by L. Fergus
“Fascinating,” Kristi whispered.
“That’s only the tip of the iceberg.” Sarin turned back to the image. “Scarlett and Galina were rivals before they became Angels. Even then, they’d argue on whose charity was more genuine. I’m curious to know what relationship Scarlett has with Galina. I can’t believe Scarlett would help Galina after what she’s done.”
“So what do we do?”
“Draw her out. How is the question. Galina’s not going to let Scarlett out of her cage without serious provocation.” Sarin clicked her nail against her teeth, thinking.
“I can dig into her past and see if the General has any secrets,” said Sven.
Sarin shook her head. “I was partnered with her for centuries. I have the answer. It’ll come to me.”
“I thought you were partnered with Kita?”
“I am. Kita was imprisoned for ten thousand years. Well, cycles really. A year there was much shorter than a standard year. It was not a good time, to put it mildly. It’s a major reason I hate Galina.”
“Then why’d you partner with her?” said Kristi.
“Because she was good in bed and knew how to fight. This isn’t the first time she’s stabbed me in the back.” Sarin clapped excitedly. The screen changed to a modified version of the Political Bureau’s flag. Galina had flown it on her ships when she was a pirate.
Sarin waved her hands and changed it. The white flag gained a red border and refracted red when it moved. She simplified the pyramid and reattached the top. “That should get her attention.”
“We just can’t drop it off in front of Political Bureau headquarters,” said Kristi.
“No, we can’t. But I know how.”
“How?” said Sven.
“How’d you like to fund your own little political dissident group?”
“No way. We’d be lucky if we’d get death.”
“I’m not talking about planetary revolt. Just a bunch of college kids high on ideology.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Daddy, we’re not talking real people. Athena and I will create a fictitious group that wants freedom. The kind of thing the Political Bureau watches. After breaking in and planting that flag, we’ll have their attention.”
“And then what?” said Kristi.
“Then we see who comes out of the cuckoo’s nest. I just need a little seed money to get legitimacy.” Sarin smiled and batted her lashes at her father.
He sighed. “How much?”
“A million should do it.”
“It’ll take a few days to get it scrubbed.”
“Take as many as you need to get it without any trace to us.”
“It won’t implicate us.”
“Good. If there’s not anything else, I want to go home, find some ice cream, and watch a stupid movie.”
“Is this how you’re helping me set up this clandestine group of yours, Mother?” Athena teased.
“I don’t want to muck it up with my lack of knowledge in the matter. Plus, this way I can pin it all on you.”
“I am just a computer. I only do what I am programmed to do,” Athena said in a stiff, computer-generated voice.
“Guess that leaves you to take the fall,” Sarin teased Kristi.
Kristi held up her hands. “I’m just the secretary.”
The women turned and looked at Sven.
“Get out, before I change my mind,” he muttered.
Sarin and Athena giggled.
“Ladies, shall we?” Kristi motioned the pair to the door.
“Bye, Daddy. Love you,” Sarin said.
“You’d better,” he replied with a tired sigh.
Sarin appeared in front of Kristi’s desk. Sven stood next to the executive restroom with his arms crossed, looking worried. “What’s the matter?” she asked him.
“I don’t know. She won’t tell me. She came in wearing a hoodie and a pair of jeans. I asked her how she was doing. Tears formed in her eyes as she ran to the bathroom. When I went in, she threw me out. I was hoping she’d talk to you. I’m not compromising you am I?”
“No. I took a holographic generator, so Athena took my place. It’s nice to get off that ship. After two weeks of being cooped up, it’s nice to get away.” There was no trick of physics to get from Neptune to Earth. Even with her father’s fastest ship, the trip took weeks.
“I’d hate to waste your time you’ve put in trying to get at General Lyakhova.”
Sarin shrugged. Getting Galina’s attention was proving harder than she had thought. Two smash and grabs on Bureau safe houses in a month had garnered little attention. She and Athena were on their way to Earth to bring the revolt closer to Galina’s front door. They had succeeded in garnishing a large underground following, which made it easier to strategically leak their next target, Seattle.
“She’ll still be there. Family and friends come first.” Sarin knocked on the door. “Kristi, can I come in?” Sarin pushed inside when she didn’t get an answer. “Kristi?” She heard the whisper of a sob come from the stall and peeked inside. Kristi was huddled between the toilet and the wall. She knelt in front of her. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
Kristi’s eyes were red from crying and streaked with tears. “It hurts so much. What’s happening to me?”
“I’m not sure. What hurts?”
“My back, between my shoulder blades.”
Sarin’s lips puckered. “Can I see? Please?” She helped Kristi out of the corner and pulled off Kristi’s hoodie. The woman screamed. “It’s all right. It’s ok,” said Sarin. She took Kristi in her arms and held her. Even as a trained psychologist Sarin couldn’t shake the weirdness of the situation. She’d known Kristi from when she was a child. Now, she was much older, but she still felt like she was a child holding an adult.
Sarin placed the palm of her hand against Kristi’s shoulder. “You’re going to feel a little pinch.” She injected a painkiller with her barb, a four-inch hypodermic-like needle that extended from the heel of her hand. The barb was connected to glands that could produce drug compounds, venoms, or toxins. Kristi relaxed in her arms.
“What did you give me?” Kristi whispered.
“A synthetic painkiller designed specifically for your biochemistry. It’ll clear from your system with no negative side effects.”
“How did you get my file?”
“I just needed your DNA. My body does the rest. Let me see your back.”
Sarin lifted Kristi’s shirt and saw two growths underneath Kristi’s skin. “Neptune’s rings, you’re in for a lot of pain.”
“What…what is it?”
“You have the beginning of two ball joints forming between your shoulder blades and spine. Normally, when an Angel gets her wings it takes minutes, and it hurts like the burning suns. Are you still drinking that stuff Kita sends you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know why she’s doing it this way.”
“Maybe because she can’t inject it straight into her bloodstream and is instead relying on the much slower delivery system through her digestive tract,” said Sven.
“Daddy, you’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Sorry, moonbeam. I was worried about the second most important girl in my life.”
“I’ll forgive you, this time, sir,” said Kristi.
“Do you know what’s wrong? What’s causing her pain?”
“Becoming an Angel is a painful process,” said Sarin. “The ball sockets that will connect her wings are forming. It requires rebuilding that area of her body. Once the sockets are ready, her wings will form. I can’t speed up the process. All I can do is give you the chemical compounds I used to make the painkiller.”
Sven’s eyes widened in shock. “She’s becoming an Angel? Since when? Did you ask to become an Angel, Kristi?”
Sarin shook her head. “You don’t ask. You’re chosen.”
“What if she doesn’t want to become one?”
“You don’t get a choice. Yo
u do get a choice if you stay or not. No one has rejected it yet, though a few have left for a while to explore on their own.”
“Kita can’t do this,” Sven said firmly.
Sarin shrugged. “It’s between her and Kristi.”
“It’s Kristi’s choice,” said Sven. “Come on. We’ll get you down to the lab and see about reversing this.”
“Daddy, you didn’t even ask her if this is what she wanted. You’re acting as badly as Kita. It’s Kristi’s decision.”
“I don’t know,” said Kristi. “Why me?”
Sarin smiled and touched Kristi’s cheek tenderly. “Because you met Kita’s criteria. You remind me of Dev. She was Kita’s press secretary, and later she managed the Office of the Vicereine. Not all battles are fought with swords and bullets. Kita recognized this. I think she sees the same potential in you that she saw in Dev. Your knowledge and skills will be invaluable to the Angels.”
“What about me?” demanded Sven.
“We’re not leaving right away. There will be time to train a replacement.”
“No one can replace Kristi.”
“That is true, but don’t you think it’s time she was rewarded for her service? She can’t be an executive secretary forever. She’s too good. Kita realizes this and is giving her the opportunity to take the next step. But, it is Kristi’s decision.”
Kristi dabbed at her tears, taking slow breaths. “I’m not a warrior like you, Jane.”
“You’re a different kind of warrior.”
“What if I want to be a warrior like you?”
“Then I can teach you and have Kita give you some offensive abilities.”
Kristi laughed and cried at the same time.
“Kristi?” said Sven in an uncertain tone.
“Talking to Kita I dreamed what it would be like, but I never thought…I never thought I would become one.”
“Welcome to the most exclusive girls club in the equation,” said Sarin.
“What about me?” Sven grumbled under his breath.
“Daddy,” Sarin snapped. “Be happy for her. This is a big deal. Not everything is about you. Now, I’ll give you the compounds for the pain meds.”
Sven sighed. “I’ll make sure she has them within the hour.”
“What are we going to tell Ray?” said Kristi. “He’s going to notice my back and the pain. I left this morning before he woke.”
Sarin made a disapproving sound.
“We need to tell him,” said Sven in a tone he used to make executive decisions.
Sarin rolled her eyes at his tone. “The only time we had an Angel married to a human it didn’t end well. He killed Dev and Talli during the coup. I’m not saying that’s what will happen here, but we probably should move them to a more secure location.”
“I have the visitors’ apartments in building three. We can have some of them remodeled.”
“Ray isn’t going to want to move on a whim. I need to tell him,” said Kristi.
“Has Ray ever been to our villa?” said Sarin.
“For parties and social events.”
“Tell him tonight he’s got a dinner date with Daddy. He wants to personally apologize for overworking you for the last two months.”
“Will he go for that?” said Sven. “I can get him season tickets to the Seahorses. He just has to come over to pick them up so I can apologize in person. I think he’d like to see you recognized for all your dedication.”
“He’d probably come for that,” said Kristi. “I don’t know how keen he’ll be on moving.”
“We’ll convince him,” replied Sarin. “It’s for safety, especially yours.”
“He’s retired, right?” said Sven with an apologetic look to Kristi.
Daddy, that’s a bit of information you should know.
“Yes. Sixty years in the Legion. I’m afraid he’ll get cabin fever having to live here.”
“He’ll be free to come and go as he pleases.”
“What time should I tell him?”
“We’ll make it early, so we don’t have to hang around here all day,” said Sarin.
“Can I come?” said Kita, her question scrolling along the bottom of the painting hanging in the bathroom.
“You’d better,” said Sarin. “This is your mess. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“You barely talk to me anymore,” wrote Kita.
“As much as I love the sentiment behind Kita’s choice to send you, you’re not her, and all you do is make my heart hurt. I’m sorry. I love Kita, but you’re missing the most important part of her, her heart.”
“WAAAAHHHHHHHH,” filled every screen in the room.
“What does that mean?” said Sven.
“She’s crying,” said Sarin. “Kita, stop it. You can’t complain about missing something you never had. When you do get here, and you rejoin with your biological self, I will be all over you. Until then, keep helping. The more you do, the better prepared we’ll be for when you arrive. Do you understand me, babe?”
“Yes,” appeared on a painting.
Sarin could hear the dejection from the printed word. “I love you, babe.”
“I love you,” appeared slowly.
“Is there any way to make the transition easier for Kristi?”
“Not without having my body. I wanted the transformation to be gradual, so she wouldn’t be noticed.”
Sarin tapped her nail on her teeth. “Can I do it?”
“No. The bionanites I use aren’t made in the barb glands. They come from synthetic glands next to my heart.”
“Ah, that’s so sweet.”
“How much longer will it take?” Sven asked.
“A few more weeks. I didn’t think about synthesizing a painkiller. I can mix it in with the coffee.”
“And make it taste better,” said Sarin. “I know you rarely think of the comfort of new Angels, but try to do it here.”
“Vanilla, chocolate, or mocha?” Kita wrote.
“Mocha,” said Kristi.
“I’ll get on it. Do I still get to come tonight?”
“Of course, babe,” said Sarin. “We’ll hold it in my wing of the house so you can use the holographic theater.”
“Ok. Bye.”
“Babe, don’t be that way. We love you,” said Sarin. She waited a moment before sighing heavily. “I love her, but some days I just want to slap her.”
“I know the feeling,” said Kristi.
“I’ll go home and prepare for tonight. Anything Ray likes in particular?”
“I’ll send you a list. I guess I should get changed into something more professional.”
“Keep on what you’ve got. You might get a growth spurt.”
“I don’t mind a casual Tuesday,” said Sven. “Nothing’s planned for today anyway.”
“I will see you both early this evening,” Sarin said and then vanished.
Sarin moved about her common area making sure her displays were perfect. Her collection of pistols and rifles showed the evolution of her firearms. Few knew she was a master gunsmith. On an adjoining wall hung Razorsplitter and her Arconian kit for the hundreds of cycles she’d led Arcone. Her diplomas and certifications she’d earned hung on a third wall. It included a picture of the graduation ceremony the twins had held for her. The child-made diploma hung next to the picture. On the last wall, she displayed pictures of her and the other Angels along with trophies from different adventures.
The doorbell rang. Sarin phased across the house to the massive main door. Putting on her outside persona she used to fool the Political Bureau, she opened the door with a guarded smile.
“Hello, Mister Wolfe. Please come in. My father and your wife have not arrived yet. Please, follow me into my wing of the house,” she said in a quiet formal voice. She led him down a side passage. In silence, Ray hurried to catch up to her.
“Can I get you anything to drink, Mister Wolfe?” Sarin asked when they arrived.
Ray looked around at the w
alls in stunned silence. “I’ll just have a beer.”
“Of course. We have a large selection.”
“I’m simple, kid. Just a Wheizer for me.”
Sarin directed the drink dispenser to prepare the beverage.
“I didn’t know your old man was into collecting illegal firearms. Lucky for him I’m retired.” Ray chuckled as he looked at the wall of weapons.
Sarin carried the beer over to the man. “Your beer, sir.”
Ray turned around and jumped back into the display when he saw Sarin. She waved her hand and caught everything before any damage was done. “They don’t belong to my father. They belong to me.” A wicked grin flashed across her face. She wore her Legion uniform, with her wings still hidden. “I know they’re more deadly than a light rifle, but on the planet where I was stationed, you needed something more deadly than a flashlight. I suppose you know what I mean, Sergeant Major?”
Ray sputtered for words as Sarin placed the beer on a table that appeared from under it. She walked over to the wall of weapons and pulled off a pair of pistols specially made for her Legion uniform. She opened a pocket, pulled out her beret, and put it on her head. Next, she pinned her rank on her collar.
“Deputy Commandant was one of the many careers I had on that nameless planet the Empire rescued me from. I was very disappointed when they refused to recognize my rank and time in service. They took the word of a Political Bureau rat over mine. Still, I am striking, don’t you think?”
The man’s face was beet red. “I don’t care whose daughter you are. I’ll turn your lying bitch ass in. There’s enough illegal weaponry here to put you away forever.”
Sarin smiled sideways. “You’re free to tell it to my superior. She’s standing behind you.”
Kita stepped from out of the wall and stood next to Ray. She wore her version of the Legion uniform. Instead of black and red, hers was black.
“Your objection is noted, Sergeant Major,” said Kita. “But, my second is doing just fine.”
“I knew you Gjords were daft in the head, but not this crazy,” said Ray.
Kita and Sarin smiled at each other.