Stardust contamination Adventure of Miko

The active terminal confirms Command Annex Four as the current intake destination. Beyond the chamber, a narrow service passage descends toward the lower annex, its floor cluttered with loose metal.

Miko secures the copied records while the four missing evacuees remain inside Intake Two with water and the ward door open. Liora gathers the current-intake bin and follows Miko toward the passage.

Scraping begins beyond the bend. Uneven footsteps gather in the confined passage, each impact ringing through the metal decking and returning louder from the walls.

The evacuees stay in the records chamber, clustered away from the doorway. Miko and Liora stand at the threshold, while the current-intake bin rests secured against Liora's side.

Another scrape drags across the bend, followed by a staggered series of steps. The green terminal light remains steady behind them, and the lower annex route waits ahead.

Miko moves the four evacuees deeper into Intake Two, placing them behind the shelving with water secured and the open ward door between them and the passage.

She returns to the threshold and brings her firearm to bear. Her perception separates the scraping echoes from the actual movement beyond the bend: several dead are approaching through the lower passage.

Miko checks the weapon's readiness, stance, sightline, and retreat path. The cluttered decking leaves a controlled firing lane at the threshold and clear footing behind her.

The evacuees remain silent and sheltered among the bins. Beyond the bend, multiple dead scrape and stagger through the confined passage, while Miko holds the ready position.

The threshold is secured, the evacuees are protected, and the lower passage is under observation. The current-intake bin remains safe beside Liora.

Miko holds the threshold as the dead round the bend. Her sight resolves the staggered bodies, their spacing, and the cleanest firing lane through the cluttered passage.

She fires in measured succession. The first dead drops, then the next, each shot controlled to the head as the confined corridor carries the reports toward the lower annex.

The remaining dead surge over the fallen bodies, but Miko keeps her footing and sightline. Each target enters the lane, receives a precise shot, and collapses before reaching the threshold.

The final dead falls against the decking. Silence returns in stages, leaving only spent echoes, settling metal, and the steady green light from the records chamber.

Miko scans the cleared passage from the threshold. Five undead bodies lie motionless beyond the bend, the route remains open, and nothing else moves in the visible lower corridor.

Liora keeps the current-intake bin secured while the four evacuees remain sheltered among the shelves. The lower annex route is now safe to inspect.

Miko leaves Intake Two records chamber behind and arrives at Command Annex Four.

Miko leads Liora into Command Annex Four. The passage opens into a broad operations room smelling of dust, cold metal, and stale disinfectant; dead monitors line the walls beneath a single green status lamp.

Rows of administrative desks stand undisturbed around a central command table. A powered directory glows at its center, displaying transfer routes, occupied rooms, and a live intake count.

Miko crosses to the command table and scans the directory. Command Annex Four contains three active sections: records, medical intake, and protected habitation. One habitation indicator pulses amber.

The amber signal carries a repeating identification code and a low request for assistance. Its timestamp is recent, and the route map marks a clear interior corridor from the operations room.

The annex accepts the route key and illuminates a green path toward the occupied section. Miko and Liora now have shelter, live records, and a confirmed signal to investigate.

Miko follows the green path through the operations room into protected habitation. The corridor opens onto a clean common room, where two Android Deviants wait beneath steady lights, visibly unarmed and attentive.

The first is a young adult Android woman, her smooth silver face marked by violet optic lenses and a short black fiber crest, her blue utility coat hanging to mid-thigh over jointed limbs with a compact frame, silver facial plating, and a blue utility coat. Beside her stands a broad young adult Android man, his square face set with amber eyes above broad plated shoulders, dark ceramic limbs showing beneath a worn gray work vest with dark ceramic panels and a green scarf.

Sera gestures toward occupied bunks, sealed water stores, and a functioning medical alcove. Several quiet status lights confirm the section is maintained, supplied, and currently safe.

The two Android Deviants remain where they are, calm and cooperative. The green route behind Miko stays illuminated, linking the occupied habitation section to the command directory.

Sera crosses to the central terminal and activates its habitation directory. Clean entries expand across the display, organized by bunks, water stores, medical supplies, and arrival dates.

The directory shows twelve occupied bunks, stable water reserves, and medical stores sufficient for continued habitation. A separate page lists every arrival and their assigned room.

The full habitation directory remains displayed and available, including occupancy, supplies, medical status, intake history, and the protected section's current operating schedule.

Miko connects the repair kit to the habitation terminal and copies the complete directory: residents, bunks, supplies, medical status, arrival dates, intake history, and operating schedules.

The terminal confirms a complete transfer without omissions. Miko's archive now contains the twelve resident records, resource totals, medical notes, and the section's full intake history.

Miko verifies the copied entries against the live display. Occupancy, water, medical stores, arrival routes, and operating times match line for line.

The habitation directory remains open beside its copied archive, giving Miko a reliable account of the residents and the resources keeping this shelter operational.

Miko inspects the occupied rooms in sequence, checking bunks, ceiling panels, vents, door clearances, and sightlines between sleeping areas. Every room is orderly and accessible.

She examines water storage, the medical alcove, sanitation points, and emergency lighting. Supplies are secured, walkways remain unobstructed, and no hidden damage or contamination appears.

Miko follows every access route from the common room to the habitation corridor and back to the command section, testing doors, latches, corners, and retreat lanes with the repair kit.

The inspection confirms two usable approaches, clear evacuation paths, and no blind access point from the occupied rooms. The protected section is stable and defensible.

Miko records the room conditions, bunk access, supply positions, and verified routes in the habitation archive. The shelter offers a clear, monitored layout for its residents.

Sera turns from the habitation directory and opens a second page showing empty bunks, reserve water, medical capacity, and the section's intake procedure.

The directory marks four unused bunks, reserve supplies for six more residents, and a medical intake station beside the controlled entrance. The clear routes remain unobstructed.

Sera records the admission protocol in the habitation directory, while Tomas updates the watch rotation. The section now has a documented capacity and a ready procedure for receiving additional survivors.

Miko connects the repair kit to the habitation terminal and assembles the assessment into a protected archive entry: capacity, intake procedure, watch rotation, room access, supplies, and verified evacuation paths.

She cross-checks the copied protocol against the live directory, confirming four empty bunks, reserve resources for six additional residents, the monitored entrance, and the medical station beside it.

The archive preserves the admission sequence in order: identity and health verification, temporary separation, water distribution, room assignment, resident notification, and later integration into shared spaces.

Miko verifies the archive checksum and saves a second local copy beside the live directory. The habitation assessment is complete, readable, and available to the shelter's authorized operators.

Miko escorts the four evacuees from Intake Two through the verified corridors, keeping their pace steady and their water packs secured. The protected habitation entrance opens ahead.

Sera and Tomas meet them at the monitored entrance. Sera checks each survivor's identity and visible condition while Tomas clears the temporary bunks and keeps the common room route unobstructed.

The four evacuees pass the monitored threshold and enter temporary separation without resistance. Tomas assigns the unused bunks, while Sera records their condition and arrival route.

Sera completes the intake entries, and the evacuees receive water before settling into their assigned temporary bunks. They are inside protected habitation, accounted for, and safe under the shelter's procedure.

Miko helps review the temporary bunks, comparing each evacuee's needs with room access, water points, and the shelter's clear movement lanes. The assignments balance privacy and watch visibility.

She guides the four evacuees through the available rooms, confirming their chosen spaces and ensuring every permanent bunk remains reachable from the common room and medical station.

Tomas updates the habitation directory while Miko checks the room labels and access paths. The four evacuees settle their belongings into their assigned spaces without crowding the occupied rooms.

The permanent assignments are recorded and acknowledged. The four evacuees now have stable places within protected habitation, while Sera and Tomas retain a clear intake route for whoever arrives next.

Miko leaves the protected habitation section with Liora, following the verified corridor back toward Command Annex Four's operations room. The route remains clear and well lit.

Liora keeps the current-intake records secured against her side as she walks. Behind them, the habitation entrance closes under its normal controls, leaving the new residents undisturbed.

They pass the medical alcove and the command directory junction. Green indicators confirm the corridor, protected habitation, and operations room remain connected without any access fault.

Miko and Liora reach the operations room. The central directory continues displaying the annex sections, occupied habitation rooms, and current intake status while the route behind them stays open.

Miko opens the live intake directory and filters the current-intake record by route number, arrival timestamp, and transfer code.

The directory resolves the destination: Protected Habitation, temporary intake section, with four assigned bunks and medical screening completed.

A linked history shows the intake originated in Sublevel Three, passed through Command Annex Four, and ended at the monitored habitation entrance.

Miko compares the destination against the live occupancy list. The record matches the four evacuees now settled in protected habitation, with no missing transfer stage.

Miko copies the destination, route history, assigned bunks, and completion status into the archive. The current intake's path is fully identified and preserved.