Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe Part 17

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?

Hosato's smile broadenedThe robots at McCrae were about to experience a diversionary attack that would be impossible to ignore.

"Still nothing?" Hosato asked anxiously, peering over Rick's shoulder at the bank of instruments.

He was totally unfamiliar with the sensor system and ignorant of how to read the dials and wave patterns, but the action gave him a much-needed ac-tivity.

"If there was, I'd tell you!" Rick snapped"Now, will you quit asking me the same question every thirty seconds?"

"I don't understand it," Hosato said, shaking his head"They should have done something by now."

Their s.h.i.+rk was concealed a short distance from the McCrae complexInside, the two men waited to monitor the Ravensteel counterattack, an attack that had failed to develop.

"Maybe they recognized you," Rick suggested"Sasha and I both told you it was a mistake to leave Gedge alive."

"And all of us agreed that if I were recognized, they'd a.s.sume I was acting under orders from Mc-Crae," Hosato retorted"Either way, it adds up to McCrae as the target for their retaliation."

"I bet they went after the McCrae ore robots," Rick said firmly"Punishment equal to the crime or some such"They hit our miners, we hit their miners!' Just because they come after McCrae doesn't mean they'll attack the main complex."

"If they hit the ore robots, they're in for a rude surprise," Hosato said grimly"McCrae robots shoot backWhen the humans of Ravensteel get fired on by robots, they'll have to believe our storyOnce our 'killer-robot' report is accepted, Ravensteel has to attack the complex just out of self-preservation."

"But will they do it today?" Rick argued"Corpo-rations take forever to make decisions, and even longer to act on themThat's a.s.suming, of course, they get the report at allWhat happens if no one survives the attack on the ore robots?"

Hosato made his decision.

"You're right, RickThere are too many variablesToo many ifsI should have seen it in the planI'm just not used to working with a team!"

"Come on, Hosato, take it easy," Rick said sooth-ingly"There's nothing we can do now."

"That's where you're wrong, RickThere's some-thing I can do, and I'm going to do itI'm going in myself."

Rick was openly taken aback at the idea.

"You're nuts!" he declared"We've gone over it a hundred timesIt's suicide for you to go in there alone."

"The tour group's in there already, right?" Hosato pressed"Sasha and James are waiting for a diversionYou know SashaDo you think she'll back away from it just because the attack doesn't comeIf it's suicide for me to go in there armed and with all my equip-ment, what chance do the two of them haveA boy and a one- armed womanAgainst the whole security network?"

"I hate to put a damper on heroic gestures, Hosato," Rick said carefully"But what difference does it make if you go or not except getting three people killed instead of two?"

"The difference"-Hosato sighed-"is that if I go, there's still a chance-not much, but still a chance- that we can stop this mess before it spreadsIf it gets off Griinbecker's, n.o.body will be able to stop it."

"Rick!"

"Yes, Hosato?"

The mechanic's voice came clearly through his suit communicator.

"Did you close the bay doors behind us when we escaped in the sand crawler?"

There was a long pause before the answer came.

"I can't rememberI think I did, but I couldn't say for sureThat whole day is a bit of a blurWhy?"

"Just wondered."

Hosato contemplated the doors leading to the sand-crawler bayThe inner and outer doors of the airlock were standing wide openInside, he could see the in- terior of the sand-crawler bay, apparently unchanged from when they had so hastily left in their escape from the robotsIt looked innocent enough, but Hosato felt a nagging of suspicion as he studied the entrance.

Like Rick, he thought they had closed the doors behind them, but couldn't be sureThe gaping portals looked uncomfortably like the yawning jaws of a trap.

Well, he'd come to create a diversionStill, if he was successfully ambushed upon entering the complex, there would be no need to draw other robots away from Sasha and James's target areaSealing his invisi-bility suit as a precaution, he eased his way through the doors and entered the complex.

There were no robots in the crawler bayIn fact, there was no indication they had even penetrated to this pointThe second sand crawler was still standing in its partially a.s.sembled state, as Rick left it, and the door to the maintenance shop was closed.

Hosato manually closed and sealed the inner air-lock doorTo activate the machinery would immedi-ately alert the computer to his presence, as would opening the door to the maintenance shop without first closing the airlockHe wanted to penetrate a bit deeper into the complex before beginning his diversion.

He had to steel himself to open the door to the maintenance shopThough a death merchant by pro-fession, he did not relish viewing the aftermath of the robots'

ma.s.sacre of the McCrae humans.

He needn't have worried.

When he finally eased the door open, an astounding sight greeted his eyesThere was no sign of the mas-sacre at allThere were no bodies, no bloodstains or disorder, no visual evidence of a struggle at allThe shop stood vacant and immaculate, as if the humans had merely stepped out for a moment.

No, not quiteAdjusting to the shock, Hosato stud-ied the room more carefully and could now detect the signs of the robots' handiworkIt was too perfect, too neatHumans would never maintain a workshop in this immaculate conditionThis looked more like a display from an equipment showroom than a well-used workshop.

Casting about, his eye settled on a waist-high work-stool mounted on swivel wheelsYes, that would do fineWorking one-handed, he moved two heavy tool boxes onto the stool seatHe was loath to set his hand blaster down, even for the barest secondIt was his only weapon and he didn't want to be surprised by a security robot without having it in his hand.

Pus.h.i.+ng the now-laden workstool in front of him, he moved to the side door, the one that opened into the corridor leading to the Central Computer BuildingCautiously he opened the door and eased his head inside.

The corridor was clearThe robots he had destroyed on the day of their escape had been removedThat made more sense than the removal of the human bod- iesRobot parts could be reused.

Taking a deep breath, he broke the seal of his suit, allowing himself to become visible for the first time since entering the complexIt was time to start his diversion.

Dragging the workstool behind him, he moved slowly down the corridorThere should not be any security devices until he reached the first intersection, but they had no way of knowing what new traps the robots may have installed during their absence.

His caution proved unnecessaryHe arrived at the first intersection without any new devices registering on his sensorsA short corridor came into his corridor at this point, forming a THe would have to traverse this connecting corridor, but the drawings he had studied at the Hungarian's indicated a trap at the mid-way point.i.t was designed as an alarm trigger only, but again the robots might have modified it since.

Easing the workstool around in front of him, he gave it a vigorous shove, sending it rolling into the alarm zone.

Nothing happened.

Hosato watched with growing suspicion as the stool rolled on unhindered, until it crashed into the far wall, one of the toolboxes clattering to the floor with the impact.

StrangePerhaps the stool had not been heavy enough to trigger the alarm.

He swept the corridor with his sensorsThere was no reading on the watch dialThe zone was inopera-tiveCould Sasha and James have been successful so soon?

As if in answer to his question, there came a sound from the corridor behind him, the sound of a robot approachingReflexively Hosato flattened against the wall, his blaster ready.