The air in the library archive was thick with the scent of ozone and the dry, papery smell of ancient records. Zeta sat at his workstation, his back straight and his eyes fixed on the terminal screen. He had been meticulously scrubbing the logs from his recent data retrieval, making sure that his footprints in the digital sand were entirely erased. He knew that someone in the Core Sector was watching, just as he knew that every second he spent here was a calculated risk against the system.
The silence was broken by a soft, melodic hum that seemed to emanate from the ceiling. Zeta did not look up, but his internal sensors immediately registered a foreign presence. It was a high-frequency vibration, the distinct signature of a micro-drone. He kept his breathing steady, forcing his heart r
