Death's Handmaiden

by Niall Teasdale

  Nava shook her head. ‘No.’

  ‘They’re not a minority?’

  ‘Not that. The problem isn’t a warrior culture in the school. Felix Leavitt probably had no experience of the outside world when he gave those interviews. Clan Worlds society as a whole suffers from a glorification of the “warrior.” Not that most of them would know what the word really means. I’m told that the least discriminatory sector as far as sorcery is concerned is among spaceship crews. They rely upon magicians to survive. Both faster-than-light communications and transport rely on sorcery to work at all. Artificial gravity and antigravity may not be required, but they certainly are convenient. Without a magician, modern spaceships would be a lot less comfortable and it would take decades or centuries to travel between systems.’

  ‘Even in-system,’ Rochester said. He had his ketcom out and was tapping at the screen. ‘Using least-energy, Hohmann transfers to get from Shinden out to the mining stations in the asteroid belt, you’d be looking at three and a half years in space. With a least-time, brachistochrone transfer using a ship capable of one gravity of acceleration, the time is about a week. Magicians are indispensable for space travel in the modern world.’

  ‘And yet,’ Nava went on, ‘society as a whole views sorcery as a tool for war. Most of the populace aren’t interested unless someone can throw around attack spells.’

  ‘And, perversely, they consider magicians to be dangerous,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Because they only view sorcery as useful if it can blow things up, they see magicians as disasters waiting to happen.’ She shrugged. ‘Nothing much we can do about it. If they haven’t got the idea that sorcery is a good thing by now, they never will. Their power is generated using fusion reactors which couldn’t function without sorcery.’

  ‘Well, I don’t mind being considered dangerous,’ Nava said.

  ‘You don’t, but–’

  ‘Well, it’s not a prejudice. I really am about as dangerous as they think.’

  ‘No,’ Mitsuko said firmly, ‘you’re not.’

  Nava gave her a look. It was more or less the same look as always, but there was more of a stare behind it. ‘You just haven’t seen me get angry, and I hope you never do. You really wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.’

  ~~~

  ‘That felt like a long day,’ Melissa said. It was, once again, after dinner and, once again, they were in the sauna. This time Rochester had actually suggested it, saying that his back ached from hunching over a terminal all day. Well, technically, he had said he was going to spend some time in there and the girls had trooped in after him, but he seemed less concerned tonight.

  That said, his eyes were closed and his head was resting against Melissa’s hip. ‘I hope we get this all finished before Sunday,’ he said. ‘I think I’ll need a day to sleep it off.’

  ‘We can’t keep this pace up all week,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I think tomorrow will be lighter because we’ll be waiting for data to come through the FTL system.’

  ‘That’s a valid point,’ Rochester said.

  ‘And it’s Mel’s birthday tomorrow. We need to take at least a moment to celebrate.’

  ‘Not that sixteen is a big one,’ Melissa said. ‘I guess a little celebration would be good.’

  ‘Even I’m waiting for some data from another system,’ Nava said.

  ‘Oh?’ Mitsuko asked. She was back on the platform above Nava. Nava had her head resting against Mitsuko’s thigh. They had all just assumed the same positions as the evening before, like it was the right thing to do.

  ‘I asked for some news stories from Floridia Three.’

  ‘That’s the Orlando clan’s planet, right?’

  ‘Mm. Felix Leavitt Orlando has given a number of interviews to local news media. I’ve asked to see them.’

  ‘Okay. What about the other members of the panel?’

  ‘Well, the principal is going to be on it with us. That’s likely to be… interesting. However, I doubt he’ll say anything we fundamentally disagree with. There’s going to be an ASF representative. They haven’t announced who that’s going to be, but I’ve put together a basic profile of the ASF’s attitude to sorcery education. There’s someone on the assembly who’s part of the Special Interest Group on Education. That’s SIGED and his name is Oliver Barnes Garavain. I’m working his profile in the morning. And there’s someone from a research organisation developing educational techniques and technologies. Sarah Keifer Plank. I don’t know much about her yet.’

  ‘Should we really be talking about this during our relaxation time?’ Rochester asked.

  ‘No,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I apologise.’

  ‘Well, I was the one suggesting we couldn’t keep working like this…’

  The steam spray thing chose that moment to hiss into life and silence fell. Visibility across the room reduced as a haze of steam filled the air. Nava looked across the misty space between her and the opposite couple. Both of them had their eyes closed and it looked like they would probably be staying like that for a while.

  Reaching up and back, Nava wrapped her fingers around Mitsuko’s right breast. Mitsuko’s body stiffened, but she did not make a sound. Perfect. Nava began to stroke and squeeze, her fingers slipping easily over skin rendered slick by steam and sweat. Clearly trying to retaliate, Mitsuko reached for Nava’s chest, but it was just out of reach. Besides, Nava captured the groping hand, popped the index finger into her mouth, and began to suck.

  After a minute or so, Mitsuko’s body was trembling. She seemed to have decided that Nava had trapped her, that there was nothing she could do. So, she lay there, aware that they could be seen if Melissa or Rochester just opened their eyes. The danger was possibly winding her up more than Nava’s fingers. The steam was fading now, and Nava was waiting for the next burst. Her hand tightened and relaxed around Mitsuko’s breast, sliding toward her nipple and then back down. Mitsuko’s trembling was getting more violent.

  With a hiss, steam filled the room again and Nava’s fingers clamped down on Mitsuko’s nipple. The trembling stopped, replaced by a sudden tightening of muscles. Nava heard a little, rapidly suppressed cry, but she very much doubted that Melissa or Rochester had heard it over the hissing steam. Nava gave Mitsuko’s breast a light pat, as if to say ‘good girl,’ and then she released Mitsuko’s finger and settled back into her resting position.

  ‘Did you say something, Suki?’ Melissa mumbled from across the room.

  Mitsuko coughed. ‘No. No, I didn’t say anything.’

  ‘Huh. Thought I heard something. Probably just the steam.’

  ‘Yes. I’m sure it was…’

  ~~~

  ‘You are evil,’ Mitsuko said as they prepared for bed.

  Nava gave a small shrug. ‘You only just figured that out?’

  235/8/7.

  Nava went up to the roof to bring Courtney and Kyle down from where a Trenton-owned tiltrotor was dropping them off. Mitsuko’s father was really good about stuff like that, it seemed.

  ‘We could’ve made our way here by public transport,’ Courtney said as Nava used her ketcom to instruct the elevator where to stop.

  ‘I have no doubt,’ Nava replied. ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t have to?’

  ‘It’s quicker with a private tiltrotor,’ Kyle replied. ‘I am not complaining.’

  ‘I thought not. I didn’t. Suki’s in the meeting room with Mel and Chess. They’re up to their eyes in statistics. Suki said to show you the bedrooms so you can pick one, then they’ll do a briefing on where they’ve got to.’

  ‘She’s planning this like a military campaign,’ Courtney said.

  ‘Well, since we don’t know exactly what the agenda will be, it is like a military campaign. We need to be ready for any eventuality. Speaking of which, what can you tell me about Oliver Barnes Garavain?’ The elevator doors opened, and Nava led the way into the reception room and on through.

  ‘Um, not a whole bunch. Why?’

  ‘He’s on the panel and Suki has me
profiling the other panel members.’

  ‘She is running this like a military campaign,’ Kyle said, sounding impressed.

  ‘Mm. I’d say I was rubbing off on her, but I think she’s always been like this.’

  ‘Sneaky and underhanded?’ Courtney asked, grinning to show it was a joke.

  ‘Thank you for the compliment,’ Nava replied.

  ~~~

  ‘Okay, Oliver Barnes.’ Courtney had been briefed on the current state of play and had come over to Nava’s office to provide what insight she could. Kyle was with her, of course. ‘Well, I’ve called my clan backward and the Barnes family are hardly an exception. They’re actually one of the most powerful families in the clan, so it’s hardly surprising that one of them is among the clan representatives here. I highly doubt his appointment was based on merit. Honestly, I had to look him up. I think I recognise his picture, but he’s never come to my notice before now. I know Raffaele Chevalier Garavain, the current ambassador. The Chevaliers are the current head family of the clan and Raffaele… He’s very conservative.’

  ‘I see,’ Nava said. ‘Can you think of a reason why Oliver Barnes would be interested in education?’

  ‘Uh, the Barneses started an engineering school on Garavain Prime. They’re not exactly sorcery-positive, if you take my meaning. They believe in advancing mundane science and engineering. I don’t actually think they’re wrong…’

  ‘But it’s unlikely that Oliver Barnes is particularly positive about sorcery education.’

  ‘That’s a fair assessment, but it might be wrong. Maybe Oliver has a different view to the rest of his family. I just doubt it. Not since he’s been assigned to the assembly.’

  Nava nodded, paused, and then asked another question. ‘When you say your clan is backward, or traditionalist as Yuzuki Trenton put it, what do you mean?’

  ‘Well, all our representatives in the assembly are men. All from the highest-ranking families too. I wouldn’t say that women are treated badly, but you’re more likely to see men in positions of power in the Garavain system. Sorcery is considered necessary, but not desirable. Magicians are less common among the Garavains than most clans. There are no advanced sorcery schools in the system, which is why I left to come here.’ Courtney gave a bleak sort of grin. ‘My parents agreed to me attending SAS-squared because they had this weird idea that I’d see how good things were back home if I spent six years away.’ She glanced at Kyle. ‘That really backfired.’

  Kyle shrugged. ‘It’s not like my world doesn’t have its traditionalists. The House clan isn’t exactly forward in its thinking, and outside clan lands… Well, another issue with our relationship is that my parents expect me to head back to Beherbergen to help fight our local terrorists.’

  ‘I wasn’t aware of a terrorist group from Beherbergen,’ Nava said.

  ‘Free Beherbergen. Well, Befreit Beherbergen, actually, which would usually be translated as “free accommodation.” German is the second language of Beherbergen and the main language outside clan lands. Anyway, they’re domestic terrorists, though they have taken action off-world. They first came to notice when they bombed the Clan Worlds Alliance office in Hausman City in one fifty-three. They want us to leave the Alliance and “go back to our roots.” They’re crazy survivalists, when it comes right down to it.’

  Nava nodded. What she said was, ‘Your planet’s name means “accommodation?”’

  ‘Harbour. It’s one of those words that can mean several things. I don’t necessarily think “harbour” is better than “accommodation.” Anyway, we’re the House clan.’

  ‘Yes. You make a valid point. What does Garavain mean?’

  ‘It’s a corruption of Garavan,’ Courtney replied. ‘I think that’s French. Or Italian. I think there was a long, twisting path to get there, but the really early history of the clan isn’t something I was taught.’

  ‘And it’s at times like this that I’m happy I don’t have a clan name,’ Nava said.

  ‘Well, I’m not going to say I don’t envy you that sometimes. Being clanless isn’t exactly ideal in the Clan Worlds, but my life would be less complicated if I wasn’t in a clan.’

  ‘The grass is always greener,’ Kyle said.

  ‘The grass on my side is yellow, patchy, and it can’t afford the rent,’ Nava said. ‘So you must have really bad grass.’

  ~~~

  ‘I could get used to this,’ Kyle said on a sigh.

  They were back in the sauna. Nava, Mitsuko, Melissa, and Rochester had assumed the same positions as the last two nights. Kyle and Courtney were sitting beside each other in between the other couples. Rochester had more reason to keep his eyes shut, but he did seem to be getting over it to some extent. Maybe it was because Kyle had a towel in his lap too; if someone as confident as Kyle needed to ‘conceal his feeling’ on the situation, then maybe Rochester was feeling less of a fool.

  ‘You’re just saying that because you’re surrounded by naked, sweaty women,’ Courtney said.

  ‘There is a degree of truth in that assertion. Damn, Chess, you’ve had two days of this already and you’re still functioning normally?’

  ‘No one has ever accused me of being normal before,’ Rochester replied. ‘I find this uncommonly relaxing. I wouldn’t have believed it myself without being here and the first night was embarrassing, but…’

  ‘After a day of nonstop computer work,’ Melissa said, ‘this is a great way to unwind.’ There was a short pause and then she added, ‘Oh, I got the name of the ASF person on the panel.’

  ‘Oh?’ Nava asked. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘It’s a First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton.’

  ‘She’s the one who came to arrest Tracey Spears Cook,’ Courtney said.

  ‘Oh. Well, according to the information I have, she’s some sort of liaison officer. Do you know her, Nava?’

  ‘We’ve met,’ Nava replied. ‘I believe she handles a number of liaison operations within the ASF and externally.’

  ‘What’s she like?’ Mitsuko asked.

  ‘Seemed like a nice enough person to me,’ Courtney said.

  ‘She’s not the most formal of officers,’ Nava said. ‘Fairly young. About my height. Pretty. Fit. Competent.’

  ‘Stacked,’ Courtney added.

  ‘That too. She’ll be pro-sorcery, though she’s not a sorceress. She was a marine before they promoted her, but she doesn’t seem to share their general dislike of support magicians.’

  ‘Okay,’ Mitsuko said, ‘not one to worry about.’

  ‘No, she’s not someone we need to worry over,’ Nava said. Sometimes, keeping secrets was harder than it needed to be.

  235/8/8.

  Mitsuko’s ketcom trilled and she checked the screen. ‘Oh,’ she said.

  ‘Something up?’ Nava asked. Having pretty much finished her work on the panel members, she was, along with Kyle, doing odd jobs. Fetching coffee was one of the major ones, but there were other small tasks to be handled too.

  ‘First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton is in the lobby, requesting to see us.’

  ‘I see.’ Nava kept her face as straight as always, but she was wondering what the woman was up to coming to see them like this. Sometimes, secrets were really hard to keep, it seemed.

  ‘Since you know her, would you go meet her at the elevator? I’ll inform the concierge to pass her through.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Standing in the reception room and waiting for the elevator to arrive, Nava went through various iterations of why the lieutenant might be visiting. She was having a degree of difficulty coming up with anything especially positive. Speculation was not particularly useful, but she could not help herself. Still, she cut off that line of thought when the indicator above the door hit eighteen.

  The doors opened, and Nava took a fraction of a second to determine that Fawn was in her standard uniform and that she was alone. ‘Good morning, First Lieutenant,’ Nava said.

  Fawn winced before stepping
out of the car. ‘How did you manage to get such a firm reprimand into a greeting?’

  ‘I wasn’t aware that I had. Perhaps you have a guilty conscience. Might I ask the reason for your visit?’

  ‘I’m an educational liaison officer.’

  ‘Among other things.’

  ‘Among other things, I’m an educational liaison officer and I’m here because Mitsuko Trenton is appearing on the same panel as I am at the symposium. Incidentally, I’m checking up on one of my students under the ASF’s grant programme.’

  ‘I was under the impression that our relationship was confidential.’

  ‘Confidential, yes. Secret, no. It’s perfectly reasonable for me to occasionally check in with you and everyone here is a friend of yours, correct? You don’t think they can be trusted with a relatively mundane “secret?”’ Fawn added air quotes and a grin.

  Nava gave a small shrug. ‘I think they can be trusted with all of it, but it’s not my call. Very well.’ Turning, Nava led the way through the apartment to the meeting room. She checked that Fawn was through the door with her before saying, ‘Let me introduce First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton. I’m informed that I can also introduce her as the liaison officer assigned to me by the ASF under their grant programme.’

  ‘Uh, we did ask Nava to keep the names of ASF personnel she was involved with private,’ Fawn said quickly. ‘She was under the impression that it was more secret than it is. Courtney Martell, it’s nice to see you again. Everyone else, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Call me Fawn, I try not to be too formal when I’m out of the office. Not that I’ve ever managed to get Nava to listen.’

  ‘Quite correct, First Lieutenant,’ Nava said.

  Fawn winced again. ‘She’s a little irked about the misunderstanding.’

  ‘You must know her quite well,’ Melissa said. ‘Most people can’t figure out what she’s feeling, um, ever really.’

  ‘I’ve known her for a while, yes. You look surprised. Melissa Connelly, right?’

  ‘That’s me. I suppose you know who all of us are, being in the ASF. Uh, I’d just forgotten that the SAS-squared uniform was based on the ASF uniform. It looks good in black and gold.’