Three vials from Bryson’s Eris aliens sat in the cooler, and I took two of them, sliding them into a pocket. “Come on.”
Jade watched me do it but didn’t ask any questions. A gentle breeze blew against us as we rushed off the Racer and ran to the doors. It was quiet. There was no evidence of a struggle until I scanned the horizon. The smoldering of Luna Corps’ prime office sent waves of gray smoke into the sky.
More ships had arrived, and the Sage Racer swept overhead, firing at a Liberty opponent.
“Can you open them?” I tugged on the handles, but they were sealed.
Octavia pulled out her PersaTab, and the lock momentarily blinked green. I tried again, and they opened with ease.
Holland waved from the railing. “Arlo, check this out.”
I jogged over while Jade guarded the entrance with Octavia. I was about to ask what he was talking about when I saw the army of robots heading for the Board’s HQ.
“We have to stop them,” I muttered.
More ships were in the skies outside the Primary City bubble. I assumed they belonged to Liberty. I hoped someone would answer our call for help.
There had to be two thousand robots of various shapes and sizes rolling, flying, and walking toward our position. It was clear Eclipse had programmed them to attack the HQ, knowing the bunker holding the CEOs and their families was directly underground.
“How long until they arrive?” I asked Holland.
“No idea. Twenty minutes, if that.” Holland was aiming with his Widowmaker, using the scope to track them. “Let’s get moving.”
“Octavia, where can we find the robot access program?” Jade asked.
“There’s no dedicated space for it. It’s linked to my personal computers, locked in my suite.” Octavia entered right after Holland.
There was no one in their reception hall. Only the richest and top executives entered the Board headquarters from this landing pad. Eclipse had likely never visited, not unless her sister had brought her since the invasion attempt.
It showed no signs of a fight as we rushed through it. “What story is that on?”
“Tenth. I have the entire floor to myself. Passcode activated,” she said.
“Okay, let’s go.” I’d planned on coming to free the CEOs and help them escape her clutches, but we couldn’t do that without deactivating the robots.
Considering the fact that Liberty had assaulted all our major stations and colonies, I was shocked at how quiet it was here. They had tricked everyone and done a masterful job of it. It seemed like no one was left to defend Primary City.
The building was far wider up top, like a mushroom, and it took a few minutes to cross the depths and make it to the elevators. The main power was off. The grid had probably been damaged in the initial assault a couple of hours ago, but buildings like this were packed full of secondary power sources. The elevators were still operational, but the lights remained dim as Octavia ordered ours to level ten. It denied her request, and she inserted a code.
“Usually, I would press my palm on the screen, but…” She held up her gloved hand, since we were in our spacesuits. “I still don’t understand the purpose of these.”
I considered the vials in my pocket, but I didn’t mention them yet. “Better to err on the side of caution.” I’d spent many days on Capricious living on recycled canister air from my suit, hoping the life support didn’t fail me. The others weren’t adapted to the suits, but they’d be fine. If I ended up needing the assistance of the mossy aliens, they would be thanking me later.
The elevator went at half speed off the generator energy, but we eventually made it to level ten. I held my gun up, aiming down the hall with the light feature activated. It was empty. Octavia strode past me and entered another series of digits, disarming her lock.
The room was unlike anything I suspected of the tense woman. The walls were painted a light green, walnut furniture accented everything, and her kitchen was large and homey. An apron was draped over her island, and I could instantly tell she loved her suite.
“Don’t mind the mess,” she mumbled.
“If you think this is messy, you should see Varn’s cockpit…” Holland stopped speaking, and I guessed he was thinking about his dad and all his friends at Hawaii.
“Computer’s this way.” Octavia went into another room, and we followed her. Holland stayed at her main door, holding the Widowmaker at ready in case any unexpected guests dropped in.
She sat at her desk and brought up a program. “It’s gone,” she said.
“What do you mean, gone?” Jade asked.
“Someone’s been in here. They took my program.” Octavia rose and kicked her chair. “That damned woman. I can’t believe we came from the same parents.”
“Wait.” Jade took over her seat. “A program like that always has a record. If it’s being used, I should be able to trace the location.”
“You can do that?” Octavia stood close, her helmet almost hitting Jade’s.
“I think so.” Jade’s fingers quickly made work of the keypad, and a couple tense minutes later, we had our results. A map appeared. It was made of green lines on a black backdrop, and when the beacon flashed, the image zoomed.
“That’s Elise’s ship,” Octavia said.
“And it’s parked downstairs,” I whispered. “Can your sister get into the Primary Bunker?”
Octavia shook her head. “We hadn’t shown it to her. We never intended to use it. We’d already created Venus, and a secondary bunker near Pluto. With the Velibar threatening Earth, we didn’t want to stay hidden here. It would be the first place they checked, especially since Preston Lewis knew about the bunker’s location.”
“Okay. Holland and Octavia, you get to the CEOs. Stay in touch. Let them know we’re
