The wave of heat that hit Sue's face made her eyes water briefly. She spun round to take in her surroundings. It was not Paganini who had vanished but her. Pressing all around was the dense jungle of Gal De Val Island. She had made short visits before and like most of the other Hunters had made rapid retreats. The creatures here were phenomenally strong, no thanks to the meddling of Doctor Osto.
She saw that she was in a small clearing, the ground worn down just enough to indicate that others had come this way before her. The small computer terminal beside her was deactivated, with no Hunters on the surface it was not needed. She knew there must be a reason that Paganini had sent her here. The feeling that she was not alone was confirmed by the sound of someone or something cutting its way through the undergrowth.
"I have come for that which belongs to me!"
Kireek's words chilled her to her very core. Paganini had banished her to the island with that monster to silence her permanently. She produced a telepipe mat, activated it and threw it to the ground. The energy column died even before it finished appearing which told her that something was stopping it from activating. Possibly Kireek's enhancements, which meant that he was too close!
She began to run through the bushes, desperate to put some suitable distance between her and the killer Android. Clearing the tree line she saw that she was situated on the mountain to the East of the Central Control Area. She could see it below in the distance and breathed a small sigh of relief. The one Hunter that could possibly save her was down in that facility somewhere. She only hoped that she could get there in time...
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"Ma'am? I think you need to look at this." The lab technician called over Natasha Milarose to her vidscreen.
"Problem?" Queried Natasha.
"I don't so, but there is something strange going on. Look at these scanner readings."
The technician tapped away at the keyboard and pointed out areas of interest on each of the displays.
"Now combined with these unusually energy signatures and overlay that with the photon surge data..."
Natasha stood upright and covered her mouth with her hand. It was now highly visible.
"Based on that and the schematic data obtained from the Control Tower, it appears as if we have found the North Tower." Said Natasha breathlessly.
"Ma'am?"
"The reason we couldn't see it before is because it extends below ground."
The technician frowned as she typed furiously. "But... The shaft extends for a kilometre below the surface... Why?"
"I think it's time to get those answers..." Said Natasha heading towards her office.
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Sue's lungs burned with each breath and her legs felt as if they might collapse at any moment. The hot, humid air did not help matters. Neither did the twisting path she was forced to take descending the rocky slopes to the bay where the Central Control Area lay. More than once she had blundered into a dead-end with unclimbable walls and backtracking cost her valuable time.
A family of Gibbons sitting among the chest-high vegetation were startled as the Newman dashed passed them, oblivious to their existence at this point. She cast a few furtive glances behind her from time to time but did not allow her pace to let up even for a centiBeat. She could not afford to chance a break. She was merely grateful that she had chosen jogging as a means of exercise.
Despite all of that, Sue knew that she could not push herself for much longer. She reduced her pace as slow as her fear would allow her and began to messily bash out a request for help on her BEE system.
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Kireek bounded across the slopes, his super-human strength allowing him to travel these distances with ease. Tracking Sue was not difficult and he knew exactly where she was headed, the only reason he had not gotten there first was that she kept getting lost. Of course that would mean he would waste valuable killing time waiting for her to catch up.
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She collapsed against the inoperative computer panel. It was attached to a deactivated security gate but was capable of communication with Pioneer Two. She jabbed the buttons but there was no power. She fell to the ground in despair. She could barely breathe now and standing was next to impossible. She had taken what she thought would be a shortcut but turned out to be a flat expanse terminating in a cliff. The rocks in the water far below not a very inviting option.
Turning to look the way she came she saw Kireek, walking casually as if he were a tourist. She felt like weeping for all the good it would do. Was this really it for her? As if in answer, a wavering column of green energy appeared nearby and a figured stepped out of it before it dissipated. It was Cilantro.
He extended a hand towards her and helped her up onto unsteady feet. When he saw her look behind him to the distance he turned and saw the murderous Android moving ever closer. He touched two fingers to his forehead and closed his eyes in concentration. The energy of a telepipe formed around her.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this now..." He said reassuringly just before the world faded into black.