“The Ops that you’ll be conducting here won’t all be ‘rush and zap’ jobs. In addition to taking out enemy assets, we’ll want every scrap of information that you can gather, and live prisoners to interrogate whenever possible.’
“These men, and the men under them are smart, but if we women, and our friends in the Specia put our heads together, we’ll bring them to ground--and bury them in it.”
The briefing went on for a few more minutes, and then everyone was dismissed and sought out their quarters. On their way to their new barracks, Margasdaater spoke up. “Zo, Troop, vat about all zis?”
Ben Di stopped in midstride and put down her kit bag with a somber expression. “What about all this?” she replied, “Since you’re my sisters, I think you deserve an honest answer. While the Major and the El-Tee were speaking, I ran the files of the Specia women. They were with some group that called itself La Ermanyaa before the war. We trained them, and then sent them back here. Some of them wound up in the Specia, and others work as undercover agents.’
“Personally, I don’t think much of male soldiers. During the war, my team took out a lot of them, and from what I saw, I don’t think that men have any business being in combat. They’re big, they’re strong, but they’re also stupid and they don’t have the will to do everything that needs to be done to win a fight. They’re weak.’
“But if these girls are in charge, then things might just work out. Maybe. I do know one thing; all of these Specia are suspected of being Rightists. If that’s true, then it means they hate the Loyalistas more than we do. So, we do the job the Sisterhood has given us and we suck it up. Does that answer your question, Astrid?”
“Yah, taake,” Margasdaater said. With this, Ben Di picked up her bag and they moved on. No one asked her any more questions.
Two hours later, Kaly had the opportunity to confront her feelings about fighting other humans head on. Claire d’Layne was hit by a rocket attack. Warning klaxons sounded all over the base, and everyone sprang out of their bunks, grabbing weapons and throwing on what they could as they ran outside. Trenches had been dug near the barracks for this very purpose, and they dove into them and took cover.
A loud tearing noise sounded off in counterpoint to the whoosh of the rockets, and the night was lit up by long spears of white-hot flame. The perimeter battlebots and other automated defenses were engaging the incoming ordnance with their miniguns.
The ‘bots proved to be good shots and most of them managed to catch their targets midflight. A few rockets did manage to get through the hellish fusillade though, but most of these missed hitting anything important by a wide margin. Only one missile was the exception. It hit a supply shed and blew it to pieces.
Kaly didn’t give this any more than a passing glance however. Since she wasn’t dead, she wasn’t concerned. Instead, her focus was on the base’s fence line, and what she could see through Tatiana’s sights. As more projectiles came over the barrier, she spotted one of the launcher crews on infrared.
There were two men, both dressed in civilian clothing. One was hefting the launcher itself, and the second one was serving up a fresh round. She dropped the operator right away, and then took the other man out as he turned, and tried to run away.
Even as he fell, she was searching for more targets to engage. Small arms fire was coming at them now, and she tried to spot its source. When one of the shooters rose high enough for her to see him, she sent a bullet straight into his forehead. The man collapsed, but his companions continued to fire, using the terrain for cover.
Meanwhile, a flight of Valkyries had come up on the general Com. They were inbound from space to provide air support. Kaly called them up on her psiever.
Dana flight, Team 201 sniper, I have an unknown number of hostiles 914 meters, 280 degrees from my position. Small arms and rockets.
Affirmative, the pilot responded. We see you and we’re coming in for a ground attack. This is going to be a little rough, so hold on tight, little sister.
The woman wasn’t exaggerating. A split second later, there was a loud rumble as the two fighters passed overhead, and Kaly felt the wind kicked up by their passage. This was followed by an earsplitting roar as they dropped their anti-personnel bombs. The ground beneath her bucked like a living thing, nearly throwing her out of the trench, but when it ended and she was finally able to look up again, the area beyond the base fencing was a searing inferno. There were no more gunshots, or rockets coming from this direction now.
Thanks a lot, she thought. It looks like you got them.
Any time, little sister. Sleep tight, pleasant dreams.
The fighters were already breaking off and turning their noses back up towards the stars. Knowing that her guardians would be up there, ready to swoop down and come to their aid again, Kaly waited for the all-clear to sound. When this occurred, she made her way back to her bunk and dropped into it. The effects of her adrenaline had vanished, right along with all of her misgivings about their new assignment. She had it straight now; an enemy was an enemy, no matter who, or what, they were.
Colonel Sarah n’Jan’s Office, Embassy of the United Sisterhood of Suns, Nuvo Bolivar, Magdala Provensa, Esteral Terrana Rapabla, 1048.07|26|08:35:52
Shortly after her arrival in the ETR, Sarah had immediately instituted several daily routines. One of these was breakfast, which was always served to her in her office. The smiling Durandelan who delivered it was officially listed as the Head of Embassy Housekeeping Services and she oversaw the entire kitchen staff. She also didn’t take any sass from Maya.
“M’aitha Mah’th! Good morn’n to ya,” the woman beamed, carrying a tray laden with food and a pot of strong tea. Despite its size, Meagan n’Neala was strong enough to hold it with one hand as she passed Maya, and still able to use her other one to swat the girl’s boots off the table they were propped on. “That’s it,” she declared, “off with them!”
Flashing her a roguish smile, Maya sat up. Never having had a true mother figure in her life, she actually seemed to enjoy N’Neala’s constant corrections.
The Durandellan had brought them a typical Thermadonian breakfast; hot tea, buttery rolls, and slices of fruit. While other worlds tended towards heavier fare, Sarah had always preferred this traditional menu and beamed at the woman as she set it down on the desk.
“Thank you, Meagan,” she said with genuine gratitude.
The woman returned her smile, and promptly left the office. N’Neala knew, without having to be told, that the conversation during breakfast would center on things that were well above her clearance level. Second only to the redirection she provided Maya, Sarah considered this to be her greatest virtue.
Taking her first sip of her tea, she put the woman out of her mind and called up her daily briefing file to scan its contents. Captain Hari n’Kyla and her subordinate, Lt. Amandra sa’Tela were sitting nearby, ready with their elzlate pads and styluses to take notes, and to brief her about the latest operational developments.
Originally, the pair had been attached to the DNI and posted to the Sisterhood Special Intelligence operation at the School. They would have remained there, had the Sisterhood not decided to shut down that operation in favor of a new naval base. This, and the restructuring of the Sisterhood’s Intelligence community, had brought them into Sarah’s employ, and since their reassignment, they had proven themselves to be valuable assets. Like N’Neala, Sarah was glad to have them as part of her staff.
As it was, there wasn’t much that morning that needed a follow-up; the station still had several suspected Loyalista groups under surveillance, but nothing stellar had occurred overnight. The activities of a number of men and women, whose allegiances were still only labeled ‘suspect’, were being looked into and only minor progress had been made in turning two key assets over to their side.
Finishing, N’Kyla brought Sarah’s attention to the last item on the days report. “There’s one other thing, ma’am. You’ll find it in ‘Other’. Celina is
going to be visiting us soon.”
Sarah said nothing, and took another sip of her tea.
N’Kyla pressed on. “It seems that she wants to gather some material for her latest project, and she’s agreed to give the troops a free concert in exchange. I’ve already contacted the Base Commander at Claire d’Layne, and the Embassy security detail. The Local police have also been brought into the loop.”
Sarah set down her cup. “Yes, I was aware of her impending visit” she replied. She had received word of it several weeks earlier when the artist had initially applied for permission to make the trip. Privately, she would have been happier had Celina remained in the Sisterhood, but for reasons of her own, Sarah’s superior, General Angelique bel Thana, had insisted otherwise. In addition to guaranteeing her safety, their station was to make certain that Celina saw only what the RSE wanted her to see, and only when they were ready for her to see it.
If N’Kyla was surprised by this revelation, she hid it well, and added, “Ma’am her file has also been tagged PAI”
A PAI or “Persôn a Intressé—a Person of Interest, was a term used by the Agency for someone who had not been charged with any crime, but merited extra attention because of something suspicious.
“I am aware of that as well, Captain,” Sarah said. ”She has been PAI for some time now. Please make sure that we keep a close eye on her activities.”
In fact, Celina had been a Persôn a Intressé ever since her unfortunate encounter with the Seevaan delegation in her studio. Sarah had never been told why the tag had been appended to the woman’s file, and she hadn’t inquired about it either. The matter was above her clearance level.
“Yes, ma’am,” N’Kyla answered. “I’ll see to it.”
Sarah didn’t bother to press her to provide any details. N’Kyla was a good officer, and she knew that the matter would be handled appropriately. From the instant that Celina arrived in the ETR, she would be watched, and her room would be under surveillance around the clock. There would be nothing that the musician could become involved in that they wouldn’t know about.
“Do we have anything else this morning?” she asked instead.
This was Sa’Tela’s cue. She produced a small stack of flimsies from her valise. These contained information on people that the station was attempting to recruit or misdirect, and the progress that they were making in each case. They also functioned as training aids in Maya’s continuing education as an operative.
“Now, Maya”, Sa’Tela began. “As you’ll recall from yesterday, this particular target is due to be turned by us this week. He is the Assistant Director of the ESN, and should prove to be a valuable asset. We have identified his key weakness, and we plan to fully exploit it. Using his file as your guide, can you tell me what it is, and how you would use it to subvert him?”
The girl examined the file carefully. It was in its original form; lacking any follow-up notes, or recommendations. She would have to solve the puzzle based on the raw data.
“What do you see, Maya? Remember, no detail is too small to be overlooked,” the Kalian prodded.
Maya went through the pages, reading bits of it out loud as she did so. “Let’s see—name, rank, address, et cetera…family; a wife, estranged, two children…okay. He’s been with the ESN for twenty years, decorated for his service…that’s nice...”
Then she looked up. “Is it his wife, or his children? Is that what we’ll use to turn him?”
Sa’Tela shook her head. “No. He’s estranged from his wife, and if you look further, you’ll see that the only reason that they haven’t gotten a divorce is purely for appearance’s sake. He barely sees his children now—although in all fairness, that could be a potential crack in his hull—if we didn’t have something far superior to it. Now, look deeper and you’ll see what it is. It’s right there.”
Maya sighed, and read on. “Okay,” she said at last, “he’s got a boyfriend, an actor. They’ve had a relationship for the last year, and our target keeps him in an apartment here in the city.”
She turned the page and saw the pictures that accompanied this information. They showed the target and his lover engaged in some extremely intimate activities, and Maya’s eyebrows rose as she looked at them.
“Is that it?” she inquired. “Is it the boyfriend?”
Sa’Tela smiled encouragingly. “Yes, Maya, it is. Now, can you tell us why?”
Maya put the file down and her brow furrowed. ”Honestly? No. So what if he has a boyfriend? Who cares what he does with his money? The file says that he’s not seeing his wife—so he certainly isn’t worried about her divorcing him.”
She hesitated. “Isn’t he?”
“No, Maya,” Sa’Tela answered. “He is not. If you read the footnotes, you’ll see that he and his wife have already agreed on separating thanks to another affair he had with someone else two years ago. You’re very close however. Read on, please.”
Maya did, and scanned the footnotes. Sarah saw the first glimmer of understanding come into her eyes, but also a cloud of doubt.
“The last affair the target had was with a young woman,” Maya observed tentatively. “This one is with another man. Is that it?”
N’Kyla and Sa’Tela nodded in unison.
Maya sat back and folded her arms, perplexed. “Sorry, but I still don’t get it. So what? Why is that important? What’s the fekking difference?”
Sarah simply couldn’t keep her silence any longer and interjected. “Really Maya, I thought that you were coming along so well! It is really rather simple; the fact that he is having a homosexual relationship is what compromises him.”
Maya was genuinely baffled, and Sarah had to remind herself that for all her savvy, Maya’s experience was isolated to the Sisterhood, and its values. The girl simply didn’t comprehend the culture of the ETR, or its archaic prejudices.
“Maya, “she explained patiently, “you have to understand that to you it’s nothing. Our society doesn’t have ‘gays’ or ‘straights’ anymore—we are just what we are, and we practice what we rightly consider to be normal sexuality. However, that is not the way things are here at all.”
“So, you’re telling me that these people have a problem with men being with men, and women being with women?” Maya asked in disbelief. “I thought that sort of thing ended centuries ago back on Old Gaia.”
“Oh, it did,” Sa’Tela volunteered, “But with the cultural drift that occurred after the Plague, some customs—and points of view—made their return. This society is just as homophobic as humanity was before the 22nd century. If it became known that our target was involved in this relationship, his career would be over.”
“Wait! Isn’t the boyfriend worried about this too?” Maya challenged. “Couldn’t it ruin him?”
“No, I strongly doubt it,” Sa’Tela chuckled. “In fact, a disclosure might actually be of benefit to him, although there’s no indication that he is considering a betrayal of his lover. Not for the moment at least.”
“Excuse me, but how in the Lady’s name could it benefit him?” Maya inquired, now more confused than ever.
“Well, you see,” Sa’Tela explained patiently. ”Actors are perceived a little differently in the Republic. You might have noticed that they don’t use digital cast members like we do. Instead they employ real people, and as such they become public figures. Publicity always surrounds them, and they in turn, gravitate towards that publicity.”
“Sorry, I didn’t notice,” Maya admitted. “I haven’t bothered to keep track of what these people watch. Is this boyfriend something like Celina then? That kind of celebrity?”
“No,” the Kalian replied. “Not on her level. In fact, far from it. He’s what the ancients used to call a ‘B Actor’, a minor celebrity. Even so, the public here is always interested in the off-stage activities of any actor or actress, especially when it involves a scandal.’
“If this relationship were made public, it would prove to be a very juicy bit of gossip indeed
. The local media would devour it, and while that would guarantee that our target’s life was ruined, it would bring his boyfriend into the public eye, making him that much more well-known and memorable. For a live actor like himself, this can be a priceless opportunity.”
“Hold on. I thought that you just said that they hated homosexuals here!” the girl declared. “He’d be known as one for sure if this got out. How does that work? Explain it to me.”
“It is not the same for him,” Sarah said. “You see, this society has a different set of expectations for an actor than it does for the Assistant Director of their national intelligence agency. They’ll let one man lead an otherwise unacceptable lifestyle, and condemn his partner at the same time, solely because of their professions.”
Maya shook her head in utter bewilderment. “These people are klaxxy,” she said. “No wonder we fought five world wars back on Gaia. Thinking like that is enough to drive anyone warpy.”
“You will get no argument from me on that score,” Sarah agreed. “Now, given this state of affairs, how would you ‘play’ the target?”
They waited patiently while Maya considered the question. At last, the young woman answered. “First, I would let the target know that we know all about his relationship, and then I’d offer to keep the matter a secret if he came and worked for us.”
“What about the boyfriend?” Sa’Tela asked. ”He’s a loose end.”
Maya paused, and then added. “I’d pay him to go away and replace him with someone that we could control.”
“Very good,” the officer replied. “But what if he didn’t want to leave? Or wanted too much money?”
Maya’s expression hardened. “Then I’d have him kakked. I’d also hold the whole thing over the target’s head for the rest of his life.”
The women around her rewarded her with smiles of approval.
“It seems that you do have a grasp of this business after all, Maya,” Sarah observed. “Those are precisely the steps that I plan to take.’
Sisterhood of Suns: Daughters of Eve Page 11
