Aneka Jansen 6: The Lowest Depths of Shame

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘Great, so we know how they did it. What do we do about it?’

  ‘Wait,’ Elroy said. ‘So far there have been a few rumblings about continuing the offensive, but nothing overt. If they try to push for further attacks I can rally support for stepping the Navy down. Until then I’m fighting smoke.’

  ‘Well, Ambassador Linden will be back in about eleven days,’ Tasker said. ‘Then it’s her problem.’

  Elroy looked at her. ‘They’re coming back? All of them, or just Abigail?’

  ‘Everyone,’ Truelove said, ‘plus another “ambassador” of sorts. They’ll want to talk to you.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll want to talk to them.’

  Gwy.

  ‘Oh…’ Ella said as she stood in the empty room filled with stars. Gwy was projecting the sensor feed from the Hyde, via Aggy, rather than her own external view; it seemed as though they were hanging in empty space, flying among the suns of other worlds.

  ‘You get how it works?’ Aneka asked. ‘Rather than using virtual versions of physical controls, you just want the ship to move and Gwy does what you wish with the engines.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Ella replied. Physically she was lying on the bed in Gwy’s cabin. Mentally she was standing beside Aneka as they walked through space. ‘It might take a little practice, but I get it. I wonder why we didn’t think of it before.’

  Aneka shrugged. ‘Apparently it was the first thing Shannon thought of.’

  Ella giggled and then turned around, hooked her arms around Aneka’s neck, and kissed her. It was not a quick kiss: she let it linger, her tongue playing over Aneka’s as if tasting her. Then she broke the kiss and stepped back, grinning.

  ‘What was that for?’ Aneka asked.

  ‘I wanted to know if it felt the same.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘I… I don’t think I can tell the difference if there is one.’

  Aneka smirked at her lover. Ella’s real body was dressed in a rather brief, white pantsuit. The top crossed over her breasts and had a halter, the pants graded to translucent as they went down her legs, and there were slits running up the front of each leg to just below her hip. Clothes on the Amethyst Hyde were a useful place to clip your ‘puff,’ as Monkey called it. The Personal Force Field devices were basically emergency spacesuits which could be activated manually, or by Aggy. The virtual version of Ella’s outfit left just as little to the imagination.

  Stepping forward, Aneka slid a hand under the right cup of Ella’s top and found the nipple hidden there. Ella gasped and Aneka stroked her thumb until the flesh beneath it stiffened.

  ‘How does that feel?’ Aneka asked softly.

  ‘F-feels the same.’ Pushing the virtual cloth aside, Aneka bent and flicked her tongue across the tip of Ella’s nipple. ‘And that does…’ Sucking produced, ‘Oh Vashma! That does too!’

  Aneka grinned up at the redhead, who was looking eager. ‘I think, purely for scientific enquiry, we should find out what else does.’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Ella breathed. ‘Just for science.’

  Amethyst Hyde, 13.9.530 FSC.

  ‘New Earth Control,’ Drake said into the virtual environment of the Hyde’s bridge, ‘this is the Amethyst Hyde. Captain Mallory Drake in command. Please acknowledge.’

  Aneka stood at the back of the ‘room,’ her presence projected there through the ship’s network from her cabin. She had wanted to be there when they dropped out of warp and neither Drake nor Shannon had objected. She grinned: using his full name must have cost the Captain as he hated being called Mallory. She could see why, but it was not the worst name ever.

  ‘We’re getting transmissions through from one of the probes,’ Shannon said. She was also on her feet, even though her Captain was seated with an array of virtual displays in front of him. The blonde pilot waved a hand off to one side and several screens appeared displaying various data feeds streaming in from the Shadataga probes. ‘Looks like the Hand is orbiting Corax. Lot of Navy ships out there too.’

  ‘Aneka,’ Drake said, ‘see if you can get through to Charley Tasker.’

  Aneka reached out to the comms system, but what she said was, ‘They’re taking their time answering.’

  ‘Yes, they are. This is the science vessel Amethyst Hyde to New Earth Control. Please respond. Over.’

  ‘Aneka?’ Tasker’s voice sounded in Aneka’s ears, sort of. ‘You’re here? Great. You’ve got Abby with you?’

  ‘We’re here,’ Aneka replied, ‘and Abby’s aboard. Currently we’re having trouble getting through to Control.’

  ‘They’re being arseholes. They say it’s because of the war, but I think just about everything is going through Naval Flight Control. I’m glad you’re here, we all are.’

  ‘Okay, save the complicated stuff for face-to-face. We’ll sort that out as soon as we get something from…’

  ‘Amethyst Hyde, this is New Earth Control. We show you as an unregistered vessel. Please hold position until you can be escorted to Corax.’

  ‘We are on a diplomatic mission,’ Drake stated calmly. ‘We have the Old Earth Ambassador aboard. Transmitting diplomatic verification codes now. Ambassador Linden requests immediate clearance to meet with the Hand of God. Our intention is to proceed to Joval Six for rendezvous with the Hand.’

  There was silence from the other end.

  ‘They aren’t happy with us having diplomatic privileges,’ Aneka said to Tasker. ‘They’ll be less happy when they figure out what we are and get told they can’t look.’

  ‘Huh,’ Tasker grunted. ‘I’ve got a request through for clearance to leave Corax. They’re being slow to respond.’

  ‘Amethyst Hyde, this is New Earth Control.’

  ‘Finally,’ Aneka growled.

  ‘You are cleared for transit to Joval Six. Please be advised that deviation from your course would be considered threatening, and–’

  ‘Understood, New Earth,’ Drake broke in. ‘Please be advised that any active scanning of this vessel will be viewed as a breach of diplomatic protocols. Any such attempts will be actively countered. Amethyst Hyde out.’ Drake stabbed at a virtual button and then added, ‘Fucking shazi. Get us under way, Shannon.’

  Around them the stars began to move at an ever-increasing pace as Shannon directed the engines to full power.

  ‘We’re on our way,’ Aneka said.

  ‘We just got clearance,’ Tasker responded. ‘See you there.’

  ~~~

  It was easier for Tasker to take a shuttle over to the Hyde than to transport those who needed to see her in the other direction, plus she really wanted to see the inside of the sleek, new ship. They gathered in the mess hall, which was comfortable and could do just as good a job of displaying any data they needed. But the first step was to stop the Hand’s Captain looking around at the smooth, off-white walls.

  ‘This ship is gorgeous,’ Tasker said. ‘I mean… this was designed to look good.’

  ‘Thank you, Captain Tasker,’ Aggy said, materialising beside their table. ‘I had a hand in the design myself, primarily in the ergonomics, but the higher AIs allowed me final say on the aesthetics as well. They felt I should feel good about my new accommodation.’

  ‘I’m used to you projecting yourself on walls, Aggy,’ Tasker commented.

  ‘Girls and their toys, Captain.’

  ‘All right, Charley,’ Abby said, settling back in her seat and crossing her arms. ‘I’ve skimmed the data Shadataga relayed over, so we know more or less what’s going on. Personal notes?’

  ‘The Jenlay are being pushier about trying to work out how the Hand is built. I don’t see that as a good sign. I think they know we’ll pull out if they go after the Herosians and they want the tech.’

  Drake nodded. ‘A fair assessment. The Hand is a generation or so in advance of anything they have. The Hyde is… You wouldn’t believe how much re-familiarisation we had to go through. We’ve got the ECM suite tuned to make it hard for them, and we’ve got the cloak if they get too persist
ent.’

  ‘This thing can cloak?!’ Tasker asked, eyes widening.

  ‘I was designed for study of any civilisation we might encounter,’ Aggy replied. ‘The need for concealment might apply, as it did for my original ship, the Agroa Gar.’

  ‘Huh… wow. Um, the hospital station they’ve got around Corax is basically a prison. They don’t want anyone talking about Beryum they don’t have control over. The people we brought over wouldn’t be going anywhere anyway, but the next lot… Some of them could be out in a few days if the treatment is good enough. I suspect they’ll be kept on the station unless they’ve got stories to tell which will back up the latest line.’

  ‘And that is?’ Aneka asked.

  ‘From what I can tell, “The Herosians are still a threat. There could be agents anywhere you look. Anyone who seems sympathetic to the Herosians probably is one.” I mean, it’s pretty simple psychology. I’m surprised it’s working.’

  ‘The Jenlay haven’t had a real threat to their existence since the Federation started,’ Ella replied. ‘They got used to scoffing at the Herosians always harping on about the Xinti being out there, but it was a constant threat in the background that the Big Bad Xinti might come out of the darkness. Now they have a city with holes in it, three planets invaded, and they can’t see the Herosians running around like headless cockroaches.’

  ‘Chickens,’ Tasker corrected absently.

  ‘It’s cockroaches with us. We don’t have chickens, but roaches get everywhere.’

  ‘Right… So it seems to be working. Elroy and Truelove look worried whenever I talk to them.’

  ‘Well, we’ll see how he looks when I talk to him,’ Abby said. ‘I should come back to the Hand with you when this is done and request his presence. I think if they’re all paranoid about Herosian agents, me being paranoid about security should cover it. We’ll tell him he’s meeting me, but Aneka will be over from the Hyde. She’s guarding our other Ambassador.’

  ‘Yeah, what other ambassador?’

  ‘The one from Shadataga.’

  ‘That,’ said a voice from behind Tasker, ‘would be me.’

  The Captain turned in her seat to see a short, slim woman with tanned skin, brown eyes, full lips set between hollowed cheeks, and a cap of short, white hair.

  ‘Do I know you?’ Tasker asked.

  ‘Not,’ the woman replied, ‘exactly.’

  BC-101 Hand of God, 14.9.530 FSC.

  The pleasantries had been handled with a lot of ‘how are you’ and ‘as well as can be expected’ kind of statements. Abby was actually starting to feel stressed after feeling pretty good until she arrived and got to read the reports Tasker had compiled fully. She was now looking only slightly less weary than Elroy. She had, however, not wanted to start until Aneka and her charge arrived.

  As the two women walked into the room, Elroy got to his feet and smiled at Aneka. ‘Proper protocol aside,’ he said, ‘you’ll forgive me for thanking Aneka for her recent work with the Herosians, I hope?’ He held out a hand and Aneka took it after the usual protocol.

  ‘You need to thank Ella and my ship’s AI too if you’re thanking me. It was Ella who did the work while I ran the distraction.’

  ‘Your Ella? Ella Narrows? The rather nice young woman who studies palaeoanthropology?’

  ‘Uh-huh. She’s pretty good at kicking butt now too.’

  Elroy smiled, and looked better for it. ‘And this is…?’ He turned to the woman beside Aneka, waiting patiently.

  She was wearing a short, black dress, belted, and a bolero jacket. Her heels were high enough to bring her up to Aneka’s cheek. Aneka had, on first meeting her, commented on the hair and she had said, ‘I wanted something of me in you.’

  ‘This,’ Aneka said, ‘is Xenia Winter, founder of the FSA, now Ambassador for Shadataga.’

  Three Jenlay stared at the woman. Truelove and Sharissa looked as though they were seeing a ghost, which was not too far from the truth. Elroy swallowed hard and rallied himself.

  ‘Ambassador,’ he said, holding out a hand, ‘it’s a pleasure to… Your statue doesn’t really do you justice.’

  Winter laughed. ‘I made sure it didn’t. I used this avatar for a very long time. I was using it when Aneka’s original body was made and I felt it appropriate that I bring it back for this job.’

  ‘Original? The hair. The hair is different…’

  ‘I got upgraded,’ Aneka said. ‘There’s a lot of it going around.’

  ‘I see…’ He returned his gaze to Winter. ‘This is going to cause some… issues.’

  ‘What I’m here for will,’ Winter said, waving him to his seat. When they were all sitting she went on. ‘The AIs from Negral, of which I was originally one, have set up shop in a new location, Shadataga. We have a custom-built education facility there. We plan to open it to anyone willing to learn, but there will, obviously, be some… stipulations. Given that I’m going to be throwing my weight around, I think it’s time the Jenlay learned who Winter really is, rather than the stories manufactured about me. Frankly, it can’t get much worse than Herosian spy or Xinti agent.’

  Elroy nodded, conceding the point. ‘Stipulations?’

  ‘This is dangerous stuff we’re talking about and we need to be sure that the people learning about it aren’t going to use it to murder their neighbours. We will restrict types of study. We will teach anyone prepared to meet our requirements who can pass the entrance assessment. That means both branches of Humanity, and the Torem and Herosians.’

  Elroy took in a long breath. ‘The current climate is not one to suggest teaching higher technology to either the Herosians or the Torem. The latter are in our bad books for running off and hiding when the war started.’

  ‘I know,’ Winter replied, ‘but if the Jenlay can’t accept it, they will be excluded. To be honest, there are very few Herosians who will manage to get in. But we won’t close the door to them. Abraham Wallace is very keen to get at least one Torem in.’

  ‘Tosimna,’ Aneka said. ‘She worked with us on the Agroa Gar analysis. She’s a genius at warp engine theory.’

  ‘I understand,’ Elroy said, ‘but politically this is difficult. Someone is going to portray this as technological blackmail.’

  ‘I wouldn’t disagree,’ Winter replied, ‘but we have technology here which can make a star explode. We cannot allow that to get into the hands of someone who would actually use it.’

  Elroy sank back on his seat and looked up at the ceiling. Then, from nowhere, he burst into laughter. ‘It’s just like old times,’ he said. ‘The crew of the Garnet Hyde go off on some new adventure and bring me back a political problem of grand proportions.’

  ‘We do our best,’ Aneka said, smiling sweetly.

  Tristar Township, 16.9.530 FSC.

  It had taken Elroy a couple of days to ride over FSA and Navy objections to the Hyde’s crew returning to New Earth, but he had done it. The transport drones could handle six people or three tonnes of cargo, or a combination of those, so two of them landed just outside Tristar Township and then Aneka and Delta lugged the large tent they were going to set up in Gillian’s backyard over to the house.

  By the time they got there, Janna had finished virtually crushing her daughter to death and was free to start on Aneka.

  ‘You’ve changed your hair,’ the dancer said, her voice soft and emotional.

  ‘I’ve changed my whole body,’ Aneka replied. ‘New and improved Aneka.’

  ‘You can’t improve on perfection, dear. Though I do like the hair.’

  Janna let go and backed off, and Aneka was immediately grabbed around the waist and lifted off her feet by Dillon. The big man was putting in a valiant effort, he still had Ella in the other arm, but Aneka’s ninety kilos was a little bit too much of an addition and he lowered her back down with a grin.

  ‘You’re a bit lighter than you were, but you still weigh more than you look like you should,’ he said.

  ‘Well, you got a new back,
I got a new body. It’s lighter than the old one, but it’s still got a metal skeleton. How are you doing?’

  ‘Good. Still doing some exercises the doctors gave me, but I can lift my weights as well as I ever could. They say I might even get better.’

  Katelyn, standing nearby until her partner had finished demonstrating his prowess, walked over and gave Aneka a hug. ‘Thanks,’ she said.

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Knowing you, being on the Hand of God for your “Christmas” party… I don’t think they would have done any different for anyone else, but they recognised us and it got us helped faster.’

  ‘It helped,’ Dillon agreed, ‘but the Old Earth people spent a lot of time and effort getting injured people back on their feet.’ He looked meaningfully at Aneka and then Ella. ‘There are a lot more cyborgs around than there were. Funny how people will have a few bits of metal put in when the alternative is never walking again.’

  Katelyn nodded. ‘It’s becoming rather… impolite to express anti-cybernetic opinions around Yorkbridge. The Herosians have replaced robots and cyborgs as the big fear factor.’

  ‘What are your plans?’ Janna asked before things could get too serious.

  ‘Shannon and I are heading over to our place,’ Drake said. ‘We’ll get together whatever we need to take away, and then we’ll be heading back to the Hyde.’

  ‘Cassandra and I have our own places to visit and loot,’ Abraham stated.

  ‘Delta and me are going to help them,’ Monkey said, ‘and then we’ll come back here.’

  ‘We have this tent to set up,’ Gillian said. ‘The rest of us will be staying here, and don’t suggest you people moving into the tent. One of the reasons I’m here is to sign over the house to Janna and Sharissa. You’re all settled so you’ll stay put and we’ll bunk in the yard.’

  ‘At some point,’ Aneka said, ‘we’ll go see what’s left of our apartment. Maybe we can salvage something.’