Checking in was relatively easy with the military's help. Each person was given a gold badge and assigned to their barracks. The civilians were sent to their rooms, the announcement reminding them about lockdown hours between 10pm to 6am.

All 7 family members of the General's family were situated in the same room next to Aria's. Like the Chen's, the bottom floor looked very similar to other civilian's homes to prevent suspicion while the upper floors allowed more space.

By the time they took care of Catherine, who was assigned to the barracks, John signalled Alex to follow him outside while David stood guard at the door to the building, making sure no one would come outside.

John and Alex stood in the dark, staring at the large black silhouettes of the military machines. They looked at the mechs, shuttles, carrier ships, tanks, and various military things in front of the property. If this was during the day time, then it would look too much like a military base ready to go to war.

John: "MG Zhou. Our base is able to store all of this out of sight for you but it comes with a few conditions. First, there is a storage fee per machinery and you will be charged on a monthly basis."

Alex: "Not a problem."

John: "Second, you will be able to access it any time but only through management."

Alex: "Okay."

John: "Third, you need to sign an NDA and not discuss what you're about to see and the method of how we store things. You cannot ask us any question about it or we will no longer provide the storage service."

Alex: "I agree."

John handed over a tablet for Alex to sign. Then after confirming that the surrounding area was empty, John pointed to the 4 wheeler nearby indicating they should get in. Then he instructed Alex to drive slowly past each machine, making sure they are close enough for John to touch them from the car. Alex thought it was unusual but he did it anyway.

In front of Alex's eyes, the shuttle disappeared out of thin air. The car abruptly stopped, the momentum jerked John back and forth. Luckily John predicted his movement so he buckled on his seat belt right when he got in the vehicle.

John: "Let's hurry up. There are a lot of things here to store. You're a smart man, I'm sure you can figure this out yourself."

They spent 30 minutes collecting everything except a few nondescript SUVs which they parked in front of the base's entrance next to the bus.

John got out: "Here, check your inventory to confirm they are all there. You can access anything in there at any time. We will rent you this ring for the duration of your stay here. Unfortunately, we do require you to pay a month's rent up front before we hand the warehouse over to you. Let's go to the office and discuss the conditions and payment method and I'll hand this over to you temporarily."

Alex held the ring and sent his consciousness inside. All of their military things were inside! This ring really can store everything! It's space is so big!

Walking to the side, Alex brought out a shuttle and place it next to the vehicles. Then he went back and handed the ring back to John. Seeing John's inquiring look, he responded quietly.

Alex: "We left a lot of things behind because we had limited space."

John nodded and they both entered the building and locked everything behind them. The only light coming from the entrance of the bunker narrowed then disappeared, like a candle that was suddenly snuffed. The night was quiet again.

----

Aria met John and Alex as they came in. John handed over the ring to Aria and they walked to the office. How can Aria allow this opportunity to pass?

With Alex was walking close as they made their way to the office to meet with the managers and General Zhou, the real Aria was inside her grow space frantically copying every single machine that was saved inside. The scene was very hectic.

A ship appears, Aria touches it, it disappears. The process lasted a few seconds.

There were over 500 machineries inside so Aria had S3 only identify the ones she doesn't have. So 60 random machines were copied in less than 3 minus. Then Art had to jump in and ask to copy some of the cooler mechs he liked.

The walk from when Aria's summoned clone received the ring to when they arrived at the office was 2 minutes. Aria copied 120 machines, half of which were on Art's "we must have this!" list.

Handing the ring back to John, they all entered the office. Aria came in last as she switched place with the clone and closed the door. She sat at the head of the table, with 2 managers on each side while the General sat directly across from her with his son sitting down by his side.

Now that Aria got copies of what she wanted from the military's space, including fuel, weapons, and many high tech stuff- she got bored, her mind drifting off.

---

John: "I have discussed with MG Zhou that we will take care of the storage fee up front first. This will be for unlimited use of the storage facility. We require payments up front for each month. Today is October 13th. The next payment will be on November 13th."

General Zhou: "How can this be so expensive? MG Zhou, is this price accurate?"

MG Alex: "Yes, General. It's correct and this amount is acceptable. I have seen the storing conditions and it is excellent. No one would be able to access it or steal it. And there is still more space for us to store the rest of everything we left behind. Trust me, General. It's worth every penny."

General Zhou signed the bill and paid for the month's rental. John shook hands with the General and the MG after the payment went through. The ring was secretly passed back to Alex when they shook hands.

To confirm everything was still there, Alex sent his consciousness into the ring to check. All are still there.

David: "Next on the agenda, we will be collecting rent from the civilians the same way as well. We have separated the civilian quarters from the military so that civilians cannot easily access the military side for safety reasons..."

Joseph: "Psych evaluations are required once a week from everyone... Military will have access to the military personnel's information while the Artemis Group will have the civilians'...

David: "Next we have store pricing..."

General Zhou: "I understand supply and demand will affect the prices, but..."

David: "No one is stopping you from continuing to prepare resources for your own men..."

Melanie: "Each civilian is required to have 1 hour of physical activity once a day and 30 minutes quiet time outside the base..."

David: "List of jobs that are open. We have almost 5,000 on the base. We need to keep the civilians busy and occupied..."

Melanie: "Schooling and education will be required for those under 18. Those attending college are required to continue their schooling... teaching robots from all levels of education..."

Alex: "Those under 18 are not allowed in the newsroom to watch the news..."

Joseph: "Now, for punishments. The Athena base is lenient and understanding. If the offender is a military personnel, they only get to be inside the bunker 6 hours a day. Rent and food will be charged 3x the price of a civilian's. If the offender is a civilian, they will be isolated for 1 week by themselves. They are only allowed to be inside the bunker for 21 hours, the remaining 3 hours they will be doing community service outside..."

Aria finally joined into the discussion.

Aria: "Sexual attacks on anyone on this base will result in having the dominant hand chopped off, food rations are halved, imprisonment and isolation for the duration of the event, then after will quickly be tried and sentenced..."

Alex: "Murder will be investigated, imprisonment and isolation... Theft... potential banishment..."

General Zhou: "Military personnel is under the military to train and execute punishments in addition to the base's punishment rules.

Civilians will be identified as Artemis residence and the Artemis group will execute punishments they deem appropriate to handle their protection..."

Alex: "As for the perimeter protection, the Artemis Base has none. Since a fence falls under security, we will take charge and cover the costs of building one before..."

....

The night continued on like this.

Rules were created for the safety and the health of the base. Punishments were created to maintain order and deter future offenders.

Early the next morning, before people on the base wakes up, Aria snuck the Chens out of the base so they can meet up with their friends downtown. Giving them a car to use and store away later, Aria locked up the base again and went to the control room, watching the morning activities.

Aria sent a wake up call to all 14 Artemis base security personnel to meet in the control room in 15 minutes. When they arrived, she confirmed to them the news of the temperature drop and that the Artemis Base was what she prepared to survive the disaster.

Aria: "Your job is to maintain order inside the base. You are to be fair and just. Abusing your power and authority will result in your banishment from the base. There will be no second chances for those in your position.

There will be a clear line of command. My decisions override everyone's here. But you will mostly follow the management's commands. In case of emergency, military security will come and help out. Here are the rules of the base that we will go through later.

Now, I've set up 2 rooms on the military side for all of you to share and change. To protect you and your family's identity and safety, you can never enter your home while in uniform and they should know to not mention what you do or they will soon be targeted."

Bringing out a large box from her 6x6 space, Aria opened it and brought out an all black temp suit and helmet. Next, a light exoskeleton, various accessories and weapons, a large knee length jacket, and some electronics.

Aria: "This will be your uniform. This is a thermo suit that will help maintain your body temperature regardless of the temperature outside. The helmet prevents you from breathing the cold air. The light exoskeleton adds strength and power to your movements so you can restrain others easily but is not invincible. These are your weapons in various modes...

This is a bulletproof vest... This is a personal perimeter bracelet. It will electrocute those who touch you, the settings can be set from mild to maximum. This gadget is a sound shield to be activated in case of a riot. To maintain calm in dire situations, you cannot be easily provoked by angry words.

And this is your communicator. You are to wear this at all times while you're awake. This will be how we communicate to one another and be kept apprise about any situation, even while not on your shift."

Gesturing to the locker room, she told them to find their names and suit up in 5 minutes.

—-

Male1: "Wow. Do you guys realize how much these things cost?"

Male2: "How much? Isn't it just a rich kid buying fun toys to dress us up in?"

Male3: "You don't know what you're talking about. Let me educate you, bro. That temp suit? It's only made in Country M, $25k easy. In this time and age with the coming cold front, I'm sure the price will be doubled. The exoskeleton, bullet proof vest, boots, and accessories are all top of the line brands.

Now the thing that blows my mind are these two babies. Do you even know what a personal perimeter bracelet is? It's used by celebrities and f*ing important people who are prone to be attacked by others. The shock wave can take down a f*ing bear! Heck, maybe 10 bears!

The sound shield not only mute those around you, it also prevents others from hearing what you're saying. It's used in super important negotiations by the head of state as an extra precaution.

If this is how all rich kids play dress up, then count me in. These are better than what some militaries dress their own men heading out to war."

Male2: "No s*..."

—-

The two Artemis SP (security personnel) arrived at the pick up location and saw a large group waiting for them.

David: "That looks like our ride. Let's go."

David blew into his cupped gloves hands and stomped his feet repeatedly. He was anxious to get back to the base. Being outside like this was too cold for his young and precious body.

Sandy: "Are you sure this is necessary?"

David: "Didn't you hear the news? It's getting dangerously cold outside right now. We are all in a foreign country and it's only through luck that my brother happens to have a contact here. He paid for only 8 tickets to enter the bunker but we thought of you guys so we asked to reserve for more tickets. Luckily we acted early since they agreed to reserve the tickets for us. Even if we want to leave, all the flights overseas are cancelled for the time being."

Tony: "What about Fred and his family?"

David: "What about them? Everyone was supposed to meet here at 7am. Why is everyone here but them? We called them repeatedly but they refused to answer and only sent a text message telling us they're still going to continue to play instead. They had to come back to pick up their grandparents and hide the fact that they are the managers.

They are as aware of the situation as all of us but decided having fun outweighs their family's safety. We can't force them to be saved. And if something happens, they have no one to blame but themselves for missing this opportunity.

Now if you want to stay behind to wait or join them, now's the time."

John: "The ticket to get into the base is $5,000 per person, regardless of age."

Sandy: "$5,000? This is highway robbery?!"

David: "Grandmas, Grandpas, let's go. The sooner we leave here, the warmer we will be."

Joseph, Melanie, and David got into the bus, helping their grandparents to hand over their gold ticket. The 7 settled into the first 4 rows.

Everyone else looked at one another and half of the families went up to John to pay for their tickets. They are far from home and it was very cold outside. The first group to enter had small children. The rest of the families purchased their tickets and entered the bus. The SP took their phones one by one and scanned all of them with a mobile detector to make sure none were hidden. Sandy and her family were the last one still standing outside.

Sandy: "Hey, why are you taking their phones?"

SP: "No one knows where our base is. Obviously we want to keep it safe from people who do not have tickets or else they'll come and bother us once it gets too cold to survive out here in the cold environment. So we collect everyone's phones temporarily, to prevent ticket holders from revealing our location. We need to leave. This is the last trip we'll make before we shut base to outsiders. So if you don't buy a ticket now, you won't be able to find or enter in the future no matter how much money you offer."

Sandy: ... "Fine."

-- Author's Notes --

As always, please vote if you like the story. Ty!

To the many commenters:

(づ￣ ³￣)づ @ejclever @1998GA12 @Akura50 @SumiyoOmar @MirAcle_Ang @Arymching @Raphafael @crabroast @AshwiniValvi3

.･:☆.....〆(￣ー￣ )

Boop Beep. One more and I think we're done with part 1! Andddd I know how to end it! Lmk if there's someone you want mentioned that you must know how they're preparing for the Deep Freeze.