Galactic Law Box Set: The Complete Series by J.N. Chaney & James S. Aaron

Author:J.N. Chaney & James S. Aaron [Chaney, J.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2021-01-12T22:00:00+00:00

3

I reached the landing and pushed a body out of my way. It was another tech in a gray uniform. The body floated into a nearby wall and crumbled into pieces, his head breaking free to tumble back into the open shaft.

The doorway ahead of us opened into a long corridor lined with cells. This was the third such section we’d found, and so far there had been nothing but cages full of bodies, many of them with fingers still wrapped around the bars from when they suffocated. No one was wearing name badges that I could tell, and I searched the desiccated skulls with some idea that I might recognize Lance if I saw him. I knew that was probably futile, but I searched faces and checked hair color.

The thing was, I’d seen as many dead guards as prisoners.

We passed areas clearly designated for torture. Dried blood flaked off the walls and corpses sat strapped in chairs for eternity, the skulls drifting to the sides.

Walking through the dark, silent corridors with nothing in my ears but my own breath and Fratley’s banter, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were the ghosts floating through a house of horrors. It didn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination to see what had taken place here. Anything could be lurking just outside the range of our lights and sensors. The silent tension made Fratley’s chatter the rational response.

The Renegade was more anxious than usual, but he was doing his best to hide it behind jokes and curses. As we searched the long corridors lined with cells, he tapped the walls with his cane, letting the metal tip bounce along the bars. Kiren followed me doggedly, lost in her own thoughts.

Two levels later we finally reached what looked like an administrative area, with the cells replaced by small offices like those off the cargo area. Most of the data terminals sitting on desks were dead with cadavers floating over them. I couldn’t help looking around wondering what had happened here.

We passed through areas where the decompression had obviously been violent and sudden, with bodies still spinning in the open rooms, and others where the atmosphere must have leaked slowly so inhabitants simply went to sleep from oxygen deprivation. There had been a plan to the destruction of this place, that seemed apparent enough.

“Anything, Arla?” I asked as we entered this new area.

“Yes,” she replied, surprising me. “There does appear to be electrical activity, Deputy Walker. If you can get one of the workstations running, I should be able to connect.”

Fratley took initiative by stepping forward and pulling something out of his pocket. He inserted it into a slot on one of the stations and waited. A second later, the computer came to life and a holo screen appeared.

“Interface complete,” Arla announced.

“You had that the whole time?” I asked him.

He grinned at me. “Of course. Makes me valuable. Alright, what do we have here? Ah, yes. Most of the system is wiped, but there’s a basic map.

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