"Are we in the right place?" Nik asked, glancing around the dimly lit wilderness. Days of preparation for Edy's reconnaissance mission had led them here.

  "If Valentine read the seismic scan right, it should be." Edy shrugged. He had been uncharacteristically quiet for several hours while they hiked through the dark wilderness. Was he getting nervous?

  "You alright?" Nik asked.

  "I'll be fine," Edy said quietly. "I'm just nervous. I mean, I know I'm still alive and well back at HQ, yet..."

  "You don't have to do this, Edy," Nik interrupted.

  "No, I do," he asserted, shaking his head. "We all gotta face the dirt sooner or later." A look of resolution came over his face as he stared at the spot where they were supposed to begin digging.

  Nik peered towards the looming mountain, the sky still cloaked in the darkness of pre-dawn. Somewhere on the other side, people were suffering in the prison camp. Underneath it, others dug their lives away.

  "Beep, beep. Make way!" Valentine interrupted the somber silence. He barreled forward with the reclaimer and a giant pack on his enormous back. Edy and Nik practically dove out of his way as he began to fire it up. "The three o'clock is about to leave the station. Please store all weapons, gadgets, and irritable bowels in their upright and locked positions."

  The reclaimer fired off with a bright flash. A loud snapping noise like static electricity echoed in the hills behind them.

  "Is it always going to be that loud?" Nik said nervously. He prayed that no one had heard them.

  "It's only loud because it's burning through the oxygen outside," Valentine reassured. "Once we're underground, it'll get quieter." Nik peered into the hole made by the reclaimer. It had excavated a cone of rock stretching about twenty feet into the mountain.

  "Not bad," Nik said. "It would've taken weeks to mine that much with a pickaxe." Nik wondered how long it took them to fully mine the space needed for Vector.

  "No time to waste," Valentine said, stepping into the freshly reclaimed tunnel. Nik took a few steps into the dark when he looked back to see Edy standing at the mouth of the tunnel. His lanky silhouette was illuminated in the cold moonlight.

  Moments later, another dull zap echoed outward. The flash of the reclaimer momentarily lit Edy’s face. An expression of quiet terror dominated his features. Nik had worn that look in the past.

  "You su-"

  "Yeah, yeah, I got this," Edy spat, stomping forward. "Quit whining about me, and let's get this show on the road." He produced a flashlight and pushed himself around Nik.

  ***Edy***

  They had been mining for a couple hours. Edy glanced back up the tunnel. A tiny speck of light marked where they had begun. The closer they got, the more nervous he became.

  Why the hell did I volunteer for this?

  "I think this is about as far as we should go." Nik turned back. "The readings say the abandoned mine shafts should be just on the other side of here."

  "I hope the readings are right; otherwise, this could take a while," Valentine said, setting down the reclaimer and storage pack.

  "You can say that again," Nik added. "Edy, break out the tools." Reluctantly, Edy pulled off the pack he had been carrying. He pulled out a pair of pickaxes and handed them to Nik and Valentine. They had to manually dig their way through the last bit of the tunnel to avoid making too much noise with the reclaimer.

  The pair set to work without wasting a moment, chiseling tirelessly at the rock. Meanwhile, Edy busied himself with preparations. He extracted a uniform from his pack, an exact replica of the guards' attire, crafted meticulously based on Nik's detailed descriptions. Mrs. Cooper was the artisan behind this clever disguise.

  When he finished putting on the disguise, he looked toward Nik and Valentine. Nik looked relatively unphased, but Valentine had beads of sweat trailing down his cheeks.

  After another hour of chipping away, Nik finally broke through. "We've made it in," he murmured. "Douse the light."

  Edy switched the flashlight off and stowed it on his belt. The next few minutes made Edy feel tense. Slowly, they opened up a tiny hole in the blackness.

  "Think you can fit through this?" Valentine whispered. They wanted to keep the hole as small as possible to avoid detection. Edy crept forward and felt around the opening, quietly gauging it.

  "Yeah, I can squeeze that," he whispered. "Just pass my gear to me once I'm through." He pulled off his belt and handed it to Nik.

  "Are you still sure you want to do this?" Nik whispered.

  The worry in Nik’s voice was starting to piss Edy off. "I'm a big kid, don't worry about me," he whispered angrily. "Just make sure those assholes at the recon camp are ready." Edy began to wriggle his way through the small opening without another word.

  "Gear," he whispered once he was on the other side. He heard a scraping and reached forward. His hands closed around his belt and the small pack Nik had been carrying. From it, Edy pulled out an armored vest, knee and elbow pads, and a small cap. Fully equipped, he reached into the bag to extract a compact submachine gun. Apparently, these guards liked their Uzis.

  Behind him, the unmistakable sound of grinding rocks penetrated the darkness. Nik and Valentine were sealing off the tunnel. With their job finished, Edy's only company was his mission.

  He felt dread well up in his throat. Part of him wanted to turn back and plead for them let him back out. The kind assholes probably wouldn't fault him for it, either.

  He stood in silence, the oppressive darkness threatening to consume him. He couldn't recall when he was more scared of the daylight than the darkness. He wanted to stay here for the rest of his life but knew it was impossible.

  It felt hopeless. It was as if Edy's fate had been taken out of his control. Is this what Nik felt like when he was captured? How the hell did he survive for years with this horrible hopelessness? Edy felt himself shuddering.

  "Freaking dammit," he thought, frustration clouding his mind. "Pull it together, Edy. You've weathered worse than this. If Nik could put up with this stupid crap for years, I can do it for a couple hours."

  After his self-pep-talk, Edy reviewed the information he had painstakingly memorized over countless hours.

  "I can do this," he affirmed under his breath. There it was. He saw the maps of the mining network and their exact dimensions. The locations of all the guards played out in real-time as they moved to and fro in his mind. It was nearly time for the shift changeover. He knew everything about the guards coming in. The profiles that Nik prepared flashed in front of him. He reviewed everything from their appearance and nicknames to their vices and secrets. He recalled their jargon and how they addressed prisoners or their superiors.

  Gradually, Edy adopted the persona of a guard, his hand instinctively reaching down to confirm the presence of his special radio. He reassured himself, feeling the mind-state drive securely in its socket.

  I will do this," he mumbled. "I have to do this." Edy felt his teeth gritting. He began to forge his way forward through the darkness. "I won't fail," he growled quietly.

  Moments later, he tripped and faceplanted. He looked around instinctively, panicking. He scolded himself again when he realized that no one could have possibly seen him, and there was no point in feeling embarrassed.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Edy pushed himself back up, slowly picking his way up the tunnel. A couple minutes later, he saw a dim, orange light and heard the sounds of metal hitting rock.

  "Showtime," he thought. Edy found his way into the light. Dozens of prisoners lined the tunnel. A few flicked glances his way, surprise flashing in their eyes at his sudden appearance.

  He gave them a menacing stare, causing them to quickly return to their toil. It made him feel bad, but he had to keep his disguise intact. Edy began moving up the tunnel toward the exit shaft the guards used.

  Edy moved with an air of casualness, punctuating his stride with sporadic glares at the prisoners. His goal was to blend in, to mirror the guards' disdain.

  Suddenly, the blare of a horn echoed through the mine, marking the shift changeover. At this signal, Edy hastened towards the guard elevator. Upon reaching, he found it largely occupied, yet swiftly managed to wedge himself among the other figures.

  "These guys reek," Edy thought, his face twisting beneath the overwhelming stench. Fighting back the stinging tears, Edy endured his greatest trial yet.

  As the elevator engine grumbled to life, they began their ascent. Uncertainty filled Edy. He didn't know where the guards' elevator led. Nik had never had the opportunity to use it.

  "You new?" a voice unexpectedly cut through the hum of the engine. Edy nearly wet his pants when he realized the voice was talking to him. He looked over to see a hillbilly guard eyeing him.

  Edy's mind quickly found a reply. "Been here long enough to sniff out your hooch stash, Emery," he said, trying to sound gruff. After a tense moment of being eyed, Edy let out a small sigh of relief when Emery turned away.

  After the shaft lurched to a halt, Edy trudged off the platform with the herd of grumbling watchmen. He hung back slightly, letting the guards pass him by. Looking around, he realized he had stepped into some kind of annex to the Headquarters building.

  The main crowd of guards flowed into a locker area. Edy peered inside to see an attached bay with all the bunks and living commodities. He memorized every detail he could before peeling himself away from the group.

  Edy began exploring the building. He made himself look as purposeful as possible to avoid prying eyes. Poking around, he spied a utility room at the end of the hall. Edy glanced around before darting over to it and discreetly letting himself inside.

  He was surprised to see that the utility room was a small stairwell leading below the HQ. Edy quietly descended. At the bottom, He found a power reservoir large enough to power the whole facility. To his surprise, Edy also discovered a tunnel with a power conduit extending away from the facility.

  "They're sending power off-site?" Edy mumbled. Where was the power going? He pulled up the GPS on his radio and memorized the coordinates. Next, after checking that no one was behind him, Edy began to sprint down the long tunnel. After a couple hundred feet, he rechecked his GPS and memorized the second set of coordinates. As he walked back to the utility shaft, he calculated the direction the coordinates pointed toward.

  "South by Southwest." He concluded. He would need to put the coordinates onto a map to know the exact direction, but he had a solid idea. "Okay, what's next?"

  He stole back up the stairwell. After ensuring the coast was clear, Edy padded quietly out of the utility room. He began to poke around again when a surly female voice interrupted his investigation.

  "You there, recruit. Get your ass over here." Edy spun around to see a short woman with acne riddling her chin. Undoubtedly, this was Overseer Toma.

  “Yes, Overseer,” he responded, quickly moving. He rushed over dutifully. He stood at attention before her, trying not to look down. The way he figured it, she might trust him more if he made it seem like she was taller than him. The prickly woman eyed him.

  "Take these reports to the Warden. Make with the snappy." She slapped a handful of folders to Edy's body armor. "And take off those stupid elbow pads. You look like a damn greenhorn."

  "Yes, Overseer," he said as she left him standing in the hall. He strode with as much authority as he could muster in what he guessed was the direction of the warden’s office.

  Once Toma was safely out of sight, Edy flipped open the folders, hungrily scanning their contents. He saw a roster of new recruits and prisoners. Edy wanted to memorize everything, but there were too many details. He stared at it for a minute, hoping the image would sink in.

  Deciding he had gleaned all he could from the first folder, Edy moved on to the next. Inside, a report outlined the facility's power consumption and production over the past month.

  "This place is really inefficient," he thought. A small detail suddenly caught his eye at the bottom. He read a short statement that made everything else in his mission seem like a side quest.

  Reclassification Status: Denied

  Justification: Facility lacks the fundamental infrastructure for Nexus admission.

  "What the hell is this?" Edy thought. He snapped the folder shut, feeling suddenly vulnerable. He continued the mission before letting the disturbing revelation take over his mind.

  It only took another few minutes for him to have a general idea of the HQ building. There was a side garage for vehicles. The armory was further from the barracks than the latrines, and the kitchen was the most disgusting thing Edy had ever seen.

  The moment had come for creating the mind-state, the aspect of the mission Edy had been most anxious about. He embarked on the hunt for the communications room. With each step, Nik's instructions echoed in his mind, guiding his search.

  Yet, a sense of apprehension lingered. According to Nik's account, the room teemed with guards, necessitating utmost caution. Coupled with this concern was a nagging curiosity - Edy wondered whether people were authorized to use the STMs.

  Eventually, he found it. Edy sighed with relief when he saw only one guard in the room. They apparently dragged their asses when it came to shift changeovers. Edy had an idea. He jogged over to the lone guard, trying to look panicky.

  "Hey, I'm in trouble." He said, reaching the guard.

  "What is it?" the sentry sounded annoyed. Edy pulled out the folders that Toma had given him earlier.

  "I'm supposed to deliver these to the Warden, but I'm new and have no idea where to find him."

  "Have you tried his office?" the guard said, unphased.

  "I tried looking, but I'm already falling behind. I don't want him to get these reports late, or Toma will have my ass. Can you take these? I can keep an eye out here while you're gone," Edy pleaded earnestly.

  "Piss off, recruit. I don't have time for your problems," the guard dismissed.

  "Please, I can make it worth your while," Edy tried again.

  "Oh yeah. How so?" The guard responded with disinterest.

  Edy leaned in conspiratorially. "I know where Emery keeps his booze."

  "Yeah, who the hell doesn't?" The guard replied.

  "I can tell you where Denys keeps his porno stache."

  "Say what?" the guard suddenly sounded interested. Edy celebrated inside.

  "Yeah, I'll tell you if you run these reports up," Edy grinned. The guard eyed him for a moment. Eventually, he nodded and held out his hand.

  "You better not be lying," he threatened.

  "Of course not," Edy reassured, handing him the folders.

  "Good. I'll be back in a minute. Try not to screw anything up while I'm away." The guard quickly strode off down the hallway Edy had just come from.

  "Psh. I was totally lying, you dweeb," Edy thought. He bolted over to the nearest STM. Edy pulled the mind-state drive out of his radio and plugged it into the STM. After he typed the necessary commands, he pressed initiate and rushed inside the pod before the door closed. Ten seconds later, it initiated.

  Suddenly, a siren began to wail.

  "Unauthorized Transmission Detected!" Blared over the intercom.

  "Shit shit shit," Edy said, panicking. He barreled from the STM and retrieved the mind-state drive from the terminal.

  "Freeze!" A pair of guards appeared from the hallway.

  "Time to go," Edy said, sprinting out the other hallway. Gunshots rang out behind him. He saw the exit to the courtyard ahead and bolted toward it.

  While running, he fumbled with his radio and plugged the mind-state into its socket. He looked back up to see a squad of guards round the corner at the entrance.

  "Nah," he panicked. Edy spotted a stairwell and sprinted up the steps. Escape routes dwindling, his only option was to find a way to transmit the mind-state.

  "He's on level two," a voice shouted from behind.

  "Like hell I am," Edy muttered, propelling himself up another flight of stairs. "Holy nutsacks, does this place have any windows?" he panted, reaching the top. While frantically searching for options, he heard footsteps echoing from one end of the corridor. More boots could be heard coming up the stairs.

  "Guess that's my cue," Edy grumbled, dashing down the shorter hallway and rounding the corner. He found a steel door. "Please don't be locked," he pleaded. The latch clicked open, but Edy didn't have time to celebrate as more gunshots pelted the wall next to him.

  He rushed through and slammed the door behind him. He turned to see a ladder leading to the rooftop.

  "Yes!" He scrambled up the ladder with all the speed he could muster. In mere seconds, he reached the ceiling. As he climbed out, a bullet caught him in the calf, splintering the bone. Edy cried out, but he was finally outside. He crawled away from the opening and began to transmit the signal. The clinking of boots climbing the ladder echoed upward. Edy pushed himself up and limped to the railing at the edge of the building. He extended the antenna as far as possible and propped it on the ledge.

  "Come on, work," he whispered angrily, whipping his sling around to ready his gun. Its unfamiliar weight felt odd in his hands. He turned to aim at the porthole.

  When he saw the guard's head pop up from the ladder, Edy closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

  "You forgot to turn off the safety," a menacing voice growled. Edy opened his eyes to see the end of a gun barrel.

  "Ah, damn," Edy's last words hung in the air as the guard pulled the trigger.

  ***Nik***

  "We're receiving!" a radio operator's voice cut through the silence. Nik and Valentine had been nervously waiting after they rushed back to the recon site.

  "Do we have eyes on Edy? Is he alright?” Nik asked. Another radio operator messaged the forward observation team.

  "We got the mind-state. Mission accomplished." The operator announced. The other operator who called the forward observation looked at Nik grimly.

  "He didn't make it," she said. A numb wave of melancholy engulfed Nik.

  "Don't worry. We expected as much," Valentine reminded Nik. "Edy's original self is still at HQ. We had better pack everything up and head out." Nik frowned but nodded in agreement.

  Their return journey to Vector HQ spanned another two days. On arrival, Nik made a beeline for the STM lab, where he found the original Edy still absorbed in his work at the familiar, worn-out desk. Nik's urgency left little room for delay.

  Lagging behind, Valentine and Erica tried to keep pace. By the time they managed to reach Nik, Edy was already stepping out of the nearest STM, a look of mischievous awe on his face.

  "Boy, do I have some crazy shit to tell you guys!" He gave a wild-eyed grin.