They both got comfortable in their respective seats. Freyr laid her head back against the top of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she activated her quick access module. "Taking us in." She heard Karos calling in the distance. Pins and needles spread through her arms and legs. Freyr involuntarily arched her back and gasped out loud, unused to the procedure after so long away. After a few moments, all physical signals faded away. When she finally opened her eyes she was inside the Cradle.

They stood in a transit station Freyr didn’t recognise - it must have been built recently for this new development. It appeared as a spacious, square, high ceilinged lobby with a large metal receptionist’s desk and some comfy seats for furniture. Two walls featured works of art, the other two sides were composed entirely of windows and doors to the outside. She heard the doors behind her swoosh open and sharp footsteps approaching. She turned to find a young [url=https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/006/231/991/large/hyungwoo-kim-001-009aaa-copy.jpg]CraSec officer[/url] in full battle dress, save the helmet, striding toward them. He cradled an assault rifle in his arms.

“Doctors Childermass and Lang? I’m Lieutenant Rowe. Come with me please.” They followed him out of the see-through sliding doors he’d just emerged from, out into the open.

As was always the case with the Cradle, it was dark outside. The only natural light came from the faintly glowing network of purple arteries embedded in the sky above and the Border off to their right, which Freyr noted was worryingly close by. She’d spent many hours staring at those arteries, looking for clues as to their purpose. 

The land (as far as it could be called that) immediately surrounding the transit station was so far untouched, leaving an ocean of blackness between them and a glittering oasis of light some way off in the distance. That, Freyr assumed, was the new corporate development Karos had been talking about.

Just outside the exit, three more CraSec soldiers waited by an enclosed buggy. They snapped smartly to attention as they approached. “Four guards? Is this strictly necessary?” Freyr asked. “It’s for own your protection, Doctor.” Rowe replied, motioning for her and Karos to get into the backseats before he and his second hopped in the front. The two other grunts hitched onto the outside of the buggy on either side of Freyr and Karos using the running boards.

As soon as the buggy purred into life, bright floodlights blinked on all around the transit station. Rows of similar buggies sat together nearby, along with numerous crates and terraforming equipment. The whole place seemed deserted apart from them. Freyr could see the station was in fact situated on a roundabout, with one wide metal road stretching out directly in front of them. It wound through the undulating landscape, all the way to the corporate development a few miles away. They set off down that road at high speed, before they’d even had a chance to fasten their seatbelts.

“As I mentioned, Freyr, conditions have changed substantially inside the Cradle since you’ve been gone.” Karos began once they were strapped in. “Our department’s budget has been expanded, as has that of our friends at CraSec here.”

“Our ranks have doubled in the last three months.” Rowe offered helpfully, his head constantly swiveling to watch the darkness either side of the road. Karos nodded. “So have our objectives. The emphasis has changed from reverse engineering Cradle tech to strengthening our terraforming infrastructure and developing systems to combat any further...threat...from beyond the Border. A lot of the team are finding it a tough transition, which is why I desperately need your experienced hand on this.” Freyr stared at him. “It sounds like we’re preparing for war Karos. A war we can’t possibly win.” Karos looked grave. “Perhaps you’re right.” He looked away, across the darkness toward the Border. “I’m hoping it’ll make sense once you see the video.”