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It was a thought that hadn't even crossed her mind.
Commanders and Nikke fought for the Ark. Humanity was the top priority, and the Ark was humanity's last refuge. So it was obvious that Commander Hoopa would care about the Ark.
But.
Taking everything he had done until now. His attitude. His demeanor towards Nikke. And also just his overall personality...
"...He doesn't, does he?" Rapi quietly murmured. "No, he does. But only so much as it provides us resources. But even now..."
The bases that Hoopa deliberately set up along the way. The paved road. The way he was in contact with Raptilion regarding Rapture biology and evolution. The pictures of humanoid Raptures that he had hidden before they could get a closer look at them...
And then the fact that he had told them personally to not obey a commander other than him and Deputy Chief Andersen. And how he had done 'something' to make it so they didn't have to blindly obey...
Suri stood up and let out a thin smile. "It seems like you all don't understand Commander very much, do you? He isn't looking at the Ark as humanity. He isn't even looking at Nikke as humanity. He's looking beyond all of that... and not just at the surface either."
"What do you mean?"
Suri shrugged. "I don't know exactly. But to me, Commander looks like a man with a great ambition for humanity as a whole. Otherwise... well. Why do you think he forgave even someone like me? It isn't so much about people being 'redeemed' so much as 'choosing to not oppose him.' While he definitely cares for people who walk with him, it's in the way that he dares them to betray him rather than trusts they won't."
Rapi was quiet.
Suri finished setting up the perimeter and said, "Anyway... it's just talk. At the end of the day, Commander is Commander." She smiled. "He chose us. So we choose him back, right?"
At the end of the day, it was that simple. Truly, it was.
But...
Rapi sighed. "...We are definitely going to clash with the Ark sooner rather than later, aren't we?"
They were growing too much. And they clearly were no longer dependent on the Ark as well.
Due to Sophia's existence and Commander Hoopa's concerningly broad breadth of knowledge, they were almost entirely self-sufficient at the Outpost.
Solar panels provided electricity and energy. Wind turbines supplemented that.
There were plans to divert a river with a dam and then generate more energy with water mills.
As for food, bioengineering had provided plants and crops. Pens and stables were set up for the moment that they managed to find livestock...
Wait.
Rapi paused. "...Suri."
"Yes?"
"...Don't you think we've already reclaimed a large portion of the surface already with the Outpost?"
"..."
"..."
"...That's... true." Suri paused. "Technically, it's more of a temporary base... but considering how much we've expanded..."
Rapi sighed. "...We'll need to discuss this with the commander when this operation's over."
A full disclosure of the Outpost's status hadn't been sent to the Ark just yet.
But when it was.
IF it was.
Rapi could already see. They'd use it as a rallying point.
But the problem was...
No, the problems were numerous.
Rapi shook her head. "...Later."
Right.
That was a later problem.
For now, they just had to follow the commander.
He wasn't an idiot. And he didn't do things blindly.
Whatever he had planned, they'd see it through.
Together.
===
The factory was huge. And reminded me a LOT of Dead Space.
Resting my hand on my sheathed long sword, I murmured, "We won't get jumpscared, right?"
Not that it would bother me THAT much. But I was fairly sure I might reflexively swing my sword. And that would be, uh. A bad thing if I swung it on a Rapture and then ended up cutting a main support beam or something.
Marian chuckled and said, "It'll be fine, Commander." She smiled and said, "As long as we're together, everything is fine."
"...Yeah. That's true."
I wasn't alone here. And in the worst case scenario, we just blew this joint up.
Though...
I took a closer look around my surroundings.
'It really DOES remind me of Dead Space.'
Even though we walked right through the entrance, everything was dimly lit. We had steel doors, steam pipes, balconies far above along with conveyor lines and hooks...
If I didn't know for sure that we were on the ground, I'd almost believe this was a research facility in space or underground. DEFINITE Bioshock, Dead Space, and that sort of gritty sci-fi horror/horror adjacent vibes.
But more than that...
"It's quiet."
Marian swept her violet eyes across the terrain. "...It is."
I was doing my best to suppress my noise as I moved. All the years of training to be a ninja back in the 2010s after going through a Naruto phase coming in handy, you know?
But anyway, I was practically noiseless as I moved.
And Marian was dressed in just her cloth uniform, so the only sound from her was the faint padding of her footsteps.
So that meant that any sound we heard wasn't ours. But...
Silence.
So quiet that we could hear the faint bickering of Laplace and Drake outside the arms depot.
I gave a hand signal to Marian to be cautious. Then we entered a storage room.
Whether for better or worse, most of the doors looked like they had been forced open. Some were slashed, others looked like they had been blasted apart. But most looked like they had been opened ages ago, corroded at the edges.
...But despite that fact...
"Huh?" I couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when I saw it. "This place... WAS overrun, right?"
Dozens of crates filled with Goddessium... at least from the labels on the crates. More than that, although dusty and faded with time, they were sealed shut.
Marian blinked and cautiously approached a crate, poking it with the butt of her gun. "...Should I open one?"
"You do that. I'll keep a look out." I immediately took the rear, eyeing the surroundings in case it was an ambush.
I'd played too many JRPGs to not recognized a monster box room.
...But at the same time, I wasn't picking up any presences.
Marian gave a swift smack with her gun, breaking the lock on a crate. And when she opened it, the glistening azure hue of Goddessium spilled out into the dimly lit room. "It's... definitely real. And a LOT too. Probably... three hundred units?"
"Three hundred units?" I blinked and glanced at the crate. "...So enough to manufacture a mass-produced Nikke?"
"Or fully equip a Nikke, Commander. But yes."
"...Well, I see why they wanted this place back."
There were a dozen crates in this storage room alone. And the facility was big enough to have at least a hundred more rooms like this... on this floor alone.
Of course, the other floors could be devoted to development, so we might not be so lucky. But still...
"It's odd though." Marian frowned. "If this place was overrun by Raptures... and so valuable. Why haven't we seen any remains?"
"...That's bothering me too." I swept my gaze around the place. "...It's surprisingly clean."
Did someone come here often? Although the area was dusty, it wasn't CAKED with dust either. And although I didn't see any footprints, it vaguely felt like this place hadn't been left abandoned for as long as the reports said.
"...Let's keep looking." I gestured for Marian to take the front.
"E-Eh?" She looked back at me, confused. "You want me to be the vanguard, Commander?"
"Yes. I'd like you where I can see you. Ambushes from the rear and sides I can handle. Frontal clashes, you're better to buy us time and early damage."
This place was giving me horror vibes for sure now. And I was NOT about to have Marian disappear from me when I looked away.
If she was always in my field of view, then I wouldn't have to worry about that.
Not to mention the fact that she had an SMG and could blast anything that jumped out at us.
Marian paused. Then she nodded. "That... makes sense. Understood, Commander. But... be cautious as well. If I'm in the front, I can't protect you very well..."
"That's the point. I'm protecting you, Mari."
Marian paused. Then she let out a warm smile as she glanced back at me. "...Oh. Thank you, Commander."
"Thank me later. Focus now."
"Yes!"
I mentally marked the location of the Goddessium storage room and then followed after Marian, sticking within arm's reach of her.
Marian was definitely better at navigating than I was as she made clean sweeps across the hallways and terrains, leading a structured path through the facility.
While she did that, I kept my wits about me and took note of anything strange.
There were definitely old signs of battles here in the past. Bullet holes in the walls, carved sections from what looked like blades along doors... a few places where walls were dented from something heavy tossed at it.
So that leant credence to the reports of it being overrun.
...But it still bothered me that the place was EMPTY. If this was as overrun as Burningum's notes said it was, there should be scraps and Rapture husks all around. Or at least shattered cores.
But nothing.
Just an empty facility and surprisingly untouched utilities.
There was a fabrication room, where spare Nikke parts were left covered in dust.
A forge, where there were boxes of full Tier 8 equipment for Nikke prepped for shipment.
A powered down database terminal linked to the rest of the facility with multiple schematics... and one that easily turned on when we checked.
Altogether...
"This is strange." I murmured after we took a full lap around the facility.
It had been three hours. But no matter which room we checked or where we looked, there was nothing but untouched and valuable resources.
"Marian. You've seen what I've seen, right? There's nothing wrong with anything we found?"
Marian pursed her lips. "...Yes, Commander. But it... FEELS wrong."
"...Yeah. It does." I swept my gaze around the whole weapons depot facility one more time. "...It really does."
The place was functional. COMPLETELY functional.
But it shouldn't be.
Not for how long it was neglected, and definitely not considering how valuable it was. If the Raptures had even a modicum of wariness, they would have damaged this place more or at least made off with said resources.
So that meant there were three major possibilities.
First, this place was still in use until recently. It was possible. There WERE survivors and rogue Nikke on the surface. Not just the Pilgrims, but AWOL mass-produced Nikke and Commanders.
But considering the fact that they weren't me, and the number of Raptures we saw on the way here kept at bay only because of my presence... I doubted it. Plus, we would see some corpses. There weren't any.
Second, this place was a trap. A honeypot laid out for someone who would come later.
That was tempting to believe. After all, there were just too many valuable things here for it to be left alone. But I had the vague sense that was wrong. This place didn't seem to be a trap, even though it was giving off those vibes.
Which left the last major possibility: this place had served its purpose and was left behind.
It was similar to the first possibility. But that possibility implied that they were using it and then were forced to leave because it wasn't sustainable.
This possibility... and the one I think most likely...
It was that someone had used this facility in full to achieve a certain result. And when they were finished, they simply took what they needed and left.
They weren't run off. They had extracted what was essential for them and discarded the rest as leftovers for any scavengers.
But that's-
Wait.
"...Marian." I paused and looked over at her. "...We haven't had any incoming transmissions. Have we?"
Marian paused, her expression sharp. "...You're correct, Commander. Comms are open, but we've received no reports."
"...I did tell Rapi that no news was good news from us. And considering how quiet it's been, that would explain a lack of initiation on their end. But..."
I pulled out my phone to test something.
---
[Message to Not Syuen (Shifty)]
H: Shifty, can you read this?
> Error: Message not sent due to interference.
---
[Message to Rapi]
H: Rapi, reply back if you get this.
> Error: Message not sent due to interference.
---
Marian noticed my actions and then frowned, pulling out her own phone to test it. But she got the same outcome. "Interference...? There aren't any Alva Particles present though."
"That's right. There aren't. Which means..." I swept my gaze across the facility again. "...Something here is watching us."
It wasn't a person.
I was very attuned to living things, and I didn't feel anything 'alive' watching us.
...But I still felt the vague sense of being observed now that I had realized it.
"...There's no cameras around, are there, Marian?"
Did she pick up on the severity of the situation from me using her full name?
Marian focused and swept her gaze across the facility. "...No. It appears this was a secure facility. Cameras were deliberately not installed. Likely because it was built around the time the Raptures first invaded, when humanity didn't know if they could hack our systems."
"In that case... It must be through audio. You can hear me. Can't you?"
I stayed quiet and calmly spoke.
Silence.
No response.
But I had the vague sense that 'something' had moved.
Hm...