Later reached over to the wall as she reached the bottom of the metallic stairs, pressing down on the light switch. The room in front of her flooded with fluorescent light, revealing a low-ceilinged basement whose centre contained several desks, each of which held a computer console and thick, uneven stacks of paper to the sides. A few looked to have careened over, sheets wildly thrown all over the floor, making it unclear what exactly had happened.

Later heard the metallic clink, clink of hoofsteps behind her, so she stepped forward to make way for her companions.

"Did somethin'... happen?" Mochi asked as she got to the bottom, eyeing the mess suspiciously. "It kinda looks like... well, you know."

"Not sure," Later said, continuing to walk through. "I know it looks like there was some sort of a struggle, but at the same time, knowing my colleagues, this pretty much just looks like a normal workspace. Some of our best tech and strategy ponies are... notoriously messy."

"Is there a note or anything?" came Clove's voice from behind as he stepped around her. "I don't think they'd have taken off without even leaving something for us to find. They knew we were coming, right?"

"I... think?" Later replied. "I wasn't clear on the details. But you'd think that even if they didn't know we were coming, they'd have left somepony on guard. Right?"

"Can't imagine why they wouldn't, unless it's not safe," Clove replied. His focus, however, was trained towards one of the sheets of paper on top of one of the stacks. "Looks like they were working on some sort of satellite jammer." He shuffled a few of the papers around. "Doesn't look out of place. I'd say this is just the work of our comrades, in their natural state of 'organised chaos'."

Later sighed. "That... still doesn't explain where everypony is. If they weren't attacked... what happened?"

There was a pause—a lull—in which Clove kept flipping through the pages on the desk. Even Later, a metre away, watched; Mochi, on the other hoof, merely stood there with droopy eyelids, head lolling back and forth as she tried to stay awake.

"Where'd Ms. Fluff go?" Later said suddenly, head darting around. "Wasn't she just with us?"

"She changed her mind and asked if she could go sleep, so I told her about the room adjacent to the one the kids are sleeping in," Clove remarked, looking up. "Looks like you might be about ready to join her, Mochi."

"I'm... fine..." the pink mare managed. "Ain't no sleep when you're... when you're living the dream."

Later raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Clove turned to Later. "How about this: I'll go up and search around the entrance to see if there's any sign of whoever's supposed to be at this base, and you try and get one of these computers booted up," he suggested. "That way you can get in contact with Doc Zed or Turnip or Xiibal or whoever the hell else is listening. Hopefully they'll know what's up."

Later nodded, already stepping forward to trade places with the stallion, who was already moving back towards the stairs. "Great idea, Clove. Mochi, do you wanna go up to that room with Cotton Fluff and sleep?"

"Mmm, I'm fine, but thanks for offerin'," the mare in question mumbled, stumbling forward. "Might close my eyes a titch here if you dun mind, though." She teetered over, collapsing against the conveniently-curved wall of the basement room, looking very much like a disorganised pile of pony.

Later's lips curved. "Go for it." She took her position behind the computer terminal at the desk, reached down, and pressed the large round power button. As the screen flickered to life, flashing bars of red, green, and blue before settling into white-on-black text, Later looked up at Clove. "Stay safe," she said, nodding in the stallion's direction. He returned the nod before trotting up the stairs (clink, clink, clinks abound) and out of sight.

Sighing, Even Later looked back down at the computer. She read the blocky letters that filled the centre of the screen before lifting a hoof, pressing down on a button two or three times, and then hitting the enter button on the keyboard.

In reply, the computer gave a satisfied beep and the screen began flashing with more colours.