You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Gently the raven-haired woman handed up the plasma charge, which had been attached to the<br />
inside of the access panel.<br />
The Marine was very gentle holding it and setting it aside.<br />
"Alright, now to get to the real work."<br />
Closing her eyes, Emily lightly touched her fingertips to the exposed circuitry. With the<br />
practiced ease of someone who had been doing it for ages, she created the bond. Gifted, as they<br />
were called, were those few people who had the capability to do what Emily was about to<br />
attempt.<br />
Swiftly she felt her way along the circuitry, sending out tendrils of her consciousness. She<br />
frowned slowly as she continued her trace. The circuit was an isolated one, and she couldn't<br />
manage to access anything other than the door, and shut down the local observation systems.<br />
Which was fine with her, at the moment all she wanted was to get through the doorway. The<br />
alarms were sophisticated, but she was a Guardian. It took her only a few moments to locate<br />
them and neutralize them, then override the door and open it. The cameras up and down the<br />
hallway beyond she set on a loop.<br />
Withdrawing from the circuits back into her body was as disorienting as it always was when not<br />
dealing with her ship self.<br />
The door slid open silently, as Emily forced her body to answer and stand up. The bright light<br />
shining from inside the doorway caused them all to wince slightly.<br />
So far so good.<br />
"Let's go."<br />
The white hallway before them looked like nothing so much as a hospital corridor. It even<br />
smelled like one.<br />
Thank the Maker we're out of that stench from the sewer.<br />
Quietly she waved Tom forward, not about to get her Marines annoyed with her at the moment.<br />
"Let's get to a computer panel I can use to find where they are."<br />
The long corridor was almost completely quiet, only the small hum of air conditioning could be<br />
heard. The sound of their footsteps echoed down the hallway, despite their attempts to move<br />
quietly. Every dozen feet or so, a room would open off either side of the hallway. Each of those<br />
rooms were dark, and glances inside showed what looked like hospital beds, and occasionally<br />
more arcane equipment. The bright fluorescent lights overhead lit the stark corridor quite well.<br />
"Ma'am, what did they use this place for?"
Change language