The group was standing around in a half circle waiting for the payment for the job to clear. Their client had already sent the message that their package had been delivered. The Sauroid lay people and priestess were trying to tend to their injuries. Dimi had been staring in shock at the Sauroids. Miles was chatting nonchalantly with a dark scale. Allison pushed away a Sauroid priestess that was trying to tend to a cut on her forehead. She’d hit her head when she was moving the steel sarcophagus with Dimi.
“Thank you, Sister, but I’m okay.”
The Sauroid’s tail twitched.
“At least let me clean the blood up, child.”
Allison sighed and stopped resisting. She knew it was pointless. The Sauroids were a notoriously persistent people. Light, Dark, Twilight, it didn’t matter. Once they set their minds to something there was little chance of deterring them. The Dark Mother had found that out shortly after meeting them, according to the first contact records. Allison sat down on one of the stone benches and let the priestess tend to her. From the moment she arrived they had been treating Allison like a precious flower that could wilt at any time.
Everyone stopped talking when a dark-haired woman entered the room. She had pale skin, brown eyes and an intimidating presence. She was carrying Allison’s pink water bottle and Dimi’s missing fusion core. She looked everyone up and down. Miles’s eyes went wide.
“You? What are you doing here?
The highest-ranking priestess present stepped between Olga and the group. She was a gray scale from the dark side. The end of her tail twitched. She held her arms out wide as if to protect the people behind her.
“I can see you are a woman who is accustomed to violence. This is a place of peace.”
Olga smiled.
“You know, I knew the Dark Mother. She was anything but peaceful, fear not sister, I am not here to hurt anyone. I’m here for her.”
She pointed at Allison. Allison blinked at Olga. She truly had no idea who she was. Miles and his crew sure did though. They all had their hands on their weapons. The grey-scale stepped directly between Olga and Allison.
“The ascended one is under our protection. I warn you the Dark Mother will not take kindly to harm coming to her chosen in her own house.”
Olga chuckled and looked around the grey-scale at Allison.
“You left your military issued data tap and this hot pink water bottle that has ‘Allison Wanjala’ written in black permanent marker on your stolen spaceship. That is a good way to get caught, kid.”
Olga motioned with her hand.
“You’ve had your fun, come with me.”
Allison was blushing profusely. She’d missed a couple of pretty obvious pieces of evidence. She didn’t move towards Olga.
“Who are you?”
Miles kept his hand on his pistol as he answered.
“She’s a Spook. The person the System’s Alliance sends when they don’t want to get their hands dirty and the need someone to disappear. Isn’t that right, Olga?”
Olga did not look surprised when he mentioned her name. She kept looking at Allison.
“Every word he said is true. I’m here for you Allison, do you want to put all these innocent people in danger? Risk the lives of your new friends?”
Dimi pulled away from Zebra who had been holding him back, he walked past the grey scale and got into Olga’s face. He had almost a foot on her. He flexed his muscles.
“She don’t have a choice, lady, she’s with us. You want her, you go through us.”
He pounded his fists together. Olga shook her head.
“Maybe put yourself back together first, Tiny.”
She threw the fusion core at Dimi who juggled it between his hands before it finally fell on the temple’s stone floor. Olga shook her head.
“If I wanted to kill you, there are so many more fun ways to do it then a rigged fusion core.”
Miles drew and fired at Olga. He was using a bolter. The solid duranium shell hit some sort of energy barrier and fell to the ground. Olga pointed at him, then to Dimi, and finally Zebra.
“I’ll let that go because Hazel loved you, but if you draw on me again, I will rip your arms off, followed by his spine and her nanowire nervous system. There is a reason mercs don’t cross me. Today is not the day to try my patience.”
Allison was even paler than usual. She’d seen a lot of hyper-advanced tech in her military service, but a personal force field was still the realm of science fiction. She’d seen a few in a movie about a desert planet from the twentieth century. She thought it was ridiculous and farfetched. This was a fight her friends would not win. She tapped her display and typed a quick message to Bit. I’m coming out. Someone is with me. I need you to hit her with particle beams on my mark. Allison then held up her hands.
“Alright, I’ll come, just don’t hurt them, and they get immunity for whatever the charges are.”
Olga shook her head.
“I don’t get sent to arrest people kid. Come on.”
Olga motioned for Allison to come with her. Allison walked beside her, with her hands up. Olga glanced back.
“Your fee has been transferred. Dante had a bit of an accident. I said I’d take care of it for him. And put your hands down kid. I’m not arresting you.”
Miles rushed forward pistol drawn and aimed at Olga.
“Stop. She’s not going with you.”
Olga flicked her wrist. There was a flash. Before anyone realized what was happening, most of all Allison, the teenager, had snatched something out of the air. She looked down at her hand. It was a vicious looking durasteel blade that was two inches long with a monoedge, meaning it was only a molecule wide. Allison’s hand was bleeding. Monoedged weapons were highly illegal and so sharp they could cut through almost anything softer than the material they were made out of. Olga chuckled.
“It’s your lucky day, Miles. Looks like the Dark Mother is smiling on you. I suggest you not try me again.”
Allison held up her other hand.
“Miles, just stop. I got this.”
Miles still had his bolter aimed at Olga. The grey scale who had tried to shield the group put her taloned hand on his forearm and took the pistol.
“Trust the chosen. You are brave, and noble, but she has made her choice. We must respect that.”
Allison looked down at her bloody hand and the monoedged bladed projectile. It looked like a large arrowhead. She had no idea how she had reacted and moved so fast. She didn’t even remember snatching it. Olga held out her hand and made a ‘give it to me’ motion with her fingers. Allison handed the blood covered blade to Olga who slid it back into a port that opened on her fist. Allison’s scanners were telling her that Olga was all organic. The chrome she saw under the skin of the Russian woman’s hand told a far different story. Allison realized she was four inches taller than Olga as they walked beside each other. It was funny, the strange woman had seemed so much larger in the temple.
“If we leave the temple you’re going to die.”
Olga chuckled.
“Oh, that message you sent your starfighter. Sure, it could work. Not sure if my shield could stop full on anti-ship particle beams. It won’t matter. I’ll just use one of my old bodies. You think my brain is in this shell?”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Olga handed Allison the water bottle.
“Here, so it doesn’t get disintegrated. It’s a good water bottle.”
Allison stopped short of exiting the temple’s massive front entrance.
“You knew I was planning on having my fighter fire on you? And you still left with me?’
Olga shrugged.
“I was curious if this body would survive. Your Aunt Maria would probably find the test data valuable. She’s been trying to build me the perfect body for almost twenty years.”
“The President sent you?”
Olga nodded.
“Miles was right. I am the person she sends to do all the dirty jobs that keep the SA’s noble, just, and fair reputation intact. Today it was making sure you didn’t end up as a headline for a second time this week. Also, I was sent with a message. You’re going to receive a phone call in about five minutes. I suggest you answer it if you don’t want me to carry you back to Earth over my shoulder so you can have the conversation in person. After that, go back inside, do your ‘research project’ and make sure you’re on Eden Prime for the Gala.”
Allison motioned to something on her AR HUD.
“Uh, can I?”
Olga nodded. Allison called Bit.
“Uh, Bit, disregard that last request, pretty please.”
Bit responded.
“Understood, I will not fire on the System’s Alliance Special Investigator. That’s a relief… My directives say I need to do what my pilot asks, and my System’s Alliance oath says I’m not supposed to harm its representatives… It was a moral dilemma to be sure.”
Allison made a motion with her hand as if trying to get Bit to finish. She looked down at her hand, which had started to hurt but was now feeling fine. She hadn’t even felt the initial cuts the blade was far too sharp. Her hand was still covered in her blood which was starting to dry, but the deep wounds to her palm and her fingers were gone. She was healing faster than ever now. Olga watched Allison.
“You heal remarkably fast. Like Hazel and her family. You aren’t a vampire or a shifter. Interesting.”
Allison blushed and looked at the flagstone floor. She saw a call coming in from Eyre. She swallowed hard. Olga moved her hand in a circle.
“Answer it, I do not want to babysit you on a trip back to Earth.”
Allison sighed and tapped the comm link.
“Hello, ma’am.”
Eyre raised one of her red eyebrows.
“I thought we agreed on, Eyre, or Aunt Eyre.”
Allison blushed.
“Sorry, Hi Auntie Eyre, how are you? I made it to Eden Prime safe. I was just talking to the priestess about my project when your… umm friend showed up.”
Eyre tapped her fingers on her desk.
“Oh, you were, were you? Cut the crap Allison. I know what you did on Titan.”
Allison blinked innocently.
“Titan? I’ve never been there. I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Auntie. I was in FTL in Bit for the last oh, nine hours. I fell asleep and she decided to take her time getting here because she knew I was really tired.”
Eyre narrowed her eyes.
“Allison, your personal holo-phone was all over Titan Corporate Dome. Specifically in a BMC storage facility just before they reported a break-in and theft. And a Corporate Security Station, when four mercenaries escaped. On a stolen transport that broke so many laws they are still reviewing the footage for the ones they missed. Not to mention a Qual’sa pistol was used to stun several Security Officers during the escape by the mercenaries.”
Allison rubbed the back of her head.
“Wow, that is pretty crazy. I went drinking last night and lost my holo-phone. It just got returned to me. Sounds like it went on quite the adventure. A Qual’sa pistol in sol system? That black market pipeline from Andromeda is really getting out of hand. I’ll make sure I bring that up at our next briefing about smuggling of weapons through our sector.”
Eyre pursed her lips.
“And your water bottle, and data tap, found on the stolen freighter?”
Allison blinked innocently.
“I know, right? I was so upset when I couldn’t find my water bottle this morning. I took it with me to the bar, because you know you should drink a lot of water when you’re consuming alcohol. I totally thought I’d left it at the bar. I am so glad this nice lady returned it to me. And that sneaky little devil of a data tap, how did it end up on a ship light years from where I was?”
Eyre started to tap her fingers again.
“Allison, I’m two thousand years old, I’ve raised six children and so many grandchildren. I have literally heard them all. So just stop. I tried very hard to guide you away from choices like this, but apparently my words are falling on deaf ears. It is time I had a talk with your mother.”
All of the color washed out of Allison’s cheeks. Her mother would literally ground her, find a boarding school somewhere that doesn’t let kids off campus, and make her quit the SA military. That would be just the start of it.
“Auntie Eyre, couldn’t we be reasonable about this?”
Eyre raised her eyebrow again.
“Reasonable? I was reasonable was before you broke almost every law the System’s Alliance has, and probably some they haven’t thought of yet. Nine hours. You took less then twenty-four hours to go from one of the most beloved heroes in the System’s Alliance, to one of its most wanted criminals, and you’re only sixteen! God, we’re lucky you didn’t kill someone… you didn’t kill anything did you?”
Allison shook her head and giggled nervously.
“Only one cargo ship and my lust for adventure. So, we’re not telling my mom about any of this right? Auntie Eyre? I mean she’ll never let me leave Eden Prime again… and then I wouldn’t be able to visit you like you wanted.”
Eyre stood up and faced away from her desk holo-comm. Allison could see a grey rainy sky outside Eyre’s window. NAFTA’s buildings looked so much cleaner and sleeker to her eyes. Eyre crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on her elbows as if pondering Allison’s fate. Allison bit her lip nervously. Eyre could literally destroy her life and she wouldn’t even have to turn her into the System’s Alliance Authorities. Eyre then turned to look at Allison.
“No, I won’t but you might regret not going with that option. Stay out of trouble. We’ll talk soon.”
Allison blinked a few times. That seemed a little too easy. Eyre and Maria were completely unknown quantities to her. She didn’t know anything about vampires, really. She’d heard lots of things. Eyre’s words sent a chill down her spine. Olga shrugged.
“Well then, see you around kid.”
Allison watched Olga turn to leave with her mouth agape. Finally, she found her words.
“That’s it?”
Olga turned to her and put her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
“Yeah, that’s it. I told you. I was here to cover up this mess and make sure you answered the call. Stay out of trouble, would you? I have better things to do then cleaning up after teenage rebellion.”
Allison took a couple steps forward.
“I wasn’t rebelling, I was just returning a favor.”
Olga stopped and looked at Allison again.
“Sure, and I joined the KGB because I loved my country.”
Olga continued down the massive set of stairs and held her hand up and waved without turning around.
Allison watched her go, then turned back to the Temple.
*****
Olga was walking towards the stealth ship Maria had dug up for her when she received a call from her.
“Boss, what’s up? Guess it’s a busy week.”
Maria smiled.
“It is. I have a new assignment for you.”
Olga continued walking.
“What do you need boss? Please tell me it’s in a nice warm dome, where it rains on a schedule, doesn’t have megafauna, and doesn’t involve teenagers?”
Maria laughed softly.
“I am afraid the answer is no, on almost all accounts. The megafauna I can do.”
Olga was at the bottom of the stealth ship’s ramp one foot up on it. She glanced back to the temple rising in the distance.
“It has literally been fifteen minutes. What did she do this time? Where did you find this kid? Juvenile delinquents are us?”
Maria held up her hands and was trying not to laugh.
“She is a good kid. She made some mistakes recently, I admit, but for the most part she’s not one to break laws wantonly. She has not done anything yet. You are going to ensure she keeps on the straight and narrow, at least for now. Eyre asked for you specifically. Double standard fee, plus expenses. You will like Eden Prime. It’s like Earth, only with less glaciers.”
Olga looked up at the overcast sky, rain drops started to fall on her face. She walked under the stealth ship.
“What exactly is the mission, boss?”
“You will act as her bodyguard and a set of guardrails for her. The situation is far more complicated than you know.”
“She’s Eyre’s sister. I clocked that as soon as I saw the face and the hair. The DNA scan confirmed it. She’s Amee and Enid’s daughter. I get it. What I don’t understand is why she’s not with us on Earth.”
Maria frowned.
“I suppose if anyone would figure it out so quickly it would be you. It is even more complicated than that. There are forces at work that I do not understand. Enid left… instructions regarding Allison. I have followed them to the letter and each time it seems to be getting more and more dangerous. In some cases, two completely unrelated requests led to what happened today. Eyre is concerned about her safety and has been threatening to tell Allison the truth. I cannot allow that. Too much is at stake. You are my compromise. I know this seems like it is beneath you, but I promise you, she is the key to the human race’s future. Look at what she has done already? She is only sixteen. Imagine what is to come.”
Olga frowned.
“I disagree with this on principle, but a job is a job. What exactly are my mission parameters?”
Maria ran her pale fingers along the surface of her desk.
“You are not going to like this.”
Olga shrugged.
“Boss, when do I like anything?”
“I have a new body enroute to Eden Prime for you. It will have all of your cover identity with it. You are going back to high school. I will tell you when I am doing something Enid requested. You will let those scenarios play out without interference unless, her real identity is going to be released to her, or the general public, or someone is planning on disintegrating her.”
Olga shook her head.
“I’m sorry did you say, disintegrating her?”
Maria nodded.
“Yes. Anything short of that, do not interfere. Do your best to cover up any criminal activity on her part, and if anyone attempts to draw her blood, see to it the sample never reaches its destination.”
Olga was very confused, which was very abnormal. Maria was usually crystal clear with all the details of her mission. Most of the time with more intelligence than was required.
“What is she?”
Maria held up both hands.
“Not even on our encrypted network. If those details become pertinent, I will inform you, in person.”
Olga shrugged.
“Fine. In the meantime, am I done here?”
“No. You will escort her to Eden Prime. She intends to stay on Sauroid Prime for another day. You will ensure she gets on board the Eclipse when it arrives, they will bring you and her to Eden Prime via wormhole. They have a hanger free for her starfighter. When she is not in the temple you will accompany her at all times. Please observe her. It will assist when you assume your new identity and have to befriend her.”
Olga nodded.
“What are the specs of my body for this mission?”
“It is an improved version of your current model. Lighter frame more, more compact. Faster reaction times, thirty percent physical strength increase.”
“Alright, I’ll go babysit the kid. I will keep you updated on mission progress.”
Maria nodded and waved before disconnecting the comm-link. Olga swore in Russian under her breath and headed back to the temple.