Jack is still trying to figure out what has just happened. Across the table, Y.T. slumps in her seat, shakes her head, puts her hand over her face and mutters "Techies." That does not make things any clearer for him.
"Err…perhaps we should try to bring them back?" he suggests cautiously.
Y.T. removes her hand from her face and shakes her head again. "It wouldn't work. This I know from experience." She runs her fingers through her blond hair, then sits up straight again. "Well, if they want to work instead of eat, that's their problem." She savagely impales a slice of cucumber on her fork.
Jack thinks of following the others so that he can find out just what Hiro's idea is, but it would be rather impolite – bordering on unkind - to leave Y.T. all alone at the table. He decides that he, at least, will have the patience to wait until after dinner.
~***~
Y.T. is still pissed at them at breakfast the next morning, but what they accomplished on Hiro's burst of inspiration is worth all her bad temper. Juanita is trying to explain that to both her and Jack.
"I do not understand," Jack says. "What is an IFF system?"
"It's what the robots use to tell the difference between things they should attack and things they shouldn't," Juanita answers. "With sentient beings the factors that go into the recognition of an enemy or ally are very complicated, but in most computer brains – at least, the kinds most of Aku's robots use – it's a lot more straightforward."
Jack looks pensive for a moment. "I think I understand. How are you going to use this against them?"
"We will make them recognize each other as enemies," Ng says. "Then they will more or less do our work for us."
"Well, not exactly," Hiro says. "The real work will be giving them the suggestion. So to speak. The only way we can make it work is to broadcast it from a transmission tower in Central Military Command. Three days from now I'm going to infiltrate the CMC, get to the tower and transmit the virus to the robots." He smiles, a little bitterly. "Easier said than done."
Jack looks at him with an expression that Juanita can't quite figure out for a moment. Then she realizes that it's one of admiration. "You intend to do this alone?" he asks.
Hiro shrugs. "That's the plan. But if you want to come along for the ride, you're more than welcome to."
"I promised to aid your efforts in any way possible," Jack tells him. "I will help you." Hiro grins at him.
"Then we will have to get you some equipment," Ng concludes. "I mean no offense, but your current attire is not ideal for a stealth mission." Jack nods in agreement. "And perhaps you should have a sidearm as well." At the word "sidearm," Hiro gets a very distressed look on his face and shakes his head; Jack looks at Ng with a stony glare. Y.T. looks back and forth between Ng and Jack, not quite understanding what just went wrong. Juanita, like Hiro, knows that Ng's suggestion was not a good one to make.
"Thank you for your offer, but I will not carry a gun under any circumstances," he says flatly. The two of them just look each other in the eye for a few seconds.
Ng backs down. "If you insist," he says. Y.T. looks at Hiro inquiringly, as if to ask what the problem is, but his only answer is to mouth the words I'll tell you later.
Juanita knows why Jack objects to carrying a gun. He considers it to be a coward's weapon. It makes her worried, because Hiro has no qualms about using guns (though they aren't his weapon of choice), and she doesn't know how that difference in principles is going to affect Jack's opinion of him. Maybe he'll choose Jack's good opinion over that little extra advantage in this case; that would be foolish, but she understands him well enough to know that he's considering the idea.
They don't mention the incident again. Instead, they discuss the specifics of the plan, which will be set in motion on Friday of that week at 10 p.m. Juanita and Ng will start hacking the CMC's security grid in an attempt to disable the automated defense systems. Since they don't have any way to monitor the target complex with sensors or satellite imaging (unfortunately), Y.T. is going to do the recon work, watching for anything major going in or out of the place. An hour later, Jack and Hiro will climb over the wall surrounding the CMC. Then they will have one hour to get into the robot control center and transmit the Backstab virus (as Juanita herself has named it). If they don't manage it by midnight, the other resistance members involved in the plan will be unable to damage or destroy the other military installations around the world – in fact, they will die trying. Timing is vital here.
"Besides the guards and defense systems, we have one other thing to worry about," Hiro reminds them.
"You mean Raven?" Y.T. says. She's obviously been trying her best to forget about him, and the reminder makes her visibly anxious.
Hiro nods. "If he's on Aku's payroll, and Aku has some idea of what our plans are – though neither of those things is certain – he'll be there."
"If he is, we will deal with him," Jack says.
From the doubtful look on Y.T.'s face, and the way Hiro lowers his eyes, Juanita can tell that nobody shares his confidence.
~***~
Hiro is looking through Ng's armory, getting together the equipment he'll need for the mission. He browses over a rack of pistols – blasters, just out of prototype – and picks up one of them, hefting it to judge its weight. The door slides open; he looks over his shoulder to see Juanita walking in. She joins him by the weapons rack.
"So you're taking a gun after all?" she says. "I thought you might not want to."
She knows him too well. "You mean because Jack wouldn't approve?" he guesses, as he starts disassembling the gun to check that all its components are in working order. "I thought about it. But I have my priorities; succeeding in the mission and getting out alive, more or less in that order." Having satisfied himself that the weapon is in good condition, he starts putting it back together again. "And if this will give me a better chance of doing both, then I'm taking it. He can disapprove of me all he wants, just as long as I'm still alive to enjoy it." He slides the empty battery back into place with a grin.
Juanita looks at him thoughtfully. Then she puts a hand on his shoulder. "Somehow I think the decision was a little more difficult than that," she says softly. And, as usual, she is right. Hiro's grin fades, he lowers his eyes, looks at the blaster in his hands. "Well, I'm glad you chose practicality over pride."
"You came in because you thought I wouldn't?" he asks.
She smiles kindly. "I know you're smarter than that. It would be more accurate to say that I had my doubts."
He considers this for a moment. "Maybe I'm not quite as smart as you think I am. I don't see the difference."
"I mean I wasn't sure whether you would or not, as opposed to just thinking that you wouldn't." She pauses, then gives him a serious look. "Promise that you won't change your mind and decide not to take it after all."
It's his turn to smile. "If you say so."
~***~
"Another neat thing this board can do," Y.T. says to Jack, "Is this. Just watch." She presses a button on the small control panel on the rear of the board, and the bright blue-and-orange color scheme washes into black. "And you can bet that doesn't come standard." She is obviously proud of it, but Jack is rather unnerved. Such technology has that effect on him. He just nods.
Y.T. considers him for a few seconds. "Can I ask you a question? I mean, other than the one I just asked."
He has to smile, just a little. "Certainly."
She pauses for a few moments more. "Do you get nervous when you know there's a fight coming? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Jack knows very well that, despite her offer of that option, he can't actually take it. If he does, she would know the answer anyway, or at least think that she did. "Yes, somewhat. It is unavoidable."
Y.T. raises her eyebrows for a moment, but her response is "That's what I thought." Then she looks down at her board. "I don't know how people like you and Hiro do this stuff. I get scared just thinking about it." She looks up again. "But don't tell that to anybody."
Jack is surprised to hear this. She flies around on that board of hers for a living; obviously, she is not the type of person who scares easily. "I will not tell. You have my word."
She sighs. "I don't know how I'm going to do this. I'm just not that brave."
Jack thinks for a moment. "My father told me that a lack of fear does not make one courageous; rather, it makes one overconfident and foolish. Courage is doing what you must, despite your fear." He hopes that it will help her a little.
She looks up at him again and smiles, but it's not exactly a happy smile. "Thanks."
Time can be strange. The next three days were strange, for though they passed slowly while he was living them, he felt that they had gone by all too quickly once they were over.
On Friday, at 9:45 P.M., Jack, Hiro and Y.T. got into a nondescript hovercraft that Ng had provided for the purpose of the mission. The driver would take them as close as possible to the CMC, then drop them off. They would then go their separate ways – Hiro and Jack to enter the base, and Y.T. to start flying around it.
Jack glanced at Y.T., who was engaged in looking out the window. Her coverall, like her board, was now black; it had, as she said, "some of the same stuff" in it that allowed it to change color. He looked down at his own clothes, which for this mission were a close-fitting black coverall, fingerless gloves, and soft-soled boots. He had tried on the outfit for the first time the previous afternoon, and though it was actually fairly comfortable it had taken him a while to get used to it.
Besides his sword, which he was wearing on his back now instead of his belt, he had a small knife and a few other pieces of equipment such as lockpicks, some first-aid supplies, and flares. He was also wearing a small microphone-and-headphone set, as were the other two. Hiro, however, was carrying most of the devices – he, after all, knew how to use them – as well as a gun. Jack had chosen not to comment on that, or even to acknowledge it. Even so, he was not artful enough to hide his feelings completely, and he was sure that Hiro knew about it. But he had said nothing on the matter either.
Jack has to keep reminding himself that Hiro had never claimed to be a samurai, and that in most cases he did not act like one. That was not to say that he didn't have morals, or a sense of right and wrong, for he clearly did. That much was obvious by now. But the fact that he carried the swords without following the code…it made Jack a little disappointed.
He tries to get the thoughts out of his head as the car descends. "This is where we get off," Hiro tells them as they touch down in a lot behind some old buildings. The doors open, and the three of them get out. It is the first time in four days that they've been outside, but under the circumstances none of them can really feel enthusiastic about it.
"Meet you back here in two hours," Hiro tells the driver. The man nods and presses a button to close the doors. Then the car ascends into the air and flies off into the night. He turns to face Jack and Y.T. "Turn on your headsets," he says. Jack reaches a hand to his hear and feels for the little switch there, then presses it.
"Is it working?" Y.T. asks after activating hers. Jack can hear her over the headset, so he nods. Being able to hear her that way is all right when she's right in front of him, but he knows it will be unsettling once they are at some distance from each other. But such qualms are nothing compared with what they are facing.
"Everything's working so far," Hiro confirms. "All right. Let's get going."
Y.T. nods, puts her board on the ground and puts her feet in the control slippers. They adjust automatically so as to fit snugly around her feet and keep her secured to the board's surface. "Good luck," she says as she rises into the air.
"You too. Be careful," Hiro replies. Jack waves to her. She waves back before zooming upward and away on her board and disappearing into the night.
The two of them look at each other. Hiro nods, turns and heads for the edge of the lot. Jack follows, keeping to the shadows.
Although what he is about to do is extremely dangerous and certainly unpleasant, he finds that, even so, he is looking forward to it.