by Melissa Good
It was just too hard. Her stomach felt sick just thinking about it. Wasn’t it safer and easier for both her and Dev if she just kept her at arms length? What if Dev flunked out at something, and had to be kicked back to serving bread sticks or washing the floors. Wouldn’t it be easier on her if she...
Jess pinched the bridge of her nose. Who in the hell did she think she was fooling? Here she was arguing with her conscience when her ears were already cocked to listen for the first sounds of stirring from beyond that inner door.
A part of her wanted that friendship, no matter what her ego said about it. She wasn’t really a natural loner and never had been, enjoying the companionship of first her classmates, and then her fellow agents. Even when she disagreed with them, she liked being part of this closed, eclectic brotherhood.
Jess tapped her navel with the edges of her thumbs. Maybe Dev wasn’t structured for that kind of relationship with—what did she call us? Natural borns. She seemed very friendly, but reserved, so maybe she really didn’t have a choice after all and she’d have to deal with however Dev was programmed to relate to her.
Jess stretched again, and then pulled the covers aside and got up, passing through her workspace as the lights reacted to her presence and brightened. She keyed the dispenser to provide some kack and touched the ops console comm, nodding a little as the overhead speaker started to echo softly with the current ops chatter.
Nothing sounded out of place. Unlike the previous day, she could only hear standard reports, and the ship comm to two carriers that were on patrol.
Her comm chimed, and she sat down, and keyed it. “Drake.”
“Jess, it’s Stephan. Listen, I know you really don’t want to hear me bugging you again about that speech but I really wish—”
“Okay.” Jess propped her chin on her fist. “I’ll do it.”
“What?” Stephan said. “What did you just say?”
“I said I’ll do it. Anything to keep you off my back.”
Stephan was silent for a minute. “Really?”
“Really,” Jess said. “Anyway, Dev thinks I’m so nice I should greet all the newbies so they feel at home.”
Another long moment of silence. “What?” Stephan repeated, more loudly and disbelievingly.
Jess heard a soft tap on her outer door. “Gotta go.” She cut the line off and went to the door, checking the sensor, a little surprised to see it was Dev. She palmed it open. “Hey there.”
“Hello.” Dev had her arms full. “If you thought the mess was crazy last night, you should see it this morning. I grabbed what I could. Want some?”
Jess smiled, and stepped back. “Absolutely. C’mon in.” She clapped Dev on the back as she followed her over to her workspace. “Can’t think of a better way to start the morning.”
Dev looked up from putting down her burden, cocking her head slightly as she regarded Jess with a faintly questioning look.
Jess winked at her and grinned, as she sat down and grabbed a bag meal.
DEV REGARDED HER reflection in the mirror, reaching up to adjust her uniform collar a little. She’d found this new one in her quarters and Jess had told her it was what she was to wear to the induction, and then to the party afterward.
It was more formal looking, and less comfortable. The fabric was heavier, with sedate designs in silver threads along the front of the jacket. She straightened up a little, pulling the sleeves a bit straighter and moving her head as the high collar tickled her neck.
The uniform was a sleeveless jumpsuit and this jacket fit over it. And though it wasn’t entirely easy to move around in it, she sort of liked it. She studied her pale hair, caught back in a knot at the back of her head and nodded in satisfaction.
She went over and sat down to pull her boots on. This pair were mid height, and shinier than her regular ones. She fastened them as the inner door slid open.
“Ah.” Jess entered, fastening the collar on her own uniform. “I see you’re all set.”
“Yes.” Dev stood up. “That looks really nice on you.”
Jess stopped in mid step. “What?” She looked down at herself. “This?”
Dev took a step back and regarded her. “Well, that is what you’re wearing. So yes, that.” She watched Jess’s eyes open wider, unsure of why. The uniform outlined Jess’s tall body really well, and her dark hair was loose, framing her face. “Why is my saying that so surprising to you? Is it incorrect?”
Jess’s face wrinkled up in sort of a confused grin. “No, it’s...um.” She let her hands drop. “People don’t say stuff like that to me,” she said. “Usually.” She added in a low mutter.
It was Dev’s turn to be confused. “Why not?” She asked. “You’re very attractive. Why wouldn’t people tell you that?” She cocked her head to one side as she watched Jess blush. “In the crèche, it was always okay to tell others compliments of that kind.”
“Um.” Jess reached up and rubbed her face. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s fine. Sorry I’m acting like a nitwit. It’s been a long time since...” She paused. “Anyway, if you’re ready, let’s go. We’ll meet the rest of the ops group near the big lift.”
“I’m ready,” Dev said. “Lead on.”
Jess turned and complied. They walked together through her quarters, and out into the hallway, which was now, thankfully, quiet and empty. “Everyone’s up there,” Jess said. “We’re always the last ones to go.”
“Why?”
“Tradition mostly, I guess. Everyone goes up in order of their...hm. Well, their ultimate importance to Interforce.”
“I see.”
“So either we’re the most or least important,” Jess said, in a droll tone. “I like to flatter myself in thinking the latter.”
Dev was pretty sure that was the real truth anyway. She followed Jess as they turned the corner and then crossed the big rotunda. Ahead, she could hear low voices, and as they reached the curve in the hall and went through it, she saw a group of people standing next to one of the big lifts.
It was the other agents and techs, she realized as they got closer. They were standing together and as they approached, the voices stilled. Everyone was dressed like she and Jess were, and there were, she counted, sixteen of them including them both.
“About time,” Sandy snarked at Jess. “You stop to blow Bain or something?” Jess ignored her. “We ready to go up?” She asked Jason. “Someone check in?” “Almost,” Jason said. “They said give it five. Trying to get everyone seated.”
A moment later, the light on one side of the lift went on, bathing them in a gentle green glow. “Here we go,” Jason said. “Brent, hit the lock, wouldja?”
Brent complied. He stepped back as the big portals opened, revealing a square, utilitarian gray box.
Everyone fell silent. It was awkward, and uncomfortable, and Dev felt like taking a step back from the crowd as they shifted a little. She sensed anger around her, and quite a few of the eyes watching Jess weren’t friendly. It was hard to tell though, what exactly the problem was.
After all, Jess was just standing there next to her, with no particular expression on her face, her hands clasped behind her back.
Interesting, but extremely confusing.
Then Jason stepped back and to one side and cocked his head at Jess. “Go on, number one,” he said, in an almost anticlimactic way, waving her forward with a casual motion “Clear a path, people.”
The discomfort increased, but reluctantly, people moved aside as Jess started forward, some with resigned expressions, some with approving ones, some just angry.
“C’mon.” Jess indicated that Dev was to follow.
Dev didn’t need to be asked more than once. She stuck to Jess’s back as they made their way through the small crowd, and followed her into the lift, their boots making a faintly hollow ring as they crossed the metal floor.
Jess moved to the back, but kept facing the wall. The rest of the group came in after her, filing in with a scuffle of boots and meant to
be overheard whispers. She put her hands behind her back again and braced her legs, ignoring it all.
Dev stood quietly next to her, realizing none of the rest of the people in the lift had come even with them. She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but she could tell there were a lot of mad people, and that something Jess had done had displeased them.
She looked up at Jess’s profile, outlined in the harsh white light from the ceiling. There was no emotion there, she merely watched the surface of the wall as they traveled upward. After a moment, Jess looked at her, and winked.
Dev muffled a smile, putting her own hands behind her and waiting in silence.
The elevator reached it’s destination, and the doors in front of Jess slowly opened. They now faced into the huge space, which was filled with people, all looking at them, all in the same complete silence.
Dev didn’t know where to look first. Near the door they were at were line upon line of bio alts, all in their jumpsuits in various colors. In front of them were natural born, but also in the same kind of jumpsuits. In front of them were techs, and then the admin people.
Near the front she saw Alexander Bain. Standing next to him, to her surprise and pleasure, Doctor Dan. On a low platform at the very end of the space were a big group of people in different clothes.
Some, she recognized. They were from the crèche. Some she didn’t, and there were twelve people there in dark gray jumpsuits with either black or green sleeves. She figured those must be the new agents and their techs.
Jess started forward and motioned her to follow.
Dev took a deep breath and did, as they started out and walked down the steps from the lift and into a long, stone aisle that went down the middle of the huge space.
Outside a storm was going on, and there were lightning bursts and thunder, all visible through the transparent walls and roof. It was an eerie counterpoint to the silence of the crowd as they all watched Jess lead the rest of the operations agents and techs through them.
Dev saw the new comers watching them and she straightened up, setting aside her discomfort, and the strangeness of the surroundings. She matched her steps to Jess’s as they walked along the aisles, past the bio alts, and the workers, the techs and the administrators as that weird silence beat against them.
Jess walked up the steps to where Bain was standing, coming to a halt next to him and Kurok, as Stephan Bock came up on the other side. She waited for Dev to come up next to her then she turned to face the low platform, letting her arms relax at her sides.
The rest of the ops agents and their partners filed in behind them. As they did, Dev sorted through the positions of the crowd, and the layers of emotion and got a sense of why so many people were glaring at her. She was aware enough of the politics of humanity to understand there was status involved here, and that was always a little uncomfortable.
It had been in the crèche. She’d gone through that sense of discomfort when she’d been singled out in any way for praise, and faced the envy of her crèche mates. There was that sort of thing here. Jess had been singled out, and people were mad because it wasn’t them.
Got it. Dev felt a sense of satisfaction, and now she put the issue aside and exhaled in contentment, glad she was standing where she was.
Bain caught her eye and smiled at her. Dev smiled back, then caught Doctor Dan watching her with a proud grin. She wasn’t really sure why he was, but it felt good anyway and she stood there quietly at Jess’s side, her arms at her sides and her head held high.
Bain waited for a moment more for everything to settle, then he strolled over to the steps and mounted them, arriving at a podium planted on the edge.” Well then, people.” He rested his hands on the edge of the podium. “Here we are.”
He paused, but no one said a word, nor did he seem to expect them to. “I’m quite glad to welcome all of you here.” He gestured at the crowd. “And to welcome our newcomers too.” He indicated the platform. “I know we’ve had some difficulties lately, but I think now we’re on the right track, and headed in a better direction.”
Kurok cleared his throat gently, and visibly suppressed a smile.
Bain raised an eyebrow at him. “At any rate, I’m glad you’re all here, and now I’ll turn this over to our new senior operations agent, Jess Drake.” He stared pointedly at Jess. “Agent Drake?”
Dev felt Jess take a deep breath next to her, and she gave her a smile of encouragement as Jess walked forward and then up the steps to where Bain was standing.
She could see all the newcomers watching her and she suspected if she turned around she would see all the other people watching her too, but Jess merely exchanged nods and places with Bain, leaning against the podium for a long, silent moment.
“So it’s a time of new beginnings,” Jess said, after that pause. Her voice, low and vibrant, rolled through the chamber and echoed softly. “I’ve learned the hard way not to live in the past, and you all shouldn’t either.” She eyed the newcomers. “Don’t look back at where you came from, or who you left behind, because every day means something different here.”
Bain had stepped to one side, and now he nodded silently.
Jess paused. “If there’s anyone here who should be tradition bound, it should be me.” She went on. “I’m the eleventh generation of Drakes who’ve worn this uniform and my brother Jimmy called me last night to tell me my nephew’s the twelfth.”
The newcomers exchanged glances. “But I figured out recently that tradition buys you nothing,” she said. “So do yourselves a favor and keep your eyes open to all the possibilities out there.” Briefly, she studied the young faces focused on her. “That’s all I have to say. Welcome.”
With that, she turned and walked back down to where Dev was, coming to stand next to her and folding her hands in front of her as she stared pointedly at Bain.
“Excellent.” Bain didn’t miss a beat. “Instead of the long winded blather you’d have gotten from others, we can now perform the induction and start the celebration. Thank you, Drake.”
“Sir,” Jess said, putting just the slightest drawl on it. She gave Dev a sideways glance, one eyebrow lifting.
Dev grinned at her and carefully imitated her earlier wink.
THE PARTY WAS loud. Dev kept close by Jess’s hip as they squeezed their way through the room, toward a place where people were getting drinks. The big space had been rearranged, the podium and platform removed and tables full of food were now appearing on the fringes.
Jess got to the bar and leaned an arm on it. “Gimme a grain straight up and...” She turned to Dev. “What’s your poison?”
Dev’s brows creased. “No, wait.” She held up a hand as Jess started to explain. “Does that mean, what do I want to drink?”
“Yeah.”
“Do they have the stuff we had at dinner?”
“And a beer,” Jess told the man behind the bar, a bio alt who was staring at Dev intently. “Hey!”
The bio alt jerked and reached for the drinks. “My apologies, agent.” He handed Jess a glass and then offered Dev another, taller one.
“Thank you.” Dev took the glass. She looked around. “Wow.”
“Freaking mess,” Jess muttered. “C’mon.” She eased past a group of engineers and techs and found an open spot near one wall. “Glad that’s over with.”
“Are you?” Dev leaned against the wall next to her, watching the crowd go by. “I thought you did great.”
Jess half turned and looked at her. “C’mon. Those things are supposed to be an hour long with six pages of notes. I blew them off and everyone knows it.”
Dev studied the crowd. “They don’t all look unhappy,” she said. “And I heard people saying they were really relieved not to have to listen to...um.” She paused. “To all the bullshit?” She pronounced the last word carefully. “I think that’s what they said.”
Jess chuckled wryly. “They did?”
“Yes. What’s bullshit?”
“Ah. It’s
the excrement from a four legged, hoofed cud chewing mammal that no longer exists,” she replied. “The male of the species.”
Dev looked at her, then she took a sip of her beer and merely shook her head.
“Let’s hang out here for a little while,” Jess said. “See who comes over and starts trying to suck up to me.” She regarded the crowd with an ironic eye. “See if any of the new bios has the guts to come talk to you.”
“Agent?” A soft voice interrupted them. “May I take your jacket?”
Jess turned to find a server there, a young bio alt almost her height, with curly red hair. “Sure.” She put her drink down on the small table next to them and undid the catches on her jacket, stripping out of it and handing it to him. “Dev?”
Dev had already put her drink down. “Is this usual?” She undid her jacket, as the bio alt patiently waited. “Thank you very much, Ayebee.” She handed him the fabric, receiving a real, though brief smile in return. “Have you been downworld long?”
“Six months,” Ayebee said. “It’s a tough adjustment.”
“To some things, yes.” Dev picked up her glass. “This.” She lifted it.
“Yes.” He chuckled. “I will have your garments sent back to your quarters.” He gave Jess a nod of respect, then he went on to the next group.
“You know him?” Jess asked, casually.
“That Ayebee?” Dev pondered the question. “I know his set. I trained with a group of them doing rec in the crèche. I don’t think I know that specific Ayebee though.”
“They all have the same name? I’ve heard them called all sorts of stuff here.”
“They’re all Ayebees. A-B.” Dev pronounced the letters separately. But they get nicknames sometimes.”
“Oh,” Jess said. “You don’t have that problem.”
“No. I’m the only NM-Dev.”
“One of a kind.”
“Yes,” Dev said. “So it seems.”