STALKER: The Rift Protocol - Flux Load (a web novel) ~ Chapter 28 ~

📖 Chapter 28 — The Heart of Containment 🎬 Chapter 28.0 — The Gates Close The convoy crossed the threshold. No sooner had the last DTV cleared the entrance than the quarantine gates began closing behind them. Steel groaned. Hydraulics echoed across the valley. With a final thunderous impact, the gates sealed shut. Nobody spoke. Every instinct told them the same thing. There would be no quick way back. Ahead stretched broad industrial roads lined with silent concrete buildings and steel service gantries. Everything was powered. Everything was operating. Yet nowhere could they see a single person. Only machines. The convoy continued deeper into Nexus Two. 🎬 Chapter 28.1 — A Facility Without People Wu Ming expected soldiers. Instead he found conveyor belts. They crossed intersections by themselves. Mechanical transfer arms slowly lifted heavy containment canisters from one line to another. No operators. No technicians. No voices. Only the steady rhythm of machinery carrying out work that appeared never to have stopped. Oksana looked toward one of the buildings. No barracks. Yura nodded. No motor pool either. Sergei frowned. So where does everyone live? Nobody answered. Because nobody could find evidence that anyone ever had. 🎬 Chapter 28.2 — Follow It One conveyor caught Wu Ming's attention. A familiar cylindrical container rolled slowly past. An Anomaly Containment Canister. Not the new ACC. An ordinary one. Still sealed. Still active. Wu Ming watched it disappear around a corner. Then quietly said, Follow it. The convoy parked. The team continued on foot. They simply walked beside the conveyor. It became their guide. Past inspection stations. Past automated scanners. Past robotic handling arms. Every machine acknowledged the canister. None required human input. 🎬 Chapter 28.3 — Greyfield Command Static crackled. Then the radio came alive. Greyfield Command: Nexus Two, status. Wu Ming keyed the transmitter. Facility operational. No personnel observed. A short pause later. Greyfield Command: Confirmed. Another conveyor merged with theirs. Then another. Dozens of anomaly cores slowly moved toward the same destination. Wu Ming: Greyfield Command... this place isn't abandoned. Greyfield Command: Affirmative. Yura studied the power distribution cables running overhead. They all disappeared in the same direction. Toward the containment structure. Not away from it. He quietly said, There aren't any generators. Another brief pause. Greyfield Command: Confirmed. Nothing more. No explanation. 🎬 Chapter 28.4 — The Lattice The conveyor descended. So did they. The freight lift reached a chamber unlike anything they had imagined. Rows upon rows of reinforced containment sockets stretched across the cavernous floor. Some held anomaly cores. Others stood empty. Mechanical arms removed depleted canisters. Fresh ones slid silently into place. As each core locked into position, faint streams of violet energy flowed through thick conduits disappearing deeper into the containment complex. Nobody spoke. Yura slowly walked forward. He knelt beside an instrumentation console. Numbers streamed across its display. Flux output. Containment stability. Distribution balance. His eyes widened. This isn't storage. Wu Ming followed the conduits disappearing into reinforced walls. No. He looked around the enormous chamber. They're feeding something. Static. Then: Greyfield Command: Nexus Two. ... We see you have located the Stabilization Lattice. 🎬 Chapter 28.5 — Waiting Nobody asked another question. They simply looked. Thousands of anomaly recoveries. Years of dangerous expeditions. Hundreds of lives. All leading here. Oksana finally broke the silence. So this is why. No one answered. Because everyone understood. 🎬 Chapter 28.6 — Seventeen Minutes The radio cracked sharply. Nadiya's voice. Not calm. Focused. Nexus Two. Everyone stopped. Telemetry update. ... The ACC has accelerated. ... ... Estimated arrival... She checked the screen again. ...seventeen minutes. The chamber fell silent. For the first time since entering Nexus Two. Greyfield Command did not answer immediately. Five long seconds passed. Then another voice entered the channel. Calm. Measured. Recognizable. Dr. Elias Varenko: Nexus Two. Every member of the team instinctively stood straighter. Implement Containment Breach Contingency. Nothing else. The channel fell silent. Wu Ming looked around the chamber. Then at each member of the team. No speeches. No hesitation. Yura. The lattice is yours. Oksana. Find the medical station and bring it online. Nadiya. Stay on telemetry. He picked up his rifle. I'm taking the defenses. Nobody questioned him. They simply ran. THE STABILIZATION LATTICE Newly Confirmed Observations Nexus Two remains largely autonomous. No permanent operating staff are present. Routine anomaly core deliveries sustain continuous operations. Automated logistics systems transport anomaly cores throughout the facility. A large underground Stabilization Lattice consumes anomaly cores to generate and distribute Flux. The lattice supports containment systems associated with the large Rift beneath Nexus Two. Note: This is my attempt at making a long series. Index: Chapters Selection Beginning: Chapter 1: The Edge of Entry Links to previous and next chapter: Chapter 27: The Quarantine Gate Chapter 29: (Coming Soon)