Sisterhood of Suns: Pallas Athena

by Martin Schiller

  Finally, when she felt ready, she picked up the flower and inhaled. To the casual observer, this action seemed innocent enough. In reality, the rose’s scent bore a carefully engineered protein, keyed to her specific DNA. Once its molecules were absorbed into her bloodstream, the message that the protein contained was passed on to her brain as a false-memory. It was from her employers.

  As if played itself out, a woman that she had never actually met sat with her at the table minutes before she had really arrived, and spoke to her in a voice that her ears had never heard. And as always, the counterfeit memory did not include the woman’s features, and her words were deliberately unaccented, making any identification of her motherworld impossible. What the phantom had to say was quite clear however.

  “We understand that your contacts attempted to sanction you this evening. This is unfortunate, and given the evidence that we have subsequently uncovered, we believe that an individual in an organization we are partnered with compromised you. We have long suspected this person to be a mole, and are investigating the issue.’

  “There is a high likelihood that this will be confirmed. If this occurs, we would consider awarding you the task of handling its resolution, should you desire it. If not, then another operative can be assigned.’

  “As for the attempted intervention by the Metropolitan Police in tonight’s activity, we feel that any collateral damage that they incurred, while regrettable, was unavoidable. Our liaison within that agency was specifically advised to make certain that no police units were on patrol in the area. This is a matter that we will address with their Chief shortly.’

  “Since the situation with your contacts has proven untenable, we are removing you as the primary in this operation. We are giving that task over to another agent, who will explore different avenues of approaching the problem. Once they are in place, given your experience, you will be their controller and direct their activities.’

  “In the meantime, you have been assigned another mission to undertake for us immediately. Due to recent events in the High Court, and your prior relationship with the Marionites in other matters, we require that you make a delivery to them at your earliest opportunity. This delivery will augment other measures that we already have in place, and assist us in our long term efforts.”

  The details followed, and Sarah let them un-spool in her mind without worrying herself about any of it. They were already stored in her long-term memory and would be accessible when they were needed.

  Instead, she took another sip of her wine and inhaled the rose’s scent again. With its message delivered to its intended recipient, the special proteins had already decomposed, and the flower’s perfume was exactly what it seemed to be. Although it always presaged serious business, Sarah had to concede that her employers had chosen an elegant way to communicate with their agents. And roses had always been one of her favorite flowers.

  Finished with it, she laid the flower down and looked at the folded piece of plasti, regarding it with a mixture of desire and revulsion.

  I won’t read it, she vowed, but her hand reached out almost of its own volition, and shaking slightly, she opened the card.

  “See me. Tonight. T,” was all it said, printed in a dark, elegant font that she knew all too well. The only thing that remained to make her self-betrayal complete was to follow the sender’s instructions, and go to her.

  I won’t do it, she told herself. This was a lie though, and what little was left of her will abandoned her completely. She needed to see her, especially after the debacle in the park, and she hated herself for being so weak. But she hated the sender even more for using her weakness against her.

  “Fek it!” she said under her breath. Just this once, and never again. Just for tonight, to take the edge off.

  Before she could argue with herself any further, she rose and made her way back out to her hovercar.

  Bel Sharra Memorial Spaceport, Cyrene District, Thermadon City, Thermadon, Myrene System, Thalestris Elant, United Sisterhood of Suns, 1042.11|01|03:94:90

  Bel Sharra Memorial Spaceport lay on the west end of the gargantuan city, a sprawling complex of runways, landing pads and docking cradles. It was one of the largest spaceports in the Sisterhood, rivaled only by Zommerlaand’s Waanderstaad, or the naval spaceport at Rixa. Merchandise from all corners of the Sisterhood flowed in and out of Bel Sharra by way of a constant stream of spacecraft that filled the sky with their comings and goings.

  The seemingly impossible task of maintaining order over such chaos was accomplished by the watchful eyes of Bel Sharra’s control tower. Nicknamed “the Needle”, the shining silver structure was almost as tall as the golden pyramid of the Great Assembly itself, and nearly as famous.

  Maya pressed her nose against the plastiglass as the magnorail turned south and descended down the long track-way to the Terminus Station. In a few more seconds, it was gliding into the passenger platform, and opening its doors with a soft hiss of compressed air laced with jasmine and the sounds of water from a nearby public fountain. Taking in the scene, Maya got out, a little unsure of where to go next.

  Fortunately, a bright yellow omni information terminal stood nearby, sited there for the benefit of newcomers like herself. She went over to it, and provided her false name and phony planet of origin. The station thought this over, and promptly unlocked its access pad.

  She requested the ‘Plexi’s local module. “Employment opportunities, Thermadon, Bel Sharra Spaceport only.”

  “Nexus Corporation is hiring for an administrative assistant,” it answered. “Two years experience required. References a must. From this station, walk to the multi-course terminal and take concourse 71-b.”

  “Next listing please,” she requested.

  The omni dutifully ticked off all of the current job openings at the port, and as Maya listened, she became more and more disheartened. Most of the positions weren’t things that she was qualified to do, and didn’t offer the chance to get close enough to anything worth stealing. But just when she was about to give up hope, a listing for the Customs Warehouse came up, and her expression brightened. It was perfect.

  “Dock workers needed to work in the Customs Warehouse. No experience necessary. Apply in person at dock 201-Z. Clean background history required. From this station, walk to the multi-course and take concourse 51-R. Board the tram at station H and ride it to dock area ‘Z’.”

  “Show me the way,” Maya said. The omni obediently transmitted the data to her psiever, and then immediately disengaged the connection. This was mandated by law. Although psievers and the omniplex could be linked, abuses by government agencies and commercial interests in the centuries before the Sisterhood, had mandated their separation from one another. Except for brief exchanges like this one.

  As her psiever broadcast an image of a red ball moving away from her at a walking pace towards the multi-course building, Maya followed it. If she got the job, she vowed, the first thing that she was going to do was treat herself to a decent breakfast.

  But when she arrived, the yard boss was not impressed with her at all. “You seem a bit small, girlie. This job calls for a lot of heavy lifting. You think you can handle hard work like that?”

  “Yeah,” Maya replied. “I can handle hard work.”

  “You know anything about running a hovercarry?” the yard boss asked.

  “Sure,” Maya said. “I ran them all the time back on my motherworld.” This was true enough, but what she didn’t mention were all the other places she had run the devices, or what she had carried away with them.

  “We’ll see,” the yard boss said skeptically. “The job pays 10 credits per hour for a 10 hour day, less taxes. You show up at 01:67 sharp. Got that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Go over to the office and tell them to give you a jumpsuit. I’ll see you here tomorrow. Klaar?”

  Bel Sharra Memorial Spaceport, Cyrene District, Thermadon City, Thermadon, Myrene System, Thalestris Elant, United Sisterhood o
f Suns, 1042.11|03|05.58:27

  Maya came in from the spacedock and entered the main cargo holding area. Once she was inside the huge chamber, she pulled her hovercarry in between a row of storage racks.

  She needed a break. This was the fifth trip she’d made from the CSS Andromeda and the heavy crates of electronics were starting to take their toll.

  A few rows up, she spotted the Yard Boss. Fortunately, the woman hadn’t seen her yet and Maya allowed herself the luxury of a few more moments of inactivity, although she knew that she couldn’t stay like that for very long. The Yard Boss’ eye caught everything happening on the docks and if she spotted Maya slacking off, it was a guaranteed fine of two credits.

  “Evil bitch,” Maya cursed under her breath. Reluctantly, she turned the hovercarry back on and started off on the long trip to ‘E’ section where the rest of the Andromeda’s cargo was being stored for Customs inspection. The Yard Boss watched her critically, but when she saw that Maya was working, and that her ‘carry was full, she went back to talking with another supervisor.

  That’s right, fat buns, Maya thought bitterly. Go back to your gossiping and let the rest of us work. Don’t want you to change your routine. Even so, she kept her head down and her expression bland. The Yard Boss could fire at will and Maya was still certain that the Customs Warehouse had the potential for profitable thefts.

  Reaching ‘E’ section, she wound her way back through the towering rows of cargo-boxes to the zone assigned for the Andromeda. As she pulled in, she noticed two other ‘dock rats’ standing over one of the boxes that she’d brought in earlier. One of them, a Tethyian, was her immediate supervisor.

  “Just drop the cargo here,” the woman said, waving a webbed hand, “We’ll put it in place”.

  This was strictly against regulations. Each box had to be placed into a pre-designated slot in the storage racks by the worker who had brought it in. This was intended to ensure that a clear chain of custody was maintained until Customs checked it against the ship’s manifests. The Tethyian was definitely up to something.

  “Sure thing,” Maya replied suspiciously. She powered the hovercarry down and started to offload it.

  “Heyas,” the Tethyian asked with a sly grin, “you want to make a few extra credits for yourself?” Her gills opened and closed slowly, suggesting that she was very interested in what her response would be.

  “Yeah, who doesn’t?” Maya replied carefully.

  “I thought so,” the supervisor said, “I can usually spot the right kind of girls working this dock. From now on, you just keep an eye on the shipping labels. If you spot something like these realie-players, just make sure that a box or two of them gets dropped off here. You do that, and I’ll make sure there’s a little something extra waiting for you at the end of the shift.”

  “What about the manifests?” Maya asked her boldly. “Won’t missing boxes get noticed?”

  The Tethyian turned to her companion. “Like I said, the new girl’s no dummy.” Then she turned back to address Maya again.

  “Boxes get lost in shipping all the time. Sometimes we find out where they’ve gone and someone goes to a correctional colony. And sometimes it was just an error made by a clerk.” She spread her webbed fingers wide in a gesture of false-helplessness.

  “Errors are better,” Maya agreed.

  Her fellow conspirators proved good on their word. That night, when she went back to the hostel, she was 80 credits richer. Things were definitely starting to look up at last.

  CHAPTER 3

  USSNS Pallas Athena, Battle Group Golden, Cenadel System, Pantari Elant, United Sisterhood of Suns, 1042.11|21|08:02:67

  The Athena had finally settled into its patrol of the Cenadel system, and Lilith saw the chance to make up for the time that she’d lost on her freeday. She had the option to use up an occasional elective day for mental health and she had taken it with Katrinn’s help, and blessings. Her Second had assumed most of her duties, with Ellyn n’Dira and Mearinn d’Rann handling the remainder. They had done this before for her, and they knew without having to ask, that she could and would, reciprocate.

  Skipper was less cheerful about the sudden change in their routine, however. Lilith had risen earlier than normal, breakfasted, and had gone straight to the library. When she returned to her quarters, well before her usual time, the animal was beside himself with impatience and dismay at this manifest break in “the way things were supposed to be”.

  Where did you go? Why are you back so early? the kaatze demanded. You’ve been gone so long! Did you bring me anything?

  “The answer is that it is none of your business, and no, I didn’t,” Lilith retorted.

  You didn’t bring me anything?

  Skipper’s slitted eyes widened in shock and his tail flicked with annoyance. He couldn’t believe that his mistress hadn’t brought him something tasty. In his estimation, it was only right and fitting that he should be given some kind of gift as an apology for her serious breach of protocol. The fact that she hadn’t, and that she wouldn’t even tell him where she had gone was utterly beyond his comprehension.

  Lilith let him believe this for a moment longer before she smiled and revealed the tiny can of pinfish that she had been hiding behind her back. She’d kept it in her office after the SAO had given it to her, just so that he wouldn’t bother her about it. Realizing what it was, Skipper pawed at it greedily.

  “In a moment, you glutton,” she said breezing past him. “But first things first. I have a new realie I want to play and I don’t want you bothering me. I’ll give you the fish only if you promise to behave and let me be.”

  Yes! Skipper agreed. Anything.Just give me the fish! Now! His tail quivered with excitement.

  “Fine,” Lilith said, walking into the bathroom. Skipper trailed after her, or rather the can she was holding, and circled impatiently while she opened the seal and dished the spicy fish out onto a small plate.

  “Remember, let me be,” she warned him, wagging her finger, “or this is the last treat that you’ll get for a while.”

  Skipper ardently promised to behave himself and the moment that the plate touched down, he pounced on the food and began gorging himself as if he had been starving for months. Lilith shook her head in disgust at his theatrics and walked over to the closet. She quickly undressed, stowed her uniform, and slipped into her favorite nightgown.

  Filled with anticipation, she went over to the realie-player. The device sat on a small table by itself, its playing-arms spread wide. A slim wireless headset lay next to it, and Lilith put it on, fitting it snuggly over her temples.

  Then she opened the plastic cube that contained the realie, and gently withdrew the shiny metallic orb. The moment that she placed the sphere into the player’s arms, they closed over it and a tiny blue-white beam of light shot up from the player. A muted beep accompanied this, signaling that the device was ready to start transmitting.

  Glancing over at Skipper one last time to make certain that he would stay where he was, Lilith laid back onto her bed.

  Play realie, she thought, closing her eyes. For a fraction of a second, all she saw was the inside of her eyelids, but then the player began sending its signal to her psiever.

  The darkness around her faded, and a scene coalesced while the notes of the first song began to play. It was a gentle, romantic theme, and as it increased in intensity and volume, she found herself standing naked on a windswept beach, looking out over an ocean that reflected a huge moon hanging in a wine-red sky.

  She could feel the wind as it played gently over her skin, and the grains of sand under her bare feet. Then Celina lent her magnificent voice to the song, appearing like an apparition over the face of the moon. As always, Lilith was overtaken by her masterful performance and she let herself sway to the music.

  After a few more notes, Celina’s face disappeared from the moon, and she reappeared on the sand next to Lilith, beckoning her to follow her into the sea.

  Lilith trailed
after her willingly, a part of her marveling at the sensation of the warm water as it lapped around her legs. Celina’s realies were always like this; incredibly detailed and realistic, making it easy for her to lose herself inside of them.

  The waters closed around them, dancing with the rays from the moon above and sparkling here and there with eldritch fires in the depths. Celina swam ahead of her, drawing Lilith ever downwards towards whatever mysteries awaited them.

  Somewhere in the song and halfway to the bottom, Lilith watched the singer’s lithe nude form shift and change into a marine animal. A distant part of her mind recognized the creature as one of the Gaian life forms that had accompanied humanity to colonize other worlds. It was a dolphin, she recalled, and its species had found a new home for itself on Tethys and several other planets.

  Then, to her amazement, she realized that she had transformed into one herself. An incredible sense of freedom and happiness overcame her as she reveled in her new form, and chased playfully after Celina. The water around her caressed her new skin and the song itself took on glorious proportions that her human ears would never have been able to fully appreciate. She literally felt the notes as tangible things, as part of a world of sound that she had never dreamed existed before this experience.

  In the meantime, Celina had changed direction, moving upwards towards the pale lights at the surface, and Lilith willed her powerful body to follow. Before she quite realized it, they had broken the surface together. For what seemed like an eternity, they hung there, their transformed bodies glittering in the moonlight before plunging back into the welcoming sea just as the music reached its climax.

  They descended into the depths again. Far below, something glimmered in the darkness. It was beginning to take on a halfway recognizable form when the realie cut off abruptly. A message flashed in front of her eyes: “Command Override. Player Disengaging.”