The director continued, “Our primary objective continues to be the live capture and retrieval of a Machinehood operative. We have not identified the exact trigger mechanisms that cause them to explode, but organic death appears to be one of them. They have also triggered when capture was imminent. Thanks to the quick work of Olga Ramírez in Chennai, we have obtained a sample of the inorganic metal in one of the bodies. Unlike the samples obtained after incineration, this one has genetic material intact. Unfortunately, the DNA has no match within any of our databases. Details are in the latest analysis report. General evidence confirms that their bodies include organic and electronic components, and we view the rumors of a sentient artificial intelligence as a distraction.

“At present, we believe the Machinehood is an extremist group backed by deep pockets, possibly the al-Muwahhidun empire. Ramírez has a lucky charm, because she also received this, from a known source who will remain anonymous for their protection.” Rice played the video clip from Nithya’s teammate. “As you can see,” she said, freezing the final frame, “this person wears the white uniform typical of an al-Muwahhidun loyalist who is allowed to leave the empire’s borders. We’re not sure if they’re a soldier or a trader, but they appear to have a similar internal structure to the Machinehood’s operatives. While we have no reason to believe that this video has been modified, neither do we have hard evidence to corroborate it. This is why we’ll be assembling a team to go to the Maghreb. Obtaining such evidence will be their primary objective.”

This time, heads turned to look at Welga. After that statement, everyone could figure out why the agency had brought her in. Did they trust her to get the job done? It wasn’t my fault We were set up to fail. She couldn’t help seeing suspicion on the faces around her—maybe because she felt the same way. She forced her own expression to neutral. Never let them see your weakness. Captain Travis had drilled that into her over their many games of chess. She found herself glancing toward the center-left of the table, expecting to see him where he always sat. Would he approve of her being here, putting her trust in another unproven administration? Am I being stupid, or am I doing the right thing?

“The details are being worked out,” Director Rice continued. “We’ll be operating alongside other countries’ intelligence agencies. They aren’t sharing much, but you can be damn sure they aren’t stupid. When they see us moving on the caliph, they’ll want to follow. Our secondary objectives at this time are to find the Machinehood’s funding source, which is complicated by them not having a registered tip jar, locate the sites of component manufacture, and spread counterintelligence to maintain calm.”