He slammed the last drawer closed, muttering a curse under his breath. Jamie picked up on his frustration. “Maybe all the good stuff is on the computer files you copied?”
“Maybe,” he answered, although he had a sinking suspicion that the Hareema were being very careful about their plans. This fishing expedition could end up landing them nothing but minnows instead of the trophy fish he’d been hoping for.
They left the office, Drake locking the door behind them. “Now what?” his companion asked, her green gaze fastened to him.
Drake was at a loss. He knew there had to be some clue to the enemy’s plans somewhere in these labs. If there weren’t, he had no idea where to search next. His eyes roaming over the corridor, they lit on the plaque on the door to their left. “Experimental Research” it said.
He remembered the laboratory from the schematics he’d looked over. It was a blank black box on the map, unlike the other rooms which had shown their inner divisions. Perhaps this lab would yield the clues they were looking for.
“Let’s look around in here,” Drake said, not willing to give up without trying every possible avenue. He pulled Cargraves badge out and held it to the pad, hoping it would gain them access. The light turned green, and the door unlocked.
The lab was larger than he would have expected, with several smaller rooms off a large central area that were dotted with workstations. “Check out the stations,” he said, pointing Jamie in the direction of the main area, while he made his way around the room, checking out each office.
“Propulsion advances,” one read, and the next “Remote sensing technologies.” Then there was “Human spaceflight research,” “Communication technologies,” and “Experimental terraforming technology.” But when he reached “Robotics and electrical field research,” he paused.
The wheels in Drake’s mind started turning. The last advance the Hareema had exposed was the one that made them resistant to Zantharian bioelectricity. It had been the driving force behind his own mission, to determine how they’d managed to suddenly find a way to protect themselves from the bioweapon after centuries of vulnerability.
This single advancement could tip the war to the enemy’s favor and destabilize the entire quadrant quickly. He’d debated for hours with his brother, Supreme Regent of Zanthar, and their security council on how to counter this threat. They’d also gathered intelligence from their human counterparts and gone over every detail of Dr. Cohen’s mission as well as Captain Brooklyn’s trip.
One detail that had stuck out had been the ability of the human’s robotic defense robots, affectionately known asFIDOs, to pick out Hareema DNA. Human scanning technology wasn’t very advanced, compared to the Zantharian’s and others’ scanners, so it was surprising that the robots had found a method of determining friend from foe.
Now, standing in front of the lab that dealt with both robotics and electrical fields, Drake wondered if there wasn’t a connection between the two. He opened the door and waited for the lights to come on. The lab was the messiest he’d seen yet, with papers and schematics strewn everywhere among parts and assemblies whose functions he had no idea about.
There were two smaller chambers at the back of the room, both with their own doors, and Drake made his way over to the one of the left. He opened the door and found a small office crammed full of books, mechanical parts, and a series of robots lining the shelves.
“Whoa cool,” he heard from behind him and turned around. Jamie stood there, taking in the room. “Look at all these creatures,” she said, heading towards the shelves and their inhabitants.
“Find anything?” he asked, shuffling through some papers on the overflowing desk. Apparently the desk belonged to a Dr. Keith Lakewood, premier researcher in the field of electronics and robotics.
“Nope,” she replied, fiddling with the robots. “But I don’t know how you expected me to. I know double nothing about science. Now, if this was an experimental fashion design lab, I might be able to help you, but for now, everything’s Greek to me.”
Drake wondered idly who this “Greek” was but decided not to ask. Suddenly there was a high-pitched chirping noise, and Jamie jumped back from the shelves. There was movement, then a series of beeps.
“HERMAN activated!” a low-pitched voice said, and then a robot in the shape of a ball bounced itself off the shelf and onto the floor.
“Oops,” Jamie breathed. “I was just admiring the robots but I didn’t mean to turn one on.”
Drake bit back a reply about how she should be careful about turning on unwitting creatures like himself and instead watched as the ball rolled around the room, beeping delightedly. “It doesn’t look like it can cause much harm,” he said. “It probably has a motion detection array. It will likely turn itself back off when we leave.”
“Correct,” the device chimed in. “HERMAN wakes up when motion is detected.”
“How cute,” Jamie squealed. “Herman, that’s your name?”
“Correct.Human Emulating Robotic Assistance Negotiator. HERMAN for short.”
“I love him,” Jamie said, her eyes full of mirth.
Drake wanted to laugh but had to play the straight man. “We don’t have time to make new friends, Jamie. Let’s check out the room across from this one.”
“Fine,” she said, waving at the electronic ball. “It was nice to meet you, Herman.”
“Likewise,” the ball responded.
Drake rolled his eyes, walked out of the office, and opened the door for the small lab across from it. The chamber was stark, a large contrast from the messy office they’d just departed.
Jamie followed behind him, and Drake was surprised to see the round robot roll in after them. He looked around, but there wasn’t much to see. The center of the chamber was empty, with the exception of a contraption that hung from the ceiling. There were no tables, no chairs, just the control panels and monitors that were attached to the walls.
“Nothing to see here,” Jamie said, then turned to go back out the door. She failed to notice Herman, who’d come to a stop behind her. She tripped, stumbling into the door and pushing it closed. At the same time her hand hit a panel beside the door.
