Lana's Comet (Outer Settlement Agency) (4 page)

E
very day presented her with more of the same. He’d glare. She’d glare right back. Inevitably, she’d wind up doing something to have her, or the crew at large, running laps. She gave up trying to reason with him by the end of a couple of weeks, but somehow still managed to piss him off. Whoever that angel was she’d met earlier died once he got in a uniform. The demon she knew now had her slathering analgesic salve over her weeping muscles.

“He really hates you,” Michi said from her bunk. The blue haze of her omnitablet projected dataspecs of smaller shuttles against the white ceiling. As always, the chick was well into her evening studies. She’d changed almost as much as Cyprus. The annoying girl she’d met on Day One had been replaced by a quiet, almost sullen, creature with her nose in her omnitablet or off staring at the wall.

“No kidding. You seriously don’t remember him from that night?”

“I don’t think you do either. There’s no way
that
man was the same one slobbering all over you. It was too dark to tell. You have to be wrong. How much did you drink that night?”

“Too much.” Only, she wasn’t that drunk and he’d more than proven who he was. Yet, she hadn’t shared that with Michi. It was better to let her think she’d been wrong, than to have any sorts of rumors weaving their way through an already pissed off crew.

She’d never seen a man more centrally focused on success. That was even more reason to keep her trap shut. He’d blow up the whole of Earth if it meant being the perfect soldier. Maybe she could use that to her advantage...

“I’m getting tired of running, Lana.”

“Huh?”

“I’m tired of running.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

“Good. You should be. You’ve got to let things go. He’s going to cut you. That’s the story going around anyway. Most of us think the only reason he’s keeping you is to maintain control over us. He knows you’ll do something stupid—”

“Stupid?”

Michi breezed past her interjection and pulled up the next set of specs. “Yes, stupid and we’ll be forced to pay for it. It builds cohesion as we’re totally united in our hatred of you. That’s a ‘general we,’ not me in particular.”

“Thanks.”

“No offense. Meanwhile, you are the example of what
not
to do, thus gently persuading us to stay in line. Brilliant, when you think about it.”

“Are you finished? What’s wrong with sticking up for folks? He has no right—”

“He does. You’re upset because he’s not the man you want him to be. You need to get it through your head that you don’t have the right to be pissed. He’s an ass, get over it.”

Only, he wasn’t. At least not always. But that didn’t make Michi less right. “You can’t talk to people the way he does.”

“He can talk any way he likes. Look, if you really want to piss him off, just do what you’re supposed to do in the first place. Pass quals, move on to the next step and you’ll never have to see him again.”

*****

I
t was the second week in a row he’d woken up hard and thinking of her. The woman had no sense of respect and yet the fire of her excited his basest nature.

Too loud.

Too antagonistic.

Too contrary.

Too curvy.

Never mind that. He groaned and took a shower, one with actual water. He deserved the luxury after the week he suffered through. He’d had enough gel baths to last an eternity. A paranoid part of him thought they might track those sorts of things. OSA gobbled up data like oxygen. Let them know that he’d never once come close to using his monthly allotments for water. He wasn’t one for extravagance. He was a soldier, not a suit.

Not a lover, either.

Ugh! Why the hell did she have to be in his program? It shouldn’t matter anyway. He had no time for women in his life. Least of all some Earthling unflinchingly determined to embarrass him in front of an audience.

So why couldn’t he get her out of his thick skull? If he’d only had her...a few grunts in a dark corner, he’d have it out of his system. If he had screwed her, then the humiliation would have landed on her shoulders. Not his.

And yet, he couldn’t stand the thought of shaming her – not like that.

He rested his head against the fogged glass as the timer counted down. Three minutes of water left. Where had the other eight gone so fast? Time wasted on her. Again.

Two minutes.

Cyprus closed his eyes and grabbed hold of that rigid and treacherous member of his body, stroking it, working her out of his head. Muscles pulled at the pit of his stomach, but he wasn’t close to finishing. His mind snapped to an image of her lips and what they should be doing, instead of giving him backtalk. He licked his own in memory of her kiss and increased her speed.

Still, the shower ended before he did. Fuming, he scrambled into his clothes and stomped towards the training gymnasium, realizing halfway down the hall that he’d forgotten today’s dosage of his Kin meds. Forget it. He cracked his neck and kept walking. He needed to wean himself off them anyway. 

Salutes greeted him every few steps and shoes scuffled to attention in the halls. He stopped where two rows of bedrooms intersected. “I expect all of you to be there when I arrive.”

He almost didn’t smile when the corridor cleared. In the peace, he closed his eyes and willed his clone nature to calm down. Desire ramped it up and Lana had it working overtime.

No!

His body would not overheat. His head would not ache.

Why?

Because he wouldn’t
allow
it. Not today. His will was stronger than any Kin deficiency and, body brought to heel, confident steps took him the rest of the way.

He avoided looking at Lana and hoped against the impossible that she’d keep her mouth shut. Today would bring a fresh round of hell to his recruits. Everything he’d done so far worked up to this. If they could handle what he did to their bodies, then maybe they’d survive what was meant to happen now. Stars, he hoped so. He didn’t hate his recruits – he couldn’t – but he needed them tough and that meant thinning the herd. One day they would understand.

“The useless have been dismissed. The weak will soon follow. We’re about to advance to the next stage of your training. Your bodies are strong, but stupidity will not be allowed. Correction:  stupidity will put you on a corner of the galaxy so far removed from civilization that you will forget how to spell your name. Among you, I hope, are some who believe they deserve better. This is your opportunity to prove it. You’ll go through a series of mental tests, all to see where best to place you. Mental acuity, stress, creativity under pressure – these are all markers by which you will be judged. Any questions? None? Not even from you, Recruit Kagen?”

He hadn’t meant to call her out, but there he was, face to face with Lana. Her jaw jutted out and he didn’t miss the snap of her eyes. “No, sir.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

She bit her quivering lip. He didn’t spare a second believing she was afraid. The woman dripped with rage.

And control.

That
was a change.

Maybe she had OSA blood in her yet. He called out names and rooms one by one, until only Lana remained. Still, she hadn’t spoken. “Have you given up?”

“No, sir.”

He stood inches away, hands and omnitablet clasped behind his back. “Whether eighty people or two, this gray room of ours is quiet. Your behavior has improved.”

“Thank you, sir. Permission to speak?”

“Permission? Where did that come from? Go on.”

“Sir, am I being cut? I haven’t been assigned to a mental acuity room.”

“And what will you do if I answer to the affirmative?”

“Slap you, sir.”

Her eyes hadn’t shifted. Her lips hadn’t wavered. She’d told the truth. Yet to anyone looking in, they’d see a ramrod trainee at attention, waiting for direction. She hadn’t lost her fire and he didn’t like how much that pleased him. “Why do you want this so much?”

“Because I’m good.”

“Humble too.”

“Sir, I am good. I graduated top of my class and—”

“You’re the best, Lana.” Her eyebrow picked up at the use of her given name and he could have kicked himself for it. But she wasn’t a slug, a grunt or a girl. She was a woman, a doctor and a damned good one if her files were to be believed. Just a bad recruit. She could have had any job in the galaxy, but she’d come here. “You can’t have come to basic training for the money. How many credits are you losing by joining OSA?”

She snorted and the corner of her mouth twisted up. “Think about how much you hate me.”

“Yes?”

“And multiply it by several hundred thousand.”

“Way the hell more than I make in a year. May I ask why?”

The question sagged her shoulders and the smile melted away, revealing more of the open and honest face he’d met that night at the club. “Per contractual obligations, I am unable to discuss this any further. However...” She paused, nibbled her lip and took a deep breath. “However, as part of the OSA oath, I must reveal any previous oaths as well as—”

“Anything deemed a threat to interplanetary and lunar habitation,” he finished for her. “What the hell have you seen, Lana? What brought you here?”

“I can’t say, Cyprus.” She turned and looked at him straight on. A small something in her eyes gave it away. A faint flicker of fear. Also, resolve. She wouldn’t give up her secrets easily.

“If there is an immediate threat, you’re going to tell me.”

“There isn’t.”

“But a threat large enough to send you here. You didn’t leave because of office politics. That’s not your style. You left because...because you’re a doctor and there’s something you can’t stomach.”

“I can’t.”

He paced, circling her, sensing her skin prickling more and more by the second. Sweat pebbled her brow and her chin started to twitch. “Why run here? You’re rich enough to go to Mars, Venus, Enceladus, anywhere. So why here? Sure, the oath that protects you legally, but that’s hardly your main concern, is it?”

“Stop.”

“I’m not accustomed to that word.”

“I—”

“No, don’t interrupt. You’re scared shitless. It’s why you came to the most fortified place in the solar system.”

“Second most.” Small hands curled to fists and her eyes started to glisten. Yet she did not break her stance, back still straight, jaw still set. “Meash Corp has more power than any planetary alliance. We’ve subcontracted too much to them. They terraform our colonies, maintain the basics of life, not out of goodwill, but profit. We were so desperate to leave Earth, that we stopped paying attention.”

He almost said it – that sometimes ends justify means, but he was born half Kin. His grandparents had been created in a rogue Meash Corp lab. Mindless, their sole purpose had been to build up that stupid Saturn moon, Enceladus. The thought took him to a dark place. “Are you saying they are creating—”

“Not that and more, I can’t say. Not yet. Just think, Cyprus. Every single Meash Corp wing used to excel at something. Not anymore. Calorietabs have largely gone to private entities. There are a few dozen rover and shuttle companies. All they have left is terraforming. But really, how much further out can we go? We have all the inhabitable planets and moons in the system. So what do they do in the next fifty years? Hmmm?”

“The plan was always to branch out.”

“Not feasible, at least not in our lifetimes. We’ll never get further than here. We’re stuck in a Milky Way that we can’t afford to further explore. The Andromeda Galaxy is a dream. You know that. It’s too much money and too much risk. So what do they do when there aren’t problems that need solving?”

“You make new ones. I need details. Tell me everything.”

“I’ve already told you enough to get me killed. Look, no one knows I have this information. It’s the only reason they let me go. I can’t even believe I told you this.”

“Relax I—”

“Relax? They’ll kill me. The plan was to release this info knowing I’ll have protection. I know you don’t think much of me, but if this gets out before—”

“You have no idea what I think of you. Did you save any proof of this?”

She shook, then nodded her head. “Kinda. On a Meash filecore normally reserved for personal data. If I can get into the system I can bring it out, but I’d be traced.”

“Data and security. That’s why you’re here?”

“I can protect myself fine. But as an OSA agent, my family will also be safe. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. I can accomplish what needs to be done and still have the job of my dreams. After saving the worlds. How’s your wound?”

“Fine. Don’t change the subject.”

“Back to me being a bad recruit?”

“You come to us as a doctor in good standing. That’s why you’re not being pulled for the psych portion.” He took out his omnitablet and sent the files to her account. “Officially, you’re meant to review these case studies and submit findings per instruction.”

“And unofficially?”

“Whatever you’re
not
telling me, Lana Kagen, keep investigating. If I can get you access to a secure connection, could you get into those Meash Corp documents?”

“Only Meash Two, but that’s all I’d need. That and a datacell to store the info. With Meash, they monitor every download. They’d have destroyed me before I left the facility.”

“Give me twenty.”

“Twenty what?”

“Laps.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Do it,” he screamed and waited for her to turn away.

Holy hell
.

Confusion clouded her eyes, but if even a little of what she said was true, he couldn’t let on that something was wrong. A sudden shift in behavior wouldn’t go unnoticed if they were being watched. And OSA had eyes everywhere.

Then again, so did Meash Corp.

He waited until she was on the other side of the gym then walked to his office, back stiff and grimacing. His clogged, clone brain struggled to find a way out of this – one that kept them both breathing.

In the safety of his chambers, he paced, stopping only to check on Lana’s progress through the window.