by M. D. Cooper
The fields, Ju, Katrina thought to herself before meeting Juasa’s eyes.
I’ve just become someone else…
Katrina nodded in response, then turned her attention to Korin. “Hold out your hand.”
“Why?” Korin asked. “Are you going to do to me what you did to Stu?”
“No. I should undo that too, I suppose, though he won’t be happy. I just didn’t have time for anything else.”
“Will you undo it?” Korin asked, pressing her for a concrete answer.
The man has moxy, I’ll give him that.
“Yeah. I’m looking at the mods they made to him now. I want to see if they did the same thing to you.”
Korin held out his hand, and Katrina clasped it, passing more of her nano into him. As she did so, a short wave of dizziness came over her. Her internal power reserves were running low again. Building so much nano to repair her body, not to mention the interface with the armor layer, had taxed Katrina’s flesh and SC Batts to the extreme.
If anyone noticed, they didn’t say. She had to charge her batts up soon, or she’d collapse, and then things would go very badly.
“You’re all set,” Katrina said. “Go have a seat, or get a drink from Jeavons, if you want.”
“I think I’ll take ol’ Jay up on that,” Korin said. “This has been a ‘get a drink’ sort of night.”
Katrina called Stu in over the Link and unlocked the door. The guard came in and stopped before her.
“Sorry about the kiss, Stu,” Katrina said. “I was in a rush—I should have knocked you out and stashed you somewhere while all this went down.”
Stu blinked rapidly and focused on Katrina, rage building on his face, but he seemed to push it down.
“I’ve passed you the recording of everything that just happened in here,” Katrina said. “Watch it on your overlays while you get a drink with Korin.”
Stu looked over at Malorie, who sat on the bed as ordered, her expression alternating between anger and humiliation.
“What about her?” he asked.
“Revenence Castle is under new management,” Katrina replied with a smile.
“Huh,” was all that Stu said as he strode to the bar. Korin clapped him on the back as he approached, and the pair of men ordered their drinks before flopping onto the sofas.
“This day…” Juasa began to say from her place at Katrina’s side. “This day sure hasn’t gone anything like I thought it would.”
Katrina snorted. “You can certainly say that again.” She looked down at Juasa and took her face in her hands. “It has been far too long since I’ve done this.”
She leaned in, and her lips met Juasa’s. The feeling in her artificial skin was muted, but it still felt good to touch her again. Worry sloughed off Katrina as Juasa wrapped her in a fierce embrace, pushing herself into her body.
They stayed like that for a minute before Juasa pulled back and looked Katrina over. “This is going to be a bit of a problem,” she said, gesturing at Katrina’s armored skin. “Not really all that soft and tender to the touch…plus it seems to have you sealed up.”
Katrina laughed. “You are really single-minded! Don’t worry, it’s not long-term.”
“Good.” Juasa gave a saucy wink. “Verisa may have been a bit of a bitch, but she was fuckin’ hot.”
Katrina smiled in response. She could tell Juasa’s attempt at humor was forced, but she appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
THE PLAN
STELLAR DATE: 01.20.8512 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Revenence Castle
REGION: Persia, Midditerra System
“So,” Katrina began as she settled onto the one of the sofas and looked at Korin and Stu. “You two know my plan, and you are either cowed by me, or think I may be a passable alternative to Malorie and Jace.”
“A little bit of both,” Korin said with a laugh. “I’ll admit that I’ve grown fond of Juasa, and if she trusts you, then I trust you.”
Juasa approached with a martini in hand and settled next to Katrina. “Kat’s laid her life on the line for me. She’s here because she tried to save me when she could have cut and run.”
“Good enough for me,” Korin replied.
Katrina looked at Stu. “Again, I’m sorry about what I did.”
Stu snorted. “You’re really not my favorite person right now. Mind you, Malorie’s done worse and never said she was sorry, so I guess it’ll have to do…for now.”
“I wasn’t really in a good headspace,” Katrina said, shifting on the sofa. Every part of her still hurt; sitting seemed worse than standing, at present. “Weeks of torture have a way of doing that to a person. Considering what goes on around here on a daily basis, I’ll bet that others have suffered worse at your hands.”
Stu reddened—as did Korin—and the man looked away. “Yeah, shit’s been rough at Revenence.”
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Katrina admitted. “You two are my beachhead. If I can convince you that we can take down Jace, and we can convince others here in the castle, then we have our start.”
Korin nodded and took another pull from the bottle he held. “You’re not in the castle of happy dreams here. This place isn’t held together by love and goodwill. People are here for two reasons: they’re greedy and want to get a piece of the pie, or they’re being held against their will.”
“Or they had no other alternative,” Stu added.
Korin shrugged. “I’d lump that in with ‘against their will’.”
“I guess that works,” Stu agreed.
“What are you proposing?” Katrina asked.
“I think that the castle is a secondary target. The Adders’ real power is in space. We need to control those stations. Or at least some of them,” Korin said. “Though first we need to clean up the scene where Anna and Liam died—the medlab, I assume?”
“Yeah. Ainsley, too,” Katrina added.
“What?” Juasa asked, a pained look on her face. “What about Tom? He seemed like a good guy.”
“Anna killed Ainsley; I tried to stop her. She was going to do Tom, too, but I got her first. Tom is sedated on the medtable.”
Juasa’s face held an expression of relief, and Katrina sent her a smile over the Link.
Katrina didn’t get a chance to reply, as Korin shook his head and swore aloud.
“Damn, we have a problem.”
“A new one?” Katrina asked.
“Sorta. I just got a report that they traced back who instigated the attack on you earlier today.”
“I already know who did that,” Katrina replied. “It was Anna.”
“Sure, but she got a guard—guy named Parry—to kick the whole thing off. The guys have him, and they’re looking for Liam.”
Katrina connected to the field overseer’s network and found the pair who had Parry in custody. She reached out and stripped Malorie’s private tokens from the woman, then faked a message as the lady of the castle.
Some poor worker would thank her for that.
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Katrina severed the connection. “OK, that’s dealt with. They think we have Anna and Liam here.”
“Good,” Korin nodded. “When we clean up that mess, we’ll dispose of them.”
“Is that what Malorie would do?” Katrina asked.
Korin sighed and Stu laughed.
“No, she’d hang them from the parapets,” Stu said.
Katrina glanced back at Malorie.
Malorie shrugged. “Stu’s right. If people in their station betrayed the Blackadder, they’d be made a public example of.”
“A bit overdramatic, don’t you think? Well we need to maintain the fiction that nothing’s changed for now,” Katrina said with a curt nod. “When we’re finished here, I’ll need you to take care of that.”
“What about Ainsley?” Korin asked.
“Do the less extreme version of whatever Malorie would do—”
“The moat, then,” Stu interrupted.
“Great, the moat,” Katrina nodded. “And Tom…what to do about Tom?”
“I think Tom can be reasoned with,” Juasa said.
Katrina’s gaze met Juasa’s. “OK, he’ll be your task, then.”
“I hate to put it so bluntly,” Stu began. “But other than a change of the guard, what’s in it for us?”
“Well,” Katrina mused. “I can fix the mods and the altered biology they’ve forced on you.”
“I’d settle for undoing it,” Korin said.
“We’ll need better facilities than they have here to undo it all, or to make it so your bodies can sustain themselves—whichever you choose,” Katrina replied after a moment’s pause. “Though the medbay on my ship could do either.”
“The ship that Jace left to capture?” Stu asked.
Katrina waved her hand dismissively. “Wild goose chase. My ship was nowhere near there…well, I don’t think it is.”
“Then where is it?” Korin asked.
“Hopefully on the way here,” Katrina said as she stood and stretched. She walked to the bar and sent a command to Jeavons for another drink. “OK. We play everything here off like business as usual, but go up to one of the stations to take it over, right?”
Korin nodded. “I think that’s best. The castle here really has no strategic importance. It’s just the site of Malorie’s sithri business. If the Blackadder stations think something’s wrong down here, they can drop a thousand troops on our heads in an hour.”
“Not to mention the couple hundred ships currently insystem,” Stu added.
“I didn’t think it would be that much. How many ships does the Blackadder have, anyway?” Katrina took the glass of whisky from Jeavons. “Fleet strength isn’t in the planetside databases.”
“Jace is savvy,” Korin replied. “He has stations in a lot of systems. No one really knows the full scope of the fleet, but I think there have to be at least a thousand ships all-told.”
“At least,” Stu added.
“OK,” Katrina said as she leant against the bar. “I need you two to deal with the bodies. String ‘em up and all. When you’re done, bring Tom up here. I’ll pass you codes to release him from the medtable.”
“You got it,” Korin said as he rose.
Stu stood slowly as well, his eyes locked on Katrina’s. “Do we have your word that you’ll fix or undo what they did to us?”
“Yes,” Katrina’s voice was resolute. “You have my word. Both that I can do it, and that I will.”
“Good,” Stu replied. “C’mon, Korin, we have a feast to prepare for the crows.”
“Seriously gross,” Juasa said with a shudder.
Stu chuckled, and the two guards left the room.
“Korin we can trust, but are you sure about Stu?” Juasa asked as she rose from the sofa and approached Katrina.
“I can see everything in the castle,” Katrina replied. “If he makes a move, we’ll know. Plus, we’re taking them with us. When we leave, no one in the castle will know that anything has happened.”
“What’s going to happen to her?” Juasa asked, looking at Malorie. “Ultimately, I mean.”
Katrina let out a long breath. “I have no idea. She’s a psychologist’s dream to be sure.”
Juasa laughed. “We probably all are.”
Katrina joined her with a soft laugh then sent a signal to the nano she’d sent into Malorie’s body, and the woman slumped over on her bed. “Just asleep. I wanted some time for the two of us.”
Juasa sidled up against her and Katrina sighed with a moment’s contentment. Her nerves were still on fire, but it seemed to hurt less where Juasa touched her. Or more, but the pain was pleasure. She wasn’t sure she could tell the difference anymore.
Stars, I’m so screwed up.
“Ju, is there a charge station in this place? My batts are almost dry.”
“I was wondering about that,” Juasa said with a grin. “Jeavons has a wireless charging station. It slides out from behind the bar.”
“No dice,” Katrina said. “I didn’t think to make induction coils. Need a cable.”
“Let me look,” Juasa said, pulling away from Katrina. “There may be a backup cable option.”
Katrina sagged against the bar. What she really wanted was a full night’s sleep; it had been days since she’d caught more than an hour. She sat on one of the stools, and placed her elbows on the bar.
When Juasa finally found the cable and pulled it around to Katrina, she was already fast asleep.
ROCKHALL
STELLAR DATE: 01.20.8512 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Revenence Castle
REGION: Persia, Midditerra System
Katrina felt refreshed, if not rather stiff, when she woke.
Her HUD showed that her SC Batts were fully charged, and her mednano had repaired much of the damage to her internal organs that the weeks of beatings and malnourishment had caused.
She opened her eyes and blinked away the sleep that had formed in the corners, rather surprised to find her tear ducts working properly again.
The artificial skin on her face still felt strange—like there was a layer of half-solid clay on her face. Katrina worked her mouth and lips as she stared up at the ceiling above her.
Ceiling…Did I fall on the floor?
Katrina turned her head to find that she was laying on one of the sofas and saw her coat draped across the back.
“Have a good nap?” Juasa asked, and Katrina turned her head the other way to see her lover laying on one of the other sofas, staring at her with unblinking eyes.
“Nap? It’s been six hours,” Katrina replied as she pushed herself up into a seated position. “Is everything OK? Where’s Korin and Stu?”
“They’ve finished cleanup and have Tom on the shuttle. They’re outside the room, waiting for you to awake from your beauty rest.”
Katrina glanced down at her armor-skin. “Beauty, right.”
“Well, plastic you looks the same…but your eyes look more rested.”
“What about you?” Katrina asked.
Juasa pulled herself upright. “I didn’t sleep a wink, too much to worry about. There’s so much that can go wrong. Plus….”
“Plus?” Katrina prompted, when Juasa didn’t finish the thought.
“Plus I was worried about you,” Juasa said tiredly. “About what you did to yourself. I can’t believe you survived it.”
“It was necessary. I had to survive.”
“Is that sort of thing normal, back when you come from?” Juasa asked. “Removing your skin on a whim.”
“Not on a whim, no, but it isn’t—wasn’t—major surgery, either.”
Juasa whistled. “And the armor? You just keep skin-replacing armor schematics up here?” She completed the question with a tap to her head, and Katrina laughed.
“The autodresser had the armor already. I had specs for artificial skin—in case of burns, nukes, whatever. I just mixed and matched.”
“And your nano is go
od enough for the nerve linkups?” Juasa asked.
Katrina pushed against her rubbery-feeling cheeks. “Close enough. The connections will improve over time. Though once we get back to the Voyager, I’ll get this removed. To be honest, I was feeling a bit…out of sorts last night.”
Juasa snorted. “A bit?”
Katrina sighed. “OK, a lot. We’re not out of the woods yet, though. Things are going to get worse before they get better.”
“You mentioned that. How so?” Juasa asked.
“Well, we have to lure Jace in. Malorie over there,” Katrina gestured to the still-sleeping woman’s form, “will be our bait. Things often don’t go so well for bait. Then I’m going to kill Jace. There’s no two ways about that.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Juasa said. “I’m all for killing Jace. You forget that he shot me. Twice.”
Katrina shook her head. “Haven’t forgotten. But after that, we still have to kill Lara and take over the Midditerra System.”
Juasa frowned. “Remind me again why we need to do that?”
“Because Lara seems like a grade-A badass, and one that doesn’t like to share—”
“I got that impression firsthand,” Juasa interjected.
“Yeah, well, if I hang out here as the new leader of the Blackadder, it won’t take long for her to realize that I’m the Streamer woman. When that happens, she’ll come for me. I need to take her down first.”
“You realize that her title is ‘Admiral’,” Juasa said. “She runs this whole damn system with a moral code not dissimilar to the Blackadder’s.”
“I know, it’s handy,” Katrina said with a grin.
“Handy?”
“Yeah, just one person to take out. I don’t have to worry about a whole pile of disparate governments and a sprawling bureaucracy. Only one snake to behead.”
“But what about the how?” Juasa asked. “You act like it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll win any conflict with her. I mentioned that bit about her being an admiral to point out the fact that she has a rather large military.”
“She’s still mortal,” Katrina replied. “If I can get close to her, she’s dead.”
“You think everyone will just fall in line then?” Juasa’s expression conveyed disbelief.