The morning inspection was supposed to contain no new attack.
I asked twice.
"No new attack?"
"We're shutting it down, Lord Valdrake."
"I understand the name of the procedure. I'm asking what happens during it."
The man lowered his sheet and looked at me. I waited. Yesterday, several people had sounded quite sure of themselves before the barrier failed. I had nothing against confidence, provided it belonged to someone standing farther from the fire than I was.
Actually, no. That was exactly the arrangement I had a problem with.
The senior technician answered twice without sounding offended. The isolated ward would be drained in stages. Aiden would supply only a trace of his ordinary flow if the receiving link needed identifying, under his instructor's hand. No Starfire sample. No live target. The proposed participants would observe the final shutdown from the outer gallery, behind its independent screen.
