2010, 19 December 2020, UNXIPU

As the new members of Echo squad were warming up to each other (barely), the bullhorns mounted on the walls within the warehouse started coming to life, producing static at first, before an extremely low voice, like one coming from a broken record, sounded out, slowly gaining momentum, before becoming discernable, and finally female - because it had to be female. Biology has it that the human brain hears female voices, or at least high-pitched voices, better and faster, which makes the voice from the bullhorn a logical choice. "-to Echo Quarters. Echo Squad to Echo Quarters."

"Finally! About God-damn time Dr. Shen got the AI working." Someone who looks like a hanger worker said as he was passing Echo squad while he's checking off a few times from his list and walking with a co-worker, "Should shave off a few days off our prep time."

"Fresh military personnel to the barracks. Fresh military personnel to the barracks." The robotic voice form the bullhorn continued announcing, non-stop, "Dr. Siew and Dr. Chai to the laboratory. Dr. Siew and Dr. Chai to the laboratory."

"Echo Squad to Echo Quarters. Echo Squad to Echo Quarters." The robotic announcer repeated again. Whoever was making it tick was growing impatient.

People, most particularly the new arrivals, were swarming to get on the industrial lifts. The last truck was pulling up on it as well. As a safety feature, a digital clock was counting down to when it would begin to descend. Less than a minute was left on the clock.

The UNXIPU base was built not for the core mission of the organisation itself. In fact, the base had existed a few years before the organisation. The alien investigation organisation, instead, was used as an excuse for testing new hardware and software for the UN and the multitude of organisations under its umbrella. It was also due to budgetary concerns, both real and petty, that a separate organisation was not created to test such experimental equipment, ideas and constructions. While the UN may be growing in importance following the rising tensions and threat of a new cold war, or even more drastically, a third world war, its infrastructures had not evolved as much. As such, there were lapses in its management and maintenance.

The colossal industrial elevator would lead down to the main warehouse of the facility, the first basement floor of the base, where the great volume of cargo would be stored in equally breathtakingly-sized shelves. Of course, as UNXIPU had just moved in and the base still incomplete after years of digging and construction work, there was little to be stored and much, much more that were still due to be taken from around the world. Those huge shelves, resembling scaffolding that looked like they were for the construction of skyscrappers, or the Great Pyramids of Giza if the Egyptians had scaffolding, were still being assembled. High-tech moving floors and utilities were still unoperational.

The main warehouse was connected directly to an experimental mission control room, with state of the art GPS tracking systems, infrastructure and computer technology, as well as the necessary hardware to support an army of technicians serving a space mission. In fact, UNXIPU's Mission Control was a working prototype for planned space missions that would be lead by the UN - an unprecedented step in the unity of the world, though some might say that it was coming a little too late.

The current state of the UNXIPU Mission Control, however, leaves much to be desired, as none of its over-hundred computer terminals were functional. The stage in the middle which houses the holographic projectors for a GPS globe weren't even installed yet. Half the lights in the all-important room weren't even installed, resulting in a dim glow. The huge hall was dark and cavernous and cold, representing unfulfilled potential.

The way the base was designed, Mission Control acts as a bridge between the underground hangers and the barracks. The hangers were currently only filled with several MV-22Cs donated by the US government when it downsized the military and a single experimental SR-77 Skyranger, which was the result of a joint program between UN member nations to produce a type of VTOL aircraft capable of deploying peacekeepers around the world on short notice. It was never deployed in any real missions as yet.

The barracks consists of a functional mess hall and enough quarters to house an army along with any infrastructure that they need, such as an armoury and a gym. While it was largely completed, it was far from finished as it was projected to indeed be able to house an army. Currently, it could barely serve the needs of all security and military personnel. everything else were either unfinished or not even carved out of the rock yet.

To get to the Echo quarters, one would have to walk past the high security armoury, which would be protected by bulletproof glass, electronics and an armed security squad, then through the mess hall where everyone would be when there was nothing to be done. As there was little to accomplish in the early stage of the organisation's operation, most, if not every soldier would be in the mess hall, making or consolidating friendships (which, for now, reflects current politics), having their rations or making use of the facilities there, though most of the entertainment suites were still unfinished, leaving only boardgame and tabletop games for fun.

'Follow the signs' The impatient Malaysian police officer had said.