The Hyperion queued in Meinhoff's orbit for a full eighteen hours before finally receiving clearance to proceed with quarantine protocols. The prolonged wait exacerbated tensions aboard the ship, further depleting supplies, and two refugees passed away during the delay due to their already weakened physical conditions.
The quarantine process was strict and tedious. All personnel—including the Raiders and Valerie's security team—had to pass through multi-layered bioscal and rapid blood testing. The ship's interior underwent high-intensity ultraviolet and chemical fogging decontamination. Carried equipment and supplies also required separate inspections.
"It is practically treating us like a plague ship," Tychus complained in the quarantine corridor, the outer shell of his power armor being sprayed with disinfecting foam.
"They are simply being cautious," Dr. Hanson said, looking at the data stream on the scanner. "We understand far too little about the latency and transmission methods of Swarm spores. If even a single carrier slips through, the entire planet could suffer."
Valerie quietly passed the inspection. Her "security operators" drew special attention from the quarantine staff—those advanced power armors and weapon systems clearly exceeded the scope of conventional corporate security. However, after Valerie presented the Far Star Alliance documentation (forged credentials matching local formats processed by Osiris's technical team) and explained them as "specialized equipment for high-risk zone operations," the quarantine officers permitted entry after recording detailed data.
Once quarantine concluded, the Hyperion received permission to dock at Orbital Port Three. The refugees were transferred in batches to the orbital quarantine zone, where they needed to be observed for forty-eight hours. Raynor, Dr. Hanson, and the others received permission to travel to the planet's surface to meet with the Meinhoff authorities and assess the situation. Matt Horner remained on the Hyperion's bridge, responsible for orbital coordination and liaison. Valerie traveled along under the title of "Risk Assessment and Potential Humanitarian Aid Coordinator."
The dropship touched down at the central starport of Meinhoff's main continent. Looking out from the viewport, the scenery of this industrial planet was completely different from the agricultural world before: towering composite-material buildings, crisscrossing mag-lev tracks, and massive factory smokestacks venting treated steam into the gray-blue sky. Yet at the edges of this orderly industrial landscape, vast sprawling shantytowns of refugee camps could be seen.
Arriving to greet them were officials from Meinhoff's civil administration and a lieutenant colonel from the local garrison. After brief pleasantries, the group boarded vehicles to head to the command center.
In the vehicle, Dr. Hanson observed the refugee camps through the window. "It is even more crowded than the news reports indicated. The spacing between tents does not meet the most basic epidemic prevention standards, and garbage is piling up... This is a breeding ground for infectious disease outbreaks."
"Our resources are limited, Doctor," the accompanying civil official said in a exhausted tone. "New fleets arrive every day. It is already not easy for us to guarantee basic food and drinking water rations."
The command center was situated inside a fortified bunker. In the briefing room, local officials provided Raynor's team with a brief overview of the situation.
"The currently registered refugee count stands at three hundred twenty-seven thousand, and the actual number might be higher," the civil administrator pointed at four primary refugee camp zones marked on the holographic map. "Our greatest pressure is the medical system. Three dysentery outbreaks and two respiratory infection clusters have already occurred; though all were contained, they consumed a massive amount of supplies. Even more troublesome are the psychological issues—panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, and collective anxiety. We already have reports of minor riots and looting occurring within the refugee camps."
"What about defenses?" Raynor asked the garrison lieutenant colonel.
"The orbital defense systems and the fleet are in good condition, but we need to scatter our forces to protect shipping lanes, enforce quarantines, and conduct patrols." The lieutenant colonel brought up the defense deployment map. "The ground forces are primarily deployed around critical industrial facilities and cities. The refugee camps... we have stationed military police to maintain order, but the numbers are insufficient. If a large-scale riot occurs, we would need to redeploy combat units, which would weaken our defenses."
He paused, lowering his voice: "Furthermore, there have been some... unusual reports recently."
"What kind of reports?" Raynor asked alertly.
"Starting from Refugee Camp Three, roughly five days ago." The lieutenant colonel pulled up several blurry video records. "Night patrols reported seeing refugees exhibiting 'anomalous behavior.' The description states rigid movements, low growls that do not sound human, and extreme aggressiveness. There have been three attack incidents, resulting in five military policemen being injured. After the attackers were gunned down, autopsy examinations revealed... anomalous physiological structures, dark green blood, and signs of rapid tissue decay."
Dr. Hanson snapped her head up. "Where are the corpses? I need to examine them immediately!"
"They have already been cremated," the lieutenant colonel shook his head. "The local medical officer believed it to be some rare metabolic disease or toxic reaction and worried about contagion, so they were handled according to high-risk bio-waste standards. However, similar sporadic reports have begun to surface from other refugee camps, all during the night."
Raynor's expression grew solemn. This did not sound like an ordinary disease.
"Take us to Refugee Camp Three," Raynor stood up.
"Commander, I would not recommend—" the civil official tried to dissuade him.
"We came to help, and we also need to understand the true situation," Raynor's tone was resolute. "If there is some kind of anomalous threat, the earlier it is discovered, the better."
Ultimately, escorted by a squad of local military police, the group headed toward Refugee Camp Three, located roughly twenty kilometers from the starport.
On the way, Dr. Hanson's brow remained tightly knit as she said in a low voice to Valerie, "Dark green blood, rapid tissue decay, increased aggressiveness... this reminds me of genetic mutations under extreme conditions, or... parasitic phenomena."
Valerie noted this down silently. She sent a brief update to Osiris: "Anomalous biological event has emerged on Meinhoff, suspected infection or mutation. Dr. Hanson is participating in the investigation. Continuing observation."
Refugee Camp Three was massive in scale, with barbed wire and simple perimeter walls enclosing an area of several square kilometers. Tents and temporary prefabricated housing sat densely packed together, and a mixture of odors permeated the air. Searchlights on the military police watchtowers lit up in the twilight that had not yet fully fallen.
Inside the camp's medical station, the local medical officer showed Dr. Hanson their limited records: photographs of the attackers' blood samples and a crude autopsy report.
"We initially thought it was some kind of industrial poisoning or radiation sickness, but we screened all potential sources and found no match," the medical officer said. "Moreover, all cases have appeared within the past week; before that, there were none at all. What is even stranger..." He hesitated for a moment. "These 'patients' seem to only operate at night. They have never been discovered during the day. Witnesses claim to have seen suspected cases slipping into shadows or the depths of tents before dawn."
Dr. Hanson's expression grew increasingly grim. "I need a more detailed biochemical analysis. Do you have isolation facilities?"
"There is a small isolation tent, but the conditions are very rudimentary."
"Take me there."