There was a sudden increase in heat, 3 or 4 degrees at first, and slowly rising. It affected the ducts first, as the automated protection systems rerouted hot air away from fragile cargo.
There was a bright flash and rumble, and a flickering light played over a far side of the cavern. The glow was dim- the miles of the cavern and the great towers of cargo intercepted it somewhat. But there was a distinct increase in illumination. The far-away sound of explosions and collapsing structures showed that it wasn't due entirely to reactivating lights.
277, alone of the cyborgs, recieved a sudden burst of radio data on wide-band radio beam.
"WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
AUXILIARY CORE-DUMP IN PROGRESS!
EVACUATE THE CARGO VACUOLE IMMEDIATELY!
MESSAGE REPEAT..."
Meanwhile, 7 and Shade, having split from the main group, found themselves on the side of a large plasteel highway for rapid travel across the cavern. Stationed in a sunken maintenance-pit was a small crate-towing truck. In the distance down the highway was visible the yellow-orange glow. An echoing smash sounded, and a tower of boxes and parts could be seen collapsing downwards in a hail of wreckage, exploding into the fiery glow.
In the opposite direction, Shine, dashing down the corridor, slid barely to a stop, teetering at the edge of a another highway which had collapsed, dropping into the levels below in the centuries of interstellar travel. The yawning pit, where wreckage sat in a pool of mixed water and suspensor fluid, tinging it green-blue.
Number Three kneeled down, and looked into the sickly fluid.
"What do we do now..." he mumbled, trailed off.
Something was swimming in there.
What was that? Shine leaned forward over the gap, bracing himself on a glow-bracket.
There it was again- a tail, fins. What was it?
"What the hell is that?" he said aloud.
David.
"Not again!" he snapped.
