Steel Beneath the Skin (16 page)

‘So that tunnel leads to one of the mining caverns?’ Aneka asked.

Ella nodded, turning as the lift doors opened. ‘You don’t want to go down there. It’s restricted to mining personnel, mostly, it’s boring, and… it’s just not very nice.’ The car rose smoothly, with barely any feeling of acceleration, and fifteen seconds later the doors were opening again. Ella led the way out into a corridor which ended in an airlock door structure. ‘This is just in case,’ Ella said as they waited for the inner doors to shut and the outer doors to open. ‘There’s never been a dome breach on Harriamon, but it’s one of those things you get paranoid about.’ The outer doors opened and Aneka blinked.

Above them, a huge geodesic dome held back a thick, dull-orange atmosphere. It was technically day outside, but there was little light filtering through. Still, the dome was filled with light from the numerous lamps mounted over its surface. Beneath the glass, the place looked like a city park. There were manicured lawns, tall, spreading trees, privet hedges. People dressed in shorts and T-shirts were running along some of the paths, there were a couple of families having picnics on the grass. Two or three people were actually sunbathing, lying nude under the sunlight lamps.

‘It looks like a London park,’ Aneka commented, ‘with naked people.’ A hundred metres away, across a central grassy circle, was a low building in a far better state than the buildings below. There were chairs and tables around it. ‘That the café?’

‘That’s it,’ Ella said. ‘Come on, I could use the pick-up.’

They sat at one of the outside tables and Ella undid the seal on her ship-suit as she sat down. Monkey shook his head at her, grinning. ‘I have to admit, it’ll be nice to get home and wear clothes that aren’t sealed to your skin,’ he said. He nodded to Aneka. ‘You’re lucky in that respect. You can survive a hull breach without a suit.’

‘And you’d be okay if the dome failed,’ Ella said. ‘Initially anyway. I doubt you’d last long in that atmosphere.’

Aneka raised an eyebrow as Al displayed her prognosis for exposure to the outside atmosphere. ‘Apparently my underlying chassis is well up to the task. I’d lose my skin fairly rapidly though. I figure I’d make it to the air lock before it became dangerous.’

‘Let’s avoid that,’ Ella suggested. ‘I like your skin.’

‘Good afternoon.’ The waitress was pretty, very perky, and wearing a near-transparent, low-cut maid’s dress. Sex, apparently, still sold, even in a future where it was ubiquitous. ‘I’m Pristy, your waitress. Would you like paper or electronic menus? Or are you ready to order?’

‘Triple-shot cinnamon mocha,’ Ella said immediately, and the girl took a PDA-like device from behind her back, flicking through some on-screen menus to place the order.

‘Iced latte,’ Monkey said.

The girl’s gaze shifted to Aneka. ‘Coffee, black, no sugar, no flavours.’ The woman’s eyebrows raised. ‘And I’ll pay.’

‘My world,’ Ella said, ‘my treat.’

‘My first opportunity to really spend money. I’ve got to do this sometime and the university should have paid me something by now.’

The waitress had an even more quizzical expression on her face now, but she pointed her gadget at Aneka and pressed a button. Al popped up an in-vision window indicating the price, fifty credits, and asking for a tip amount and authorisation. Aneka knew the typical tip percentage was fifteen per cent from her dream training. She dropped ten credits extra on the bill and signalled authorisation. The girl’s eyes lit up like a beacon. ‘Thank you, Miss,’ she gushed. ‘I’ll be right back with your drinks.’ Al popped up another little message as the girl turned away; she had sent Aneka her contact details.

‘How much did you tip her?’ Ella asked.

‘Ten credits. I know it’s over the odds, but…’

‘Way over,’ Monkey said. ‘They’re lucky if they get five per cent out here.’

Aneka rolled her eyes. ‘I guess my training didn’t cover Rim culture. That probably explains why she dropped me her number.’

‘Probably,’ Ella agreed, giggling. ‘Okay, now that we’re settled for a bit, the question of what’s up with our Monkey must be broached.’

Monkey sagged in his seat. ‘Does it have to? Can’t I just be coming down here with friends for a day out?’

‘Not really. I’m a psychologist. We’re nosy by nature.’

‘It’s Dad.’ He gave in rather easily; Aneka guessed that between Ella and Patton he was used to not being able to keep his thoughts to himself. ‘He called me to his office yesterday to tell me I was to stay away from Aneka.’

Aneka gave a short chuckle. ‘So instead you go off on a jaunt to the local planet with me. I’m going to assume the meeting didn’t go well.’

He grunted an acknowledgement. ‘I think he said the same thing to Mom and that didn’t go well either.’

‘I don’t want to come between your family.’

‘Oh, you’re not. Not really. I’m thirty-five and Dad still thinks I’m twelve. He’s used to being obeyed.’

‘I noticed he didn’t like being interrupted when they were interviewing me.’

‘I just can’t figure how you got him to release you,’ Monkey said, frowning. ‘He obviously doesn’t trust you. He’s convinced you’re some sort of xinti infiltrator sent to discover our weaknesses.’

Aneka shrugged, and then closed her mouth as Pristy returned with a tray. The little blonde placed clear mugs of coffee down in front of each of them, giving Aneka a very bright smile. ‘Enjoy your drinks,’ she said, and then headed back to the café building, hips swaying.

Aneka took a sip of not-really-coffee. ‘He wasn’t making the decision. There was a woman there who seemed to be in charge. Called herself “Winter.” She was the one who let me go. What?’ Both Ella and Monkey were looking at her like she had just announced she was actually a man.

‘You met Winter?’ Ella asked.

‘That’s what she called herself. Short, blonde hair, blue eyes, looked to be twenty-something, but she was older. Used to being obeyed. Why?’

‘Winter is the head of the Federal Intelligence Committee and the Federal Security Agency,’ Monkey told her. ‘No one knows who she really is for security reasons. She hardly ever leaves New Earth, as far as anyone knows, but it’s hard to tell because she’s very rarely seen at all. And she came here to interview
you!
’

‘Swell,’ Aneka commented. ‘I never used to like working with intelligence agencies.’

‘Oh, I doubt she wants you to work for her,’ Monkey replied. ‘It’s one thing to review you as a security threat and decide you aren’t. It’s another to decide to give you a job.’

Aneka lifted her coffee cup in a toast. ‘Amen to that.’

~~~

‘Oo!’ Grabbing Aneka’s arm, Ella darted off toward one of the shops in the first cavern. This resulted in her coming to an abrupt stop; Aneka’s android body was about a hundred kilos of dead weight if she was not choosing to move. Ella looked back and then tried pulling with two hands. ‘Come on, clothes.’

‘What do I need clothes for?’ Aneka replied, amused. Aside from anything else it was funny watching Ella trying to shift her.

‘Yeah,’ Monkey agreed, ‘what does she need clothes for?’

‘Because you can’t tramp around New Earth in that leotard. People will look at you funny. You need to dress human if you’re going to look human.’

Damn, she has a point.
Monkey also seemed to come to the same conclusion; he sagged and started toward the shop with all the enthusiasm of a man whose girlfriend has just told him she needs to buy a dress. And not a sexy little black number, something suitable for visiting her maiden aunt. Aneka could not blame him; she had never got on well with clothes shopping.

The shop looked better on the inside than the outside. The paintwork was fresh and clean, the racks were polished, and all the clothes looked like something you might see in a boutique in New York or London. There was one assistant, a smiling brunette in a slim, knee-length skirt and a ruffled blouse.

‘I hate clothes shopping,’ Aneka growled. ‘I’ve no idea what to buy…’

‘Then let me take care of it,’ Ella replied. She gave the assistant a smile and started for the racks. ‘We don’t need much. One outfit to get you from the ship to my place, and my place to somewhere you can buy more.’

‘Your place?’ Aneka found a chair at the back of the shop beside a curtained off changing room. She was about to sit down when she reconsidered and waved Monkey over to it. He looked suitably grateful.

‘You’re staying with me, aren’t you? At least until we can sort you out a place of your own.’

‘Oh. Yeah, I guess. I hadn’t really thought about it.’ She paused and then added, ‘I didn’t want to assume either.’

Ella giggled. ‘You think I want rid of you just because we’re not stuck on a ship together?’

‘You might have had someone waiting for you.’

The redhead turned and gave Aneka a look. ‘I might have stupidly thought you’d want to sleep with me and my ex, but I’d have mentioned it if there was someone at home.’

‘Sorry.’ Ella nodded and turned back to the racks, pulling something out and waving to the assistant. ‘What do they mine here anyway?’ Aneka asked to change the subject.

‘Copper, nickel, and iridium,’ Ella replied.

‘We have some of the best iridium-bearing ores in the Federation,’ the assistant stated rather proudly. She looked at the item Ella was holding and then back at Aneka, and then headed to a door behind the counter, vanishing into what Aneka guessed was a storeroom while Ella put the whatever-it-was back and turned to a rack of trousers.

‘What’s iridium used for?’

‘A lot of electronics applications,’ Monkey told her. ‘It’s used in experimental anti-proton production as well.’

‘Anti-proton? As in anti-matter?’

He nodded. ‘If they want to produce large amounts they need something like iridium and a particle accelerator.’

‘By large mounts, he means micro-grams,’ Ella added. She pulled a pair of black jeans from the rack and wandered over to the small selection of shoes the shop had in. The assistant returned, waiting near the counter while Ella made a choice.

‘You really think I’m a black, lacy bustier sort of girl, Ella?’ Aneka asked, her eyes on the garment the assistant was holding.

‘Trust me,’ Ella replied. She turned holding a pair of black, patent pumps with outrageously high, steel stiletto heels. ‘Try one of these on. I’m guessing the size.’

Shaking her head, Aneka put her hand on Monkey’s shoulder so she could pull off one of her boots. The shoe Ella put down fit perfectly, much to Aneka’s chagrin. Slipping back out of it and picking it up, she accepted the jeans and the other shoe, and the ridiculous top from the assistant, and hobbled into the little changing room.

The basque left her midriff exposed and pushed her bust out. The tops of the cups were black lace, but the thing was actually opaque for a change. Since Ella and the assistant had done an amazing job picking the sizes for the top and shoes, Aneka was a little surprised to find that the jeans, made from a glossy, black Plastex, seemed to be a size too large. She pulled them up her legs, discovering that they were designed to fit around her hips, but as she pulled them together at the front it looked like there was far too much room.

‘I think I need a size smaller in the jeans,’ she called through the curtain.

‘Have you closed the catch yet?’ Ella called back.

Frowning, Aneka hooked the odd catch into place and then pressed it together. There was a click as it locked and then the entire garment shrank around her, pulling tight around her hips and thighs. ‘Oh!’

‘There you go. It’s SensiCloth. Contracts to fit the wearer.’

Aneka slipped on her new shoes and pulled the curtain aside. ‘In my day people used to get in the bath with their jeans on.’ She walked out onto the shop floor, feeling like she was towering over Ella and the assistant. ‘How do I look? I’ve never really gone for feminine clothing, except for formal dos and dates, and there were never that many of those…’ She stopped. Ella was grinning brightly, and Monkey was looking mildly shocked and going red around the cheeks and throat.

‘Foojen has the figure for that kind of outfit,’ the assistant stated. It did not entirely sound like a sales pitch.

Aneka took another look at Monkey and nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll take them. Have you got a bag I can put the stuff I came in into? I’ll wear these back to the station.’

‘Of course, foojen,’ the assistant replied. Aneka made a note to ask Ella what “foojen” meant. It sounded like a honorific, maybe “madam,” but she was not sure.

With another two-hundred credits racked up and her leotard and boots in a designer shopping bag, Aneka walked out of the shop feeling more comfortable than she had when she went in, even if she was wearing stupid shoes. Of course, the last time she had worn heels, and they had not been this high, she had had a normal body. Her new body was perfectly happy with the new balance arrangement and was showing no stress from walking on the balls of her feet.

‘Where to now, oh my glorious guide?’

Ella looked around and pointed at an alley at the side of the shop. ‘The shop where I bought my first vibrator is through there.’

Aneka rolled her eyes. ‘You’re going to give Monkey a complex.’

‘It’s nostalgic,’ Ella countered, starting for the alley.

They were halfway down it when they heard the voice behind them. ‘H-hold it right th-there! I want your c-clothes and any… anything else you got.’

Aneka turned, aware that Monkey was doing the same beside her. The speaker was a boy, probably no older than fifteen, but with the way jenlay aged she was not sure. He was wearing clothes which had seen better days and holding a smooth, plastic device in his right hand. The way he was pointing it at them, it was presumably a weapon.

‘Sonic stunner,’ Monkey murmured. ‘He probably can’t get both of us if we rush him.’

‘St-stay right there,’ the kid stammered. He was not exactly an experienced criminal. ‘Strip and hand over the bag.’

‘I just bought these,’ Aneka replied, keeping her voice calm. ‘Aren’t you a little young to be playing at mugging?’

‘I ain’t playing, necro.’ He pressed the button on the stunner. There was a dull buzzing sound and Al popped up a message indicating that a sonic beam attack had been used on her.