Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete]

32. Hunters

Only few knew that the facility, which consisted of numerous bunker-like structures connected via extensive underground tunnels, had once been a high security prison. The barracks were somewhat reminiscent of this fact to this day, although the cells had been refurbished into small, single-bed rooms and given proper doors.

Astraphos made a good prison planet. Due to its low gravity, long term prisoners would get weaker and weaker as their muscles degenerated. Thanks to the atmosphere, which was not acutely toxic but contained only low levels of oxygen, everybody who didn't use an oxygen mask would live in a constant state of exhaustion. Intense thunder storms raging in the upper layers of the thin atmosphere made it extremely hard for space ships to approach anywhere else except through the three dedicated and constantly surveilled entry points, created by ring-shaped orbital stations that acted like atmospheric Faraday cages and allowed safe passage.

But with time, and due to the harsh environmental conditions on Astraphos, the prison had become run-down and derelict. It had been repurposed to a research lab with a secure storage facility at first, but the operation had quickly run out of money. The building had been left deserted for decades, until, during the early days of the Purge, there had been a desperate need for low-tech infrastructure that could quickly be adapted to run without any use of augment technology. So the old facility had been turned into a base of operations for the branch of the military that was tasked with the capture and retrieval of augments – a special force that soon became known under the name of "Orion's Reach".

As Meyer wandered along the winding underground tunnel that connected the barracks to the main building of the facility, he thought about the history of the building. The sound of his footsteps resounded from the black floor panels, under which an artificial gravity system had been installed during the repurposing. The only other sound was the quiet hum of the ventilation system that now maintained healthy oxygen levels within the facility. Eight years after the original Purge, everything still looked new and shiny – they were well funded to this day.

Still, as he walked through the hallway now, he couldn't shake the feeling that the history of these walls was suffocating him. The facility was a prison, even after all these years. Hard to get in, and harder to get out.

And for him, the only way out now was his death.

The assembly hall might have been a big cafeteria or common room in the past. It was a large room that could easily hold three hundred people, seated in narrow rows. This was where he would normally sit to listen to Major General Yaremova's lengthy sermons. Normally, he'd squeeze into one of the back rows, with Riviera and Dalton, the only two people in his life he would have felt somewhat comfortable calling his friends. His gaze met Riviera's as he passed by, and for a moment, he could see something like concern or worry in the look she gave him. He wished that he could tell her that he wasn't scared of dying, that he wasn't worried about what was waiting for him. He was worried for them.

He made his way straight to the stage at the far end, feeling everybody's eyes on him as he walked. Yaremova was early, as usual, and scrutinized him as he walked up. Six foot two tall, with short white blonde hair that she wore combed back against her head, pale skin, and striking blue eyes that seemed to pierce through everything she looked at, she was quite an intimidating sight. Her uniform only added to that effect, making her shoulders look broader than they actually were. But today, he felt strangely unfazed by her glare as he sat down in the front row, where he would wait to be called up on the stage.

The muffled chatter died the second the Major General sat foot on the stage and faced the crowd, letting her gaze wander over their heads slowly as if she was looking for somebody or something specific. Then she began to speak, her voice filling the room easily.