Interlude Five - Minty Fresh

The situation around Jupiter was warming up, though to the average person it was probably business as usual.

That was mostly because the powers that be were trying very hard to keep it that way. On the surface, things were calm. Shipments were coming and going, the economy had hit a slight recession some four years ago, but it was recovering steadily now and the unemployment rate on most of Jupiter's moons was almost at a historic low.

Immigration was relatively strong, and the buying power of the average Jovian was pretty high at the moment. Not as high as people living in the best parts of Earth, and not quite as high as a Martian citizen's, but still, impressive.

Jupiter was well on its way to becoming the third superpower of the system, and so MINT, Martian Intelligence, was keeping a steady eye on the planet's many moons.

Which was why they were quick to notice that something was going on.

MINT agent 2514, current name Ava Knightley, was one such agent. Her day job was as a clerk for a small accounting agency on Ganymede, one that specialised in small business accounting, especially for shipping companies.

The job was alright, actually. Surprisingly quiet, and her tasks for MINT were relatively straightforward. No assassinations, no real subterfuge beyond copying some files and relocating them into Martian hands.

Once she was tasked with fudging a few numbers for some unknown, unspecified reason. She did so, and never heard anything about it again. That was actually pretty normal for her job.

A good MINT agent did as they were told, kept their head down, collected data, and was generally an unobtrusive cog in the machine until they needed to act. This task was a little boring, sure, but it would look good on her record.

One day, she wanted to move up to Operations, where she would be directing other MINT hopefuls through their own missions and calling the shots. She didn't imagine herself being a big-wig.

Ava was born and raised on Mars. She had a mother with whom she argued frequently and a father that doted on her. She had done her mandatory time in the navy, though she transferred to MINT early on in her career after acing a few officer candidate tests.

Her life was so perfectly bland and ordinary.

She wanted more out of it, she wanted excitement, so when the offer came to become a field operative, she jumped on it.

If only it wasn't so dull.

Then, one fine morning, as she was scrolling through the news and trying to memorize as much as she could about the movements of the various moon-based governments around Jupiter, she received a small text.

It was from her friend, Nadia, a person who didn't exist.

Nadia: Hey!

Ava: Hi! Been a while.

Nadia: Forever and ever! We should catch up sometime!

Ava felt her heart flutter, and she sat up straighter in the cushioned office chair her rear was parked in for six hours a day.

Ava: Sure, whenever you want.

Nadia: Hey, did you ever eat at the Bonjour in Dome 44? :):) It's super-duper good!

Ava: I haven't, it's a bit pricey for me

Nadia: Nah nah, don't worry! ;p I've got you covered, how's 1430 sound?

Ava blinked, then looked at the digital display in the corner of her vision. It was 1320 now. Leaving right away would mean leaving work. But there were a few simple codes spread into those texts... super-duper was common shorthand for high-priority.

The fact that 'Nadia' was using common codes, instead of a specific set of codes that only Ava would know was telling.

In a serious mission, Ava would be made to memorise a whole set of unique markers and identifications. This mission was the opposite of serious, it was a job that needed doing, but that was all.

Ava sat up straighter and then pressed a hand against her stomach. She focused for a moment and activated one of her cores. It was a must-have for all agents.

It immediately made her feverish, turned her skin a little pale and made her incredibly nauseous. Ava stood up and quick-marched through the office to the staff-bathroom nearest her boss' office and proceeded to lose her lunch in the sink.

She was sent home within five minutes and told to only return when she felt better. She thanked her coworkers, a bit groggy and dizzy, then assured them that she didn't need to go to the hospital, it was just something she ate.

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Ten minutes later, she was riding an autocar to Dome 44.

Ava wished she had time to stop by her apartment, to change into something more appropriate, to pick up some basic gear beyond what she had in her purse.

Bonjour, near the top of Dome 44, had a spectacular view of the exterior of the dome. The top half of the semicircle was lined with transparent panels that afforded those high enough a view of the moon outside, and at the moment, Jupiter hovering above, impossibly huge.

She stepped in and discovered that Nadia was waiting for her. Nadia being an agent that Ava didn't recognize at all, but she was wearing a bangle on her wrist with a specific bit of knotwork and three coloured beads.

She hugged and greeted her friend with a smile. They were chatting, excited and happy, about nothing at all. Then Nadia led her right past the back of the restaurant and through a door at the rear.

For a moment, she worried that it was a trap, that she was made. Then they encountered four men in Martian special-ops armour, something she never expected to see anywhere but on Mars.

"Right this way, Agent 2514," a new person said while 'Nadia' was dismissed. She was led into a small room with a pair of chairs on either side of a white table. The agent speaking to her, a middle-aged man that was incredibly non-distinct, placed a small tablet on the table once she had sat down. "Your name is now Pepper Mint."

"Pepper... Mint," Ava— Pepper, repeated. "Yes sir."

"The name was carefully chosen for this mission," the agent said as he sat down across from her. Without touching anything, he cleared his throat then spoke up. "Interview with Agent 2514 for Operation: Happy Goddess, begin."

Pepper sat straight and ready.

"Agent 2514, Pepper, a year prior to joining the Martian Navy, you had a relationship with someone, correct?"

"Correct," Pepper said. Was this a test to see if she was really Agent 2514? There were shapeshifting cores out there, such a precaution wasn't too unusual. They'd probably ask for a blood sample soon, if they hadn't taken one while she didn't notice already.

"This relationship was with a young woman?" the agent asked.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Good good. Observing your record of... personal entertainment choices, we note that you have viewed several works tagged with 'Dommy Mommy,' is this true?"

Pepper blinked, her mouth opening a little before she closed it. The only reason her face wasn't aflame was because she had better control over herself than to allow that. Not that she could be too embarrassed. She was aware that this job might require that she get close to a mark one day. "Yes, sir," she said.

"In these situations, did you imagine yourself as the... mommy, or the one being dominated?" he asked with no more inflections than someone asking about the weather.

Pepper cleared her throat. "Permission to ask a question, sir?" she asked.

"Denied. Answer the question."

"I imagine myself as the one with the Dommy Mommy, sir," she replied.

"Fantastic. Yes, you'll do just fine, I think." He gestured at the tablet. "Enclosed you'll find the details of your current identity. Due to time constraints, the identity is very similar to your non-MINT, public identity. You'll find it easier to lie if your lies are truthful. Pepper's year of birth is one year and a month after your own, the rest of the information should be memorised."

"Yes sir," she said as she tapped on the tablet and started doing just that. This was the sparsest identity she'd ever seen. Well, no, that wasn't true. It was very detailed, but everything was just... her. Her real life identity, with a veneer atop it. "What is the mission?" she asked.

"You will be attempting to enter the good graces of one Miss Evelyn Ville. A Martian astro-archeologist on her way to Callisto, likely onboard a pirate vessel that she commandeered quite recently named the Sappho."

Pepper blinked, taking that in. "Understood. What do I do once I approach Miss Ville?"

"Romance her."

"Pardon?"

"Or, alternatively, allow her to romance you. This operation's goal is to have you, or Miss Ville, or both, fall in love with each other."

Pepper was starting to doubt that this was a real MINT operation again.

***