Several days later, she strolled through the lobby of the VennZech administration building in the industrial zone. She wore a perfectly tailored business suit, and her long blond hair was styled in the latest Earth fashion. She was the very picture of a Helvetic fashion model, and she pretended not to see the admiring glances she drew from the passing employees.

“Ah…Miss Derby-Fletcher?” a worried looking young woman asked hopefully, as she approached with a tablet poised in readiness.

Christie whirled and flashed a winning smile. “Charmed. You must be my onboarder? Pleasure, really. Won’t you be a dear and offer me a caffeine fix? I’m not quite over the space-lag.”

“Oh gosh, of course,” the assistant said as she took Christie’s offered hand and shook it limply. “Please follow me.”

She set off towards one of the staircases, glancing backwards occasionally. Christie followed leisurely, taking her time to examine the expensive lobby.

“Frightfully good décor,” she said half-heartedly. “Wouldn’t have thought it from such a quaint little town.”

The assistant waited patiently for her to catch up, and grinned desperately through the backhanded compliment.

“I’m so glad you noticed,” she said. “Rackeye is only a small office, but we hope to lead the industrial growth of the outer colonies. May I say how thrilled we are to have someone of your background here to drive the business forward.”

By background, she meant Earth, and Christie breathed in the fawning admiration; the scent of a drug she had long ago been deprived of. The role of intelligence agent offered her the life she had once been promised as the daughter of a minor, but wealthy aristocrat. Her father had fallen from grace and been exiled from the mother planet, while only Valkyrie had offered her the chance to do something exciting. Now, as a VennZech executive, she sank her teeth into the role of the superior class with a voracious appetite.

The speech and mannerisms came naturally, and as they walked through the building towards the cafeteria, Christie felt a delicious thrill at every jealous glance that came her way, from men and women alike. Zhang and Effy had given her a modest role as a mid-level administrator. Fortunately, Helvetic society understood that true Earthers only descended amongst them to learn the ropes, before being whisked away to high office. She would be able to get away with a lot as her new colleagues fought for the opportunity of favors, friendship, or even just a remembered name.

It would be a delightful assignment, and all she had to fear was a horrific death at the hands of a monster whose intelligence certainly surpassed her own. The adrenaline made her nerves sing like the strings of a violin, and she shamefully admitted she was becoming addicted to the rush. After all, an inner voice whispered seductively, what if you win?

When they entered the cafeteria, the assistant scuttled off to fetch her a cup of tea while Christie found a seat by a window that offered a reasonably nice view of the city’s distant canyon.

“What a charming setting,” she said to the returning assistant. “New planets are so romantic.”

“It is, isn’t it?” said the woman as she handed over a hot porcelain cup. “I feel like such a pioneer out here.”

“Where are you from?” Christie asked with polite disinterest.

“Larentum, but my family is from Titan, originally.” She said this with a hint of embarrassment, obviously hoping that her meager background would at least rate some interest.

“Gosh,” Christie said blankly. No need to be too likeable.

They discussed the details of Christie’s role in Rackeye, and she launched into a short diatribe on the necessity of good file management until the assistant’s eyes glazed over. Once the introduction was finished, they went to the security department, where her phone’s ident was scanned and verified, and the system updated with VennZech’s employee interface.

Christie suffered the tension of uncertainty while she waited to see if they would pick up Zhang’s discreetly encoded worm. They didn’t, and it presumably went to work, quietly penetrating their systems.

Then, the building’s protection staff gave her a quick lecture on good security procedures. It was a boring speech, and Christie couldn’t help but notice that their protocols were riddled with holes that an experienced operative would be able to exploit. While she made notes on her phone, she kept an eye on the security men themselves, some of whom had shown up to sit in on the training session.

Most observed her with a wary eye. She was, after all, from Earth, and would obviously be suspected by the quiet professionals as an infiltrator from either a rival corporation, or any one of the League’s jealous and interfering institutions. Fortunately, Helvetic management liked to maintain a condescending attitude towards their guardians. The higher ups were, in any case, currently afraid of colonist terrorism. Any conscientious employee who voiced concerns about her would be thrown out of the room for suggesting that an Earther would migrate to Caldera just as it was becoming more dangerous.

Christie also doubted that Rayker had shared what little she knew about Valkyrie. Clever as the woman might be, she had only suspicions and scraps of information, which would do no good to a security team managing an office half-full of well-connected young ladies. She had obviously chosen the cover of Carlotta Divine because the name Rayker was too risky, and wild stories would only cast doubt on her own identity as a diligent Helvetic scientist.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

One of the security men glanced at her once too often, and his eyes drifted below her neckline. During a break in the lecture, she looked idly around the room, caught his gaze, and flashed him a smile that lingered slightly too long.

The day ended with a final interview with Director Tensall. Christie made her way to the top floor where his secretary made her wait for a few minutes. As she did, she took in the imposing door to his office. A reinforced frame was just barely concealed by the polished wooden walls. When at last she was summoned inside, she walked as slowly as she dared and inspected the doors. The hinges were set in front of a thick steel frame, through which ran a smooth channel an inch wide. A quick glance upwards revealed the reinforced bars of a drop-down door. Interesting.

“Ah, miss Derby-Fletcher,” Tensall crowed as he reached forward to shake her hand, and let his gaze drop down her shirt.

“Director Tensall,” Christie replied, demurely.

“How fortunate we are to have such a talented and lovely young woman amongst us.” He grinned at her with a grotesquely unnatural expression.

And there was the flipside of all the power and influence. Of course, everyone in the company would be aware of Tensall’s tastes for youth, and he would be a perverse exploiter of any young woman in his orbit. And nobody would say a thing because he held the power, the connections, and the ability to make or break careers.

Every employee of VennZech, like every successful League citizen, would have built a small network of favors and loyalties on which their future path to success depended. If anyone offended or displeased a man like Tensall, he could destroy that individual and all of their friends with a quiet word. When they came to work, it was not only their personal well-being at stake, but an entire patch of the social fabric. So, they would ignore the inappropriate looks and comments. They would ignore his growing familiarity as he stood closer and closer to them, or how his hand would move to more intimate places. They would pretend they only had to survive this until they were well-placed enough to change things.

But they never would, for the Helvetic elite did not tolerate threats to their control. Those already groomed, victims of abuse at a young age by some trusted authority figure, were meek and obedient. Humans looked to powerful leaders for their understanding of morality, and when no one dared to speak out, they simply followed their instincts. Their trauma was their fault—a universal sign they were bad people, who deserved to be subjugated and exploited. The few rebels in the system, like the mentor of Christie’s own father, were quickly crushed. Everyone else looked the other way, and, to protect their own egos, convinced themselves it was either a necessary part of life, for the good of all, or not their problem. Those who showed the slightest hint of judgement or distaste would not ascend the hierarchy.

After much reflection on the possible outcomes of the operation, Christie had made her own mind up about the moral path she would follow. Now, facing the personified apotheosis of the world she had tried to protect, the decision became surprisingly easy. If the galaxy was to be consumed by disaster… well, why not make use of it?

As Tensall returned to his desk, she reached forward for the chair opposite him and moved her leg forcefully, so that her shin struck the low underside. She yelped in pain, and collapsed forward, her hands slapping against the desk for support.

Tensall jumped up and was halfway around the desk before Christie collected herself. Even so he took hold of her arm and shoulder and leaned just a little too closely as he helped her into her chair.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry. I’m such a clutz when I’m nervous,” Christie gushed.

Tensall returned to his seat and faced her with a compassionate smile.

“I do hope I haven’t made you nervous,” he replied warmly. “I do so want all our new employees to feel at home in this city.”

“No, no, you’re very good,” Christie said, and a quick glance confirmed that the small EMP charge she had placed under the desk frame was well hidden.

“I’m sure you won’t remember,” she continued, “but we met at a function on Raisa station, and I spilled a drink on you.”

Tensall maintained the cheerful smile as his eyes darted up and to the side. “Oh really?” he asked hesitantly.

“It wasn’t serious, just a few drops, but I was completely ashamed of myself. Spent the rest of the night hiding in a corner while my friend Chek Valoris tried to pull me back.”

Tensall’s eyes lit up as the name triggered a memory. “Oh of course, I do remember. You were wearing that… delightful dress, and Chek had that wonderful white number. She’s so good at introducing me to the rising stars.

Christie smiled. The incident was fake, but human memory was easy to manipulate. Chek was a friend of his, who would have introduced him to hopeful young Earth graduates, and certainly a handful of women who would have matched Christie’s appearance. And everyone had a drink spilled on them at some point. The final ingredient, of course, was that Tensall both expected and desired Christie to already be a member of his extensive social network.

With the ice broken, they proceeded to a spirited conversation about Rackeye, the place of the Helvetic League, and how VennZech was helping to build the future of humanity. When Christie spoke, she gesticulated wildly and energetically, as a passionate but inexperienced youth would. When Tensall spoke, she leaned forward and fixed him with an expression of complete fascination.

And once he was chuckling at Christie’s witty remarks, she made her next move.

“But you know, Director Tensall, I find people can be so bothersome around issues of administration. They get on edge, and they think we’re the enemy of their productivity.”

Tensall nodded sympathetically. “You’re so correct. Somehow, we must find a way to put the minds of our engineers and workers at ease.”

“Absolutely. I had hoped to become as familiar as I could with VennZech’s operations in Rackeye. You really have to go and visit the departments, get to know people and how they work, you see?”

“Of course, of course,”

“But unfortunately, my security pass only covers the main campus, so perhaps that sort of thing will have to wait.” She bit her lip gently while her eyes widened in sadness.

Tensall didn’t even hesitate. “Well, we will just have to get you more clearance, my dear.” He waved a hand in annoyance. “Some of these security restrictions are too blinkered, in my opinion. We certainly have nothing to worry about from someone of your background.”

“But I just hate to be a nuisance,” Christie said imploringly. “It doesn’t do at all to push for special privileges.” She uncrossed, then crossed her legs again, and noted his eyes flicker to the movement.

“Nonsense. I won’t hear of it. You’ll have everything you need to get a good head start. Your pass will be cleared for… well, for most of our sites in Rackeye.”

Christie gave him the most grateful smile she could muster. “Everyone told me you’d be such a treasure to work for.”

He almost blushed. “Well… I shall endeavor to earn that high praise every day.”