It was mid-morning when the Rad Veteran pulled into Port Ferris in West Jandalgine. Most of the crew were unable to sleep after the shocking events that took place, so Hudson had spent most of the night trying to keep their spirits up. Just when it seemed they had gotten back on an even keel, someone would mention Serk's death and morale would plummet once again.

Despite the setbacks, Hudson revelled in his new role. He promised a new start for everyone, especially Brycen Tanner, who Hudson promoted to first mate. Bry had embraced the news and promised to make the new captain proud.

Port Ferris was in the middle of a rejuvenation project, so the place bustled with construction workers, none of whom took an interest in anything but the work in front of them.

Hudson waited for the other mercs to gather on the top deck. Each of them arrived wearing a hat with a built-in light. They also carried a rucksack full of equipment and provisions. It would be a long trek across the wastes for the hungover mercs, but Hudson hoped they would reach Fort Nebula by nightfall.

"Listen up, everyone.” Hudson shouted, capturing their attention immediately. “It’s a short helicopter ride to the small village of Waterston. We walk to Fort Nebula from there."

"Can't we just get a chopper straight to the base?" one of the crew piped up.

"Negative. We don't want to draw attention to our reasons for being there. The last thing we need is other interested parties going after the treasure."

"Makes sense."

“Good, now let’s hustle.”

The helicopter ride was choppy due to the high winds, but Hudson noted the mood amongst the men had improved dramatically. They were laughing and joking again, and practically bouncing around the helicopter with anticipation. He had to admit that finding the Domdan Treasure was an exciting prospect, but also one that could alter their futures. Successful recovery of the fabled loot would mean a change in lifestyle for the crew. The action, excitement, the danger? All would be lost if they settled into an existence with no money worries.

“There's the village.” Bry announced.

“Excellent.” Hudson replied while the helicopter descended. “Remember to treat the locals with respect. Is that understood?”

"Understood." was the reply from all seven mercs.

The primitive human locals were dressed in rags and sandals but what they lacked in finery, they made up for with kindness and patience. Hudson and the others were offered food and a place to rest before their journey and although they declined the generous offer, Hudson approached the town ambassador and made sure she knew how much their goodwill was appreciated.

"Good luck on your journey." she said with a gap-toothed smile.

"We ready, captain?" Bry asked, interrupting Hudson's conversation with the grey-haired ambassador.

"Let's go." Hudson ordered.

The trek through the Jandalgine wasteland was punishing on Hudson’s body but he soldiered on, keeping himself hydrated at every opportunity. Gilda's taunts about his fitness were never far from Hudson's mind. The journey seemed to go on forever, until Hudson wondered if the desolate wasteland stretched on forever. It was only when a large facility in the distance caught his eye that he realised the punishing trek to the base was almost over.

“There’s our destination.” Hudson said, peering through his old V4 binoculars.

"I'm surprised you can see that far with the V4s." Bry laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The V5s have been out for a few months now. Get with the times captain."

Perhaps, it was the previous jibes from Gilda, but Hudson suddenly felt annoyed with Bry's comment.

"Just concentrate on the job."

Bry hung his head. "Of course, captain."

Darkness was nearly upon them when they arrived at the base. Hudson noticed a variety of small buildings placed around a larger structure. There were four-cylinder pillars nearly touching the sky, all connected to each other by walkways suspended high above the wastes.

"Not quite what I expected." Bry commented. "What's the plan?"

"We split into two squads. I'll take one to search the buildings. You take the other for the pillars."

“Do you think the Gogglo could be trapped up there in one of them?"

Hudson nodded and then divided the mercs into Squad A and Squad B. The crew seemed excited by this development. It was a far cry from Gilda's method of charging in on a hope and a prayer.

"Get yer light on." said Hudson to Squeak, who was the last merc chosen for the squad.

Bry ordered everyone in his own squad to do the same and then approached Hudson. "We're ready."

"Keep your wits about you. I’m relying on you to make sure everyone comes back alive.”

“I won’t let you down.”

“I know ye won’t.”

Once Bry and his squad were on their way to the pillars, Hudson typed a message to Ulric Raven, letting him know they had arrived at the base. The Gogglo asked to be kept informed of their progress but said little else in his return message.

Hudson led his squad to the cluster of buildings that surrounded the larger structure. Each building was in poor condition, rotting away in the Jandalgine elements. Some were even sinking into the ground.

“Did a sandstorm do this?” Squeak asked.

Hudson did not think a sandstorm likely. An earthquake, perhaps? Only trouble was the unlikelihood of earthquakes on Jandalgine soil.

“Let’s check inside.” Hudson suggested.

The first building appeared to be a hangar. There was a Quantum Fighter almost at completion, but the spare parts were either broken into large chunks or smashed into tiny pieces. There was no sign of life anywhere.

"Move onto the next building." Hudson ordered his men.

It was the same story there too. Nothing of interest except an unfinished Quantum Fighter. Hudson ordered the others to check out the remaining buildings while he contacted Bry by communicator.

"Anything to report?" Hudson asked when he answered.

"We're not even at the top yet. There's no power running to the access lift so we're taking the stairs. Looks like they only go about three quarters of the way up and then it's a ladder to the top."

"Right, contact me if you find anything."

Squeak and the others returned empty-handed, leaving a frustrated Hudson to curse their luck. Despite his sole focus being the treasure, he felt it was his duty to at least try to bring Raven's daughter back safely.

“Let’s find a way inside the larger building.”

A dusty path led them to a large metal door. It was slightly raised from the ground, allowing Hudson and the others to roll underneath and get access to what he guessed was the main part of the base. It was eerily quiet inside, save for the constant tip-tap of dripping water and a scuttling sound that Hudson guessed were caused by small creatures who had set up home in the darkness.

Guided by torchlight, they crept along the narrow corridor and found themselves at a series of elevators. Hudson pushed the buttons, but the lifeless panel showed no sign of resuscitation.

“Dead.” He muttered.

“Captain, over here.”

"What is it?"

Orson maneuvered his head, so the light shone on his discovery. It was a stairway. Another corridor awaited them at the bottom, but this one was wider than the one upstairs and showed signs of extensive damage. The walls were cracked in multiple places, doors from adjoining rooms lay smashed to pieces and large holes dotted the floors, almost as if something had smashed its way up from down below.

A search of the various rooms along the corridor provided no clues to the treasure’s location, or the fate of Raven’s daughter Echo, but as they moved into the next corridor, Hudson noticed a luminous green substance smeared over the walls and ceiling.

"Captain, check this out."

As he joined the other mercs, Hudson saw the object that had caused the excitement. It was a human tibia lying beside a broken computer monitor.

“What happened down here?” Hudson said aloud.

“Something horrible.” Squeak speculated. “That green slime leads to the last door on the left.”

“Let’s check it out. Watch your step.”

Hudson led through the bashed door and pushed debris aside with his foot. They were now inside a computer lab. It was filled with dusty monitors and other computing equipment. Chairs were upturned, and folders with paper documents spilling out of them lay abandoned on the floor.

"Someone left in a hurry.” Hudson speculated, his voice echoing in the emptiness of the computer lab. "Somebody take a look at those documents. See if there's anything of interest."

"More bones." Squeak cried, pointing to a ribcage lying in the corner that had been completely stripped of flesh.

Hudson could feel his own heart thump away in his chest. "There's something not right."

“M…. Maybe we should get out of here.” one of the mercs suggested.

“Get a grip of yerself." Hudson blasted. "We do what we came to do. Is that clear?”

“Y…. Yes sir.”

The merc who had been examining the documents explained there was nothing of interest, so Hudson turned his attention to the dim light emanating from around the corner of the room. It was a single monitor still turned on. Most of the files were password-protected but one folder was marked Prime, so Hudson checked out the details. There was a map of what appeared to be a collection of tunnels running underneath the base and several illustrations of digging locations.

"Prime?" Squeak said in confusion. "What's prime got to do with anything?"

Prime was the cleanest and most used energy source in the world of Lozaro. Discovering prime could make someone rich but Hudson had never heard the substance mentioned alongside the Domdan Treasure.

“If they were digging for prime, they've probably finished by now.” Squeak offered. “Maybe that's why they were here in the first place.”

“Maybe.” Hudson replied, rather unconvinced with the theory as he looked closely at the map on the monitor. “There’s an access lift through a door at the end of the corridor there.”

“But captain, there is no access lift.” Squeak piped up. This is the last room before a dead end."

Hudson thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s not a dead end.”

"What do you mean?"

He ran back out to the corridor and stared at the wall. It looked like solid stone but sounded hollow when he touched it. He put his foot through the makeshift wall, and it broke away easily. There was a large circular door behind it that looked impossible to budge due to a couple of bars locked in place.

“Electronic lock.” Squeak offered.

Hudson nodded. “There has to be a way through that door.”

“What about explosives?”

“Ye got some?”

The crew waded through their rucksacks to hand Hudson their collection of grenades, five in total. Once strategically placed in position, they retreated to a safe distance and waited for the blast. It shook the base to its very foundations when it came.

Hudson moved cautiously towards the ruins of the door that led to the access lift but suddenly heard a creaking sound. He turned around but the floor seemed to disappear from under him, and he saw despairing looks from the others as he fell into the darkness.