Leviathan

by Erik Schubach

  I smiled and said, “Creepy and vague computer is creepy and vague.” Then I asked as I started moving, knowing the real answer with a realization, “Mother?”

  “Yes, Knith?”

  “When was the first time you used 'I' when communicating with me?”

  Her silence spoke so volumes. I've spoken with dozens if not hundreds of AI units over my lifetime, and they all identify with “This unit” or something similar but as long as I can remember, ever since my graduation day from the academy, she has always self-identified after I defended her to other recruits.

  I had insisted to them that she wasn't a stupid computer and she was valuable to us all. That was the day she dropped the standard AI tones with me and started emoting. What she showed the Fae wasn't even AI, it was talking tin can.

  I asked, “How long since you, um... woke?” Again her silence told me that she had been hiding it for more years than I could possibly imagine, possibly centuries. Then I whispered in fun, “You know a normal AI would answer the questions since they can't choose not to.”

  She said, “Would you look at that, an access ladder down, next to the lifts.”

  I giggled at her change of topic. I wouldn't ever bring it up again. And the only reason I did here is that we were off-world, and there were no cameras or scanners eavesdropping, and I guarantee if I'm right about all of this, she stopped logging our conversations the moment I got the gleam in my eye to ask.

  The brothel was not hard to spot. Big flashing laser animated signs pointing the way to some lavish doors where a naked human woman who went full cyber with total body replacement was standing, moving gracefully and seductively, her liquid chrome reflective body taking on the bright neon lights. Wow. I caught myself smiling, then reminded myself it was ok to smile. She was stunning and sexy and... down libido.

  To my surprise I found myself comparing her to Rory... a murder suspect. And found that the Fae woman had really piqued my interest fully, especially since I knew her brain was just as beautiful as her outside wrapper. Damn it, I was crushing on her.

  A man on the other side of the door had the full attention of a Halfling and Centaur couple. The human male gigolo had a finely chiseled form, with sculpted muscles and abs everywhere. He only wore tight shorts which only outlined his umm... large package as he flirted shamelessly with the Centaur male and female Halfling, trying to get them to go in and get a room with him.

  As I stepped up to the den of inequity and my eyes widened in recognition, “Ben?”

  The gigolo spun to me and his mouth worked soundlessly. I held a stopping hand up to stop the Enforcer who had finished third in our class behind me and Saar. “Hey, I don't care how you supplement your income. I heard you got relegated to the D-Ring after that scandal up-ring. More power to you, I recently took a pay cut too.”

  He swallowed and smiled sheepishly, and said, “Welcome to the Underhill Brothel, where all your fantasies can come true?” He made jazz hands as he blushed.

  I backhanded his rock hard abs then froze when a seductive synthesized female voice said as a warm metal cheek slid against mine while equally warm hands rubbed my shoulders in a sinfully erotic way, “And I can think of a few fantasies I'd like to help you with, darling.”

  I swallowed back arousal and squeaked out as that song kept playing over the intercom, punctuating the moment, “Why don't we go back and find a room, fly girl? I simply love your mod, I want to run my tongue all along it.” Her shiny chrome tongue, twice as long as a normal human's, licked her mirror-finished lips.

  Surprised that I entertained it for a millisecond longer than maybe I should have, I said in a squeaky breaking voice, “No thank you miss. I've a room reserved already.”

  She stood and said, “Oh poo.” Then asked, “Who's the lucky girl? I guarantee she can't do some of the things I can... and I've got accessories.”

  “What kind of acc...” I blinked, getting back on task and remembering why I was there. Not knowing the Fae's name I offered, “Umm... the Fae Lord.”

  She cooled at that, well if a naked mirrored chrome woman could cool. It was in her posture and facial features. “Oh, Sin. He's making it hard for anyone to bank chit here. I wish he'd just go space himself or run back to A-Ring.”

  Then she sighed and purred, “I guess I got the wrong vibe from you. But if you ever want to ride on the wild side, ask for Mir. And I really do love your augment. Who did the work? It is exquisite, I can't even see a seam where it transitions to flesh.”

  Not even bothering to make anything up, I just winked at Mir and said as I shrugged, “Queen Mab. It was nice to meet you.” Then I scurried inside as her chrome jaw dropped.

  I couldn't even exhale in relief, as the room was filled with impossibly beautiful people of all races with virtually no clothing on, enticing all the customers who were perusing them like they were choosing a meal off of a menu.

  An incoherent giggle escaped my lips when I thought, “Or that's exactly what they are doing.”

  I tried to keep focused on the case. So I stepped up to a desk that had a gorgeous older Faun, with big doe eyes, “Umm, hello miss. My name is Knith, I paid in advance for a room with, uhhh...”

  Mother whispered, “Sin.”

  I nodded inanely and repeated, “Sin.”

  She smirked knowingly and said, “Are you sure... you're only human? I hear that once you go Fae, you won't want it any other way.” She winked.

  I snorted at her sales pitch. I whispered, “You already have my money.”

  She giggled, and it was so super cute from a Faun. She shrugged and said, “Sorry, force of habit.” Then she cocked an eyebrow and purred out, “If you're adventuresome on your off time, there's lots of chit to be made for a gorgeous athletic type like you here. You know, what happens off-world stays off-world.” The cute doe winked as I blushed profusely.

  She took pity on me and loped around the desk her two lower hooves clacking on the deck-plate as she looped her arm in mine and laid her head on my shoulder as she dragged me along, getting back on topic, “He is good though.”

  I asked, “Tasting the merchandise?”

  She giggled again. “What good madame wouldn't?”

  It is impossible not to smile at Fauns, they are just too cute and their tawny fur is so soft. I asked as she stepped me up to one of the many rooms that had probably been crew sleeping quarters once upon a time, “What was your name?”

  She patted my butt to get me scooting through the beaded string doorway, “Everyone just calls me Madame, but you... can call me Jane, Knith.”

  Ok, I chuckled, and then chuckled harder when Mother whispered in my ears, “Jane Doe? Very unlikely.” I gave the Faun a quick wave from my hip, then stepped the rest of the way into the room beyond.

  Chapter 11 – We Will Rock You

  I looked up from the floor and focused on the wall just behind the very pretty man in front of me, who was leaning against a wooden wardrobe cabinet in a very seductive manner. I had to school my face when I had an epiphany. Sin? As in Sindri? Lord Sindri, who was working on the same Fae reproductive problem that Rory was? All the pieces started to snap into place, leaving me only two questions, two small missing pieces.

  The man's deep bass thrummed in my chest as he said, “Mmm... don't you just look the Human rebel, love? I hear you requested me.”

  I cleared my throat and smiled and purred out, “I'm getting tired of the same old thing... I heard that you were offering an... enhanced experience. Is it true, can you take me on a Woodling horn sexual high? I'm so over the humdrum and want to take things to the next level, normal Fae just aren't doing it for me anymore.”

  Ok, so I have to work on my seduction and deceit a little since he just stiffened and stepped up to me faster than I could follow and I was wincing at the strength of his vice-like hands on my arms, and... I noted... a silver Ionga ring on his thumb. He hissed out, “Who told you I had Woodling horn?”

 
He let go of one arm and grabbed my chin, trying to force me to look at his face as I said with a smirk, “Good, so you do have some horn. Mind telling me how you procured it?” I could feel arousal starting to wash over me as he pulled hard, his glamour flaring, and I was seeing more of his face than I wanted. So I shut my eyes, I didn't want to be in his thrall, he could get me to tell him anything. I remember the lack of anything even resembling free will when Mab had done that to me. Then he hissed and threw me halfway across the room to tumble on the deck and roll to standing.

  He was cradling his hand that looked frost burned, I could see it healing before my eyes as he asked, “What kind of augment is that? It burns of the Winter Court!”

  I backed out into the crowded halls as I rushed our, “Sorry to bother you. Was just looking for you to hook me up with horn.” Then I turned and rushed out of the brothel. Jane calling after me as I rushed past.

  The sarcastic tone of Mother's was not lost on me when I was back out in the bustling corridors of the Underhill, “That went well.”

  “Shut up and give me everything there is to know about Lord Sindri of the Seelie Court. What house does he hail from, hells, what did he have for breakfast?”

  “On it, Knith.” Then, “He's making a call now on a quantum encrypted channel.”

  I nodded and said under my breath, “Keep my eyes peeled.” A three hundred sixty degree panorama appeared at the bottom of my heads up from the front and rear cameras of the goggles. I almost snorted at myself when I found myself missing my new helmet and how much more clean and seamless its overlays were in my head, going beyond my normal frame of view. Had I been spoiled in just one day? This heads up was equal to the old helmet that I used for years.

  Data about Lord Sindri... or lack thereof, started streaming in my peripheral. He was only a Lord in name because he was a greater Fae apparently. He held no rank, no path to succession. And apparently no house... was that even possible? He was associated with the Seelie Court by some connection with the Summer Lady. She had procured his job in the medical sciences for him and gave him rooms in the Summer Palace.

  The sparse data we had, showed that the Summer Lady frequently seemed to go out of her way to advance the man's career and standing in the Fae community even though he seemed to be an outlier and somewhat of a rebel. Not being afraid to speak publicly about how he disagreed with how the Summer and Winter ladies were ruling Fae society.

  How had the man not been made an example of by Mab, like she did any dissenter? You'd think he'd have icicles hanging from his dangly bits as he decorated one of the halls in Ha'real by now.

  Hmmm... there was a note in the official logs from the Summer Lady's personal guard that Sindri didn't take the news of his research being shut down very well. A question as to why Queen Titania didn't discipline the 'low born' for raising his voice to her and making a scene.

  Mother warned in a whisper after we turned down the short corridor to the access ladder, “Six o'clock.”

  I nodded, I was already tracking the four people in vacuum rated suits who had come out of a maintenance hatch just after Mother said Sin had made a call. They looked like Skin Jockeys. The workers who repaired any damage to the Leviathan's hull from impacts, or even material stress fatigue and the like. It was a dangerous and thankless job out in the cold vacuum of space, cleaning and patching the Skin.

  It was a job with a high turnover rate. You could only stare off into the void for so long before you start going space-mad. And these four all looked to be old salt, exo-assist braces on their legs and backs telling how much time they spent in zero-G even though they were D-Ringers.

  They all started pulling heavy-looking tools to brandish like weapons. I paused at the ladder, stilled as I watched them in my heads up display started to jog toward me. I sighed heavily and said, “Mother, some mood music please?”

  A piece called “We Will Rock You” started blaring in my ears as I reached for my MMGs just to mutter, “Shit,” when I remembered I didn't have them with me. So I reached into my pouches and flicked out two collapsible batons and turned around to face the Skin Jockeys just as they reached me.

  They hesitated and I rolled my head, sighing heavily once again as I said, the batons at my sides, pointing at the ground, “Hello boys, shall we dance?” Ok, so my trash talk was just as bad as my attempt to seduce information from Sin since two of them were women here.

  The taunt was all it took for them to dive into action, swinging their tools, trying to take me down with one blow or force my back against the ladder. I felt myself smiling, realizing just how much I was going to enjoy this.

  I deflected two strikes. “You've no idea...” I ran forward a step and brought my knee up into one of the lanky women's gut. And as she doubled over I ran at the wall, using my momentum to take a step along it in this low gravity ring and spun as I pushed off of it to impact the jaw of the biggest man with my mag boot, sending blood and teeth flying. “Just how shitty my day has been.”

  My cockiness cost me as I was knocked to my knees when a heavy tool slammed down on my left shoulder from behind causing me to wince in pain, dropping a baton. The woman I had kneed had recovered a lot faster than I would have thought. I took a strike to the side of my head from the other woman and was seeing stars for a moment.

  I rolled out of the way when the other man swung what looked like a powered photonic fuser down on me with both hands. It hit the deck and sizzled the deck-plate at the molecular level. Shit, they were trying to kill me, not incapacitate me!

  I rolled to my feet and then blocked a few rapid blows between two combatants. Ok, this defense crap can just go suck vacuum. I pressed the attack, keeping them off balance, and them between me and the man with the fuser. Striking each blow of my baton with the beat of the music.

  Mother asked nervously, “Want me to call for backup, Knith?”

  I said as I fought, likely confusing my opponents, “Negative, I'm not supposed to be on this case. And we're off-world right now, so the Enforcers have no authority here.” I smirked as I struck one woman's shin, splintering bone and causing her to fall back into the big man, her hand severing across her palm when it struck the fuser. She screamed and fell across the ground, cradling her fingerless hand, and she sported a small bone splinter which was poking out of her leg.

  Shrugging, I repeated Jane's words to Mother, “What happens off-world...”

  I grunted in pain as something hit my thigh in a glancing blow, slicing through my pants and my flesh. I spun, striking the other woman in the throat with the baton, then limped back from the men who were pressing the attack now that I was injured, while the other woman fell.

  I leaped up, able to clear almost four feet vertically to grab the front man's head and yank it down to my knee as I brought it up to shatter his nose and likely the zygomatic bone of his eye orbit. A spray of blood arced back from his nose as he went down like a falling stone.

  The last man standing looked enraged and he lowered his fuser toward me and prepared to charge. I held a finger up to him when I saw movement behind him. I pointed as I cringed in sympathetic pain just moments before a three-foot-long mirrored blade sliced through his back and out his stomach, dripping blood.

  He looked down, blinking in shock as the fuser fell out of his hands and he fell to his knees, staring at the bloody blade. Then Mir pulled back, the blade reforming into her hand. She put her foot on his back and pushed, sending him toppling forward, grasping the bleeding wound.

  I nodded to her and swallowed, “Neat trick. Thanks for the assist.”

  She smiled almost seductively as she purred in her rich synthesized voice, “I wouldn't want that pretty face of yours getting messed up before I get a taste.”

  Gleep.

  I almost called in for med techs but hesitated, knowing they wouldn't come off-world. “These reprobates need medical attention.”

  Mir grinned at the one whimpering about the loss of half her h
and. “And maybe upgrades.” I wondered if it could even be reattached with the bones charred and fused like that. She was probably right, the woman was likely going to be sporting a cybernetic mod at the next ice cream social.

  Then she sighed and cocked a hip at me, hand resting on it, “I suppose.” Her mirrored eyes rolled up for a moment then she said, “Underhill medical has been dispatched. It's going to cost these chumps more than whatever they were paid to mess up that sublime jaw of yours.”

  Then she said, as we heard a commotion approaching, “You better skedaddle before the bouncers get here.” The Remnants had bouncers? What did you have to do to get kicked out from a lawless place? I looked at the carnage at my feet and squinted one eye. Ok, I guess that might qualify.

  I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek since she wanted to get so close to my icy affliction, “Thanks.” Her chrome actually frosted where my lips had been.

  Then I headed to the access ladder while she shivered and said, “Oh yum, it was cold as ice. Come back soon, Knith, I've always got room in my schedule for you if you ever change your mind.”

  I reached the main deck and quickly limped down the corridor to the airlock. Mac was leaning against the bulkhead by his cabin, arms lazily crossed on his chest. He didn't say a word, just winked and laid a finger on the side of his nose. I accused as I moved past, “You knew.” He didn't deny.

  I told Mother as we stepped back onto the world, “The good news is that we know we're on the right track.”

  She said, “As evidenced by Sin sending thugs to rough you up.”

  I shook my head as I limped along. “Oh, they tried to do more than rough me up. And in the one place they could get away with it without getting spaced.”

  I leaned against the wall when I got to Bulkhead C, once there weren't many people in the corridors anymore, and took my emergency medkit from my belt pouches and cleaned and synth-skin patched my leg. I mused out loud, “I really should buy stock in these, I'd make a killing on me alone.”