‘Which really showed how inexperienced they were,’ Drake added. ‘We didn’t detect any of them in a full pressure suit when we checked for survivors. You don’t go into combat without your helmet at hand.’
Aneka winced. ‘How many?’
Drake heaved a sigh. ‘They weren’t carrying a full complement, but… two hundred and fifty.’
‘And another ten on the surface. Jesus… two hundred and sixty lives lost just to get to me. Bastards.’ Aneka shifted in her seat.
‘It’s not your fault, Aneka,’ Shannon said. ‘You couldn’t have known they’d do something like this.’ Shannon Patton was Drake’s partner, and the co-pilot of the Hyde. She was short, blonde, big-breasted, and looked a lot like some sort of space bimbo right up until the point you discovered she could fix the Hyde’s warp drive if it broke. She was also a telepath, which was useless against Aneka, but it had made her quite a useful psychologist as well as a rather empathic person. ‘And it was stupid,’ she added.
‘Indeed,’ Aggy agreed. ‘I was able to pull the orders which dispatched that ship here from their computers. They were signed by one of their Admirals.’
‘Right…’ Aneka said, frowning. ‘They really fucked up; I just can’t help but think they’re going to find a way to worm out of this.’
‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ Drake agreed. ‘What do you want to do?’
‘Send a private message ahead to New Earth. By the time we get back there someone may have come up with a plan. If not… Well, then we turn the heat up on the Herosians.’
Part Two: Fuel
Yorkbridge Mid-town, 29.9.528 FSC.
‘You didn’t feel like waiting?’ Aneka asked, humour in her voice as she walked into the lounge with a naked Ella clinging to her. The lithe redhead had given a small squeak as Aneka entered their apartment, and had then flung herself across the room. Now her long legs were wrapped around Aneka’s waist, and she was showing no sign of letting go.
‘I’m just out of the shower,’ Ella mumbled into Aneka’s neck. ‘I’m due at work in an hour. You’re a day early.’
‘Given what happened, we figured being ahead of schedule might be a useful precaution.’
‘Uh-huh. Well, we can wait until tonight for me to worry over that.’
Aneka frowned. It was not like Ella to leave her worrying until later. ‘What’s happening tonight?’
‘Tonight we’re going to Shin You?’
That was surprising. ‘I figured you’d want me all to yourself tonight.’
‘Well, yeah, I do. But we have all weekend and I was told we were to go as soon as you got back, so tonight it’s Shin You.’
‘You were told, huh? Okay, I guess we can go if you were told…’
Ella giggled. ‘It’s not going to be an entirely normal evening there anyway.’
Aneka laughed. ‘Sure, we’re not going to get humped by dozens of men until quite late.’
~~~
Shin You was exactly the sort of place that could not have existed in the world Aneka had come from, and which she would not have gone anywhere near if it had. The throbbing music was reminiscent of a dance club and there was dancing going on, but only as a prelude to other forms of rhythmic movement. Shin You was the only club in Yorkbridge devoted to sex pure and simple.
As far as Aneka was concerned, that said two things. The one which most Jenlay pointed out was that Shin You demonstrated just how liberal Jenlay society was, and how safe. This was a club where people went to have sex with total strangers. A lot of total strangers in fairly rapid succession usually, in total safety and without any form of social censure. And that was true as far as it went, but what Aneka noticed was that Shin You was the only club of its type on New Earth. The Jenlay liked the place to show their tolerant attitude to all tastes, but the majority of them were not prepared to actually go there.
Aneka only enjoyed herself there because Ella did. Sure, Jenlay were generally pretty good at making sex an enjoyable experience, and the patrons of Shin You got more practice than most. Sure, the atmosphere was kind of fun. She actually figured the more conservative Jenlay would enjoy the atmosphere, which was carefree and fun-loving, as well as sexually charged. Not erotic. Not to Aneka’s mind anyway. Eroticism needed something Shin You lacked: a sense of mystery.
There were couples, threesomes, foursomes, and some piles of bodies and limbs on all sides as Aneka and Ella walked through from the entrance toward the dance floor. A few were naked; most were dressed in some form of clothing which did not limit access to the body beneath unduly. Aneka and Ella were appropriately dressed in micro-skirts and cropped tops, giving unrestricted access to groping hands, though to be fair Aneka had had worse experiences in Japanese nightclubs. No one bothered you in Shin You until you wanted to be bothered, and they were not looking like they wanted to be bothered just yet.
‘Do you see her?’ Ella asked, though her lips did not move. The voice came over an interlink between Ella’s computer implant and Aneka’s brain. It let them talk without talking, and it certainly saved overstressing the vocal cords.
‘Not yet,’ Aneka replied. ‘She’ll be in the back somewhere, past the dance floor.’
‘You mean, in the back where the heaviest stuff goes on?’
‘Yeah, but it’s a little darker and the people back there have taken more drugs. None of them are going to be paying anyone much attention aside from themselves and the person they’re fucking.’
‘True.’
The drugs were not illegal, and they did not make you high, but they did tend to increase your focus, the sensitivity of your nerves, and your libido, while decreasing your inhibitions. Aneka was unsure why any of the patrons needed the last two. Maybe some people came to the club because they felt they wanted to but did not quite have the nerve for it once they got there.
Something about the throb of the music made you horny anyway. It had some effect on Aneka, but not much. It always seemed to work exceptionally well on Jenlay, especially the women. Ella had said something about resonance effects on the clitoral tissues, but whatever it was, it tended to result in a fair amount of squirming after about ten minutes in the building.
Aneka spotted crimson hair moving through the body piles and flagged the location through to Ella. The couple moved in perfect synchronisation toward the woman in the translucent red swimsuit and red, thigh-high boots. The woman glanced in their direction, flicked her hair, and moved away from them, deeper into the room where the light was a dull red and visibility was restricted to only a metre or so for most people. Aneka could see perfectly well, and Ella’s cybernetic eyes were better in the dark than natural ones would have been. They followed the woman through the islands of cushions until she lowered herself onto an almost empty one. Then they lay down on either side of her, hands sliding up her body, faces close to hers.
Of course, the closeness just facilitated conversation. ‘Secretive meetings should always be conducted like this,’ Winter said, a smile tugging at her lips.
‘I admit it has a certain weird something,’ Aneka replied, ‘but pretty soon Ella’s going to be swallowing your tongue, so you’d best talk fast.’
Winter gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. ‘Your report on the Herosian assault on Farrington’s World was received by the Administration. Dowler would have had a significantly easier time dismissing it if it were not for the data Aggy retrieved from their computers.’
‘That was why we sent it.’
‘Yes. It worked. Elroy and Ollander are both on Obati Four screaming at the tops of their lungs and the Herosians are trying their best to manufacture reasons why it was not some government conspiracy. This Rear Admiral Sh’Shanis, not a man noted for his tolerance actually, has had a psychotic break according to the latest reports. They are trying to hunt him down to bring him to justice.’
‘With no luck, I assume?’ Someone was sliding a hand up Aneka’s right thigh. She ignored it.
‘Such a surprise.’ Wi
nter’s eyes twitched. Ella was kissing her neck in what appeared to be quite a distracting manner. ‘I’ll keep monitoring, but you’ve lit a fire under the Herosians. They were not expecting you to leave that planet in one piece, let alone bring back evidence they would need to counter. They won’t come at you directly, that would just cause a bigger political incident, but they might try something. Your partner really knows what she’s doing, doesn’t she?’
The hand on Aneka’s leg had moved, sliding between her thighs. She figured she had a couple of seconds before the owner took her lack of reaction as an invitation. ‘She’s exceptionally good, yes. I heard about the problems back on New Earth. You got the warning through?’
‘I did. I’ve had no reply, but there have been reports that the attacks there have stopped. They had a plan to deal with the problem, and it apparently worked. They destroyed the “pirate” vessel which was attacking their shipping.’
‘Destroyed it, that’s a…’ She stopped as two fingers slid into her. The invitation had been accepted. ‘That’s a shame. Our neighbours have noticed us.’
‘And Ella’s hands are getting very insistent. I’ve nothing else to report. You?’ Aneka shook her head. The probing fingers were starting to stroke quite firmly. ‘In that case I think we should get on with enjoying our cover story.’
Aneka shifted her thigh to give her unknown partner easier access. ‘I don’t think we’ve much choice,’ she said softly.
30.9.528 FSC.
Aneka looked back at the bed where the two redheads were still asleep. Winter’s body was manufactured to be sexy, exotic, voluptuous, but Aneka thought her own little redhead looked better.
Ella was on her back. Aneka had warned her that getting her breasts enhanced would mean sleeping on her stomach was never going to happen again. Her pale skin never held a tan; now it was a marked contrast to the black of the Nusilk sheet she was lying on. Her red hair had grown out a little in the last year and it lay in a pool of red strands across the pillow. In sleep her face was still and a little solemn, but when she smiled her green eyes lit up and she made the world a better place.
Grinning, Aneka left the room and walked across the lounge to the bathroom. A shower was going to do her good. She had her hand on the controls when the apartment’s computer spoke.
‘Three members of the Federal Security Agency are requesting admission.’ Aneka glared at the ceiling. Really the voice was far too monotonous for an announcement like that.
‘I should get you replaced with an AI,’ Aneka commented. ‘I would if it wasn’t illegal. Let them in. Instruct them to come up.’ The computer did not seem to take offence. Turning, Aneka walked back out into the lounge to wait.
It was not long before three men in dark suits entered and came to a grinding halt. Well, she was still naked. ‘Gentlemen,’ Aneka said. ‘Stop standing there like you’ve never seen a naked robot before. This better be important, I have a guest.’
The leader of the trio, a dark-skinned man with very short hair who looked as though he really should have been wearing dark glasses, spoke. ‘Agent Ian Plug. You are Aneka Jansen?’ Aneka tilted her head to one side and looked at him until he coughed and went on. ‘Yes, well… We’ve been ordered to take you to headquarters to discuss the incident on Farrington’s…’
‘Dowler give the order?’ Aneka asked, interrupting him.
‘It came from the Agency head’s office, yes.’
‘Everything was in the report we sent ahead of us. Unless you’re arresting me for something, I’m disinclined to assist in your enquiries. As I said, I have a guest who I am hoping to persuade to stay for the rest of the weekend, mostly in a horizontal position.’ It was a lie, but it did make Plug’s cheeks colour.
‘The Agency has some questions regarding your report,’ Plug tried.
‘You mean Dowler wants to try to figure out how he can stop the Herosians being to blame for what happened.’ Plug looked like he was going to respond to the statement, but Aneka got in first. ‘I’ll consult a legal advisor and come to be interviewed, with legal counsel, if I am advised that it would be in my interests. It’s the weekend, so that will be the day after next. If you want me to go sooner, get a warrant, and good luck with that.’
Plug opened his mouth to speak, but was once again interrupted, this time by a voice from the bedroom. ‘Aneka? Aneka, come back to bed. It’s cold without the extra…’ Winter strutted out of the room, stopping when she saw the three men. ‘Oh! I didn’t know there was anyone else here. Are they staying?’ She put just enough suggestion into her tone for the last sentence that all three men went slightly pink. Then she strode over to Aneka, sliding up against her and wrapping her arms around Aneka’s waist.
‘No,’ Aneka said. ‘These gentlemen were just leaving.’
‘Shame… Though if they’re gentlemen we don’t need them.’
‘We’ll see you on the second, Miss Jansen,’ Plug said, and then he turned to leave as fast as decorum would allow.
‘How much of that did you hear?’ Aneka asked when the door was shut behind the agents.
‘Enough,’ Winter replied, letting go of Aneka and starting for the bathroom. ‘I’ll have an avatar prepared to provide you with counsel, and I’d love to stay for the weekend. The others can pick up the slack. Were you going to take a shower? I’ll join you.’
Aneka shook her head, grinned, and started after her.
FSA Headquarters, High Yorkbridge, 2.10.528 FSC.
Aneka sat at a table in what the Federal Security Agency called an interview room. It was blank and featureless, and there were multispectral cameras monitoring every corner. Aneka ignored them, aside from ensuring that Al was monitoring her body temperature, keeping it entirely flat.
Beside Aneka sat a tall, haughty-looking blonde, Winter’s model number six. Aneka had no idea whether this one had known a thing about Federal law that morning, but she did now. She also, apparently, knew how to play on having a good body. Her dress was short, low cut, and scarlet, and it showed off a moderate cleavage which had been pushed up into something more extreme. She was wearing a serene but very confident expression. A faint smile played over her lips as they waited for someone to talk to them. The fact that she was being so calm about it was helping Aneka maintain her temper.
The door opened and a man walked in, tall, slim, not heavily muscled or particularly unfit. He looked like he worked behind a desk a lot. His suit was immaculate, his hair cut by someone who had made a profession of conservative, business-like hairstyles. Aneka decided she did not like him almost immediately; like no other agent she had ever seen, this guy smelled of spook.
‘Good Morning, Miss Jansen and Miss…?’
‘Kilbride,’ Winter responded, ‘Jean Kilbride. I am Miss Jansen’s legal advisor in this matter.’
‘Agent Wilcox,’ the man said, sitting down. ‘Miss Jansen needs a legal advisor?’
‘Given that the Federal Security Agency has made a habit recently of victimising anyone with prior association to its assassinated head, we can infer that this is another example of the same. Miss Jansen has nothing to hide.’
‘I’m sure she hasn’t.’ Wilcox leaned back, raising the tablet he had brought with him and looking at it. He was trying to put them at their ease. More specifically he was trying to put Aneka at her ease and hoping she would slip. ‘Except that you did fire on the Herosian vessel without provocation, Miss Jansen.’
Aneka waited a second to see whether Winter would interrupt, and then spoke. ‘We got a message from the Garnet Hyde stating that they were being approached by a military vessel. Then their communications were jammed. When they could get through to us via tight-beam communicator, they told us that the gunship was searching for us. I considered that a threat situation.’
‘You didn’t consider the possibility that they might be there on a rescue mission?’
Aneka looked at him, but he genuinely seemed to want an answer. ‘Rescue missions typically involve heavy gu
nships and jamming communications across an entire planetary hemisphere?’
‘No,’ Wilcox admitted, ‘they generally don’t. Do you know why this team came after you?’
‘No.’ Of course she could make guesses, but even the orders had not given a reason for the mission. ‘The orders our AI extracted gave no reason. I actually regret having to kill the crew. The order looked genuine, though I’m not an expert in Herosian military protocols. They were ordered to go there and grab me, and leave no witnesses.’ She frowned. ‘Actually, someone pretty intelligent once told me that “I was just following orders” isn’t a valid excuse. These guys took a mission into Jenlay territory, without question, to kidnap one citizen and murder several others. I don’t regret a thing.’
‘Not an attitude we see in many Jenlay, Miss Jansen.’
‘I’m not a Jenlay, Agent Wilcox. I’m just classified as one for administrative purposes.’
‘Is there anything else you wanted to discuss, Agent?’ Winter asked.
Wilcox glanced at his tablet. ‘Agent Wilcox is receiving direction from an external source via the tablet,’ Al said.
‘Tell me you aren’t hacking their communications,’ Aneka replied.
‘All right, I am not hacking their communications. I am, however, quite capable of decrypting the relatively low-grade encryption used on their internal messaging protocols, and radio is a broadcast medium.’
‘So who’s he getting his direction from?’
‘One guess.’
Wilcox’s eyes twitched as he looked at the screen in his hand. He was not pleased with what he was reading. ‘You seem to have something of a prejudice against Herosians?’ he said anyway.
Aneka was about to speak when Winter put a hand on her arm. ‘You have Miss Jansen’s psychological profile, Agent Wilcox,’ Winter said. ‘The only thing she is prejudiced against is the Xinti who kidnapped her. She saved the life of the Herosian ambassador. You should use your own judgement when questioning someone and not take direction from a politician.’
Aneka Jansen 5: The Greatest Heights of Honour Page 5