April 8th at 10:33am
Dr. Bast pulls the filter from one of the fallen soldier's masks, he had been collecting the foggy substance for weeks, and looks at it under the harsh white light of her portable scanner. She adjusts the focus, brow knitting, eyes narrowing as she leans closer.
-uh-hmmm- she whispers.

With a trembling hand, she scrapes the blackened residue from the filter’s edge into a clear vial, then adds a crude reagent. Nothing. She blinks and adds another. The liquid recoils, contracting on itself.
-uhm?-

Her gaze lifts to meet Commissar Bryce.
-This isn’t mineral, nor industrial. It’s... some biochemical compound- She drops the vial’s contents onto the concrete floor. -It slowly oxidizes and decays when exposed to air, but down here…- She gestures toward the sealed gates where the substance is leaking from -…it’s being generated nonstop. As if something or… “someone” is breathing it, constantly.-
Thanatos clenches his jaw behind the cladded mask of his armor. -A creature?-
Bast shrugs. -Could be-

Adeptvs LIV tilts its head toward the Doctor.
-Ref 1- According to provided data, this facility extracts one of the source materials of the P1-10 compound to be distributed to the diverse manufacturing plants of the “Pixie Dust” agent.
-Ref 2- 96,31% of well-known manufacturing processes generate biochemical toxic products.
╙►Consequence 1- Data is consistent with evidence

-Yeah, but that’s not all…- She expands the scan, the holographic lines twisting like veins in the air. -It follows a pheromonal pattern… but there are missing parts. The protein chains lack key enzymatic elements. It’s not a known artificial product. This… this is organic.-
Her eyes lock on Bryce again, unwavering.

-This is… a byproduct… a “residuum” of something-

Commissar Bryce puffs and scratches the back of her neck.
-In any case, we need to continue and those doors are the only way into the facility.-

The cladded doors groan as Little Sister Titanya strains against them, forcing them open. Inside the small room, there is nothing but a massive sealed pressure gate like the ones on a spaceship hangar with a inoperative console and a grated vent. The smell hits first, heavy, metallic sweetness tangled with decay. A foggy gust curls upward from the grate, making the Ogryness’ curls shiver. Outside, the roar of the horde gets louder, like a distant growing storm.
Titanya kneels behind the vent entrance, her massive hands brushing at the creeping fog in exaggerated, almost helpless gestures.
The ventilation shaft is narrow, barely wide enough for a single human to crouch inside. Thanatos’ flashlight cuts through the haze, bouncing along the twisting metal ducts that disappear into darkness.
Titanya hesitates at the opening, her enormous frame dwarfing the shaft. Bryce glances back.
-We’ll clear it and come back. Wait here, do you understand? I will come back- she says softly, pointing toward the surviving soldiers. -They’re friends and are weak. They need you to protect them.-
Titanya nods. Bryce turns back, gripping the sticky edges of the conduit feeling the dense fog`s smell even through the heavy filter of her mask. Keeping her breathing controlled to avoid inhaling as much of the foul tasting thing as possible, they get in the duct.

A junction opens several meters ahead. Three large ducts converge, each puffing thick, rolling fog, while countless others like the one they are moving through branch off in every direction. Whatever is generating the haze, it is being vented relentlessly through the network in many different points. Bryce clenches his fists, eyes narrowing behind the mask.

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Where to?:
Left Duct – A narrower path, fog heavier but quieter. Could lead closer to the source undetected, but risk getting trapped if it narrows further.
Right Duct – Wider and cleaner, easier to move, but faint clanging echoes from deep within suggest patrols. More visibility, more danger.
Straight Ahead – Directly into thickest fog, pulsating with the biochemical compound. Could be closest to the production, but the fog may harm them.