The night had been restless and Ryan had tossed and turned more than he had slept. It was a relief when Mike nudged him awake from his disturbed sleep. “Hey bud, time to get up. Here’s some coffee. Sorry, it’s just lukewarm. The thermos didn’t keep it as hot as I’d thought. We’re all packed up and ready to head home.”

With heartfelt gratitude for the coffee Ryan replied, “Thanks man, appreciate it. I’ll spin up the portal once I’m done with the coffee. Fury eaten yet?” Ryan wasn’t particularly hungry but Fury needed to be fed. He’d just chew on some biltong later.

“Yeah, she’s been munching on some Oryx Miguel shot yesterday.” Mike let him know. Ryan’s coffee went down quick and he started to spin up a portal after he’d asked the group to douse their torches and when they asked why he let them know that he wanted to show them something. They were suitably impressed by the ethereal light, much to his satisfaction. Fury was once again indifferent and continued chewing on the scant remainder of her haunch, crunching through the bone with relish to get at the marrow.

While she continued demolishing the bone Ryan settled his pack on his shoulders and then fumbled his way through the garage in the approximate direction of the gate, eschewing a torch to lessen the risk of accidental discovery and to preserve his night vision. Fury, not impressed with his progress huffed and came to lead him through the dark, her senses much better suited to navigate given the absence of light.

Once Ryan had the door open the scant illumination of the stars proved sufficient to navigate through the grounds in direction of the ridge. The duo carefully made their way although both their senses failed to find any signs of life. Keeping up his sensory ‘package’ or aura had become easier than before although the process still strained his concentration, much to Ryan’s disappointment. He couldn’t wait for the time it became subconscious and suspected he’d get another Skill out of it when it did.

Their stealthy trek through the valley was without incident, none of the smallish nightlife bothered the pair and the fortunate absence of larger threats proved a relief to them both. As the first hints of dawn lightened their surroundings the two hit the slope, the increase in illumination necessary if they intended to follow the approach the two had decided on. A direct ascent up the incline might be the most difficult approach but also one no-one would reasonable suspect. Until they confirmed that the lodge looking over the plains was as deserted as the other sites they both chose to minimise their exposure.

The climb was difficult in the extreme, the need to stealth through the thick bush and among the massive boulders only adding to the problem. Still, the two arrived on the ridge before the sun crested the eastern horizon, keeping a healthy distance from the lapa. Catching his breath Ryan scanned the structure with his binoculars. From what he could determine it was unoccupied so Fury made her fully stealthed approach to confirm this while he panned through the area. It was with mixed feelings that he acknowledged the lack of any signs of life in the parts of the lodge he could spot from his current position. Relief that there were no apparent humanoid threats and grief that the occupants had most likely met an unfortunate end.

As soon as Fury confirmed that the lapa was indeed empty of life and letting him know that there hadn’t been any recently he headed over to continue with his scan of the lodge. He remained careful but moved faster than the two had earlier. Scanning the rest of the complex didn’t turn up any further obvious signs of life so the two headed down the path to physically inspect the buildings. To his great relief there were no signs of struggle, the buildings were locked and it looked as if the complex had been abandoned in an orderly manner. Ryan surmised that the occupants had vacated the area once their food stores run low in a bid to reach civilisation.

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Once the two had confirmed that the site was unoccupied he sent a report to Michelle, heading along the road to the next location. He’d scanned the third lodge yesterday but wanted to personally confirm that it too was vacant. The canvas chalets showed signs of damage but as at the lodge on the slope Ryan couldn’t spot any signs indicating conflict. Another report went off to Michelle. Ryan was satisfied with what he had found, in his opinion the guild could more or less safely relocate to the lodge in the valley, provided that they took care of any of the natural threats in the area. Yes, the levels of the buffalos and the leopard he had spotted the day before were concerning but the guild should be able to handle the fight safely. Hopefully.

With a lot more of the day left than Ryan had expected he decided to start on the secondary objective of his expedition, scouting out Otjiwarongo. Deliberating on the approach to town while he walked along the road out of the valley he relied on Fury to warn him of any threats for the time being, dropping the intense focus on his senses to relieve the accumulated strain. As soon as he spotted the main road circling south of the plateau he called his bond back to his side, Shifting them down without further ado.

Ryan had decided that they’d just follow the road with Refractive Shield engaged, planning on trying to cultivate while Fury would keep an eye out for threats. Even accounting for a few lengthy breaks to allow her to recover her energy they should handily reach Otjiwarongo before dark. That should allow them to find a safe camp for the night and scout out the town tomorrow he hoped.

So Ryan jogged along the road. Entering a meditative trance was easy, near instantaneous as he focused his awareness on the myriad motions of his body. Muscles contracting, releasing. The interplay of the various groups of fibres efficiently driving his body forward at a relentless pace, the complex interactions powered and supported by the flows of all encompassing energy.

Ryan observed the metaphysical flow of the various streams, was entranced by it. First fascinated by the flow as a whole he quickly delved into more detail. Tiny streams of energy collected by his largest organ, focused then funneled to his core. His intestines fed from the core and returned it in spades. Various streams intermingled, mixed and then diverged, only to twist and intermingle again. He could perceive his vascular system, carrying the strongest flows, identified by the pulsating beat of surges originating from his heart.

First traces of colour, flavour or differing notes became apparent as he perceived more. The channels feeding the active cells of his shield clusters differed in nature from the strong flow from his stomach or the feeling from his veins. They felt focused, singular in comparison. Biström leached an altogether different beast. The organ should have been dormant, inactive but it greedily absorbed a not insignificant amount at a constant rate. Ryan focused on the offender, closely observing. A sharp crystalline lattice was expanding around the organ in infintisemal steps, progress only perceived after minutes of contemplation. A similar lattice spiralled through his brain, finer and infinitely more complex with a solid node nestled at the base of his medulla. Diving into the node Ryan tasted thunder, static lightning percolated through his thoughts. The experience threw up synaesthesic thoughts of reactors, arc reactors, fusion reactors, powerhouses. A massive, previously unobservable exchange of energy between his core and the node confirmed his suspicions. This was the Interface, the computational centre that enabled the System. Growing symbiotically with his core?

Absently he wondered if Alexis could perceive this node with her Comprehensive Scan or whether it was, as he suspected, metaphysical in nature. Again he touched on the node, trying to gain a deeper understanding. Again the smell of arcing electricity inundated his perception. The tone was strident, a warning maybe? Ryan pushed on, dismissing his hesitation. Indistinctly he felt as if he was rushing through a narrow tunnel. With a sudden jolt Ryan was shunted out of meditation, the encroaching blackness and the tarmac flashing closer only allowing one last little “Shit…” to flash through his mind before oblivion claimed him.