by Skyler Grant
I keyed my Comm to check if Inanna was available at the Roma Embassy, and after a few seconds I got an acknowledgment she was and a car could be sent to pick me up. I keyed my acceptance.
"Good question. We're not doing anything without a plan and right now there is someone I need to talk with. Care to accompany me to Roma?
"I'm spending way too much time around Corporations since hooking up with you," Diva said.
"They growing on you?" I asked.
"Left Liberty for a reason. Not rushing back into that," Diva said.
I still didn't know her full story. I wanted to get it someday.
When the Roma vehicle arrived it was an impressive display. Gold and red, a massive lion ornament upon the hood. Still, despite all the splendor, I spied heavy armored plating and several weapons. They built to impress, but didn't forget the essentials. There was something to respect there.
The interior was plush and Diva squeezed in next to me. The door hissed shut and the vehicle began to move.
"So what do you want?" I asked Diva.
"I liked the way things were. I liked getting jobs and getting paid. I like not being beholden to anyone but the people you know who have your back, and never having to take any shit," Diva said.
That might still be a possibility. In the short term I was sure my little display would help us to find work, and corporate conflicts eventually would die out. SantaFe wouldn't be a friend if they survived this and I was sure they'd try to kill me a few more times. Still, grudges were expensive and business was business. If I stayed alive long enough, even that would cease to be a factor.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this," I said.
Diva regarded me for a moment and shrugged. "I'm not. I didn't want the fight, because I didn't think it was one we could win. I didn't want me and the team throwing our lives away for nothing. You finished it and we set those people free. I don't mind being a hero, if I get to be a living one."
It wasn't an Olympian mindset, but I could work with it. That bit of practicality was good for keeping me sane.
Roma didn't have its own colony, the Embassy was settled within a Liberty outpost. Neon lights were everywhere and the sky was dominated by billboards. There were a few devoted to me, dressed in my leafy getup and taking a pose more sexy than any I'd ever adopted—urging people to come check me out.
Great.
Diva caught sight of my expression and she gave me a wry smile. "And you went out there and made yourself even more of a product."
Completely guilty. Her and everyone else that now knew me through my eyes.
"Miss it?" I asked.
"I got an offer. Comeback tour, from Liberty, after everything that happened. Guess the public remembered I existed again," Diva said.
"You tempted at all?" I asked.
Based on what I knew of her, I expected her to laugh off the question. Instead she nodded. "Course I'm tempted. It gets into you, the attention and the fans. If it isn't you yet, it will be. Thing is, if you let it run its course, it will eat you up. Yeah I want it, but I can't give in. I'm not strong enough."
I studied her. I didn't think she was right. Diva was stronger than she knew.
The vehicle stopped at the gate to the Roma compound as an absurd number of sensors swept over us. A display indicated each of our weapons and asked us to acknowledge that we were bringing them in and to confirm we entered under agreement of peace. We each acknowledged and were allowed through
It was grand. Roma really did share a lot in common with Olympus, marble and sculpture was everywhere as we drove through.
"Did they give you any clue what this was about?" Diva asked.
"Not a one. The invitation was from Inanna and not Mars though," I said.
"He's kind of hot," Diva said.
"You've got terrible taste in men," I said.
"Tell me about it."
123
The car pulled directly into an antechamber for meeting guests, the door hissing open to luxurious carpet and a small seating area at which had been set a jug of wine and various delicacies.
A woman was waiting for us and she looked to be around my age. Her features had hints of Inanna from the Network, although that wouldn't fit with what I knew of her age. I'd also have assumed Inanna to be station-born, but this woman wore no support suit.
"Persephone. So pleased that you could make it," Inanna said, stepping in and kissing me upon the lips. A moment later a put-out looking Diva got similar treatment. "Join me. I've wine and some food, if you are hungry. I hope you're feeling better?"
I didn't think it was good business to go broadcasting that I still wasn't at my full strength. "Much," I said, and moved over to the table. The food made my stomach grumble. There were a number of Olympian delicacies, it was a far cry from nutrient paste, and proof that Roma really was trying to be accommodating.
I sat down and Diva poked unhappily at the food. I dug in. I wasn't going to get the opportunity again and if their intent was to poison me, I doubt they would have gone to this much spectacle. Inanna joined me and soon we demolished the food.
The Olympian dishes were authentic. They hadn't cut any corners, they might have come straight from my family's table.
"So what am I being buttered up for?" I asked after setting aside the last plate. "I'd have thought Roma would be against me after what happened with Mars."
"Jupiter loves it when we fight amongst ourselves. He says it keeps us sharp," Inanna said, pouring me more wine. "Mars hates you and he'll be trouble going forward, but Roma doesn't share his opinion. In fact, they're quite impressed."
I couldn't help but to note the phrasing there. Inanna might be playing the spokesperson of Roma for this encounter, but she wasn't actually including herself among their number.
"Well, I did start a war from what I hear. Of course they are, I'm good for business," I said.
Inanna nodded at that. "You also handled yourself well. You've proved yourself brave, quick thinking, willing to do what is necessary. Roma wants to make you a job offer."
That was about what I was expecting. Diva was frowning.
I didn't know what Roma could offer me, but I needed to hear them out, it would be idiocy not to.
"So they want to hire Persephone away from Liberty. Sponsorship or fully coming on board?"
Inanna shook her head. "You misunderstand. Roma has no interest in Persephone. They offer full citizenship to Alena Polias, a full share of the company, and status of a personage of worth upon Triumverate station on the condition that you assume the role of Minerva."
I'd expected them to make a good pitch. I hadn't expected it to be that good. They were offering me a return to life in orbit. Minerva was their version of Athena, the Goddess that growing up I'd most closely identified with. Tactics and warfare. It would be an important role in Roma, one well-suited to my skills.
Again, though, I was troubled by Inanna not selling it particularly hard. Perhaps the offer was so good she just didn't feel it required any pitching, but perhaps there was something more.
"May I ask you a few questions?" I asked.
"Of course," Inanna said, after a sip from her wine.
"Why aren't you aboard the station? Given how highly everyone seems to think of you, I'd have thought you must have your start in orbit," I said.
"I was a part of the stations when they were just being built and when I saw how that isolation would go, I left. I'm rather older than I appear," Inanna said.
No kidding. I wasn't sure what that would make her, but it meant she had seen a lot.
"Why is the offer so generous?" I asked.
I didn't know if she'd answer honestly, but I was getting the sense she might.
"Because you created a legend and they wish to kill her off," Inanna said with a knowing smile.
They were scared of Persephone. They'd take me and give me a luxurious life, but they weren't truly interested in me. They wanted to stop what they'd helped me to create.
The fusing of worlds that had gotten a senior executive killed and allowed me to go free.
"You've got to take it," Diva said, turning to face me. "I hate them, but it is too good. You're not happy on the ground and you know that if you refuse, they're going to come for you."
I hadn't expected Diva to take their side. I really had grown on her.
I knew that she was right. If I refused this offer I was turning my back on the corporate council attempting to bring me back into the fold. There would be consequences for that.
"Did Roma destroy Olympus Station?" I asked.
I didn't expect Inanna to answer anything other than no. Still, she seemed to be feeling honest and the possibility haunted me. Of all the corporations that had gained from the death of Olympus it seemed that Roma has gained the most.
Inanna gave me a sad smile and shook her head. "They didn't. I know you've no reason to believe me, but of that I am certain."
There was conviction in her tone. At the same time, I heard that Inanna had no idea who was responsible.
I set down my wine and leaned forward to better meet Inanna's eyes, they were the same astonishing blue as her gown. "Thank you for the offer. Are you open to hearing mine?"
Inanna grinned then, she did enjoy making trouble and I think she'd been waiting for that moment.
"Make it a good one," Inanna said. I would, the world was watching.
"Ever since I've descended to the surface I've seen senseless brutality and exploitation. The world is filled with monsters and so are the skies above," I said.
"One less," Inanna said pointedly and I silently thanked her. She was playing into this.
"One less and I'm just getting started. The Underworld is calling. Want in?" I asked.
"You realize that monster killing isn't actually a sound business strategy," Diva said.
Inanna laughed, "Oh, I think she could find a few sponsors."
If I didn't, I could rob a few banks. I suspected Billy could use some work and I owed that rogue.
"Is that a yes?" I asked.
Inanna tilted her head to consider me, fingers drumming against her thigh. "On one condition. That you abandon your Liberty sponsorship and become a fully free agent. The Queen of the Underworld must bow her head to no other. Commit to that and you have my full support. We'll give them a show they'll never forget."
I didn't know how Columbia would feel about that and it mattered to me. But so did this. This was important. One of the other stations had attacked Olympus, the enemy was on the corporate council. Monsters like Green and Anton the Flesh Peddler were everywhere.
I keyed my wrist comp. It took surprisingly little effort to sever such an important relationship.
Inanna waited until I was done and then keyed her own.
"Did you really just wander into a Roma embassy and recruit one of their stars?" Diva asked.
"I'm just getting started," I said.
I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Your corporation was your culture, it was your life. Inanna was the rare exception that proved the rule.
When we left, we walked out. Roma felt no need to give us a ride.
The streets of the Freedom enclave were friendly. Word hadn't spread yet. Soon enough those billboards of me would be coming down. All the more space for Columbia I supposed, she deserved it.
124
Columbia forgave me and so did Liberty. The goodwill I'd won there hadn't gone away just because I wanted to go my own way. There were rather absurd amounts of in-Network sex too that sent the message loud and clear that Persephone and Liberty were still in bed together. I'd promised the fans and I was a girl that kept her promises. It wasn't just that, of course, people are always more complicated than that.
Of course, Columbia wasn't leaving Liberty. If I'd hoped to lure away a large batch of sponsored heroes for my cause, I'd failed. The Red Knight declined, Camelot prized loyalty far too much. I gave Anat an offer as well, but she enjoyed her home in Roma.
It was probably a good thing, the plans I already had broke the bank.
I didn't file any sort of corporate paperwork for the Underworld. I thought it best that my Queen title be as ambiguous as possible. I'd let other people worry about what really came under my jurisdiction, if anything.
I did have to pay to officially sponsor heroes however, even myself, and those fees weren't cheap.
I bought an abandoned Olympian research facility to serve as our new base of operations and officially employed Billy, Inanna, and myself as our roster of Network heroes. The others were okay with growing the team, and with the transformation into a real organization.
We'd won our first battle against the monsters, but wars aren't decided by a single battle.
We were just getting started.
Author Notes
If you’ve made this far I hope you enjoyed my first effort at Cyberpunk. I’ve always been a big lover of the genre and wanted to try something written more from the corporate perspective.
Alena is a complex figure, but much of what she believes was shaped by her growing up in that environment. As anyone who has ever worked in a company with a strong culture can attest, it really does feel like it gets into your blood after a while. I tried to picture how that might play out over the course of generations.
I also wanted to play with the idea of cultures. Increasingly in the real world cultural lines are fading. The walls coming down between people is a good thing, and yet I think in many it has created a sense of loss. It may be in the future that a sense of identity and purpose is what we’ll really want to consume.
Machine suffrage seemed a great opener for the book, because eventually the day will come where it is an issue. We spend so much time obsessing over how we’ll handle it when machines come to kill us. What about when they instead insist on the same rights that belong to those made of flesh and blood, instead of silicon and steel?
I purposefully chose not to end this on a cliff-hanger (if you’ve read some of my other books you know I’m afraid or averse to doing so). That doesn’t mean there is not more to come. There will be more of Persephone, her story is just getting started and the struggles ahead of her are going to shake the world.
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