Guardians of Eden by Matt Roberts Page B

gain clearance to the estate beforehand,” Miller followed on. “Once Sullivan has located the server room we’ll secure it for you to bring Rodriguez to us.”
    “What about the security systems? What are we up against?”
    “Nothing I can’t handle. Once Delta Squad are inside I’ll use their comms to take control. You shouldn’t have any problems after that,” Sully explained.
    Shaw was shaking his head. “It can’t be that easy. This guy’s in the business and he’s got secrets to hide. There’s no way in hell his system’s going to crack that easily.”
    Sully rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’ve done my homework, Shaw,” he assured. “I thought the same as you at first. It almost seems too simple, but my information’s solid.” He made brief eye contact with Owyn who quickly broke it. Sully was suspicious, and Owyn knew it, but this wasn’t the time to discuss it.
    “Are we all set?” Miller asked, not expecting nor wanting an answer. “Gear up and be ready for launch in ten.”
    “You never said where this fancy ass estate is. Where are we headed?” Shaw asked.
    “Kyvos.”

CHAPTER 6
    KYVOS
    A visit to the capital was one of the rare occasions that the team got to experience a more luxurious means of travel. Among ISO’s vast collection of transport selections were vehicles made to mimic the public transport of each individual city – Kyvos transport was, of course, the grandest choice on offer.
    Alpha and Delta squads made their way to the city via a Mark VII Metropolitan Cruiser (piloted by Sully) which was best described as a flying, luxury train complete with numerous bars, restaurants, and spas across two floors. An artificial gravity generator allowed the cruiser to tip almost entirely onto its side around tight corners without causing any disruption to passengers and its electric powered thrusters were purpose built to be silent and non-intrusive.
    ISO’s variation lacked a few of those features – namely the bars, restaurants and spas – in favour of a full scale armoury and miniaturised Operations, but that was just a small detail. It also lacked the neck breaking speed of a jet, but that only allowed more opportunity to admire the spectacular setting.
    After sweeping over mile upon mile of rolling hills and pinewood forest the ground fell away to white cliffs that rose from the shores of a vast lake of deep blue waters, glistening with Novus’ light. Crashing waterfalls spilled over them, hurling plumes of freshwater spray high into the air which pattered against the cruiser’s windows as it passed overhead. Mountains crested the horizon in all directions casting a basin around the lake, at the centre of which rose a solitary island.
    From that island reached towering trees of gleaming white bark and flesh of stone. Bridges, with walls of glass and spines of steel were their branches, knitting together a forest of architectural marvel and beauty. Down the sides of the buildings ran veins of gold and blue that illuminated the forest like candles hung from the canopy, and tiny, glowing vessels darted between them like fireflies, dwarfed by the sheer scale of the wondrous metropolis.
    Owyn’s eyes widened as the city came into view. He pressed up to the window eager for a better look. Even in daylight it gleamed as bright as a star. It was a sight greater than any sunset, and this time there wasn’t a chance he was going to miss any of it.
    Kyvos was still young, having been completed and populated less than a year ago, although its construction had begun even before the first civilians arrived on Altaris. That meant it had taken around four years of constant work and development to complete. By comparison, New Tokyo had been a six month project as had the likes of Tahgos and Vin’Dar. Those cities were fit for purpose and still served the planetary blueprint, but Kyvos was something different entirely.
    Conventional transport had been wiped out entirely. No roads existed in