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She bit her lip, struggling to put her intuition into words. “It’s… it’s like a discordant note in a symphony,” she tried to explain. “Something in the way his systems interact… it’s just off. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but my combat protocols are screaming that something’s not right.”
“Could it be that his systems are just too different from yours? A false reading?” His brows snapped together. “Or do you think it’s something more sinister?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted in frustration. “But whatever it is, I’m worried its dangerous. For him, for us… for the mission.”
They stood in silence for a moment, and his hand found hers, his thumb stroking over the back of her hand in reassurance.
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” he said. “Both of us. If something’s wrong, we’ll figure it out and deal with it.”
17
Jesh’s eyes adjusted instantly as she stepped from the airlock into the pitch-black corridor of the storage facility. The air tasted stale and recycled with an underlying tang of… something that bothered her onboard. She set it to analyzing the scent in the back of her mind as Ryke gave the signal for them to move out.
Her boots made no sound on the grated metal flooring as they fanned out. The corridor stretched before them, but their movement triggered the facility’s lighting system. Harsh, white light flooded the corridor, momentarily blinding her despite her ocular enhancements. She blinked rapidly to clear it.
“Draanth,” Ryke cursed as he keyed his comm. “Anson, we’ve got motion-activated lighting down here. Can you sort it?”
After less than a moment’s silence, the lights snapped off and Anson replied. “Done. I’ve looped the motion sensors. You’re all ghosts.”
They moved forward, a team of shadows in a world of black. Her onboard automatically mapped their progress, overlaying the outpost schematics onto her vision. She paid attention to their surroundings as well. The walls were a uniformgunmetal gray, unmarked except for occasional navigation signs and emergency instructions. Overhead, a tangle of pipes and conduits ran the length of the ceiling, disappearing into maintenance hatches at regular intervals.
Her unease grew with each step. They should have encountered at least two guard stations by now. Something wasn’t right. Even an automated facility should have some signs of life… maintenance drones, security bots…something. But everything was clean, almost sterile, as if the facility had been scrubbed of all traces of human presence.
“Ryke, we need to stop. Something’s wrong here.”
The team leader turned with a frown. “What is it?”
She gestured at the empty corridor. “Where is everyone? We should have encountered guards, drones, something by now. It’s too quiet, too empty.”
As if to punctuate her words, the comm crackled to life and Mira’s voice filled their ears. “Guys, I’m not picking up any life signs in your vicinity. The whole place reads as deserted.”
“Yeah,” Ryke replied. “It would. No one’s here.”
“Not the issue.” Mira’s voice was tight. “I’m not even readingyourbio-signatures.”
“Maybe they’ve got some new cloaking tech,” Davis suggested, his human eyes darting nervously from shadow to shadow. “Something that can fool our sensors.”
Ryke rolled his shoulders. “Okay, something’s off. Stay alert, everyone. If it’s a trap, we need to be ready for it.”
They kept going, deeper into the facility. She used her enhanced senses to pick up any sign of danger; a shadow where one shouldn’t be, a scent that didn’t belong, or the faintest sound of movement that wasn’t them. She used her onboard to monitor heat signatures, electromagnetic frequencies, and even minute changes in air pressure. But there was nothing, just the soft whir of the air recyclers and the barely audible footsteps of her team.
Electromagnetic disturbances approximately fifty meters ahead. Possible security measures or surveillance equipment, her onboard warned her as they turned a corner.
She looked along the corridor. Nothing was obvious.Can you identify the source?
Negative, her onboard replied.The signal is too weak for precise identification. Recommend caution.
She nodded.Understood. Keep monitoring and alert me to any changes.
“Something up ahead,” she warned the group. “Fifty meters.”
The group snapped to attention, Ryke motioning for her to take point as the three men brought up the rear. She stepped lightly as they approached the source of the disturbance, and she frowned as the wall of the corridor opened up.
She froze, her eyes narrowing. A junction sprawled before them, branching off in three directions where her map showed only a straight corridor.
“This shouldn’t be here,” she murmured, her instincts on high alert.
We need an alternative route, she told her onboard.Can you find one?
