Galaxia

by Kevin McLaughlin

  “Over here, with the bed in the background,” she said. The shorter man nodded and brought the Marine over to the foot of the bed.

  The other man reached in his tool kit and pulled out a small, high-def holocam. He stood in front of Michi, ready to go.

  “Look, lance corporal, you are going to be let free if you cooperate,” Michi said. “I want you to stand beside me while we record something. That’s it. Then you and your girlfriend will be free to go. If you make a move, if you try anything, not only will you fail, but Kelli Mae will pay the price. Do you understand, and do you agree?”

  Michi would not hurt the girl no matter what happened, but the Marine didn’t need to know that.

  “Nod your head if you agree.”

  “Thane!” Kelli Mae pleaded.

  “Shut up!” Michi ordered, not turning around to look at the girl.

  The Marine looked beyond Michi at Kelli Mae, and Michi could see the capitulation. He nodded.

  “Good. Stand here,” she said, pulling him over as her short companion stepped just out of cam range, but close enough to move in if need be. He pulled out his handgun and kept it loosely aimed at the bed.

  Michi looked back at Kelli Mae, who had managed to cover herself. Michi knelt on the bed, then turned the girl slightly to the side, pulling back the sheet to reveal a long expanse of her side and legs. She let the girl keep the sheet over her front, but Michi wanted there to be no question as to what had been happening.

  “You can put your head down so no one can see your face,” she whispered to the girl before getting off the bed to stand next to the Marine.

  She nodded at the tall guy, and when the record light came on, she started.

  “I am a member of the Free Kakurega Militia. We have been formed to protect our rights under our Federation Charter, rights that have been abrogated by Propitious Interstellar Fabrication, Inc. Not only have they broken the charter, but they have brought in Federation Marines to crush our legal right to protest.

  “Today, we have stopped one of their Marines, Lance Corporal Thane Regent, from abusing a free citizen of Kakurega.”

  At Michi’s use of “abusing,” The Marine stirred, but Michi’s short companion raised his weapon and pointed it at Kelli Mae, who thankfully didn’t see it as her face was still buried. The Marine saw it though, and he got the message and stood still.

  “The Federation Marines have the power here. They killed three of our citizens when they arrived. They are enforcing martial law. And now they take our citizens for their own perverted pleasure.

  “It is up to you, people of Kakurega. Will you stand for this? From First Families and all Free Citizens, from employees and indentureds, this is our home, and Propitious Interstellar cannot break the charter as they deem fit.

  “If you agree, on this Saturday, at 9:00 AM in the city, we urge all of you to take to the streets. We are not advocating violence. We leave that to the Marines and Propitious Interstellar security forces. But let your voices be heard. Let the Federation know we will not stand for this.”

  With that, she swept one hand back to indicate Kelli Mae. This was adlibbed, but the tall guy took the hint and zoomed in. Kelli Mae’s sobs shook her body, and Michi knew this was good footage. She made the cut motion, and the tall guy cut out.

  “It’s OK, Kelli Mae. It’s over. You did fine,” she said, reaching over to put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  The girl flinched and looked up. “It’s not fine, you bitch. We love each other. It’s not like you said,” she spewed with anger.

  The Marine, hands still bound behind him, climbed into bed and leaned up against his lover, who put her hands protectively around him.

  Suddenly, Michi felt dirty. Very dirty.

  She wanted to say something about the greater good, but their security came running into the apartment.

  “Trouble! We’ve got jacks swarming.”

  Michi’s heart fell. How had they found out so quickly?

  The tall guy pointed up, and all four of them sprinted out the door, leaving the two lovers, and over to the stairwell. Taking the stairs three steps at a time, they climbed to the tenth floor and out onto the roof. Michi automatically looked up, hoping that Doug had been able to gain control of any overhead surveillance in the area.

  Each of the four had his or her own escape route, but both Michi and the tall guy had the same initial first step. The tall guy stopped to wordlessly shake Michi’s hand before he took off. Michi followed and was on his tail as they jumped the alley to the roof of the next building. Michi barely made it, falling down and rolling on the other roof, cursing her ungainly boots. The tall guy turned to the right and was gone while Michi scrambled up to keep going straight to the next building over.

  Below her and back at Kelli Mae’s building, she heard shouting and sirens. She didn’t have much time. She wondered if she had twisted an ankle, so despite the urgency, she approached the edge of the building cautiously. The next building was a story shorter than this one, and she had to make sure of where she landed.

  The helmeted jack who appeared in front of her, climbing the fire escape, took her by surprise. Instinctively, she flowed into her favorite roundhouse kick. The jack saw it coming and tried to duck, but hanging on the fire escape limited him, and she caught him up high, knocking him off the ladder.

  Michi rushed forward and looked down. Four or five meters below her, another jack was clinging with one hand to the ladder, the other holding the dangling jack Michi had just kicked. The one still on the ladder looked up, hate in his eyes. Michi knew he would shoot her if he could, but he needed both hands to hang on and keep his friend from plummeting to his death. Michi briefly considered dropping something on them, but that would be a wasted gesture, and one that would cost her time.

  She took a few steps back and launched herself over the alley. Her ankle cried out, but she pushed beyond the pain and landed cleanly on the other side. Maybe getting beat up by Seth was doing her some good.

  She took a right and ran down the length of the building, dodging air conditioning units and running around a rooftop garden, then stepping up to the next building. Somebody had already placed a rough steel grate between the two, so it was an easy transition.

  These apartment buildings were part of Propitious Interstellar’s second expansion, constructed when they needed rooms for their workers. The buildings were generally cheap and close together with fire codes only loosely followed. Some buildings were connected to each other, others had ten-foot alleys between them. By jumping, Michi was able to quickly move five buildings over. She risked a glance behind her. If two jacks had been climbing, others would be, too, and face-spoofer or not, Doug could not hide her from direct human vision. Just as she reached her stairway down, she saw the first jack making it to the top of Kelli Mae’s building. He was a good 70 meters away, but Michi was clearly visible if he turned around.

  Praying that the door was open, she yanked herself off-balance and almost fell inside just as the jack started to turn. She didn’t know if he saw her. She was supposed to stay as her redhead alter-ego, but the two kids and at least one jack had seen her bright red hair, so she turned her face-spoofer off and pulled out her overalls, struggling to get them over her stupid costume. The boots almost got her killed. She considered leaving them there, but walking around barefoot while in overalls would draw attention, and despite them being sprayed with a derma-barrier, she wasn’t confident that a forensic lab could not find some of her DNA if she left it to be found.

  Calm down, calm down. You’re just a worker going about her business, she kept telling herself.

  She casually made her way down the stairs, too scared to use the elevator despite being several buildings away. She nodded to an old lady at the building’s front door, holding it open for her. Then she was out in the sunshine. There were sirens, and overhead, a chopper came screaming up. Michi resisted the urge to watch it and instead kept walking, trying not to look suspicious. Peopl
e had come out of the buildings to warily watch the commotion. They had to be curious, but this was still a martial law situation, and no one wanted to be caught in any crossfire that might erupt.

  Michi didn’t start to relax until she was on the tram heading home. She hoped her three unnamed companions had made it out safely. It had been close, but she thought they had gotten out in time.

  That left the question as to how the jacks had responded so quickly. They could have been spotted inside the building, she acknowledged, but Doug had been confident on blocking off anything inside. And if he hadn’t that was still a very quick reaction.

  No, there was only one logical explanation. Cheri had been right in her suspicions. There was a traitor within the WRP.

  Chapter 20

  Michi and Tamara sat on the couch, focused on Michi’s manifesto. The signal wavered once or twice as the broadcast company tried to regain control over the feed, but whoever was hacking it was able to keep the clip running.

  Michi knew it was her on the holo, but with the different face and voice, it was easy to feel it was someone else, a stranger. That somehow enabled her to really look at it, to analyze it.

  The obvious, in-your-face aspect was that Tamara and Cheri had been right. She, the redhead Michi, looked great. Michi didn’t know if the holo had been brushed up or not, but the outfit, the face Doug had given her, even her earnest but intense voice created an image of a strong, capable woman, with the emphasis on woman. When she had put on the top, in particular, she thought it too small, but on the holo, it emphasized her curves and femininity. Michi rarely felt feminine anymore after she outgrew her dance partners, and she liked the feeling.

  As the holo came on, Tamara had exclaimed, “Balls, girl, you look pure dead hot,” and for once, Michi accepted that.

  The boots, the ones she hated, worked well, too. They took away from the camouflage bammers that clung to her legs and ass and gave her a more military air. With the handgun hanging from her waist, she looked decidedly warrior-like. She decided she liked the look, even if she was going to have to work on the boots’ utility.

  The Marine standing beside her looked deflated. The small flinch he’d made when Michi had said “abusing” had been edited out. It was hard to look tough when naked, and with his head hanging down, he simply looked defeated.

  Then there was Kelli Mae. Michi knew that her family had been contacted and informed that it would be best for everyone if she did not volunteer that it was her in the holo. Sitting on the bed in back of Michi, head down, she was the perfect picture of an abused woman. The sobs that wracked her body showed up perfectly on the holo, and even knowing the truth, Michi felt a twinge of pity for the poor, abused girl.

  Of course, the abuse was at the hands of Michi and her three companions. Kelli Mae had done nothing wrong other than fall in love, and what she had gone through was at the hands of Cheri and Michi. Michi did feel guilty about that, but it was for the greater good, right?”

  “Stars above, we’ve got to watch that again,” Tamara said as the holo faded it. She hit the playback, and the two roommates re-watched it, pausing it a couple of times to point out details.

  “Powerful stuff, that,” Tamara said, serious for once. “I think it’s a glove to the face of the Federation. I just hope it rallies, the people for Saturday.”

  “Do you think it will?” Michi asked.

  “Well, it will sure rally the male population and more than a few of the female, girl,” she said, the irreverent Tamara back as she punched Michi in the arm. “They may not understand the cause, but they’ll follow you, looking like that.”

  They watched the replay several times, and when they switched back to the live feed, a response was already being aired. The company, of course, decried the act of “terrorism.” A Marine spokesman issued a statement asserting that the so-called abuse was a case of consenting adults, and a chagrined-looking Thane Regent was trotted out where he insisted that he had been with his girlfriend.

  When a reporter asked for the name of the girlfriend, the spokesman stepped back in and said for privacy reasons, they could not reveal that. Michi had half-expected the Marines to release Kelli Mae’s name, but the organization’s arcane sense of honor evidently got in the way of that. And by not releasing her name, it made their statement seem like a cover-up. They were telling the truth, Michi knew, but they certainly seemed guilty.

  Despite an almost disastrous conclusion, the mission looked to be a success. The real test was on Saturday, though. Would the people rally to the cause? Without massive public support, anything they did was just pissing in the wind.

  Chapter 21

  “Feelin’ better?” Seth asked as Michi came through the door.

  “Oh, yeah, much better,” she said, for a moment forgetting that she had called in sick the day before.

  She was glad to get back. With two more days before the planned rally, she had pent up nervous energy, and a session with Seth seemed like the perfect antidote.

  She stripped to her unitard, left her Clodders and outerwear on the counter, and got on the mat where without warming up, Seth was on her. Fifteen sweaty minutes later, Seth released his kimura lock and slid away to sit while Michi caught her breath.

  “You seem fine, considerin’ your health.”

  “Oh, like I said, I’m better, and it really wasn’t much.”

  “Good to know. Your health is number one, am I right?”

  “Yeah, right,” Michi said, wondering at the direction Seth was taking. He never seemed too concerned about her health before.

  “What did you think about that holo yesterday, the one where that Marine was called out for abusing that poor lass?” he said, switching topics.

  “Uh, it was disgusting,” she said, the response she had decided upon in case anyone asked her.

  “Yeah, Marines are always chasin’ pussy, you know. Gets them in more trouble. But that woman in the holo, she was something else, am I right?”

  “I . . . I guess so,” she got out.

  “A redhead, too. Not many around here, and I always was partial to redheads. And she was a big girl. I like that. Nice big tits.”

  Despite herself, Michi started to color. “I wouldn’t know about that.”

  “Oh, of course not. Excuse me if I was a little crude there. Just statin’ facts,” Seth went on. “’Sides, there are lots of big, strong women around. Like you, for example.

  “You know, I had a visit from the jacks about two months ago. Remember the jack who got himself kilt in that drug deal?”

  “I think so,” Michi said, trying not to let her rising apprehension show.

  “Well, first, they wanted to know where I was when he got zeroed. Seems, that as a discharged Marine and someone who knows his way in a fight, they thought I might be a suspect. Luckily, I had an alibi, so then they asked me for my opinion. I looked at the holos, and I told them it had to be a big, strong man who zeroed the guy. His neck was broken, and from one hit. No other damage.”

  “Yeah, a strong guy, that makes sense.”

  “But I been thinkin’, why only a guy? A big strong girl could do it, too, like that girl on the holo, ’specially one who knew some fightin’ means, and ’specially if she was wearin’ heavy boots. I don’t think she could do it with a punch, but maybe a kick, like the roundhouse you like to throw. A good kick, with boots, iffen she got lucky, that could do it.”

  Seth broke his gaze on her to stare at Michi’s Clodders where she had left them on the counter.

  “You got sometin’ to tell me?” he asked.

  Michi wanted to leave, but she tried to sound casual as she replied, “No. You might be right, but I wouldn’t know.”

  “Do you think I’m a huddy, girl? ’Cause I’m a MacPruitt and not one of you high-side Clan families? I may not be as good-speakin’ as you, I may not be as educated, but I can see what’s in front of my own eyes.”

  Michi said nothing, staring down at her hands.

  �
��I did some research. Your fiancé was that indentured who was killed. As they say, in the cop holos, you’ve got the motive. You wear those Clodders, and I’m thinking that with your roundhouse and your strength, iffen you caught some jack unawares, you could possibly break his neck. But most of all, I’ve been all over you on this mat. I’ve had my hands on you. I know your body. I know that little dark spot on your hip. When they changed your face in editin’, they forgot one thing. That, good cousin, was you on the holo. Deny it if you can.”

  Michi wanted to deny it. She wanted to jump up and run out.

  Instead, she meekly asked, “What are you going to do?”

  “Me? What are you goin’ to do is the real question. Are you here to get some revenge? If you are, you’re wasting your time.”

  For a moment, Michi had hoped she could enlist Seth as an ally. But he was rejecting her.

  “I’m sorry, I thought I could . . . I just don’t know.”

  “Look, girl, I knew that was you on the holo, but I was guessing about the jack. You got lucky, damn lucky with that. You try that amateur shit with the Marines here, you’re going to get crushed.”

  Michi shuddered, thinking of the ass-whipping she and Tamara had received.

  “You are too, too, First Family, all right and proper, all by the rules. You don’t have the killer instinct.”

  “I do so,” she protested.

  “No, you don’t. What did I do when we first fought here?”

  “You know what you did,” she bristled. “You hit me, well, down there.”

  “Damn, you can’t even say it, can you? I hit your freakin’ fud, girl. Smack in your pussy. And what did you do about it? Nothin’. Then in the crucifix, what’d I do?”

  Michi thought back, then remembered his driving his crotch in her face before letting her up.

  “You pushed your . . . your . . . balls in my face,” she almost shouted.