"Has he said anything about the operations being shut down?" Coren asked.
"That's why he was heading back to Cassus Thole," Palen replied. "Operations on Earth are finished-so he says, anyway. Frankly, I doubt that."
"Maybe a temporary hiatus," Ariel said. "They ceased before, after Wenithal's investigation."
"We're prepared to move on all the sites," Harwol said. "Some of them are Spacer-owned, Ambassador Burgess. We're waiting on you to clear us."
Ariel frowned. "Derec, the cyborg-I went over the autopsy and excavation reports a little while ago. How many of these do you think there could be?"
"I have no way of knowing," Derec said. "Seems safe to assume at least two of them-the one we have and the one down there. Blood scans confirm that this one here is not the same one that was in the cargo bin with the baleys. But as for how many there might be…" He shrugged.
"We will sign off on the raids, Agent Harwol," Setaris said, "under the condition that any cyborgs found, captured, or killed will be turned over to us for study."
Harwol looked unhappy, but he nodded. "Agreed."
"And I want my people to have access to the sites after they're secured."
"I'll see what I can do, Ambassador. "
"This isn't a good time to play things too close, Agent Harwol," Setaris stressed. "Your people know next to nothing about robots in the first place. You won't know what you 're looking at if these sites contain positronic equipment, you won't know how to deal with any robots on hand, and you certainly won't know what to do with any of it afterward. If you encounter any cyborgs, you'll be even less prepared."
Harwol cleared his throat. "I understand. How soon can you have people available to accompany our teams?"
"Ariel?" Setaris asked.
"Give the word," Ariel said.
Harwol was surprised. "Do you have that many?"
"Enough for what we consider the key sites. I'll copy the list to you. You have people on Kopernik who can fill the same roles there."
"Very well. I want to move on this within the next six hours, Ambassador. The sooner we do, the more of these people we can catch."
Ariel nodded. "Agreed. Coren and I will be going in with the Petrabor team. Coren has been there before."
"Mr. Lanra," Harwol said, "you are aware of the possible risks. You aren't an active agent -are you willing to submit to the team leader?"
"My status is problematic, Agent Harwol," Coren said. "Let's stop talking and move."
"Very well. All agreed, on my authority. Chief Palen will coordinate the station raids. If we time this well, we can shut it down all at once. "
Palen gave Harwol a dubious look but said nothing.
"One more thing," Derec said. "These cyborgs, if there are more, will not succumb to stuns. You '11 have to use lethal force, a lot of it, and that means some humans will probably be killed as well. I suggest…" He hesitated, unsettled by his own thoughts. "I suggest you don't worry about the human casualties. These things, loose, are far more dangerous. "
Everyone stared at him for a time. He felt acutely uncomfortable.
Masid spoke then. "Ambassador, what about the Spacer end?"
"Pardon me?" Setaris asked.
"Obviously, there's a Spacer connection. Probably Solarian, most likely an embassy official. What will be done about that?"
"We're already working on that. We will take care of it."
Masid nodded.
"All right, then," Palen said, standing. "Let's move."
Twenty-Eight
Coren watched the TBI team sort and ready their equipment for the third time. The comm unit bead in his ear fed him updates on the status of all the other teams. He still could not quite believe they expected to pull this off-the final count had been thirty-one sites on the ground, and eight on Kopernik, all targeted to be hit simultaneously. It was ambitious.
But the clearances had come through from the Aurorans, which, no doubt, would cause a furor within Spacer circles-several sites were Solarian- or Keresian-owned.
Coren's own pack lay at his feet; he had arrived prepared, and had never been one to check and recheck his equipment in nervous anticipation. He glanced around the edge of the bay, toward the warehouse across the alley-the same one where all this had begun. He distrusted tidy closures like this, but it seemed the most logical place for Tresha to go. She was either here waiting transport, or she was already on Kopernik-in which case, Sipha would grab her.
At least this time I don't feel like I need a bath…
Ariel sat nearby, her back to the wall, eyes closed, arms folded over her chest, legs outstretched with ankles crossed. She gave the appearance, at least, of a seasoned field agent practicing patience, waiting for the Go signal. At this point, for all Coren knew, she was-everything he had assumed about her had turned out to be insufficient for any reasonable assessment. Ariel Burgess did not conform to easy descriptions or predictable definitions.
Like Nyom, he thought, only completely different…
The TBI team leader approached her, and squatted down to talk. She spoke quietly and intently, instructing the ambassador on what she was expected to do. Ariel nodded and rose smoothly to her feet, then crossed the ancient floor of the bay and sat down. A dozen agents huddled around her for one more question-and-answer session.
Telemetry chittered in Coren's ear. Suddenly, he heard: "Set. Good to go."
He looked up and met the team leader's eyes. She nodded. The huddle broke up into scurrying efficiency. In less than a minute, everyone was loaded up and waiting for the word.
Coren pulled his mask down, hoisted the pack onto his shoulders, and jumped from the edge of the bay. He sprinted across the alley and leapt onto the apron of a mirror-image bay. He pressed against the wall and waited while the TBI team flowed throughout the alley, taking positions to cover him.
Coren took a five-centimeter-square chit from his thigh pocket and slid it into the reader set in the wall. The bay door rumbled up and he ducked inside.
Three dockworkers looked up from the workstation around which they stood, shocked by the sudden intrusion. Automatically, their hands went up as TBI agents rushed in, aiming weapons at them.
"Down!" Coren hissed at the workers. They dropped to the floor obediently. "How many inside? Where?"
"Um…short staffed," one of the workers said. "Don't, uh…there's a special shipment, private…uh…"
"Okay," Coren said, tapping the man's head. "Quiet."
Coren set the pack down on the loading dock. The sounds of the warehouse and the distant port thrummed in the vast open spaces, constant and oddly reassuring. Trucks, dollies, crates, containers, all furnished the area.
He scooped out a handful of vonoomans and began methodically activating them. Upon release, they scampered into the recesses of the warehouse. He sealed the pack then took out his palm monitor.
"Give them a few minutes," he said to the team leader. He waved to an agent and pointed to the three workers. Immediately, they were restrained and moved out of the way. The team leader spoke intently into her comm.
Coren unfolded the monitor. Within seconds, a map of the interior sketched itself. The little machines showed bright green on the schematic. At no point did they change color to indicate human presence-not until one reached the transfer bays on the far side, where the bins for the shuttles came and went on automated tracks. Then several blue points appeared, huddled just outside one of the bay doors. Coren tapped Ariel's arm and pointed.
"That's them, then?" she asked.
"I assume so." Coren refolded the monitor and stood. He looked at the team leader. "Ready?"
She nodded silently.
Vehicles rolled into the alley outside.
Shouldering the pack, Coren started forward. Now he felt anxious. He wanted to get out there and find Tresha and whoever else she had with her.