"As do I, Sergeant…Enders," Jackson said, reading the name tape. The detail had come around the corner to find a group of Marines had set up a perimeter and were attentively watching for anyone trying to approach Section Twenty-six. "No trouble here?"

"No, sir. All quiet. The enemy completely ignored this part of the base," Enders said. "To be honest, we all thought this was just empty space left over from a canceled program."

"Good. If the rumor mill didn't know what is down there, then the enemy probably doesn't either," Jackson said. "Maintain watch here, and we'll be back up shortly."

He produced a keycard and waved it in front of the security terminal, punching in a six-digit passcode when promoted. This opened another, hidden panel in the bulkhead, revealing a full biometric scanner that would allow or deny access. Jackson placed his thumb on the pad, letting it read the print as well as take a small sample of blood for a DNA check.

"What the hell is down there that you need to prove who you are through a blood test?" Barton asked.

"I only need Gunny Barton for this part. The rest of the Saber team stay out here and wait for us," Jackson said as the door locks popped, and it swung outward ponderously on its hinges. Although it looked like one of the ubiquitous alloy doors common on the base, once it opened, Enders could see it was so heavily armored it needed mechanical actuators to help open and close it.

The door boomed shut behind them, and the lights came up to reveal they were in a bare room with another door on the opposite wall that was to a cargo lift. Jackson led Barton into the lift car, produced yet another keycard and passcode to activate the lift, and hit the controls to start them on their way down.

"The vault is almost two hundred and fifty feet below us," he said. "It was the only way we could guarantee that what's down here couldn't be detected from a remote scan."

"What is down there, sir?"

"You remember Project Prometheus?" Jackson asked.

"Sure. The Cube," Barton said. "That was destroyed fighting the Darshik Specter, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Jackson said. "And we weren't lying when we had said we'd never been able to fully understand the sentient AI that had emerged from that old bit of Vruahn tech. But while I was the head of Project Prometheus, the Cube and I developed something only a select number of people know about. We called it Aegis. It's easily the most dangerous thing humans have ever built…or, at least, it has the potential to be. That's why Marcum, Pitt, and I decided to hide it. If Aegis had fallen into enemy hands before it was fully matured, it would have been disastrous."

"Matured?" Barton asked. "Sir, you need to remember I didn't become a grunt because my engineering scores were too high."

"You'll see," Jackson said.