โHow?โ Nora asked.
โFirst off, we have the pieces to stop the Covenantโs rocket launch.โ Ty motioned to Kato. โIn this world, Kato Tanaka is a Reich Europa intelligence operative. Whatโs more, heโs based at the Peenemรผnde facility.โ โHow does that help us?โ Kato asked. โIf heโs already there, how would I
even get inside the facility? Theyโd know I was a fake the moment I arrived.โ
โNot if we change your appearance.โ To Maria, Ty said, โYou recently told us something about your past. What you did as a child when your mother had a bruise. And what you did before becoming a singer.โ
โI was a makeup artist,โ Maria said. She studied Katoโs bruised, swollen face. โSure. Wouldnโt be hard to disguise him.โ
Nora bunched her eyebrows. โYes, but why would they even let us in to begin with?โ
โSame answer,โ Ty said. โMaria. Sheโs the missing piece. Sheโs performing in Peenemรผnde at the A21 missile launch ceremony.โ
Mariaโs eyes went wide. โRight.ย Thatย Maria. Notย me.โ โThey donโt know the difference.โ
Kato stood. โIt could work.โ โThis is crazy,โ Maria said.
โIโm skeptical too,โ Nora said, โbut I want to hear more.โ โWhere does the Maria on this world live?โ Kato asked. โArgentina,โ Nora replied.
โNeutral territory,โ Kato said, pacing now. โI assume the Pax Humana has an embassy in Argentina?โ
โI could ask my father, but I think itโs a safe bet. Why?โ
โWe could use the embassy as a staging ground for an operation to kidnap this worldโs Maria Santos. We simply hold her at the embassy,
which, if it works like our world, is sovereign national territory. No one will report her missing, because weโll replace her with our Maria. No one will even know the real Maria Santos is gone.โ
โThen what?โ Ty asked, thinking he knew where Kato was going but not certain.
โThen, we start the more difficult part of the operation.โ
Kato motioned to Nora and Ty. โWe pose as Mariaโs entourage as we all fly to Peenemรผnde for the launch ceremony. Inside the facility, weโll each have a role. Maria gets us in and gets us access. Iโll say Iโm her security detail. Ty can be technicalโlights and audio-visual. Nora will be hair and makeup.โ
Kato paused for a moment. โThe trick will be the second replacement: finding this worldโs Kato andโฆ subduing him so that I can slip into his role.โ
โHow does that help us?โ Nora asked.
โIf Iโm right, heโll have unrestricted access to the facility. At that point, I can try to find the rockets and destroy them.โ
โI see a better alternative,โ Ty said. โThe rockets are likely guarded against someone trying to take them out.โ
โI agree,โ Kato said. โBut what options do we have?โ
โInstead of destroying the rockets,โ Ty said, โKato and I could find the launch control area and change where the missiles are supposed to land.โ
โWhat would the new target be?โ Nora asked.
Kato held his hands out. โI see two options. The most benign would be to have them land in an unpopulated area. The northern region of Greenland, for example. The other option would be to target Covenant military capabilities. Their rocket-building facilities. The Seawall. Bases.โ
โThat might take a lot of lives,โ Nora said quietly.
โIt might,โ Kato agreed. โBut it would also change the balance of power in this world forever. It would give the Pax an opening to rebuild, to get back onto equal footing and give their society a chance at a real future.โ
โFor now,โ Nora said, โletโs simply assume we alter the rocket targets away from the Pax.โ She glanced at Ty. โThen what?โ
โWe exit. No one will suspect Maria Santos and her entourage of being connected to the malfunction,โ Ty said. โWhen we return to the Pax, we ask for the radio medallion back, then we decide what to do. We study it.
Maybe thereโs even some information about it in the Covenant files, which we can access in Peenemรผnde.โ
At that moment, Ty sensed a presence in the room. He jerked his head and looked over at the folding tables and empty metal chairs where the staff took their meals. But there was no one there.
โWhat is it?โ Nora asked.
โNothing.โ Ty rubbed his temple. โItโs nothing. What was I saying? Oh yeah, we get back here, get the radio, and go from there. Weโll have time at that point, with no impending rocket strike, and we will have built trust with the Pax.โ
โThereโs one thing weโre missing,โ Nora said. โThe other Nora. If sheโs at Peenemรผnde, we should try to rescue her. And the members of her team.โ
โIt might make getting out more difficult,โ Kato said.
The door opened, and Robert Brown stepped in and closed it behind him. โYouย willย rescue her. Thatโs part of the deal.โ
โYouโve been listening,โ Ty said.
โTo every word. You people are either crazy, or Iโm going crazy, and frankly, if all of this wasย slightlyย less crazy, Iโd just throw you all in a prison cell on the surface and forget about the whole thing. But what youโre talking about might be crazy enough to work.โ
He studied the four of them. โWe havenโt had a chance to change the balance of power like this in a long timeโnot without doing something as damaging as Poseidon.โ
โSo youโll help us?โ Nora asked.
โWeโll get you to Argentina. And weโll send a diplomatic pouch with orders for the special operators stationed at the embassy to help you with the Santos op in country.โ He paused. โBut we have one more condition.โ
Ty waited, knowing what it was, watching Nora, wondering how she would feel.
โOur last condition is that those rockets need to fall on a specific list of Covenant military facilities. Thatโs non-negotiable. If you say noโor if those rockets donโt hit the target list we supplyโyouโll never again see thatโฆ radio device you seem so obsessed with.โ