Eurus and Draia are moving through the bottom of MK-85872 in order to arrive at an upper level to hail for transport by a trusted party. They want to move covertly because the fact of a highly advanced interstellar alien contacting mankind is something to keep under wraps. The area is in complete darkness when they enter which is why Eurus activates the diodes on his suit.. The lower levels are ill lit, the walls are just exposed concrete and the smell is simply putrid. For sure they are not far from decaying carcasses. Draia notices that to which she exclaims:


    “Oh Valos! Can you smell that?” she asks.


    “Yes. Many drug addicts or debtors have perished in these corridors.”


    “Is this normal here?”


    “Sadly, more than one would think.”


    There aren’t any big vestibules or plazas anywhere near them, only chambers filled with death. The walk is slow and careful as they proceed through the structure. As they move to a stairwell, the view of the climb daunts Draia:


    “I’ve climbed mountains gentler than this.”


    “We don’t need to go all the way to the top. Fifty stories or so and I think we should see some signs of civilization. After that I hate to ask, but you need to phase again so that the civilians don’t notice you.”


    They go up for until one of the stairs is shut by a metal blast door about 15 centimeters thick.


    “Interesting,” Eurus says, “This shouldn’t be here either. Stand back.”


    Eurus pushes a few digits on his wristpad. The armor on his leg pops open and yields a metallic stick which has a tiny nozzle wrapped around a crystal on one end and a button on its side. He pushes the button and a beam of contained super-heated plasma protrudes from the end with the crystal. He points it towards the blast door and it starts melting the metal. The metal around the beam pours like water on the floor but Eurus’ armored boots make no protest as they shield his feet from the flowing metal magma. He cuts an opening big enough for the both of them into the door, sheathes his metal cutter and pushes a few more buttons on his wrist pad after which a compartment on his other leg opens, yielding a different device with a nozzle on one end. The device is connected to his suit via a thick wire. When he flicks it on, it starts glowing bright blue as well but it shoots out a super-cooled cloud of crystallized air (it super-cools the atmosphere with moisture in the air itself), with which he sprays the glowing metal dripping off the newly minted threshold. The metal cools down and allows them both to pass through the doorway.


    After they step through the molten doorway, and walk a few stairs up, there stairs run out. They’re not even close to the floor Eurus previously spoke about and levels above it are walled off. However the stairwell has a metal door onto the main area of that floor and Eurus opens it. Previously, this building and also its chambers up to the 50th floor had been a residential area but the sight that opens to the pair is nothing of the sort.


    It seems like a scene out of a vampiric horror movie. There’s dry blood and rotting guts everywhere and bits and pieces of people they belonged to and the hallway they’re in is widened and on each side there are cages which have their doors open. The hallway goes on like this for almost as far as the eye can see. Some of the doors have been busted open clearly from the inside. In these cages there are prison combination units which house a sink with a bubbler and a toilet in one device made of stainless steel. They’re mostly intact while some are ajar from the ground as if someone had ripped them from their roots.


    “Interesting,” Eurus says.


    “Wow…” Draia says as well, “So what happened here?”


    Eurus uses the optics in his mask to scan the enormous makeshift prison, but the room is cold. Only the ultraviolet spectrum reveals that a large amount of living matter has been scattered around the space surrounding them but that was detectable with the naked eye as well.


    They keep walking through the area to the other end. Beyond it, lies an abandoned laboratory, also with some remains scattered around it. The equipment has been scrapped and the terminals have been destroyed. When Eurus inspects them, he sees that the storage devices are missing. Supposedly someone was covering their tracks. The cupboards and drawers are ajar and their contents have been moved as well.


    “This is where they tried to recreate Cells, it seems,” Eurus says.


    “Why would they try this?” Draia asks.


    “The production technology for Cells has been lost for centuries. This is purposeful, because even a single Cell can be wielded to potentially topple a government. Their efforts however it seems had some unforeseen consequences.”


    “I see.”


    Eurus was slightly withdrawn and bound in his thoughts at that point. The fact that an organization was researching this was rare but at the same time not unheard of. At the same time it hadn’t been done on such a scale.


    While searching the area, they arrive upon a terminal that hasn’t been damaged nor scuttled by the people responsible for this place.


    “Looks like they missed one,” Eurus says.


    Eurus connects this one to his suit via a wire that’s hanging off its side. The terminal boots up, drawing power from his suit, and the Ultra logo is displayed on the dusty screen. Eurus is now even more contemplative.


    He says to Draia: “The fact that the Martian government is doing this research or at least a part of its intelligence agency is, means it has been sanctioned at least on some level. This comes as grave news because it’s a blatant violation of ACA or the Anti-Cell Act which was passed in 2133 which banned all individuals and organizations from attempting to produce Cells.”


    “Why were you created?” Draia asks.


    “To fight the Machine Revolt,” Eurus responds.


    “But if it’s alive… Does it need to be forbidden still?” she asks.


    “One of the reasons for it was precisely the dangerous nature of this process,” Eurus conitinues, “and the fact that even by then the technology that had been used to create them was obsolete and purposefully destroyed incase it fell into the wrong hands or uncovered yet another horror to spring upon mankind. After the machine uprising there was a degree of wariness towards technologies that had the potential to dethrone humans from their position as the masters of the universe.”


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    After booting up, the terminal prompts Eurus for security clearance but it is passed quickly by the internal protocols of Eurus’ suit built precisely to be used in such situations. The terminal shows copious evidence pointing to the fact that the Martian government is indeed behind this operation, fully sanctioned by the Ultra Commander Olman. They’ve also been capturing Dynamos and digging up corpses of centuries-dead Cells to see if they can bridge the gap between the construction methodologies of these two types of super soldiers. So far though, the attempts have been futile and the scientists working there haven’t even come close. Finally, there’s two dossiers on the terminal codenamed “Operation Indigo” and “Operation East-Wind”. However the contents of the files have been corrupted and are unintelligible. Eurus copies the contents of the terminal to the internal memory of his suit.


    “We must move quickly now,” Eurus says. “This activity is punishable by death. It seems like a portion of them already suffered the consequences but this must be brought to light as soon as possible.”


    “What will you do?”


    “I’ll take you to an old friend until I can decide what to do with you. Right now, I’m afraid, that even Cell Tower might not be the safest place if they’re ignoring the Codex outright incase they come looking for you.”


    They move through the rest of the facility, having to melt a few more steel doors analogous to the one before. They reach the vehicle bay which has also been savaged by the beasts so that nothing is salvageable. Despite the damage though, it’s clear that this was an Ultra facility, purposefully moved off premises of the main tower likely because of the sensitive nature of the research being conducted there. Eurus summons his Vulcan 5 and then opens up a communications terminal. The contents of the conversation aren’t heard by Draia only what Eurus says.


    “Yes, yes, hello,” he says, “there’s been a severe development.”


    …


    “No, I can’t disclose the details at this time.”


    …


    “I need you all to handle a sensitive package for me. You must operate at extreme discretion and take care of it personally. Nobody but you must see it, not your security detail, not your soldiers, not your servants, trusted comrades, family members, not anyone, is that clear?”


    …


    “I am at MK-85872, I’ll be at the exit of its vehicle bay on level 45 and if you pick the package up, you’ll be guarding it with your life. I cannot overstate the significance of it and the danger I’ll be putting you in, but as of now there is no better option.”


    …


    “Alright. Eurus out. Now you. Draia, I trust you to go with one of my closest friends who will give you shelter while I figure out what is going on with the operation that the government was running here. I am beyond certain that it’s connected to you being here. No agency nor leader would take this risk if the potential risk for not taking it weren’t larger. I’ll be gone for 12 hours and I’ll have the culprits tracked down and I’ll have the answers for your requests as well. When I give the signal, you hide and another when you can come out.”


    In a half an hour an armored vehicle arrives at the vehicle bay. To Eurus’ signal, Draia shifts phase and lets light pass right through her, becoming completely invisible. Driving the armored car is none other than Mirra Leone. She’s done herself up like a soldier but still is sporting that irresistible charm even when covered in anti-kinetic armor and tactical boots.


    “Eurus. Hello, darling. I was wondering when I might catch you once again.”


    “Mirra. It’s been a while.”


    “You know I can’t be angry with you, Eurus for not following up with our musings last time. So I amicably reject your unextended apology.”


    “Don’t worry about it. I’m about to show you something and I meant it when I said that this is of the utmost secrecy. If this gets out the ramifications are incalculable.”


    He signals Draia who phase-shifts out of her ethereal form. When Mirra looks at her, Eurus can sense her heartbeat speed up and her blood pressure rise. She is taken aback with what she’s seeing. Even a woman as powerful as her isn’t immune to the shock of seeing another intelligent lifeform originating from outside the Sol System.


    “Eurus… what the fuck is that? No offense.”


    “None taken,” says Draia, “I’m what you consider an alien from the planet Tomorra.”


    “By the gods… Eurus?” Mirra says.


    “Mirra… You, Paskal and Windsor are the only people I dare trust with this,” Eurus says, “You must keep her safe.”


    “What will you do?” Mirra asks.


    “There’s evidence of the Martian Ultra detachment attempting to recreate Cell technology. I’m also certain this isn’t sanctioned and must be investigated further before I can make any decisions about Draia. She’s here because her civilization made contact with the machines that apparently managed to escape Earth before being wiped out. This might be why they’ve been attempting to build Cells as well.”


    “Alright,” says Mirra, “Come with me, Draia. I’ll look after you well enough. What does your kind do for fun?” she asks before the doors close.


    After the car flies off with Draia and Mirra inside, Eurus calls his stat-bike to the vehicle bay. While it’s on its way he makes a comm-connection to Pharao. He doesn’t pick up. Eurus wonders what’s keeping him because he’s usually available. While his stat-bike is pending, he briefly ponders about what he’s just discovered. The Machine Revolt, Ultra and Draia – it all points to larger, unforeseen forces at play.


    When Eurus arrives back at Cell Tower, he quickly goes to its forensics suite. The forensics suite is a laboratory, connected to the Cell supercomputer and fitted with the finest scientific equipment and computation technology available to man. Outside of supercolliders and V-matter generators that room has everything necessary to research any subject in depth. It’s a clean room that’s automatically decontaminated after use. He uploads the data in his suit to one of the room’s computer terminal and activates a program built for descrambling corrupted files. It reassembles the files and first Eurus opens Operation Indigo.


    In that dossier, there are detailed instructions to capture and dissect Kalopsia Chromo. This comes as a surprise to Eurus, because to his knowledge, Kalopsia is just a blue girl built to be a placeholder for offspring of the Chromo family. That, however, is not the case. The dossier speculates that she is a Cell who was left inactive and evaluates her genetic potential as limitless. It also speculates that she could hold the key to creating more Cells as she is hypothetically like soft clay ready to be molded into a super weapon.


    Secondly, he opens Operation East Wind. In there is a text file titled “To Eurus”. It reads:


    “Hello, Eurus,


    If you’re reading this, it seems our paths have finally crossed. I know it might seem like I’m betraying my own kind by my actions but it’s all for the greater good. Cells are an invaluable resource and it cannot be understated, what a waste it is to ban the developing more of you. Especially since the reason why we’re doing this is the same as it was once before: humanity is in great danger and this deficit can no longer be tolerated.


    I’ve left this as a fail-safe in case my true intentions are found out or when the operation fails. We’ve been looking into ways to create more Cells to combat the forces on the fringes of the Greater Sol. Don’t worry however… There’s a part for you to play nonetheless. And fear not, for we shall certainly meet … at the end of the line, either for you or for me.


    Yours,


    DRF”


    “DRF? Frankenstein? Old human story. Apt name he’s chosen,” Eurus thinks to himself, “Own kind? Is this person a Cell himself? Or would they be betraying their own kind meaning humankind?”


    He goes through the other parts of the dossier which outlines all the weaknesses Eurus might have. They describe his fondness for certain people such as Mirra, Windsor, Pharao, his penchant for accepting to help strangers and his at times na?ve nature towards humans. This information is used to formulate a plan to trap and capture Eurus in order to continue the experiments on him.


    Given the information he learned, Eurus realizes that he must contact War Martial Honors to gain access to the black operations history of Ultra. She’s the only one with some kind of oversight over the Cells. While they can operate completely autonomously, it’s good protocol to coordinate delicate matters with the planetary authorities. Since the Machine Revolt is still roaming free and Ultra likely knows this, they may have resorted to desperate measures to gain the upper hand. This in turn means that they’re in violation of imperial laws.