by Cary Caffrey
The Crossroads, Free Southern Territories, Earth
Blinking open her eyes, Sigrid found herself staring up at a white tiled ceiling. The bright lights of an operating theatre shone down on her. This time, though, her optics compensated instantly. Her PCM was operational and functioning perfectly, and she knew exactly where she was.
Hitomi smiled down at her. In her hand was a tiny set of forceps. Grasped in those forceps was the shining six-centimeter probe that had been stuck in Sigrid's head for the past two weeks. Hitomi dropped it onto a stainless steel tray with a loud clatter.
Sigrid sat up slowly and flexed her jaw. Victoria's probe was only a thin sliver, but it had felt like having a large steel rod lodged in her cranium, and she was glad to be rid of it.
"That feels so much better."
"The access port is still broken," Hitomi said, "and two of your primary processors have failed. I'll have Dr. Garrett have a look at that when you get home."
Home.
The word sent anxious tendrils shooting through her.
Sigrid had spent the last week here in the Crossroads, working with Lady Godelieve, helping to restore and rebuild the trading post. While the work she did was necessary and welcome, Sigrid knew this was busywork. She was delaying things. She was nervous about returning home and having to face her sisters.
But she couldn't delay things anymore. The time had come.
Word had already been sent ahead. Her sisters would know she was coming, and they would be waiting; though what kind of welcome awaited her, Sigrid could only guess.
By now Sigrid knew more of what had happened. It wasn't a secret that she and her sisters of Alcyone had fought, but when she pressed Suko for details, those details were few and far between. "She wasn't there! She didn't see anything! It's all lies and bullshit!"
Suko was angry—she still blamed everything on the CTF and Harry Jones and the Independents. But she was also protecting her. That was obvious. The process would take time—for all of them—and she knew that, but it was enormously frustrating. What would she say to them when she got home? What would any of them say? Could she even face them at all?
"They will understand," Hitomi said.
Sigrid blinked back at her; she couldn't help wondering if Hitomi was reading her mind.
"They—?"
"You were wondering about your sisters again—yes, I can see it in your eyes. They love you, Sigrid. They know what was done to you."
"Do you really think they can forgive me?"
"I think," Hitomi said as she took Sigrid's hand, "they already know that there's nothing to forgive. You suffered a great wrong, my dear. Things were asked of you that no one has the right to demand. Now is the time for healing, and I think we are all deserving of a rest."
Hitomi tightened her grip on her hand. The simple gesture was enough to send her anxiety retreating back into the darkness, calming her. And the idea of rest did sound lovely. Time alone. Time to heal. And Sigrid knew exactly who she wanted to spend that time with.
"Go to her," Hitomi said. "I can feel her pacing outside. She's wearing a groove into the walkway."
Sigrid slid off the examination table, bending to kiss Hitomi on the cheek.
"Thank you, Hitomi."
"Whatever for?"
Sigrid picked up the metal probe from the tray, crushing it in her fingers. "For doing what you always do. Making me feel human."
~ - ~
As she exited the examination room, Sigrid barged directly into the rather large figure of Lars Koenig, the now ex-marquis di Valparaíso. His left arm was in a sling, and his head was wrapped in a heavy bandage. He was also under armed guard. Two of Colonel Bhandari's soldiers flanked him on either side.
"Ms. Rodriguez," Lars said. "Or should I say, Ms. Novak."
"Mr. Koenig."
"They told me what you did," Lars said. "I-I don't know what to say. I can't thank you enough."
"Thank me? Are you sure you want to do that? I did burn down your palace, Mr. Koenig."
"Yes," Lars said, scratching absently at the bandage across his forehead. "You did do that. But you also exposed that traitor Smith. Or Jones. Or whatever his name was. And you didn't kill me. I know that's why the magistrate sent you there."
"I was sent to kill an enemy of the Consortium, Mr. Koenig. It wasn't hard to see that you were being used. Just as I was used. Trust me, you weren't the first person to be fooled by Harry Jones."
"And I know you told the magistrate exactly that. I think it's the only reason why she's stayed my execution. Pending my trial, at least."
"The magistrate is a fair woman. Your trial will be just. Tell her the truth, Mr. Koenig, and all will go well."
Sigrid turned to move past him, but he stepped in front of her.
"I still hope our paths cross again—should you ever find yourself in need of a friend."
For a moment Sigrid caught the familiar spark in his eye, the same light of kindness he'd shown to her in Portillo. The ex-marquis was a curious man indeed.
"Be careful of the company you keep, Mr. Koenig. The next sleeper agent who comes to kill you might not change her mind."
~ - ~
Exiting the hospital, Sigrid was greeted by a glorious winter afternoon, rare for this time of year. The rains had let up, and even the clouds parted to let at least some sunlight through. The air had a crispness she hadn't sensed in a long while, and it perked her up.
Though she groaned at the sight of the crowd that was gathered and waiting for her.
Ever since her return from Portillo, the stories continued to swirl around her, growing in size and pushing the boundaries of plausibility. The taller the tales, the more the crowds swelled wherever she went. More than forty people were gathered at the hospital gates. Dozens of hopeful eyes fell upon her—the well-wishers and the curious.
Sigrid paused for a deep breath before descending into their midst. Hands reached out to her from the crowd. Not knowing what else to do, Sigrid shook the hands closest to her, giving nods to those people further away.
"You don't have to greet them all, you know," Suko said.
Sigrid was aware of Suko behind her, of course. She came to stand by her side, taking her into her arms, and for a moment the crowd melted away.
"They only want to catch a glimpse. They want to see if the Night Witch is real."
"God, I hope not," Sigrid said. "They'll only be disappointed."
"Disappointed?"
"When they realize I'm not really seven feet tall."
"Mmm. And you don't wear spiked epaulets or wield a flaming shield either. Yes, the press has gotten rather out of hand, haven't they? Frankly, I should think they'd be ecstatic. You're far more relatable than some cybernetic Viking priestess from Beta Aurigae VI."
"Beta Aurigae?" Sigrid said. "Nothing lives on Beta Aurigae."
Suko rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying you're human. That's why they love you."
"That, and the fact that we may have just wiped more than two hundred trillion in adjusted Federated dollars' worth of personal debt from the markets."
"Yes, there is that." Suko released her from her coiled embrace to take her hand. "Come, there's something you need to see. I think you'll be pleased."
Hand in hand, Sigrid let Suko lead her from the hospital, out and through the streets of the Crossroads. They might have had their pick of vehicles to whisk them to their destination, but she was in no rush and preferred to walk at Suko's side. She took her arm and let herself lean heavily against her, her head resting practically on Suko's shoulder. It seemed years since she'd had a moment like this, just to walk, not in a hurry to get anywhere too quickly. With each street they walked down, passersby turned to look, some pointing and whispering, others waving.
She never asked where they were going; it seemed clear enough. They were headed back to the transport paddock. The closer they got, the more curious Sigrid became, though Suko refused to divulge what was waiting for them there.
Before en
tering through the gates, Suko covered Sigrid's eyes with her hands, blindfolding her.
"Keep them closed! And no peeking! I'll know if you cheat."
"But I can't see where I'm going!"
"You'll be fine. Just a few more steps. Here. Stop."
Suko removed her hands. Sigrid kept her eyes closed, waiting, and not having a clue what Suko had in store for her.
"Is it a present?" Sigrid said. "For me?"
"Definitely."
"Is it jewelry?"
Even with her eyes closed, Sigrid sensed her partner's frown. "No," Suko said. "And since when do you desire jewels?"
"I wouldn't know. No one's ever given me any. Perhaps I've been missing out."
"It's not jewelry."
"Is it a kitten?"
"It's not a cat. I'm not giving you a pet. Oh, for heaven's sake. Open your damn eyes!"
Sigrid did so, slowly. And gasped.
"My God, Suko…"
"Happy?"
Happy wasn't the word for it. Amazed. Flabbergasted. Thrilled!
Sigrid ran forward. Towering over her, and casting great shadows, was a ship. And not just any ship, it was her ship. It was, of course, the Morrigan.
More than fifty meters long, it filled nearly a third of the paddock. The long, sleek shape of its crew section jutted out like a needle, while the massive thruster fairing covering its cluster of main engines flared out to its rear. Standing under the forward landing strut, Sigrid let her hand run across its hard metallic surface, touching it, as if to make sure that it was real.
"Suko…how did you—?"
"Hitomi sent word. Selene brought her in this morning."
"Selene?" Sigrid said, asking of the Morrigan's captain. "She's here?"
"I'm standing right here," Selene said, coming down the ramp. "Sigrid, it's good to see you."
"Selene!" Without thinking, Sigrid ran towards her, throwing her arms around her. "Selene! How did you even get her here? I mean, what about the blockades?"
"It was difficult," a new voice said from behind. Sigrid turned to see the magistrate, Lady Godelieve, approach. She was walking slowly with Lady Hitomi wheeling herself along at her side. Her daughter, Roos, was there as well, and looking much better, too. And not just Roos. The three girls she'd rescued from the freelancers were there; though they hung back, as if not quite certain of their place.
"Lady Godelieve," Sigrid said, "you arranged this?"
"That was part of our bargain, was it not? I promised you a ship and letters of transit." She stared up at the small military scout ship towering above them. "I just never assumed that ship would already belong to you."
"Thank you, Magistrate," Sigrid said. "I don't know what to say."
"There is nothing that needs be said. Your service to the people of Earth will long be remembered. Though…" Slowly, she looked up at Sigrid. "You could say that you'll stay. The other part of my offer still stands."
"To stay?" Sigrid said. "To serve you?"
Lady Godelieve shook her head. "Not to serve me, Ms. Novak. To serve the people of the Earth."
"The Pharma-Cabal is of no threat to you, Magistrate. With the marquis in your custody—"
"I'm not speaking of the Cabal or the Independents. Not even the CTF. The destruction of the Crow's Nest was not insignificant, Ms. Novak. Word of the massacre has already sent the markets into turmoil. The assets of every trader who died have been frozen. Hundreds of trillions of Federated dollars will remain locked in litigation for years."
"And without a Council," Hitomi said, "and without the moneylenders to back them, the Federation of Corporate Enterprises will become a nonentity. The days of the bureaucracy are over."
Sigrid looked between the two women uncertainly. "But, that's…good. Isn't it?"
Lady Godelieve shook her head. "I'm afraid the real war for supremacy is only just beginning. In the coming weeks, men like Lars Koenig will become a dime a dozen as more warlords emerge to lay their claims. So you see, Ms. Novak, the people of Earth need you. Perhaps now more than ever before. All we can ask is that you consider our request, and that you remember us."
"I will, Magistrate. I promise." Standing in the shadow of the Morrigan, she reached over and took Suko's hand. "But for now, I think it's time my partner and I returned home. We've been gone too long."
"Then I shall bid you farewell and safe journeys. Though, if I may make one last request?" Lady Godelieve took a step to the side. Behind her stood her daughter, Roos, along with the three rescued girls. "My daughter has expressed her desire to return with you. As have the others. If your offer still stands."
"Of course!" Sigrid said. "By all means."
Sigrid turned to face the four girls, watching as they made their way forward. "And…this is what you wish? All of you?"
"Yes, Lady Novak," the smallest and youngest of the four said. Sigrid recognized her as the very same one who'd killed the last of the Freelancers. Her name was Halimah. "We've all talked about it. We want to go to New Alcyone. We-we want to be like you."
"Like me?" Sigrid stepped closer, studying each and every one of them in turn.
The girl nodded. "We want to undergo the treatments. We want to be…" When her voice faltered, Roos stepped forward.
"We wish to endure the process of augmentation, Lady Novak, and—" she took a moment to swallow "—and Activation."
With her hands clasped behind her back, Sigrid strode back and forth before them. The girls stood immediately at attention. "Activation? Do any of you even know what that term means?"
Behind her, Lady Hitomi cleared her throat. "I may have given them the general gist. Just the broad strokes. So they would know."
Sigrid turned back to the girls with an eyebrow raised. "So, you think you know what it means to be Activated? To be a woman of Alcyone?"
"Yes, mistress," the girls said as one.
"And you're not afraid?"
There was a slight moment of hesitation, though again they answered together. "No, mistress."
Sigrid nodded solemnly and renewed her pacing. She stopped in front of Halimah. "Not afraid?" she said again. "That remains to be seen. Now grab your kits and get aboard. All of you. We leave in twenty."
The girls leapt forward, grabbing up their satchels, though it took four footmen to wheel Roos's collection of eleven steamer trunks up the ramp.
"If you were trying to frighten them," Suko said, "I don't think it worked."
"Were you frightened?" Sigrid asked. "When they came for you?"
"Me? I couldn't wait to go! You didn't see the hellhole I grew up in, did you? What about you? Were you scared?"
"A little." Sigrid nodded. "I thought it was going to be like summer camp."
Sighing, Suko draped an arm across her shoulders. "How wrong we were."
"Oh, I don't know," Sigrid said as they strode toward her ship. "It was a little bit like camp. We had fires."
"Only after Tarsus attacked us and nearly burned the place down."
"We camped out."
"We got lost in the woods. I almost drowned!"
"We got to sleep in those cozy barracks with all our friends."
"Friends? Sara used to torture you! Are you sure we're remembering the same place? You're making me think they monkeyed with more of your memories than we thought."
Sigrid hugged her close. "My memories are just fine, thank you. It was on Alcyone where I met you. I will always remember it as a paradise."
EPILOGUE
August 17, 2354
New Alcyone, Pegasi Space
Floating on her back in the calm ocean waters, Sigrid stared up at the glowing orb of Circe far above her. The gas giant filled nearly a third of the night sky, bathing everything in a soft orange glow. New Alcyone's three moons hadn't risen yet, which allowed her to see an unusually high number of stars. She could even see the spindly ring of the Warp Relay circling above her in orbit if she zoomed in enough.
Sigrid let herself float with the tide, rising
up and over each gentle wave. She was already several kilometers out and floating further away, carried along by the currents that swept between the series of islands that made up their ever-expanding colony. Out here, there were no young ones to hound her with questions, no military women or men grilling her for tactical advice. The only sounds were of her own breathing and the water lapping against her skin. She was utterly and completely alone, and it felt glorious.
More than quiet, she was at peace. The voices in her head were gone, and she hadn't felt any trace of the pain for weeks. Whatever hold Emily Gillings-Jones had on her was gone.
But not even she could stay floating out here forever. She could only hide from her friends for so long. Turning back, she started kicking her way to shore.
The shoreline was completely invisible to her. There was only black water as far as even her enhanced eyes could see. Yet Sigrid swam with the certainty of knowing exactly where she was. It was impossible for her to ever be lost, even this far out, linked as she was to the nav-sats parked above her in orbit. Within minutes she heard the rolling surf gliding across the sandy shore. Sigrid let one of the larger waves carry her in, riding it until she sensed the bottom rising up to meet her.
Pulling herself from the surf, she strode up the wet sandy beach, wringing out her hair along the way. She smiled at the sight of the girl who was waiting for her, the woman who would always be waiting for her.
"So it's true," Suko said, "there really are such things as mermaids."
She was standing in the soft sand with her trousers rolled up and holding out a large towel. Perhaps it was the sight of Suko waiting for her, or perhaps it was the knowledge that Suko would always be there for her, but at that moment, Sigrid was compelled to kiss her in a way that went beyond reason or measure, and Suko didn't appear to mind at all.
And when the kiss ended, Sigrid refused to let her go, holding her soaking wet body against her, dripping water on her shoulders, her shirt and her trousers.
"Sorry," Sigrid said. "Now I've gone and made you all wet."
"And when have I ever complained about that?"
