by T. G. Ayer
The redhead sat at the table, taking a chair on the opposite side of the room. She glanced up and met Nerishka’s gaze a few times then looked away.
Nerishka wasn’t sure what to make of the woman.
Lyra sniffed.
She’d expected them to be defensive, being forced to enter what could potentially be a deadly environment. But neither of them appeared to be even the least bit reluctant.
Behind the redhead, a tall blue-haired man leaned against the cabinet. His posture implied he was lounging, casual, relaxed. But his expression said otherwise.
“That’s Kelem,” Dresden said, identifying the man she was studying. A brief glance at Dresden confirmed he’d been well aware of her perusal.
Kelem nodded, staring at her with his one good eye, the other being mechanical. The blue lines and lights on the eye were a perfect match for his short-cropped blue hair. Nerishka nodded in response.
“You’ve met Judith, of course.” He gestured at the redhead who offered Nerishka a lukewarm nod.
Something about the woman set her radar off. Not anything negative, though. More as though the woman was hiding something.
Wasn’t that most people anyway?
“I take it everyone is on board?” Nerishka asked.
Dresden smiled and glanced around him. He was about to speak but Judith cut him off. “We’re his crew. We go where he goes.”
Dresden smiled again. “I’ve been fortunate to have these guys watch my six on a number of occasions. Pretty sure I owe both of them my life, numerous times over.”
“Likewise, Boss.” Kelem nodded and saluted Dresden with two fingers to his temple.
Dresden cocked a chin at Judith. “Judith will handle the transport of the gear and Kelem will organize the vehicles.”
Kelem nodded soberly but Judith inched forward on her chair. “I don’t understand why we aren’t just grabbing a shuttle straight to the site,” said Judith. “From what I can see, it’ll be nearly a day’s drive to get out there.”
Nerishka shook her head. “That would have been my first choice too, but the authorities here are tying us up with red tape. If we flew, we’d have to declare a flight path, and that would cause problems. None Lyra can’t handle, but I don’t want to alert anyone that we’re coming.
“Secondly, we don’t know what we’ll be walking into. We’ve got some sort of nefarious research going on that is toxifying the environment and killing people. I’d rather approach it gradually than set down right in the middle of it. We’ll take samples along the way too. I’m assuming this is gonna be bad…just from what I’ve seen already.”
“Wanna give me the layman’s explanation?” Judith asked. “Dresden here only spouted a bunch of words that meant the shit’s hit the fan and we can do something to help.” She rolled her eyes in Dresden’s direction.
He snorted. “That’s all we need to know. The rest is just details.”
“Yeah. Minor details like dying a horrible, painful death where my skin falls off. I may find I’d choose the Death Dealer’s deadly truth serum.”
Nerishka laughed and shook her head, about to reveal the truth to the woman, but Dresden sent her a warning glare. Instead, she said, “Well, what we’re dealing with causes some sort of cellular destruction. The patient presents with boils, open sores, skin necrosis, hair loss. It basically melts a person from the inside while showing external signs similar to a viral infection. Much like the way radiation poisoning presents—with external symptoms and cancers, while not always being the easiest to identify.”
“Hence the request for haz-gear.” Judith nodded. “So, what happens if one of us gets dosed?”
Nerishka shared a glance with Dresden. “Er...let’s just make sure that doesn’t happen, OK?”
“That bad, huh?”
Nerishka nodded and looked over at Dresden, “You said haz gear is good to go…can we get a stabilizing platform to haul the heavy stuff.”
Dresden nodded slowly, a slow smile curving his lips. “Got it covered.”
“Dresden thinks of everything,” Judith commented then snorted. “But you know that right?”
Nerishka stiffened, wondering what he’d told his team. Even after their agreement to join her, they continued to send her strange looks, as though they were watching her every move, or worse, trying to figure her out. Their actions were starting to make her feel quite uncomfortable but Nerishka had no option other than to simply ignore them.
Nerishka snorted silently.
Nerishka couldn’t help but purse her lips and clench her jaw.
Lyra replied, sounding contrite, and a little hurt.
Lyra’s avatar nodded and then she smiled.
Wiser words were never spoken.
* * * * *
The team set out as soon as Judith finalized their equipment’s transport down to Xerxes’ surface. The planet’s space elevator would take them down to Arrapkha, and from there they would make their way out into the dense vegetation that surrounded the city.
The ride down was filled with a tense silence, during which Nerishka began to wonder if she would have been better off on her own tha
n calling in Dresden and his team. She tried to focus her thoughts back to the mission. Or even to try and figure out who the hell her green-skinned attackers were. But her mind kept drifting back to Dresden.
And that way lay turmoil.
CAVES OF INNOA
STELLAR DATE: 11.27.8899 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Innoa
REGION: Knossos System, Septhian Alliance
Fifty years ago…
The music in the restaurant was muted, the way you’d want it to be when staring into a lover’s eyes. Dresden and Nerishka had been waiting for this time together for nearly a year. They’d managed to keep their long-distance—and very intermittent—relationship alive this far, and she was beginning to believe it was the kind of thing that lasted.
Dresden reached for her hand, taking it within his and giving it a squeeze. “A couple of credits for your thoughts?” he asked, his smile cheeky.
Nerishka squeezed back and grinned. “Only a couple? Am I only worth a couple of credits?” She lifted an eyebrow in mock anger.
He let out a soft laugh. “You, my dear assassin, are worth so much more than you realize.”
Nerishka shook her head. “Well…flattery will get you everywhere. Seems you know the game.” She grinned at him.
But Dresden turned serious, the mischief in his eyes fading as he leaned toward her. “You do know this isn’t just a game for me, right?”
She stared at him, unsure what to say. She didn’t want to have this conversation. Not when she felt the same way as he did. “I do. And it isn’t for me either. I just...”
“Just what, Nerishka? Something’s been up with you lately. Even the last time we spent time together.” Dresden’s voice was pensive, almost sad and Nerishka’s heart twisted.
She shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s this job. It takes all of me, you know. I never thought I’d have the time to entertain anything else in my life other than the next mission.” She let out a soft sigh.
“Besides Nadine had better not get wind of this. Not until I’m ready to tell her. She’d skin me alive for breaking regs like this.”
Dresden snorted. “Nadine needs to take a chill pill. I swear that woman is wound up so tight I’m not sure she’d even know what relaxing is about.”
Nerishka sighed. “But she’s right, you know. I’ve been working with the Hand for over a hundred and fifty years now. A little less than Nadine, but enough to know that it’s not the smartest move to get involved, let alone to consider settling down.”
Dresden grinned and leaned closer, pulling her hand toward him. “You wanna settle down? With me?” His eyes were wide, faking excited disbelief all too well.
She snorted and smacked his arm. “You know very well what I mean. You and me...we’ll just keep on keeping on. Until...”
“Until what? Until you give up this job? Until you decide you’ve had enough.”
Nerishka let out a defeated sigh. “There’s more to it than just a job.”
They’d had this conversation before. She’d explained—though not in full detail—that her contract with the Hand wasn’t the sort she could just walk away from. And it wasn’t because Nadine would bust a gasket over her irresponsibility.
Nerishka was a lifer.
Dresden patted her hand and brought her out of her thoughts. “Anyway, let’s not talk about that right now. Tell me what you want to do while we’re here. We didn’t come to Innoa’s best resort for nothing you know.”
Nerishka smiled, keeping her sadness out of her expression.
She shifted her gaze out the gigantic window and stared at the endless blue ocean, stretching out as far as the eye could see. A kilometer above was the underground cavern’s ceiling, far above that was another ocean, one that covered the entire surface of the world.
Unbelievable storms raged above, but down here, in the caverns that contained the sea beneath the sea, was a calm, beautiful world.
They’d rented a little apartment made out of wood, with a thatched roof, that sat on stilts over the calm waters of the subterranean ocean. In the middle of the living room was a view down into the water, water so clear one could see hundreds of meters below.
It was the perfect place for a romantic getaway, filled with candlelit dinners and midnight swims under the illuminating glow from above. Nerishka was more than a little impressed by how the bioluminescent glow on the cavern’s ceiling mimicked a day-night cycle.
It was mesmerizing.
Nerishka relished the peace that she’d had these last two days and hated that it would come to an end soon.
As if reading her thoughts, Dresden said, “I want this trip to last forever. Isn’t that silly of me.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“A big strong man being brought to his knees by a beautiful woman? I see nothing silly about that.” Nerishka smirked and Dresden shook his head.
“I swear you have ensnared me with the magic in one of those mysterious poisons of yours.” He shook his head sadly, then glanced out of the window, trying to hide a smile.
She watched him, watched how the candle light played along the bridge of his nose, along his high cheekbones. She didn’t believe she’d ever get over him. She’d had her heart broken before, but Dresden was a different animal altogether.
When he was with her he was nothing at all like the deadly operative she knew him to be. They’d met some ninety years ago on an op out at the edge of the Inner Stars, on the far side of Scipio. Nerishka had fond memories of having tested Dresden the first time they’d met. She wanted to be sure he had the balls to handle a mission with her.
Nerishka never liked joint ops. Other people often got in the way of getting things done right. She liked to be on her own, figuring things out for herself. Then, even her failures were her own to deal with.
Jeriah knew full well how she hated joint ops—Nerishka hadn’t held back after the last disaster with Olit. They’d been left stranded for two months because two other team members had fucked up their end of the mission so badly. Nerishka and Olit had almost died. It had taken an emergency rescue team—sent by Jeriah—to retrieve them. The strings Jeriah had to pull had broken more than a dozen protocols.
No doubt Jeriah was still paying for that.
Nerishka had often wondered about her superior’s motivations. At the time, her gut had suggested that Jeriah had her eye on Olit, but despite spending those days stranded together, Olit hadn’t confessed to anything other than thinking the world of Jeriah and believing their director would never leave them stranded.
But, unbeknownst to Olit, she’d spent many a spate of delirious consciousness calling out for Jeriah. Not that Nerishka ever confessed to having heard it.
They’d parted ways as friends and had always known they could count on each other. And they had.
But Nerishka had learned an important lesson from that mission. Teams complicate things. People and relationships get destroyed if just one person has diverging interests.
Death was a natural thing when on a job, especially ones like those she and Olit were often sent on. They knew the score. Every mission was potentially their last. The ability to live hundreds of years made no difference if you got a bullet to the brain. Or if you had that brain turned to mush. Hand operatives walked the line all the time.
“Having someone you care about only makes you all the more vulnerable.” Jeriah’s words still echoed in Nerishka’s brain. “This is the goddamned reason why I tell all my agents that relationships are for fun. Friends with benefits, shag buddy, whatever. Just don’t get attached. Hell, if you’re that goddamned horny, go find a sex automaton. We pay you well enough for the best.”
Nerishka shook her head. Jeriah had been riled up about something; Nerishka had been well aware that her superior was taking her frustrations out on her. Nerishka had wondered at the time if Olit’s predicament had affected Jeriah more than she’d let on.
Everything was always too complex.
Dresden
tugged on one of Nerishka’s fingers. “Hey? You getting melancholy on me?” he asked, concern flickering in his green eyes. “No time for melancholy. We have two days left to enjoy this paradise.”
Nerishka let out a laugh and settled back, taking a deep breath to tamp down the anxiety churning in her gut. “So, they were right about the seafood here. What are we trying tonight?” she asked, pulling the menu toward her. The music in the background shifted to the mournful strains of a guitar and Nerishka forced herself to focus on relaxing.
They’d spent the rest of the evening eating delectably grilled lobster-meat drenched in garlic and butter, avoiding the thing that Nerishka needed to discuss. She knew why she was ignoring the issue.
She didn’t want to do it.
But she had no choice, so she resolved to spend the next day at least, enjoying every moment she had left with him. His smiles were bittersweet, his touch brought tears to her eyes. And all through those hours, he’d looked at her as though he’d sensed something was going to happen.
She hated having to lie to him, but they’d entered this relationship knowing it may not last. Stars, they’d entered it thinking it wasn’t anything more than two people needing each other to fill the emptiness in their lives.
The next morning, Dresden and Nerishka were lounging on their private beach, sipping colorful cocktails and staring out at the endless sea of blue. Nerishka wore a white bikini that was almost the same color as the fine sand they were sticking their toes into. Dresden’s back was covered in droplets of water, having declined a towel after their recent swim.
Now, they were nibbling on a platter of finger food delivered by their own personal attendant. A human one, no less. The island getaway boasted a fully human experience with little automation.
Either way, they were guaranteed their privacy—something Nerishka had desperately wanted. Maybe she’d wanted to savor those last few days with him.