Weizza's swarm of robots migrated into the mine as the group considered they're next move.

"Any idea where Lynch is hiding?" Alice asked the group.

"There's a terminal on that wall," Robert pointed, "probably a facilities map in there somewhere." He strode over and started poking at it.

"Hmm, it's locked down - won't give me anything without authentication. Let's see what I can do."

Robert unplugged the device and plugged it back in, then tapped the screen's corner as it was restarting. A diagnostic panel popped up.

"Looks like they didn't disable recovery mode. I still can't boot into the main interface, but I've got shell access. Should be easy from here."

Robert snaked a cable out from his laptop and got to work. A few moments later a facilities map popped up on screen. "Easy peasy."

The map showed a stack of rectangles representing layers of the mine, each one filled with caverns and connecting tunnels. The bottom-most rectangle terminated in a chamber marked 'executive storage.'

"That's got to be were Lynch is," Marcos pointed to the room. "Why are some of the tunnels blue?"

"I think those ones are full of water," Alice answered. "The mine uses a pump system to shift the groundwater between chambers."

"Well shit. The path to Lynch is half underwater. Can you clear the tunnels with that box of yours?" Marcos asked Robert.

Robert shook his head. "The water system is run out of the pump room. It doesn't look like they put it on the network. Makes sense I guess, you really don't want two people trying to run it at the same time."

"Where is the control room?" Weizza asked.

Robert tapped on one of the layers and it grew to fill the screen. He pointed to the largest room on the floor. "Here. Looks like two levels down."

"Hmm," Marcos grumbled. "If I were picking a place to make a stand, it'd be right there." He pointed to the chamber directly outside of the pump room. Another tunnel branched off from it. "I'd wait until the intruders tried to breach the pumps, then flank them with troops hiding in the adjacent cavern."

"Can we send up the bots?" Robert asked. "Let them clear out the resistance while we stay safely up here?"

"Communication poses a challenge," Weizza responded. "The rock walls block wireless signals. Once they leave my sight I cannot control them.

"The bots have rudimentary pathfinding, but it was not designed with a cavern system in mind. They would get lost. We will need to accompany them."

"Well, let's get moving then. Which way?" Marcos asked.

"Take that corridor, then the first left," Robert responded.

Weizza sent a wave of bots flowing down the hall in front of them. Marcos went next, with Alice close behind. Robert and Weizza hung back.

The mine was eerily quiet, all operations presumably paused during combat. The group proceeded through a maze of tunnels, always with the bots out ahead.

The group passed through a reinforced door that looked like all the others, then all hell broke loose.

"Turrets!" Marcos shouted.

A concussive blast from above deafened Alice. She looked up and saw a smoldering flame cannon dripping diesel. Behind her Weizza was lining up her next shot.

Weizza's quick shooting had saved the humans, but two more turrets had activated on top of the swarm. Great gouts of flame melted drones by the thousands. The wave of heat rushing up the tunnel set Alice's whole body sweating.

Marcos and Weizza sprayed bullets down the tunnel, struggling to aim through smoke and fire. One turret fell, then the other. The roaring inferno collapsed, leaving only the smell of gasoline and burnt silicon. The tunnel walls undulated with heat.

Alice felt dizzy. "I barely moved, why am I panting?"

"The flames sucked up all the oxygen," Robert answered, also breathing hard. "We need to get to air before we black out."

"That residual heat will cook us if we walk through it," Marcos pointed out. "Should we turn around?"

"Sprint," Weizza urged. "The armor can take it."

She dashed forward to prove her point, stopping once she was clear of the burn zone.

Marcos went next, leaving Alice and Robert behind.

"Can you do this?" Alice asked.

"Don't see that I have a choice," Robert answered. He steeled himself and made the dash.

The lack of air was taking its toll; spots swam across Alice's vision. Now or never.

She pushed her complaining muscles and forced herself to run. Suffocating heat closed over her, like walking into a pizza oven. Alice's foot skidded on something slick under the soot and she lost her balance. With horror she realized she was falling.

Alice felt a tug on her legs as her suit's actuators wrenched her back into position. Her stride leveled out and she stumbled forward. She reached the others trembling from adrenaline and lack of oxygen.

"Through this door," Weizza motioned.

They spilled through to another seemingly empty corridor, but at least this one had air in it. Alice took deep, greedy breaths.

"That was a disaster," Marcos pointed out helpfully. "Half our bots just got incinerated, and the other half are stuck on the surface."

"We have what we need to get Lynch," Weizza replied. "Stay focused."

Alice checked her energy gauge. Half full. Still, Lynch must be almost out of defenses.

The group moved more cautiously now, wary of further traps, though none were found. A series of stairs and corridors soon brought them to the fork.

"The pump room is behind this door," Robert motioned straight ahead. "The other path is the dead-end that Marcos thinks is a trap. What's the plan?"

"Once we open the pump room, the Blackmountain troops will try to surprise us from behind," Marcos answered. "You three go ahead. I'll hang back and ambush the ambushers. Got it?"

Weizza and Alice nodded. Robert opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He bowed his head in reluctant agreement.

"Give me a minute to get in position, then kick in the door. Expect resistance."