Two GSG thrust the main cabin hatchway open. Machiko is first down the steps. The deputy director for hotel security and the director for security of the entire complex are waiting at the doors to the aeropad miniterm. They escort Machiko directly to the hotel's security command center: an expansive room walled with display screens, lined with security consoles, filled with the murmur of commlinks and the beeps of sense-touch console keys.