The Girls From Alcyone (25 page)

"Sorry, but men are
not
compatible."

"—
When people
see what you've done…these girls of yours…people will see them as nothing more than an abomination. I don't think that will make you very popular with the general public."

"Well, I suppose I'm just
lucky
to have you here to watch over me." Hitomi didn't attempt to veil the sarcasm in her voice. "Your concern is most gracious, Randal, but hardly necessary. Now come, you can't expect me to believe you came all this way to give me a polite warning. You're after something. What is it you want? Tell me, and be done with it."

Gillings grunted. "Very well. The Council has been discussing your case at great length. And for some time. It's been clear for decades that we made a mistake with Daedalus. We should have never permitted them to create a monopoly with the Warp Relays. It's only prudent we monitor any new developments."

"Like
Andraste."

"I shouldn't even be telling you this—"

"Somehow, I have the feeling you're about to anyway."

"The Council is prepared to make you an offer. We are prepared to take over the project from you—from Kimura. We are willing to purchase the contracts of all the girls. In fact, we're even happy to take you on as a consultant."

Hitomi laughed long and hard. "Oh, Randy, you are a caution." Wiping her eyes, she looked to Sigrid. "You hear that, dear? How would you like to go work for the Council?"

Sigrid still stood with her arms folded across her chest. "No thank you, ma'am."

"There, you see, Randy—your first refusal. I would get used to that."

"Don't be so sure, Hitomi. You haven't seen the compensation package we are offering. Are you certain your Board will be as willing to deny us?"

Hitomi's face hardened. "The
Board
will do as I instruct."

"We'll see soon enough. I wasn't going to mention this, but I suppose it hardly matters now. Eight days ago we dispatched a courier to Aquarii. Your Board should have the offer by now. It will be interesting to see how they respond."

Hitomi flushed red and tried to rise from her chair. "How dare you. You knew I was coming here—"

"Not at all. A fortunate coincidence, Hitomi. Nothing more."

"And is it also a coincidence that you know so much about a project that was classified until quite recently?"

Gillings shrugged. "You may wish to conduct an internal security audit when you return."

"The Council has no business interfering with the affairs of a free corporation. The Council was formed to serve at
our
discretion, not its own."

"And we will serve you now. It's a fair offer, Hitomi. Your finances are a matter of record. We know of the attacks you've already endured. How long before you lose everything? And for what? Take the offer."

"Don't do me any favors, Randal."

Gillings raised his hands and backed away slowly. "I've said what I came to—more than I had to. You have our offer. I advise you take it. It may not be there tomorrow. Good day, Milady."

Hitomi looked angrily at him. "This isn't some experiment, Randal. This is evolution. These girls are unique. Their genetic structure is like no other. You can't deny them…" Hitomi looked down, closing her mouth, biting her tongue.

Gillings studied her for a moment, turned and left.

Sigrid watched him leave from Hitomi's side.

"Damn…" Hitomi said, muttering more curses under her breath.

"Mistress, what's wrong?"

"I let the bastard get to me. I fear I may have said too much."

"He seemed to know a great deal already."

"Indeed, but I should have never said anything about your genetics." Hitomi grew silent, lost in thought. "He was right about one thing…we have a spy in our midst."

* * *

With the party thoroughly spoiled, Sigrid and Lady Hitomi retreated to their rooms. Sigrid said a quick goodnight to Ensign McTeer before reporting directly to Lady Hitomi in her suite. The Lady had her tea service laid out and poured two steaming cups. She handed one to Sigrid.

"What did you think of our man, Chairman Gillings?" Hitomi asked.

"I thought he was a miserable old man who could use a good punch."

Hitomi snorted, almost choking on the tea. "Not too far off. But how about what he said?"

Sigrid thought for a moment. "I don't feel like an abomination, Milady."

"Good, because you're not. But circumstances, it seems, are conspiring against us, and rather quickly. I fear much of this is my fault."

"Yours, Mistress?"

"Long before the first attack on Alcyone, I demanded more protection for you and your sisters. But the Board denied me at every step."

"But—they sent the company of soldiers—"

Hitomi barked a laugh. "That? Hardly adequate for guarding a cargo of wheat. Sigrid, I know you don't believe it, but you're far more important than you can possibly imagine, and not just to Kimura—or to
me…
" Hitomi took a sip from her cup. "I know it's hard for you to understand, but you represent a threat to them. A shift in power. They fear you."

Sigrid laughed. "That doesn't sound like me, Mistress. No one at the Academy worried about fighting me."

"You are far too modest, my dear. They have good reason to be afraid of you, even if you don't believe it. But Gillings…he knows far too much. I would love to know where he's been getting his information." She looked up at Sigrid; there was a bright spark in her eye. "How would you like to pay a visit to the Council offices tonight?"

Sigrid checked her internal chronometer, it didn't seem likely that the offices would be open at that hour.

Hitomi placed her purse on her lap. "Do you know why my son picked you? Do you know why he brought you to me?"

Sigrid remembered the test very well, and with some distaste. "Because I killed that man. He said I passed his test."

"He brought you because I asked him to. I
picked you, Sigrid."

"You?
But he said…the test…?"

"Oh, he tested you—and I've scolded him about that."

"But…why?"

Lady Hitomi reached into the purse on her lap and took out a data-module, holding it out for her. "I have a present for you."

Sigrid took it in her hand.

"This is something I've developed on my own. No one knows about it, not even Dr. Garrett. This is a secret I've kept for nearly twenty years. You're the first person I've ever shown it to, Sigrid."

Sigrid examined the module; she could feel her own heart beat faster. She had no idea as to its contents, but there was something about the way Lady Hitomi looked at her and the small module nestling in her hand.

"What is it?"

"Tell me, you've studied history—you know of the myth of the ancient Ninjas?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"
We're
alone
, Sigrid…"

Sigrid blushed. "Yes,
Hitomi-san.
If we're speaking of the myths, rather than history, it was said that they could disappear, make themselves invisible, disguise themselves as their adversaries, vanish in puffs of smoke."

Hitomi smiled. "And what if I were to tell you that it was all true?"

* * *

The one-piece uniform that the Lady Hitomi had provided for Sigrid was made out of a thin, but incredibly strong fabric. It was light, hugged her figure snugly and moved as she did. Superficially, it might have resembled a variation of the standard Kimura Uniform, but the material was laced with a unique, highly conductive nano-fiber. Everything she wore, everything from the high boots to the new holsters that held her pistols, even the harness that held the katana strapped to her back, all were made of the same material, all stitched with the same fibers.

The nano-fibers allowed the suit to become a pure extension of herself. She could interface with it just as she could any of her other bionic implants. The cloth had a highly unique feature: Sigrid could control the color of the material, shifting both the color and pattern to match anything in the environment around her, creating a perfect camouflage. And, for very short periods of time, Sigrid could adjust the opacity of the material, rendering it virtually invisible.

She tested the feature now, holding her arm up against the wall behind her. The material reflected the pattern and texture of the wall perfectly. Intrigued, she pressed her whole body up against it and watched as the cloth perfectly mirrored the textures and hues.

"Sweet," Sigrid said.

A broad smile spread across Hitomi's face. "Now, move away from the wall."

Sigrid did as instructed. It was difficult; she had to concentrate, but she was able to maintain the translucent effect of the suit. She wasn't quite invisible, she could still see the outline of her body, but if someone wasn't looking directly at her they wouldn't notice she was there. Her exposed hands and face looked odd though, they remained quite visible, as if they were suspended in the air. Sigrid waved her hands about and laughed.

"Now—the rest," Hitomi said.

Sigrid reached deep within herself. The Lady Hitomi had loaded the program from the data-module she'd shown her. This was her secret. Now it was time to test the
old
program
. Sigrid accessed the algorithms; they were long and complex, and she combed through the hundreds of terabytes of data.

Controlling the transition took even more effort than it had to alter the suit, but Sigrid initiated the program.

Instantly, she shrouded.

Just like with the suit, Sigrid was able to alter the light reflecting on her own skin; still not quite invisible, a shimmering, translucent outline of her body remained.

Pleased, Hitomi clasped her hands together. "Marvelous."

Sigrid felt suddenly warm and dizzy and stumbled backward; her clothes reverted to their normal colors of black and red. She leaned over with her hands on her knees, reeling from the wave of nausea. "Whoa…"

"You must be cautious. Shrouding draws power from your own body's energy reserve. You can only maintain the effect for a short time."

"Yes, Hitomi-san," Sigrid said, taking a moment to recover. Hitomi handed her a glass of water, which Sigrid drank deeply.

Hitomi took Sigrid's hands in hers. "How do you feel? Do you detect any ill-effects?"

Sigrid ran a quick diagnostic of her body and functions. Despite a slight feeling of fatigue, she felt perfectly fine. "No, Hitomi-san. Just a little tired."

"Very well, but use these programs sparingly, at least until we're positive there are no side-effects. I don't want you hurting yourself."

"No, Hitomi-san," Sigrid said; she found herself surprised at the genuine concern the older woman seemed to have for her.

Hitomi looked at the wall chronometer; it was nearing two in the morning. "We don't have much time. I suggest you get underway."

* * *

Sigrid pushed the ceiling tile aside and poked her head down into the dark corridor of the CTF Tower. Her long blond hair was bound in a tight braid and hung down below her head, swinging back and forth in a pendulum-like fashion. The soft soles of her boots barely made a sound as she dropped to the polished, marble floor below. Sigrid had armed herself more heavily than she'd ever done in the past. Her belt was lined with the little throwing knives she liked, as well as a selection of blackout bombs, smoke-grenades, flashbangs and frags. She reached back and touched the hilt of the katana—her gift to Suko. Having the gift with her was like carrying a little piece of Suko; it may have been foolish, but it brought her comfort.

Her objective was on the 222
nd
 floor, near the top of the CTF tower. The Council's main server was located there as well; it was not connected to any network so the only way to hack into it was by direct link. Sigrid would need to make her way there now, hack into the system and get out, all without being seen.

Sigrid called up the building schematics on her HUD and studied the possible routes. The stairs seemed safest, but she was running out of time; it was already 3:36 and Hitomi had warned that by 5
a.m. it would not be unusual for staff to start filtering back in to prepare for the working day ahead. Sigrid called for an elevator and waited in the shadows while it made its way down. It arrived without incident and the doors slid open. The elevator was empty, but Sigrid detected several monitoring devices so she engaged her shroud before entering. She pressed the button for 223
rd
 floor, just above the offices; there was a viewing terrace located there that she'd chosen as her point of insertion.

Sigrid climbed through the ceiling hatch onto the roof of the elevator. Only when the hatch was closed did she allow the shroud to fade; she breathed a sigh as she felt her system recover. Holding the effect drained all her focus and energy.

There were little grips on the side and roof of the elevator—most likely for the service personnel—and Sigrid clung to them as the elevator shot upward at an alarming rate. She looked up to see the top of the tower grow ever closer as floor after floor shot by. If she hadn't been holding on, she might very well have been propelled into the air when the lift came to an abrupt halt on the 178
th
 floor. She heard two people board the elevator beneath her, a man and a woman. They were muttering complaints about the elevator going up when they needed to go down, but they didn't seem suspicious so Sigrid relaxed a little.

It only took a second for the elevator to traverse the next few levels. Sigrid jumped off and clung to the wall of the shaft. She'd only just found footing when the elevator dropped away beneath her; Sigrid had a peculiar feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched it disappear like a stone into the darkness, leaving her clinging to the rail of the vertical shaft some 740.271 meters up. She did her best not to think of the abyss that gaped beneath her. Whether she fell 50 or 700 meters made little difference.

The door was just below her so Sigrid scrambled carefully down to it. The walls of the shaft weren't exactly built for climbing and there were few handholds, but Sigrid negotiated her way down. Prying the door open was easy enough, and she was glad to find the floor she'd chosen unoccupied.