Chapter 56: Two Paths (1)


    The tform was empty. The control station, made of stone, with two wooden stools behind it, was empty.


    The only thing to apany the Xerxes and the soldiers of Unit One was silence. Neither sound nor even a slight breeze could be detected.


    Where is everybody? Xerxes said.


    Good question, Stratos said. Raising his voice, he said, Clear thending area then fan out. Unit Twoes through in two minutes. Check the corridor but dont go too far.


    Under normal circumstances, thending tform of a Gateway was manned by at least five people. Two people were responsible for operating the passageway itself, and there were three guards, one overseeing the tform and two at the door. That was just in the immediate vicinity. Other personnel upied other positions within theplex. Where was everyone?


    Xerxes had been through many Gateways, and though there was a variety in terms of things like theyout, interior decoration, uniforms of the staff, one thing was a constant; there were always people present.


    Not here, though.


    As the soldiers of Unit One spread out, Xerxes walked over to the control station.


    Something like a table of stone had a wooden contraption atop it with a host of dials, levers, and buttons. The entire thing was aplex spell formation, and it looked exactly like the one hed studied back on Sin-Amuhhu.


    He immediately checked the switch that controlled the receiving connections. It was flipped to the receive option, which was expected considering the staff on the Humusi end had forced the connection. He looked at some of the other switches and dials, wondering if the receive option had been toggled off to allow for outgoing tunnels to Jehannemids lower starisles.


    He saw no evidence of that. All the control options seemed to be in their default state. It was as if the connection switch had been flipped, but nothing else.


    Looking away from the controls, he examined the surroundings. The stools the operators would sit on had been pushed slightly away from the table.


    There was nothing to indicate why the ce had been abandoned.


    He saw no blood. No hint that there had been any sort of struggle or other dramatic events.


    Corridors empty, said Vadamerca, who had stepped out of the tunnel entrance tform.


    Noted, said Stratos. He looked at Xerxes. First Lieutenant, why dont you stay in ere? Well start looking through theplex.


    Sure.


    Unit One, ave weapons out and shields up. Lets clear the area.


    As they filtered out of the tform area, Xerxes looked more closely at the area, hoping to find any clue that would give a hint about the situation. Nothing jumped out.


    Unit Two arrived shortly thereafter, with Kashtiliash and his assigned Sergeant, a man named Arda.


    Whats going on? Kashtiliash said as soon as he saw Xerxes alone behind the control station.


    Were trying to figure that out. The ce seems abandoned. Sergeant Stratos and Unit One are out there looking around.


    Unit Two, lets go join them, Arda said.


    Kashtiliash joined Xerxes.


    Over the course of the next hour, the rest of the Units arrived. Then the pack animals and carts. By the time Gandash came through, they had secured theplex and confirmed that the entire ce was abandoned.


    Gandash didnt look happy when he found out about the situation. First Lieutenants,e with me, he said.


    They followed Gandash through the Gatewayplex until they found a small conference room with a round table in the middle. As soon as he was inside, Gandash produced a leather map tube. Unbuttoning the top, he pulled out a roll of maps and began flipping through them.


    Meanwhile, olive-skinned Kishar was thest in. After she closed the door, Gandash put one of the maps on the table and said, Tell me what we know.


    Since Xerxes had arrived first, he said, The ce is abandoned. The stables empty. They locked everything up, but it seems obvious they left in a hurry. The controls for the Gateway were in the default setting, except for the connection switch, which was set to the lock option. There are some tracks going down the mountain that look like theyre a few days old. Other than that we dont know much.


    Gandash looked at the map, which depicted the mountainous region that the Gatewayplex was in, as well as the surrounding area. The next local holiday is months away, so that couldnt be the exnation. Right, First Lieutenant Jad?


    Jad nodded. Right.


    Can you think of any other exnation for why they might have abandoned this ce?


    Not really.


    Gandash tapped the map. Theres no evidence of an attack, whether by human forces or Abhorrent. The nearest city other than the capital is he traced his finger along the map here to the northeast. Too far to be relevant.


    Captain, Jad said, the word sounding a bit awkward on his tongue, theres a watchtower attached to this Gatewayplex.


    Gandash looked up. Youre right. I forgot about that.


    I remember hearing people say you can see the capital from here. If thats true, the watchtower would be the best view.


    Gandash smiled. Good thinking, Jad. You and Sergeant Vasilios go up there and see what you can see.


    For the next few minutes, Gandash asked the opinions of the First Lieutenants. Xerxes felt strange interacting with his friend in this capacity, but he did everything possible to make it professional.


    In the end, there was very little information to go on yet.


    Despite the strange circumstances, Gandash said, theres not much we can do other than proceed with the operation.


    Dasi, fingering one of her many piercings, asked, Should we send a message back?


    Gandash scratched his ck eye softly. No. To be honest, this isnt entirely beyond what I expected. Looking around the table, he said, We came because of local unrest. Although we dont know the exact reason why the facility was abandoned, we do know that the situation on Jehannemid is unstable.


    The door opened and Jad returned.


    Something happened, he said.