Back at Nexus Technical Corporation, Kieran was locked in the control room, surrounded by monitors broadcasting the frantic attempts by the General—a grim, intimidating military figure—to locate the dissidents.
The General's voice cut through the intercom, a cold command. "Deploy the full Aegis-Scan protocol. Stop that programmer. He possesses information that compromises the entire stability matrix. Lock all egress points."
Kieran worked feverishly at his console. I'm too close to the singularity. My intrusion has been tagged.
The decryption had finally revealed a detailed schematic: the complete, high-security route and access protocols to the Nucleus core—the physical repository of the Dark System. The General's order, and the heavy, rhythmic sound of approaching boots in the hallway, forced Kieran's hand. He wrenched the data slate free, pocketing the only route map, and bolted from the control room just as the door blast-seals began to slide shut.