Dead Air

8.3.5 SW
20:11/21 SW CP Local Time
Crowning Point

As Saygin flew back out towards the reactor he was growing progressively more concerned by the radio silence and the poor visibility due to the weather. He decided he'd try once more as he was approaching the reactor complex. "Sargent, this is Saygin. On my way back. Where am I landing?"

...nothing...

"...shit." Saygin muttered as every other vulgar curse he knew flew through his mind.

He decided to point the VTOL toward the previous LZ near the drain pipe and hoped to find Sargent and the rest of the small team huddled under an awning with rained-out radios.

"If anyone's listenin', this is Saygin comin' in for approach to the Reactor complex."

As he rounded the southeast corner of the reactor he saw a faint red glimmer near the original LZ. As he closed in he realized it was a signal flare! A sign of life! Saygin began to feel a little hope, and considered that the team had just sought shelter from the weather inside the drain.

He found a large clearing on the inside of the security fence to make his landing. The rain was pouring now and his vertical sensors were still damaged due to the acid that had made its way through to the engines and computer systems. He was luckily it spared the manual piloting controls. Regardless of the lack of flight assistance, Saygin was a master pilot and was able to secure landing without incident or injury.

His radio crackled for a second, but there was no voice.

'I don't like this at all...' Saygin thought as he climbed out of the VTOL, reflexively patting his sidearm to make sure it was there. Once out he looked slowly around the clearing illuminated by the inconsistent light of the signal flare. He saw nothing immediately concerning, but he was concerned because he saw nothing.

The presence of the signal flare at the pipe's opening told him the team had moved inside as planned, searching for the missing security teams. He had no idea how densely shielded these pipes were, but it seemed unlikely the shielding would be sufficient to completely block their radio transmissions already. This meant either the piped dropped rapidly into the ground, or something had happened to Sargent's team. Neither seemed particularly great to deal with, and he liked the idea of entering the pipe alone even less, but he didn't really have a choice so in he went. Saygin opted to draw his NSG23 as he entered the pipe.

Saygin clicked on the light attached to the barrel of his NSG and entered the pipe. Once he passed out of range of the signal flare light, He saw a faint green glow up ahead and recognized it as coming from a glowstick. Good, he was going in the right direction...

Rounding the corner at a T intersection, Saygin could see that the area to the left only went on about 10 feet, a grate along the ceiling drained water into the tunnel, he was sure the team would have gone to the right instead which extended another 15 yards before turning left.

There was no other visible indication of the team’s direction. Saygin thought it wise to check out the grate for signs of acid damage of the type he'd seen the creatures be capable of. The drainage grate seemed wholly untouched by any such damage other than a bit of rust and the presence of mold or algae from moisture and passage of time.

Feeling some relief at the lack of damage, Saygin turned and headed in the more likely direction of travel. He moved slowly, as quietly as he could, and paid close attention to his surroundings. He swung his light in a wide arc around the tunnel and looked for any signs of his team.

There was still no sign of his team until after he turned left at the west end of the drainage tunnel. The tunnel continued southward into darkness for another 30 meters where he swore he could see the green light of another glow stick coming from a likely interesting tunnel on the left.

The air inside the tunnels began to smell of something foul like sulfur. As Saygin approached the glow, he confirmed it was another glowstick submerged in a slow shallow stream of water. The ambient drone of large, muffled machinery grew louder. He was likely close to the generators and ventilation system. The way forward was a pitch black further continuation into the drainage system, but the way to the left went up a short flight of stairs and continued down a hallway to a door the was illuminated a slight red from the dim light above it.