The docks were the reason Bronkal existed. They sat on the edge of Althaea’s lungs—the expansive sprawl of the plateau that was now a marshland that extended all the way to the cliffs. It was riddled with canals that had a flotilla of dredgers keeping them open, allowing the barges access to the entire area. Every day they would moor at the bioreactor next to the docks and load up with freshly grown algaox. Then they’d chug off down the canals, their powerful pumps squirting out long arcs of blue-green sludge to coat the saturated land. For thirty-eight years the genetically engineered algae had been photosynthesizing the oxygen which made Althaea’s atmosphere breathable for humans. The barges were scheduled to keep going for another fifteen years at least, until the Sol Senate’s climate monitoring board awarded Althaea its final clearance certificate.

A good seventy percent of Bronkal’s working population was employed by the reactor complex or the docks, which is why eight of the town’s twenty-five hubs were sited in the district. Yuri ordered them to be closed down, along with the commercial transport hub, which was also adjacent to the docks.

As soon as Joaquin had given them the location, Lucius and the paramilitaries got back into their vehicles and drove through the deluge of warm rain to the docks. Yuri had to grip the sides of his chair, the vehicles slid and skidded so much on the wet asphalt. He simply wasn’t used to ground transport, and the motion was making him feel queasy.

“The rain is hindering our drones,” Lucius complained. “Especially the microdrone flocks.”

“But on the bright side, it’s covering our approach, too,” Jessika said.

“We need to be certain,” Lucius said. “If Joaquin gave us the wrong information—”

“He didn’t,” Yuri said, recalling just how hard Joaquin had pleaded to be believed at the end.

“Okay,” the tactical squad captain agreed. “We’ll go with it.”

Jessika peered out through the windscreen as the wipers flashed back and forth. “Must be getting closer,” she said. “I can see the hangars.”