Chapter 98: Six Uninvited Visitors
The day passed without incident. Eleanor began her morning by visiting Rossiyskiye Kosmicheskiye Sistemy of the Angstrem Group. The facility specialized in manufacturing radiation-hardened microcontrollers... resilient against cosmic rays and ideal for control modules in orbit. Their analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital signal processors (DSPs) were essential for telemetry data processing and communication subsystems.
These components would soon find their place in the satellite systems of NyxOrbital Technologies, Eleanor’s U.S. based aerospace company for designing, manufacturing, and launching advanced rockets and spacecraft.
In the afternoon, she visited Crocus Nano Electronics, a firm producing cutting-edge MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random-Access Memory). MRAM was non-volatile, radiation-resistant, and capable of operating under extreme conditions... a perfect choice for satellite applications. It served multiple purposes: onboard data logging and storage, boot memory in critical subsystems, navigation cache, and camera data buffering.
For Eleanor, MRAM also held significant value for Heimdall’s security network, the AI-driven surveillance and threat-response system she was planning to deploy. These memory chips would ensure uninterrupted frame capture from high-resolution surveillance cameras, even during unexpected power outages or signal disturbances.
Though these components were already secured from the U.S. market and weren’t urgently needed, Eleanor ensured long-term supply chains by signing preliminary agreements. The technical discussions and integrations would be handled by professionals from both companies in the coming weeks.
By evening, Eleanor and her team returned to their hotel to rest. Everyone understood that the true mission was yet to begin.
***
At exactly midnight local time, the team prepared to move. Raphael sat behind the wheel of a rented black SUV, dressed in a black overcoat appropriate for the biting cold of Zelenograd. Eleanor sat beside him in the passenger seat, equally wrapped in elegant but functional attire.
Behind them, hidden in the shadows of the back seat and rear compartment, were Sebastian, Isadora, Alaric, and Elias... all fully equipped. Cassandra remained at the hotel as their last line of communication.