"I'm supposed to take you to your room to drop off your belongings, then take you straight to see the Director," James said as we reached the foot of the long flight of stairs.

I nodded, and we continued down another hallway. Metal ducts ran above our heads, with periodic vents to freshen the air. Pipes and wiring conduits were all surface mounted, it was easy to see most of the facility had been drilled and cut out of solid rock.

"This is the top level," James said. "Well, sort of. There are quite a few more tunnels leading other places. We've sealed most of them off for now, the network is too large for us to safely maintain security for all of it at any given time. "

"How big is the tunnel network?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but there's many miles if you include the facilities like water treatment, sewage, and the power station. We've sealed off a lot of it, the tunnels got pretty infested with monsters, and nobody wants to be sitting watching your monitor while something creeps up behind you. Areas like the power facility, we cleaned out as best we could and performed some repairs, there's crews working there now, much like we are."

"So the tunnels connect all the buildings?"

"Well, some of them. Sometimes you have to go to the surface, or there may be lower tunnels that didn't get finished for regular use, like the sewage and power conduit tunnels. Some don't even show up on the maps."

"So we're sitting on top of a giant anthill of creepy hallways and rooms that could be full of hungry creatures."

"Hmm, well essentially, yes. But don't worry, the doors we've sealed are heavy bulkheads. Nothing is getting through them easily."

I sighed. "Getting horror movie vibes."

James snickered. "Don't worry, the damsel in distress always gets rescued. It's the security guys with the generic names who need to watch out." He tapped his chest meaningfully.

Unsure of how to answer, I just nodded thoughfully and felt like an ass. Surely there's something one should say when somepony says something like that to you, and here I was saying nothing. That's me, though. Miss Socially Awkward Mare. Fortunately James didn't seem to mind. I imagine to handle his job, you can't be the kind of person who is easily miffed by small things. I liked that.

"I, uh, hope it doesn't come to that," I finally said, much too late.

"What? Oh. All in a day's work, ma'am. The few, the proud, the expendable. Although to tell the truth, ProteC is the best gig I've worked yet. I mean, naturally a grunt is a less important asset than someone such as yourself, but ProteC seems to take it personally when one of us gets hurt, and goes out of their way to prevent it happening." He pushed open a heavy door leading to a concrete stairwell. "We've gotta go down one level."

"By the way," I asked, "What else is on the top level?"

"Equipment storage, armory, stuff like that."

"Speaking of equipment, where's your exoskeleton? I thought those were standard issue out here for you guys."

He shrugged. "I broke it. Well, actually it was a firmware upgrade that bricked the processor real good. But it's in maintenance, has been for a few days. No big deal though, today was an easy mission. Pick up the new girl, come back." He raised an eyebrow. "Or should I call you 'boss'?"

"What?"

"You're the new security advisor. That puts you one step below Security Chief, you know. Technically, you're my new boss. Or underboss. Whatever."

My eyes bulged and I stumbled. "Oh. Crap."

He chuckled. "You okay there, ma'am?"

"I didn't realize..."

He laughed. "Don't worry. There's not a whole lot to manage. We all know what we're doing, it's a self-oiling machine." He hesitated as we reached the landing, then shoved the door open. "Most of the time. After you, Boss."

"Please stop that."

"Whatever you say, ma'am."

"That too."

"What am I supposed to call you? Security Advisor?"

"No! You know my name."

"Fine... Eris."

"Much better."

James shook his head and sighed. "Come on then, Eris."

I trotted behind him down the hallway, which didn't seem much different from the one above it. On either side, metal doors were periodically set in the roughly painted off-white walls. My hooves made a fairly loud clippity clop sound in there. "I swear it sounds like you're wearing high heels," James commented as I stumped noisily along behind him.

"Is that bad?"

"No. That's just what it sounds like. This is your room, by the way. I'm afraid it's not the nicest, but none of them are. This wasn't really meant to be a housing block. Fortunately these rooms still have toilets and showers in them. Apparently ProteC had the foresight to set up some tunnel sections as emergency shelter-in-place areas, so these offices have some extra plumbing fittings and such, even if they aren't luxury level."

I swung my hoof at the lock, and it clicked open, revealing a sparsely furnished office with a small twin bed added in that looked newer than anything else in the room. Someone had thrown a little rug by the bed. I could see a small bathroom with a metal toilet, sink, and shower off to the left. As I stood in the doorway, James nudged me gently aside, then leaned forward to take a quick look around. "Okay. Never hurts to be careful."

"Thanks." I stepped in and set my bag on the floor. "So see you in a few minutes, then?"

"Sure thing." He turned to leave, then paused. “And Eris?”

“Yeah?”

“Don't get too far from your gun. If you take a walk, strap it on. If you take a shower, set it within reach. If you take a… well, you get the idea, right? This place is never fully safe. The run you make for the gun may be the longest run of your life.”

Cold shivers went down my spine. “Thanks. Now you've scared the crap out of me again.”

“A scared mare is a live mare, and I like you alive. Call or message me if you need anything. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes and we will go see the Director.”

He turned and left. I closed the door and surveyed the room apprehensively. Feeling more nervous now that I was alone, I drew my pistol, turned on every light, and checked every corner, cabinet, and drawer in the room. I got myself pretty worked up before jerking back the shower curtain, but the place was clear. I was just beginning to breathe more easily when I heard a terrible sound coming from far away. A spectral howling, almost like the wind, but feral and hungry. My breath caught in my throat and I began to tremble again. I quickly called James on my ARHUD.

“Hey, Eris. You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“James. Do you hear that?”

He looked confused for moment, then cocked his head. “Oh, that. Sometimes you can hear them down there. Don't worry, it's normal. It carries through the vents or something.”

“Normal?” I listened to the horrid noises, rising and falling. “I… I…”

“Put some music on. It'll help. Check on your desk, there's a player there.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“You sure you're okay?”

I pushed a button and some human classical music came on softly. I adjusted it until it covered the unearthly howling. “Yeah. That's better. Thanks, I'll see you soon.”

“Okay. Lemme know if you need anything else.” He smiled, and severed the connection.

I let loose a sigh and sank into the desk chair, my pistol hanging loosely from my hoof. What a day. I wanted a long shower, I wanted to scream the tension into my pillow. But I only had a few minutes, so I settled for holstering my gun and staring into space until James buzzed at my door again. I rushed to answer it.

“You ready?”

“I guess so.” As I followed him, I noticed he had traded in his rifle for a shotgun. Glowing purple shells protruded from a bandoleer on his belt. I made a mental note to find out how I could get one of those. Sure I'm a unicorn, but these human weapons are quite powerful, and they give me an added option, right? I like options. Also there's something comforting about the feel of a human weapon made of steel and plastic in one's hooves...

“So, what's the Director like?” I asked as we walked.

“He's an interesting guy. I warn you now, you'll have a lot of advising to do. He's quite brilliant on the science side, but tends to overlook the security aspect. Chief Lewis has his hands full with that man. This facility would probably be overrun with monsters right now if Director Stephens was the egotistical type. Fortunately he is very open to advice.”

“I see,” I said, chewing on my lip.

“Don't get me wrong, he's a good man and good at keeping this place running.”

“But?”

James shrugged. “Just sometimes he needs to be reminded we can't do any useful research if we're all dead. That's all.”

We continued to walk down the corridor, which was mostly empty. I assumed it would probably get busy around shift change time.

After descending a level, James brought us to another door, and buzzed for entry. The lock clicked open, and he pushed, holding the door for me. It swung shut behind us, and we stood in a relatively nice office, definitely larger than I had expected. Hard copy scientific journals and manuals crammed shelves against every wall, with filing cabinets wedged in between. Tablets and holograms lay scattered across various surfaces, but the largest piece of furniture was the big wooden desk in the middle of the room. Behind the desk sat an older man in a lab coat. I was momentarily distracted by his unruly shock of pure white hair. Despite his wizened appearance, his gaze was sharp and intelligent as he eyeballed us. He stood as I approached, and reached a wrinkled hand across the desk. I could see a pistol holstered under his coat as we shook hands (hooves?, whatever). “Ah, Miss Sky. Welcome to The Menagerie.”

“Thank you, Director.”

“I trust James here has been taking good care of you?”

“Very much so.”

“Please have a seat, both of you.”

We did, and Director Stephens just sat there for several seconds, staring at me until I began to fidget uncomfortably. Finally his face cracked into a broad grin. "Sorry, Miss Sky. I still haven't gotten over how exciting it is to work with your species."

"Uh, thanks? And call me Eris, please sir."

He didn't reply, which made me nervous. I became more nervous when he spoke again.

"James, can you please wait outside a moment?"

"Yes, sir. See you in a bit, Eris."

I gulped and waved my hoof at him slightly as he left, but he didn't notice it. Great, alone again with a total stranger, and a weird one at that. Oh well, how bad could this be? As the door closed behind James, I turned my eyes back across the desk.

Director Stephenson sat there, roasting me with his gaze. I suddenly felt very small and alone, like a specimen under a microscope, as if my every mistake and misdeed were on display for his judgement. His eyes roved slowly over my body. Even though I don't usually wear clothes, I felt increasingly naked and exposed. Mercifully, his gaze was decidedly clinical, not lecherous.

Finally Director Stephens looked me directly in the eye. “Miss Sky. Are you afraid?”

I winced, not knowing how to respond. I didn't want to come this far only to be rejected on my first day. That would be humiliating, to say the least. I hesitated. Time ticked on, and Director Stephens said nothing to help me, his eyes just kept boring into my skull.

“I'm more terrified than I've ever been in my entire life,” I finally said, barely above a whisper.

“Good. You should be afraid, fear means you will not be reckless. I hope you keep a healthy dose of that fear. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt, and in a place like this, contempt breeds mass casualties."

I nodded hesitantly.

He looked at me for a moment longer, then continued. "Do you want to be here, Miss Sky? Nobody has forced you to come here, and you do not wish to leave? I will hold nothing against you should you choose to depart. We will load you up on a truck tomorrow, and off you go. There is no shame in turning away from this. It is not for everyone.”

“I may be afraid, but I volunteered to come here, and I do not wish to back out.” I was surprised by the resolve I heard in my own voice.

“Excellent. Miss Sky, I like what I see in you so far. However I wish you to have more information before you become active on the team, as well as a few tests."

"Certainly, Director. I am ready."

Evidently satisfied with my answers, he called James back into the room. "Please take Miss Sky here for a tour of the containment area, followed by the standard employment exam."

"Roger that."

"Oh, and Miss Sky?" Director Stephens called out to me as I prepared to leave.

"Sir?"

"Good luck."

"Th-thank you, sir."