by M. D. Cooper
Besides the aforementioned stores selling frivolities and food, frontages advertising time in the company of a beautiful man, woman, or…whatever abounded—everything from vanilla humans to things that didn’t even look like homo sapiens. A trend that seemed to be more and more common as the years passed.
It was probably to please many of the visitors. A lot of the spacers that passed through a place like Ceres spent a good bit of their time alone in the black. It seemed that they were the most unusual, almost as though they had decided that since they spent so much time away from the general human population they should become something other than human.
Even though he had slowed his pace, Williams saw that he was still catching up with the officers and Trist. He resigned himself to taking the rest of the route to the maglev in their company and allowed himself to catch up.
“About time you boots caught up. We were starting to wonder if you stayed back to finish an in-flight vid or something,” Trist said.
“We did,” Williams growled. “It was called NCOs and the Moronic Civilians They Saved Through the Ages. It warmed my heart.”
Trist shot Williams a shocked look while Tanis let out a laugh.
“You do realize that no one but a Marine can needle a Marine staff sergeant and escape unscathed,” Tanis said.
“Even most of them lose at least a finger or two,” Williams grunted.
Trist opened her mouth to say something in response, but appeared to think better of the notion and subsided into silence. Just the way Williams preferred it.
He had mixed feelings about her coming along to Callisto, especially mixed feelings about her being privy to the details of the mission, but Major Richards seemed to trust the girl and had made a strong case that she had a knowledge of Cho that none of them did. Her web of contacts could end up proving to be very useful.
Still, it was a gamble taking her back. The Jovian government still had a warrant out for her arrest, despite the fact that a federal SolGov court had granted her immunity in exchange for her testimony against Trent.
Luckily the fact that a lot of Trist’s body was made out of biological silicon meant her DNA no longer matched what was on record. Even better was the fact that she could subtly alter her underlying physical features making a legal identification of Trist was virtually impossible.
The group arrived at the maglev train and the platoon filed into several cars. The ride anti-spin to the Argonaut was relatively quick and before long the gear was stowed and the Marines were enjoying some downtime before the briefing. Their shuttle to Callisto left at 0900 the next morning, and it was currently 1400, giving them several hours to sample all the docks had to offer. Williams was certain that they would.
As for himself, Williams took the time to look over the plan passed down to him from the officers. He could tell that it was Tanis’s scheme with a few minor details taken care of by the LT. Tanis tended to skip the chain a bit, though it was hard to say if it annoyed Grenwald or not. Getting firsthand experience with a renowned tactician like Major Richards was probably worth the consternation.
The general operation was pretty straightforward. There would be a company of MCSF Marines tasked with general security and a company of Marine engineers that was tasked with inspecting the cargo pods. Not a job Williams envied. Those pods were each well over a cubic kilometer filled with equipment and cargo. The engineers would only be able to do a cursory examination at best, but it was better than nothing.
The Intrepid would carry ten pods total, and seven were already in place. When the Intrepid arrived at Callisto in a month, the remaining pods would be loaded up and the ship would begin its acceleration toward the Sun, on its slingshot approach to gather additional velocity for their outbound trip.
Williams was somewhat saddened by the thought. Over the last few months the ship had become something of a home to him and the platoon. He’d overheard a few of the Marines talking about requesting to go out with the ship, but he was certain that none of them would; they were all too dedicated to the job, all of them being somewhat addicted to the action. Where the Intrepid was going there would be no action, just a quiet, boring colonization project and then the slow crawl to old age.
For just a moment the notion appealed to Williams, but he pushed it from his mind. The corps was his life, that wasn’t going to change.
“Good of you all to make it.” Grenwald addressed the last few Marines who arrived only four minutes early for the briefing.
“We were held up,” Taylor said.
“Yeah, Taylor was having trouble convincing the bartender he was old enough to drink,” Perez grinned.
“Belay that excuse,” Williams said.
“Sorry Staff.” Perez had the good grace to look a bit sheepish.
All eyes turned to Major Richards as she stood and activated the holo system.
“This is dock BX9-R on ring 19C of the Callisto station. For those of you who have never been there, it’ll be quite the sight. You’re on the corps’ time the whole time we’re there. No wandering off and seeing what there is to see.” She cast a look at Perez. “Or fondle what there is to fondle. There is a barracks on the ring, and I don’t want to hear of anyone being anywhere other than there or else on duty…what?” Tanis looked at Perez.
“Will there at least be, er…beverages?”
“Yes, there’s an enlisted cantina in the barracks where I believe they serve over ten thousand types of alcohol. Don’t abuse it.” Her look told them all what danger they’d be in if they imbibed excessively more than any threat could have.
“Once we debark at Callisto, our job will be to ensure that the STR is hamstrung. It’s entirely possible that SolGov will take no direct action against the instigator of this bit of excitement we’ve been having lately, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make their lives miserable—and believe me ladies and gentlemen, we will.”
She surveyed the room and found that everyone’s eyes showed that they shared the same sentiment as she did.
“We have a certain level of autonomy here, but honestly if I don’t piss off Admiral Sanderson by the time we’re done, then I won’t feel like I’ve done my job. What that translates to for you is that we may actually get to have some fun.”
The Marines all looked at one another and smiled; they were well-versed in what Tanis’s version of fun was.
“I’ve put each squad’s objectives on the tactical net. I expect you all to review them and be prepared when we arrive. We do have a two-day flight, and I want to see tactical sims drawn up and run during that time.”
She nodded, and Grenwald addressed Williams. “Staff, dismiss the men.”
“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 with 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 de
stroy 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.
