“Hell, we don’t even know what military forces they have out there or where,” Jaelle said, taking a flute from my hand.
“Well something is out there floating in the murk and it carries fighters, we know that.” I sipped my own drink. “It’s possible the fighters came from Tir-a-Mar but I doubt it. There are so few launches from here, too much chance of being seem.”
“Can Maauro probe the Ribisan side of the city?”
“Can? Yes, but not undetected, she says. So it is old-fashioned detective work for now. She’ll hack where she can, but she suspects that any data ports she can access up here will contain nothing useful or could even be a trap.”
“Then why do it at all?” Jaelle asked, rolling onto her back and reaching for a small cake.
“She says that sometimes the omissions are revealing. Or, as she put it, if you leave a hole where data used to be, she can make educated guesses as to what was in the hole before it was deleted.”
“That sounds like the android version of wishful thinking. Doesn’t seem to leave much hope of finding out about these scientists or what was going on here.”
I laughed. “Maybe so.”
I lay down next to her, putting my glass on the table. She turned her back to me. As I massaged the long muscles in her sinuous back, Jaelle sighed in pleasure and looped her warm tail over my thigh.
“All we can do,” I said, “is keep poking around in the open, hoping someone tries to get a message to us or we accidentally upset somebody’s applecart—”
“A what?’
“Sorry, old expression, I meant accidentally disrupt someone’s plans and provoke a reaction that breaks somebody’s cover.”
“Possibly by trying to kill you.”
“Yeah, there’s that.” I worked some more on her lower back.
“Ah,” she said, “that’s good. I can’t seem to talk Dusko into doing that.”
I gave her a playful pat on her shapely butt. “You’d better not.”
“Oh now who’s jealous? I’m letting you play house with Maauro.”
I played with her long tail. “That’s not as rewarding as you seem to think.”
“Stop that,” she said, swatting gently with her tail, “you’re distracting me.” She smiled and held out her glass for me. I got the bottle and the plate of cakes, then sat on the bed and poured for her. Housekeeping was not my issue.
Jaelle took more champagne and greedily attacked he cakes. “Hartain,” she said around a mouthful, “is a very frustrated being. He’s not much of a player, a small fish in a small pond. What you would expect in a tiny operation such as the Guild has here.”
I shrugged. “It happens. Even Dusko was only low level Guild; for all that he ran Kandalor and its nearspace. Ferlan was the only real Guildmaster we’ve run into. She had a small fleet of starships and influence in a dozen systems. Money on a level I still find hard to understand.”
Jaelle stretched in a motion that would have snapped a human back. “You liked her.”
The comment startled me and turned it over in my mind. “I don’t know. There was something about her. Maybe it was how I reminded her of her long dead son. If nothing else, she had both class and nerve. I didn’t think that she deserved to fall prey to the Infestors on the Artifact.”
“She may have escaped,” Jaelle said. “Her ship lifted off just before the explosion.”
“Maybe,” I replied grabbing one of the rapidly diminishing supply of desserts. “It was clearly out of control and we didn’t see it afterwards. But maybe. Still, she was Guild and ruthless for all her grandmotherly manner. You don’t get that high otherwise.”
“Back to Hartain,” Jaelle said. “He’s quite glad to have my cargo, but even more to have my services. My appearance gives him a new agent unknown to the city authorities and the constabulary.”
“Perfect for the seducing of unwary spaceman,” I said, finishing the cake and the champagne.
“Just so,” she said smugly. “There are ops he can consider now that I am here.”
“Such as finding out about a suspected oxygen-breather base somewhere down below,” I added.
“Yes, it kills him that there is something involving so much wealth and secrecy going on beneath his feet and he’s not able to touch it. I get the impression he longs to return to his homeworld or some other wet, dark, colony world to live in greater comfort than here. I believe I can tempt him to rashness.”
I reached for her. “God knows you’ve always had that effect on me.” We kissed as always careful of her sharper and longer teeth. “Can you stay the night?”
Jaelle considered then reluctantly, “No that would seem out of character with who Minogue is supposed to be, a bit too domestic. Besides we can’t leave Maauro in the bar all night.”
“She sat on an asteroid for 50,000 years.”
Jaelle tossed a pillow at me. “Heartless male. She’s not an android here but Estrella Lostly, a young girl who’s formed an attachment to a spaceman of highly dubious character. In fact it would be rather odd if she returned to this suite given us. You’ll need to work something out with her about that after I leave.”
I looked at the time glowing on the com screen. “It’s nearly two hours. She’ll be coming on line shortly.
“Then kiss me again, while it’s still just the two of us,” Jaelle said. “Then it’s the refresher for me.”
I kissed her thoroughly, not sure when I would get the chance to do so again.
I remain in an idle state, enjoying my drink, gazing up at the holographic stars twinkling on the ceiling, while subroutines of mine digest all the intel collected to date and conduct necessary surveillance and monitoring through my systems and those I can safely hack. It requires very little capacity, as there is so little to go on. We do not even know the factions among our adversaries, or for that matter that they are all Ribisans. It cannot yet be discounted that this is a Guild operation though Hartain’s lack of knowledge does so indicate. He could, however, be kept in the dark by another Guild section.
Still my assessment remains that this is a Ribisan run op. Prior to our arrival I would have said without government support, due to the limited nature of the attack on us at Star Central. However, aerospace fighters attacked my pod. Either there are private militaries among the Ribisans, or whatever faction is attacking us has enough government support to precipitate such an attack. Yet beyond the one clumsy assault with the elevator, we remain unassailed in Tir-a-Mar, facing only obfuscation and delays in our search for information on the missing scientists or their project. The delays we face here could simply be bureaucratic, but I do not believe so, there is a system here, a consistency to the information that has been released.
The waitress returns, “Are you Estrella Lostly?”
“Yes.”
“There is a call for you on the com. Touch the screen and it will connect you and give you a privacy curtain option.”
“Thank you.” I press the screen. Normally it would recognize the person touching it by biometric sensors. I simply reprogram to accept me; this takes .00134 seconds. I accept the option of the sonic curtain, though I could generate a stronger one myself.
The screen lights up with a cool blue display of waving lines but no picture. The words “visual declined” glow a contrasting white and fade away. I hit the same option.
“Lostly?” comes a voice.
I recognize Fenster’s voice. “Yes”
“It’s ACA Fenster. I am glad to see you are still at the hotel.”
“Yes, though I am not with Lt Fels.”
“I understand he has acquired some female company again.”
“Yes,” I reply, unsure of what, if anything to add. I am glad Fenster has not opted for visual communication as I am uncertain what manner of facial expression I should use in this circumstance.
&nb
sp; “Sorry about that. We sent the first girl. I know you and he have hit it off, but we need some leverage to restrain some of his more outrageous abuses of his authority. This second female is his own idea, but maybe we primed the pump, so to speak. We will make it up to you, Lostly, but it is essential that you stay in close contact with him at all times.”
“Not practical now. He is in close contact with another female.”
“Don’t take it so hard. She’s probably just a rented body. Listen, were you planning on heading home tonight? That’s quite a distance from the Star and Comet.”
As part of my cover as Lostly I had arranged for an unused rental unit in an inexpensive section of the town to show that it had been rented to Lostly six months ago. Fortunate, as Fenster must have checked my address.
“There seems no reason to stay,” I said, projecting what I hoped was the proper mix of aggrieved and saddened female into it.
“Lostly, I want you to stay at the hotel. Get a suite near his, order anything you want and have it billed to my office. Fels seems to spot everyone else we put onto him and rejects any minder but you.”
“You mean when he’s not fooling around with prostitutes,” I said in a miffed tone.
“Look, we’ll even kick in 5,000 credits into your personal account. Maybe that will take some of the sting out of loverboy’s dalliance. Believe me regarding this, there’s no trusting a spacer when he’s away from his homeworld. I wouldn’t expect you to go stay with him. Just stay by him. You’re doing great work keeping us informed.”
“Very well.”
“Excellent, your position around here is looking brighter all the time. Fenster out.”
I am pleasantly surprised by this piece of luck. Perhaps after the events of the last few days we were, as Wrik says, due.
The pattern changed back to a deep green to show the connection had been severed. I tapped a connection to the front desk and was surprised when a live being, as opposed to an AI answered.
“Good evening, Ms Lostly. What can the Star and Comet do for you?”
“Ms Fenster has directed that I secure a room adjacent to Lt Fels. I believe the adjoining suites are empty.
“Anything for the assistant city administrator,” he said, as if such requests were a normal occurrence. “The suites are empty,” he gives me a puzzled look as if wondering how I know, a minor error on my part.
“Lt Fels is quite diligent in his security checks and told me that they were empty. He is a suspicious sort,” I add
“Yes, we noticed and thought it best to keep people away as much as practical considering the …ah…situation.”
“Well he can surely have no objection to my taking the adjacent room as I am his guide.”
“If you say so,” he returned in a neutral tone. “I have programmed suit 801 for you. Shall I send up anything?”
“Not presently.”
“We have a personal shopper on staff for VIPS. Please let us know if you need anything, given the unexpected nature of your stay.”
“I will.”
“Have a good stay,” he says image fading out.
It has been one hour and 59.5 minutes. I open my link to Wrik.
“Are you busy, Wrik?”
“No,” a touch of some emotion comes across our link, a tinge of what I recall as embarrassment. “Jaelle is dressing. She believes it would not be good for her cover to stay the night.”
“We will defer to her judgment in the matter.” I relay the most recent developments.
“That couldn’t have gone better. I was wondering how you and I could plausibly get back together quickly. Come on up. After you get in I will open the adjoining door.”
I leave a credit chip for the waitress, who smiles professionally and waves good night to me. Then I make my way up the elevator to our floor. When the doors open, Jaelle is standing there. I am surprised, as I had not yet reopened the link. For some reason I find that I am unsettled seeing her, yet I need to maintain my network, even in awkward moments. I check the area for bugs and cameras; we are unobserved in this little alcove.
She winked at me in a human gesture she’d learned from Wrik. “Taking over from me, Kit-sister? I didn’t leave much for you.”
As usual with Jaelle, her remarks to me could mean several things at once, some of them irritating.
“Did you enjoy your time with Wrik?” I ask.
“Yes,” she replies with a typical grin. Unlike Wrik, there is no shyness or inhibition in Jaelle. “However Kit-sister I do feel bad about sending you to the bar.”
I find I am pleased that she has given any thought to me at all.
“It would have been awkward to remain,” I said. “My presence might have, what is the expression, put a damper on things?”
“Sorry, human expression that and I don’t know what it means,” Jaelle returned, “but yes, I appreciate the privacy you gave us, physically and in our heads.”
“Fenster called,” I added. “She wants me to stay with Wrik despite…any distractions.”
“What? In his room again? That’s a lot for any female to expect of another female.”
“No, they provided me with the suite next door, unlimited expenses and a 5,000 credit inducement to forgive and forget.”
Jaelle whistled.
I look at her with interest. “Did Wrik teach you too? Is it hard with your fangs?”
“This plays well for us,” Jaelle mused, ignoring my comment. “They know he was with a woman and don’t know it was me. You have a suite here. Oh and thanks for chasing off the working girl earlier. Wrik told me about it. It would have been hard to say no to her with his cover.”
“You are welcome, things are complicated enough.”
Jaelle gives me an odd look as if I had said something inappropriate but said. “Good, go to the suite, order everything you can—”
“Such as? I need nothing.”
“Gods, you are supposed to be a biological female unexpectedly spending the night away from home and you’re at least confused, if not upset. Someone handed you an open checkbook. You need a full range of toiletries…does this place have a shopper?”
“Yes.”
“Tell her to use her judgment and get the usual things. She’ll know what they are. You’ll want a change of underwear—”
“I’m not wearing any.”
“They don’t know that! You don’t have to use the stuff but a live female would order it along with chocolate, possibly ice cream and shoes.”
“I am doing this why?”
“To demonstrate to anyone who cares to look, that you are consoling yourself for the shoddy way that men, your employer and the universe are treating you.”
“Ah,” I reply, “I usually do that by destroying the involved parties.”
“Well don’t get carried away,” she said, brushing her lips against my cheek. “Some of us are still using the universe. Good night Maauro.”
“Good night, Jaelle.”
Chapter Twenty
The alarm buzzed and I sat up, disoriented as to where and even who I was. I’d worn too many identities these last few years. I reached across the bed then remembered that Jaelle had left. I lay for a few seconds with my face on the pillow she’d lain on. It still had her scent, faintly, but there. Finally, I stood and made my way to the refresher then to the main room of the suite. Maauro wasn’t there. I looked around the empty room and wondered when I had last been without either one. I had an incomplete and restless feeling, like I was missing some part of myself. I sighed and dropped into a chair, too dispirited to even send out for coffee.
The night with Jaelle had driven all thoughts of Olivia Croyzer far from my mind. It had even put any concerns about the complications of Maauro on a shelf. In the morning, without Jaelle’s confident presence to banish phantoms and confusions, th
e thoughts returned unbidden and unwanted, accompanied by the usual vague feelings of shame and confusion.
I sighed. I was never at my best on my own, becoming lost in my head on the battlegrounds of past defeats and present self-doubt. I could almost feel the cloud forming over me.
The door chimed, and I called out to enter. The voice activated door slid open. Maauro stood there. To my surprise, she wore fashionable, light clothes in place of her usual green coverall.
I stood a foolish grin spreading over my face. “Good to see you.”
Maauro walked to the center of the room and did a pirouette. “How do I look?”
“Kind of like spring,” I said.
“And that would be good?”
“Yes,” I said. “Where have you been and what’s with the new wardrobe?”
“Instructions from that most female of females, Jaelle, on the proper consolations due a young lady in these circumstances,” Maauro replied with a small smile.
“Ah,” I said, fighting a feeling of awkwardness.
“I am glad you were able to find time for each other. It has been lacking during these last weeks.”
“I begin to wish we’d never come here, that we’d all stayed safe back on Star Central.”
She cocked her head at me. “Do you regret forming Lost Planet?”
I hesitated. “No, not really. It’s just that…for the first time in years I have things to live for and people to live it with. It makes every danger loom even larger.”
“I think I understand and in as much as I can, I feel the same way.”
“Nothing to do but get on with it,” I added.
She nodded. “Jaelle will be about her investigations with the Guild. We should start ours.”
“But not before breakfast,” I said, both cheered by her presence and suddenly hungry.
She nodded. “Order away.”
Wrik and I are enjoying breakfast when Jaelle breaks in. “Maauro,” she sends, “Hartain has sent for me. His female Dua-Denlenn gunner just dropped by my hotel with a politely worded summons. Doubtless he wants to know what I learned from Wrik.”
“Is she still there?” I return.
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