The Winter War

by Niall Teasdale

  A bulky, slightly squat figure appeared ahead of her, raising a pistol. She recognised the digitigrade posture and the blunt face behind the helmet: a Herosian. Then she fired, the beam searing through his armoured shipsuit like the proverbial knife through butter. There was a vague look of surprise on his face just before his chest collapsed into a burned hole and he fell over.

  ‘That’s enough of that.’ The voice came from behind her. ‘Put the rifle down. I’m sure you know what these things can do. If you don’t want your body painting the walls, you’ll do as I say.’

  Dropping the rifle to her side, but not the floor, Justine turned slowly to face the owner of the voice. Another Herosian, this one a little taller with more musculature and insignia which marked him as a unit commander. He was holding a blaster rifle, not a pistol.

  ‘Very good,’ he said. ‘Now you will tell me what I want to know. Where is Winter?!’

  ~~~

  The diagnostics were not looking good. Power fluctuations, synchronisation errors in control circuitry, she was a mess. Aneka opened her eyes and pushed herself over onto her back, wincing at the effort.

  ‘Oh thank Vashma!’ Ella said. ‘We have got to talk about you wearing armour.’

  ‘I took an antimatter burst in the back, love,’ Aneka replied weakly. ‘I think armour would have had a limited effect.’

  ‘It might have kept you on your feet, and you’ve got no skin on your back.’

  ‘Yeah… Well give me a day and I’ll be as pretty as ever. Where’s Justine?’

  ‘She went out to capture the ship.’

  ‘Al,’ Aneka asked silently, ‘can you get a link to her?’

  ‘She used one of those grenades on the thing outside,’ Ella went on. ‘Frankly, I’m afraid to look. Shot the merc that shot you first and then… It sounded like someone blew the universe apart out there.’

  ‘Connection to her suit established,’ Al said. ‘Her internal radio has too limited a range.’

  ‘Patch in her view.’ Aloud she said, ‘War said they were vicious weapons. They went into her category of “uncivilised devices.”’ A picture appeared in Aneka’s view. It showed a Herosian in some sort of shipsuit holding a rifle. ‘Shit… Ella, Justine’s in trouble. I’m going to be useless for three or four hours and next to useless for ten. You have to go help her.’

  ‘Me?!’

  The response was expected. ‘You can do this, love. You held out on Eshebbon for weeks before I got to you. You can use that pistol. Take it slowly, stay calm and quiet. It looks like the guy who has the drop in her is facing away from the door.’

  Ella picked up her pistol. ‘O-okay. Wish me luck.’ She got to her feet and started for the hole where the door had been.

  ‘You don’t need it,’ Aneka told her, ‘but good luck anyway.’

  ~~~

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Justine said. ‘Winter was assassinated, probably by you people. I saw the news feeds. Someone blew her head off.’

  ‘We both know that was not the real one,’ the Herosian replied. ‘We both know that the real Winter is somewhere else, running things from behind the scenes, just as she always has. Her interference continues and we will not have it. Where is she?’

  ‘I don’t know anything of the kind,’ Justine replied. ‘I run this safe house for her. That’s all there is to it.’

  ‘You have killed my men. You have weapons which exceed the technology available to the Federation…’

  ‘So do you. Antimatter blasters, that battlesuit. A miniaturised reactor like that is beyond anything the Herosians are supposed to have. You got the technology from Xinti wrecks, right?’

  The lizard-like man sneered; not an easy expression to pull off through a helmet and with thick lips. ‘You underestimate the Herosian race…’

  ‘No, I don’t. You barely managed to cobble together a warp drive after the Xinti handed it to you on a plate. The Humans managed it in a generation. The Xinti almost gave up on you ever managing it, and then you went and wiped out the Aromans just to get your hands on their planet. You’re short-lived, stupid, and incredibly arrogant. The real mistake the Xinti made was to let any of you screaming nutjobs live after Aromineus!’

  The Herosian lifted his rifle. ‘Are those your last words, Jenlay?’

  ‘No,’ Justine replied. ‘You’re also easy to distract.’

  Swallowing hard, Ella aimed her pistol and shot the Herosian in the back.

  Herosian Gunship, 16.8.527 FSC.

  The gunship had a small sickbay. Aneka did not really need to be in it, but it had seemed like a good idea that she rest there while she healed, or repaired, herself. She was lying, naked, on the room’s medical couch, on her stomach, while Ella fussed over her. Aneka did not like lying on her stomach, her chest was really not designed for it and there were various pillows propped under her to make it more comfortable, and she did not really want to be fussed over, but Ella was reacting badly to the events of the previous day and the fussing distracted her. A little anyway.

  ‘I’ve never killed anyone before,’ Ella said. ‘Not like that. People died on Eshebbon, but they were dead or dying already. And I shot him in the back…’

  ‘He was going to kill Justine, Ella,’ Aneka replied.

  ‘I know, but I just froze. She had to take the gun out of my hands. I just stood there…’

  ‘Then it’s a good thing you killed him with the first shot.’

  ‘Yeah… I guess… He really stank.’

  Aneka giggled. ‘Laser burns will do that.’

  ‘It’s not funny!’

  ‘If you’ve got down to “he smelled bad after I shot him,” then it’s funny.’

  Ella was starting to get over her shock, Aneka could tell from the way her lips twitched as she tried to avoid grinning. ‘Maybe. A little.’

  ‘I’d like to say it gets easier, but I don’t think you know if it’s going to until the second time… And I’d prefer it if you never had to do it a second time. That’s what I’m here for.’

  ‘Except that you’re lying there with your back opened up like you’ve got really bad sunburn. If you’re going to be the one saving me from having to kill people, then you better stop getting yourself hurt.’

  ‘Okay, okay, I’ll wear more armour. Oh enough of this, everything’s basically functional…’ Aneka twisted around so that she could sit up.

  ‘You’ve still got no back,’ Ella told her.

  ‘So? I won’t put anything over it and it’ll heal. My systems are basically functional. It’s primarily cosmetic damage left to fix up and are you really saying you don’t want to watch me walking around naked?’

  ‘Well I’ll be a lot happier about it when you’ve got a back.’

  Aneka grinned and shook her chest. ‘I’ll make sure you’re always in front of me.’

  Ella rolled her eyes.

  FSA Headquarters.

  Dowler was not happy. The office of the head of the FSA was supposed to be sacrosanct. The only people allowed admittance were the head, his assistant, and someone the head had invited. Senator Elroy and the man standing beside the door wearing dark glasses and, patently obviously from the bulge in his jacket, a very large handgun, had not been invited.

  ‘You have placed various members of FSA staff on administrative leave,’ Elroy was saying. ‘It would appear that some form of investigation into the affairs of the previous Winter has been initiated, yet no such investigation has been recorded, no staff have been assigned to it, and there appears to be no grounds for such an investigation in the first place.’

  Dowler did his best to unclench his jaw. He tended to grind his teeth and his orthodontist had warned him that serious work would be required to repair the damage if he continued. ‘What was your question, Senator?’

  Elroy looked at him. The man was attempting to play politics. Very well. ‘Why have these people been excluded from the Agency?’

  ‘I have reason to believe that Winter was operating this Agency
as her private army,’ Dowler said. ‘The agents removed from active duty were those closest to her and are therefore suspects or material witnesses.’

  ‘And you have evidence of this?’

  ‘Purely circumstantial…’

  ‘Perhaps you should interview your material witnesses rather than leaving some of our most effective agents out in the cold.’

  ‘I would rather wait until I have more…’

  ‘You have a day.’

  ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘One day, twenty hours, as of now. I’ve already arranged the required signatures to have you replaced. We have a group of unknown terrorists attacking our shipping, assaulting our facilities with heavy weapons, and assassinating our key personnel. Instead of investigating that, you have engaged in a witch hunt.’

  ‘Senator, the investigation into the terrorist group is still ongoing…’

  ‘Without some of the best agents in the organisation assisting it!’ Elroy rarely raised his voice, when he did, he went all out. ‘One day, Dowler, then we replace you with someone competent.’ Turning, the tall Senator stalked out of the room.

  Marcus Dowler ground his teeth.

  Herosian Gunship.

  ‘You’re up and about,’ Justine said, ‘if not entirely whole.’ She was sitting in the pilot’s seat for no other reason than that it was a seat.

  Aneka grinned. ‘As I told Ella when she got her breast enhancements, I haven’t been able to lie on my stomach for most of my life. It’s not comfortable. I’m functional and there’s no point in me lying there like a beached whale.’

  ‘I’m not going to ask,’ Ella said; she had no clue what a whale was. ‘She’s right though, there’s no point.’ She dropped into the co-pilot’s seat with a sigh.

  ‘So,’ Aneka said, ‘where is it we’re going?’

  ‘We’re going to meet up with Winter. In this bucket it’s going to take a while. We’ll be flying for another… thirty-six days. That’s why I brought rations aboard, as well as the entire armoury. That safe house is compromised.’ She looked sad about it. Aneka wondered how long she had been living there. ‘Things have become… very complicated.’

  Aneka looked at her for a second. ‘Which Winter is it that we’re going to see, exactly?’

  ‘We know she had doubles,’ Ella added. ‘She came to our registration party and then we saw that she had been at a meeting at the same time.’

  Justine’s eyebrows rose. ‘That was sloppy. Maybe she’s getting tired…’ She shook her head. ‘The various doubles, as you call them, are supposed to be a secret.’

  ‘Well either they’re very dedicated, or they’re something else,’ Aneka said. ‘I saw one die in the bunker in the Islands, and then a new Winter appears to debrief us and send us off to Odanari.’

  ‘They won’t be doing it again,’ Justine replied. ‘Winter was assassinated in front of news cameras a few days ago.’

  Ella’s jaw was hanging open. She snapped it shut. ‘T-two of them have died? How many does she have?’

  Justine grimaced. ‘I’d really prefer it if she explained it. It’s, well, complicated.’

  ‘There’s a lot of that going around,’ Aneka commented. ‘We can wait. But we’re going to meet the real Winter this time?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Justine said emphatically. ‘And that worries me more than anything.’

  High Yorkbridge, New Earth, 17.8.527 FSC.

  ‘Have you any idea what this is about?’

  Elroy glanced at his companion. Senator Diana Ollander was a striking woman who kept her figure trim and her black hair long, and was quite happy to use her looks to further her career. She was wearing a low-cut, short dress which looked quite business-like, but also showed off her long legs and expansive cleavage. Elroy happened to know that she was also a consummate politician, however. She was just using every advantage she had.

  ‘I’m hoping that Dowler will be announcing his resignation,’ Elroy replied, ‘but I expect him to fight his corner.’

  ‘The man makes my skin crawl.’ At least she had good taste. ‘How did he get the job in the first place?’

  ‘Usually we have some notice and we have a replacement for the position ready. This time we needed someone on an interim basis. Dowler has been administering the Peacekeepers along the Herosian border region for the last three decades. The Herosians have been bitching about having one of theirs in charge of the Agency since the last Winter was appointed. They like Dowler so he was a politically low-risk option.’

  ‘Expediency. Huh. If he’s been running the Herosian region, what was he doing on New Earth?’

  ‘He was called back for a security briefing. There have been attacks on shipping in that region.’

  ‘Well, lucky he was here… For him anyway.’

  ‘Quite.’ They had reached the door of the meeting room they were going to. Elroy held it open for Ollander and then followed her through. There were already a dozen or so Representatives from New Earth in the room, as well as the Torem and Herosian ambassadors. The latter two surprised Elroy, and he did not like surprises.

  Apparently the diplomatic presence surprised Ollander as well. ‘Adjaxis and D’Jarnis? He invited diplomats?’

  Elroy shrugged, an expressive gesture on the tall, long-limbed man. ‘I get the feeling Dowler is putting on a show. He’s probably expecting support from D’Jarnis.’ He took the seat next to Ollander, his gaze shifting from her legs as she crossed them to the door. Dowler was keeping them waiting, which was not the best of ideas.

  They did not have to wait much longer. Dowler walked into the room wearing the kind of serious expression only achieved by someone who had carefully practised it in a mirror. Even so, Dowler was not that good at it and his eyes were far too bright for the impression he was trying to give. Elroy frowned. Clearly the weasely little man had discovered something he thought was going to get him out of the mess he was in.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Dowler said, bringing an end to the murmur of conversation in the room. He continued walking until he was standing in front of the broad, curved table his audience was sitting at. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I was tasked with the administrative operation of our security service after the outrageous assassination of its last head. Our shipping continues to be attacked, the new FTL relay at Harriamon was almost destroyed, and terrorists using high-technology equipment have assaulted our facilities here on New Earth itself! The FSA has been unable to track down the source of these attacks, and I am here today to explain why.’

  He lifted a tablet he was holding and tapped it and the wall behind him darkened before starting to display a collection of files in windows. The text within the windows was gibberish, total nonsense, but there were a lot of files.

  ‘What exactly are you showing us, Dowler?’ Elroy asked. He was starting to lose whatever patience he had left.

  ‘You asked me to find evidence, Senator. These files are from Winter’s personal data stores. They date back to periods before the recently deceased Winter took office. Currently the contents of the files are unknown due to the encryption employed to obfuscate the contents. Our best cryptographers are attempting to decrypt them, unsuccessfully so far, but they have been able to determine one key characteristic of the cryptographic system employed. It is derived from algorithms used during the war… by the Xinti.’

  He let that sink in for a second. ‘Some of these files have been identified as messages, emails, from an unknown source. Currently the evidence is largely circumstantial, but it would appear that Winter has been operating as a Xinti agent.’

  The silence in the room continued until D’Jarnis spoke. ‘There must be further investigation into this matter. Winter was, and always has been, above reproach, trusted by all.’ Elroy looked across at the lizard-like humanoid, wondering exactly how he thought he could get away with that amount of deceit. ‘We must have absolute proof of this before any action is taken.’ There was a rumble of agreement from around the room, so he was going
to get away with it.

  ‘Of course,’ Dowler agreed. ‘That work is continuing, but it is my current belief that the Agency’s inability to discover the source of these attacks has come from internal interference at a very high level.’

  ‘Then why did they kill her?’ Elroy asked. ‘Why attack her at the Islands facility?’

  Dowler lifted his hand, a gesture of placation, but it just annoyed Elroy more. ‘We don’t know, Senator. We don’t know that Winter was a Xinti agent. Perhaps she had a change of heart and they killed her before she could reveal anything. She was assassinated, in front of this very building, on her way to make an announcement.’

  It was circumstantial, and largely speculation, but it had a compelling aspect. Winter had always been a mysterious figure, going back to the first of them. Xenia Winter had moulded the Federation’s security services and been a major player in the foundation of the Lorenti Federation itself, but there were few records of where she had come from or who she was. Her replacements had had their backgrounds hidden, their lives faked, for security reasons, and each new Winter was selected from a list compiled by the previous one. It would have been a simple matter to ensure a progression of people devoted to the same goal.

  Elroy got to his feet. ‘Very well, Dowler, you have more time. Get to the bottom of this.’ Turning, he stalked toward the door, sensing Ollander following him. He waited outside the door for a second to allow her to catch up. ‘What did you think of that?’ he asked as they started off together.

  ‘He’s managed to piece together a century-spanning conspiracy out of fragments of encrypted data.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘The sop at the end suggesting she was killed because she was about to reveal everything was clever. Anyone who liked her will be mollified, but it doesn’t take away from the basic concept.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Of course, the unspoken suggestion there was that the Xinti are behind the attacks, which makes a degree of sense, given the technology, but it does seem to play heavily into the Herosian view of things, which I find interesting.’