Ricci looked at him.

"When did it happen?"

"About ten minutes back.

Ricci studied the map on the screen. Yes, yes, of course. That fit the M.O. Fit it just perfectly.

"The cargo-processing facility," he said, leaning over Ted's shoulder. "You realize what's kept in there?"

Ted craned his head around and stared back at him for a long time before replying, his eyes wide behind his lenses.

"The ISS module," he finally said.

TRAP T-2 was another of those ubiquitous acronyms used by weapons and technology designers--the initials here standing for Telepresent Rapid Aiming Platform (Version) T-2.

As specifically configured for UpLink International, the sixty TRAP T-2s situated around the Cosmodrome consisted of a mix of tripod-mounted VVRS M16 assault rifles and Heckler & Koch MSG semiautomatic shotguns linked via microwave video, fiber-optic umbilical cable, and precision target-acquisition-and-firing software to man-portable control stations with handheld viewfinders and triggering units. The weapons platforms utilized two types of surveillance cameras: a wide-field camera on the tripod, and another on the receiver of the gun that provided a shooter's-eye perspective through its 9-27X reticular scope. Their video images were transmitted both to the firer and command-and-control centers from which the engagement was being directed.

In plainest English that would almost certainly have satisfied Ricci, the TRAP T-2s allowed their users to hit their opposition with heavy, accurate fusillades of gunfire from locations that were secure and relatively out of harm's way, making them ideal for installation defense.

Following Ricci's orders to the letter, the Sword remote gun teams in their trailers behind the east perimeter fence waited until they could see the whites of their attackers' eyes--figuratively speaking--on the displays of their viewfinder/joystick control units before rotating the TRAP T-2's outside the fence into position, firing off salvos of 70mm smoke, white phosphorous, and CS rounds, while broadcasting a cease-and-desist warning alternately in Russian, English, and Kazakh. They had almost no hope the CS could be used to any effect, as the men in the jeeps were wearing gas masks, but were keeping their fingers crossed that the pyrotechnics would give the attackers pause.

The air around them bursting with lights and smoke, the line of jeeps slowed but did not stop.

Hands on their firing controls, the Sword gunners waited tensely to see what would happen next.

Ricci rang Petrov on his hotline before leaving the snoopmobile.

The space program director sounded in a near-panic. "What is happening? The shooting--"

"This facility's under assault, and starting now I intend to conduct its defense per the terms of your original agreement with UpLink. Which means--"

"Wait a moment--assault from whom? You must tell me--"