“What?”
“According to the prison records, thirty-eight of the Marlington researchers died during transit.”
“I’m so sorry, TenSix,” I said.
“Me too,” Kira said.
“Thank you,” TenSix said. “It is not a shock, however. According to my projections, an extremely high probability.”
“In transit sounds like a euphemism to me,” Grannt said. “They were murdered.”
“I fear you are correct, Mister—” TenSix cocked his head questioningly.
“Grannt. Leocald Grannt.”
“I am a Tensor 6 series bot, identifier UIY—”
“We just call him TenSix,” I said.
“Nice to meet you, TenSix.” Grannt looked over at me. “I don’t believe I caught your name.”
“Jannigan Beck.”
His eyebrow moved slightly. “Sean Beck’s son?”
“Yes.”
“Thought I noticed a resemblance. I knew your dad.”
“Really?”
“From Savaust Base on Cernosis.”
“Wow, that must have been in the thirties.”
“Yeah, I was stationed there in 2336. Your father was exploring the Cradle of Lost Dreams and hired a bunch of us for weekend security.”
“That’s amazing,” I said.
“Yeah, small galaxy.”
“Guys, can we cut the chit-chat?” Kira said. “My parents are in detention block 7812 in quadrant 23-A. Looks like it is northeast of here on the other side of the complex.”
“Did you find a map?”
“Coming right up, Mr. Grannt, sir!” TenSix said.
“It’s just Grannt.”
The little bot worked his magic and the main display filled with a detailed schematic of the Vortis complex.
“I’ll highlight quadrant 23-A,” TenSix said. “I shall also download it for offline reference.”
Grannt moved in closer, studying the schematic. “Mind?”
“Not at all, sir.” TenSix moved over so Grannt could operate the console.
“Not good,” he muttered.
Kira leaned in. “What?”
“This quadrant is heavily guarded. Must be high-value prisoners.”
“What’s this?” I pointed to an area of the map that appeared to be grayed-out. Unless I was wrong, it connected the quadrant we were in to 23-A.
“Lower level, it looks like,” Grannt said.
TenSix zoomed the image.
“Utility access, power conduits, data, enviro systems,” Grannt said. “Perfect.”
18
We located an above-ground entrance to the utility tunnel. It was three blocks away.
“Move out,” Grannt said. “Stay on me and keep your eyes open for hostiles.”
“And how would we define ‘hostiles,’ sir?” TenSix asked.
“Basically, anyone we see.”
We didn’t get far before we hit trouble. TenSix’s scanners alerted us to a patrol of two Mayir troopers stationed at another security hut around the corner.
“We can’t let them sound the alarm,” Grannt said in a low voice.
I hefted one the of the shally sticks. “This might do the trick.”
Grannt gave his scatterblaster to Kira and took the other shally stick. “You know how to use this?” he asked me.
“What’s there to know? You hit your opponent and the stick’s charge takes him out. Like an epileptic fit.”
“These are military-grade,” Grannt said. “One point two amps. Powered by a manthe H-cell. Great non-lethal close quarters weapon. But they have two problems. They take a few seconds to power up. And they make a lot of noise during the process, so timing’s critical.”
“Good to know. What’s the plan, then?”
“Let’s start with powering up now.”
I keyed my shally stick on. Grannt was right. It produced a loud electrical hum for several seconds. But then it just vibrated quietly in my grip.
Grannt called for us to move out, and less than two minutes later, we all had advanced as close as we could to the security hut without alerting the troopers.
“Take your positions,” Grannt said.
I moved off to one side, just behind the kiosk. Then I activated the heads-up display on the exosuit to lock on the target. I used a hand signal to tell Grannt I was in position.
TenSix did his part by ambling out in front of the security kiosk like he was out for a Sunday stroll. He moved right into a pool of light from the structure’s exterior lamp.
“Hey!” one of the troopers yelled. “Mechanical, stop now! What the hell are you doing out here?”
“Here is there, and there is here!” TenSix chirped pleasantly. “And sometimes I find myself in neverwhere!”
“What the blazes are you babbling on about?” the trooper asked.
“Good friends are like stars,” TenSix intoned. “You can’t always see them, but you know that they are there.”
The second trooper stepped out of the kiosk to get a better look at TenSix. “This doesn’t look like one of ours. You think he is part of the invasion?”
Grannt signaled me. It was go time.
I hit the air jump and flew hard at the second trooper. The impact sent him flying, but just for good measure I clubbed him with the shally stick, causing a flurry of electric bolts to dance over his body.
At the same time, Grannt hit the other trooper. I was amazed at how quickly the big man moved—even without power armor.
In a few seconds, it was all over. The troopers were down—without having sounded any alarms.
Grannt and I dragged the bodies of the troopers back inside the hut and relieved them of their KHG-S92 assault rifles and key-sticks.
“I’ll take one of those,” Grannt said, reaching for an assault rifle. “And I’m also going to change real quick. I need to get rid of this jumpsuit.”
“How about you, Kira?” I asked. “You want the other S92?”
“I’m good with the scatterblaster.”
I hefted the KHG-S92 and checked its charge. I’m not going to lie. It felt good to have one of these babies in my arms.
Zulch’s key-stick didn’t unlock the extra-wide double doors that led into the utility tunnel. But luckily a key-stick we had taken from one of the guards worked just fine. The doors opened with a whoosh of released air.
Inside, the dimly-lit corridor stretched out to the north. It was wide enough to drive a sled through, but the walls and ceiling were jammed tight with cables, conduits, generator boosters, enviro ducts, and one thick pipe wrapped in bright orange insulation material. There were a few sleds and carts lined up against one wall, as well as a stack of dusty transport crates.
“Our destination is roughly seven hundred meters to the northeast,” TenSix said. “As the wangala flies.”
“Let’s move quickly,” Grannt said. “The Mayir might be slow on the
