Unity

Chapter 37

Once the nanites finished building the bridge, the marines began their orderly assault on the complex. True to my word, I hung back and watched as each marine made the transition across the zero gravity bridge with practiced ease. Truthfully, I was grateful to be away from the fighting for a change. Right before I left, I called Dr. Thompson and had him link Sarah to my suit, and I was hoping I wouldn't regret bringing her along. The last of the marines looked at me expectantly.

"After you captain," they finally said.

"You must be my chaperones during this trip," I joked.

"Commander Morozova has given us the assignment of protecting you. If you will please make your way across the bridge, we can get this over with."

It was clear that they were less than pleased with their assignment, and I did my best not to take it personally. I calmly walked to the access shaft leading to our makeshift bridge and launched myself into the zero gravity environment. Near the end, I slowed my descent and orientated myself so I would land on my feet. I managed to stay upright as gravity took hold and pulled me into the room, but it was lacking the grace the marines who had gone on ahead had shown.

"Very smooth Captain," said Sarah sarcastically. Her voice came from the internal speakers of my helmet.

"I would like to see you try, but wait...you can't," I said with equal sarcasm. "Just remember what you are here for."

"Find me a terminal and I'll tell you anything you want to know," she said in a sweet voice. I waited patiently while the bulk of the marines moved ahead and could imagine the marines behind me looking at their comrades longingly. I found the terminal a couple of rooms down from where we entered, and besides the radio chatter, everything was eerily quiet. There was no sign of the enemy yet, but something definitely felt off. I walked up to the terminal and began looking for some sort of interface.

"How exactly does this thing work?" I asked Sarah.

"I'm already working on it," she answered. "Just make sure you don't do anything stupid for the next few minutes." I occupied my mind with the status of the marines scouting the facility. Finally, Sarah finished gaining access to the Zrynt computer. "That's interesting," she said.

"Care to fill me in?" I asked.

"It appears this is a mining facility," she answered.

"I wasn't aware that the Zrynt had mining operations," I said. "I thought they took what they needed from those they conquered."

"They don't mine," she answered. "Mining raw resources to build a ship would be the worst humiliation. Their whole culture is built on the idea that the strongest rule. You show your strength by the number of enemy ships captured or destroyed that you add to your own ship."

"So, their whole existence is one giant pissing contest," I surmised.

"To put it in primitive and vulgar terms, yes," she answered. "What's even more interesting about this mine is that it has been in operation for a very long time, yet virtually no mining has been done."

"The mine is a façade," I stated.

"My thoughts exactly," Sarah agreed.

"Question is how do we find its true purpose?" I asked.

"I think there is more here than meets the eye," she said. "There was one tunnel drilled out, but it was only drilled for about fifteen meters."

"Why would a fake mine need a mineshaft?" I asked rhetorically. "Shall we go see what they are hiding?"

We finally found Commander Morozova near the mineshaft. As I approached, he recognized me and saluted before saying, "Captain, we've swept the whole facility. We haven't found a trace of the Zrynt."