Chapter 23 · Buried War

Keira hit the maintenance shaft door with her shoulder and it gave. The metal shrieked. She was already through, boots on the ladder rungs, dropping fast.

Rian was down here somewhere. With her chip.

The one that was supposed to be ash in a crater three systems away.

She landed hard, knees absorbing it. The substructure under the academy was all concrete and pipe work, dim service lighting every ten meters. Cold air. Smell of recyc fluid and old stone. Her heart hammered but her hands were steady.

She moved.

Her real training was back. The stuff she'd spent five years burying. Every step was soundless. Every corner she took was already cleared in her head before she got there. Muscle memory didn't forget, it just waited.

Rian's ping had come from down here. She'd caught the signal trace before it cut out. He was either running or setting up, and neither option was good.

She rounded a junction and saw boot marks in the dust. Recent. Headed deeper.

She followed.

The corridor opened into a wider maintenance hub. Old storage, mostly empty. A few crates stacked against the wall.