agents I’ve seen for this mission,” Gheewala continued, interrupting Renna’s racking thoughts. “I hope it’s enough.”
Renna raised her eyebrows. “You mean to tell me he’s only sending six people to save the galaxy? What—did his budget get cut recently?”
“I don’t think you understand. Six MYTH agents is like having a full platoon of other soldiers.” The sergeant pressed her finger to a scanner, and a door slid open, leading down another corridor.
Renna cursed under her breath. MYTH’s facility was huge, and she had no idea of the layout. Dammit. She desperately needed to fix her implant or find a new one before they left, but she’d bet her life MYTH didn’t have the resources on site for something like that. Cyborg tech—especially black market—was frowned upon by most governments.
They walked for almost a minute in silence before turning down another utilitarian hallway. Gheewala finally stopped in front of a plain steel door. Inside was yet another standard-issue table surrounded by chairs made of some inexpensive but long-lasting polyplastic.
Dallas and the rest of the team were already waiting for them. “Please have a seat, Renna. We were about to get started with the debrief.” He pointed to one of the empty chairs, and she slipped into it, crossing her arms.
“Is this going to take long? My feet are starting to get itchy.” Always a good sign trouble was on the way, trouble she didn’t want to be a part of.
“We have medicine for that,” Gheewala said, pausing in her scan of the room to focus for a moment on Renna. She looked very concerned.
“It’s a figure of speech, Sergeant,” Renna explained kindly.
Across the room, Keva snorted and quickly pressed her fingers to her lips, turning away. Dallas took his spot at the head of the room, but Captain Finn stayed on his feet near the door. He’d changed out of the ninja suit into a crisp black uniform that looked almost as stiff as his spine.
The major paced, his shoulders around his ears. “Comm chatter has picked up in the last hour. We need to get you on your way ASAP. We’ve had reports that the planet they held Myka at prior to Hesperia has been attacked.”
“Status?” Finn asked.
“Destroyed.” Dallas tugged at his collar. “Dr. Aldani has been notified that Myka is safe. He assures us he has been working on the tech to get us inside the bunker. We need you to go to his labs on Iniros to pick it up and deliver the boy, but your route will have to be top secret. No one must know where Myka has gone. Even our own controllers will be told you are going to another planet. I will, unfortunately, be unable to communicate with you due to the sensitive nature of the mission and the chance of interception. Captain Finn has his orders and will fill you in on a need-to-know basis.”
Dallas turned to Renna. “What I am about to say is not to leave this room.”
She smirked. “I’m a thief. I know how to keep a secret.”
“You also know how to sell them to the highest bidder,” Keva muttered.
Renna clenched her hands in her lap. Someday she was going to knock that smug smile off that woman’s beaky lips, and it wouldn’t be in the sparring ring.
“I assume you’ve heard about the attack on Banos Prime three years ago?” Dallas asked, jerking her out of her dark thoughts.
She nodded. The murder of ten thousand civilians was always big news. “Myka said his parents had been killed there.”
“Correct. They were there as scientists, ostensibly working for the mining colony doing research. In reality, they were part of the MYTH team investigating a strange mineral found on-world.”
“And Myka didn’t know?”
“Of course not. He’s a child. But what his parents found put us on high alert a few days before the attack. Someone had built a station to take the minerals found in the Banos Prime soil and convert them into a new type of clay.”
That drug seemed to be the cause of every problem in her
Renna raised her eyebrows. “You mean to tell me he’s only sending six people to save the galaxy? What—did his budget get cut recently?”
“I don’t think you understand. Six MYTH agents is like having a full platoon of other soldiers.” The sergeant pressed her finger to a scanner, and a door slid open, leading down another corridor.
Renna cursed under her breath. MYTH’s facility was huge, and she had no idea of the layout. Dammit. She desperately needed to fix her implant or find a new one before they left, but she’d bet her life MYTH didn’t have the resources on site for something like that. Cyborg tech—especially black market—was frowned upon by most governments.
They walked for almost a minute in silence before turning down another utilitarian hallway. Gheewala finally stopped in front of a plain steel door. Inside was yet another standard-issue table surrounded by chairs made of some inexpensive but long-lasting polyplastic.
Dallas and the rest of the team were already waiting for them. “Please have a seat, Renna. We were about to get started with the debrief.” He pointed to one of the empty chairs, and she slipped into it, crossing her arms.
“Is this going to take long? My feet are starting to get itchy.” Always a good sign trouble was on the way, trouble she didn’t want to be a part of.
“We have medicine for that,” Gheewala said, pausing in her scan of the room to focus for a moment on Renna. She looked very concerned.
“It’s a figure of speech, Sergeant,” Renna explained kindly.
Across the room, Keva snorted and quickly pressed her fingers to her lips, turning away. Dallas took his spot at the head of the room, but Captain Finn stayed on his feet near the door. He’d changed out of the ninja suit into a crisp black uniform that looked almost as stiff as his spine.
The major paced, his shoulders around his ears. “Comm chatter has picked up in the last hour. We need to get you on your way ASAP. We’ve had reports that the planet they held Myka at prior to Hesperia has been attacked.”
“Status?” Finn asked.
“Destroyed.” Dallas tugged at his collar. “Dr. Aldani has been notified that Myka is safe. He assures us he has been working on the tech to get us inside the bunker. We need you to go to his labs on Iniros to pick it up and deliver the boy, but your route will have to be top secret. No one must know where Myka has gone. Even our own controllers will be told you are going to another planet. I will, unfortunately, be unable to communicate with you due to the sensitive nature of the mission and the chance of interception. Captain Finn has his orders and will fill you in on a need-to-know basis.”
Dallas turned to Renna. “What I am about to say is not to leave this room.”
She smirked. “I’m a thief. I know how to keep a secret.”
“You also know how to sell them to the highest bidder,” Keva muttered.
Renna clenched her hands in her lap. Someday she was going to knock that smug smile off that woman’s beaky lips, and it wouldn’t be in the sparring ring.
“I assume you’ve heard about the attack on Banos Prime three years ago?” Dallas asked, jerking her out of her dark thoughts.
She nodded. The murder of ten thousand civilians was always big news. “Myka said his parents had been killed there.”
“Correct. They were there as scientists, ostensibly working for the mining colony doing research. In reality, they were part of the MYTH team investigating a strange mineral found on-world.”
“And Myka didn’t know?”
“Of course not. He’s a child. But what his parents found put us on high alert a few days before the attack. Someone had built a station to take the minerals found in the Banos Prime soil and convert them into a new type of clay.”
That drug seemed to be the cause of every problem in her
Similar Books
