III - R9-PHZ-8

Once back on Vento, Lain tells the others all she found, puts it in a report and sends it to the Eltik HQ with a note for them to keep an eye on the missing ship if they have anyone in the area. She also provides the communication data to Andrew and connects the android to a terminal so they can both try to crack the autentification code.

Andrew plugs himself in and begins work on attempting to decrypt the auth signal.

The code is complicated and there is only one datapoint, which makes it very hard to come up with a pattern. There are dozens of possible ways this particular code could have been generated and each of them would give a different result if they tried to create a new code with them.
Over time, ANDREW narrows down the possibilities, discarding less likely ones - if they appear too simple or too random for example - until he comes up with only four options, which he then weights according to how likely they appear to him. Even the best one doesn't give better odds than maybe 1/3, by his calculations, but if it works, it could be very useful.

Once Andrew matches the encryption patterns and computes the likelihood models Lain copies the results and saves a backup, just in case the android is not available when it is needed. "Everyone ready?"

Once their preparations on the ship are finished, the mercenaries leave it and head for the shuttle instead.
The shuttle pilot is separated from their cabin by a wall but they talk to him via intercom and give him the landing coordinates on the planet. If he is surprised that they are heading to one of the smaller sites instead of the center of operations on the planet, it doesn't show in his voice.

The trip down takes a bit under an hour. As they are already close to the ground, the pilot's voice sounds over the intercom again. "There are thermal coveralls in the compartments under your seats. At the landing site, there are currently -24°C."

Watching the screens that simulate windows in the shuttle, the mercenaries notice a small building - too small - on the ground. According to the map that ANDREW pulled from the servers on the orbital station, it should be much larger than this. After a moment, the mercenaries realize that most of it must be underground.

The shuttle lands and the pilot announces: "I will be waiting here for you."

The mercenaries leave the shuttle and are immediately frozen through to the bone by the ice cold temperatures here. Carlos is somewhat used to these conditions so he can deal with them more easily, and ANDREW experiences extreme temperatures differently than humans but for Lain, this is a pretty new and very uncomfortable situation.

The building entrance is not far from where the shuttle landed and aside from that, there are no manmade structures or even vehicles anywhere in sight.

Well, this feels like home.

What a bracing day.

Carlos looks around to see if he can see any hint of the ship that came before them.

Lain looks at Carlos and grunts some poor complain about the cold "Look! There, a door to a warmer place!" she runs as fast as her frozen muscle allow, hoping to find somewhere to hide from the unbearable freeze! Her vision tunneling into the door that promised hotter air like those of a falcon diving for a kill.

As the group is approaching the building, they all see a large, oval area in the ice-covered ground that looks very different from its surroundings. ANDREW and Lain might not be able to tell exactly what it is but the size matches roughly with a ship of the kind they're following. Carlos, who has more experience in the ice and snow, recognizes it as an area where huge amounts of ice have melted and frozen again. This must have been where the Veszélyes Áruk landed and took off and this melting must have been caused by the heat of their engines and drives.

They reach the building. There are two entrances, a small unassuming one for people and a large rolling gate for vehicles. Carlos notices barely visible traces of tire tracks in the snow. They can't be older than a day so someone must still be here, even after Madekh's ship left.

"Do you think they will let inspector in? This looks like a high security and very secret place" Lain turns to Carlos, questioning if they may want to consider another tactic. Then she looks at Andrew "How's that fake message coming along?"

If we change tactics now, we are sunk.

He goes up to the door and buzzes/knocks or whatever is appropriate.

Hello, you were told to expect us, open up please.

After Carlos speaks through the intercom installed in the door, there is a long pause without a response, then a male voice sounds through the small speaker. "I was not informed of anything. Calling management to confirm. Stand by."

Luckily, the inspection at the orbital docks had gone very smoothly so the mercenaries have no reason to be worried about the outcome of this inquiry. Still, being forced to wait outside in the freezing cold is less than comfortable.
Finally, after five minutes with no further indication that anything is happening inside, the small door opens and a tall, broad-shouldered man in padded clothing awaits them behind the door. The man looks very rough, definitely a manual worker or soldier not an administrator. He has an artificial jaw and a few scars all over his face. Over his shoulder, he is carrying a rifle. His grip on it looks casual, like carrying it doesn't have any significance to him, but the battle-experienced mercenaries are still able to tell that with just one movement of his arm, he could get it ready in firing position.
The man takes a step back and lets the mercenaries come in, onto the huge elevator platform behind the door. When they are all in, the door closes itself again. It's much warmer inside than outside, though still just barely above freezing.
"The name is Fuentes," he introduces himself in a thick, barely understandable accent that sounds like a mishmash of a dozen other rim dialects. It's definitely not the same voice they heard at the intercom, though there are some similarities in their way of speaking. "You gizonen know you're at the wrong camp, right? Local HQ is about seven thousand kilometers Northwestwest."

Hello Fuentes.

Carlos takes a minute to stomp the snow off.

Yes, we are aware that this isn't the main HQ. We were tasked with checking how all of the operation was working.

He pauses and draws out the next sentence in a conspiratorial tone.

All aspects.