She hurled the EMP grenades. They exploded with blinding flashes, showering the chamber in white light, sending sparks flying from the server racks. The crystalline core, already destabilised, spasmed violently, its sickly purple light sputtering. The energy conduits connecting it to the network crackled, then went dead.
The hum in the chamber died, replaced by a terrible, ringing silence. The blue light from her wrist device flickered, then extinguished. The power was severed. The node was down.
"Node offline. Diversion created," she whispered, a triumphant, if weary, smile on her face. Her breathing was ragged, her body aching from the sheer tension.
But the silence was short-lived. The robotic drones, though momentarily stunned by the EMP blast, quickly rebooted, their red optical se
