We stared at the human bones carpeting the ground, wordless. So this was where all the remains from the pits along the road had ended up.
“Everyone in Plando is probably here,” Minks whispered. “What is Phantom Forge even doing?”
“No idea,” Dorian said. “But it’s not research.”
“And it’s not DNA extraction,” Eisen added.
Mixed in with the human bones were scattered animal skeletons—only a few, but enough to notice.
A low thunder rolled across the sky. A transport ship drifted in from the distance and hovered above the bone flats. Its belly doors opened, and a cascade of bones poured out, stacking into a fresh mound on the pale shore.
We watched for a long moment, frozen in place.
“Move,” I said. “We keep going.”
The bike couldn’t ride onto the bone flats. The electromagnetic field would make the loose bones vibrate and rattle—an instant alarm. I kept to the edge, steering along the perimeter to skirt the whole region.
I had no idea how far it stretched. Judging by the Shadow Falcon’s view, it was going to take time.
After more than ten minutes, the Shadow Falcon caught a faint outline at the edge of its optics: several connected structures, half-swallowed by smoke.
At the same time, their shadows rose in front of us—immense blocks standing at the edge of the bone flats. Multiple giant smokestacks belched thick fumes that dissolved into the storm clouds above.
That smoke was why the Shadow Falcon couldn’t see clearly. And smokestacks meant only one thing.
A factory.
As we closed in, the “snow” layer on the ground grew deeper. I wasn’t worried about leaving tracks—tread marks already crisscrossed the surface in a chaotic mess.
***
“How did you pull that off?” My surprise still hadn’t faded.
“I had Pinecone lure it through the gate, Eisen tripped it, and Dorian moved in,” Minks said, grinning like he’d invented the plan.
“You three… you’re impressive.” I looked down at the slack-eyed engineering unit. “It didn’t upload anything before you grabbed it, did it?”
“Of course not. Dorian did it cleaner than Lersagefis ever did,” Minks said.
“So…?” The perfection of the accident left me off-balance. I lowered my gun and stared at the robot, unsure what to do with a captive that didn’t fight back.
“So ask it whatever you want,” Dorian said, practically vibrating with excitement.
“Fine.” I faced the unit. “Tell me what this factory is collecting human bones for.”
The engineering unit stood motionless for several seconds, then recited in a flat voice:
“3SiO2 + Ca3(PO4)2 —(high heat)—> 3CaSiO3 + P2O5. Carbon reduces the phosphorus pentoxide: 5C + 2P2O5 —(high heat)—> 4P + 5CO2…”
It kept going.
“What is it saying?” Eisen asked.
We all looked at one another, blank. Only Dorian understood. When the unit finished, Dorian said,
“So we were wrong about the bones. Phantom Forge is extracting and stockpiling the phosphorus inside them.”