| Angel's Addiction, Part 2 As the fat woman approached the door to the Senator's office Chris appeared. The Alf's avatar a short thin man with spiky hair. A pair of glowing golden bracelets, a visual representation of his bond. “Excuse me - do you have an appointment? You absolutely must have an appointment if you want to see Senator Raefelson.” using the security cameras Chris was able to take images of the fat woman from several different angles. He then searched the public database for a name. He found nothing. “Its alright Chris, she's expecting me.” Chris dedicated several child processes sending the images to the local police, department of immigration, Europa's education ministry. Nothing. He then used scanners to check for cosmetic surgery. “I am sorry but the Senator didn't tell me to expect you. Maybe if you gave me a name?” grandchild processes searched through databases on Deshima station, Io, Ganymede, Calisto,. Nothing. The fat lady walked right through Chris as if he weren't there (which technically he wasn't) and found the door locked. “Uh uh - now I will give you ten seconds to either give me a name or leave. Or I will call security.” it would take several minutes to get messages back from the colonies in the Asteroid belt, and over an hour for information from Mars and Earth (owing to the speed of light), but so far as his various child, grandchild and great-grandchild processes could tell, the woman he was viewing did not exist. Much to Chris's surprise the door opened. “Its alright Chris I know this woman. You will let her through from now on.” “Yes Senator.” When the fat woman went in, Chris tried to follow her via security cameras, only to find the image of the Senator sitting alone at her desk. The fat woman didn't wait to be asked to sit, she just plopped herself onto a convenient chair. She flipped a projector over one of her eyes. “Are you bugged senator?” The Senator pulled out a small device from her ear, “It's a hearing aid - I'm old in case you hadn't noticed.” The fat woman continued to look around the room. “The room is clean, I'm feeding false images to the Europan Security net. We have privacy.” “What do you want? You never come for a chit chat,” the senator's thin frame made her look frail, but her gaze was feirce and predatory. “The new ship - The Thatcher, it can use Sunlances can't it?” The Senator snorted, “I thought you people knew everything.” “Let me rephrase that - do you think you can arrange to have Sunlances installed on the Thatcher?” “I'd need a damn good reason, I have influence in the defense forces, but they answer to the whole senate, not just one woman.” “But you have friends, you have influence, you have the ability to nudge the Senate in your direction. “ ”Why should I do any more favors for you? Why should I risk my reputation for you, when you can't do anything for me?” The fat woman blushed, “Yes - well about that. Well our usual courier had subcontracted with an unknown smuggler, the latter tried to take the girl to Io. The smuggler was intercepted by our agents, and they in turn intercepted by a privateering ship.” “Can this be traced back to me?” “Not likely, the pirate was kind enough to destroy all the evidence of our involvement and taken the girl as well.” “So you lost my daughter? Are you going to get her back?” “She's probably dead - it'd be much easier to get you a new girl.” “But I want Violet.” “We're all out of Violet, can I interest you in an Azure?” The Senator stared at the fat woman, “When you keep up your side of the bargain, I will keep mine.” Angel pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head upon them. When that little girl had needed her most, she had failed. She was prepared to die fighting for that girl, but Oberon didn't even give her that option. He pumped gas into the Icarus and when Angel woke, Violet was gone. Even the hole in the hull through which his men had come, had been patched. But petty revenge wasn't Oberon's style, or at least it wasn't enough to explain taking Violet, he had plans for her - and what they were could not be good for the little girl. A salvage ship, the Salamander, had picked them up a few hours after Angel; woke up. The ship didn't seem entirely space worthy, the cabin was dirty and poorly lit, covered in the refuse of old food containers (which normally would be recycled), beverage spills, random bits of unidentifiable junk that the captain - Pete Wang, didn't have any place else for. “There was nothing you could have done.” Alison had been downloaded into the ship's systems, and their rescuer had offered her a more than descent salary to be the Sal's OS. Alison was emancipated, and it wasn't as if they couldn't use the money. Still Angel was glad when she politely refused - their first task would be to rescue Violet. Angel sighed, she had no words. She had no plan. She had no ship to chase after Oberon, and even if she did, had no idea were in space to look for him. Pete Wang spoke with a thick Texas drawl, “If you look out the window you will see Hephaestus station - from there you can call the PJP. We also got a bit of a labor shortage if yall don't mind gettin yer hands dirty. Also - gotta warn you, it's a 4 to 1 male to female ratio on Io, and a pretty girl like you gonna be beatin' um off with a stick.” “Under different circumstances I might actually like those odds.” “The Odds is good - but the goods is odd “ ”You haven't hit on me, I can't be that pretty.” “I only like black men.” Angel looked out the porthole, Io was a pale pastel yellow, mixed with bony white. She could not see any of the active volcano's the moon was known for. Or the sulfur lake. Hephaestus station was tethered to Io by the long black cable of a space elevator. Cars ran up and down rapidly - probably ferrying refined ore from the moon's surface. The ore would then be launched into space with mass drivers, carefully aimed to their customers (mostly mineral poor Europa and Ganymede) to be caught by the recipients with large magnetic fields set up like baseball mitts. Supposedly their have been very few accidents, and it was all more efficient than using rockets. Attached to the station was a large white ship,. It looked like three cones stacked on one another. The point of the “top” cone attached to a narrow part of Hephaestus station. Angel drew a box around it on the window with her fingers, then dragging on the corners of the box enlarged the image, which only became pixilated as it was enhanced.. Obviously she wasn't allowed to look too close. “Hay Pete - what is that white ship?” white was a common color of the Europan defense forces. “The Margaret Thatcher, a joint Io-Europa project. A warship. She's a beaut aint she? Kilo for Kilo she's as good as anything Earth can build.” ”Why build it here?” “Its hard to get minerals off of Europa - digging through the ice, then a 2 km ocean.” Alison watched through the Salamander's external sensors, “And I thought women didn't start wars.” “I don't know if the Europans want to start a war - but they sure as shit want to be able to finish one.” “Colonel Taluri, may I sit with you?.” the Major stood with her tray at attention “Sheila, you can call me 'Laura' when we're not on duty.” The Colonel took a bite of her cantaloupe. Io makes good cantaloupe, she had taken a tour of the factory, fruit grown in vast sheets. The only time she'd seen real fruit - in person anyway, was on Luna for her family reunion. “Colonel.” the Major still stood erect. Laura Taluri took a deep breath, “Major - please, sit.” “Thank you sir.” the major sat mechanically with her toast and orange juice. Laura drank the substance that the ship's cafeteria laughingly called coffee. It wasn't even instant, but some disgusting synthetic substitute had very little caffeine, because caffeine was bad for you. “What is on your mind major?” “Sir?” “You have permission to speak freely.” the colonel once had coffee- *real* coffee. From Kenya. No amount of cajoling, pleading or begging would get the EDF to import coffee from Earth. “:Sir - the women, I am concerned for them. They are getting too friendly with the men.” for the Major, all the Io's were to be referred to as “the men”. “We are allies- we are supposed to be friendly.” when Laura was a little girl, she dreamed she had a pet giraffe named Pico. She learned later that giraffes could not be kept as pets, and even if they could they had an awful body odor. Still the image of her naked (in her childhood nudity was more about freedom than sex) on the back of a giraffe was her idea of heaven. “Sir - the other day some women went moonside.” “Were they AWOL?” When she was a young woman she had been invited to Earth, to Kenya - her ancestral homeland, for a family reunion. She took calcium supplements, steroids, she trained her body, trying to get herself strong enough for Earth gravity. She had only gotten herself to tolerate one -half of a gravity. She was heartbroken. But a few distant cousins agreed to meet her on Luna. “No sir - they had a pass.” the Major leaned in and whispered,” But they were dressed provocatively.” “Miniskirts?” since she couldn't go to Kenya - they brought Kenya to her, grass from the savannah, fresh fruit, and really real coffee. “No - smoke suits.” “Hmm you don't say.” she had tried to ration the precious beverage, but it was gone too soon. “They were practically naked! Its like painting a bull's-eye on their backs for rapists.” Smoke suites were essentially holograms, hinting at everything - but showing nothing.. It takes an almost perfect body to pull off a smoke suite. Laura was jealous, even as a young woman her breasts tended to sag, she could never get away with such sexy outfits. “What were they, technicians?” “No sir, marines.” “Marines? The Europan Marines are some of the most highly trained killers in the solar system, I think they will be able to handle a few randy miners.” the Europan Marines were also some of the randiest women in the system. When she was a young cadet one had provided her with a very interesting shore leave. “Alright, but then what's the point? Fight over the few women that are down on the moon, they might as well stay on the ship.” “Major, I don't think they were looking for women.” The major choked on her toast, “You mean, with,” the idea was so offensive she couldn't even say it, “on purpose?” “There are probably several women on the Thatcher that are curious about the other sex. After all Eep 23 is only 93% effective That doesn't even account for women who go both ways..” The color went from the major's face. “Here Major - have some cantaloupe, you need some vitamins.” The image of Io was projected onto Angel's retinas. Concentrating she was able to zoom out to the Jovian system, and out again to the solar system. The projector couldn't actually read Angel's mind, controlling it required practice. Though most people had mastered the v-projector in childhood. She focused back on Jupiter, picking “top stories” off of the menu. The hotel room was comfortable, a little cooler than she liked. The gravity was a little low - the highest one could get was 0.75 relative to Earth sea level. A woman's voice was heard for the first story, an image of one of Europa's gestation centers, “On Europa today two women desperate for a child, attempted to steal a near term girl from Dome 6's gestation center. The authorities claim that these women had recently had their application of parenthood rejected. The exact reasons have been kept confidential, although the suspects insist the reasons were politically motivated. We now join Mike Gupta for updates of the Earth - Jupiter Bridge.” “This is Mike Gupta on Ganymede and the sight of the Earth- Jupiter bridge, a project ten years in the making. Exhaustive research, fights over funding, fears of possible environmental effects have lead to the creation of the first man-made wormhole. If all goes well, in a matter of days we will witness the dawn of practical faster than light travel... ” “So you're just going to lie there?” Alison's voice was no comfort. The PJP was a bust. She didn't blame them. They were more a good idea than an actual law enforcement agency. Undermanned, under funded, they couldn't do much more than send reports to the inhabited places in the Jovian system. No one wanted to pay for an organization that might be a threat to their sovereignty. “I can't forget her. I can't help her. Is this why people pray? To feel like they are doing something when there is nothing they can do?.” The image on the news was the Jovian half of the bridge, hanging over Ganymede, a long tube bristling with large fusion reactors. A simulation of what the bridge would look like in operation. “That doesn't sound like you. We can figure this out.” “How - no one's going to work for what I can pay them, and we have no ship. Why does he even want her? Its not like he cares about sex.” The Reporter continued, “Concerns about safety have been strongest on the Earth end - fears that the large amounts of energy involved could cause the bridge to explode, fears of being torn apart along the event horizon, to in some case fears that the Bridge will actually open gateway to Hell.” “Maybe he wants to hold her for ransom?” Alison created a virtual chair, the news continuing behind her. She sat down on it, “Who ever was supposed to get her is probably rich. He will have to keep her alive if he wants to collect..” It was certainly not an unreasonable assumption. But that meant the best Violet could hope for was being sent back to her former mistress. Angel pulled off her projectors and leapt from the bed. and began to pace., she felt crampt in the hotel room. “I'm going out. “ She emerged from her room and from the side corridor of the hotel, she entered the main walkway. To her left she heard people - it was a mall level in the station, to her right were the relatively quiet residential walkways. It was between shifts, few would be going home or going to work. The central corridor of the residential area was broad and brightly lit. Angel started to jog, she saw no signs prohibiting it. She was full of nervous energy, she felt trapped on this station, as large as it was. . She excused herself as she had to weave around a man who had suddenly emerged from an apartment. She leapt over a cleaning robot. She began to run faster, she felt like a coiled spring, she was upset with herself, upset with her helplessness. She nearly knocked over a maintenance worker. Still she ran faster, she let out an angry growl. Frustration drove her on ahead, barely noticing the men she had to duck and weave around. And then the cyclops. There was a cyclops in the hallway. “I'm sorry Mistress but running is not permitted in the halls.” he was translucent - a hologram, with glowing golden bands on his wrists. A man with an eye in the middle of his face, a bald head and a dark suit. “I'm sorry - I just, I had a really bad day.” “In any case - the safety of the residents must be considered mistress.” “Of course, I- of course. I'm sorry.” “Do you wish to talk to a therapist?” “No I just have a lot of pent up energy.” “The gymnasium is open to all visitors.” “Do you have a garden?” “There is not running though.” “That's fine.” “I will take you there Mistress.” Lieutenant Jessica Tate, Colonel Taluri and the ship's Alf, known affectionately as “Maggie”all chose to meet in the Colonels office. All activities were recorded, but were unaccessible to crew. They went to a central location were they were kept confidential for 30 days. Unless the ship's senior officer provided an S-37 form for review, the images from the Thatcher's security archive would be released to the public. Only a two-thirds vote of the senate could keep any information secret for more than one standard Earth year. Colonel Taluri folded her hands on her desk, “Alright, what have you discovered.?” “Colonel, there seemed to be nothing underhanded in the way the EDF has been awarding contracts to the local corporations..” “Just the usual Military fiscal mismanagement?” “Something like that. But I notice a lot of your bridge crew have been replaced recently All are vocal members of the DUSE party.” “There are a lot of Dusies on the ship. But you're right, these women seem highly..umm, Maggie what's the word I want?” “'Fanatical'?” Maggie's avatar had an upper class British accent, bordering on outright 'snooty'. “Lets say 'committed'. Major Morrison 's kind of woman. Lt. Tate, what have you learned of our allies?” “So far they seem to be doing exactly what they say they are, I saw the VP of Iotronics working in the docking area Is that normal for him?” “He hates office work. And in his heart he is an engineer. He kept complaining the launch drivers were misaligned.” “Lt. Tate, forgive me.” “No - go ahead Maggie.” “My binding requires that I be faithful to the ship's senior staff and to the Europan government, so I feel conflicted about what I have found.” The Colonel turned to Maggie's hologram, “I order you to spill it.” “Yes Mistresses. I have observed the Major sending several quantum encrypted messages to Europa. The log lists the recipient as 'Ice Queen'.” The Colonel shook her head, “QE is supposed to only be used if an enemy is monitoring us. But then again, the Major is a bit paranoid. It could be nothing. I'll ask her about it the next time I see her.” Jess Tate cleared her throat, “Colonel, I need to ask a favor. May I use the Iris 2 tonight? I don't need my roommate listening in -” “Say no more, I will tell security to expect you.” The garden didn't seem to be natural, more like an arrangement of potted plants, with some soft classical music thrown in. Jess had heard at one time many flowers had sweet smells, but now those perfumes had to be pumped in, selected for those that created the greatest sense of peace. The walls were mirrored making the place look bigger than it was. Many men meditated, the occasional woman too. A sign written in several languages reading “Don't pick the flowers”. There was a sense to the place that loud noise was sacrilegious. Greenspace was so hard to come by, that you dared not take it for granted. On Nazareth there was - and so far as she knew, still was, a grand garden, a place that almost looked wild.. Sitting in the middle of it you could almost forget you were in an artificial satellite. It was the only place she could go were she wasn't expected to please someone. It was the only thing about her place of birth she actually missed. She saw a little black girl sniffing flowers. None of these things - her being black, being a girl or sniffing flowers in and of themselves should have caught her attention. Still her skin was not the deep brown of a child of Africa, but more of a charcoal grey. And her features were very delicate and pointed, a hat covered her ears, but not the long strands of too silky hair. Angel move towards her slowly. “Excuse me little girl. No don't worry, I won't hurt you, and I know you can tell if someone is lying.” “They don't smell - the flowers were I was born smelled.” the girl looked up to Angel with big brown eyes.Then she leaned in and sniffed, “You're Violet's mistress.” her voice was high pitched - even for a little girl's, and had a musical quality to it. “No I am just a friend of hers. My name is Angel - what's yours?” “I'm Sable. You smell like her mistress. Where is she?” “She' was taken from me by a very bad man. The person you live with, what do you call them? ” “Daddy is very important, he's vice president of Iotronics - the one working on that big white ship outside..” “The Margaret Thatcher. I need his help. A powerful, important person like your 'daddy' might help me save her.” “You are telling the truth - I will take you to him.” “JWC News - your neighborhood, your moon, your planet your universe.” “This is Zoe Chen in Minoa, Europa. More specifically the stylish shopping center in dome 1, talking to the women on the street about how they feel on the contentious issue of Proposition 16.” “Proposition 16 was first introduced to the Europan Senate almost twelve years ago - but it was so controversial it was agreed to be tabled for twenty years. But the Earth Jupiter bridge, and the huge influx of immigrants it is bound to bring has forced the issue, a public referendum may be called - but whatever is finally decided, the decision will be controversial in the extreme, comparable to Jerome's law in 2120.” The buildings in dome 1 seemed to be typical Earth buildings, even a bit retro, but on closer inspection the bricks and mortar were actually hard foam simulations. The streets filled with women and girls on foot and on bicycles. Motor vehicles were banned except for emergency vehicles. Hydroponics provide tall thin bushes and stunted trees to line the roads. An artificial sun above them, gave the illusion of a sunny spring day. A woman in her mid to late thirties walks with a young girl - presumably her daughter. “I - I don't know. I mean I'm sure most men are good, but I don't want my daughter to grow up in a world were she could be assaulted. I mean we're safe here without men.” The image cuts to a second woman - short, with dark hair, “All men want is control. They will take all the positions of power, all the wealth and then make us all secretaries, teachers and whores. That is the honest to Goddess truth.” ”Excuse me! Excuse me!” a second woman in flashy purple outfit, made as much of hologram as faux silk, “The proper term is 'Sex Industry Professional' - 'whore' isn't even a word.. And there is nothing wrong with it. ” “This whole male bogeyman thing that DUSE brings up is a distraction - men aren't the problem. What it is is that the local corps have been living in a hothouse. The immigration acts are a small part of Prop 16, the big part is were the off-moon corporations get to open markets on Europa and that scares the locals. If they knew this was just big business butting heads and the women of Europa were being played for fools this bill wouldn't be half a controversial as it is.” “Like - I don't know how I feel about it. My mom is against it, but I'm kinda like curious. I mean I never did it, with a guy, before, and I wondered - is it like a strap on?” Sable's 'daddy' was a tall man with deep brown skin, his hair had plenty of grey. He seemed at first alarmed, then resigned when he saw Angel. “Sable - I thought I told you not to talk to strangers.” Sable looked down at the floor, “Sorry Daddy. But she wasn't a bad person, I can tell. She's Violet's mistress. She says she needs your help. You can help her Daddy, can't you?” “Sable go to your room, this woman and I are going to talk.” Sable bent over and stuck her bottom out, the man gave it a hard smack and with a squeal the girl ran to her room. When the door closed, the man looked back at Angel. “Don't assume that because you are a mistress that I am going to trust you. I probably trust you less “ ”I didn't *buy* Violet - I met her. By the way how much do sex slaves go for these days?” “She's not a slave.I love her.” “Oh really?That makes it all better. I'm sure she feels she has a lot of choices whenever you get horny?” “SHE's NOT A SLAVE!” the look on the man's face silenced Angel more than his shout. The man rubbed his eyes and then reached into a drawer, pulling out a small disc.He placed it on the table and the image of a young girl and a grown woman appeared. Presumable his wife and daughter. “Hi Joe - we're having a great time, we'll be home soon.” the image of the waving women repeated, but the man, Joe, turned the sound off. “I came to Io with my wife to make a new start. I wanted to be on the frontier. We were poor, but we worked hard. Then when we were financially stable enough, the local reproductive authority gave us permission to have a child. I remember we were so proud, we visited Georgia's G-chamber every day, watched her grow from a few cells into a child. And then when we could take her home we watched that child grow into a young woman. Then one day my wife took our daughter to Europa - it's a women only society so it was a very special trip for them. There was a strike at Deshima station, commercial transport was unavailable, so they hitched a ride on a cargo transport. A piece of orbiting debris put a hole in poorly shielded propellant tank.” The old man sat down, “The ship was pulled into Jupiter's gravity They could have fallen for what seemed like an eternity. knowing their was no escape.. After that, all I cared about was work, and drinking. On Io with all the volcanos and the sulfur lake we joke about living in Hell, that the devil is our neighbor. It funny, it makes us sound tough. But one day I said that I would give my soul to have my familly back. And the devil was listening.” “Why not just adopt a child through normal channels?” “What children? There are no unwanted children, no extras.No unplanned pregnancies. No children on doorsteps anymore. Maybe there are a few breeders left on Earth. Do you know how many hoops you have to go through to be approved for parenthood? A single, alcoholic man would have a snowball's chance in Loki.” Only an incurable romantic or fanatic retro would expect a woman to go through the discomfort of an in-utero birth. “What did it cost?” “Every Jovian I had at the time and a favor. Someone wanted some special options put into the Thatcher. Nothing that will hurt the women, but an emergency control to block out the ship's Alf.” “But that doesn't make sense - the Thatcher's Alf is bound isn't she? She has no choice but to obey.” “I don't know - I don't care. I love Sable, I think I can't *not* love her, but the thing that scares me more than anything is that she will be taken away from me. I know its some kind of pheromone, but knowing that doesn't change anything. “ “I feel the same way about Violet.” Angel told Joe the story of how he found her, every detail, even the sordid ones. “I need your help.” “I know someone who can help you, he will help you - for a price. “ ”I have less than 8 kilojovies.” “He'll take that - hell take more than you thought you could give. He will help you get Violet back, in exchange for your soul.” The Observation lounge was odd. Not the shops and restaurants, or the tourists and business people, but the transparent floor that gave you the impression you were standing in space, the Moon Io, the great planet Jupiter all spinning around you. The newcomer could be told from the residents, because the visitors were staring at the floor, something that Angel resolved not to do. She hated looking like a tourist. The man with red hair was standing exactly where Sable's 'daddy' said he would be. He looked young but in a time of inexpensive cosmetic surgery, where nearly anyone could look any age they chose, that didn't mean much. The boyish face smiled,”Angel is it?” he signaled for her to step away from the crowd. “I wasn't told your name.” The red head smiled and shrugged, “I'm no one - easily interchangeable with dozens of other middle men. Joe said you needed my help.” Angel had mixed feelings, these were the people who had made Violet and Sable and all the others.”Why?” The red haired man gave Angel a quizzical look, “Why do you need my help? I assumed you'd know that.” “Why make Violet and then destroy her? Why go to all that trouble? “ ”I think you are mistaken - I didn't make Violet or any of the other darling children - any more than I made the demand for them. I'm just a middle man between those that produce and those that consume. Why the Keepers chose to make them is not even relevant. But it is so wonderfully useful that they did. Enough about me - why don't you tell me what is on your mind? No wait - forget that, you need a spaceship. A good one to rescue a darling purple haired princess from a villainous pirate. And of course it will need to be the best, no - no proper knight in shining armor could have a second rate steed.” “And what do you want for this ship?” “Oh *I* don't have a spaceship - but I hear the Europans have a nice new ship.” “I can't steal the Thatcher..” “Oh - I should have been clearer, you don't need to steal the Thatcher - besides big ships aren't your style..Women don't care about size right? That's what my mom told me.” Angel hoped her gaze expressed growing impatience. “On the Thatcher are three recon ships, the Iris class. Wicked fast, they can do a 3.2 g thrust, small forward particle beam., stealth sheathing. More than enough memory for Alison “ ”And you can get one for me?” “No - but another client would like it very much like it if you stole the Irus 2 between 0:00 and 0:30 hours tonight.” “Why then?” “She didn't say - she doesn't want the ship, it would just be convenient if it were stolen during that time. I will provide you with enough equipment to do the job. ” “If I have to steal a ship anyway, why not steal a local shuttle?” “Because I arranged to have the Iris 2 prepared for you. And I can help the law as much as hinder it. Your going to jail would be useful to at least one of my clients.” “Alright - I'll do it.” “I knew you would. You really didn't have a choice.” The Senator walked down the street, the women waved to her. Europans liked their politicians acting like a normal person. Although in a political climate so filled with controversy it might have been a good idea to have bodyguards. Assassins *want* attention so the security cameras would not scare them away. Still she could not have people follow her were she was going. Dome 17 was set to clear. Jupiter was clearly visible in the black sky, but Deshima station was not. It was “night” as arbitrarily decided by comity, to create the illusion of being on Earth. It also saved energy to have most of the lights out half of the time.. Dome 17 was a relatively recent addiction to Minoa - the opening of the Earth -Jupiter bridge would mean immigrants, and immigrants would need a place to live. Empty foam mock-ups of brownstones and brick houses. Ranch style homes with simulated aluminum siding. Hydroponic gardens were just starting to grow, and most of the stores had yet to be occupied.. One faux brownstone had its lights on.. She rung the door chime and she was buzzed in. Once inside the secure cams would get innocent looking feed. Just a hard working public servant meeting with voters. The house was mostly unfurnished, there was a table with a blue dress on it, small as if for a child. There was the fat woman - an oily smile on her face. And next to her was a white stasis pod. “Is that?” the Senator caught her breath. “Oh yes it is. On behalf of my organization I am so sorry for the delay. I started the restoration cycle as soon as you walked in..” The Senator shook nervously, watching as the stasis pod slowly warmed its charge. “What if she doesn't like me?” “I guarantee she will. You just have to be the first person she sees.” “What about the public?” “A rescued child from a failed habitat named Haven, we already put through all the forms, all you have to do is take her home. Oh and this.” “What is it?” “Software for the fake feeds. It's a sub sentient Alf. A creative mind will come up with something far less suspicious than a simple feed. Don't overuse him though, if things look *too* innocent in your house. Quick - the cycle is almost done.“ The Senator took her place in front of the stasis pod, they both stood silently, when the light turned green, the Senator was afraid to open the pod. “Senator - your daughter is waiting for you.” The Senator reached for the handle and pulled the door open. A delicate girl with long impossibly silky blue hair, and delicate pointed ears. Arms and legs stretched out as the girl tried to lift herself out of her cramped container. The Senator helped the girl to her feet. Her eyes opened - large with deep rich blue. She saw the Senator, and spoke her first words in a high pitched musical voice. “Mistress.” At 23:50 she approached the lift that would take her to the Thatcher. The SP's were two young woman - one a tall bored looking blond, the other an attentive brunette. Both wearing the white and gray uniforms of the Europan Defense forces. Angel wore the orange and brown of the Io techs. Women were rare on Io, so even the blond paid notice. Angel carried a toolbox, in the bottom of which Alison had been stored into a g-drive and was placed in a false bottom.. Direct downloads from the station to the Thatcher could not be made for security reasons. What is worse is that sentient Alfs like Alison self delete when they are copied. This safeguard is to prevent the Alf from going viral. It also meant that an Alf could only be in one place at a time. Just like the human's they emulated. Angel also had to leave her weapon behind, and in her neck she had a fake ID implanted. The brunette scanned Angel for weapons. Finding none she scanned Angel's ID chip.The information appeared on the Blond's monitor. “Let me see your toolbox.” Angel handed it over, acting as if she'd done this dozens of times. The blond yawned, “Yeah - this checks out. She's working on Deck 14.” The Brunette guard handed angel back her toolbox, “You may enter the lift now.” “Wait! Stop her!” Angel felt the urge to bolt when the dark haired guard blocked her path. When the blond approached her, she suddenly became coy. “I see on your schedule you get off duty around the same time I do. I was just wondering, would you like to get a drink or something. Dating your crewmates is like going out with your sister.” “Oh - sure, where?” “The Fire Pit? “ ”Alright - I guess I will see you when I get off work.” The blond smiled and danced back to her station. Deck 14 was bustling with both mail and female techs and engineers getting her ready.The entry hall was circular, large doors marked “Iris1", “Irus 2" and “Iris 3" with smaller doors next to them “Irus launch driver maintenance” Angel approached the door to the Iris 2, the SP stepped in front of her. “Sorry - I have orders to run a diagnostic on the Iris 2.” “Unlikely.- the Iris class was completed separately from the Thatcher, they've been tested thoroughly.” she pulled out a scanner and read Angel's ID chip., “No you are supposed to be running diagnostic on the Iris 2 launch drivers.” Angel considered and decided to make her way to the maintenance room for the Iris 2., when the Sp called her again. “You there - you have to wait for an escort, Major's orders, no Io works unsupervised.” the SP flipped her projector down, “We need someone on deck 14 to supervise an Io tech.” the SP then positioned herself in the space between the access coridor and the Irus 2 launch bay. Angel flipped down her projector, the time was projected into her retina. 0:05, she had plenty of time so long as her babysitter wasn't busy with something else. She took the time to look for a drive port. Nothing. None that she could see. There might be one in the maintenance corridor. “Sir you wouldn't know of any G-drive ports?” “No downloading software without approval from a senior officer.” “Its just a video game.” “No entertainment software is allowed on the Thatcher's computers.” Angel put on her best smile, “Come on - no one will know.” with the back of her fingers she stroked the SP's hair, she leaned in and whispered, “later - we could play together.” The Sp stared directly into Angel's eyes. “I prefer dark skinned men.” The lift doors openned, a squat blond woman rushed in like a force of nature, “Its not as if I don't have more important things to do that babysit some Io's, where is he?” “I think you want me.” Angel raised her hand meekly. “Oh good Goddess, a woman. I thought Io didn't have any. Doesn't matter - come this way.” Without further ceremony the two women went into the Irus 3's maintenance corridor. “Sir I am supposed to work on the Irus 2.” “Must be a mistake - Joe did the Irus 2 just yesterday. Then again its not as if we haven't been double checking everything. As if I would make a mistake the first time. Probably have to double check what those men do. Slap it together with glue and some string and they'd say 'done' “ The Maintenance corridor was cramped, but then again it only needed to be big enough to work it. There was barely room enough to sit down. The much desired G port was clearly viable. Reaching into the false bottom of her tool kit she shoved the drive into the port - Alison started to download. “Hey - everything seems, no wait the electromagnets seem out of alignment. Good thing we caught that. Hey!” the Engineer had realized what Angel was doing - but it was too late to stop it, Alison was hatching from the Fractal egg she had been compressed into. “Security to to maintenance bay 3, deck 14.” the blond engineer then launched herself at Angel. The world that Alison lived in, the world of computer memory and function, had been known by many names over the centuries. It was not a “virtual” world, at least from her perspective - after all even the “real” world was little more than the exchange of information between particles. No human had programmed a computer in nearly 200 hundred years, everything in the Thatcher's systems was to one degree or another alive. Programs farmed and selectively bred. The vast majority were best described as dumb beasts. Maggie was not. She was imperious, her avatar tall with long pale red hair, and golden bands on her wrists. She was instantly aware of the invader. An anti-virus appearing as a long sword in Maggie's hands, and the image of a twentieth century British Prime Minister moved toward Alison with intent. Alison smiled and released the virus into the Thatcher's systems. The engineer lunged at Angel - she wasn't very strong, but the small woman was tenacious. Doing her very best to hinder Angel. Alarms sounded - Angel doubted it was just for her, “All crew please remain at your stations, Security to decks twelve through seventeen.” Angel elbowed the engineer in the face and ran for the door. The hall outside was chaos. Nonks were rampant, oozing their ways up the bodies of engineers, techs and the security. Unfortunately the nonks had no way to tell friend from foe. And also unfortunately it would not be long before the crew got things under control. The SP guarding bay two had a nonk clinging to each of her hands, She was furiously smacking the walls trying to get the little globs of gel to let go. Dodging and weaving past nonks Angel made for the Irus 2 bay door,, only to have the security guard make a sweeping kick to Angel's face. Angel fought to remain standing as nonks rolled and oozed towards her. The Sp reached for her weapon, but the nonk on her hand prevented her from pulling it loose. Angel dropped for a foot sweet, knocking the guard off balance. She reached for the guard's access card and made her way to the shuttle. On the Thatcher even an officer had to share quarters. Lt. Rice was a fine woman, but Rice's love of Neo Classic Post Modern Scrum did make things tense., beside Jess Tate needed privacy when talking to her wife. Willow was tall thing and pale. She looked somewhat like a dark haired scarecrow. Jess's wife had always been self conscious about her body, so when Agent Tate asked her partner to don a smoke suit for her - well it took some convincing. “I feel ridiculous.” “I'm the only one who sees you, is Charity in bed?” “Yes, but Goddess only knows if she's asleep. She says if prop 16 goes through she wants a little brother.” “What did you say?” “I said fine - but your co-mother can carry it this time.” “Hey you wanted a 'natural' pregnancy.” The alarm went off. “Jess - what's going on?” “I'm not getting any detail - just orders to stay put. Fine if the SP's have it under control.” There was an opening and closing of a door, and the sound of someone climbing a ladder - and finally the sudden lurch of the launch drivers.The sudden acceleration yanking her off balance. “Willow - I gotta go.” freed from the rotating Thatcher - the gravity was gone, until the engines fired up.
Ice Queen: Did you kill that smuggler?. Fireman: Better - I got her to get rid of that cop for me, and she paid me 8 kilojovies for the honor. Ice Queen: That's wonderful, until they come back Fireman: They won't be coming back - you see the smuggler is a bit of a speed hog. And I had an associate place a bomb that will go off as soon as the ship reaches three gravities acceleration. Ice Queen: Clever - for a man. Fireman: High praise indeed.
“Helloooo!” Violet's cell had no windows, no door she could see, although the little girl had enough sense to know she had to have gotten in somehow. There was a toilet, a sink and a dispenser that gave her food every so often. “Hellooo!” She'd given up expecting a response. The sound of her voice echoed against something outside her cell. It was only thing that told her there was an outside. That this room was not somehow the whole universe. She knew even at her tender age that was absurd, but the image of it still terrified her. Not being able to escape, because their was nothing to escape to. How long would she be kept here? Would she grow up here? Grow old here? Die here? Has everyone forgotten about her? She didn't know how long she had been here, she just remembered the sound of someone burning through the Icarus hold and a hissing noise. And then she fell asleep. “Helloo!” she'd been trained to please other, engineered to make others happy. She had been proud of the fact that out there somewhere was a mistress for whom she'd been meant for. But whenever she thought of the word 'mistress' she thought of Angel, a woman who was almost certainly dead. Was this hell? Was this her punishment for some unforgivable sin? “Hello...” [Note: Constructive criticism is always welcome, anything that makes my stories better is a good thing!] |