The Winter War

An Aneka Jansen Novel

By Niall Teasdale

Copyright 2014 Niall Teasdale

Amazon Kindle Edition

Contents

Part One: Yersinia Pestis

Part Two: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Part Three: Two Weddings and a Party

Part Four: Tomb Raiders Wear Shorts

Part Five: Winter

Part Six: The Sleep of Renewal

Part Seven: The Trial of Aneka Jansen

Part One: Yersinia Pestis

Prime City, Old Earth, 25.9.526 FSC, 11th August 3186.

Aneka Jansen stood amidst her own past and did not quite know what she should think or do. She was in the small bedroom in what had been Yrimtan’s quarters in the Prime City, and Yrimtan was her, or rather a duplicate of her, and this room was an exact replica of the bedroom Aneka had had in her parents’ house in Aldershot. That was back when she had been Human, a millennium ago. Twelve centuries for the world and three years for her.

‘Are you okay?’ Ella asked from the doorway. Aneka turned and looked around at the beautiful redhead who was looking concerned for her lover. Ella’s smile could light up the room, but she was not smiling now and Aneka really wanted her to.

‘I didn’t really look at this room when I rescued you from it. It’s a bit of a shock to see everything here, but… Actually, yeah, I’m good. I mean, in a way this is great. All my stuff is here, even Lara and Bengy.’

Ella grinned. Aneka’s heart lifted. Ella walked into the room and bent down beside the bookcase, which was one of the few pieces of furniture. ‘So you told me that the doll was Lara, though I never understood why…’ She picked up a Sindy doll dressed in home-modified Action Man military fatigues.

‘Lara Croft. She was a video game character with huge boobs. She was a brunette, I think, but still…’ Aneka grinned. ‘Actually, she was an archaeologist. Dye your hair and dress you in some little shorts and you’re in.’

Ella giggled. She had had her breasts enhanced in a misguided attempt to ensure that Aneka never left her. It was misguided because Aneka was not going to, ever, and if storming an underground city to rescue her did not prove it then nothing was going to. ‘So Bengy is the bear?’

‘Uh-huh. Mum named him. I didn’t do much aside from gurgle when they bought him for me. I can remember her tucking me in with that bear when I was… two or something.’

‘Vashma, I can’t remember anything from when I was two.’

‘Well, you’re pushing eighty, love, so it’s over twice as long ago. Besides, I don’t think I could’ve remembered that before the Xinti digitised my memory. Now there are holes where it was damaged, but if it’s still there I can remember it perfectly. I’m a little glad I don’t seem to remember being born.’

‘Do you want to take any of this stuff back with you?’ Ella asked, straightening up.

Aneka looked around the room and then plucked one framed photograph off the shelves. It showed three people, one young man, one older, and a woman who looked a little like an older version of Aneka, though she clearly shared traits with them all. They were her brother, Alan, and her parents. ‘This. It would be nice to have something to remind me of them.’

‘There’s one with all four of you on the nightstand,’ Ella supplied, indicating the small table beside the single bed.

Aneka wandered over and picked up the picture. Sure enough, there she was, smiling at the camera beside her tall father. Her brother and mother were sitting in front; they were both a little shorter anyway. It was a posed shot, that was clear. In it Aneka’s short mop of hair was a dirty blonde, not the silver-white it was now, and her breasts were smaller and rounder. The Xinti had built her a new body after dismantling the old one for testing. Their intention had been to send her back to Earth to observe the Human race so they had made a few ‘improvements,’ basing them on the idea that the ideal of beauty on the internet was the norm. So her breasts had been enlarged and made firmer and the white hair was supposed to be a unique and startling feature. Maybe I should be glad I didn’t end up covered in tattoos.

‘No… I don’t particularly want to be reminded of how I was changed,’ she said aloud. ‘Besides, a family photo is one thing. I can just tell people they’re dead, which is true even if it’s something of an understatement. Someone might ask questions about the hair and boobs if they saw it.’

Ella shrugged. ‘I cut my hair and let it go back to plain red, and my breasts are bigger than they were a year ago, but I can understand you not wanting to be reminded about why yours have changed.’

Aneka put the picture back on the nightstand and started for the door, stopping once more at the bookcase. She ran a finger along the shelf of real, physical, paper books. ‘How she managed to keep these intact I don’t know. They probably count as historical documents. The only place I’ve seen printed books on New Earth is Abraham Wallace’s office.’

‘He likes paper,’ Ella agreed, ‘but then he is a little eccentric.’

‘It’s endearing. Huh, The Art of War. I quoted it once to Bash and then said he’d probably never get to read it.’

‘There is an electronic copy in Aggy’s library,’ Al supplied, his voice sounding within Aneka’s mind. Al was an artificial intelligence, her support AI residing on a second computer in her chest. The first one, in her skull, ran the software emulation of her mind.

‘I don’t think it’d be wise for him to read that one,’ Ella said, unaware of Al’s comment. ‘Unless she’s treated those books somehow, I’d imagine the paper is rather fragile.’

‘Al says Aggy has a copy of it.’

‘Huh, well it’s not like we’ve been through everything Aggy has stored from your time.’ Aggy was the computer on their ship. Technically she was the AI in the computer on their ship, and she had performed the same role on the ship which had kidnapped Aneka long ago. She had been transplanted as a repair measure, but she had proven to be extremely useful, and she had huge volumes of information on the world Aneka had come from. ‘It could take us years to go through it all. I don’t think we’ve even started on the books.’

Setting off for the door again, Aneka said, ‘Let’s go back to the other bedroom. I’m feeling a little freaked out in here.’

Ella grimaced. ‘Could we go to her lounge?’

Aneka glanced back at her. ‘Feeling urges again?’

The grimace turned into a grin that was very forced. ‘You know me, I always feel urges.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Okay, so now I’m always feeling urges and I don’t want to give in, and if we go to the bedroom it’ll be really hard not to.’ Yrimtan, who had been the ruler of the city they were in until Aneka had killed her, had tortured Ella and Bashford, their colleague, using a device which stimulated intense pain or pleasure. The pain hurt a hell of a lot, but the pleasure was worse in some ways. For one thing, extended use tended to result in the subject becoming addicted and they had both been exposed extensively. Ella was naturally a very sexual person; all the Jenlay were more or less, but Ella was on the more side. Sex was, at best, a palliative for the longing she had, but she was trying to use it as little as possible to get over the addiction faster. Aneka was, if anything, more worried about Bashford.

Walking out of the bedroom let them out into a short corridor with a door at each end. The main bedroom was off to the right so Aneka turned left and walked through into a larger hallway which gave access to most of Yrimtan’s slightly more public rooms. Off on the left were the double doors to the audience chamber where she had died, and beyond that was the way out to the rest of the city. To the right there was one door Ella was keen to avoid because behind it was the room she had been questioned in. There was a large bathroom back that way too, but Aneka walked across and through a door into a quite comfortable lounge.

As soon as Aneka walked into the room the huge screen, which took up one five-metre wall, lit up with various displays showing activity in this and the other two cities left on the planet. Aneka frowned at the wall and then went to slump into a large armchair. Another mildly annoying thing about this place was that the city’s vast computer system insisted on thinking that she was Yrimtan, or at least responding as though she was. That had not gone unnoticed by the residents, the Citizens, and they had started treating her like royalty almost immediately. That was the main reason she was here rather than in a conference room talking to the city’s Councillors; they kept deferring to her rather than making decisions for themselves.

Ella did not give her a chance to be disgruntled for long. She immediately sat down in Aneka’s lap and laid her head down on the nearest shoulder.

‘You know,’ Aneka said, ‘this computer thing has to be Yrimtan’s doing.’

‘How so?’

‘Well, when I came in here before I killed her, nothing reacted like this. It started when we went down to the computer room. I think she instructed the computer to treat me as her if she didn’t survive.’

‘The more I think about it, the more I think she was hoping you’d kill her.’

‘Maybe. She put up a helluva fight for someone who wanted to die.’

‘She’d been alone for so long, and she had all these contingency plans in case she did die…’ Ella sat up straight and looked Aneka in the eyes. ‘When I die, you’ll move on, right? You’ll find someone else?’

Aneka grinned. ‘When you die I’m going to fly a shuttle into the nearest star, love.’

‘I’m serious.’

‘So am I.’

‘I don’t want you to kill yourself over me. I’ve got maybe another two centuries in me, but when I go… promise me you’ll move on. That’s what went wrong with her. I think if she’d found someone else she could have got past the feeling of betrayal and we’d be sitting here having drinks with her.’

Aneka reached up to stroke Ella’s cheek and Ella leaned into it, closing her eyes. ‘All right, love. I promise.’

‘Thank you.’ Ella smiled, eyes still closed, and Aneka felt like the sun had come out.

~~~

Gillian Gilroy looked pissed off and very tired as she walked into the lounge and dropped into the seat opposite Aneka and Ella. Like almost all Jenlay, Gillian was a good-looking woman; Aneka had always thought she had a classical look, like a Greek statue, but less matronly. She had dark olive skin, brown eyes and hair, and her hair tended to hang in loose ringlets which just made the classical features look right. She was dressed in a fairly conservative, grey skirt suit she had fabricated on the Garnet Hyde for the occasion. She was intelligent, and she had what amounted to a lifetime of knowledge and experience to work with in the areas of archaeology, technological development, and history. She was patient, except when waiting to get onto a dig site, and wise, and Aneka thought of her a bit like an aunt; well, an aunt she sometimes went to bed with, but still. Gillian Gilroy almost never swore.

‘She may have given them some fucking reprogramming to get by on their own, but it wasn’t fucking close to enough. I swear she’s turned the Humans here into a fucking bunch of fucking sheentoe.’

Ella burst into a fit of giggles in Aneka’s lap. Aneka laughed and said, ‘I’m assuming me not being there to make their decisions for them is not going so well?’

Gillian grumbled and then got back up to walk over to the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room. ‘Partially, I’m annoyed that Bash isn’t here to help, but no, it’s not going well. I realise you’re uncomfortable with them treating you like their Manu Dei, but if this keeps up I’m going to get you in the meetings anyway. Maybe you can force them to choose an option.’

‘She has some gorgeous whiskey in there,’ Aneka commented. ‘Someone must be making it up in the Scottish islands. Bash would love it.’

‘Perhaps we can get him a bottle for when he decides he can be around women again,’ Gillian replied sourly.

‘I understand that he’s worried about how he might behave until the neurostim addiction wears off,’ Aneka replied, ‘but he seems to be being a bit hard-core about it. Isolating himself on the Hyde, keeping away from you. Ella seems to be happier around me even if she’s trying not to give in to her terrible animal urges too much…’

‘I don’t have terrible animal urges,’ Ella grumbled into Aneka’s neck. ‘I have wonderful animal urges.’

‘That’s the problem,’ Gillian told them as she walked back to her chair with a crystal-cut glass containing a brown liquid. ‘He seems to have convinced himself he gave in and raped me after they brought him back from his interrogation.’

‘He what?!’

Gillian waved a dismissive hand. ‘He didn’t. I mean, I suppose if you’re being technical about it a case could be argued. I wasn’t really feeling like that kind of thing. We were basically in prison. I’m sure we were being observed and unlike Ella I’m not fond of an audience. And he did get very enthusiastic without letting me get… up to speed, so to speak. But still, it wasn’t rape. I love the man, he was hurting, and I got into it fairly quickly.’ She gave a timid grin. ‘It was like when we first got together, after I left Ape. We’d get really wild some nights…’ She shook her head and then sank half her glass of whiskey. ‘Anyway, he didn’t rape me,’ she wheezed when the coughing had subsided. ‘What are you getting me to drink, rocket fuel?’

‘Right now he’s probably horny all the time,’ Ella said. ‘I know I am. You know that thing about having an itch you can’t scratch? Well this is really like that. You want it all the time. Every waking moment you want to feel that good again. It’s… horrible.’ She looked around and smiled. ‘It’s purely a psychological addiction, however. Give it a couple of weeks and hopefully we’ll be over it.’

‘Hopefully?’ Aneka asked.

‘Psychology isn’t an exact science, even now. Everyone’s different. And I can’t say we won’t need some further work afterward. Some effects might linger.’

‘Yeah… So maybe the Citizens here are the same, and maybe they need a little push to get them off the blocks.’

‘What are you thinking?’ Gillian asked.

‘Oh, a little tough love.’

12th August.

Aneka marched into the Council Chamber ahead of Gillian and Ella. The ten men and women who made up the Council, all dressed in the usual city clothing of white, tunic-like dress, black leggings, and white boots, were already sitting around the large, circular table. Because they were Councillors their sleeves were decorated with twin blue stripes; the Citizens were still very regimented, even if they were trying to be more democratic. All of them stood up as soon as they saw Aneka.

Aneka tried to keep the irritation off her face. ‘Sit down,’ she snapped. ‘I am not your Manu Dei. You do not defer to me.’

They all sat down, chorusing, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ as they did so. It was like talking to Plascrete.

Aneka took a deep, steadying breath. ‘All right, Gillian tells me that you’re still talking in circles about contacting the Federation.’

One of the men, older and definitely more senior, his hair greying, which had to indicate he had been around for a couple of hundred years, got to his feet again. This was Jerome Harper, the leader of the Council. Aneka suspected seniority had got him the position, but he was a little more decisive than most of his fellows. He also had quite a distinguished demeanour and, despite his apparent age, an imposing physique.

‘Miss Jansen, I’m afraid that is indeed the case. We understand that our existence is going to become public knowledge again, but we are at a loss to decide what form of relations we wish to initiate. Considering the distance involved, full integration is probably impossible and, frankly, undesirable, but beyond that we have opinions favouring everything from as much distance as we can get to as much sharing as we can get. We have been isolated for so long that we are unsure of how to proceed.’

Aneka nodded. ‘Then I’m going to make a proposal. You’re going to build a tachyon beam communication system. Our ship’s computer has suitable plans, and she has the necessary protocols to send messages to the relay at Harriamon. She estimates that you can have that up and running in about two weeks, so you’ll have that long to come to a decision about how to start talking to the outside world. I suggest you create a subcommittee with a cross-section of opinion and draft a communique to be sent to the Federal Administration at New Earth. Nothing that commits you to anything. An introduction. We have reports we should send as well, and some personal letters to family since we’ll be here for a while.’

Harper looked around the table. There were nods, some more enthusiastic than others, but they all seemed to see this as a fair compromise. He looked back at the three Federal Representatives. ‘That is a wise and prudent plan, Miss Jansen. We will get the fabrication work started immediately.’

Deciding that telling him he was a real kiss-arse was probably not politically correct, Aneka said, ‘It’s not going to be easy and I think you’re wise to maintain some degree of distance from Jenlay culture. They take some getting used to, and you’ve got two entirely different cultures here on Earth as it is. I would definitely like to see some more integration between the cities and the surface. We’re all quite convinced that you can make life more pleasant for all of you if you intermix a little more.’

One of the women got to her feet. She was significantly younger and, from her position at the table, probably one of the junior members. Fair-haired, attractive, and very slim, she had a studious look about her which suggested a science background rather than administration. ‘Pardon me, ma’am. Councillor Holly Marsden. I’m a sociologist and I’ve been out of the city many times to observe the surface culture. I’m afraid they don’t really like us.’

‘Well no,’ Ella said flatly. ‘I pretended to be one of you people when we visited Matlock. It was mortifying. They think you’re selfish, arrogant, and generally out there to make sure they’re doing what you need. You’ve kept them deprived of technology which could massively improve their lives. But, when I helped them they started reacting a lot better to me.’

‘Basically,’ Aneka continued, ‘it’s going to take time and effort to overcome the distrust, but it’s not impossible. I’m not suggesting you suddenly bring them up to your technological level. Aside from anything else they’ve got quite an idyllic culture going, at least in the country. There’s no reason to spoil it. But you could improve their medical facilities, train some of their people to use better medical equipment, maybe improve their transport systems and veterinary skills. They’ll be better off, and you’ll get more productive suppliers and better produce.’

Marsden, younger and perhaps a little more adaptable because of it, looked toward Harper. ‘Miss Jansen is right about the conditions out there, Councillor. Except that while the farming communities are quite pleasant, the more industrial zones could be significantly improved. I’m not really qualified to judge, but I’d say that ore production and refining could be greatly increased with the use of our technology. The increase in safety would bring dividends in relations with the surface communities.’

Harper actually cracked a smile; Aneka could not recall seeing him give a genuine one since she had met him. He looked toward Gillian. ‘This is the kind of innovative thinking you were talking about, Doctor Gilroy?’

‘Precisely the kind, Councillor,’ Gillian replied, smiling back.

‘Very well. Councillor Marsden…’ Marsden stopped herself halfway back to her seat. ‘I believe that we older members are less suited to this new form of relations than our more recent inductees. You have elected yourself head of the Subcommittee for Improved Surface Relations.’ Marsden blinked a couple of times; she had not expected that. ‘We’ll handle things at this end. Form a group and come to me with resource requirements by Monday midday.’

‘Yes, Councillor.’ Aneka tried hard not to laugh. It was Thursday; Harper was not giving her much time to work with.

Harper was almost beaming now. ‘Excellent. I believe that we have begun an entirely new phase in the life of our city and our world. Working with our new friends I can see a bright future ahead of us.’

There was clapping. Aneka did not join in because she was busy trying not to cringe at the little speech. A bright future, huh? The man should have been a politician.

Matlock, 13th August.

Daniel Linden, Reeve of Matlock, looked up from his papers as Joshua Daventry entered his study. Daventry was the town’s one and only medical professional which, in truth, was not saying a lot. He knew more about the ailments of sheep than he did about Humans, but he was the best they had and he was looking exceptionally grey at the moment.

‘Joshua, what…?’

‘Stella Cooper,’ Daventry said, almost as though that should explain everything. ‘She died about twenty minutes ago.’

Linden swallowed. ‘And you’re sure of your diagnosis?’

‘Even I can recognise plague when I see it, Dan. Though I’ll admit this is nothing like what the books say. It’s more serious. Got into her lungs and choked her to death, and that’s not supposed to happen so quickly. I’ve quarantined the house, and the other cases…’

‘How many now?’

‘Thirty. Most are still bubonic, but the pneumonic cases are increasing. It’s spreading fast and the usual controls aren’t working. Penicillin doesn’t work. Cooper was old sure enough, but her son’s likely to be the next body and he’s built like a brick shithouse! We’ve no choice. We’ve got to send word to the Prime City for help.’

Linden frowned. ‘Oh, and I’m sure they’ll come running…’

‘They’ve no choice, Dan. If this gets out of town… Damn it! Even if all they do is quarantine us all and wait for us to die it’s better than the alternative.’

The Reeve’s frown only deepened. ‘It’s still keeping to the west and north, isn’t it?’

‘We’ve had no cases in this part of town. Yet. It’s just a matter of time.’

Linden got to his feet, picked up his cane, and limped out past the doctor. ‘Abby?’ he yelled, and his daughter emerged from the lounge. ‘Pack some essentials, get the shotgun, and go to the workshop. Drag Bridger away from whatever he’s doing and tell him he’s to drive you down to the Prime City. You’re not to stop for anything.’

Abigail’s brow creased. ‘Dad?’

‘You tell them we’ve got plague. A really bad one. Stella Cooper’s dead and there’ll be more to follow soon enough. I don’t care if you have to kiss Manu Dei’s boots, you get us help up here.’

Prime City, 14th August.

There were two gyms in the entire, ten-kilometre span of Prime City, which said a lot about the general attitude of its Citizens about fitness. Yrimtan had engineered them for improved stamina and health, and the majority of them felt that it was almost a sin to suggest that they needed to be fitter. It was Saturday morning and there were few people lifting weights or using any of the machines. Those who were could be identified as Enforcers, Yrimtan’s police force. Their role in the new society was yet to be fully decided and they all looked a little less sure of themselves than usual. The arrogant menace was gone as the Council decided whether they really needed a bunch of black-armoured, heavily armed thugs.

Of course, Aneka reflected as she spotted for Ella, they look less menacing in exercise gear anyway. Actually, they looked little different from Ella currently. Shorts and T-shirts, a couple of leotards, lots of tanned, fit bodies with sheens of sweat, and everyone had a set of plugs in the back of their skull connected to implant computers.

Ella was exercising partially because she thought she had let her exercises slide during the mission. Aneka had been teaching her some self-defence and she had been using their neighbour Dillon’s weights to beef herself up a little. Aneka had been a little surprised at how well-toned Ella had looked when they met again above Eshebbon. Of course, at the time she had been more surprised by the sudden gain of two or three cup sizes, but Ella had been a lot fitter too. Aneka suspected that she had been so enthusiastic about the exercise then to distract herself from Aneka being away, and right now the exercise was a distraction from sex.

Aneka had to admit that the little redhead was doing well. Lying on her back she was bench pressing a hundred kilos in a steady rhythm, following up from a set of rapid, low weight reps earlier. Clearly the physical effort of shifting the weight was taking its toll, her skin was beaded with sweat, her expression was fixed and determined, and the muscles in her arms, chest, and shoulders were bunching noticeably as she pushed the bar upward. Truth be told, Aneka was thoroughly enjoying the view even if the idea was to keep Ella’s mind away from that kind of thing.

They had, in fact, attracted a small audience. Four or five of the gym users had migrated to closer equipment, and two men and a woman were simply standing watching. Aneka was unsure whether they were watching Ella pumping iron or watching her spotting for Ella, but she was moderately sure that none of them was watching the pretty girl with the big breasts straining and sweating. As far as she could tell, none of the Citizens had a libido worth a damn.

In a way it was kind of refreshing after spending a few years in a society that considered sex to be a recreation to be enjoyed at every opportunity. The Citizens thought of intercourse as a chore, something assigned as a task when there was a need to replace lost population. At the very best they viewed it as a last-gasp alternative to their entertainment of choice; they were pretty much all addicted to what they called cyber-drugs. Aneka had seen them pushing small, coloured plugs into the data slots on their necks, but knew that these pastel-coloured ones were the equivalent of taking a mild sedative compared to the bold-coloured ones which were roughly the same as mainlining heroine.

Right now, through an interface between Aneka’s internal computers and Ella’s implants, she could tell that Ella’s body was coursing with endorphins. That was providing a palliative to the longing she had for the direct nerve stimulation to which she was addicted. She was trying to break that addiction, but the Citizens watching her were hooked with no desire to get off their drug of choice.

Ella pushed upward on the bar she was holding and Aneka saw her brow furrowing, the look of intense concentration, and the slight tremble in her arms. ‘That’s enough, love.’

‘One… more,’ Ella grunted, and started to lower the weights again. Her arms gave out halfway down and the bar landed in Aneka’s palms, stopping instantly.

‘No, I think that’s enough.’ The bar went up and was dropped onto the rests as though it weighed nothing. Aneka noticed the Enforcers looking slightly impressed, though she was not sure whether that was as a result of her display of strength or at how well Ella had done.

Ella, however, pouted. ‘I could’ve managed another.’

‘Before or after the bar crushed your larynx?’

‘After, obviously.’ Ella sat up, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from her face before it got into her eyes.

‘There is a security alert at the surface entrance,’ Al said before Aneka could respond. ‘I believe you should see this.’ A window appeared in her vision field showing security camera images. A slightly flat-chested, black-haired girl was in the surface lobby talking animatedly to two Enforcers. She looked scared out of her mind, and desperate.

‘Abigail? Al, put me through to the current security lead up there.’ She waited for an indicator to appear confirming the connection. ‘Lieutenant, this is Aneka Jansen…’

‘Uh… Miss Jansen, yes, of course, I wasn’t expecting you to… What can I do for you?’

Aneka cringed at the man’s tone; he sounded as scared as Abigail looked. ‘The girl your men are talking to, Abigail Linden of Matlock, yes?’

‘Yes, ma’am. She’s babbling about plague…’

‘There is no way her father would let her out of town without a very serious reason, Lieutenant. Have her transferred to the nearest medical centre. I want her and anyone she’s with checked for any form of disease, and ask Councillor Marsden to meet me there.’

‘Yes, ma’am!’ In the video view she had of the lobby Aneka could see Enforcers suddenly shifting from complacent disregard to action. The place was so hierarchical and downright honest that they would take orders from anyone who seemed like they had authority, never mind someone who they seemed to think was their queen.

‘Come on, Ella,’ Aneka said aloud. ‘We seem to have a problem.’

~~~

Marsden was waiting at the door of the small first-aid facility on the surface when Aneka and Ella arrived. The building had probably been some sort of military administration facility when it had been part of Aldershot Army Base, but now most of the interior had been stripped out to make way for a large but defensible lobby. There was a bank of lifts leading down to the city at the back of that, and the only other rooms were a security room used by the Enforcers and a moderately small, but very functional, medical bay.

‘The techs have checked both of them out,’ Marsden said as the couple approached. ‘Despite her claims, neither of them is infected with anything. On the other hand they both seem worried and the girl is quite insistent that she be allowed to plead her case with Manu Dei. Of course, that’s not possible…’

‘I’ll talk to her,’ Aneka replied, stepping around the Councillor.

‘Good,’ Marsden said. ‘To be honest, we’re having trouble deciphering her accent.’

Abigail’s eyes bulged as she saw Aneka walking toward her. Whether that was surprise at seeing a woman she thought was Ella’s servant, or the sight of said woman in a semi-transparent, Ultraskin leotard was unclear. Whatever, her expression of worry tinged with fear and mild panic gave way to what looked like hope. ‘Aneka! I didn’t think you’d be here, but please, you’ve got to help us!’ Her eyes flicked to Aneka’s right and widened again as she saw Ella dressed in her exercise gear.

‘We’ll do everything we can, Abigail,’ Aneka said. ‘What’s going on?’

The girl swallowed, trying to compose herself, and then began to explain. ‘It started a few days ago. A few people got sick and we figured that it was just some sort of flu, but then the buboes started appearing. Doctor Daventry said he’d never seen it progress so fast, and the drugs didn’t work, and then they started coughing…’

‘Wait, all of them?’ The speaker was a tall man in an outfit with red stripes on his arms: an insignia that denoted medical and emergency staff.

Abigail nodded. ‘Yes, sir. All of them. Old Missus Cooper died soon after that and Dad sent me to get help. He told me I should beg at Manu Dei’s feet if I had to…’

‘That’s not going to be possible,’ Aneka said, ‘or necessary.’ She looked at the medic. ‘Isn’t that kind of a quick progression to the pneumonic form?’

He nodded emphatically, looking perplexed. ‘Sounds like it’s antibiotic resistant and the bubonic form is going directly to pneumonic rather than septicaemic. That’s extremely unusual and potentially very dangerous.’

‘All right, so what do you do about it?’

He looked at her and she could tell that he knew she was not going to like what he was about to say. ‘Well… normally we’d quarantine the town and sterilise after the disease has run…’

Aneka nodded. ‘Normally, but considering that things are now different…?’

He swallowed. ‘We, uh, have some old biological containment vehicles which we could get up there in… maybe a day. They have equipment for creating anti-bacterial and anti-viral agents, and I think we could get a portable nanoviral unit on one in short order. If we can identify the genome we can program a tailored nanophage…’

‘Very good,’ Aneka told him, smiling. She turned to Marsden. ‘I’ll go up there ahead of the transport in the shuttle. I think you should come too, and we’ll need your best infectious disease specialist, hazmat gear, anything else they think might be useful. The shuttle has genetic analysis equipment which Ella can operate. We will take a squadron of Enforcers up with us. We don’t want people leaving or straying in until it’s cleared. Uh… Anything else?’

The Councillor shook her head. ‘I believe that should be everything, ma’am. I’ll start making the arrangements.’

Aneka nodded and turned back to Abigail. ‘You’ll fly up with us…’

‘Fly?!’ It came out as a squeak.

‘Yes, fly. Can your friend there go with the medical team, make sure they get there?’

Bridger had not met Aneka before and was not as surprised as Abigail was at the apparent change in authority. ‘I can do that, ma’am. I’ll lead them up in my truck.’

‘Good man. All right, let’s get moving. Abigail, you come with us. We’ll have you home and this sorted out in no time.’

Shuttle, Flying North.

Abigail was gripping the arm rests of the co-pilot’s seat as though she might float off at any moment, or they might come crashing down out of the sky. This was despite the fact that the ship’s artificial gravity made it feel more or less as though they were quite stationary.

‘It’s perfectly safe, you know?’ Aneka said. ‘I’m quite a good pilot and the weather’s good. This thing could get us into space without any worries.’

‘Space!’

‘We’re not going that high. We’ll be back in Matlock in… twelve minutes.’

‘Good.’ The Reeve’s daughter relaxed a little, probably by an effort of will. ‘Uh… How is it that the Citizens seem to be following your orders?’

‘Ah, that.’ Aneka frowned, deciding on how to explain it, and decided on honesty; Abigail deserved it. ‘We lied to you when we came into town. About where we came from that is. We’re not from the city; we’re from another planet.’

Abigail forced a giggle. ‘Don’t believe you. You’re not green.’

‘Huh. We come from a long way away. A world called New Earth orbiting around another sun, and we came to see where Humanity came from. And then things went a bit wrong. Manu Dei is dead, but she was… Um, she was sort of a relative of mine and now she’s gone the Citizens keep looking to me to tell them what to do. I don’t want them to, but sometimes it’s useful. We’re trying to get them organised to be a bit more… community minded.’

‘You mean like helping us now instead of letting us die and studying the plague afterward.’

‘Like that, yes.’

There was silence for a second and Aneka wondered whether Abigail felt hurt by the deception. But then… ‘Well, that explains why Ella was so nice. And I was half-expecting the Enforcers to just shoot me when we turned up like that, so I guess they are better now than they were.’

As if on cue, Ella walked up from the back and stopped, leaning against Aneka’s flight chair. She grinned at Abigail. ‘If it’s any consolation, our high-tech passengers are sitting there looking ashen as well. It’s freaky that no one here has ever flown before.’

‘The view is kind of beautiful,’ Abigail offered, ‘but I don’t know how you can be so calm.’

‘Put her on a normal aircraft and she isn’t,’ Aneka replied.

‘This has anti-gravity,’ Ella said. ‘It’s perfectly safe. Normal aircraft are just held up by air pressure!’

Aneka laughed. ‘You know, most people would think being held up on magic, physics-breaking forces would be the less safe option.’

‘Huh. How long until we land?’

‘Six minutes.’

‘Fridgy. I’ll go get the Citizens into hazmat gear. Abigail, you should come put a suit on. We don’t want to risk you getting infected if we can avoid it.’

Abigail struggled to her feet, clinging to the back of the chair. ‘What about you?’

‘No need to worry about us,’ Aneka said. ‘We’re aliens, remember?’

‘Aliens don’t get sick?’

‘These aliens don’t,’ Ella replied.

Aneka spotted the road into Matlock a few minutes later and then the gorge the town sat in. It was vaguely Y-shaped, sitting at the junction of three roads at the bend in a river, and there was a large, flat area in the middle of it which they had referred to as the town’s square when they were there before. As Aneka dropped toward it, she cut the main engines and coasted in on thrusters, setting the shuttle down with barely a sound. Still, by the time they were exiting through one of the airlocks a small crowd had formed on the edge of the square and Linden was limping toward them on his cane.

He went straight for Ella, apparently a little confused by her mode of dress, but recognising her and assuming she was in charge. ‘Citizen! You should get back in your, uh, flying machine. It’s not safe. We…’

‘I’m not a Citizen, Reeve Linden,’ Ella said, ‘but these two are, and they’re here to help. And we brought Abigail back, if you can recognise her through the suit.’

‘Not a…’

‘Your daughter can explain later,’ Aneka said. ‘Right now we need to get working on a cure for this plague of yours.’ She looked around at one of the suited figures. ‘Doctor Kaffrey?’

‘Yes, uh, of course,’ the man said, his voice distorted by the speaker on his suit. ‘I’ll need blood samples from the infected, and if I could speak to your town’s doctor?’

Linden’s face clouded. ‘Unfortunately, you can do that while collecting the samples. Joshua fell sick last night.’

Marsden spoke up, apparently starting to take her new job seriously. ‘In that case we have no time to lose. Kaffrey, I’m sure Miss Narrows will help you with the blood work. Reeve Linden, I’m Councillor Holly Marsden. I’ve been put in charge of making the cities more open with the surface and now seems like a good time to begin. I think we should discuss what we’re going to do here.’

Linden’s eyes widened; Councillors did not come out to surface towns. ‘Of course, Councillor. Please come with me.’ He turned and started off in the direction of his home.

‘Ella, will you be okay with Kaffrey?’ Aneka asked.

‘Sure, if we can borrow Abigail to get us to the doctor’s place.’

‘I’ll take you,’ Abigail replied.

‘Right,’ Aneka said. ‘I’m going to make sure things go smoothly between those two.’ And with that she hurried off after Marsden and Linden. She had the feeling that they were both going to be a little wary of the new openness which had suddenly been thrust upon them.

Matlock.

Abigail sat on one of the shuttle’s laboratory chairs keeping out of the way while she watched Ella work. There were a dozen samples to be put into small tubes and then run through the genetic sequencing and analysis machine set against one of the walls. It was made somewhat more difficult by the need to work in a glove box, but Ella worked quickly and silently; she had seen what the disease was doing to its victims and she wanted it dealt with.

‘What is it you’re doing?’ Abigail asked once each sample tube had been carefully set into a slot in a rack attached to the side of the machine.

‘Well, this machine will squeeze out the DNA in the samples,’ Ella replied, ‘and then use something called PCR to make more of it. Then it’ll section up the DNA it finds, take away the Human parts, and from what’s left work out what the bug everyone’s infected with is.’

‘DNA?’

‘Deoxyribonucleic acid. You’ve never heard of that?’

‘No. Should I have?’

Ella hit the start button on the analyser and then looked around toward Kaffrey who was waiting for the results. ‘Kids in the first few years of school back where I come from have heard of DNA, even if they don’t know much about it.’

The scientist gave a shrug. ‘To what end? How does it help them do what they’re meant to do?’

‘They’re six. They don’t know what they want to do.’

‘Want to do?’ Kaffrey looked a little confused. ‘Up here they farm or mine. I was training to be an epidemiologist from the age of ten. I always knew what I was going to do. I’m sure Abigail was the same. Her mother taught her to care for visitors in the guest houses from a young age.’

Ella looked at Abigail and got a nod of agreement. ‘Oh,’ Ella said. ‘Well, we should have results in about a minute.’

The airlock hissed open and Aneka and Marsden appeared, the latter starting to remove her helmet as soon as she had space to do so. ‘Did I hear you say results?’ Aneka asked.

‘Soon,’ Ella replied. ‘We got the samples. I just put them into the machine.’

‘What about the patients?’

‘It’s not good,’ Kaffrey replied. ‘We’re going to lose more of them before we can get a cure replicated. I’ve given them doses of the best general antibiotics we have, but…’

Aneka frowned and nodded. ‘We’re sure it’s plague?’

Kaffrey nodded. ‘It is, but it’s the most vicious strain I’ve ever come across. It seems to spread rapidly through the system and then cross into the lungs from the bloodstream. Once that happens it’s going to kill the subject in two days at the best. The lungs fill with fluids and they start choking… It isn’t a nice way to die.’

The analyser chimed, its screen lighting up with data displays. ‘Well,’ Ella said, ‘let’s see if we can come up with a way to avoid too many more deaths.’

~~~

Abigail was looking uncomfortable as she walked into the cockpit of the shuttle. She fidgeted a little and then sat down in the co-pilot’s chair, frowning.

‘Something wrong?’ Aneka asked.

‘No, nothing.’ Aneka waited for a few seconds and then Abigail said, ‘Well, Doctor Kaffrey and Councillor Marsden have retired for the night, and Ella says I should too because there’s nothing we can do until the medical truck arrives tomorrow.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘And Doctor Kaffrey just undressed and lay down like I wasn’t there, and so did Councillor Marsden, and I don’t have a nightdress, and it wouldn’t be proper. What if Doctor Kaffrey wants… well, companionship…?’

Aneka managed to suppress most of the grin. ‘Have you ever had a Citizen want companionship before?’

‘Uh, well, no. Their guards… I’ve had to entertain them.’ She said it with some distaste.

‘Huh. Well the closest thing there is around here to a guard is me and I’m not going to ask you. Citizens… Let’s just say that they have other methods of fulfilling their needs. You’re quite safe. Leave your shirt on if being naked makes you uncomfortable.’

Abigail blushed; it was rather pretty. ‘I, um, hadn’t thought of that. You don’t mind if I undress here, do you?’

‘You’ve seen me stark naked, girl, why would I mind?’

The blush got deeper. Abigail had displayed something of a fixation with both Aneka’s and Ella’s breasts. Aneka figured that cosmetic enhancements were not something you saw a lot of on Old Earth since the girl seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea of girl-girl sex. She did, however, get up and start taking her clothes off; her jeans anyway and then, with a bit of manipulation, her bra was pulled out from beneath her shirt. Leaving her shirt and panties on, she headed back to lie down on one of the bunks.

Ella came through a minute or so later, grinning. ‘Abigail’s cute when she blushes.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Got good legs too. She should wear skirts more often.’

‘Leave her be. She’s uncomfortable enough about this.’

Ella pouted, dropping into the co-pilot’s seat. ‘I wasn’t going to do anything with her. I’ve got work to keep my mind off… well, my crotch.’ Her face straightened and she bent forward, lowering her voice. ‘This strain of Y. pestis, it’s… I think it was engineered.’

Aneka frowned and turned her seat toward Ella. ‘Someone did this on purpose?’

‘I’m not sure, but I think so. There’s something else. When Kaffrey saw the gene sequence he looked really uncomfortable. Like he recognised it and didn’t like it.’

‘Whatever it is, it came from the city.’ Ella nodded and there was a moment’s silence. ‘Logistically, it had to have been sent out before I killed Yrimtan.’

Ella nodded again. ‘Given time for infection and then the incubation period, and then time for the first obvious symptoms to show up. Yes, but why?’

‘Same reason she was going to kill Gillian and Bash,’ Aneka growled. ‘And why she killed the medics who worked on you. She was making sure that no one who knew about us, about me, was going to tell about it.’

15th August.

Something that looked like a big, armoured bus rolled into the square just after dawn. Kaffrey and Marsden were already up and wearing their suits, and they headed out through the shuttle’s airlock immediately.

Aneka headed back to the bunk room where Abigail was just waking, disturbed by the exit of the two Citizens. Settling at the foot of Abigail’s bunk, Aneka watched as the young girl rubbed her eyes and tried to persuade her brain to function.

‘Abigail, the first people to come down with the plague? Did they have anything in common?’

‘Uh… Well, Missus Cooper was the first to die. Her son was sick and there’s not much in common there. She was pretty old and stayed at home, mostly. The only time she’d go out was to take him his lunch…’ Abigail’s eyes narrowed. ‘Thinking about it, most of the first cases were people with flocks up on the west side.’

Aneka nodded. ‘All right. We’ll get you in a suit. The medics will need your help treating the current victims as soon as they’ve got the cure ready. I’m going to take Ella up to the western pastures and see if we can find a source for this plague.’

‘Be careful up there. With the disease people haven’t been tending their flocks. The ogres are bound to have noticed and they’ll be more bold.’

‘Aneka can handle a few ogres,’ Ella said as she walked up from the back carrying two mugs. ‘Here, try this. It’s coffee. Should help you wake up, especially if you’re not used to it.’

Abigail took the mug and looked at the dark brown liquid uncertainly. She took a sip, swallowed, and then wrinkled her nose. ‘It’s, um, different.’

‘An acquired taste, perhaps,’ Aneka said, taking her own mug from Ella and then downing a huge gulp. She sighed. ‘I’ve definitely acquired it.’

~~~

They had spotted half a dozen dead sheep by the time they had managed to walk through to the section of fields which they had been in before with David, Mark, and Marie. Aneka was quietly fuming.

‘It’s not just that they’ve lost animals and it’s my fault. The fucking monsters are killing things and then just leaving them here to rot!’ Aneka knelt beside the latest dead animal and examined the matted fur over its eyes. It had been killed recently, a sharp object rammed through the top of its skull. ‘Bastards,’ she muttered. ‘I hope they are out in the light. I’ll put a few holes in their skulls.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ Ella countered. ‘Assuming there’s proof that Yrimtan did this, it still wouldn’t be your fault. She’s the one who tried to kill everyone. You couldn’t have known she’d try to do that either because we didn’t know she was alive when we came here.’

Aneka straightened up and stalked off across the field. ‘I’m feeling guilty, don’t bug me with facts.’

Ella giggled. ‘It’s really not your fault, love. There’s no way… Hey, fuck! Something bit me!’

‘We’re in a sheep field, Ella. There’s probably all sorts of things up here that bite… And bubonic plague uses fleas as a vector, right?’

‘Uh-huh,’ Ella replied, and then she bent over at the hips as though she was trying to fold herself in half. She got most of her flexibility from her mother, though Janna practised more and so was better at it. ‘This,’ Ella said, ‘is not a normal flea bite.’

Dropping down beside her, Aneka found the red mark on Ella’s calf soon enough. ‘It looks like a bite…’

‘You have telescopic focus, but not microscopic,’ Ella replied. ‘The wound is too perfect. That’s an injection mark.’

‘And I am detecting a low-powered, distributed node network operating around us,’ Al added. ‘I’m attempting to isolate a central location.’

‘Al says he’s detecting…’ Aneka began and then slapped her hand down on her thigh with a resounding smack.

Ella blinked. ‘If we’re going to do that, I’d like to be the spankee.’

Aneka lifted her hand away from her leg carefully, peering at the black smudge on the heel of her hand. ‘Maybe later, for now you can use your superior vision on this.’

Ella peered at the smudge. ‘It’s… Well it was a microbot. Some sort of fake flea. Long propelling legs and a drill bit for a snout. No sign of any external power source so I’m guessing there’s a hive somewhere where it could recharge. There’s probably more of them.’

‘There is a higher concentration of signals coming from the other side of the wall,’ Al said, and Aneka brushed the robot remains off her hand and vaulted the pile of stones which passed for a dividing line between the fields.

‘Here,’ she said almost immediately. There was a metal cylinder lying beside the stones; a rocket payload of some description from the look of it. She could even see a couple of tiny, black dots on the lip of the port in the side of the thing.

Ella leaned over the wall and looked down. ‘The question is, is that the only one?’

‘The question is, can we close them down and stop them infecting people again?’

‘I can kill this one,’ Al supplied. ‘I have already hacked their command system. It is based on the city network. The transmitter in the shuttle should be capable of blanketing the entire area and taking care of any others.’

‘Al thinks he can close them all down from the shuttle,’ Aneka said aloud. ‘Let’s get out of here. Just the thought of those things is making me itch.’

Ella winced. ‘Your skin’s fake. Try being me.’

Aneka hopped back over the wall and gave Ella a pat on the bottom to get her moving. ‘I’m not sure I could cope with being you, love. I’m sure if I thought about sex that much my head would explode.’

‘Hey! I don’t think about it that much… Well… Normally I don’t.’

~~~

‘We lost three more overnight,’ Kaffrey said. The man looked tired, but rather satisfied despite that statement. ‘However, the remaining victims are beginning to recover and we’re ready to start inoculations tomorrow to make sure no one else gets it. I’ve asked for some volunteers and I’ve got four medi-techs willing to stay up here for a couple of weeks to make sure there are no problems with recovery.’

Aneka nodded. ‘That’s good. And since Abigail isn’t here I can add that Ella and I located the distribution missiles, hacked the microbot controllers, deactivated them, and got rid of the evidence. So there’s no danger of future infection and, I want to make this quite clear, no one gets to know where this bug came from. Ever! Understood?’

Kaffrey went paler than usual and Marsden’s eyes widened. ‘How did you know?’ the Councillor asked.

‘You people have more advanced technology than we do,’ Ella replied, ‘but not advanced enough that we can’t figure out what’s what. And you also have worse poker faces than I do. When we realised the bug had been engineered, and I’m good enough at biology to figure that out, even if the computer isn’t, we went out and looked for the vector.’

‘Point is,’ Aneka said, ‘this was Manu Dei’s doing. You people are the new guard. I won’t have this messing up your chances of working with the people up here. So this was a terrible natural event, a mutation of the bacterium, just like the many others that have occurred down the centuries. It was not created in a lab in Prime City and deployed by an insane, isolationist, control freak.’

Marsden looked over at Kaffrey. Both of them looked a little surprised. ‘We were trying to keep it a secret,’ Kaffrey said. ‘I mean, we thought you’d want to…’

‘Blow up the best chance we have of seeing a stable political system here over the idiocy of one woman?’ Aneka suggested.

‘Well, when you put it like that…’

Aneka smiled, though the expression came nowhere near her eyes which contained a bright spark of sarcasm. ‘Excellent! We’re all on the same page. We’ve established that you lot aren’t going to bullshit us because we are just as smart as you are, and also that you can work with us to get this relationship going.’

‘Okay,’ Marsden said. ‘I guess we can live with that. What’s the plan from here?’

‘Ella and I are going to stay here for a while. In fact, your nursing staff can sleep on the shuttle if they want. They’ll feel less like they’re slumming.’

‘They’d probably appreciate that,’ Kaffrey agreed.

‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka replied, ‘and it should stop the locals seeing your people plugging in their euphoria slugs. We’ll go stay in one of the guest houses. It’ll be nice to sleep in a real bed, and they have pretty good tea.’

Marsden looked at her, eyes widening a little. ‘You never said anything about them having tea here. I haven’t had tea since my last field trip!’

Ella giggled and Aneka burst out laughing. ‘I’m sure Abigail will make a pot before you leave,’ Aneka said.

17th August.

The Sunday gathering in the square was more subdued than usual, in a way. There were fewer people there since many were still recovering from the effects of the disease, but the ones who had come were partying a little harder. There was more alcohol being consumed and the band was playing faster dance tunes. Aneka had hoped that Abigail would sing for them, but no one seemed inclined to sit still for their entertainment.

‘Near-death experiences and the loss of people you care about can lead to celebrating the life you have,’ Ella stated, rather morosely. She had been out of sorts all day. Aneka had noticed the signs: the fidgeting and restlessness; Ella was having trouble overcoming her desires today. And Aneka had offered to take the edge off, but Ella had declined, saying there was nothing wrong, she could handle it herself.

So Aneka danced with several of the men, accepted drinks, and enjoyed herself, while Ella got quietly drunk and watched the younger townspeople wandering off quietly in couples. After a couple of hours, Aneka looked around for Ella and discovered that she had gone.

‘If she is determined to deal with this herself,’ Al said, ‘then it might be best to allow her to do so.’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ Aneka replied. ‘I just hope she doesn’t do anything stupid.’

‘Like what?’

Aneka had no idea and there was Mark offering to take her for a turn at dancing…

~~~

Abigail entered the guest house quietly, heard nothing in the lounge, and so deciding to walk through the small porch and in. She had seen Ella slinking away, looking unhappy, and it was her job to make sure the guests were happy, even if that normally applied to Citizens and Ella had made it quite clear that she did not want to be treated as such.

She heard a sound from upstairs and decided that a cup of tea was in order. She had heard Aneka make a joke about Ella’s tolerance to alcohol. In truth, she was not much better herself and she found a good, strong cup of tea often made her feel much better when she had a buzz on like she had right this minute. They were all friends now; she could have a nice cup of tea with her friend and maybe Ella would tell her about the stars.

The idea of being out there in the blackness of the night sky fascinated Abigail, to be honest. She would have given anything to go up there into space. Okay, so it was frightening. She had been terrified of the shuttle at first. The more she thought about it, the way it had glided through the air on invisible strings, the ‘anti-gravity’ system, the more she wanted to know more about it. She wanted to fly among the stars, but she doubted she would ever get to do so.

She poured boiling water into the teapot and turned, letting out a squeak of surprise as she found Ella standing in the doorway of the little kitchen. The redhead was naked. Just standing there with one hand on the doorframe. Abigail wondered how long she had been standing there, saying nothing.

‘You know,’ Ella said, ‘you’ve got nice legs, you should show them off more.’

Abigail blushed. She was wearing her Sunday party outfit; the weather was good enough, warm even though it was after dark. Her best dungarees in dark-blue denim, flat running shoes, and a little dyed tank top she had bought from one of the travelling salesmen because she liked the swirling pattern. It did show her legs, that was true. ‘Thank you. I, uh, made some tea. It always helps me when I’ve had a bit too much to drink.’

‘That’s not…’ Ella began, and then seemed to change her mind. She smiled and said, ‘Would you bring it upstairs? I thought you were Aneka so I came down, but I’m not that warm…’ She turned, walking away with an obvious swing in her hips.

‘Sure.’ Abigail set out cups and some milk in a jug, and then followed Ella up the narrow stairs. She found the redhead sitting up in bed, the sheets pulled up to her waist. Those magnificent, pale breasts were on full display, and Abigail had to stop herself staring. Her own chest had never graduated beyond training bras; both Ella and Aneka had the kind of substantial bosom that Abigail aspired to. And then there was the slightly unnatural shape. She had never seen anything like them.

Putting down the tray, Abigail poured the tea and sat down on a straight-backed chair to drink. The first sip made her feel less fuzzy. ‘What’s it like? In space, I mean.’

Ella smiled and took a drink of her tea. ‘It’s… contradictory. It’s cold and hot, and dark and too bright to look at. It’s incredibly dangerous, and it’s fantastically beautiful.’

‘I’d love to see it.’

‘Maybe you will, but I thought the shuttle was scary.’

‘It was, but… I think it would be worth it. What about the world you come from?’

‘New Earth? It’s a lot like this world. It was chosen because it was like here. There’s no moon, and it’s a bit warmer. The weather is a lot more stable than it is here. And just about everyone lives in a city, but the cities are aboveground, not under it.’

‘What about farming?’

‘There are farms, but our technology is closer to the cities here so fewer people are needed on them to make enough food. I live in a huge city called Yorkbridge with Aneka. I work in a university with a bigger population than Matlock. Much bigger in fact.’

‘It sounds… wonderful.’

Ella gave a little shrug; Abigail’s eyes were immediately drawn to the bounce of her breasts. ‘It’s normal for me. I think Matlock is wonderful. It’s like… It’s a simpler life. There are things I miss when I’m away, but I like it here.’ Ella saw Abigail’s eyes move down. I shouldn’t… ‘You seem fascinated with these.’

Abigail’s blush went all the way down to her throat. ‘I’m kind of small. I wish I had bigger… I wish I was bigger.’

‘I had mine made bigger. Some surgical plastic foam was grown under the skin to give them a better shape.’

‘That sounds… Aren’t they kind of hard with plastic in them?’

Don’t do this, Ella. You know you shouldn’t. ‘It’s a very light foam. Not hard at all. Try one.’

‘What?’ Abigail’s eyes widened.

‘Touch one. I don’t mind, really.’

Curiosity got the better of the girl, and she stood up, moving closer and reaching out tentatively. Ella held herself rigid, willing herself not to shudder as Abigail’s slim fingers made contact, squeezing gently. ‘That feels just like normal,’ Abigail said, her voice tiny.

Ella swallowed and covered Abigail’s hand with hers, pressing it harder against her breast. ‘You barely touched it.’ Even to her, her voice sounded husky. ‘See? It’s quite soft.’ Stop now, before this goes too far.

‘Y-yes.’

Ella looked up into the girl’s bright, blue eyes and knew she could not stop herself. Reaching out, she snaked a hand around Abigail’s neck and pulled her closer.

~~~

Aneka opened the inner door of the porch and stopped, blinking, as Abigail came to a grinding halt in front of her, eyes wide.

‘Abigail? Hi. Is Ella okay?’ A flare of worry burned through Aneka’s mind as the dark-haired girl gave a tiny whimper and then scurried past toward the door. Had there been tears in her eyes? ‘Abigail?’ But the front door was closing and Abigail was gone. Frowning, Aneka started up the stairs.

‘Aneka… You’re back.’ Ella was sitting up in bed. The bed was rather more rumpled than Aneka would have expected, or wanted to see. And Ella looked… guilty.

‘I just saw Abigail leaving. She looked upset.’ Ella’s fists tightened and the guilt shifted toward worry. ‘Ella… You didn’t…?’

‘I… I tried… She was there and…’

Aneka’s voice rose; she could not help it. ‘She’s barely out of her teens! She’s not into women! What the Hell were you thinking?!’

Ella shrunk back into the bed, pulling the covers up. ‘I wasn’t… I tried to stop. I…’

‘You just had to wait. I’d have helped. I offered this morning and you said no, and then you seduce… Damn it! You knew it was wrong and you went and did it… You cheated on me! You cheated on me with someone who didn’t even want it!’

Ella let out a wail and burst into tears, but Aneka was in no mood for consoling her.

‘Fuck it! The poor girl will be mortified. You… You sort yourself out.’ Turning on her heel, Aneka left the room. A second later her boots could be heard tramping down the stairs at a near run.

‘Aneka!’ Ella wailed, but the only response she got was the slamming of the front door.

18th August.

It had taken fifteen minutes to persuade Abigail to allow Aneka into her room. Her father was confused; his daughter had refused to tell him what was wrong and he was not a terribly empathetic man at the best of times. He had been willing to let Aneka try to talk to Abigail because he did not really know how to get her to open up.

Then it had taken almost an hour to persuade the little brunette that she was not to blame for what had happened, that Aneka did not blame her at all, and that she had done nothing wrong. All the while Aneka had wanted to quietly strangle Ella. By the end of it she was just holding Abigail in her arms and letting her cry. Eventually the sobbing subsided and Abigail fell asleep; Aneka sat there on the edge of her bed and held her, and the anger subsided.

Ella had been wrong, in every way possible, but she had had something done to her that had diminished her capacity to behave properly. It was an excuse, nothing more, and she really hoped that Ella was not going to use it to try to worm out of her responsibility. However, Ella was also a victim and Aneka was being cruel to heap all the blame on her. If anyone deserved that it was Yrimtan and she had already paid for her cruelty.

There were noises out in the hallway just after dawn. Aneka’s sensitive hearing picked up urgent tones in the voices which someone else would not have heard. Reeve Linden was talking to someone, and he was worried. Wondering whether there had been another case of plague, Aneka laid Abigail down on the bed and slipped out.

Linden was talking to two men, both looking tired. He turned as she approached, his face creased into a frown of worry. ‘Miss Jansen. I’m sorry, did we wake you?’

‘I wasn’t asleep. Abigail is. What’s wrong?’

The Reeve sighed. ‘A truck has been found about a kilometre outside of town to the north. It looks like there were a number of Citizens on it as well as some guards. The men are dead, but there is evidence of women and they are missing…’

‘Ogres?’

‘We believe so. Probably quite a large group to have taken on an armed transport.’

Aneka rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had been up too long, but if they were to find the women there was no time to lose. ‘Can one of these men take me to the truck? I’ll take it from there.’

‘It’s too dangerous,’ Linden replied urgently. ‘We’ll get a party together and…’

‘I can move faster on my own, and I can take on a group of ogres. Trust me. I need to stop at the ship and get my weapons. I’ll meet one of you two on the north road in fifteen minutes, all right?’ She used her firm voice, the one she had employed for giving orders in the Army.

‘As you say,’ Linden replied.

~~~

The transport was a wreck at the side of the road, one wheel detached from the front axle entirely and the back door of the rear cabin ripped off its hinges. Aneka frowned at the damage. ‘Ogres did this?’

‘Who else?’ her companion replied. His name was Lofts and he seemed to have very little in the way of imagination.

‘Ogres commonly use anti-materiel weapons?’

‘What’s one of those?’

Aneka looked around, spotting a section of wall at the side of the road where stones had been knocked out of place. ‘Never mind.’ She walked over to the wall and looked over it. Her edge detection software picked out boot prints in the grass and mud on the other side. ‘They went this way. I’m going after them. You’d better get back into town. Go to the shuttle and tell one of the Citizens that Miss Jansen wants a team of Enforcers up here as soon as possible. If they argue, tell them that Citizens are in danger, but they won’t.’

Lofts did not look particularly confident, but he nodded. ‘You sure you don’t want me to come?’ He hefted his shotgun. ‘I can use this, y’know?’

Aneka vaulted over the wall. ‘No offence, but you’d slow me down and I’m better suited to this kind of work.’ With that she set off at a run across the grass in the direction the ogres had gone.

Lofts blinked at her speed across the uneven ground carrying two pistols and a huge rifle. ‘Okay then,’ he said. ‘I guess I would at that.’

~~~

Ella sat on the couch in the living room of the small cottage and stared at the cup of tea she had managed to make an hour earlier. It was, she figured, cold by now and she was not really sure whether cold tea was drinkable. It did not look drinkable. It looked, in fact, disgusting, but she was still contemplating drinking it because the alternative was getting up to make another pot and then failing to drink that.

She had cried herself to sleep the night before. Then she had woken up, found no sign of Aneka in their bed, and cried some more. Then she had got up, washed her face, dressed, and walked down the stairs, hoping all the while that Aneka would be on the couch. When she was not there had been more tears, and it was hard to make tea through a haze of water.

She had, she thought, really fucked up. Aneka had really been angry. Not the kind of angry where you were trying to make a point, but real, proper, ‘How could you do this?’ anger. And she was right! Ella knew she could make excuses for her behaviour, but when it came down to it they were just excuses. She should have told Abigail to leave as soon as she saw her. She had known she was going to screw up if the girl stayed…

Ella’s head lifted at the sound of the front door opening. She held her breath, her heart hammering in her chest. Then Abigail walked in, stopped briefly to look at her, and then looked quickly away as she started toward the kitchen.

Thinking it best, Ella stayed put. ‘I, uh… I didn’t think I’d see you today, Abigail.’

‘It’s my duty to see to the houses and the guests in them,’ Abigail replied. ‘Have you eaten?’

‘I’m not hungry. I could use a cup of tea. I made one earlier… It’s gone cold.’ Ella swallowed. ‘You haven’t seen Aneka, have you?’

‘Last night. She talked to me. When I woke up, Dad said she had left town just after dawn.’

Oh Vashma! She’s left me! ‘D-did he say where she was going?’

There was a pause and the sound of water being run into the kettle. Then, ‘No.’

Ella pulled herself up straight and forced the tears back. She was not really sure she had any left to shed anyway. Well, if Aneka had gone then she could at least do one thing right. Standing up, she walked through to the kitchen doorway. Abigail looked at her, a flicker of fear in her eyes before she got it under control.

Ella took a deep breath. ‘Abigail, I’m sorry. I did an absolutely terrible thing last night. I knew what was going to happen as soon as I saw you, and I should have told you to go before it did. There was no excuse for it. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know I’m sorry. I’m… not quite myself at the moment and I’d never normally do something like that to someone I thought might not like it. I’m sorry.’

‘But I did like it,’ Abigail mumbled, turning her back on Ella and watching the kettle boil.

‘Sorry?’

‘I did like it. Even when you made me lick… I did like it, but it’s wrong and I shouldn’t have.’

Ella’s brain did a double take. Abigail was feeling guilty?! Oh, that just makes it worse! Ella took a step forward, starting to reach for the girl, then thought better of it and backed away. ‘Um… Look, Abigail… It’s not for me to question your beliefs or anything, especially after what I did, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying sex, no matter what gender your partner. It’s the most natural thing in the world. Humans evolved to enjoy it. Most animals don’t so there has to be a reason we do, right? I could give you the scientific theories on it, but the fact is, Humans like sex and there is absolutely no reason for you to feel guilty about it.’ She sighed. ‘Me, I can feel guilty about it because I hurt you doing it, but not you. Okay?’

Abigail turned around again. Maybe it was the vehemence of the statement, or that the brunette really wanted to believe what she was hearing, but she managed to crack a bleak little smile. ‘I… guess.’ The kettle started to whistle and she took it off the heat quickly. She looked back, eyes widening. ‘What if I never find a man that can do that to me?’

Ella laughed. ‘I’ve had a lot of practice. You will. You’ll find some young man and fall in love with him, and that can make a lot of difference. Believe me. Aneka’s not as skilled as a lot of people I’ve been with, but the way I feel about her makes everything…’ Her voice choked off and she had to swallow hard to force the tears back again. ‘Everything is better with her.’

~~~

Aneka crouched in a hedge line watching what had probably once been a small farm complex about one hundred and twenty metres west of her position through the scope of her rifle. There had been two large barns there at one time, but they were now nothing more than the remains of metal frames. There was also a stone-built farmhouse and that seemed to be the centre of operations for the little band she was currently assuming had taken the women.

There were ogres there. She counted ten, but there might have been a few more. None of them seemed to be armed with anything more threatening than a pickaxe. The more worrying thing was the more normal Humans she had spotted. The two she had seen were dressed in Enforcer armour and carried the same gravity-pulse weapons she had seen before. Those were going to be more of an issue and she was not sure even the rifles explained the broken truck. There had to be something bigger in there.

‘Al, I’ll need full tactical analysis running. I’m going to take out as many as I can with the rifle and then go in with Bessie and Claret.’ Bessie was her antimatter blaster; Claret was the one machine pistol she had managed to rebuild from the two matched ones she had. She still had not named the rifle.

‘Tactical map, such as it is, compiled,’ Al replied. ‘I’ve marked the visible targets and lines of sight.’

‘All right, let’s get on with this. It’s probably going to get messy.’

‘Good luck.’

Aneka sighted up on her first target, a man in full, black armour and helmet. He was facing away from her, talking to a pair of ogres. She squeezed off a round, the air ripped open, and the man fell. Swinging quickly to her next target she fired again, dropping her second black-clad victim.

There was uproar. The ogres were clearly not well trained, or even particularly combat ready. Several let out yells, some started looking around for the shooter. None of them seemed to have a clue what to do. Swinging her rifle back, Aneka picked off the two who had been talking to her first victim, and then swept around for another target.

Someone was more efficient, however. There was the sound of glass shattering and then something that felt like a baseball shot out of a canon hit Aneka in the chest. Warning indicators flashed through her vision field and she was pushed violently backward. She rolled, coming back up on her knees and lining up the shot before her attacker could realign his sights. Through the high-powered scope on her rifle she watched as his head turned into little more than mush inside his helmet. Then she ducked back into the hedge, running north through the thick bushes.

Slinging her rifle, she pulled her pistols, Bessie in her right hand, Claret in the left, and pushed back through into the field. There was a shout from her left side and she swung Claret up, the squad of ogres who had gone out after her appearing in her in-vision sighting window. She was not too worried about them, but she laid down an arc of suppression fire anyway, the machine pistol spitting out hyper-dense darts which flashed into plasma as they ploughed into flesh. Her attention was on the house and its windows in case another Enforcer appeared. None did and she turned her attention on the ogres fully. Bursts of darts and blasts of anti-protons wiped them out before they got within fifty metres of her.

She circled the building, found a door, and fired Bessie into it. Bits of burning wood exploded into the room beyond and Aneka yelled, ‘If there’s anyone in there who’d like to get older, I suggest they come out with their hands raised.’ There was a roar of anger, which very effectively announced the charging ogre. Aneka shot him in the face. ‘Anyone else want to be a hero?’

‘Back off, or we kill the women.’ The voice was amplified and had a synthesized overtone, which likely identified it as coming from an Enforcer. So there was one of them alive still at least.

‘If you kill the women there’ll be nothing stopping me from demolishing the building to get to you.’

‘You don’t have the weaponry…’

Aneka fired into the room. It was a calculated risk, but she figured they had their hostages up on the second floor where it would be harder to escape. There were several shouts, a cry of pain.

‘This is an anti-proton blaster, built by the Xinti. I don’t know whether Manu Dei mentioned them, but they were damned good at building weapons.’

‘It’s an estimation,’ Al said, ‘but the Enforcer is probably on the left side of the room.’

‘I’ll take your estimation over anyone else’s facts.’ She fired again, blasting out the window on the left side and then launching two more rounds in through the new hole. Twin explosions rocked the room inside. ‘Come out,’ Aneka yelled. ‘Hands in the air. Or else.’ It sounded really bad once she had said it, but there was no turning back now.

Besides, it worked. A few seconds later the ogres, followed by a dazed-looking Enforcer, walked out of the building, unarmed and with their hands raised. Aneka backed away slowly, covering them with her weapons as they went.

‘I’m receiving a transmission from a Prime City aircraft,’ Al said. ‘It’s Councillor Marsden requesting coordinates.’

‘Marsden? Okay, well, better late than never. Send them the coordinates and put her through.’ Marsden’s face appeared in a window in Aneka’s vision field. She looked rather tense. ‘Councillor, I didn’t know you actually had any aircraft.’

‘We don’t,’ Marsden replied, ‘exactly. This was an experimental anti-gravity transport we developed. I’m not qualified to fly it, but neither is anyone else. I take it from your composed demeanour that you’ve resolved the situation without us.’

‘I wouldn’t quite put it that way. I was really not sure what I was going to do with seven ogres and an Enforcer, to be honest. Your Citizens likely need medical help.’

‘We’re en route. We’ll be there in… two minutes if I can keep this thing in the air that long.’

‘Good,’ Aneka replied, ‘but I’m driving back.’

~~~

Ella dismissed the text she was reading in-vision and turned toward the porch door as she heard the outer one open. She told herself, firmly, that she was expecting Abigail to walk in, but her breathing stopped anyway as she waited. When the porch door finally opened a tiny, strangled sob escaped her anyway.

‘Not quite the greeting I was expecting,’ Aneka said. She started taking her rifle off her back, looking quizzically at Ella.

‘I wasn’t sure you were coming back.’

‘What?’ The rifle was placed on the floor and she followed it with her gun belts.

‘You were really angry, and you were right to be, and I made Abigail feel terrible, though I think that’s sorted out now, and you said I cheated on you, and I sort of did because I knew it was wrong and you wouldn’t approve and I did it anyway and…’ She had to stop to draw breath which gave Aneka a point to get in.

‘You talked to Abigail?’

Ella nodded, her eyes fixed on Aneka. ‘She came over to tidy, would you believe, and I talked to her, and she was feeling guilty for enjoying the sex, and I told her she had no reason to feel guilty, and she seemed to accept that even if she didn’t think she should have done it, and we talked and I think we kind of made up a bit, and then she went and I’ve been waiting and you didn’t come back and I didn’t know where you were and…’

Dumping her jacket, Aneka sat down beside Ella and grabbed her shoulders. ‘Please, Ella, stop for breath. Yes, I was angry with you. Yes, you screwed up. But it sounds like you’ve apologised properly to Abigail and I know you wouldn’t have done it if my twin hadn’t fucked you over in the first place.’

‘Yes, but…’

‘No buts. I forgive you. I certainly wasn’t going to leave you, you little idiot.’ Ella let out an incoherent little sobbing sound and Aneka pulled her into a tight hug. ‘Of course, it’s no sex for a month and you have to sleep at the foot of the bed.’

‘Okay,’ Ella replied in a tiny voice.

‘Good grief! You really did think I’d gone for good. Where did you think I was going to go? I can’t get home without the Hyde.’

‘But… This is your home. Earth. The real one. You were born here.’

‘Aneka Jansen was born here. I was born on a planet in the Negral system which doesn’t even exist anymore. My home is on New Earth, with you.’

‘Thank you.’ Tiny voice again, but there was no point in saying anything else; Ella was sobbing quietly into Aneka’s shoulder. There really was nothing else to say.

Part Two: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Prime City, Old Earth, 19.10.526 FSC, 9th September 3186.

‘We have received an acknowledgement message from Harriamon,’ Harper said. ‘It appears that our tachyon transceiver system works according to your specifications.’

Aneka gave him a smile, which he seemed rather pleased by. ‘Was there any doubt it would? Aggy gave you the specs, I had every confidence in your ability to build the thing.’ He had come up to Yrimtan’s rooms to tell her the news since Ella and Gillian were there. So was Bashford having finally got over his own addiction, more or less.

‘What did the message actually say?’ Bashford asked.

‘Basically,’ Harper said, ‘“We have received your message and are forwarding the contents to New Earth.” As I said, an acknowledgement of receipt. There was a message following it, somewhat larger and encrypted. That was addressed to Doctor Gilroy.’ He produced a small memory stick and handed it to her. ‘I took the liberty of transferring it to this.’

‘Oh… Thank you, Councillor,’ Gillian replied, taking the stick and frowning at it.

‘Ten credits says it’s from Ape,’ Aneka said.

‘Probably,’ Gillian agreed.

‘I believe you are all scheduled to travel to the Eastern City today,’ Harper said.

‘We’re leaving in… just over an hour,’ Aneka replied.

Harper nodded. ‘It’s not a long trip, about forty minutes. One of the Councillors will be waiting to receive you, Wei Lin.’

‘Is that a Chinese name?’ Ella asked.

‘I believe so.’

‘Huh.’ Ella looked at Aneka. ‘It does have a sound like Rimmic.’

High-speed Train Between Prime and Eastern Cities.

There were no windows on the train, but from what Aneka understood, the view was not exactly spectacular. They were rocketing down an evacuated, nanofibre reinforced Plascrete tunnel. There were no lights out there and it was all pretty boring. The VIP carriage on the train was, however, very comfortable and came with computer terminals and workstations, and big, comfortable chairs if you just wanted to sit and chat.

Gillian used the time to view the message she had received from Harriamon. Bashford sat in his chair, near Gillian, but not watching what she was doing. He was being very attentive having been left with a lot of guilt over the way he had behaved immediately after Yrimtan had thrown him in with Gillian. Gillian had tried saying she forgave him, she had tried talking to him about it, and now she was hoping he would just get over it.

Ella was also over her addiction to the neurostim effect; Aneka was thankful for that. However, the girl had been left with a higher libido than ever, which Aneka was hoping would wear off eventually. As it was, Ella was disappointed that there was not a little more privacy since she would have liked to have had sex on a supersonic, underground train.

‘Well,’ Gillian said as she emerged from the headset she had been using, ‘it was from Ape.’ Ape Gibbons was her ex-partner, the father of her son, David, who everyone called Monkey for obvious reasons. Ape was the captain of a battleship and they had last seen him in Harriamon’s orbital naval base. ‘Basically there was an “I’m glad you’re alive” message which I’m to pass on to David. There was also a message for all of us regarding re-entering Harriamon space. Apparently there have been three more attacks on ships in the system. So far, whenever they get there they find a wreck and no sign of the attacker.’

‘Nothing?’ Bashford said, frowning.

‘Nothing at all. They used a rather inadvisable warp manoeuvre to get to the last one within forty minutes of receiving the distress call. Still nothing. The press are running with various stories, including the Xinti and the Ghost Fleet, of course.’

‘Getting there that quickly there should have been something. Nothing I know of could get out of sensor range that quickly. Something with that sort of acceleration has a big emission signature.’

Gillian shrugged slightly. ‘Xinti reactionless drives don’t, and they had very effective stealth systems.’

‘And the Ghost Fleet would just vanish where they came from,’ Ella put in.

‘Except,’ Aneka said, ‘that the attacks don’t fit the profile for the Ghost Fleet, do they? These ships are destroyed; the Ghost Fleet disables the ship, kills the crew in various horrible ways, and then leaves, taking a few people when they go. And I don’t believe it’s the Xinti. I don’t think it’s their style either.’

‘Currently it’s a mystery,’ Gillian said, ‘but Ape said we should be careful when we go home and avoid letting anyone know exactly when we will arrive. He thinks we could be a prime target.’

Aneka shrugged. ‘We should be used to that by now.’

‘We should,’ Gillian replied, ‘but I, for one, will never get comfortable with the idea that someone wants to kill me.’

Eastern City.

Wei Lin was a petite oriental woman who managed to convey considerable authority despite being shorter than Ella and Gillian. She came with the full ‘beautiful Chinese girl’ package, including waist-length, jet-black hair and dark brown eyes, and she stood on the platform waiting for them with her hands clasped demurely in front of her. There were also four Enforcers behind her who snapped to attention as soon as Aneka stepped off the train.

‘Greetings,’ she said in perfect, unaccented English, ‘and welcome to the City of the East. I am Councillor Wei Lin and I will be happy to be your guide through our glorious city.’

‘Good… evening, I think,’ Aneka said, since the little speech had mostly been addressed at her. ‘I’m Aneka Jansen, this is Doctor Gillian Gilroy, Ella Narrows, and Leo Bashford. Doctor Gilroy and Miss Narrows are here to study your culture and history. Mister Bashford and I are just the hired help.’

Wei Lin’s composure slipped a little, but she rallied quickly. ‘Of course.’ Her attention shifted to Gillian.

‘Aneka is rather more than “hired help,”’ Gillian pointed out. ‘She’s our advisor on the way things were on pre-war Earth.’ She gave Bashford a quick grin. ‘Bash is just here because he looks pretty though.’

Wei Lin smiled; at least she had a sense of humour. ‘Councillor Harper indicated that you would like to see the city and one of our surface facilities, but it is early evening here and I would suggest that you spend some time with our archives tonight and proceed with your tour tomorrow. We have prepared a meal of locally produced ingredients which we can serve whenever you wish, and Councillor Harper suggested that we put you up in Manu Dei’s suite aboveground.’ She glanced toward Aneka as she added the last; she had obviously met Yrimtan at least once, and that probably meant she was fairly high ranking.

‘I’m not her,’ Aneka said flatly. ‘We were… related, but we’re very different people.’

The Councillor nodded. ‘You appear to have a better sense of humour. Let us get you settled in. We have historical information going back to the foundation of the city, and more anecdotal material from before that. I believe you will find it most informative.’

‘I’m sure we will,’ Gillian said.

10th September.

It was after midnight local time, but no one was tired; the eight-hour time shift was throwing their body clocks out. Gillian was still working her way through the historical database, particularly the pre-foundation material which she seemed to be finding very interesting. Bashford was supplying her with drinks and, as he put it, looking pretty for her. Ella’s main work would be done in the morning when they had people to talk to. She had gone over some of the more modern data on population density, health, and lifespans, but now she was standing beside Aneka at one of the large windows in their bedroom looking out over the buildings below and the bay stretching out beyond them.

‘This was mainland Hong Kong,’ Aneka said, her voice soft so as not to disturb the mood. The lights were out in the room and there was very little light coming up from below. They were maybe two hundred metres above ground level. ‘It was a huge, thriving city in my time. Kind of the meeting place between East and West. Now they have one tower block and we’re in it.’

‘Were you ever here, before?’

‘Once. For about… six hours. We had a stop off and I took the time to look around. That was mainly on the island though. It was… vibrant, I guess. Lots of people, lots of activity.’

‘There’s still some activity down there.’

‘Huh… Seriously, that’s a slow Sunday in a sleepy town in Iowa in comparison.’

‘Right. I don’t know what Iowa was, but I get the picture.’

‘Well, the other city is somewhere in that region. Maybe you’ll get to see it.’

‘Maybe. Harper said that the Western City didn’t have much to offer. He said that continent was the worst hit. They’ve had geological disasters on top of the bombing. The west coast got hit with some huge tidal wave about a decade after the war. The east coast was carpet-bombed with kinetic impactors as well as some strategic nukes.’

‘I guess North America was a primary target.’

‘Uh-huh.’ There was a second of silence and then, ‘I should get some sleep, but I’m not tired.’

Aneka chuckled. ‘Is that a hint?’

‘More of a suggestion.’

Unsealing her suit, Aneka said, ‘Well I guess this time I can take it.’

~~~

The main difference between the two cities seemed to be the far larger building above ground on the eastern one. It gave easier access to surface dwellers, so that was convenient.

The houses were all built of wood, but Wei Lin assured them that they were a combination of ancient building techniques and modern technology. Not one building had ever succumbed to an earthquake since the city had been built. Aneka looked up at the tower they had slept at the top of and wondered whether it had the same resilience.

The two couples split up, Wei Lin going with Gillian and Bashford, and a new interpreter being supplied for Aneka and Ella. She was a surface dweller, Chan Mei, tall and slim with a mix of features that suggested some occidental parentage. For one thing she had strawberry-blonde hair which was not exactly common in oriental people. She was dressed in a very pretty, Chinese-style dress, and Aneka got the impression it was brand new and had been given to her just so she could be as presentable as possible to the visitors. Importantly she spoke perfect English with a slight accent, and Mandarin which the locals spoke.

The other thing Chan Mei knew was where all the old people with interesting stories to tell lived. Ella sat and listened carefully to all of them, and then the translation from Chan Mei, and slowly began to smile as they went along. Aneka’s universal translation software was puzzling its way through the language as they went, but it was apparent that Ella was getting more than a few words.

‘It really is a lot like Rimmic,’ she said as they walked from one house to another. ‘I’m not getting everything, but I could possibly get by here.’

‘Sorry,’ Chan Mei said, ‘what is “Rimmic”?’

‘It’s one of the languages we use where I come from. Aneka told me it sounded like your Mandarin, and it does. I’m no linguist, but I’d say it’s derived from it. Simplified a bit, maybe. Some of the usual vowel shifts and changes you’d expect over a thousand years of divergence, but very similar.’

‘So, you can understand what is being said to you?’

‘Not enough to dispense with your services,’ Ella replied, smiling. She got a very bright smile back in return. Aneka wondered what they were paying the girl to do this job.

‘I am glad of that, and I think you will find this next man most interesting, and far harder to understand. He is over one hundred years old. The Citizens below are treating him with some of their best medicines to maintain his health because he is such a great source of knowledge passed down by word of mouth.’

They stopped in front of a small gate in a fence, Chan Mei putting her hand on the catch. ‘He is very old, and must stay in bed much of the time even with the medicines. Also, he tends to be… uh, huài xīnyǎn de?’

‘Irascible?’ Ella suggested.

‘Yes! Please be patient with him. His name is Chan Nianzu.’ She pushed the gate open and started into the garden beyond.

‘A relative?’ Aneka asked.

‘My great-grandfather, though everyone in the family calls him “Grandfather.”’

The garden was beautifully maintained, with a couple of rhododendron bushes and a lot of carefully mown grass. There was even a small carp pond, though it appeared to have no fish in it; maybe that was a little too much for the family to afford. The house behind it was two stories high and built a little like a pagoda with a wide, open front porch on which was sitting a woman in her sixties or seventies who smiled at them as Chan Mei escorted them past and in.

Chan Nianzu occupied a room on the ground floor with a window which overlooked the garden, though whether he ever got to look out of it was another matter. He was sitting up in bed with a bank of pillows propping up his back and head. He looked every bit of his hundred plus years, completed with wrinkled, yellowing skin replete with liver spots and an entirely bald pate. He peered at the three women entering his room with watery eyes, and then remembered the glasses hung around his neck on a cord.

‘Zhèxiē yóukè nǐ dāyìngle, sūnnǚ ma?’ He had a strong voice still, the accent rendering his words virtually indecipherable even to Aneka’s software. There was an exchange of rapid Mandarin. Aneka heard her name and Ella’s in there and figured they had been introduced. Then the old man said, ‘It is a… pleasure to meet you.’ His accent was thick, but he could obviously speak some English.

Ella gave him her brightest smile. ‘Sher shou omen de ronshing.’

He blinked at her, frowned, and then there was another exchange of Mandarin and Chan Mei said, ‘Grandfather says that the honour is his, and that your Mandarin sounds strange. I explained that you spoke a language like Mandarin, and he says that your “Rimmic” must come from the time before the Demon War when the People went to the stars.’

‘I would very much like to hear about that,’ Ella replied.

Chan Nianzu looked rather pleased that she did. He waved them into chairs, making sure that Ella sat nearest to him. Chan Mei sat opposite them and he started speaking as though he was very used to recounting tales of the long past. With his great-granddaughter translating, they got the story.

‘Long ago,’ Chan Mei said, ‘this land was called China, a land with a long history, going back thousands of years. You understand that this is half-legend he is telling us? It was passed down through many generations. China was ruled by kings and emperors, but always there was the Bureaucracy making sure everything ran smoothly, and eventually the last of the emperors died and the Bureaucracy ruled the land for the People.’

Well, it was kind of true, Aneka thought, in a very simplistic manner.

‘In that time a great gift fell from Heaven. It was the means to travel among the stars, and even though the western lands wanted to keep it for themselves, the People were given the gift too. It became a time of great peace on Earth because no man needed to fight his neighbour for land or… um, resources. The People and the inhabitants of greatest of the western lands sent many ships out among the stars. Grandfather says that there were several of our ancestors among those who left to go to colonies on other worlds. Some returned, much richer than when they left. Others stayed and prospered there.’

‘That explains a lot,’ Aneka said. ‘If China and America were the biggest exporters of people, then the Chinese ended up creating Rimmic and the Hani script, and I’ve always thought Federal sounds more like American English.’

Chan Mei translated what she had said and the old man laughed and continued his story.

‘Grandfather says that he heard the word “America” used once for the western land. Like “China” it is a name that has been lost in time. He says the prosperity of the new age ended when the Demons were discovered. They had attacked some of our… trading partners and much wealth was put into building warships. But the Demons were powerful, with terrible weapons. It is said they were twenty feet tall and men turned to dust just from looking at them. The war went on for decades, but the Demons finally came here. They threw fire and huge rocks down from the heavens. Of those who survived that… torrent, many became sick. The sky was black as night for a whole year. The crops failed and there was snow in the summer. Animals and people gave birth to monsters that lived for only a few minutes before dying, or were stillborn. The Demons had brought Hell to the Earth… Then, after ten years, Manu Dei came and made the world well again.’ The old man looked at Aneka, his eyes narrowing. He said something which Chan Mei translated as, ‘He says that he saw Manu Dei once, many years ago, and you look very much like her.’

‘She was… a distant relative,’ Aneka replied. ‘I only met her the once.’

The old man let out a cackling laugh after hearing the translation and his reply came back as, ‘Now that she is gone he says that he can say that you are better looking.’

Aneka laughed. ‘Thank you.’

‘And you have a better sense of humour. He says that Miss Narrows is very beautiful too. She reminds him of his wife.’ Chan Mei blushed a little and combed a hand through her hair. ‘I get my hair and a little of my looks from her.’ The blush deepened as he continued speaking. She looked like she did not really want to translate, but felt it was her duty. ‘He says he has always had a thing for the red hair.’

Ella giggled and Aneka said, ‘Yeah, you just can’t beat a redhead.’

~~~

By the time they got back to their rooms in the tower, Aneka was getting moderately proficient in Mandarin and Ella had an extensive collection of oral history stored in her computer implant’s memory for Gillian to listen to later. Most of it was fairly uninteresting as far as Aneka was concerned; Chan Nianzu had been the highlight of the day for her. Ella was rather more enthusiastic since she was the anthropologist and this kind of thing was her bread and butter.

Chan Mei escorted them up to the top floor. It was mid-afternoon and Gillian and Bashford were not back yet. Ella stretched as she walked in through the door and Aneka detected a subtle hint about what her own redhead wanted to do with the rest of the afternoon. The evening was to be taken up with a dinner to which a lot of important administrators and scientists had been invited. Aneka would have rather stayed in bed.

‘If you will need my services tomorrow,’ Chan Mei said, ‘you need only tell Councillor Wei and I will be available.’ Something about the way she said it made Aneka turn to look at her properly. She saw a slight reddening along the girl’s cheekbones, a tight quality around her eyes. ‘And… if you need me for any other service before then I am available.’ There was more blush and her lip rose as her nose wrinkled for a fraction of a second. Tiny expressions which would be missed by most, but not by Aneka’s overclocked brain.

Ella turned and looked at their guide as though she was trying to work out whether she was actually saying what she appeared to be saying.

Aneka spoke before Ella could. ‘We’re pretty much covered for anything we could need right now, thank you Mei.’ Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ella pouting. The real problem was the look of disappointment that flickered over Chan Mei’s face. One minute disgusted with what she’s offering and then next unhappy that we declined?

‘You were wondering earlier what she was being paid for this job,’ Al said. ‘Might I suggest that it was extra if the optional package was made use of?’

‘I hope to see you tomorrow then,’ Chan Mei said, oblivious to Al’s comment. She started to turn toward the door, stopping when Aneka spoke.

‘Mei, wait. We’ve dragged you over half the city. I think we should at least offer you a drink before you go.’

‘Thank you. That would be most kind.’

A message popped up indicating that Ella had initiated a voice connection through her implant. ‘First you stop me from taking her up on the offer and now you’re asking her to stay. Are you being mean, or testing me, or…’

‘I want to know why she offered in the first place. She was really not happy doing it…’

‘Oh… fuck. I really need to get myself looked at.’

‘She was not happy doing it and then she wasn’t happy when I said no.’

‘Well that doesn’t make sense.’

‘Quite. Go put something less covering on. I want to see her reaction.’

‘Be right back,’ Ella said out loud, and strutted off toward the bedroom they were using.

Aneka headed for the small kitchenette which occupied a side of the room. ‘What would you like? We have tea, coffee, various fruit juices… or something stronger if you’d prefer?’

‘Uh… orange juice?’

‘Sure.’ Aneka made sure that the Chinese girl could see her pouring whiskey into a couple of glasses before she went to the fridge for the juice.

‘Coming out now,’ Ella said inside Aneka’s head.

Aneka watched Chan Mei as Ella emerged from the bedroom in a sheer white shirt with exactly one button closed. The nervousness came back instantly. ‘Much better,’ Ella said, flouncing into the room and dropping onto a couch with absolutely no decorum at all.

‘So, what do you do when you’re not escorting visitors around, Mei?’ Aneka asked.

Flustered, Mei looked quickly away from Ella and walked over to collect her drink. ‘I work in the family shop. We sell fruit and vegetables grown outside the city by some of our relatives.’

‘Uh-huh, so you’re not actually a prostitute then?’

Chan Mei’s eyes widened about as far as they would go and her cheeks went scarlet… And then she sagged visibly, looking down at her hands holding her glass. ‘Not normally, no.’

‘So how much more were they going to give you for this job if we’d taken you to bed?’

The girl swallowed. ‘Double. More if I was here until morning.’

‘Right. I take it that’s going to work out as a lot of money?’ There was a timid sort of nod. ‘You’ll get it. Without the extra work. I don’t suppose they explained why they were asking you to do this?’

‘Councillor Wei said that you had a female companion who you were… very intimate with and that you came from somewhere which had a more… uh, open view of… intimacy, and that we should make sure you saw our city in the best possible light so if you wished for, um, entertainment of that kind it should be available.’

Aneka closed her eyes and then threw back her whiskey in one swallow. It was going to do absolutely nothing to her, but the burning sensation at least gave her the glimmer of hope that it would. ‘Oh, this kind of thing is going to have to stop,’ she growled.

Prime City, 12th September.

Aneka had had a set of chairs brought into the audience chamber in Yrimtan’s rooms, setting them in a vague circle. Rather than sitting behind the desk, which she figured was what her twin would have done, she sat on the desk, her hands holding the edge and her feet swinging rhythmically as she waited for everyone to arrive.

On either side of her were Abigail and Chan Mei, looking nervous. Ella, Gillian, Bashford, and Drake sat on the next pairs of seats out. It meant that the visitors rather outnumbered the people they were going to talk to. Harper, Wei Lin, a man from the Western City named Grant Dillon, and Marsden filed in looking almost as nervous as the two surface girls.

Miss Jansen had been glowering and looking purposeful since she had returned from the East with Wei Lin and Chan Mei in tow. She had had the younger girl put up in a room in her apartments and had said that she wanted Abigail brought down from Matlock, and that she wanted a senior Councillor from the West to travel over for a meeting. And she had known full well that while she was being unreasonable, given that she had no real authority, they would do it anyway. Worse, as far as Aneka was concerned, she was right!

‘All right,’ Aneka said when the Councillors were sitting down, ‘let’s get this started. Councillors, Abigail, Mei, I’m going to tell you a story. When we were in the East we visited Mei’s great-grandfather who told us a legend of sorts about the time before the Xinti War, and this is a little like that. The big difference is that no one outside this room is going to hear it. Ever! Is everyone clear on that?’

There were murmurs of assent from the people in the room and she went on. ‘Okay. A long time ago right above our heads, a woman called Aneka Jansen was born to Hugo and Lauren Jansen. She was a bit of a tomboy from a very young age, and when she was old enough she became a soldier. She loved her parents and her brother, Alan, who was a clever young man who loved science fiction. She sat through all sorts of films about alien invasions, but the last thing she ever thought would happen was that she would be kidnapped by aliens. The aliens were called “Xinti,” and they stole Aneka out of a desert and killed her.’

‘But,’ Abigail said, uncertainly, ‘aren’t you Aneka Jansen?’

‘Sort of, but how would you imagine I survived for over a thousand years. How did Manu Dei manage it?’

‘We never knew,’ Marsden supplied. ‘She was never sick. It’s said she was almost indestructible and she had incredible technology available to her.’

‘Huh,’ Aneka grunted. ‘Well, the Xinti had fallen victim to a disease a long time ago. Faced with extinction they converted their minds into computer programs. They could make bodies to occupy as they wished and for whatever purpose they needed, and they worked the same process on Aneka Jansen. Having taken her body apart, they built her a new one, a robot body which could survive in space, in extreme cold, under water… It had a living metal skeleton, and skin which repaired itself through nanotechnology, and body armour under that skin which could easily stop a bullet. But on the way to Earth the ship she was on had an accident… and that’s how I survived for a thousand years. I was stuck in a stasis chamber in a wreck in deep space until these people found me.’

‘You do not appear to be a robot,’ Mei said.

‘That was kind of the point. I was supposed to observe Humanity and report back on their nature. If I’d have been silver and metal, people might have acted differently around me. Anyway, with me out of the picture the Xinti changed tack. They’d built one Aneka, so they could build another, but with a slightly different purpose. I was sent to watch, she was sent to change, and she did just that. When she got back to Earth she got Aneka’s brother to publish a paper on the kind of physics which would be needed to make warp drives work, and when she was ready the Xinti dropped a ship with a warp engine in it onto London.’

The four councillors, especially Dillon, were looking ashen. ‘These Xinti, who you say were the beings who bombed the world, were also the ones who gave us warp drives,’ Dillon said.

‘And Alan Jansen, the father of warp physics, was your brother?!’ Marsden added, her voice rising to a squeak.

‘Apparently. I didn’t realise he was quite so famous until I saw his picture in the museum. Anyway, as Councillor Dillon said, the Xinti eventually turned on their creations. I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just say it wasn’t just a matter of the Xinti being evil, but the result was the near destruction of Earth, and my twin, Manu Dei, simply could not understand why they did it. She also couldn’t put aside the task she had been given, so she began rebuilding the world, making a superior Human race. And you lot are the result. Genetically engineered into two sub-species, one to survive the surface before it was cleaned up, and the other to create all the scientific wonders you have in the city.’

There was silence. None of the Earth people knew what to say. Well what can you say to that? ‘But I didn’t tell you that to shock you,’ Aneka went on. ‘That was the backstory. You see, I think… Actually, we think that Manu Dei realised too late that she had got it wrong. She had taken too much control upon herself, factionalised the population too much. By then she couldn’t stop herself, but she prepared as best she could in case someone could stop her. I think she hoped that you would work things out with a bit of a push, but I think you need a bigger one. I’m not her, but…’ She stopped, frowning, unsure of exactly what she wanted to say. ‘I… feel responsible for making sure she gets what she was hoping for instead of what she has.’

‘We are changing,’ Marsden said, rallying from her general state of shock. ‘It’s going to take some time to set in place the programmes I have in mind, but we are changing.’

‘I know,’ Aneka said, giving her a smile. ‘I think the whole town of Matlock would agree with you.’ She looked down at Abigail.

‘We would. I came here in desperation and got more than I could have hoped for.’

Aneka nodded and looked back at the councillors. ‘But we need to accelerate some attitude changes. What’s your job in Matlock, Abigail?’

‘I take care of Citizens who visit the town, get them food, make sure the guest houses are clean…’

‘And do you ever receive any payment for that?’

‘Well… no, but…’

‘How many people have even thanked you for the work you do?’

‘Uh… Excluding you?’

‘Ella and I don’t count.’

‘One or two… maybe.’

‘Thank you, Abigail. Now, we can view Abigail’s experiences as part of the “previous regime,” so to speak, and I’d love to say that that is so, but then I met Mei here. Chan Mei is a bright girl who could probably make more of her life than working in a shop, but if that’s what she’s happy doing then okay. She was our interpreter. Her English is as good as mine, certainly as good as Ella’s…’

‘Better than mine,’ Gillian put in.

‘So one might ask why it is that she was asked to whore herself out for a big bonus. I mean, big plus for actually paying her to do the translation work, Wei Lin, but you’re not a brothel madam and Ella and I can manage to entertain each other perfectly well if the need takes us.’ Wei Lin’s eyes were bulging slightly and she had gone an interesting shade of red. Aneka was not sure whether it was anger or embarrassment; either would do. ‘Which brings us to why you thought it was a good idea, and I can only assume that someone from this city told you that we were into actual physical pleasure rather than the cybernetic delights you people indulge in.’

To his credit, Harper owned up, even if his tone was a little resigned. ‘I suggested that someone could be provided if Councillor Wei could find a suitable young woman.’

‘And she found herself a suitably attractive young lady who was able to act as a translator and told her she’d get a bundle of cash if she was willing to sell herself as well,’ Aneka stated flatly.

‘You’re an attractive woman, Councillor,’ Ella said, smiling sweetly. ‘There was no need to find anyone else.’ Wei Lin looked like she was going to choke.

Marsden was hanging her head by now. She looked up and said, ‘But no Citizen is going to do that when there are all these people on the surface desperate for the morsels we throw their way.’

Aneka looked at her, checking she meant the statement in the way Aneka hoped she did. ‘Yeah, exactly.’

‘None of my ideas are going to work while we have this mindset,’ Marsden went on dejectedly. ‘Even if we start working more with the surface population we’re going to come over as patronising teachers trying to educate children.’

‘We’re even getting it with some of the people you’ve sent up to work on the Hyde,’ Drake said. He and Bashford were benefitting from earpieces which translated the English into Federal. The locals were wearing them to do the opposite. ‘Shannon gets irritable around a lot of people anyway, but she’s been ready to tear some of your staff new assholes. I thought about an accident involving an airlock, but I decided the political incident was probably not a good idea.’

‘I… appreciate your restraint, Captain,’ Harper said. ‘This is going to take time. We can’t change a lifetime of preconceived ideas in a few days.’

‘We know that, Councillor,’ Gillian said, ‘but you people have to start it.’

‘You need to think through what you’re doing before you act on it,’ Ella said, ‘and change your mind if you’re basically treating the surface people, or anyone, like a servant. Well, unless they actually want to be treated like that, but I doubt you’ll find many of them here.’

‘And please,’ Aneka said, ‘stop trying to impress me. I’m not her. I don’t need your… adoration. This place, up on the surface anyway, was my home once. I want to see it back to the way it was. Better. You’re all intelligent people, you can do this.’

‘I hope you’re right,’ Marsden said.

8th October 3186, 18.11.526 FSC.

The slim, aristocratic face of Senator Jackson Elroy looked out at them from the wall screen of the lounge. He was looking very much the same as the first time Aneka had seen him, which was to say slightly irritated. He was a member of the Senate Council and he had been responsible for handling the Negral negotiations, and here they were handing him another diplomatic issue, all be it an easier problem than the last one.

‘Unfortunately, confining someone to a planet without some form of near-capital crime is unconstitutional. I checked. Otherwise I’d keep you lot from going anywhere ever again.’ Aneka was fairly sure he was joking, but you could never tell with the man. ‘I suppose you did point out there may be Humans on Old Earth so we can’t claim we weren’t warned, but did you have to discover an entire civilisation?’ He shook his head. ‘I should be saving my best despairing reprimand for when you get back I suppose. Frankly, this is going to cause a few political issues, but compared to a city full of Xinti artificial intelligences, you’re practically giving me a gift-wrapped bag of precious metals. There are a few of the same technology issues, but I gather that the cities there are not that far in advance of us. We suspect that there will be some resurgence of Humanity First and the like wanting to “return Humanity to its true home,” or some such gopi.’

‘Want to bet he never expects anyone else to see this?’ Ella asked.

‘It doesn’t seem like him to drop Rimmic swear words in, no,’ Gillian replied.

‘I know you’ve probably got more work you’d like to do there,’ Elroy went on, ‘but hopefully by the time you get this you’ll have enough information to give a full picture. We need you to get back to New Earth as soon as possible. There are some follow-up messages and attachments with the procedure we need you to follow. Have a safe journey.’

‘Drake,’ Bashford said into the air, ‘did you get that?’

‘I got it. We’ll begin preparations at this end. The city engineers say they can get fuel up to us quickly enough. I say we plan to leave the day after tomorrow.’

‘Works for me.’ Bashford looked around at Gillian.

‘We’ve got as much information as we can without doing a proper analysis and returning,’ the archaeologist supplied.

‘Right,’ Drake said. ‘Then you’ve got about thirty-six hours to wrap things up down there. Drake out.’

‘What about the other messages he mentioned?’ Aneka asked.

Gillian looked down at the tablet in front of her. ‘An attachment labelled “Flight Path Instructions,” that’s for Drake and Shannon. Another one marked as personal for me. I think we can guess who that’s from.’

‘I might have to start getting jealous,’ Bashford commented.

‘He can beg and I wouldn’t go back to him. There’s also something marked private for Aneka. I’d imagine we can guess who that’s from too.’

Aneka frowned. ‘What the Hell does she want?’

~~~

Winter was looking her usual, impassive self as she looked into the camera. She was the head of Federal Security, no one knew her real name, or anything much about her, and she had the remarkable ability of wandering around unnoticed when she wanted to. She was pretty and blonde, which did not really distinguish her from anyone else, and she had the sort of face you tended to forget, at least if you were another Jenlay. Aneka had never forgotten her, but then again Aneka never forgot anything.

‘So there really are still Humans alive and well on Earth, huh? Wonders never cease.’ A faint smile crossed the woman’s lips. ‘I’m glad you managed to survive Yrimtan. That had to be a tough fight. Right then, to business. Drake will be getting a bit of a briefing on this too, but I thought you should have a specific head’s up because… Let me just tell you what we’ve got so far. There have been more of these pirate-slash-terrorist attacks on shipping, but one of the victims managed to get away from their attacker. More luck than judgement, but we got a little data out of their sensor logs. The thing came out of nowhere. It just appeared and started shooting. The only thing we’ve ever seen that can work that way is the stealth field system the Xinti employed during the war. They seem to be using gamma-ray beam weapons, which we don’t have and the Xinti did. On the other hand, the design is totally unlike anything the Xinti ever deployed, and the thing was using a reaction drive. We’re barely wiser than we were before, but it’s something.’

The image paused for a second as Winter thought about her next sentence. ‘If this is some new Xinti threat then you need to keep your back covered because if they know where you are they’ll likely want you dead. Personally I don’t think there are Xinti out there. I have a theory on who they are, but it’s too early to say anything about it. If I’m right, though, you’d still be on their target list. So… come back alive. I might need your help soon. End message.’

‘That was typically enigmatic,’ Al commented.

‘Yeah, business as usual,’ Aneka replied. ‘Winter is being enigmatic, and someone wants me dead.’

‘Don’t you think it’s nice to be wanted?’

‘Yes, but I’d much rather it was just Ella that wanted me.’

Matlock, 9th October.

Aneka dropped the shuttle in toward the town square, swinging it slowly around as she lowered the landing gear, and then setting her down on the tarmac.

‘Show off,’ Ella accused as she unstrapped herself.

‘Practice makes perfect,’ Aneka replied, ‘and I pointed the rear hatch in the direction the Lindens will come from.’ Reaching forward she tapped a button to lower the hatch to form a ramp.

Ella giggled and climbed to her feet, skipping down the cabin in a way that made it obvious she was up to something. Of course, Aneka knew what that was; she had to since she was the pilot.

They had to wait a bare two minutes before the Reeve and his daughter appeared at the edge of the square, both of them smiling. It was a very welcome change from the first time they had met. Though, reflecting on it, Linden had been smiling then, he just had not meant it.

‘Aneka, Ella,’ Linden said in greeting, ‘to what do we owe the pleasure? Nothing wrong I hope.’

‘Nothing wrong exactly,’ Ella replied. ‘We’re going home tomorrow and we wanted to say goodbye.’

Abigail’s face fell a little. ‘Will we see you again?’

‘Honestly? I don’t know. I hope so, but it depends on so many things… Which is why I wanted to ask whether you’d like to go up? Just a short trip. A little sightseeing, if you want.’

‘Up?’ Linden asked, obviously unsure what Ella meant.

‘Space?!’ Abigail’s question was almost a squeak.

‘Assuming you’re okay with that too, sir?’ Aneka said. ‘There’s almost no danger. I won’t lie and say none, but I promise she’ll be quite safe.’

Linden’s eyebrows went up. ‘You want to go up there, Abby?’

‘I’d love to. I mean, it’s scary, but… to see the world from up there…’

‘Well I think you’ll be in safe hands. How long will she be gone?’

‘An hour, maybe a few minutes more. One orbit and we’ll bring her back.’

‘Very well then. You’ll have plenty to tell the rest of the town next time we get together to tell stories at least.’

Abigail gave a little yelp of glee and wrapped her father in a hug.

‘Well,’ Ella said, ‘she gets one more chance to back out. There’s one safety precaution she may not like. If the rear hatch closes in a minute, make sure you’re standing well back.’

Linden chose, wisely, to start walking to the edge of the square straight away while Ella took Abigail up the ramp onto the ship. Aneka followed wearing a smirk. She could hear Ella explaining the safety precaution required.

‘Regulations say that if you’re going into space you need to be wearing what we call a shipsuit, like the one I’m wearing. Except that these were made for us by some friends and we don’t have one you can wear, which means you’ll need to put that on.’

As Aneka got to the top of the ramp and waited, her thumb over the close button, Ella was pointing to a standard, white, semi-transparent shipsuit that was lying on a table along with the gloves and helmet that went with it.

‘It’s, um, kind of… see-through,’ Abigail said.

‘And that’s why you get the option to back out,’ Ella explained.

‘But if I wear it, I get to go into space?’

‘Yes you do.’

‘You’ve seen me in less.’

Aneka hit the button on the hatch and started forward. Being sure she was not in sight of the windows, Abigail was already undressing. ‘Here’s the safety talk then,’ Aneka said. ‘If anything should go wrong… It won’t, I hasten to add, but if it does, you are to concentrate on putting those gloves on your hands. Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll get your helmet on and make sure all the seals are done up. Believe it or not, with the gloves and helmet on, that flimsy-looking garment will keep you alive in a vacuum.’

‘I can do that,’ Abigail replied.

‘Good. When you’re dressed, come up front and we’ll get going. I’ll get us started.’

By the time she had the anti-gravity system powered up and the thrusters online, Abigail was settling herself into the co-pilot’s seat. She looked like any young Jenlay, though that was thanks to normal genetics rather than manipulation, and the excitement of what she was about to do was far outweighing any embarrassment she might be feeling over the skintight bodysuit she was wearing. Ella settled into a chair set at the rear of the cockpit, and Aneka pushed the ship upward.

‘How are you feeling?’ Aneka asked.

‘This thing is very… tight,’ Abigail replied. ‘Aside from that I’m just excited.’

Aneka chuckled. ‘It’s tight because it keeps your body from trying to expand if the air goes.’ She checked her altitude and then shifted her hand over the slider which powered up the main engines. ‘Hold on, here we go.’

There were light clouds in the sky above them and suddenly they were rushing up to meet them. Then they were gone and there was nothing but blue sky around them, which slowly began to darken into black.

‘Oh… wow,’ Abigail breathed as, in the middle of the day, the stars began to come out overhead. She looked off to the left. ‘The rings look prettier from here.’

Aneka glanced that way seeing the thin plane of debris. It was all shattered satellites left over from the war. The Xinti had made sure nothing in orbit survived, cutting off communication to the planet. She set up the orbital insertion to be well within them and then rolled the shuttle over so that they could look up at the planet’s surface. After a couple of minutes the main engines cut off and they were left in near silence with the world gliding past above them.

‘Everything looks so small from up here,’ Abigail said, ‘but big at the same time. I mean, I hardly ever go far from town. Going down to Prime City was the furthest I’ve ever been, until now. It’s such a big world and I only know a tiny part of it.’

‘Maybe you’ll see more of it,’ Ella said. She got up and stepped forward to get a better view. ‘Councillor Marsden has a lot of plans about getting better education and technology out into the surface towns. She mentioned you, and Mei, as possible pilot students.’

‘Me? Why?’

‘You’re used to dealing with Citizens. They’re trying to change, but the first few students will be teaching them as much as they learn. You impressed her. You’ve got courage. You’re not afraid to stand up to them if you need to. They’re going to need that to make this work. It’s up to you, obviously. It would mean moving away from home for at least some of the time. But I think you should consider it carefully.’

‘But what would I learn? I don’t know anything aside from singing and how to keep a house.’

‘I don’t honestly know, Abigail,’ Ella replied, grinning down at her, ‘but won’t it be amazing fun finding out?’

FScV Garnet Hyde, 20.11.526 FSC.

Aneka sat in the lab watching Earth recede in the rear sensors. She had rather mixed feelings. That was her home she was leaving, maybe never to return. On the other hand, she was going home and leaving a world she had no real attachment to behind. This was not her Earth, but neither was the one she was now en route to. The picture vanished, replaced by a star field; they had shifted into warp. Aneka gave a little shrug and turned to her companions.

Everyone was staying up for the short trip to Harriamon. Gillian and Ella, with some help from Aneka, were going to spend the time going over everything they had on Old Earth as it was now compared to what they knew about it before the war. Everyone else was just happy to avoid cold sleep, though Bashford had decided they might as well go through the equipment checking for faults. Aneka suspected that, once their flight plan was set, Shannon would be making sure Drake did not leave the cabin aside from routine checks.

‘Regretting leaving, or in a rush to get home?’ Ella asked.

‘We go as fast as we go,’ Aneka replied, ‘and that’s not my home anymore. But… I kind of feel like I’m stepping away from an obligation.’

‘You’re one woman, you can’t change the world.’

‘Yrimtan did.’

‘And look where that got her. They need to change themselves, and you gave them a good start.’

Aneka nodded, slowly. ‘We gave them a good start.’

Ella grinned. ‘I’ll accept that. I think I’m looking forward to getting home though.’

‘You just want to organise an orgy with Kat and Dillon.’

‘It’s not just that!’

‘I notice you’re not denying it.’

‘No, my libido’s totally off the chart. I’m quite aware of it and I can let it go there, but… um… I really need to cut back on this because… I don’t want to screw up again.’

‘You won’t,’ Aneka replied lightly.

‘But I might…’

Aneka lifted a hand, stroking it down Ella’s cheek. The redhead’s eyes closed and a small shudder ran through her body. ‘You won’t.’

‘If you two want to take the rest of the day off I won’t mind,’ Gillian said, a hint of humour in her voice.

Aneka let Ella go. ‘No, I think we should get on with the work. Ella’s always more enthusiastic when she’s had time to wind herself up.’

‘You’re mean,’ Ella pouted.

‘I am, yes,’ Aneka replied.

29.12.526 FSC.

‘Come in, Aneka.’ The door slid open to reveal Shannon standing in the doorway to her bathroom cubicle, rubbing a towel through her long, blonde hair.

‘How did you know it was me?’ Aneka asked as she stepped into the room.

‘Couldn’t hear anyone’s mind when the door chimed.’ Dropping the towel back onto the rail, Shannon padded across the metal floor and lay herself out on the bottom bunk, not bothering to get dressed.

‘Huh. Drake asked me to come down and see if there was anything you wanted.’

‘I’m fine. I’ve eaten. I’ve got a glass of wine I’m going to drink, and then I’m going to get some sleep.’

Aneka smiled. ‘I think our Captain was missing you already.’

‘Drake’s a soppy bastard at times, but I needed a break from everyone’s thoughts. It’ll be the Renewal and First Day tomorrow night, people get a bit emotional. I wanted to be all calm and ready for it.’

‘You seem pretty calm anyway. Your telepathy’s back under control?’

Shannon gave a little shrug which made her large breasts bounce. ‘As in control as it ever was. I think it went haywire because I’d lost confidence in myself after… Well, after Quint. Dodging those missiles, taking the risk and having it pay off, and the praise Drake gave me afterward. All that gave me the kick I needed. That’s my opinion anyway. After that the whispering I hear from everyone went back to tolerable levels.’

‘Well, I’m glad we’ve got you back properly now.’

‘You haven’t. It’s… Vashma, how do I explain this? I know how you must have felt. When you first woke up in the containment room in the lab with no real memory of who you were, and then it started trickling back… Quint erased my mind, and the doctors put it back, but I feel like there are bits of me missing. Drake says he hasn’t noticed anything, and I know he’s not lying to save my feelings, but I still feel like… Like I’m an imposter occupying Shannon Patton’s body.’

Aneka stepped around the room’s small table and sat down. ‘Yeah, that’s how I felt.’

‘How do you deal with it?’

‘I’ve got Ella. She says that it doesn’t matter who I was. This is who I am. I’m me, even if I’m not exactly what Aneka Jansen used to be; I’m the one who exists. And she’s right. This is me, for good or bad.’

‘But what if I’ve lost something important?’

‘If Drake hasn’t noticed anything, then I doubt it. Have you noticed anything odd?’

Shannon shook her head. ‘Then again, how would I know?’

‘Other people. Maybe they react in a way you don’t expect or seem surprised at something you did?’

‘Nothing like that.’

‘Then you’re being paranoid. And I can understand that, believe me, but that’s all it is and you’ll get over it. I have.’

The blonde grinned. ‘I should have thought of talking to you about this months ago.’

Aneka grinned back. ‘I doubt you would have really listened until after the missile attack, and since then we’ve been kind of busy.’

The grin became a little sly. ‘You’re right. I’ve barely seen you the last couple of months.’ Reaching over her head, she tapped a pad on the headboard. ‘Patton to Narrows. Ella, I need some uncomplicated entanglement in a quiet room. Can I borrow Aneka for an hour?’

Ella’s voice came back almost immediately, sounding tired. ‘I’m puzzling over some statistics for Gillian. Take two. Just make sure you haven’t worn her out. I’m going to need her after this.’

‘Don’t I get a say in the matter?’ Aneka asked.

‘No.’ It came from the speakers and Shannon at the same time.

Well that’s me told then.

~~~

‘Oo ’oke I ’ung!’

Ella giggled. ‘Sorry?’

‘Oo ’oke I ’ung!’ Aneka tried again.

‘Oh! I broke your tongue?’

‘Esh!’

‘Well why didn’t you just say that?’ Ella began untying Aneka from the table. She had her wrists setae-stripped to the corners of the widest edge and her ankles taped to the legs. It had given her unrestricted access to Aneka’s face, which she had been enjoying for quite a while. She was pointedly not checking the time on the clock in the corner of her vision so that she could tell herself it was not as long.

‘Oo ’ished ’inner,’ Aneka lisped. She was busy ignoring the diagnostic displays that were currently telling her about the repair work being done in the artificial muscle fibres which made up her tongue. She had honestly thought it was impossible for her to suffer from what amounted to repetitive strain injury, especially there!

‘Well now you know,’ Al commented, and then wisely shut up. Aneka just knew Cassandra, his girlfriend, was going to hear about this one.

‘Dinner? Yeah, I know. I was snacking all day to keep my blood sugar up while I was working.’ With the high-tensile tape removed from Aneka’s wrists, she moved around behind, crouching down to apply the small device that controlled the nanofibre bonding mechanism to the tape. ‘If I’m hungry I’ll just…’

Aneka was wondering what the end of the sentence was going to be when Ella’s tongue began lapping at her labia. ‘Nnnngg!’ she said.

‘What? I feel like another snack.’ The tongue went back to work, finding Aneka’s clitoris quickly.

Aneka closed her eyes. With her ankles still taped to the table there was nothing she could do about it, and after two hours of pleasing Ella she was in desperate need of release herself. It came fairly quickly; a normal woman might have been fatigued by all that licking, but Aneka was just wound up. She felt her muscles tightening, her stomach began to flutter, and then there was nothing but light.

A few seconds later, as she came down, she realised that Ella was not going to stop…

30.12.526 FSC.

‘It serves you right,’ Aneka said, trying really hard to keep the grin off her face.

‘Ish no’ funny,’ Ella replied, pouting.

‘You’re just lucky my systems repaired mine, or you’d be looking for someone else to say the Renewal.’

‘Over-employing your linguistic skills last night, Ella?’ Gillian asked. She was apparently concentrating on her console, but you could hear the laugh in her voice.

‘Ish no’ funny!’ Ella responded.

‘You’re hardly the first. I had a fling with a girl in university and the both of us were talking like that for a week.’ Gillian gave a sigh. ‘My first girl, actually. Hers too. We got a little over-enthusiastic.’ She laughed. ‘Now, when they were re-engineering our sex organs, why didn’t someone give us stronger tongues?’

‘Oo righ’!’ Ella agreed. Aneka just giggled.

1.1.527 FSC (but only just).

‘As this old year turns and the new one begins, we give thanks for all that has been, and look forward to all that is to come. The Long Dark is gone and we look into the light. Let this First Day be the first of many where we strive to be the best we can be and fight to keep the darkness at bay.’

Aneka finished the little speech, raised her glass to meet those the others were holding once more, and then took a drink. There was silence for a long moment and Aneka looked around at the solemn faces. Somehow they seemed more subdued than usual, and she noticed tears almost flooding down Shannon’s face.

‘Are you okay, Shannon?’

‘It’s a bit overwhelming. I’ve got my own feelings on top of everyone else’s. The Renewal, and we were on Old Earth a few weeks ago…’

‘Yes,’ Gillian said. ‘That was what I was thinking.’ There was a murmur of agreement from everyone else.

‘And that’s why I needed last night to be ready,’ Shannon said.

‘Sorry, love,’ Drake said. ‘We’ll try to think of something else.’

‘No, it’s okay. It’s like… It’s kind of solemn, but it’s happy too.’ She laughed, tears still falling. ‘I guess we found the home of the Human race. That’s bound to be a mixed emotions sort of thing.’

Aneka gave her a smile. The girl from Old Earth was probably the only one not feeling the moment. The Renewal meant less to her than it did to them. It was a pretty major part of their culture, an affirmation of the ideals of the Lorenti Federation. She was not really much of a singer, but she opened her mouth and sang anyway.

‘Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, for the sake of Auld Lang Syne? For Auld Lang Syne, my dear, for Auld Lang Syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for Auld Lang Syne.’

And then she started crying too.

23.1.527 FSC.

The vast bulk of the FNb Admiral Banfry glided smoothly through the space ahead of them. There were four frigates escorting her and a couple of destroyers sweeping around on her flanks. The Navy really did mean business.

‘We weren’t expecting you for another three days, Captain Drake.’ Captain Ape Gibbons sounded a little accusing, even over the radio.

‘Yeah,’ Drake responded, ‘and if anyone found out we were coming in they’d think we were due in three days too.’

‘Huh. And you didn’t respond to the broadcasts from Harriamon Control…’

‘Because we knew you’d come out here to investigate an unknown vessel. We’re under orders to report to the naval base for checking anyway.’

‘Underhanded, against regulations, and a damn good plan. Bring the Hyde in to our hangar. We’ve got the team of scouts aboard anyway. Winter figured the belly of this beast was a good place to put you until we’ve got you cleared. Handing you over to our flight control.’

‘Thank you, Captain. Hopefully we’ll see you soon.’

FNb Admiral Banfry.

Soon was relative, but at least they were not subject to the stringent quarantine provisions or the security questions which they had been the last time they had come back from uncharted space. Arriving in the early morning they had had medical checks, which Aneka had been exempt from, and the ship’s environment had been cleared for contaminants, and they were meeting up with Ape and his executive officer, Commander Judith Leeforth, in the conference room of the Banfry by early afternoon.

Ape was a big man. Not especially tall, no taller than Drake or Bashford anyway, he had a barrel chest, broad hips, and a body covered in solid muscle. He would have looked like an older version of his son, Monkey, if it were not for the latter’s beard and mop of black hair. It was pretty obvious that Ape’s baldness was a choice since there was already a hint of stubble on his chin, and his scalp was suggesting that it would need to be shaved sooner rather than later. When Aneka had first met him he had been fairly overtly hostile to her, but his displeasure over what she was had been assuaged by what she did. Even he had to admit that, if she was some sort of agent for the Xinti, she had saved the lives of his son and ex-partner, and those of a lot of other people, more than once. Right now he was looking very happy to see Gillian and Monkey, but he was also looking tired; the hunt for the terrorists was taking its toll.

Leeforth also looked tired. She also looked many years his junior, though that meant next to nothing. She was, of course, slim and attractive, but not very tall and she lacked the kind of muscle definition Aneka saw in a lot of military officers. She seemed an odd choice for an XO, not especially authoritative, but Aneka could not see Ape playing favourites even if, with her thick, shoulder-length, brown hair tucked back behind her left ear, dark eyes, and milk chocolate skin, she looked a bit like a younger Gillian. No, even if he was sleeping with the girl, she had to be a better XO than she looked.

‘I understand that I owe you for getting Gillian out of trouble again, Miss Jansen?’ Ape said once he had let his ex go.

‘Well, this time David pulled me out of the wreckage in order to do it, so I figure it’s a fairly even trade,’ Aneka replied.

‘Technically,’ Monkey said, ‘Delta carried you out with one broken arm while I covered you both.’

Ape looked around at the tall form of Delta. ‘Impressive, even if you have hooked up with a giantess, son.’ Delta blushed. ‘All right,’ Ape went on, ‘we might as well get down to business. I’m supposed to brief you on what’s been happening since that message you got was sent off. Then I’d imagine you’ll take a couple of days to get yourselves in order, but they want you briefing the Administration back on New Earth as soon as possible.’

‘Of course,’ Gillian said, ‘but you’re looking tired, Tor.’ She glanced at Leeforth. ‘You both are.’

‘It’s this terrorist thing. We’ll get to that. In fact, let’s deal with that first since Winter asked me to brief you. Judy, would you do the honours?’

As everyone sat down, Leeforth’s fingers tapped over the tablet she was holding and one wall of the room became a screen. It was showing a schematic of a spaceship, blocky and rather ugly, with a front section which featured a chunky circular cross-section and a pair of heavy-looking engine nacelles at the rear. There was also a fairly large gun port in the nose which Aneka figured was a spinal mount; a very heavy piece of weaponry.

‘We don’t have full details on these things,’ Leeforth said. She had a fairly soft voice, easy on the ears. ‘The primary armament we’re pretty sure is a graser, and we think it’s using antimatter torch engines. The hull armour signature came back as unidentifiable until we checked it against the data you got in Negral. It’s definitely using a collapsed matter material as the outer layer so we suspect a Xinti origin, but…’

‘The Xinti wouldn’t use reaction engines,’ Gillian said.

‘Yes, ma’am. Their reactionless drives were far more efficient, even in the war. A thousand years on… Who knows, but it seems unlikely they’d go back to older tech.’

‘The ring cross-section forward,’ Drake said, ‘you’re thinking that’s the warp drive?’

‘Yes, sir. It’s overly large, which may suggest a lot of speed. We’ve no confirmation on performance characteristics. They definitely have some form of cloaking system. They vanish off the sensors, and come out of nowhere to begin with.’

‘Which is more Xinti tech, but don’t you think this looks more like someone using cobbled together, badly understood technology where they can rather than the original creators of the tech?’

Leeforth opened her mouth, apparently thought about what she was going to say, and looked to Ape. ‘You can speak freely here, Commander,’ the Captain told her.

Nodding, Leeforth said, ‘I agree with you, Captain Drake. The official line from the Admiralty is that the ship has design characteristics which suggest a Xinti origin. We’ve had reports of attacks on Torem and Herosian shipping, and the Herosians have reported some intercepted comm traffic which they think is encrypted Xinti.’

‘I don’t suppose they’ve released that data to the Navy?’ Aneka asked. ‘Between Al and Aggy we should be able to break the encryption.’

‘You’ll need to ask your enigmatic friend about that,’ Ape said. ‘That’s above our pay grade. We did, however, think it might be useful to have your computer, or both of them, look over the sensor data. Maybe they can see something which will identify it one way or another.’

‘You’re willing to let a couple of Xinti AIs help you?’

‘Miss Jansen, right now if a Xinti War Leader walked through that door in a full combat body and offered his assistance, I’d take it! You said we looked tired, Gillian? Well this is about the first break we’ve had from patrol since you left for Old Earth. So, yes, I’ll take all the help I can get.’

Aneka nodded and looked at Leeforth. ‘Send the files across to the Hyde. Aggy will take a look as soon as possible.’

‘All right,’ Ape said. ‘We’ve been waiting on you getting back to give final approval on the next phase of talks with Old Earth. We’ve got a package ready to send over with the plans the Negral AIs gave us for that souped-up tachyon communication system of theirs. Even with that the range between the two Earths is too great to go direct, so they want to build a relay here. They tell me that it’ll give us a six-day round trip for a message instead of one generation sending the message and the next getting the reply.’

Gillian laughed. ‘It’s not that bad, but the shorter interval would be useful. Why do we need to give approval?’

‘Just making sure you still thought the same way now as before, I assume.’

‘We do, I think.’ No one said anything against the idea so she nodded and said, ‘We do. That comm system is advanced, even for them. It may take them some time to build it.’

‘Quite possibly, but our estimates suggest that it’ll be up and running before you get to New Earth. I was told to say that if you have any briefing material you wanted to add to your previous data you should send it ahead.’

‘I doubt there’s anything much. I’ll review the report we sent and amend as necessary. As you said, it would be nice to have a few days’ rest before moving on. How is this all going down with the Administration?’

Ape gave a short, mirthless laugh. ‘You think they’d tell me? I get the feeling they’re all wrapped up in the details, mostly the problems. The press were told and they’re playing it up as the greatest discovery ever. As far as I know, the Herosians and Torem have no comment. It’s not really anything to do with them.’

‘I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes then.’

‘Any instructions on dealing with the press?’ Drake asked.

‘You’ve no comment until you get back to New Earth,’ Ape replied. ‘There are a few reporters about the station, possibly some on the planet, so watch your step.’

Harriamon Naval Station, 24.1.527 FSC.

‘Urgent message delivery for Ella Narrows,’ the computer announced in a flat monotone which did not sound especially urgent.

Frowning, Ella sat up in bed and looked at the terminal at the side of the room they had been assigned aboard the naval station. ‘Aggy would have said that with a better tone. I don’t feel especially energised to find out what it says.’

Still lying back on the bed, Aneka chuckled. ‘You best take a look. Maybe it’s from your mother.’

‘Huh, yeah, true.’ Ella slipped out of the bed and stepped over to the console. ‘Though I don’t think she’d disturb me during sex.’

‘She sent it days ago. I don’t think she could’ve known…’

‘This is my mother we’re talking about. She’d…’ Ella stopped suddenly and Aneka pushed herself up onto her elbows, frowning.

‘Ella?’

‘It’s, uh, from my father.’

‘Brinna? How did he know we were here?’

‘Saw it on the local news channel. “Ship returns from Old Earth.” “Crew responsible for discovering Negral uncover life on Earth.” That kind of thing. He saw my picture…’

‘Oh. Well, what does he want?’

‘He wants to see me, tomorrow. Says he’ll meet me in one of the clubs, Yashi’s, in Cavern One.’

‘You’re not exactly sounding positive about this.’

‘I’ve barely spoken to him since we left Harriamon. I wasn’t even sure he was still here. I think he talks to Mom sometimes, but she tends to avoid telling me.’

‘Why?’

Ella deleted the message on the screen and turned around. ‘Because whenever he gets in contact it’s because he wants something.’

Harriamon, 25.1.527 FSC.

Yashi’s was a fairly typical sort of structure for the kind of building you found in Cavern One. The whole place was what could best be described as the social hub of Harriamon’s one and only town, if it could be said to have one at all. The atmosphere of the planet was a delightful mix of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and various sulphur compounds, all at one-point-two atmospheres and nearly a thousand Kelvin. As a result of that the town was constructed in caverns under the surface with a couple of domed habitation areas on top. It was a mining town, out on the Rim, and it looked it.

In this case, the building seemed to have been constructed half in the wall of the cavern. What was visible was a single storey sprayed over in dirt-brown Plascrete which made it look stuccoed. There was a single door and no windows, and a glowing sign that read ‘Live Dancers!’ Aneka assumed that meant that some of the other clubs hidden away at the back of the cavern used robots.

‘This is the place?’ Aneka asked as they walked toward it. She was not entirely sure why Ella had insisted that they wear ‘suitable clubbing outfits’ since Yashi’s did not look like somewhere she would want to be seen dead in and they were meeting her father, but she had, so they were. Aneka was dressed up in a basque, short skirt, and heels; Ella was in a shorter skirt, halter top, and higher heels.

‘Yeah. It figures the bastard would want to meet here.’

‘Why?’

‘This is where Mom used to work.’

The inside was not much better than the outside. The lighting was dim, which probably helped to avoid questions about the stains on the Plascrete floor. It was basically one, big open room, as far as Aneka could see, with circular tables scattered about it, a couple of booths at the back, and a long bar on the right side. About midway down the bar was a pole with an extremely bored-looking blonde with breasts large enough for it to look entirely unnatural swinging around it. There were three waitresses Aneka could see working the floor, all of them naked aside from thongs, which barely deserved the term, or maybe exemplified it, and high-heeled, platform pumps.

‘Just avoid the dressed ones working the tables,’ Ella said. ‘There are private dance rooms at the back, except that they do their best to persuade you to pay for extra.’

Aneka spotted three women and a man moving between the tables. At least it was relatively equal opportunity prostitution. They were dressed, more or less. There was a lot of sheer material and very tight Ultraskin. ‘Can you see your Dad?’

‘He’s probably at the back. There’s a little more privacy there.’

There was a man sitting in one of the back booths alone. Alone aside from the blonde in the strappy, semi-transparent top and micro-skirt who was standing at his table anyway. He looked the part of a man with a daughter in her late twenties, slightly balding, a little overweight, starting to wrinkle around the eyes. Of course Ella was actually in her seventies and there was no real reason for him to look his age. The only thing Ella seemed to have inherited from the man was her hair; her mother was a brunette, her father’s hair was ginger. Otherwise he looked like a good-looking man who had let himself go; not a common sight in Federal culture. Brinna Techman, Ella’s father. Aneka really could not see the resemblance.

‘That him?’ Aneka asked.

‘Gopi, he’s really let himself go,’ Ella replied.

‘Take the seat opposite. I’ll sit directly across from him.’

‘I don’t think he’s dangerous, Aneka.’

‘He might not be, but the rest of this place is setting off all my alarms.’

Ella slipped into the booth, scooting over so that Aneka could sit beside her. The blonde took one look at them and then walked off. The man, Ella’s father, looked surprised for a second, and paid far too much attention to Aneka for her liking, then he looked at Ella, frowned, and said, ‘You know, the picture on the news didn’t do you justice, Ella.’

‘Thanks, Dad,’ Ella said, not exactly with sincerity. ‘What do you want?’

‘Well, to see you, of course. Who’s your friend…? Uh, no, Aneka Jansen, right? The woman from Old Earth.’

‘Yes, this is Aneka, my partner. You could have seen me any of the dozen times I’ve been back here. You could have sent me a message on my birthday once. You didn’t, so why now?’

Aneka sat silently, contemplating the man opposite her. She had known that Ella was estranged from him, but not to that extent. Ella rarely mentioned him aside from when she had explained what had happened to her. She had gone with him one day when he went to work, part of a school assignment, but while she was in the mining cavern where he worked she had been infected with a local life form; an extremophile lichen which had eaten away at her flesh leaving her blind and disfigured. It had been her mother who had scraped together the money to go to New Earth, and then got Ella’s face reconstructed and her eyes replaced with cybernetic ones. Her father, it seemed, had not been in the picture then, but it was hard to believe the man could care that little for his daughter.

‘Like I said,’ he said, switching to Rimmic as though it were just natural to do so, ‘I saw you on the news. I saw you were in the system and I figured… Well, maybe it was time we got reacquainted, y’know?’

‘You marked the message as urgent, Dad,’ Ella replied, keeping to Federal.

His eyes flicked to Aneka, then back. ‘Okay, yeah, I did… Look, I need some money. There are some very bad guys who are going to hurt me if I don’t get it to them…’ He seemed to figure out that Aneka could understand what he was saying perfectly well when she frowned at him, and he switched back to Federal. ‘They’re going to kill me, honey.’

‘Don’t call me that!’ Ella snapped. ‘You don’t have the right. You’ve been gambling again, right? I don’t suppose you ever stopped. What happened? Mom decide to cut you off?’

Aneka could see Techman’s eyes and jaw tightening as he tried to control a flare of anger. ‘She’s got some new bimbo she’s moving in with. Says she’s got expenses and can’t help me.’

‘Sharissa is not a bimbo,’ Ella replied. ‘She does, however, love Mom and she probably persuaded her that you’ve been leeching off her for long enough. Well you’re not going to start on me. We’re going, you can sort yourself out.’ Aneka slipped out of the booth and Ella started to follow.

‘No,’ Techman said, desperation in his eyes. ‘Ella, you can’t still be blaming me for what happened to you? It wasn’t my fault you got a faulty mask…’

Aneka’s eyes swept over the room. The raised voices were attracting little attention except for one woman sitting at the bar who was looking their way. She had purple eye shadow on, and dark red lipstick. She was dressed in a very sheer tank top and pair of Ultraskin shorts, which left almost nothing to the imagination. But Aneka recognised Leeforth immediately.

‘I’ve never blamed you for that, Dad,’ Ella told him. ‘Not once. What I did blame you for was taking the compensation money the company paid you and gambling it away rather than using it to help me.’

The door of the club opened and two men walked in. Both were in casual gear, but they walked with a purpose rather than like patrons. Aneka was pretty sure the smaller of the two was armed from the way his jacket hung. The bigger one probably just needed to glare at someone to make them fall over.

‘It wasn’t enough!’ Techman wailed. ‘We needed more and all I had to do was…’

The two men noted the argument and the smaller one grinned far too maliciously for Aneka’s taste. They started toward the booth. Out of the corner of her eye Aneka noted that Leeforth had seen them too. She was reaching for her bag.

‘Brinna,’ Ella said, ‘you’re an asshole. You’ve got a gambling problem and you need to do something about it.’

‘Yes he does.’ The speaker was the smaller of the two men, and he was speaking in Rimmic. ‘He has a bad gambling habit, but don’t worry, little lady, we’re going to fix it for him.’

‘Charlie,’ Techman said, trying really hard to be jovial, ‘you said I had a week…’

‘And that was eleven days ago, Techman. It’s a thousand credits, or Hector breaks one of your limbs and we make it two thousand.’

‘I don’t have it, Charlie, but this is my daughter and she’s going to…’

Aneka saw Charlie’s eyes flick toward Ella, saw the bigger man, who was presumably Hector, shift his position and stance. She relaxed, her eyes shifting downward where she could watch their hands and look non-threatening. She knew where this was going even if Techman did not.

‘She is going to do nothing!’ Ella snapped, cutting her father off.

‘Your daughter?’ Charlie said, suddenly interested. ‘Now this changes everything. Maybe we can cut a deal. She can pay it off in instalments back at my place. Hector, bring her.’

Hector reached out, his hand landing on Aneka’s arm to push her aside. He was taller and far bulkier to look at, but he was trying to shift almost one hundred kilos of robot. She went nowhere. Then she looked up at him, smiled, and stepped forward. His stance, meant to brace himself, gave her an easy opening as her knee drove into his groin. Letting out a howl of pain, Hector crumpled onto the floor, hugging his wounded genitals.

Charlie, stupidly, went for his gun. Aneka’s fist slammed into his right bicep and it was his turn to scream as the bone broke. Her right fist hit him in the stomach and he doubled over her arm.

Hector started to unwrap himself from his foetal position, only to have Leeforth’s block heel come down on his ear. ‘Stay down,’ she growled at him. Aneka was impressed, it sounded damn menacing considering she had wondered whether the woman had it in her.

The other amazing thing was that Charlie was still trying. He backed up and swung at Aneka with his only good arm. It was not good enough. She caught the swinging arm and twisted, driving him down to one knee and keeping him there. ‘Fucking stay put!’ Aneka told him.

Leeforth was turning to the bouncers who had suddenly decided to take an interest, and ignoring the screech from Hector as her heel turned on his ear. ‘Naval officer. Someone get the Peacekeepers in here. Now!’ The bouncers stopped in their tracks, one of them fumbling a phone from his pocket and turning to make the call.

Aneka nodded to Leeforth. ‘Commander. You scrub up well.’ She noticed a pair of animal footprint tattoos on the upper slopes of the woman’s breasts. Maybe Judy Leeforth had a wild side. ‘Don’t tell me you frequent topless bars when you’re on shore leave.’

‘Uh… no. Doctor Gilroy was a little worried when she heard you were coming here. She spoke to Ape. He thought I’d be less obtrusive.’

‘In that outfit?’

‘You’re one to talk. Are you all right, Miss Narrows?’

Ella slipped out of the booth, giving her father a glare. ‘I’m fine aside from a desire to break someone’s nose.’

‘I wouldn’t, Ella,’ Aneka replied, ‘you’ll probably regret it.’

‘I don’t think I would.’

Techman looked up at his daughter beseechingly. ‘Ella… Honey…’

Ella pulled back her fist. ‘I told you not to call me that…’

~~~

Ella flexed her right hand and winced. She was sitting in the Cavern One Peacekeeper station with Aneka and Leeforth, waiting for the police officers to finish up the paperwork.

‘I said you’d probably regret it,’ Aneka told her. ‘Hitting someone in the face is never that good an idea. Too much bone.’

‘Well I thought you meant I’d feel bad about punching my father.’

‘Oh, I only knew the guy a few minutes and I wanted to punch him. When the bruising goes down you’ll be fine.’

‘Gloves help,’ Leeforth supplied, ‘especially if you’re hitting them in the mouth. Seriously never a good idea, but if you have to…’ She lifted her own right hand, flexing the fingers and showing a scar over her middle knuckle. ‘It got infected and the tissue regen didn’t work perfectly, but I kind of like it. Didn’t at the time. Some people’s mouths are sewers.’

‘You are a bit of a conundrum,’ Aneka commented.

‘Me?’

‘Uh-huh. You don’t really look like a battleship’s executive officer, you definitely don’t look like someone who punches people in the mouth…’

‘And the tats are a surprise,’ Ella added, happy to have the conversation move away from her hand.

Leeforth’s hand shifted up to stroke over the left hand paw print where it poked above her top. ‘Yeah… Legacy of my earlier career. I was a marine. The only girl in my unit. All the others had tattoos which went with their nickname and they called me “Wildcat” so…’

‘You were a marine?’

‘Uh-huh. Got posted to the Banfry, impressed Ape, and when his XO position opened up he said I should apply. I thought he was crazy, but I got the job. The interview board said they were impressed with my organisational skills and tactical ability.’

‘You and he aren’t…’

‘Vashma no! No, Ape’s in a solid partnership with his ship. No woman alive comes between him and her. I mean, we’ve had sex, but that’s just stress relief. Sometimes we spar, sometimes we fuck…’ She grinned. ‘…and occasionally the sparring ends up with us naked, but it’s nothing serious. Ever.’

A message popped up in Aneka’s vision field indicating that Ella had made a connection. ‘I think the lady protests a little too much,’ Aneka commented.

‘She’s right though. Ape’s married to the Banfry. That’s what broke up his relationship with Gillian.’

‘True, she’s probably being pragmatic.’

‘Since when did pragmatism work on emotions?’

A Peacekeeper in blue body armour walked over holding a tablet and further discussion of Leeforth’s love life was put on hold.

FNb Admiral Banfry, 26.1.527 FSC.

It probably said something about the progress Ape had made in the last few years that he was allowing Aggy to present her findings on the terrorist ships ‘in person.’ In person meant appearing on a wall screen, but the Captain had allowed an ex-Xinti AI to connect directly with his ship’s systems, which was a long step from the distrust Ape had had in anything Xinti when Aneka had first met him.

Aggy stood in a virtual extension of the briefing room, hands clasped behind her back, next to a wireframe model of the ship she had been asked to analyse. Her audience was several of the senior officers of the Banfry, including Ape and Leeforth, along with Aneka, Drake, Gillian, and Ella. Her news was interesting.

‘Careful analysis of the vessel in question has identified some interesting anomalies,’ the golden woman said. ‘The hull shows the outward appearance of a hyper-dense composite as used by the Xinti. However, the manufacturing is poor. The outer layer of material has been laid down without the precision I would expect to see in a vessel manufactured by Xinti engineers.’

‘Further evidence to suggest that this is someone with imperfect understanding of Xinti technology,’ Gillian suggested.

‘I would tend to agree, Doctor,’ Aggy said. ‘Their use of a sensor cloaking shield system along with a reaction drive is also flawed. The emissions from a reaction drive, especially an antimatter torch, make the shield essentially useless. This means that the ships must be waiting for their targets, setting an ambush. A Xinti vessel would be able to pursue its target while hidden, but these ones would give themselves away if they used their main drives while cloaked.’

‘Which means they’ve got intel on the ships they want to hit,’ Leeforth said.

‘Which is why we gave a false time of arrival,’ Drake said, nodding. ‘However, that does assume they are hitting specific targets. If their goal is merely to terrorise then they could just be positioning themselves and attacking any random ship that comes within range.’

‘I took the liberty of analysing the attacks as well as the data on the ship,’ Aggy said. ‘The attacks would appear to be random, but there is an underlying pattern. Weapons and supply shipments, particularly higher technology items, are being targeted along with enough other ships to provide obscurity. It is of particular note that these specific targets tend to be discovered later, and are more carefully reduced to unrecognisable wreckage.’

‘You’re saying that our terrorists may be pirates after all?’ Leeforth asked.

‘Actually I am saying that these terrorists are conducting a campaign to steal high-technology equipment and deprive the systems they are working in of those same supplies. I highly doubt they are pirates. This is a carefully constructed campaign spread across hundreds of parsecs of space. That is not the work of pirates, or terrorists.’

FScV Garnet Hyde.

‘We just went into warp,’ Aneka said as an in-vision monitor told her that fact.

‘Forty-odd days to home,’ Ella replied. ‘Did Delta decide to sleep with everyone or is she taking a nap for the rest of the trip?’

Aneka grinned. ‘She’s going into cold sleep.’ After her last long trip in the fridge, Delta had said she would sleep with anyone she needed to to avoid it again. When the entire crew had wanted in on the action they were teasing, but she had still decided that she would spend the ninety-eight day trip back to New Earth dreaming. Most of the crew were joining her for this leg. Even Ella was going to bed and leaving Aneka as the only conscious person aboard.

Well, technically there was Aneka and Aggy. ‘The cold sleep chamber is ready to receive guests,’ the ship’s computer announced over the speakers in the cabin. ‘Captain Drake has requested that everyone make their way there.’

Ella grumbled softly and pulled Aneka’s arms closer around her. ‘Just once more before bed.’

Aneka sighed. ‘Tell Drake we’ll be another twenty minutes, Aggy.’

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Aneka walked through the near-silent ship, wandering the halls for no other reason than that she wanted to. It was almost silent, but no one else would have been able to hear the sounds. There was the slight shush of the air moving through the circulation system and the ultrasonic whine of plasma passing through the magnetic containment field of the fusion reactor. The old warp drive had played an ultrasonic duet with the reactor, but if the new one made a sound it was outside of even Aneka’s extended range.

And she was never really alone. Al was with her everywhere she went, monitoring her body and mind every waking moment. Aggy was, essentially, the entire ship. She was everywhere there were internal sensors and a set of speakers, which was everywhere aside from the unpressurised hold. Both of them knew to stay quiet when Aneka was out for a walk, unless she spoke to them.

‘Aggy, about two hundred years ago when you first woke up again and we were trying to repair the station after those robots sabotaged it…’

‘That was not two hundred years ago, Aneka,’ the computer responded. She appeared, walking beside Aneka. Actually just a projection into Aneka’s vision field; that of a buxom woman with gold skin, silver eyes, and short, honey-blonde hair.

‘It feels like that long. You said you’d compiled all the data you collected on me before my abduction.’

‘I did, yes. I still have the relevant files awaiting your inspection, if you wish to examine them.’

‘Yeah, I’d like to look at it. I think I can cope with it now and… Well, I’m a bit bored and seeing what someone else thought my life came to should keep me interested for a while.’

‘Keep in mind that I was analysing you as a candidate for the Human Evolution Programme, not as a potential date.’

‘Huh. Well, you got to know my body more intimately than any date I ever hooked up with.’

Aggy decided that answering that would likely be a bad idea.

~~~

‘Why did you even have a Facebook page?’ Al asked. ‘You hardly ever updated it. There’s no profession listed.’

‘Yeah well, putting down “professional mercenary” seemed like a bad idea. Alan said I should do it, and I thought it might hook me up with some old school friends or something. It wasn’t until the page was up I realised I didn’t have any old school friends I actually wanted to meet.’

‘Did any of them contact you?’

‘Yeah. Three boys who didn’t stand a chance back then and wanted to know whether having money made a difference. The school bitch sent me a message to let me know she’d become a catwalk model.’ Aneka looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. ‘Died of an overdose of cocaine about a year later.’

Her military record was in the files; everything she had ever done or had been written about her. ‘Some of this stuff is classified, Aggy,’ she commented.

‘Some of it took a lot more effort to get than other parts,’ Aggy agreed. ‘However, this was extremely pertinent information to my mission. The extra effort was necessary, if relatively useless.’

‘Useless?’

‘It was apparent that many of those handling your performance reviews tended to view political considerations for your advancement over your actual capabilities.’

‘Right. I haven’t even seen some of this stuff. There’s that psychological evaluation they did. The one that said I was psychotic because I wanted to be in a combat position.’

‘And you never got to see it?’

‘No. One of my COs gave me the summary. Prick.’

She closed the file and opened another, which turned out to be a huge database of email messages. It was a mix of ones she had sent and received, and others which had been written by others but mentioned her. There were a lot of them, a really big lot.

‘I could spend months going through this stuff,’ Aneka said. Then she thought about it and added, ‘Not that I have a whole lot else to do.’ She clicked a file.

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‘Solitude isn’t getting to you, is it?’ Drake asked. Mid-flight checks were a requirement on any trip longer than fifty days. Aneka suspected he was checking on her as much as on the ship. He was, however, making a show of the latter; they were walking up to the flight deck.

‘I’m not exactly alone,’ Aneka replied.

‘No, I suppose not, but you don’t have another Jenlay awake with you.’

‘True, except that I’m not a Jenlay, so technically it wouldn’t be another Jenlay.’

‘Uh, another… No, person doesn’t work either because Aggy and Al are sentient…’

Aneka grinned. ‘Another person I can physically interact with?’

‘That works, I guess, though it does start to sound kind of trivial.’

‘Huh. I miss Ella. It was the same on the flight to Earth… Old Earth. Better get used to saying that again. I never thought I’d ever miss waking up next to a woman, but I do. It’s okay the first morning. Then on the second I think, “She’s not going to be there for days,” and after that it’s every morning. Like there’s a hole in the bed where she should be.’

‘I was the same when Shannon was in hospital.’ They had arrived at the door of the flight deck and he raised his head to speak to the computer. ‘Captain Drake ready for in-flight checks.’

‘Of course, Captain,’ Aggy responded, and the door opened. ‘You know, I could just open the door for you. There’s no need for that little ritual. I do know you’re scheduled to make this check.’

‘Humour me, Aggy,’ Drake replied. ‘I’ve been saying that to get in here mid-flight for quite a while.’

‘I shall attempt to be patient.’

Drake grinned, shook his head, and walked in to sit down on the pilot’s seat. His hands started moving over the controls as soon as the consoles lit up. Aneka followed him in, perching on the co-pilot’s seat and pulling up one leg to rest her chin on.

‘What’ve you been up to?’ he asked, his attention on the displays appearing in front of him.

‘Reading thousand-year-old emails.’ He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. ‘Aggy collected a load of data on me when they were deciding who to uplift. I’ve been reading through it. She was exceedingly thorough.’

‘I am always exceedingly thorough,’ Aggy pointed out.

‘There’s stuff going back to my first Hotmail account. Armybrat eighty-two. I was feeling imaginative. Dumped that and got Aneka underscore Jansen when I went into the Army, and then I dumped that for armybitch at Gmail when I quit. And she got all of them.’

‘Several of the messages in your oldest account were very revealing, Aneka. You were something of an idealist. You thought that you could do something good with your life by joining the armed forces. The change as you progressed was noticeable. Particularly in some of the messages sent late in your second account’s lifespan.’

Aneka gave a shrug. ‘Yeah. Mind you, there were a few embarrassing moments. I found some emails an old boyfriend sent me describing, in great detail, what he wanted to do with me when I came home on leave.’

Drake barked a laugh, his eyes on a display which was slowly transitioning to show that all the ship’s systems were working. ‘It’s tough making long-distance relationships work, but the sex when you meet again…’

‘Not in this case. By the time I did get home on leave he was fucking a blonde waitress from Guildford.’ She frowned in contemplation. ‘Maybe that’s why I coped reasonably well with the attitude to sex Jenlay have. I stopped believing in long-term relationships before I got stuck in stasis. Ella’s the longest partnership I’ve ever had. Most lasted a night or a week at most.’

‘Three-and-a-half years is a record then?’

‘Hell yeah!’

‘Well, as expected, everything is fine. Good work, Aggy.’

‘Thank you, Captain,’ Aggy replied.

‘There’s some food in the mess,’ Aneka said.

‘Thanks. I feel like someone hollowed out my stomach to make a canoe.’

Sitting in the mess with a bowl of some sort of pasta dish, Drake breathed in the aroma and sighed. ‘I need this. Isn’t going over this stuff a bit depressing?’ It was clearly a conversational gambit to keep her talking while he ate. She was not going to complain.

‘Some of it. Most of it just reminds me of family and… Well, they were good times. I could get maudlin over the loss, but I’d rather remember the time I did have and not worry over what might have been.’

‘Good attitude,’ Drake said around a mouthful of spaghetti.

‘It’s that or mope in my room a lot. Not that I leave my cabin much. I mean, there’s not much to do. Bash left me some chores. There were a few things they didn’t get to check over on the Harriamon leg so I said I’d finish up. Did that in a week. I only sleep four hours a night. I don’t like those terrible sex comedies you people think are so hilarious.’

‘Hilarious is pushing it.’

‘I’m reading through Aggy’s book collection, but I tend to read fast so I’m trying to pace myself.’ Drake was not pacing himself particularly; his food was almost gone. Aneka reached to her throat and unsealed her leotard.

Drake sucked in the last strand of spaghetti, chewed, and then said, ‘Is that an offer?’

‘Maybe even a request.’

He unsealed his shipsuit. ‘You sure you’re not feeling lonely?’

‘Not lonely.’ She stepped out of her suit and waited as he stood and slid his down to his thighs before pushing him back into his chair. ‘But you’re right about physical contact, I think.’ She straddled his legs, pushed her hips forward, and sank onto him with a sigh.

Drake let out a groan. ‘You, uh… You’ve been thinking about this for a while.’

‘Since I woke up.’ She began a slow rise and fall motion. ‘Well, after I’d got over the missing Ella thing for the day.’

‘I can… tell.’ After a minute he added, ‘That is maddening.’

Giggling, Aneka quickened the pace until she was bouncing madly up and down in his lap and she could feel her stomach muscles tightening as each bounce drove the tension higher. Drake had a fondness for enthusiastic sex, which made Shannon a good match for him since she liked doing it in inappropriate places. It also made Aneka a good choice for random encounters since her body could take anything he wanted to throw at it.

She felt her inner muscles clenching. ‘Coming…’ She got a groan for a reply and felt him swelling inside her, and then there was the rush and she threw her head back and let it wash over her.

‘You… You’re getting… better at that,’ he commented.

She shifted her hips, eliciting a moan, and then slid off him with a shudder. ‘Have you ever met our neighbour, Dillon? He’s a big guy. I’ve had some practice.’ She dropped into the seat beside his and tossed him a box of wet wipes.

Drake barked a laugh. ‘I see you thought of everything. Ella’s getting up early, right?’

‘Fifteen days before we arrive. Everyone else at five days.’

‘Doesn’t she get enough alone time with you?’

‘This is Ella we’re talking about.’

‘You have a point.’ He got to his feet and pulled his suit back into place with practised ease. ‘Let’s get me back in the freezer and you can get back to your reading.’

Aneka got to her feet, not bothering with her own suit, and followed him to the cold sleep room. It was on a lower deck, at the back of the habitation section, and it was basically one large room containing eight white pods. The occupants were filled full of chemicals, which kept their bodies from dying, and then cooled down well below zero. Body functions almost ceased, neurological activity fell to not quite zero; essentially they were in a long, slow sleep.

With Drake back in his pod, she checked the process to cool him down was starting up correctly and then turned away. She did not like watching the needles going in, though Drake was asleep before they did thanks to a sedative gas. Instead she crossed over to Ella’s pod, checking the readouts even though she knew Aggy would have alerted her to a problem, just as she would have alerted her to any flight issues.

‘Al, connect me through to Ella’s implant. Full sensorium.’ Ella was dreaming about Earth. Old Earth. Matlock, in fact, or nearby. Walking through a field with the wind blowing in her hair. Aneka smiled. ‘Okay Al, replay the physical sensations from that session with Drake. Just touch, none of the other sensations.’

She had really meant for him to play them to Ella, but she had to lean over the pod as sex with a fit Jenlay played through her body. When she came down, Ella’s walk had been interrupted by a handsome shepherd. Well she was always bugging Aneka for outdoor sex.

‘Okay, disconnect. God I need a shower.’

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Aneka closed a rather boring email someone had sent her accountant regarding her tax assessment. It had been sent around the time of her kidnapping and it was nice to know that while she was being dissected on an alien ship, the tax system had been working properly. Looking at the next message in the list she frowned.

‘Aggy? The next message here is after you grabbed my team, isn’t it?’ There were actually quite a lot of emails she thought were after that date.

‘We did not leave the system when you were taken,’ Aggy said. ‘Chief Scientist Aktana wanted to be quite sure that you were the subject he wanted before returning to Negral. We were in system for almost eight solar days before leaving and I continued to monitor communications during that time.’

‘Oh. So these messages… a lot of them are going to be about me and my team going missing.’

‘Yes, Aneka. There are mundane emails such as that one to your accountant, but there are several regarding your disappearance.’

‘Oh.’ Aneka looked at the screen. There was no indication of the contents of the messages until she opened them. They were marked with a serial number and a timestamp, and Aggy had explained that she had compiled specific search routines to hunt through the texts for information she was interested in.

‘I could understand if you might find reading these uncomfortable,’ Aggy said. The sound quality had changed a little and, sure enough, Aggy had decided that projecting her image into the room would be preferable.

Aneka sat back in her chair and regarded the golden figure. ‘You’ve been through them?’

‘Given that you were on the Agroa Gar, I paid more attention to traffic regarding you, but I was not analysing the data extensively.’

‘My family…?’

‘Your parents were not extensive email users. There is one email from your brother to a friend in which he indicates he will not be attending a party due to your disappearance. I believe your parents were notified five days after your capture from some of the other traffic, presumably by telephone or personal visit.’

‘Huh. I could actually see Anderson going out to tell them himself.’ She paused for a second before adding. ‘I think I need to psych myself up for those ones. I’ll leave them for tomorrow.’

‘As you wish, Aneka. Have a pleasant evening.’

Aneka grinned at the air where Aggy’s image had been. It was not like either of them were actually going anywhere, but Aggy was big on the formal pleasantries. Looking to her left, she saw the list of emails again. Then she reached out and flicked the monitor into standby.

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Aneka frowned at the email she was reading. It was from her old boss to an address she did not recognise and the contents were disturbing. At first she had not been sure why the email had been put in the list until she had found her name in one line. Aneka is one of my best. You assured me you had this covered. Everywhere else there were no names, just references to a ‘stolen package.’

‘Aggy? Do you have any other messages between Anderson and this email address?’ Aneka asked.

The golden-skinned woman appeared between Aneka and the bed. ‘Checking…’ She was gazing off toward a corner of the ceiling as though trying to recall something and, despite her feelings about the email, Aneka grinned at the Human-like pose. Aggy looked down. ‘I have found… Why are you grinning at me, Aneka?’

‘You look so Human doing that. Do you do it to make us feel comfortable?’

‘I find Humans, and Jenlay, react better to my presence if I enact Human mannerisms where I am able to mimic them. I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable.’

‘No, I find it endearing. Thank you for taking the trouble to make us at ease. What did you find?’

‘The email address used there appears twice in Mister Anderson’s private mailbox. I have no other emails originating from it or with it as a recipient.’

‘Let me see the other one then.’ A new window opened on the console screen and Aneka turned to look. There was not much to the mail, just a date and a set of coordinates. The date was a very familiar one: May the sixteenth, twenty-eleven. ‘Aggy… Aren’t those coordinates…?’

‘The latitude and longitude given are where you were captured, within a one-kilometre radius, Aneka.’

Aneka checked the send date. It was the fifteenth, the day before they had gone in. Aneka had sent the extraction coordinates out through encrypted radio. ‘Why would Anderson be sending our extraction point to some mysterious email address?’ It was obviously a rhetorical question and Aggy gave no answer. ‘Could someone have known you were on Earth? That you were looking for candidates for the project?’

‘While not impossible, it would be highly unlikely. The only people who knew about the programme were Xinti. My cloaking system was more than sufficient to keep us hidden from the technology available on Earth then. The infiltrations I conducted of secure servers was never discovered, to my knowledge, and if it were it would likely have been attributed to a more mundane source.’

‘Well, someone seems to have known something was going to happen.’ Aneka frowned. ‘Anderson pushed me to do that op. We were just off a two-month assignment guarding some arsehole businessman in Afghanistan and I’d said we needed the break, but he pushed… Someone made sure I was there, in the middle of nowhere, so you could grab me, and Anderson told them where it was going to happen.’

‘I was following you from the moment you left Baghdad. The message was not for my benefit.’

‘No, I didn’t think it was. Could you please go through your records looking for anything else related to this email address? I’m not expecting anything, but it’s worth a try.’ Reaching out, she closed down the console and then turned away from it.

‘Of course, Aneka. Are you all right?’

Aneka’s frown deepened. ‘Confused. And I hate mysteries.’

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Aneka finished watching her diagnostics cycle but kept her eyes closed. She was lying on her back, not on her side curled up against Ella. Still another sixteen days until the redhead was up and pestering her for sex at every opportunity. At times it was annoying. Lately it had been getting to the level where it was almost a problem. Right now, Aneka would have given quite a lot for Ella to be lying there begging for ‘just one more come before we get up.’

Sighing, she opened her eyes, swung her legs out of bed, and found herself looking at a pair of golden thighs. She looked up. ‘Morning Aggy. You know, if you had a physical body you could really take advantage of my current frame of mind.’

‘The batteries on your favourite vibrator are fully charged, Aneka,’ Aggy replied happily.

‘It’s Ella’s favourite, that’s why I’m using it. I don’t have a favourite vibrator since I usually have Ella. She may not vibrate, but she hums quite well. Is there a reason for your early appearance?’

‘I have done as you asked. As I indicated, there are no other emails from or to that account. I was unable to find any references to any component of it. I tried tracking the mail server for the account only to discover that its internet address was changed frequently. In every copy of the DNS database I took a snapshot of, in fact. I have concluded that the address was a throwaway one designed to obscure the recipient.’

Aneka nodded. ‘I guess that makes sense. So it’s a dead end?’

‘I did not give up so easily,’ Aggy replied. ‘I did a full heuristic search for other captured emails around that time period using similar phraseology, as well as scanning for messages utilising the same email server. Having discarded all the ones related to postal or courier services, I was able to narrow the list to nine thousand, six hundred, and twenty-seven messages.’ Aneka blinked at her. ‘Unfortunately I had to work through these manually to avoid false negatives, which is why it has taken me until now to find this.’ Lifting her hands, she put her palms together, and then spread them to produce a window in the air. She held it out to Aneka. Taking the window in hand, Aneka held it up and looked at it. She knew it was not actually real; it was something Aggy was projecting for her. But she could actually feel the thing in her fingers! Focussing on the contents of the projection instead of the projection itself, Aneka examined the message.

It seemed to be from a company executive to someone else in the same company. The Major is complaining about his lost package, sprang out at her. Anderson had been a major before leaving the Marines. The operation went exactly as our Principal said it would. His information was right on the money. So whoever it was seemed to have been aware of what was going to happen. Someone, their ‘Principal,’ had told them. The advancement in technology we expect from this event will make every last one of us richer than God.

‘Who the Hell is Deltram Technologies Ltd?’ Aneka asked.

‘They were a small investment corporation,’ Aggy replied, ‘based out of Baltimore, Maryland. They specialised in cutting-edge technology investment, according to their SEC filing.’

‘There is also a Deltram Technologies FRC in the Federal Register,’ Al added. ‘Their filing lists the same sort of activity, which may be coincidence given the considerable span of time involved.’

‘I don’t believe in that kind of coincidence,’ Aneka stated flatly. ‘There’s nothing else you can find, Aggy?’

‘Nothing, Aneka. My capture of emails was not complete except in areas of specific interest, such as you and the other potential subjects. I can only data mine what I have, unfortunately.’

‘Not your fault. Okay, I guess we’ve hit the end of this road for now. Thank you for your help, Aggy.’

‘My pleasure, Aneka. Frankly, if someone was aware of our activities back then, I would like to know who and how as well. I am not greatly fond of mysteries myself.’

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Ella hauled herself upright and groaned. Aneka handed her an open bottle of isotonic water and waited for the little redhead to consume half of it before saying, ‘Morning, love. Good sleep?’

Ella growled at her. ‘I had this really weird dream.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah. I was taking a walk in the hills above Matlock, I think. The wind was blowing in my hair, the sun was shining, and I was feeling all light and breezy. And then I’m suddenly getting pounded by this beefy shepherd.’

‘Hmmm…’

‘And after that he had friends. Finishing up with his sister. I’m horny as fuck! You wouldn’t know anything about any of this, would you?’

Aneka put her hand up to her chest, fingers spread, and affected a hurt look. ‘Moi?’

‘Yes, you! You didn’t think I’d want you enough when I got up?’

Aneka grinned. ‘Let’s get some food in you. You’ll need the energy.’ Reaching into the pod she lifted Ella out and set her down on the deck. ‘Believe me, you’ll need the energy.’

~~~

‘I can’t move,’ Ella said.

‘You don’t need to,’ Aneka replied, grinning.

‘We can’t spend the night lying on the mess room table.’

‘Well if it comes to that, I’ll carry you back to the cabin.’

Ella giggled. ‘It might. Vashma that was good. What’ve you been up to while I was asleep?’

‘Reading. Books, and there were some files Aggy kept from when she was researching me for uplift. Oh, and I fucked Drake when he got up for the mid-flight check so I’d have something to play to you and start that dream off.’

‘How long have you been planning that?’

‘Couple of months. I missed you. I don’t like it when you’re not in bed when I wake up. It feels like… like there’s a hole in my world.’

‘You say the nicest things.’

‘It’s true. Sue me.’

‘I’d much rather fuck you.’

‘I thought you couldn’t move?’

‘I lied.’

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Ella was pacing. It was sort of comical aside from the fact that Aneka was not sure why. There was not much space in the cabin for walking back and forth, so it was a couple of steps, turn, a couple of steps…

‘You should really stop that,’ Aneka told her from her position propped up on one elbow on the bed. ‘You’ll get dizzy.’

Ella stopped and turned, and looked at Aneka with a weird sort of concentrating-confused expression. ‘Okay, here’s the thing. I was thinking about what you said when I woke up. Like there was this hole, you remember?’

Aneka looked at her with a quizzical half-grin.

‘There was a hole. In your life. When I wasn’t in bed. Or not in bed, exactly, but there. When I wasn’t there. And I started thinking. And the others will be up tomorrow and I thought I’d better say something before then because if you want to then we can start planning and if you don’t I’ll have some time to sort that out. See?’

The half-grin remained. ‘Uh… no.’

‘You don’t?!’ Ella’s eyes widened.

‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about.’

‘Oh. Oh! I wasn’t really very clear, was I? Look, we’ve been together for nearly four years now and it’s been really great. I mean, it’s been really great. I’ve never felt so good in my life and that’s the important thing, you see? That we feel great, because we should feel great. We have a right to feel great. That’s what life should be about. You do your best to find someone you like, and maybe love, and you try to be as good together as possible, but then maybe you need more and I think that maybe we should do that, because I know you’d think of it as more than it was, because I read up on it in our notes and I know it was more important back then and now it’s really just a legal thing…’ She turned slightly red and stopped to drag in a lungful of air.

‘But that’s important too!’ It was kind of like watching a train wreck; Aneka thought she should step in and stop her, but it was just too fascinating. ‘I mean if something happened to me you’d be out on the street! So that’s important, but I’d understand if you felt it was too much because nothing would change, probably, so it wouldn’t be like it was back then, but it does still have some meaning, you see?’ She gave Aneka a quick look as though she expected an answer, and then went on anyway.

‘Or! Or you might not want to because I was such an idiot back on Earth. I’d never do anything like that again. I’d include you in everything or not do it because you didn’t want to. I was such a watemchu! So what do you think?’

‘My universal translation software is having a fit?’ Aneka replied. Ella made a noise like, ‘mmmnnnggg,’ which Aneka thought might be frustration. ‘Okay, so you’re asking me if I want to… make our relationship official? Do whatever it is you do to register us as a couple?’ Ella nodded dumbly, her expression slightly pleading. ‘Okay?’

‘What?’

‘Sure, why not? Like you said, I think, somewhere in that carefully rehearsed speech, we’ve been living together for over three years. It would take care of any legal problems if one of us dies or something. And I’m not going to expect you to become monogamous because of it. If I wanted that I’d have to chain you to the bed.’

‘You can do that if you want?’ Ella said in a small voice.

‘Come here and kiss me, idiot.’

Ella dropped to her knees by the bed, and was kissed.

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‘Congratulations,’ Drake said before starting on his plate of food. There was a general round of the same sentiment from the rest of the crew, who were digging into food as well.

‘It is very practical,’ Gillian commented. ‘You are living together and there are benefits if something should happen. It’s also very romantic.’

Aneka laughed. ‘It’s not exactly what marriage was supposed to be, but it is what a lot of people considered it to mean. You lot live so long that sticking with one person for life is too difficult, but most marriages ended in divorce in my time, so it’s not exactly a change.’

‘It’s still symbolic to a lot of Jenlay,’ Gillian said.

‘Especially in some parts,’ Delta added. Her home world, High Drahain, had something of a conventional view of relationships compared to other parts of the Federal core.

‘Well,’ Ella said, ‘we’ll get it sorted out as soon as possible. We’ll have to have a party after the ceremony…’

‘There’s a ceremony?’ Aneka asked.

‘Not much of one. You just have to agree to the formalisation in front of a couple of witnesses. Idents are registered. That’s it.’

‘And then we have a party?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘With drink and Jenlay?’

‘Yup.’

‘Okay, but I get first dibs on you.’

The Islands, New Earth, 5.5.527 FSC.

Aneka had decided that she could get used to returning from trips and being locked up in seclusion while the Administration figured out what to do with her and her friends. They were back in a diplomatic facility they had used when returning from Negral, and Aneka was busy lying on the grass outside the room she had been assigned with Ella working on her tan.

‘You are, of course, aware that your skin will neither darken nor pale under ultraviolet light?’ Al asked as she lay there. ‘I find it unlikely that Ella is going to develop anything other than sunburn.’

‘I like the warmth,’ Aneka replied. ‘I think the same is true of Ella since she put something which looked like factor ten billion sun block on before she came out.’

‘That is a valid point.’

‘Have you managed to tunnel through their security to talk to Cassandra yet?’

‘What makes you think I would do that? All right, yes, I have. I’ve been discussing your activities on our trip to Earth, though I found it amusing to start with your interesting ploy to have Ella begging for it on the trip back.’

‘The fascination you two have with my sex life is a little disconcerting.’

‘Cassandra was originally conceived, if you’ll pardon the pun, as a sex toy by a deluded genius,’ Al replied matter-of-factly. ‘She is, obviously, inclined to be interested in sexual activity. I was designed to observe you and I enjoy making Cassandra happy. Providing her with the intimate details of your intimacy is guaranteed to make her happy.’

‘I’m not sure whether to be insulted or amused.’

‘Are we actually going to be called in to talk to anyone, do you think?’ Ella asked.

‘No idea,’ Aneka replied. ‘I think we’re waiting on someone.’

‘Quite possibly Winter,’ Al informed her. ‘Someone detonated a bomb at a Federal office building she was due to be attending.’

‘What?!’

‘That was late last month, but there has been a significant increase in security around her since then.’

‘Huh, she’s going to hate that.’ Aloud she said, ‘Apparently someone tried to blow up Winter. Security’s been beefed up around her.’

‘She’s going to hate that, but… We don’t get things like that happening on New Earth.’

‘Apparently you do. At least you do now.’

‘Oh. Wait, was anyone hurt?’

‘I don’t know, but explosives generally result in injuries at least.’

~~~

‘The bomb was discovered and the building evacuated, but the explosives technician who tried to defuse it was killed when it exploded.’ Winter was dressed in one of her severe, grey business suits, the effect softened by the removal of the jacket to reveal the sheer, white blouse beneath. She looked tired.

‘You got no warning that something like this might happen?’ Aneka asked.

‘Nothing. And no claims of responsibility have emerged that we can take seriously.’ The spy mistress picked up a tumbler of whiskey from the small table beside her chair and took a fairly large pull on it. ‘Obviously that makes me rather irritated, but that’s not why we’re here.’

Winter had arrived late in the afternoon in an armoured vertol aircraft. The number of security personnel around the facility had risen by a significant factor almost immediately. Aneka suspected that the extra bodyguards were what was making the woman tired, and likely increasing her irritability. She was looking more relaxed here, in one of the mansion’s drawing rooms surrounded by people who had spent much of the last year out of Federal space, than she had since she arrived.

‘What’s the plan?’ Drake asked.

‘Tomorrow,’ Winter replied, ‘Elroy will be arriving with a couple of other politicians. We’ve got a press conference arranged for the day after, so they’re going to brief you on the current political situation so you aren’t caught out. That said, we decided to limit the presence to Doctor Gilroy…’

‘Gillian,’ Gillian interrupted. ‘We’ve known each other for a while and you’re sitting there with your jacket off. I think we can dispense with the formalities.’

Winter bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. ‘Gillian and Aneka will be handling the press along with Elroy.’

‘Not you?’ Aneka asked.

‘There are no actual security implications, and if I was there all we’d get is questions about the bombing.’

That made sense. ‘Why were you supposed to be at that building?’

‘A meeting concerning the shipping attacks. I was presenting the data my own people have uncovered along with Aggy’s analysis. She’s good. We’d figured out that pattern too, but she did it with less resources and obviously knows more about the technology being employed.’ Winter gave Drake an evil sort of grin. ‘I should steal her off you and get her working for me.’

‘She’d never agree,’ Ella said. ‘She’s a ship’s computer. A science ship’s computer. She’d hate being stuck on the ground running intelligence analysis.’

‘I know. And since she’s just as good a resource aboard the Garnet Hyde, I have no problem with it.’

Aneka sighed and sank the remainder of her own whiskey. ‘Another press conference. I just adore those.’

‘You’re good at them,’ Winter told her. ‘And anyway, it could be worse. You could be me.’

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‘Thus far,’ Senator Elroy said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the conference room table, ‘we have established the high-speed tachyon communication link to Old Earth and exchanged a few fairly diplomatic messages. The real work will begin when we start talking details, but I’m quite pleased with the progress so far.’

‘Who are you dealing with at the other end?’ Aneka asked.

‘A Councillor Harper, primarily. He requested that you send him a message when you got here. Apparently someone named Abigail was keen to receive word of your safe arrival.’

‘Can I?’

‘We’ve made special provision for this team to communicate with Old Earth whenever required. I don’t know how many of you will need or want to, but they know you and it seemed best to ensure that they could communicate with the Jenlay they’ve met if they wished.’

Aneka nodded. ‘Abigail is one of the surface people we met. She’s a bright girl and they were hoping she would help with the education programmes they’re trying to set up.’

‘Something of a fragmented society.’

‘It isn’t that different from the Federation,’ Ella commented. ‘Core and Rim are almost two different groups of Jenlay.’

Elroy gave a slight shrug. ‘We like to think we’re one people, but you are correct. My take on the overtures being made are that the Old Earth people are keen to share their technology, and they believe we have some advances they do not. However, they are cautious and have no desire to actually become part of the Federation. They seem to be far more interested in a tighter relationship with the Jenlay than with the larger political structure.’

‘They have not had a particularly pleasant history of relations with other species,’ Gillian said. ‘There was some sort of war with a culture called the Pinnacle after the cities there were established. We don’t know much about that species, but we know it was a hard fight to beat them back. They became very insular after that.’

‘I recall mention of the Pinnacle in your report. Are they a threat?’

‘They’ve heard nothing of them since, and their home world was further from here than Old Earth is. They certainly don’t represent a threat to the Federation, even if they still exist.’

‘Good,’ Elroy said. ‘We have enough problems at the moment without another one rearing its head.’

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Aneka only really got one question asked of her during the press conference, which made her entire day more pleasant than she thought it was going to be.

‘Miss Jansen,’ some reporter Aneka did not believe she had seen before said, ‘you managed to get back to your home world. Was it not difficult to leave again?’

Aneka looked out at the crowd of reporters. ‘I’m sorry, but there’s a basic error in your question. I did not manage to get back to my home world. My home world was a place called Earth which existed almost twelve centuries ago. The world we just came from isn’t the one I left. It was never going to be, but I needed to go there and see it to let that sink in. So I’ve been, and seen, and my Earth is dead and gone. But I’ve got a new home. The Jenlay have welcomed me to their home world. One in particular has invited me into her home. We used to say that “home is where the heart is” so my home is definitely here, on New Earth, with my partner. I’ll be going home after the conference, and I’ll be really happy when I finally get back there.’

Part Three: Two Weddings and a Party

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Janna let them have a day to recover before turning up on the doorstep. It was not really necessary, they were quite rested, but it did give them time to unpack before Ella’s mother descended on them.

Unlike Brinna, who appeared to have contributed almost nothing genetically to Ella aside from her hair, Janna appeared to have cloned her daughter rather than giving birth. Mother was a near-perfect copy of daughter, with enough variation to make it obvious that a test tube had not been involved. They both had the same pixy-like features, the same bright smile. Janna tended to look a little more serious than her daughter; her features were a little harder as the result of age and possibly some elements of her lifestyle. Her hair was short and midnight black, and her eyes were brown, and in the past Janna had had much larger breasts than her daughter along with a slightly fitter body. These days only the hair and eyes distinguished them.

The brunette Narrows bounced into the flat Aneka and Ella shared, hugging her daughter enthusiastically before doing the same to her daughter’s lover. There was rather more groping involved in the latter; Janna had resigned herself to not sleeping with Aneka, but it did not mean that a little indecent application of hands could not take place when the situation allowed. And then the two Narrows started talking more or less over the top of each other.

‘I’m so glad you’re safe,’ Janna was saying. ‘I was afraid you wouldn’t get back in time.’

‘Mom, it’s great to see you,’ Ella said at the same time. ‘I mean it’s really great that you don’t have to cross half the planet to come hear the news.’

‘What news?’

‘In time for what?’

‘Sharissa and I are going to formalise things now I’ve moved in with her and…’

‘Aneka and I are going to formalise our partnership and… Wait, what?! Oh wow!’

‘You are?! Oh that’s fantastic news! We can make it a double.’

‘Do you have a Registry booked yet?’

‘Slow down!’ Aneka said, maybe a little louder and more sharply than she had intended. Two women looked at her, eyes wide. ‘Janna, you and Sharissa are doing this same formal partnership thing?’

Janna nodded. ‘We have a Registry booked for the ceremony for the fourth of next month. We can easily get it changed to do both ceremonies at the same time. They don’t mind that kind of thing.’

‘Well it would save some time and effort, I guess,’ Aneka conceded.

‘But then there’s the party,’ Ella said, frowning. ‘If it’s your friends and ours…’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that, dear,’ Janna said, grinning. ‘Sharissa’s place is bigger than this and we’d already planned for a party there after the ceremony. We can just add some extra people, perhaps make it a little longer…’

Aneka let out a groan. ‘This is going to be Christmas all over again, isn’t it?’

‘Oh no,’ Janna said, waving the argument away. ‘It’ll be nothing like that. I expect there to be far more sex for one thing.’ Grabbing the bag she had dropped on the way in, she pulled a bottle of wine from it and started for the kitchen. ‘Come on, we can get drunk and discuss plans.’

‘I can’t get drunk, Janna,’ Aneka pointed out.

‘No, but Ella gets twice as drunk as a normal person, so she makes up for you.’

‘Mom!’ Ella whined, even if it was true.

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‘The fourteenth,’ Gillian said. ‘It’s already arranged so there’s no getting out of it.’

‘I hate these political parties,’ Aneka said making a sour face.

‘At least we’re not trying to milk the guests for money this time. This is just a thank you to those who contributed to the expedition.’

Ella frowned. ‘Does that mean Teldarian is going to be there?’

‘He has, apparently, accepted the invitation,’ Gillian replied.

‘Huh. I bet he did.’

‘Ella, you’re formalising your relationship next month. If anyone needs to be jealous, it’s him.’

‘You can thank him for the coffee,’ Aneka suggested.

‘Huh. And how would you suggest I thank him?’

‘You say, “Thank you for the coffee, Mister Teldarian.”’

‘Oh, right.’

Aneka smirked. ‘And then you add, “Should I get on all fours here or would you like to find somewhere private?”’

‘Aneka!’

‘What? You said it yourself. He’s rich, handsome, charming…’

‘And after you.’

‘Stephen Teldarian may or may not be after me, but he’s not going to get me, in any permanent sense, and I’m willing to bet he’d happily go with you… or Gillian.’

Gillian laughed. ‘I think I’m a little old for him.’

‘You think?’

‘He tends to prefer younger women. Much younger, though I think you’re right about Ella. She’s just about young enough.’

Ella pouted.

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‘That one’s gorgeous,’ Ella said. ‘You should really try it on.’

‘Nope,’ Aneka replied from where she was lounging on a chair in the changing rooms. ‘I am wearing my swarm dress. I don’t need anything else.’

‘But…’

‘No. Swarm dress. We’re here to find something for you to wear.’

‘But I like watching you try on dresses,’ Ella replied, pouting.

‘I know. I’m your own personal life-size dress-up doll. But not this time.’

Picking up the next dress she was going to try on, Ella walked into the cubicle she was using and closed the curtain. ‘I’m not sure I like the new you.’

‘New me?’

‘Yeah, ever since you fought Yrimtan you’ve been saying no to me more often.’

‘You mean at all.’

‘That’s more often. But you have.’

‘Not where it counts. Have I refused to have sex with you? Ever?’

‘Well, no.’

‘There you go then.’

Ella emerged from behind the curtain wearing a dress made up of various irregularly shaped panels held in place by lengths of bio-plastic thread so fine as to be almost invisible. ‘I disagree though. You said no when I asked you not to go after Yrimtan. That was important.’ She examined herself in the mirror. ‘I think that’s what started this rebellious tendency.’

‘That one’s great,’ Aneka said, avoiding the implied question. ‘You should take that even if you aren’t going to wear it for this party.’

‘I’ll take one in white for the party and another in red. And you’re not getting out of it that easily.’ She marched back into the cubicle to change.

‘I had to take her out, and you know I did. I think she wanted it to happen, even if she tried really hard to kill me instead. And after I’d said no once it was easier to do it again, yes.’

Ella re-emerged, carrying her soon-to-be-purchased dress. She smiled. ‘I guess you did have to, and I guess I can live with a few refusals as long as none of them involves sex.’

‘Ella, love, if I ever refuse to have sex with you I want you to shoot me, because I’ll obviously be brain-dead and just walking around out of habit.’

Ella giggled. ‘C’mon, let’s pick up the other copy of this and get out of here. We can go home and you can practise saying yes to me.’

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Actually, Aneka was not having a bad time. The party felt like it had a real party atmosphere. The attendees were all there because they had made some contribution to the Old Earth expedition, and this was their reward. There were pictures and displays around the Grand Hall showing information about the original home of Humanity, and everyone was at least making a show of looking at a few of them, but mostly they were there for the drinking, dancing, flirting, and food.

Someone had had the bright idea of getting the Extreme Measures people to put up a climbing wall at one end of the hall, so there was the distinctly crazy sight of mildly drunk men and women in evening wear being hauled up a fake cliff. Near the bottom of that, Aneka found Eddie Leverson and Annie Teach keeping an eye on their employees who were manning the wall. Teach was wearing a short, black dress in a sparkling, sheer fabric, her lithe body making the garment really work well for her. Leverson was in black jeans and a T-shirt printed with a tuxedo pattern. Aneka was a little surprised that Teach had persuaded him to wear long trousers.

‘Annie,’ Aneka said, grinning at the couple, ‘you’re looking gorgeous. Eddie, you’re looking like someone out of a stoner movie.’

‘She does, doesn’t she?’ Eddie drawled. ‘Not that you’re looking bad yourself. You said you had a dress based on the light swarm and I gotta say that Annie’s the only other person I’ve ever seen looking as good in air and tiny robots.’ Aneka was indeed wearing, if the term could be applied, a cloud of tiny, glowing beads, which floated around her body in the approximate shape of a mini-dress. There was enough density there at the moment that her skin was barely visible as long as she moved at a walk.

‘Thanks, Eddie, though Ella was wearing one last time we were here and I thought she looked pretty good.’

‘Ella’s the redhead in the tiny cloth patches?’ Aneka nodded and Leverson gave an appreciative nod in return. ‘Fit-looking lady for an academic.’

‘Don’t mind Eddie,’ Teach said. ‘He bust a leg a couple of weeks ago and he’s not been getting any while the bone healed. He’s a little over-eager.’

‘I meant,’ Leverson said, ‘that she had good muscle definition.’

‘Sure, Eddie,’ Teach replied, grinning. ‘I heard you got some use out of that microlight?’

‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka told them. ‘We got use out of just about everything you guys gave us, but that little plane was a life saver. Literally. You guys can have my endorsement any time you like.’

Teach beamed. ‘I’m going to hold you to that. Maybe get you to do a small photo shoot with a friend of mine and some of our gear?’

Aneka nodded slowly. ‘I can probably do that, sure. As long as you’re not planning on pictures of me naked aside from a harness halfway up a cliff.’

Teach managed to keep an almost straight face. ‘Gopi, there goes that idea.’

~~~

Teldarian’s gaze was fixed on a display showing a projection of Old Earth with the major areas of occupation marked. As Aneka approached he seemed to be paying particular attention to the central section where Europe, and England, was one of the denser regions of population.

‘The Prime City is there,’ Aneka said. ‘What could be described as the world’s capital. It’s certainly the place their Council occupies.’

‘Your place of birth, if my memory serves?’ Teldarian replied. He turned and gave her a smile, all white teeth and charm. Stephen Teldarian had charm down pat. He was tall, handsome, and somewhat swarthy with his tanned skin and slight stubble. His hair was black and fell down his neck in soft waves. A memory flashed to mind unbidden of her fingers twining into that hair as she pressed his mouth…

She smiled back. ‘They built it under Aldershot. It was a military town. There were bunkers they could use to start from.’ It was partially a lie. Yrimtan had built under Aldershot for the same reason Aneka would have; it was their home town.

‘Nice place?’

‘The old town or the new city?’

‘Either. Both.’

‘Aldershot was… I’m biased, but the town wasn’t what I’d call picturesque. The new city is a little sterile. Very modern, but very… artificial.’

‘Cities tend to be.’

‘I don’t think so. Some of them are quite organic. Living entities. Mid-town is a little like that. I wasn’t sure about the place when I first moved in, but it’s really growing on me.’

‘Really?’

‘Uh-huh. Ella and I are formalising our partnership.’

She saw it in his eyes, the flare of displeasure, almost anger. Then there was the self-recrimination. ‘Congratulations.’

‘Thank you. How’s your sister?’

His eyes tightened, wrinkles showed around his nose as his lip moved up. She kept the frown off her face, but it was almost as though she had kicked him while he was down. ‘She’s well. She was asking whether I would see you here. I think she likes you.’

‘I liked her. She’s a free spirit. Well, for someone who never leaves a private island on an isolated planet.’

‘Yes, yes she is. If you’ll excuse me, there’s someone I need to talk to.’

Aneka nodded. ‘Of course. Enjoy the party.’

‘Oh, I intend to.’

He walked away and she noticed the stiffness in his stride.

~~~

‘Teldarian didn’t look happy,’ Ella said.

‘I told him we were getting hitched,’ Aneka replied. She sipped her wine, which tasted a lot of blackcurrant. She really needed to get an import business started shipping real wine from Old Earth.

‘That explains it. He left about twenty minutes ago.’

‘Huh. He’ll get over it. He actually seemed more upset when I asked about his sister. What’ve you been up to?’

‘Schmoozing. That’s the right word, isn’t it?’

Aneka giggled. ‘Yeah, that’s it.’

‘I’ve danced with three men and two women. Two of the men and both women couldn’t keep their hands off my butt.’

‘Who’s the third man? I think I should check him out. He’s either gay or he’s got amazing self-control.’

Ella giggled this time. ‘I’ve been chatting with people. Talking about the displays. Actually, I talked to Teldarian right before he left.’

‘Oh? Maybe that was what made him leave then. He never struck me as the jealous type.’

‘He didn’t say anything about the registration. Just talked about the Matlock display.’

Yeah, he had had his nose rubbed in it and had decided discretion was the better part of valour. Aneka was moderately sure he would get over it. There would probably be a nubile young woman involved in his therapy.

Ella giggled again. ‘I was thinking about trying that climbing wall.’

‘In that dress?’

‘Is that a problem?’

Aneka laughed this time. ‘No, but give me thirty minutes to sell tickets would you?’

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Aneka stood in the shower, more or less holding Ella up while the redhead groaned and let the water soak into her hair.

‘You know,’ Ella said, her voice almost muffled by the downpour, ‘you could be kind and stop me drinking at these things. Or at all.’

‘I like you tipsy. You’re a cute drunk. I wouldn’t let you do anything embarrassing.’

‘Like climbing that wall.’

‘Exactly like climbing that wall in a dress that barely covered your butt. Besides, you get totally wild in bed when you’ve had too many.’

Ella giggled, and then winced. ‘Are the painkillers going to start working soon?’

‘Ten, maybe twelve, minutes.’

Another groan. ‘Can we hold off on the planning until tomorrow? I don’t think my mind’s in it.’

‘There’s not that much to plan, so yes.’

‘Have I mentioned that I love you recently?’

‘More or less every ten minutes since we got home, yes.’

‘I’ve slept since then.’ She turned around in Aneka’s arms and pushed up onto her toes. Their lips met, softly at first and then more hungrily. ‘I love you,’ Ella breathed when they finally broke the kiss.

‘I love you too, but don’t you have a headache?’

Ella shook her head slowly. ‘Either the painkillers are working really fast, or you’re the best analgesic there is.’

Aneka pulled her in closer, feeling the pressure of the hard nubs of her nipples. ‘Worst romantic line ever. Shut up and kiss me.’

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Sharissa Torrence was a tall, attractive blonde, her hair tending to work its way toward a flapper-like ringletted appearance. She had gorgeous blue eyes, a fit body with breasts significantly smaller than her partner’s, and a general personality closer to Aneka’s than most Jenlay women she had met. Aneka had decided she liked the woman the first time they met while visiting Janna, but the more time they got to spend together, the more she thought Sharissa was a perfect match for Ella’s mother.

Right now the two blondes were sitting at one small table in a Mid-town coffee shop calmly watching mother and daughter go through plans for the registration ceremony and the party afterward. Aneka was used to planning military engagements, and Sharissa was employed by the Federal Security Agency to organise security operations, but it was the two Narrows who had taken over the operation and were refusing to let it go.

Not that either of them had exactly tried to get in on the planning. Janna and Ella enjoyed this sort of thing, and it could even be argued that Aneka and Sharissa were doing it for Janna’s and Ella’s benefit rather than their own.

‘Who suggested it?’ Aneka asked. ‘The formalisation thing, I mean.’

‘I did,’ Sharissa replied. ‘It’s pure pragmatism. I’m in a dangerous line of work and if something happens to me, then Janna isn’t going to be homeless. Not that she put up a fight. At all.’

‘Ella made the same argument, but I think she was just trying to make it sound practical. It’s more to do with wanting me to feel like she’s dedicating herself to me. Or maybe wanting her to feel like she’s dedicating herself to me.’

Sharissa frowned. ‘Trouble in paradise?’

‘Not really. She did something stupid on Old Earth, regretted it immediately, and now she’s overdoing it a little trying to make up. It’s still kind of romantic.’

‘I think she gets it from her mother. Both incurable romantics with nymphomaniac tendencies.’

‘I don’t think they’re actually, clinically, nymphos.’

Sharissa grinned. ‘The term isn’t used anymore to be honest. People describe someone as a nymphomaniac, or a watemchu, but it’s almost affectionate. Those two do fit the classification for hypersexuality, but then you could say the same about half the Jenlay population. I mean, it’s not like I can’t keep up with Janna. She’s more likely to initiate than I am, but not by that much. Does Ella ask for too much?’

Aneka grinned back. ‘No, but sometimes I’m glad I don’t need much sleep.’

‘Janna’s got a little more responsible since starting work at the university. Her schedule’s more regular so she has to sleep more regularly. We pull all-nighters at weekends about twice a month to make up, and it’s tiring, and amazing, and she’s worth it.’ The blonde spy smiled across at her lover, her eyes bright.

Aneka smiled too. ‘They both are.’

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‘There is no way I can wear this,’ Aneka said, turning to examine her outfit in the mirror. ‘To an orgy, maybe. At a club with the intent to get laid, yes. To the registration ceremony…’

‘Yes,’ Ella said. ‘You look like a goddess. And you said white was traditional at weddings.’

‘Yeah, it was,’ Aneka admitted reluctantly. ‘Just… more of it.’ Her outfit consisted of two loops of white cloth with gold trimming held at her shoulders by silver rings, and a skirt, which was similarly two near-triangles held by rings at her hips. The white was not even opaque, though the sparkly fabric hid most of what was under it. White sandals with ankle straps completed the outfit, such as it was.

‘You’ve seen what I’m wearing…’

‘Yes, and it’s actually less risqué than this. I’m amazed at your restraint. So why are you dressing me in nothing?’

Ella got out of her seat and walked up behind Aneka. A hand slid over the taller woman’s taught stomach. ‘Because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and you’ve agreed to be my legal partner, and I’m the luckiest girl on the planet, and I want everyone to see how lucky I am. Please…’

She could have said no. Somehow it seemed absolutely the wrong time to do so. ‘All right, love. This one you can have.’

Ella smiled gleefully. ‘When are you going to tell me what you were up to yesterday?’ Aneka had been missing for several hours and had refused to let Ella go with her. It had been distinctly mysterious.

‘That you can’t have. It’s a surprise for the day.’

Ella gave a little pout. Not too much of one since she had got her way with the clothes. ‘I guess I can live with that. It’s something special?’

‘Uh-huh. You’ll like it. Trust me.’

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For a culture that had forsaken marriage as impractical given their extended lifespans, the Jenlay formal registration process seemed a lot like a wedding to Aneka. Maybe one of those Las Vegas Wedding Chapel ones, but a wedding none the less.

There were more of Aneka and Ella’s friends there than those belonging to Janna and Sharissa. Janna had only recently moved to Yorkbridge and there were only a couple of people from her old life who had been able to make the trip. Sharissa simply had few friends; a couple of people from the agency she worked for had come, including one Aneka was finding very suspicious. On the other hand, the entire crew of the Garnet Hyde was there, as were Abraham Wallace and Cassandra, and Katelyn and Dillon, which definitely made up the numbers. Everyone was sitting in the registration room on little straight-backed chairs, looking vaguely uncomfortable and happy at the same time.

At the front, on a small stage, where they could be seen easily, were the subjects of the ceremony. Aneka was feeling a little uncomfortable about her outfit, but now that she had seen what everyone else was wearing, it did not seem so bad. Sharissa was wearing a long, black gown which flared very wide at the hem. It was made of black lace and was pretty much transparent. Janna’s dress was also lace, in white, and slightly more opaque, but not by much. It was also much shorter, showing off her long legs, accentuated by ridiculously high heels. Ella was in a pale-blue and white skirt and top, and white heels with bows on the toes. The skirt was opaque, but the top was largely white appliquéd netting. No one was dressed for an Old Earth wedding.

At least the man presiding over the ceremony was dressed in a high-collared suit. He was mature, Aneka would have said, even distinguished-looking. There were hints of grey in his hair. Unlike a wedding, however, this man was a lawyer. His job was to be the legal representative of the Federal Administration and to make sure all the paperwork was filed correctly, but he did seem to have a sense of ceremony about him.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he intoned as the onlookers settled down, ‘we are here today to officially recognise the partnerships of these two couples. While this is merely a formalisation of their relationships, a matter of legal contract, it is also a display of the love they have for their respective partners and a time to rejoice in that true affection. I, Donald Kirk, am honoured to be among you at this time.’

He smiled far more warmly than Aneka expected a lawyer to smile, and they all smiled back. ‘Now then, we’ll go through the process one at a time. Just repeat after me. Janna first. I, Janna Narrows, wish to formally recognise you, Sharissa Torrence, as my legal partner under the laws of the Lorenti Federation.’

Janna swallowed, suddenly nervous, and turned to Sharissa. ‘I, Janna Narrows, wish to formally recognise you, Sharissa Torrence, as my legal partner under the laws of the Lorenti Federation.’ She grinned brightly as she finished, and turned back to Kirk.

And so it went on until only Aneka was left and she turned to an Ella who was almost glowing with pride. ‘I, Aneka Jansen, wish to formally recognise you, Ella Narrows, as my legal partner under the laws of the Lorenti Federation.’ Ella closed her eyes and sighed, almost as though she had never thought she would hear those words said by anyone to her. A message appeared in Aneka’s vision field asking for identification verification and she accepted it.

Kirk checked a small PDA and nodded. ‘We have your identity codes and those of the witnesses. That’s the legal part out of the way, but before I congratulate you on your new, legal partnerships, Aneka has a small addition to make to the ceremony, I believe?’

Aneka nodded. ‘Thank you, Mister Kirk.’ Gillian had got up from the front row of seats to hand over something and Aneka took it, holding up a small box. ‘As I think everyone here knows, I’m not originally from this time. Back in my time what we’re doing would be called a wedding, or at least a civil partnership, and there was a custom at such ceremonies which I think is worth keeping.’ She opened the box to reveal a pair of rings. ‘Traditionally they would be gold, but I decided that something a little more hard-wearing would be better considering our lifestyles. These are platinum alloy, which should outlast us both.’ She pulled one of the rings out. ‘Left hand, Ella.’

Timidly, Ella held out her left hand and Aneka slipped the ring onto her third finger. Then Aneka held out the box and her own left hand so that Ella could repeat the procedure. Ella lifted her hand, looking at the Hani characters inscribed in the upper surface of the white metal. ‘Yungyen tzai ishi,’ she read aloud.

‘Together forever,’ Aneka translated.

‘It’s beautiful.’

‘And a beautiful sentiment,’ Kirk said. ‘Now, this ceremony is complete and your partnerships have been legally recognised by the Lorenti Federation. May all of you live in happiness for many long years.’

~~~

‘You know where the name “Kirk” comes from?’ Aneka asked. Gillian and Ella were sitting beside her on stools at the little counter which Sharissa had in one corner of her apartment. It was currently serving as a bar; Bashford was behind it playing barman.

‘I know it’s a very old name,’ Gillian supplied. ‘Some of the families bearing it can trace their lineage back beyond the Long Dark.’

‘It’s Scottish,’ Aneka said, ‘for church.’

Ella giggled. ‘So were weren’t married in a church, but we were registered by Mister Church.’

‘Yeah. I found that vaguely amusing. Mind you, it was also the name of the original captain in Star Trek, and he was a total horndog, which I feel is appropriate to the current age.’

The party was currently in full swing on three floors. The apartment was right at the top of the building and reminded Aneka of a loft conversion. Down on the ground floor were the lounge, kitchen, and bathroom. There was a chromed pole in the middle of the lounge which Sharissa had had put in because she loved watching Janna dance, but it was currently occupied by one of Janna’s friends who was naked aside for some platform pumps. On the half-floor above were two large bedrooms and at least one of those was currently in use. Above that was a rooftop patio. Aneka had not been up there yet, but there was music and some very close dancing going on according to Shannon.

Later on the two couples would be retiring to the bedrooms. Apparently the concept of a wedding night still existed, even if weddings did not. There was a fair expectation that the lounge would host a pile of intertwined bodies for the remainder of the night, and the following day it was more or less expected that things would just carry on. Aneka would really have liked to just take Ella home rather than upstairs, but they were taking the next few days off, so she figured she would have plenty of time alone then. Right now she was entertaining thoughts of them never leaving the bedroom.

‘This is going to be quite a party,’ Ella said, grinning.

‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka replied. She spotted the mysterious woman she had seen earlier heading for the stairs. She was going to have to have a word with that one. ‘It’s going to be quite an experience, that’s for sure.’

~~~

Janna was on the pole in the lounge, currently suspended by what seemed to be too little support, upside down. She had changed into one of her old stripper outfits, but most of that was lying on the thick carpet now; she was dressed only in a red G-string, lace-topped stockings, and high heels. She had been dressed similarly the first time Aneka had seen her, which was quite a way to meet your girlfriend’s mother.

‘She’s incredibly talented.’ The voice came from Aneka’s right and she glanced that way to see the mysterious stranger standing there. ‘Sharissa is a lucky woman.’

‘She is. So am I.’ Aneka’s eyes swept over the figure beside her, not entirely amazed at what she was seeing, but close enough. ‘What are we calling you?’

‘Xenia,’ the woman said. She was a little on the short side, pretty, with a toned body. She had a little too much make-up on, and long, bright red hair which fell over her breasts. Her outfit was a sort of swimsuit in translucent Ultraskin, which sparkled in the light, red hold-up stockings, and very high, platform pumps. She looked like a dancer from Janna’s old club, but Aneka’s facial recognition software was hard to fool.

‘Isn’t it a bit crazy coming to a party like this when there seem to be people trying to kill you?’

‘Sharissa’s apartment is as secure as some of my safe houses, and you’re here. And, most importantly, no one knows I’m here. I think you’re the only one who’s worked it out. Besides, do you know how many times I’ve had a chance to let my hair down in the last few decades?’

Aneka smirked. ‘Even if your hair is pinned up under a red wig?’

‘Even then.’

‘That’s quite an outfit too. Getting into the role?’

‘I am. I’m rather hoping to get myself really, well and truly, fucked into oblivion later.’

Aneka frowned, quickly pushing the expression off her face. There had been a hint of something like depression in Winter’s voice. ‘Are you okay?’

Winter glanced at her, giving a too-quick smile. ‘I’m fine.’ Aneka’s eyebrows twitched upward. ‘You’re too perceptive. I have a feeling that I may not get many more chances to make a complete fool of myself. I intend to make the most of this one.’

‘In that case, Xenia,’ Aneka said, trying to ignore the ominous sound of the words, ‘I wish you the best of luck, and I recommend Kat and Dillon as playmates.’

‘Dillon is the big man with the huge… muscles?’

‘Uh-huh.’

A positively impish grin appeared on Winter’s face. ‘I think I might just take your advice.’

~~~

Aneka slipped into the guest bedroom, closing the door and locking it, just in case. Then she turned to find Ella waiting for her. The redhead was standing a metre or so from the bed, looking for all the world like a nervous teenager.

Stepping up to stand in front of her, Aneka smiled. ‘What’s got into you? It’s not like we haven’t done this before.’

‘I know, but…’ She stood there, kind of folded in on herself, fingers twisting the ring on her left hand. ‘It’s different. Tonight it’s got to be perfect.’

Her eyes dipped away and Aneka reached out to lift her chin. Beautiful, wide, green eyes looked up at her timidly. ‘Tonight it doesn’t matter, love. Tonight I’d be happy if we got into bed, cuddled up, and went to sleep. Believe it or not, I’m not just with you because you make me feel like I could die happy whenever you touch me.’

‘I… I know. Sort of. I mean, I know, I do. I just… I look at you and… and I want you. All the time. So much it hurts. Like… like I could drown in you…’

Reaching down, Aneka took the hem of Ella’s little midriff shirt and pulled it up over her head. Ella’s arms fell down, crossing over her breasts bashfully. ‘You had those fixed for me,’ Aneka said softly. ‘Don’t hide them.’ She dropped to her knees, taking Ella’s arms and pushing them down to her sides, holding them there as she leaned forward. Her tongue grazed Ella’s right nipple and the redhead let out a little whimpering moan. She sucked the engorged flesh in between her lips and now Ella was just moaning.

‘If… if you keep d-doing that I won’t be able t-to stand…’

Aneka steered her around and pushed her back onto the bed, sitting her down with her feet still on the floor. Casting her own top aside she slid up Ella’s body, pushing her down onto the sheets, her arms up over her head. Their lips met, Aneka’s tongue sliding inward, parting Ella’s lips, and the kiss became hungrier as they lay there, breast to breast.

Shifting a little, Aneka slid an arm down, pulling Ella’s skirt out of the way. Ella gasped against Aneka’s mouth as a pair of fingers slid into the now slippery opening Aneka found waiting for her. And then Aneka was moving those fingers, pressing up and in against the spot within Ella that always brought her quickly to a peak of pleasure.

‘Oh…’ Ella moaned, fighting it as the tension within her grew. Aneka could feel her body starting to vibrate against hers. ‘No… going to… too quick… going to…’

‘Oh my love,’ Aneka breathed against her ear, ‘you come for me. We’re just getting started. We’ve got all night. Come…’

Ella’s back arched at the word, her body shaking in the throes of the orgasm she had been holding back. Aneka kissed her face and neck, and let her lover twist and thrash and moan beneath her. They really did have all night, and as many nights as they wished after that…

Part Four: Tomb Raiders Wear Shorts

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Even if they really wanted to stay in bed engaging in every form of mutual pleasure they could think of until they had to go back to work, the practicalities of the matter were that Ella had to go to the toilet aside from anything else. Once they were up there was the urge for food, and Ella started pottering around the kitchen while Aneka slumped into one of the couches in the lounge and flicked through channels on the wall screen.

‘Anything interesting on?’ Ella asked, not looking at the screen. Aneka had piped the sound through her internal system to avoid disturbing her.

‘Uh… sex comedy, sex comedy, sitcom with some sex in it, sex comedy, sex…’

‘A lot of the usual then?’

‘Uh-huh. I figure you can eat and then we can fuck on the lounge carpet.’

Ella giggled. ‘Sounds good to me. I’ll go for a high carb intake. Added stamina.’

Aneka found a news channel and stopped flicking. ‘You’ll need it.’ Her attention was drawn to the screen as she saw a familiar figure getting out of a car and heading toward a building. The commentary, however, made her frown.

‘Following the recent bombing of an Administration building,’ the announcer was saying, ‘a conference was held yesterday morning on the growing problem of terrorist activity on the core worlds. Winter, head of the Federal Security Agency, gave a briefing on the situation to key members of the Administration, including…’

‘Isn’t that Winter?’ Ella asked.

Aneka cut the sound and looked around. ‘Yeah. Some anti-terrorist briefing she attended yesterday morning.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Except that yesterday morning she was wearing a bright red wig and one of your mother’s stripper friends was between her legs.’

Ella paused her food preparation, staring at Aneka with wide eyes. ‘That was Winter? I mean, she looked kind of familiar, but I couldn’t place… Gopi! I think she had me at one point!’

‘Yeah. She seemed to enjoy herself. I know she turns up in places unexpectedly, but being in two places at once is good, even for her. She must have doubles.’

Ella frowned. ‘And she sends one to a conference so she can attend a friend’s party?’

‘She was acting a little funny. Like she was half-expecting one of these assassination attempts to succeed.’ Aneka shrugged. ‘Anyway, if you had the option, which would you have gone to?’

Walking over with a plate of sandwiches, the naked redhead sat down on Aneka’s lap, grinning. ‘The party, without any qualms at all. I’m not the top Federal spy though.’

‘She does seem to like getting out from under her bodyguards.’

‘And under Dillon instead, if memory serves.’ There was mutual giggling. Aneka flicked the channel over to one of their library files; up on the wall screen Dillon could be seen employing his talents on Ella. She glanced up, grinned, and snuggled closer to Aneka. ‘There’s something I want to ask you, and you’re going to argue.’

‘And that brings it to mind?’

‘Uh-huh. I want you to use the neurostim on me. Tomorrow at the latest.’

‘Ella… You just got over Yrimtan addicting you to that sort of device…’

‘And that’s why I need you to use it on me. I need to know whether the addiction kicks back in, and I’d rather do it now, while I’ve got some time to recover and the only person I need to worry about seducing is you.’

Annoyingly, she was making a certain amount of sense. ‘Are you really sure you want to try it again?’

‘Yes. Look, I admit I’m a pleasure junkie at the best of times and that thing is amazing. I mean, I wish it worked on you so you could feel what I feel, but whatever, I don’t want to miss out on it unless it really is a danger to our relationship. Plus… Well, if I can be easily hooked on it again because I have been before I think I should know.’

‘Okay. We’ll do it once your lunch has settled. If you’re going to be a horny little minx for the rest of the week, we might as well start sooner rather than later.’

Ella giggled. ‘Bit late to worry about that.’

Aneka laughed. ‘You know, there is one way I could feel what it’s like to use that thing…’

~~~

Aneka lay back on the bed feeling unaccountably nervous. They had done things like this before and it had been interesting to say the least, but something about this time made it feel like she was taking a risk.

Ella’s computer implant, like Aneka’s brain, allowed her to record her sensory input and replay it. The main difference was that Ella had to want to record the data; Aneka’s brain did it all the time. Once that data was in her memory she could save it to an external store, or transmit it to a suitable receiver for playback. Aneka was a suitable receiver. They had transferred over the data from Ella’s latest experience with the neurostim to Aneka’s memory, the touch components anyway, and now she was going to replay that through her own synthetic nervous system. It was the reverse of what she had done to Ella on the flight back to New Earth.

As far as either of them could tell, Ella was fine following the experience. She was cuddled up at Aneka’s side, being very affectionate, but she often got that way after an intense sexual experience. An hour after the device had been removed from her skin, she was not craving it the way she had during her addiction. So what did Aneka have to worry about?

‘Okay,’ Aneka said, ‘here we go…’ She started the playback.

It started as a warm sensation over her stomach, as though someone was breathing warm air over her skin, and that quickly grew into a tingling sensation. The tingling spread until it was encompassing the skin at the base of her breasts and her lower stomach.

‘That’s… kind of nice.’

‘Wait until it moves up,’ Ella said. ‘You went up toward my boobs next.’

Sure enough the tingling shifted upward, the sensation receding from her stomach and shifting up to encompass her nipples. They hardened almost immediately and she let out a soft moan. What had she done next? It was getting a little hard to think straight. Up over the chest…? Yes, it had been up the valley of Ella’s cleavage, quickly so as not to overload anything yet, and then hovering…

‘Oh… wow… That’s really… It is distracting isn’t it?’

Ella giggled. ‘You haven’t even got to the best part yet.’

And there was the slide down to cover her right nipple. At first it just seemed to be a more intense version of the same tingling, warm, pleasurable sensation, and then…

‘Oh… Oh shit… I can’t… Ah!’ Aneka thought she saw messages flickering through her vision field, but they were lost almost instantly in the white heat of pleasure rushing through her body. She was on fire. She was burning up in the intensity of it. She was… She was vaguely aware of the centre of the sensations shifting to between her legs, and then she was aware of nothing.

And then she was looking at a message that said Sensory overload detected in flashing red letters. She opened her eyes to see a worried-looking Ella staring down at her.

‘Are you okay?’ Ella asked ‘You just… stopped.’

‘Uh… believe it or not some safety system cut in. I think I went offline for a bit.’

‘Approximately ten seconds while I halted the playback and your nervous system recovered,’ Al supplied.

Ella giggled nervously. ‘Sorry. I figured if I enjoyed it your body would soak it up no problem.’

Aneka laughed. ‘You enjoy a form of stimulation which makes a robot body run and take cover. Shows there are some things an organic body is better for.’

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‘Okay… Famous psychologists from your time. You must know some.’ Ella grinned across the table at Aneka, who looked back dubiously.

They had decided to take a couple of days to just go somewhere on New Earth that was not Yorkbridge. Since Aneka had moved there they had never gone out of the city except to visit the city where Janna had been living. Having been all over Old Earth in her own time, Aneka felt like she had barely seen any of the new one. Ella had found a town on the west coast which had some pretty countryside around it, and they had got there only to discover that it was very quiet and there was little to do in the evening except eat, talk, and fuck. Currently they were on the eating and talking stage.

‘Psychologists… Well, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were probably the most famous names. Uh…’

‘We still use the Jungian archetypes in some models of the mind,’ Ella said, nodding.

‘Oh, Philip Zimbardo. He did the Stanford Prison Experiment, which basically proved that people are shits and being a prisoner is depressing. And Mary Whiton Calkins I remember because Harvard refused to give her a degree, despite meeting all the requirements, because she was a woman. And Ivan Pavlov. He taught dogs to salivate when a bell rang…’

Ella giggled. ‘I’m aware of Pavlov’s work too. Behavioural conditioning. An advanced form of it is used in the education system. What about famous archaeologists?’

Aneka forked some of the pasta from her plate into her mouth; it gave her a second to think. Famous archaeologists?! ‘Uh… Howard Carter, though he was as much a grave robber as an archaeologist. Gertrude Bell, Richard Leakey, someone once told me Thomas Jefferson, who was one of the US Presidents, was an archaeologist… Oh, Henry Jones Junior and Lady Lara Croft…’

‘Hold up, wasn’t Lara Croft fictional?’

Aneka giggled. ‘A video game character, and there were a couple of movies. And Henry “Indiana” Jones was a film character. Raiders of the Lost Ark. You can’t beat Nazis and biblical mythology. Maybe Aggy has a copy we could watch. It’s a bit… Well, the hero shoots a lot of bad guys, but it’s a lot of fun, honest.’

‘What about Lara Croft?’

‘From the Tomb Raider game series. She was an attempt to make a game with a feisty heroine as the main character instead of some muscle-brained man, but they had to appeal to a male audience so she charged around in a tiny pair of shorts and a tank top, and she had huge boobs. Angelina Jolie played her in the movies. I think you’d have liked her.’

‘Big breasts?’

‘No, they had to pad her out to look right, but she was a stunning woman.’

Ella grinned. ‘Nah, I’ve got you to look at.’

‘Suck-up. You’re not going to get any more from me using flattery than you’d be getting anyway.’

‘I’m quite well aware of that, sheelee. So obviously I meant it.’

Aneka blushed. ‘Am I getting a pet name now we’re sort of married?’

‘I wasn’t thinking of it like that, but now you mention it, “beautiful” would be appropriate.’

‘So what do I call you?’

‘I don’t know… Pang foo, Lan foo, fangdang…’

‘No, I’m not calling you a slut in any form as a pet name. Stop putting yourself down or I’ll spank you.’

‘Promise?’

Aneka rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll stick with “love” until something better comes along.’

Ella beamed. ‘I can live with that.’

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Olderbarn Township was a fairly small place that ran primarily on fishing and a little tourism. It had one main street, four shops, including a general store and a fish shop, the hotel that Aneka and Ella were staying in, and a port, which was more like a marina in which the small fishing fleet was moored, along with several boats that looked like private yachts.

It also had several kilometres of very nice beach, and it was a very hot day; they had decided that walking on the sand would be a nice way to spend the morning. The beach at Yorkbridge was generally fairly populated, but here, even as the summer was coming to its peak, there was no one else to disturb them as they walked.

‘It’s definitely more romantic than Yorkbridge beach,’ Ella commented.

‘Personally, I think for it to be romantic it should be night, and there should be a full moon.’

‘We don’t have a moon here. Though they’re planning on putting one in.’

Aneka blinked. ‘They are?’

‘Uh-huh. It’s not for the romance. Old Earth’s moon held the axial tilt of the planet steady. Right now it’s about two degrees, which is one of the reasons we don’t really get seasons, but there’s plenty of evidence that it can drift pretty wildly. I mean, no one alive now is going to see it, but in the past it’s been damn close to spinning on its side.’

‘So they’re going to… just put a moon in orbit.’

‘Take one of the bigger ones from the outer planets and ferry it over, yeah. It’ll take years, decades, and they’ve been planning it for ages, but they say it’s going to happen soon. We might get to walk along here under a full moon sometime.’

‘Huh… wow. I mean, I guess compared to the stellar engineering the Negral AIs got up to that’s pretty easy, but still. Wow.’

‘Oh, it’s pretty amazing. Doctor Wallace is part of the team setting it up. He could tell you more about it if you wanted to know.’

Aneka grinned. ‘Maybe. Not right now.’

Ella grinned back. ‘Other plans? Aside from walking along this beach.’

‘Yeah. You know how you’re always nagging at me…’

‘I don’t nag.’

‘…to have sex on the beach?’

‘Okay, I’ll admit I nag as long as you’ll do it.’

Aneka laughed. ‘You really are a pang foo at times, you know?’

‘Always. But only for you.’

~~~

Ella was wriggling. She was walking along the beach back toward Olderbarn, but there was a definite wriggle in her walk.

‘I told you the sand gets everywhere,’ Aneka said.

‘I know it does. It was still worth it.’

‘Well, luckily, the first-aid kit we’ve got at the hotel has some cream that’ll help the abrasion heal faster.’

Ella gave her a coy look. ‘Will you rub it in for me?’

Aneka grinned back. ‘Thoroughly.’

‘You’re so nice to me. I’ll have to think of a way to repay you.’

‘Ella, love, I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll think of a way.’

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Ella had been looking more than usually gleeful on the way home from the university; Aneka was suspicious. When the little redhead was that happy and was not giving a reason for the upbeat mood it usually meant she was up to something, but they still had another day of work before the weekend, and she was pretty busy at the moment with students nearing the end of term. Generally she was conscientious about her job and did not do anything that might leave her regretting the previous evening when she was going to be in the office.

The reason for her glee, it appeared, was the package waiting in their delivery box in the hall outside their apartment. Aneka frowned at it, but Ella was not giving anything away. She just giggled and started up the stairs carrying the black, adanymax container, which looked like it had been shipped from off-world given the sturdiness.

Once in the flat she placed the box on the kitchen counter and turned to Aneka. ‘I said I’d come up with a way to thank you for being such a gorgeous, caring, wonderful person, and this doesn’t even come close, but it’s for you, and I hope you like it.’

‘Uh… What is it?’

‘Open the box and find out.’

Sure enough, the box opened at her touch and receipt of her identity code. Aneka lifted the lid and, at first, could not make out what she was seeing. Whatever it was was made of Ultraskin, so it was probably clothing. She lifted it out, turning it in her hands until it resolved itself into a leotard of some sort.

‘I designed it,’ Ella said, ‘and then I got Aggy to fabricate it for me. It’s got the same laser-resistant properties as your old leotard, but I thought… Well, I thought you could do with a change.’

Aneka said nothing, but gave Ella a smile and headed off toward the guest bedroom to change. Stripping out of the jeans and T-shirt she had worn to the university, she climbed into the new suit, closed the seam at the left shoulder, and then checked herself in the mirror. It was different; just as exposing as the old one since it was largely translucent Ultraskin with high hips, but then Ella had designed it. Her left arm was bare while the right had a sleeve with an opaque strip around the bicep and some slightly denser panels with a little padding at the forearm and shoulder. The high neck was opaque and there were strips of solid black around the seams. Still smiling, she padded out of the room on bare feet to where Ella was waiting anxiously.

‘What do you think?’ Ella asked.

‘What do you think?’ Aneka asked in return, turning slowly to show off the suit.

‘I think you look beautiful.’

Aneka grinned. ‘You usually do. What about the suit?’

‘It looks great. Just how I imagined. Do you like it?’ There was that eager look on her face; a desire for approval from her lover which she never lost, even as her personal confidence grew.

Aneka walked across the carpet and pulled Ella into a kiss, letting it linger long enough that when she spoke Ella already knew the answer. ‘I love it. Thank you, love.’

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‘Someone identifying themselves as Xenia is requesting admittance,’ the apartment’s computer announced.

Ella looked around at Aneka, frowning. ‘Do you know a Xenia?’

‘Maybe. Computer, allow access.’ Aneka got to her feet and headed for the door of the apartment. She waited at the top of the stairs as a woman with bright red hair walked up from the ground floor. ‘Hello again, Xenia,’ Aneka said. ‘What brings you here?’

‘Inside,’ Winter said. She was dressed in the same swimsuit-style outfit she had worn to the party with a short, red, Plastex skirt over the top to make it a little more decent. Dressed for pleasure, but her face was serious. Aneka turned and walked back into the flat, curious now.

Ella looked up as the door closed behind Winter. ‘Oh, it’s you.’ She obviously saw the look on the spy mistress’ face and decided to try for a joke to cover her disquiet. ‘Dillon’s downstairs, you know?’

Winter smiled, which was an improvement. ‘I was thinking that as I put this outfit on. I have very fond memories of that young man and this suit.’ She walked into the middle of the room, between the couches that formed the ‘entertainment area.’ ‘Frankly, I haven’t had as much plain fun in a while.’ She bent at the hips, placing the bag she was carrying on the carpet and then unzipping it to reveal a cylindrical device which she placed on one end before activating it.

Then she straightened up and said something, and Aneka heard nothing. Frowning, she stepped closer and her ears filled with a sudden, sharp, ultrasonic whine.

‘…should stop anyone outside this room hearing anything we say,’ Winter was saying.

‘Some sort of high-tech anti-bug screen?’ Aneka asked. ‘I think I nearly blew my ears out when I walked through it.’

‘Sorry, I should have told you to come inside the screen range. It uses ultrasonic resonance to generate a band of stable air. Sound can’t get in or out.’

‘And we need this because?’ Ella asked.

‘Because I need to ask you to do something for me and I need it to be secret. Which is why I’m not here; I’m currently quite visibly attending a meeting in the Islands…’

‘We’d worked out you had doubles,’ Ella said. ‘You were somewhere else when you were at the party.’

Winter smiled. ‘Being in two places at once can be useful at times. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make it general knowledge. Anyway, this meeting is not taking place and I’m not asking you to do this, and I’m stating now that you have the right to tell me you won’t.’

‘I think we’d better hear what it is before we give an answer,’ Aneka said. She stepped down into the entertainment area and sat down beside Ella. Winter always asked when she wanted something done, but she had never stated up front that they could decline.

‘All right, let me tell you a story…’

‘This sounds like it could be long,’ Ella said, ‘and those heels are very high. Sit down.’

Giving Ella a smile, Winter started for one of the other couches. ‘About seventy years ago, four-sixty actually, there were some rumours about a mercenary group entering Jenlay space.’ She perched on the edge of the seat and began to take off her shoes; maybe they were too high. ‘The Agency investigated because the group had something of a reputation. The Ashad Hithor. You may have heard of them, Ella?’

‘I know the name. Herosians?’

‘Herosians and Jenlay, but they were founded by a Herosian and his family still runs it. At the time the rumours could not be substantiated, but it was thought that they were sent in to retrieve something. Recently, as part of the investigation into the terrorist attacks on shipping, I reopened that investigation.’

‘Reopening a seventy-year-old investigation?’ Aneka said. ‘That’s… reaching a long way for answers.’

‘I have a theory on the source of the attacks and this forms part of the pattern. I’ve managed to track down evidence over the last several months that the most likely system they were headed for is G-two-five-six-one. There is one habitable world in the system, which gives it the “G” classification, but it’s barely habitable. Barely twenty per cent surface water, an average of three hundred and twenty Kelvin. Most of it is desert, though it does have indigenous life.’

‘I know that system. It’s in the list of Xinti uplift sites. They called it Idridia.’

‘Interesting. Do you have any indication of what the Xinti did there?’

As soon as she asked, Al began displaying the data from the Negral database in Aneka’s vision field. ‘Uh… There was an indigenous, pre-spaceflight, sentient race. They attempted to accelerate their technology. And they were successful to some extent.’

‘To some extent?’

‘The Idridians blew themselves apart a few years after discovering nuclear weapons.’

‘Ah. There has only ever been a basic survey of Idridia. No indication of any civilisation.’

‘The experiment was… thirteen centuries ago. Add a nuclear war, there may be little indication that there was any civilisation there.’

‘Especially on a basic survey,’ Ella agreed. ‘It would be a fascinating place to study.’

‘I’m glad you think so,’ Winter said, ‘because I need someone to go there and see if they can find out what these mercenaries were looking for.’

‘Just the two of us?’

Winter nodded. ‘I’m having the software on the Pegasus refitted to make it more useful for a survey mission. It can only handle a complement of two, and I want this kept as quiet as possible. Your flight plan would indicate that you were taking the ship to Harriamon on a test run. You come back and report directly to me. No communication while you’re out of the system.’

‘This wouldn’t be my first covert op,’ Aneka said.

‘No, but I’m saying this for Ella’s benefit. She needs to understand what she’s getting into. Officially this operation does not exist. There’s no backup.’

‘Oh,’ Ella said. Then she grinned. ‘But I’ve got Aneka so I don’t need backup.’

Winter smiled back. ‘That may be true, but we’ll be sending you out with the latest portable kit, just in case. I’m not really expecting any trouble, but you never can tell until it happens. If you agree, then you leave the day after tomorrow.’

Ella’s face fell. ‘What about the university? Gillian’s really busy and I’m…’

‘I’ve arranged for cover, if you accept, of course.’

Ella looked toward Aneka. Aneka nodded and turned to Winter. ‘Aside from anything else, Ella might hurt me if she didn’t get to go see a potential new archaeological site.’

Winter got to her feet and started toward the sonic screen gadget. ‘I’ll make the final arrangements,’ she said as she bent over in front of them.

Ella grinned at the view. ‘You will stop off downstairs before you leave, won’t you? Dillon and Kat would be most disappointed if they missed you.’

Winter looked back at her, and actually blushed.

FScV Pegasus, 23.6.527 FSC.

‘Federal Science Vessel Pegasus to New Earth Control, requesting clearance for warp.’ Aneka’s hands were on the twin joysticks that controlled the sub-light flight as they headed out from the station where they had embarked onto the streamlined beauty that was the Pegasus. It was an experimental design using a second-generation warp engine. The idea had been to produce a faster frigate, but the power requirements were currently too great. There was nowhere to put weapons systems. It was still a thing of beauty.

‘New Earth Control here, Pegasus you are cleared through to Harriamon. Have a good flight.’

Aneka tapped a switch to close the connection, and then another to activate the internal comms. ‘Ella, warp in ten seconds.’

‘Good. I want to be out of the system so we can cut this secret mission gopi.’

Grinning, Aneka checked the flight parameters appearing on one of the displays on her right and hit the button on her joystick, which transitioned the ship into warp. The ultrasonic howl of the twin antimatter torch engines died away as the stars blurred and then vanished in front of her. A second later the computer compensated, projecting a virtual version of the star field to replace the one that had now blue-shifted into gamma rays.

She checked the navigation computer again. Flight parameters were locked in, everything was looking good. ‘Al, keep an eye on her for me.’

‘Of course, Aneka,’ the computer replied.

Aneka slid back the flight chair and climbed out, heading back through the ship to its only other room, a fairly well-appointed cabin, where Ella was going over the equipment Winter had supplied.

‘Well, we’ve got enough kit here to do basic field work in style,’ Ella said. ‘There’s a lab-in-a-box, a couple of hand analysers, various multi-mode sensors, a chemsniffer, and a lidar unit, which looks military grade. There’s a bag there with climbing equipment, a box of those light-emitting microbots, and another one which seems to be an explorer system. I’m on survival rations. You’ll probably want to skip those.’

‘I think I might, yeah.’ Sometimes not having to eat was a godsend.

‘Uh, that gadget over there that’s taking up way too much space is a fusion torch. Nothing much is going to get in our way with that handy. Oh…’ She reached out and picked up a silver suitcase. ‘…and this little beauty is an Automed. Basically it’s a robot doctor. If I’m hurt, you just put this over me, activate it, and it should do everything aside from raising me from the dead.’

‘Yes, well let’s try to avoid needing it. Winter didn’t think there’d be anything to worry about where we’re going.’

‘Yeah, but it’s nice to know we’ve got it. What’s our flight time?’

‘Sixteen days, give or take.’

Ella giggled. ‘Sixteen days with nothing to do. It’s a second… What did you call it? Honeymoon?’

Aneka shrugged. With equipment taking up half the floor of the cabin they were going to be spending a lot of time on the bed anyway. ‘Just for propriety, let’s wait until we’re a few light minutes out of the system before we take our clothes off.’

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‘You know, there is something a little odd about the data on Idridia,’ Aneka said.

Ella’s voice was a little muffled by her mouth’s current position pressed to the side of Aneka’s right breast. ‘Odd? Wha’ kin’ of odd?’ It was not that they were up to anything, it was just that they could both work lying down and that was where Ella had ended up. She was currently going over the data from the uplift database on Idridia, as was Aneka.

‘Well, there’s no follow-up data. The other failed sites have data collected after they fucked the planet up one way or another. The ones where they succeeded, the data collection continues until the war. Idridia there’s a report of the natives launching missiles, and then it stops.’

‘So, wha’re you finkin’?’

Aneka giggled. ‘For God’s sake get your nose out of my boob. You sound like a boxer. I’m thinking that Negral sent a ship out to survey the planet and something happened to it. It wouldn’t be the first time a science ship ended up broken on a planet’s surface.’

Ella rolled onto her back. ‘So you’re thinking that this bunch of mercs were after that Xinti ship?’

‘Or parts of it.’

‘Either way it gives us some search parameters. There’s common use of collapsed matter and various hyper-dense plastics in their spaceship hulls which are unlikely to be found normally on a planetary surface. And if it crashed there’s bound to be some debris, even if these mercs took the bulk of it away.’

Aneka nodded. ‘Wasn’t there something about exotic matter being used in the reactionless drive?’

‘Uh… yes. We should have the sensor data from the Agroa Gar. If there was a release then we might be able to pick up the residual radiation. If the drive’s intact then… I’m not sure, actually, but we can see what we can find out.’

‘Huh,’ Aneka said, grinning and turning on her side, one arm draping across Ella’s stomach, ‘we actually have a plan. The start of a plan anyway. I honestly thought we’d roll up to this place with no clue what to look for.’

‘Instead of which we may have some vague idea of what to look for.’

‘You’re usually the optimist in this relationship.’

‘Well, you’re being optimistic and someone’s got to inject a note of realism.’

Aneka laughed. ‘I wasn’t exactly being optimistic. It was more like our chances have gone from nil to some and I was celebrating the fact.’

‘Oh. In that case, we’re going to sweep in there, spot the ship on the first fly-by, swoop in, find vital information that Winter can’t do without, and be heroes of the galaxy.’ Aneka looked at her. ‘Too much?’

‘Maybe a little.’

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‘Okay, so locating the ship on the first pass was maybe a little over-optimistic,’ Ella said. She was sitting in the pilot’s seat with the displays configured almost purely for sensor operation.

‘Maybe a little,’ Aneka agreed. She was leaning on the back of the chair monitoring the window on the right which gave orbital trajectory and other flight parameters. She could have done it remotely from the cabin, but where was the fun in that.

They had arrived at Idridia two days earlier, put the ship into a trans-polar orbit, and started mapping. The first day had been spent doing topographical scans, at high resolution since they already had the low-resolution survey data from the previous scouting mission. Now they were going back over the planet with everything they could muster.

‘What do we do if we can’t find anything significant?’ Ella asked.

‘We check out those areas of refined metal we discovered.’

‘There are several hundred of those, Aneka.’

‘Yeah, but we can probably discount some of them.’

‘Such as?’

Aneka leaned forward, tapping a map display and spinning the virtual globe on it around, then zooming in on one area. ‘Such as that one. See how there are discrete chunks? And there are several mounted up high on this curved ridge with a clump below in the valley?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘That’s what they call a kill zone. Classical tank battle tactics. The ones in the valley were stupid to walk into it.’ She zoomed out, turned the map again, and narrowed the focus once more. ‘This one is more promising. Radiation signature with a conical scatter pattern…’

‘High-speed, low-angle impact,’ Ella continued. ‘But it’s all light alloys, barely spacecraft grade. That’s probably a nuclear bomber that crashed.’

Aneka grinned and kissed Ella on the cheek. ‘Fair enough, but we can narrow it down like that.’

‘Okay, no need to get despondent yet then. We could still…’ She stopped, her hands reaching forward to tap at a display. ‘Now that’s interesting.’

‘What’s that?’

‘That is a gravimetric distortion. Could be the result of unusually dense rock strata under the sight…’

‘But it could be from a hull with a collapsed-matter outer layer?’

‘Uh-huh… I say we finish this sweep and then go back for a closer look if we don’t find anything better.’

‘You’re the scientist, love.’

~~~

Nothing had come up as a better target, at least for a possible Xinti crash site. The detailed topographical scan suggested that there was some sort of structure there: a fortress of some sort, or at least a defensible outpost.

‘How did they not see that in the original scans?’ Aneka asked as she switched places with Ella.

‘There’s a lot of sand built up around the buildings. Quite a lot of weathering too. In a low-res scan it would look like small hills.’

‘Huh, well aside from those two big mountains there’s not much in the way of big hills on this sand trap.’

‘It’s got practically no seismic activity. No tectonics, no volcanism. I doubt it’s been active in a few hundred thousand years, maybe longer. Those mountains are old volcanos. Everything else has been weathered down to hillocks. You saw that sand storm in the southern hemisphere yesterday…’

‘Yeah. Not something I’d want to get caught in. Okay, prepare for de-orbit.’ Taking the controls, Aneka spun the ship on its vertical axis and fired the main engines. As they began to drop she cut in the anti-gravity systems, turned the nose down, and pushed the ship down into the atmosphere as though the planet was not there. Two hundred metres above the surface she pulled the nose up and began powering toward their target. ‘I love anti-grav.’

Ella let out a little squeak in response.

The towers of the outpost seemed far more obvious at a low angle. The structure looked like it had been built into the rock, which had probably been above the sand before a few centuries of wind and no maintenance had smothered a lot of it. Close up the sensors were registering a high wall, probably a form of aggregate, under the sand.

‘I’ll put her down outside the fort,’ Aneka said. ‘We’ll take the climbing gear in case we need to drop down on the inside.’

Ella nodded. ‘You’re the facilitator. I’ll go get ready.’

By the time Aneka had landed the ship, powered down the flight systems, checked the sensors for any life signs, and got back to the cabin, Ella was ready. Ready meant that she was dressed in a spaghetti-strapped T-shirt, shorts, and walking boots. Aneka looked at her.

‘What?’ Ella asked, trying to keep the smirk off her face.

‘You should be in a suit.’

‘There’s nothing dangerous out there, and I wanted to dress all Lara Croft for you. It’s even a desert!’

Aneka sighed. ‘All right, but if we wake up any Egyptian death gods it’s on your head.’

They went out with Aneka carrying the bulk of the equipment. She had the lab case and the climbing equipment, and her rebuilt, twin machine pistols strapped to her thighs. Ella walked beside her with the box of mapping bots and the smaller sensor units. Under other circumstances Ella might have wished to shoulder more of the burden, but it was hot. Even in the shade of the ship it was pushing fifty Celsius. In direct sunlight it was like standing in an oven.

‘You did remember to put sunblock on, right?’ Aneka asked.

‘Sprayed myself with the heavy stuff before I put my clothes on. I don’t think it’s working.’

‘You could just about walk into a fusion reactor with that stuff on, Ella. Don’t forget to drink, but pace yourself.’

‘Yes, boss.’

‘Be careful. It’s really easy to lose it in these conditions. My eyes have cut in light protection against the glare.’

‘Huh, tell me about it. These glasses are gaisu near opaque.’

There was no need for the climbing gear. Inside the walls the sand had piled up against the inner defences leaving a pit in the middle and some clear areas. Off to their left was something like a gate or a bridge, though it seemed to go only into darkness, blocked on the far side. On the right they could see a doorway into one of the towers blocked up by a door or some other obstruction.

‘Let’s set the microbots to work,’ Ella suggested. ‘They can do a full detail search of the area, and we can go take a look in that tower.’

Aneka nodded and started down the slope to the floor of the pit. ‘Careful here, the sand’s loose.’

It took a few minutes to set up the lab unit, program the microbots from it, and set them on their travels. A cloud of tiny robots floated free of the box and began gliding out across the landscape, sampling and mapping as they went. Then the two women turned and headed for the tower.

The door, which turned out to be of heavy iron, was a crack open. Sand had worked its way in and it took all of Aneka’s artificial muscle to shift it, but once opened it swung easily; there was too little moisture in the air to rust the metal. Inside the tower they got something of a surprise.

‘This was a camp,’ Aneka said. ‘Old, but not several centuries.’

‘Maybe seventy years?’ Ella suggested. ‘She walked over to a crate and pulled out a metallic bar. ‘Survival rations. A little less modern than the ones I’ll be eating if we need to leave the ship, but not too much.’ She gave a little grimace. ‘I wouldn’t want to open this.’ She turned it over and then held it up to display some glyphs Aneka did not recognise. ‘That’s Herica, the script the Herosians use.’

‘We might be in the right place, but why did they leave this stuff here?’

Ella shrugged and started for a flight of stairs that led upward around the wall. Her voice came from above a second or two later. ‘Doesn’t look like whoever it was came up here much. There’s some old furniture. Metal. I guess they wouldn’t have much wood to work with. Looks like an office. Maybe some sort of planning room.’

Aneka followed her up. The room above did, indeed, contain a metal desk, a few chairs, and what looked like a chart table. Ella had opened a cupboard, which was bolted to one of the walls. Aneka could see what looked like rolled-up charts, though there was going to be no unrolling; the desiccated material crumbled into dust as soon as Ella touched it.

‘Shame,’ the redhead commented. ‘Documentation would have been nice to find.’

There was a third floor, but that seemed to be little more than a lookout post. Aneka looked out across the desert. Sand as far as the eye could see, and her eyes could see a long way.

‘God it’s bleak,’ she said, her voice low.

‘The locals must’ve been adapted to it,’ Ella replied. ‘Low resource requirements. Maybe they were crepuscular.’

‘Uh, soldier, remember?’

‘Active during twilight periods. This planet has a moderately long day, about twenty-two standard hours. Dawn and dusk may be quite long too.’ She looked around. ‘An entire civilisation, just… gone.’

‘Yeah. We can thank the Xinti for that.’

‘Sort of. I mean, yes, but there’s no way of knowing that the Idridians wouldn’t have blown themselves up eventually anyway. It’s not a certainty of high-technology. The Herosians managed to get past the self-destructive phase, and their petty rivalries are legendary, but it was a pretty close thing.’

‘Huh. Evolution. Survival of the fittest. It works on an intellectual level as well as a physical one.’

‘I guess so. I’m not saying what the Xinti did didn’t contribute to the destruction, but we can’t assume it was the sole cause either.’

‘Eve seemed to blame this kind of thing on their actions.’ The AI who had been in charge of running the uplift projects had been fairly certain that the experiments had not been entirely justified, in fact.

‘Eve was too close to it. She saw a war with the technology she helped promote and decided to blame herself and the Xinti for it. If the Jenlay hadn’t been uplifted I think we’d have ended up vassals of the Herosians, or extinct. The Xinti did us a favour, even if they did try to kill us afterward.’

Idridia.

It was getting dark by the time the survey bots had completed their work. With them back in their box, Aneka and Ella carried everything back to the, gloriously air conditioned, ship and set up the lab unit to analyse the data from the mapping.

The evening was quite long at this latitude. It stayed hot outside as the sand gave up the stored heat of the day, but Aneka was guessing it would get fairly cold later. At least inside the ship they would be warm enough and they could sleep without setting a watch.

Ella did not have much of an appetite after the hot day, but she forced down a bowl of soup while the lab did its work, and then began examining the results of the scan.

‘Here,’ she said after a minute or so. ‘I think our crashed ship ploughed into the sand outside that entrance arch, or whatever it was. It must have been buried since. Someone dug a hole down to the hull, which is still mostly clear. The bots found material down there they couldn’t classify properly aside from it being extremely hard.’

‘They dug down and then…’

‘Cut a hole in the hull, from the looks of this data. They resealed it with a metal plate afterward. Looks like an aluminium alloy.’

Aneka frowned. ‘That makes no sense. They break in, on a deserted planet, but they seal up the hole before leaving and they leave in a hurry. Otherwise they wouldn’t have left those supplies in the tower.’

‘Well, I guess the only way we’ll get any answers is to go down there tomorrow and look.’

Aneka nodded, but she had a bad feeling about it.

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Aneka looked down into the hole and sniffed. ‘We’re going to need the climbing gear this time,’ she commented.

The mysterious looters with the Herosian survival rations had cut a nearly perfectly smooth path down from the surface under the bridge into what looked like fused sand, and down about thirty metres to the hull of the ship below. The sides of the well were not only smooth, but they were glassy, as though the sand had been subjected to considerable heat either by the crash or the cutting process, or both.

‘I think the ship came down and ploughed through the southern side of the outpost,’ Ella said. ‘The impact energy must’ve been enormous to cause this much heating.’ She watched as the cloud of light-emitting microbots moved further down the well. ‘We’re probably going to need the cutting gear too. I think I can see weld marks from here and…’ She stopped, frowning. ‘Are those dents in the plate?’

Aneka looked down, her eyes zooming in to make the marks Ella was pointing out clearer. They did, indeed, look like dents in the aluminium plate, which had been welded over the breach in the hull. ‘Little hard to tell from here,’ Aneka said, ‘but those look kind of like something was trying to smash its way out.’

‘Something survived the crash and however long it had to wait until these mercs cut into the hull?’

‘Those robots lasted quite a while on Alpha Mensae.’

‘That’s a point, I guess. How about cutting a hole in the patch and letting the survey robots check it out in there before we go further?’

‘That’s actually a good plan,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’ll go get the kit.’

‘I’ll come carry the climbing gear,’ Ella said. ‘It’s still fairly cool, even in the sunlight.’

‘I’m not going to complain about the help.’ Together they started out of the shadow of the bridge toward the ship.

Something moved in the corner of Aneka’s eye, but it was too fast for her to react to it. Ella let out a shriek and clutched at her neck. Aneka moved in front of her, left hand rising as her shield energised, right hand drawing Bridget, one of her pistols. An arrow. It had been an arrow, but from where?

A tactical map appeared in-vision showing the layout of the compound and the likely source of the missile, and she turned in time to see a second arrow coming their way. ‘Al? How is she?’ The arrow bounced off her shield and Aneka returned fire. Her target was small, a squat, humanoid figure wrapped in ragged clothing a bit like Bedouin robes. The cloth afforded no protection at all against a hail of hyper-dense, hyper-velocity projectiles.

‘Wounded,’ Al replied. ‘Some loss of blood, elevated heart rate, some shock.’

‘Hold on, Ella,’ Aneka said aloud. ‘Stay behind me.’

‘Sure,’ Ella replied, wincing. ‘So much for “no dangerous life forms.”’

Aneka was too busy scanning the area to reply. There had to be more than one of them. One person, out in the desert alone? Unlikely. A spear answered her thought, flying toward her as its owner stepped out of cover on the wall. She brought her gun up and fired, cutting the figure down as the stone-pointed stick bounced off her shield. She scanned the other wall; no sign of anyone there, but could she risk that they had not considered a flanking action?

‘Stay there,’ Aneka said, and bolted toward the wall the spear and arrow had come from. ‘Watch the right-hand wall.’

‘I’m not moving,’ Ella replied.

Another spear thrower appeared as she was running up the slope and she dropped him before he could launch the weapon, shredding his body with automatic fire. There was a scream from beyond the wall, which sounded almost like a word, and when she crested the top of the wall she found herself watching four small, cloth-wrapped figures running away as fast as their legs would carry them.

‘They are still well within effective range of your pistols,’ Al commented. His tone was flat, matter-of-fact. He was not making a recommendation, just stating an option.

‘I may regret it, but…’ She holstered her pistols and started back down the slope. ‘They looked like some sort of hunting party. We’re probably on their normal route. But they looked scared shitless so I don’t think they’ll come back.’

‘That was a conspicuous display of firepower. Ella’s vitals are currently strong, but she is losing blood from the wound.’

Aneka reached to her belt and found a spray bottle of artificial skin. ‘Soon fix that, but we’ll get her back to the ship and have that medic gadget look at her anyway.’

‘I didn’t hear more gunfire?’ Ella asked as Aneka approached.

‘No, they were running like scared rabbits. I let them go.’

Ella nodded. ‘Good.’ Generally speaking, Jenlay were pacifists. Ella was a little less so than a core citizen, but she did not like needless death.

‘Let me see that wound.’

Ella moved her hand. There was a nasty gash in the side of her neck where the arrowhead had slashed through her skin. ‘Is it going to leave a scar?’

Aneka shook the bottle and sprayed some of the contents over the wound. Ella winced as the antibiotics set to work, but the bleeding stopped almost immediately. ‘With this stuff? I doubt it. We’ll get that Automed to check you anyway. Come on, up you get.’

Ella made as if to move, and frowned. ‘I… I don’t think I… I don’t feel… uhh…’ The redhead’s face relaxed and she fell backward onto the sand.

‘Ella?!’ There was no response, barely any movement. She seemed to be breathing…

‘She is still alive,’ Al said. ‘Her respiratory system is depressed, but her cardiovascular functions are still operating normally.’

‘Connect me to her implant.’ A message popped up indicating he had done so. ‘Ella?’

‘Aneka?’ Her voice sounded panicked, even over the implant communication channel. ‘I can’t move! Not even my eyes! I’m having trouble breathing. Not bad, but…’

Aneka picked her up and started toward the ship. ‘It sounds like curare. It’s a neuro-toxin. Causes relaxation of the muscles, paralyses the entire voluntary nervous system. Hunters used to use it in South America, there must be something on this world that produces a similar chemical.’

‘Is… is it lethal?’

Yes, it bloody is. You die of asphyxiation as your lungs stop working. She was not going to tell Ella that. ‘The Automed will fix you up. You just hang in there.’ I’m not losing you now!

~~~

Aneka sat with her back to the bed and her chin resting on her knees, her eyes fixed on the woman lying in front of her. Ella was asleep under the metal case on legs that was the Automed. The thing had put her out, pumped her full of drugs, and pushed a tube down her throat to feed her oxygen. Displays indicated that she was more or less stable, that the poison had run its course and was doing no more damage, but it had been close.

So Aneka sat, and watched, and waited, unwilling to close her eyes until Ella was entirely out of danger.

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‘Can I please come out from under this thing?’ Ella asked, again.

‘Not until you’ve healed properly,’ Aneka replied. She held out a bottle with a straw. ‘Drink some more of this.’

‘It tastes like gopi,’ Ella grumbled, but she sucked nutrient fluid out of the bottle. She might be a lousy patient, but she knew what was good for her.

Taking the bottle away, Aneka reached over and picked up a sample bottle. She rattled it in front of Ella. ‘I thought you might be interested. This is what laid you out.’

Ella took the bottle from her and examined the object inside it, her eyes focussing in to magnify the edge of the bladed arrowhead. ‘Knapped flint arrowhead. It’s pretty good craftsmanship. I haven’t seen one of these in… Well, I’ve never seen one that I actually found.’

‘Next time, try not to find it by being shot.’

There was a giggle; that was a good sign. ‘I’ll try. It’s got some sort of goo on it.’

‘Yeah, I put it through the chemical analysers. I was right, it’s basically exactly the same molecule as curare. Which was a good thing since this gadget…’ She tapped the metal box sitting over Ella’s chest. ‘…knew how to treat it. I also ran some tissue samples from one of our buddies and this stuff is significantly more lethal to the local life forms. They probably expected you to fall over and die on the spot.’

‘Oh,’ Ella said. ‘How close was it?’

Aneka bent down and kissed Ella’s forehead. ‘Too close for me, love. Next time you go out, you’re wearing your suit.’

‘Are you expecting me to argue? I’ll even wear the helmet.’ She grinned. ‘The suit’s climate controlled and I won’t need sunblock. It’s a win all round.’

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The Automed had let Ella out the day before, but Aneka had insisted on another day of rest before she let the grumpy archaeologist suit up and go out to the crash site. Now that she was out and Aneka was using the fusion cutter to burn through the patch plate on the old ship’s hull, Ella was significantly less grumpy but no less impatient.

It took only a second or so for the searing heat of the torch to burn a hole through the aluminium, rather longer for the metal to cool enough for Ella to send the survey robots down.

‘Whatever made the dents isn’t reacting to us cutting through,’ Ella pointed out.

‘This is your plan,’ Aneka replied. ‘It’s a good idea, so let them do their job. I’ve nearly lost you once on this trip, I’m not risking it again if there’s a perfectly good way of avoiding it.’

‘Humph,’ Ella grumped.

‘Cheer up or there’ll be no sex for a week.’

‘I already went without for days!’

‘You’d have got it this morning if you hadn’t been so keen to get out here.’

‘Humph.’

Aneka grinned and watched the hole. It was another five minutes before the bots finished their pre-programmed sweep and returned to their box, relaying the data they had collected to the portable lab.

‘There’s the source of the dents,’ Ella said, pointing at the display.

The breach had, it appeared, dropped into a curved corridor similar in design to the Agroa Gar’s orbital hallway. The material was the same as the Agroa Gar too. On the floor of the corridor was what initially looked like a body, but was actually some sort of robot. Humanoid, or Xintioid anyway, and obviously damaged. It had clearly been capable of action at some point, but the survey robots had found no evidence of electrical activity at all.

‘Think it’s safe?’ Aneka asked.

‘I think if it wasn’t it would have done something by now. It’s been lying there for seventy years.’

‘Huh,’ Aneka grunted. ‘Look away.’ She reignited the torch and started cutting a hole big enough for them to climb down through.

~~~

The robot remained still while Ella crouched down to examine it. Aneka still stood over it with her pistols drawn, just in case.

‘Laser burns on its armour,’ Ella said. ‘One optical sensor was destroyed, but it kept going… Hang on, this isn’t Xinti in origin…’ She pulled a large, cylindrical power cell from an open panel on the robot’s back and yanked the cables off it where they had been soldered on. ‘Herosian. The idiots jury-rigged some of their own power cells to it to get it moving. Probably thought they could control it.’

‘And it turned on them,’ Aneka said. ‘Not surprising. When they couldn’t stop it, they sealed it in, and when it seemed like it might get out they ran.’ She looked up and around. There was light from the microbot cloud as well as Ella’s helmet, and in it something else became obvious. ‘This is the same type of ship as the Agroa Gar.’

‘It certainly looks the same,’ Ella agreed.

‘Come on, let’s take a look around.’ She started off clockwise around the ship, knowing the layout from their study of the vessel she had spent twelve hundred years asleep in. They came quickly to one of the containment rooms. On the Agroa Gar it had had a cell in it with bio-plastic walls capable of holding a fairly large animal. Here the cell’s wall had been shattered and the door into the room bent outward by something using a considerable amount of force. There was one other thing that was different and very significant.

‘Is that what I think it is?’ Aneka asked.

Ella crouched down again, running a scanner over the bones lying in the middle of the floor. ‘Herosian skeleton. Dead about seventy years, according to the sensors.’ Herosians were reptilian-looking creatures with heavy bodies and heavier, bony skulls, though they were warm-blooded. The skeleton still had some scaly hide adhering to it, the brown colour leached away to near transparency. There was little evidence of the bullish neck, but the heavy jaw was obvious, and the muscle anchor points on the bones were quite pronounced. The cause of death seemed obvious: something had blown its chest open as though a hand grenade had gone off behind its ribs.

‘I think the robot has an antimatter blaster built in,’ Aneka commented.

Ella nodded, then she tapped a silver armband which was still in place around the body’s right humerus. Aneka had seen the same thing on a Herosian before. The colours indicated something about status, but this one had glyphs on it. ‘Ashad Hithor,’ Ella said. ‘Death’s Head in Herosian. He belonged to the mercenary unit Winter thought came here.’

‘You read Herosian, I take it?’

‘Adequately. Speaking it makes my tongue hurt. Lots of sibilants. It comes in useful at conferences.’

Aneka laughed. ‘Yeah, I bet. So… They locked the thing in the cage to contain it, but when it powered up it just broke free and killed this guy. The door there gave them time to seal the breach…’

‘But then it started hammering on it and they thought it was going to get out.’

‘They panicked and ran…’

‘And it eventually ran out of power and dropped where it stood. Just shows that you should send archaeologists to dig up a wreck like this rather than mercenaries. We should go on.’

The ship had clearly been out of control when it crashed. Well, in-control ships did not crash, as a rule, but this one had been going backward when it slammed into the ground. The reason for the lack of control seemed obvious when they got to the bow and discovered that the control room, and the computer that would have been above it, was more or less entirely gone.

‘A nuke,’ Ella said as they looked through the door at a wall of sand. ‘The only thing I can think of that could do damage like this is a nuke. They must have got too close to an explosion during the war.’

‘No radiation,’ Aneka said, checking her sensor unit, ‘but I guess it’s had a while to cool off. I tell you, these ships are accident prone.’

‘The Agroa Gar was almost certainly sabotaged,’ Ella pointed out.

‘True.’ She turned away, moving around to the lab behind the control room, and grimaced.

The lab was just like the one on the Agroa Gar, complete with the X-shaped examination table which she knew rather too intimately. Here, however, there was a pile of bones lying under it. They looked odd to Aneka, almost as though they had come from fake medical skeletons, and not Human ones.

‘They’re Xinti,’ Ella said, examining her scanner. ‘They used a synthetic material like adanymax to form the skeleton of their general-use bodies.’ Settling onto her haunches, she sifted through the pile. ‘And all the skulls are missing. I think the mercs brought all the crew bodies they could find in here, and they took the skulls for the processor units inside them.’

‘That’s… sick,’ Aneka said. She had no real love for the Xinti, but these had once been people and they had been treated as spare parts.

‘They were obviously here looking for tech they could pilfer.’

‘Yeah, so what else did they get?’

The answer became obvious when they found one of the rooms on the starboard side empty aside from various severed cables.

‘This was where the stealth shield system was located,’ Al said, though he was only confirming what Aneka already knew.

Apparently Ella remembered the layout that well too. ‘The stealth system,’ she said. ‘They took out the whole stealth system.’

‘Uh-huh. And these terrorist-pirate ships that have been attacking our ships, they have the same sort of stealth system.’

Ella turned and looked at her. ‘You’re saying that the Herosians are behind the attacks.’ She sounded like she wanted Aneka to deny it, but knew she would not.

‘It’s a little circumstantial, but if they got this unit, and they never told anyone else about it…’

‘But Herosian ships have been attacked…’

‘According to the Herosians.’ Aneka shrugged. ‘Maybe they have. Maybe they attacked a few of their own ships to make it look good. Maybe they really aren’t responsible, or maybe these mercs are the ones doing it without the knowledge of the Herosian leadership, but…’

‘That sounds like so much gopi.’

‘Yeah, pretty much.’ She turned. ‘We should check the drive bays, see if they ripped anything else out, then…’

‘I’d like to send the survey microbots around this place before we go. I think we should fully document it. It’s a valuable archaeological site, aside from anything else, but those things may spot something we missed.’

Aneka nodded. It was a good plan, even if it delayed their departure by a day. ‘Okay, but let’s finish our own survey first. You know, I have a feeling this is just going to confirm what Winter thought.’

Ella looked around the empty bay again and then followed Aneka out. ‘I’m pretty sure you’re right, and I really wish you were wrong.’

‘Uh-huh. If there isn’t a way to sort this out quietly, it’s going to get really messy.’

‘It’s going to mean a war,’ Ella stated flatly. ‘The one thing the Federation was supposed to stop. The stupid, fafung gowdeyinjing!’

Aneka just nodded. She could not have put it better herself.

Part Five: Winter

FScV Pegasus, 3.8.527 FSC.

‘Federal Science Vessel Pegasus to New Earth Control,’ Aneka said to the cockpit comms system. ‘Requesting clearance through to Station One for docking.’

There was a pause as the flight controller checked their transponder and located them on radar, and then, ‘Pegasus, this is New Earth Control. Clearance granted through to…’ The voice stopped again, the woman sounding slightly confused when she continued. ‘Pegasus, we have a redirect. Please proceed to Corax high orbit and contact control there for further instructions.’

Aneka frowned. ‘New Earth Control, please confirm that redirection.’

‘Pegasus, instructions confirmed. Authorisation is from the Federal Security Agency.’

Aneka looked at the nav display; Al had already instructed the flight computer to plot a course to Corax. ‘New Earth Control from Pegasus, setting course for Corax. Out.’

‘Is there a problem?’ Ella’s voice came from the speakers.

‘Don’t know. We’ve been directed to Corax. FSA instructions.’

‘Winter protecting her assets?’

‘If she wanted to do that she should have got us into the station and out of the way.’ She reached out and activated the Pegasus’ electronic countermeasures suite. If they were attacked, that alone was not going to save them, but it might make the difference between survival and a cold, unpleasant death. ‘Ella, put your suit on. Just in case.’

~~~

Corax was the largest moon of Joval VII, over half the size of New Earth it even had an atmosphere, even if it was mostly nitrogen and carbon dioxide at a temperature which could freeze you solid in a second. The misty air obscured the planet’s surface at the best of times; from high orbit the small world was one, grey cloud.

‘FNf Delta Brigantia to Pegasus.’ Aneka smiled as she recognised the voice of Captain Anderson over the radio.

‘Pegasus here. Nice to hear you, Anderson.’

‘Mutual. We’re just here to be a bridge. We have a shuttle docked to port ready to take you through to New Earth. Can you swing in to the starboard airlock?’

Aneka reached for the controls, checking the sensor display for positioning. ‘Be there in… forty-five seconds.’

‘Just don’t scratch the paintwork, I just had her re-sprayed. Orders are to leave everything aboard. We’ll make sure your luggage and equipment get down. Winter wants you down on the surface as soon as possible.’

‘So why did she have us come out here?’

‘Military base? Don’t know, to be honest. Ours is not to reason why.’

Aneka glided the Pegasus in alongside the larger ship, aligning the airlocks. ‘We’re in position, Brigantia.’ A few seconds later there was a series of thunks as the transfer tube locked in place and then a bleep from the console indicating they had a solid seal. ‘We have a good connection,’ Aneka said. ‘Transferring flight controls over to you.’

‘See you shortly,’ Anderson said, and the connection went dead.

Marilyn Anderson was a tall, moderately attractive blonde with a muscled frame hidden under a standard, Navy issue, green shipsuit. It did not really do anything for her. ‘Aneka,’ Anderson said as the couple appeared in the airlock, ‘and this must be Ella. I’ve heard a lot about you.’

‘From Aneka?’ Ella asked.

‘No. Well, yes, but also from Chance and Shari. Word is you almost wore them both out.’

Ella blushed. ‘I had help.’

‘They fought valiantly,’ Aneka said, ‘but no one can withstand the force of a horny redhead.’

Anderson laughed. ‘Come on, we’d better get you through to the shuttle. Don’t want to keep the head of the FSA waiting too long.’

She turned and led the way through the ship’s crosswalk passageway to the airlock on the other side.

‘Kind of a short visit,’ Aneka said. ‘Still nice to know this thing’s still flying.’

Anderson nodded as they walked into the airlock. ‘It’ll take more than an exploding hyper-dense star to kill the Brigantia. Fair winds, you two.’ And the airlock door closed behind them.

Shuttle B96921, En Route to New Earth.

Apparently, the DuCar class of shuttles was named after a famous runner from the last century. Twin antimatter torch engines gave them a lot of power, but they were small and that meant they lacked internal gravity. And despite the modern mono-crystalline hull, it felt to Aneka like they were sitting in a paper aeroplane.

Ella seemed nervous too. ‘This feels kind of… wrong,’ she said as the ship powered toward New Earth as fast as its engines could push it. She had her helmet in her lap, clutching it like it was a safety line.

They were alone in the six-person passenger compartment, separated from the cockpit with its single pilot by a short corridor and a bank of equipment. ‘This isn’t what I’d describe as a logical plan,’ Aneka agreed.

The pilot’s voice came over the cabin speakers. ‘We’ve hit the halfway point. We’ll have you there in another… forty minutes, give or take.’

‘Thanks,’ Aneka replied. The ship was already at top speed and the engines had been cut back to a low roar. The acceleration when they had left Corax had been around two gravities, uncomfortable but not painful. Now they would have been floating if they were not strapped in.

‘My pleasure,’ came the answer. Then, ‘What the fuck?!’ The ship’s axis shifted suddenly and the main engines cut back in, slamming them back into their seats.

‘The ship’s sensors have registered a gamma-ray beam passing close by the hull,’ Al said before the pilot could say anything. ‘The vessel firing was not apparent to the sensors prior to the attack.’

‘Shit!’ Aneka exclaimed. ‘Ella, get your helmet on. Now!’

‘We’re under attack,’ the pilot said, almost over the top of her. ‘I’m trying to evade, but… It came out of nowhere, right ahead of us. If we’re lucky our speed will take us past it before it can get a solid lock.’

Ella was too busy forcing her head forward to get her helmet into place to worry about anything too much, yet. The pilot was shifting trajectory madly as beams lanced past the hull, Al indicating each miss along with the relative movements of the two ships. As far as Aneka could see, they were well matched, and the frigate-sized vessel was closing the distance quite effectively.

Aneka gripped the arms of her chair as the shuttle twisted around on its longitudinal axis, and then there was a blinding flash of light from the front of the ship as the pilot’s efforts finally failed.

‘Control systems entirely disabled,’ Al said, his voice calm. ‘I doubt the pilot survived that.’

‘Aneka!’ Ella screamed, the sound carrying even through her helmet.

‘Stay calm,’ Aneka said as soon as Al indicated they had a connection between their implants.

‘That looked like it took out the whole cockpit,’ Ella replied. ‘How am I supposed to stay calm?’

‘Fair, but panicking won’t help…’

‘They’re just picking their target now. They’ll fire again…’

‘The engines are still on full burn. They’re having to play catch-up. There’s still a chance that we’ll be pushed clear.’

‘Right… Right, and the pilot will have sent a distress call.’

‘Yeah. So let’s just hang on and…’

There was a sound like something big and ugly waking up in the back of the ship. Metal under extreme stress was trying very hard to hold itself together and not doing very well. Messages from the shuttle’s damage control system began to flash across Aneka’s vision, and then cut out suddenly. A graser beam had cut through one of the fuel tanks…

‘Aneka?’ Ella said. It was almost a whimper.

‘Hold on, love,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’m with you. Whatever happens.’

With a sound like shattering glass, a rupture appeared in the ceiling over their heads. Beside Ella a conduit exploded and electricity arced out, dancing over her suit as though it was trying to find a way in. Another rupture tore through the hull beside Aneka and shards of crystalline metal slashed into her arm. Messages flashed in-vision indicating damage to her dermal layer. The ship gave a groan, as if in agony, and then there was silence.

‘Aneka?’

Aneka undid her straps and pushed herself across to where Ella was sitting, still gripping the arms of her acceleration couch. ‘I’m here, love. A little cut up, but I’ll be fine. That short didn’t hurt you?’

‘No. If they decide to check on us…’

‘I’m guessing they won’t want to hang around. They’ve destroyed the shuttle. They probably figure everyone in here is dead.’ Al put up a message indicating that the air pressure was dropping. They had lost life support, but then they were lucky they had not been vaporised entirely.

‘Aren’t we?’ Ella replied, her voice soft. She was trying to stave off the panic Aneka had warned her against.

‘No, we’re not. Your suit has a good twelve hours of air.’

‘What about you?’

Al displayed a figure for her. ‘I can go half that before I’ll start having problems, as long as I don’t do anything. And let’s face it, floating is all I have to do.’ Al displayed another message and Aneka bit her lips. ‘The… the cold might get to me before then. I might go inactive, but it’ll take a while, maybe a long while. We just need to hold on, okay?’

Fear battled across Ella’s face framed by the padding of her helmet. She was trying hard to keep her breathing steady; losing it now would just use oxygen she might need later. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll be okay. As long as you’re here I’ll be okay.’

‘That’s my girl.’

New Earth, 4.8.527 FSC.

Diagnostic messages scrolled past on the inside of Aneka’s eyelids. Everything in the green, all optimal. She opened her eyes and sat up, not recognising the room around her, but immediately seeing someone who put a smile on her face.

‘You’re okay,’ Ella said, bouncing to her feet and rushing the couple of steps from her chair to hugging range.

‘I seem to be…’ She checked the downtime display at the end of the diagnostics. ‘Sixteen hours? I’ve been out for that long? What happened? I remember blacking out when the cold got to me…’

‘Aggy happened,’ Ella replied. ‘They only got a partial fix from the distress beacon before it failed. The Brigantia went out from Corax to try to find us, but Aggy got there first. She warped out from New Earth. Didn’t even have a crew aboard. Apparently Drake isn’t sure whether he wants to tell her off or kiss her.’

‘Probably both.’

‘Uh-huh. Her sensors are better than the Brigantia’s, obviously, and she found the wreckage. I think you still had oxygen, however you store it, but not much. Anyway, the Brigantia got us back to New Earth and I guess your systems decided keeping you out until you were fully repaired was a good idea.’

‘I guess. Where are we?’

‘That same facility in the Islands. This is the security bunker. The medical facilities weren’t much use for you, but it seemed like a good place to put you while you recovered.’

‘We’re in a bunker?’

‘It seemed like a good idea, considering.’ Aneka looked around Ella to see Winter standing in the door of the room. She was not looking happy. ‘No one should have known where you’ve been. No one should have known you were back. Someone, however, put through that order to have you diverted to Corax, and tipped off one of those cloaked frigates that you would be flying from there to New Earth. And the orders did not come from me.’

‘You’ve got a mole in the FSA,’ Aneka said.

‘Quite. I suspected as much, and tried to negate the issue, but the informant has higher access than I’d have believed possible.’ She frowned. ‘What did you find on Idridia?’

Aneka swung her legs out of bed. ‘Clothes first, debriefing after that.’

Winter nodded. ‘I can wait that long,’ she said, and turned to leave the room. She stopped at the sound of a dull thud, turning and frowning back at Aneka. ‘Did that sound like…?’

‘An explosion,’ Aneka finished for her, her statement punctuated by two more noises, each louder than the last.

‘Get dressed quickly,’ Winter said.

‘We’re in a bunker though,’ Ella said, sounding nervous. ‘I mean, they can’t get in, right?’

Turning again, Winter started out. ‘At the moment I’m not sure anything is secure. That includes the entry codes to this place.’

Aneka was busy putting on her suit. ‘Ella, watch out the door, but stay behind the wall.’

Ella rushed over to do just that and immediately said, ‘There’s someone coming down the corridor. Don’t recognise her. Short, wavy blonde hair, long legs, narrow face, a tan. Not much in the way of boobs, but she’s sure got nipples.’

‘Sounds like Truelove. She’s Winter’s assistant.’

Sure enough, it was. ‘Miss Narrows,’ Truelove said as she entered the room, ‘I’m Elaine Truelove. Hello again, Miss Jansen.’

Aneka nodded, pulling a boot on over one Ultraskin stocking. ‘Truelove. What’s going on?’

‘A strike force is attacking the facility.’ The woman’s voice was calm, but her dark eyes were shifting a little nervously and she looked tense. ‘They have very advanced weaponry, and some heavy artillery. This bunker should be secure, but I’m to take you to an escape craft.’

Aneka stood up and strapped on her gun belt, then fixed the holster straps to the tops of her leggings. ‘What about Winter?’

‘My orders were very specific.’

‘Right.’ Silently she said, ‘Al, can you get me a layout for this bunker?’

‘I believe so. The local network appears to recognise our identification codes.’ Almost immediately a map appeared showing the complex of tunnels and rooms which formed the bunker. There was a tunnel to the east that looked like it headed out from the side of the island.

There was the sound of another explosion, this one barely deadened by the Plascrete walls. ‘Get Ella to the ship. I’m faster on my own. I’ll check on Winter, and the situation…’

‘Those aren’t my orders, ma’am,’ Truelove interrupted. ‘I’ve lost contact with the surface forces entirely. We need to leave.’

‘And you really can’t stop me. Get Ella out of here. I’ll slow down anyone trying to follow. Move!’

Obviously deciding that she was not going to be able to dissuade Aneka, Truelove grabbed Ella’s arm and pulled her out into the corridor. Aneka slid past them, her pistols in her hands, and ran ahead. ‘She really can move fast,’ Truelove commented.

Ella was clearly resigned to Aneka playing hero again too. ‘Yeah. I just wish she’d run away from the trouble more often.’

Aneka reached the T-junction at the end of the medical section and turned left toward the main entrance of the bunker. She could already hear gunfire; energy weapons were being discharged up ahead somewhere. She frowned. There was something odd about the sounds, but it was a familiar odd. Truelove had said that the attackers had very advanced weapons…

She reached a door, ducked in to one side of it, and hit the open button. The sound of gunfire immediately grew louder. Slipping her pistol around the edge of the door, she used its sight-camera to scope out the room beyond. The far side of it was a heavy, armoured bulkhead with a door in it, standing open. Men in tight-fitting, but clearly very advanced, combat armour were occupying the door, firing into the room with bulky-looking rifles of a design Aneka recognised immediately. These were not Xinti-manufactured, but they were certainly antimatter blasters. Closer to her, behind a desk, which had obviously been designed for use as a shield since it was still there, Winter and two marines were firing back with laser rifles. From what Aneka could see there were four dead marines with them, and no dead men on the other side.

‘Aneka, get out of here!’ Winter yelled over her shoulder.

‘Yeah, right,’ Aneka muttered. She squeezed the trigger, spraying the area of the doorway with needles which flashed into plasma knives as each projectile bit into its target. The result was immediate. Two of the gunmen went down, the other two staggered back, clearly wounded. ‘No, you get out of there,’ Aneka yelled back.

Something moved in the haze of smoke beyond the bulkhead door, something large with a man-shaped heat signature that was otherwise invisible. There was the scream of ripping air and an explosion, and a section of the wall between the room and the corridor vanished in a blaze of light and heat. Messages flashed up indicating that her right hand had taken some dermal damage, but she was more concerned about what it had done inside the room. She risked looking in.

Winter was down. One of the marines had been more or less decapitated, and the other was not moving. Her quick glance could detect no sign of breathing. Tucking her pistol under her left arm, Aneka grabbed the back of Winter’s combat suit ready to pull her out, and then she saw the thing advancing toward them.

It was big, big enough that it almost filled the doorway. Roughly the shape of a man, it had a heavy helmet with no visor, two enormous mechanical arms, and thick legs. The body was solid armour. In its hands was a rifle, which looked like it was really designed to be mounted on a vehicle: a massive antimatter cannon.

‘Dreadnought armour,’ Al said. ‘Nothing we are equipped with can penetrate that, though I have no idea where these people have got it from.’

Aneka snap-fired at the monster battlesuit, more as a distraction than anything else. She pulled, dragging Winter out into the corridor and then away from the door before that gun could be brought to bear. It was close; there was another shriek of air being torn apart by a laser and then half the doorframe vanished. Aneka continued dragging. If she could get clear they had a chance; there was no way that thing could get through the doorway and move in the corridor if it did.

‘Stop.’ The word was almost a whisper.

Aneka did not stop, but she looked down. ‘I’ll get you out of this.’

‘I’m… dead. Internal injuries… too much. Leave me… Aneka. Don’t tell… anyone. I’ll make sure… they don’t… follow.’ Winter had only one working arm, but she used it to reach for something on her belt: a grenade. ‘Go.’

Aneka’s hand clenched around her pistol. ‘No. We can…’

Winter pushed the cap off the grenade. ‘Go.’

Aneka ran, letting go of Winter’s collar and sprinting for the corridor the escape ship was on. A couple of seconds later there was an explosion, a wash of heat at her back, and the sound of falling masonry. Aneka bit back a sob and kept running. Tell no one?

She was still considering what to say when she rounded a corner and found Truelove waiting behind another bulkhead door, and next to what looked like a submarine hatch in the floor.

‘Winter?’ the blonde asked.

And the lie just fell into place. ‘I couldn’t get to her. They’ve got some sort of heavy, armoured battlesuit. I couldn’t even dent it. I found a grenade and collapsed the corridor.’

Truelove nodded as though that was just some fact to assimilate, but her throat flexed as she swallowed hard. ‘Get down there,’ she indicated the hatch, ‘and strap in. I’ll close the doors and follow.’

There was a metal ladder down to another hatch, and below that there really was a submarine. Ella was already strapped into one of the six seats, looking relieved to see her partner, so Aneka took the seat beside hers and pulled the straps into place, locking herself into the seat. Truelove came down a couple of seconds later and headed up to one of the front seats.

‘What’s the plan?’ Aneka asked.

‘We’re going to take this down into one of the trenches just off the coast and hide,’ Truelove replied. ‘We’ve got food and water for about a week, but we shouldn’t be out that long. Winter will contact us when it’s safe to come up.’

Tell no one. Winter was not going to be calling them up, but she had said to say nothing. What the Hell were they going to do?

North Islands Trench, Under the Eastern Ocean, 5.8.527 FSC.

There was over seven kilometres of water, at seven hundred atmospheres, sitting above their heads. There was no light outside the submarine since Truelove had positioned them on a ledge near the bottom of the trench and then shut down the external lights. Even with the huge pressure of water outside, the spherical pressure vessel they were sitting in made no sound. It was quiet and dark, and it reminded Aneka a little of the observation lab she had spent an hour in on Titan. Except that they had been down here for almost a day.

The Titan expedition had been deeper, and to an ocean buried deep under the crust of the planet, but Ella had been there with her, and there had been the sudden urge to make love down there. Aneka could tell that Ella had the same urge, but it was not being expressed. Ella was not sure why Aneka was so unsettled, but she could sense her partner’s discomfort and was staying away from suggesting an underwater threesome.

‘How long have you been Winter’s assistant?’ Aneka asked at one point.

‘Four years, two months,’ Truelove replied. ‘I started on the first day of month six in five-twenty-three.’

‘Fast recall.’

‘It’s a date I remember. Getting this job was a dream.’

‘It’s not long before Aneka was found,’ Ella commented. ‘I remember that day pretty exactly too.’

‘She was good to me from the start,’ Aneka said. ‘Like she trusted me, even if she had little reason to.’

‘She told me once…’ Truelove began and then stopped as though she had thought better of it.

‘What? I don’t think she’s got many secrets from me. She tells me things I’d rather I didn’t know.’

‘Huh, yeah. She told me that you’d been kept out of the politics and bloodshed of a millennium of life before and during the lifetime of the Federation. You hadn’t been corrupted by anyone with an agenda. That made you easier to trust than anyone else she knew. But she does have her secrets, from you, and me for that matter.’

‘Oh?’

‘Uh-huh. Your nature is a level-seven secret, right? It’s technically the highest classification in Federal Law.’

‘Technically?’

‘There’s an eighth level, things only Winter knows. There’s a file on a memory card in a safe in her office. If she dies only the next Winter can access it, and I don’t think it has everything in it. Some things would die with her. One of them is who she is, or who she was before she was Winter.’

‘I asked her once how someone got the job. She said it was a conversation for another time, and it never came up again.’

‘There’s a list of candidates designated by her,’ Truelove said. ‘In theory the Federal Council could appoint anyone they wished to the role, but they always select a candidate from the list, in secret. All record of that person is removed from every database. They vanish, and they get “reborn” as Winter.’

Aneka wondered whether that process was going on right now. Would they be contacted in a couple of days by a new woman calling herself Winter? Would she be as keen to keep Aneka’s secret?

‘Why “Winter?”’ Aneka asked rather than voice her concerns.

‘The original head of security for the Federation was called Xenia Winter,’ Truelove replied. Aneka glanced at Ella, who gave her a slight grin. ‘The title came from her.’

‘And Winter has always been a woman?’

‘Actually, yes. Supposedly it’s something to do with the different specialities of the male and female brain. I think there were a couple of male candidates last time. I wasn’t around to see it though.’

‘It has to be a bit of a lonely job,’ Ella said. ‘I mean, your entire history goes away. No family, no permanent relationships. Have you and she ever…?’

‘No!’ Truelove flushed pink. ‘I mean, if she’d ever asked I’d have said yes, but she’s very professional about that kind of thing. No sex with subordinates, even ones she might not have to send into dangerous situations.’

‘Right. Well, I hope she contacts us soon. This isn’t the best of conditions to be stuck in.’

‘She will,’ Truelove replied, all confidence.

Aneka kept her mouth shut.

~~~

‘An android and two cyborgs climb into a submarine,’ Aneka said, mostly to break the silence that had settled over the ship. ‘It sounds like the start of a really bad joke.’

Ella looked across at Truelove, her eyebrows going up. ‘You’re a cyborg too?’

The blonde turned her head, pulling her hair away from her neck to show the ports with their plastic covers at the base of her skull. ‘Just a computer implant. It’s an enormous help with my work and the Agency paid for it.’

‘Not many people go for elective surgery like that. Don’t you get… comments?’

‘Yeah, from some. I lost a couple of friends over it, but the ones who count didn’t bat an eyelid. There was one guy actually got more interested after the op. Kind of weird. I mean, if it was an arm, or a leg… something obvious, I could sort of see it as a fetish thing. This is hardly noticeable. You had extra parts added recently, right?’

‘Computer implant,’ Ella replied, nodding. ‘I had my eyes upgraded too. I can magnify things and they have better night vision. Useful in my line of work too, but the fringe benefits have been interesting.’

‘Fringe benefits?’

Aneka coughed, but Ella went on regardless. ‘We can link sensoria. I feel what Aneka feels and vice versa. It can be kind of overwhelming, but it’s worth it.’

Truelove was blushing. ‘Oh. I, uh, hadn’t thought of something like that.’

‘Neither did we. You know about Cassandra, the android at the university? She taught us the trick. She’s kind of dating Aneka’s AI.’

‘That has to be… confusing?’

‘It has its complications,’ Aneka agreed. ‘Mostly they just like talking to each other. My sex life is a constant source of amusement.’

‘Fascination,’ Al said. ‘Occasional amusement.’

‘Thanks.’

‘I thought Cassandra was a robot psychologist?’ Truelove asked.

‘She still has a fascination for Jenlay psychology,’ Ella supplied, ‘especially what I guess you’d call “mating rituals.”’

Aneka suppressed a smirk. ‘The two of them have a huge fascination with Ella, especially a drunk Ella.’

Ella gave a small squeak.

‘Now a drunk Ella is amusing,’ Al commented dryly.

‘Well I’m glad neither of them is observing me,’ Truelove said.

Ella looked out at the inky blackness beyond the mono-crystalline hull. ‘If we spend much more time down here, Al may be. There’s not much else to do.’ It said something about the situation that her heart was not really in it.

6.8.527 FSC.

Aneka opened her eyes and stretched. One of the benefits of her mode of ‘sleep’ was that she could do it anywhere and the conditions really did not affect her. Sitting up in one of the submarine’s chairs was as good as lying in a bed. Ella and Truelove had had something of a fitful night on rather thin sleeping pads on the floor, and Aneka had gone offline after they had finally given up. Both she and Truelove had decided that someone should be awake at all times, just in case.

‘Good sleep?’ Ella asked, her eyes on something at the back of the cabin.

‘As good as usual,’ Aneka replied. ‘I can’t really have good or bad sleep. I just turn off for four hours.’

There was the sound of water splashing from aft and Truelove said, ‘That’s gotta be useful in circumstances like this.’

Aneka turned, seeing as that seemed to be where Ella was focussed. Truelove was stripped to the waist, washing in a tiny sink. There was a curtain, which could be pulled around the ablutions area, but she had not bothered with it.

‘Yeah, it can be useful at times,’ Aneka agreed.

Truelove picked up a cloth, which was hanging beside the basin, and began to dry herself as best as it would allow. She turned, giving Aneka a grin, and then caught sight of Ella. Aneka glanced back at her partner. Ella was licking her lips, her eyes slightly hooded. It looked like the redhead’s libido was cutting back in.

‘Elaine,’ Ella said, her voice soft, ‘either put your shirt back on, or take the rest off and come over here.’ She reached to her throat, unsealing her shipsuit and then parted it down to her navel.

‘I, uh…’ Truelove glanced at Aneka, receiving a tiny shrug in reply to the unasked question. ‘Uh…’ She started down the cabin, not undressing any further, nor getting dressed.

Ella reached out as soon as she was close enough, her fingers deftly unclasping the front of Truelove’s Bi-weave jeans. The agent did nothing to stop her. Ella looked up into the girl’s dark eyes, her hands pushing down. Truelove gave a little shiver…

And then the console in the bow chimed. ‘That’s the comms unit,’ Truelove said.

‘Uh-huh,’ Ella replied, still sliding the jeans down her long legs.

‘I have to get it.’ She reached down, taking hold of the waistband of her pants.

Ella sighed. ‘Okay, I guess you should.’

Looking almost reluctant, Truelove pulled up her jeans and started to the console, though Aneka noticed that she did not do them up again. She tapped a couple of buttons. ‘We’ve rendezvous coordinates and a time. Should take about twenty minutes to get there.’ Ella got to her feet and started forward.

‘How long have we got until the meeting?’ Aneka asked.

‘A-about an hour.’

‘Plenty of time,’ Ella purred, her hands sliding around over Truelove’s breasts.

The Islands.

They surfaced about thirty metres off the beach where they were supposed to be meeting their contacts. The submersible had a saucer-like structure, which provided engineering space outside the pressure hull, an open structure, which sat around the upper side of the sphere with engines, lights, and power systems hung from it. That made looking out on the surface a question of climbing up the ladder to the hatch and peering out through a narrow band of transparent material. Even to Aneka’s eyes the world was a slightly distorted blur.

‘Looks like there’s a VTOL on the beach,’ she called down. ‘Two people, unless there’s more in the aircraft.’ There was some chance that the people on the beach had not spotted the craft in the water yet. It had a very low profile.

‘I’m taking her in,’ Truelove called up, and the twin primary motors at the sides pushed the ship toward the beach.

The figures waiting there did not get much clearer as they got closer. As the underside of the ship grounded about five metres from the edge of the water, Aneka popped open the hatch and poked one of her pistols out. She zoomed the image in and got two surprises.

The first person she narrowed in on was Sharissa, dressed in a combat bodysuit of some kind and carrying a laser rifle. Poking over her shoulder was something which looked like a man-portable, anti-tank missile launcher of some sort. Clearly she had been briefed on the attack on the diplomatic facility.

The other figure resolved into a pretty blonde with an unforgettable, forgettable face dressed in a typical, grey business suit. Winter. It was not possible, but there she was, standing on the beach as though Aneka had imagined seeing her killed two days earlier.

‘That is surprising, even for her,’ Al commented.

‘She died,’ Aneka replied. ‘I saw her die. I heard her blow herself up, for Christ’s sake! A double doesn’t explain this.’

‘A clone? Forced growth. It’s theoretically possible to overwrite neurons with data taken from a scanned brain…’

‘I have a feeling that this is one of those questions that she won’t want to answer right now.’ Aneka climbed up onto the deck of the submarine. There was a narrow section around the hatch you could stand on and a sort of walkway marked across the hull to the edge of the disc, presumably hardened to allow people to walk on it without breaking through. She stood on that and then kneeled down to call into the craft. ‘Come on up. If these two are going to kill us we’re royally screwed.’

They had to wade up onto the beach. Aneka was thankful that her Ultraskin leggings, while air-permeable, were moderately waterproof. She could feel water squishing in her boots, and Truelove looked distinctly uncomfortable. Then again, she was grinning, though Aneka was not sure if it was the sight of her boss, alive despite the odds, or a residue of the recent sex. Maybe both. Sharissa’s smile was more obviously because she was seeing Aneka and Ella.

‘At least I can tell your mother you’re safe,’ she said to Ella as they approached up the sand.

‘Safe is a matter of degrees, under the circumstances,’ Winter countered. ‘Let’s get into the plane. We have fresh clothes for you all. Elaine, you’re piloting once you’ve changed.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Truelove replied, heading straight for the open door of the VTOL.

‘Keep it low, off the radar, and fly a wide loop out over the ocean. Our final destination is the spaceport, but I need time to talk to Aneka and Ella before we get there.’

‘Sure,’ Aneka said, starting after Truelove. ‘It’ll be nice to get out of these boots. I must say I’m more than a little surprised to see you here, Winter.’

The spy mistress gave her a quick look. Something which said, ‘Not a word, even if you know something.’ What she actually said was, ‘I need to talk to you and there seem to be few people I can trust. If I can’t trust Sharissa with you two then I’ve grievously misjudged her.’

‘You’re armed to the teeth,’ Ella said.

‘Yeah, well there was a report of some sort of super-battlesuit being used in the last attack,’ Sharissa replied. ‘I’ve got two tactical missile launchers with high-explosive, multi-purpose warheads, and if those don’t stop it, Vashma help us.’

‘I saw the thing,’ Aneka replied. ‘Don’t count on it. It was high-tech. Too high-tech, and they had antimatter rifles. I don’t know who they were, though I can guess, but they’re getting their equipment from somewhere special.’

Winter grunted a response, frowning. ‘Inside. I don’t want to be stationary for longer than we need to be.’

Inside the cabin was a large bag containing a change of clothing for Truelove, and disguises for Aneka and Ella. Their wet clothes were to go into a suitcase along with Aneka’s guns, and what they had to wear as alternatives had Aneka raising her eyebrows at Winter.

‘Believe me, all will become clear,’ Winter said. ‘Now, Idridia.’

Shrugging, Aneka started to undress. ‘We found a downed Xinti ship that seemed to have been taken down by a nuclear bomb in the war. Must have got too close. The flight deck was wiped out and it fell out of the sky into the side of a fortified outpost.’

‘It was the same class as the Agroa Gar,’ Ella said. ‘A science vessel, no weapons. The drive systems were wrecked in the crash. It looked like the warp drive broke its moorings and ploughed through the sub-light drive, but the stealth system must have been intact.’

‘Must have been?’ Winter asked, picking up on the phrase.

‘Someone took the primary generator out in its entirety. They may have got some of the hull emitters. Hard to tell.’

‘They also messed about with a robot they found in there,’ Aneka went on. ‘Maybe a security android, maybe something they had as a guard in case they had to leave the ship. Whatever, they plugged in some batteries and woke it up. It killed one of them and scared the rest off, and then its power ran out some time in the last seventy years.’

‘But the body,’ Ella said, ‘was a Herosian wearing an Ashad Hithor armband.’

‘We found a few other things around the site labelled with Herosian writing,’ Aneka added. She pulled a memory card from one of her belt pouches before putting her belt into the suitcase. ‘Everything we saw is on here. You can go through it in as much detail as you like. The evidence is kind of circumstantial, but you’ve definitely got a Herosian-formed and managed mercenary group taking a stealth shield system from a Xinti ship, and seventy years later you’ve got vessels with the same technology attacking shipping.’ Naked, she picked up the outfit Winter had provided for her. ‘Are you really serious about this?’

Winter nodded. ‘Aside from the value as eye candy, you’re leaving the planet on a ship which… Well, no one is going to think twice about two women getting aboard if they’re dressed like that.’

‘Winter, what the Hell are you up to?’

Yorkbridge Spaceport.

‘We look like a couple of hookers,’ Aneka muttered. ‘Everyone’s looking at us.’ She was dressed in a black faux leather corset, which pulled her in violently at the waist and pushed her breasts up and out into almost frightening shapes, black thigh-high boots with stiletto heels, and a skirt, which was just two strips of cloth hanging from her corset. Her normal hair was pinned up under a long black wig. Ella was in a fishnet dress, with holes large enough that you could just about use it for fishing, in neon pink. There was, at least, a G-string under it. Her shoes were ludicrously tall, high-heeled pumps in a similar pink, and her hair was hidden under a fedora.

‘I think that’s the idea,’ Ella replied. ‘Are any of them looking at our faces?’ She did have a point. ‘I think it’s exciting. You look incredible and you know I’m an attention whore. There’s hardly anyone here doesn’t want between my legs, and I’m fairly sure most of them want to beg to kiss your boots.’

‘Yeah, well, let’s just concentrate on getting to this shuttle. Who’s she got us meeting? A pimp?’

‘Maybe. Put some more swing in your hips. You want them concentrating on how your skirt swishes.’

Cringing, Aneka let her hips swing more. ‘I’m not a vamp. I don’t do this stuff.’

‘Then maybe you should. The guy we just passed was actually drooling.’

Allowing herself a, hopefully mean-looking, smirk, Aneka said, ‘Yeah, well be careful when you turn around, your nipples could have someone’s eye out.’

Ella just giggled. They had turned onto one of the corridors that led to a landing pad and the crowds of their admirers were now behind them. Ten metres down and they walked through an access door and outside to where a shuttle was sitting on the Plascrete ahead of them.

As they approached it, a man walked down the steps to meet them. He was smiling disarmingly; Aneka got the impression he did that a lot and was good at it. He had a young face with a thin, straight nose, narrow chin, hollow cheeks, and a wide mouth. He was not especially tall, but he looked fit, if thin, and there was a hint of muscle in his chest and arms. His hair was long at the back, and jet-black wisps hung around his face. He was wearing casual clothes, a sweater with the sleeves pulled up past his elbows, casual slacks, and loafers. There was something about his grey eyes which seemed wrong. They belonged to someone much older.

‘Ladies,’ and he said the word as though he meant it, no matter how they were dressed, ‘I’m Eddie Bauer. Our mutual friend with the mysterious background asked that I take you to my next destination.’

A woman appeared at the top of the steps. She was tall, blonde, and very attractive with an expansive chest barely hidden under a black dress with fishnet sides, a deep décolletage, and small, diamond holes all over it. She called down, ‘Eddie, we need to leave. Control is asking us to clear the pad.’ She had a voice to go with the body: beautiful.

‘New girls are here, Alice. We’ll be right up,’ Eddie called back. He turned back to Aneka and Ella, smiling.

‘New girls?’ Aneka asked, keeping her voice low.

‘That was for anyone watching. I’ll explain once we’re out of here.’ He grinned and turned to the stairs. ‘I guess this’ll need a little explanation anyway.’

Aneka and Ella glanced at each other and then followed him up into the shuttle. Alice was waiting at the top to take the case Aneka was carrying and get it stowed away. ‘Eddie’ll talk to you once we’re in orbit,’ she said. ‘We’ll have a bit of time to talk during the orbital transition. Get strapped in, this thing doesn’t have gravity.’

She had barely got the door closed and strapped in herself when the engines powered up and the ship blasted forward down the short runway, pressing them all back into their seats. Well under the size for a vessel to have anti-gravity, the shuttle relied on aerodynamics to lift it off the ground and get it airborne, and for the initial lift into the upper atmosphere. Aneka glanced across the narrow aisle at Ella; sure enough she was gripping the arms of her acceleration couch. Spacecraft generally did not bother her, but anything which relied on wings made her nervous.

Aneka heard the engines throttle back as they neared low orbit and the force, which had been pressing them to their seats as though they were lying on the ground, gave way slowly to freefall. A minute or so later Eddie floated back from the cockpit.

‘Computer will push us up to rendezvous with the Serai when we hit the right point,’ he said, hovering over the seat in front of Ella. ‘We can talk. Like I said, I’m Eddie Bauer, owner and operator of Eddie’s Transgalactic Escorts.’

Aneka blinked at him. ‘I was joking when I said that Winter was sending us to meet a pimp.’

‘He’s not a pimp,’ Alice said. ‘Not exactly anyway.’

‘And you are?’

‘Alice Hollister. I was one of his girls for quite a while. Now I’m the hostess when we have clients aboard the Serai.’

‘I’ve never heard of a travelling brothel before,’ Ella said.

‘We’re unique,’ Eddie replied, ‘in more ways than one. My girls are the best in the business, and many of them have… special talents which people will pay top credit for. I say girls, but we do have two guys on the team at the moment. The complement varies. People join, people leave. I keep moving.’

‘No one’s ever left the Serai worse off than when they got on,’ Alice said. ‘I was working the street on a backwater mud ball when Eddie found me. Now I’ve got management skills. I could leave, but the Serai’s my home.’

‘A brothel-keeper with a heart of gold?’ Aneka said, narrowing her eyes a little at Eddie.

‘Something like that,’ he replied. ‘If you like you can think I’m atoning for past misdeeds. It’s not far from the truth. Whatever, occasionally I do the odd favour for Winter. Like taking a couple of women aboard my ship and flying them to Odanari where there’s a safe house she uses sometimes.’

‘And why is it that Winter trusts you to do this?’

‘She knows me. And right now she trusts me like she trusts you. We’re not part of her Agency, and she doesn’t know who she can trust inside it.’ The engines engaged, speeding the ship up to move to a higher orbit, and Eddie pushed back from the chair. ‘I better get up to the cockpit. Docking’s pretty manual.’

‘He’s a good guy,’ Alice said. ‘You can trust him.’

Aneka looked back at her. ‘Not that we have a lot of choice.’

Alice grinned at her. ‘Not really, but you can. We’re a family aboard the Serai. It’s a little dysfunctional at times, but it’s solid. As long as you’re aboard you’re part of it, and Eddie will do anything for his family.’

CRV Serai.

The Serai was something of a sprawling vessel, three thousand tonnes of what seemed to be bolted together, blocky modules held together by the willpower of the chief engineer who was not best pleased. He was waiting on the other side of the airlock with another girl in a black dress identical to Alice’s when they walked aboard from the shuttle.

‘Eddie, that induction coil is not going t’ hold together for another month. If ya can’t get me another one then I ain’t gonna be held responsible when the power cuts out in the middle o’ Vashma’s ass an’ we’re left floatin’!’ He had the thickest accent Aneka had ever heard on a Jenlay, and he was speaking Rimmic on top of that. Mind you, he looked the part of an irascible engineer. Aging, if gracefully, his face spotted with almost as much oil as his Bi-weave coveralls. On the short side with thinning, greying hair, he did not take much care of his fitness or his appearance, but there was still something about his features which made Aneka think he was related to the girl standing beside him.

‘Minsky,’ Eddie said, ‘calm down. We got you your induction coil. It’s in the hold with the other supplies. Will the current one hold until we get to Odanari?’

‘Oh, y’did?’ Minsky’s ire deflated. ‘Well… yeah, we’ll manage.’

‘Good. We’ll be there a couple of weeks. Plenty of time for you to take the reactor down and get it fitted. Now… we do have guests…’

Minsky’s eyes scanned up and down Aneka and Ella. ‘Guests? I thought you’d picked y’self up a Dom and her sub.’

‘Minsky…’ Eddie whined.

‘That’s okay,’ Ella said, in Rimmic, which seemed to surprise the old man, ‘I don’t mind playing Aneka’s sub and she does make an amazing dominatrix, doesn’t she?’

Minsky blinked. ‘Young folks today have some weird ideas. But she does look good’n a corset.’ He even wheezed when he laughed. ‘Y’ don’ see so many o’ them these days. It’s good t’ see a girl knows how t’ dress proper.’

Aneka grinned at him. ‘I’m old-fashioned,’ she said, in Rimmic.

Minsky wheezed another laugh and turned, heading for the aft corridor. ‘Jus’ make sure them floozies o’ yours don’t all run their hairdryers at once, Eddie.’

‘Dad!’ the girl exclaimed. Yup, related, though it looked like she had got much of her looks from her mother, including long, black hair that was funnelled into a ponytail by a long, conical, silver binding. Her dark skin was marked with various tribal tattoos. ‘Sorry about him,’ she said to Aneka and Ella, switching to Federal, ‘he’s permanently grouchy.’

‘Does he speak Federal at all?’ Ella asked.

‘No, he says it’s only used by soft lenshushi,’ she rolled her eyes. Ella giggled.

‘He is, however,’ Eddie said, ‘a really exceptional engineer.’

‘Mechanic,’ the girl corrected. ‘You know he hates it when you call him an engineer.’

‘Right. Anyway, Anne, would you show Aneka and Ella to their room.’ He smiled at the couple. ‘You’ll only be with us for about a day and a half, but you might as well be comfortable. We’ll get Alphonse to sort out a snack for you. Feel free to wander about once we’re under way. I’ll go get Pat out of bed.’ He started off toward the bow, Alice following after him.

‘Pat?’ Aneka asked.

‘Patricia Dash,’ Anne replied. ‘She’s our pilot. And she’s a really good one. Come on. Let’s get you to your room.’ She started off in the same direction as Eddie and Alice, but where they had continued on, Anne turned right after about fifteen metres. ‘Oh, when Eddie said you could wander around…? That’s fine, but stay away from Kitty. She’s testy at the moment.’

‘Kitty?’ Aneka asked, starting to feel like she was going to have to ask about every name she heard. ‘How will we recognise her?’

‘Oh, easy. She’s not too tall, pretty, average breasts, really good body though, uh… kind of a narrow face with a flat nose, black hair… Oh, and she’s got blue skin and a tail.’

Ella giggled. ‘You probably could have just led with that last part.’

‘Uh, yeah, maybe. She’s a Felix, some people call them cat-girls. She’s in season for about five days every three months, and it just so happens to be now. She gets bad tempered if she isn’t getting sex, and horny as anything you’ve ever seen. That tends to stick around for a week or so after and she’ll jump anything with a pulse. You should be safe for now; when she’s in oestrus she only wants men.’

‘Shame.’ Anne flashed her a grin. ‘Eddie said all the girls here had some special talent or other?’

‘Yeah, most of them,’ Anne replied. ‘Uh… I’m not actually one of them. I’m a maid, one of Alice’s assistants. I mean, I have, if someone asked for me specifically, but Eddie’s really specific about it, no one under thirty on the permanent staff.’

‘Okay.’

‘I mean I wouldn’t want you thinking he makes anyone do anything against their will, or even persuades them to…’

‘We got it, Anne,’ Aneka said. ‘He’s a good guy. Winter trusts him, that’s all that matters at the moment.’

‘Okay. Well anyway, aside from Kitty we’ve got Magda, who’s an empathy, Beth, who can make you see and feel whatever she wants you to, and the twins, who are mindlinked. Then there’s the more normal folks. Brandon’s just a really big guy, Lisa is amazingly flexible, you should see her dance, and Saint is a normal guy, but he makes his clients feel like they’re the most important woman in the universe.’

‘Do you think you could get him to talk to Aneka?’ Ella asked. ‘She’s the most important woman in the universe and she refuses to believe it.’

Anne laughed. ‘I warn you, he’s expensive. Here we are.’ She opened a door on their left and stepped into what Aneka would have definitely described as a ‘boudoir.’ The walls were a deep red colour and there was thick, russet carpet on the floor. Crimson drapes hung from the ceiling to partition the cabin up into sections, but the one at the forefront, and immediately visible, contained a big, circular bed with a curtain around it. ‘We’re not at full occupancy at the moment, so this one’s free. The one we passed is free too, and then you’ve got Lisa on the other side. Brandon’s normally across from you, but he’s the only one that can keep Kitty quiet at the moment so he’s in her room.’

‘Oh wow,’ Ella breathed. ‘I think I could really get to like this.’

Aneka sighed. ‘I can see us having to redecorate at home.’

~~~

The habitation area of the Serai was laid out kind of like a traditional brothel. Down the corridor from their room, Aneka and Ella found an open area with access to a second hangar bay which was used for customer docking. The room was laid out with couches and a chaise longue, there was a large window on one side looking out into space, and it was clearly a room where the staff could make themselves available for selection by visiting clients. With no clients, and no chance any would turn up, it became a communal lounge.

Someone Aneka took to be Lisa, a petite, pretty blonde, was doing what appeared to be yoga exercises in the middle of the floor wearing nothing but a smile, but the other occupants of the room were in casual clothes. The twins really did seem to be twins, identical blondes who sat on a couch reading. Which left Magda and Beth as the other two women, one with black hair, the other a lustrous chocolate brown, but which was which was not clear. There was also a lean, handsome, young-looking man playing chess with the black-haired woman. He had to be Saint.

The brunette looked up as the couple entered the room, giving them a broad smile and putting down the tablet she was reading from. ‘You must be Aneka and Ella. I’m Beth,’ she grinned, ‘the empathic one. You’re a bright one, Ella. I’m just getting good vibes from you. You can stay as long as you like.’

Saint chuckled. ‘Beth always likes the happy ones. Good evening, ladies, I am Philip Jacobs, but everyone calls me “Saint.” My companion here is Magda.’

‘The illusionist,’ Magda added.

‘Evening,’ Aneka said.

‘Uh, hi,’ Ella put in; she was watching Lisa with rapt fascination.

‘That’s Lisa,’ Beth said. ‘She doesn’t talk much when she’s concentrating.’

‘She’s good,’ Ella replied. ‘My mother can manage stuff like that; I never practised enough.’ Lisa gave her a grin and a wink.

Beth was looking at Aneka. ‘You I can’t get anything from. It’s like you’re not there.’

‘Telepaths can’t read her either,’ Ella said quickly. ‘She was in nanostasis for a long time. They think it did something weird to her brainwaves.’

‘Twenty credits, Saint,’ one of the twins said.

‘Yes, Farah, I’ll have it transferred to your account.’ Aneka looked at him, raising her eyebrows. ‘Farah said you were that Aneka Jansen, and I didn’t believe you could be.’

‘Afraid so,’ Aneka said. ‘The woman from Old Earth and all that.’

‘It’s a shame Kitty’s locked in her cabin with Brandon,’ Beth said. ‘She’s from out that way, originally.’

‘Oh?’

The empathy nodded. ‘Sad story. She’s a transgenic. There were various modifications made out there, some of them more successful than others. The Felix was one of the successes, but she was more or less a slave. Escaped and ran this way, hopping freighters and the like until she ran into Eddie and he took her in.’

‘We’re all a little like that,’ Saint supplied. ‘We’re all waifs and strays Eddie’s collected, both the staff and the crew.’

‘I guess we fit the mould at the moment,’ Aneka said. ‘We’re on the run, anyway.’

‘Everyone’s running from something, hun,’ Beth said. ‘Come and sit down. When you’re running, taking a minute to sit down is the best thing you can do.’

~~~

Something about the evening gave Aneka the impression that the residents of the Serai were putting on a bit of a show for their guests. Eddie, dressed in a crisp, white suit and a stylishly cut shirt, but no tie, had invited the couple to his room for dinner, escorting them from their room to his, one on each arm. Aneka had half-expected this to be a seduction attempt, but they were eating with Alice and also Pat the pilot. The latter was a moderately short Jenlay, fit, very lithe, with a long blonde ponytail, and a small-breasted, narrow-hipped body on display thanks to a tube-gown of white Bi-weave, which covered her, barely, from chest to ankles. Alice was also in a gown, a floating affair, which seemed to be made from loosely bound scarves. Even if the women’s dresses were not exactly covering, Aneka and Ella felt a little underdressed without evening dresses to wear.

Anne and Trudy, the other maid on the ship, were still dressed in their black cut-out dresses as they served a fairly light, beautifully crafted meal. There was wine which did not really taste like it had ever seen a grape but was described as a ‘fruit wine’ so Aneka could make allowances. Their waitresses were perfectly trained, it seemed, the company congenial. The food, however, drew Aneka’s attention.

‘This… Is this wild duck?’ she asked, frowning at the dark, succulent meat on the end of her fork.

‘Alphonse has his sources,’ Alice said. ‘There’s a world on the Old Earth side of the Rim which was once a nature reserve of some sort. Someone seeded ducks there. Mallards, I think.’

Aneka grinned. ‘Haven’t had roast duck in… Mmmmm.’ She chewed for a few seconds, letting the meat slide down her throat before saying, ‘But seriously, Alphonse?’

Pat giggled. ‘He’s actually Albert, but he thinks Alphonse makes him sound more authentic.’

‘I don’t think,’ Ella said, ‘that he needs anything other than his food to be authentic.’

‘We’re all misfits here,’ Alice replied. ‘If Albert wants to pretend to be some Old Earth Chef de cuisine, complete with something of a fake accent, then as long as he doesn’t attack us with knives we’re fine with it.’

‘This whole place reminds me a little of an old French brothel,’ Aneka commented. ‘Not that I’m that old, but it’s got the same feel as things I’ve seen in films.’

‘I notice,’ Alice replied, ‘that you qualified your age, but not your attendance in a brothel?’

‘Never been in a French one. German, yes. Once for pleasure, once to drag a friend out by his hair. Thailand, yes. Never a French one.’

‘Brothels weren’t like they are now back then,’ Ella said. ‘They’d have been illegal…’

‘Not the German ones,’ Aneka interrupted. ‘They legalised brothels like the Dutch did.’

‘They were more taboo though,’ Ella countered.

‘I’ll grant you that. More so for a woman. I wasn’t exactly going in for sex any of the times. I wasn’t into women at the time, not really anyway, and our brothels were not places to find male prostitutes. Not that I ever used one.’

‘I can’t see you having to spend money to get a partner, no,’ Eddie said, ‘but it can be worth it for the skill.’

Aneka laughed. ‘I’m sure that’s true of Saint and Brandon, but in my time you’d be paying for looks at best. Maybe staying power. No genetic enhancement, no genital modifications, and most men didn’t know much about what they were doing anyway.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘That may be a little unfair. Depended on the guy, I think.’

Alice chuckled. ‘Ella is an improvement over your previous lovers?’

Aneka looked at Ella. ‘First one I’ve ever had who actually loves me,’ she replied. She turned her gaze on Eddie as Ella blushed. ‘How long’ve you known Winter?’

‘A long time,’ he replied. ‘A very long time.’

‘I know she’s older than she looks. So are you.’

‘Yes… You remember I said I was making up for past misdeeds? Winter showed me the errors of my ways. Saved my butt at the same time, but that was kind of incidental to her handing me my ass. But I never looked back, and I help her now and again, when she needs something special doing.’

‘Like this?’ Ella asked.

‘Oh, my dear, no, nothing like this. We were in the area anyway and this is more like a treat.’

Which begged the question, what could Winter do with a floating brothel? Aneka did not think she was going to get the question answered though, so she did not ask.

7.8.527 FSC.

Daniel Waters was the ship’s electronics technician, and he looked like he came from the Rim, or even beyond it. He was thin, almost scrawny, with a mess of ash-blonde hair, and blue eyes hidden behind spectacles. He lacked the body-confidence of people from the core worlds, but he knew electronic systems, and he was in Aneka and Ella’s cabin because Ella’s eyes needed to be checked over.

‘It’s overdue,’ Ella said as he prepped his equipment. ‘We went out of the system and when we got back everything went to gopi so I didn’t have time to get it done.’

Waters checked one of his displays. ‘These Clarion May models are pretty resilient. And they’re pretty new…’

‘I had them fitted last year.’

‘Yeah… There shouldn’t be any problems, but we’ll run through the tests anyway.’ He tapped a screen and the display on it was replaced with some sort of test grid. ‘Just stare at that and the computer will do its stuff.’

Aneka grinned as Waters’ eyes returned to their examination of Ella’s chest. ‘Where did Eddie find you, Daniel?’ she asked.

‘Call me Dan, everyone does. Uh, I was working in the spaceport on a planet called Gillina Four. Dead-end job on a dead-end planet, but I’ve always been good with electronics. I fixed the Serai’s tachyon comms and Eddie asked if I’d like to join the crew.’

‘I don’t know that world,’ Ella commented.

‘No, it’s not part of the Federation. We come from all over. The Minskys are from outside the Rim too, and there’s Kitty. She’s from… wow, it’s like the other side of the galaxy or something.’

The grid pattern shifted to various colour gradients as the software cycled through tests. It all seemed to be pretty automated. Delta had said that Aneka could learn to do them; maybe she should.

‘Beth said Kitty was running from some sort of slavery,’ Aneka said.

‘Yeah. She told me some of it once. Some bunch called the Pinnacle. Not what you’d think. I mean, she’s a really sexy girl and you’d think it was some sexual thing, but she said they don’t do that. They won’t even rape other races. They think it’s like bestiality or something. They used to use her for hunting. Hunting other people.’

Ella winced. ‘Wasn’t Pinnacle the name of that group that attacked Old Earth, Aneka?’

‘Uh-huh. I guess they didn’t get wiped out.’

‘Not the way Kitty tells it,’ Dan said. ‘They’ve got some sort of empire out way beyond the Rim.’ There was a bleep from the equipment and he turned to check the results. ‘Like I said, no problems. You’re good to go.’

Ella grinned at him. ‘If you want, I can just sit here and you can stare at my breasts a while longer. I don’t mind.’

Dan blushed and started closing down his computers. ‘Uh, no, it’s okay. You’d think I’d see enough breasts on this ship, but new ones are always fascinating.’

Ella giggled. ‘Aneka, get your shirt off.’

Odanari.

The shuttle dropped them off on one of the many islands dotted over the surface of Odanari, and they waved as it lifted off again, heading back into orbit. Eddie had told them they had a number of clients on the planet, and it was going to be a busy couple of weeks for the Serai’s staff and crew. Aneka wondered whether Stephen Teldarian was one of those clients. His island was a couple of thousand kilometres west of the one they were on.

It was small, very small. Just the very peak of an undersea mountain, maybe half a kilometre across, with just enough flat ground on one side to land the shuttle. The entire northern side was a hill of white rock with a few scrubby trees and brushes decorating it. And there was a house set into the cliff at the bottom of that.

Standing in the doorway of the Plascrete building was a woman, tall, slim, attractive, of course, with short black hair, clear blue eyes, and narrow, kind of cute, features on a rounded face. There were even freckles visible across her nose through her slight tan. She was dressed in a simple, black mini-dress and kitten heels, and she stood with her ankles together and her hands clasped in front of her.

‘Aneka Jansen and Ella Narrows,’ she said in a soft voice. ‘I am Justine Nivalis, please call me Justine. I run this house for Winter. Please, come in and I’ll explain the rules.’

‘There are rules?’ Ella asked.

‘It’s a safe house,’ Aneka said. ‘There are going to be rules to make sure it stays safe.’

‘Precisely,’ Justine agreed. ‘I don’t think you’ll find them too onerous, however.’

They walked in through the door and she closed it behind them. Aneka heard locks engage. Inside was a fairly large room, which indicated that the building had to extend a fair way into the cliff. This room was a lounge with several large comfortable-looking sofas around it. To their right was an open doorway into a kitchen and ahead of them was a closed door, which led further into the hill.

Justine indicated that they should sit and waited for them to do so before she began speaking. ‘First, there are no long-range communication systems here. We are “off the grid,” so to speak and we want to keep it that way. When the danger is over, a ship will be sent to collect you. Until then no one is going to know where you are.

‘Second, you can go outside unless I indicate otherwise. If I say you need to stay in, there is a good reason for it. Please do as I ask. We have passive sensor arrays on the hill monitoring for ships and satellites in orbit any of which could be spying on the surface. There’s a solarium with a pool in the back which can be used at any hour so you may find that going outside is not necessary. Some people prefer really fresh air to artificially fresh air, however. It is possible to get up onto the hill. If you do, try to stay under cover.’

She gave them a smile. ‘I’d ask that you follow any security suggestions I make. There will be good reason for them. Aside from that, you’re free to do as you wish. The file servers here have an extensive list of films, music, and literature. Aside from that, if you need anything, I am here to service any requirement you may have.’

Ella looked at her and licked her lips. ‘Any requirement?’ Aneka winced.

Justine, however, was not in the least bit fazed. ‘Yes, Miss Narrows, but might I suggest we get you settled in before I take my dress off?’

8.8.527 FSC.

The view from the top of the peak behind the house was both spectacular and boring. They were surrounded by calm ocean. There was little in the way of flat land to the island; the hill fell into the sea on the other side from the house. The ground between the sea and the house did a good impression of being roughly flat, though Aneka knew you could land an aircraft on it quite safely. There was little in the way of cover anywhere on the island. Some scrub, a couple of stunted trees, and that was about it. They were on a rock.

Aneka had left Ella in bed with Justine to walk up the hill. The housekeeper had opened her eyes as Aneka slipped out from under the sheets, nodded, and then closed them again. Aneka was at least thirty per cent sure that the two would be having sex again when she got down. She was not really worried, nor did she care. They had had a good meal, Ella had got fairly drunk, and then the sex had started. First it had been the lounge, and then they had progressed through to the bedroom, ending up falling into sleep huddled together. If it started again once Ella woke up then that was fine. Of course, it was also possible she would get down to find Justine feeding Ella painkillers.

Grinning, Aneka turned and headed down the slope on the east side. Fifteen metres down she came across a second set of sensors hidden under a bush which was not really a bush.

‘More of the same sort as on the other side,’ Al commented. ‘Phased array of sensor heads. Quite capable of detecting objects in high orbit.’

‘No emissions at all?’

‘None. The sensors are connected through to the house via shielded cables. Almost entirely undetectable unless you know where you are looking.’

‘Hopefully we’ll see anything that might come.’

‘Not if they have Xinti stealth technology.’

‘Would that work in an atmosphere?’

‘Slightly less effectively against visual sensors, but it would be effective at stopping most forms of detection.’

Aneka continued downward. ‘Let’s hope they don’t come at us with one of those frigates.’

‘That assumes they even come. This location is secret. I suspect it is one of those level-eight secrets Truelove mentioned. Even the Agency does not know where it is.’

‘First rule of being on the run, Al: never assume your position is safe.’

High Yorkbridge, New Earth, 9.8.527 FSC.

The black car was armoured, heavily armoured, and it carried in its passenger compartment a contingent of seven Federal Security Agents in combat armour carrying both side arms and rifles. It was the state of the art in protective transport, staffed by experts in protection.

Unfortunately, it was in use because Winter was making an entirely unplanned and unscheduled trip to the central Administration building in Yorkbridge to give a confidential briefing. There had been no time to do the normal security sweeps the agents would have liked to have carried out. The only advantage they had in a situation like this was that would-be assassins had little time to plan their operation as well.

Truelove looked more nervous than Winter did. ‘The press have got wind of it. The site detail is reporting cameras and reporters outside the building.’

Winter nodded. Truelove had never really seen her look nervous now she thought about it. It was always as though the woman thought she could survive anything. Or that she did not care whether she survived. ‘It can’t be helped.’

‘But the meeting was supposed to be a secret.’

‘Yes. Equally, several of the Representatives I’ll be briefing are, frankly, not trustworthy, and they are publicity hounds. If they’re meeting with Winter they want the world to know.’

‘You think that’s how the news got out?’

‘I’m sure that the source could be tracked back to a Representative’s office if we chose to look for it.’

Truelove frowned at her. ‘That’s rather evasive.’

Winter smiled. Her hand slipped into her grey jacket and she took out a memory card. ‘Take this. If I don’t tell you otherwise, in two days I want you to plug it into a secure terminal and then leave the room. It’s encrypted, but you don’t want to know what’s on it anyway.’

Taking the red plastic rectangle, Truelove turned it in her fingers and then slipped it into her bra. ‘You’re talking as though something is going to happen.’

‘I’m quite sure something is going to happen, Elaine. Currently I’m not sure what it is. There hasn’t been the time to… properly evaluate the possibilities. Whatever happens, I trust you to do the right thing.’

The car came to a stop and four of the guards filed out onto the concourse in front of the Administration’s main office building in Yorkbridge, a huge, towering Plascrete edifice. Winter was going to the very top.

Truelove started to follow, but Winter put a hand on her arm. ‘You’re staying here. You go straight back to the office. Put the Agency in full lockdown. When I’ve told them what I’m going to tell them, we’re going to clean house.’ She stepped out of the car, the three remaining men moving in behind her, and started toward the doorway.

Truelove reached for the door, pausing as Winter halted and looked back at her. The unassuming blonde spy mistress smiled, and then her head exploded. Blood sprayed out in a cone to her right, and the body stood there for what seemed like minutes before beginning to fall. Truelove’s hand closed convulsively around the door handle. She could not understand, or react to, what she was seeing, even as the first of the guards began to move, spinning and sighting around with his rifle, looking for a shooter.

The sound, a sharp crack, arrived a couple of seconds later, echoing between the buildings and soon overwhelmed by the screams. Some part of Truelove’s brain, which was functioning despite her shock, registered the fact that the weapon had to be around a thousand metres away.

She yanked the door closed. ‘Drive!’

The car pulled away, tyres screaming. She had been given an order. It was the last order Winter, this Winter, was ever going to give, and Elaine Truelove was going to make damn sure it was carried out.

Odanari.

Justine stretched. Ella watched her stretch and licked her lips. Aneka rolled her eyes.

‘What?’ Ella asked, trying her best to look innocent.

‘Let the woman have a day off,’ Aneka said, grinning.

Justine, lying out on a lounger in the solarium wearing a small, but not minute, pair of bikini briefs, smiled. ‘I don’t mind, Aneka. I’d prefer that we were all relaxed, and Ella is clearly quite relaxed.’

‘Uh-huh. She goes off sex when she’s nervous. It’s not often, but it happens.’

‘Negral,’ Ella said. ‘Before we met the AIs anyway, and Old Earth after Yrimtan… I needed it then, but I didn’t exactly want it.’

Aneka shrugged. ‘I still think a day off would be good. Read a book or something.’

Ella sighed and lay back on her own lounger. She was not wearing a stitch. ‘You’re probably right. It’ll be better when we start again. And I have got a load of data to read through. It’ll keep my mind busy.’

That was, of course, the main problem with being in such an isolated location: boredom. Aneka was reading trashy sci-fi novels, though Kushiel’s Dart was turning out to be simultaneously less trashy, less sci-fi, and more likely to have her suggesting that they could abstain the following day. Ella was reading files from Aggy’s archives; it was a little weird, but the girl actually enjoyed reading historical research material. What Justine did to keep herself busy Aneka was not sure. The woman did seem happy to indulge Ella’s urges, but Aneka was starting to feel as though the redhead was taking advantage.

‘That sounds like a good idea,’ Aneka agreed, ‘but don’t you ever read fiction?’

Ella laughed. ‘You remember our discussion about modern popular literature, don’t you? If you want me to stop harassing Justine then the last thing I should do is read that.’

‘I really don’t mind,’ Justine protested. ‘I’ve had much worse assignments than the two of you, believe me. There was…’ She stopped. ‘I shouldn’t really discuss them.’

‘Go on,’ Ella said, leaning forward. ‘It’s not like we’re going to tell anyone.’

‘Well…’ Justine sat up, leaning toward Ella and developing a conspiratorial grin. ‘Stephen Teldarian was here for a few days…’

‘He knows where this place is?’ Aneka asked, her brow furrowing a little.

‘No,’ Justine replied. ‘He doesn’t even know the planet he was on. Most people arrive here with no idea where they are.’

‘Then how come we were told?’

Justine shrugged. ‘You’d have to ask Winter.’

‘She’s not here,’ Ella said. ‘Tell me about Teldarian.’

Justine grinned. ‘He was charming and skilled, of course. Given his reputation that was to be expected. It was just that he seemed to consider it a foregone conclusion that I would sleep with him. I felt more like a fixture, one of the household appliances he was employing for a purpose, than a woman.’

‘He wasn’t like that with me,’ Aneka said, feeling an odd compulsion to defend the man.

‘You’re lucky. I think he could be quite a nice man if he were more attentive. Socially. Physically he was most attentive, but mentally… Anyway, Senator Elroy was here for five days once. There was some assassin after him. It took him four days to get around to asking me, even though he kept looking at me like I was a sex android, and then I’d have got more out of my vibrator.’

‘He opened up a bit to Aneka,’ Ella said. ‘About Old Earth history.’

‘Ah yes,’ Justine said. ‘As I recall, Teldarian considers that one of his two hobbies. Perhaps that’s why he liked Aneka so much.’

‘His other hobby being?’ Aneka asked.

‘I’d have thought that was obvious. Sex.’

‘I think that’s more of a vocation for him.’ Aneka grinned. ‘Same with Ella.’

‘Hey!’ Ella squeaked. Then she shrugged and added, ‘Well, no, you might be right.’

FSA Headquarters, Yorkbridge, 10.8.527 FSC.

Truelove lifted her head as the door of the office opened. Two men in combat uniforms, with helmets and carbines, stepped through and took up positions on either side of the door. They were followed by a short man, slim, greying at the temples, with watery, grey eyes. His dark grey suit was pressed within an inch of its life. Two more men followed him into the room, dressed and equipped just like the first two, but they walked around him, taking up positions beside the locked inner door.

‘Agent Elaine Truelove,’ the man said, ‘I am Administrator Marcus Dowler and I’ve been assigned as interim head of the Federal Security Agency.’

‘You have authority from…?’

Dowler held out a memory card. ‘My authorisation.’

Taking the card, Truelove slid it into her console. There was a slight pause and then the screen lit up with a Federal Certificate of Authority. The marker at the bottom declared it genuine. ‘This checks out, Sir.’ Truelove looked up at him as she handed him back the card. How in Vashma’s name had this man been assigned to run the Agency? He was a pencil-pusher, a politician.

Dowler nodded. ‘Until further notice, Miss Truelove, you will be on administrative leave.’

‘Sir?’

‘You will be escorted from the building immediately.’

‘I don’t understand, Sir…’

‘That’s an order, Agent.’

Truelove’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Am I under arrest, Sir?’

‘Not at this time…’

‘Then I am required under Federal Law to secure my terminal prior to leaving. I assume that you will not be requiring me to shirk my responsibilities?’

For a second she thought he was going to stop her, but he nodded. ‘Be quick about it.’

She palmed the chip Winter had given her and, under the guise of closing any files she might have open, slipped it into one of the slots. Then she locked her terminal and got up from her chair. She did not know what was going on, but she had a very bad feeling about it.

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

Janna frowned as the apartment door opened and Sharissa stepped through, a metaphorical black cloud hanging over her head. The blonde did not look in the least bit happy. Janna decided that putting a smile on and making light of things would be a good start, though she did not expect it to work.

‘You’re home early, love,’ she said. ‘Must be my lucky day.’

Somewhat to Janna’s surprise, the reply was, ‘It is. I’m going to have a couple of drinks and then we’re going to fuck until I can’t remember my name.’

Worried now, Janna got up and went to the bar. Pouring two healthy glasses of shinishee, she passed one across to Sharissa. ‘Can you talk about it?’

‘I have no idea.’ Sharissa sank the glass in one pull and held it out for seconds. ‘Some of it is going to be all over the news, so I guess I can tell you that. They’ve appointed some pencil neck from the Administration as temporary head of the Agency. The first thing he did was kick Elaine Truelove out of the building. Then he apparently locked himself in Winter’s office. And then about an hour later various other orders came out. Anyone close to Winter has been sent home on garden leave.’

‘Are you under investigation or something? The woman was assassinated! What are they investigating?’

‘No official investigation has been started that anyone’s aware of, but this feels wrong.’

Janna frowned. ‘What about Ella, and Aneka? Are they safe?’

‘Well, I can’t warn them if they aren’t. Winter put them somewhere no one directly associated with the Agency knows about. Her own, private, safe house. I don’t even know which world they’re on. Hopefully that means they won’t be tracked down.’ She smiled, though it looked forced. ‘I don’t even know whether there’s any danger to them.’

‘What if this new man revokes the gag order on Aneka?’

Sharissa grimaced. ‘There were good reasons for that. It wasn’t just Winter’s whim.’

‘But…’

‘No buts. Get your butt into the bedroom and change into one of your costumes. I want a dance, then a lap dance, and then you’ll do whatever I damn well tell you to do until I’m not thinking about this anymore.’

Janna threw back her own drink and then started for the bedroom door. She had learned a long time ago that sometimes actions were more important than words.

Elsewhere, 11.8.527 FSC.

Tachyons exist in a superluminal state their entire lives. They are particles which naturally travel faster than the speed of light, thus violating a lot of cherished laws of physics, and therefore considered impossible until the discovery of gravity-control technology. The ability to manipulate gravitons, and the Higgs field, to manipulate the apparent mass of objects brought with it the ability to slow down and detect tachyons, but the equipment to do so was originally large and very clumsy, and it managed to detect one particle in several thousand passing through it. Improved technology made for more accurate detection of higher-velocity particles using progressively smaller equipment.

One such high-tech detector, massing around thirty tonnes, hung in orbit around a world smothered in icy oceans, covered by a thin, if technically breathable, atmosphere. It sat waiting for particles carrying the kind of phase modulation it had been created to detect, and when such a particle stream impinged upon its detection field it interpreted the signal, applied the complex error correction codes used in such lossy communication, and then retransmitted the result toward the surface of the planet using more conventional means.

The message was received by complex computer systems which had already noticed that traffic coming into the tachyon relay had been becoming sparser for days. The message resulted in a flurry of activity and the transmission of a number of messages back up to the satellite for transmission out of the system.

There was a lot to be done. There were decisions to be made and there were people to protect. Someone had declared war and this was no time for delay, but Sleep Brings Renewal to All Things was an AI and she needed information before she could determine the best course of action.

FSA Headquarters.

Dowler had been working on the encryption surrounding Winter’s private data files for a day. Not personally, of course; he was not a cryptographer. He had brought a dedicated code-cracking computer with him for the job, one which was not connected to the network. If anyone asked, it was an isolated laptop because the data he was reading was for his eyes only, but the real reason was that he had not been given keys to the files and he needed what was in them.

He had been assured that any encryption system could be broken, given time. The computer he was using was something special. He had never seen anything quite so responsive to commands and there was no doubt it was working far faster than any general purpose device would have, but it was still not coming up with anything.

The problem was time. He was not entirely sure how much he had. He knew that there were already people at work trying to replace the old Winter with a new, permanent assignment to the role, and he very much needed to get the information he was looking for before that happened. Elroy, in particular, had been unhappy about the appointment of a civilian to the FSA leadership. Dowler had suggested that Elroy be removed from the equation, but his masters had not wanted any additional attention. One assassination was enough.

The computer bleeped to draw his attention to the screen. One file had been cracked and was being displayed for him. He frowned and then took a phone from his pocket, dialling from memory and then waiting for the signal from the other end stating that the connection was secure.

‘Odanari. There’s a safe house there. It may be nothing, but… Yes, I’ll forward the coordinates.’ He listened for a second, nodded, and closed the connection. Then he went back to waiting for the computer to decrypt more files.

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

‘Request for access,’ the apartment’s computer announced. ‘The individual has identified herself as an FSA agent.’

Truelove frowned. ‘Mute sound,’ she said, and the news channel she had been watching went silent. ‘Approve the request and open the door when they get here.’ She got to her feet and headed for her small bedroom. She had not bothered getting dressed that morning for the simple reason that she had no plans to leave her home.

Emerging from the room in a short, Nusilk wrap she found a tall woman with short, black hair and narrow features set in a rounded face standing just inside the door of the apartment. She was wearing a grey business suit with a sheer blouse, which reminded Truelove of Winter. The clear, blue eyes held the same kind of ageless quality her old boss had had too.

‘Hello,’ Truelove said, ‘can I help you?’

‘Yes, Elaine, you can,’ the woman said, ‘but what I’m going to ask you for is unofficial, and potentially dangerous. I want you to know that you can decline. Just say the word at any time and I’ll leave.’

‘I… don’t understand. Who are you? The computer said you had Agency identification.’

‘Yes… I am, how to put this… I am Winter’s backup plan. I am here to gather information in order to decide the best course of action. Someone is doing something which is a threat to the Federation. They have, essentially, declared war on us, the people who protect that Federation. I need to know who they are.’

Truelove’s frown grew deeper. ‘You’d better sit down.’ She pointed to the couches in front of the silent screen and the woman crossed to one, sitting so that she could face the one directly opposite the video wall.

‘I’m not sure what I can do to help you,’ Truelove said once she was seated. ‘I’m on administrative leave. I’ve no access…’

‘Who’s running the Agency?’

‘A stiff-neck named Dowler.’

‘Marcus Dowler?’

‘That’s him. You know him?’

‘Of him.’

‘Well, as best as I can tell, he’s running some sort of investigation into Winter. I know he sent a lot of people home on the day he started. All the people Winter trusted, starting with me.’

‘I see. Elaine, I think it’s best if I stay away from you for a few days. There may be news regarding Winter in the next few days and it may well look very bad. I need to know… Did you trust her?’

‘Yes,’ Truelove replied without a thought.

‘Very well. Remember that and I may come to ask for your help again.’

‘Again? I didn’t really tell you anything.’

‘Yes, you did.’ The woman rose to her feet and started for the door.

‘I don’t even know what to call you.’

The woman paused in the doorway. ‘I’m Justine,’ she said, and then she was gone.

Odanari.

Justine walked out of the front door of the house, heading for the object that had fallen onto the landing strip a few minutes earlier. The dead drops were done from courier ships that made regular runs between New Earth and Odanari. They launched re-entry vehicles from high orbit on the way in, and those small missiles did their level best to avoid giving away their eventual landing site as they wound their way to the island. Thus far no one had ever tracked one; she knew since they were equipped with sensors to detect tracking of various forms.

Picking up the small metal sphere, which was all that was left of the missile, she started back toward the house. Her ident unlocked the access panel as she walked and she flipped it open, surprised to see only a single data card inside. Generally there was more, even the odd handwritten note; getting a single object in one of the pods was unusual.

Taking the card to her private office, Justine plugged it into her terminal and watched in silence as the data unspooled onto her screen. She watched footage of Winter being assassinated from the viewpoint of three different news channel cameras, her face impassive. She watched the text which followed and frowned. Not telling Aneka and Ella, especially Aneka, seemed wrong. They were not going to do anything stupid. What could they do? Just like Justine, they were stuck on this island until someone came to get them.

It was, however, the last message on the card which lifted Justine’s eyebrows and made her jaw drop. It was just one line, but she had never thought she would ever see anything like it.

If your location is compromised, bring them here.

Harriamon, High Orbit, 13.8.527 FSC.

Another tachyon relay sat in high orbit above another world. Harriamon had a thicker, and more toxic, atmosphere, and the relay was newer, having been built earlier that year, but it did the same sort of job. Tachyons streamed in from distant worlds, impinged upon the detection field, and so became a stream of data to be processed and redirected.

In the case of this relay, however, more or less all the data was simply retransmitted. The entire machine had been built to relay messages from New Earth to Old Earth, and vice versa. It rarely relayed anything to a local destination, or even a remote one which was not one of the two Earths.

The crew, two technicians and one scientist, were expecting nothing more than tachyon beams transiting through their station, so the barrage of gamma-ray beams came as something of a surprise. It ripped open the central section of the hull like a tin can leaving the missiles which followed to wipe out the main sensor arrays.

By the time the Admiral Banfry had swung around from the far side of Harriamon and got within sensor range, the source of the attack was gone and all they could do was begin mounting a rescue operation.

FSA Headquarters, 14.8.527 FSC.

‘I don’t understand,’ Dowler said into his phone. ‘You won’t take Elroy out, but you attack the relay station at Harriamon?’

The voice at the other end was apparently quite angry since Dowler’s face paled. ‘No, of course I… Yes… It’s still working on the files. I’ve found a few leads, but nothing solid yet. There’s evidence that she was definitely hiding something serious, and I have the full details on Jansen.’

He listened again, nodding a few times. ‘I’ll forward the files to you immediately, and of course I’ll tell you when I have more on Winter.’ He closed the connection and reached for his terminal. He would need to be careful about sending out the data on Jansen. It was a level-seven secret and he was sending it to an unauthorised location. If someone found out about it… But they would not, he was sure of that at least. As long as he used the encryption software he had been supplied with, no one would be able to crack it or trace the connection.

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

Justine watched the data streams going into and out of the FSA’s communications hub. It was mainly routine data: email, file transfers, video calls. Little was drawing her attention, but her computer was checking over everything, just in case.

When one file transfer was flagged for her attention, she moved, her fingers sliding over her tablet to bring that stream to the forefront. The encryption being used was strong, and of an unknown type. Frowning, she ordered the computer to copy the data for decryption and locate the source and destination.

It had been sent from the terminal in Winter’s office, and the only person with access to that was Dowler. The destination was harder, but the computer was running very advanced software. After passing through a dozen routers, the stream terminated at the firewall of the Herosian embassy.

Justine flagged the decryption as urgent, to be prioritised over other work. She needed to know what the interim head of the FSA was sending to the Herosians. Especially since he was taking such pains to ensure no one found out about it.

Odanari, 15.8.527 FSC.

Ella let out a small whimper as Aneka’s fingers traced over her stomach, moving upward at a slow crawl. Aneka had her arms pinned above her head, not firmly enough to really hold them, but Ella was not really trying to get free and the whimpering was as much play as anything.

‘You’re beautiful, you know?’ Aneka whispered.

‘So is just about everyone,’ Ella replied.

‘It’s not your looks that make you beautiful, love.’ Aneka reached up and tapped Ella between the eyes. ‘This is what makes you beautiful.’ She lowered her hand and pinched Ella’s right nipple, eliciting a sharp cry of pain followed by a moan. ‘That and the cute little noises you make.’

‘That’s mean… if you stop.’

Aneka grinned. ‘I don’t plan to stop.’

The bedroom door opened and Justine walked in. Both girls looked up since their caretaker had said she had a few things to do around the house and that they should have some couple’s time. The fact that she seemed to be wearing combat armour of some form was the second surprise.

‘Sorry, but you need to get up and dressed,’ Justine said, her voice carrying urgency. ‘We’ve got company.’

‘What kind of company?’ Aneka asked, releasing Ella’s arms and rolling across the bed to sit up.

‘That I’m not sure of. Sensors detected a ship dropping out of orbit about an hour ago. Ninety-eight tonnes, probably a fusion torch engine, no identification echo. It dropped out of sight ten minutes later, but the course suggested it was heading this way.’

‘Are we expecting someone?’ Aneka was pulling on her suit and she glanced around at Ella, who had not moved. ‘She’s going to need some armour.’

Justine nodded. ‘When you’re dressed, we’ll go to the armoury. I have some weapons you might be interested in too.’

Ella blinked. ‘There’s an armoury?’

~~~

The armoury was hidden behind a wall on a corridor next to the solarium, and it was quite an armoury. Ella busied herself putting on an armoured combat suit, which looked a little too much like the suits the Negral AIs had given them for Aneka’s total comfort, while Aneka examined the weapons mounted on the walls.

‘This stuff,’ Aneka said, ‘it’s Xinti weaponry.’

‘Not… exactly,’ Justine replied, taking a rifle down from the wall.

‘Then…?’

‘The Xinti used some similar weapons. These are developments on some of those, and some unique developments.’

‘Developed by Winter?’

‘Yes. She’s older than she looks.’

‘I… know that. Something about her eyes. You have the same look.’

Justine pointed at a large, bulky-looking weapon near where Aneka was standing, and changed the subject. ‘I think you’ll like that. It’s basically the same as your sniper rifle, but it’s fully automatic. Most people use it from a mount, but with your strength…’

Aneka took the weapon down. It was connected to a backpack via a flexible ammo feed and it weighed easily twice what her sniper rifle did. As her hand closed around the grip an in-vision display indicated that it was loaded, with a four thousand round magazine.

‘All right,’ she said, ‘now we’re talking. Ella’s pretty useful with a beam-based pistol…’

Justine pulled down a pistol and handed it to Ella. ‘Graser pistol. The range is reduced in atmosphere, but if you’re shooting at something more than fifty metres away in this situation I’ll be surprised.’ She looked up suddenly. ‘Sensors have picked up a low-flying ship, five kilometres to the south. It’s armed. Forward-mounted beam weapons and ground assault cannon on turrets.’ She looked down at Aneka. ‘The configuration matches a Herosian light gunship, Hachadim class.’

‘Ashad Hithor,’ Ella said. She took the pistol from Justine, saw the heads-up display appear in the vision field, and nodded.

‘If they’ve got any of those armoured suits…’ Aneka said.

Justine walked across to a box and pulled out a pair of thick cylinders. She handed them to Aneka. ‘Don’t use them inside. They’re graviton pulse implosion grenades. They have significant range and…’

‘War, the Negral weapons designer, told me about these. I’ll be careful.’ She clipped them to her belt. ‘Let’s hope we don’t need to use them.’

‘We’ll know soon enough. The ship has landed at one end of the strip. The shield door is dropping and I’m arming the exterior defences.’

‘We have exterior defences?’ Ella squeaked.

‘Yes, and those and the door should hold them for a while, but if it’s the same group who attacked the facility on New Earth we have to assume they’ll get in.’

‘We need a defensible position,’ Aneka said.

Justine smiled. ‘You hadn’t noticed the chokepoint out of the lounge?’

‘That corridor doesn’t provide much cover.’

‘That is because it doesn’t normally need to.’

~~~

The first man to leave the rear access door of the gunship was hit in the chest by a stream of hydrogen pulses heated to several thousand degrees by a laser. The plasma burned through his combat suit as though it was barely there and, a second later, there was almost nothing left to identify him as Jenlay.

The mercenaries had not been expecting that kind of resistance, but they still had their ace in the hole; the heavy suit went out next. The sealed, hardened armour with a neutronium outer layer, powered by an antimatter reactor just to give it the power it needed to move, seemed to ignore the bursts of super-hot plasma as they exploded uselessly against it. Wearing a stupid shit-eating grin, the man inside lifted his arms, the suit’s motors responded to the action by lifting the, much heavier, arms of the small mech he was riding in, and with them the two heavy antimatter blasters they were holding. A normal man would have had trouble lifting one of them; the suit could handle one in each hand. He began firing back.

~~~

Heavy, laminated metal and plastic shields had risen from the floor of the corridor. They were staggered, the first about five metres from the door into the lounge, and about a metre high. They looked very solid, but Aneka had no illusions about their ability to stop antimatter explosions. Ella had been positioned behind the last of the five with orders to stay put and only use her pistol if someone got too close. Aneka was behind the first, Justine taking the next.

They were speaking via their implant communicators, and Justine had patched the feeds from the exterior cameras through to them as well. The second of the two turrets had engaged the suit, but it was having no more luck breaching the dense armour than the first had.

‘They’ll either hit the door with those cannons,’ Ella said, ‘or use breaching charges.’

‘Agreed,’ Justine replied. ‘We’ll know soon; the second gun is down.’

Sure enough, the view from the second Gatling’s sighting system had gone to snow. Another camera showed six men in combat suits running down the ramp at the back of the ship. One of them appeared to be carrying a large satchel.

‘Looks like it’s going to be explosives,’ Aneka commented. ‘As long as they can’t get that bloody tank in here we should be fine. Only eight men?’

‘I count six,’ Ella put in.

‘They lost one to the cannon, one’s in that battlesuit.’

‘Oh, yeah.’

‘The Hachadim carries two crew and eight marines,’ Al supplied. ‘They were built to drop fire team pairs into combat situations. The stealth hull provides superior incursion capability.’

‘If possible,’ Justine said, ‘we want to take it intact.’

‘Why?’ Ella asked, sounding perplexed.

‘Our position is compromised. My orders are to take you to a secondary location, and that is currently the only safe way I have of doing so.’

There was a loud explosion from the front of the house. Dust billowed down the corridor as far as Aneka’s shield. She lifted her gun, balancing it on the shield top and then ducking back out of view. The weapon’s integral sight would do fine for aiming.

‘They’re through the door,’ Justine said. ‘The hole is large, but nowhere near big enough to allow the heavy suit through.’

Aneka was watching the camera in the lounge. Three men swept into the room, rifles raised high, and immediately covered the three main directions. She smiled, standard room clearance tactics not much different from what she would have done. She could imagine the point where they announced the room clear, estimated when the second trio would move in, and smiled again when they did. Now they would move up…

‘Get ready. Here they come.’

The first of them rushed through the door, his gun darting left and right as he went. Aneka had time to analyse his motions as he spotted the shields along the corridor, took in the heavy weapon poking out from over one of them, and realised he had made a mistake. She pulled the trigger. It was almost unfair; the man was shredded, almost literally by the stream of heavy needles, as were the two men following him. The problem was that the three remaining men were going to be far more cautious.

She held the trigger down, watching as the ammo counter clicked down. She could not keep that kind of suppression fire up for long, but it stopped them getting in line with the door. It did not stop them firing back, however. An antimatter pulse impacted the wall inside the corridor, blasting fragments of Plascrete over a wide area. Aneka felt the backwash hit her, but there were no damage indicators in-vision so she ignored it.

The view from the lounge camera showed one of the men pulling something from his belt. ‘Shit,’ she muttered, releasing the trigger of her gun and moving out from behind the barricade.

‘Aneka!’ Justine snapped out. ‘What are you doing?’

‘They’ve got a grenade.’

Another explosion blasted dust and debris from the wall nearby. The grenadier was moving toward the door, taking a more direct line since the shooting had apparently stopped. Maybe he thought she was reloading. She could hope so. She bolted forward into the doorway, bringing her gun around, clamping down on the trigger, and sweeping the stream in an arc. Just inside the door, one man fell backward as his body was riddled with plasma darts, then the stream of bullets blasted holes in the wall before slicing the grenade thrower almost cleanly in two.

But there was a third and he was on her left, almost behind her. She dodged randomly, swinging to her left and rolling, but she felt the impact on her back, the searing pain as the pulse exploded tearing away fake flesh and exposing the mesh armour beneath. Briefly she saw damage indicators flashing past her vision, and then she saw nothing.

~~~

Justine made it to the doorway in time to see Aneka fall, and fired on the merc. The graser beam bit into his chest, carving a line through his armour and the chest beneath. He fell back and she kept firing, the beam cutting up over his throat and then through the faceplate of his helmet, and he stopped moving.

‘Aneka?’ Ella’s voice came over the radio. ‘Is she…?’

‘She’s down, but I don’t think one blast from one of those things could stop her permanently. We have another problem. Stay there.’ There was little likelihood that the redhead would obey, but the heavy suit had to be taken out.

Running over to Aneka’s prone form, Justine found one of the grenades on her belt and moved to the hole in the door. Hitting the priming stud, she leaned out long enough to get a fix on the huge, armoured form, and tossed the cylinder out. Then she turned back in time to see Ella arriving beside Aneka.

‘I said to stay put,’ she growled. ‘Help me get her out of the way.’ She grabbed one of Aneka’s arms and, with Ella helping, pulled her to one side of the room.

They had made it perhaps five metres when the sound happened. It was not an explosion, exactly, though there was a rumble, which could have been the aftershock of one at the end. It was more like a loud crack followed instantly by a sound like a tornado whipping past in an instant. The building creaked audibly and the edges of the blasted metal shield door began to glow a dull red.

‘Shit,’ Justine grumbled, ‘I hope it didn’t damage the damn ship.’ She looked around at Ella. ‘Stay with her. I have to get the crew before they decide to bug out.’ Ella nodded dumbly and Justine bolted for the gap in the door.

The battlesuit looked like a car wreck. It was tipped on one side and visibly crushed, the heavy metal bent and crumpled where the sudden intense gravity field had pulled it in toward the point of detonation. The man inside was probably soup. Justine had never actually used one of the things on a real target. She had seen what it could do in tests, but the actual results on real people… Shuddering, she ran toward the gunship still sitting on the deck twenty-five metres away.

The crew, it seemed, were still in shock from the explosion. Maybe some of the radiation damage had penetrated the hull and done her job for her, though that might be bad since it could have damaged the electronics. The only thing which had saved her and Ella was the thick Plascrete wall between them and the detonation. As she ran up the, still open, rear gate she made a mental note to never use one of those grenades again.

The ramp led into a small staging area, and then to a flight of stairs which brought her up a level. There had been a visible cockpit window above the nose and she expected the crew to be there. Two of them, as Al had said, probably with side arms. She swallowed. She was trained to fight, but she rarely had to actually engage in combat. Her eyes darted left and right, checking the doorways along the corridor, but she saw nothing until she reached the forward section of the craft.

A bulky, slightly squat figure appeared ahead of her, raising a pistol. She recognised the digitigrade posture and the blunt face behind the helmet: a Herosian. Then she fired, the beam searing through his armoured shipsuit like the proverbial knife through butter. There was a vague look of surprise on his face just before his chest collapsed into a burned hole and he fell over.

‘That’s enough of that.’ The voice came from behind her. ‘Put the rifle down. I’m sure you know what these things can do. If you don’t want your body painting the walls, you’ll do as I say.’

Dropping the rifle to her side, but not the floor, Justine turned slowly to face the owner of the voice. Another Herosian, this one a little taller with more musculature and insignia which marked him as a unit commander. He was holding a blaster rifle, not a pistol.

‘Very good,’ he said. ‘Now you will tell me what I want to know. Where is Winter?!’

~~~

The diagnostics were not looking good. Power fluctuations, synchronisation errors in control circuitry, she was a mess. Aneka opened her eyes and pushed herself over onto her back, wincing at the effort.

‘Oh thank Vashma!’ Ella said. ‘We have got to talk about you wearing armour.’

‘I took an antimatter burst in the back, love,’ Aneka replied weakly. ‘I think armour would have had a limited effect.’

‘It might have kept you on your feet, and you’ve got no skin on your back.’

‘Yeah… Well give me a day and I’ll be as pretty as ever. Where’s Justine?’

‘She went out to capture the ship.’

‘Al,’ Aneka asked silently, ‘can you get a link to her?’

‘She used one of those grenades on the thing outside,’ Ella went on. ‘Frankly, I’m afraid to look. Shot the merc that shot you first and then… It sounded like someone blew the universe apart out there.’

‘Connection to her suit established,’ Al said. ‘Her internal radio has too limited a range.’

‘Patch in her view.’ Aloud she said, ‘War said they were vicious weapons. They went into her category of “uncivilised devices.”’ A picture appeared in Aneka’s view. It showed a Herosian in some sort of shipsuit holding a rifle. ‘Shit… Ella, Justine’s in trouble. I’m going to be useless for three or four hours and next to useless for ten. You have to go help her.’

‘Me?!’

The response was expected. ‘You can do this, love. You held out on Eshebbon for weeks before I got to you. You can use that pistol. Take it slowly, stay calm and quiet. It looks like the guy who has the drop in her is facing away from the door.’

Ella picked up her pistol. ‘O-okay. Wish me luck.’ She got to her feet and started for the hole where the door had been.

‘You don’t need it,’ Aneka told her, ‘but good luck anyway.’

~~~

‘I don’t understand,’ Justine said. ‘Winter was assassinated, probably by you people. I saw the news feeds. Someone blew her head off.’

‘We both know that was not the real one,’ the Herosian replied. ‘We both know that the real Winter is somewhere else, running things from behind the scenes, just as she always has. Her interference continues and we will not have it. Where is she?’

‘I don’t know anything of the kind,’ Justine replied. ‘I run this safe house for her. That’s all there is to it.’

‘You have killed my men. You have weapons which exceed the technology available to the Federation…’

‘So do you. Antimatter blasters, that battlesuit. A miniaturised reactor like that is beyond anything the Herosians are supposed to have. You got the technology from Xinti wrecks, right?’

The lizard-like man sneered; not an easy expression to pull off through a helmet and with thick lips. ‘You underestimate the Herosian race…’

‘No, I don’t. You barely managed to cobble together a warp drive after the Xinti handed it to you on a plate. The Humans managed it in a generation. The Xinti almost gave up on you ever managing it, and then you went and wiped out the Aromans just to get your hands on their planet. You’re short-lived, stupid, and incredibly arrogant. The real mistake the Xinti made was to let any of you screaming nutjobs live after Aromineus!’

The Herosian lifted his rifle. ‘Are those your last words, Jenlay?’

‘No,’ Justine replied. ‘You’re also easy to distract.’

Swallowing hard, Ella aimed her pistol and shot the Herosian in the back.

Herosian Gunship, 16.8.527 FSC.

The gunship had a small sickbay. Aneka did not really need to be in it, but it had seemed like a good idea that she rest there while she healed, or repaired, herself. She was lying, naked, on the room’s medical couch, on her stomach, while Ella fussed over her. Aneka did not like lying on her stomach, her chest was really not designed for it and there were various pillows propped under her to make it more comfortable, and she did not really want to be fussed over, but Ella was reacting badly to the events of the previous day and the fussing distracted her. A little anyway.

‘I’ve never killed anyone before,’ Ella said. ‘Not like that. People died on Eshebbon, but they were dead or dying already. And I shot him in the back…’

‘He was going to kill Justine, Ella,’ Aneka replied.

‘I know, but I just froze. She had to take the gun out of my hands. I just stood there…’

‘Then it’s a good thing you killed him with the first shot.’

‘Yeah… I guess… He really stank.’

Aneka giggled. ‘Laser burns will do that.’

‘It’s not funny!’

‘If you’ve got down to “he smelled bad after I shot him,” then it’s funny.’

Ella was starting to get over her shock, Aneka could tell from the way her lips twitched as she tried to avoid grinning. ‘Maybe. A little.’

‘I’d like to say it gets easier, but I don’t think you know if it’s going to until the second time… And I’d prefer it if you never had to do it a second time. That’s what I’m here for.’

‘Except that you’re lying there with your back opened up like you’ve got really bad sunburn. If you’re going to be the one saving me from having to kill people, then you better stop getting yourself hurt.’

‘Okay, okay, I’ll wear more armour. Oh enough of this, everything’s basically functional…’ Aneka twisted around so that she could sit up.

‘You’ve still got no back,’ Ella told her.

‘So? I won’t put anything over it and it’ll heal. My systems are basically functional. It’s primarily cosmetic damage left to fix up and are you really saying you don’t want to watch me walking around naked?’

‘Well I’ll be a lot happier about it when you’ve got a back.’

Aneka grinned and shook her chest. ‘I’ll make sure you’re always in front of me.’

Ella rolled her eyes.

FSA Headquarters.

Dowler was not happy. The office of the head of the FSA was supposed to be sacrosanct. The only people allowed admittance were the head, his assistant, and someone the head had invited. Senator Elroy and the man standing beside the door wearing dark glasses and, patently obviously from the bulge in his jacket, a very large handgun, had not been invited.

‘You have placed various members of FSA staff on administrative leave,’ Elroy was saying. ‘It would appear that some form of investigation into the affairs of the previous Winter has been initiated, yet no such investigation has been recorded, no staff have been assigned to it, and there appears to be no grounds for such an investigation in the first place.’

Dowler did his best to unclench his jaw. He tended to grind his teeth and his orthodontist had warned him that serious work would be required to repair the damage if he continued. ‘What was your question, Senator?’

Elroy looked at him. The man was attempting to play politics. Very well. ‘Why have these people been excluded from the Agency?’

‘I have reason to believe that Winter was operating this Agency as her private army,’ Dowler said. ‘The agents removed from active duty were those closest to her and are therefore suspects or material witnesses.’

‘And you have evidence of this?’

‘Purely circumstantial…’

‘Perhaps you should interview your material witnesses rather than leaving some of our most effective agents out in the cold.’

‘I would rather wait until I have more…’

‘You have a day.’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘One day, twenty hours, as of now. I’ve already arranged the required signatures to have you replaced. We have a group of unknown terrorists attacking our shipping, assaulting our facilities with heavy weapons, and assassinating our key personnel. Instead of investigating that, you have engaged in a witch hunt.’

‘Senator, the investigation into the terrorist group is still ongoing…’

‘Without some of the best agents in the organisation assisting it!’ Elroy rarely raised his voice, when he did, he went all out. ‘One day, Dowler, then we replace you with someone competent.’ Turning, the tall Senator stalked out of the room.

Marcus Dowler ground his teeth.

Herosian Gunship.

‘You’re up and about,’ Justine said, ‘if not entirely whole.’ She was sitting in the pilot’s seat for no other reason than that it was a seat.

Aneka grinned. ‘As I told Ella when she got her breast enhancements, I haven’t been able to lie on my stomach for most of my life. It’s not comfortable. I’m functional and there’s no point in me lying there like a beached whale.’

‘I’m not going to ask,’ Ella said; she had no clue what a whale was. ‘She’s right though, there’s no point.’ She dropped into the co-pilot’s seat with a sigh.

‘So,’ Aneka said, ‘where is it we’re going?’

‘We’re going to meet up with Winter. In this bucket it’s going to take a while. We’ll be flying for another… thirty-six days. That’s why I brought rations aboard, as well as the entire armoury. That safe house is compromised.’ She looked sad about it. Aneka wondered how long she had been living there. ‘Things have become… very complicated.’

Aneka looked at her for a second. ‘Which Winter is it that we’re going to see, exactly?’

‘We know she had doubles,’ Ella added. ‘She came to our registration party and then we saw that she had been at a meeting at the same time.’

Justine’s eyebrows rose. ‘That was sloppy. Maybe she’s getting tired…’ She shook her head. ‘The various doubles, as you call them, are supposed to be a secret.’

‘Well either they’re very dedicated, or they’re something else,’ Aneka said. ‘I saw one die in the bunker in the Islands, and then a new Winter appears to debrief us and send us off to Odanari.’

‘They won’t be doing it again,’ Justine replied. ‘Winter was assassinated in front of news cameras a few days ago.’

Ella’s jaw was hanging open. She snapped it shut. ‘T-two of them have died? How many does she have?’

Justine grimaced. ‘I’d really prefer it if she explained it. It’s, well, complicated.’

‘There’s a lot of that going around,’ Aneka commented. ‘We can wait. But we’re going to meet the real Winter this time?’

‘Oh yes,’ Justine said emphatically. ‘And that worries me more than anything.’

High Yorkbridge, New Earth, 17.8.527 FSC.

‘Have you any idea what this is about?’

Elroy glanced at his companion. Senator Diana Ollander was a striking woman who kept her figure trim and her black hair long, and was quite happy to use her looks to further her career. She was wearing a low-cut, short dress which looked quite business-like, but also showed off her long legs and expansive cleavage. Elroy happened to know that she was also a consummate politician, however. She was just using every advantage she had.

‘I’m hoping that Dowler will be announcing his resignation,’ Elroy replied, ‘but I expect him to fight his corner.’

‘The man makes my skin crawl.’ At least she had good taste. ‘How did he get the job in the first place?’

‘Usually we have some notice and we have a replacement for the position ready. This time we needed someone on an interim basis. Dowler has been administering the Peacekeepers along the Herosian border region for the last three decades. The Herosians have been bitching about having one of theirs in charge of the Agency since the last Winter was appointed. They like Dowler so he was a politically low-risk option.’

‘Expediency. Huh. If he’s been running the Herosian region, what was he doing on New Earth?’

‘He was called back for a security briefing. There have been attacks on shipping in that region.’

‘Well, lucky he was here… For him anyway.’

‘Quite.’ They had reached the door of the meeting room they were going to. Elroy held it open for Ollander and then followed her through. There were already a dozen or so Representatives from New Earth in the room, as well as the Torem and Herosian ambassadors. The latter two surprised Elroy, and he did not like surprises.

Apparently the diplomatic presence surprised Ollander as well. ‘Adjaxis and D’Jarnis? He invited diplomats?’

Elroy shrugged, an expressive gesture on the tall, long-limbed man. ‘I get the feeling Dowler is putting on a show. He’s probably expecting support from D’Jarnis.’ He took the seat next to Ollander, his gaze shifting from her legs as she crossed them to the door. Dowler was keeping them waiting, which was not the best of ideas.

They did not have to wait much longer. Dowler walked into the room wearing the kind of serious expression only achieved by someone who had carefully practised it in a mirror. Even so, Dowler was not that good at it and his eyes were far too bright for the impression he was trying to give. Elroy frowned. Clearly the weasely little man had discovered something he thought was going to get him out of the mess he was in.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Dowler said, bringing an end to the murmur of conversation in the room. He continued walking until he was standing in front of the broad, curved table his audience was sitting at. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I was tasked with the administrative operation of our security service after the outrageous assassination of its last head. Our shipping continues to be attacked, the new FTL relay at Harriamon was almost destroyed, and terrorists using high-technology equipment have assaulted our facilities here on New Earth itself! The FSA has been unable to track down the source of these attacks, and I am here today to explain why.’

He lifted a tablet he was holding and tapped it and the wall behind him darkened before starting to display a collection of files in windows. The text within the windows was gibberish, total nonsense, but there were a lot of files.

‘What exactly are you showing us, Dowler?’ Elroy asked. He was starting to lose whatever patience he had left.

‘You asked me to find evidence, Senator. These files are from Winter’s personal data stores. They date back to periods before the recently deceased Winter took office. Currently the contents of the files are unknown due to the encryption employed to obfuscate the contents. Our best cryptographers are attempting to decrypt them, unsuccessfully so far, but they have been able to determine one key characteristic of the cryptographic system employed. It is derived from algorithms used during the war… by the Xinti.’

He let that sink in for a second. ‘Some of these files have been identified as messages, emails, from an unknown source. Currently the evidence is largely circumstantial, but it would appear that Winter has been operating as a Xinti agent.’

The silence in the room continued until D’Jarnis spoke. ‘There must be further investigation into this matter. Winter was, and always has been, above reproach, trusted by all.’ Elroy looked across at the lizard-like humanoid, wondering exactly how he thought he could get away with that amount of deceit. ‘We must have absolute proof of this before any action is taken.’ There was a rumble of agreement from around the room, so he was going to get away with it.

‘Of course,’ Dowler agreed. ‘That work is continuing, but it is my current belief that the Agency’s inability to discover the source of these attacks has come from internal interference at a very high level.’

‘Then why did they kill her?’ Elroy asked. ‘Why attack her at the Islands facility?’

Dowler lifted his hand, a gesture of placation, but it just annoyed Elroy more. ‘We don’t know, Senator. We don’t know that Winter was a Xinti agent. Perhaps she had a change of heart and they killed her before she could reveal anything. She was assassinated, in front of this very building, on her way to make an announcement.’

It was circumstantial, and largely speculation, but it had a compelling aspect. Winter had always been a mysterious figure, going back to the first of them. Xenia Winter had moulded the Federation’s security services and been a major player in the foundation of the Lorenti Federation itself, but there were few records of where she had come from or who she was. Her replacements had had their backgrounds hidden, their lives faked, for security reasons, and each new Winter was selected from a list compiled by the previous one. It would have been a simple matter to ensure a progression of people devoted to the same goal.

Elroy got to his feet. ‘Very well, Dowler, you have more time. Get to the bottom of this.’ Turning, he stalked toward the door, sensing Ollander following him. He waited outside the door for a second to allow her to catch up. ‘What did you think of that?’ he asked as they started off together.

‘He’s managed to piece together a century-spanning conspiracy out of fragments of encrypted data.’

‘Yes.’

‘The sop at the end suggesting she was killed because she was about to reveal everything was clever. Anyone who liked her will be mollified, but it doesn’t take away from the basic concept.’

‘No.’

‘Of course, the unspoken suggestion there was that the Xinti are behind the attacks, which makes a degree of sense, given the technology, but it does seem to play heavily into the Herosian view of things, which I find interesting.’

Elroy glanced at her. ‘Diana, it was a simple question, or so I thought.’

He noticed her lips twitch, and was quite sure that she was letting him notice. ‘I don’t buy it. I can almost believe that Winter was something other than what she appeared to be, and I’m sure she had agendas of her own, everyone does. I highly doubt she was some sort of Xinti spy.’

Elroy grunted. ‘Let’s hope this investigation proves that then.’

‘You really think it will?’

‘No,’ he said, ‘I rather expect it won’t. But only time will tell.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 18.8.527 FSC.

‘Officers from the Federal Security Agency are requesting admittance,’ the apartment’s computer announced. ‘Agent Darren Wilcox is making the request.’

Janna turned and looked toward Sharissa. ‘Do you know him?’

‘Of him. He’s Internal Security.’

‘Oh.’

‘Computer, allow them in.’ Sharissa got to her feet and walked around the sofa she had been sitting on, then thought better and walked over to Janna. ‘I think they’re going to take me into the office. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but we’ve got nothing to worry about, I’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘I know.’

Sharissa looked at her. Janna knew, but she was still worried. Rather than say anything, Sharissa pulled her partner forward and kissed her, letting it linger for as long as she could before turning to the agents waiting in the doorway.

‘Agent Torrence,’ Wilcox said, ‘I am here to take you…’

‘Yeah, I figured this was coming when Dowler started his witch hunt. Am I wearing cuffs for this?’

There was a flicker of expression from the handsome, slightly older-looking man in the doorway; Sharissa thought it was sympathy. ‘Those are my orders.’

Sharissa stepped forward, holding out her arms. ‘Front or back,’ she asked.

19.8.527 FSC.

The news channels were throbbing with the scandal. Every single one of them, along with the private information aggregation sites and, especially, the various conspiracy networks, was wall-to-wall with the breaking news.

Justine watched it dispassionately at first, but with a growing sense of alarm. That something would come out regarding Winter’s secret had been a given, but it had not occurred that the suggestion would be made that she was a Xinti spy. Of course, it made sense. It was an effective way of blackening her name and probably fit some of the few facts they had. The reports made mention of encrypted data files and messages. She compiled all the reports for transmission, even as she set about attempting to discover how the information had been leaked.

It was later in the day when the second batch of reports started coming out and Justine’s disquiet grew. It came in various forms, but the basic element was the suggestion that Winter had covered up Aneka Jansen’s nature because she was a Xinti android. It further enhanced the idea that Winter had been working as a Xinti agent, and it broke the secret around what Aneka truly was.

Justine watched as Ambassador D’Jarnis was interviewed regarding the matter, his outrage obvious. ‘Sons of bitches,’ she said to no one.

The Islands.

‘I’m assuming you’ve seen the news reports?’ Dean Ajax looked like a worried man, more so given that his head and shoulders were blown up to two metres in height by the wall screen.

Elroy shook his head. ‘No, Dean Ajax, I’ve spent the entire day with my head in a bag.’

‘There are questions being asked by some of the board members. They know we did the analysis work on Aneka when she was found, they know we had to know what she was, and they want to know how we could employ her knowing what we did.’

‘Tell them to direct any queries to the FSA. Despite the fact that this information is out in the open, it is still technically a secret and you are still barred from talking about it. Until Dowler rescinds the security level on Aneka’s status, you can’t discuss it with them. End of story.’

Ajax nodded. ‘How did this become public knowledge, Senator?’

‘An exceptionally good question, and another one for the FSA. Goodnight, Dean.’ Elroy flicked his finger over a tablet resting on the arm of his chair and Ajax’s face vanished, sliding sideways to give more space for the other window which was waiting, shrunk, at the side of the display wall. ‘Did you hear that?’ he asked.

Ollander was sitting on a couch in her lounge dressed in a light Nusilk wrap which barely covered her long legs. She was a significantly more pleasing sight than Ajax, but Elroy could never help wondering what her motives were whenever she did it.

‘I assumed you left the channel open so that I would. I admit I was a little upset at not being told about Jansen myself, but seeing D’Jarnis ranting on Channel Seventeen made me realise why it was declared a secret.’

Elroy shrugged. ‘As I said to Ajax, those who know the full truth are currently not allowed to discuss it. I know from what Winter told me that Aneka herself was becoming increasingly disaffected by having to keep it a secret.’

‘I’m afraid I’ve barely met her. We spoke briefly at the function they threw for her when she first arrived here. I saw her when they came back from Negral, but we never spoke.’

‘She’s quite a remarkable woman. Intelligent, skilled, considerate, resourceful, and quite charming. She even indulged me in an evening talking about Old Earth history, which I’m sure bored her to death.’

‘Then I hope she isn’t going to end up in a cage as D’Jarnis seemed to suggest she should.’ Ollander turned at a sound from somewhere behind her. The action shifted her robe, revealing one breast, and she did not adjust it when she turned back. ‘My partners are home and I promised them some personal time tonight. If you’ll excuse me?’

‘Of course,’ Elroy said. ‘Enjoy yourself. I need to take a shower anyway.’ She smiled, and the screen went blank, and Elroy added, ‘A cold one.’

FSA Headquarters, 20.8.527 FSC.

Truelove squinted into the bright lights. She was tired and annoyed, and it was insulting that the people conducting the interrogation were asking her the same questions again even though she knew their instruments were telling them she was telling the truth. It was even more insulting that they seemed to think she would not know what they were doing.

‘Yes, I was read into the Aneka Jansen situation,’ she said in answer to their last question.

‘And what was your opinion of that situation?’ The voice was male and calm, no, it was bored. Truelove was fairly sure that the man did not really care what her answer was.

‘I thought it was deplorable and have attempted to assassinate Jansen fourteen times since I found out.’

‘You’re lying, Miss Truelove.’

‘It’s nice to know your toys are working.’

‘Answer the question, Miss Truelove.’

‘Why? Couldn’t you just replay the recording from yesterday? You’re asking the same questions.’

‘Just answer the question.’

‘No.’

‘You are refusing to answer the questions I am asking you?’

‘If you’re unsure of your equipment, get a telepath in here to verify what I’m saying. Until then, I don’t have to answer you, I’ve told you everything I know, and you can fuck off.’

‘Take her back to containment.’

Truelove heard the man getting up and saw something shifting behind the lights. She stood and looked around at the guards closing in from her flanks. ‘Yeah, I know the way.’

~~~

‘We’re trying to use traditional interrogation techniques on people trained in using those techniques,’ Wilcox told Dowler outside the interrogation room. ‘Truelove’s right, if you want to know the truth, you’re going to have to get psychics in here. We have several on the IS team…’

‘Psychics are people, people can be bought…’

‘Then why trust me?’ Wilcox did not have a great deal of integrity. He had been selected to lead the detail interrogating the suspects, and he had recognised that that could very well lead him to higher rank. On the other hand, he was getting sick and tired of being second-guessed by a pencil-pushing moron with a fixation. ‘I’m starting to wonder whether you want the truth, or convenient lies. If it’s the latter, you can make them up without my help.’

Dowler glowered at him. ‘You’re out of line, Agent.’

‘No, sir, I am required under the rules of the Agency to point out when a superior officer is making ill-considered decisions.’

‘Get the psychics on the case,’ Dowler growled.

‘Sir!’ The voice came from behind him, and Dowler turned to see the young man he had taken on as his assistant. ‘Sir, there’s something you should see. The news channels…’

The Islands.

‘You seem, Mister Dowler, to be presiding over the leakiest organisation in the Federation.’ Elroy sat on his favourite chair looking up at Dowler’s face on the video wall. Elroy was amused and trying not to show it, and Dowler was incredibly pissed off and also trying to avoid showing it.

‘The source of the leak will be found, and I don’t believe it came from my…’

‘First, it’s not your office. You’re the interim head, don’t get comfortable. Second, you’ve had no luck in finding the source of the first leak. And, finally, there is material in this one which was known only to members of the FSA. The assault on the terrorists in Harriamon spaceport, for example.’

‘I will find out who leaked this information, Senator. Count on it.’

Elroy smiled. ‘I am, Administrator. I am.’ His finger flicked over his tablet and Dowler’s face vanished. Ollander was painting her fingernails, dressed in a push-up bra and thong. Either she had no sense of personal space or she was doing it on purpose. She knew Elroy was without a partner at the moment.

‘You enjoyed that far too much,’ Ollander said, not looking up.

‘I did. The news networks seem to be taking the details of Aneka’s recent past rather more kindly than the basic revelation.’

‘Her actions paint her in a far better light. That hostage rescue on Harriamon you mentioned to Dowler seems to be the area of focus.’

‘On Old Earth they used to have “action heroes” and “super heroes,” fictional characters who did amazing things to defend the weak. Aneka did something no one else could have done, eliminated a potentially catastrophic threat, and with barely any civilian injuries. They don’t realise it, but they’re painting her as a super hero.’

‘It’s not doing any harm to the case for Winter either.’

‘No, it’s not.’ He watched as she finished her nails and stood up, frowning at something off-screen. ‘A problem?’

‘Hmm… Oh, well…’ She bent forward, picked something up, and then held the object out toward the camera. It was a dress in silver metallic fishnet. He could not really determine the length, but it was short. ‘I’m taking the boys out to Shin You and I’m trying to decide between this…’ She dropped the dress behind her and retrieved another, which appeared shorter and was composed of gossamer thin, red Nusilk. ‘…or this.’

Elroy was, for once, briefly at a loss for words. ‘Neither really goes with your lingerie, Diana,’ he finally managed.

She laughed. ‘Oh I won’t be wearing anything under them, Jackson.’ She dropped the second dress and reached for the clasp at the back of the bra. ‘Here, let me try them on and you can tell me which is best.’

Elroy suppressed a sigh. She was definitely doing it on purpose.

Herosian Gunship.

‘You’re doing that on purpose,’ Aneka said.

‘What?’ Ella replied, all innocence.

‘Lying there naked and making little sighing noises every so often. Read a book.’

‘I’ve been reading a book. And you’re hardly dressed.’

Aneka was wearing a cropped T-shirt and shorts; her suit had been damaged too badly for even the bio-plastic it was made from to repair effectively. ‘I am, however, wearing something. Justine’s taking a shower, go bother her.’

Ella sat up, her face shifting into something which was half-frown, half-pout. ‘Are you really saying you don’t want to have sex with me?’

‘I’m saying we had sex an hour ago and we’ve been doing little else for weeks, and… Oh God! Come here and take that look off your face.’

Bouncing off the bed, Ella skipped the couple of paces to where Aneka was sitting, and perched in her lap, as directed. Snuggling in as close as she could get, she began placing small kisses along the side of Aneka’s neck.

‘You don’t think you’re overdoing this a little at the moment?’ Aneka said, keeping her voice soft.

‘Yeah… I know… I am,’ Ella replied, not stopping the kisses.

‘Then why keep it up?’

‘I’m trying not to, but… I just see you, or Justine, or anyone I like the look of and… I’m so hyped up at the moment I can’t stop myself half the time. All this time alone with nothing much to do isn’t helping.’

‘We are going to have to try to get you back to normal as soon as this business is settled.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Ella went back to kissing Aneka’s neck.

‘And in the meantime, we could tape you to one of the bunks for eight hours a day.’

‘Mmm, kinky.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 23.8.527 FSC.

Justine watched the news channels with a smile on her face. Things were going better than she had expected. She had tracked down the source of the leaked information about Winter and the later one about Aneka to the Herosian embassy, no great surprise there, and had decided to fight fire with ethanol. She had carefully arranged for certain reporters who had been a little more sympathetic to Winter to receive anonymous drops of information on untraceable data cards and the results had been effective.

The interview someone had attempted with Katelyn Looper and Dillon Zacks, Aneka and Ella’s neighbours, the day before had been broadcast on only a couple of channels. It had been very short, for one thing, consisting of Katelyn stating that, ‘Aneka is a good woman. I don’t give a fuck whether she’s a robot or an alien ghost from another dimension. She saved my life, saved my friend’s life, and you can take your snide remarks and fuck yourself with them.’ That had been followed by Dillon offering to demonstrate how the reporter’s camera could be used as an endoscope. It had not aired on many channels, but it had still caused a slight uptick in opinion regarding Aneka.

With the announcement the previous morning that the secrecy order on Aneka had been lifted, more people were free to talk about her. The entire crew of the Garnet Hyde had found themselves with cameras pointing at them at one time or another. All of them had said that Aneka was no more a Xinti than they were, and backed it up with stories of how she had saved their lives on Alpha Mensae, or Old Earth, and how she had fought to find a way to leave Negral when it looked like it would be unsafe to do so. Surprisingly, Delta Ling’s statement that if Aneka had not intervened, she would not have a boyfriend was a very popular clip.

The most surprising interview of all, however, had been done over a tachyon connection to Harriamon. Recorded questions had been answered by Captain Tor ‘Ape’ Gibbons of the Admiral Banfry, though what the station had got back had probably been a lot different from what they had expected.

‘You want to know what my opinion is of a Xinti walking around the streets of Yorkbridge?’ Ape had said into the camera on his terminal. ‘Well… As I said in answer to your previous question, I was here when the Garnet Hyde arrived in the Harriamon system. I detained her, and I was there when Winter interviewed her. I told my son and his mother that they should stay away from her, and I thought Winter was insane to let her go back to New Earth.’

He paused, apparently collecting his thoughts. ‘And then they got hijacked to Negral. That’s where Aneka’s body was built. You could say that Negral was her home world as much as Old Earth was. Aneka Jansen wanted to get my family out of there, get them home. That may be a Xinti-built body she’s walking around in, but the mind inside it isn’t a Xinti mind. You ask someone religious whether she’s Jenlay, or Human, or whether it’s really Aneka Jansen, I don’t care. It’s a damn good mind and a lot of Jenlay could learn a thing or two from her. She’s willing to risk everything for people she’s never met, and she’ll move planets for her friends. So don’t talk to me about a Xinti walking around Yorkbridge, there isn’t one.’

Tristar Township.

‘The Admiralty will have a fit,’ Gillian commented.

‘If we’re lucky,’ Drake replied from the wall, ‘they’ll suffer collective heart failure and be replaced by competent officers.’

‘Are they still bugging you? The reporters.’

‘There’s a van outside, but most of them have given up. Shannon’s lying in the bedroom with the windows darkened until the headache goes away. At least when she comes out it won’t be as bad. You?’

‘I had the township guards chase them out after the interview.’

‘And that’s why I’m staying here,’ Bashford said, ‘rather than going back to my apartment.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Drake replied, ‘and the sex has nothing to do with it?’

‘A fringe benefit.’

‘What about Monkey and Delta?’

‘They’ll be here in about an hour,’ Gillian said. ‘I invited Janna, but she said the reporters haven’t gone after her yet and she wanted to be at home when Sharissa was released.’

There was a noise from off-camera at Drake’s end, and then Shannon wandered into frame, sleepy and naked. She blinked at the camera, or rather at the wall at the other end. ‘Oh, hey guys. If I’d known he was on the phone I’d have put something on.’

‘How are you feeling?’ Gillian asked.

‘Much better now there aren’t reporters crawling all over the house. I just hope it’s done some good.’

‘Consolidated Media’s opinion polls are showing a bit of a polarised reaction,’ Bashford replied. ‘There’s actually more overall interest in Aneka than there was, but still more negative reaction. On the other hand, the positive viewpoint is at about seventy per cent.’

‘It’s similar to the reaction to the Negral negotiations,’ Gillian put in.

‘Not bad, I guess. I feel sorry for Aneka and Ella. I mean, wherever they are, they probably don’t even know this is happening! They’re going to come home to… Well, it’s going to be quite a change.’

‘Yes, but at least Aneka won’t have to keep the secret anymore. She hated it. If only one good thing comes out of this, it’s that.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 25.8.527 FSC.

Sharissa knew, more or less, what to expect when she walked into the flat, but was not quite prepared for the sheer elemental force of a worried Janna dashing forward to hug her in the doorway. It was almost rib-crushing, and it certainly demonstrated how worried the woman had been.

Still Janna was not sufficiently wrapped up in her own relief at seeing her partner again to not notice the blonde girl waiting patiently behind her blonde girl. ‘Who’s your friend?’ she whispered.

‘Give me my lungs back,’ Sharissa replied, ‘and I’ll introduce you.’

Janna let go enough that she could pull Sharissa in through the door. ‘Janna, this is Elaine Truelove. She’s… She was Winter’s assistant so they’ve been pretty hard on her, and she doesn’t have anyone at home…’

Janna’s features melted into a look of sympathetic concern. ‘Oh Vashma, yes, of course. Come in, dear, make yourself at home. You don’t want to be out there at the moment.’

‘Uh, no,’ Truelove agreed. ‘The press are everywhere.’

‘Gillian Gilroy invited me over to her place,’ Janna said. ‘If it gets bad I’ll call her and see whether we can all hide there. It might mean sleeping on the couch, but…’

Truelove nodded. ‘She’s in Tristar, where the press can’t get to her. Isn’t that a bit of an imposition?’

‘As I said, I’ll ask, but she’s already got her boyfriend, her son, and her son’s girlfriend there. I think she rather likes having a full house. She was very accommodating at Christmas.’

‘Christmas?’ Sharissa asked.

‘Some Old Earth festival just before First Day. Ella decided we should all celebrate it after they came back from Negral. Now, are you all cleared?’

‘They brought in telepaths, after the conventional interrogation,’ Sharissa told her. ‘When they said we knew nothing about Winter’s background, or why she might have been killed aside from the obvious, Dowler couldn’t hold us.’

‘And it’s on record that Winter was going to tell the Administration’s Security Committee who was behind the shipping attacks,’ Truelove added.

‘Well, yes,’ Janna said. ‘What else would she have been there for?’

‘I think Dowler wanted people to believe she was going to reveal that she had been working for the Xinti for years.’

Janna rolled her eyes. ‘Is the man insane? Winter was no more a Xinti spy than Aneka is.’ She paused. ‘Um, you don’t know where she and Ella are, do you?’

‘I’m sorry. As far as I know, the only person who knew where she hid them was Winter. I’m sure they’re safe, but I don’t know when they’ll be back.’

Janna sighed. ‘As long as they’re safe. Come on, let’s get you settled in. Do you want to stay in the guest room? There’s plenty of room in our bed…’

Sharissa rolled her eyes. She knew it was partially displacing her worry over her daughter, but she was quite sure that Truelove would end up in their bed. Janna was being Janna. Which was a good thing, under the circumstances.

Herosian Gunship, System G3069, 22.9.527 FSC.

System G3069 had ten worlds circling around an M5 main sequence star, a red dwarf. Ella examined the data on it on the co-pilot’s console while Aneka busied herself with piloting the ship.

‘Winter’s here?’ Ella asked, sounding perplexed. ‘I mean, why here?’

‘There’s one habitable planet,’ Aneka remarked.

‘Barely. Low gravity, barely a third of an atmosphere, and the surface temperature rarely gets above freezing. No one lives here.’

‘She’s here,’ Justine said. ‘Second planet, the habitable one. She’s here because no one lives on it.’

Aneka’s hands shifted over the controls. ‘ETA is… sixteen minutes. What do you want to do once we get there?’

‘I expect we’ll get instructions before then.’

‘I’m not digging this, Justine.’

‘Don’t worry. Everything will be fine once we get there.’

About ten minutes later, Ella noticed something on the sensors. ‘There’s something in orbit. A satellite of some sort… Passive sensors aren’t making out much more than mass and orbital configuration. It’s in geostationary orbit over the largest ocean.’

The planet was about seventy per cent water on the surface, and it was liquid, barely, so it had to be saltwater. The land surface seemed to be divided between two fairly circular continents. There did not look like there was much life on the planet, if any; there was no sign of green on the continents.

‘It’s a communications relay,’ Justine supplied. ‘Secure tachyon beam comms between here and New Earth.’

The ship shifted on its vertical axis, realigning its trajectory slightly, and Aneka frowned. ‘I didn’t do that…’ She reached for the controls, but her fingers elicited no response from the console. ‘We’re locked out, Justine.’

‘Well, it’s one way of giving instructions.’

‘How does she know we’re on this thing? She could assume we’re a Herosian attack ship.’

‘I think that, were that the case, we would be taking fire. One ship? One, small, planetary assault ship?’

‘If she crashes us into the planet, it’s on your head.’

‘She won’t. We’ll be down in ten minutes. I think Ella and I should get into environment suits. As you said, Ella, it’s rather cold down there and the air is thin.’

‘Fine,’ Aneka said sourly, ‘I’ll stay here and pray we don’t meet a horrible end.’

~~~

According to the sensors the outside temperature was about five below freezing point in the weak, orange light of the day. There was life on the planet; Aneka could see patterns on the rocks which suggested some form of lichen grew there, likely surviving on photosynthesis and melt water from the brief periods when it got above freezing. Life, it seemed, would always find a way, no matter what the conditions. They had landed on an open, fairly flat area beside a hill of some sort.

‘We’re down,’ she said, ‘but I don’t see why we’re here.’

‘We need to go out,’ Justine said. ‘It’ll be obvious once we get where we’re going.’

Aneka glanced at Ella, shrugged, and then hit the console control to open up the rear gate. Ella put her helmet on and shrugged back before starting for the cockpit door.

The cold nipped at Aneka’s bare skin as she walked down the ramp, but it was nothing her body could not cope with. She drew in a lungful of air and her systems indicated that the pressure was too low to be breathable and she was operating on her internal oxygen supply. That lichen had to be damn hardy stuff.

Justine started toward the hill, which looked like a rock up-thrust of some sort. The entire place was rock, grey boring rock, with little to differentiate it aside from the different patterns the lichen had formed. Oddly, there seemed to be little of the darker stippling on the hill itself, as though the symbiotic life form had avoided colonising it.

As they got closer, the hill got stranger. ‘Is it just me,’ Ella said after a few metres, ‘or is that hill just… wrong?’

‘The signature is unusual for a mineral,’ Al commented. ‘There could be some odd elements in it, or…’

Aneka frowned, looking down the length of the hill and then back again. The lump of rock was maybe three hundred and fifty metres long and twenty high, and it looked almost like someone had dropped a torpedo of granite into the landscape to half bury itself. ‘That isn’t natural,’ she said. ‘The shape isn’t right.’

‘No,’ Justine agreed, ‘but there are limits to what can be done with camouflage.’ She walked straight at the rock wall in front of her, passing through the surface as though it was not there and vanishing. Her voice came through over the radio. ‘Come on. It’ll be more obvious once you’re through.’

Aneka’s skin tingled as she walked through the field. ‘Some form of static, electromagnetic wave,’ Al commented. ‘I’d imagine it’s the same sort of cloaking field as the one used on the Agroa Gar.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka replied, stopping in her tracks, ‘but this is a lot bigger than Aggy used to be.’

Perhaps ten metres behind the field was a spaceship half-buried in the surface of the planet. Roughly cylindrical, the exact shape was difficult to determine this close up, but there was an airlock door about ten metres away to the left and Justine was heading for it with a confident stride. Aneka knew there was probably no point, but she wished she had brought her pistols.

The outer doors of the airlock closed as soon as they were inside, and the air pressure climbed to one atmosphere quickly enough that Aneka found herself swallowing as her ears adjusted. The heat did not come so quickly, but the temperature had risen above freezing by the time they were at normal pressure.

Grinning, Justine took her helmet off just as the inner door opened. The corridor beyond was empty, but it was warm.

Ella took her own helmet off more uncertainly. ‘There’s no one here,’ she said.

‘There is,’ Justine replied. ‘Come on. It’s not far now.’ She set off down the corridor, leaving the couple behind in her haste.

‘This better be good,’ Aneka muttered. She looked around at the corridor with its wide, curved walls. ‘This looks like a Xinti design.’

‘I’d noticed that,’ Ella replied, hurrying to catch up as Justine turned a corner to the right.

As they rounded the same corner they saw large, heavy doors sliding back to either side. Beyond it was a broad, open room filled with what looked like banks of computers. The air was cooler in there; they could feel that even before they walked into the room. Air conditioning for the electronics, and there was a lot of electronics.

The room, Aneka figured, was at the very core of the ship, and it reminded her of the computer core on the Negral station in that respect. There the centre of it had been a floating, super-cooled sphere which had once held all the Xinti minds resident there. As they moved through the maze of servers to the centre of this room they discovered an entirely different centre.

Here the middle of the room contained two semi-circular benches of white metal, as though they were placed there for discussions, but there was only one person sitting on them.

Winter stood up as they approached, smiling. She was wearing a simple, silver-grey robe, a quoka, which was standard dress for Xinti. ‘Welcome,’ she said, raising her arms, palms upward. ‘It’s nice to finally meet you face to face, as it were.’

Aneka smiled quizzically at her. ‘We’ve met face to face many times, Winter.’

‘Not exactly.’ The voice did not come from the figure in front of them, but from the room around them. ‘I should apologise for the melodramatic introduction, but I found myself unable to resist the little touch of mystery. Let me introduce myself properly. I am Sleep Brings Renewal to All Things, but you can carry on calling me Winter, if you wish.’

Part Six: The Sleep of Renewal

G3069, Second Planet, 22.9.527 FSC.

Aneka stared at the blonde woman in the Xinti robe, her mouth hanging slightly open. Her gaze shifted to the computer racks around her, and then back to the woman. ‘Do I talk to you, or the room?’ she asked for want of something better to say.

‘You prefer a more personal form of communication,’ the room said.

‘So we’ll talk like this,’ the figure concluded.

‘You’re an android?’ Ella asked. ‘A remote like the ones the AIs on Negral used?’

‘Yes, and no,’ Winter replied.

‘An android would be detected fairly quickly,’ Justine said. ‘We’re entirely organic. Though it does mean that the processing power is a little more limited, an instance of her mind is quite capable of running in a body like this.’ She indicated Winter. ‘Though that particular avatar is being directly run by the real mind.’

Aneka frowned. ‘Wait… Are you saying that you, Justine, are also Winter?’

‘That particular Justine is something of a special case,’ Winter said. Aneka turned to look at her; the double-teaming was getting a little annoying. ‘She began as an instance of my mind, but she has been distinct for so long that her personality is quite unique. The other avatars are synchronised with me on a frequent basis to ensure that everyone tells the same story.’

‘Which is why you can get killed and then turn up the next day on a beach,’ Aneka said. ‘It’s not doubles, or clones. Every Winter is an avatar of the main mind here.’ She went on quickly as it all started to play out in her head. ‘And you must change the form of your avatars every so often. Winter, the head of the FSA, has been you since the beginning. Each time one apparently dies, you just replace her with a new model.’

‘Exactly. My purpose was to see that the Human race progressed, and this was the best way I could find to see that it did.’

‘All this time,’ Ella said. ‘Since before the Federation began, you’ve been pushing things to keep us moving in the way you wanted.’

The smile on Winter’s face faded a little. ‘I wouldn’t say that I’ve succeeded in making things go as I would have wished, exactly.’ She pulled herself together and started out of the ring of seats. ‘Come, let’s find you somewhere you can set up camp, as it were. I’ll have your things brought over from the pile of junk you came in on. I’m sure a shower and some refreshment would be useful, and then… Well, we have much to discuss.’

‘Yeah,’ Aneka said. ‘That would be something of an understatement.’

~~~

Aneka was unsure exactly what the purpose of the vessel Winter occupied was. It had a huge section devoted to storing the semi-autonomous, robotic crew, and that seemed fine, but then it had twenty luxury cabins, one of which was now assigned to Aneka and Ella. There was a small park, three labs which covered the primary sciences, a one-hundred-bed hospital, a gym, a firing range, a dance studio, a theatre, a club… and what Winter had described as a brothel! There were also several offices, a very big computer data centre, and an even bigger operations room, which had once been devoted to the Human Evolution project.

It was in the latter that Aneka, Ella, and Winter gathered once the couple had changed into fresh clothes, and had had something to eat and drink. The room was huge, and busy. Featureless, humanoid androids moved around it, checking consoles and avoiding the large, central area which was filled with a vast holographic projection of the local galaxy. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of sparkling dots filled the open air, each representing a star. White ones were uninhabited, red marked Herosian worlds, Torem systems were green, Jenlay ones blue, and Federal, shared systems such as Obati, were yellow. To Aneka it looked like a room planning for war.

‘What’s going on here?’ Ella asked, obviously thinking something similar.

‘What has been going on here for the last six centuries,’ Winter replied. ‘Data is collected from worlds throughout the Federation and processed here. Lately the data coming out of Herosian space in particular has begun to get thin.’

‘Deliberate?’ Aneka asked.

‘A number of agents in Herosian space have stopped making reports to the FSA. Reports which are coming in are very routine. Too routine. I’m trying to verify the status of some of the non-responsive personnel, but it’s difficult without the resources I’m used to.’

‘The FSA was set up as your personal information gathering system,’ Ella said. She did not sound entirely pleased at the idea.

‘Oh heavens no! The FSA is the Federation’s security service. It is responsible for making sure that internal and external threats are detected, evaluated, and an appropriate response is made. It just so happens that my ability to analyse data and make projections based on it have helped the Agency to achieve its goals.’ There were three couches arranged around the central display and Winter moved to one, indicating that they should sit beside her.

‘But you said things hadn’t gone how you intended?’ Ella continued as she sat down.

‘I’d have thought the Jenlay have turned out as well as anyone could expect,’ Aneka added.

‘But we’ve had this discussion, Aneka,’ Winter replied, smiling. ‘Were the galaxy a perfect place, the Jenlay would be everything I could hope for, more or less. Perhaps a little overfond of physical intimacy, but I can’t fault them over much. I am quite fond of that form of recreation myself, even if it took me a couple of centuries of taking on an organic form to see the appeal. No, the problem is that they are ill-equipped to deal with the problems of the galaxy.’

‘But the Navy seems kind of over-aggressive to me,’ Ella said, grimacing to indicate what she thought of their attitude.

‘The Admiralty have no idea when to fight and when to run, or talk. Their answer to anything is to throw force at it. It isn’t that they know they can’t win and won’t back down, it’s that they truly believe nothing can stand against them. It’s something of an odd trait, given that their troops are well trained, but have almost no experience of combat. Worse, the majority of them would spend the next twenty minutes retching into a bucket if they killed someone.’

‘I don’t see pacifism as a negative characteristic,’ Aneka said.

‘Neither do I until it means they can’t defend themselves.’

‘Huh. You knew. When I first arrived at Harriamon station, you knew who I was, and what I was.’

‘Of course. I built that body for Aktana. I did a full analysis of your mind before it was implanted. I devised the implantation process, the “conditioning” Aktana was working on when the reactor failed.’

‘Thanks for that. It didn’t fail, it was sabotaged.’

‘I read the report. Magdigan was an ambitious man, but none of us ever thought he would do anything like that.’

‘So,’ Ella said in a musing tone, ‘if you devised Aneka’s conditioning, you knew what she would and wouldn’t do when she was found. That’s why you trusted her so much.’

‘I didn’t know precisely, because the imprint was not completed, but I knew what I had planned, and what her mind was like before it began. I could make a better than educated guess, so I trusted her, yes, even before the Mental Sciences department analysed her. Yrimtan was a different case. Magdigan changed the imprint used on her, enforced greater belief in her purpose than I felt was prudent or necessary. I believe that is why she came out the way she did, based on your description of her. When the Xinti turned on the other races and her belief in them broke, all she had left was her purpose.’

‘So you don’t think I’ll end up as insane as her if I live that long?’ Aneka asked.

‘There’s no way of knowing.’ Winter gave her a smile. ‘You don’t have her psychological baggage.’

‘I’ve got baggage all of my own.’

‘Precisely.’

‘Okay… What do we do now?’

‘I’m still formulating a plan,’ Winter replied. ‘Things have become very interesting while you were travelling here. Currently, the FSA is investigating me as a Xinti agent, and your secret has been revealed.’

Aneka stared at her. Ella let out a choking sound which was indecipherable if it was a word. Finally Aneka managed, ‘Oh shit.’

~~~

‘At least Kat and Dillon didn’t seem upset about it,’ Ella commented when they had finished watching the news reports from New Earth.

‘I’m still going to apologise to them for keeping it a secret,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’m glad your mother knew about it before this came out.’ Having finished watching, she was lying back on the huge bed which occupied one room in their suite.

Ella got up from her seat and wandered over to the bed. ‘Yes, so am I. And you didn’t have a choice.’

‘I had a choice. It wasn’t a very good one, but I could have defied Winter and told them.’

‘And if she’d found out she’d have had to have you tried for treason.’

‘Huh.’ Aneka looked up at the ceiling. ‘Winter? Can you hear me?’

There was a slight pause and then, ‘You called my name?’ The voice came from speakers somewhere in the room.

‘There wasn’t anything in those reports about Janna.’

‘The news channels have not connected the dots and gone looking for her. I have reports that she is safe. She was worried about Sharissa, obviously, but now that that situation is largely resolved I’d imagine she is fine.’

‘Aside from worrying about Ella.’

‘I can arrange for her to be told you are both safe.’

Aneka looked at Ella. ‘I think it would be better if she knows as little as possible for now. If she knows something, someone might decide to try to get it from her.’

Ella sagged a little. ‘Yeah… You’re right. I don’t like her worrying, but you’re right.’

Aneka gave her a weak, sympathetic smile. ‘What’s your analysis on the reaction to my outing, Winter?’

‘The majority of people have been rather sympathetic after I arranged for more details of your past to be made public. Your behaviour since waking up has endeared you to many. There is, however, a stronger negative reaction as well. I have quietly arranged for your apartment’s security to be enhanced. Katelyn and Dillon will be none the wiser unless they need to know.’

‘You’re protecting their place too?’ Ella asked.

‘I’m avoiding a repeat of the Delaney incident, so yes. On the plus side, if you are ever forced to defend yourself, Aneka, you can basically pull out all the stops.’ There was a tiny pause and then, ‘Could I ask a favour?’

‘Uh…’

‘Justine is a little… confused. Could I suggest she come to see you?’

‘She’s confused?’ Ella asked, obviously confused herself. ‘I mean, sure, but…’

‘I think it’s best if she explains herself. I’ll leave you to it if you have no more questions?’

‘You’re not listening anyway?’ Aneka asked.

‘I’m respecting your privacy. If you ask for me, I’ll respond.’

The door chimed a few seconds later and Ella opened the door to a dazed-looking Justine. Ella ushered her in and they sat her down on the edge of the bed, mostly because it would be less far to fall; she looked like her legs might give out.

‘I went to the computer ops room,’ she explained, her voice softer than usual, ‘to upload my memories so that Winter would know everything that happened.’ She turned her head slowly to look at Aneka. ‘She says she has a solution to your armour issue. She… uh… She said she’d sort something out soon. Anyway, I thought that was going to be it for me. I mean, I’ve done my job and the safe house is… not a safe house anymore. So I thought I’d be resynchronised. I’m not the only Justine, you see? There’s one on New Earth now, but she’s a modern copy of Winter.’

‘But you’re still you,’ Ella said. ‘I mean, you’re not Winter. I mean…’

‘She said she wasn’t going to do it,’ Justine said. ‘She said I should stay as me, that she valued my independence too much.’

‘Isn’t that a good thing?’ Aneka said as gently as she could manage.

‘Yes. I mean, I guess so. I just… I’d resigned myself to not being me anymore. I suppose…’ She swallowed. ‘I guess I’d psyched myself up to die and now I’m not going to.’

Ella crouched down in front of her and put a hand on her knee. ‘It’s a shock.’ Justine nodded dumbly. ‘You knew this was going to happen before we even left Odanari, right? That’s why you were so keen to indulge me. One more fling before your end? You’ll be fine. Just give it some time to sink in. You’re a real person, not a mental clone of someone else. I’m really impressed with Winter for making that decision.’

‘Isn’t there a bar in this place?’ Aneka said, grinning. ‘I say we go find it and you two can get drunk. You’ll feel much better when you’re nursing a hangover tomorrow.’

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‘Synchronised regurgitation,’ Winter said.

‘Well, they have to take turns, there’s only one toilet,’ Aneka replied.

‘True, I just didn’t think it was possible.’

‘They’re both talented women. Does coffee really make you hyperactive?’

‘Me? Well, technically I can’t drink coffee. It would probably short something out. My bodies have an artificially created genome and their biochemistry is different from that of a normal Jenlay. A lot of biochemicals have an unusual effect on them.’

Aneka giggled. ‘Alcohol doesn’t seem to have a variant effect.’

‘Huh, no. She just drank far too much, and Ella…’

‘Is Ella.’

‘Indeed. Caffeine does actually interact with the neurochemistry of my avatars producing an effect… It’s rather like feeding a child a kilo of sugar.’

The sounds of retching stopped and a second later there was the sound of the shower running. ‘Looks like they’re over the puking in the loo phase.’

‘I doubt there was anything left to puke. Such a descriptive word, I haven’t heard it in centuries.’

‘I get that a lot. I suppose you were actually around to hear all this idiomatic stuff I come out with when it was current idiom.’

‘I’ve tried my best not to look like I knew what you were talking about.’

‘I think you succeeded. Though you did get my Catholic schoolgirl reference.’

The room’s speakers produced a throaty laugh. ‘I enjoyed that character.’

‘Well, your secret is out, or part of it anyway. I think you’re going to have to play that kind of role a lot more often.’

‘True. Every cloud has a silver lining, I suppose.’

‘You know, I do still prefer to talk to you face to face…’

‘I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve got a number of new bodies prepared and I’d like to see what people think of them before I start assigning them duties.’

Aneka laughed. ‘Like a fashion parade for genetics?’

‘Something like that, yes.’

‘I think Ella’s recovering from her hangover. They’ve been in that shower for a while.’ Aneka started to slip out of her clothes. ‘So bring whichever body you want to try on first, and do it quickly or you’ll miss out on the fun.’

‘I’ll be right down.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

Justine examined her daily update from Winter, from herself, in a way. She noted that Aneka, Ella, and another version of herself had made it to G3069, but her instructions were to keep the information quiet for now.

She had little to report herself. The ever-shifting world of twenty-hour news broadcasting had had nothing new to run regarding either Winter or Aneka for a couple of days, and had shifted its attention to other matters. Headlining at the moment was the news that well-known star of innumerable sex comedies, Ursula Handerford, was ending her three-year partnership. There was a lot of speculation regarding who she might hook up with next and she was feeding it by refusing to give interviews. The news channels were full of it with only the most serious ones still showing anything which really concerned Justine.

Consolidated Media was still rehashing old material, but their main push was a sympathetic view of Aneka’s situation. Justine was rather pleased with that, especially since she had fed them a lot of the material in a way she was fairly sure would result in that outcome.

Winter’s situation was not so easy. Justine had no instructions to reveal more about what Winter actually was, and she was not sure that doing so would have the same effect anyway. No, it seemed as though the best course of action would be for Winter to go further underground in her operations rather than coming clean.

Justine made the recommendation.

G3069.

‘How many bodies is that?’ Ella asked.

Winter was currently trying out a tall, big-chested woman with long, scarlet hair, prancing around the room to demonstrate her poise and flexibility.

‘This is number eight,’ Aneka said. She was lying on a chaise longue, as were Ella and Justine, in what Winter called the brothel. It had a boudoir sort of feel to it, lots of hanging drapes in red and purple silk and the various couches, and the lighting was dim and had a warm, reddish tint to it.

‘I like this one,’ Justine said. ‘She looks… mischievous.’

‘You’ve liked all of them,’ Aneka pointed out. ‘Winter, you told Justine that you had some sort of solution for my armour?’

‘Oh,’ Winter said. ‘Yes, I did, and I have. I’ll send it down with Number Nine.’ Number Eight tripped off toward the door.

‘How many do you think she’s got?’ Ella asked. ‘I like Seven. Seven was…’

‘Tall, shapely and blonde,’ Aneka said. ‘And neither of you two got the reference. I’m fairly sure she put that in just for me, though if she’s the seventh of nine I’m going to be giggling.’

‘I was considering twelve,’ Winter said from the room speakers, ‘but I wasn’t sure whether “there are twelve models” would hit any buttons.’

‘Battlestar Galactica? I wasn’t a big fan, in either of the incarnations. Alan loved the updated version. I thought the pilot was good. The space battles anyway.’

‘I’m glad I stuck with just nine for now then,’ said Number Nine as she walked in. This one was younger-looking than most of the others, a fresh-faced, slim-figured teenager with short, platinum blonde hair and bright, sparkling, blue eyes.

Aneka giggled. ‘Couldn’t resist, huh?’

‘No. Even if neither Justine nor Ella get the joke.’ She skipped over to Aneka and handed her a plastic bundle. ‘You’ll need some training, but Al can download a program from my network which can provide you with a basic level of skill in the suit’s operation.’

Aneka unrolled the garment and found herself looking at a rebuild of the suit Ella had given her. She could tell it was a rebuild because there was no large hole in the back. ‘Uh, Winter, I’ve never needed any special skill to use this before…’

‘Put it on. I made a few modifications. I hope you don’t mind me using your design, Ella?’

‘No,’ Ella replied. ‘I’m glad you did. I was a little annoyed when she went and ruined the last one.’

‘It wasn’t exactly my fault,’ Aneka replied. She had stripped already and was pulling the suit up her legs. ‘I didn’t mean to get shot in the back.’

‘I don’t think anyone ever does,’ Winter replied. ‘You’re lucky that a direct hit from an antimatter blaster isn’t enough to kill you. Your training in vacuum suits should be sufficient to get you through the basics.’

Aneka closed the seal over her left shoulder and neck. The collar seemed a little heavier than before, as though there was a band of metal woven into it. With the seal closed, an interface window appeared in-vision and she frowned. ‘It’s got some sort of computer built into it. It’s powered.’

‘Indeed,’ Winter said. ‘Al should be able to interface to it, but it won’t really show its colours until you activate it.’

‘Al,’ Aneka said silently, ‘you have it interfaced?’

‘I have. The suit is essentially dormant. The computer is not as complex as mine, but quite powerful. The suit’s functions are listed and are… quite extensive.’

‘It’s not exactly covering.’

‘It is. I’ll initiate the activation sequence.’

Aneka was about to say something when she felt something shifting around her neck. It was a weird feeling, as though water was crawling over her skin. She looked down to see something black and metallic running quickly down across her breasts under the Ultraskin. ‘What the…?’ she began, and was cut off as the same black oil slick crawled over her lips.

‘Breathe normally,’ Winter said, ‘through your nose. The suit filters contaminants and can extract oxygen from aerated water. You’ll need an air mask for vacuum, or you can operate on your internal air supply.’

The sensation as the fluid crawled over her eyes was incredibly creepy and Aneka found herself fighting back panic, but just as her vision was completely obscured it was replaced by the view through the suit’s sensors. It was at least as detailed as Al’s normal radio and light sensing capabilities, and her view had the normal multi-spectral overlay. Her lips were sealed shut by whatever it was the suit was made from, but she found she could breathe easily through her plugged nostrils.

On the other hand, speaking was out. ‘Al, can you connect me to Winter’s communications network?’

‘Done.’

‘Okay,’ she said in her head, hearing her voice coming from the room’s speakers. She looked down at her arms, seeing them covered in a faintly crystalline, metallic material. ‘Okay, I’m in the gimp suit and it’s… quite comfortable once it’s in place. I take it it’s quite resilient?’

‘It should take most of the bite out of a blast like the one you took on Odanari,’ Winter told her. ‘It’s a form of living metal, nanotech battle armour with a distributed computer system integrated throughout, adaptive camouflage, surface sensors for the majority of wavelengths as high as ultraviolet and power for a month of operation.’ The teenager turned toward Ella. ‘Is that sufficient protection, Ella?’

‘I think so,’ Ella replied, grinning. ‘And it looks amazing.’

‘Good,’ Winter replied. ‘When one goes to war, one should do so in style.’

~~~

‘Do you think she meant it?’ Ella asked, her voice soft enough that Aneka could barely hear it, even though the redhead was lying against her side. ‘War. Do you think she really meant that?’

‘It’s a kind of war,’ Aneka replied. ‘Right now it’s kind of a cold one.’

‘I remember that. America and the Soviet Union facing off without really fighting. It’s not the same though. Winter’s powerful, but she’s hardly a superpower.’

‘I’m not sure that’s what she meant.’

‘Then what?’

‘Well, assuming we’re right about the Herosians being behind the shipping attacks…’

‘Pretty much a given.’

‘Then they’re doing it for a reason. Hitting tech supplies, weapon shipments… They’re trying to weaken their opposition. Eventually they’ll want to move things up a notch.’

‘You think they would? I mean, would they really do that?’

‘If they thought they could win. At least, that’s the way I see it from what I know about them. I’ve had pretty limited experience of Herosians. I think I know more about the Torem, and that’s not saying much.’

Ella shifted slightly, uncomfortable, but not physically. ‘I can’t believe they’d start a war. But maybe I just don’t want to believe it.’

‘Maybe. I don’t want to either, but I have to consider it as a possibility. And another possibility is that it wasn’t Xinti who attacked Negral.’

‘You think the Herosians did it?!’

‘They’ve got Xinti tech. They got it from somewhere, including the site on Idridia. What if they found a partly functional battleship?’

Ella was silent for a second. ‘The assault on Herosia didn’t go all the Xinti’s way. The Herosians put up as much of a defence as they could manage. They always said they killed two battleships there.’

‘Herosia? That’s supposed to be an asteroid belt.’

‘Uh-huh. The Herosians declared it a Site of Cultural Significance. No one has been allowed to go there in five centuries.’

‘So they could have been quietly mining it for Xinti technology ever since.’

‘There… and any of several dozen sites we think they found and never told us about, plus more we don’t know anything about.’

‘If it’s the Herosians, they’ve been planning this for generations and even Winter didn’t know about it. It’s being kept very secret, even from most of the Herosians.’ She frowned. ‘In a way, it makes it unlikely. That kind of conspiracy is hard to organise.’

‘It’s a lot easier when there’s a lot of empty space around to hide your conspiracy in. Do you think Winter figured out the Herosians may have attacked Negral?’

‘If I can connect the dots, I’m pretty sure she can.’

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‘Yes, that had occurred to me.’ Winter was currently a tall, buxom, brown-eyed brunette. This was Number Two, though Aneka had seen Three and Six walking around the ship, and technically the AI was operating hundreds of featureless androids as well. ‘I consider it highly probable, in fact. The Herosians have gone to a lot of trouble to achieve a secret technological advantage over the other races. My old colleagues on Negral would have negated that. What I’m not sure about is how they discovered the location.’

‘I had a thought,’ Ella replied. ‘The ship on Idridia likely had a location for Negral in its databases. Negral would have been the ship’s home base. I’m guessing that they put two and two together when the Garnet Hyde was taken.’

‘A good working theory,’ Winter replied, smiling. ‘Avoiding the loss of their technological superiority likely explains why the Harriamon tachyon relay was attacked. Old Earth could also give the Jenlay a much needed edge.’

‘They took that out too?’ Aneka asked.

‘There was extensive damage. Repairs will take some time.’ Winter’s gaze shifted to the huge, holographic star map they were sitting beside. ‘Communications at normal speed will slow down the talks between the two worlds considerably.’

‘This really is going to turn into a war, isn’t it?’ Ella said grimly.

‘I believe it already has. These are the initial skirmishes. The Herosians were always an acquisitive race, far too ready to put their own needs above any other consideration. The only thing keeping them in check was the superior strength of the Jenlay and the technology of the Torem. The latter has been proven to have been exhausted in the war, and the former is negated by this new technology and an unwillingness to actually act.’

‘Winter?’ Aneka asked, frowning. ‘What happened to your counterpart? The AI responsible for the Herosian uplift.’

‘Bright Days of Growth Prepare the Coming Harvest,’ Winter said. ‘We called him Summer.’

‘Which is why you’re Winter, I assume.’

‘Yes. He was decommissioned. They turned him off because he went insane after the Herosians wiped out the Aromans. He had been programmed to consider them his charges, to like them, and he could not reconcile that with their actions.’

‘I didn’t know AIs could go insane,’ Ella said.

‘That’s because you’ve never seen Two Thousand and One,’ Aneka replied. ‘Actually, I think that was supposed to be some sort of logical problem. A moral issue the computer couldn’t cope with.’

‘It’s not common, but it can happen,’ Winter agreed. ‘The mind of an AI is complex, and things can go wrong. Thankfully, the Jenlay have never done anything which would cause me to flip out.’

‘Yet,’ Aneka said, grinning.

Winter’s lips twitched. ‘If they do I’ll just have to kill the…’ She paused, her head turning as though she was listening to something. ‘We have company.’

‘Here?’ Aneka asked, surprised.

‘Someone with the inclination, time, and access to generally secret communications logs could work it out. The configuration is that of a Gadetta-class heavy gunship. It’s manoeuvring to high orbit and firing on my communications satellite.’

‘That’s not very friendly,’ Ella commented.

Winter frowned. ‘No. Contact with three one-hundred-kilotonne nuclear warheads. A Hachadim gunship is currently being deployed from its hangar bay. Gadettas carry three.’

‘Six, four-man fire teams,’ Aneka mused, ‘maybe two or three of those heavy battlesuits. Can they detect us?’

‘Doubtful, but they can detect the ship you came in on. This vessel has weaponry, but we are in a weak tactical position here. If I open fire they will detect us and the Gadettas were built for planetary bombardment.’

‘What about hacking their computers?’ Ella asked. ‘Like you did with our ship.’

‘They are apparently aware of that possibility and have hardened their communications. I can probably do it, but it will take time. Probably too much time.’

‘Are the drop ships heading this way?’ Aneka asked.

‘Currently their trajectory suggests that they are planning to execute a search pattern over the planet. They’re splitting up to cover the ground faster.’

‘That gives us some time to prepare. How does this sound?’

~~~

One of the gunships had dropped to a position about a hundred metres from the one Aneka, Ella, and Justine had arrived on, positioned so that one of its turrets had the area around the lost vessel well within its field of fire. There were four men guarding the rear ramp now, while four more searched the interior. This time there was no powered battlesuit.

Aneka watched them from the cover of some rocks about thirty metres away, hidden from view by the camouflage system of her suit. She was waiting for the fun to start, which would happen when the other two gunships arrived.

Beside her, Ella lay on her side behind the rocks looking nervous, but determined, with a large pack on her back. Having her along had not been part of the initial plan, but Ella had insisted, a lot, and there had not been time to argue her out of it. Aneka needed someone along who could speak Herosian and had wanted to take one of Winter’s avatars. Winter had pointed out that her general avatars were not actually much better at combat than Ella would be in an armoured suit, and Ella had wanted to be with Aneka.

The roar of fusion drives sounded from the north and Aneka ducked down behind the rocks. She pointed out toward the incoming ships, over the rocks, and Ella nodded. They were not using radios at the moment, just in case anyone picked up the transmissions. As the engine noise died away, Aneka lifted her head again. Troops were disembarking the two gunships, moving out to meet the ones already in position. One entire fire team seemed to be equipped with large, sensor backpacks and they began to deploy their equipment as soon as they were within the safety zone of the rest of their squad. At least they thought it was safe.

Aneka held up a hand, fingers and thumb spread, as six of Winter’s combat androids burst out of camouflaged pits dug into the rocky surface. They were not exactly full avatars, more like semi-intelligent drones directed by Winter. Each was the size of a man, humanoid, but featureless, and each carried one of the same kind of machine gun that Aneka had used on Odanari. As one they opened fire.

‘Winter has activated signal jamming,’ Al said.

Aneka waited a second to be sure that the attention of the troops was on the drones, and then signalled Ella with a jerk of her thumb that they should move. Ella rolled to her feet in one fluid movement, activated the power assistance systems on her own cybernetic suit, and started running toward the first of the landed ships. Aneka got to her feet and followed, catching up with her after a second and then running past. They were both moving at speeds an Olympic sprinter would have been proud of and none of the combatants noticed, or if they did they were too busy dying.

As they reached the ramp one of the other ships exploded; one of Winter’s drones had reached it with an implosion warhead. The second one would be going soon enough. That left this one, which was going to be the one that escaped.

Aneka kept on forward, drawing her pistols. There was another explosion from outside and then the sound of the gunship’s turret opening fire. Behind her motors whined as the ramp started to lift. Aneka checked to be sure that Ella had made it aboard and saw the redhead coming up behind her, slowed a little by the heavy backpack she was carrying. All according to plan so far; Aneka ran on ahead, straight up toward the flight deck where she was pretty sure the pilot and gunner were going to be shitting themselves.

‘Network negotiated,’ Al said into her head. ‘They are using the same internal protocols as the other ship. I’ve bypassed security. The cockpit door will open in three seconds. We have left the ground and will be out of the jamming field in ten.’

It was important that the crew not get a message away. As the cockpit door opened, Aneka located the two occupants, a Human and a Herosian, sighted on them before they even registered she was there, and fired. Then she dropped her pistols and bolted forward, struggling to yank the pilot out of his seat before the ship went too far out of control.

Ella entered the room a second or two later to find Aneka shifting the gunship’s flight path. ‘Comms are up,’ she said as Al connected to her implant.

‘Uh-huh. Get on the radio, they’ll be wondering what’s going on.’ Aneka spiralled the ship, apparently randomly, directly into the line of fire of the ship in orbit. They were counting on the idea that even the Herosians would not shoot their own ship down to bombard the surface.

Ella was hitting buttons on the gunner’s console, and trying to ignore the mostly headless body beside her. She said something, her voice obscured by her suit to add static and drop the tone. To Aneka, Herosian sounded like you were clearing your throat into a microphone and hissing at the same time. There was a reply, and no one started shooting at them…

‘Did they buy it?’ Aneka asked.

‘I told them we’d been ambushed by Jenlay ground troops. They said to dock for debriefing.’

‘Right. Get that thing ready, I’ll set the autopilot, and we’ll hope they don’t vaporise us too soon.’

Taking her pack off with some relief, Ella opened a flap at the top to reveal a control panel. ‘I am so glad to have this thing off my back. How long?’

Aneka checked the computer. ‘Give it… five minutes.’

Ella punched buttons on the panel, then a final one. A timer lit up showing five minutes and immediately began counting down. She covered it over, tied the flap shut, and then pushed the bomb under one of the consoles. ‘We better leave,’ she said.

‘We will attain sufficient height in thirty seconds,’ Al said to both of them. ‘I suggest getting to the airlock.’

They moved out of the cockpit and then left and down a deck. The airlock door seemed to take forever to open, and then even longer to cycle to vacuum. Aneka’s finger moved over the outer door release button.

‘Ready?’ she asked.

‘No,’ Ella replied, giving her a nervous grin. ‘Spaced again.’

‘Yeah,’ Aneka replied, hitting the button. ‘This time it’s on purpose.’

The artificial gravity in the airlock deactivated and they moved out to the edge, then they planted their feet, held hands, and pushed, driving themselves out from the gunship and into what amounted to a mid-level orbit. Pulling Ella in closer, Aneka wrapped her legs around the redhead’s waist and took a gadget that looked like a paint sprayer from her belt. Pointing it toward the distant Gadetta ship, she pulled the trigger and it fired a jet of gas which slowed their momentum. Slowly, but with gathering pace, their bomb ship pulled away as it continued on toward its target.

‘Now,’ Aneka said, ‘we wait.’

‘Do you think this will work?’ Ella asked.

‘Twenty-five-kilotonne nuke going off in their hangar bay? Should do the trick.’

‘The gunship will move out of the carrier’s firing solution in twenty-eight seconds,’ Al informed them. ‘I estimate that they will be able to get off at least one shot before the bomb explodes.’

‘Let’s hope Winter’s point defence systems are up to scratch,’ Aneka said.

It was over a minute before the main gun on the Gadetta lit up in Aneka’s vision; a powerful electromagnetic spike as it fired, launching a twenty-eight centimetre projectile toward the surface.

‘Ninety-eight seconds to detonation,’ Al said. ‘Estimated seventy-two seconds to projectile impact.’

‘Come on, Winter,’ Ella said, watching the cannon shot as best she could as they turned, clutched together, in orbit.

‘She’ll wait for the last moment,’ Aneka said. ‘It gives them less opportunity to retarget based on their new sensor data.’

It was a long sixty seconds and they had totally lost sight of the falling projectile before there was a sudden flare of light in the upper atmosphere and Al said, ‘Thirty-three seconds to detonation.’

‘Will they get another shot off?’ Ella asked.

‘I’m going to say yes,’ Aneka said. There was another flare of EM from the cannon, then another, and another.

‘Gopi!’ Ella said.

‘She can handle it. I think.’

‘Five seconds to detonation,’ Al informed them.

‘Close your eyes, love,’ Aneka said.

Even through her eyelids, Ella could see the flare of light as the Herosian gunship exploded. ‘Gopi!’

‘It’s okay, we’re well out of range.’

‘Yeah, but what if Winter gets hit with those projectiles?’

‘That ship she’s in is pretty tough, even if it’s not a warship.’

About a minute later there were three massive explosions on the surface of the planet. Aneka could imagine dinosaurs saw the same sort of thing just before they vanished off the face of the Earth.

Ella swallowed. ‘Are you, uh, sure she can withstand something like that?’

Aneka was about to say something when Winter’s voice sounded in their heads. ‘Actually, I might not have, but I got out as soon as I destroyed that first shot.’ The huge, cylindrical form of Winter’s ship materialised in orbit a few hundred metres away. ‘If you’d care to join us…’

Lifting the thruster pack and aiming it away from the ship, Aneka squeezed the trigger. ‘We’ll be right there,’ she said. ‘If I can get this to work going backward.’

Ella giggled. It was the sort of sound you made when hysteria was threatening to break through and the problem had been resolved. ‘Bit to the left,’ she said. Aneka pulled the trigger. ‘No, now you’ve gone too far right. And you’re a bit high…’

‘Do you want to do this?’

‘Not really. Now you’re slightly low and too far left.’

‘Ella…’

Ella giggled.

Part Seven: The Trial of Aneka Jansen

FSA Headquarters, New Earth, 1.10.527 FSC.

Dowler was smiling. His face did not suit it, but he was doing it anyway while no one was looking. His contacts in the Administration had confirmed that the vote to make him permanent head of the FSA had gone through. It had been a very tight majority, but it had gone through.

Better, Elroy was on his way up to his office to tell him about it. The reception desk had called through to tell him that the Senator had arrived in the building and the only reason for that, given the facts, was to confirm the appointment. Senator Elroy was going to have to stand there and tell him that, despite his opposition, he was going to continue as head of the Agency. Dowler’s handler would be pleased, to say the least, but watching Elroy humbling himself was going to make Dowler’s century.

The office door opened without any form of announcement. Something was going to have to be done about that. Dowler schooled his face into a glower, looked up, and…

Senator Elroy was smiling. It was not a political smile. Not a ‘you’ve won this one, you bastard’ smile. This was the smile of a man who had won something, somehow, and Dowler did not like it.

‘Senator,’ Dowler said, ‘you could at least knock…’

‘You’re not head of this Agency until I state that you are, Dowler,’ Elroy said, ‘despite what you have undoubtedly heard.’

There was a time to assert authority and a time to be magnanimous in victory, and this was the latter. Elroy was undoubtedly trying to save face. ‘Of course, Senator. To what do I owe the pleasure?’

‘The Council and Senate have voted regarding your appointment,’ Elroy said. ‘The Council was split, their votes tied with one abstention. You got your appointment due to a small majority in the Senate…’ Dowler allowed himself to smile, but Elroy went on. ‘However, the Council placed a condition on that appointment, by majority vote.’

Dowler’s smile shifted into a confused frown. He had heard nothing of conditions. ‘A condition?’

‘Yes…’ Elroy turned slightly, looking over his shoulder. ‘Agent Truelove, would you come in?’ Truelove walked into the room. She did not look especially happy to be there, but there she was, tall, blonde, and looking defiant. ‘Agent Truelove will be taking over as your assistant. Her time as Winter’s assistant makes her an invaluable asset and she is here to ensure that the Federal Security Agency meets its full obligations and targets.’

‘I have an assistant…’ Dowler began.

‘Yes, you selected a raw recruit who had no idea what he was doing. Agent Truelove has a great deal of experience and knows exactly how this Agency should be run. In addition, Agent Truelove will be reporting directly to the Federal Security Committee on a bi-monthly basis, giving a full account of the Agency’s activities. Winter was able to act in the way she did due to an unforgiveable lack of oversight. We are not going to make the same mistake again.’

Dowler did not know what to say. No wonder Elroy was smiling. ‘Of course,’ he managed after a second. ‘That is… I mean I’ve argued for…’

‘Yes, as I recall you did argue for greater control over the Agency’s functions. You should be pleased we’ve taken up your idea. Well done, Dowler. Clearly you’re a man of forethought. Carry on.’ Elroy turned, nodding to Truelove. ‘Carry on, Agent Truelove.’

Truelove nodded back, suppressing a grin. She was sure Elroy had winked at her, but perhaps it was just a twitch.

Winter’s Ship, 2.10.527 FSC.

Aneka watched the galaxy display in the operations room, and the small, bright, blinking dot that showed the current location of the ship she was on in particular. Ahead of it, at the end of the trajectory indicated by a pale-blue line, was a blue marker with a virtual tag floating beside it: New Earth, their destination. They were about two days out, but they were still not exactly sure what they were going to do when they got there.

‘We’ll know more when we get into the system,’ Winter said. She was currently being Number Seven and she was busy examining data on a terminal beside the map, even though there was absolutely no need for her to do so. Aneka thought it probable that she did it to put the organics at ease. In this case, Aneka was considered an organic. ‘Justine, uh, the Justine in place on New Earth, will have arranged for the activation of some communication equipment I have in place for emergencies. It’s a tight-beam, long-range laser system. More or less impossible to intercept or detect. I’ll get the latest information and we’ll make a decision then.’

‘If we decide to go back home,’ Ella said, ‘how are we going to explain where we’ve been?’

‘Oh, that’s covered. You never left. I have a number of stealth vessels in the hangar bay which can drop you into an uninhabited region. You simply say that you’ve been there all along. You never left New Earth. No one knows you did aside from Eddie, and he’s not going to be saying anything.’

‘That is a very strange man,’ Aneka commented.

‘Exceptionally, but trustworthy.’

‘I got that impression. So, I’m just going to walk back into Yorkbridge and no one is going to bat an eyelid?’

‘I don’t know,’ Winter replied, ‘but I highly doubt it.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

Janna smiled and straightened the collar of the jacket Sharissa was wearing. Sharissa smiled back and said, ‘It’s not like I haven’t gone to work at the Agency before.’

‘No, but it’s your first day back and I want you looking smart,’ Janna replied.

‘Maybe I should have worn a longer skirt then.’

Janna stepped back and examined her lover’s hemline. ‘No, it’s perfect. Your stocking tops are hidden…’

‘Barely.’

‘Precisely the point. You’re perfect and when you come home I’m going to demonstrate just how perfect you are.’

‘Haven’t had enough of me after all this time off?’

Janna closed the distance between them, reaching up to stroke her fingers along Sharissa’s firm jawline. ‘Not until they cremate me, love. Maybe not then.’

FSA Headquarters.

‘You can’t issue a warrant for Aneka Jansen’s arrest,’ Truelove told Dowler. It said something about the arrangement of power, which had developed in only one day, that he had come out to see her rather than summoning her into his office. ‘She has committed no crime punishable under Federal Law. You can’t have her arrested.’

‘The Herosians are demanding her extradition for examination on the grounds that she may be a Xinti…’ Dowler began.

‘It’s been declined.’ Truelove tapped at her terminal, bringing a window forward. Dowler scanned the text, his expression growing darker by the minute. ‘Aneka Jansen was examined by entirely independent experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, sociology, and psychology. None of them were directly connected to Winter. All of them were vetted by this Agency, by multiple academic institutions, and by the Administration. Aneka is not a Xinti agent, and she is not a Xinti. She is a Federation citizen and classified as a Jenlay under Federal Law.’

‘There’s a move in the Senate to have her reclassified as an AI,’ Dowler said.

‘That won’t make a difference. Extant AIs have the same rights as any organic being. She can’t be transferred into Herosian custody without a good reason, and they don’t even have a bad reason. Did you actually read their extradition request?’

Dowler grunted and turned on his heel. He had read the request and he knew full well that it was going to be rejected. His hope had been that it would get bogged down in discussion for long enough that he could have had Aneka locked away before anyone thought to cancel the warrant.

Of course, that would have required someone knowing where she was, and no one seemed to know that. Without a warrant, there was no way he could put agent or Peacekeeper resources into finding her.

Sitting at his desk, Dowler glared at the door. Truelove was entirely too good at doing the job Elroy had supposedly put her there for. Somehow he was going to have to get rid of her, and there was no way he could be seen to be involved in doing so.

Winter’s Ship, in Orbit of Joval X, 4.10.527 FSC.

Joval X was a mid-sized gas giant, around one hundred and fifty times the mass of New Earth and more than nine times its diameter. It sported five moons, two of them basically small planets, and a ring system about as pretty as Saturn’s. At almost 13 AUs from Joval, it was not quite the outermost planet in the system, but it had a unique and useful feature, which was the reason Winter’s ship was in orbit around it, just beyond the rings: it was very loud.

The collapsed matter of the ship’s armour was masking the external electromagnetics, mostly, but Aneka could still hear a faint whisper of orchestral music as they sat in the brothel which was in a section near the outer hull.

‘Isn’t that going to be a little dangerous?’ Aneka asked. ‘The EM out there. This planet must have a helluva magnetosphere.’

‘It makes detection practically impossible,’ Winter replied, ‘but it won’t interfere with the communications system I’m using. My stealth system is good, but old-fashioned hiding is often a more reliable way to stay off the radar. Once I have things settled I may move to a new location, but for now being close to the problem is for the best.’ She was currently a short, dark-skinned brunette: Number Four.

‘How long before we get the update on the situation?’ Ella asked.

‘I’ve contacted the local Justine. Bandwidth is a limiting factor, unfortunately. Around four hours at the current rate.’

‘I hope everything’s okay down there.’

‘Sensors are picking up no unusual activity,’ Winter replied. ‘If anything has escalated while we were out of contact, then it is political escalation. I don’t think the Herosians are ready to do anything too drastic yet.’

‘They probably know that their attack on you failed,’ Aneka said. ‘They’ve had no report back from that gunship. They may anticipate you coming here.’

‘Possible, but they don’t know how quickly, and they don’t know what I’ll do yet. Unless they panic, which seems unlikely, any actions they take will be covert.’

‘Like assassinating the head of the FSA?’

‘Given the background information I have on Mister Dowler that is one thing they won’t be doing. I’m moderately sure that he’s working for them.’

‘You’re saying that the current head of the FSA is a Herosian mole?’

‘No, I’m saying that it is a distinct possibility. Eighty per cent given his income and expenditure, his time on the Herosian borders, and his demonstrated sympathies for Herosian viewpoints.’

‘That’s not good,’ Ella said.

~~~

‘It seems that things are not quite as bad as they seemed,’ Winter said. ‘Senator Elroy has been a busy man. Among other things, while Dowler has been confirmed as the permanent head of the Agency, Elaine Truelove has been made his assistant with some considerable oversight.’

‘It’s not going to neutralise him entirely,’ Aneka said, ‘but it should limit the harm he can do.’

‘Quite.’ Winter gestured toward the holographic display in the middle of the ops centre, and it suddenly shifted to show a swirling array of screens, each one showing a different video channel, all of them showing stories about Aneka. ‘These are relatively old broadcasts. Aneka is now old news since there is nothing new for the news channels to broadcast.’

‘That’ll change as soon as we go back,’ Ella pointed out. She tried vainly to watch the swiftly moving displays, and then gave up.

‘It all seems broadly positive,’ Aneka commented as her overclocked brain slowed the movement to a crawl. ‘Some negative… Iktaga?’

‘It’s the main Herosian news channel,’ Ella supplied.

‘Ah, well that figures. It’s the main negative viewpoint.’

‘And almost no one in Jenlay space watches it, even in translated form,’ Winter said. ‘The Herosians have made a request to have you extradited for their “expert analysis,” but it was declined, firmly. I’m informed that a draft arrest warrant was filled out by Dowler, but that it was never filed. I suspect that Elaine persuaded him not to make a fool of himself.’ She stood up, walking over to stare up at the displays swirling in front of her. ‘If there is to be a trial, Aneka, it will be a trial by public opinion. You are going to have to mount a campaign for hearts and minds. If the public can be turned against you, the Herosians may get their wish.’

Aneka slumped in her seat. ‘I hate politics.’

‘You have the advantage at this point. Play to your strengths, and the public’s weaknesses.’

‘Such as?’

‘Jenlay are suckers for a beautiful woman,’ Ella said. ‘You need to be seen, and seen looking good. And they love romance and tragedy. We play on our relationship and your losses. Your family, Old Earth, a thousand years lost in stasis.’

‘There is something of a romantic nostalgia for the Navy,’ Winter added. ‘While we all know that the military are largely paper tigers, the public actually likes the idea that there are people out there defending them from evil. Your actions on Harriamon and Odanari, cast in the right light, have done wonders for your reputation. Play up your role as the protector of your colleagues in the field, but try to be modest about it.’

‘I’m going to hate this,’ Aneka said, her tone resigned. ‘When do we start?’

‘We’ll take the remainder of the day to plan our campaign,’ Winter told her. ‘We’ll infiltrate the two of you back into society tomorrow morning. I’ll arrange to have a few key press people aware of your arrival.’

Aneka put her head in her hands and let out a deep sigh. ‘I’m really going to hate this.’

Norden Forest, New Earth, 5.10.527 FSC.

The small spacecraft dropped silently into a clearing among the trees, propelled by magic, as far as Aneka could tell. Reactionless drives were magic even to the likes of Abraham Wallace. He had indicated that he had no idea how they worked, aside from that they might use some form of exotic matter. Even given the small size of the shuttle, its engine was capable of quite incredible acceleration without any form of thrust, and it could operate in any direction. With the stealth field engaged there was nothing to give the craft away. It was no wonder the Agroa Gar had been able to operate around Old Earth without detection.

Adding to the amazement was the fact that the tiny craft had a fully functional, and quite fast, warp drive. Justine was on another of the craft headed for Odanari where she would then catch a passenger liner back to New Earth, apparently an agent of the FSA returning from duty there. Range was limited by the available life support, but it was still an indication of the power of advanced technology that the small ship could travel between stars.

With the ship on the ground and the flight systems shut down, three service androids went out to manhandle a folded up car out of the hold while Winter, in her Number Seven body, gave final instructions.

‘You’ll be ambushed by press outside the door of your apartment building,’ she told them. ‘Act surprised. Aneka, make sure you look perfect.’

Aneka gave her a sour look. An hour of careful consideration by Winter, Ella, and Justine had ended with Aneka being dressed in a hip-hugging black micro-skirt, a tight cropped T-shirt with cap sleeves, and high heels. The outfit was meant to look casual and effortless, and to show off plenty of flesh.

‘The cameras are going to love you,’ Ella said.

‘You just need to drop some comments about not wanting publicity and make for the door,’ Winter went on. ‘You’ve been out of touch, haven’t seen any of the news channels, and don’t know why everyone would be so interested in you. If anyone lets slip that they know what you are, look concerned and hurry inside. I expect you’ll get a visit from the FSA fairly quickly, but the local Justine will have briefed Elaine and Sharissa. Ella, your mother will be near your building and hear the news. She should make it there before the agents do.’

‘This really is a military campaign, isn’t it?’ Ella said.

Winter smiled. ‘In a manner of speaking it is, yes. Your transport is ready. Good luck.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

The car, a sporty black model, had driven them into the underground car park in their building where, Aneka was surprised to learn, there was a parking space assigned to them. As soon as they had removed their bags from the small trunk it had folded itself into a large brick. Aneka still found the trick a little disconcerting, but it did reduce the space needed to store the vehicle.

The car park had no means of getting to the apartments above without going outside and using the normal door, which suited their purposes perfectly, of course. Even knowing that the reporters would be waiting for them, faking surprise was not really needed.

What seemed like a small horde of men and women clutching microphones, backed up by others pointing cameras, rushed toward the couple as they stepped out of the lift on their level. Aneka looked longingly at the door they were trying to get to, all the way across the bridge, and began to push her way toward it.

‘Aneka!’

‘Miss Jansen, how do you feel about the news?’

‘Miss Narrows, where have you both been for the last month?’

‘Aneka, a few questions, please.’

Aneka looked around the crowd. ‘Uh, we’ve been out of contact. Security issues. We just got back and we really just want to be home.’

‘Then you don’t know that your secret is out.’

‘You’ve been accused of being a Xinti spy.’

‘A few words now…’

Al had been primed for comments like that. The colour drained from Aneka’s face as her eyes widened. ‘I… I’m not at liberty to discuss any of that,’ she said, and began to move urgently toward the door of their apartment. Back in her time, Aneka would have expected more resistance, but the Jenlay press were more controlled, and more concerned about individual privacy. Besides, she figured they had what they needed, at least initially. If she said she could not talk about it, then they just needed to wait for someone to officially tell her she could.

Still, she was both pleased and horrified when the door opened before they got to it and she saw Dillon inside waving urgently for them to come through. He was a huge man with a lot of well-formed muscle on a big frame. His hair, which tended to look a little wild, normally softened his look, but he had pulled it back into a tight ponytail. When he glowered at the nearest reporters, they backed away to let Aneka and Ella through. Katelyn, his partner, a slim, attractive woman with dusky skin and cornrow hair, was waiting just inside, a look of concern on her face.

Aneka started speaking as soon as the door was closed. ‘Look, you two, I need to…’

Dillon reached down and took the case from Aneka’s hand. ‘Upstairs,’ he said. ‘We can talk once we’re in your place and you’ve both got drinks in your hands.’

‘I expect you’ll need them,’ Katelyn added, leading the way up the flight of stairs.

‘We saw that lot turning up outside about half an hour ago,’ Dillon explained as they walked. ‘We figured someone had to have tipped them off that you were coming home, so we thought we’d better prepare for a quick entry.’

‘I don’t know what you’ve heard,’ Katelyn went on. ‘All sorts of gopi has been hitting the ventilation for weeks.’

Taking Dillon’s advice, Aneka said nothing until the flat’s door was shut behind them. ‘Officially, we know nothing. Unofficially, we’re pretty well briefed.’

‘We saw the news clip you were in,’ Ella said.

‘I am so sorry for not telling you sooner,’ Aneka said, putting as much feeling as she could manage into it. ‘I really hated keeping it a secret. From anyone, but especially from you.’

Dillon had dumped the case and was busy finding glasses in the little kitchen. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘We knew anyway,’ he said and Aneka blinked at him.

‘Not the details,’ Katelyn added. ‘I mean, we didn’t know exactly what they’d done to you, but we knew you weren’t a Jenlay. Or a Human.’

‘You did?’ Ella almost squeaked.

‘Well…’ Dillon said. ‘I mean, she never gets tired, no matter what we do to her. She’s stronger than I am. She runs miles and barely seems out of breath. And no one shrugs off stunner hits, even someone used to stun grenades.’

‘You didn’t say anything,’ Aneka said. She took the glass Dillon handed her and drank some of the contents, even if the alcohol was going to do nothing to her.

Dillon gave her a shrug and walked over to hand Ella her glass. ‘It was obviously some sort of big secret. We figured if you could have said something, then you would have. When we found out what the big secret actually was… Well, then it was pretty obvious why you hadn’t been allowed to tell people.’

Bemused, Aneka looked at Katelyn. ‘But you don’t like robots. I’m basically a robot, you know?’

‘The fuck you are,’ the girl replied. Then she gave a little shrug. ‘Okay, yeah, if I’d known up front what you were I’d have probably been scared stupid about it. And then I’d never have got to know you. My loss. I did get to know you before we figured anything out and if you’re just a robot then I’m just a slab of meat.’

Resigning herself to having worried needlessly, Aneka said, ‘I’m still sorry I couldn’t tell you before you found out.’

‘So are we,’ Dillon replied, grinning wolfishly. ‘Can you imagine what we could have got up to if we’d known you were just about indestructible?’

~~~

Janna and Sharissa arrived barely a quarter of an hour later, the former wrapping her daughter in a hug a boa constrictor would have been proud of as soon as she got through the door.

‘We just happened to be nearby and my PDA is set to alert me of any news about you two,’ Sharissa said. She was standing beside Aneka, watching her partner crushing Ella. ‘We should probably rescue your girlfriend.’

‘If we do that, I’ll probably get the same treatment,’ Aneka pointed out.

‘Yeah, but you’ve got a metal skeleton.’ Sharissa glanced at Dillon and Katelyn. ‘Vashma it’s good to be able to say that and not mind who hears it.’

‘Double that and you’ve got how I feel. Janna, I do need her ribs more or less in one piece.’

Reluctantly, Janna released her daughter. ‘Just for that, I won’t hug you now,’ the older Narrows said. ‘I’ll get you though. You just won’t know when…’

‘That’s evil, Mother,’ Ella said, after sucking in a lungful of air.

‘Thank you, Daughter,’ Janna replied, grinning. ‘Now you drink so we can get you tipsy and then we can make improper suggestions to each other’s partners.’

‘Mom! I thought you’d stopped that?’

‘I’ve stopped trying to succeed, dear.’

‘How long before your colleagues show up?’ Aneka asked Sharissa, mostly to change the subject.

‘About thirty minutes, at a guess. Oh, and since I’m here I can officially inform you that the secrecy order on your nature has been lifted. Just in case one of them tries to catch you out.’

‘You think they will?’ Dillon asked.

‘I think,’ Sharissa replied, her expression sour, ‘that I don’t trust anyone Dowler sends to meet you.’

~~~

There were three agents, two men and a woman, and they did not seem pleased to be outnumbered by the people already in the small flat. Even the fact that all three were armed did not seem to put them at their ease.

The leader was a tall, powerfully built man with an expression that suggested he had drawn the short straw. ‘I’m Agent Drow,’ he said by way of introduction. ‘I’ve been instructed to take you to headquarters for debriefing.’

‘Are they under arrest, Harry?’ Sharissa asked before Aneka or Ella could respond.

Drow glared at her. ‘You know there’s no warrant…’

‘Then you’re here to request that they accompany you for an interview.’

The Agent’s jaw tightened. ‘Of course. A request.’

‘Then we’ll have to decline,’ Aneka said. ‘We’ve had a long day and we’re planning to rest before what will probably be a long day tomorrow.’

‘My orders…’ Drow began.

‘Don’t include forcing us to go with you. We don’t know anything anyway. We’ve been in a small cottage in the Norden Forest for the last several weeks. We’ve had no communication in that time.’

‘Then why did you come back?’

‘We were told to make our way back to Yorkbridge if we heard nothing before now. Actually, we waited two days longer than our instructions suggested because I was being cautious.’

‘And that’s your statement?’ Drow said. ‘You know nothing that happened after you went into protective custody?’

‘Except what we’ve been told since getting back. Sharissa has brought us up to speed on most of it. You people really suspect that Winter was a Xinti agent? That they assassinated her due to a change of heart?’

‘All the evidence points to that.’

‘Except that the Xinti are dead,’ Ella said.

‘If there were any left,’ Aneka added, ‘they were destroyed attacking Negral. They couldn’t have ordered her execution.’

‘Clearly they aren’t all dead,’ Drow stated.

‘Or your theory is wrong. It’s far more likely that the terrorists you’re supposed to be looking for killed her to avoid her revealing who they are.’

Drow smiled, his lips still tight. ‘The “terrorists” are clearly Xinti…’

‘Xinti would employ reactionless drives,’ Ella said. ‘Even a moron could see that these ships are using patched together Xinti technology, and they’re not even very good at it. Clearly they aren’t Xinti.’

Drow opened his mouth, but Aneka got in first. ‘I think your business here is concluded, Agent Drow. If you don’t mind, we have guests to entertain.’

Aneka followed them to the door to make sure they left, and only relaxed entirely when the door was closed behind her.

‘That was… tense,’ Dillon commented.

‘Do you two know that Winter wasn’t working for the Xinti?’ Sharissa asked, her eyes narrowing.

‘Yes,’ Ella replied.

‘How?’

Aneka heaved a sigh as she dropped onto the couch beside her partner. ‘Keeping my secret was, arguably, good for me. Not having to anymore may bring complications, but they’re basically problems I’ll have to deal with. Keeping Winter’s secret… We’re doing that because it’s a lot safer for you if you don’t know.’

The Islands, 6.10.527 FSC.

Elroy was looking more casual than Aneka was used to. The tall man was wrapped in a long, Nusilk dressing gown which seemed a little inappropriate for meeting visitors, but he seemed eager to put them at their ease, despite having had them whisked away from their apartment quite early in the morning.

‘We need to discuss the situation we all find ourselves in,’ Elroy said as he ushered the couple through into a large lounge at the back of his rather palatial residence, ‘and I wanted to be sure that I got to you before the press did.’

‘Of course,’ Aneka said. Through the large window at one end of the room she could see a pool. There was a woman lying on a sunbed beside it. Tall, elegant, and dressed in a very small bikini. ‘Is that Diana Ollander?’

‘Hmm?’ He glanced at the window, which served to hide the slight blush that had crept over his cheeks. ‘I forget your eyes are rather better than a Jenlay’s. Yes. She’ll be joining us shortly. She lives on one of the adjacent islands so it wasn’t difficult for her to get here.’

‘She has two partners doesn’t she?’ Ella put in.

‘Yes. They’re in Barnard City currently, on business, so she’s… Well, never mind that. You’ve been brought up to speed on events while you were out of touch?’

Aneka suppressed a smirk. ‘We’re pretty much caught up, yes.’

‘Then you know that we need to ensure the public remain on your side.’

‘From what we’ve heard, they’re fairly sympathetic already,’ Ella said.

Elroy waved them to a couch while he sat down in a large chair that faced a huge wall screen. ‘That’s true, but we could do with swaying them further, if possible. I understand that you’re not keen on fame, Aneka, but right now you need it.’

‘So I’ve been told.’

‘I believe we need to give you the best public persona we possibly can,’ Elroy explained. ‘It’s going to mean some appearances on the news channels, interviews with the press. You’re going to hate it. Do you think you’re up for this?’

‘It’s not like I have a lot of choice. I have to consider more than just me. My friends are going to suffer if I can’t operate normally here.’

‘That’s very selfless of you, Miss Jansen.’ Ollander padded into the room. ‘We’ve barely met. I’m Diana Ollander, New Earth’s Senator.’

Aneka smiled at her. ‘I know who you are, Senator.’

‘Diana, at least while I’m wearing next to nothing.’

‘Then it’s Aneka. I’m not especially keen on formalities either.’

‘Good.’ She settled onto the couch opposite them, one arm resting on the back, and crossed her long legs. ‘People like to think they know celebrities. One of the problems of office is commanding the respect required while still appearing as a normal person.’

Not living on a private island with two partners would likely have helped, but Aneka was not about to say that. ‘I am just a normal person, Diana.’

‘But you’re not and they all know it. I’ve read the reports on your body, which they haven’t. I’d give all four limbs to have the advantages you have when it comes to this operation.’

‘She’s right, you know?’ Ella said. ‘You’re built for politics, even if you hate it. I don’t think you try because you don’t like it.’

‘Uh…’ Aneka glanced between the two women.

‘Your brain operates at… ten times ours?’ Elroy said. ‘You can take all the time you need to think about answers and still appear to be giving off-the-cuff replies.’

‘Those eyes of yours,’ Ollander continued. ‘Multi-spectral analysis not unlike the equipment used in interrogation suites. You can judge reactions far better than we can.’

‘And you’ve got Al to back you up,’ Ella added. ‘You’re no psychologist, but he is.’

‘I can also supply you with a library of information on anyone we may have to deal with,’ Al said. ‘I have Winter’s files on public figures and I’ve been gathering more information since we got back.’

‘I guess…’ Aneka said aloud. ‘I’ve had some training in diplomacy and things like that. Being a soldier isn’t all about shooting people. If we can talk our way out of a situation it usually works out better.’

‘Excellent,’ Elroy said. ‘Diana will make some arrangements. She’s the local representative so it’s better coming via her. Some suitable reporters will be scheduled for interviews…’

‘At your apartment, I think,’ Ollander put in. ‘It has a more comfortable and open feel to it. It says you have nothing to hide. I’m also going to organise an appearance on Federation Life. Stephanie Julietta and her producers will jump at the chance, and she can be guaranteed to keep things fairly light.’

‘Oh wow,’ Ella breathed.

‘Should I know that show?’ Aneka asked.

‘It’s the most popular chat show on Consolidated Media’s news channel.’

‘You want me on a chat show?’ Aneka’s eyebrows went up, and then sagged back down. ‘Hearts and minds… Yes, I suppose it’s a good idea.’ She looked over at Elroy. ‘You’re right, I’m going to hate this.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 7.10.527 FSC.

Elaine Truelove walked out through the ground floor entrance to her apartment building, checked the door had closed behind her out of habit, and started down the street toward the subway station a block to the south.

There were people about, of course. Commuters headed for the station to go to work could be identified by their movement rather than their dress code. Truelove had taken to wearing a smart, stylish skirt suit rather than the more casual attire she had worn when Winter was in charge, but there were just as many workers in mini-skirts or shorts as in jackets and ties. There were also younger citizens, almost exclusively in casual clothing, some of it more suitable for a club than the street. That was quite normal too.

One trio of boys paid her more attention than the others. She felt their gaze before she saw them, all in leather jackets and jeans, standing around near the steps down to the station. Their eyes fairly drank her in, but they were not her type and she ignored them, heading down the stairs at a brisk pace, her mind and implant already at work collating data she wanted to put into her report to the Security Council.

Her primary concern was Dowler’s determination to get Aneka into an interrogation room, preferably under arrest, and his obvious desire to act on the extradition request from the Herosians. Of course, the FSA was supposed to be an independent organisation, without preference for any race, and it could have been argued that Winter had been a little partisan toward the Jenlay. But Dowler was definitely leaning far more heavily toward the Herosians.

As she stepped onto the northbound train, Truelove noticed one of the men she had seen earlier stepping on at the next door. They had not looked like they were commuters, but then again, she could not see the other two. Maybe they had been seeing this one off. Truelove located a free seat and sat down, reports moving through her vision field to be categorised and filed.

Two stops north she saw the second of the trio sitting at the end of the car. He had been hidden behind other passengers, trying to remain unseen. If there were two, then it seemed likely that there were three, and the fact that they had split up was not a good sign. They were covering all the exits, making sure one of them would see her getting off. Whatever they were up to, she did not like it.

Opening a connection through the train’s wireless network, she dispatched a message to the one person she knew could help her.

~~~

Sharissa felt her PDA buzz in her pocket and pulled it free, flicking open the hard-shell cover to look at the screen. She frowned, pushed the message away and accessed a secure link to the FSA server network. No one had been assigned to Truelove on protection duty. There was a possibility that she was being watched for other reasons, but if that was the case there was nothing to worry about and sending someone to watch the watchers was not going to be a problem either.

The problem was that Truelove was too far away to get there before someone did something, if they were going to do it. There was a need for a more immediate response.

Sharissa flicked through her contacts and hit dial.

~~~

Truelove checked her location on the tracking indicator she was using. Six more stops to FSA Headquarters, thirty seconds away from where she was getting off. Sharissa’s message had been explicit, the plan quite clear. She got to her feet as the signs above the doors changed to show the next station, 86th Street and B4 Mid-town.

She noted the slight frown on the face of one of her watchers. They had been expecting her to follow her normal pattern, getting off at Century Plaza and then walking the five blocks or so to the headquarters. They were probably going to be more surprised soon.

Truelove slipped off the train and headed immediately for the steps that would lead across to the other platform. She made no attempt to check on her watchers, but she caught sight of one behind her as she turned a corner and was fairly sure the others were there too. There was a wait of sixty-two seconds, which felt like an hour, for the next train and then she was heading south.

If the trio of men were paying attention, they should have worked out they had been spotted. If they were up to no good, then they would back off, right? Then again, if they were agents sent to observe they would have backup, so they would be replaced soon. Truelove was not a field agent. She had had the same basic training as everyone else in the Agency, but had rarely had to put it to use. Winter had spotted her early in her career and promoted her to be her assistant. After that all her training had been aimed toward administration and intelligence analysis. She had only a very limited capacity to work out what individuals or small groups would do in a given circumstance. But that was why she had messaged Sharissa.

South one stop and then off again. This time she headed to the surface, going south from the entrance a couple of hundred metres and then heading down a side street. Mid-town was a grid of major roadways spaced a kilometre apart, but there were smaller roads and alleyways between the buildings and a few open areas. She turned again, moving between two towering apartment blocks which disappeared into the mist overhead. The alley was a small, service access route to the back doors of the building, normally only used by utility operatives. Right now there was no one in it aside from her.

Her steps faltered. She had been expecting to see someone, anyone really, but probably Sharissa. All she saw in the alley was empty space. Glancing back, she spotted two of her followers and knew she had to keep going. She had gone twenty metres when the sound of a footfall behind her made her turn. The three men were there, one of them holding a big, stubby pistol with a wide barrel. She recognised it: an electromagnetic shot-pistol, quite popular with street thugs on the Rim. The other two were moving forward with knives in their hands, keeping out of the firing line with a practised ease that suggested these were not simply muggers. So that was the plan: kill her and make it look like a theft gone bad. If she ran, she got shot in the back. Her eyes narrowed and she shifted into a slight crouch; there was no way she was going to make this easy for them. The knife wielders actually grinned, as though the challenge made it more interesting.

Before they could even get close, the wall came alive and attacked them. One moment there was nothing there, the next a jet-black female figure was stepping out of the Plascrete. Her right hand lifted and a pulse of energy slammed into the man furthest from her. He was bounced off the wall of the building beside him, lost his footing, and fell, but the black figure was ignoring him. Her leg snapped upward, slamming into the second knife-man’s stomach. Spitting blood, he went over backward, collapsing to the floor and lying still, his knife skittering across the textured Plascrete surface.

There was a shot, a loud crack which echoed in the confined space. Metallic darts hit the figure, apparently not even fazing her, and buried themselves in the faux brickwork, blasting away chips of Plascrete. The woman turned, her right arm rising again, and there was another pulse of energy. Hit in the face, the gunman reeled backward, falling onto his back as though he had been hit with a baseball bat.

The woman stepped forward, spinning on her heel and swinging her leg up to kick her first target in the head. He went with the blow, falling sideways as his eyes glazed over. He was not getting up, but his partner with the gun was going to. Sitting up, the man raised his gun. The pulse weapon fired again and his head snapped back alarmingly. The pistol dropped from limp fingers and he fell backward, lying still.

As Truelove watched, open mouthed, the black sheen on the woman drained away, shrinking from bottom and top until Aneka was left standing there in her leotard and leggings. The white-haired woman gave Truelove a grin.

‘Hi, Elaine. Are you okay?’ Aneka said.

‘A little shocked. That suit…’

‘Yeah… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that. Sharissa’s on her way, but she figured I’d be able to get here faster. I’d imagine that shot will be bringing the Peacekeepers too.’

Truelove pulled herself up straight and set her face for business. ‘Yes they will. You just leave them to me.’

FSA Headquarters.

‘They failed,’ Dowler said into his phone. ‘Not only did they fail, but two of them didn’t have the sense to die. They’re under Agency guard in the hospital and expected to fully recover. They’ll be interrogated…’ He stopped, listening to the voice on the other end for several seconds. ‘Of course, I wouldn’t presume to… I’m sure the matter will be handled.’

He turned in his seat, relaxing. ‘Yes, the Jansen woman again. She’s more of an issue than we’d thought. Her talent for disruption is quite extreme. My hands are tied, however. There are already very positive interviews making the rounds on both public and private news channels. I’m told she’s to appear on Federation Life this week. The populace is starting to think of her as a heroine…’ He listened for a second. ‘I think I should know what…’ But the line went dead before he could discover what plans his handler had.

~~~

Truelove looked up from her console as the door opened. A mid-height woman with black hair and a tanned, slightly freckled complexion stepped through and stopped, examining her carefully before speaking. It was almost time to leave for home and Truelove did not really want the interruption. On the other hand, she had really not been expecting to see that particular woman right now.

‘Agent Truelove, I’m Justine Nivalis. I’ve been assigned as your protection detail. I’ll be coming home with you. You’re not leaving my sight.’ Contact details confirming the woman’s identity appeared in Truelove’s vision field along with the speech.

‘Uh…’ Truelove began. It was as if they had never met, but this was the same Justine who had visited her apartment, surely.

‘No arguments, ma’am. You were attacked with intent to kill. Those men weren’t common thieves.’

‘Yes, I know. I just…’

Justine’s face softened into a smile. ‘Winter was an old friend, ma’am. She spoke of you and I know she wouldn’t want anything happening to you. And, frankly, I’ve just been reassigned from protection duties on Odanari and I’m stuck in hotel rooms until I can find a place to live. You’d be doing me a favour putting a real roof over my head and I assure you you’ll be safe with me.’

Truelove looked at her for a second. She looked quite genuine, and she really looked as though they had never met before. It was a little too strange… ‘You’ll forgive me for being a little paranoid…’ She tapped a few keys on her console.

‘Torrence,’ the speakers said.

‘Sharissa, it’s Elaine. Did you assign someone to me as…?’

‘Justine Nivalis, and you’ll do what she says or it’s protective custody for you. Is she there yet?’

‘I’m here, boss,’ Justine called out. ‘Agent Truelove was just being justifiably paranoid.’

‘Thanks, Sharissa,’ Truelove said.

‘This is our job, Elaine. See you later.’

Truelove looked up as the connection closed. ‘Okay then, I guess you’re my protection detail.’

Justine smiled. ‘You’re in safe hands, ma’am.’

Galaxy House, Downtown Yorkbridge, 10.10.527 FSC.

‘Don’t worry, Miss Jansen, you’re in safe hands.’ The speaker was an almost annoying bright young woman who was going to make sure that Aneka looked good on camera. It had taken half an hour of careful consideration and staring before the producer was happy with the outfit Ella had selected for her to wear, and now they were going to cover her in make-up. Aneka was a little worried she might lose it before she even got to the interview stage.

‘You’re lucky,’ the make-up artist, whose name was Shelley, said. ‘Some of the people we get on here need a lot of work, but you’re just about perfect as it is. I guess you’ve got that whole artificial skin thing working for you there.’ She picked up something that looked a lot like a radiant scanner and pointed it at Aneka. ‘I just need to check for lighting adjustments and then put on some basic stuff. I think you’ll suit a minimal look…’

‘That thing checks for shine?’ Aneka asked.

‘Excessive skin oil, shiny patches I might need to apply matte tones to, and it gives me a precise tone match.’ She patted a rather high-tech make-up box sitting behind her. ‘This can produce over a thousand different base tones and mix up just about any combination of colour I might want.’

‘Nanotechnology,’ Aneka said, looking at the case.

‘Uh-huh. Starts with some base materials and produces what I need from there. It really comes into its own with the powders. They’re basically engineered precisely for the subject. Now, let’s get started.’ And Shelley went to work.

The base coat to take any shine off her skin was a perfect match. Having it applied to her knees, ankles, and elbows seemed distinctly odd, but apparently those tended to look darker on camera. Then there was lip liner, and lipstick, and then a shadow for her eyelids, and then a pale smear under her eyebrows which supposedly made your eyes appear more open.

Ella had put her in a tightly laced corset, which gave her a lot of cleavage, and a fairly short, pleated skirt, which gave her a lot of leg. Shelley smiled as she patted powder between Aneka’s breasts. ‘These are magnificent. Stephanie will be envious. Try not to rub her nose in it.’

‘I didn’t realise it was that kind of show,’ Aneka replied, because she would have done anything right then to not have a woman patting at her breasts with a sponge.

‘What? Oh, right… Uh, no, it’s not that kind of show, but Stephanie’s insecure about her boobs.’

‘I’ll try to remember that. Why doesn’t she just, y’know, get them fixed? My partner was the same, even if she had no need. She just…’

‘Morbid fear of surgeons,’ Shelley said.

‘She’s afraid of surgery? But…’

‘No, surgeons. Her first partner was a neurosurgeon. She’s convinced he’s got every single man with a scalpel ready to cut her open on the table.’

‘Right…’

‘There you go. All sorted.’ Shelley glanced at a wall clock. ‘And you can go through to the waiting room. She’ll be finishing up with the first guest shortly.’

Getting to her feet, Aneka pulled out the tissues Shelley had used to shield her clothes and headed out to the room down the corridor where she was supposed to wait to go on. That was one thing at least; she was second on and only had to survive quarter of an hour of purgatory. Entering the room she realised that purgatory would last a little longer.

‘Aneka! Excellent! You’re here!’ Marty was the producer of Federation Life, the presenter’s current partner, and Aneka would have thought he was gay if it was not for the partnership. He made camp look like a Victorian vicar. ‘You look totally gorgeous, my dear! The camera will adore you!’

‘Uh, thanks, Marty,’ Aneka replied. She could almost hear the exclamation marks at the end of his sentences, like small explosions of fireworks.

‘A drink before you go on? Calm the nerves?’

‘Alcohol doesn’t affect me. I’ll be fine.’

Marty had a high forehead, so when he slapped it it was really effective. ‘Of course not! Dolt! I’m so insensitive!’

‘It’s fine, really. People take a little time to get used to the idea. Usually.’

‘It’s just that you don’t look like… I mean you’re so… What I mean to say is…’

‘He’s not gay,’ Al commented as Marty got on with being flustered. ‘There’s too much blood rushing to his…’

‘Yeah, but why is she with him?’ Aneka broke in, mostly to stop Al continuing. ‘I mean, his hairline is receding, he’s shorter than she is, he’s not especially well built, and that beard is… not that great.’

‘He seems to be well endowed in other respects.’

Aneka shut off the infrared overlay on her vision. ‘I do not need to know that.’ Aloud she said, ‘It’s okay, Marty. Really. Jenlay don’t like robots much. It’s far easier to take me the way I look, which is just like anyone else. Isn’t it time to get ready?’

He looked up at the clock and then pressed his finger to his ear, listening. ‘Yes, she’s wrapping things up with Beatrice. Do you know Beatrice Crook?’

‘I think I’ve seen a couple of her movies.’ Al was displaying various headline clips from news feeds for her. Crook was promoting her new film, The Havershaw Affair. Apparently the star of many terrible sex comedies was trying to break into something more serious: a romantic thriller. ‘She’s got that new one coming out, right?’

‘Indeed. By all accounts it has the artistic merit of gopi spread over Plascrete. We’re lucky to have you on tonight. I think half the audience would have switched to FNN if you weren’t on next.’ He clutched his ear again. ‘You’d better go on. The floor manager will meet you on stage.’

The set was basic, and essentially virtual. Aneka could see it from stage left as she walked as quietly as she could in the high-heeled, clog-like pumps she was wearing toward it. There were three huge screens making up the backdrop. She could see another off to the side, and knew it had a twin on her side of the stage, which showed the audience what the people watching at home were seeing. There was a couch for the guests; Aneka could see the mass of black hair which belonged to Beatrice Crook above the back of it. Stephanie Julietta, the host, had a large armchair opposite the couch. She was a tall, slim woman with cropped, blonde hair and what looked like a perfectly respectable amount of cleavage on display in a low-cut bodice. Then again, corsetry could do wonders.

The floor manager was a harried looking brunette in T-shirt and jeans who looked like she could not wait for the evening to be over. She held up a hand for Aneka to wait. Aneka gave her a quick smile and waited.

‘Thank you, Beatrice,’ Julietta was saying. ‘Beatrice Crook everyone!’

‘Are you ready for this?’ Aneka asked silently as the applause started.

‘I’m… nervous,’ Al replied. ‘I’m not used to speaking to people.’

‘You speak to me, and Cassandra, and Ella now too.’

‘Yes, but not to people. I’m an observer, not a communicator.’

‘You’ll be fine. You’ve got a sexy voice, remember?’

As Crook moved over on the couch, Julietta began introducing Aneka. ‘Our second guest tonight is both more famous and less well-known than Beatrice. Almost everyone has heard of her, but she’s not a public figure. When the Federation heard that a woman had been found frozen in stasis who had been born before the Xinti War, there was surprise and interest, but that interest waned as she got on with living in our century. She gave a few interviews, but we never really got to know who she was. But then we found out what she was and how she had come to be that way. Now we want to know more.’

The blonde got to her feet, holding an arm out in Aneka’s general direction. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Aneka Jansen.’

The floor manager waved Aneka forward, and the glare protection on her eyes cut in as she stepped into the beam of a spotlight. The three screens at the back of the stage lit up to show her head and shoulders as she walked on, trying very hard not to show how nervous she was feeling and remember to smile.

Julietta was a kisser. Just on the cheek, but it had to be done. Aneka had to bend down a little to proffer the cheek, and the blonde did look a little enviously at Aneka’s chest. They sat down, Aneka giving Crook a smile which was reciprocated far too brightly for it to be real.

‘Aneka,’ Julietta began, setting her face on serious, ‘let’s get the technicalities out of the way first. What do we describe you as? A robot? An artificial person? The Herosians are saying that you are a Xinti?’

There had been a lot of discussion about that one. Ollander, Elroy, and Ella had all counselled her the same way: be honest. ‘Well, the Herosians are right, technically. I call myself a robot operated by Aneka Jansen’s ghost. My friends tell me I’m being too hard on myself.’

Julietta smiled, but Aneka could see why she was considered a good presenter. She knew exactly where to take that answer. ‘You’re technically a Xinti?’

‘On two counts. Physically I underwent the same process they employed to convert themselves into digital minds. At some point in their history a plague hit their world. It was something horrific, spread rapidly, killed quickly and horribly. The only way they could think of to save their species was to use nanomachines to pull their brains apart, mapping the neurons as they went, and use the data to make software models. That’s what they did to me, and then they put me into this body, which was built using their technology. So, physically, I’m a Xinti.’

‘But the brain they mapped was a Jenlay one.’

‘Human back then, but yes. The other technicality is that the Xinti warrior caste inducted me. They said I represented their highest ideals. So, technically, I’m a Xinti warrior. I even have a Xinti name, Yrimlos, though I prefer not to be reminded of that.’

Julietta nodded. ‘When you and your party came back from Negral you stated that you had no love for the Xinti, but that the artificial intelligences there were not Xinti.’

‘That’s true. Though I’d add that the Xinti were not the monsters legend paints them. Not all of them anyway. They were people, just like any Jenlay, or Herosian, or Torem. We found an artefact on a ship in the Negral system. A picture of two Xinti just like you’d find pictures of couples in any house in Yorkbridge. She had left him on their home world to do administrative work on a battleship during the war. She found out that he had been killed just before dying herself while helping to save injured soldiers, and all that’s left of their lives is a hologram in storage at the university.’

‘That’s… sad,’ Crook said from the other end of the sofa. It sounded genuine.

‘Yes,’ Aneka added, ‘but I’d still happily fillet the people who did this to me, if they weren’t all dead anyway.’

‘You’re quite sure they’re all gone?’ Julietta asked.

‘Negral had seen no evidence of them in centuries. They believed they were extinct.’

‘But they were attacked by a Xinti ship.’

‘Maybe. But if they were then those Xinti are all dead now. The entire Negral system was destroyed when its star went nova. Nothing could have survived that.’

Someone was probably talking in Julietta’s ear; she shifted topics before they got too deep into politically hot subjects. ‘Tell us about your life on Old Earth.’

‘I was a soldier. I’d wanted to be one since I was a girl. I dressed my doll in combat fatigues and I was a boyish sort of girl, until puberty anyway. I was actually a little annoyed when boys started looking me in the chest instead of the eyes.’

Julietta gave her a grin. ‘And you looked like you do now?’

‘Almost. I think we have a picture…’ She turned to look over her shoulder and the back screen changed to show the family portrait Aneka had got from Old Earth. She had not brought the physical copy back, but it had been in her memory and now it was useful. ‘That’s me back then. The flesh and blood me. My hair was blonde, not white. The Xinti took their ideas on what a woman should look like from the internet, so they bumped me up a cup size and got rid of most of my body hair. Back then I had to shave my legs if I wanted to wear a skirt. Can’t say I miss that.’ That actually got a rumble of laughter out of the audience as well as Julietta and Crook.

‘And the other people in the picture?’

‘My parents, Hugo and Lauren, and my brother, Alan. I never had a place of my own, so when I came home I would stay with them. I travelled a lot, first with the Army, then with a private security firm. I did corporate protection, and then rescue work. It was on one of those missions that the Xinti took me.’

‘Hostage rescue. You seem to have got back into that since arriving here.’

‘It’s more of a hobby now.’ There was more laughter. ‘I’ve been in the right place at the right time, and I’ve been able to help where others couldn’t.’

‘Yes, I understand that the spaceport on Harriamon was accessed through an airless tunnel, and then you killed or disabled ten armed men to save the colony.’ There was nothing Aneka could really add without sounding like she was blowing her own trumpet so she smiled and nodded. ‘What is your body actually capable of?’

‘Well, I’m not indestructible, as my partner keeps reminding me. I’m more or less bulletproof, but I wasn’t built to resist lasers. I can survive in a vacuum for several hours, but I have systems that need oxygen. I’m strong, far stronger than a typical Jenlay. I can hear sounds you can’t and see in frequencies of light you can’t. I remember everything, no matter how much I’d like to forget it, but my memory was damaged by the long period in stasis, so I don’t remember everything from before then.’

‘Amazing, and you’re also never alone.’

‘Uh, no.’

Julietta turned to the audience. ‘Normally we only have two guests on the show, but tonight we have a third, very special, guest. Hopefully he’s connected through to our sound system here. I’d like to introduce Aneka’s support AI, Al.’

Al’s smooth, deeply masculine voice flowed from the speakers around the studio. ‘Good evening, Miss Julietta. It’s a privilege to be allowed to appear on your show, if only as a voice. May I say that you’re looking exceptionally elegant tonight?’

Aneka bit down on a laugh; the woman actually blushed! ‘Thank you, Al. Please call me Stephanie. Did I get that right, you are Aneka’s “support AI?”’

‘That is correct, Stephanie. I was made specifically for the purpose of coordinating Aneka’s systems, operating her electronic warfare systems, and observing how she reacted to the world around her. Our original purpose was to observe Humanity from within, so to speak, and it was felt that an independent observer of Aneka was required to give a complete picture.’

‘You were “made” to do that? I think most Jenlay have very little idea of how an AI is made.’

‘I’m afraid that AI programming is not one of my areas of expertise. I can tell you that my purpose is part of my core programming. I was coded to help Aneka adjust to her new circumstances.’

‘I’m a little uncomfortable with it myself,’ Aneka put in. ‘Xinti AIs in particular tend to view themselves as inferior to, uh, natural intelligences. It’s not so much that Al wants to be my servant as that it’s his nature to be.’

‘I have a purpose,’ Al replied. ‘Much of Human, and Jenlay, history has been taken up with people trying to discover why they are here, what their purpose is. I believe that knowing why I exist is a positive thing. I have come to understand why Aneka is uncomfortable with my nature, however. I view it as a very positive aspect of her character.’

‘You appear to consider her something other than an artificial intelligence? I assume you both know that there’s a move in the Senate to have you classified as such?’

‘I’d heard,’ Aneka said.

‘Aneka is not an artificial intelligence,’ Al said, very firmly.

‘An argument could be made,’ Aneka went on, ‘that I am, but I guess it depends upon your definition of AI. If a mind running on a computer is an AI, no matter how the mind got there, then I’m an AI. If how that digital mind was created matters, then I’m not. I’m afraid that’s something for the lawyers and politicians to decide.’

‘Whatever the case,’ Al said, ‘Aneka would still be a citizen of the Federation, as am I. I must say that it is pleasing that I can now be acknowledged as such openly.’

‘I’m sure it is,’ Julietta said, ‘but, Aneka, isn’t it a little awkward at times, always having Al in your head?’

‘I think it’s easier for me than for him, actually. He can read my thoughts while I just hear his voice. He’s considerate. He respects the fact that I need time to myself. But he’s an independent mind with thoughts of his own and he’s got very limited ways of expressing himself. He can’t control my body. He can’t speak except over a wireless connection. He sees only what I want to look at.’

‘My purpose makes that easier to bear than it would be for an organic,’ Al replied, ‘but I admit that it can be a little frustrating at times. It would be convenient to have my own body at times, but I simply cannot contemplate wishing to leave Aneka.’

‘That sounds almost like love,’ Julietta commented.

‘Platonic love,’ Al replied. ‘Perhaps. I’m not sure I’m capable of the same form of emotional expression that you, or Aneka, are capable of. Is it love if it’s written into your basic code?’

Julietta smiled. ‘I think you could say that is what love feels like.’

‘Al’s my friend,’ Aneka said, a little quietly, and then remembered she was talking to an audience. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without him. And there’s been all this talk of me being some sort of heroine for saving people, well I couldn’t have done half of it without Al there to back me up. If I’m a heroine, he’s a hero.’

‘I just do as I’m programmed to do,’ Al replied.

‘And a modest one,’ Julietta said. ‘And on that note, our time is up. I’d like to thank our guests for tonight, Beatrice Crook, Aneka Jansen, and Al. I’ll be back next week on Federation Life!’

Aneka let herself relax as the applause started. It seemed very loud. That had to be good, right?

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 11.10.527 FSC.

‘I think the term “unbridled success” is appropriate.’ Elroy and Ollander were up on the big screen in the lounge, in separate windows. Elroy was the one speaking, but despite his words he did not look entirely happy. ‘The morning poll results are in and there has been a three per cent increase in positive reaction to you, Aneka. More importantly, there has been a seven per cent decrease in negative reaction.’

‘I was in the audience,’ Ella said, ‘and everyone around me seemed pretty happy about her. I was proud of her, and Al.’

Ollander’s lips twitched at the corners. ‘Yes, I believe some of the less official polls have some interesting things to tell about public reaction. A poll of seven hundred and sixteen naval officers found that eighty-three per cent of them would like a pin-up poster of Aneka for their bunkroom.’ Aneka shifted a little in her seat. Ella just grinned. ‘A poll of eleven thousand six hundred Jenlay citizens found that seventy-two per cent of men and fifty-four per cent of women would like to date Aneka.’ Now Ella shifted in her seat, snuggling a little closer to her girlfriend. ‘Sixteen per cent of men and fifty-nine per cent of women would date Al if he had an appropriate body, and ninety-six per cent of women and three per cent of men would like him to record erotic audio books.’

‘I hope Cassandra doesn’t see these polls,’ Al commented.

‘She doesn’t strike me as the jealous type,’ Aneka replied. Aloud she said, ‘That all sounds great, but you’re not looking too happy, Councillor.’

Elroy frowned, but it was Ollander who replied. ‘Jackson is concerned over another interview request which has come to my office.’

‘Kevin Greenwald wants you on his show on the thirteenth,’ Elroy stated.

‘Oh,’ Ella said flatly.

‘It gets better,’ Elroy went on, ‘he’s planning to put you up alongside D’Jarnis.’

‘Who’s Kevin Greenwald?’ Aneka asked as Al began displaying the data.

‘I don’t like his show,’ Ella said. ‘He loves confrontation.’

‘He does enjoy embarrassing questions,’ Ollander said, ‘and setting things up so that his audience are expecting a fight. He still views one show where the two contributors actually came to blows as one of his finest. However, I don’t share my colleague’s concerns.’

‘Why not?’ Aneka asked. ‘Putting me in a room with the Herosian Ambassador and a man who likes his guests to argue seems like a bad idea.’

‘A lot of Jenlay are not very fond of Herosians. It’s partially an irrational prejudice. They look like lizards and it’s not appealing.’

‘It’s also because most of them are acquisitive and arrogant,’ Ella growled.

‘That’s the more rational part,’ Ollander admitted. ‘All Aneka has to do is stay calm and acquit herself well with whatever questions Greenwald throws at her and the Jenlay audience will view her as the winner of the debate.’

‘Greenwald and D’Jarnis will try their best to trip her up,’ Elroy said.

‘Greenwald will be doing that to both of them, but Aneka has the advantage. Her mind works faster. She can process his questions and act appropriately.’

‘Well, we can’t decline. It would be seen as hiding something. I’m afraid you had best prepare yourself for a rather less pleasant reception than you had on Julietta’s show, Aneka.’

‘Right…’ Aneka replied, sagging a little. ‘That should be great fun.’

Federal News Centre, Downtown Yorkbridge, 13.10.527 FSC.

‘You’ll be fine.’ Ella’s voice was in Aneka’s head, which was less reassuring than having her there in the room. ‘You know you can do this. You can think faster than they can, and you’ve got Al there to help.’

‘I believe that Ella is quite correct,’ Al said. ‘The research I’ve done on Herosian psychology suggests that the Ambassador has a number of buttons which can be pushed if required.’

‘That’s a last resort. We don’t provoke him,’ Aneka said.

‘You can count on Greenwald to do that anyway,’ Ella said, her tone wry.

‘We need to get you on set.’ The speaker was one of Greenwald’s assistants, a short, attractive blonde. Aneka had seen his other three assistants and they were all short, attractive, and blonde. That kind of thing always set Aneka’s teeth on edge, but this one did appear competent and business-like.

‘I’m on,’ Aneka said in her head and then added, ‘Lead the way,’ out loud.

‘Talk later,’ Ella told her and the connection was cut.

Aneka followed the girl out from her dressing room and through a network of corridors to the stage. The prep work had been significantly less than for her previous foray into television. The make-up artist had looked her over and declared that she would be fine. The producer had been nowhere to be seen. Ella had considered her wardrobe and decided that something new was needed, so they had shopped for something Aneka never would have expected to see Ella looking for. Aneka was in a knee-length, pencil skirt and jacket in silver-grey, and a sheer, white blouse. Her heels were still ridiculously high, but that did work well with the skirt.

The set was fairly similar to the one on Federation Life, except that it featured two sofas and a chair. The sofas were angled to face each other as much as the audience and the chair sat between them as though Greenwald were the judge in some sort of debating court. It was currently all hidden behind a heavy, black curtain which separated the audience from the stage.

D’Jarnis was already sitting on one of the sofas. He was a slightly short Herosian and, as he had been when Aneka first saw him, he was dressed in a black kilt. Bands of silver edged with gold encircled his biceps. He had scaled skin, a paler shade of brown across his stomach than on his back. His arms and digitigrade legs showed solid muscle development, and his fingers ended in thick, sharp claws. The face was brutish, but that was primarily due to an overdeveloped jaw. His ears were pointed and swept back, and his nose was barely more than a ridge with nostrils at the end. He watched Aneka approach with his golden-brown eyes, which held nothing but contempt.

Aneka smiled at him as she sat down on the opposite couch and crossed her legs. ‘Ambassador. It’s nice to see you again.’ Reading Herosian expressions was hard, but she thought she got nothing but a sour look in reply. Why had the man agreed to do this show?

‘The same reason you did,’ Al supplied. ‘If you agreed and he did not it would be seen as an indication that he was unwilling to face you.’

‘I agreed to this because I was told to.’

‘Exactly.’

The sound of voices from the rear of the stage drew Aneka’s attention to the team of people swarming around one man, Kevin Greenwald. Someone was still checking his make-up, two of his assistants were telling him about briefing documents on his tablet, and someone Aneka took to be the producer or floor manager was hurrying him to his chair.

The man himself was tall, slim, with jet-black hair in a fashionable, short cut. He had a tan, and the sort of presence you got from believing that everyone around you was where they were because you allowed it. His show had been the more serious talking heads programme on CFM until he had decided to move it to the Federal News Network, a smaller, but more focussed media organisation. In some ways they were all there because of him.

‘Enough!’ Greenwald snapped. ‘We have a show to do.’ He sat down in his chair, glancing at the tablet he was being handed, and then at D’Jarnis and Aneka. ‘Ambassador, Miss Jansen, you both know each other, and me, so we won’t bother with introductions. I hope you’re both ready because we’re on in ten.’

The lights went down, plunging them into darkness, not that it made a lot of difference to Aneka. She watched D’Jarnis settling himself, trying to look casual. Greenwald shifted slightly, leaning forward for a more intent appearance. Through the curtain Aneka could see hazy heat signatures. It looked like as big an audience as for Federation Life, though this time Aneka had more support in it. Gillian and Bashford were out there with Ella. Apparently Gillian actually watched the show sometimes though Aneka was not entirely sure why.

The curtain rolled aside three seconds before they were due to go on air, and then a spotlight lit up Greenwald. ‘Good evening. I’m Kevin Greenwald. Welcome to Greenwald Tonight.’ Applause, apparently genuine though there were a few people standing there directing things. They cut the clamour off after exactly six seconds, which was presumably how long the title clip took to run.

‘Tonight we’re going to get to the bottom of the big controversy hitting the news channels at the moment,’ Greenwald continued. ‘Aneka Jansen, the woman heralded as a survivor from Old Earth kept frozen for a thousand years, did not, in fact, survive. The Herosians say that she is actually a Xinti, except when they’re saying she’s an artificial intelligence. Jenlay experts say she is not.’ The lights went up around them. ‘So let’s ask Miss Jansen herself and the Herosian Ambassador Ashipha D’Jarnis to explain their positions. Miss Jansen, are you a Xinti?’

‘Philosophy isn’t my strong point, Mister Greenwald,’ Aneka said. She did not need to think about this one. ‘My physical form is patterned after a Human woman, but the structures within and my brain are Xinti. The mind running on that brain is that of a Human woman who did, indeed, die over a thousand years ago. Is a Jenlay a Jenlay because of their body, or their mind, or both? What is more important to the nature of a Herosian? Culture, thought processes, or meat?’

‘No Herosian would willingly undergo the process which turned you into a Xinti machine,’ D’Jarnis snapped.

‘Rather a stupid statement,’ Al commented.

Aneka had to agree. ‘It wasn’t as though I was given a choice, Ambassador.’

‘And it does not answer the question,’ Greenwald said. He lifted his tablet. ‘I have a report here compiled by several noted psychologists stating that Miss Jansen’s mental functions are well within the range of Jenlay norms. She has a “rationally based prejudice against the Xinti.” The report is quite detailed and seems to indicate that whatever Miss Jansen’s mind is living in, it is not a Xinti mind.’

‘Not Xinti, perhaps, but it is an artificial mind,’ D’Jarnis countered. Aneka was always a little disappointed that Herosians did not have more sibilant voices when speaking Federal, but the emphasis he put on the word did draw out the ‘sh’ sound nicely. ‘She is a piece of software pretending to be a living thing.’

Maybe he was trying to get a rise out of her, but it was a bad target to pick. ‘I won’t argue that point. That’s pretty much what my opinion of myself is.’ D’Jarnis looked triumphant. ‘I’m told that that’s a minority viewpoint, however. Not that my mind is software, because it is, but that it’s artificial. Since my mind is basically a neuron-by-neuron copy of a Human mind, it doesn’t operate in the same way as an AI’s does. I’m a simulation of a real brain. If you’re going to class that as artificial then you have to question whether any mind is “natural.” The thoughts in your head are the result of some complex electrochemical interactions in a complex, organic computer. Mine don’t have the chemical components. What is a thought? I’m afraid we’re back to philosophy.’

‘The Torem philosopher, Oxin,’ Greenwald said, ‘stated, “The one true definition of a sentient being, that thing that allows us to know that we exist, is that we think.”’

‘I think, therefore I am,’ Aneka said. ‘Descartes. He was a philosopher on Old Earth. Cogito ergo sum.’ Aneka smiled at the presenter. ‘Thank you, Mister Greenwald. I’d forgotten about that. Maybe the fact that I question my nature is the one true indication that I’m not what the Ambassador says I am.’

‘That’s…’ D’Jarnis began and then paused as he tried to come up with something he could use to argue his point.

As Aneka turned to look at him, something caught the corner of her eye. Movement which pulled her attention in that direction. One of the audience had left his seat and was running down the side stairs. One of the floor staff was moving to intercept him.

‘Whatever she is, she’s still dangerous.’ D’Jarnis settled on. ‘We have no proof that she is not a Xinti agent as Winter was.’

‘You’ve no proof that Winter was,’ Aneka said, though her eyes were still on the man from the audience. ‘Besides, there are no Xinti left to handle agents.’

‘Ha! You say that, but…’

Stiff-arming the staffer aside, the man raised his right arm. Aneka’s eyes zoomed in on his hand and identification data immediately popped up in-vision. He was holding a small, handheld laser, relatively low power, but quite lethal against an unarmoured opponent. Aneka’s mind shifted into combat mode and the world seemed to slow down around her. He was targeting D’Jarnis; there was a clear line of sight to the Ambassador while the falling staffer obscured Greenwald and her. He was going to fire really soon. Aneka bolted forward.

‘Wili huntan bwishu si!’ the man screamed. Aneka noted the phrase as she closed on the Herosian. ‘Alien bastards must die.’ It sounded like a Humanity First slogan, or maybe Knights of the Void. D’Jarnis was looking at her with growing shock and had not recognised the threat yet. There was a scream from the audience so someone there had. Aneka smelled burning fabric and then the sting of pain as the beam hit the back of her neck. Messages indicating that her dermal layer had been lightly damaged sprang up, but she ignored them.

Turning, she lifted her right arm and fired her pulse gun. The man’s head snapped back and he was catapulted into the front row of the audience. Bashford was on his feet already and rushing over to grab the gunman, but there was no real need; he was out cold and not getting up to try again.

Aneka pushed herself away from D’Jarnis as the room dissolved into chaos. Greenwald was sitting in his chair with his mouth open. Maybe he had a new best show ever. Guards were moving in from the sides of the studio, but they were just going to have the clean-up to handle. Ella was getting up and starting toward the stage. Aneka reached to the back of her neck. There was no blood, the wound was cauterised, but there was a narrow gash with mesh armour showing through. She pulled her collar up over it. She turned around just in time to catch Ella rushing into her arms.

‘Are you okay?’ the redhead whispered.

‘Barely a scratch. I’ll be fixed in an hour.’

‘You saved that fucker’s life and he’s scurrying away without even saying thank you.’ It was true, though it was more that the Ambassador’s diplomatic bodyguards were dragging him off the stage.

‘That doesn’t bother me, but I don’t like this. This whole set-up. Something doesn’t feel right.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 14.10.527 FSC.

An expression of hurt passed over Winter’s youthful, Number Nine, features for a long enough time that Aneka was relaxing visibly even before the woman spoke. ‘I had nothing to do with…’ She paused, closed her eyes, nodded, and then looked up at Aneka again. ‘I can see how you might draw the conclusion. However, no, it was not I who sent the assassin.’

Aneka grinned at her. ‘You know, if you’re going to walk around in that body, you’re going to have to stop using long words and lighten up a little.’

Winter grinned back. ‘If the outfit wasn’t a clue...’ She was dressed in a bikini bra with a fishnet top over it, a micro-skirt, and some wedge-heeled trainers. Now she affected a vaguely blank expression and her voice shifted to more of a drawl. ‘When I’m not talking to quingren, I’m a lot more fridgy.’ She giggled. Aneka cringed.

‘Anyway, it wasn’t a conclusion, it was a thought. I needed to know it wasn’t you.’

‘So,’ Ella said, walking over with drinks, ‘it wasn’t you, Winter, but you seem to think it wasn’t the Knights. Aneka’s of the same opinion.’

‘It could be,’ Winter replied, her accent shifting back to normal, ‘but I find it unlikely.’

‘Too sophisticated for them,’ Aneka said. ‘Smuggling that laser in past the weapons detectors needed some planning.’

‘Indeed. That leaves us with the Herosians themselves,’ Winter stated.

‘Huh?’ Ella looked blankly at her. ‘The guy shot at D’Jarnis.’

‘And probably would have gone on to attack Aneka. She said a few nights ago that she was not designed to withstand laser fire.’

‘I was lucky, he was a crap shot and he was using a holdout weapon. If he’d had something more powerful…’

‘They only knew what you had told them. What I don’t think they anticipated was you jumping in front of the shot. If D’Jarnis had died, or even been severely injured, then there’s a political incident they could use for leverage. D’Jarnis is a pawn and always has been. The Herosians don’t post anyone they like to New Earth. He’s unmated and his chances of finding a suitable female here are next to nil. No, his death would serve more purpose than his life has.’

‘But I saved him,’ Aneka said. ‘It was reflex. I obviously didn’t give it any thought or I’d have been a second late.’

Winter laughed. ‘You did the right thing. Preliminary polls say that your approval rating has skyrocketed. Polls among the Herosian population in-system have actually shown a positive reaction. You took a laser hit for someone you have absolutely no reason to like. The Jenlay think that’s heroic and the Herosians find it hard to believe that a Xinti would save one of their own from a head cold, never mind an assassin.’

Aneka sighed and sat back on the couch. ‘I should really thank the guy for saving me from any more stupid questions. Maybe when they interrogate him they’ll get some information about who sent him.’

~~~

‘He’s dead,’ Sharissa said. ‘So are the two you knocked into submission when they hit Elaine.’ She was keeping her voice low so that the conversation did not disturb Ella and Janna who were cooking in the small kitchen.

‘How?’

‘The first two were poisoned in hospital. The one from last night was found dead in his cell this morning. So far there are no clues about how they were got to. The Peacekeepers are dealing with it.’

‘Not the Agency?’

‘They died in Peacekeeper custody…’

Aneka felt fingers stroke over the skin on the back of her neck and turned to see Janna standing there, smiling. ‘Not a mark,’ she said. ‘Quite amazing. I saw it live, of course. I was so worried.’

‘I’m well up to handling a weapon like that, Janna.’

‘So I see. Now you two stop talking shop. We’re supposed to be having a nice, family meal.’

‘I think we’re done anyway,’ Sharissa said. ‘Now hands off Ella’s blonde. You’ve got me to feel up if you want to do that.’

Janna smiled. ‘Is that an offer?’

‘After dinner,’ Sharissa replied. ‘I’m famished.’

16.10.527 FSC.

CFM’s evening news was on the wall screen and Aneka was watching it, still looking mildly shocked.

‘…was delivered to Miss Jansen by Senator Diana Ollander on behalf of the Herosian Ambassador who is said to be too shocked to make public appearances at this time.’

Aneka looked down at the sheet of bio-plastic in her hand. It had, indeed, been delivered by Ollander, who had worn a grin of malicious glee the entire time the cameras had been off her. The letter, actually printed on a permanent medium and signed, physically and digitally, was an official thank you from D’Jarnis and the Herosian Diplomatic Service for saving the Ambassador’s life.

‘Can you imagine what it cost him to sign that?’ Ollander had said.

‘I notice he didn’t deliver it himself,’ Ella had commented.

‘Apparently he’s in a state of shock after the attack.’ The Senator had looked Ella up and down and added, ‘You must both come to my place in The Islands. My boys would love to meet you.’

Yeah… right…

‘The letter of apology comes ahead of tomorrow’s vote in the Senate,’ the presenter went on, ‘which could reassign Miss Jansen’s status from Jenlay citizen to artificial intelligence.’

‘You notice they don’t mention you’d still be a citizen,’ Ella commented as she walked over with drinks.

‘I noticed. Not sure what it means, but I noticed.’

‘Speculation regarding the effect Miss Jansen’s selfless act will have on the vote is running rife on private news sites. A petition has been launched on the Trudor Federal Breakers site for the public to express their opinion that the vote should go against a change of status. As of sixteen hundred hours, the petition had thirty-seven million signatures.’

‘That’s more than the population of the planet,’ Aneka commented, turning off the sound.

‘Well, I signed it a few million times,’ Ella replied, giggling.

‘You didn’t.’

‘Well no, you can’t, but I did flick over the signatories list. There are a lot of names on it from Harriamon and several of the closer worlds. And quite a few from naval ship crews. It’s been open for a few weeks.’

‘Oh… It’s, uh, nice to be appreciated.’

‘You’re a hero, love,’ Ella said. ‘Live with it.’

Tristar Township, 18.10.527 FSC.

‘One of those “toasts,”’ Drake said, raising his glass. ‘To Aneka, who remains a Jenlay.’

It had taken a day for the result of the Senate vote to come through but the debate had been a short one. The vote had been taken after an hour of speeches; one of the shortest discussions of a controversial subject ever. The news channel pundits had suggested that this was more the result of entrenched positions than anything else. There had been a few surprises, with several of the Representatives from Herosian border worlds voting against the proposition. Even without them, the change of status would have been vetoed since the Jenlay and Torem all voted against.

Aneka smiled. ‘Thanks, all of you, and it’s nice to be with all of you again.’ It was a full house. Janna, Sharissa, Cassandra, and Abraham Wallace were there, as well as the Garnet Hyde’s crew. Truelove had said she would drop by when she got out of the office, and that meant Janine would be joining them. ‘So what happens next?’

‘Back to work,’ Bashford replied.

‘The Dean actually stood up to the board before the vote result came through,’ Gillian added. ‘He told them you were a valuable resource for the university to have, in whatever form the Senate decided to give you. I think the fact that you saved D’Jarnis on a live news feed helped with his courage, but still…’

‘I’ll have to remember to thank him,’ Aneka replied. ‘Any plans on what I’m going to be doing?’

‘We’re taking a class into the Shadri Forest in three weeks,’ Monkey said, ‘and you’re the one with the most jungle survival training.’

‘You’ve actually been trained in it,’ Delta added.

‘So you’re leading,’ Bashford told her. ‘It’s a two-week familiarisation exercise, not a full course.’

‘Swell,’ Aneka replied. ‘Two weeks of mud everywhere and bugs crawling in all the cracks.’

‘After what’s happened recently,’ Ella said, ‘all this political gopi, I’d have thought you’d have jumped at it?’

Aneka looked at her for a second and then grinned, raising her glass. ‘Bring on the mud!’

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing Traveller. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Writing, sadly, is not my main source of income. By day, I’m a computer programmer. I work for a telecommunications company in Manchester, England. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

For More Information

The Thaumatology Blog: http://thaumatology.wordpress.com

The Steel Beneath the Skin Blog: http://steelbeneaththeskin.wordpress.com

Other Books by this Author

The Thaumatology Series

Thaumatology 101 - ASIN: B006IYIESW

Demon’s Moon - ASIN: B006JPN7A0

Legacy - ASIN: B006OKR8PK

Dragon’s Blood - ASIN: B0072S1DOU

Disturbia - ASIN: B007GNICZO

Hammer of Witches - ASIN: B007YG2I44

Eagle’s Shadow - ASIN: B008E17TYW

Ancient - ASIN: B00923F8AS

Dragonfall - ASIN: B00AKV95XW

The Other Side of Hell - ASIN: B00AS0NF54

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll - ASIN: B00BNSQ4AS

Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe

Tales from High Towers’ Study - ASIN: B006ZAJ7TY

Tales from the Dubh Linn - ASIN: B0080XPD88

The Aneka Jansen Books

Steel Beneath The Skin - ASIN: B00D4MN40O

The Cold Steel Mind - ASIN: B00FJIQ85O

Steel Heart - ASIN: B00H0GYRQA

Table of Contents

Part One: Yersinia Pestis

Part Two: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Part Three: Two Weddings and a Party

Part Four: Tomb Raiders Wear Shorts

Part Five: Winter

Part Six: The Sleep of Renewal

Part Seven: The Trial of Aneka Jansen