On Galaxy's Edge: Ascendance Read Free Page B

couple of days ago, so you can have his.”
    Nero glanced at Talyah, who was already making her way to another area of the cavern, and followed Mal to one of the beds by the wall.
    ****
    Late that day, Ryate and some of his men were preparing to leave the cavern, if what Nero had overheard was correct. Earlier, they had laid out an impressive collection of weaponry, which included a number of the laser rifles that Mal carried, as well as some non-lethal pistol-type devices. They also had an EMP disruptor and a number of minute flying drones. Nothing very advanced, but Nero, who had only seen a couple of laser rifles from afar in his life, had found it all fascinating.
    Now, with the men strapping on utility belts and preparing to leave, he walked across the cavern to where Talyah was stood, watching them get ready for whatever it was they planned on doing. She had her arms crossed, and was staring intently at them with her golden eyes.
    “What’s going on?” he asked, as he stopped beside her.
    She glanced over at Nero, and then returned her attention to the preparations.
    “They’re going to find some supplies, Nero.”
    “Where?”
    “Nearby. Ryate found a way into one of the Scrapers. They went in about a week ago, and found a large supply of food. They’re going back in now.”
    “They actually got into a Scraper? I thought that was impossible,” Nero said, disbelief in his voice.
    “From the surface. But they aren’t guarded as well against underground penetrations, it seems. It didn’t take long with a lightdrill to break through from one of our tunnels.”
    “Weren’t they discovered?”
    Talyah glanced at Nero. “They wouldn’t be here if they were, Nero. They were lucky; they broke through into a small storage area, and were able to cover their tracks.” Her tone of voice suggested she thought it was an unnecessary risk, breaking into a Scraper.
    Nero was about to question her further, when Ryate started to speak. He quickly looked at the grizzled older man, curious as to what he might say.
    “Alright,” Ryate said, in his gruff tone of voice, as he glanced at the men stood around him. “You know your places in this task; same as last time. And Nero.” Nero glanced into Ryate’s eyes, surprised to be mentioned. “You’re coming with us. We could use someone your size, and if you’re eating our food, you need to help get it.”
    Without waiting for an answer, Ryate turned and strode towards one of the tunnels leading away from the cavern, the other men falling in behind him. It seemed like everyone here was used to Ryate’s abrupt way of speaking, but Nero found it a little odd. Still, he was about to follow the men out of the cave, when he realised that Talyah wasn’t going with them. He glanced over at her.
    “Everyone has to contribute, Nero,” she said, misreading his hesitation as a reluctance to go. “Mal will look out for you.”
    “Sure I will, boy,” Mal said as he walked over. “This should be fun. Not many boys get to go inside a Scraper.” He put a hand on Nero’s shoulder, and gave him a slight push towards the far end of the cavern, where the others were already disappearing into one of the tunnels.
    Nero allowed himself a slight smile as he entered one of the tunnels leading from the cavern, which, he noted, was surprisingly well made. The walls, ceiling and floor were all plain rock, but perfectly smooth. He reached out to touch the wall, and it felt like running his finger along a piece of metal. Mounted in the ceiling above him were two strips of light, stretching far into the distance, which provided a clean, even light to walk in.
    “Did you make these tunnels?” Nero asked after a time, speaking to Mal just in front of him.
    “No, lad,” he replied, glancing at Nero over his shoulder. “These were here long before any of us were around. No one knows who made them, or why they were made. We just found them, and put them to good use.”
    They walked on in