"We can speed an hour or so in here and wait it out. If we stick together and don't talk too much to the other scientists, we may get away with our cover remaining intact."
"I doubt the scientists are quick to rat someone in. Sure their work is top secret, but if all of the scientists are like Amie, they're unlikely to know what HoN Co. are ultimately trying to do. They probably know small parts, but it would make sense why they're kept in distinct cells rather than an entire lab. It's easier to keep them together and block the information they may find immoral and prevent them from piecing things together. Who knows what they're doing in the One and Two labs, but it must be linked for them to be together and be allowed to mix."
Opening the doors to the cafeteria, we were met with a few scientists seated at a few tables scattered around. It looked like we were going to find it easier to hide out in here than we thought! It was night so they had either retired for the day, or were busy setting something up to run overnight. The few that were dotted around were all flicking through books or looking at something on their PDA's, deeply engrossed in the content, and barely touching the food they had decided to take. Following suit, we headed to the counter so it looked a little more convincing that we weren't trying to hide.
"What'll be chaps?"
"Erm... Three cups of coffee and... Erm, what do you guys want?"
"The lasagne...?"
"Three plates of lasagne please!"
The eager kitchen attendant quickly dished up three plates with generous helpings of lasagne, and by the time we sat down with our plates and mugs of coffee, I was practically drooling! It had been quite a few hours since our last meal, and considering the circumstances, it wasn't anything particularly substantial either. Taking a sip of the coffee, I welcomed the sweet-bitter combination greatly, necking nearly a quarter of it before the heat got to my throat and I came up for air.
"It could be worse(!)"
To make it look a little more convincing that we were part of the team, UOPETA took the PDA out and flicked across to the map screen, where it currently displayed the five towers, the main base, and five red lines joining them. Using the legend in the corner, UOPETA tapped the screen a few times, increasing the magnification, and placed markers on the two towers we had visited.
"If SERVERE managed to get to the others before they entered the first tower, then hopefully they'll be aware of what they're up against and how many Eyes are left to find. However we can't guarantee that; the first tower is close to the main HQ and the tunnel isn't likely to be that long either. However, given the time we know they left, they should either be in or close to the first one now. If the Eye is in there, then they should be back here very quickly, provided they don't have too much trouble with the Ghast."
"Or the pigmen..."
As we continued to talk amongst ourselves, we made our way through our plates of lasagne, enjoying every mouthful. It was going to be a while before we ate this well again! We had better make the most of it. UOPETA quickly put the PDA away, and looking up to see why, we saw a scientist walking towards us. He came and sat right beside me, with his fingers interlaced, and spread at arms length over the table.
"I know who you are... You're Lone 7, aren't you?"
The shock of that question must have been a little more severe than we had imagined, as he reacted smugly to our expressions.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, you're not guards and your certainly not scientists, and from what I can tell there's no other need for anyone else here."
"That doesn't make us Lone 7..."
"Well, okay, fine. I saw you enter the base a few hours back dressed as guards. I then saw you dressed as scientists watching over myself and my assistant, before leaving again. Scientists and guards are two roles that are never shared between one individual. You don't look or act like guards, and your behaviour doesn't suggest you're scientists either, new or otherwise. Don't worry, I'm not going to rat you in or anything..."
"How can we trust you? You're working with HoN Co.! That's enough to make us suspicious."
"Please, if I wanted to rat you in I would have done so when I saw you at the entrance. Instead I've been watching you, and studying your movements. I see you found one of the Eyes?"
"How did you...?"
"The PDA. It's got a tracking device inside, they all do. It wasn't hard to find out the ID of yours and track it's movement within the HQ. How do you like our experiments!"
"They're abominations! They belong in the Nether and not here!"
"I agree with you..."
"Exactl... Wait, what?"
"I agree with you... We're playing God! Admittedly we've been accused of doing that for years by the press, but it's only recently I realised that it's not a good thing. Certainly not in this way anyway."
"So you don't approve of what HoN Co. is doing?"
"I don't approve of that or of what I'm doing either. But there's little I can do about it. I signed up because I was told I'd be at the forefront of scientific and technological marvels. We're certainly there alright, but they never mention anything about the butchering and abuse of organic life we'd have to go through either. I don't even know why we're doing this!"
"Do you want to know...? We found out over a number of years, but we know why each of the HoN Co. science cells are doing the experiments they're doing."
"Trying to amass an army of strange creatures, I'd say."
"Worse than that..."
We spent quite a while filling the scientist in about what we knew of HoN Co. and their attempts to activate the master portal. We went through the conducting tower, the lab, all of the portals that had sprung up, and the experiments with dimensions and other creatures. The entire time he sat there listening, no emotion crossing his face at all, nodding every now and then. When we finished, he sat there, leaning back in the chair.
"I knew there was a reason I thought HoN Co. were evil... Are you sure about all of this?"
"We spent the better part of a year trying to destroy an entire array of portals that they erected to prevent them from activating the master portal. If they succeed, you can say goodbye to life as we know it on this planet. All for their bid to monopolise the energy industry. If they succeed, they think they'll be the pioneers of new, innovative energy sources, and become top dog. We think otherwise. We KNOW otherwise. Activating that portal will only lead to death and destruction."
"So why don't they know this? They've got some of the most brilliant minds working with them, I'd have thought they would have searched a bit more into this..."
"Either they do know and don't care, blanketing the entire thing in lies and propaganda, or they miscalculated. Greatly miscalculated. They don't seem to understand the purpose of the portals, and therefore they've only magnified the problem. They think they can use the master portal as a giant gateway to veritable bounties of new and plentiful energy."
"Let's hope you succeed in this plan of yours then... I'd hate to be under the banner with everyone else if they succeed. I think I may be able to help you however. Not drastically, but even out the odds a little. Come with me."
Leaving some of our lasagne behind, we followed the scientist from the cafeteria and back to one of the labs we had visited earlier.
"Oh, by the way. The name's Jeff."
Syeonyx signing off
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