by M. D. Cooper
“Platoon, get some sacktime, I want you assembled on the deck in front of the Argonaut at 0530. Dismissed!”
The men saluted the officers and filed out.
CHAPTER 28
STELLAR DATE: 3227 307 / 12.20.4123 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: District BX9, Ring 19C, Callisto Orbital Habitat (Cho)
REGION: Jovian Combine, Sol Space Federation
“How are things looking, Commander?” Tanis addressed the Marine who was bent over a readout.
“As well as can be expected, sir. We’ve got the 701 engineers combing every inch of those cubes as well as the other general cargo destined for the Intrepid upon its arrival and let me say, it’s going to be a slow burn.”
“I understand, Yau.” Tanis couldn’t agree more. “Be on the lookout for…something—I don’t know that this is over yet.”
“You’re expecting the enemy to make a move against us?”
“I don’t know for sure. I’ve been studying this Arlen Strang. He’s never been one to give up on something when he sets his mind to it. I imagine that he has made certain promises and with the Dakota taking second place to the Intrepid I’m thinking he has some egg on his face.”
“I’ll see that we are suitably cautious, sir.”
“Good to hear, Commander.”
Tanis turned and signaled one/three to follow her. She had a meeting with a certain informant and it involved going down to ring 5 and into an area not known to be friendly to strangers. She was probably being overly cautious, but having a couple of Marines along never hurt when trying to keep one’s head attached to one’s body.
She and the Marines were all in civilian attire, though she didn’t expect it to fool anyone who had an eye for military bearing. The light body armor they wore under their clothing didn’t help make their movements any more natural.
The ride down the tubes was relatively quick. Since they were going to inner rings the feeling was actually more of an up since the centripetal force was pulling them the opposite direction. She did miss the type of construction that Mars 1 and Ceres had, where you could see the planet above. Word was that the reason why they hadn’t done that here was because having Jupiter looming in the background was disconcerting to too many people, especially since it had been ignited several hundred years ago and now looked much more ominous than it once had.
Even if the moon were visible the view would have been uninspiring. Callisto wasn’t terraformed, its surface housing waste management and purification systems for the habitat above.
Tanis’s thoughts shifted to the Callisto station…or rings…no one really knew what to call it these days. Locals called it Cho, while the Jovian government called it the C1 Semi-Orbital Habitat. Tanis just called it daunting.
Something about the feeling of a trillion trillion tons of structure over her head gave her the willies. Not big ones, but enough to make her twinge every so often.
She focused on the task at hand. Meet with this contact, get the intel, stop the STR from pulling off whatever they planned on doing. She kept the knowledge that in one month they’d be outsystem firmly in mind. They’d have a nice cookout in Old Sam and be on their way. It would all have been worth it.
The thoughts renewed her resolve. No way was she going to let anything get in the Intrepid’s way.
The contact’s name was Sandy Bristol; Tanis’s information told her that she would be a mod—a pretty heavy mod from the looks of the file. She figured it couldn’t be hard to spot a woman with florescent pink skin and what appeared to be several dozen three-foot tentacles coming out of her head. That sort of thing just stood out.
She glanced around her at the people in this part of the ring. Well, maybe it wouldn’t stand out that much. In fact, even though they were all dressed in civvies, her Marine escort’s lack of visible mods and conservative clothing probably made them the most unusual people present.
She directed Becker and Jacobs to engage in a lively discussion about their favorite sport, poker, at a table in a café across the intersection where the meet was to take place. Martins stood beside her, posing as obvious muscle, which she did very easily, and Larson was lurking around the corner, eyeing the ladies standing in front of a brothel, or voluntary slavery outlet, it was hard to tell.
“Some of these people are…well…quite odd.” Martins almost added the “sir” but held it back.
Tanis checked her records on Martins and saw that she was from the Beta Regio region on Venus. The descendants of religious puritans that left Earth a millennia ago, they were about as straight-laced as they came in this day and age.
“They’re not of the normal variety,” Tanis replied. “Actually, I take that back. Given the population of the Galilean moons it’s possible that they actually define normal.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe there are a thousand billion people on Callisto now”—Martins shook her head—“and most of them are above us.”
“Below you, actually,” Tanis said. “That whole centripetal force thing.”
“Actually, since at any given time we’re at the bottom of the arch, our point of view has most of the ring structure above us.” Martins grinned.
Tanis grunted. “Got me there; last time I think of you as rural, Martins.”
“Sorry, s—”
“Good catch.”
They stood in silence for a while, leaning against the wall of a shop that appeared to sell and install replacement digestive systems that would allow a person to fit three times the battery power into their body. It also used waste to create additional power. Link ads constantly assailing them showed high-end models with the ability to completely consume all food with no need to void it from the body—not an alteration you could easily undo if you decided you didn’t like it.
Tanis was certain she wouldn’t. The thought of what had to be some sort of laser-powered incinerator in her torso just seemed like a recipe for trouble, especially considering how often she got shot up.
Trist had mentioned that this was one of the more interesting, but relatively benign places on the lower Callisto rings. After setting up this meet for Tanis, Trist had gone off to see if she could get information from a few other contacts. Tanis didn’t like sending the woman off on her own, so three/two was with her. Their last update to the platoon’s tactical net put them on ring 17D, somewhere in a thousand-square-mile trade area. Chances were that Trist was getting in some last minute wheeling and dealing…or maybe just stealing.
“I think that’s her,” Martins spoke softly.
“Yup, even in this crowd, she does stand out,” Tanis agreed.
Sandy strolled over as though selling info to TSF agents was something she did every day. Tanis took the opportunity to examine her carefully, initially to look for any weapons, but then in a combination of awe and horror.
The woman’s body was indeed a fluorescent pink that seemed to shift hues in the light. There had to be over thirty of the tentacles coming out of her head, which itself seemed to have a conical shape. The end of each tentacle sported three suction cups, somewhat like an octopus.
At first glance she appeared to be naked, though it was often difficult to tell the difference between skin and clothes. While she certainly looked like a woman, her groin was smooth and her breasts—while fully exposed—had no nipples on them. Her legs were even more interesting; her knees bent backwards and her feet ended in hooves.
“It’s not polite to stare, Miss Richards.” Sandy walked up to the waiting pair. “But I don’t mind. I didn’t make myself look like this to avoid getting stared at.” She stretched seductively. “I positively thrive on it.”
She seemed to be getting rather turned on and Tanis realized that Sandy meant that her brain was altered to get sexual pleasure from having people stare at her unusual appearance. She probably had a really good time strolling through the corridors—the way she was modded out even people w
ith horns did double takes.
“I’m glad for you,” was all Tanis said.
Tanis noted that Martins appeared to be doing her best to blink regularly and a glance across the street showed her that the other Marines were having trouble keeping their glances casual. Not that they stood out in doing so—ignoring Sandy would be the unusual reaction.
“I understand that you have some information about Strang in relation to the Intrepid. Though I honestly must say that I don’t know how you would gather any intel…how would you blend in?”
“I don’t blend, darling, people pay me in information for the pleasure of my company.” Her tentacles danced around her, caressing her upper body. “I have very specialized skills.”
“Holy shit,” Martins said softly. Tanis sent a quelling glance the private’s way.
“So what do you have for us?” Tanis asked.
“Well, it’s come my way that Mr. Strang doesn’t like you, Miss Richards, doesn’t like you one bit.”
“I’ve actually noticed,” Tanis said dryly.
“I imagine you have. However, he has managed to get his eye back on the prize; he intends to destroy the Intrepid.”
“About time he learned some focus. I just wish he could focus elsewhere.”
“His intention”—Sandy leaned closer—“is to destroy it after it docks on Callisto.”
“That’s pretty broad; you wouldn’t happen to have anything more specific, would you?”
“He has a device, one that will cause considerable damage to the Intrepid. There will be minimal damage to the ring, but nothing he isn’t willing to risk.”
“Is that all you know?”
“I have some details; information about the way he plans to destroy it. I don’t understand all of the technical jargon, but I believe it is some sort of molecular decoupler that will break the ship apart. I’ve put it on this hardcopy.”
A tentacle slipped a small disc into Tanis’s hand. Without giving it a glance, she secured it in a small drive in her wrist. “Payment has already been remitted.”
“So it has. I believe, then, that our time here is complete.”
“Yes, thank you,” Tanis said.
“Thank you, Miss Richards. It’s been a pleasure.”
The strange woman walked away, her tentacles swaying softly and her hoofs clopping lightly on the decking.
Martins stared after Sandy until she disappeared from view. “She certainly was interesting.”
“You can say that again,” Tanis replied as the other Marines crossed the street and they began the return trip to the barracks.
…………………………..
Tanis met with her staff regarding the information Sandy had provided shortly after returning. None of them were entirely certain what to make of the information Tanis had gathered, but they were certainly going to take it seriously.
After the meeting, Tanis retreated to her quarters. Time enough for six hours of sleep and then back to the grind.
Tanis mused to Angela.
CHAPTER 29
STELLAR DATE: 3227327 / 01.09.4124 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: District BX9, Ring 19C, Callisto Orbital Habitat (Cho)
REGION: Jovian Combine, Sol Space Federation
Tanis stretched as consciousness slowly crept over her. The clock informed her that it was 0500; nine hours until the Intrepid would dock at Callisto. A review of her day’s schedule confirmed that it was full, but not so full that she couldn’t enjoy just a few more minutes under the soft covers.
She mentally ran through the post-docking schedule: the four days to load cargo—five at the outside, plus two days of VIP parties and ceremonies, put departure on 3227337 at the latest.
Departure.
It seemed like it would never come and now that it was here these last few days would be agony. With luck she would be so busy the time would fly past.
Curious about the ship’s status, she reached out to the TSF comm net and requested bandwidth to the Intrepid. It was granted and her queries flew across the void to the ship’s general net.
Amanda was there waiting for her.
Amanda laughed. Her voice was silvery and smooth and echoed just a touch.
She disconnected and drew back into herself. Taking a deep breath, she rose and entered the san unit. Her tight schedule coupled with her new armor would provide no opportunity to visit a restroom for at least the next twenty hours. She set the unit for a thorough cleaning and grimaced as it did its work.
Once done she stepped back into her small room and pulled out the small case containing the new armor. Setting it on the desk she opened it and loaded the control system.
Once the software was loaded, Tanis stripped down and stood naked. The next step was promised by both the salesperson and the manual to be somewhat odd. Some people reported feeling very claustrophobic during the process.
“Can’t believe I spent that much money on this thing.” Tanis held up the canister.
he liquid flowed up over her face.
It ran a countdown on her HUD, letting her know when it would be safe to breathe and look around. She felt tingles in her skin as the armor smoothed out and matched the shape of her body. When the countdown flashed zero she opened her eyes and examined the holo projection of herself.
Apart from a slight sheen to her skin it was impossible to tell that the armor was there at all. Upon close inspection a person might be able to notice a thin cover over her eyes, and that the first few millimeters of her hair appeared to be ridged, but other than that, she looked like a normal person…though somewhat naked at present.
Tanis pulled on her dress whites, somewhat disconcerted by the fact that the armor muted her sense of touch to a degree. She deployed a nano field that would assist the armor in detecting incoming weapons fire and with a cursory check of her quarters, exited into the corridor.
Tanis made her way to the officer’s mess, which contained a smattering of lieutenants and commanders getting ready for the day. Commander Yau was there; he appeared to be going over his company’s duties for the upcoming arrival of the Intrepid.
Eight hours and twenty-seven minutes.
“Glad this is nearly over, I bet.” Tanis sat across from him with her tray of fruit and oatmeal.
“Not as much as you are, I imagine.” He grinned.
“You have no idea. The waiting is killing me.”
“The CIA has all sorts of flags popping up on their net. Have you seen their latest sec feeds?”
Tanis hadn’t, and mentally chastised herself for not checking it first thing. The anticipation must really be preoccupying her.
“There have been some monitored individuals making their way onto Cho, and a few of them have slipped past surveillance,” Yau said.
Tanis checked the lists, summoning a holo display in front of her and the captain. “None look too serious, oh…well, except for her.”
“Yeah, Herris Santos. She’s known to have caused no small ruckus in her time.”
