Steel Beneath the Skin (7 page)

Aneka smiled. ‘I’m not sure I’m quite that useful.’

‘Still, she’s persuaded the University to put you under contract. I brought the paperwork.’

Aneka looked around at Gilroy. ‘You’re being employed as a consultant on Old Earth history,’ the doctor said. ‘Assuming you pass your qualification exam you’ll also be under contract as a facilitator to work alongside Bash and Monkey. You should read it over before signing.’

‘The pay’s good,’ Bashford commented, which got another laugh. Aneka smiled and poured herself some brandy, wondering if she could get drunk.

Ella was waving her over rather enthusiastically, so she wandered around to where the redhead had now sat down beside her friend. Aneka sat down beside her and Ella’s free hand, the right one was stroking over the man’s forearm, moved immediately to rest on Aneka’s thigh. ‘This is Paul, Paul Norton. We were an item for a couple of years when I first started at the university.’

‘Then I got the position on the Argent Sky,’ Norton added. ‘Too big an opportunity to miss.’

Aneka smiled, trying not to make it look strained, and offered Norton her hand. ‘Paul, pleased to meet you.’ He reached out to shake her hand and then slipped his arm around Ella’s waist. The little nymphomaniac shivered slightly, her smile brightening. The hand on Aneka’s thigh began to stroke gently.

‘That’s a very nice… outfit you’ve got there,’ Norton added, though the way his eyes scanned over her suggested he was complimenting what was under the plastic. Ella’s fingers shifted to stroke over Aneka’s inner thigh.

Could she be any more damn transparent?
Aneka took a drink and forced herself to keep the grimace off her face.
Doesn’t anything taste right here?
‘Thank you, Paul. I needed something to wear and I don’t need a ship-suit.’

Norton nodded. ‘Ella’s been telling me all about you. She’s very enthusiastic.’

Aneka laughed. ‘Always, as far as I can tell.’

‘Ha! Yeah, there is that.’

Ella’s fingers were shifting upward by now and from the way her back was arching Norton’s hand was doing something similar along her spine. The direction this was going seemed obvious, but Aneka was not quite sure she was ready for that level of interaction with future society.

‘Paul and the Captain are staying over tonight,’ Ella said. ‘We’ve all got long trips ahead of us. A little R and R seems like a good idea.’ Her fingers arrived at the join of Aneka’s legs, brushed over the thin plastic, pressed a little harder…

Aneka smiled, knowing that this time it did look strained and not really caring. ‘That’s great. Look, I’m a bit tired and I have that contract to read over. I’ll… leave you to it and I’ll see you in the morning.’ She got to her feet and started for the door. Ella’s expression was a weird mixture of desire, concern and confusion; she really could not understand what was happening, which was just like her.

‘I’ll come with you and sort out that document for you,’ Patton said, rising from her seat beside Drake and following. ‘We’ll need to set you up a witnessed signature anyway.’ It sounded suspiciously like an excuse; her body language had been a little tight and she probably wanted out of the room too. When they were out of the mess she added, ‘We can use the terminal in my room.’

Patton’s room looked like one which rarely got used. It was too neat for one thing, and the bed was pristine. The owner of the room went straight to her desk, signed in, and began running software. The “signature” was electronic, a key pair generated by the ship’s computer. The public and private keys were dumped off into files with the private one filed away for Aneka’s eyes only. Patton attached her own signature to the public key file to verify that Aneka was who she said she was, and then filed it with the ship’s computer.

‘They’ll take the encrypted registration file back to New Earth with them,’ Patton explained as she tapped her way through the computer’s file system. ‘It gets registered there with Federal Administration and you’ll officially exist. Normally the private key is then implanted into our idents, but you can probably just store it in your computer for now. Don’t forget to secure-delete it from the ship’s computer afterward. Oh, I’ve marked your home location as the university. I doubt anyone will be messaging you, but if they do the messages will be held there until you can pick them up.’ She tapped a few keys and a new window appeared. ‘And this is the contract they want you to look over. I’m going to take a shower. You read it through, and I’ll show you how to sign it when you’re done.’

The contract was several pages of legalise. Somehow Aneka had hoped society had decided that lawyers could be done away with by now, but apparently they were still very much in evidence. By the time Patton had emerged from the shower, dried herself off, and sat down on the second chair, Aneka had managed to distil everything down to its basics. She was getting paid eighty-thousand credits per annum. She thought about asking Patton whether that was a lot, but figured it did not really matter, it was money. The University of New Earth got first rights to any knowledge gained from interviews with her, and she got a small royalty from any profits made from that knowledge. Conditional upon her passing all appropriate qualifying conditions, she was to be employed as a facilitator for University expeditions where required.

‘Okay,’ Aneka said, ‘I can’t find a clause which says they can take me apart to see how I work. What’s next?’

Patton got to her feet and walked over, bending over Aneka’s shoulder. Her left breast settled against Aneka’s skin as she reached over and ran her finger over the mouse pad area. ‘Just select the “apply signature” option like this, and then you’ll need to use the usual sign-in to prove it’s you and that will assure the attachment.’

Aneka followed the instructions, pressing her palm to the pad to sign in, and the computer informed her that the document was signed and authenticated. ‘Done. Can I borrow your shower? I’d imagine Ella and Paul are busy doing the horizontal tango by now.’

Patton giggled. ‘Not an expression I’ve heard before, but be my guest.’ She settled onto the lower bunk and watched as Aneka undressed and stepped into the cubicle. ‘Kind of sad really?’

‘What is?’ The water rushing over Aneka’s skin felt good. It felt like it was washing away her irritation with Ella.

‘The two of us avoiding everyone because someone else is in our partner’s bed.’

The irritation made an attempt at coming back. ‘Huh. Well I could have been in there with them. Ella wanted me to be. I’ve just never had much fun with group sex.’

‘You haven’t?’ Patton sounded genuinely surprised.

‘Nope. First time was in Bangkok. Two friends of mine persuaded me that a foursome with them and a Thai hooker would be awesome fun. Afterward I told them they were arrogant, selfish arseholes and I never spoke to them again. I kept in touch with the hooker for a couple of years afterward though. Then she got herself stabbed by a John.’

‘Huh,’ Patton grunted. She had no idea what a “John” was and was guessing at what “hooker” meant, but she got the overall picture.

‘And there was a friend I visited when she was in university. We ended up in bed with her boyfriend and she got narked because he wanted to fuck me more than her.’ Aneka cut off the water and grabbed a towel as she walked out of the cubicle. ‘All in all, I’ve yet to have a good experience with more than one partner.’

Patton watched as Aneka crossed the room, her towel rubbing at her hair. ‘You need the right people.
If
I decide Drake’s getting any before we get back to New Earth, maybe we could arrange something. He’s good even if he did hook up with his old flame on no notice and not invite me. Or you could go pay a visit to Bash and Monkey wearing only a smile. Monkey’s a little shy at times, but the two of them could show you a good time.’ She was still watching as Aneka dried her body.

Aneka put her foot up on the edge of the bed and began drying her leg. Patton did not stop staring. ‘I think with Ella it’s mostly just that she
assumed
I’d want to hump the pair of them. I’m not used to a society where recreational sex is a given.’ She swapped legs, letting her thigh swing wider open as she dried it.
And why am I showing myself off to Shannon anyway?
‘I’m not saying people didn’t have sex for fun, but there were still a few issues that reduced that kind of activity. Now it seems to be “fuck anyone you think looks hot.”’ She reached back and dropped her towel on the table. Her leg stayed where it was, resting on the bedframe next to Patton’s hip.

‘Yeah, speaking of which,’ Patton said. ‘I can start up the air cycle in one of the spare rooms, or you can stay here if you want… but make a choice because I either need you or my vibrator about now.’

Aneka smiled. ‘Thanks for giving me the option. Get the vibe, it’ll spice things up for both of us.’

20.6.523 FSC.

Aneka walked with Ella to the hibernation chambers. On the flight deck, Drake and Patton were busy setting the flight plan to their ultimate destination, Bashford was setting things up for Aneka’s courses, and the remaining crew were already in their capsules. Cold-sleep was not exactly suspended animation, from what Aneka had been told. The body was drugged and fed with chemicals which prevented the formation of ice crystals, and then chilled down to sub-zero temperatures to slow body processes. It sounded distinctly unpleasant to Aneka, but she was not doing it.

‘We’ll all be waking up about five days before arrival,’ Ella said. ‘To do prep work and stuff.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka said.

‘I could, um, get up earlier to help you with your exams, if you’d like?’

‘Sure, why wouldn’t I?’

‘Well, maybe because I was an inconsiderate slut last night? I was so thrilled with the idea that I could get you and Paul at the same time I didn’t think about how you might feel about it?’

‘Huh. Yes, you were rather inconsiderate, but I wouldn’t call you a slut. You get so enthusiastic about things that you don’t think anyone else will dislike the idea. I’m not used to this society yet, Ella. I’m not used to people
assuming
I’ll want to sleep with them, and I don’t really like threesomes that much.’

‘Oh.’ There was a pause. ‘I heard you managed to console yourself with Shannon.’

‘We bonded over our partners banging their exes. And she didn’t just assume, she gave me the option.’ For some reason Aneka felt like being a little cruel. ‘She’s really adept with a vibrator too. I came like a train.’ Sure enough, when Aneka glanced at Ella, she looked like a kicked puppy.

‘Oh,’ Ella said. The girl was so easy to read she might as well have had her emotions printed on her forehead.

‘Look, Ella, I don’t mind if you get up early, and I’ll be sleeping in the same room so if you do get up, I’ll be there. Just so long as you’ve got over your guilt. There’s no point. You had a good time, I had a good time, what’s the problem?’

‘Yeah, I guess.’ They turned into the hibernation room and Ella walked over to one of the white tubes lying in two rows down the room. She tapped in a series of instructions on the panel on the side and the clear plastic panel on the top opened up. ‘I’m getting up early,’ she said as she climbed in. She lay down and grinned up at Aneka. ‘I’ve got a couple of vibrators too.’

Aneka laughed as the door closed over and Ella closed her eyes. There was a soft hiss as anaesthetic gas entered the chamber, and Ella’s body relaxed. Arms moved out from the top of the chamber, settling over Ella’s neck. Aneka turned back to the door rather than watch who knew what being pumped into the girl’s bloodstream. Patton was walking in.

‘Bash says to meet him in the cargo hold,’ she said as she headed for one of the empty sleep units. ‘Drake’s on his way down so you’ll be alone in ten minutes.’ She looked up from programming the unit. ‘Thanks for last night. The change was nice. Has Ella got over it?’

‘She will.’ Aneka started out and then stopped. ‘Doesn’t Drake have a first name?’

‘Mallory. He hates it. Everyone calls him Drake.’

‘Huh. See you in the morning.’

‘Yeah, morning for me anyway. Good luck.’

Aneka headed out of the hibernation suite and back toward the rear section of the ship. The cargo hold was a big, open space, largely empty since it was supposedly going to be filled with things they found at their destination. Most of it was also unpressurised, but there was a small pressurised section, and that was where she found Bashford.

He smiled at her as she walked into the room. ‘I figured we would kick off with something interesting.’ He waved at a packing case at the side of the room and she looked over at it. Three black cases were sitting on top of it and she recognised them immediately.

‘Those are the weapons cases from the xinti ship.’

‘Uh-huh. I cleared it with Gillian. We figured they were essentially part of your personal effects and xinti weapons are pretty well known so there’s no real scientific value. If that pistol is the kind of thing I think it is, it has a non-lethal setting so you can use it for target practice.’ He nodded down the hold to where he had set up a couple of paper targets. ‘I took the liberty of charging the power cells.’

‘Okay,’ Aneka said as she flipped open the cases. The pistol was big, but not excessively heavy. She lifted it from its case and hefted it, feeling the balance. It was slightly front heavy until she slotted one of the large, cylindrical cells into the hole in the back. Almost immediately a display opened up in her vision field showing power remaining, range to target, and an image of the wall. She turned the pistol around and the image shifted. There was a camera mounted under the large barrel. ‘Huh,’ she grunted. ‘Heads-up display. I’ve got picture-in-picture aiming.’

‘A lot of modern weapons have a system like that. Most people have to wear something to display it on.’

Aneka gave him a grin and turned her attention back to the display. There was, indeed, a power setting, currently showing as “lethal.” A thought switched it to “pacify.” She aimed down the hold, lined up one of the targets in her sights, and pulled the trigger. A pulse of energy burst out from the muzzle and hit the target dead centre. There was a sharp electrostatic ripping sound and the paper target shredded.