The nervous and friendly Outcast awkwardly smiled upon Rex, trying to catch the adequate words for what happened and, after a short silence, he said:
“I am afraid I do not have all the answers for you. But…I can respond several questions, and even rumors, too. This isolated facility, the Antártida complex, was created centuries ago by a powerful Don. Its original purpose is shrouded by mystery, but as you can see, this is not an ordinary place.”
Alberto Cruz sweated a bit, his composure was firm but he seemed stressed by trying to remember all the details, as he followed precise orders regarding the treatment with the outsider:
“Julia got the idea to use this installation as a recruitment spot for certain elements that had transgressed the ways of the Maltese, but fortuitous enough to survive the wrath of their judges. She knew the elder before Malta Hyperspace Starfleet was fully operational. We refer him as the warden; she did not want to reveal us his name, I wonder why, and the old man obeys to this, too. He is a savant in many areas, but he has lost some of his sanity and memory, due to reasons I do not know and I doubt that Julia would tell us so freely. In any case, the warden is a cheap support for the base maintenance, and we intend to keep it in this approach. As an exception to this, there are a couple of main reasons that justify why you are here.”
Cruz pointed his breather on his nose, with his index finger, reflecting its supposedly obvious purpose:
“First, this is Cardamine-free zone, artificially configured in this way; the special Outcasts who come here are stripped out of their implements of necessity, making this a challenge against time, and probably a no-return point for those who cannot endure the training and psychological struggle imposed by the warden. Whether you are a Cardamine user or not, Alpha Command decided to not impose you anything on this regard, trying to give you a comfortable experience throughout the courses, as you came by. Maybe the warden thought of you as the last prey because you had no problems walking or suffering symptoms due lack of Cardamine consumption, an apex predator who was coming for him. It is intriguing, though; we just arrived approximately 2 hours after your arrival. We synchronized with Julia’s crew and we expected to rendezvous with them, but we got delayed due to a logistic emergency with certain supplies we delivered in our headquarters. I would consider this a slight oversight, but Julia is not a careless person. Did she tell you something before coming here? Mmm…”
Unsure of what he was saying, Cruz resumed the main talk:
"Second, there are plenty of Outcast training areas that can certainly teach you what you want, but most of them are highly restricted or for Maltese-only, with our own proper environment conditions. If you go outside of this facility, you would be mostly flooded by the different flora that Malta provides and it is quite aggressive...and pointy. For that, Julia made sure that you arrived without changes, probably she commanded her men to bring you in a pod or something like that, before entering. Even if the old man does not give a clean impression of the place, Artártida has top-notch equipment and fully functional devices and simulations you could require for training and more. Additional to that, as you can see, it is not quite a populated base, if there were more Maltese here, many could consider you as an unwanted interloper, and we did not want that unnecessary hassle.”
Taking a soft breath, Cruz decided to give the word to Rex with the following:
“If you have any more questions, ask away. I will be here to assist you and we can begin whenever you want. Also, you are free to roam around the complex. Near the Librerija there is a mess hall where you can get some food and, if you are curious enough, the exit is beyond the Awditorju. An elevator can lower you to the ground; the main entrance is filled with orange meadows and swamps, it is a wonder to see them…if you are brave enough. Check the map for further indications.”
Cruz chuckled a bit:
“Oh and next time, call us through this console, you can contact Malta Hyperspace Starfleet directly through here. Stupid old man does not always intercept the messages, especially those that are sent from here; he knows that those who train could die in any minute, so he is more laxative about that, willing to allow the testaments and such. Well, now that Starfleet people are here, you will have no problems at all.”
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