The elevator sank.
No sound but the low hum of descent. The numbers on the panel shifted, -3, -7, -12…
Finally, it stopped at B-17.
The doors parted to reveal a long corridor, lined with reinforced glass. On the other side of the glass: rows of machines, humming in unison, blue light flickering across the walls like water.
The Core Containment Sector.
Merlin stepped out first, his reflection splitting across the glass panels. The hum of the cores filled the air, steady, rhythmic, like a heartbeat.
"Stay close," Regina murmured. "The data node's through the main chamber."
They moved quickly. Their footsteps echoed softly, the rain above faintly audible through the layers of steel and earth.
Halfway through the hall, a mechanical tone chimed overhead.
[Security Protocol: Audit Mode Active.]
[Unscheduled access detected in Section B-17.]
Merlin and Regina froze.
"Scrambler?" he asked.
"Still active," Regina replied sharply. "Someone else tripped this."
"Someone else?"
