Aneka Jansen 5: The Greatest Heights of Honour

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘We’ll also be supervising her handover to her replacement,’ Sharissa said, ‘and all activities in this office until she leaves.’

  ‘I see,’ Dowler said, trying and failing to keep the displeasure out of his voice. ‘I assume Agent Nivalis will be reassigned…’

  ‘Agent Truelove is still a member of this Agency and subject to the same strictures as before,’ Sharissa interrupted. ‘Now that she has resigned, Agent Nivalis will also be providing me with detailed reports of Agent Truelove’s activities outside the office.’

  Dowler remained silent, marching past the little group and into his office.

  Sharissa waited for the door to close before leaning forward and whispering into Truelove’s ear. ‘I’m looking forward to the reports. I haven’t read any decent porn in ages.’

  Truelove went back to her work, trying very hard not to blush.

  Downtown Yorkbridge, 15.1.529 FSC.

  Aneka and Ella found a tall, slim, blonde woman sitting in a booth at the back of a bar which tried its best to look sleazy. That was the image the place was trying to project, though it somehow managed to come across as glossy with a dirty sheen. It did offer a sense of privacy, and Winter had undoubtedly swept the booth for bugging devices before selecting it.

  ‘Your message sounded urgent,’ Aneka said as she slid onto the bench beside the blonde.

  ‘It’s… urgent in a way,’ Winter replied.

  ‘Cryptic as usual.’

  ‘Sorry. I received some information yesterday which I need to follow up on personally.’

  Ella frowned at her from across the table. ‘Personally as in…?’

  ‘I’m leaving the system. I’ll be out of contact for a while. Obviously I’ll still have avatars here, but…’

  Aneka was frowning too. ‘Winter,’ she said through gritted teeth, ‘this is a really bad time to be running off chasing…’

  ‘I am aware of that, Aneka, but this… I can’t tell you what it is I’m looking into, but it is important. Possibly very important. If the Herosians have started a war, this could change the course of it.’

  ‘How long?’ Aneka sighed.

  ‘I’ll be out of touch for a couple of months, maybe longer depending on what I find.’

  ‘You can’t wait a couple of days to find out what happened on Obati?’

  There was a tiny pause, probably too short for Ella to even notice it. Aneka did not think Winter already knew the answer, but her real brain, sitting in the core of a ship in the outer system, was a computer of incredible power capable of very complex, very detailed simulations. She had almost certainly run the numbers.

  ‘This cannot wait,’ Winter said. ‘This is going to be a slow war. The distances involved make moving large numbers of ships difficult. If my information is correct we’ll need all the time we can get to make use of it.’

  Aneka nodded. ‘It isn’t like we can stop you.’

  Ella reached across the table, clasping her hands over Winter’s. ‘Good luck,’ she said softly.

  Yorkbridge Mid-town, 16.1.529 FSC.

  ‘Elroy should be in the system tomorrow,’ Ella said, trying to sound as bright as possible.

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka replied.

  They were watching the news broadcast on CFM again. None of it was good. The protests outside the Herosian embassy continued to burst into sporadic violence. Herosian businesses had been attacked several times, as well as a couple of homes. People had died in those. So far there had been half a dozen arrests, but Aneka had started to notice a pattern; the arrested individuals all seemed to be copycats, people who had seen the previous attacks and followed suit. None of the people responsible for the deaths had been caught.

  ‘He can fix this,’ Ella suggested.

  ‘He might be able to fix some of it. Some of it is going to be hanging around for years. I almost hope there’s an actual war, otherwise some citizens are going to be feeling pretty stupid.’

  ‘You don’t really want a war.’

  ‘I don’t really want a war. I don’t really want this to be going on either, but this is what we’ve got.’

  Ella sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the silent screen.

  ‘There’s nothing we can really do, is there?’ the redhead said.

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘I mean, there was Hunter and Humanity First, and you killed them. And there was Ardus Quint, and you killed him. And Yrimtan, and even those little things that attacked us on Idridia…’

  ‘There’s no one I can shoot to make this go away, love.’

  There was more silence and then, ‘Maybe we could blow them up this time?’

  Aneka barked out a laugh despite herself, yanked Ella into her lap, and kissed her. ‘I tell you what, if I can find someone to blow up, that’s just what we’ll do.’

  FDCV Senator Alfresson, 17.1.529 FSC.

  The intercom chimed for attention and Jackson Elroy leaned across his desk to tap the response button. ‘Speak,’ he snapped.

  ‘Sir, we dropped out of warp two minutes ago. We are ninety-two minutes out from dock.’ The speaker was the diplomatic yacht’s captain, an experienced man who was quite used to ferrying Elroy back and forth. The Senator’s temper never usually bothered him, but he sounded nervous. ‘We’re getting transmissions through from New Earth Control… I think you should see this.’

  Frowning, Elroy flicked his monitor over to show the feeds the ship was receiving from the planet. After a second he transferred the feeds to his wall screen and his frown deepened. Then he hit the intercom button again. ‘I want Elaine Truelove waiting for me at the spaceport. Send the message now.’ He cut off the intercom without waiting for a reply and turned back to the screens, and his mood just got worse.

  The Islands, New Earth.

  ‘We’ve heard nothing at all from Obati since the Renewal?’ Elroy asked. The tall, distinguished politician was staring out of the window of his lounge, apparently at a lounger that was set up beside the pool. His anger had abated as Truelove had explained the current situation, but there was something disquieting him.

  ‘No, sir,’ Truelove replied. ‘If it’s simply a failure in the high-speed relay system, then we might have heard something by now, but tomorrow is more likely.’

  Elroy drew in a slow breath and turned from the window. ‘All right. I need you to rescind your resignation, effective immediately. I’ll put through the necessary paperwork to countermand the committee’s recommendations and put through an order to have the remainder of the clean-up operation completed.’

  ‘Sir, I’m not entirely sure that the telepaths have managed to find everyone who has been subverted.’

  ‘No, but finishing the programme will severely cripple their operations and we can work to discover any other moles the hard way. I would also be grateful if you could send a request through to the Old Earth vessel. I’d like to receive their representative here, if she’s willing to come down. Extend an invitation to Aneka Jansen and Ella Narrows to join me. I don’t want too big a meeting. If we’re going to get formal I’d prefer to throw a ball of some kind.’

  ‘I’ll get that arranged, sir. There will need to be security…’

  Elroy waved away the suggestion. ‘Tell Aneka she can bring her guns. My normal security detail should be quite sufficient with her here.’

  Truelove’s lips twitched. ‘Of course, sir.’

  18.1.529 FSC.

  ‘I wasn’t expecting you to bring that,’ Elroy said as Aneka put her rifle case down beside the couch.

  ‘Elaine said you were foregoing a more extensive security detail because I was here,’ Aneka replied. ‘If I’m on protection detail, you get the full package.’ She patted the other case she had put down first, a squatter one in metal. ‘I brought Bessie as well as the two machine pistols.’

  ‘Bessie is her antimatter blaster,’ Ella commented as she sat down and crossed her legs. ‘Aneka is a one-woman army.’

  ‘Are you expecting to need t
hem?’ Abby asked, eyes wide at the sheer quantity of armament.

  ‘No,’ Aneka stated. ‘I didn’t expect to need any of them to herd sheep either.’

  Abby coughed. ‘Well let’s hope we don’t get attacked by ogres today.’

  ‘Ogres?’ Elroy asked, frowning. ‘Isn’t that some sort of mythical creature?’

  ‘Mutated Humans,’ Ella supplied.

  ‘Strong and kind of dumb,’ Aneka added, ‘with a predilection for kidnapping women. Anyway, I assume you’ve seen all the reports on the ship Abby brought with her? The wrecked one?’ She sat down beside Ella, leaning back wearily.

  ‘I have,’ Elroy said, sitting down in his preferred armchair. He tapped at a tablet perched on one of the arms and the huge wall screen opposite him lit up with a schematic of the wreckage. ‘It’s all a little moot if it turns out that the Herosians have started a war, but the evidence is fairly damning.’ His gaze moved to Abby. ‘What I really need to know is whether we can count on support from Old Earth if we need it?’

  ‘I haven’t heard a definitive answer,’ Abby replied. ‘I think the fact that they haven’t called me back is a good sign. The Guardians, uh, our military, think that helping the Jenlay would be good strategically. It’s a matter of deciding whether we can spare the ships, I think.’

  Elroy bowed his head in acknowledgement. ‘Your own security is important.’

  ‘Yes,’ Aneka agreed, ‘but we know the Herosians will come after Old Earth because they already have. As far as we know, the Pinnacle is nothing but a potential threat.’

  ‘You were the one who said you didn’t want them making decisions based on your assessment,’ Abby pointed out. ‘I think that’s the advice they’re getting from the Guardians, but it’s a question of overcoming fear. An unknown fear versus a known one.’

  ‘It’s hard to compete against an unknown fear,’ Elroy commented bleakly.

  ‘In this case,’ Ella said, ‘it may work to our advantage. The Citizens are very rational people. If they can’t quantify it, they may well place a tangible risk as a higher priority.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say you’re wrong,’ Abby said. ‘Ella’s assessment of my bosses is quite accurate, in my opinion. Her training in psychology is more extensive than mine.’

  Elroy smiled at her. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, you seem rather young for a diplomat, Abigail.’

  ‘I… suppose I am, but my teachers say I have a talent for it. They also say they don’t. They know what to do, and they can teach the technicalities of it, but they’re just not very…’

  ‘Social,’ Aneka supplied.

  ‘Uh… Yes, that works.’ She gave Aneka a slightly apologetic grin. ‘They’re getting better. You know half the crew of the Hand have taken up…’

  Aneka thought she knew what the girl was going to say and she did not particularly want Elroy knowing she had introduced recreational sex to the Old Earth people. ‘I’m glad they’re taking up a hobby,’ she interrupted.

  Elroy looked between them, shrugged, and went on. ‘Well, I have a woman from old Old Earth and one from modern Old Earth, and an expert of our understanding of Old Earth. I’m a student of history with a need to understand how the two Earths can relate to one another. I’m sure you can see where this is going.’

  Aneka grinned at him. ‘We should get drinks in. This could take a while.’

  ~~~

  They had had dinner brought in. Nothing too fancy: good, tasty, New Earth food which Abby seemed to quite enjoy. She had commented on the fact that the wine did not really taste like wine and suggested she bring a bottle or two down from her diplomatic supplies if she visited again. Elroy and Ella had looked at Aneka who had shrugged and said she had not really wanted to mention it before.

  The talk had been largely undirected, but over the course of the afternoon almost the entire story of the Garnet Hyde’s trip to Old Earth had come out. Ella’s seduction of Abby had been left out. What Yrimtan had been, and the fact that she had been killed by Aneka had not.

  ‘I want to thank you, Aneka,’ Elroy said as they sat at the dinner table, drinking and chatting.

  ‘For what?’ Aneka asked, smiling.

  ‘The story of you and Yrimtan, or Manu Dei, or whatever she was calling herself, I get the feeling that there are very few people who know all of it.’

  ‘Not many. I don’t think you can really understand the people over there without knowing how they got the way they are. Still, I’d rather this didn’t get wider exposure.’

  Elroy nodded. ‘Agreed. I don’t think we’ll gain…’

  ‘Urgent message received from the Admiralty,’ the house’s computer announced in a bland tone.

  Elroy looked up at the ceiling, which was where the sound came from, but not really where the message was going to be seen. ‘It never sounds particularly urgent,’ he said absently.

  ‘I keep thinking the same thing,’ Aneka said. ‘I assume you’d better take that privately.’

  ‘Yes,’ Elroy said, unfolding himself from his chair, ‘I suppose I should.’

  ‘What do you think?’ Ella asked once he was out of the room.

  ‘I think it’s about Obati,’ Aneka replied. ‘I also think they wouldn’t have tagged it as urgent if it was just to report a transmitter failure.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Abby said. ‘Your Navy seems a little excitable. Not that I’m expecting good news either.’

  ‘Several sites devoted to watching the activities of the Navy are reporting an increase in activity around Corax,’ Al stated. ‘CFM have just put up a newsflash that they are expecting an imminent statement on the Obati situation.’

  Aneka sighed. ‘Al says there are reports on activity around Corax and there’s going to be an announcement about Obati soon.’

  ‘Corax?’ Abby asked.

  ‘One of the moons around Joval Seven,’ Ella told her. ‘Among other things, there’s a Navy facility there. It mostly handles frigates and gunships…’

  ‘Just the kind of ships you’d use to set up perimeter defences and patrols,’ Aneka said.

  Elroy’s voice cut in from the speakers, interrupting their discussion. ‘Ladies? I think it’s best if you come through here and see this. I’ll have to tell Abigail anyway…’

  ‘He didn’t sound happy,’ Ella commented as they got up and followed the route he had taken to the lounge.

  Elroy waited for them to sit down and then flicked a finger at the wall screen, which was currently showing nothing. ‘This arrived through the normal FTL relay system about half an hour ago. The Navy have confirmed the encryption and authentication codes. It’s genuine.’ He tapped his pad and the video started running.

  The image looked degraded at first, but Aneka quickly realised that what she was seeing was a man’s face obscured by smoke. It looked as though he was standing, attached to some form of bracing structure by a harness, and there seemed to be some sort of image behind him.

  ‘It’s a Delta-class frigate,’ she said. ‘That’s the captain’s station.’

  The man spoke, confirming her assessment. ‘This is… Captain Levant of the Delta Carpathia. All drives are down, reactor is offline. We’re running on backup power. Life support is… more or less functional, but we’re not sure how long it’ll last. There are four of us left. I’m transmitting our position along with this in case someone can help, but…’ He dissolved into a fit of coughing.

  ‘How many crew are on one of those ships?’ Abby asked.

  ‘Fifteen,’ Aneka replied flatly.

  ‘A large contingent of Herosian ships jumped into the system about fifteen hours ago. The Obati system. Uh, we detected high levels of thermal activity, atmospheric shockwaves. No radiation, they must’ve used kinetic impactors. Big ones. We were outnumbered. The Herosian ships on duty here joined their fleet. I warped out when they took out our main drives. Had to get this message out. Someone had to. Warp’s gone too now and we’re drifting. The Senate… The Senate’s gone. I never thought th
ey’d really do it.’

  The video stopped, leaving the room in silence.

  ‘How many people on Obati?’ Aneka asked after a few seconds.

  ‘Including the military personnel in orbit,’ Elroy replied, ‘around forty thousand.’

  ‘Right…’

  ‘I have a statement to prepare for the news channels,’ Elroy went on. ‘I plan to keep it simple. We have had nothing from the Herosians themselves. Frankly, I’m not sure D’Jarnis even knows what’s going on.’

  ‘I’ll send a message to Earth with the news,’ Abby said, her voice dull. It was one thing to expect the worst, another to have it happen.

  ‘Thank you, Abigail. I’m sorry our evening had to end in this manner.’

  ‘It was always likely that it would,’ Aneka said. ‘We all knew we were likely to hear this today. We were lucky we got this long before it arrived.’ She got to her feet. ‘We should get Abby to her shuttle.’

  ‘Indeed,’ Elroy agreed, standing up as well, ‘but could I take a moment of your time first, Aneka?’

  Ella got up, holding out a hand to Abby. ‘We’ll go get ready to leave,’ she said, glancing at Aneka.

  ‘Yeah,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’ll be there shortly.’

  When she turned around, Elroy was walking over to the window. He stopped in front of it, looking out at the pale blue glow from the pool.

  ‘I… need to ask you to do something, Aneka,’ the Senator said. ‘It’s something I never thought I’d ask of anyone, but I’m not sure I can ask it of anyone else.’

  Aneka stepped up to stand beside him. She had a feeling she knew what his request was going to be, but she needed to hear him say it.

  ‘Marcus Dowler,’ Elroy went on. ‘He needs to be eliminated from the equation.’

  ‘You want me to kill him,’ Aneka stated.

  ‘I want you to kill him,’ Elroy agreed.

  ‘I’m not an assassin, Senator…’ Her gaze took in the lounger resting at the edge of the pool. Diana Ollander had used it more than once. ‘Senator Ollander was on Obati,’ she said.