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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4925197" data-attributes="member: 143">Session 2 (April 21, 2008)Chapter 5The interior of the APC stank. Or more accurately, Catalina thought, we stink.  They hadn’t been offered the opportunity to shower or change their clothes at the staging base, which had continued to come apart around them following the training exercise.  All that Sergeant Smith had told them was that they’d have a chance to rest and get cleaned up once they made it to the new base. Of course, there was no telling when that would happen.  They’d been in the vehicle for at least two hours already, the ride just as jouncy as their original trip to the staging base.  Most of them looked as miserable as she felt, although the Russian was slumped back in his seat, and appeared to be snoring.  By the time that the vehicle rolled to a stop, she thought that she would have traded her pension for five minutes in a hot shower.  Vasily woke without having to be prodded, and he was the first to the door when the latches popped.  The five of them—James Allen had come with them—disembarked onto a barren expanse of rocks and sand.  It was about an hour before dawn, and all that they could see was a line of vague shadows that might have been mountains far to the northeast.  “Over here,” Jane said. They followed her around the vehicle, where they could see a squat metallic structure half-buried in the ground.  It didn’t look like much, maybe twelve feet by twenty.  A dark slit appeared to be a staircase or ramp that led down into the interior.  A man emerged from that opening, clad in a pale khaki uniform and body armor, his face shielded by a visor that extended across the opening in the front of his helmet.  “Hey, rookies,” he said.  “They’re expecting you.  Go on inside, the lift mechanism’s set for manual activation.”“There better be answer inside,” Vasily growled.  Catalina looked at him; apparently the Russian was becoming grumpy.  “It would indeed be nice,” she said in agreement. “This getting stupid,” he said, heading toward the opening the soldier had emerged from.  The others followed.  Behind them, the guard spoke quietly into his throat mike.  “Security authorization, roger.  The newbies are here.”The building’s interior contained nothing save for an open-sided lift in the center of the space, its corners marked by steel shafts that extended up to the roof.  There was a control panel that rose on a strut at one corner of the lift.  The five of them stepped onto the platform, and James pressed the lower of the two buttons.  The lift activated, descending into a shaft that took them down into the earth.  It took them a good two minutes to reach the bottom.  There was a metallic grate there blocking the exit, which drew up into the ceiling as the lift settled.  “Couple of hundred feet,” Jane noted.  Catalina nodded, she was glad that the others were paying attention. The man who was waiting for them behind the grate was dressed in a uniform similar to the one worn by the guard above.  He was older, probably pushing fifty, and had a weathered look that bespoke experience hard earned.  “Welcome,” he said in greeting.  “I’m Mark Hallorand, Base Chief.”The five made their introductions, although it was pretty obvious that Hallorand knew who they were.  “I know you’ve come a long way, and I imagine that you’re a bit tuckered out from your trip.  So I’ll show you the barracks, give you a chance to get some rest, a shower.”“Thanks, that would be appreciated,” James said.  Catalina thought it was the answer to a prayer, but she kept an eye on the others.  Buzz was looking around, his bright eyes taking in everything, while Vasily still looked like his features had been carved out of solid rock.Hallorand led them into a hallway that connected to the lift room.  There were a pair of armed guards there, who gave the newcomers a thorough looking over as they passed.  “When you’re ready, I’ll arrange for a little tour of this facility,” Hallorand was saying.  “I’ve gotten word that Director Garret is going to have a briefing for you tonight, but plenty of time before then.”  He turned at a steel door.  “I know you probably have a lot of questions, but I’m sure the briefing will answer them.  I’d just like to say, welcome aboard.”“Thanks,” Jane said.  Hallorand pressed the control panel to the right of the door, and the heavy steel slab slid open.  “I can say that we’re all pretty new to this,” he told them, leading them into the brightly lit room beyond.  “This base has only been operational for a few weeks.”  The five recruits blinked as they looked around the room, which had been decorated to function as a nicely apportioned lounge.  Several deep padded chairs flanked two doors to their left, while to the right there were two large round tables surrounded by more chairs, a couch, and of all things, a small piano, which looked rather out of place.  The far side of the room had another door and a long counter, which supported a few cabinets, a microwave, and a soda dispenser.  A portable stereo system had been set up on the end of the counter.  “This is our rec room,” Hallorand explained.  “Over here on the left are the briefing room, and the communications center.  I’ll show you the commissary after you’ve rested.  If you want a snack, there’s a variety of instant meals near the micro.”  Catalina felt her stomach grumble at the reminder that she hadn’t eaten since the flight—how long ago had that been?  But she stifled her complaining stomach and followed Hallorand to the far door. That one opened like the first, and led onto another long hallway with doors on both sides.  She recognized the universal symbols on the doors to the left, the familiar white-stenciled outlines of a man and a woman, but Hallorand opened the first one on the right.  “This is your barracks.  New quarters for Alpha Team.  That’s you lot.”  Catalina took a look.  The quarters were spartan at best, with tiered bunk beds running down the long, narrow room in a row on one side, with plain metal lockers opposite.  There was a poster stuck on the wall, depicting a very scantily clad blonde woman posing at an improbable angle. “Shared?” Catalina asked. “Sure, why not?” Jane said.  “If the guys aren’t embarrassed by bras and stuff.”Catalina smiled.  “Well.  At the very least, we will need a fireman calendar to balance… that.”“But you said the showers work, right?” Buzz interjected.  “Yes,” Hallorand responded.  “Men’s and women’s restrooms, with showers, are just across the hall.  And there are privacy screens that pull out, divide this room into smaller compartments.  Unfortunately we just don’t have the space for individual quarters at this point, things are even more packed for the base crew and technicians, believe me.”“I just hope no one snores!” Buzz exclaimed.“I’ll try to keep it down,” Catalina replied dryly.  She headed to the far end of the room, and stopped at a locker that had her name on it.  “Hmm.  Well, isn’t this… basic,” she said, pulling out a plain coverall uniform.  “Ah, our luggage!” she said, digging deeper into the locker.   “Your personal possessions were forwarded here.  We’ll get you fitted out more properly once you get settled in,” Hallorand said.  “Remember that this entire base was empty just two weeks ago.”  He checked his watch.  “I have to attend to a few things, I’ll come back for you around noon, for that tour.  You may hear a few unusual noises, nothing to be alarmed about.  We’re still building out parts of the base.”The chief paused at the door.  “Grace Thelon, our engineer, will be by with IDs and communicators by the time you’ve rested.  Until you get the IDs, best not to wander around too much.  Go ahead and use the lounge, if you want.”“Any computers around?” Buzz asked. “There’s a few laptops in the rec room, but local access only, I’m afraid.  No hookups to the Internet. I’ll see you all at noon.”Once he had left, and the door had swung shut, Vasily shook his head.  “If anyone have idea what this about, please tell.”  He was obviously tired, his accent thickening until the others could barely decode it. “James?” Jane asked.  “You were here before we were.”“Only for a day,” he replied.  “There is some threat, something related to the reports of aliens in the press.  Other than that, I know about as much as you do.”“Don’t look at me,” Catalina said, “they refused to brief me properly.  ‘Necessary to keep an open mind,’ I was told.”James looked thoughtful.  “Well, either there actually are aliens, or… something stranger yet.”  He shrugged.  “I’m guessing we’ll find out soon enough.”“Well, all I know is that I need a shower,” Catalina said, taking her toiletries bag out of her locker.  “Excuse me, gents,” she said with a smile, heading for the facilities.</blockquote>

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