Red Angel

by C. R. Daems

  "Mother, it's ... magical." I didn't have the words to describe the feeling I had.

  "Yes, it is. I miss the feel of a cruiser under my feet ... at my command." Her gaze was into the past, and she radiated a strong sense of loss. I hugged her, wanting to make it go away, and slowly it did. "I've had a good life and much to be thankful for," she said, returning the hug.

  I had ten days of lessons. Then Alexa decided we needed a vacation, which turned out to be a tour of Oxax with me having to determine the route and fly us there. Except for in the skimmer and in our room, Red stayed out of sight, which was a good thing. No sense advertising I had a red-headed krait. And for three days before I was scheduled to start work, Alexa accompanied me flying to and from my workplace. By the day I was to report to work, I was nervous but confident I could manage on my own.

  * * *

  When I arrived at the naval headquarters' building, they gave me a visitor’s pass and directions to the Naval Intelligence Agency, NIA. There, a navy petty officer led me to Stauffer's office, where three others waited.

  "Welcome, Anna, I've assembled the team you are going to be working with. The team is new and tasked with finding and stopping a major smuggling ring we think is operating out of the Free Peoples Union, FPU, which has some twenty plus planets and two billion citizens. Mostly the smugglers deal in drugs or other illegal items ... like Red," he said, and all eyes turned toward me. I assumed it was my cue, and I reached inside my blouse, pulled out Red, and held him to my chest where he wound himself around my neck with his head on my shoulder. Everyone stood up to look closer but kept a safe distance.

  "I'm Kristyn Sinclair. You can call me Kris. I've heard it's poisonous and never leaves you," she said like a fact, but it was really a question they all had and which Stauffer had cleverly introduced. Kristyn’s sleeve had two half-inch gold rings under a gold trident, indicating full lieutenant rank. She looked to be only three or four centimeters taller than my current one hundred sixty-five centimeters, but her figure was shapely, whereas mine was just beginning to develop, and I didn't really need a bra. The doctors thought Red was slowing my development. Her brown shoulder-length hair framed a pretty heart-shaped face with blue eyes and an olive complexion.

  "Hi, Kris. Yes, the red-headed krait is very poisonous and currently the only known antidote to the Coaca Virus. The only problem is that the poison is only effective for a couple of days. So, Red is my automatic shot dispensary." I noticed Kristyn wince in reaction. "So I'm glad he stays with me night and day. I'd hate for him to get lost."

  "I'm Adrian Shrader, I go by Adrian. That sounds awkward, especially if you mean twenty-four hours a day." He frowned in disbelief. Adrian's tan complexion, narrow face, and sharp features made him look intense, and his one-hundred-seventy-centimeter height made him a bit intimidating. He too was a full lieutenant.

  "Hi, Adrian. Yes, twenty-four hours. I was four when he adopted me. I guess if I had been older, I too would have thought it awkward. But children adapt quickly to most any condition: loss of a limb, or sight, or hearing."

  "Hi. I'm Wilber Weiss. Call me Wilber. I notice you refer to the krait as he and have given him a name …" He was another full lieutenant, which definitely made me the junior in the group in every way.

  "Hi, Wilber. It turns out he is a male krait, but to answer your question, he doesn't talk or communicate with me in any manner I can recognize. But after thirteen years, he feels like a companion. And yes, I talk to him, even though he refuses to answer," I said, eliciting laughs from everyone.

  "Good, you've taken care of the introductions. As most of you are aware, Anna has worked with us before and been instrumental in catching bad guys. Red has never been a problem. That I'm aware, Red has only bitten anyone on two occasions. Both times, the individuals were attacking Anna and attempting to steal the krait. She was in the hospital for ten days last time. Consequently, Magistrate Bellona, Anna's mother, insists she carry a laser. Anna, most of us have weapons. We usually lock them in our desks while we are in the office. There, I think I've covered all the important issues. Any questions?" He paused to look at each of us. When no one said anything, he continued. "I'll leave it to you to get Anna a permanent badge and get her settled in as a member of the team, because I want results, and you haven't produced any as of yet." He tried to look serious, but a twitch of his lip spoiled it. To me, he felt amused.

  "Come, Anna, we still have some getting settled to do ourselves. We arrived just a couple of days ago and only reported in yesterday." Wilber nodded toward the door.

  By the end of the day, we had obtained our permanent identification badges, were provided desks, and assigned our own private conference room. We were just getting ready to leave when Stauffer appeared with four folders, each at least eight centimeters thick.

  "Your homework, since you haven't gotten any work done today," he said, dropping them on our conference table, hardly able to restrain a grin. "One for each of you."

  * * *

  "How was your first day?" Alexa asked when I sat down at the dinner table that evening.

  "Exciting and scary at the same time. Scary flying the skimmer on my own into the city, exciting meeting the people I'll be working with, scary they are all full lieutenants and much older than me, exciting ... I talked through the entire meal and for hours afterward, describing every detail of my day. Alexa felt content as she quietly listened, a small smile on her lips. Finally, I jumped up. "I forgot; I've got homework. Sorry," I kissed her on the cheek and was getting ready to run off when she stopped me.

  "You can use my office. We'll have to convert one of the spare bedrooms into an office for you. This won't be the last time you bring work home, and a comfortable environment will make it easier to concentrate. Now off with you." She waved me away. I made my way down the hall to her office and entered. Sitting in her chair, I couldn't help giggling. My own office. I spent a few minutes looking around and thinking about how I would like my office to look and feel. Sometime later, I sighed and opened the folder Stauffer had left.

  Inside were reports from many different agencies on ten of the thirty planets in the United Alliance of Stars, UAS, covering a period of seven years. Kristyn, Adrian, and Wilber had each worked on at least one incident involving the smugglers. Kristyn was from the Intelligence agency at Eastar, Adrian from Sutan, and Wilber from Safe Harbor. It was early in the morning before I finished. I think even Red was tired at that point.

  When I arrived in the morning, Adrian was already at his desk leafing through our homework, although I had arrived fifteen minutes early. He waved but didn't smile.

  "Am I late? I thought—" I stopped when he laughed.

  "Normal hours are from eight to five, but we have no hours or place of work. Over the next couple of weeks we will get to know each other. Some of us are morning people while some like working through the night. We shouldn't force people to conform to some artificial workday. If someone works best at night, that's when they are the most productive and the best time for them to work. Results are what count. How about you, Anna? When do you like to work?"

  I laughed. "This is my first real job."

  "Okay, when do you like to study?"

  "At night ... but that may be because I'm in school during the day." I shrugged.

  "Well, don't feel you have to be a day or night person. Here come the others. Let's go to the conference room and have our first team meeting." He got up and waved for the others to follow. I was shocked when they didn't. Kris headed for the ladies latrine, Wilber for the small canteen. Adrian grinned. "See what I mean? We need to get to know each other before we can work well together. Come, they will join us eventually." He sat and began reading from his folder. I took the hint and went to my desk and locked up my laser, fetched a glass of water, and then went to the conference room. Several minutes later, Kris and Wilber joined us.

  "Good morning, has anyone read our homework?" Kris asked sitting down with a coffee mug in hand.


  "Stauffer didn't say when it was due," Wilber said to nods and snorts.

  "We’re going to be together for years. These smugglers have been in business for ten or more years and are well-established. We aren't going to destroy their organization in a week, or a month, or a year. If we're lucky, maybe before Kris's children are five or six," Adrian said with a grin.

  "I'm not even married yet," Kris objected, then smiled. "You're right. We need to bond as a team. We each have strengths and weaknesses and the team needs to understand that and shore up the weaknesses and capitalize on the strengths."

  I sat there in shock. I don't know what I had expected but it wasn't this. More like sit at my desk all day ... thinking. I laughed mentally.

  "Well did anyone look at the contents of these folders?" Adrian asked. I raised my hand and everyone laughed, to my embarrassment. "Good for you, Anna. What did you see? I mean, your first impression." He and the others sat back, their eyes on me. I sat stunned and reflexively reached for Red, as he seemed to help me relax. I felt no strong emotions from Adrian. Kris felt curious, and Wilber amused.

  "I saw that each of you have worked on one or more cases involving the smugglers and that each of you came from a major NIA office. The smugglers appear to have well-established contacts in the UAS, in as many as ten systems. The smugglers might have originated in the Free Peoples Union, FPU, or the Peoples Republic of Stars, PRS, but the UAS has a well-established organization."

  "Why do you think that?" Adrian asked.

  "Because the smuggling appears to go both ways."

  "She's right," Kris said. "Some of the drugs being smuggled are unique to the UAS. And then there was the attempt to smuggle those red-headed kraits from Oxax. That was good work, Anna. Yes, I peaked at your case folder. The powers-that-be selected each of us for a specific reason. This is a very high priority case, so I was interested and impressed. I suggest," she said looking around the room, "no rank among us; we are all equal team members."

  "Agreed," Adrian and Wilbur said together. I nodded, although I knew that was mostly for my benefit. We spent the rest of the morning going over our homework folders, coming up to speed on what had been discovered over the years.

  "I'm hungry," Wilber said as he stood and stretched.

  "Me too, and I'd like to look at the Wheeler, which I understand the navy impounded," Kris said and then tapped on her tablet. "We'll need a government car, or better yet a skimmer assigned to us. The navy impound platform is across town."

  "I have a skimmer," I said tentatively. Adrian looked to the others and received nods.

  "All right, we still need another, since there are four of us and we won't always be going to the same place. And we need to get you authorized, so you get reimbursed for the miles you log. That's a good deal for the navy as it's cheaper than taxis or rentals," Adrian said, rising and heading for Stauffer's office. I concluded I had lots to learn.

  "It looks like we have our unofficial team leader," Wilber said, smiling. "That's good, because it's a lot of extra work." He laughed. Kris nodded agreement.

  "He'll made admiral someday and maybe drag us up to commodore." Kris grinned.

  When Adrian returned, he was smiling. "All settled. Anna, you are to keep track of the mileage you log going anywhere on team business and submit a report to Stauffer each month. He has agreed to one cred per mile." He grinned and I felt his satisfaction.

  "Thank you, Adrian." I suspected that was a very generous rate.

  "You’re part of the team, and it's one for all and all for one." He looked around the room and received nods of agreement. We made our way to the skimmer parking area, where I unlocked the door and everyone found seats as I typed in the address of the navy impound platform and activated the GPS system.

  "Nice skimmer," Wilber said as he and Adrian settled into the back and Kris joined me in the front.

  "It was my graduation present," I said, feeling a sense of pride.

  "Do you think your mother would adopt me?" Wilber said to general laughter as I lifted off the pad and steered into the traffic lane that would get us to the naval shuttle port. I was still nervous flying the skimmer and wasn't going to be pulled into a side conversation. Traffic was light, but I was new and hadn't flown there before. When I landed, Adrian was first to speak.

  "Good flying, Anna. I was a little concerned—new skimmer and new driver. But you are not reckless or easily diverted from what you're doing. You can be my taxi anytime," he said as we exited. We ate at one of the restaurants on the base. When the bill came, they all took out their credit chips.

  "I'm sorry ... I don't have a credit chip," I said, blushing with shame.

  "How do you pay for things?" Kris asked.

  "I haven't had to. The meals at the academy were free, I lived at home, and mother paid for any clothes or books I needed."

  "Don't worry about it. I'll pay for your meal. Sit next to me on the shuttle and we can discuss what you need to do. You are going to need a credit chip ..." Kris explained I would need a bank account in my name where my check and expense reimbursements would go and how my credit chip would be used to pay for things.

  "I appreciate the help, Kris."

  "Remember what Adrian said, one for all and all for one? Well right now you need help, so I'll help. Your turn will come some day. Unless I'm mistaken, you and this team will grow old together. And if we are successful, we'll retire together." She laughed.

  After getting clearance from the station commander, we boarded the Wheeler. It felt strange. I had graduated the naval academy but had never set foot on a spacecraft.

  "What are we looking for?" I asked no one in particular.

  "Don't know until we find it. We are trying to determine whether this ship was used for smuggling or just paid to transport the kraits. According to the team that seized the Wheeler, the crew claim they didn't know the consignment was kraits. They were paid to transport the container to Eastar. Customs searched the ship but didn't find anything, so they may be telling the truth, or at least not be part of the smuggling organization. Anyway, Kris wants to look, so here we are," Adrian said with a slight shrug.

  I was beginning to understand. We would be working together for years, and it was important we understood each other's strengths and weaknesses if the team were to be successful. Kris wanted to see the ship, so we would visit the ship; I needed help with money matters, so Kris would make sure I got squared away; they needed a ride, so I volunteered; and Adrian liked taking charge, so they let him—one for all and all for one.

  I began at the Bridge, feeling that was what I would know the most about. The controls on a merchant ship were different than on a warship but similar enough that I could understand them. This ship had a small weapons panel, I assumed for protection against pirates. It looked like small missiles and a bank of twenty-centimeter lasers. I turned on the panel, after switching it from active to simulator mode. As I did, Red appeared, twisting around my neck and into my hair where he laid his head on mine, watching while I worked my way through the functions. As I finished the last step in the sequence, the active light came on, which it shouldn't have done in simulator mode. Confused, I strolled down the hallway looking for the weapons-loading area. I passed someone who said something, but I was too engrossed to tell who it was or what they said. When I reached the room, I entered and stood surveying the delivery mechanism. It looked like a standard small missile system; however, there shouldn't have been a missile in the loaded position, because I had been in simulation mode. I had a strong feeling of wrongness. As I sat there going over what I had done on the weapons panel, Adrian entered.

  "What are you—and Red—up to, Anna?" he asked as he sat next to me. As usual, I had failed to notice Red lying on my forehead.

  "Can we take that missile apart?"

  "Why?"

  "I don't think it's a missile. Well, that's not true. It's a missile, but I don't think it has a warhead. I think maybe it's a hiding place ..." I said hesitantly.
After some thought, I had come to the conclusion the simulator controls had loaded this missile by design and not because I made a mistake.

  "I don't think any of us is qualified, but I can get someone who is if you think it's necessary."

  "I think so," I said, still staring at the missile. What if I’m wrong suddenly shocked me out of my trance. "I could be wrong ..."

  "Then we will all learn how to take a missile apart." He grinned as he flipped open his navy-issued communication and personal computer, CPC, and tapped in something. "We need to get you a CPC issued," he said while he waited. "Yes. This is Lieutenant Shrader of the NIA. I need someone to dismantle a missile on the Wheeler. Yes, today. Thank you." He smiled at something. "They will have someone here in an hour."

  While we sat waiting, Kris and Wilber joined us.

  "There you are," Wilber said as he and Kris entered the compartment. "Are you waiting for something, or are you planning on launching that missile?"

  "Anna doesn't believe it's a real missile. We're waiting for someone to take it apart," Adrian said, continuing to stare at the missile. "If it doesn't have a warhead, then maybe it has goodies."

  "This is exciting, like waiting to see the message in your Chinese fortune cookie," Kris said. She felt excited.

  "What if ..." I began.

  "What if you're right?" Adrian said. "We have to chase every possible lead. Most won't turn out. But if we don't, we might miss the one that could break the case."

  What seemed like an eternity later, a chief petty officer and a petty officer entered the room.

  "You want a missile dismantled, sir?" he asked, scanning us.

  "Yes, Chief. The one sitting on the loading rack," Adrian said.

  "Is there something wrong with it?"

  "We want to know if we shoot it at something, and we hit it, will it explode?" Wilber said, amused. The chief just shook his head. I could feel his frustration.