“Something isn’t right about this,” Junebug declared as she moved along the corridor opening one door after another with the barrel of her rifle. It appeared they were in a barracks of some sort, which might have been expected, but the rooms were cleaner than Junebug would have imagined from soldiers, hired or otherwise.

“What tipped you off? The literal monster?” Neil asked sardonically. Junebug chuckled as she opened the final door in the hallway. Inside was another room with a bed, refresher and computer console. Unlike the others they had passed this one was still live. Junebug gestured the others inside and closed the door before crossing to the computer. The screen appeared to be some kind of statistical data, though it didn’t make any sense at all to Junebug. Reaching into one of her pouches she withdrew a small memory cube and slotted it into the machine. As Taya had predicted the input was of a standard type of Cyloneika and she wasn’t forced to fiddle with the package of adaptors she had bought just in case it had been of more esoteric manufacture. The machine bought up a warning about the cubes contents which Junebug ignored with a click. The cube hummed for a moment and then a tell tale flicked green, informing her that Taya’s malware had been successfully uploaded. While she waited Junebug looked around the room. There were several dataslates, each apparently hooked to xenobiology databases of various kinds. Neil pulled open one of the drawers to reveal several neatly folded lab coats. He arched an eyebrow.

“Junebug?” Taya’s voice sounded in Sayeeda’s ear. The virus she had created was designed to give her access to the buildings communications suite so that she could link to them in real time from the orbiting Highlander. That part of the plan appeared to be on track.

“I’ve got some access but it's going to take time for me to crack all the systems,” the girl admitted.  

“No problem,” Junebug told her, gesturing the others towards the door. It might be smarter to wait for intel rather than move, but Sayeeda didn’t like defensive positions and this hallway would be a bad place to get pinned down.

“I think this might be some kind of research facility,” Sayeeda said. That wasn’t what Gregorious had told them, which meant his intel was either dangerously bad, or more likely, deliberately false. That didn’t change the mission though. Taya could be depended upon to deal with Pradec’s files if they could be remotely reached, but that still left the man himself. 

They pressed forward through the door at the end of the corridor, it opened onto the walkway above a two story room. Below them white coated men were working around holographic displays. On the screens Sayeeda could see footage of the jungle in which large alien looking creatures roamed. They were not of a piece, save that each one was large and none were native to Cyloneika. A large map with red tracking dots was on one of the walls.

“I don’t think we can get through this way,” Junebug said as she eased the door closed. As she spoke the doorway at the other end opened and two men carrying shot guns and wearing body armor stepped into the opposite end of the corridor. One opened his mouth to shout though probably more in confusion than alarm at this stage. Junebug lifted her rifle and fired twice, the discharge deafening in the confined hallway. Both men spun to the floor in a spray of blood, the displacer rounds pulping armor and tissue with equal disinterest. In the same motion she unhooked a flash grenade from her belt, pushed open the door and tossed it through the door, over the railing and down to the floor below. It went off with an actinic flash and a shattering boom they could feel even through the door. 

“Here we go,” Junebug said and kicked the door open, rushing onto the walkway. The scientists below were clutching at their eyes and screaming. Several of the computers had been shattered by the concussion and a haze of smoke disrupted the holograms. Her helmet quickly scanned each figure, returning no matches for Pradec. There didn’t appear to be any armed opposition here so she rushed across the walkway towards another door deeper into the facility.