The X Pathogen

Chapter Fourteen

They cautiously walked through the entryway, Ash winced as the door slammed shut behind them. A long, musty hallway became visible as lights turned on. Ash's shoulders instinctively tensed, motion activated lights meant someone probably knew they were inside. Agent Kyo apparently had the same idea. He held a finger to his lips motioning for everyone to stay quiet. After a few stressful minutes, no one had come to shoot them, so Kyo motioned for them to keep moving.
The lights flickered as they walked, and Ash swore they saw sparks fly out of one of the bulbs. Unlike those in the pristine GISA facilities, this hallway was dusty enough that footprints were left behind with each step.
The governor nervously sidled up to Kyo, "are you sure this is safe?" he asked in a loud whisper.
Kyo shrugged dismissively, "let's hope so."
They neared the end of the hallway, a single, rusty metal door stood at the end. Kyo tried the handle, "it's either stuck or locked," he said.
Nadil walked up to the keypad next to the door and typed in a string of numbers. "Try it now," he mumbled.
Kyo gave him a skeptical look but tried the handle again. "Still locked."
Nadil looked surprised but quickly changed his expression back to a neutral one. "Okay... anyone got a big rock or something?"
"Hold on just one moment," the governor cried incredulously, "why do you even want to get in there?!"
Kyo shrugged again, "well if we're lucky, there'll be a way to communicate with the GSA and we can get off this rock."
"And if we aren't lucky?" the governor shuddered.
"Let's stay optimistic." Kyo grumbled as he wedged a rusty metal rod into the door's crack to pry it open. There was a cacophony of loud clanking and screeching as the metal pried apart the locking mechanism. The door slowly opened, revealing a small white room, barely bigger than a closet, with another door directly across from the first.
"How many of these are we going to have to pry open?!" Governor Turi lamented.
"None," Nadil rolled his eyes, "I'm guessing this is a lift, which means we just have to step inside and let the machines do the rest.
Kyo gave him a long stare, but didn't say anything as they all walked inside. Nadil mashed the button on the side of the wall and they all waited expectantly. Instead of the whir of gears and pulleys Ash had been expecting, there was a soft hissing noise, followed by a fine mist showering down from the ceiling.
Green lights flashed, and the second door slid open.
"Wha- what is this stuff!? You said it was a lift!" the governor desperately swiped at his clothes, trying to wipe away the invisible droplets.
Nadil glared at him, "I don't know, why does everyone think I know something about all of this!?"
Kyo gripped the boy's shoulder tightly, "Ronette..." he said with a hint of warning in his voice.
Nadil's shoulders slumped. He clamped his mouth shut and wordlessly marched out of the tiny room.
The door led to a massive lab. Stations were covered in test tubes containing a transparent emerald green liquid that bubbled over burners. Robotic lab assistants carried trays covered with vials filled with a thick, yellow liquid zipped back and forth between stations. Kyo reached for his pistol, but let his hand drop when no organic beings were in sight.
"What is this...?" Ash murmured in awe.
Kyo had already made his way to one of the computers and begun trying to get some form of communication working. "I don't know," he said over his shoulder, "but I do know they hired a crime syndicate to protect whatever this facility is making."
"What?!" governor Turi peeked over his shoulder, "that's impossible, I am in charge of this system, I would never allow illegal activity to-"
Nadil snorted disdainfully, "you really think there's no crime under your glorious dominion?"
"Of course not! I'm not an idiot, there will always be crime, but something like this...?"
Kyo shook his head, "organized crime has survived for a reason, and it's largely because we can't find them. I'm guessing they hoped to keep this place hidden for as long as possible, but they hired some extra muscle from a neighboring system just in case." He turned to Nadil, "so, anything you'd like to share with us, cadet?"
"No..." Nadil looked away.
Kyo clenched his teeth, "alright, I tried to be patient with you about this, but you clearly know more than you're telling us, so spill it."
Nadil sighed dejectedly, "the Black Rygnar syndicate had a pretty big presence on my homeworld, that's all."
"Where exactly are you from?" Kyo's eyes narrowed.
"I-" Nadil started to respond when a door slid open, revealing a petit petalian woman with pale green skin and soft, ribbon-like tendrils growing from her head. The group turned to stone, silent and perfectly still. The woman was so absorbed in whatever was on her reampad that she didn't even see the obvious intruders.
It wasn't until a robot held up a tray of vials that she finally looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw them, her hand frozen above the tray of yellow vials.
Ash waved awkwardly, "um... hi?"
The woman screamed and started throwing vials at them, "get out!" she shouted.
Ash held up their arm to block the tiny shards of glass, flinching as it sliced through their skin.
The woman ran out of things to throw and froze. Then she turned and ran out of the room as fast as she could.
"Cadet Avrel, come with me. Ronette and Dantier stay here and keep the governor alive," Kyo sprinted after the woman, with Saji close behind.
Ash glanced at Nadil, "soooo... we should probably try to contact someone to come get us?" they mumbled uncomfortably.
"Yeah..." Nadil walked up to the computer Kyo had been using and got to work.
A few minutes later he grinned triumphantly, "guess who just saved our skins," he announced.
"Really?!" Ash peeked over his shoulder.
"Don't sound so surprised, your highness, I'm just as smart as you are."
"That's not what I meant," Ash muttered.
Turi wrung his hands nervously, "how exactly did you save us?"
"I got in touch with the GSA, they're sending a ship to our location soon."
Ash grinned, "aweso-"
A gun clicked behind them, "sorry, kids, you and your grandpa aren't going anywhere."