After that, the fight doesn’t last long. Pieces of bots lie scattered across the broad grotto, some still twitching with ruined servos.
“Noura, what are you seeing up there?”
“The Actuals’ defenses are quiet. Looks like we’ve stopped the first wave.”
You throw a glance to Safina, expecting a smile. But she isn’t smiling. She’s looking at the sensor package on her wrist.
“I think we’re in trouble,” she says, then she mirrors her display to the one on your wrist.
With one glance you realize why the force that had just attacked seemed so light. It was a diversion. Another force was drilling from above, following one of the laboratory’s tiny ventilation channels from the surface. They shouldn’t have been able to find it.
Unless they’d already known it was there.
“Noura, pull back! We ne
