The Machinery of Light (70 page)

“What the fuck are you doing?” yells Maschler.

The Operative says nothing. But now all three men can see that what looks to be the deepest part is actually the beginning of a tunnel—

A
kilometer of disintegrating megaship crashes through Copernicus’s dome, detonating as it goes. Enough of its fuel was intact to make it interesting. Thousands of nukes are going off, enveloping the lunar capital in sheets of energy, making the whole nearside shake. Radiation pummels the suits of the two men who are still several klicks above the city. They start playing evasive action with the debris that they’re descending into.

“We’ll need some new gear,” says Spencer.

“First things first,” says Jarvin.

They swoop down toward that smoking crater.

T
he ship lifts away from the sinkhole, pivots, drops in toward an adjacent valley.

“What the hell’s going on?” says Sarmax.

“Carson’s gone to ground,” replies Velasquez.

“And we’re not?”

“We’re going in another way. Are you ready to get back in the fight?”

Sarmax nods. Tunnel closes in around them.

T
he door’s as massive as it is reinforced. As it swings open, Haskell can hear the creaking of doors behind it doing the same thing. A whole succession of gates, and she’s cracked them all. She steps behind the first one, starts moving past the procession—starts to get intimations of the space that lies beyond—

T
he upper levels of Congreve are totaled. The lower levels are pure chaos. The fact that Lynx has hacked the inner enclaves of the city’s defenses is only adding to the insanity. He and Linehan charge into the city’s basements, shooting in all directions, heading downward as fast as possible.

“Ain’t gonna be enough,” says Linehan.

“Shut up and keep moving,” mutters Lynx.

T
hat’s the key ingredient of the Operative’s plan. Maschler and Riley are holding on for dear life while he pilots the escape ship down a tunnel, dropping ever farther beneath Nansen Station, on the cusp of far and nearside. He and Lynx and Sarmax came down here once in search of the Rain, only to have the Rain blow their base right in their face. He maneuvers through a maze of passages, trying to guess which ones have collapsed and which ones haven’t.

“Do you know where you’re going?” demands Riley.

“Somewhere off the maps.”

“I thought the Praetorians searched this whole place.”

“Doesn’t mean they found the good bits.”

C
opernicus is history. Radiation’s aftermath churns on their screens as they descend through what’s left and into the hole that the
Righteous Fire-Dragon
has bored into the city’s basements. The zone beneath the Moon starts to click into Spencer’s head. It’s not a pretty sight.

T
he dropship starts maneuvering through the tunnels beneath Nansen. SpaceCom marines are trying to stop it. They’re getting gunned down for their troubles—and hacked too. The software in their skulls is going haywire, shoving their brains over the edge. Velasquez hauls the dropship door open. Sarmax staggers to his feet, joins her there, and they start lacing targets while the ship accelerates.

T
he last of the doors swing toward her as she closes in on it. She feels all of existence pivot around her—feels time close in like a vise. She feels other minds out there, still trying to reach her even though she can see they’re far too late. But Sinclair and Control aren’t. They’re waiting for her inside. She steps past the final door—steps within—

L
ynx and Linehan are shredding their way through Congreve’s basements. Lynx’s hack has the comps so fucked they don’t even know which way is up. Complete confusion reigns amidst the tunnels. All the more so as it looks like Eurasian forces have already deployed across the lunar surface. The garrison is deserting their posts, fleeing deeper beneath the surface. All too many are getting shot as they flee.

“Still too fucking
slow,”
Lynx mutters.

T
he Operative knows the feeling. This crazy operation’s going like clockwork, yet by the time he gets near the Room it’ll be way too late. He can fucking
sense
it, as certain as anything he’s ever known. But he’s come too far to just give up. So he keeps on forging his way forward, moving
back up into the lower reaches of Nansen, letting his mind move out and run hacks that release the restraints on the thousands of convict-miners who work the mines—and who now swarm out and start overwhelming the stunned marines. Beyond, the Operative’s catching glimpses of the lunar zone, getting caved in now as the main weight of the Eurasian fleet bombards the Moon at close range. He can see he’s got to get deeper fast.