Federation Year 336

Vanaka sat and patiently observed her prey. The man was working on his oil-soaked longbread at a slow but steady pace, and being able to pick the right moment was a predator’s greatest asset. At least, that had been her experience.

The eatery was a humble enough neighbourhood establishment. Though it was rather late in the evening the place didn’t serve alcohol, and so the atmosphere remained sedate. Her upbringing had placed strong emphasis on hunting in the kind of loud, darkened places where people intentionally dulled their wits, but then she wasn’t planning on actually striking just yet.

She was just waiting. And watching.

Late-night workers and people with a rather unemployed look about them passed to and fro, getting between her and the target as they either left or sought out an empty table. She was glad for that little bit of foliage between them. Even though she was only watching him via quick glances it still lessened the odds of him noticing.

She’d found herself a seat where she was fully out of his field of vision, even counting for the mirror he sat in front of. Thriller stories always seemed to have characters sit in public places like this with their back to the wall. She didn’t know how true to life that trope actually was, but considering what this fellow was mixed up in he seemed awfully careless.

In time he finished, and while Vanaka kept her body relaxed and inconspicuous she felt that delightful tension creep into her soul as he got up. This hunt was moving to the next stage, and the predator in her was simply delighted.

She kept her eyes off his as he got up, and just finished her glass of juice with a long, slow gulp, until she heard the door open and close. Vanaka picked her comm off the table, said “I’m coming home”, then stood up, put her mug on the counter, and stepped out.

This planet’s two moons hung in the sky, reflecting enough light to compensate for the sparse street lighting. Her target was walking south along the pedestrian street, heading for the apartment complex he called home. He was no more alert than he’d been inside the eatery and still paid her no more heed than anyone else going about their late-night business.

Initially she simply kept pace with him and maintained a sensible distance, but he went down a side street, and then another, and each time there were fewer people around. Society’s cover thinned out and Vanaka felt her own inner cover slide away as well. The moment was approaching, and she shortened the distance between them little by little.

It meant a greater chance of him taking notice of her, but also put him further and further inside her reach. Failure or success. Disaster or a successful hunt. That particular fork neared and neared and the tension was delicious.

Still, she maintained discipline. She kept the tension on the inside, letting it sharpen her senses and prime her reflexes. All while her body stayed relaxed.

He shifted down a narrow path between two of the blocky, two-storey apartment buildings that distinguished the area. They’d been rushed up out of a combination of prefab plates and local rock to meet an urgent need for housing some decades ago, and then simply left as is ever since. No one had ever even paved or tiled the path in any way, and in spite of daily foot traffic a hardy local shrub clung to life on the soil. It further cushioned the steps of her soft boots. And, more importantly, not a single window faced the path.

This was it. This was the perfect spot, and her instincts knew it at least as well as her rational mind did. On the other end a young woman stepped into sight. She wore a light-coloured coat and a baggy brown hat on top of a blond head.

The man stopped for a moment to take the stranger in, and finally showed a hint of alertness. Perhaps he’d spotted the anticipation in her manner. Whatever it was, he said something in a local tongue. Vanaka glanced behind her for one last assurance that there was no one there, and as she looked back the woman had taken her hat off. That was the signal that there was no one up ahead either, and Vanaka sprang into action.

The man began to turn her way, but that was all the action he accomplished before she was on him. One hand grabbed his flailing arm and the other forced his head to the side. Vanaka extended her fangs and sank them into his neck.

He let out a strangled gasp and struggled for a moment, but she held him firmly and then her paralysing saliva kicked in. He went limp in her arms and Vanaka changed her grip on him with smoothness enabled by experience. Rather than lay him on the ground, she held him up against the wall to make things look less suspect from a distance, just in case. She drank in tiny sips, really taking her time with it. All in all she didn’t take that much; she simply wasn’t feeling all that weak. The point was to get a whole lot of her venom into him.

Once she felt enough was enough, Vanaka delicately extracted her fangs. The pierced skin closed around tiny pricks he might not even notice later. While this was all very satisfying she was here for a specific purpose, and waited for the drugging effect to wear off a little. Enough for him to talk.

Vanaka put her lips under his ear.

“Where is the handoff?” she whispered gently. The venom was a powerful tool, but doubly so if mixed with the right attitude. “Tell me where the handoff is.”

“It’s...” he drawled confusedly. “It’s in Mingon. Dock Three.”

“When? Tell me when it is.”

“Three days,” he told her, oblivious to any reason he should not be sharing this. “Mi... midnight.”

“Mm. Thank you.”

She took him away from the wall and with some minor encouragement he managed to find his feet. Vanaka faced him back the way he’d been going, the way home, and then gave him a little nudge. He started walking in a slightly unsteady fashion and soon passed the blond woman as she walked in the opposite direction. They completely disregarded each other, and soon enough he was around the corner and out of sight. He would remember none of this.

Vanaka gave Erine a smile.

“Well done,” she said, and gave the woman an affectionate peck on the cheek. “You planned this out perfectly.”

As always, Erine didn’t quite seem to know what to do with praise. But she never argued with it, at least not when it came from Vanaka, and she settled on a slightly awkward smile.

“It seems I did, yes,” Erine replied. “So you have it?”

“I have it.”

Vanaka hooked her arm around Erine’s left one and the woman matched her steps perfectly as they walked. Erine said little as they walked. It was usually up to Vanaka to do the talking when it was just the two of them, and somehow she could think of nothing right now. She was content to just take in the unfamiliar moons, the streets, and the company of a dear one.

They returned to the more busy streets, or at least busy for the time of night, in the spirit of not courting needless danger. The docking tower that was the city’s link to the rest of the galaxy was visible only as the lights that shone on the outside, giving only a hint of its silhouette like a drawing a child might be asked to finish.

“You’re doing it again,” Erine said, finally breaking the silence with a softly-spoken observation. After a moment of confusion Vanaka realised that she was doing it again; staring at the implied silhouette with a no doubt faraway expression.

“Hmm.”

Vanaka stopped and her companion dutifully did as well. She stared ahead and up at the enormous structure. A couple of lights buzzed around it, so distant as to be barely visible. They were probably just maintenance vessels of some kind. But it was easy enough to imagine them to be space ships.

“It’s all there,” she said earnestly, still staring. “Everything the galaxy has to offer. Strange worlds. Exotic cultures. Fascinating people. All out there on the lanes, connected through the ports. That’s what that sight represents to me.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Erine said.

“Of course you are. But let’s finish this thing.”

It was just a short stroll to a late-night lounge. It was up on the second storey of a house that was all gentle curves and oval-shaped windows, accessible by an outside stairwell.

“Wait here,” Vanaka said and separated from her companion. She strolled up the bright-orange stairwell and to the same-coloured door. Within it was a desk and an orange-clad woman, as well as a screen displaying the languages the staff was required to understand without a translation tool.

“Good evening,” Vanaka said in Bakiso. “I have someone waiting for me. Table 9?”

“Go on in, dear-guest,” the woman replied in a heavy accent.

The lounge wasn’t very busy, which suited Vanaka just fine, and the table in question was easy to find. Her contact was a broad-shouldered man with a fairly stylish beard, clad in clothing she suspected was deliberately chosen for not drawing particular attention.

“Hello,” she said, giving him a friendly smile as he motioned for her to sit down opposite him.

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“Hello,” he said flatly. “Do you have it?”

“I do.”

Vanaka hesitated, checked their immediate surroundings, and then gave him a questioning look. He didn’t indicate any particular need for caution, and so she went ahead.

“Mingon. Dock Three. In three days. Midnight.”

“Hm,” her contact said, still reserved. “And you are certain of this information?”

“I am.”

“And you believe you got it without him being able to identify you?”

“Yes.”

“Hm,” he vocalised again, and patted the table a bit. His face remained statue-like, his eyes piercing. “If this was all happening in a vacuum then I would be extremely doubtful, but from what I understand your info has proven solid in the past.”

Vanaka nodded.

“I, and no doubt some others, would feel better if you would give actual details on how you do this,” he said.

“I have tricks at my disposal,” she told him evenly. “And I am afraid that is all I am going to say.”

“Hm.”

“You must admit that if I am some double agent working to bring the network down from within then I am doing a very poor job of it,” Vanaka told him. “The information I acquire gets put to use.”

“So it does.”

He maintained his stare for a bit longer, and Vanaka simply stared back. Finally he shrugged very slightly.

“The network reaches far and wide,” the contact said. “It takes on different forms and carries out different tasks, and it has drawn in a lot of strange people. I have seen some things I didn’t really know what to make of. And heard some things that I am tempted to consider impossible.”

Vanaka kept her face impassive.

“Am I under some sort of official review?” she asked.

“There is nothing official within the network,” he reminded her. “No top command, no true leaders. That is a major part of why it survives, and why it can operate anywhere it is needed.”

“But the review part?” she pressed him.

He was silent for a little while, which was an answer in and of itself.

“You have been quite useful, in quite a short period of time,” he then said. “That is not to be overlooked, and we must not let caution turn into paranoia, because the latter destroys us. I will simply say that after this latest information proves solid, and after one more outing, then you will be more fully trusted.”

Vanaka nodded, and consciously decided not to take this personally. She was new to this, and caution was understandable. There probably were a whole lot of angles to the network she had yet to be introduced to. Not that she had any particular desire for the introduction. She didn’t need it, for the part she had to play in the greater scheme of things. The part she wanted to play.

“Well, am I trusted enough for further instructions?” she asked.

“Are you familiar with the planet Gorono?”

She shrugged.

“I know of it. I read about it on news feeds. I see its name on flight plans. Little more than that.”

“There is a cell there. I only know it through reputation, but apparently it only has a handful of Fighters and Watchers, but gets regular Wanderers.”

Vanaka nodded. She’d been doing this just long enough to learn and become comfortable with the lingo. She herself was a Helper.

“I believe they will have something for you to do, and if not they will certainly be able to point you in a useful direction. Gorono is a shipping outpost of moderate import, and it has a considerable black market problem. And I believe you will be able to find work there.”

“So that’s two good reasons to check that place out,” Vanaka said. “But what about here? What about that handoff?”

“The information you brought me matches hints I got from another source,” the contact said. “It will be dealt with by the available Fighters.”

Vanaka hadn’t met any of the other local agents, save for the Wanderer who had set the two of them up. It was all deniability and need-to-know with these types, from what she’d seen. At least for a Helper.

“Was this... a test?” she asked. “A test of my reliability?”

“It was confirmation, as I said,” the contact told her without any signs of discomfort at her hint of accusation.

“Of what?” she pressed him, feeling some heat in her emotions.

“One thing can easily serve a double purpose, young lady,” he told her, and just like that his utter calm and control had started to grate on her a little. “It is nothing to take personally.”

“I know that,” Vanaka said. “I know that,” she repeated as she fought to keep youth from making a fool of her. “But...”

“But what?”

“But I want to be useful,” she told him. “I’m not just doing this for fun.”

He was silent for a little bit and she got the impression that he was gauging her sincerity.

“The network is a thing of reputations,” he said. “I will pass my experience with you on to certain Wanderers, and it will give our people one more reason to have faith in you. Do well on Gorono, and I believe your reputation will be set. It will still only be a starting reputation, but as I said: You will have earned trust.”

“Very well,” Vanaka said. “Very well. What is the local call sign?”

“White Aster,” he told her.

“White Aster,” Vanaka repeated to fasten it in her mind.

“I will give you a number to call once you’re ready to fly off. They will then set up a meeting.”

“Alright. I have a performance scheduled tomorrow, but I’m fine with flying off the day after that, if it connects with a ship to Gorono.”

“Good. Then I think we are finished.”

It felt curt, but wandering between planets was teaching her to expect all sorts of expectations of behaviour. And given their respective roles he could be expected to keep a professional front. So, swallowing just a hint of resentment, Vanaka got to her feet.

“Good night,” she said and slid the chair back into place by the table.

“One moment,” he said just as she turned around.

She turned around.

“Gorono is a dangerous place,” he told her. “It is not anarchic, but the law means little once you scratch the surface a bit. I feel obligated to tell you this. From what I understand you have had it easy until now. And that is fine. There is no reason to throw a new Helper straight into mortal danger. But if you go to Gorono it may end up being a very different sort of trial. And I wonder if you fully realise what kind of game you are getting involved in.”

Vanaka hesitated.

“Well... it sounds like the kind of place where the network is needed,” she then said.

“Oh, certainly.”

“Then I am going there.”

“As you wish.”

She walked back to the entrance, nodded at the receptionist in passing, and stepped outside. She glanced at the elevator’s outline again, not quite sure what to make of her own thoughts. After a few seconds she decided to be positive. She enhanced the feeling by hopping off the landing rather than taking the stairs, for a little rush. It was a short enough drop that no one witnessing should find it too odd how she just landed like it was nothing.

Erine greeted her with a slightly bemused look. Vanaka reached out and put her hands on the ansoti’s shoulders.

“We-”

An unexpected sound caught her attention, and she turned quickly. Into the light shining down from above the lounge door strode a broad-shouldered, clean-shaven man with hair as black as Vanaka’s own, and a matching glossy jacket.

Vanaka relaxed and released Erine.

“Losan,” she said, and somehow felt better while also feeling a bit irritated. “The idea was for you to stay at the hotel.”

“You didn’t specifically order me to,” he responded shamelessly. “But your parents did specifically tell me to watch out for you, while we’re off-world.”

“I didn’t invite him,” Erine said, and seemed more exasperated than annoyed. “I take it you were shadowing us?”

“And neither of you noticed.”

He looked at each of them in turn.

“I take it all went well?”

“It did,” Vanaka said.

“I still feel it should have been me doing that intercept.”

“I’m fine, Losan,” Erine assured him. “I’m not a child.”

“No. But you’re also not a fighter. And you’re not used to dangerous places. We’re not back home on Eylo.”

Vanaka put her hand up to stop both of them. They promptly did, because that was how this all worked.

“Erine argued that he’d be less wary of a woman,” she said. “And I felt it was a valid point. And that is that.”

She could tell he still wasn’t satisfied, and found it more cute than anything. Maturity was also teaching her, bit by bit, how important it was to use a light hand in communicating with her ansoti. Vanaka put her arms over each of their shoulders and started the three of them walking.

“I love you both,” she told them gently. “I would wither and die without you here with me, and I am not just talking about my biology.”

She pulled them in a little tighter for a moment.

“We know,” Losan said, and reluctantly let some of the tension drain out of himself.

“We are a team,” she went on. “And we look out for each other. And the day after tomorrow we fly off somewhere new. So before that I want to do something fun. As a team. And I’ll let you two decide. What do you say?”

“Those cliffs to the north,” Losan said after a moment’s hesitation. “The ones that look like giant candles mashed together. I’ve been wanting to see them up close.”

“Erine?” Vanaka said.

“Yes,” the woman replied. “I like that idea. Somewhere quiet.”

“Great!” Vanaka said. “Then we’ll do that.”

They walked in a pleasant silence for a little while. But Vanaka wasn’t surprised when Erine turned to look at her with an examining gaze.

“So, how did the meeting go? You know we want to know.”

“I will go into details tomorrow,” Vanaka told her. “I just want to enjoy myself right now.”

“Vanaka...”

Something in the ansoti’s voice made Vanaka turn her head to stare back.

“I can tell when you are excited, and when you are worried,” Erine said. “You seem to be both right now.”

Vanaka thought about the contact’s parting words with her, and the enjoyment faded away a bit, revealing what it was trying to cover up.

“I think...” Vanaka said slowly, before taking a moment to realise what she was actually thinking. “I think I might have been given a test. A final test.”

She craned her neck to take in the colossal silhouette once again. The tower and all that it represented.

“I think my grade may end up deciding a lot of things.”

“About your status in the network?” Losan asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “And about my status to myself.”