“I’ve made the interface, Sergeant...crap, no access. Want me to try another building?”

  “Do it,” said Maxwell. “But I don’t reckon these codes are going to work - wherever we use them.”

  “That’s what I think too.”

  Maxwell considered his options. Private Chau carried a pack full of explosives, which could blow a hole through metal thicker than these walls. In addition, Lowe was holding a seven-foot rocket tube that would gain entry to the habitation unit, albeit with far greater mess and with a guarantee to incinerate anyone who might be sleeping within twenty metres of the detonation.

  Even were Maxwell to order the use of explosives, Chau and Lowe didn’t have enough rockets and pack charges between them to gain entry to more than a fraction of the compound buildings - which left only one option, assuming Fine couldn’t access the second building she was about to test.

  “The codes aren’t working at this next building either, sir,” said Fine, moments later.

  “Private Barkley, contact the Marauder,” said Maxwell. “We’re going to need that warship’s cores to brute force these doors for us.”

  “Lieutenant Bishop acknowledges, sir,” said Barkley after a short conversation with the Marauder. “They’ll start with the buildings on the western perimeter and work inwards.”

  “How long for each door?” asked Maxwell. As he was speaking, the light on the access panel nearby went green. Maxwell smiled. “Not long at all.”

  “Apparently the time to open each door will fluctuate depending on luck,” said Barkley. “Also,” he continued, “Lieutenant Bishop reckons that if the compound comms unit was online, he’d be able to issue an override code to the ground security system that would unlock everything in one go.”

  “We’ll let him know when we find either the comms unit or the security console,” said Maxwell.

  Early indications were that the Marauder could crack the doors far quicker than his squad could search the buildings, so he guessed that by the time his squads located the ground hardware, access to the prefabs would no longer be an issue.

  “I’m going out on a limb and saying we didn’t bring the wrong access codes with us,” said Fleming.

  Maxwell nodded. “They got changed by someone here, and that shouldn’t have been possible.” He faced the door again. “Let’s find out what’s inside.”

  He touched the access panel and the door slid open to reveal an airlock space that could easily accommodate the squad. Maxwell entered and waved Fleming to follow. Since Xaros had a breathable atmosphere, the airlock system was effectively redundant and the inner light was already set to green.

  “Expecting anything, Sergeant?” asked Fleming.

  Maxwell shook his head once, though he held his gauss rifle ready. With a steady hand, he activated the inner panel and the second door opened. The interior was air conditioned and slightly pressurised, and the sensor in his suit helmet detected the movement of cold air escaping the building.

  The lights were off, but the illumination from outside was enough for Maxwell to be sure he was looking into a fairly large space. About three metres from the door, he saw a couple of chairs and a metal desk. A civilian computer was on the desk, along with a single cup and a plate. Deeper into the room were other shapes of a similar nature.

  “It’s quiet,” Maxwell reported on the squad channel.

  “No smell either,” said Fleming. “If anything died, it wasn’t in here.”

  Still aiming his gun into the room, Maxwell reached around the corner of the airlock, to where he knew there’d be a light switch.

  “Let there be light,” he said.

  Cold blue filled the room and no surprises confronted Maxwell. The space was maybe ten metres by ten, with other desks, other computers and a row of cabinets along the far wall.

  “Communal space,” said Fleming.

  Maxwell advanced into the room. A total of six doors – two in each wall – led to other parts of the habitation structure. Having seen plenty of these places before, it was obvious to Maxwell that this one had rolled out of the factory with a standard design. He was sure there’d be sleeping quarters left and right, along with toilets and showers. Directly ahead would be cooking facilities and another communal area.

  “Squad B, report,” said Maxwell. “This first building seems empty, but we’re about to commence a full search.”

  “B-97 looks like sleeping quarters and place to put your feet up, Sergeant.”

  “That’s the same as we have here,” said Maxwell.

  He strode to the nearest computer, which consisted of a keyboard with all the processing tech housed within, and a curved monitor. When Maxwell pushed the button to bring the device out of sleep, it booted up and presented him with a login screen and password request.

  Leaving the computer, he beckoned Fleming to follow him to the nearest left-hand exit and indicated that Lowe, Barkley and Corporal Alphonse Valerio – the squad medic - should go right.

  Maxwell’s eyes went briefly to where Private Lowe was folding his rocket tube along its central hinge. A rocket tube could be a real squad saver in the right circumstances, but it was an encumbrance inside. Lowe knew how to handle the weapon – once he’d folded it in half, he attached it to a specially-designed clip on the back of his combat suit and switched to his gauss rifle.

  Approaching the door, Maxwell checked that Fleming was ready. The man nodded, with no sign of nerves.

  The door opened onto a corridor and again, the lights were off. Operating the logically placed switch brought light of the same cold hue as in the previous room. This passage was almost three metres wide and went as far as the building’s end wall. Closed doors in the right-hand wall almost certainly led to sleeping quarters, while a set of narrow, metal-frame steps fixed to the corridor’s left-hand wall ascended to the level above through a hole in the ceiling.

  Pausing for a moment, Maxwell listened for sounds, while he breathed in slowly through his helmet filter, gathering scents of metal and overchilled air.

  “No scent of decomposition,” he said.

  “And it’s still quiet,” said Fleming.

  Advancing quickly along the corridor, Maxwell opened the doors one after another. Beyond each was a room with a double bed dressed in grey sheets, a private shower and toilet, a single wardrobe and a metal storage chest. He’d seen similar units with ten or more beds crammed into the same space, so the comparative low density here suggested that members of the CES had been promised comfort and privacy on Xaros.

  Stopping briefly in the end room, where the most interesting thing to note was a single blue sock on top of the unmade bed, Maxwell checked on the other members of his squad, and requested an update from Squad B. Nobody could top the excitement of the sock.

  “Upstairs?” asked Fleming.

  “Let’s go check it out,” said Maxwell.

  He exited the room and approached the stairs. They were strictly single-file and he climbed upwards, the weight of his tread producing no sound.

  Emerging onto a landing, Maxwell found a corridor leading to the opposite wall of the building. Another passage went left and there were more doors.

  “Well gee,” said Fleming when he realised the extent of the task in this building alone.

  “It’s going to take us three days to search every room in every damned building,” said Maxwell.

  “Time for a rethink, Sergeant?”

  “I reckon,” said Maxwell. “But we’re here now, so let’s finish up with B-98. Just in case.”

  He headed along the corridor, touching each access panel he came to. Every door hid a room furnished identically to the one before it. Garments and personal possessions were in evidence, but nothing that was noteworthy.

  Progress wasn’t exactly slow, but Maxwell remained aware that his safety was potentially at risk within the compound, so he was obliged to approach every door as if it might be hiding a dangerous opponent. When each new room was as empty as the last, Maxwell became increasingly convinced that not only was this building deserted, but likely all the other accommodation prefabs were too.

  Once the last room had been opened and found empty, Maxwell ordered Squad A outside. Corporal Fine had already finished up in B-97 with a similar lack of results.

  Overhead, the sun shone, and a flock of colourful birds flew low across the treetops outside the compound. Everything seemed peaceful and safe, yet Maxwell felt a growing disquiet. Early evening would become dusk in approximately five hours and an hour after that, this area of Xaros would be completely dark.

  Maxwell didn’t want to be here when night came.

  Chapter Ten

  Maxwell faced the soldiers. “The HF provided these units,” he lifted an arm to indicate the structures within the compound, “but they didn’t think to keep records of where the blocks holding the comms and security hardware were placed.”

  “What about that big unit in the centre of the compound, sir?” asked Fine. “Prefabs that size are usually used for storage.”

  Standing on his toes, Maxwell pointed to where the roof of a different unit could be seen to the north-east. “That over there could be storage as well,” he said.

  “Whatever happened here had nothing to do with the Kijol,” said Corporal Valerio. “Those assholes would have left bodies in the streets.”

  “Or bombed the compound and left Xaros,” said Chau.

  The Kijol were ruthless, but they generally didn’t indulge in slaughter just for the sake of it, so Maxwell couldn’t imagine the aliens were responsible for the apparent disappearance of the local population.

  For a few moments, he studied the overhead view of the compound. Like Fleming had said, the central unit was a high-priority search target, as were half a dozen other buildings between the western perimeter of the compound and that main structure.

  “We’re abandoning the search of these accommodation blocks,” said Maxwell. “I’m starting to think that an order went out to the people living here, telling them to gather for something.”

  “A morning congregation?” said Lowe.

  “Could be,” said Maxwell.

  While the last recorded population data indicated that a little under ten thousand people lived on Xaros, he knew that a lot of people could fit in a relatively small area if they were crammed in tightly enough. Even so, the central building was the only likely place for so many people to gather.

  Diaz was the first to come right out and say what everyone was thinking. “They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

  Maxwell didn’t want to lie. “I reckon.”

  “In that case, we’re just putting off the discovery, sir,” said Fine. “We should go straight to the main structure.”

  “You’re right, Corporal,” said Maxwell. “Let’s get it over with.” He paused to check the map again and had a sudden change of mind. “One of the larger units is between here and the target structure. We’ll check that out on the way.”

  Maxwell led the soldiers through the gap separating B-97 and B-98. The next intersection permitted a limited view north, south, east and west, though nothing of interest was in sight. He headed on watchfully, making sure his squads remained aware of potential threats, not that the soldiers showed signs of letting their guard down.

  At the next intersection, Maxwell spotted a boxy gravity car to the north. The vehicle hovered a foot or so above the polymer surface, which meant its gravity drive was online. Narrowing his eyes, Maxwell stared through the windshield.

  “Empty,” he said.

  A distant whooping sound that turned into a peculiarly harsh cackle made him turn. He cursed when he realised it was only a creature in the jungle.

  “Come on,” said Maxwell in disgust.

  Warily, he continued deeper into the compound. A glance at his HUD told him the temperature outside was thirty-five Celsius and Maxwell was glad for his suit. Despite the initially welcoming appearance of this world, it was still an alien planet and one that wasn’t likely friendly to new arrivals.

  The jungle creature produced its cry once more, though this time Maxwell didn’t pay it any heed.

  “I think I’d like this place better if someone was shooting at us,” said Vaughan.

  Maxwell could understand where the soldier was coming from. Death wasn’t a stranger to anyone in his squads, but this place on Xaros had an atmosphere that was putting them on edge.

  The soldiers arrived at the midway structure and Maxwell stopped at one of its entrance doors. A quick estimate suggested this prefab was eighty metres by fifty, by fifteen high. Other than the larger size, it was a metal box like all the others.

  “There’s a green light on the door,” said Lyles.

  With a couple of hand motions, Maxwell directed the soldiers into position. He glanced around – the prefab was laid approximately north to south on its longest edge and from his position at the south-west corner, he could see the perimeter wall north, while to the south the view was blocked by an accommodation unit. A second gravity car was visible nearby, again with its cabin empty.

  “Ready,” said Maxwell.

  He activated the access panel and the door opened. The airlock beyond was large enough to accommodate everyone, but Maxwell indicated that only he and Fleming would enter.

  Pausing at the inner door, he exchanged a look with Fleming. The soldier had been calm before the search of B-98. Now he looked agitated. Maxwell raised an eyebrow and Fleming nodded.

  Touching the panel opened the inner door. It was dark inside and Maxwell held still while he listened for sounds and breathed in the scents of the air. He detected no odour of decomposition and the interior seemed more like it was in a hush, rather than simply quiet.

  Reaching into the room, Maxwell turned on the lights.

  “Storage,” he said.

  Metal shelves lined the walls of this large space, and rows of them occupied the rest of the floorspace, each a metre deep and extending up to the four-metre ceiling. The shelves were filled with metal boxes in all shapes and sizes, which limited Maxwell’s view.

  He listened for a moment longer, but the lights didn’t bring anyone to investigate. Stepping into the room, he checked the nearest shelf unit for labels or any indication what the boxes contained. Everything was anonymous and he guessed that each box had a near-field transmitter that would broadcast its contents to whoever had the right tools to interrogate the storage inventory.

  “I can modify my suit computer to read what’s in these,” said Fleming.

  “Leave it for the moment, Private,” said Maxwell.

  He completed a circuit of the room and located two exits leading deeper into the building. Once he’d summoned the rest of Squad A inside, Maxwell opened one of those doors, chosen at random. After turning the lights on, he found a wide corridor stretching almost to the prefab’s northern end. A series of double-doors in the right-hand wall led to other rooms or places.

  What most caught Maxwell’s interest was the twenty-metre gap in that same right-hand wall, which he was sure formed part of an open-plan area within the structure.

  “Let’s take a look along here,” he said.

  Before heading along the corridor, Maxwell called Squad B inside and directed Corporal Fine to check through the other door leading from the storage room. With the order given, he stepped into the corridor, with Fleming alongside. The soldier made obvious sniffing noises.

  “I don’t smell death, but that isn’t making me feel any better about this place.”

  Although Maxwell was keen to reach the open plan area, he halted at the first set of double-doors. A touch of the panel and he found himself looking into another storage area, with computers stacked on another of the metal shelving units. In the middle of the floor, a two-metre console was on the flat loading bed of a compact haulbot.

  “This hardware looks like it was ripped clean out of a fleet warship,” said Maxwell.

  “Are off-worlders allowed to have this kind of shit?” asked Fleming.

  “Beats me.”

  Backing away from the door, Maxwell turned once more along the corridor. He ignored the next side doors and the ones after that. His pace quickened.

  At the corner of the open plan area, Maxwell glanced quickly into the space. He estimated it to be thirty metres across, with another access corridor at the far side. The ceiling was much higher than it was in the corridor and looked as if it went to the underside of the prefab’s roof.

  On the floorspace, a few dozen desks, along with chairs and computers, had been thrown against the north wall with such force that the furniture was crumpled and bent. In the centre of the room, a pillar with a two-metre diameter rose from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

  “Comms aerial,” said Fleming.

  “No sign of the console hardware,” said Maxwell.

  “What broke all these things?”

  “That’s what we’re here to find out, soldier.”

  Maxwell informed the other soldiers of his findings but told Corporal Fine to keep exploring. The other members of Squad A had already arrived at the open space, and they waited to see what Maxwell would do.

  Now that he’d seen the first sign of violence in the compound, Maxwell’s feeling of agitation grew. He strode for the comms aerial, his eyes alert for signs of danger.

  “Barkley, take a look at this,” said Maxwell.

  A pair of thick cables protruded from the base of the comms aerial. They’d been severed cleanly, and Maxwell spotted a few deep gouges in the metal floor.

  “Either the CES decided to move the comms hardware and didn’t know how to do it right, or someone came and ripped the console out and took it away,” said Barkley.

  “That’s what I thought,” said Maxwell. “Shit.” He paused and cursed again. “Why all the damaged furniture if the hardware was only being relocated?”

  Barkley approached the two jutting ends of the cables and crouched near them. “There might be something else, sir.”