The Defiant Agents

"The Defiant Agents" by Andre Norton is an early 1960s science fiction story centered on time agents facing intricate challenges with alien technology, secret missions, and high-stakes spying. Dr. Gordon Ashe and Colonel Kelgarries are key characters who navigate a tangled plot of double-crossing while racing against time to protect their project from a hidden mole. The story kicks off with a tense meeting where the group discovers that a sleeper agent, Camdon, has jeopardized their mission by leaking vital data. Ashe, Kelgarries, and their team must urgently deal with the aftermath of this betrayal to protect their project, reflecting on past time-travel endeavors and the critical importance of successfully colonizing another planet called Topaz, highlighting human innovation against time and the dangers of harnessing alien knowledge.