In fact, Henrick turns to face the control station, we've managed to access the alien's home dimension with this system and after sending drones to record footage..." he trails off as he clinically sifted through pictures of the scarred hellish landscapes, Diane was horrified by the sights.
"It reveals evidence of marine corp weaponry being used here"
The researcher zooms in on an image and points to plasma charred rocks, grenade blast residue, cooked aliens and spent energy cell canisters.
"He's trapped in that awful place?" Diane blurts.
"Can you bring him back?" Carla asks.
"I know, it doesn't look good, but it's a major discovery, Kasper explains, theoretically, yes, we can bring him through a portal, but we can't pinpoint his location. However, I think we've worked out which way he's heading, we've already begun sending supply crates to him through the portal"
The former humans got out of their vehicle, proceed to the elevator and had no trouble getting past the security door. As they stray into the facility, a former human stays behind at the security checkpoint with the aim of securing their exit by making the security force on duty host to demonic spirits. The rest proceeded to Sector-D, a restricted storage area holding parts for the portal project established elsewhere in the facility.
They descend a steel staircase into the storage area, one grabs a cart for moving parts and pushes it to a containment unit. Seeing that the designation code matched their records, they open the unit using a pirated security access card. The former humans begin piling the needed components onto the cart and pushed it to another unit and collected some parts from there.
The former human back at the security door had possessed the nearby security and had suddenly collapsed and began convulsing. The former human died, became still and was then transformed into a Dark Priest. It rose up and drifted toward the security office and studied a map of the facility. The Dark Priest chants morbidly, the former security guards around him take no notice.
Having gathered everything they needed, the former humans moved their loaded cart to a nearby cargo elevator, rode it to the main level and began heading back to the security checkpoint. Elsewhere, the chanting of the Dark Priest summons waves of demons deep in the facility. They materialize from flashes of portal energy, scientific personnel were screaming and running for their lives.
The former humans arrive at the check point and proceed to open the giant door, none of the former marines stopping them. They push their cart of looted parts to the elevator and then loaded them into the back of the cargo van. Back inside, the former marines began to stray into the facility. The cargo van drives out the gate and disappears into the traffic.
In the alien dimension, the marine followed the orb of light through a flat, barren terrain of blackened ground. Tall mountains loom in the distance. The orb stayed close to the marine as they moved through the area.
From the corner of his vision, the marine had been seeing phantoms watching him ever since entering the territory. The activity increases the further they travelled. Evil spirits and lost Mortick ghosts roamed around them. He sees the faces of Mortick warriors and intellectuals in his mind.
After walking further, angry, jealous spirits throw black pebbles at the marine which bounce off his armour, he tries to ignore them and presses on.
After a few more minutes of travel, the marine suddenly stops in his tracks. The orb turns back and drifts around and around the marine. An evil spirit had taken control of his mind.
The marine turns away from the guiding orb and wanders away into the barren terrain. He drops his rifle, key and bag of cells, then eventually dropping his helmet to the dusty ground as he walked away. The orb of light zips toward the marine, coming alongside him, it is angrily swiped away by the former human.
The marine grows.
"Leave me alone" he shouts, staggering.
The orb follows and eventually manages to discreetly come from behind and touches the marine's mind. It looks through his memories, gently looking for an emotional link that would serve to bring him back. His memories had been affected by UAC tech, but the orb was able to find most of his past.
It sees memory of the marine patrolling the uniform halls of the Phobos station, others of his messy divorce and all the arguments that preceded it. The orb was getting worried after discovering his unhappy childhood, constantly moving from town to town.
The orb then found a glimmer of positive energy. A childhood pet, his much loved rabbit, Daisy. The orb settles on that memory, allowing it to resurface.
'Daisy'
Her name rang through his head, the memory manifests in his thoughts. The former human comes to a stop.
"Daisy" it says in a demonized voice.
The orb buzzes in front of the former human, then drifts to the ground and takes on the form of his rabbit. The former human looks down at it, confused. The small bunny hops toward the marine, he suddenly remembered.
The Marine's presence came racing back to his body, the evil spirit is cast away by a flood of care and affection for his pet rabbit. He returns to his body, he looks around in confusion and eventually realized what happened to him. His possessed form had strayed him way off track.
The orb leads him back to his dropped equipment, he collects his helmet and bag. It took some time to find the key again, it would have probably been lost forever if the orb were not able to lead him to it. He finds the key and was again going in the right direction. He walked a short distance further when a flash of portal energy attracts his notice, it flared a different colour than the ones sent from Deimos. A supply crate appeared from the dissipating energy. He approaches the crate and lifts the lid, within was a data sheet with a short message.
Greetings, Marine.
We have found traces of your activity in this parallel dimension. We are monitoring you to the best of our abilities from the UAC portal laboratory in Germany.
Scrolling down the data sheet reveals a picture of the project's science team.
He removes a sheet of canvas and finds a pack of water and rations, beside it was a brand new rocket launcher, fresh off the factory floor, along with its munitions and more energy cells. The marine's mind races with all sorts of uses for this new weapon, he happily lifts it from the crate.