Carbon Life

by HR Ringer

  “Sounds like we need to have a talk with General Chandler… if we can even get in to see him.”

  “Shouldn’t be difficult… I expect General Park may have already talked to him,” Traynor replied. “If that is the case, then he will probably be calling me in for a meeting.”

  Xiùlán wondered, “Will you need me to go with you, Sà mǐ? I don’t know if it’ll make any difference, but I’ll be here for a few hours more.”

  Traynor smiled at her inamorata. “If Chandler wished to see me, I’m sure one of his aides will send the request to my extranet address. Why don’t we go to the hospital, see if Winters is willing – or even able – to answer a few questions.”

  Yuán chuckled, saying, “We’d have better luck asking Lang for answers, and you already mentioned that no one’s getting in to see him except his lawyers. Personally, I would like to see him face a tribunal with a JAG lawyer… might be able to get a serious conviction instead of a slap on the wrist.”

  * * *

  * ARCTURUS STATION • ALLIANCE MEDICAL STATION *

  Kelsey Winters had been drifting in and out of consciousness since being moved back to the intensive care unit after station doctors repositioned the fractured bones of her nose; they had also covered her left eyelids with medigel, gauze and an adhesive patch, saying the swelling had to subside before they could repair the injury to the underlying bone. She also had a mild concussion – relatively mild, considering the force with which she’d been slammed into her deskside cabinets – which was lessening slowly after the pressure on her brain had been relieved. The balance of her injuries were minor in comparison, and would heal on their own while she recuperated from her surgeries.

  After cracking her right eye open to see who had entered and coughed to clear their throat, she quickly closed the eye as she murmured through swollen lips, “Get out.” The last person she wanted to see or talk to was Samantha Traynor; unfortunately, the bitch was standing at the foot of her bed – worse, she had brought another woman with her.

  Traynor said in a cheerful voice, “Aw, come on, Kelsey… don’t be like that. I just came by to see how you’re doing.”

  With a bit of difficulty, Winters ground out, “Hardly think so, ‘sidering your vicious attack.”

  Traynor moved up alongside the med bed as she replied in the same cheerful tone, “I was only defending myself, Kelsey.” Traynor continued to address Winters by her first name – she sure as hell wasn’t going to use her rank. “The beating I gave you was mild, considering your attempt to put a bullet in my chest.”

  “Get out!” The woman’s right eye, barely visible behind hooded lids, gleamed with a combination of absolute hatred and outright fear of this unassuming comms specialist.

  “Okay, Kelsey… it’s obvious you don’t wish to have any company. But you might want to consider, I may be your best chance on making it out of here alive… think about it.” As she moved to rejoin Xiùlán, she raised her voice slightly, saying, “Guard?”

  The door slid open to admit a muscular-looking Marine corporal. “Ma’am?”

  “Corporal, I want you to be our witness that Ms Winters is still alive, and all her monitors are still displaying the same numbers as when we entered.”

  The Marine had been told some of what had transpired to land Lieutenant Winters in the ICU, and that her life might be at risk from outside agents. “So noted, Specialist.”

  “Thank you, Corporal. FYI, the vid recording of this encounter will be forwarded to Alliance Command on Earth, just to show our total lack of involvement if anything should happen to Ms Winters after our departure.” Traynor led the way out of Winters’ room as she added, “Come on, Ms Yuán… let’s pay a visit to General Chandler, see if he has any more info about how deep the Cerberus shit-pile on this station actually runs.” Imperceptibly shaking her head, Xiùlán smiled as she followed Sammy down the passageway.

  * * *

  * ARCTURUS STATION • OFFICE OF GENERAL NATHAN CHANDLER *

  General Nathan Chandler was re-reading the incident reports concerning Specialist Samantha Traynor – these included her altercation with Michael Moser Lang, since revealed to be an assassin occasionally employed by Cerberus, her total domination of six… six!… former Alliance Marines, five of whom were in cold-storage lockers in the morgue; the sixth man was still in the hospital, recovering from facial reconstruction surgery. And now, a formally respected Alliance lieutenant – since revealed to be allied with Cerberus – was also in the hospital, having fallen victim to a merciless beating by Specialist Traynor.

  As he finished reading the final report, the chime signaling an access request brought his head up to look at his entry door. Touching a control on the desktop Haptic interface, he queried his enlisted aide. “Corporal Decker?”

  “Two to see you, General. Specialist Samantha Traynor and Lieutenant Yuán Xiùlán.”

  Activating another control on his desktop released the locks on his door as he replied, “Send them in, Corporal, and hold all my calls. I should be done in thirty minutes or less.”

  A crisp, “Yes, Sir,” was followed by the segmented door retracting to admit the two young women. Chandler stood from his chair to greet them, directing them to chairs at a nearby table. After asking if either of them would care for a beverage, he promptly brought a silver tray to the table; this contained several mugs emblazoned with the Systems Alliance logo, along with a similarly marked teapot, a creamer, sugar bowl and several spoons.

  The general prepared a mug of tea for himself after seeing to his guests; taking a seat across from them, he sipped from his mug before setting it down and directing his attention to Specialist Traynor. “I’ve read all the reports concerning your… extracurricular… activities during the past several days, Ms Traynor. If I was back on the Citadel or on Earth, I’d have a difficult time believing the reports of your physical prowess and you martial arts expertise.”

  Taking another sip of tea, he added, “General RaeLee Park assures me your successes in repelling physical attacks are no accident; rather, they’re the result of months of rather specialized training. I consider it a privilege to have been read into a small portion of your redacted service record…” he turned his attention to Xiùlán as he finished, “… along with yours, Lieutenant Yuán.”

  “Permission to speak freely, Sir?” Sammy needed to know just how much General Chandler knew about her past in order to tell him what he needed to know without violating the NDA she had signed for General Park.

  “You can say whatever you wish, Specialist… you as well, Lieutenant. I really want to understand how a seemingly simple comms specialist is still alive after being attacked on three separate occasions.” Looking at Yuán, he added, “And just what is your interest here, Lieutenant?”

  Xiùlán answered first, saying “Sammy and I went through training together, on the moon and on Mars. She needed specialized instruction in hand-to-hand combat; I needed specialized instruction in electronics – it was a mutually beneficial relationship, one that deepened during our months together in school and on special assignments. She saved my life during our last outing together…”

  Traynor interrupted, “… and Yuán saved my life during one of our first outings. As she said, mutually beneficial. She’s here to visit with me before the Tokyo shoves off for its next assignment in the Traverse.”

  “I see,” Chandler quietly replied. He finished his tea, as did Xiùlán and Sammy.

  Traynor continued, “Did General Park tell you of Admiral Fletcher’s betrayal of his oath… his suicide?”

  “She did… She also told me it was he who betrayed your location here on Arcturus to that assassin… Lang.” Chandler was silent for several moments before continuing, “What I have not been told is why he would even care about finding you, Specialist.”

  Sammy’s intense honey-brown eyes studied Xiùlán’s. “Sir, you do understand that the NDA I signed prohibits me from telling you how Lang knows of me, other than that
he threatened Admiral Fletcher’s life in order to obtain my location.”

  Xiùlán interrupted her, saying, “General, Ms Traynor was assigned to uncover details of a Cerberus funded plot to assassinate an anti-human turian agitator; Michael Moser Lang was the agent Cerberus hired. The assassination was successful, but…”

  “…Xiùlán, no! You must not!” Sammy used her eyes to implore her inamorata to not divulge any more info.

  Xiùlán looked at Sammy as she placed a loving hand on her leg under the table. Returning her attention to the general, she continued on. “Apparently, Cerberus paid a substantial bonus to Admiral Fletcher, who had been divulging information to them for a number of years. His task was to persuade the other top brass to allow the plot to go forward unimpeded; he was also required to convince the others to end our O7 program and seal our records.”

  Chandler said, “I don’t see how that translates into Lang showing up here, Lieutenant.”

  Traynor answered for Yuán by saying, “Our guess is the bonus Cerberus paid Admiral Fletcher was taken from the bonus previously promised to Lang. He didn’t like being screwed by the Illusive Man and felt we were to blame; as I was the only one of my team readily accessible, he decided to take his frustrations out on me.”

  Chandler nodded in understanding, adding, “So, it would appear that Lieutenant Winters aided and abetted Lang’s access to your residential wing, Ms Traynor. Must be why she arrived so quickly after you sounded the alarm.” He picked up the teapot and poured himself another mug full of the steaming beverage. After glancing questioningly at each of his guests, he set the pot back on the tray, took a sip from his mug and remarked, “It is a mystery to me why she didn’t allow you to slice his throat with that big-assed knife you pack around… thoughts?”

  “She may have thought she’d be in the clear if she contained the situation… allowing a notorious assassin such as Lang to be taken into custody would keep her involvement with Cerberus hidden,” Traynor said in a thoughtful tone of voice. “Lang isn’t speaking to anyone because he still thinks he can get out of the mess into which his thoughtless vendetta has dumped him. As for Winters, she told me she’d rather be beaten to death than have to sit in a cell next to Lang worrying about how long it would be before a Cerberus assassin showed up to finish her.”

  “… which is where she’ll be once she recovers from her injuries,” Chandler responded.

  Traynor exchanged a meaningful glance with Xiùlán, who responded, “Sir, I wouldn’t bet on that woman getting out of the hospital at all, unless it’s feet first. Access to her is several orders easier than getting to her in lock-up would be. I’d be surprised if she lives beyond the end of the week.”

  “There’s a guard at… ” the general began.

  “Nurses, Sir. Attendants… so many more people have access to Ms Winters than will ever be able to see her in lockup. An air bubble introduced into her IV tube…?” Xiùlán shrugged her shoulders. “Lots of ways to do it… hard to predict, harder still to prevent.”

  Chandler nodded in understanding. “Sounds like I need to limit staff access to the lieutenant… make doubly sure everyone’s been properly vetted.”

  “Or… ” Xiùlán said, “you could offer her a deal, Sir. Protection, maybe even immunity… get her to talk, reveal what she knows. I expect she’s aware of other Cerberus agents on this station; it would certainly be nice to learn how entrenched they are.”

  The general rose from his chair at the sound of a chime from the vicinity of his desk. “Lieutenant… Specialist… I have to attend another meeting, but I certainly appreciate all the information you’ve shared with me, and I will give your suggestion about Ms Winters some serious consideration. Now, if you will excuse me?”

  Sammy and Xiùlán had stood at the same time as Chandler; as he escorted them to the door, Xiùlán said, “Thank you for seeing us, General. And… I hope you’ll be able to secure the staff attending Winters; she’s probably living on borrowed time, Sir.”

  Chandler offered his hand to each of them as he responded. “Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll take care of Ms Winters security right away.”

  As the pair left General Chandler’s outer office and began walking through the short passage to the commons area, Traynor remarked, “You really think Winters has a chance in hell of living to the end of the week?”

  Xiùlán looked at Sammy with an expression of resignation. “A chance in hell would be much better odds than what I think she currently has, Sà mǐ. I don’t expect the general will even lift a finger to keep her alive.” Looking at her chrono, she added, “I have to get back to the Tokyo, wǒ de ài [我的愛 - my love]. I’ll expect you to keep in touch with me, okay?”

  Samantha stopped walking; turning to face her inamorata, she placed her hands on Xiùlán’s waist and said with a sad smile, “It’s been wonderful, seeing you here today. I guess you already know how lonely my bed is without you here to share it with me?”

  The lieutenant smiled back at Sammy, replying, “Yours isn’t any worse than mine, Sà mǐ. I miss us, terribly. We’ll just have to survive until we can take our next leave together.” She punctuated her statement with a chaste kiss on the cheek before turning to continue walking towards the shuttle docks. “We’ll be together again, wǒ de ài; meanwhile, I’ll visit as often as I’m able.”

  They walked on in silence until reaching the shuttle docks. Xiùlán passionately hugged and kissed Sam one last time, then boarded the UT-47 for the short flight back to the Tokyo, visible against the black curtain of space. Sam watched the shuttle’s departure, than left the docks to return to work.

  * * *

  * ARCTURUS STATION · SECURE OFFICE OF LCDR GARRETT SUTTON *

  Alliance Lieutenant Commander Garrett Sutton nervously waited for the comms system to finalize its connection with a deep-space station very few people knew existed. Sutton was the person in charge of the Cerberus cell that had been inserted into the population of Arcturus Station between 2159 and 2161, before construction concluded in 2162. A rather large number of Naval personnel – loyal to the ideals of the Illusive Man as much or more so than to the Alliance military – had been transported to the station from Earth in small groups, ostensibly as trained construction specialists. Their true purpose in living on the station during construction was to serve as the eyes and ears of the Illusive Man.

  Sutton had been transferred in from the southeastern North America headquarters in 2159 to oversee the construction personnel, providing some insurance for Cerberus that their true purpose on board would remain unknown. As the station’s construction neared completion in early 2162, about two-thirds of those people were transferred to other locations of interest to Cerberus over a 60-day period; of the eighty or so people remaining after that year, another fifty-five had left for other Alliance construction projects, with their replacements made up of maintenance technicians assigned to various departments. In years since, this small group that remained had been ‘rolled over’ a number of times due to transfers. With the exception of Garrett Sutton, none of the original group of people was still on board.

  As the comms-system made the connection, Sutton smoothed down his jacket and stood straight, hands clasped behind his back in a display of casual non-concern, an emotion he certainly didn’t feel. An image appeared of a well-dressed man sitting in a chair, legs crossed, half-smoked cigarette between two fingers of one hand and a glass containing ice and liquid in the other, with an unknown red sun filling the space behind him. The man took a drag off the cigarette and flicked some ash into an armrest mounted receptacle as he blew a cloud of smoke towards an unseen ceiling.

  Fixing a pair of cybernetic eyes on his caller, he said, “Lieutenant Commander Sutton. It would seem that Michael Moser Lang managed to get himself into serious trouble on Arcturus Station – I understand he’s in an Alliance holding cell.” Taking a sip of bourbon from his glass, he added, “Additionally, five people from a six-man squad of former Marines were kille
d the following day, with the sixth man suffering serious facial injuries. Finally, Lieutenant Kelsey Winters is in the hospital with rather severe injuries from a beating. I understand from the various reports that all of this is due to the efforts of just one woman. Care to tell me how in hell this is possible?”

  The commander was prepared for that question; unfortunately, he didn’t have an answer that would please the Illusive Man. “You’re correct in that it was one woman – Specialist Samantha Traynor – a recent transfer from Vancouver to our communications upgrade team. Before her transfer here, she was in a covert training program with a large number of other first and second year enlistees, and she’s a master at unarmed combat, Sir. The important thing to take note of with Traynor is she doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and she doesn’t take prisoners, ever – anyone foolish enough to engage with her will not walk away from the encounter.”

  “Anyone, no matter how well trained, can be bested,” came the solemn reply. “Question is, what should we do about her?” The Illusive Man finished his drink and set the glass in its holder at the end of the chair’s arm. “Do we send an assassin to take her down?”

  “That would be incredibly foolish, Sir,” Sutton replied. “Anything happens to Traynor now, after the boatload of crap Lang stirred up? You may as well send a ship to transport the rest of the cell off the station… while they’re still alive and walking around.” Sutton’s expression told the Illusive Man everything he needed to know. “Seeing as how Admiral Owen Fletcher recently ended his own life rather than face the probability of blowback from his colleagues, he almost certainly provided Lang with the location of Traynor’s current duty assignment.”

  “So, Lang began this by going after Traynor on his own?”

  “Exactly,” Sutton nodded as he replied. “Traynor was doing an exemplary job here without a care in the world until Lang appeared; when he attacked her, she damn near tore his foot off his leg, and would have sliced his throat open if Winters hadn’t intervened.”