-The Labyrinth-

"Computer, activate exterior lights."

The room around the ship brightened up at Nightshade's command. A single corridor could be seen ahead, extending into the darkness beyond the illumination that the scouter provided.

"Okay," Nightshade said. "Right now, on the fly, new plan."

"What's this all about?" Cheetor asked.

"Well, to sum up," Nightshade replied, "this isn't just a meteor. It's a maze. I estimate roughly three miles of tunnels winding back and forth around this hunk of rock, at the center of which is a thermo-gravity matrix. That's what's holding this whole thing together, and also what's keeping it heat-shielded. If we can get to it and destroy it, we win.

"We have to assume there's traps along our path, and I imagine that they'll get worse as we get closer to the objective," Nightshade continued. "Rattrap and I will take point. With our combined knowledge of infiltration, we have the best chance of making it to the center. Silverbolt and Blackarachnia, you're with us."

"What do you want me to do, Black Cat?" Cheetor asked.

"Cheetor, I imagine this'll be rough for you, but you'll have to wait here," Nightshade replied, activating another scanner. "You'll be tracking us with this, and giving us updates on the corridors."

"Got it." Cheetor threw a quick salute.

Rattrap pulled the release lever for the outer hatch. "First floor: Hiking boots, children's apparel, and artificial gravity generators. Everybody out."


The four Maximals stopped at a fork in the road.

"Cheetor," Nightshade called over his com-link, "can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Black Cat."

"So which way do we go from here?"

"I don't know," Cheetor said. "How do you work this thing?"

"Hang on." Nightshade linked his arms together and launched a series of sound waves down the tunnels. "A button should be lighting up on the console now. Press it and you'll get a map of the tunnels from this position."

"Okay, I got it. The path on your left extends for about a dozen meters, then stops. Dead end. On your right, you've got another fork, three ways. I can't see past that."

"It's a start." Nightshade looked down the tunnel (which, like the entire complex thus far, was lit by softly glowing lamps). "Thanks."


Nightshade repeated the procedure at the second fork.

"Center's a dead end," Cheetor told them. "The other two stick together for about twenty meters, then move off in different directions."

Nightshade sighed, closing the link. "We'll have to split up," he said. "Blackarachnia, you're with me. Silverbolt, you go with Rattrap."

"My place is at my lady's side," Silverbolt protested.

"Not today, it isn't," Nightshade replied. "We have just under four megacycles to find our way to the center of the maze, and destroy the gravity matrix. If we pull it off, the entire meteor falls apart around us. Rattrap's going to need air support when that happens. And in the meantime, you're going to need to stay focused on the job at hand."

"But--"

"We ain't got time for this, Bird-dog," Rattrap said, grabbing Silverbolt's wing. "Get with the program."

"Hold on, Rattrap." Nightshade opened his torso plate and pulled a device from the cavity. "Put this on your pistol. It'll simulate my use of echolocation to update our info on these caves. Trust me; you don't want to charge in blind."

Noting the emphasis, Rattrap accepted the device and attached to the side of his gun barrel, then pulled a demolition charge from his arm. "Here. Just in case."

"Good idea." Nightshade carefully secured the explosive in his torso socket.

"Till all are one."


-Estimated Time to Impact: Three point six five megacycles.

"Get down!"

Nightshade unceremoniously shoved Blackarachnia aside as the pulse blast rebounded at them from around the corner. Activating his shield generator, the black Fuzor allowed the shot to hit the barrier and waited for a moment.

When no other shots came forward, Nightshade cautiously dropped the shield.

"Well, at least now we know there's traps," Blackarachnia said, looking up the corridor.

"Yep," Nightshade agreed. "I probably don't even need to say this--"

"Then don't."

"Okay, then."

The two of them proceeded onward.


-Estimated Time to Impact: Two point nine megacycles.

"Hah!"

Rattrap whooped as his shot hit the turret, destroying it. That made seven now, and they seemed to be coming at a steady rate.

"How are you faring, Nightshade?" Silverbolt asked over the com-link.

"Not too bad, all told," was the reply. "And you?"

"Taking the auto-guns into account, I think we've set a good pace. And the guns themselves are little more than a distraction."

"All the same, you should stay on your toes," Nightshade cautioned. "If I know Philaemos at all, he's probably got something really nasty planned for later."

"Understood."


-Estimated Time to Impact: Two point two seven megacycles.

"Jump!"

Blackarachnia climbed up the wall as the zero-friction fluid bubbled up from below.

Nightshade wasn't so quick, and slid forward when the liquid connected with his foot.

A quick web-line saved him from being carried down what appeared to be a garbage chute.

"All your experience as a saboteur," Blackarachnia said, reeling him in, "and you let yourself get caught by that? It's an amateur's mistake."

"I've missed a good deal in the past three stellar megacycles," Nightshade replied, extending his claws and latching onto the wall. "This defensive technology is unfamiliar; that's why it took me by surprise. It won't happen again."


-Estimated Time to Impact: One point seven six megacycles.

"Whoa!"

Turning a corner, Silverbolt jumped back as a heavy bladed pendulum swung across his path. Looking down the corridor, he could see no less than seven identical blades moving back and forth.

"Your turn to think of something, Flyboy," Rattrap said.

"Very well." Silverbolt extended a wing forward and fired at the first pendulum, but the blade moved out of the way. The missile continued on down the line, passing all of the metal shafts until it exploded against the far wall.

"It is as I expected," he said.

"You wanna clue me in?" Rattrap replied.

"At any given time, the combined breadth of these blades stretches from one wall to the other, making this trap appear impassable," Silverbolt explained. "But because the blades are in constant motion at a consistent rate, an object moving at the proper speed can travel down one side of the corridor, passing each pendulum at the height of its swing on the other side."

"Okay, then." Rattrap converted to vehicle mode. Carefully aligning himself along the wall, he revved his engine, watching the blades swing back and forth.

As the first pendulum swung out of his way, Rattrap fires his exhaust pipes and launched himself through the gauntlet. A few clicks later, Silverbolt heard Rattrap's voice from beyond the trap.

"Can you fly fast enough, or do you need a ride?"

"Neither." Silverbolt transformed to beast mode and tucked in his wings. "After watching you, I believe I can crawl low enough to slip below the blades, as long as I stay near the wall."

After Silverbolt had joined Rattrap at the other end of the corridor, the two of them proceeded.


-Estimated Time to Impact: One point three seven megacycles.

Blackarachnia almost didn't have time to react when the floor moved beneath her.

Leaping forward as the trapdoor opened, the spider plunged her claws into the wall as she fell into the pit.

She hung for moment above the needle-sharp Energon crystals that lined the bottom of the trap, then started climbing out.

"You okay?" Nightshade asked.

"I'll be fine," Blackarachnia said as she pulled herself over the rim. "But the sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Amen, sister."


-End Chapter Twelve-