>>5923304Goldsmith is right, being cautious in maintenance is vital not only to your success, but to your very continued existence. Unfortunately, you already agreed to Silas' schedule yesterday, and you are loathe to go back on it. Maybe a compromise will do, “Is three more days enough to finish the most important jobs, Goldsmith?” His face lit up slightly, and only slightly. Even if Goldsmith definitely hoped for more, this is still far better than arguing with the wall that is your second-in-command.
“Yes, a couple days to safely test out the new components, make sure their tech interface properly with ours, that is all I ask for. Thank you, ma'am. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a lot of changes to make to my boys' schedule.” He salutes you again, and briskly walks out of sight. Hopefully Silas will not be too angry the next time you meet.
Finally, you have some time for yourself. You want to fall on your bed immediately, let sleep carries you off, but diligence makes you check every corner of your room first for any signs of intruders. Nothing again. Just as you are about to finally call it in for the evening, something flits across the corner of your eyes. For the briefest moment you wonder whether you are hallucinating. No, there it is again. Stay calm, it seems to not have noticed you yet. From this distance, the object is gnatlike in shape and size, and you would have dismissed it as such had you not caught the sudden jolt of speed.
You pretend to continue with your bedtime routine at the usual speed while waiting for an opening. The upper drawer of you bedside cupboard contains a small hand mirror. You rarely use it, preferring the larger one in the bathroom, but today is its lucky day. With one set of fingers, you play with your hair while the others lean the mirror to and fro to keep track of the gnat. Your adversary is unlikely to be a woman, else she would have noticed how unusual it is to dress one's hair before sleep. You wiggle back and forth until the bedside taser is in reach. You have to act soon, before the other side gets anxious. No woman is so vain to keep looking at herself forever.
You too are anxious for the bug to get complacent. Closer, just a bit closer... And snap goes the trap. The EMP surge fries the delicate circuitry and a small wisp of smoke escapes the gnat like a death wheeze. Shit, you only wanted to disable the thing. Even so, you're sure someone could extract intel from this sad carcass. But who?
