‘We’ll know more when we get into the system,’ Winter said. She was currently being Number Seven and she was busy examining data on a terminal beside the map, even though there was absolutely no need for her to do so. Aneka thought it probable that she did it to put the organics at ease. In this case, Aneka was considered an organic. ‘Justine, uh, the Justine in place on New Earth, will have arranged for the activation of some communication equipment I have in place for emergencies. It’s a tight-beam, long-range laser system. More or less impossible to intercept or detect. I’ll get the latest information and we’ll make a decision then.’
‘If we decide to go back home,’ Ella said, ‘how are we going to explain where we’ve been?’
‘Oh, that’s covered. You never left. I have a number of stealth vessels in the hangar bay which can drop you into an uninhabited region. You simply say that you’ve been there all along. You never left New Earth. No one knows you did aside from Eddie, and he’s not going to be saying anything.’
‘That is a very strange man,’ Aneka commented.
‘Exceptionally, but trustworthy.’
‘I got that impression. So, I’m just going to walk back into Yorkbridge and no one is going to bat an eyelid?’
‘I don’t know,’ Winter replied, ‘but I highly doubt it.’
Yorkbridge Mid-town.
Janna smiled and straightened the collar of the jacket Sharissa was wearing. Sharissa smiled back and said, ‘It’s not like I haven’t gone to work at the Agency before.’
‘No, but it’s your first day back and I want you looking smart,’ Janna replied.
‘Maybe I should have worn a longer skirt then.’
Janna stepped back and examined her lover’s hemline. ‘No, it’s perfect. Your stocking tops are hidden…’
‘Barely.’
‘Precisely the point. You’re perfect and when you come home I’m going to demonstrate just how perfect you are.’
‘Haven’t had enough of me after all this time off?’
Janna closed the distance between them, reaching up to stroke her fingers along Sharissa’s firm jawline. ‘Not until they cremate me, love. Maybe not then.’
FSA Headquarters.
‘You can’t issue a warrant for Aneka Jansen’s arrest,’ Truelove told Dowler. It said something about the arrangement of power, which had developed in only one day, that he had come out to see her rather than summoning her into his office. ‘She has committed no crime punishable under Federal Law. You can’t have her arrested.’
‘The Herosians are demanding her extradition for examination on the grounds that she may be a Xinti…’ Dowler began.
‘It’s been declined.’ Truelove tapped at her terminal, bringing a window forward. Dowler scanned the text, his expression growing darker by the minute. ‘Aneka Jansen was examined by entirely independent experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, sociology, and psychology. None of them were directly connected to Winter. All of them were vetted by this Agency, by multiple academic institutions, and by the Administration. Aneka is not a Xinti agent, and she is not a Xinti. She is a Federation citizen and classified as a Jenlay under Federal Law.’
‘There’s a move in the Senate to have her reclassified as an AI,’ Dowler said.
‘That won’t make a difference. Extant AIs have the same rights as any organic being. She can’t be transferred into Herosian custody without a good reason, and they don’t even have a bad reason. Did you actually read their extradition request?’
Dowler grunted and turned on his heel. He had read the request and he knew full well that it was going to be rejected. His hope had been that it would get bogged down in discussion for long enough that he could have had Aneka locked away before anyone thought to cancel the warrant.
Of course, that would have required someone knowing where she was, and no one seemed to know that. Without a warrant, there was no way he could put agent or Peacekeeper resources into finding her.
Sitting at his desk, Dowler glared at the door. Truelove was entirely too good at doing the job Elroy had supposedly put her there for. Somehow he was going to have to get rid of her, and there was no way he could be seen to be involved in doing so.
Winter’s Ship, in Orbit of Joval X, 4.10.527 FSC.
Joval X was a mid-sized gas giant, around one hundred and fifty times the mass of New Earth and more than nine times its diameter. It sported five moons, two of them basically small planets, and a ring system about as pretty as Saturn’s. At almost 13 AUs from Joval, it was not quite the outermost planet in the system, but it had a unique and useful feature, which was the reason Winter’s ship was in orbit around it, just beyond the rings: it was very loud.
The collapsed matter of the ship’s armour was masking the external electromagnetics, mostly, but Aneka could still hear a faint whisper of orchestral music as they sat in the brothel which was in a section near the outer hull.
‘Isn’t that going to be a little dangerous?’ Aneka asked. ‘The EM out there. This planet must have a helluva magnetosphere.’
‘It makes detection practically impossible,’ Winter replied, ‘but it won’t interfere with the communications system I’m using. My stealth system is good, but old-fashioned hiding is often a more reliable way to stay off the radar. Once I have things settled I may move to a new location, but for now being close to the problem is for the best.’ She was currently a short, dark-skinned brunette: Number Four.
‘How long before we get the update on the situation?’ Ella asked.
‘I’ve contacted the local Justine. Bandwidth is a limiting factor, unfortunately. Around four hours at the current rate.’
‘I hope everything’s okay down there.’
‘Sensors are picking up no unusual activity,’ Winter replied. ‘If anything has escalated while we were out of contact, then it is political escalation. I don’t think the Herosians are ready to do anything too drastic yet.’
‘They probably know that their attack on you failed,’ Aneka said. ‘They’ve had no report back from that gunship. They may anticipate you coming here.’
‘Possible, but they don’t know how quickly, and they don’t know what I’ll do yet. Unless they panic, which seems unlikely, any actions they take will be covert.’
‘Like assassinating the head of the FSA?’
‘Given the background information I have on Mister Dowler that is one thing they won’t be doing. I’m moderately sure that he’s working for them.’
‘You’re saying that the current head of the FSA is a Herosian mole?’
‘No, I’m saying that it is a distinct possibility. Eighty per cent given his income and expenditure, his time on the Herosian borders, and his demonstrated sympathies for Herosian viewpoints.’
‘That’s not good,’ Ella said.
~~~
‘It seems that things are not quite as bad as they seemed,’ Winter said. ‘Senator Elroy has been a busy man. Among other things, while Dowler has been confirmed as the permanent head of the Agency, Elaine Truelove has been made his assistant with some considerable oversight.’
‘It’s not going to neutralise him entirely,’ Aneka said, ‘but it should limit the harm he can do.’
‘Quite.’ Winter gestured toward the holographic display in the middle of the ops centre, and it suddenly shifted to show a swirling array of screens, each one showing a different video channel, all of them showing stories about Aneka. ‘These are relatively old broadcasts. Aneka is now old news since there is nothing new for the news channels to broadcast.’
‘That’ll change as soon as we go back,’ Ella pointed out. She tried vainly to watch the swiftly moving displays, and then gave up.
‘It all seems broadly positive,’ Aneka commented as her overclocked brain slowed the movement to a crawl. ‘Some negative… Iktaga?’
‘It’s the main Herosian news channel,’ Ella supplied.
‘Ah, well that figures. It’s the main negative viewpoint.’
‘An
d almost no one in Jenlay space watches it, even in translated form,’ Winter said. ‘The Herosians have made a request to have you extradited for their “expert analysis,” but it was declined, firmly. I’m informed that a draft arrest warrant was filled out by Dowler, but that it was never filed. I suspect that Elaine persuaded him not to make a fool of himself.’ She stood up, walking over to stare up at the displays swirling in front of her. ‘If there is to be a trial, Aneka, it will be a trial by public opinion. You are going to have to mount a campaign for hearts and minds. If the public can be turned against you, the Herosians may get their wish.’
Aneka slumped in her seat. ‘I hate politics.’
‘You have the advantage at this point. Play to your strengths, and the public’s weaknesses.’
‘Such as?’
‘Jenlay are suckers for a beautiful woman,’ Ella said. ‘You need to be seen, and seen looking good. And they love romance and tragedy. We play on our relationship and your losses. Your family, Old Earth, a thousand years lost in stasis.’
‘There is something of a romantic nostalgia for the Navy,’ Winter added. ‘While we all know that the military are largely paper tigers, the public actually likes the idea that there are people out there defending them from evil. Your actions on Harriamon and Odanari, cast in the right light, have done wonders for your reputation. Play up your role as the protector of your colleagues in the field, but try to be modest about it.’
‘I’m going to hate this,’ Aneka said, her tone resigned. ‘When do we start?’
‘We’ll take the remainder of the day to plan our campaign,’ Winter told her. ‘We’ll infiltrate the two of you back into society tomorrow morning. I’ll arrange to have a few key press people aware of your arrival.’
Aneka put her head in her hands and let out a deep sigh. ‘I’m really going to hate this.’
Norden Forest, New Earth, 5.10.527 FSC.
The small spacecraft dropped silently into a clearing among the trees, propelled by magic, as far as Aneka could tell. Reactionless drives were magic even to the likes of Abraham Wallace. He had indicated that he had no idea how they worked, aside from that they might use some form of exotic matter. Even given the small size of the shuttle, its engine was capable of quite incredible acceleration without any form of thrust, and it could operate in any direction. With the stealth field engaged there was nothing to give the craft away. It was no wonder the Agroa Gar had been able to operate around Old Earth without detection.
Adding to the amazement was the fact that the tiny craft had a fully functional, and quite fast, warp drive. Justine was on another of the craft headed for Odanari where she would then catch a passenger liner back to New Earth, apparently an agent of the FSA returning from duty there. Range was limited by the available life support, but it was still an indication of the power of advanced technology that the small ship could travel between stars.
With the ship on the ground and the flight systems shut down, three service androids went out to manhandle a folded up car out of the hold while Winter, in her Number Seven body, gave final instructions.
‘You’ll be ambushed by press outside the door of your apartment building,’ she told them. ‘Act surprised. Aneka, make sure you look perfect.’
Aneka gave her a sour look. An hour of careful consideration by Winter, Ella, and Justine had ended with Aneka being dressed in a hip-hugging black micro-skirt, a tight cropped T-shirt with cap sleeves, and high heels. The outfit was meant to look casual and effortless, and to show off plenty of flesh.
‘The cameras are going to love you,’ Ella said.
‘You just need to drop some comments about not wanting publicity and make for the door,’ Winter went on. ‘You’ve been out of touch, haven’t seen any of the news channels, and don’t know why everyone would be so interested in you. If anyone lets slip that they know what you are, look concerned and hurry inside. I expect you’ll get a visit from the FSA fairly quickly, but the local Justine will have briefed Elaine and Sharissa. Ella, your mother will be near your building and hear the news. She should make it there before the agents do.’
‘This really is a military campaign, isn’t it?’ Ella said.
Winter smiled. ‘In a manner of speaking it is, yes. Your transport is ready. Good luck.’
Yorkbridge Mid-town.
The car, a sporty black model, had driven them into the underground car park in their building where, Aneka was surprised to learn, there was a parking space assigned to them. As soon as they had removed their bags from the small trunk it had folded itself into a large brick. Aneka still found the trick a little disconcerting, but it did reduce the space needed to store the vehicle.
The car park had no means of getting to the apartments above without going outside and using the normal door, which suited their purposes perfectly, of course. Even knowing that the reporters would be waiting for them, faking surprise was not really needed.
What seemed like a small horde of men and women clutching microphones, backed up by others pointing cameras, rushed toward the couple as they stepped out of the lift on their level. Aneka looked longingly at the door they were trying to get to, all the way across the bridge, and began to push her way toward it.
‘Aneka!’
‘Miss Jansen, how do you feel about the news?’
‘Miss Narrows, where have you both been for the last month?’
‘Aneka, a few questions, please.’
Aneka looked around the crowd. ‘Uh, we’ve been out of contact. Security issues. We just got back and we really just want to be home.’
‘Then you don’t know that your secret is out.’
‘You’ve been accused of being a Xinti spy.’
‘A few words now…’
Al had been primed for comments like that. The colour drained from Aneka’s face as her eyes widened. ‘I… I’m not at liberty to discuss any of that,’ she said, and began to move urgently toward the door of their apartment. Back in her time, Aneka would have expected more resistance, but the Jenlay press were more controlled, and more concerned about individual privacy. Besides, she figured they had what they needed, at least initially. If she said she could not talk about it, then they just needed to wait for someone to officially tell her she could.
Still, she was both pleased and horrified when the door opened before they got to it and she saw Dillon inside waving urgently for them to come through. He was a huge man with a lot of well-formed muscle on a big frame. His hair, which tended to look a little wild, normally softened his look, but he had pulled it back into a tight ponytail. When he glowered at the nearest reporters, they backed away to let Aneka and Ella through. Katelyn, his partner, a slim, attractive woman with dusky skin and cornrow hair, was waiting just inside, a look of concern on her face.
Aneka started speaking as soon as the door was closed. ‘Look, you two, I need to…’
Dillon reached down and took the case from Aneka’s hand. ‘Upstairs,’ he said. ‘We can talk once we’re in your place and you’ve both got drinks in your hands.’
‘I expect you’ll need them,’ Katelyn added, leading the way up the flight of stairs.
‘We saw that lot turning up outside about half an hour ago,’ Dillon explained as they walked. ‘We figured someone had to have tipped them off that you were coming home, so we thought we’d better prepare for a quick entry.’
‘I don’t know what you’ve heard,’ Katelyn went on. ‘All sorts of gopi has been hitting the ventilation for weeks.’
Taking Dillon’s advice, Aneka said nothing until the flat’s door was shut behind them. ‘Officially, we know nothing. Unofficially, we’re pretty well briefed.’
‘We saw the news clip you were in,’ Ella said.
‘I am so sorry for not telling you sooner,’ Aneka said, putting as much feeling as she could manage into it. ‘I really hated keeping it a secret. From anyone, but especially from you.’
Dillon had dumped the case and was busy finding glasses in the
little kitchen. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘We knew anyway,’ he said and Aneka blinked at him.
‘Not the details,’ Katelyn added. ‘I mean, we didn’t know exactly what they’d done to you, but we knew you weren’t a Jenlay. Or a Human.’
‘You did?’ Ella almost squeaked.
‘Well…’ Dillon said. ‘I mean, she never gets tired, no matter what we do to her. She’s stronger than I am. She runs miles and barely seems out of breath. And no one shrugs off stunner hits, even someone used to stun grenades.’
‘You didn’t say anything,’ Aneka said. She took the glass Dillon handed her and drank some of the contents, even if the alcohol was going to do nothing to her.
Dillon gave her a shrug and walked over to hand Ella her glass. ‘It was obviously some sort of big secret. We figured if you could have said something, then you would have. When we found out what the big secret actually was… Well, then it was pretty obvious why you hadn’t been allowed to tell people.’
Bemused, Aneka looked at Katelyn. ‘But you don’t like robots. I’m basically a robot, you know?’
‘The fuck you are,’ the girl replied. Then she gave a little shrug. ‘Okay, yeah, if I’d known up front what you were I’d have probably been scared stupid about it. And then I’d never have got to know you. My loss. I did get to know you before we figured anything out and if you’re just a robot then I’m just a slab of meat.’
Resigning herself to having worried needlessly, Aneka said, ‘I’m still sorry I couldn’t tell you before you found out.’
‘So are we,’ Dillon replied, grinning wolfishly. ‘Can you imagine what we could have got up to if we’d known you were just about indestructible?’
~~~
Janna and Sharissa arrived barely a quarter of an hour later, the former wrapping her daughter in a hug a boa constrictor would have been proud of as soon as she got through the door.
The Winter War Page 28
