Chapter Sixty-Two - Long Distance Communication

'It could have been an email' was a sentiment that only grew more pronounced as humanity grew further apart.

The distances two people had to cross in order to meet literally turned astronomical, and yet certain individuals nonetheless insisted that important discussions happen face-to-face and in person.

There were several reasons for this. To judge a person's sincerity--because scammers felt safest when they were a planet apart--to gauge interest, to see if the other was of means enough to afford the travel and time lost.

Most of all, forcing a meeting to take place in person is a show of force.

You will come here, and you will bow to your superiors.

The Martian navy had been fond of forcing young valkyries and wayward officers to meet the brass in person to be judged and reprimanded.

Ivil now received such things as politely worded suggestions gently deposited into her email inbox. It had been several years since she had to attend a formal meeting of any sort, and if it wasn't for present company she would be avoiding it at all costs.

The shuttle executed a turn and burn, then several hours later, after time spent being squeezed into a terribly uncomfortable seat, they finally coasted to a stop. The shuttle was gripped by a standard docking arm and carefully swung around until its airlock lined up with a retractable one on the station they'd reached.

This wasn't their final destination, merely a layover halfway there. They were at least closer to Callisto here, in the same orbital band as the station where the meeting would take place, which meant that getting to their final destination would be relatively simple.

The shuttle shook, and then they were free to stand, at least according to a green light above the doorway. A hostess forced the door open, and they were guided in a gentle but hurried fashion out of the shuttle and into the station.

Ivil glanced at Pepper, who was very studiously not looking in her direction and who was walking with a level of stiffness that would make even the strictest of Martian generals proud.

"Miss Mint?" Aurora asked. "Do you have the name and docking station for the next ship we're taking?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes of course Miss Sterlingworth," Pepper said. She cleared her throat and fetched the appropriate papers from her pockets. "The next shuttle will be departing in two hours. There's a lounge. I informed the fighter pilot serving as our escort about our deception, they should be arriving here soon. She was instructed to follow the decoy, then detach from it when possible in as stealthy a way as possible."

"Impressive work, Miss Mint," Aurora said.

"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I need to verify the status of our luggage." She bowed, then carried herself away.

The station had no gravity, being much smaller and far more ordinary than Driftwood, so they pushed themselves off and floated on towards the padded entrance to a waiting lounge. It was one of those commercial spaces that were trying very hard to appear luxurious at the lowest cost possible.

They had a bar though, and soon Ivil had placed herself next to Aurora with Twenty-Six on the far side. "That was something," Twenty-Six said. "Gotta say, flying fancy is a whole lot more comfortable than hitching a ride around Saturn."

"That was economy," Aurora said. "It was cramped, the seats were uncomfortable, and we were squeezed in and out in a hurry. I doubt the cabins are even sanitised between trips."

"Really?" Twenty-Six asked. "Sometimes I feel like we live in different systems."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Aurora said, but Twenty-Six was shaking her head already.

"It's okay! I'm probably the odd one out, I think. I guess I've been kind of sheltered in my own way."

"No, I think I can say the same. Phobos hasn't always been wealthy, but recently it has and it feels like my parent's generation is doing all it can to ensure that mine is raised in the luxury that they lacked. It makes it somewhat harder to appreciate the... real world when you are surrounded by new riches."

Ivil smiled. She was just happy at the moment to be near the two as they were getting along so well. She'd join in the conversation when there was a good moment for it, but she knew that there was great value in silence and presence combined.

For example, Pepper Mint was unaware that Ivil was listening to her even from across the docking station while also masking her presence.

The MINT agent was currently stuffed in a janitorial closet. It was the first small, private space she'd likely found and no one was to go looking for her there. Better yet, the room was sealed enough that she could talk without anyone hearing her.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Unfortunately, she wasn't talking, she was screaming.

First, she swung her arms around wildly and almost sent herself spinning in the room's zero-g, then she bit her forefinger and screeched.

Ivil wondered what that was about. Was it the tension of being stuck in a small cabin with the Empress of Mars for a few hours, was it frustration at her work, or was it an entirely different sort of frustration?

Ivil was good at reading people's bodies. She knew.

Pepper Mint calmed herself, but her calm didn't remove all of the pent up emotions, instead, the calm ushered in a moment where all that anxiety turned into another, more potent feeling. Anger. Anger which she immediately set to deploying.

Pepper pulled out a small smart device from her pocket and dialled in a number. It rang twice before someone answered. "Wasserbasis Paint co, how can I help you?"

"This is Agent 2514, codename Pepper Mint," she snapped. "Toss me up the line."

"Ma'am? I'm not sure what you mean, this is Jupiter's finest water-based paint manu--"

The line went dead. It was picked up a moment later by someone else, a suave, self-assured sounding man. "Agent 2514, report," he said.

"Oh, I'll report all right," she seethed. "What the fuck was that intel?"

"You're not being very professional, Agent," he said.

Pepper Mint squirmed for a moment, and Ivil could almost imagine the very many expletives on the tip of her tongue. Still, she composed herself. "You sent me to honeypot the fucking Empress?!"

"Ah, you found out."

"Of fucking course I found out, it's... It's the goddamn Empress! She's the spitting image of her body double! Only, like, hotter!"

Ivil shifted in her seat, then smiled as Twenty-Six glanced her way, but at the moment she was enthralled by Aurora who was describing the small flotilla of some dozen ships her family owned.

"Sending you was a calculated risk," the agent on the line said.

"You are bad at math," Pepper hissed into her device. "She found out, instantly. I thought Mint as a family name was a little on the nose, but seriously? She probably knew I had cores!"

"Oh, definitely. That is well within her capabilities."

"Then why?!"

"The risk wasn't about the Empress discovering, it was more about you discovering that she is the Empress," the agent said.

Pepper took a moment to pull the device away from her ear to stare at it in incredulity. "What do you mean? You wanted the mark to know that I was an agent but not for your agent to know that the mark knew? That's backwards."

"The mission's primary objective would be easier to accomplish were you unaware," he replied simply.

"You still want me to romance her? She's... she's a god amongst men. She's killed more people than are alive around some planets. She made an Earth fleet admiral piss himself when he thought she'd show up, and she wasn't even in the same sector."

"That last one is actually a rumour we created to demoralise the Earth Alliance. His suit merely had a malfunction in a public place, but we ran with it," he said with a chuckle.

Ivil blinked. That was a strange revelation, she'd really thought that she had made that admiral wet himself. To think that she'd made light of him about it a year or so later before killing him. No wonder he had been so upset.

"I can't... I can't believe this," Pepper said.

"You were ready to seduce the mark previously," the agent pointed out. "And you were aware from the briefings that she was the way she is. We never lied except by omission."

"All lies are lies by omission because you're omitting the truth!" Pepper snapped. She ground her teeth, then tugged on a shelf so that her feet touched the ground. There was a click as her sensible shoes magnetised. "Fine. I imagine if I leave you'll just send the next agent in?"

"Or someone close. We need eyes on this situation, you understand? Seeing as how your circumstances are... extenuating, we will not be taking your current comportment as a black mark against you. Good luck, Agent 2514."

Pepper hung up, slipped the phone away, then swore.

Ivil was distracted by what she did next when Twenty-Six stood up with a gasp. "Can we, Evelyn?" she asked.

"Hmm?" She replayed the last bit of the conversation with Twenty-Six in her head. "Ah yes, I don't see why not. I'm sure Pixie wouldn't mind you taking a look at her ship once she's properly docked."

***