FLESHBOUND: Oceanspire Incident Report 354D-4

Incident Report

NS-IR-354D-4

Filed by: Specialist James Calder
Location: Houston Perimeter Ruins – Warehouse Sector
ARRAS Monitoring: ACTIVE

Mission Update

Following the hostile encounter with the rodent morphotype cluster recorded in Incident Report NS-IR-00-354D-3, Marcus's unit successfully withdrew into a nearby warehouse structure located approximately 47 meters east of the original contact point.

The team forced entry through a maintenance corridor and secured access to a sealed storage room inside the building.

The door mechanism was manually locked from the inside.

ARRAS drone feed confirms the rodent swarm remains active outside the structure, moving in irregular clusters through the surrounding alleyways and drainage channels.

Auditory monitoring indicates continued scratching and movement within the warehouse perimeter.

For the moment, the swarm has not breached the sealed room.

Environmental Status

Interior lighting remains nonfunctional.

The room appears to have served as a storage area for industrial materials prior to the collapse of the city's infrastructure.

Dust accumulation suggests the location has remained undisturbed for several years.

No immediate signs of CHUM activity were detected inside the room.

However, ARRAS sensors continue to report spikes in biological density in the surrounding warehouse corridors.

Vector risk remains ACTIVE.

Notable Discovery

During the sweep of the room, Marcus recovered a military helmet matching the equipment profile of his missing brother.

The helmet was located near the eastern wall of the storage room, partially buried beneath debris.

Initial inspection revealed visible blood residue along the interior padding.

ARRAS scanners confirm the biological traces are human in origin, though the sample is too degraded to immediately confirm identity.

No body was discovered within the room.

Preliminary Assessment

Evidence suggests that Marcus's brother reached the warehouse before our arrival.

The condition of the helmet indicates he may have sustained injuries before abandoning the equipment.

It remains unclear whether he exited the room voluntarily or was forced out.

ARRAS thermal analysis detected faint residual heat signatures along the adjacent corridor, estimated to be less than one hour old.

This suggests recent human activity within the structure.

Current Status

The unit will maintain position until rodent activity outside the room subsides.

Marcus has requested that the search continue once conditions allow safe movement through the warehouse.

Given the swarm's proximity and the uncertainty about his brother's status, the team will proceed with extreme caution.

ARRAS monitoring remains active.

End of Log
Filed by: Specialist James Calder
ARRAS Incident Archive

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James sighed.

Across the room, Marcus sat at the table, staring at his brother's helmet. Lexy moved cautiously toward the boarded window, trying to glimpse whatever had caused the swarm of rats to scatter.

Marcus's mind ran through one possibility after another as his finger traced the letters scratched into the helmet.

Corporal D. Hale.

Bart suddenly pushed himself up from his chair and began walking toward the door.

Marcus looked up, blinking. "What do you think you're doing?"

Bart didn't stop.

"What does it look like? My job."

"If you open that door," Marcus said, rising from his seat, "you put everyone in this room at risk. I already told you—we don't have the ammunition to fight a morphotype cluster like the one hiding in the corridor."

"We can't stay here forever, Marcus!" Bart snapped.

Before the argument could escalate further, a sharp chime sounded from the tactical tablet.

Everyone turned.

ARRAS ANALYSIS
External drone footage — playback initiated.

The surveillance drone had finished processing its external recording.

"Marcus," James said, "you need to see this."

The tension between Bart and Marcus faded as James rotated the tablet toward them. The footage began to play. The corridor outside their shelter appeared on the screen, flooded with movement. Hundreds of infected rats crowded the doorway.

Then a figure stepped into view.

A man in a dark hood. He stood motionless before the swarm.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—without warning—the rats scattered in every direction. Marcus stared at the frozen image on the tablet. The hooded figure stood with his back to the drone, motionless among the scattered rats.

Marcus leaned closer.

His eyes narrowed.

"Wait..." he murmured.

Lexy glanced at him. "What is it?"

Marcus straightened suddenly.

"My brother." Marcus lunged for the door.

"Marcus—!" Lexy shouted.

He ignored her.

Marcus's hand closed around the door handle as he began shoving the barricade aside.

James stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Marcus, stop. That man is not your brother."

Marcus tried to pull free, but James held firm.

"Think about it! There's a horde of morphotypes outside that door, hiding in the shadows. If that man were your brother... don't you think the rats would be chasing him?"

James snatched the tablet and replayed the drone footage. The hooded figure stepped into view. The swarm surged forward. Then, without warning, the rats scattered.

James lowered the tablet slightly.

"Looks to me like they were running away from him."

Marcus stared at the screen.

His jaw tightened as the realization settled in.

Then a transmission suddenly cut through the comm channel.

"G.H.O.S.T. team, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Captain."

"Marcus—"

The signal suddenly dissolved into a burst of static.

"—Do you copy? We're—"

Marcus winced as the channel crackled.

"Captain, you're breaking up."

More static flooded the line.

"Oceanspire—" the captain's voice cut through for a moment. "—breach in the outer—"

The signal collapsed again.

"Captain, say again!"

The radio erupted with interference.

"—morphotype—"

A violent burst of static swallowed the rest. Then the captain's voice forced its way back through the noise.

"—invasion—!"

The transmission dissolved into a harsh screech before falling silent.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Marcus lowered his hand from the headset.

"Did anyone catch that?"

Lexy shook her head.

"I only heard two words. Oceanspire... and morphotype."

Bart exhaled slowly.

"Oceanspire is being invaded."

Marcus turned toward him sharply.

"How do you know?"

Bart folded his arms.

"It was inevitable. Reports have been coming in for weeks. Corvex fell first. Then Pelagia. Even Brinehold didn't last ten minutes against a core of morphotypes." He paused. "It was only a matter of time before Oceanspire was next."

Marcus stepped closer, anger rising.

"You knew this could happen... and you said nothing?"

Bart met his stare without flinching.

"I follow orders, Lieutenant. That is why I was assigned to this unit. To encounter the new, morphotype variant... and assess its combat capabilities."

ARRAS ALERT
Incoming encrypted transmission detected. Aerial drone feed- sector 44.

The tactical tablet chimed again.

This time, the display filled with an aerial map of Oceanspire.

Large sections of the platform burned in red across the screen.

Marcus stared at the feed.

"We're being exterminated."

The tablet flashed a system warning.

ARRAS ALERT

Multiple structural breaches were detected across Oceanspire.

Helipad: COMPROMISED
Industrial Zone: FALLEN
Outer Defense Turrets: OFFLINE

Evacuation corridors are collapsing.

The display flickered. Then a live transmission forced its way onto the screen. The captain appeared in the feed. Flames roared behind him. Smoke rolled across the command deck.