Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Taz noted with wry amusement that the CAC building looked no better close up than it did from a distance. Adding texture to utilitarian blocks made them look like construction-print rejects.
Because her armor was better protection than what the airsled offered Rylando and the animals, she led the way through the wide entrance.
The building’s AI answered her queries with variations on “please try later,” so she ran every scan her suit could manage the moment she got inside the meter-thick walls.
Being buried alive under a failing roof would absolutely ruin her day.
The architectural schematics labeled the long, cavernous space beyond the wide entrance as the Grand Foyer.
It looked more like a retro transport depot.
She took it as a good sign that all the interior lights still worked, not just the glowing emergency beacons.
Functional life-support systems were always a bonus.
While connected to her suit, she didn’t need to tap her earwire to talk to Rylando over their GSAR secure net.
“My scans say this end of the structure is sound. Lifesigns are clustered in an area leased to a business called Eye-Fire-Mind. The doorway in the northwest corner of this room should be a hallway that leads to it.”
She switched on her top torch and aimed it toward the hallway. Dust swirled in and out of the light beam, suggesting the ventilation system was still working.
“My scans say the same.” The suit’s superior tech made his voice sound like he stood right next to her. “Let’s proceed.”
Turning to her right, she crossed toward the target hallway. “That’s odd. In this part of the building, at least, my scans say the subfloor is made of incalloy.”
“Mine, too. Yanoshi did say it was built like a fortress.”
Taz made a rude noise. “Starships need incalloy for transit space. Space stations need it for the gravity layer. Terrestrial buildings in small towns don’t need incalloy anything.
” She made a scornful sound as she stepped over a pile of glass that might have once been a sculpture.
“Unless RSI installed it so they could run up the settlement debt.”
He laughed. “You’ve been talking to Hatya.”
“She did send me… Oh, hell, the hallway’s blocked.
” She read the scan results. “Three interior wall units collapsed into the hall. At least it’s wide enough to maneuver in.
Ceiling is solid but tight for the sled.
Floor is solid. I can clear the debris and you can follow, or we can look for another way in.
” She couldn’t resist teasing him. “What are your orders, exalted Field Commander, sir?”
“Clearing it will be faster.” After a pause, he added, “And I’m demoting you if you keep calling me that.”
She grinned at his grumpy tone. “Yes, sir. I’ll make a note, sir.”
Stepping into the hall, she extended her straight forks and slid them under the first large section of tilted wall.
As she lifted it, she used her teke talent to clear material from the separation point to give it room to tilt inward, away from the passage.
Thankfully, only one had cracked into several pieces.
The rest of the wall units were modern and modular, rather than the monolithic, chisel-textured denscrete blocks that made up the exterior.
Mindful of the taller, wider airsled behind her, she monitored the scans to make sure her actions weren’t causing unintended problems for her teammates, human or otherwise. The airsled had one bad propulsion coil and two marginal coils, so it wasn’t as fast or maneuverable as it should be.
“Architectural plan updates just came from the town.”
She finished pushing aside debris. “Anything new about our search target? The building’s AI is still traumatized, I think.” The technical term was “crisis fallback basic state,” but to her, its disoriented responses sounded like humans who’d gone into tunnel-vision survival mode.
“Yeah, the space used to belong to a financial firm. Looks like our lifesigns are together in what used to be a four-meter-square datavault. Multiple air vents. Used to have its own chiller, but that might be gone now.”
“Good shelter in an earthquake.” She pulled in the updated schematics to look for herself. “Left at the upcoming intersection, then forty meters west to the door.”
“Concur. Proceed.”
One of the first things she’d noticed about Rylando was his similar respect for field safety and communication protocol without going overboard. It was a welcome pleasure to finally work with someone she synced with. And look at her, mooning over that someone instead of paying attention to her job.
Retracting her suit to as small a profile as possible, she stepped into the intersection and ran scans and visuals. “One more downed wall. Ceiling’s still stable. Just a cheap install job on the wall sections, I think.”
“Probably. Based on the number of overlays and changeouts on the plans, the interior has been reconfigured dozens of times since the local government moved out.”
“I wouldn’t rent here even if it was free. Too depressing. No natural light at all, not even piped in.” She lifted the wall up and tilted it out of the way. “Clear.”
“Agree and proceed. Moyo smells recent human scents.”
“Good. Looks like the business has an external wallcomp for visitors. Want to try it, or barge right in?”
“Let’s knock first.” Humor laced his voice. “One trauma per day for them is probably enough.”
She moved farther down the hallway so Rylando could glide the airsled into position. He hovered in front of the wallcomp and pinged it. His amplified voice rang out. “Hello. Subcaptains Delroinn and Correa from Galactic Search and Rescue. Do you need assistance?”
The response came fast. “Oh, hell yes, we need assistance. We’re stuck in the storeroom and the door is jammed. We’ve been here for six hours, no comms.”
The mid-pitched voice had a Spanish accent and sounded more peeved than panicked.
Taz guessed the current business converted the datavault into a storeroom.
Rylando spoke into the wallcomp. “How many people are with you, and is anyone hurt?”
“We are six adults, one teenager, and one toddler,” said a softer, higher voice with a Standard English accent and a businesslike tone. “Instructor Nadryer broke her leg and cannot walk. Everyone else is well.”
Rylando nodded. “We’re outside your main entrance and are coming for you now. As a precaution, please get as far away from the storeroom door as you can.”
Taz stayed where she was as Rylando backed up the airsled a few meters, then grounded it, got out, and pointed toward the door. “While you get us in, I’ll get the med pack and team ready.”
“Copy,” she said, letting her suit amplify her voice. It had taken her years to remember that people couldn’t see her nodding her head while she was encased in petroplas and metal.
Thanks to the GSAR rescuers’ exclusive access to a vast collection of security-system emergency keys and overrides, it only took her a few moments to breach the business’s front door and duck inside. Outside of the gallant hearts of the rescuers, those keys were probably GSAR’s most valuable asset.
Other than the corner to Taz’s right, which was occupied by a huge, grey denscrete block that looked like it had crashed through the ceiling, the rest of the room seemed inviting.
Soothing colors, real springwood floors, mirrored walls.
A scattering of shoes, plus upended tables with broken crockery under them and disarrayed cushions made it look like the aftermath of an exuberant pillow fight.
Shen, Moyo, and Rylando followed right after her. Moyo planted herself in front of what looked like a vault door to what was now the storeroom, nose to the seam where it met the floor. The hellhound loved meeting new people.
Shen made a lightning-fast run around the room and disappeared into what the plans said should be a kitchen, then returned to sit next to Rylando’s foot and look up at him alertly. He smiled and patted her head. “Yes, Shen, people will soon need herding.”
Taz laughed. “She loves having someone to look after, doesn’t she?”
“Yes,” Rylando agreed with amusement, “and telling them what to do.”
Her suit flashed an alert. “My scans say the door is a standard internal pivot-hinge. The frame is bent at the upper left corner. I think I can straighten it enough to free the door.”
He nodded. “Anything above us we should know about?”
She checked the plans as she focused deep scans upward.
“Roof is solid denscrete and intact.” She pointed to the block that had cratered a hole in the corner.
“I don’t know where that came from. Building headspace storage, maybe?
Nothing on the plans.” She stepped closer and extended her mech suit’s vertical jacks. “Please ask Moyo to move for a minute.”
Rylando and Shen stepped back into the middle of the room. Moyo rose and crossed to stand beside them, but her attention remained on the door.
The jacks snugged into the doorframe, then slowly expanded to lift pressure off the frame.
She kept an eye on the ceiling scans. At the bottom, the springwood buckled and splintered, but the plascrete subfloor held.
The moment the readings said the frame evened out, she hammered the door once on the non-hinged side.
It bounced open with a crash. Only her armored fist stopped it from unhelpfully banging closed again.
When she retracted the jacks, the frame sank, but held firm. The thick vault door would probably never close again. “Scans clear.” She marched backward four long steps and stopped.
Before Rylando could move, a bronze-haired man came out of the storeroom. Once away from the door, he bent over, breathing deep. “Grácias a Diós para aire fresco!” Probably the source of the Spanish-accented voice from their first contact. Sweat rings dampened the armpits of his casual green tunic.