by Magus Tor
“I'm trying not to think about it,” said Aurelia. “I killed that man. I know it had to be done, but I killed him.”
“That I can understand,” said Nicholas. “I know the feeling. And I still haven't answered your question. How do I know about all this? It's simple.” He looked her directly in the eyes. “I was sent to kill Jonathon Hansen.”
The background music hopped rhythmically in the silence that followed his statement. Aurelia saw honesty in his blue eyes. Sincerity.
“No gasps of shock this time?” Nicholas asked after a few seconds.
“I...” She sighed. “I think I'd already sort of guessed that.”
His eyebrows went up, but he merely nodded and then proceeded to fill her in on the details. The plan had been that cargo shuttles secretly equipped by the military would attack the shuttle. In the ensuing panic, one of two things would happen. Either Hansen would be killed in the attack, or Nicholas would make it look like he had been killed in the attack. Simple.
“But you didn't,” said Aurelia.
“No, I didn't,” agreed Nicholas. “Instead, I left my deck minutes before I knew the attack was going to happen and waited until the first shots hit, then dragged Jonathon out of his deck and into the stairwell, where I thought he'd be safe.”
“Er... How?”
“Yeah, that concussion? That was me, I'm afraid. I couldn't let him see me, so I hit him over the head. Not too hard, though.”
Aurelia thought about all this. Things were beginning to come together slowly, but she was still missing pieces.
“But you allowed the shuttle to be attacked?” she said.
“There was nothing that I could do about that. There were too many other people involved. The only part that I could vaguely control was whether or not Jonathon himself survived the attack.”
“Sacrificing many to save one,” said Aurelia. “That's what you said on the viewing deck at the shuttle bay.”
“Exactly. I did what I could; I got him out. I disobeyed a direct order.”
“And you haven't been injected?”
“Rather obviously not. It was a risk, but I was fairly sure that I was going to get away with it,” he said.
“Really? That's a big risk for something that you're only pretty sure about.”
“There were only a few who knew about what I had been told to do, and I was very, very careful to make sure that as many people on the shuttle as possible knew that I'd saved Jonathon Hansen's life. I counted on the fact that first, I could persuade my bosses that I'd tried and failed, and second that eventually I would be congratulated for saving the future president. At least in my argument, that meant that whilst I hadn't accomplished my mission, it would mean at some point in the future I would be personally congratulated by Hansen and have the perfect chance to assassinate him then.”
“Gods, you put thought into that one.”
“Okay, it was a little flimsy, but it worked. I have a solid record, and missions occasionally fail. Plus, it meant that no one else needed to know about the assassination plans. Why bother killing me off and arranging something complicated all over again when in a matter of days, I'd probably be in the best position to try again? There isn't long to go until the elections; we're getting a little pushed for time.”
“Fair enough, I guess,” said Aurelia. “But there's still one thing that I don't understand. Why did you save him?”
“Because I think Jonathon can help us,” said Nicholas.
“Help us?”
“Help the Clones to achieve full rights,” he explained.
“But I heard in the way that he spoke to you at the hospital, he treats Clones in the same way as everyone else does. Why would he want to help you?”
“Because he has a sense of what's right,” Nicholas said, slowly. “Because right now he doesn't understand anything, but he needs to see what you saw, to hear what you've heard. I think then he'll understand.”
“You're relying on him being a good person, is what you're basically saying?” Aurelia said. She knew that Nicholas was a little naïve around girls, but this seemed to be stretching things a bit.
Nicholas smiled. “Oh, no,” he said. “I've lived in Lunar for a long, long time, Aurelia. I have no intention of relying on Jonathon's good side - though to be honest, I think that might work. I'm going to play the game of politics. I've got a position to negotiate from.”
“Which is?”
“If Jonathon agrees to back the Clone Rights Movement, then he'll have the political backing, support and protection of every Clone on Lunar, and more.”
Gods. Yes. That made perfect sense. “And where do I come into this?” she asked.
“I want you to make Jonathon understand. I want you to talk to him.” The Clone again ran his fingers through his hair. “Until now, my only problem was getting close enough to him to speak privately and have him hear me out. But you can do that for me. Can't you?”
Could she? Intuitively, she knew that Jonathon would listen to her. She even thought that Nicholas was probably right, that Hansen would do the right thing in the end. But did she really want to get involved in all of this?
She leaned her head back on the couch, thinking. She was already somewhat involved, and she was slowly starting to get the explanations that she'd asked for. But she hadn't wanted all this. All she wanted was to do her job and live her life. And of course, that was sort of the point, wasn't it? She had to do this because all those Clones she had seen didn't get to do the jobs or live the lives they wanted. Jonathon had warned her about this, told her that power was given to those who didn't want it, because they were the only ones who deserved to have it. She didn't want to get involved, but she had to.
“I will try,” she said quietly, her eyes closed. “I'll try.”
She felt Nicholas's hand on her leg.
“Thank you,” he said.
“How long do I have?” she asked, opening her eyes.
“Not long - a few days, maybe. You'll need to explain things to him.”
“Okay. And can I contact you?”
Nicholas nodded. “But be careful what you say over the intercom, okay?”
She nodded and stood. “I'm supposed to be meeting Jonathon tonight for dinner, so you'd better get going so I can get ready.”
Nicholas stood too, slightly awkwardly. He turned to face her and took both her hands in his own. “Thank you, Aurelia,” he said. Then he bent his head and lightly let his lips brush her own. Without saying a word, he let her hands go and left, the door sliding shut behind him before Aurelia could say anything.
Her second kiss in as many days. Both equally light, both equally loving, but not really equal at all; Aurelia could see that now. She sighed. She really did have to get ready to meet Jonathon.
She was about to step into the sonic shower when her intercom buzzed.
“Package for Ms. Cole,” said a voice.
“By the door,” she responded, knowing that the delivery Worker would leave whatever it was outside. Probably a new uniform to replace the one half destroyed on the shuttle, she mused.
When her shower was over, she stepped out feeling refreshed and wrapped herself in a nightshift to grab the package. It was a plain white box, not at all like the normal uniform packaging. Puzzled, Aurelia opened it.
Inside there was something soft covered in a light paper with a disposable vid screen on top. Aurelia picked up the screen and switched it on, finding a message.
Aurelia,
A transport pod will pick you up at the back gate of the hospital. Please wear this (permission has been arranged).
Jonathon.
Taking away the wrapping paper, she saw deep purple material and, picking the fabric up, found a beautiful dress. A dress. Aurelia had never worn one. Like most Workers she'd worn uniforms her entire life. A dress. She felt that Jonathon was trying hard to impress her, and she disliked the way he'd chosen what she was to wear, but the thought of a dress was just too much tempta
tion to resist. She lifted her arms and slid the garment over her head.
The silky material caressed her skin, and she felt almost naked. Turning to the main vid screen, she caught sight of herself and thought she looked, well, amazing. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, and the hem brushed her knees; she had never looked or felt like this in her life. At the bottom of the box she found shoes and slipped them on, completing the outfit.
“Permission has been arranged.” It meant that someone, probably Jonathon himself, had obtained the appropriate authorisation for her to be out of uniform. This was something that most people never experienced. Aurelia couldn't help herself and pranced around the living pod in her outfit. She felt incredible and beautiful. Screw being mad about this. She couldn't turn down the chance to wear a dress just once in her life.
But when it was time for her to leave her quarters, she found that she felt weird going outside without her uniform. She glanced up and down the corridor and saw no one there, so she hurried down the elevator and towards the back gate of the hospital, praying that she wouldn't see anyone she knew.
A personal transport pod was waiting for her, and it unlocked when she keyed in her number. After a quick panic over how the hell to get into the pod in a skirt without flashing anyone who might be able to see her (which made her feel grateful that she wore a uniform every day), Aurelia settled herself in the seat and saw that the pod had a pre-programmed destination. Buckling her belt, she waited for the hum, and then the pod turned towards wherever it was that it was taking her.
What now? She had no idea. What she did know was that she was in everything up to her ears, and she had no choice but to live up to her responsibilities. She kept telling herself to take things one step at a time; otherwise, everything would overwhelm her. Nicholas and her personal feelings would wait. Right now she had to concentrate on Jonathon.
Whatever he was going to say to her tonight would influence how she broached the Clone subject to him - if, in fact, she did. She'd thought things through in the shower and decided that her best plan of action was to sound him out on the subject first. There was no point in blurting everything out and putting Nicholas in danger. As much as she liked Jonathon, she remembered Michael's words in the hospital about being careful whom she trusted. And as time went on, she realised more and more that he'd been right. She still had little idea of what she was dealing with, but she knew that there was a lot on the line. Not least her life, should she be caught not fulfilling her Worker responsibilities.
The pod turned onto one of Lunar's main streets, flying on a high level, so Aurelia could see vid screens and lights and little people scurrying below. She wondered where she was going and what her parents would think of all of this.
Her parents had made her strong. They had brought her up well, she knew, and she also knew that deep in their hearts they would approve of what she was doing. Okay, her father probably wouldn't approve of the dress, but the whole helping people thing, certainly. She felt sure that if they knew more about the Clone situation, they'd support her.
Now the pod was ascending to an even higher level, skirting the tops of buildings and flying close to the dome. But it was slowing. Ahead, Aurelia saw a building that had a viewing deck. A shuttle bay? No, there wasn't enough space. It definitely wasn't the Arena, either. She was still wondering what it was when the pod turned, slid to a halt and docked.
With a deep breath, Aurelia unbuckled her belt, undid the door and was surprised when a large hand came in.
“Let me help you,” said Jonathon.
Grinning, she took his hand and let him pull her out of the pod. “Getting in and out of these things in a dress is a bit of a nightmare,” she said when she was standing next to him.
“Er, yes, I should imagine that it is.” He scanned her with his eyes. “You look beautiful, Aurelia.”
“Thank you. It was a nice present,” she said, being gracious.
“A present with an ulterior motive, I'm afraid.” He took her by the hand and began to lead her towards a large door. “This is one of the best restaurants in Lunar.”
“Restaurant?” The word seemed familiar, but she wasn't sure from where.
“Like a cafeteria, kind of, but fancier,” he explained. “And it's also Ruling Class only, so no uniforms in here. I've got us a private dining room, but even so, I didn't want you to be too noticeable, and in a uniform you would have been.”
Hmmm. Okay. He really was trying desperately to impress her, wasn't he? A private dining room in a restaurant. He wanted to wow her with his power and influence, right? Well, that wasn't going to work. Aurelia found herself looking forward to the dinner even less than before.
“What is it?” Jonathon stopped and turned to ask her.
“What?”
“You suddenly seemed to sort of lose speed, become reluctant.”
Aurelia sighed. “Jonathon, look, you don't have to do all this stuff. The dress, the restaurant, the dining room. I'm not that kind of girl. I don't need impressing.”
To her surprise, he started laughing. “Aurelia, I never thought you were. And as much as I like you, none of this is really for you.” He looked around him and saw they were alone. “This is one of the few places in the City where I absolutely know that we are safe to talk, and where meeting a woman is normal. Far more normal than if you had come to my home, for example. No one will remark on the fact that I met you here; it will simply look like I'm trying to seduce you.”
“Which you're not?” asked Aurelia, not sure whether that disappointed or relieved her.
“Well, I wouldn't say that I'm not.” Jonathon grinned. “But there are some things that we need to take care of, and this is the best place to do that.”
“Aha.”
“So try to relax and look like my seduction is working.”
Aurelia smiled. “Fine,” she said.
He took her hand again, and together they went through the main doors. There was a Worker there in a hospitality uniform who deferentially greeted Jonathon and then showed them to their private dining room. Jonathon had been right. The few people they passed along the way barely gave her a second glance. Idly, Aurelia wondered just how many women Jonathon had brought here before.
The dining room had large windows overlooking the city, and a table with four chairs. The hospitality Worker placed a small paper booklet on two of the place settings and left. Jonathon pulled out a chair and told Aurelia to sit, before taking a place opposite her.
He looked at the booklet and said, “If it's alright with you, I'll order for both of us?”
Aurelia had no idea what was going on and didn't understand half the words in the booklet, so she agreed.
Jonathon tapped a few icons on the screen he took from his pocket, then nodded and put the screen away again.
“Okay,” he said, leaning forward in his chair and looking at Aurelia. “It's about time we had a talk. About the Resistance.”
Chapter Ten
Aurelia said nothing but just sat and watched. Jonathon tapped his fingers on the table, seemingly annoyed at her lack of reaction. Of course, she'd heard the word already, but she didn't want to betray from whom she had heard it. Finally, Jonathon took a deep breath and broke the silence.
“There are things that you need to know, Aurelia. Things that I'm sure you don't know.”
That’s not much of a stretch, she thought in irritation. She'd practically begged him to explain things to her, and he'd fobbed her off. She was getting seriously sick of this shit. She didn't know if she was being protected or manipulated or what, but what she did know was that she didn't like it.
“How can you be so sure I don't know?”
He stopped tapping his fingers and smiled. “Because you're from Earth,” he said, simply.
Fine, so Lunar had some secrets. Whatever. Aurelia was far more interested in her own problems at the moment. She wanted to know what it was, exactly, that she'd been dragged into.
“Fine.
So tell me, then.”
He held up his hand. “I want you to wait just a few more minutes,” he said. “I think you'll believe me more when you see something.”
What was it with guys wanting to show her things? Did she look so suspicious all the time? Aurelia thought she was a fairly trusting person, but now everyone wanted to give her examples of things. A few hours ago she'd been sitting at the Arena with Nicholas, and now here was Jonathon telling her to hold her horses. Maybe it was a result of living in Lunar, a city where no one really trusted anyone else, or so it seemed.
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
“It won't be long.”
Even as he spoke there was a soft knock at the door, and a hospitality Worker entered the room pushing a small trolley. The man placed covered plates in front of both of them and then silently turned and left, closing the door behind him.
“Take the cover off,” Jonathon said.
She could smell something. Rich, deep, something that stirred a sort of primal memory inside her. Lifting the domed cover off her plate, she looked down.
“Oh, steak.” That was fine; she liked steak, but she didn't understand what the big deal was.
“Try it,” Jonathon said. He still hadn't uncovered his plate.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable and very watched, Aurelia picked up the cutlery by her plate and started to cut. The steak was harder to cut than she had thought, the knife encountering some sort of resistance before slicing through the meat. She took a small piece on her fork. It certainly smelled good. Placing the bite in her mouth, she began to chew, and taste assaulted her tongue. This, this was...she had no words. She closed her eyes to try and better understand, to let her body concentrate on the sense of taste without distraction. Saliva flowed into her mouth, and she swallowed, leaving a delicate aftertaste of the meat behind.
Opening her eyes, she saw that Jonathon was grinning at her. “This is amazing,” was all she said.
“Do you know what it is?” Jonathon asked as he uncovered his own plate and took his knife and fork.