Part 17 (1/2)
The others waited in silence as he pored over the floor plans, respectful of an expert at workTime and time again he checked a measurement or an angle, then shook his head.
”I'll have to think on this overnight,” he announced at last”There's got to be a way.”
”Any ideas at all?” Rick asked.
Hosato shook his head”Frankly, right now it looks impossibleI can't see any way two people can crack that layout.”
”Two?” Sasha queried.
In response, Hosato c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at the Hun-garian, who cleared his throat uncomfortably.
”What your friend here is trying to say, Sasha, is that you shouldn't count on me for a fight,” he said”You're welcome to whatever equipment or weapons I can supply, and I'll advise you as best I can, but I'm simply not a man of actionI'm sorry if you think less of me for that, but that's the way I amWhen the actual mission starts, I'm a cheering section and not much more.”
”That's all right,” Sasha a.s.sured him”You've been more than enough help already.”
”Say um Hosato,” Rick interjected”May-be this isn't the time to bring it up, but Sasha and I have been talking, and..”
”Yes?” Hosato prompted.
”Well, we think that she should go along with you on this missionEven with her disability she can shoot better than I can, and-”
”-and she can't pilot a s.h.i.+p, while you can,” Hosato finished for him”I knowI've been figuring 'all along that Sasha would be my backup.”
The Hungarian shot him a look of surprise and sus-picionHosato ignored it and continued.
”That's why I'm trying to come up with a plan for twoThe Hungarian stays here, and you pilot the s.h.i.+p, which leaves Sasha and me for the a.s.saultBy my count, that's two.”
”Three,” said James, breaking his silence”I'm go-ing too.”
”James-” Hosato began.
”I'm going,” the boy said firmly”My father started all this, and I'm going to help finish itBesides, I can beat the voice lock.”
”What?” Sasha exploded into life.
”I said, I can beat the voice lock,” James stated calmly”It's keyed to open for either of two voicesOne was Dad's, the other's mine.”
”Sasha, can we use a recording of his voice to do the job?” Hosato asked.
”No,” the boy answered”The lock involves a se-ries of three random questions that have to be an-swered within a given time spanIt was designed that way to prevent someone using a recorded voice to force the lock.”
Sasha looked at the Hungarian”Could you teach him what to say to change the program once he springs the lock?”
He sighed”I could try, but it's a lot to teach him in two weeks.”
”Why 'two weeks'?” Rick interrupted.
The Hungarian slapped his forehead in mock as-tonishment.
”That's just like me!” he announced viciously”Here I've been worrying about it all the way back here, and then I forget to show you.”
He rummaged in his pocket for a moment and fished out a folded piece of paper.
”Here,” he said, pa.s.sing it to Rick”Read thisMc-Crae Enterprises is announcing its revolutionary new line of security robotsAccording to that release, dem- onstrator sets will be available for s.h.i.+pment to interested customers within three weeks.”
”And it will take us a week just to get there,” Rick moaned”Hosato..”
He stoppedHosato was sitting with the layout maps in his hands, a vague smile on his face.
”What is it?” Rick asked.
”I believe the man has a plan,” the Hungarian ob-served.
”You're right.” Hosato smiled”Just an outline right now, but I think the details can be worked outSasha, you and James are going in with a tour groupOnce you're in the complex, you get to Turner's of-fice, activate the terminal, and change the program.”
”And what will you be doing in the meantime?” the former security chief asked archly.
”Me?” Hosato's smile broadened”I'll be creating a diversion.”
Hosato watched the Ravensteel robots from his chosen place of concealment in a cl.u.s.ter of boulders up the slope from the ore veinFor nearly five hours now he had sat motionless, studying the machines as they labored at their task.
Below him the giant machines gouged and sliced monstrous hunks of ore from the exposed vein, lifting them into the waiting transport machinesAs each transport in its turn was filled, it turned and began its trek back to the Ravensteel complex, another lurch-ing forward to take its place at the fill point.
From his vantage point Hosato could see the long, broken line of transports trundling over the horizon, and its sister line of transports returning empty for another load.
”The tour s.h.i.+p is approaching,” Rick's voice came in his ear.
”Acknowledged,” Hosato replied.
The Hungarian had been true to his wordThough not accompanying them, he had been more than gen-erous in providing them with equipmentThe surface suit Hosato was currently wearing was a vast im-provement over the bulky affair he had tried to don in the McCrae sand crawlerIts built-in communica-tions system allowed him to maintain constant contact with Rick, waiting in the s.h.i.+p, while its close fit al-lowed him a freedom of movement he would not have believed possible in a surface suitMost important, he could wear his invisibility suit over it.
Having received Rick's signal, Hosato broke the seal of his Ninja suitFor this job, he wanted to be seen.
On the ground beside him were two tripod-mounted rifle blasters, more gifts from the HungarianHosato picked one up and carefully eased it forwardThe robots were still rumbling about their programmed tasks, unaware of his presence as he chose his first target and settled the cross hairs of his weapon on it.
He gently depressed the two firing lugs, and the weapon responded, a pencil-thin beam of energy dart-ing forth, momentarily locking marksman and target togetherAt the other end of the beam, his target ro-bot, the one farthest away of those visible to him, ground to a sudden halt.
Hosato waited several seconds, then triggered the weapon twice more in rapid successionHis second target, a robot at the ore face, imitated the first, jolt-ing to rigid immobilityThe third, loading a large chunk of ore onto a transport, went amokLurching forward, it rolled over the waiting transport unit, crus.h.i.+ng it like a toy, and headed blindly into a rock formationThere, its forward momentum stopped, it began to slowly dig itself into the side of the abutment.
Hosato did not pause to watch the results of his marksmans.h.i.+pHe was busy firing sporadically but carefully into the robots below himThen he rose and stepped from his hiding place, standing boldly in the open as he surveyed his handiwork.
Hosato smiled at the carnageNearly fifty robots had been seriously disabled or destroyed by his as-saultAbout half a dozen robots still partially func-tionedTo be specific, though their movement might be impaired, their internal units that maintained com-munications with the central coordinating computer back at the Ravensteel complex were still fully active, as were their camera unitsHe had listened well when Rick outlined the operational modules of ore robots and their internal arrangement.
Terribly sloppy, instigating an attack and then failing to complete the carnage, particularly failing to break the enemy's communication chainIt's just the sort of blunder you would expect from a professional security guard suddenly a.s.signed to play soldier.
There was even one fully operational robot down thereIt was currently sitting far back in a shadowy ravine watching himHe couldn't see it, but he had noted its retreat and deliberately allowed it to occur.
Aside from ensuring that data of his appearance would be relayed to Ravensteel, it was a good signThe robot's self-preserving maneuver, a clear break in pattern from its normal mining activity, indicated that someone or something at Ravensteel was feeding it new instructionsWhether it was the central co- ordinating computer or one of its human monitors did not matterHis attack had been noted, and counter-measures were already underway.
Smiling, he turned and headed over the crest of the ridge toward his rendezvous with the s.h.i.+p and with RickMission accomplishedRavensteel had experi-enced an attack on their operations by an obviously hostile forceNow, who on Griinbecker's Planet would qualify as a hostile forceWhen the retaliation strike came, whom would it be directed against?