You needed to shoot these holes in those panes. Nothing less would have done.

“What do you think, Doc?” Nagel asked her, standing in front of one of the holes now. “Civil war? Riot? Revolution? Or maybe early raiders?”

She examined the wound in the building pane. “Hard to say. Not raiders, though, I wouldn’t think. Hard to tell with all this dust and sand piled up, but the curvature on the edging here indicates that it was blown out, not in. I’d bet you’ll find some missing shards if you dig enough in this pile. Bring up one of the big searchlights. We’re going inside.”

Two of the crew floated in an obelisk-shaped remote light. About a meter and a half high and slightly thicker at the base, it was not heavy, and very, very useful.

A tap on one symbol at the base brought the entire thing to light, giving a bright but diffuse lighting to a large area. Other settings allowed different kinds of light as required, at different intensities and, if needed, it could be brought to bear on any point with the greatest accuracy and illumination that any spotlight ever made could manage. They moved it inside, and the two leaders followed.

Inside wasn’t as bad or as beaten up as they’d assumed. In fact, it looked relatively intact, although any remains of plants once grown there appeared to be either missing or turned to dust.

Nagel examined the hydroponic rows one by one. “Pretty worn, showing their age and heavy use, but still more than serviceable,” he proclaimed. “With the exception of the broken panes, we could probably dismantle this down to the flooring and do pretty well. It ain’t sexy but it sure looks profitable.”

Queson took her personal light and took a close look at the holding membranes for the plants. It was a familiar design, pretty standard about two centuries earlier, and still very much in use back in civilization. She went close, opened her kit, and took scrapings from the whole area, including the holes.