The outpost's interior, when they finally crossed into it, felt subtly, unsettlingly different from Rohan's first exploration weeks earlier. Portable lighting rigs had been installed along the main corridors, harsh and industrial compared to the outpost's own long-dead fixtures, evidence of a considerably more thorough, better-resourced investigation than anything Rohan and Corven had managed on their own.
"They've been busy," Corven murmured, studying a cluster of unfamiliar equipment left abandoned near a junction point. "Survey drones, environmental scanners, considerably more sophisticated gear than anything we brought on our first pass."
"Voices," Dr. Farr said suddenly, freezing mid-step, one hand raised in warning.
