Inside the room was a fully operational laboratory. Unlike the stark, utilitarian offices we’d been finding, this space gleamed with advanced technology. Tables full of equipment sat in the middle of the lab, while all four walls were lined with varying-sized metal cages. All of them were currently empty. But the thing that really caught my attention was the red pieces of dull crystals that were scattered among the laboratory equipment, and most especially a large black crate off to one side of the tables with a lid half off showing more crystals tucked away.

  Quinton had stepped into the room and went to one of the pieces of equipment that was all too familiar. It was an olthometer, which had several samples of the firestone sitting on the table before it. She eyed the olthometer. It was currently off, but it was clear the equipment had been in use recently. In fact, the lab looked like the technicians were just taking a short break and would be back at any moment.

  “Well, it’s looks like they have been researching their own uses for the firestone mineral,” the Lieutenant replied as she picked up one of the samples to examine it.

  “Yeah, but why didn’t they say anything about that when we said that was why we’d come to Talion Proxi?” I turned to Markus, who was still taking it all in from just inside the door. He had at least stepped in enough that it shut behind him. “You were there when the Governor said that firestone was of no use to the colony. Was he lying?”

  Markus shook his head. “My Dome-ni can only read the truth as the person who speaks it knows it to be. So either Governor Korrel believed that the firestone had no real properties he found useful, or he’s completely in the dark about what’s going on here.”

  “Maybe what we are seeing is the end of their testing. Maybe what he said was true, because their testing results showed no real use.” Quinton suggested as she set the sample back down on the table and picked up another.

  “Maybe,” I said, but I didn’t believe it as I moved over to the olthometer and touched the power button. The machine hummed to life, and I reached for the sample Quinton had set down. I loaded it into the machine and waited as my thoughts whirled in my head.

  I had checked the mining colony’s logs of their first discovery of firestone before we came here. Up until seven months ago, there had been no evidence of the mineral on the planet. Then the mining operation had opened a new section of Mine Shaft Seven, and that’s when they found large deposits of the mineral. So I could believe that they had tested the mineral for themselves, but why now, when we happened to be coming to the planet to investigate it ourselves, especially when they shouldn’t have known that’s why we were coming in the first place? Maybe the timing was just a coincidence?

  I also didn’t believe that they had found no use for it. All my instincts were telling me that someone on Talion Proxi knew much more about firestone than they were letting on, but why hide it or attempt to hide this room in the first place? I let my thoughts settle as it came to a few conclusions.

  “Well, this lab tucked away in a blacked-out section of the admin building isn’t just about the firestone. They found the mineral only seven months ago unless they lied about that too.”

  Quinton shook her head from beside me. “It is most likely true that they found the firestone mineral seven months like they claimed, Highness. It is incredibly difficult to falsify geological data for the Imperial Mining Consortium. The penalty for doing that would be devastating to the colony. I’ve heard of mining operations being shut down permanently for much smaller deceptions.”

  I nodded, agreeing with her assessment. “This wing was built long before seven months ago, so whatever they are doing here has been going on for quite some time. I think the firestone is just their latest project to study here in the lab.”

  “Maybe the lab isn’t part of what they are hiding? It is perfectly logical for a geological research lab or several to be a part of any mining colony,” Quinton pointed out.

  “I would agree, but it doesn’t seem very logical for a geological lab to have cages that had at one point housed animals, don’t you think?” I waved a hand to the section of cages behind me. It was obvious from the smell that they had been used quite recently. And while it seemed the area had been cleaned, I still spied animal dropping at the back of a few of the cages as I’d passed them on the way to the olthometer.

  “Whatever they’ve been doing,” I continued, “animals are a part of it, which means they were working beyond the scope of mineral science. I think this alternative research is what they are hiding here in the north wing. Not just from us, but from everyone. But what exactly they are doing baffles me. Were they testing the firestone on the wildlife?” I shook my head, certain that didn’t sound right. “Why would they do that?”

  The olthometer beeped, pulling my attention back to the machine. I tapped the display to bring up the results, but I must have hit the wrong thing, because I got nothing but an error message.

  “Highness, may I? There’s a certain process for bringing the results up,” Quinton spoke up from my side.

  I moved out of the way to let her at the machine, and I watched her as she deftly worked through the prompts until the results were displayed in front of us. We both raised an eyebrow at the numbers before us.

  “That’s interesting. According to this, the firestone is inert. It’s completely devoid of the properties I marked as effective against the Shixxaminti,” Quinton replied.

  I mulled over the conundrum until something on the corner of the display caught my attention. A small blinking icon, almost hidden among the data streams.

  “Wait, what’s that?” I pointed to the icon.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Quinton leaned in closer to the display, her fingers tapping at the icon. “That’s the past readings. Each sample is usually tagged with a marker, so if they are rerun in the olthometer, any previous readings of that exact sample can be viewed.”

  She tapped the icon, and it expanded to display a different set of readings of the sample. This one showed massive reactivity similar to what we’d seen of the firestone in the mine. Quinton and I blinked at the data in surprise.

  “By the date on the previous readings, this sample was scanned just five days ago. Somehow this firestone sample was drastically changed within that time,” she said.

  I leaned closer, intrigued by the data. “What could deplete the mineral like that?” I picked up another sample that was lying out on the table. “Here. Let’s try this one to see if it’s an isolated case.”

  Quinton quickly pulled the firestone out of the machine and slipped the other one inside and set it to be analyzed. The machine hummed again as it started to work.

  “Look, I know this is all fascinating, but aren’t we forgetting the bigger problem?” Markus said from behind. “We can come back to this later. Let’s get somewhere safer.”

  I shook my head. “If they went to this much trouble to hide this research, there is no guarantee all this will still be here later, especially when whoever is in charge of this secret project finds out we blasted a hole into the north wing. They will come in here, wipe everything clean and make this look like an innocent lab.”

  “You don’t know that, Adar,” Markus said. “Besides, you’re a Prince of the Empire. If you start asking pointed questions about what’s been going on here, you will get answers. You have the power to shut this place down if you wanted to.”

  I threw Markus a look over my shoulder. “Maybe in a month after I take my oath to become an Imperial Agent, but if I raise the alarm on this now, my father will just demand I return to Darat to finish my training while he sends someone else to take care of this. If this didn’t involve the firestone mineral, I’d let him, but it does.

  “We need this mineral to help us against the Shixxaminti. We have already determined that this is a rare mineral. We cannot be in competition with others on acquiring it. I think it’s important that we get as much information as possible about what’s going on here. It could be vital to our access to the firestone. Hell, it might even help us understand the firestone and what it can do for our own needs better.”

  Markus frowned, but he didn’t raise any more protests when I turned back to the olthometer as it beeped again. A moment later, Quinton had the results up. Once again, the numbers were showing the mineral inert. She tapped the small blinking icon at the bottom of the screen. The previous scan showed the firestone mineral even more potent than the first sample we checked.

  “Well, not a glitch then,” Quinton replied. “And this scan shows it was completed only two days ago.”

  I looked around the lab to see what else it might tell us about what was going on here. I could feel Markus’s impatience through the bond, and I knew he wasn’t wrong about us needing to hurry this up. But I still felt like we were missing a big piece of the puzzle here. I noticed a terminal at a desk in the corner and walked over to it.

  I tapped the top of the silver box to activate the computer. A holo projection activated just above the box, but it was just a blue screen with the colony logo. There was a lock icon in the upper corner, and I knew from experience with my own terminal back on Darat that it would take a retina scan to get to any of the information on the terminal.

  “Locked. I guess I should have expected that.”

  “I could copy the information onto my datapad, Highness,” Quinton said from across the lab. “Surely there’s someone on the Quortous who can get past the security.”

  I paused as I considered the Lieutenant’s proposal. I was still learning how things were done in Ethia and privacy laws had not come up yet. I looked at Markus with uncertainty. As usual, he was quick to catch on to what wasn’t being said.

  “I think that’s a good idea, Lieutenant. Clearly, someone or someones on Talion Proxi are in breach of their mining contract. We are lawfully obligated to present possible evidence to the Imperial Mining Consortium. Whether the terminal shows incriminating evidence or not, it’s clear through other means that infractions have occurred.”

  Quinton gave Markus a raised eyebrow as if his explanation was not necessary, but I nodded thanks to my Protector for clearing that up. I moved out of the way to let the Lieutenant download the information onto her data pad, feeling better about what we were about to do. I knew from experience that data from a terminal could be uploaded directly to the Nanite Network almost instantly, but a quick check by Quinton showed it was still down. It felt like an agonizing slow as the transfer from the terminal to the data pad was made. It was nearly complete when the building around us shook.

  It’s surprising what a person can get used to, because since we’d started our investigation into the north wing and especially the lab, I’d been mostly able to tune the blaring alarm out. We’d also gotten used to nearly yelling at each other to be heard over the piercing sound. But something about the quaking floor underneath me made the alarm seem as jarring and terrifying as when I’d first heard it go off. My heart started racing as the urgency of our situation came back in full force.

  “It’s got our heat signature again. It’s time to go. Now!” Markus yelled.

  He rushed over to my side, grabbed my arm, and started leading me out of the lab like he was afraid I’d protest again. I looked behind to Quinton, who had just finished getting the download as she slipped her data pad inside her coat and quickly followed. All three of us rushed out into the corridor.

  “Where to now?” I asked no one in particular.

  “Exit!” Quinton responded. “If it’s like the other two wings, there should be one that way.” She pointed in the direction we had yet to go, which would lead us further into the wing.

  I almost considered suggesting going back to the north wing’s cafeteria and seeing if there was indeed a kitchen attached and a freezer like we’d been in before, but for some reason it felt like the wrong thing to do. So, I let Markus lead us forward, while Quinton and I followed closely behind.

  We had gone halfway down the next corridor when the man abruptly stopped. He turned and stood in front of a door, which looked like every other door we had passed in this wing and the south. And yet, he stood there a moment, staring at it as if it were the most important thing at that moment. The building shook again.

  “Seriously, when is that thing going to get tired and go away, or better yet, when is the colony security going to respond?” I complained as I stopped next to my Protector. “What’s going on, Markus?”

  The man pointed to the side of the door. I blinked as I realized that where normally a generic room number would sit, the word Jotham was spelled out. As that realization slowly settled on me, Markus had extended a hand to the palm reader, but the door did not respond.

  “You think it’s a transporter?” I asked hopefully.

  “Maybe,” he said in a clipped tone, motioning for Quinton and I to step backwards.

  We were well versed in what was coming, so we did as he asked without a word as my Protector pulled out his executioner’s staff and quickly blew a hole through the door. After the demolition, Quinton and I stepped forward. The three of us peered past the mangled metal frame and into the darkness awaiting on the other side. There was no transporter, but there was a set of stairs leading downward.