“That’s a little invention of mine that will keep a level-one bolt from frying you. But the thing to remember is they’re only good for one bolt.”
Adam then turned to Sherri. “I need you to try and remember everything you can about your escape from the hospital and your movements to the warehouse.”
She furrowed her brow. “It’s been a while, but I’ll try. I do remember sneaking down a long corridor and finding a huge elevator. I got in and looked for buttons, but all I found was a single panel. I pushed it, and the elevator moved. When the doors opened, I was in a huge chamber with another corridor leading off to the right.”
Adam moved back to the desk and studied the screen in the wall above it. The old hospital area was located in the main excavation chamber. He traced a line down the leading corridor, the one with the cave-in. Directly above it was another tunnel running diagonally toward the airlock. “So you could have gone up here and entered this other tunnel. How far did you go down this one before you came to the warehouse?”
“It seems like it could have been ten, fifteen minutes or so. I don’t really know. It seemed really long at the time since I didn’t know where I was going.”
“Did you have to go through any other doors to get in the warehouse?”
“Yes. There was a huge double-door set up. It was partially opened at the time so I just slipped through. I’m sure the doors would have to be operated mechanically. They were too big to be pushed open.”
Again, Adam traced a finger along the schematic until the tunnel met up with a large chamber to the right of the tunnel. The main tunnel continued on into Locin-Annan. “This could be it. This large room appears to have an airlock of its own that meets up with the main one.” The plan was beginning to take shape.
“We’ll set down here,” Adam said, pointing to spot above the main airlock. “With any luck, we’ll be cycled through into the main chamber. Then the three of us will back-track Sherri’s path. We’ll go in through this airlock and into the warehouse, then follow this tunnel to the elevator.” He pointed to a room off of the main excavation chamber. “This is where the main control room for the mine was located before they shut it down. It would make sense for the Klin to have utilized the existing equipment and power sources. This will be our destination.
“Sherri has described these other Humans as wearing blue tunics. Luckily, Kaylor has a fair supply of them. We’ll put them on over our pressure suits and do our best to conceal our weapons.”
Then he furrowed his brow and looked at Sherri. “Besides the group of women you were with, did you see any other women among the Human guards?”
“Come to think of it, no.”
“So we can’t have Sherri just strolling around free as a bird.”
“She could be our prisoner, with us escorting her,” Riyad offered. “That would also justify us carrying weapons.”
“Good idea.”
Adam then scanned the room, looking into the faces of his small team of makeshift warriors. “This can get dicey. We don’t really know what we’re walking into. And we have to be very careful. If the Klin suspect that we’re there to reach the computer room, they may dump the data, and we’ll have nothing. We have about twenty-eight hours before we arrive on site. Get some rest. That is all.”
“Aye, aye, sir!” Sherri said, snapping to attention. Adam was slightly embarrassed by her move, but relaxed when he saw her wide grin. He moved over to her.
“Sorry about that. Old habits.”
“Hey, I for one am grateful for your experience. It’s one thing whacking some slothful aliens. It’s another jumping headlong into a hive of other Humans who, according to Riyad, are fanatical in their beliefs and actions.”
“Well put, Private Valentine!”
“Private? Can’t I at least be a sergeant, or maybe even a lieutenant?
“Hell, I’ll make you Captain Valentine. It has a nice ring to it.” Then the smile disappeared from his face. “But this is serious. It will just be the three of us in there against who knows what. And I trust Riyad about as far as I can throw him. Just keep an eye on him.”
“Will do. He does seem to have his own agenda.”
“You would be surprised.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The UN-444 and its three support ships met up with the ten other ships Yan’wal had dispatched to the Silean system, and then they all set off immediately shadowing the Humans, following the beacon set by the agent on Counselor Deslor’s shuttle. It became obvious right away that they were headed for the New Regian system. But when the shuttle sped past the planet and continued further out into the system, their new destination soon focused on the mining world of Zylim-4.
Yan’wal called an impromptu meeting of this senior staff, including the newly-arrived agent, Zoluoff Ransin. The Overlord eyed the diminutive being, watching the creature subtly change color to match the walls of the conference room. He had seen these creatures before, and each time, he felt a slight uneasiness. He wished he could command the thing to stop changing colors, but he knew Ransin had no control over the chemical reactions in his skin.
He broke his attention from the Holacon. “What do we know of this planet?”
Giodol activated a monitor at the far end of the table. “It’s a mining colony, primarily for uranium. Not more than 20,000 beings inhabit the various settlements located underground. The planet has become a disposal dump for spent fuel rods and other nuclear waste material for the sector. It’s quite hot in that regard.”
Yan’wal nodded. “It would make a perfect hiding place for another base.”
Fleet Commander Siegor had arrived from the battle scene off Dimloe and sat to Yan’wal’s left. “Commander, prepare a landing force of Guards-only. Have them on stand-by for the moment we learn of the Human’s destination on the planet. Also position your fleet in the event there is another strike force. I do not want a repeat of your last encounter with the Humans. I would prefer to face them on the surface, and not in space.”
Siegor felt no intimation from Yan’wal’s tone that he was being critical of Siegor’s prior actions. The Overlord was experienced enough to know that facing the Humans for the first time had been a learning experience. And he chose to learn from the near-disaster at Dimloe. After studying the encounter over the past few days, he could find no fault in Siegor’s battle plan; the Humans had just been more proficient than anticipated. Until the Juireans could learn more of their capabilities in space, he would prefer a straight-up land battle, pitting his elite Juirean Guards against the flesh and blood Humans.
He then turned to the agent. “Your name is Ransin, is this correct?”
“Yes, My Lord,” Ransin answered, taken by surprise by the Overlord’s sudden attention. “I want you to accompany the landing force to the surface.”
“But My Lord, I am not a military being.”
“I understand that. I would like you to use your unique skills to infiltrate the facility we find and track down the Humans who are leading us there. They are an enigma. They do not appear to be part of this larger group, yet they always seem to know where to find them. I want you to make sure they do not slip through our hands again.”
“Yes, My Lord. I will do my best.”
Then Yan’wal stood. “Prepare your forces. We will be arriving off Zylim-4 in approximately seven hours.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The FS-475, with the counselor’s shuttle still riding piggyback, arrived at Zylim-4 and zeroed in on the settlement of Locin-Annan. After the customary inquiries regarding destination and purpose, they were directed to the main airlock elevator located at the bottom of a vast pit, easily covering a diameter of twenty kilometers or
