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The sun shimmered off the walls, highlighting the perfectly smooth façade. There were no doors, windows, or blemishes standing out anywhere.
“Download schematics,” she ordered.
“Error. No schematics available,” her implant said in its soft, robotic voice.
“Download area map.”
“Error. No map available.”
She tapped her foot against the sand. “Download building material list.”
“Error. No list available.”
Renna gritted her teeth. What the hell was going on? “I can’t get any information on this place,” she said, turning to Finn. “I hope Aldani’s upgrade didn’t break my implant.”
“I suppose there’s nothing else we can do but take our chances. At least MYTH surveillance hasn’t found any trace of people going in and out of the place.” Finn ran a hand through his hair. “Keva, Doyle, get back to the ship and prep for takeoff. I don’t want you hanging around here too long. Just because we haven’t seen anyone doesn’t mean we’re not being watched.”
“But sir…” Keva’s face twisted with indecision. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
“I’m not important; the mission is. If we’re not back within six hours, get back to Aldani’s lab and contact MYTH HQ on Preill. They’re the closest branch to this system. They’ll send backup.”
Keva’s jaw tightened, ready to argue, but Renna interrupted. “Captain, this isn’t necessary. I can go in alone. There’s no reason for both of us to risk it.”
“I’m going with you. There will be no discussion.” He pinned both women with a steely gaze, and Renna threw up her hands.
“Whatever you want, Captain. It’s your call.” Part of her was relieved, but she couldn’t ignore the other voice that whispered suspiciously at the back of her mind. Was he really coming with her because he still didn’t trust her?
“Be careful, sir,” Keva said. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else, but shook her head.
Beside her, Sergeant Doyle saluted. “Good hunting, sir. Ma’am.”
EIGHTEEN
Finn and Renna snuck down the dune toward the building. As they got closer, the building seemed to tower over them, at least two stories high. It was a lot bigger than it had looked from a distance, and the closer they got, the more the strange material threw her off.
She rubbed at the prickling skin on her arms. “Do you feel that?”
Finn pulled his gun from its holster. “What the hell is it?”
“Some kind of force field. I think they’re blocking all communication in and out of the place. Probably why my implant isn’t working.” But there was something else there, too, just below the low hum. Something simmering at the edges of her mind.
They crept toward the building. Finn scanned the area, his gun at the ready, while Renna studied the structure in front of her. She scooped up a handful of cold sand and let some of it stream between her fingers. Then she threw the fistful at the side of the building.
Nothing happened. The sand slid off the strange material as if it was perfectly smooth. Not even a grain left behind.
“What do you think it is?” Finn asked, peering at the wall.
“I wish I knew. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Whoever had built this facility had gone to a lot of trouble and expense to create this material. But why?
“We’re not going to figure out what’s going on by standing here. Are you ready?”
Renna moved closer to the building, trying to ignore the energy that cobwebbed against her skin. She pulled the particle destabilizer from her pack. The globe was smaller than her fist, and the silver metal seemed to move and shiver the closer it got to the building. She gripped it and twisted the top and the bottom away from each other, pulling it apart to reveal a core of glowing elemental antimatter.
“Here goes nothing.” She pressed it against the strange metal wall. Surges of electricity ran up and down her arm, and she forced herself not to jerk away.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right?” Finn moved closer, but she stopped him with the shake of her head.
Slowly, the point at which the device touched the wall started to glow blue, the light moving in circles from the center outward, growing larger by the moment.
“What is it doing?” Finn asked, peering over her shoulder.
“It’s agitating the molecules. Aldani said it could take up to three minutes to burn through, depending on the material.”
Finn’s lips tightened, but he simply nodded and glanced back toward the hill where Keva and Doyle were hiding.
The strange blue ring was almost as big as a plate now, and the energy shimmered just enough that she caught a glimpse of the facility beyond. “I think it’s working,” she said, leaning forward.
Finn’s presence was warm against her back as he moved to stare at the wall. His MYTH uniform was covered in a fine dusting of the sand, dulling the navy fabric. Her own clothes were probably covered in it, too.
The ring of light was as large as a person now, and it had finally stopped expanding. Slowly, the molecules of the wall started to go translucent.
“Looks like there are some large boxes and crates on the other side. I think they’re hiding our entrance.”
“No sign of an alarm?” Finn asked.
“Not yet.” She paused and said, “Facility schematics please.”
“Facility schematics not found.”
“Still nothing.” She let out a sigh in frustration. “Whatever this building is made of, it’s still blocking any signals.”
Finn shifted his weight. “This whole situation feels wrong.”
Renna nodded. For once, she was in complete agreement with the captain. Then she froze. The wall had gone completely transparent. She could see into the facility like she was gazing through a window.
“Finn.”
Together they peered inside. Stacks of boxes and crates lined the walls of the warehouse. Bright helolights hung from the ceiling, giving everything a hard, cold glow.
“It’s empty? I thought, with this kind of security, it would be full of workers.” Finn craned his neck to see further in, his voice sounding troubled.
“Maybe they’re in another part of the building? Once we get inside I think we’ll have a better sense of the place.”
He nodded. “I’ll go first. Once I verify it’s all clear, you can follow me in.”
