Aneka Jansen 6: The Lowest Depths of Shame (20 page)

Aneka sat in the virtual flight chair for the trip out to a safe warp distance, initiated the drive start-up, and then sat watching the stars flying by for a while. They were travelling as fast as Gwy could go and it was an impressive sight.

She was also avoiding going up to face the obvious issue of sleeping arrangements. Technically there was no issue. Ella was the only one who actually needed sleep. The second cabin space was currently an office so that the others could occupy themselves while the lone organic was unconscious. No problem.

Except that the four of them were going to be in a confined space for a little more than twelve days. Sex was going to happen and there was one bed.

‘We don’t have to do anything,’ Al said. Of course he knew what her thoughts were dwelling on.

‘No, but it would just about mean scheduling time in the bedroom. Would it really be that bad? I mean… Um…’

‘It will almost certainly be extremely good,’ Al countered. ‘I cannot speak for how we will react in the aftermath.’

‘Well, yes, but… You’ve been there for pretty much every intimate part of my life. I know you absent yourself for some of it, but you
said
you’d learned from watching me with others. And I’ve been your surrogate with Cassandra before you got that drone. And it’d be the four of us… playing.’

‘I could… avoid overtly monitoring your autonomic systems so it would be just like sex with anyone else. No need to make it perfect, just… good.’

‘Yeah. Four friends engaging in some… uh… Some rather intimate party games. To pass the time.’

‘Four Jenlay on a cruise like this would have absolutely no qualms about it.’

‘Exactly,’ Aneka agreed. Then she continued staring out at the stars.

Eshebbon, 9.2.531 FSC.

The new room Daniella was taken to was larger than her cell, but otherwise rather similar. Three walls, the ceiling, and the floor were white tile. The last wall was armoured Polyglass, but behind it were various instrument panels and chairs from which the people inside could be observed. And there were people, and one of them was Melissa.

The normally sexy brunette looked like a whipped dog. Her face and body were bruised. Her hair was a tangled mess. She was there, however, and Daniella rushed over to her, getting a wince in response to her hug.

‘What did they do to you?’ Daniella asked. ‘Aside from trying to scare me, they’ve left me alone.’

‘Some of the guards got bored,’ Melissa whispered. ‘I think they’re Navy, but they’re acting like mercenaries. Or criminals. To be honest, I feel sorrier for the guy who was in the next cell. They took him at the same time…’ She grimaced. ‘He had to be carried back.’

‘Have you any idea why we’re here? Where’s Olivia?’

‘I haven’t seen her. I don’t even know if she was captured. One of the doctors said it was time for the final trial, whatever that means.’

Daniella thought she knew what it meant. She turned to see men and women filing into the observation room. One of them walked over to a panel and began operating it. Vents opened in the ceiling above the prisoners.

‘Are they going to gas us?!’ someone asked.

‘No,’ Daniella said, ‘it’s worse than that.’

10.2.531 FSC.

‘Twenty-four hours and no sign of the virus affecting them.’

Andrew Kerrigan looked through the window at the people wandering around the exposure room and nodded. He had been tasked with something that most would find almost impossible, refactoring a nanovirus far in advance of anything seen before. The fact that he had done it was extremely satisfying, even if no one could
ever
know he had. And now that he had succeeded once…

‘When are we expecting the Torem subjects?’ he asked the man who had spoken.

‘The Committee is holding off acquiring them until we confirm the results of this test.’

‘Tell them it’s positive. Check that they want to proceed with phase two. I don’t want to waste time on it if they don’t wish to go ahead.’

‘Of course, sir.’

‘And get this lot processed through a full spectrum of tests. Blood work, microscans, everything. We might as well be absolutely sure and we need to know it dies off in a Jenlay host. Can’t have accidents, can we?’

No, if they were going to kill millions of people, it should be on purpose.

High Yorkbridge, 16.2.531 FSC.

Pierce looked out at the assembled Committee: the Admiralty, several lower-ranking officers, Representatives, and businessmen. These were the men who would bring about the future of the Jenlay people. Good, solid men, willing to do what was necessary to ensure that the ideals of the Federation were upheld. The Federation had been founded to ensure that war never engulfed the galaxy again. It had failed, but Pierce had the solution.

‘Aqua Regia
is
that solution,’ Pierce said.

Many of them knew about the project already. Several had provided funding, and others had acquired the test subjects needed. There were a few who, for security reasons, had been told only the bare minimum, and they gave Pierce the opportunity to expound his master plan. Again. Part had heard this enough times that he was sick of it. Actually, Part had heard Pierce giving the same speech enough times that he had detected the increasingly insane edge the ex-Admiral was displaying every time he told someone else what they were doing.

‘In ancient times,’ Pierce said, ‘there were people known as “alchemists,” the forerunners of modern chemists. They sought perfection. They sought a means of transforming base metals into gold. They sought to purify the universe, to create better people. And one of their tools was Aqua Regia, “Royal Water,” the solvent which could dissolve gold. It was the ultimate in solvents to create the ultimate solution, and our Aqua Regia is the ultimate solution to the Herosian Problem.’

He paused, sipping from his drink, but it was mostly for effect. ‘Some time ago, Hayward Pharmaceuticals discovered a previously unknown strain of virus on an old research station outside Federation space. They tested it, but they got sloppy. That virus wiped out the entire research group working on it in a matter of days. It is a nanovirus, very advanced, capable of turning its victims into virtual automatons. Barely conscious, cannibalistic, walking disease vectors. The terror factor of this disease is unimaginable. But it worked on Jenlay and was useless to us. Gentlemen, we now have a working strain which converts Herosians instead.’

There was rumbling around the room. Everyone had known that they were working on something which would eliminate any threat the Herosians presented. What Pierce was talking about was effectively genocide, and they knew it.

Part watched the room. Pierce was quite convinced of his plan and thought everyone there would agree. Part was almost hoping that someone would put their hand up and object. Just one. Just to prove they were all not so far gone that this all seemed reasonable.

‘This meeting,’ Pierce went on, ‘is to brief you on the project and confirm our agreement to go ahead with production. If we all agree to this, we can begin deployment of the virus to selected target worlds by the end of next month. Does anyone wish to step back? Does anyone want to hold the Jenlay back from their Destiny?’

There was silence. Of course there was silence: Pierce knew what he was doing. If he had asked for complete agreement then people could have held back. He was asking for one person to put his hand up and say this was a bad idea. Not even Part could bring himself to do that.

‘Are there any questions?’ Pierce asked, his tone triumphant.

One hand went up. ‘What about the Torem?’

‘What about the Torem indeed,’ Pierce said, his eyes bright.

Tristar Township.

Truelove was looking frustrated. Janna watched her pacing across the patio for several minutes before moving out to one of the tables with two glasses of lemonade and sitting down. She waited another minute before she spoke.

‘You know, Elaine, now that this is my house, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t wear a groove in my beautiful patio tiles.’

Frowning, Truelove marched over and fell into another of the chairs. ‘Sorry. I’m…’

‘Frustrated?’

‘Yes.’

‘Perhaps we could get Dillon to…’

‘Not
that kind
of frustrated, Janna.’ She looked at the older woman and found herself grinning. ‘Do you find people constantly underestimate your intelligence? Because I suspect you’re really bright and the slightly stupid, ex-stripper routine is more of an act.’

‘People are always easier to manipulate when they think they are more intelligent than you are,’ Janna replied, smiling. ‘Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on truly intelligent people.’

‘Well, at least I’m not pacing. It’s Pierce. He had some meeting in the Gobari Club today with a lot of guests. We’ve been spectacularly unable to bug the place. If I could use the resources of the Agency… But that would come to Pierce’s attention. I’m sure they were working on this big plan of theirs. I mean, this is the first time we’ve identified so many of them, but we don’t know what they were actually discussing. Without the details…’

Janna frowned. ‘You have pictures of these men leaving the building?’

‘Lots.’

‘Show me.’

~~~

‘What are you looking for, Janna?’ Truelove asked, frowning as her friend flicked between pictures of the various delegates to Pierce’s little conference on the wall screen.

‘Well, when I was dancing… table dancing that is, for a group rather than a single person, I would watch out for one of them I wanted to single out. He was the one who really wasn’t sure he wanted to be there. The slightly shy one. Then I’d really work on him. He would be embarrassed about it, and his friends would love that, but I’m very good and I made sure he came away feeling like he was king of the pile. He would give a big tip because he felt good, and his friends would give bigger tips because they enjoyed his embarrassment.’

‘Uh… okay, but I don’t think you’re aiming to table dance for these guys.’

‘Actually…’ She pointed at one of images. ‘I
have
danced for him. George Dalton. He used to be a salesman for Mason Robotics and he came to the club I worked at on a business trip. I think he’s on the board now. I wonder if he tips better.’

‘Still…’

Janna smiled. ‘No, I’m not planning on starting stripping again, but the same basic principle applies. You need the one who doesn’t fit in with the others. You need… him.’

‘Admiral Part?’ Truelove looked up at the enlarged image of the gruff, annoying man and… And maybe she was starting to see what Janna meant.

‘That is a man with worries,’ Janna said. ‘That is a man who is not quite as keen as the others we’ve seen. Your Admiral Part is a weak link in Pierce’s chain. I’d be stuffing my tits right in his face and getting a
huge
tip.’

Truelove beamed. ‘Janna, I could kiss you.’

‘Well keep that thought in mind for later, and don’t forget to invite Janine and Sharissa.’

High Yorkbridge, 17.2.531 FSC.

‘Admiral Part, I didn’t know you lived around here.’

Part lifted his head and found himself looking at a woman he recognised, but did not really know. Slim and attractive, which was a given, she had a pleasingly angular face with a straight, slightly long nose, all capped off with swept-back blonde hair. Her skin was tanned and there was a lot of it on show thanks to the cropped shirt and jogging shorts she was wearing. She had come to a stop, spreading her legs and bending at the hips to touch her toes, stretching…

‘Agent Truelove, isn’t it?’ Part shook himself. It had been a while. ‘What brings you up here? I think Pierce mentioned you lived in one of the outlying townships.’

‘Uh-huh, but I like a change of scenery once in a while and there are some nice parks up here.’

‘Running… yes. Aren’t you worried about the Herosians and their plague?’

‘Not really.’ She stepped a little closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. ‘To be honest, I have my doubts about that whole bio-warfare thing. I mean, we get all these rumours about the Herosians being up to something, and then a message comes out of nowhere about a plague on Sapphira. I think it’s propaganda. I think someone’s trying to make us paranoid.’

Part frowned. ‘You were the one who located the terrorist cell, weren’t you? I understood there was plenty of evidence that they were Herosian agents.’

‘Too much. It all seems just a bit… neat. Want my opinion? And this is just between us, right?’ She smiled at him. Field work was not her speciality, but she had fooled enough men into thinking she liked them before that she could manage this much subterfuge.

‘Of course.’

‘
I
think some of the big corporations are pushing buttons to keep up the war effort. The budget is really big on this and they all want their cut. Pierce is fixated on the Herosians though. I honestly think he’d like to wipe them all out or something. Crazy, huh?’

‘Crazy,’ Part said. ‘I’m sure he’s just… doing his job. And I… need to be getting to mine. War to run and all that.’

‘Oh, sure.’ She started bouncing on the spot, warming the muscles in her calves. Part’s eyes were not on her calves. ‘I’ll see you around, Admiral. Maybe in a meeting or something.’ And she set off at a rapid pace toward one of the nearby parks.

Part watched her retreating behind in the high-cut shorts, but his mind was having trouble focussing where his libido wanted it to go. Truelove still had her doubts while Pierce was sure he had her fooled. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way out of Pierce’s madness.

Gwy.

Aneka and Cassandra were seeing who could bend their bodies into the most outlandish positions. Cassandra had been built as a sex robot so her joints had been toughened and made more flexible so that she could assume whatever position her owner required of her. Aneka had been reconstructed with greater flexibility
theoretically
to make it easier to fit herself through tight gaps and wriggle through air vents, a task which the enlargement of her breasts had made unnecessarily difficult. But it did mean she could more or less match whatever Cassandra could do.