“Go ahead and run your junk.” Javier told Austin.
“Alright. Like I said, this ultra-wideband radar is our best bet, but it’s high powered shit. If they are scanning, we’ll be advertising our location.”
“Just scan and jam,” Javier said. “We’ll study the results later.”
“So you wanna play whack a mole with them? I really wanna go in, too, but are you sure about this?”
“Got a better plan?”
“Well... there’s other tunnels, right? If we press this now they could get stupid pissed. If we wait for Soldado, we may be able to just board a train and go straight in. You know, under cover.”
Javier considered the input. “Problem is time–” He fell distant, listening. A light grew in his eyes. “Okay, kids. New data, new plan, and time is short. Punch these coordinates into your map.” He rattled off the longitude and latitude, a position almost two hundred miles southeast of the gray zone.
“Empty desert,” Austin said. “Nearest anything is a border crossing village and that’s twelve miles away. No, wait. There’s a military airstrip just three miles off. Thabhloten.”
“Get us there. High altitude approach, over fifty K, then descend to ten on coordinates.”
“Ten K?”
“Ten feet.”
“Okay...” A minute later they arrived high over the desert. “What are we looking for?”
“Nothing. Just go in. Ten feet off the deck.”
The ground rushed up to meet them. He spun the craft to get a visual. At the foot of a large dune, they were surrounded by a flat expanse of sand and other dunes.
“Hold here.”
“Who’s leading this detour?” Meng asked.
“They aren’t saying, but it’s got a taste of authority to it. High authority.”
“I don’t like it,” Austin said. “Just sitting here.”
“If we don’t have company in one minute, we go down for a look.”
“Into the sand? For what?”
“Backdoor. What else?”
“Backdoor or trap? Seriously, who’s feeding us? And what about waiting for Soldado?”
“Relax. Things are happening. This is the right way.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
A few seconds later, Javier gave the order to descend. “Pitch straight down and dig thirty feet before using the short-scan radar.”
“You sure?”
“How else are we going to see what’s there?”
“Okay. Down we go to signal the bad guys we’re here.”
He piloted the craft into the sands of the Rub’ al Kali. The wrinkled kinetic field scooped the sand around the ship as it sunk down into the sandy ocean. At thirty feet he adjusted the settings of the radar and kicked it on. The return showed the underlying topology was anything but flat.
“There, see the ridge line?” Javier pointed. “The lighter shades beyond. That’s what we want.”
He steered towards what became a large crevice in the rock floor. Scanning it revealed a larger chamber where a perfectly symmetrical disc-shaped rock lined the floor at an angle.
“Looks like a huge plug,” he said.
“That’s exactly what it is. Meng, get the gear ready.”
“Abandoned tunnel?”
“Construction tunnel. Used when they were building the base. Sealed off and we’re told forgotten.”
“Forgotten, huh? Better be. How are we gonna pop it?”
“They say knock. Really hard. And turn up audio.”
Again he shook his head. “This better not be a fucking trap, man. Better. Not. Be.” He parked the ship near the rock plug. A slight hum issued from the speakers, the sound of the sand vibrating against the field. “Scan shows two feet thick. How hard to I punch?”
“Hard enough to break that rock.”
“Okay. If we pancake, I blame you. On three. One, two, three.”
He snapped the disc fully forward then back in a quick motion. A thunderous crack sounded followed by a rumble. Fragments slammed onto a metal floor under the weight of the sand.
“Visual.”
“Can’t. Sand’s in the way. I need to go in further.”
“Go then.”
He nudged the craft into the tunnel past the sand collapse. Low-light cameras revealed the perfect circular form of a tunnel and rails set in the floor. On the sides of the tunnel were recessed panels that might have been lights.
“See the seams? Looks like rings, twenty feet each. Steel? Maybe an alloy. Wonder who made them.”
Meng set rifles and bags against the hull.
“Check for power readings, any electromagnetic fields at all. See if they’ve got eyes down here.”
Austin shook his head. “If they do, they’re closed right now.”
“Good. Let’s get moving. Augment visual with the radar. The angle will level out about a kilometer in. Take it carefully. There should be nothing ahead but I don’t want surprises.”
• • •
Bastion stared out from the observation lounge as it rose from the MILOPS levels to the SUPOPS levels. Control teams from all operations branches now worked under direct coordination from CoreOps. Overseer managed the presentation and prioritization of all data and communications.
The models and techniques being employed had been tested in small scenarios involving multinational theatres but this was the first time they had been utilized live on a global basis. It was an ambitious engagement made more challenging given the mass dispersion of the priests. They were weakened but also less predictable.
He looked at an overhead screen and chuckled. Behind him, some of the council clapped softly. The screen alternated between cameras following the progress of a gurney through the Core. Prone atop the gurney, dressed in a commoner’s robe, was the leader of the Runa Korda.
“Ganzai, how about that? It pays to think outside the box, no?”
Ganzai smiled and raised his wine glass in salute. “Yes, it does.”
“I think we’ll rather enjoy the next few hours. Team One has learned the locations of key priests as well as some of their civilian conspirators. Their collaboration will finally cost them.”
Markus asked, “And what of Gerrit and Cathbad? Team Three has been quiet.”
“We’ll not do a thing with Gerrit until we are certain of the technique. Combining got us this far with them, I want to be sure they don’t slip through cracks made by our haste. For now their containment is more than sufficient progress.”
He smiled at the screen showing the gurney in the lift. “He’s arriving. More wine, everyone. Get a glass ready for old Cathbad, too. He may want to destroy us but we will remain civil.”
Ganzai made a round to refill glasses. Bastion ordered the screens changed. Remote views appeared from G2 and G3 in pre-deployment readiness. Initial operations in five cities were set to begin, the targets of which not yet revealed by Bastion. The floor behind the council slid open and attendants rose with the gurney.
“Sit him over there.” Bastion watched the men handle Cathbad into place. The old priest’s head lolled forward. He walked over and tugged at the beard. “Fantastic. He’s almost exactly what I’d imagined.”
A message arrived via his neural link. He froze. “Oh really?”
He faced the council, all mirth dissolved. “The Korda have found the Qatar line and presumably the Jeddah line as well. Probably all of them. Overseer, close the feeder shafts and recall trains. Monitor the sites and prepare total destruct orders for all but the Duqm terminal. Have troops ready there. BaseOps, extend the mesh jammer, use whatever power is necessary. And test it. Highest alert condition for all rings. Cormac, have Team One readied. Deploy the guardians. Focus them on all outer ring entry points.”
“You think they will enter one of the lines?”
“I think they will try. They may use the ship, somehow.” He looked at Cathbad’s sleeping face. “Notify G2 to be ready to suppress any reports of discovery of th
e terminals. And prepare dirty bombs for Jerusalem, Rome, and New York City. They want to keep playing, so play we will.”
• • •
“Faster.”
The tunnel had descended before leveling out as expected. Cruising at a hundred miles an hour through the narrow shaft, Austin relied more on the short-scan radar than the cameras.
“Any faster and I won’t have time to correct. What about ‘taking it carefully’?”
“They say it’s clear. Extend the radar if you have to. We’ve got to reach the junction quickly.”
“Your call.” He increased the radar and accelerated to five hundred miles per hour. The darkened light panels and ring seams flickered by on screen. What Javier and the others were planning hadn’t been shared yet. Whatever it was, at some point he would be free to go after Bastion and the council... whether Javier liked it or not. The certainty of his grip on the fabric of Raon calmed him. He would destroy those who had killed and hurt his family and the entire world. He sat at the very tip of history, ready to inflict long overdue retribution that was once thought impossible. The thought made his heart pound.
“We’re into the gray zone. Careful.”
Sure enough, Austin tried to extend from his body and nothing happened. The option was simply absent.
“Okay that’s wicked bad. What the hell could be doing that?”
“We need to find out.”
A change in the radar showed the junction ahead. He slowed as a break in the circular tunnel revealed a platform and beyond it a large hollowed out staging area with tracks and other platforms.
“Still no power readings. This bar’s closed.”
“Good. Go left, head for the far side. We’re looking for a descending ramp with rails.”
The lights of the ship pierced the darkness and reflected from the metal rails. It was easy to imagine train cars loaded with materials and some empty, awaiting return. Presumably others would carry workers or maybe they’d used robots...
“How old is this place?” he asked.
Javier looked to Meng.
“Its existence was first suggested in 1919, either to be built or already built. Confirmation it existed didn’t come until 1937 but with no intel on where. There was never an industrial trail for materials or labor or even rumors of projects covering something this big.”
An opening formed in the floor, the beginning of a ramp.
“Down?” He lined up on the ramp and followed it into another angled tunnel. “So it could have been here all along?” Austin asked. “Built by others? Aliens maybe?”
Meng shrugged. “Anything’s possible.”
“There may be clues,” Javier said. “Already I see standard rail track gauge. Rather conventional and suggests mid-nineteenth century. The precision on the tunnel sections suggests fine milling techniques but nothing beyond their capabilities, even then. The metal composition could shed further light. Until I see more, it’s hard to know.”
The tunnel leveled out. “How far?”
“A stretch then a loading area. Not sure how far. Keep the radar up and halve the speed.”
They shot through the tube until eventually arriving at the end of the line. Rail switches lined the space ahead, further suggesting human tech. Three inch tubing ran along the ceiling with spigots at intervals along the track.
“What were they filling up with?” Austin asked.
“With any luck, you’ll see. Still no readings?”
“Nada.”
“Alright. Grab a rifle and a kit. You and I are going for a walk. Meng will guard the shack.”
Austin stood and traded places with Meng. The druid had skimmed most of what he knew about the controls.
“You good? No questions?”
“I’m good.”
He hefted a bullpup design assault rifle with mounted laser guide and spotlight. “Whoa, this made of plastic?” It was lightweight, no more than three or four pounds, even with a full clip.
“Keep it off full auto,” Javier said. “You’ll eat a clip in just a couple seconds. Grab your kit. We’ll use the goggles.”
He inventoried the waist-mount bag. Three clips total for the rifle, four clips for the Glock, four quick-timer C4 door bangers, and one fuck-you-asshole slab of Semtex high explosive with a remote detonator. Two knives, an LED penlight, five smoke balls, a small med kit and the low-profile goggles rounded out his supplies.
“Are these thermal? Or night vision?”
“Both.”
“No shit? Nice. You guys think of everything. But no beer. I could use a beer. Wait, what’s this?” He held up what looked like a steampunk shower cap with wafer-like elements woven into a covering pattern.
“Nanofiber cap. Might save your brain. Put in on first.”
It slid over his head and side flaps velcro’d together to cover his face.
“This is for you,” Javier said, offering him the familiar light-bending fabric.
“What about you?”
“The best trick goes to the most talented prick. That would be you.”
“Well thanks and fuck you, too, pal. What about the rifle?”
“Sling it, keep it inside. Hopefully with that suit and your voodoo we won’t have to fire a round. If need be, I’ll return fire first. Your safety is top tier priority so don’t engage with guns unless your suit’s been torn. No, it isn’t bulletproof.”
“I don’t like you being exposed.”
“Just put the thing on, will you? And quickly.”
He played with the fabric until the insides were visible and he could stuff his legs in. It stretched easily over the body armor and boots as well as the rifle.
“Tell me this isn’t alien tech.”
“I don’t think it is.” Javier shuffled to the ship’s door. “Meng, stay open to me. We stay linked the whole time. Austin, ready?”
“Ready.”
“Pop the hatch.”
A damp, cool air flowed in.
Austin asked the obvious. “Water?”
“Ten points for Mr. Crichlow. Now, no voodoo unless you have to. The idea is to keep to yourself and keep your energy up. Stay stealthy. Comprendè?”
“Ci, ci.”
“Alright then.” Javier climbed out and engaged his rifle’s spotlight in feeder mode to enable night vision. “Kill the lights, Meng. Stay with me, Austin.”
At the far end of the loading area a doorway opened into a hall. Javier led them to a utility room with a hatch set in the floor.
“Bingo. Intel’s good so far.”
He pulled a lever to unlock the hatch and hefted it open. Cold, moist air flowed upward. A ladder descended into blackness.
“You still trust the source?” Austin asked.
“Sometimes faith is all you have.”
“I’m going first,” Austin said. “Seriously, I’m fucking invisible.”
“Invisible, not invincible. You still light up my goggles like a Christmas tree.”
“Really?” A few seconds later Javier cussed. He’d formed a bubble to hide his heat.
“That’s a neat trick but what is it costing you? Knock it off until you really need it.”
Austin took to the ladder. “Where’s this lead?”
“To water.”
“That’s some serious intel right there, pal. Good to know.”
“Don’t get punchy. I need you sharp. Watch for cameras, flooring plates, trip wires, everything.”
“Got it.”
“I’m right behind you.”
The ladder took them thirty feet down a cored rock shaft before it let them out onto a horizontal passage. Smooth walls also indicated large-bore drilling but only a third of the diameter of the main construction tunnel. It lacked any of the improvements.
“Foot traffic only?”
“Seems like.”
They walked along the passage using the rifle’s feeder beam to guide their steps. Occasionally Javier switched to infrared to scan for power sources from cameras or
other electric devices. Ahead a dim outline of the tunnel grew.
“Termination ahead. Light source. Stay behind me.”
Thirty strides on, Javier slowed and then stopped to turn off his goggles. Light filtering into the tunnel created too bright a wash.
“What is it?” Austin asked, doing the same. His eyes adjusted. What looked like raw cave formations loomed ahead.
Javier gestured for Austin to stay. He walked forward to approach the edge of the tunnel.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Austin whispered.
“Stop feeling then.”
Javier crouch-walked to reach the edge. “Holy fuck.”
“What?”
“Come see. Carefully.”
Austin crouched beside him. “Daaamn.”
Below them, hundreds of lights illuminated an underground reservoir stretching away into the distance. Floodlights along the bottom showed a depth of hundreds of feet. The water was so clear they could see individual rocks and into sinkholes that fed lower passages. Four columns of rock stood as if placed there by a race of giants to support the cavern. Smaller ones lay collapsed along the bottom.
“What the hell...”
“Ancient water. All that the region ever had, looks like. And look there,” Javier pointed. “Past the second column.” A cluster of lights hung from the cavern’s ceiling. He pulled the rifle from his shoulder and used the scope. “It’s the bottom of the Core.”
Austin brought out his rifle and scoped in.
The structure protruding from the ceiling was huge. He resolved scale by spotting windows in the structure. A latticework cord hanging from it contained a pipe that descended into the water below. Probably a feeder for the Core’s water supply.
“What do you think?” Javier asked.
He continued to scan the upper structure. “The lattice has a ladder.”
“So there’s an entrance.”
“Has to be.” Austin lowered his rifle.
“How do you feel?”
“Ready.” He felt strong, capable, and connected to the potential around him. He wanted only the chance to destroy the council. Whatever it took. Anything between him and that act was going to have problems. “Ready to take care of business.”
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