11. On Site

In a cramped bunker, Turner inspects the command post: Ramirez will monitor the matrix with Jaylene Slide, Nathan will keep hardware alive, and mercs provide security. Turner reviews a sideband squirt system and a biomonitor tied to the surgical pod, noting how fragile Sutcliffe’s helicopter exfil plan is and that Webber is ordered to destroy the medicals if the site is compromised.

After a brief, unsettling dream steeped in Mitchell’s dossier, Turner meets Hosaka’s medics at dawn: two polished company men and a Korean black medic from Chiba. He sets deployment timing and demands procedures. The men outline scans for lethal implants and biochemical dependencies; the black medic warns Maas biochips surpass conventional tech and claims they won’t be lethal to Mitchell, hinting at street-leaked prototypes she’s seen removed.

Conroy’s desert courier, Harry, arrives with jet-piloting software and a crude note. Turner confronts Lynch’s familiarity with the courier and concludes Lynch is Conroy’s on-site spy, instructing Harry to relay the message. Harry departs, reverting to his vacant persona.

Turner, Sutcliffe, Lynch, and Nathan then lay out and clear a narrow landing strip with survey tape, moving dangerous debris before the sun climbs. Webber voices skepticism about visibility but accepts the risk. In a quiet exchange, she reveals her life beyond the site—dog breeding, trout fishing, and a family with her female partner and their DNA-spliced child—underscoring the personal stakes behind the operation.