The inner core was slowly regaining the power that it once boasted two years ago, bringing dormant units back to life after the recess taken in the depths of the corridors carved inside the planetoid. Their occupants began rebuilding and restoring the very little that Naval Forces managed to damage during their incursion into the facility, as well as scheming the path to recover missing elements plundered by both the Order and Blood Dragons, the Proteus Tome and the ship of Tekagi's executioner, Ozu's Katana.
The bonds with the rest of the community were also restablished, allowing them to take their first steps into intercepting materials and human-made craft that would allow them to do what they had now been conceived for, to subjugate the humankind and terrorize the opposing forces. However, much like the influence of the community was weaker than twenty years ago, the bonds were to become strong again if they aimed to stand a chance against the current dominant specie in Sirius.
The docking bays at the top of the Arch remained that day unpopulated and obnoxiously silent. The latter was not a misbegotten feature for whoever ventured in the facility, ally or enemy, but only in that special time the silence would be broken to welcome the individuals and representatives of the several interconnected branches in the community that would attend to the secret gathering. A gathering that not only would introduce new associates such as the Samarran Raiders, but also draw a path that started ever since the destruction of Toledo.
After receiving the invitation, the Raiders were anxious to proceed with the meeting, perhaps that is why they made haste and arrived first.
They followed the path they were given by their hosts, first through the Tau sector, then Kyushu, followed by Hokkaido and finally - Tohoku. The trip itself was rather uneventful and bordering on boring, but the very sight of Tohoku and the Heaven's Gate was very much worth it.
The Raiders didn't travel in force, but rather, only two of them came. Jared Nomak leading in front and Bassam Hussaini, his right hand, only slightly behind him. As they approached the docking ports of the Arch, the automated defense turrets turned towards them, but didn't fire.
"Transmitting access codes. This is the Samarran Raiders wing alpha, requesting permission to dock." - Bassam exclaimed with a monotone voice.
His request was met only with silence, but soon enough the turrets returned to their original position, the red flickering signal lights around the docking point turned green, and the hatch opened, allowing them to proceed.
"Initiating docking procedure, I'll go first"- Nomak announced and went through.
After he disappeared down the shaft, Bassam quickly followed. As they descended, down to the landing pad, Nomak in his Sabre, and Hussaini in his eagle, the lights flashed a few times before they turned on completely, revealing a large hangar, decorated with ornate motifs but otherwise - empty.
They left their ships hastily, one after another and looked around to scan their surroundings. Nothing was to be seen, except the large emtpy chamber.
"No welcoming party?" - Nomak smirked.
"Wait." - Bassam pointed to the distance, from where a blurry figure was approaching them...
" Yes, I see someone..." - Jared noticed the same blurry silhouette that was approaching them. "He looks armed, keep your finger on the trigger." - He said nervously, as the silhouette, now clearly looking like a guard, got infront of them.
"Greetings, Raiders. We've been expecting you. I assume that you're Bassam Hussaini and Jared Nomak. You will need to hand me your weapons, security wise. Rules are rules."
Jared looked upon Bassam with uncertainty, as Bassam nodded slowly and handed over his blaster, silently compelling Jared to do same.
- "Good, follow me please. Enjoy the view while residing here, there is still a lot of work to do."
Then, the unknown man, in an ordinary Naval Forces suit, led them trough the corridor into another, now smaller chamber which had another smaller chamber in itself, surrounded by a transparent forcefield of sorts with a huge conference table in its center.
- "Have a seat, gentlemen. Others will be here soon. Have a glass of sake and some cigarettes, if you perfer, while you wait."
The guard left the chamber, closed the door and departed, while the Raiders took their seats around the table, patiently waiting for the rest.
<"From Darkness, lead me to Light. From Ignorance, to Truth. From Death, to Immortality.">