Alice put the mug down on her bedside table and looked at him in the mirror for a moment before turning her attention back to herself. “The Alice you met is still here,” she said, unsure until the words were in the air. “She’s just done some growing up, found that there’s a whole world of experiences to learn from. Experiences she’s already had.” Her blue eyes stared back at her from the mirror, finally looking more like her own. It would take more mirror gazing, but she knew that she’d feel like she owned that body before long. A notice in the mirrored wall informed her that Ayan was on her way for a visit. “Looks like self-image therapy is over for today. Can you buy me about half an hour, Theo?” she asked, handing him the mostly empty mug. “I want to get washed up before Ayan gets here.”
“I’ll let her in when she arrives. That is, if you want me to stay around.”
“This is your home for as long as you want it to be, that hasn’t changed.”
“Thank you, Alice.”
* * *
Once Theodore left, the alterations began. Alice rushed to the shower, starting the vibro-emitters and the waterjets. She opened an interface on a stall wall. “Roomie, I’m putting together a nine layer suit on this surface, tell me if you can make it.”
“Yes, Alice,” came the response from speakers overhead, the sound was distorted by the vibrations in the air that scrubbed her clean.
What she designed was a simple fitted sky blue vacsuit at first; thin in a style that would give her an easy range of motion. The simplicity ended there. A comfortable environmental management layer was innermost, then a medical layer loaded with nanobots, regeneration medication capsules and emitters. Then came inner armour using Rexcite, a flexible metal developed by Lorander that was non-conductive and reacted to different kinds of damage. The strength augmentation layers came next, a pair of synthetic muscle systems that worked with her own. The computing layer followed, then two layers of active armour and a cosmetic layer that hid attachment hot spots for heavier varieties of armours. She added an energy collection system that ran through all the layers that would convert body heat, motion, pressure and light into power that would be stored in microscopic cells throughout the garment. Most of the materials and technologies were so new and sophisticated that she barely had clearance to use them in a design, let alone have them manufactured. “Save that, have it printed at the manufacturing hub, then delivered to my room on a drone. Highest priority.” She looked her completed design over again and nodded to herself. “All those systems packed in under a millimetre.”
As the stall dried her, pulsing the water off and blowing her with warm air, she squeezed water from a handful of hair then looked at a lock. “Blonde?” she asked no one in particular. An image of her head and shoulders appeared on the wall with blonde hair. “That would be a mistake,” she muttered. “Black.” The image changed to match. “Closer. Dark red, start with crimson. Add twenty percent curl and make it shoulder length.” The image made her grin. “One shade darker, that’s it. Package that into a modification pod and let’s have it.” She stepped out of the shower and took a small silver pod from the dispenser beside the sink. An army of nanobots loaded with ingredients erupted from the container as soon as it was uncapped and went to work, changing the colour, length and style of her hair to match the image she approved.
The sound of a delivery arriving at the slot inside her closet, a metal thunk that she barely heard, told her that her new suit arrived. “That was fast,” she muttered.
“There are messages for you from command. They were set to arrive half an hour after you woke up,” Roomie said.
Alice crossed the room and opened her closet, finding the tube in the bottom. It was heavy, the dense, advanced vacsuit would be perfect. “Put them on hold until Ayan gets here. She’s the Admiral, I want to see what she has to say about my medical suspension. That’s the first thing it says, right?”
“You are correct,” Roomie answered.
“I have a few questions, then,” Alice said. The suit went on like a second skin, but it still felt substantial, just a little heavy. Most importantly, it felt like the suits she used to wear. The technology inside was far more advanced, but it couldn’t be felt.
A look in the mirror brought her smile back. With a pinch of her fingers she opened the collar and opened a modest slit down the top. It wasn’t how she pictured herself, but with the dark red hair, the blue vacsuit that looked so much like her old favourites and the heavy combat boots she stepped into, she liked what she saw. “That’s more like it.”
Ayan was waiting with Theodore in the living room, Lieutenant Commander Terran at her side. All three of them looked up to the bedroom with expressions of surprise. “How do you feel?” Ayan asked.
“Better all the time,” Alice replied. “Where’s Lewis?”
“He’s installed in the Clever Dream,” Ayan said. “We delivered it to your hangar this morning.”
“Admiral, if I may,” the Lieutenant Commander said, his chin tilted up a little too high. “I’d like to ask a few questions before we start providing the Lieutenant with more information. There’s an established order to this…”
“To this unprecedented event?” Alice asked with an upraised right eyebrow. “You’ve debriefed a lot of people who have had their brains unscrambled, remembered a whole lifetime in a few minutes?”
Terran looked to Ayan, who looked a little shocked, but also sported a little smile. She took a step back. “Do your duty, Commander.”
“You’ve had a promotion,” Alice said, amused. “Congratulations, Terran, that was quick. I should have noticed the change on your uniform.”
Commander Terran cleared his throat and nodded. He watched Alice, who was tugging on a few places on her suit, making small adjustments to its fit. After a moment he gave up on waiting for her to finish. “Lieutenant Valent, I’m sorry to inform you that you have been suspended pending psychological review. Haven Fleet has, however determined that you were not at fault for your actions aboard the Exile.”
“How the hell did you determine that?” Alice laughed. “Was there some kind of telepathy log? Did the Geist tell you it was all his fault?” Her irritation raised so quick that it shocked her, and Alice shook her head as if it might rattle things back into place. On the verge of anger, she wasn’t sure what she’d say.
“I was one of the officers who made the determination, and yes, his admission of guilt is on record.”
“You believed it? How many telepaths have you met in your lifetime, Commander?” Alice asked. “I’m curious, how many?”
“It was the only one,” he replied.
“I can guarantee that you’ve met at least a handful of empaths and one or two telepaths if you’ve been here for a year,” Alice said.
“I don’t know where you’re getting your information, Lieutenant,” the Commander put heavy emphasis on Alice’s rank, and was interrupted for his trouble.
“Hold on,” Alice barked. It was a new thing, being able to think while anger steadily rose in her. “You’ve met people on leave from Lorander, right?” There was no response. “Right?” she pressed.
“Briefly.”
“You’ve met a higher ranking Aucharian, and at least a few Mergillians, maybe a few much older Nafalli, right?”
“Yes,” he replied, growing visibly impatient.
“What about an advisor or guide from the Solar Forge? You know, one of the senior Lorander representatives in blue.”
“Of course, but…” Terran said.
She cut off whatever retort he’d managed to assemble. “Then you’ve met empaths, they have felt what you’re feeling or known your intentions, and you have definitely met at least one telepath who has read you. Now, how am I supposed to trust that your investigation was good enough to determine anything if you aren’t even aware that more than one person has been in your head? Have you ever tried to barter with a Mergillian?”
“Lieutenant, I believe we’ve gotten off track,�
� the Commander said. He looked to Ayan, who sat down on the end of the sofa, visibly entertained.
“You’re not qualified to speak to an enemy telepath, Commander. You’re definitely not qualified to judge whether one is sincere in their confession, or if you are communicating with it effectively at all. Compared to that thing, you’re a little disposable paper doll; two dimensional and insubstantial,” Alice said. “I hope you have suppressors or at least a neural static generator strapped right to it, otherwise that Geist is going to make you and the Fleet bloody miserable.”
“We are using suppressors, I’ve never heard of a neural static generator,” the commander replied.
“Look it up, you need both. Turn the static generator up until everyone - even the non-telepaths - feels like their brains itch. Oh, and if you’re not going to incinerate it, then you have to drill each device into the surface of its skull. I have seen inside that thing’s mind and it is our enemy. The Exile was sent with one mission; to assess our military strength, our competence and then return. The Geist will finish that mission eventually if you let it live, I can guarantee it. When Citadel and the Order hear how completely foolish most of our military organization is, they will send everything they have and make sure we don’t get any more bright ideas about causing trouble for them in this sector.” She paused for a moment, looking Commander Terran in the eye. “Commander,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “Really? What happened? Did everyone above you die this morning? Did they need someone to stand in for a few days while they beg the British for really qualified people?”
“I am your superior officer, and am due the respect…”
“I’ve met real military before, there is one sitting right behind you. She’s no back room hobbyist tactician who lied on their application and tested well.” Alice saw it then. Commander Terran should have been furious at being called a cheat, but he was immediately afraid.
“That’s it, isn’t it? Everything you know is theoretical. Well, take my advice; stay away from monsters. The Geist will get in your head and start pulling you apart from the inside if you don’t kill it or completely suppress it.”
“The Commander will pass that on to command,” Ayan said after a moment of silence.
“I will,” agreed Terran stiffly. He was good as a diplomat, refusing to get drawn into an argument, turning away from her challenges and her insults. Instead, he cleared his throat and said; “I’m wondering if you’d volunteer to consult on the Geist’s…”
“Hell no!” Alice replied. “That thing was able to tap into my brain from a million kilometres away, I’m not going to get closer. Are you crazy?”
“It was using an emergency transmitter that we didn’t see aboard the Exile because it was only made to amplify telepathic signals,” Terran explained.
“That was destroyed, right?” Alice asked.
“I can’t comment on that.”
“Keeping it for research,” Alice muttered. “Every military organization becomes the same as every other military organization eventually. Can you do something about this?” she asked, looking to Ayan.
“I made sure it was disassembled and the parts were sent to separate labs,” Ayan said, nodding. “We’re reverse engineering it so we can develop a system for our ships that will block incoming telepathic signals. We expect to be installing the first suppressors by the end of day tomorrow.”
“There,” Alice said. “So, Commander, what were you planning on asking me. You ask me a question, I’ll ask you a question. The game stops when the answers do.”
“That is not how debriefs work, Lieutenant,” the Commander said.
“The dye is still drying on your uniform,” Alice replied coolly. “Don’t play soldier with me, little boy. Do this my way or get out.”
Commander Terran’s face turned red and he looked at his feet.
Alice didn’t see the point of the Commander staying any longer, so she took that moment to stride up to him, stopping nose to nose. He looked at her with an uncertain expression verging on fear. “Fake.” Alice whispered. Before he could react, his sidearm was in Alice’s hand and he was pushed down, sprawling across the floor. “Can you even fight for yourself?” Alice asked, activating the weapon. The stock turned red, indicating that it was biologically locked.
The emotions she felt were completely different from what she experienced before. The whole prospect of her commanding officer being ill equipped was insulting. He had thousands of lives in his hands. They had to trust him, to obey his orders. Even worse, her trust in Haven Fleet was eroding quickly. She felt white hot, a clean fury that burned away doubt and made every step ahead of her crystal clear. This was new, this was pure and more sensation than she had ever felt.
Alice pried the cover off the back of the weapon with the help of the muscle enhancements in her gloves and pulled a small bundle of wires free. The Commander didn’t fight but scrambled backwards. “The clock is ticking, little boy; are you going to stop me from hacking your weapon and shooting you?” Alice asked menacingly.
Terran’s head hit the soft back of the sofa. He yelped, the panic on his face was complete with tears and whimpers. “Please, don’t.”
The safety device locking the weapon came free, and Alice joined the power wires, bypassing it completely. “Look, I’ve stolen your weapon without resistance,” Alice said. “Then you gave me time to remove the safety device locking it, and I’ve hotwired it so I can fire at whoever or whatever I want. Did you know that you could have tapped into my suit with a command and held me in place? If I were your enemy, you would be target practice. ‘Commander Target Practice;’ it has a ring to it.”
“Alice!” Ayan shouted, on her feet.
Alice yanked the power unit from the weapon, showering the Commander in sparks, pulled the main circuit board out and made sure that there was no charge left in the emitter before dropping the pieces on the Commander’s chest. “Your promotion is a joke. You’re a joke. Any part of Haven Fleet that you’re running is a joke, and you’re going to get thousands of people who trust you killed. Take your little broken toy gun and get out before I publish the video of our conversation.”
The Commander started gathering the wires from where they fell on his chest. Alice sighed and said; “this is for you, Dad,” remembering a few of Jonas’ more impatient moments before pulling the Commander to his feet by his collar, then rapidly walking him to the door. She pushed Terran forward towards the threshold expecting the door to open, but the Commander collided with it instead. “Roomie! Door!” Alice shouted.
The door opened and Commander Terran retreated at speed. “Do you want to be discharged, Alice?” Ayan asked.
Alice took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning around to join Ayan and Theodore in the living room. Her anger was fading so fast. There was a little regret, but she was absolutely amazed at how quickly all traces of rage drained away. In her first body nothing was as intense, but negative emotions would linger for days. “I don’t know if I want to get tossed out, Ayan,” Alice replied. “All I do know about Haven Fleet is that I suspected that the wrong people were rising in the ranks thanks to long past victories, lies on their service records with other governments, and an uncanny ability to fail upwards. Now that I have the spine to find out for sure, I know there’s truth to that. I bet two thirds of our officers have no idea what they’re doing and you’re about to launch a new wave of ships that will be captained by panicky, inexperienced stuffed suits. Honestly, I think you and Oz and whoever else has real, current experience like maybe Ruby Sima or the other Irish Captains should find the chaff and demote them to trainees. That guy, that Commander should be the first. I wouldn’t trust him to be the event coordinator on a pleasure cruise. If I can find a way to make a difference in this war, then I’ll follow through. First I want to know where Jake is.”
“We still don’t know,” Ayan said. “I’m sorry.”
That hurt. She had a physical reaction; a pang in the middle of
her gut. That was new too. “All right, then how is Oz?”
Ayan looked at the door then back to Alice. Her brow was furrowed, she looked a little defeated, but Alice knew her better than she realized. What Ayan saw; a cowering Commander with the fortitude of a newborn kitten, would sink in. She’d see that Alice was only proving a point, and things would start to change. “Oz is recovering. The damage you did to his knee is fixed. The mental damage will take a little longer, but he’s in good spirits. Do you really think we should kill the Geist?”
“He’s been telling you the same thing, hasn’t he?” Alice asked gently. Ayan was a military officer by training, it was true, but she was also a researcher, an engineer.
“To everyone who will listen.”
“He’s right. I was only able to see a tiny fraction of what was going on in the Geist’s head. It wants to bring firepower here so everything in the solar system burns. Kambis is a major victory for them. There was a Geist on the ship that sacrificed itself to set that world on fire. They are fiercely loyal to their commanders.”
“I’ll have it done quietly.”
“Pardon me,” Theodore said meekly. “Can I offer a suggestion?”
“Sure, Theo,” Alice replied.
“I don’t know about killing the Geist, but I do worry about humans or other biological beings that may be in close contact with it. I think that might be a little...” He hesitated for a moment. “Foolish. Perhaps you should have a number of Ando model robots attend to it. They are intelligent enough for the task but not terribly deep thinkers without being prompted. Losing a few would not mean much to the fleet since there are hundreds across the system awaiting reprogramming.”
“That’s what we’re doing now,” Ayan said. “We had to put the Geist into stasis because it kept on hijacking soldiers. No one was killed, but it was close.”
“Good, I should have realized you’d have that taken care of already,” Theo said.
“It was a good suggestion,” Ayan said. “Thank you.”
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11 Page 26