by M. D. Cooper
Trist sank back. “I guess there’s no running from this one is there?”
“Not even the slimmest chance,” Tanis said. “However…” She let it hang out there for a minute, watching Trist grow agitated with interest.
“However what?” Trist finally asked.
“Your testimony would be useful for starters.”
“Against who? Some guy who I can only describe as ‘the skinny guy with the bimbo squad’?”
“More or less,” Tanis replied. “We think we know who he is, and if we could gain some leverage against him he could point us in the direction of who is calling the shots. Maybe then we’d have a chance to make some headway against STR.”
Trist rose up on her elbows. “You want me to testify against STR? Are you nuts?”
“You know, Dr. Rosenberg, I think we’ve bothered our guest enough for one day. I’ll come back to see her tomorrow.”
“I was about to say the same thing,” the doctor replied.
“Lieutenant Amy Lee will be getting in touch with you to transport our guest aboard the Intrepid. I don’t want any unexpected visitors ending her time with us.”
The doctor nodded and Tanis left the MOS north sector’s med facilities.
Angela made a noise that Tanis had come to identify as her signal of frustration.
Angela and Tanis cut their conversation short as a call came in from Joe.
“Just seems practical to me…” Tanis said to herself as the hauler sped across the loading dock to the Intrepid.
Angela commented.
Tanis didn’t respond immediately.
Somehow the term seemed a bit more derisive than normal.
CHAPTER 21
STELLAR DATE: 3227280 / 11.23.4123 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: GSS Intrepid, Mars Outer Shipyards (MOS) REGION: Mars Protectorate, Sol Space Federation
Joe took a seat across from Tanis in her office. “I assume you actually have a plan now? One that isn’t just ‘we use the civilian as bait’?”
Joe, for his part, had been true to his word in demonstrating that they could work together and not have his feelings get in the way. She was still somewhat uncertain about what tone her interactions with him should take, but it was becoming easier. Especially when she was deep in her work.
She pulled her lips back in a predatory grin. “Of course I have a plan. I always have a plan.”
“I’ve made the connection, but thanks,” Joe said.
“It’s simple, really. We go to the federal buildings on Mars 1 and go before a superior court judge to get warrants signed out that Callisto can’t ignore.”
“Yeah, you said that yesterday, but it’s still not really something I’d call a plan.”
Tanis brought up maps for the MOS, the MCEE, and Mars 1. Certain sections were highlighted and she zoomed in on those.
“We’re going to take a route that while secure, passes through some places where we’ll be certain to be ambushed. I expect Trent to be involved and we’ll nab him.”
“Well, if he’s not then we’ll have warrants that Callisto will have to execute. Either way we’ll flush him out.”
“I don’t know how that’s going to help. He doesn’t exactly have a physical address that the ChoSec folks can show up at.”
“No, but it will restrict his movement.”
“I imagine he has ways of slipping about,” Joe said.
“I should hope so. Either way the legal ball needs to be rolling…especially since it rolls so slowly.”
“I still don’t like this. There are too many things that could go wrong. Your route here puts you in a lot of danger.”
“It does, but we can’t just contact the Federation DA and tell them to arrest the whole STR Consortium, we need to get the name of whoever gave the orders and pulled the strings. Getting our hands on Drenn would work too, but he’s been playing this game for a long time. I’m guessing that he’s lying very low right now.”
“He’d be on the first ship to Alpha Centauri if he knew what was good for him.” Joe shook his head. “By the way, I heard you went down to the surface with Captain Andrews. What was that about?”
Tanis twisted her lips, thinking about the goal of that trip. What they brought back up to the Intrepid had answered all her questions about why Terrance and the Reddings were coming along to New Eden. The knowledge was like a burr in the back of her mind, but she knew that it was imperative it remain a secret.
“Good. I gave him a hand with a few things.”
> Joe’s tone remained impassive, but the curiosity was obvious in his face. “What sort of things?”
Tanis grimaced. “I wish I could say, but I can’t. I’ll tell you once we’re underway.”
They discussed other issues for several minutes before Joe left for an inspection on Blue Wing. Tanis took a few minutes to relax in the relative peace and quiet before rising to hit the officer’s mess for a late night meal before bed.
She whistled a tuneless melody as she walked through the halls of officer country. It was third shift and few people were about; Tanis was half watching where she was going, and half paying attention to some time tables that Angela was running through in the back of her mind.
She rounded a corner and thought she caught a shadow out of the corner of her eye, a blur that was there one moment and gone the next. Looking behind her she saw nothing, and, pausing, heard only the sound of air circulation coming from a nearby vent.
Something wasn’t right. Tanis evaluated her surroundings, checking for aberrant scents, sounds, and vibrations. Sure enough, the sound of the vent was too loud.
Tanis slowed her pace and leaned back against the bulkhead, pretending to have gotten a message via Link that required all of her concentration. Instead, what she was doing was sending out preconfigured noise-cancelling nano. They spread through the corridor, determining what the actual sound of the moving air was and clearing it from Tanis’s hearing. All that was left was the additional noise. The nano attempted to triangulate and pick up its source, but were unable to do so. It appeared to be coming from everywhere.
Then a sensation prickled within Tanis, almost as though she could sense another being’s presence, and she threw up an arm to fend off a blow. To her surprise, she actually did deflect a strike. Instinct told her where the attacker would be and she lashed out with her boot and felt it connect with an unseen body. Tanis thanked the foresight that had caused her to amp up her olfactory system; that had to be what was giving her this intuition.
“You know,” Tanis spoke aloud to her attacker. “I can’t see you, but I can smell the patterns you’re making in the air currents. Why don’t you just drop this sneaky assassin thing and we can do this the old-fashioned way?”
A figure materialized in front of Tanis, every inch covered in a skintight glossy black outfit. There weren’t even any apparent openings for the wearer to breathe or see. Most likely that was done to mask IR output from hot breath. Pretty clever, Tanis found herself wanting one.
The figure was obviously female and Tanis’s records showed that the height, weight, bone structure, and overall posture matched the woman she had fought previously on the Dawn.
No weapons were visible, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t there.
“As you wish.” The sound seemed to come from the figure’s entire body. “Would you like to do this hand to hand, or not quite that old-fashioned?” An obvious challenge resonated in the woman’s tone. Her body posture was confident and tense all at the same time.
“Oh what the hell, Kris.” Tanis grinned. “It’s been a very long time since I tore the stuffing out of anyone with my bare hands. It is Kris, by the way, isn’t it?”
“Good memory, Tanis. Now that we’re on a first name basis, shall we get on with it?”
Tanis didn’t wait for a response, but sent a TSF—issued boot—polished so even Williams would be proud—up and around in a textbook roundhouse kick to her opponent’s head. Kris wasn’t there anymore, but Tanis hadn’t expected her to be. It wouldn’t be a very fun fight if she won with a single kick.
With that the battle was joined. Kris was skilled, something Tanis already knew, and both of the women’s limbs flashed out and were blocked or deflected by the other in turn. It was as though they were participating in a complicated dance and each had the moves down perfectly.
Even so, Tanis felt that she was at a bit of a disadvantage. No tells were offered by her opponent. Normally a grimace or a look in the eyes would give intentions away, but the featureless mask prevented that. She wanted one of these suits even more.
The moment of reflection almost caused her to fall for a feint, and she blocked the real strike at the last moment, wincing as the blow deflected off her forearm. Kris’s attacks were powerful; she was most certainly cybernetically enhanced.
She wasn’t the only one; the TSF didn’t let you above commander if you were just flesh and blood. A little carbon nanofiber here, some titanium there coupled with some X5A sinew and then you were all you could be.
“You’re not too bad,” Kris commented with a hint of appreciation in her voice.
“Not too shabby yourself. Why don’t you give up and we’ll call it a draw.”
“Not very likely,” Kris said. “I’m going to collect that credit on your head and retire somewhere real nice. Maybe New Eden.”
“Any way we could fake my death and split the take?” Tanis asked. “This job doesn’t pay for shit.”
Her comment caused Kris just a moment of pause and Tanis used that to make a daring attack with both her left foot and right arm. The blows wrenched Kris’ and dislocated her shoulder. A follow-up strike to the base of her skull ended the fight in Tanis’ favor.
The black figure went down in a heap, and Tanis waited for the TSF team she had called during the fight to secure the body. She had no idea how Kris had planned to get off the ship, that was something she would have to ask the woman.
“Put her with our collection. We’re gonna have us a nice long talk. And save the suit, but make sure it doesn’t have any surprises. I can think of a really good use for that puppy.”
CHAPTER 22
STELLAR DATE: 3227282 / 11.25.4123 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: GSS Intrepid, Mars Outer Shipyards (MOS) REGION: Mars Protectorate, Sol Space Federation
Trist had been moved to the medical facilities on the Intrepid, a place Tanis was already quite familiar with after her mods for the trip to Cruithne. After a couple of days the thief was well on her way to full health, though portions of her body were now made up of silbio, the value of which was greater than most people would make in a hundred years.
They were sitting in one of the lounges in the medical facilities, each with a cup of coffee. Tanis was taking hers black, something that a lot of time in the field forced you to like whether you preferred it or not, while Trist was drinking some concoction that could only have come from Ganymede; it consisted of several different spices, milks, creams and possibly some actual coffee.
“I gotta hand it to you folks,” Trist said. “You sure know how to make a girl feel at home—if home were a fluffy, cushy prison.”
“You’re not a prisoner…exactly,” Tanis replied.
“Kinda feels like it with virtually no Link access, no permission to leave my room unless I’ve got a couple of burly types with me, and no knowledge of what my future holds.”
“Well, what do you think we should do with you?” Tanis asked.
Trist cast her a sidelong glance. “You’re not tricking me with that one. I’ve been around long enough to know someone’s looking to see if I’ll hang myself with the line they give me.”
Tanis smiled. “Sorry.”
“Just sorry? Why am I the one guiding this conversation? Didn’t you come here to see me?”
“I did, I’m just trying to decide exactly what to do with you. You won’t testify against the STR, which means that I don’t have a lot of use for you. However, sending you back out into the system is a bit of a death sentence and I don’t feel totally comfortable with that either.”
“What? The cold-as-ice Major Tanis Richards, the Butcher of Toro, would feel bad about me getting my head blown off? I think your reputation is a smoke screen.”
It was Tanis’s turn to cast a glance at Trist. “I thought you had
no Link access.”
“Oh I don’t, at least I don’t now. I managed to slip past the safeguards a few times until some broad named Amanda gave me the smackdown. Took me a bit, but I got past her eventually and was wandering through some personnel files when some guy named Bob came into my mind and told Sue and I that if we even sent a photon across the Link he would turn our brains off. Was a real jackass about it too.”
Tanis’s eyebrows rose considerably. “You got a visit from the Intrepid. He doesn’t deign to speak to us mere mortals much anymore. You should be honored…or possibly scared witless that he addressed you.”
Trist’s eye widened. “He wouldn’t really…”
“Who knows; he’s a very advanced AI, there aren’t any others like him in the human sphere.”
Trist whistled. “Good thing I hadn’t implemented my plan to get past him.”
“Good thing indeed. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to offer you this deal.”
“Finally we get to it.”
“We’ll grant you and Sue immunity from extradition in the SolGov territories. Any past crimes committed in those areas, or against organizations based in SolGov controlled space will be pardoned. In exchange for that we require your testimony against Trent.”
Trist considered it for a moment. “Not going to be good enough. STR will come after us, or even if it doesn’t we’ll live our whole lives waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Well, we can’t get you pardoned by the Jovians, they won’t budge. It’s possible they will once we nail the STR, though.”
“No, I’ll tell you what I’ll do it for. I want in.”
“In?” Tanis asked, though she was pretty sure that she knew what Trist wanted.
“Yeah, in. I want to be on the colony roster.”
Tanis raised an eyebrow, wondering how the GSS would feel if she circumvented them to get a known criminal onto the Intrepid.
“You do have decent credentials, but you really don’t pass a lot of the other screening parameters.”