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“That’s what happened.”

“Show me.” Koebsch extracted one of the holo displays from the wall. “I want a transcript of every move you made.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Then you’re off the team.”

“Sir, I logged in through Ash’s G2 account and deleted the record afterward,” Vonnie said. With each word, she was digging herself in deeper, but the lie was about more than saving Lam. She was also protecting Ash. “Why does it matter how I did it?” she asked.

“You’re going to help me write a series of kill codes,” he said. “Then we’ll broadcast the codes into the ice. We might be able to reach him. But if Lam only hears part of a code, it needs to be specifically tailored if we want it to penetrate his systems.”

“This is wrong.”

“You can either help me or you’re done. I’ll see what I can do about getting you a ride home, but we won’t be sending a ship back to Earth for another year. That’s a long time to cook and fix suits.”

“Goddamn it, we don’t know what kind of data Lam collected over there or if he’s a danger to us! Your kill codes could wipe everything he’s seen and heard.”

“We’ll scrub his mem files after we find him. That’s not the issue. If you ask me, I’m starting to think Dawson is right. Our entire operation has become a fiasco. The sunfish are unresponsive. They’ve done nothing but attack, and now we’re chasing our own tails. A change is warranted. We might use your new probes for reconnaissance and gathering tissue samples.”

“You can’t start hunting sunfish!”

“Our cost sheet is through the roof, and you haven’t helped.” Koebsch frowned. “I warned you, Von. There are a lot of people on Earth who don’t see the magic in this place. They want returns on their investments.”

“You don’t have to listen to them.”

“I can’t keep making exceptions for you.” Koebsch lifted his hand as if to touch her shoulder, stopped, and set his palm on the holo display instead. “Help me. That’s the best way I can cover for you. They understand our little skirmish with the Brazilians. It’s part of the price of doing business.”

“What about Tom and Sue and the other sunfish we know? You’d let Dawson put them in captivity or vivisect them?”

“There are more tribes down there. If we have some success, maybe we can start over with a new group. First we need that success.”

“You mean we need to make money.” Vonnie said it with disgust, but he nodded earnestly.

“There are three billion euros tied up in this mission,” he said. “It’s nice that activist groups are campaigning for humane treatment and rescue operations for the sunfish, but the reality is we’ve taken too long to show results. We can’t pay for ourselves with new deuterium production or bulk water claims. The pay-off is in gene smithing.”

I should hate you, she thought. But I need you on my side.

She was deciding how to respond when Ash appeared on the small intercom panel. “Sir, I have Colonel Ribeiro online,” Ash said.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” Koebsch looked at Vonnie and said, “This might get sticky. You come, too, but let me do the talking. If Ribeiro knows Lam was ours, he could send his mecha through our perimeter, and we can’t stop him — not if he uses gun platforms.”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t he?” Koebsch opened the door from the armory and paced toward data/comm.

Vonnie followed with her stomach in a knot.

They joined Ash at the showphone. “Thank you, Colonel,” Ash said. “Here is Administrator Koebsch.”

Keeping his hand below the camera, Koebsch motioned for Vonnie to step into the background. “Hello, Colonel,” he said. “You must be returning my call about the FNEE digger that crashed through our beacons.”

Ribeiro’s face was severe. Remembering how fiercely he’d cursed them, Vonnie expected him to berate Koebsch, but he tipped his head with a single nod. “Yes,” he said.

“We lost a tremendous amount of equipment and our geologic surveys were ruined,” Koebsch said, piling on the blame. The formality in both men’s postures and voices was well-practiced. Everything they did would be analyzed by their superiors on Earth.

“Where is our digger now?” Ribeiro said.

“It self-destructed, either by FNEE command or because its systems were untenable,” Koebsch said. “Please explain.”

“There has been a rise in ESA transmissions.”

“Is that relevant?”

“I am apprehensive for your safety and ours,” Ribeiro said. “Are any of your mecha missing?”

“One.”

Ribeiro’s face tightened. Here it comes, Vonnie thought, bracing herself for his wrath.

“We have lost three mecha to a rogue AI,” he said. “It captured two diggers, then spread to a third. That is why you’ve heard combat in our zone. We eradicated two of the three while losing a fourth mecha to an avalanche.”

Lam caused more problems than we guessed, Vonnie thought, watching Ribeiro’s dark, tired eyes.

The firm set of his mouth gave way to a scowl. Vonnie realized he wasn’t fighting to master his temper. He was humiliated.

“I apologize that the AI reached your zone,” he said. “The responsibility is mine, but I believe my men and I are best suited to this task. We are soldiers. You are not. I would like to make our services available. I suggest a partnership between your people and mine. We can eliminate the AI before it spreads further.”

A partnership? Vonnie thought, scoffing at the idea. She was offended and incredulous.

But Koebsch smiled. “Thank you, Colonel, I agree,” he said.

38.

“We would welcome working alongside the fine astronauts of Brazil,” Koebsch said. “Thank you for your vigilance and for your willingness to protect your neighbors.”

“What are you doing?” Vonnie whispered at Koebsch’s back. “We can’t let them march into our grid!”

Koebsch shushed her. “I would like to coordinate our mutual efforts immediately,” he told Ribeiro. “First, a written agreement is in order.”

“My government will need to approve any legal documents, but I have been instructed to ask for your terms and conditions,” Ribeiro said. His gaze shifted to Vonnie, then back to Koebsch. What was he thinking? The same as her?

Something’s wrong, she thought. We’ve been at odds with Brazil since the war. On Earth, we keep backing A.N. demands for them to pull their troops out of Columbia and Paraguay. In space, too many of our ships run patrols with American destroyers as a show of strength against the FNEE.

Even here, we’ve allocated hundreds of hours to monitoring them — attacking them — and there are only eighteen people combined between our camp and theirs.

Making a deal with the FNEE was unprecedented.

“I think we can use standard distress contracts including limited liability and salvage rights,” Koebsch said. “Within reason, we’ll waive any claims for damage if the AI can be contained.”

“You are generous,” Ribeiro said. “Thank you.”

“I’ll send a write-up to you in a few minutes. Meanwhile I’d like a proposal detailing the number of mecha you’ll send into our grid, their capabilities, and a compatibility study. Will they be able to function with our mecha?”

“My sergeant can provide this data.”

“Excellent.” Koebsch waved Vonnie toward the showphone, then gestured at Ash. “This is Alexis Vonderach, one of our engineers. You’ve met Ash Sierzenga. Vonderach can troubleshoot any challenges with signal integration while Sierzenga handles file-sharing on our side.”