by Skyler Grant
"Find anything interesting?" I asked.
"Lots," Inanna said, flashing a smile at me. "Like most cautious people, you can find out what they consider really important by looking at where they put their security. He also, as a show of good faith I assume, left a fair bit of the system open. How are you?"
It was nice that she was concerned about me, her and Diva both. Not that I was surprised, I'd have been concerned for anyone planning on sharing that man's bed.
"I did what I needed to do," I said. It really wasn't much of answer, but it was as good as she was going to get. Really, I was fine. I was in control and nothing that happened wasn't my choice. I was a soldier and I did whatever the mission required, as I always had, and as I always would.
Inanna nodded. She wasn't going to push it.
Ismene's hologram flickered into the room. In the lab she looked more insubstantial than she had elsewhere in the estate. Was this room not as advanced as the rest?
"You should get back home. I got a lead on that funding source for the forces facing Liberty. Currently those forces and Liberty are preoccupied with each other, but I don't know how long that will last," Ismene said.
"Are we going killing? That's even better than fucking," Galatea said.
"Probably not you. I'm sorry. We need our big guns in the Network," I said.
That meant me and Inanna. Diva wouldn't qualify either.
Galatea gave me a long look. "You know my family. Do you really think I don't pack a punch?"
I hadn't really given it any thought up until now. "You're a sponsored hero? Who?"
"Galatea, duh. The statue and not the nymph," Galatea said.
There were multiple versions of her name. The one a statue carved of Aphrodite that had come to life, the other was one of the Nereides.
"We'll give it a try then," I said. Without Billy we'd been a person down in the Network. If Galatea was even a portion as formidable there as she was in the real world, we could use her help.
Galatea looked cheered. "And we can use the Network terminals here, if there is a time crunch. Daddy has a better setup than you'd have."
It was probably true. Not that I wanted to stay here, I still didn't trust Anton at all, and staying in his home any longer than necessary seemed unwise.
"Time really is a factor," Ismene said, giving me an apologetic look.
I feared lingering here too long might mean going another few rounds with Anton. It was something I'd prefer to avoid, I didn't want things getting any more complicated than they had.
In any struggle you had to choose your moment and if Ismene thought this was one, I trusted her.
"Show us what you've got," I said.
Galatea led the way through a side door and another twisting assortment of hallways. I noted that she was familiar with the layout of the estate. It wasn't just that she'd been created here—she was a frequent visitor.
The chamber reminded me a lot of the war rooms back home. Several lounges were set up with restraints, catheters, and bio-monitors for extended trips into the Network.
With my connection and my nanites I no longer needed such things, but Inanna was stripping down as soon as we got into the room. Diva moved to sit cross-legged on one of the lounges and pulled her rifle free onto her lap once more.
"Sorry," I said to Diva. I knew she had to be getting bored.
"Just don't take too long. Damned if I'm going to sleep in this place," Diva said.
That seemed wise. I hoped this expedition wouldn't take days, but then the whole point of this room was that it might.
I helped to secure Inanna. It was always easier with some help.
Then it was on to Galatea. She'd kept her clothes on, yet Galatea wasn't shy.
"You don't need the full setup either?" I asked her.
Galatea laughed. "I was made to be the host of an artificial intelligence. I am pretty much built for long forays into the Network without soiling myself or starving to death."
That made sense.
"So you just need a strap down then?" I said.
Galatea shook her head. "Not even that. I remain conscious here while in there. I can handle being two people at once."
That was unexpected. Part of being in the Network was how totally it took over your nervous system to simulate reality. I wondered if she was built with two independent systems for just that kind of purpose.
"Well, at least it won't be as boring," Diva said.
"We can totally get it on, or go kill people together," Galatea said brightly.
Diva looked thoughtful. I didn't know which she was considering, but I'd rather she not do either. I didn't think she actually would, not here, not in Anton's house.
It wound up being Galatea who helped to secure me into place, stealing a kiss when she was done. Then the Network was engaging and the world was going black.
34
We'd announced our coming and so we didn't have the element of surprise, as always due to my endless streaming.
When we entered the Network we were in a dense forest at the foot of a giant mountain. Even from here I could see the golden gleam.
Aphrodite had mentioned this little bit of folklore. The golden mountain.
Galatea truly was a statue here. Nude with skin white as marble, no—not as marble, skin that was white marble. I reached forward to brush my fingertips against her and found her chill to the touch.
"And here I was thinking I got the bad luck of the draw when it came to a dress code," I said.
Galatea grinned. "Right? At least I don't feel the cold at all."
I scarcely felt it myself.
Inanna glowered, arms folding over her chest. "Well, from the one member of our party not resistant to temperature extremes let me assure you it is miserable here."
I didn't need her to tell me that, the boughs of the trees were heavy with snow.
A path wound towards the mountain and we followed it. We didn't have far to go before it opened into a clearing where two figures waited for us.
One was a dark-haired young woman, attractive although not quite to the level of Galatea. Accompanying her was a skeletal figure in an ornate robe.
"Stop and talk a moment. If you would," the woman said.
We didn't come here to talk, we came here to rob them for everything we could carry off. Still, I wasn't sure how we were going to carry off a mountain, and if we wanted to make this a fight we could always do so later.
"We're listening," I said.
"Introductions, then. I'm Vasilia, this is Koschei," Vasilia said.
We introduced ourselves. I watched them carefully. Vasilia might be taking the lead, but Koschei was more than just muscle. He was keenly studying each of us, although given two of us were practically naked perhaps that was to be expected.
"We know why you are here. It's clever, to come after our wealth while we are occupied elsewhere, but we expect nothing else from those who stymied our efforts in New York," Vasilia said.
There was no hostility in those words. If I was right, what I was hearing was professional admiration.
"You've been hitting impressively hard for a corporation many barely know exist," I said.
Vasilia tilted her head. "What do you know of us?"
I didn't know much, honestly. All of my education had always focused on the station-based corporations as the ones that truly mattered.
Still, I wanted to put them off their guard and the surroundings seemed to offer the opportunity to do that.
"You are the merchant at the foot of the mountain," I said.
Vasilia beamed a smile at Koschei. "I told you that she would be clever. She is one of the others who left Earth to dwell in space on rockets we designed, supported by technology we built."
I hadn't known that. They were the backbone of spaceflight. It explained much. They had rendered themselves almost invisible and yet were profiteering from every single corporation in orbit and had been for generations. No wonder they had the resource
s to wage such a war.
"Can I kill them yet?" Galatea asked.
"A sharp tongue with such beauty," Koschei said.
I shot Galatea a warning look and turned my attention back to Vasilia. "While not quite how I'd have put it, why are we talking instead of fighting?"
"The whole skeleton thing is kind of hot," Galatea said.
"I do appreciate a hard body," Koschei said.
This was just getting distracting. "If you two are going to get a room, just do it," I said.
They exchanged a look and Koschei jerked his head toward the forest behind him. Galatea followed. I didn't want to think about the mechanics of what was about to go on there.
Vasilia gave me an amused look. "I see that we face similar challenges in our companions. Obviously I am here to make you a better offer. We realize you have a connection to Liberty, but you are no longer under contract with them. We'd be interested in having you work with us, or at the very least sit out this conflict."
It was worth giving it due consideration. I had a lot of loyalty to Columbia personally, but Liberty had been giving me a cold shoulder of late. We'd offered to help even more than we were, and they just weren't having it.
"You know of my reputation?" I asked.
"Violating the Treaty of Detroit. We are aware. We don't care," Vasilia said, and motioned for us to follow. At the foot of the mountain there was a small cottage, smoke rising from a chimney.
Vasilia led the way inside. It was simple but homey, a single large room, and I was grateful not to see Koschei and Galatea rolling around on the floor.
Inanna wasted no time in finding a spot in front of the fire.
"Your thoughts?" I asked Inanna.
"They take pragmatism to an extreme," Inanna said. "How good a friend they make depends on how well you remember that."
Vasilia laughed. It was a pleasant sound and she set out cups of steaming broth for us. "I've not heard it put quite like that. It is true."
"Talk numbers," I said.
I received a file. I didn't deal with the accounting myself, but Ismene would be having a look at it.
"Quite generous for staying out of things. Well paid going forward on a per contract basis if we want to assist in their operations. They're also playing for time while they try to finish up," Ismene said.
Interesting. I took a deep breath of the steam rising off my broth. I didn't even know how, but I could identify the herbs that had gone into it. Powerful paralytics.
They were pragmatists. I might say yes, but if not, they wanted to make sure I was taken out of this fight.
That meant luring Galatea off had likely been some kind of trap for her as well. I wasn't concerned, Galatea could handle herself.
It didn't need to change things. Not really, but I didn't like being played under a banner of peace.
I threw the steaming broth in Vasilia's face while willing vines to erupt out of the floor.
She cried out and covered her face with one hand even as the other gestured and a bolt of black force blasted me across the room to bounce against a wall.
That hurt, I think she'd cracked a rib.
A second bolt towards Inanna fizzed in the air as she slashed at it with a dagger.
"Wait!" Vasilia said, "We do not need to do this."
Inanna gave me a questioning look and I nodded. She crossed the few steps to Vasilia and buried her dagger into her throat.
There was a shimmer reminiscent of rainbows and Vasilia vanished.
"Your doing or hers?" I asked.
"Hers, probably. You can never trust spellcasters," Inanna said.
"Ever stolen a mountain before?" I asked.
"Made one kneel once, carrying it off is another matter," Inanna said.
It was. I stepped out of the cottage and Inanna joined me. It wasn't a small mountain. This thing was probably representative of the bulk of their corporate assets.
They didn't need to worry about thieves. It was simply too massive.
"Ismene, I need you," I said.
There was a swirl of snow and Ismene appeared. My friend looked different than she did in warmer climes, ice clung to her body strategically both offering some modesty and something of a wardrobe upgrade.
"We've got to hang out on more tropical beaches. What do you need?" Ismene asked.
I jerked my head towards the mountain. "I know it's asking a lot, but is there any chance you can manage a glacier?"
If you needed to move a mountain, you had to have the right tools.
Ismene gaped at me for a moment. "You're asking a lot of one nymph."
"So get help."
Ismene tilted her head to the side. "There are a few Vodyanoi, even a Bolotnitsa. They're kind of distant cousins. I can try, but they're more inclined to favor the locals."
"I'm a Nature Goddess. I am the local," I said.
Ismene flashed me a wry smile at that and vanished.
It was about then we found Galatea again. Her marble was blackened by soot as if she'd just stepped out of the fire.
"Hot time?" I asked.
"Funny. He tried to burn me alive. It's always the cute ones that hurt you," Galatea said.
A wall of ice was starting to form in the distance.
"You kill him?" Inanna asked.
"A dozen times. Kept coming back. Finally, I just broke a few dozen bones and left him," Galatea said.
Speaking from experience, I'd say that would probably do the trick for awhile. Long enough, hopefully.
35
Glaciers move slowly and mountains even slower. The mountain had started to come apart during our journey, and I eventually had Ismene focus on one of the larger pieces that had split.
Beast attacks were regular, bears in particular, although so far Galatea and Inanna proved capable of fending them off. Galatea was formidable with her fists in the Network and given her near-invulnerability had nothing to fear in getting close to an attacker.
"This is too slow," Inanna said.
"Most of your robberies are quick?" I asked.
"The secret of a good robbery is either being loud and quick, or slow and quiet," Inanna said with a frown. "They know we're here and we're being slow."
"At least we get to kill things," Galatea said. Now her perfectly white marble was stained crimson with blood, more than I suspected was strictly necessary. I think she liked the look.
There was a swirl of snowflakes as Ismene manifested. She looked exhausted. I didn't know just what went into creating a glacier, but it had taken some sort of toll on her Network avatar.
"You look rough," I said.
"You try pushing a mountain around."
"I'm up for giving it a go," Galatea said.
"You're invulnerable, not super-strong," I said.
"How hard could it be?" Galatea said.
"What did you need?" I asked Ismene.
"We're getting an offer to stand down," Ismene said.
You had to give it to them, our foes were fond of their offers.
"Again?" Galatea asked.
Inanna gave me a knowing look and she didn't have to say anything more. This robbery was going too slow and we couldn't keep at it. Things were getting to the point where they'd be able to respond in force.
"What kind of offer?" I asked.
"Three times their previous offer to go now, abandon our prize, and stay out of the conflict between them and Liberty. Four times the offer if we agree to work with them instead. Either way, they also forgive this trespass and will not push matters further," Ismene said.
"And the stick?" I asked.
"We've seen what sort of resources they can throw at their problems. Do we wish to become one of their problems?" Ismene said.
"If we're voting I want to fight it out," Galatea said.
That wasn't a surprise. This also wasn't a vote. It was my call to make.
The entire goal of this enterprise had been to score something to take home and perhaps do a favor for Columbia in the
process.
This would accomplish the former, but do nothing for the latter. If anything, it would do Liberty a disservice by depriving them of our future aid, which had already been shown to make a difference.
We also had other concerns. If we stayed, we likely wouldn't walk away with any prize at all and incur a few death timers too.
"Counter with five times just to stay out of things," I said.
"As you'd expect, they counter with four," Ismene said.
"Done," I said.
As soon as terms were agreed, the surroundings shimmered and faded out from around us. We didn't leave the Network however, instead finding ourselves in a majestic chamber.
There was rather a lot of statuary depicting Aphrodite naked. If I closed my eyes for too long I'd probably completely lose track of Galatea.
The real Aphrodite didn't have that problem, she was lounging on a divan and rather more flesh-toned.
"Auntie," Galatea said, stepping forward and bending to brush a kiss against Aphrodite's cheek.
"You're looking stunning, dear, but then I'd expect nothing else," Aphrodite said.
I took a good look around. The place was done in Olympian fashion, and I wondered if that was because of Aphrodite's taste, or if it was a ploy to make me feel more at home.
"Persephone took me killing. I was all bloody, but I'm clean now," Galatea said.
"I wasn't going to have you tracking blood around. It is a disgusting habit and one you are far too fond of," Aphrodite said, sliding her legs off the divan so that she could stand.
"Are you here to give us the next clue on our little scavenger hunt?" I said.
"Someone is snippy when they're coming back from a fight. Mind your tongue, girl, and try again," Aphrodite said.
I really did want to punch her in the nose. As always, it was an impulse best restrained. Instead I forced a smile.
"It is wonderful to see you again. Your home is lovely," I said.
"Better," Aphrodite said. "Lying down with the enemy? I hadn't expected you to do that quite so literally. Neither did Anton, you shocked the poor man and that is rare."
We were going there with this conversation? Well, she might, but I wasn't going to go along. I stared at her.