The metal corridors of the old archive hummed with distant energy, the low, steady pulse of Iacon’s heart. The glowstrips overhead flickered every so often, throwing the trio into stuttered shadows as they crept along. Bee kept low to the ground, moving with the quick, cautious steps of someone used to being smaller and quieter than the others. His sensory fins twitched with every distant sound.

“Keep your peds light,” Orion Pax murmured from behind him, his voice low but calm, as if trying to steady not just Bee, but himself. His optics were alert, tracking every intersection. “Patrols sweep this sector every two breems.”

“Two breems is generous,” Megatronus rumbled, his deep voice vibrating through the narrow corridor like distant thunder. He walked in the rear, heavy frame somehow managing to stay unnervingly quiet despite his size. “Security here has grown complacent. Iacon’s protectors are too confident in their own order.”

Bee glanced back, mouthplate flicking nervously. “Complacent or not, they’ve still got shock batons and I’d rather not get fried today.”

A faint hiss of hydraulics somewhere down the hall made all three of them freeze. Orion held up a hand for silence, his optics narrowing. They pressed against the wall, vents quieting as heavy footsteps echoed closer.

Two sentries rounded the corner ahead, their conversation muffled but careless.

Bee’s optics widened. “Uh—hide?” he whispered sharply.

Megatronus was already moving, shoving open a maintenance panel and gesturing curtly. “Inside. Now.”

Bee scrambled through first, Orion close behind, careful not to clang his armor on the frame. Megatronus followed last, pulling the panel back into place just as the guards passed by.

Inside the cramped space, Bee struggled to stay still, his field buzzing with nervous energy. “This is way too close,” he whispered.

“Quiet,” Orion said softly but firmly. He glanced at Megatronus, who stood utterly motionless, optics dimmed to avoid being spotted through the slits of the panel.

Only when the guards’ footsteps faded did Megatronus move again, sliding the panel open and stepping back into the corridor. “They are gone.”

Bee let out a relieved vent. “Next time, let’s not almost get caught, okay?”

Orion gave him a small, reassuring nod and gestured for him to lead on. “We’re close now. Just one more hall, then the archive chamber.”

Megatronus’ mouth curled into the faintest smirk as he fell into step behind them. “Then let us move quickly. The longer we skulk in the shadows, the greater the chance of discovery.”

Bee muttered under his breath as he took point again, “Easy for you to say. You look like you eat guards for breakfast.”

Megatronus’ low chuckle echoed down the corridor, a sound halfway between menace and amusement, as the trio pressed forward into the darkened hallways of Iacon, every step bringing them closer to their goal — and closer to discovery.