A large doorway, roughly about half the size of the tunnel lay in front of the trio. The mine track headed on past it going possibly even deeper into the mine. The doorway itself could only be described as mysterious, an odd thick fog emanating from it with a green tint, it evaporated into nothing a few feet out into the mine. There wasn’t anywhere for it to seep, so it looked. . . supernatural.

The three stood in front of the fog for a few seconds. Gunnar lifted his arm up and moved it up, offering one of the sisters to go first. ‘I insist.’ He bowed.

Nati put her hands on her hips. ‘Uh. Excuse me? Why should we go through it first?’ She tilted her head.

‘Your fancy tech doesn’t have a gas mask built in?’ Gunnar asked.

Though stone faced, Nati nudged her younger sister behind her. Equally emotionless, Kat pulled a small gas mask out of her bag. ‘We only have two.’

Gunnar nodded. ‘We really should have been better prepared for this eventuality given the established gaseous nature of these particular cultists.’

The thought of a potentially deadly wall of gas being an obstacle had somehow not occurred to any of them. The sisters brought a lot of tech around with them, gas masks included apparently. Kat shrugged and pushed the mask to her face, a seal was formed as the mask adhered itself to her jaw and chin. ‘It might actually be safe to breathe. I’ll check it out with a scan.’ Her muffled and now slightly synthesised voice echoed through the mask as she walked into the green gas, instantly disappearing behind it.

A few seconds later a large figure appeared from the gaseous wall. ‘It’s clean,’ Kat called from the gas, her voice now clear. She was already throwing the mask back in her bag.

‘You’re kidding me? That shits completely clean?’ Gunnar asked, still hesitant to approach.

Kat shrugged, holding up her all purpose scanner, or APS for short. An expensive piece of kit, able to scan for oddities and impurities across a dozen situations. Though it was mostly used by mercenaries to figure out the chemical compound of the various noxious drugs and poisons wielded by gangers. In this case, it read the gas as still being mostly oxygen and carbon dioxide with a few traces of various other apparently not dangerous gases. Gunnar didn’t recognise any of them.

Nati scratched her chin and let out an inquisitive hum. ‘If this isn’t meant to kill intruders, then what protection do they have? Why don’t they have any guards?’ She wondered.

Now that she mentioned it, not only were there no guards on the outside, he couldn’t hear any commotion inside either. They were keeping their voices quiet, but still, he thought he’d at least hear some form of hustle and bustle. ‘Suppose they didn’t expect anyone to be able to find this place to begin with?’

Kat shook her head. ‘They’re pacifists. Or at least that’s what they claim. Never seen one with a weapon, guess they’re just not the type to stand guard.’

The sisters had been watching them for a few days now. Not the best sample size, but certainly better than the one time Gunnar had met them, if one could even call watching them get shot meeting them. He sighed feeling his body limpen slightly. ‘Guess we’re trusting the fancy tech,’ he grumbled.

He followed in after Kat, diving right into the hostile looking gas. Right in front of him Kat was now fully visible, with a big smile on her face, watching Gunnar’s grumbling expression. He felt a push behind him as the elder sister tried to shove his mass out of the way in the tiny tunnel. Kat turned around and began sneaking through the tunnel, she put her finger to her lips.

They must have been close to the cult’s home now, given the gas and all. Even if they weren’t, it wasn’t worth the risk to make noise and alert them to their presence. In fact, as they delved deeper through the tunnel they began to hear sound. The vague hints of life not far beyond them. Chatting and bustling bodies. There was also a smell, unidentifiable, but not unpleasant.

The tunnel seemed to go on for quite a while, but eventually Kat stopped dead in her tracks. She held her arm up and motioned at the two behind her to crouch. Then pushed ahead and disappeared through another wall of gas. Gunnar looked behind him to see Nati shrug then try and push him along again. He obliged, stepping through the other side of the gas tunnel.

The trio had pushed out into a new room, a huge expansive cavern to be more specific. Behind them gas seeped into the tunnel from above, there was a thick layer hanging in several pools dug into the ceiling above. Gunnar would have assumed it was just some sort of byproduct if it didn’t perfectly create a wall on either side of the tunnel. An odd deterrent from would-be trespassers, though it must have worked for the most part.

Other than the strange gas tunnel though, there was a lot to see. They were crouched on the highest level of the caver, quite far above the ground. It was a walkway built into the wall that extended the entire length of the cavern facing directly outward from the tunnel. In the middle of the walkway was a decently long flight of stairs, which ended on the main floor of the room. A single building dominated the cavern, a decently large church, built out of stone like a shanty town house. Only on a far larger scale and far better built.

Many steam pipes protruded out of the roof and walls of the church-like building, they each led to their own chimney all of which produced the same green gas they had just walked through. It spread across the roof of the cavern and seemed to be slowly sucked up by a single industrial extractor fan in the middle, a few strands pulled away from the fan and formed unnatural streams to reach the upside down pools and entrance tunnel. The extractor fan had to lead outside the wall, otherwise the escaped gas would have given away their little home’s position.

Around the church, dozens of Gospel members milled about. They must have had a recent delivery as most seemed to be moving low grade faux-wood crates around, some of which Gunnar recognised as vat meat containers, kept frozen internally. What was surprising was that some of the members didn’t wear the traditional robe and mask like the rest. For the most part they looked like normal folk, except for the fact that the vast majority were bald or balding and they all had glazed over white eyes. Still, they walked and talked like everyone else. A few were smiling and chatting with bottles of Hidrate, sitting on crates, clearly in the middle of a break.

The main entrance of the large church sat wide open, but it too looked surrounded by cultists, far too many for them to sneak past. There were plenty of crates still left on the walkway the three mercenaries were currently sitting on too, sooner or later one of the Gospel would come up here to grab another.

‘The fuck do they do to folk down here?’ Nati whispered in a growl.

Gunnar put his finger to his lips. ‘Not important right now, we can scream in horror when we’re out of earshot. We’re here to look for anything that might help Aethelstan.’ Gunnar did hope it would be something that would give the man closure, rather than rile him up even more.

Nati steeled her expression and nodded, pulling her new rifle from her back. She lay down, setting it up through a small crack in the wall. ‘Kat, try and find a way round the back, and get a good scan, some of the walls might be too thick even for Lucille.’ She looked through the scope. ‘I’ll let you guys know when to move.’

The two sisters worked well together, it was how they gained such a good reputation. As they advanced and got better enhancements, they always made sure they were compatible. Kat had photographic sensors in her eyes that let her scan environments and automatically send them to a recipient. In this case it was Natis rifles, each one they programmed as soon as it was in their hands. In this particular situation, Gunnar felt almost unnecessary. ‘And my job is?’

Nati smirked. ‘Keep my sister alive,’ she replied matter of factly. ‘Here.’ Gunnar felt a small object hit his startled but open hands, it was a small headset that fit behind the ear. ‘Put it on,’ she ordered.

With a shake of disbelief, Gunnar took off with Kat, thumbing the headset on. They were crawling, it wasn’t dignified, but crouch walking was hell on the thighs, even for an experienced merc. As soon as he felt it was safe, Gunnar glanced behind them, to make sure Nati was out of earshot. ‘She’s already named the new one, huh?’

‘Yes. It has a nametag in the armoury,’ Kat replied, blunt.

Gunnar could hear the hint of irritation in her voice. Yes the sisters got on well and worked together well, but at the end of the day they were still siblings. Even Gunnar once knew what that was like, a long long time ago.

A few seconds later, as they reached the stairs there was a loud hiss that felt like it originated directly in Gunnar’s brain. ‘Testing. Can you hear me numbnuts?’ Natalia’s voice echoed through his mind the same way.

Gunnar winced and pressed on his earpiece. ‘Too loud and too clear. Can you turn it down?’

‘I could,’ she answered with no change to volume.

There were enough boxes and other items by the stairs for them to stay in cover, so the two backed up and stayed crouched, listening out. ‘Any on the stairs?’ Gunnar whispered into the mic.

‘Looks like two are about to start walking up. There are a few levels before yours, I’ll let you know if you need to hide.’ Nati had lowered her volume now they were getting closer to their targets.

Kat scooched up closer to Gunnar, almost leaning on his shoulder to get a glimpse of the path down. ‘How do you want to do this, if they get close? Try and talk maybe?’

Gunnar weighed the thought in his mind, it didn’t take long. ‘We still don’t know enough about these guys to have a good conversation. I get the feeling most cults don’t take kindly to a group of mercs infiltrating their top secret hideout to steal their secrets.’

There was a sigh of discontent behind him. ‘I’m not a fan of beating a group so unarmed though. You seen a single weapon since we got in?’

He hadn’t. It was very odd. Sure there weren’t many that could find them, or many that would want to. Yet not a single automated turret, or even guard with a pistol? The place was completely unprotected at first glance. There had to be something though. Maybe there was a way they could weaponise their gas? It would give weight to Aethel’s suspicions.

‘I reckon we’ll have to try and knock them out if they get close then, nothing prolonged or deadly,’ Gunnar commented, nodding his head assuredly.

Kat stared at him wide eyed. ‘Are you kidding me? You’re not a child Gunnar, knocking someone else can do like, actual permanent damage you know?’ She paused. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve tried knocking people out before?’

Gunnar hurriedly shook his head. ‘No, I just suggested it cus they’re clearly not normal humans anymore, they’re probably sturdier right?’

Kat shook her head. ‘I thought you were supposed to be the adult Gunnar.’

Before he could respond, a voice hissed through his skull. ‘They’re nearing your floor, huddle yourselves behind those boxes.’ Gunnar pulled Kat close as they pushed against the wall. He gripped the handle of his gun as the footsteps grew audible.

‘Gun-’ Kat tried to talk, her cheeks were a little flushed, but she saw Gunnar’s shushing expression quickly enough to fall silent. The two cultists that grew close were talking, having a very simple everyday conversation about their plans for the day after they finished their morning chores. Worship, food, basic board games and some relaxing in the garden. To those that live exciting lives like mercenaries, a day like this would be just as likely heaven as it is hell.

They could see their shadow now, the light from the church throwing their shape against the wall. The two were prepared, to threaten, talk or fight, whichever came their way. Instead, however, the two cultists just grabbed a few more crates and walked back down the stairs, carrying on with their conversation.

Gunnar looked at Kat who looked back at him. ‘That was an option too I guess?’ He shrugged. Kat stifled a laugh.

‘Alright you two, this would be the best time. Just get down far enough to jump off the side without killing yourselves.’ Natis’ voice echoed through his head once again.

They did as she asked, crouched and practically crawled behind the two figures in front of them. The stairs themselves had a little cover, they were wooden with solid wooden walls and a few thick pillars to keep them stable. The crates and bodies of the cultists would help as well, but if anyone looked up for more than a few seconds they would be discovered.

Though tense, the duo followed on, keeping their eyes on the surroundings, the bodies milling about, any sign that they might be caught. A couple more cutlists stood at the bottom of the stairs, they glanced their way for a moment, but carried on their conversation. It looked like they were waiting for the two ahead of them to reach the bottom of the stairs, so their attention was fully on them. Gunnar looked over the edge of the stairs, there was a surprisingly healthy bush and some rocks to their left, it might still hurt, but it was better than getting caught. He nudged at Kat to follow him and jumped over the edge.

With a soft thud, Gunnar landed with a few scratches on his back, but otherwise golden. He rolled over as Kat landed, flattening a part of the bush as she rolled too hard and smacked the rock. She grimaced and grabbed her arm where she landed, holding back any noise.

The both of them were silent, but there was no comment on the noise, no investigation, the bustle of the cult helped hide their mistake. ‘Your arm good?’ He asked Kat.

She nodded. ‘Just hit my funny bone. No real harm other than my dignity.’ She rubbed her elbow and nodded at Gunnar, to let him know she was good to go.

Gunnar peaked around the rock, they were close to the wall now with enough cover between crates and bushes to get there if they timed it well. There was something else though, there were patches of thick gas close to the wall. It looked different to the gas they had walked through, thicker, more potent maybe, and there were too many eyes for Kat to test its properties properly, but, luckily she did at least have two gas masks. He turned back to face her. ‘There’s gas. Looks different from the other stuff, don’t wanna risk it.’

Kat rifled around in her waist bag, pulling a smaller mask from it and tossing it to Gunnar, then she put on her own. ‘It was made for children but it should fit you.’ Gunnar smirked. ‘Nati had to use a child’s mask?’

Kat noticed his expression. ‘Don’t tell her I told you.’

The main entrance would have been far too difficult to get to without being seen, so their best bet would be to hope there was an entrance around the back. Or at least a loose window. Also that the back had far less folk milling around, considering that the Gospel appeared to be restocking their supplies it was likely most of their members would be here. Gunnar tapped Kat and pointed at the side of the building, Kat nodded. He pushed his earpiece in. ‘We’re going around the side, just let us know if anything happens from your angle,’ he whispered into the mic.

‘Go for it,’ Nati answered back.

They waited for a clear moment, then moved to the next piece of cover. Repeating the step a few more times until they were near the sidewall of the church. Gunnar could see around the corner now, a few seats and potted plants, but otherwise quiet, the oddest part was the back of the church, which looked almost like a noble’s garden.

Another chance came up and they rushed down the side, as soon as they were clear Kat peaked around the corner. Nobody had spotted them. This place was far too peaceful for its own good, which honestly just started to throw a lump of guilt in Gunnar’s throat. He wasn’t perfect, wasn’t a mercenary that was, but he prided himself on taking jobs more on the ethical side of things. Breaking into a peaceful commune wasn’t generally on that side. They would just have to try and cause as little damage as possible.

They looked around briefly, but at least down this side there was no way inside. No window, just a long wall with a few pipes sticking out. ‘Think you can climb it?’ Gunnar asks, pointing up the wall. He could just about, the pipes would make usable grips.

Kat smirked. ‘If you want me to punch handholds in the brick, then yeah.’ She squeezed her hand into a fist, tensing it up. She was not quite as agile as Gunnar, and her muscle made her weight quite a bit more. Not that he would ever mention that fact.

‘Not exactly stealthy. Let’s keep going.’ He motioned with his head, staying low to the ground they carried on, away from the noise and the crowd.

The church was large, but not a mansion, it didn’t take long for them to reach the next corner. Before he peaked round the edge, Gunnar listened out for footsteps, there was always a chance one of them could come down their way to take a break or something.

A quiet moment passed. No footsteps were heard, so he leant around. It was a surprising sight. Hidden by the wall of the cavern and the wall of the church was a pleasant garden. It was rare to see this much green outside of the noble’s gardens. If it weren’t for the fact that half the plants looked as bizarre as the cultists and the foggy gas floating around it would have been worth staying a while. Well, if they didn’t get caught. The stench also left a lot to be desired, not awful, but far from the pleasant sent one would expect from a well maintained garden.

To the right of the flowerbeds, further along the church, was a field. Different from the fields that the synth farmers used. There were two cultists planting something in it, a vegetable of some kind, a real vegetable. Not one that Gunnar recognised either, he wasn’t an authority on the subject, but he had some knowledge. The cavern sloped down a little here, it held UV lights along with it. The whole area was lit a little thanks to the light from the church, but here it was even brighter. All of this would have been a risk, if it weren’t for the fact that right next to the corner they were currently peeking around was some sort of cellar door, almost risk free.

Other than the two of them, there were only the farmers around the back of the church. They were the only ones they had to worry about and they were distracted with their tasks. It did look like there was some sort of shed further along that might have led into the church too, but it was far too close to the farmers. The cellar was a no-brain choice, so the pair found themselves in front of it. Gunnar looked for a lock whilst Kat took pictures for her sister’s vision. They had struck luck though, as the cellar wasn’t even locked, in fact it didn’t seem to have a locking mechanism full stop. A basic chain lay next to it, but its rusted stains implied it had not been used in a while. Were they so sure of their safety that they didn’t even lock their cellar door?

When inside, Gunnar got his answer quite quickly. This was their stock room. One shelf was filled with sacks loaded with the vegetables from outside. The others were filled with bread and vats of green tinted water. It must have been unlocked for easy access whilst they worked, which meant the mercenaries had to keep moving.

Other than the food there were many other basic supplies and also a singular door directly opposite the cellar entrance. What surprised Gunnar was that other than the stone wall behind him that sat with the wall of the church, every other wall and the door were all made of wood. Perhaps it was about time he got used to the cult having access to rare resources. They clearly had connections, especially since on top of their own homegrown food they had more delivered by someone or something. Some of the crates they were gathering definitely had food in.

Kat, who was too busy taking pictures for her sister, was completely oblivious to their current predicament, perhaps somehow not realising the risk of camping out in a stock room on delivery day. Gunnar tapped her shoulder, and whispered their urgency in her ear. She opened her mouth a little, and nodded, finally understanding the issue. The two darted out of the room as fast as they dared, only stopping to listen out for movement on the other side of the door. Wasting no time, the pair closed the storage door behind them and assessed the room they now stood in. It was large, possibly spanning most of the church, to the right of the storage room were the stairs leading up to the main floor, to the left appeared to be the main living quarters. Basic tables for eating and rows of beds so simple and rough it was hard to call them beds. There was one body sleeping, the only sign they were alive was the occasional raising of their chest. Otherwise they lay completely motionless, still wearing the full mask and uniform. In this room there was still a thin layer of the gas high up against the roof.

They could hear movement from above, chatter amongst other things. There were definitely folk on the way. Gunnar looked across the rest of the large room, a few doors here and there, possibly toilets or some other kind of privacy. They needed somewhere to hide that would likely also be unused. On the far end of the room, completely opposite to the stairs sat a door a little nicer than the rest. Still barely so, but it looked cleaner, maybe more polished. Gunnar had the impression it led to a large room as there was no other door for the entire width of the wall it sat against. ‘Let’s try that one.’ He nodded towards it.

Kat followed his gaze and nodded. ‘Might as well. Still, be prepared,’ she whispered back.

Gunnar placed his ear against the door and after no sound was heard he opened it. Kat closed the door behind them and sat down next to it. The two took in this room too, not that there was much to take in. Certainly, it was a bedroom, but the bed was no different from the others outside. The only thing unique was that it had an entire room to itself. There was a small corner desk with various paperwork and other items on. Everything was simple, simple pens, a simple table and a simple chair. This must have belonged to someone important, but they clearly took the whole simple life thing seriously. Did the Gospel of Puinsee not allow personal possessions at all? It allowed technology as there was a working desk lap, but there wasn’t much else. They couldn’t have been poor as the whole place was made from wood.

‘Check the desk,’ Kat said. She sat against the door, guarding it and listening for movement.

Gunnar did as he was asked, sitting down and rifling through the documents. It mostly seemed to be contracts, or applications? Documentation on new members of the cult. Names, families and every detail expected. It all seemed odd given the situation. They even had contact numbers for family members. Everything they found made the group seem more and more legit.

There was one strange document Gunnar came across on the table. A message left unsent, unfinished. It lamented the poor choices of the recipient. It was worn, with a few dozen words crossed out and many rewrites. Even if it did eventually get finished, Gunnar couldn’t fathom how the recipient was supposed to receive it, according to the message they were long gone, somewhere the writer couldn’t find. Perhaps it was just for the author’s own peace of mind?

His earpiece crackled and Natis’ voice drifted through his head. ‘I’ve got a good view of the whole cellar now, save for what looks like a couple of smaller rooms. Anyway, those extra heat signatures have disappeared, just the sleeping one left.’

Kat nodded and slowly opened the door behind her. Which, just as promised, was empty. She motioned for Gunnar to follow her. ‘So, anything useful on the desk?’

Gunnar sucked through his teeth. ‘Potentially. A message, but with no context, seemed important though. Someone did something to upset their leader. Could have been exactly what we theorised.’

‘Damn,’ Kat cursed. ‘Though. If it upset their boss, maybe these guys are innocent?’

There was a point to be made there, but acidic explosives didn’t scream innocent to Gunnar. ‘Lets check out the upstairs, then we’ll decide.’

With Kat leading, the two did just that. Nati didn’t have scans of the upstairs yet, but she could get very rudimentary heat signatures across the church, no real way to pinpoint them of course, but still helpful.

Slowly they went, listening out for any sign of movement or any news from Nati, but all she told them was to keep going. As they walked the steps, rounded them, any creaking would be drowned by the sounds above, electricity, odd pump sounds and people milling about. When they finally reached the top, peering over the tip of the stairs, they could see why.

For the most part the main room was a typical church. Rows of pews and a great stage on one end with a pedestal and a book. What was different though was the numerous walkways along the edges of the church above them.Then, there was one other thing. On the far end where the stage was, hanging above the pedestal was a cloud. A cloud of greenish gas. That is where the metal tubes came from, they were all sat above it, sucking out the gas it produced, plenty escaped and veiled the ceiling above. All around the cloud were the walkways with various contraptions and cultists with slightly different robes from the rest. Some were taking notes, and one was throwing some of the vegetables into the gas which just disappeared after.

Nati and Gunnar looked at each other. They both had the same thought, Gunnar could tell. What they were looking at had to be Puinsee. The problem with that, was that it meant they were looking at an actual God right now. In front of them, not fictional, not in some heavenly realm, but in front of them. It had to be something else. An experiment maybe? Just some strange concentration of dense gas?

Rumours of Gods had been around longer than Gunnar had been alive, there were many that theorised that’s what the Great Authority was, a God. Puinsee was no different, another rumour, another group of cultists. Just like most folk they were just looking for their place in life and ended up here. Or that was the way it was meant to be, the thing in front of them at the very least didn’t look like anything Gunnar had seen amongst humanity.

There was definitely something within the cloud of gas. Hints of limbs struck Gunnar’s vision, occasionally some form of other mass peaked through. Something deep and primal inside him said to never take a peek inside, to never look at whatever was in there. Another part was far too curious.

As they sat and watched in cover, Gunnar noticed a slight change in the gas. It was only for a moment, but it shifted colour, or shade, to a lighter green. Then, in unison the entire room stopped their tasks to stare directly at the duo. ‘Gunnar!’ Kat whispered to him through gritted teeth and activated her gauntlets.

He put his arm in front of her and touched his earpiece. ‘Go radio silent. Stay hidden. We’ve been caught.’ In reply there was static and the sound of movement, then silence. They were prepared for a fight, but these numbers may have been a little unfair.