Ace led the kids through the imperial city, past the markets and residential areas. The girls caught up with Ace first.
"We're going to the underground market, huh?" Mia asked casually as she skipped alongside him.
"Yes, but a different part. My usual ammo guy is off the planet, and I don't feel like tracking him down, so we'll go to second best." Ace chuckled. "Don't tell him I call him second best. Why are you skipping?"
Mia pouted as she responded. "Skipping is fun. I like skipping. Ooh! Can we pick up some more gadgets? Alessa loves computer stuff, Nei—"
She was interrupted by Neira covering her mouth and pulling her to the back.
Ace chuckled and knocked three times in a pattern on a panel near a lift that was out of order.
Rip raised an eyebrow. "Tiberians are not ones to let things go. Usually, maintenance is performed within seventy-two hours at a minimum. It's why organized crime can't lay down roots here."
Ace glanced at Rip. That kid was too bright for his own good. Well, all of these kids were too bright for their own good.
"It's not out of order. It's private."
The doors to the lift opened, and the previously red light turned green.
"And because it's private, Tiberians leave it alone."
After everyone got in the lift, Ace pressed a button and then scanned a strange card he seemed to have pulled out of nowhere.
The lift lowered them below the main city into an underground cavern, which connected to several roads that seemed to stretch into eternity.
Ace immediately headed in the direction of his ammo supplier, with the teens struggling to keep up.
"After resupplying, what's our next step?" Rip asked as he began to match Ace's pace.
"Well, there are guys who monitor things like that. In this case, a man named Frem will know who activated whatever the beam was. Or, if he can't tell us what the beam was, he can tell us where it originated," Ace answered frankly.
Alessa stopped and admired a painting on a pillar.
"This is a depiction of the guide, yes?" Alessa asked Ace, pointing toward the painting.
Ace glanced up at the painting. He often disregarded legends and folklore as fairy tales, but some got embedded in his brain so that he didn't forget.
"Yeah," he answered quickly as he approached the makeshift shop. "Supposedly, the guide was this ancient Tiberian who led the Tiberians to safety during what they call the Event: every volcano erupting at once."
He admired some ammo and picked a box from each shelf. After paying, they promptly left and headed toward his ship, Enzion. They departed Tiberia and made their way to Frem's club.