They argued in the southern room for an hour.
Not loudly. Sun Harvest didn't argue loudly.
They argued the way people argued when every person in the room understood the stakes and none of them were willing to pretend the answer was obvious.
Due laid it out first, because Due always laid things out first. Two paths, both real, both survivable, with different costs attached to each.
"Option one," he said. His hands moved across the table as though arranging something invisible. "We deliver the courier and the dispatches to the Sovereign Record's nearest representative. The dispatches enter the Echelon's formal record. Caldren's civilian network becomes official knowledge, and the Echelon investigates."
"And option two?" Alistair asked.
"We go after the anchor directly. The person maintaining the network's infrastructure. Remove them from the position, collapse the network from the inside."
