Death's Handmaiden

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘You wouldn’t be the first person to call me that.’

  235/2/33.

  ‘Mel, there’s something I’d like to ask you,’ Mitsuko said as the consumption of lunch began to conclude.

  Melissa was, in fact, halfway through sucking yogurt off a spoon and had to swallow quickly to answer. ‘What would you like to ask?’

  ‘I’ll need to do this formally, but I wanted to sound you out before I officially ask you.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Well, Vice President Darius Miller Fosse, Treasurer Marie Royce Sonkei, and Extracurricular Activities Committee Chair Leland Harlow Whitman are happy to remain in their positions on the council. However, Secretary Katherine Daniau Orlando is now a fifth year and found herself struggling to handle her studies and the council work last year. She’s an experienced council member and we’ll miss her, but she will be available to advise her replacement for a short time.’

  Nava glanced at Mitsuko. Rochester frowned at Mitsuko. Melissa looked quizzically at Mitsuko and seemed to be the only person who had not figured out what was coming. ‘Uh, okay. What does that have to do with me?’

  ‘I want to ask whether you will become the new council secretary, Mel.’

  Nava had never believed that people’s eyes could actually bulge from shock, but Melissa was giving a good impression of it. While Melissa was being indisposed due to shock, Nava decided she should intervene. ‘Are you sure about this, Suki? Mel’s shy. She may not cope well with a job like that.’

  ‘The principal role of the secretary is just to keep everyone organised. Mel, you’d keep the council’s calendar and make sure that any scheduling issues with individuals are noticed. Uh, there’s transcribing the minutes of meetings, but that’s usually handled using a Scribe spell. The most important thing is that you remind me when I’m supposed to do something. Me and the rest of the council, obviously. You can do most of that through the info-net messaging system.’

  Mel was staring at Mitsuko like a frightened deer in the headlights of a monster truck. ‘W-w-w-why me?’

  Mitsuko lifted a hand and started ticking off reasons. ‘One, and I can’t call this a minor reason, you’re on the support stream. Without that, the council will be heavily unbalanced. Marie is a second year in support, but the others are all combat. That includes Courtney, of course. She’s staying on as SSF captain. Second, I believe you’ll keep our feet on the ground. You have a straight-forward outlook and you don’t come from some powerful family in a powerful clan. I’ll be seeking your advice and I think, once they get to know you and you them, the others will do the same. Third, I like you. I know it’s not a really great reason, but it is a solid reason. I need people I can get on with.’

  ‘W-what about Marie Royce? She’s f-from your c-clan, so–’

  ‘I’ve met her twice. Once yesterday. What did you think of her, Nava?’

  ‘Wary,’ Nava replied. ‘She’s no more sure of herself faced with a Trenton Sonkei than anyone else would be. I think she’d warmed up a little by the time your meeting was over. And she reacted to me better than Darius Miller did.’

  ‘Yes. He’s… He’s a useful man to have around. He’s a third year, on the council since the latter part of his first year after the previous VP had to resign. He knows the ropes and he’s not in the least bit controversial as a choice.’ Mitsuko paused. ‘Still, I can get on with Courtney well enough, but I’d like someone else who I know I’m happy with.’

  ‘You need to watch him. The same goes for Leland Harlow. I wouldn’t trust either of them.’

  ‘I believe that you’re a suspicious woman by nature, Nava.’ Mitsuko was smiling, but the comment was not far from the truth.

  ‘I-if you think I can do this,’ Melissa said, ‘then I’ll…’ She clutched her hands together before her chest and leaned forward, eyes wide and earnest. ‘I have to at least try.’

  Mitsuko bowed her head. ‘I thank you, Melissa Connelly. That is all that I can ask of you.’

  235/2/34.

  Officially called the Student Council Operations Room, it was something of a cross between a meeting room and an office. The central feature was a large, rectangular table made from synthetic materials – and therefore wipe-clean, heat resistant, and suitable for use as a dining table – with twelve chairs around it. Apparently, if people wished to work on it, they needed to use a portable ketcom interface. There was a desk set up at the far end from the door, and that had built-in computing facilities as well as a ketcom interface. That was for the president’s use, her ‘command chair.’ At the sides of the room were three more terminals, a refrigerator, a drinks machine, and a counter with a sink and cabinets beneath it. Light came from overhead panels, but also from a broad window behind the president’s desk. It was a cosy sort of room, nicely appointed.

  It was certainly not full. Even with the full council in residence, plus a couple of extras, there were seats free at the table. Mitsuko sat at the head of the table, furthest from the door. On either side of her were Darius Miller and Leland Harlow, the latter on her right with Courtney sitting beside him. Beside Darius Miller was Marie Royce and then Melissa. Opposite Melissa was Katherine Daniau; the outgoing secretary was sitting opposite the incoming one and ready to provide advice. The outgoing president had claimed he had family business he needed to take care of and had vanished the morning after the election.

  And there was Nava, standing beside the double door, watching. She was not entirely happy with the security in the council’s main meeting room. The window was, frankly, asking for a sniper to make use of it. The doors themselves were secure, but hardly high security. Then again, if Maya wanted in, she could teleport.

  Someone else was not entirely happy with the situation. ‘Does she have to be here?’ Darius Miller asked. He was glaring in Nava’s direction when he said it, so it was fairly obvious who ‘she’ was.

  ‘Until we’re sure the threat is over, yes,’ Courtney said before Mitsuko could make a sound.

  ‘You’re here. I don’t think–’

  ‘I’m aware of that, Darius, but I’m here to concentrate on council business, not anyone trying to murder the president.’

  ‘Well, can’t she stand–’

  ‘Outside? I was under the impression that you’d done two years of combat stream. You must be aware that the assassin can teleport…’ Darius did his best to glower at Courtney, but she was not the kind of person glowering worked on. Particularly when the man in question was barely two centimetres taller than she was.

  ‘More to the point,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I see no reason why Nava should not be here. Are we here to discuss anything which is confidential?’

  Darius frowned. ‘No, President. It’s simply a matter of practice that no unnecessary students are allowed into council meetings.’

  ‘I see. Well, that doesn’t apply here since Nava is necessary. Now, as the three council members wishing to retain their positions know, I have accepted them. Today, we make that official by entering it into the minutes.’ She gave a nod down the table to Melissa who smiled timidly and nodded back. Melissa had her ketcom open in front of her, recording everything said in the meeting. ‘Katherine is stepping down as secretary, so I have appointed Melissa Connelly Avorn to replace her. That is also now entered into the minutes. I’d also like to thank Katherine for agreeing to assist Melissa in getting started in the role she has filled so well for the past few years.’

  ‘It was my honour to serve, President,’ Katherine Daniau said.

  Mitsuko flashed a smile. ‘That’s the immediate business taken care of. We have a full council. In the next few days I plan to hold meetings with each of you in turn to discuss your specific remits and how they affect the council and the student body as a whole, but right now I’d like to explain my general position on a few things.’

  The new president paused, frowning and appearing to collect her thoughts. Nava was quite sure that this was for effect; Mitsuko already knew exactly what she was
going to say, she just wanted certain members of her council to think she was considering her words carefully. ‘Unlike the governing bodies of the Clan Worlds, this council sits at the pleasure of its constituents, the students of SAS-squared. Our purpose here is to represent them to the school and its governing body. We are providing representation for all of the students. Partiality toward specific groups will not be tolerated.’ Mitsuko nodded to Leland Harlow, the chair of the Extracurricular Activities Committee. ‘Leland, your club heads are expected to show partiality to their own club. Pushing for funds and resources for their club is expected of them. I don’t expect to hear of any partiality on your part, however.’

  ‘There is some partiality in the committee’s regulations, President,’ Leland replied, his expression and tone bland. ‘Clubs which show the school in the best light are encouraged with more resources.’ Leland was the smooth, more attractive counterpart to Darius. He had more obvious muscle on his frame, but they were about the same height. His features were a little softer than Darius’s with a more sensual mouth and a straighter nose. His eyes were dark blue, his hair a little browner and worn a little longer. He smiled quite a lot, but it was a sardonic sort of smile, as if he knew something everyone else did not.

  Mitsuko smiled. ‘You know the kind of partiality I’m referring to. I’ll say nothing more about it.’ Her gaze swept the table. ‘I understand that we have to make choices, but I want to hear clearly reasoned arguments justifying the choices we make. If something we do benefits one portion of our students more than the rest, I want to know why in a manner that a team of Sonkei clan lawyers couldn’t find a hole in. Our job… Our purpose is to see to it that every student in this school has the support and resources they need to enjoy and benefit from their time here. That’s my position, and I expect everyone on my team to operate with that in mind.’

  There were affirmations of various strengths from around the table. As Nava had guessed, Darius Miller and Leland Harlow were the least happy with the situation. Courtney looked a little conflicted and Nava was not entirely sure why that was. Mitsuko was going to be in for an interesting ride, that was for sure.

  ~~~

  The principal of SAS2 got to his feet and rounded his desk as Mitsuko entered the room just behind Nava. If you had that kind of mindset, it was something of a comical sight watching them shake hands. Nava did not have that mindset, especially since the humour stemmed from an issue she could empathise with.

  Auberon Ewart Orlando was not a tall man. He was, in fact, some two centimetres shorter than Nava. That put him at a little under seventeen centimetres shorter than Mitsuko without adding her fifteen-centimetre heels. A man of his stature had clearly had nothing to do with the uniform regulations. What he lacked in height, he made up for in personality. He was a slim man expanding a little in the stomach, the result of lack of exercise, no doubt. Dark hair was trimmed to fall almost to his shoulders in a slightly wavy curtain. His eyes were a bright blue and sparkled with wit and intelligence. He had exceptionally pale skin which added to his somewhat odd appearance. Unlike the rest of the faculty, Auberon Ewart wore a business suit. A pale-grey business suit with a pink pinstripe. His tie was an almost incandescent shade of baby pink and he had pink spats on his dress shoes. His smile had the odd characteristic of appearing to be far too wide for his face, and he smiled a great deal. School rumour suggested that he was gay – not that anyone would care about that – or asexual or that he kept a large collection of anthropomorphic animal droids in his private residence. His magical speciality was illusion, but he was a very skilled, very creative sorcerer and those who took him at face value tended to regret it.

  ‘Principal,’ Mitsuko said, returning the smile, if not quite as brightly.

  ‘President,’ Auberon said in reply. ‘Now that that’s over with, you’ll call me Auberon when we’re in private.’

  ‘If you’ll call me Mitsuko.’

  ‘Just so. And this young lady is Vice Principal Joslyn Harris Daison.’ Auberon turned slightly to indicate the woman waiting beside his desk. Of course, Nava and Mitsuko both knew who Joslyn was, but there were formalities to handle.

  One talent that Auberon lacked was skill in administration. He had Joslyn to make up for that. She was a slim, attractive woman with tanned skin, brown hair and eyes, and sufficient bust to make the uniform dress look good. She kept her hair short and carefully groomed. She liked things to be just so and was known to be a stickler for the rules. She was smart, of course. You would have to be smart to keep up – or put up – with Auberon.

  Stepping forward, she took Mitsuko’s hand. ‘President.’

  ‘Vice Principal.’

  ‘In private, you may call me Joslyn.’ She did not look especially happy about that; she was probably going along with it since Auberon insisted in the informality. Joslyn’s eyes shifted to Nava, now positioned by the door to the principal’s office, not exactly at attention, but certainly appearing to be watching everything. ‘And this, I believe, is Nava Ward.’

  ‘Ah!’ Auberon exclaimed. ‘Nava Ward. You gave us something of a headache at the start of term.’

  ‘I’m sorry about that, sir,’ Nava replied.

  ‘No! It was a rather good kind of headache. We did have to deal with the Girard Sonkeis, but that was just a matter of telling them to review the duel report. Expelling the man would have been exceptionally difficult but shipping him out in a coffin was a lot easier.’

  ‘Auberon…’ Joslyn said in the kind of weary way that suggested this was hardly the first time he had said something he should not have.

  ‘Yes, yes. The death of a child is a terrible thing. Even if he was almost certainly a psychopath. Now, let’s settle down and Mitsuko can tell us all about what she has planned for the coming year.’

  ~~~

  ‘And what did you think of the principal?’

  Nava considered her answer briefly. They were walking back to Mitsuko’s apartment from the administration block where the principal’s office was. Then they had nothing to do until the evening meal when they would be meeting up with Melissa and Rochester, no doubt.

  ‘I believe the term would be eccentric,’ Nava replied. ‘His office doesn’t fit his character. All that dark wood. And it’s a huge space that I think he rattles around in. I’m sure he would have liked more pastels. I’m not sure how he got the job, but I believe he’s a good principal. That said, he’s exceptionally intelligent and that makes him dangerous. Don’t get on his wrong side.’

  ‘Mm. And the VP?’

  ‘Stiff. Unmoving. Very loyal to the principal. So long as you don’t break the rules, she won’t be a problem.’

  ‘I think I should kick Darius out and make you my VP.’

  ‘I’d decline. I have no interest in doing something like that.’

  Mitsuko sighed. ‘I know. Want to take a shower with me when we get home?’

  ‘That is something that I do have an interest in.’

  ‘I guess I’ll have to make do with that then.’

  235/3/2.

  Courtney unlocked the front door of one of the better apartment buildings on campus with her ketcom. The Student Security Force had the authority to get into more or less any building on campus, though their use of such authority was logged, and abuse could result in serious repercussions. In this case, she was not in the least worried about that because there was an ASF officer standing right beside her.

  First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton had contacted her earlier in the day and sent her a lot of information on Tracey Spears. It had not taken Courtney long to work out what the information was saying, even without the analysis the ASF had done and Fawn had provided. Courtney had invited the lieutenant to come to the school to ‘assist with the arrest.’ It was something of a formality; given what Tracey was being accused of, the ASF could have stepped in and made the arrest themselves, even with the arrangement the school had regarding law enforcement on campus. However, that was not done when it c
ould be avoided, and it had always been avoided to date.

  Together, they walked to the building’s elevator and rode it up to the second floor, then they made their way toward Tracey Spears’ apartment.

  ‘You didn’t say how you got involved with this case,’ Courtney said as they walked.

  ‘Anonymous informant,’ Fawn lied. ‘They suggested that Tracey Spears Cook might be worth looking at and… Well, you saw what we found when we looked.’

  ‘Yeah. I don’t have the authority to do that kind of digging.’

  ‘No, but we do. Uh, you weren’t the anonymous informant, were you?’

  ‘Me? No, I didn’t suspect Tracey of–’ Courtney stopped herself. ‘Maybe I should have suspected her. How the Hell did the assassin miss on that first attempt?’

  ‘Because she wasn’t trying to hit. Make Tracey seem like the first victim, or attempted victim, and suspicion points somewhere else. It’s like that old trope of hiding a single murder in a serial case. It’s a cliché because it’s actually a pretty good tactic.’

  ‘Huh. Didn’t fool someone. We’re here.’ Reaching out, Courtney pressed the buzzer beside a door.

  The door opened a few seconds later and an annoyed Tracey Spears became a bemused Tracey Spears in a matter of seconds. ‘Courtney? And an ASF officer…’

  ‘First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton,’ Fawn said.

  ‘Okay…’ Maybe Tracey was expecting something else in an ASF officer. Fawn was not a tall woman, only a centimetre taller than Nava and seven shorter than Courtney. She looked like what you’d get if you took a cute girl and put her through strength training. She was a little too wide in the hip and muscular for modern aesthetics to call her beautiful, but she had a pretty face with moderately large green eyes, full lips, and a cute nose. Her hair was kept short in case she had to put a helmet over it, and it was a sort of plum or magenta shade which was quite distinctive. Of course, she was dressed in ASF uniform, not school uniform, which marked her as different. This was essentially the same design as the uniform both students were wearing, but black where they were blue. Like Courtney’s dress, Fawn’s had gold trim; this was why the SSF uniform had gold trim. Fawn’s boots were flat rather than heeled and came up to her knees, and her leggings were solid black, not fishnet. It was not a uniform meant for combat; the ASF wore entirely different outfits in battle.