I wonder.
I take Garrett’s hand and loop us onto the eighth floor. We’re met by a wide hallway covered in crisp white paint. A double set of doors looms in front of us, but without any handles. Just like the doors for the Icarian apartments. As we approach, a biometric reader drops down from the wall next to the doors. I place my palm on the screen.
“Thomas, Mera. Access granted,” the same female voice from the Depository says from hidden speakers.
The room we enter is similar to the one we just left, right down to the door and the biometric reader.
“How many rooms do you think we have to go through?” Garrett asks.
“I don’t know,” I answer, placing my palm on the reader.
“Thomas, Mera. Access granted.”
The door opens to a room void of color, only darkness. Tiny dots begin to twinkle around us as the door closes.
“What is this place?” I ask, scanning the room and noticing the floor is also dark with tiny dots.
“Where would you like it to be?” Hammond asks, stepping forward. His body is being projected into the room, but I can’t tell from what or where.
“You’re the Keeper,” I state more than ask.
“One of them, yes.”
“How many of you are there?” Garrett asks.
“There are only a few of us left. The Patrician have made sure of that.”
“So what the Dracken said is true. You are the enemy of the Patrician,” I say.
“Yes. We have been fighting against the Patrician for many centuries. We were hoping to make progress in restoring the worlds they shattered, but we have been largely unsuccessful. Our hope was that in saving Pentras and the Dracken society, we would be gaining an ally with the type of technology needed to defeat the Patrician.”
“But the Dracken weren’t who you thought they were,” Garrett says.
“Yes. They are not a giving and kind people. When they realized that the modifications the Patrician had done to Max would benefit them in retrieving their lost technology, they used her and anyone who followed them for their own ends.”
“Why?” Garrett asks, a confused look on his face.
“Because when Pentras Tower went on lockdown, it not only kept the Patrician from gaining access, but from the Dracken as well,” I respond. “Their security was too effective. They needed someone from an original bloodline to penetrate the building, locate the information, and give it back to them. But, wait a minute. Cil said she was one of the original researchers when this all started. How come she couldn’t get in?” I ask Hammond.
“A half-truth. Cil was old, but not a direct descendant of the original settlers to this world. The Dracken were so concerned about protecting their technology, that they created an almost impossible failsafe. One that they hadn’t thought through. It was not until Leader Fallon hid you that the Dracken realized their mistake.”
“So, they did intend to leave those they felt beneath them behind to die,” I comment.
“Yes. Your parents were the last line of pure Dracken blood. While living in the shanties by the smelting plant, they learned the truth of their heritage. They did not feel the same way as their ancestors. Guy Larsen was determined to bring back the Dracken way of life. With him gone, the Dracken are no more.”
“Except for Max,” Garrett says.
“In a way, but she is much like her parents.” Hammond smiles, which causes me to smile in return.
“Now what?” I ask.
“The Patrician will continue to attack this world until they get what they came for. You need to destroy it,” Hammond says.
“How?” Garrett asks, stunned. “The building is built solid. The Patrician nuked the area and nothing happened to the structure.”
“We need to get to the Outer Limits,” I say, heading towards the door.
“Why? What’s there?” Garrett asks, following me.
“Van and his detonators.”
Twenty-Seven
We head back to the lift, but instead of selecting the lobby, I push the button for the thirteenth floor again, and this time the lift moves. The doors don’t open when the lift stops because of the lockdown I put in place. The biometric reader emerges next to the floor selection panel. I place my palm on it, the light turns blue, and the doors open. The lights turn on as I run over to the machines encased in the side wall. Sitting in neat piles behind the glass are at least one hundred suits, with more being created as we watch. I step through the entrance, take four suits, and exit. I hand one to Garrett and place the others into one of my pockets. While he’s changing, I step over to the virtual imager, tap on the display, and hit the cancel button. The machine stops. When I return, the suit has changed to match Garrett’s quiver and bow. He’s a little shocked by the effect and wants to put his other outfit back on.
I tell Garrett to leave his other clothes behind as he won’t need them for now. We get back into the lift, but we don’t start to descend until I reset the lockdown. When we reach the lobby, I loop us outside. The dome is slowly being destroyed. I loop us until we’re in front of the airlocks that’ll lead us to the Outer Limits. I try looping us through, but because of the wristband, the Patrician are stopping us from leaving the area.
“Now what do we do?” Garrett asks.
“We walk.”
I slowly approach the airlocks, visualize in my mind what I want, and the suit immediately reacts. My exposed skin is covered and I easily move through the glass. Garrett does what I tell him and he’s beside me in a matter of moments. Once we’re through both sets of locks, the suits return to their normal appearance, and I try to loop us – once again, unsuccessfully. The
