Authors: Mindee Arnett
Flynn whistled. “That's one expensive facility.”
No kidding,
Jeth thought. Plasinum was used primarily in the construction of starships and spaceports, due to its unique properties of being incredibly strong and durable but also extremely lightweight. But usually, only a ship's outer hull would be made from plasinum, to keep the cost down in the someone-can-actually-afford-this range.
Jeth shook his head. “How does its being plasinum matter?”
“It matters,” Marian said, glancing at Sierra, “because an ITA bioremediation lab has genetically engineered a microorganism designed to target and destroy plasinum. A microorganism they've since weaponized.”
“There's a shocker,” muttered Flynn.
“The microorganism will destroy the plasinum that makes
up the Harvester without harming the Pyreans,” Marian continued. “Or us.”
Sierra gulped. “You're talking about Reinette, aren't you?”
Marian nodded.
“Who's Reinette?” Jeth turned toward Sierra, concerned by the alarm in her voice.
“It's not a who but a what. Onlyâ” Sierra broke off, swallowing. “The Reinette project was one of the biggest to come out of the Hanov Division.
My
division.”
“Yes,” Marian said. “The very division that held Cora and me captive for so many years.” She waved a hand over the map and it zoomed in on their target destination, a skyscraper set among dozens of others in the giant, sprawling city of New Boston.
“We're heading back to Hanov?” Incredulity heightened the pitch of Sierra's voice.
“We have to.”
Sierra shook your head. “You've lost your mind. There's no going back there, not for any of us. We'll be caught.”
A gentle smile crossed Marian's face. “No we won't. The plan we've devised will see you safely into the lab and out of it again.”
“See
me
?” Sierra touched her fingers to her chest, over her heart. “You expect me to go in there?”
Jeth felt his anger stirring. “Is this why you needed Sierra for the job?” No wonder his mother had waited to share the specific details of the mission until they were already on their way.
“Yes,” Marian said, her tone apologetic. “The security on all the labs under the Hanov Division is based on biometric tech that identifies people at the DNA level. That means all the methods you've employed in the past for breaking into such places are out. A contact lens isn't going to get you through a retinal scan at Hanov. You'd need the actual eye.”
Jeth wrinkled his nose at the gruesome idea. Not that he would be above showing up with a gouged-out eyeball, if it meant taking down the ITA.
Sierra let go of Jeth's hand and folded her arms over her chest. “I hate to put a damper on your plan, but don't you think Hanov security would've removed my biometric clearance when I kidnapped Cora and stole the Aether Project? I think that's what they call âtreason.'”
Marian shook her head. “They merely disable the clearance; they don't remove the record. There's an unintentional redundancy in the software that keeps a permanent record of all biometric signatures. All we have to do is break into the system, reactivate your clearance, and modify your permissions to give you access to the entire building. You'll be able to walk into any lab without issue.”
Sierra exhaled, and Jeth braced for the argument. When she didn't say anything, Jeth asked, “How do you know about this redundancy?”
“Dax's people knew about it,” Marian answered at once, as if she'd been expecting the question. “I believe it was discovered during Hammer's regime. It seems the moment Hammer learned about the existence of the Aether Project,
he did everything in his power to orchestrate its theft. He would've succeeded if Sierra hadn't stolen it first. Much of this break-in plan is indebted to Hammer; you could practically call him a member of the team.”
This news didn't surprise Jeth. On the contrary, it made perfect sense, and the explanation relieved the nagging doubts he'd had about the short timeframe. Dax had only rescued Marian some two months ago, and Jeth had enough experience with jobs like this to know you didn't set in motion a plan on this scale that quickly.
Sierra too seemed to be thinking along these lines. Her voice was resigned as she said, “Even so, it's not going to be easy.”
“Nothing ever is,” Jeth muttered.
“Um, not to add to the complication or anything,” said Flynn, raising a hand. “But say we break into the impossibly secure government building and steal this secret demolition project . . . how are we supposed to get anywhere near the Hive? Cloaking won't matter once
Polaris
gets close to the surface of the water; they'll see us coming from kilometers away. And if you say we're swimming, then I quit.”
“Yep, swimming. That's the plan.” Aileen winked at him, and beside her, Jeth saw Cora mimic the gesture. “And won't you look cute in a wet suit.”
Flynn scowled back at her. “At least I'll fit into one, unlike your iron giant over there.”
“Be quiet,” Marian said. “We will be using
Polaris
's shuttles for both entering the bay and for approaching the
Hive. Dax had the original shuttles upgraded to make them aquatic capable. We'll be able to move about unseen under the water.”
Jeth almost smiled at the news. He'd never piloted a ship under water before, though he'd always wanted to. At least that was something to look forward to.
“Once we have Reinette,” Marian continued, “we will approach the Hive to within twenty kilometers and then make the rest of the trip in the shuttles.” She manipulated the 3D image with her fingers to show the location. As Sierra had said, the Hive was a couple of thousand kilometers away from New Boston. “At its center, the Hive is an open structure, both above and below. We will pilot the shuttle under the Hive and then come up through the center right into the control room. Once there, we plant the Reinette, and then make our escape the same way we came. Simple.”
“Oh sure, simple. And where exactly are we escaping back, too?” Flynn said, tapping his foot. “Peltraz and Saar?”
Jeth's stomach clenched. It was the right question, but not one with any answer. The silence on the Axis only added to his worry.
Perry cleared his throat. “Daxton will contact us sooner or later. He'll let us know how and when to approach Peltraz.”
Flynn grunted. “Sure, let's trust the backstabbing crime lord.”
Both Perry and Eric glowered back at him, but Flynn ignored them, unconcerned. Jeth frowned, surprised by his
bravado. It wasn't like Flynn to be so completely unafraid when faced with two leering Brethren, but he seemed to have adopted an almost fatalistic attitude.
With an effort, Jeth pushed worries about Peltraz and Saar out of his mind. There was nothing he could do about that right now. He focused on the plan instead, well aware of the tension coursing through Sierra's body beside him. He understood her fear. They'd spent many a long night talking about her experiences with the ITA and about her escape with Cora. Her capture would mean her deathâor worse. The Hanov Division wasn't above sentencing traitors to serve as test subjects in their many experiments. Sierra had told him about prisoners condemned to genetic manipulation experiments.
Hanov was also the location of the ITA's cloning efforts, he remembered. In some ways, Jeth thought, phase one of this plan was even more dangerous than destroying the Hive, especially since they had been unable to leave Cora on Peltraz.
He faced his mother, his expression hardening. He wanted to know every detail about this mission, find and eliminate every possible hole. “So, going to back to Hanov . . . Sierra is supposed to just march in there bold as anything and snatch this Reinette?”
“She'll be wearing prosthetics and other modifications to disguise her appearance,” said Marian. “The outer security protocols on the lab aren't DNA sensitive, only the access doors into the labs themselves. She'll resemble someone
named Dr. Praveen closely enough to pass the facial scanner and fool any night security crew.”
“Night crew?” said Flynn. “Isn't that a bit obvious? Why would this Dr. Praveen go into the lab at night?”
“A lot of the scientists keep strange hours at Hanov,” Sierra said. “It certainly won't be busy at night, but her appearanceâmy appearanceâwon't raise any suspicions.”
Jeth exhaled. “You're going in by yourself, aren't you?”
“I'll have to.” Sierra shifted in her seat. “The security doors into the labs will only allow one person entry, and I'm the only one who'll have clearance.”
“She's right,” Marian said.
Jeth shot a glare at his mother. “I'm not letting Sierra go into that lab alone.”
Sierra made a disgusted noise and tapped him in the shin with the toe of her boot. It wasn't hard, but it got his attention. He gaped at her.
“I can handle myself.”
Jeth resisted the urge to reach down and rub his leg, his mind scrambling for the appropriate response. He knew dangerous ground when he was treading it. “Fine,” he said. “Sierra goes into the lab alone. But how's it going to work, her getting in there?”
Marian turned back to the table and pressed a couple of buttons on the control panel. The image of the First-Earth map dissolved into a detailed schematic of the Hanov building and surrounding area.
“Dax has secured a hover truck for our use, which we will park wherever we can find room next to the building.
Ideally here, right around the corner.” She indicated the spot on the map. “Sierra will head in and approach the guard station first. They will have her step into the body scanner. Fortunately, the scanner sits right next to one of the computer terminals. Sierra will have to place a Mite on the terminal just before she steps into the scanner. The Mite will initiate a remote hack immediately. I'll plug into the security feed first and then reactivate Sierra's clearance remotely from within the truck.” Marian glanced at Sierra. “You'll have to burn some time while we wait for the Mite to run the program. I suggest heading into the latrines on the main floor; don't even head up to the labs until we know you're cleared.”
“Makes sense,” Sierra said. “How long do you think it will take?”
Marian pursed her lips. “I don't know. At least five minutes, maybe ten.”
Sierra nodded. “I'll bring makeup with me in the event the guards wonder why I'm taking so long.”
Jeth grimaced. “And if anything goes wrong with the Mite, Sierra can just walk out again before getting in too deep, right?”
“Yes, although it won't be necessary. We will succeed.” Marian manipulated the display again, turning it so they had an underside view of the building. “Meanwhile, the rest of you will head into the subway. This tunnel runs directly beneath the building. You'll make your way into the alcove here and then use a laser torch to cut a hole into this chamber above.” She indicated an odd, sub-ground level that seemed to be appended to the main design of the building.
“What is that?” Jeth asked. “Some kind of secret sub-basement?”
“Not exactly,” said Marian. “This city is very old, and most of the buildings that were developed in eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries have been preserved rather than torn down and rebuilt. This chamber contained the original heating and cooling systems for the building. They sealed it off when they rebuilt the foundation, but its ventilation shafts will allow us to climb up and then break our way through the foundation into this chamber where the new systems are located.”
Flynn raised his hand again. “Here's a crazy question, but why are we bothering with all this if Sierra can just sneak this Reinette thingy out the front door. You know, the easy way.”
“Gee,” Aileen said, touching a finger to her chin. “Why didn't we think of that before?” Again, Cora mimicked her gesture, and Jeth winced. The last thing he needed was Cora choosing Aileen for a role model.
“The Reinette can't leave through the front door,” Sierra said, her voice a calm wave of reason in the tense room. “It can't leave the lab at all without setting off the alarms.”
“Yep.” Aileen leaned back in her chair, slinging one leg over the other. “Which is why I'll be climbing the ventilation shaft up to the lab. Sierra will hand me the Reinette, and then I'll head down and out through the subway with no one the wiser.”
Jeth cocked his head. “Why you?”
“She's the only one small enough to fit inside the shafts,”
said Marian. “And even that will be a challenge, since she'll have to wear scalers to do it.”
“Oh, it won't be that tight.” Aileen waved a hand through the air. “I'm more limber than I look.”
“Wait,” Jeth said. “If Aileen can get into the lab through the shaft, why does Sierra have to go in at all?”
“There are motion detectors in each room,” Sierra said. “The only time they are disarmed is when a cleared individual is inside. So Aileen can get in, but not without alerting the whole building to her presence the moment she slides out of the shaft.”
Jeth stifled a groan, hating every bit of the scenario. Sierra would be trapped like a rat in a maze if anything went sideways. “Can you carry scalers in with you if things go wrong, so you too can escape down the shaft? You're small enough to fit.”
Sierra shook her head. “It will set off too many alarms if the guards don't see me exit.”
“Of course.” Jeth gritted his teeth. It seemed the only way to guarantee Sierra's safety would be for her not to do it at all. But that wasn't an option. This was the only way to destroy the Harvester, to save Cora, and to take down the ITA. Jeth didn't like admitting it, but the importance of what they were doing outweighed the risk.