Eugenia admitted to herself that she was a tad worried about tonight. At first glance, everything was just fine. Arti had booked them a beautiful mountain resort. A rather spacious building surrounded the slope of a mountain, offering a magnificent view of a distant ocean. Its walls were a soft white, and the air conditioning inside kept each suite at a comfortable temperature. Lazy rivers flowed down the nearby mountains and into the ocean, adding their own music to the pleasant hum of the waves.
In the morning, the place looked like heaven, bathed in the light of the rising sun, which played and danced on carefully installed reflective panels. Exotic birds and carefully bred wildlife complemented the resort. At night, the atmosphere was far more somber as the local wildlife went to sleep and a soft silence fell over the place, leaving it illuminated by a brilliant night sky. Most of the time, the skies were clear, except for one month a year when the region received heavy rains, giving the whole area an even more exotic and beautiful look as water streaks ran across the windows.
During the winter, when ice covered the pristine waters, the resort was crowded with people eager to see the Northern Lights, beautiful multicolored streaks of light created as a result of the unleashed radiation during the Extinction. No longer dangerous to normal humans, researchers have concluded that this anomaly will continue for another six hundred years before eventually fading into a restored atmosphere. It is now considered a sign of good fortune to marry and have children under its light, and the resort's balconies are always crowded during New Year's celebrations.
Of course, raiders from overseas would have loved nothing more than to prey on such gatherings of the rich and important. But the resort owners were no fools. The profits from the tourist season had allowed them to hire several brigades of mercenaries. Cyborgs roamed the area, dipping into the water or zipping through the air, always keeping their distance from the guests. Abnormals with the ability to teleport flickered in and out of reality, constantly patrolling the region. Mercenaries with enhanced speed and strength were busy patrolling. These weren't untrained individuals; each and every one of the hired mercenaries had fought in various skirmishes throughout the wounded world, gaining reputation and skill in equal measure. And they were not the only hotel’s security.
Out in the ocean, far below the surface, Iternian submarines and battle platforms circled, ready to strike down any invading raiding fleet. The Iternian military had long had no need for an impressive fleet, nor did the country have a naval doctrine. It relied on a mix of highly mobile ships and powerful installations to protect its coastline, though this has changed in recent decades as the country has grown and gained more access to the sea. The construction of a complete underwater naval base is already underway; once completed, this impressive structure will serve as the headquarters of the naval forces and a small research facility tasked with both protecting and mapping the ocean floor.
Meant to house around three hundred personnel and six times that number of tourists, just for today it belonged to them two.
And therein lies the problem. This was the fifth time this year that they had tried to get some intimacy. The first attempt had been halted after a tragic incident at a chemical factory forced Eugenia's presence to save lives. Two more attempts involved pirate raids that forced both lovebirds out of their nests. The next was a terrorist attack, and the last was when a young boy walked into a piece of glow. Thank the Planet, the kid survived but gained a rather voracious power that turned him into a deadly beast. Eugenia had to spend an hour tiring him out before the boy finally collapsed and she handed him over to the medics.
Will tonight be any different? She wondered, checking her terminal for news. A yacht was sinking in the southern sea. Eugenia started standing up when Skulltaker’s figure appeared in the report, hauling the entire ship to the shore. A border raid... And Electrician was already there, stopping the thugs before they could attack the convoy.
Iterna had long since stopped trying to expand its borders by force. Even prior to the Extinction, back when the Queen still reigned, the small country preferred to convince others to join it, luring people with a rather nice standard of living and an open mind for research. This is how Rho Corporation came to establish its headquarters here, and why Barjoni bought several mansions. At the time, Iterna's space program lacked the sophistication of other countries, but with the help of the corporations, the first space elevator was built and slowly turned into a source of near-eternal power.
This saved them. When destruction engulfed country after country, an experimental shield, the only piece of Iterna's defense system not tied to United Control, had created a dome that protected the country from raging fires, monstrous plagues, and a rain of deadly weapons. Entire databases and years of knowledge and valuable data had been wiped out by viruses, but the country itself endured, refusing to compromise its core principles. After the corporations were beaten down and a hostile takeover prevented, the government began to rebuild.
Mutual understanding and cooperation will save the world. Even Eugenia believed this fully and truly. But pacifism could not carry Iterna through the era of turmoil. The once peaceful country had built up a military, and the genetic labs were working overtime to replicate the wonders of the glow. While creating actual powers was still out of their reach, the scientists had learned how to enhance the human body, making Eugenia into the second Elite.
The cost of creating a human like her was so great that it nearly bankrupted the country's military budget, leading to the abandonment of the program to create new Elites. Instead of creating abnormals, the ambassadors set out to find the strongest and best candidates. Lightbringer, the third of the Elites, was one of those recruited, along with several others who were now keeping watch. Its citizens may be peaceful, but the Iternian military now stood ready to protect its people from those who would plunder or conquer the land.
All around Iterna, the situation was the same. Artificer’s frames, hundreds of them, moved to stand guard. Satellites’ mirrors were activated, and Lightbringer bounced off them, bouncing over Iterna like a ping-pong ball. It felt wrong to see her friend still throwing himself into work like this, especially when his wife was in the last months of her pregnancy. But trying to stop him from working was like trying to stop the sun from rising—a fool’s errand, and when the time comes, nothing will be able to stop Lightbringer from being at his wife's side.
Even Ravager behaved for a change. Eugenia had a sneaking suspicion that Artificer talked with the ginormous Wolfkin after she summoned the picture of her greatest and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the woman lying on the stones. Ravager clearly allowed herself to be seen; normally, Iterna had trouble even keeping track of the walking disaster. With a mighty swing of her claws, she had shaved the top of a mountain and used it as a makeshift bed, paws behind her head, admiring the moon disk. Thank the planet. At least for this night the poor soul won't hurt herself. Her amber eyes shone like suns and Eugenia had to stop her desire to open a portal and go there.
Help me? She remembered the growling words. Fix me? I don’t need your help, Geni, because I am better than you. I will hunt you down again and again, hounding you to the end of time. We have an argument to settle, you and I. You are an angel, and I am a monster. Stand up! Evil stands before you! Raise your fist and strike me down; put all your hatred; all your determination into it, and I will respond in kind!
What’s the point of talking? Three hundred years of hatred that began because of Eugenia's immaturity and cruelty. Ravager needed help and care, but she was the last person to provide it.
A smile came upon her face upon coming to the dinner hall. Artificer had really outdone himself. The room was lit with only a few candles, giving the air a pleasant aroma. Her lover served them several modest salads and potato mash with schnitzel, leaving only wine as the most expensive treat of the evening.
Artificer himself wore a black jacket and pants with a matching white shirt. His synthetic skin was indistinguishable from normal skin, and a series of vat-grown organs could replicate any human bodily impulse, up to and including orgasm. Tonight, they were the same height; her blue eyes met his sparkling green ones.
“How do you find a human body, Arti?” She asked with a smile, sitting at a table. They had never gotten this far before.
“Repulsive.” Artificer quickly poured wine into glasses and sat across from her with fluid grace. "I feel hungry. Even though I control this frame... body through a chip, I am struggling with some emotions, and my heart is pounding like crazy when I look at you. Imagine being able to solve some of the most difficult equations in a fraction of a second, along with running theoretical predictions of the solutions. And at the same time, a part of you is trapped elsewhere, forced to think and speak at highly inefficient levels. My entire personality is split, struggling to find a comfortable middle ground. It is as if someone has lobotomized a small part of me. Small wonder humans choose the assurance of reliable steel over the emotional turmoil of flawed flesh.” Artificer beamed. “But if this is what it takes to be with you, I am game.”
Eugenia smiled, appreciating his honesty. Almost three hundred years. How quickly time passes? It seems as if only yesterday she had been a stupid, vile and cruel girl trying to redeem herself with vigilantism in Iterna. Artificer had caught her and made Eugenia realize how pointless her method of "beating bad guys to near death" was. No, it was worse than than pointless. She had created as many problems as she had solved, and these new "problems" were angrier and more cautious.
It almost broke her at the time. It seemed as if nothing she did mattered. It seemed like all she was good for was hurting and killing people. But Artificer had helped her, guided the stupid teenager on the right path. Artificer, Lada, her own family and a lot of other people never gave up on Eugenia and with their help she became a better and more importantly a happier person.
She looked at the terminal and got a chuckle from her loved one.
"Ah-ah-ah," Arti's finger twitched before he waggled it properly. "Nope. You rest tonight, Geni. Consider it a day off."
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asked, a little concerned at the flash in his eyes. Artificer was connected to all of his frames via a dimensional link, transmitting and processing colossal amounts of information in a span of nanoseconds.
"The eyes betrayed me, huh?" He laughed and snapped his fingers, hacking into her terminal and turning it black. "Even for an AI, it would be too much for my mainframe. Therefore, I have asked Lada for help, transferring some of my functions and responsibilities to her. Tonight, and for a short time only, Iterna has another Elite; may the Planet save us all.”
“Planet save us all,” Eugenia agreed, not the least bit relieved. Lada is... special. She meant well and would never hurt anyone, but giving this woman any authority is hardly wise. If Arti went that far, he really was desperate.
They both concentrated on their food, making small talk and letting everyday worries wash over them. They discussed tomorrow's speech on unity, the launch of a new satellite, and the fact that the government had once again raised the age of maturity due to recent medical advances, much to the chagrin of countless teenagers eager to escape their parents' wings.
Artificer was the first to rise and clean the table in front of Eugenia. He gently but sternly refused all her efforts to help, intending to play the role of gallant knight to the end. Or he simply remembered what kind of person she was when it came to cleaning. There was a reason she relied heavily on automatic systems to keep her house and clothes clean. Being busy twenty-four hours a day left little time to learn how to cook or clean.
"Geni," Artificer bowed and offered her a hand. "Will you dance with me?"
"With pleasure, Arti." She took his hand gracefully, noting the warmth of his pseudo-skin.
The candles went off, snuffed out by a carefully unleased stream of air from an air conditioning system. Windows slid aside, revealing the beautiful night sky and basking both dancing people in the moonlight.
And Eugenia danced. An extreme dose of bioengineering had ensured almost complete changes in her cells and body, leaving not even her brain untouched. She was made stronger, tougher, and the most prized product of centuries-long work, turning her into a perfect fighter for the Iternian military. And the PR team always kept a check on her wardrobe and her body, sculpting Eugenia into the perfect poster girl for Iterna. A figure to inspire. A person to help others stand up. After the horrible deeds done by her own hands, Eugenia wanted nothing else but to atone. Even if she lived for eternity, Eugenia was willing to continue her redemption, ignoring the words of others that she had long been forgiven.
Ravager was misguided in countless ways, but one thing her rival said was true. There is no redemption. You cannot undo a bad deed with a sufficient number of good deeds. But life goes on, and at the very least, it is your duty to be better. Eugenia refused to sit around feeling sorry for herself. Even if the whole world turned against her after learning of the crimes she had committed, she would never turn her back on it. As long as the blood still ran hot in her veins, she would not give up on saving even one person, nor would she ignore any of her duties. This is her penance, and this is her wish.
But tonight, she felt happy and free, having shed the weight of monumental responsibility from her shoulders and enjoying a bit of freedom like a normal human. She let her head rest on Arti's shoulder and listened to the irregular beating of his heart. It's all right; practice makes perfect.
The hem of her dress moved slightly in the breeze, and soothing music filled the dining room. Step by step, they both got the hang of the dance, and soon Eugenia was the first to break the slow motions and take Arty for a spin. The music changed to something more lively, making their hearts beat faster as the pace picked up.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Have you thought about it?" Artificer asked, catching Eugenia in the crook of his arm.
"Sorry." She kissed him. "I'm not ready to have a child. With our schedule... No. Here's the truth. The responsibility freaks me out. What if our child inherits my power? What if I fail to instill proper morals and they end up like... me?" she whispered weakly, and Artificer hugged her, silencing the music.
"If that should happen, we will face it together, like family." Their lips touched in a long kiss. "But statistically speaking, the percentage of such a thing is minuscule. You and I have both worked in kindergartens, and I have seen you help kids in juvie. If you were able to straighten out Skulltaker, then believe me, you'll be able to handle Mini Us just fine. I even made a chart..." She groaned, and Arti smiled, erasing the image of the nanomachines. "Geni, you are not alone. And you haven't been alone for a long time."
"I know," she said, taking him by the collar. "It's a little silly, but give me a few more years, okay?"
“Never fear. We have all the time in the world.” Arti said, allowing himself to be led into the bedroom.
The suite Arti had booked for them was meant to be used by Trolls or Orais—not just anyone, but the best of their race. The hotel owner proudly claimed that his staff and his hotel could accommodate even a warlord if one could be lured for a tourist trip, and looking at the suite, Eugenia was inclined to agree.
Everything in this suite was oversized. Starting with a bed that could easily accommodate a dozen normal people with room to spare, to huge windows and a high ceiling. But for her and Arti, it was perfect.
She took off her dress and undressed in front of the mirror. There was nothing left of the girl of years past. Eugenia sometimes wondered what she would look like without the massive biological enhancements and genetic sculpting that had been done to her body. Not a single scar marred her perfect skin. Her eyes, capable of seeing miles ahead, shone with genuine happiness. She untied her long hair, which covered her entire body like a second cloak.
If there was one thing Eugenia really disliked about herself today, it was her hair. How could a waterfall of hair encourage anyone? Not to mention that it took forever to clean up and comb after a mission.
But so what? She sent a smile to Arti, sliding on the bed and feeling the softness of its blankets. No one’s perfect.
He came right after her, leaning against the headboard and letting her head rest on his knees. Their lips were about to close when a green light flashed in his synthetic eyes.
“Haaagh…” Artificer exhaled with all too natural irritation. He picked up the terminal and handed it over to Eugenia. “This call seems important.”
She blinked in surprise. Every day, the government officials assigned to her answered thousands of calls trying to reach her. Eugenia was hardly an unknown person. Most of them were either from fans or journalists. Tonight, Artificer's own subminds took over this task and answered every single one. It was a bit surprising for him to let someone through.
"Um... Miss Eugenia?" A familiar squeak asked.
"Ratcatcher!" Eugenia smiled, sitting cross-legged herself and remembering the cute girl she had met a few months ago. "A pleasure to hear from you! How are you settling in?"
"Everyone is super nice, and even Vengy has loosened up. The only thing that bothers me are the power-suppression pills. They are blandness!” She giggled at the desperation in the girl’s voice, remembering how tasteless those pills could be. “I am not bothering you? Sorry, I just have no one to turn to…”
"Is everything okay at home?" Eugenia immediately changed her tone. "Are you safe?"
She stood up, ready to open the portal at any moment. Eugenia came to terms with the fact that she couldn't save everyone, no matter how hard she tried. But at the same time, she promised herself to take care of people, all people. Iternians or not, if she could help, she would be there.
And cultures formed outside the civilized sphere had their own peculiar traditions, often cruel beyond measure. If the girl's parents harmed her in any way...
"Is she an orphan?" Artificer asked. "Because I am not against..." She waved frantically at him, and Artificer sighed. "I'm going for a smoke." He opened the balcony door and let the pleasant night breeze in, filling the room with the sound of the waves lazily crashing against the stone mountains.
On the balcony, Arti reached for a cigarette. His figure was bathed in white as a beam of light came from the sky, stopped just short of the railing, and transformed into Lightbringer. The two men shook hands and joined together in admiring the sea.
“Of course I am safe,” Ratcatcher said with clear confusion. “My brother is already hissing and demanding food like crazy; Mom never lets me out of sight; Nadya came to visit yesterday; and we went to a playground with Dad for a bit. It's just..." The girl fell silent, and Eugenia gave her time, sitting at the edge of the bed and getting dressed just in case. "Miss Eugenia... Is it possible for someone like me to earn money? These credits, as you call currency. I can hunt spiders and rats very well!"
"First of all, call me Eugenia, Ratcatcher. Second, you will not come near any rodents or dangerous insects for years to come, understand? Promise me that, or I will call your mother right now," the Elite demanded. After hearing a muffled agreement, she continued in a softer tone. "Why do you need money? If your family is struggling, there are government programs..."
Her fingers reached for another terminal, opened the news, and searched Morningstar’s news for anything related to racism against non-human-looking abnormals. Unfortunately, many people in Iterna still view outsiders with a mixture of pity and fear. Under this silent pressure, many abnormals had chosen to accept the government's offer of biosculpture, a surgical procedure that transforms a non-human abnormal into a human-looking one.
Eugenia loved Iterna. She was willing to give her life for her. But that doesn't mean her country was perfect; it was merely the best of the available options. This offer of free identity change led to the disappearance of entire groups. Iterna promoted diversity, but how could it call itself inclusive when the changes were often forced on unprepared people? No one should be forced to change their physiology to fit into society.
And there was no easy solution to this problem. The government was working overtime to allay people's fears. Eugenia's speech tomorrow is part of that program. And denying change was not an option either; some abnormals suffered from changes in their biology.
But if some little racist had snuck into the service and was now harassing the poor girl's family by denying them funds... Well... She or he might just find their legs broken before the police get to them.
She glanced over a hundred news’ articles, moving, reading, and absorbing information far faster than a normal person could. Morningstar was, by all rights, a small heaven on the planet; the worst it had endured in a decade was the accidental deaths of a few workers who checked the city’s borders a year ago and the opening of Rho Medicals’ branch, which naturally stirred some fears and led to Argus' personal presence to assuage the suspicions and make his business flourish.
"No, it's nothing like that! I... It... Miss Eugenia..."
"Just call me Eugenia," she reminded the anxious girl, patiently giving her time.
Outside, Lightbringer took a cigarette and sat down at the railing.
"How did it go?" She heard the Elite ask, and Arti just groaned. "That bad, huh? Reminds me of that girl in college who rode me like a..."
"I just want us to move on and talk about kids," Artificer muttered, finishing his cigarette in one go. He knew she could hear him. Years ago, they had promised not to keep any secrets from each other when it came to relationships.
"You have children." Lightbringer stretched his limbs.
"They are not mine; Lada is their mother." Artificer waved his hand. "She wrote their software and nurtured their personalities." Lightbringer continued to look, and Artificer tapped the railing. "Listen, they come into my factories as full-grown men and women, and they all call me father. But I am not their parent. I was never at their side when their consciences were sparked into existence; I never had a hand in creating their software. I am not an absentee father; I have only made shells for them. By your reasoning, a bioengineer would be someone's father after completing an operation.”
“Speaking of Lada, I haven’t heard a thing from her. Think she’s ok?” The Elite asked.
Both men fell silent. She saw Arti's eyes flash green, and Lightbringer tilted his head to listen to an earpiece. His tanned face quickly turned pale.
“Eugenia,” Ratcatcher forced herself to say, “Mom always wanted a house. Iterna had given us and the others a spacious apartment, so I can’t really complain about anything. We have this thing called an elevator here; the place is clean; some officials come every day to help us… But Mom misses our home.” Ratcatcher paused, collected her thoughts, and continued. "Dad noticed, so he asked around about buying a house and has already found a job. I just... It's my fault that our home got wrecked…”
"Enough," Eugenia stopped her. Guilt is like wine; once you taste it, you risk becoming addicted. "Ratcatcher, repeat after me. It is not your fault that Eugenia ruined your homes. Say it now."
"It wasn't your fault that our homes were destroyed," the girl said with a hint of laughter in her words.
"Ratcatcher. You know what I meant," Eugenia warned her, waiting until the girl said the words before continuing. "How about I buy you a house?"
"No! No!" Ratcatcher raised her voice before lowering it to a hushed whisper. "If Mom finds out, she'll burn with shame! We are not helpless; we can earn our keep! And we can wait! I just... I want to help, that's all! Back home, I could always help with something. Here, I am helpless, and this is eating me alive.”
"Lada! Leave my lab alone!" Arti jumped onto the railing and clenched his fists. "No, I do not need a non-lethal rail gun. No, the arsenal is strictly off limits. The nukes are for deterrence; don't you dare send them into the sun!"
“Lada, dear, be reasonable,” Eugenia heard Lightbringer say. “Just because you can terraform the Red Planet doesn’t mean you should. Remember what happened when we messed with the moon? One step at a time! No, Lada, we do not negotiate with terrorists; leave them alone. I will be there in a second! Lada, don't you dare talk to them! I don't give a fuck about their circumstances; they're going to jail!"
Roaring in frustration, Lightbringer shattered his body into photons and shot high into the sky, leaving the exhausted Artificer to plead with his virtual kin. Eugenia just sighed and concentrated on what was really important. Lada would never hurt Iterna or anyone else. But she has her quirks. With luck, nothing terrible will happen.
Iterna had very strict rules about not exposing children to danger and preventing any exploitation of minors. With the new laws, infants could no longer be used in movie productions. She pressed a finger to her lips and considered Ratcatcher's request.
The easiest and most obvious thing to do was to take the girl under her wing. Make her a secretary and give her simple tasks to solve. But... That would not be fair to the countless other abnormals who would like to have the same job. There was also the problem of Eugenia's own character. Arti might think that the soldiers she worked with treated her unfairly, but deep down she knew how many missions were much harder because she could not keep her heroism in check. From a distance, she could inspire. Up close? Is she really a good role model for a kid?
No. She will not tear Ratcatcher from her family. The Planet knows that, unlike her own parents, Bloodsworn and Seeker know how to say no and instill discipline and positive qualities in their children. This leaves her with only one option.
“Lada, I will purge you out of my mainframe if you keep this up!” Artificer yelled. “Leave the hunters alone! They have a license! No, I don’t care if you think it is inhumane; they have a legal right! No, nature can’t balance everything; look at the graphs! The graphs…” He saw Eugenia's look and fell silent, continuing to argue wordlessly with another AI.
"I may have a way to help you, Ratcatcher," Eugenia said. "Have you ever heard of the Academy? You are living in Morningstar, right? They have a branch campus near the harbor, that big looming pyramidal complex.”
“Never seen it,” the girl mumbled, adding, "I'm a little afraid to leave our apartment for long. The sky is... I always imagine it falling. Sorry."
“Ah, yes, of course.” Eugenia slapped her face, chastising herself for not understanding the cues. Nadya’s help, officials… The girl was afraid of open spaces after having lived in confined spaces all her life. " Anyway, by now you know that all abnormals with powers have to take pills to seal their power until the age of twenty, when they can pass a training and get a certificate to use it. However, there is a caveat, and by that I mean the Academy. They take in kids like you—any willing abnormals, actually—provide them with more than a decent education, slowly preparing them for a future career as an explorator. Explorators are people who do a host of various things for Iterna, ranging from retrieving lost tech to sometimes mundane protection.”
“Sort of like you, got it,” Ratcatcher replied. "But what about the credits?"
"That's the best part!" Eugenia snapped her fingers. "Since the majority of the Academy's trainees always end up either as explorators or in military service, the Academy pays a stipend to all trainees. Think of it as a school, only one where you get money just for studying and doing some simple courses and various tasks. Nothing dangerous, I swear; the headmaster of your city takes the safety of his students very seriously".
"Will... will I still be able to see my family?" the girl asked cautiously. "Or at least call them?"
"Ratcatcher, you are what... nine years old?"
"Eight, actually," she corrected the Elite in a shy voice. "Sorry, I know I'm old enough to pull my weight and..."
"You are a child and you will act like one!" Eugenia told her sternly. "You have nothing to worry about. The Academy is basically a normal school with some extra things until you turn fourteen. That means you'll be home around two, three at the most. The place is not a tomb; no one will lock you up anywhere, and should you decide not to pursue an explorator path or a military career, you will graduate like a normal student and move on with your life without any problems. Just between you and me, skip the service. Believe you me, you will never have a minute of free time."
"So... no surprises or trap doors?" Ratcatcher asked, and Eugenia heard hesitation in her voice. The girl wanted to jump at the chance, but was afraid that the offer sounded too good. A good quality.
“None whatsoever. Of course, I can always simply gift you credits,” Eugenia decided to give the girl a way out. There was no need to push her. “I am, more than anyone else, responsible for the…”
“No!” Ratcatcher responded, “I will help Dad fair and square. How can I join this Academy?”
"Well, first I will call Ms. Bloodsworn and we will discuss it with her." Eugenia ignored the frightened gasp. "If your dad and mom are okay with this idea, I will ask someone to help with the paperwork. Okay, starting, ciao!”
“Wait, no, p…”
Eugenia hung up the call, not feeling guilty about revealing Ratcatcher’s plan to her parents. There was no way she was going to make any decisions about the girl's future without consulting her parents first. As she punched in her number, she glanced at Artificer and noticed the sweat on his brow. Her lover was pacing the balcony, still locked in his own argument with Lada.
Smiling, she came over to him, wrapped her hands around his shoulders and kissed his cheek, enjoying the quiet view.
"Busy night?"
"You have no idea," Arti laughed, the green light in his eyes fading. He hugged her and kissed her back. "Sorry, we are back to square one. A matter of state requires my immediate presence."
"Lada?"
"Lada."
Hm. Lada. Eugenia thought about it. Yes, it might be better to ask her to help with the paperwork. At least it would distract her for a few seconds.
She enjoyed a few more minutes of simply embracing her beloved and the beautiful silence that surrounded them. For three whole minutes, there were no sudden calls, no urgent duties to perform, and all was right with the world. And then Artificer sat down in the chair. The light disappeared completely from his eyes, and his irises went dark as the AI left this body completely, allowing it to fake sleep. Immediately after that, Eugenia heard the music of her own terminal.
A request from Command to transport troops to help break up a slavery ring. Intelligence simply sent her a set of coordinates marking the presumed location of a mineral-rich asteroid. The Public Relations sent her a new version of her speech for tomorrow, a document nearly five pages long. Eugenia sent it to her own PR team to shorten the manuscript. Finally, the last request came from the Department of State and Foreign Relations, asking for her help in protecting another ambassador.
The eyes are afraid; the hands do. Eugenia grinned, got dressed, and summoned nanomachines, allowing them to merge into a suit of power armor around her body while she herself called Ratcatcher’s family.