Partners

“Humans are the same everywhere.” Jess's voice sounded wry. “Even in the outlands where shelter's a dug hole there's status and fights over it.” She reached the bottom level and turned to the right, where a large metal door had been fitted into the stone.

“Yes, that's true.” Dev agreed. “Everyone wants to have more or better stuff or a better assignment than anyone else. Even we do.”

“Even?” Jess worked the manual lock and put her shoulder to the door, shoving it open. That revealed a long, narrow tunnel, and without hesitation, she headed into it. “C'mon.”

It was dark and mysterious. Dev resisted the urge to reach out and take hold of Jess's jumpsuit as she followed her through the tunnel. She could hear a rumbling, wild sound ahead of them and a moment later, they were out of the tunnel and into a huge, huge cavern.

Jess stepped to one side and she could see past her.

“Wow.” Dev stopped in surprise.

Jess leaned against the wall and regarded the space before them. The wall of the citadel came down to the water, over the edge of the sea that roared and surged through it, sending a volume of water through a tunnel underneath their feet. “It's one of a dozen of them.” She commented. “Flow dumps through turbines behind that wall there.” She pointed to their right. “Then goes back out a raceway over there.”

Dev stood on her tip toes to see the outflow on the far side of a thick ridge of stone smashing against the low wall before it escaped back to the sea. “This is amazing.”

“It is.” Jess agreed. “Too bad we didn't think of this before we sucked half the planet dry of fossil fuels... but then, there are a lot less of us around now to need it.” She went to the edge and pointed down. “That's where we swim, there where it breaks off? And those long waves there are great to surf.”

Dev edged up next to her and peered at the surging whirlpools created by the inrushing water. Then she looked at Jess. “Are you serious?”

Solemnly, Jess nodded. “See that stairwell there?” She pointed at the side of the wall, where roughly cut steps led down to a long, open rock surface that was continually washed over by water. “We go down there, and dive in. It's past the intake for the water, so you don't get sucked in, but it's a great ride, and you end up on that little beach there.”

Dev could hardly imagine it.

“See? We chain our boards to the wall there. Let's go down.” Jess headed for the steps. “Getting in the water feels great.”

Knowing more than a moment of doubt about that, Dev nevertheless followed her partner down the steps, her entire body vibrating form the force of the water's motion. They reached the bottom platform and she stayed near the wall as the water surged up around her boots, glad of their thick and water proof construction.

Then they moved around and were in a surprising dip in the wall, a three quarter round space that oddly cut off the roar as Jess pulled her closer against the long vaguely oval objects she'd pointed at. “Oh.”

“Oh.” Jess folded her arms across her chest. “This is one place you can really talk in private.” She said.

“Why is it quiet here?” Dev turned around in a circle.

“Quirk of acoustics.” Her partner said. “So. Listen. Let's talk about tomorrow.” She leaned against one of the boards. “And then I'll show you how to surf.”

Dev eyed the boards, and hoped the tomorrow discussion was a long one. “Tomorrow for our trip to your home?”

“That's one part. But after that's done, we're not coming back here.” Jess told her. “We're going to get lost up over the white, and come down on the other side. I think I know where they're holding the team.” She said, in a calm tone. “Once we leave Drake's Bay, we'll be renegade.”

“I see.” Dev responded. “That sounds incorrect.”

“It is.” Jess looked out over the water. “I just have to decide what to do about our escort.”

“Do about them?”

Jess turned and met her eyes. “They either have to agree to join us, or I'll have to take them down.”

Take them down. Dev felt a little chilled. The serious woman, and her fellow tech, who had eagerly jumped at the chance of coming along, on their first mission and Jess was talking about making them dead. “Jess, are you sure this is a correct thing to do?” She asked, after a pause. “Because I'm not sure Doctor Dan would think it was.”

Jess studied her for a long moment. “You don't?”'

“No.” Dev answered honestly. “I don't think he would want us to get into this trouble, and hurt our colleagues, to provide him with assistance. I think it would make him sad.”

Jess looked intrigued rather than upset. “He doesn't want to be rescued? He would rather be tortured to death? Really?” She asked. “Because that's what'll happen to him, Dev. I've seen it. They'll string him up and take power poles to his entire body until his brain fries.”

Dev thought very hard about that, but sad and hard as it was, she thought she knew the truth of it “I remember once we were in class, and we were doing a lab. One of the people in class did something wrong and the lab broke apart and the stuff it in went flying.”

Jess waited without speaking.

“Doctor Dan stepped in front of it, so it hit him, and not us.” Dev said. “It hurt him a lot, but he just stood there and let it hurt him.”

“Ah.”

“The director came and he yelled at Doctor Dan, because he said we were replaceable.” The bio alt folded her arms. “But Doctor Dan said he didn't care.”

“Huh.” Jess pondered that. “You may be right. He may not agree.” She said. “But I'm going to go rescue his ass anyway. Offer still stands, Dev.. I'll leave you and maybe those kids at Drake's Bay. Go myself.” She put a hand on her partner's shoulder. “Could be one way.”

After a pause, Dev exhaled. “Whether or not Doctor Dan thinks this is good or bad, I want to go with you. “ She said. “Because... “ She paused for a long time. “Because I think it's the right thing to do.” She looked up at Jess. “It's what I want to do.”

Jess smiled. Then she leaned closer and kissed Dev on the lips. “Thanks.” She said. “That made the one way thing a lot less likely, because you're a lot better driver than I am and I need you.” She eased back a little. “So now that we're over all this serious, self sacrificing bullshit, let's surf.”

There was really no question in her mind that she would have rather go practice that sex thing than try surfing. However, Dev nodded anyway. “It's going to be cold, isn't it?” She regarded the water mournfully.

“Very.” Jess unchained her board and set it to one side, then pulled a thick jumpsuit from the rack and started to unfasten her own. “But I promise I'll warm you up later.”

Ah. Well at least there was that to look forward to. Dev regarded the suit she'd been handed, and resolved to at least try to enjoy it.

**

It was cold. Dev held on to the rocks as the water rushed around her, almost overwhelming her with the smell of salt and the rich scent of the water itself.

She was in a shallow curve of the rock, somewhat protected from the roughness of the surf, but it was still more than enough to have tossed her around if she wasn't holding on.

Very different than the pool. She shook the wet hair from her eyes and watched as Jess got onto her board, and paddled across the surface of the water, heading for the outer wall. When she got there, she turned and as the next surging wave came in she got up onto the board and stood up, as the water picked her and it up and rolled towards the little shore.

Wow. Dev watched in fascination as her partner balanced gracefully, her body relaxed as the wave rushed along. She could feel the pulse of the sea herself, it's surge alternately sucking at her and shoving her against the rocks she had tight hold of. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced.

Jess waited for the board to reach the little beach she'd launched from and hopped off, grabbing the hand hold and hauling the oblong item with her. “See?” She turned and called out, spreading her arms. “Easy!”

Dev released her hold and waited for the next surge to shove her beachward, practicing her newly learned swimming skills as she made her way towards her partner.

It wasn't easy. The pull of the water made progress tricky, but she kept at it as Jess stood there leaning against her board, watching her. Eventually it was shallow enough for her to stand, and she slogged out of the water onto the beach, trying not to shiver too much as the cool air hit her.

“Doing okay?” Jess asked, as she joined her. “Not like the pool, huh?”

“No.” Dev agreed, rubbing her arms through the heavy stretchy fabric covering them. “But it's interesting.”

“Okay so grab that board.” Jess pointed at the second one. “And just follow me.”

Stolidly, the bio alt obeyed, lifting the oblong object, a little surprised at how light it was. “Oh.” She hefted it. “I thought it would weigh more.”

“Hollow.” Jess headed for the surf. “This beach used to be three times the size.” She lamented. “Then the water rose. Made for better waves, but all the erosion's knocking part of that wall down.”

Dev waded into the water after her, towing the board. “Didn't that man at the North base say something about the water level dropping? Was this the beach he meant?”

“Sure is.” Jess paused as they got into water deep enough to start pulling her off her feet. “Okay, so now.. lay down on the board and just start paddling with your hands. Watch me.”

Usually, watching Jess was a pleasure. In this case, however, Dev had her hands full just keeping herself upright and it was actually something of a relief when she managed to get on top of the board and the water stopped pulling at her. She lay down on her stomach on it, and copied her partner as best as she was able.

The water kept coming over the edge of the board and hitting her in the face. Dev sneezed and shook her wet hair out of her eyes, arching her back a little to keep her head up.

They neared the outer wall, and she got a glimpse of the outside, a roil of whitecaps that flashed before her eyes before the surge came in and the view was blocked.

“Okay, now watch.” Jess yelled, as they turned around. She pressed her self up and got her feet under her, standing up on the board as the wave started to gather speed. “Stand up and just go with it!”

That seemed to be very easy for her to say. Dev was struggling just to hold on to her board, but gamely, she pushed up and nearly fell off, before she managed to get her feet under her in a weird sort of crouch.

“Stand up!” Jess turned her head and called back “Or you'll end up tipping over!”

Uncertainly, Dev released her grip and felt the board slide around as the water came up under her. She remained in a crouch though, holding her arms out for balance as she tried to adjust to the erratic motion. “Okay.” She took a breath. “I think I can..”

A cross wave smacked into her, and the next thing she knew she was flying off the board and into the water, plunging under the surface as the shifting forces pulled her under.

It was dark, and frightening. She struggled to get herself moving in the right direction, not entirely sure what that direction was. She felt a smack on the back of her head and waved her arms around to find the source of the attack, then was pulled in a circle as she fell into a whirl of surf.

She fought to not breathe, feeling a burn in her chest as she kicked with her legs, trying to get to the surface she dind't know the exact location of. The desire to suck in air was overwhelming, and just as she started to give into it, she felt something grab her and yank her upward.

Her head broke the surface and she gasped, feeling Jess's iron grip on her upper arm. “Ugh!”

“Easy!” Jess had a good hold on her now. “I forgot you don't god damned float. Even with this thing on.” She stroked sideways through the water, pulling them both towards the shore. “Sorry about that.”

Dev saved her breath for fighting the water, doing the best she could to aid the effort as they both ended up being shoved ashore by the surf, covered in sand.

“Buh.” Jess sat up, her long legs sprawled on the beach as the continuous waves washed over them. “That was kinda stupid.”

Dev coughed, spitting out a mouthful of sand. She rolled over and pushed herself up to a seated position. “That was interesting.” She pronounced. “I am not sure I would be good at it.” She glanced behind them at the churning surf.

“I do like this place though. And I liked the little bit over there to swim in.”

Jess chuckled wryly. “Did they program you for optimism, Dev?” She examined a scrape on the back of her hand. “Yeah, I come down here and swim a lot. It reminds me of the bay near where I grew up, I guess.” She hiked her knees up and circled them with both arms. “Not as rough though.”

Dev leaned back against the stone wall that bordered the small beach. Here, out of the wind, the cold wasn't so bad, and she could imagine her partner here in the dim light of the phosphorescent blocks reliving earlier memories here in the water she seemed to be very much attracted to.

Which she wanted Dev to share, apparently. “I would like to try this again.” Dev said, catching Jess's eyes as they lifted to her face in some surprise. “I will try to float better next time.”

Jess glanced around, then back at her. “You sure?”

“Yes” Dev felt the whole thing was worth it, seeing the sudden, big grin on her partner's face. “Should we go find the flat things?”

Jess stood up and held her hand out. “Let's go.” She said. “Don't know when we'll get another chance with all thats going on.”

Dev let herself be hauled up to her feet, and sloshed back into the water, spitting a little bit of extra sand and what she suspected was some small animal out of her mouth, determined to collect yet another thing that would mark her as unique.

Just in case.

**

The shower itself felt amazing. Dev stood quietly under the hot water, feeling her body slowly thaw. But even more amazing was Jess's presence behind her in it, scrubbing her skin with the clean smelling soap. “I think I swallowed some seaweed.”

She hoped it was seaweed. She tried not to think about the vaguely wiggling sensation it had provided her, going down. It was a little unsettling to think about that whole swallowing live animals thing.

“Happens.” Jess was humming softly under her breath, as she worked. “Glad you got something out of it, Devvie. Ya did good, those last two runs.”

Dev supposed she had, somehow remaining standing long enough to get to the shore, in a flail of waving arms and wavering legs that nevertheless still stayed upright. “I liked it.”

“Did you? Or are ya just humoring me?” Jess brought her arms around and soaped the front of Dev's body, making her completely forget about what she'd just been asked. “Hm?”

It felt so amazing. “I”m sorry. What?” Dev finally asked. “Did you ask me something?”

Jess chuckled, and kept up her soaping.

After a moment, Dev turned around in the circle of her arms and started reciprocating. “I like this also.” She commented as Jess ducked her head down and they kissed.

“Yeah me too.” Jess slid her hands up to cradle the back of Dev's head, feeling the gently exploring touch across her body make her breathing shorten. “Let's dry off and continue this in a more comfortable spot.” She added, but found herself not budging, as Dev traced a curious path down the centerline of her torso

Her skin felt sensitzed, and the shower pounding against it only made it worse. She had to force herself to shut the water off and reach for the towel, all the while touching and nibbling Dev, the surroundings starting to fade out.

Somehow, they made it over to the bed. Jess was glad to feel the cool, soft surface under her and started to return Dev's attentions in earnest.

Hard to remember, really, that Dev had so little experience. Jess felt a thigh slide between hers, and was glad they were in the citadel, where security was someone elses problem for a while. She said that, stifling a sound as Dev's curious touch fastened on a nipple.

And then Dev went suddenly still. “Jess.” She said, on an irregular breath. “I found something in the carrier bay.”

Jess felt her chest heaving. “What?”

“I brought it.. to the big place to show you. Before.”

Jess opened her eyes to find Dev's pale ones looking back at her. She could see the flush on her partner's face, and she was on the razor's edge of just telling her to forget about it.

That it could wait for later.

But training, deep as bone, paused that. “You have damned inconvenient memory, NM-Dev-1.” She rolled over and scrubbed her face. “Oh boy.”

“Sorry.” Dev cleared her throat. “The whole thing with the water made me forget. I remembered when you said that about security.” She got up out of the bed and walked over to the door between their quarters. “Let me get it and show you.”

Jess rolled flat onto her back and glared at the ceiling.

A moment later Dev came back with her portable comp, climbing back into bed with it, still completely naked. She focused on the screen, reaching up with one hand to push the still damp hair out of her eyes. “I was doing a reading on the new people's carrier, then I was in the damaged one, and look.” She held the comp up so Jess could see it. “This was present in both of them.”

Jess rolled onto her side and looked at the screen. “What is that?”

“It's the recall beacon.” Dev said. “Except it's polarity's reversed. It's sending out a signal on that sine wave. Not receiving one.”

Jess slowly straightened up, lifting her body up on one elbow. She reached for the comp and pulled it closer, the readings standing out with a surreal clarity in the dimness of the room. “You said this was in April and Doug's bus, and the one Syd was driving?”

“Yes.”

“What the hell?” Jess's brow creased. “That old bus they're driving wasn't... “ She paused. “Check the comp. When was it last used?”

Dev got up and retrieved her under jumpsuit, slipping it on before she sat down behind Jess's workstation and pulled a pad over to her.

It was a shame, of course, that the sex practice had to be interrupted. They had been well on their way to feeling excellent, she thought, but after all, they did have their job to do. She typed in the request and waited. Of course, she was hoping the question could be answered quickly.

“If they went out like that, they'd be a target a walrus could have hit with a hairball.” Jess was studying the portable unit. “Did you check ours?”

“Yes.” Dev answered. “That unit was last in service six standard seven day weeks ago.” She said. “Assigned to Mr. Bock, and someone called Callie.”

Jess got up and walked over, coming around the back of the chair and leaned on the desk with one hand. “Is that so?” She mused. “Now where were you going, Stephen? Pull the nav on that.” She triggered comms. “Mech ops, Drake.”

A crackle. “Mech, this is Clint.” The tech supervisor sounded wary. “What can I do for you, Jess?”

“Dev found a glitch on April's bus, in the beacon. You hear about it?”

Clint sighed. “Yeah, that new tech was bugging me for a new one. I told him to get out the soldering iron. Why?”

“Run a scan on every carrier in the bay for that glitch, Clint.” Jess said, in a quiet, and serious tone. “Now.”

He was briefly silent. “Ack.” He answered shortly.

“Let me know what you find.”

“Ack.” He triggered off.

Jess exhaled. “Sure hope he doesn't find anything.” She said. “Got nav back?”

“It was unregistered, according to this.” Dev responded. “Is this all incorrect?”

“Two teams went out this afternoon.” Jess said. “If they had this same alteration, they're flying wide open.” She exhaled. “Glad you remembered this.”

Dev felt bad. “I should have thought of it earlier.” She admitted. “I got distracted.”

Jess kissed her on the top of her head. “Another sign of your humanity, Devvie. C'mon.” She reached over and unzipped the zipper on her undersuit. “Let's finish what we started.”

Ignoring your duty wasn't good. Dev could feel that intensity starting again and she stood, letting Jess peel the suit off her. But she wanted this and he'd been right about that too.

She hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed if he ended up finding out.

**

Dev settled into her pilot's seat, hitching it forward and bringing up the boards that would activate the carrier's systems. She was dressed in her flight suit, her formal one stashed in one of the cabinets at her left hand side. The carrier hatch was propped open, waiting for it's second occupant and all around her things were in motion as the busy bay carried on.

It was early. Dawn was just cracking outside, and above her, the hatch was already open revealing a dull gray sky that was thankfully still rain free.

Over to the right she could see bio alts scurrying around April and Doug's carrier, their freshly painted names clear and sharp against the machine's mottled skin. As she watched, she saw Doug enter, and knew he'd be shortly performing the same checks as she was, having worked all night to get his systems ready for flight.

She'd helped, after she and Jess had gotten a late meal in the mess. With all the swimming and everything else though, she'd only been able to help him for so long before she was tired enough to wish Jess would come and retrieve her and as though that had been some kind of magic her partner had.

Grim, with Clint at her heels, the tech manager yelling orders to all the bio alts to bring in fleet wide beacons to his station.

But Doug had gotten far enough with her help that she thought he might finish, and she had only felt a little guilty about leaving with Jess and crawling into bed with her to get some sleep.

So now she felt good, having gotten sufficient rest, and she ran through the preflight checks with confidence.

Everyone seemed a bit somber. No one made jokes with Jess in the mess during breakfast, and one or two of the other agents had come up to offer her condolences or wish them a safe flight.

She heard footsteps, and glanced behind her as Jess entered the carrier, putting a gear bag with her formals into the rear cabinet. “Hello.”

“Hey Devvie.” Jess closed the cabinet and then sealed the hatch, coming forward to Dev's position with a small pad. “Here's the coordinates. Go ahead and plot it, then file the flight plan with ops.”

Dev accepted the pad and set it down, calling up the nav system to program it. The system accepted the coordinates and drew her a wiremap, outlining a long concave route to the south and west. She reached over and settled her ear cups on her head. “BR27006 to central operations for comms check.”

“Stand by BR27006” Centops answered.

Dev used the time to connect the carrier's systems to her suit inputs and run the pre start sequence on the engines. She observed the response of the systems carefully, plugging in her portable comp and comparing results there. The beacon subsystem had been looked at last night, but theirs, unlike some but not all of the others, hadn't been altered.

Jess sat down in her gunner's position and started activating her controls. “Give me some juice.”

Dev balanced the batteries and shunted power to weapons, seeing the aux weapons boards come live near her station.

“BR27006, go ahead for comms check.” Ops came online. “Standing by for flight plan.”

Dev sent the nav plot over. “Comms check midband and sideband alpha.” She said. “Requesting steady comms thorughout the flight plan.”

“Confirmed.” Central ops replied. “Comms check cleared, flight plan accepted. Stand by for clearance.”

“Open a side band to Aprils rig.” Jess said, as she settled the restraints around her and snugged them tight. “Send her the coordinates from your output.”

“Yes.” Dev complied, requesting the contact from the other carrier. “Jess, carrier supply is asking if we need any supplimental”

“Tell them no.” Jess said. “Tell them short trip, no need for anything special.”

Dev nodded and pressed an ear cup more firmly to her head. “Standing by.” She muttered softly.

Jess arranged her boards and settled back, letting her hands rest on her thighs. Now that they were on the verge of flight, she had time to think about what they were doing and it made her grimace a little. Home was always a little uncomfortable, and a processing, where all activity was pretty much put on hold and a range of emotion present from boredom to true grief could be truly uncomfortable.

But it did get her out of the citadel, on a legitimate a flight as she could have invented. And as far as she was letting on, this was just a routine family obligation, with nothing in her planning that might indicate anything else to anyone who happened to be checking on her.

She suspected there were a few, including Bain.

“Jess, we have clearance.” Dev spoke up. “We also have a connection to the other carrier.”

All regulation. All normal. All as expected. “Great. Go ahead and lift. Tell April and Doug to meet us topside.” Jess ran another set of checks on her boards, and then set then into quiescence. The guns came offline returned energy to the batt pool and she felt the air around her compress as Dev sealed the skin.

“Releasing umbilicals.” Dev announced softly, as the power shift went from external to internal, and she spooled up the landing jets. “Launching.”

Jess felt the motion, and she settled her head against the padded rest of her chair, watching on the screens as the carrier lifted and turned, sliding sideways and then moving up through the open hatch into free air.

As she expected, the carrier rotated in a complete circle, then it moved off to one side as they waited for their escort to follow. “Give me comp and comms wouldja, Dev?” She saw the indicators some in almost instantly on her console and set her ear cup in place. “Thanks.”

She keyed up the bio scan and set to work, humming slightly under her breath.

Dev set a scan in motion and looked around at the thick clouds overhead. They were dark and dense, but the wind had dropped and there wasn't much motion to them. She shifted the carrier back a little to clear air, and watched as the other carrier rose up from the bay.

“BR27006, copy.” Doug's voice echoed softly in her ear. “Copy good. Stand by to transit.” She glanced in the mirror. “Jess?”

“Huh?” Her partner looked up. “We ready? Yes? Let's go.”

“Proceed on nav coordinates.” Dev told Doug, as she swung them around and boosted the engines into forward, then increased speed. “ETA one hour.”

Jess nodded. “Yup. No long distance butt aching this time.” She triggered a transmit and then relaxed, taking advantage of the transit regardless of how short to clear her mind of both thoughts and stress. “Going home.”

**

Dev adjusted a setting, glancing up at the nav comp as it updated their position. They were running along the edge of a long string of islands and shallows, and she hadn't seen much sign of any life along the way.

The dull gray daylight was outlining the green surf, and in the distance, she could see a taller height rising out of the sea, long arms on either side descending down in a rough semicircle. “Is that where we're going?” She pointed at it.

“Yup.” Jess was leaning on the console near her, drinking from a container. “That's it. That big half round area is Drake's Bay.”

It was too far to really see any detail, but it looked big. “Are there a lot of people there?” Dev asked.

“Not like Quebec, but there's people there.” Jess said, in a thoughtful tone. “Aside from my extended family, and the people who work the processing center down the coast there, there's little haulers, and scavengers, lots of small caves and tuck unders you can survive in.”

“I see.”

“Most people work at the processors, but suppliment that with afterhours work in the Bay.” Jess went on. “My grandfather wanted to make the place self sufficient – be able to pay full time but he never made it. My dad never even tried. But they can feed themselves. Don't really need to work for the processor but they'ret so scared they'd lose the place if they stopped.”

Dev wasn't sure she understood all that. But they were coming within scan range of the half round area, and she started to pick up signals. “We're being scanned.”

“I bet.” Jess kept sipping from her mug. “Drake's Bay is not exactly like any other place we've been so far, Dev.” She watched the coastline slip by. “Contact Doug and tell them to stay behind us, and keep cool.”

Dev made the call, and repeated the instructions, hoping the last part made sense to their escorts. Then she saw a incoming signal and keyed to it. “Repeat, calling station?”

Jess smiled faintly.

“Incoming vessel approaching Drake's Bay. Identify yourself and your originating location or stand off. This will be your only warning.”

Dev looked at her partner in question.

“Go ahead and identify us.”

“This is BR27006, Interforce flight outbound from Base 10.” Dev obediently supplied, then blinked as she felt a second, much more powerful scan sweep through them, making her skin tingle, and the chips in her hand itch. “Is that correct?” She asked Jess.

Jess half shrugged. “Is it approved? No. But I sent over our bio scans so with any luck that'll clear us and we won't have to engage in any more who the hell are you bullshit.”

“So they know who we are?”

“They know who we are.” Jess confirmed.

“Interforce BR27006, come ahead. You are expected.” The comms sputtered. “Advise your following vessel to stay to your inbound pattern. Access bay twelve is available.”

“Tell them thank you.” Jess extended her legs and crossed them at the ankles. “Then go around that far wall there, midway up the slope you'll see the landing bays. Twelve's the second from the top.”

Dev complied, sending the signal to Doug to stay on their tail. As they approached the tall, half circle wall of stone she could see that it sloped up away from the water and rose above it, but it had no flat wall like the citadel did. It was more like a cone, and it reminded her a little of the market island that had blown up.

The half circle bay at it's foot was protected by the arching walls that came down from either side, and the water in the enclosed part was a lighter shade of green and blue – Dev thought she could see through it and see some rocks and thing beneath the surface.

There were docks tucked into the inside of the curve and there were boats there tied to them, and the though the surf was choppy it was far less rough than further out. On the edge of the water was a beach like the one in the citadel, only this one was much larger, and wider.

Dev glanced up at Jess, seeing a thoughtful and somewhat sad look on her face. She was about to ask a question, then decided to hold it for later. She returned her attention to the rock wall, angling their course so they would come around the edge.

On the far side of the curved wall she saw the landing area. There were ledges and openings scattered over the bare walls, and zig zagging from them were steps carved into the stone, leading down to one large opening at ground level.

Dev found the second from the top and angled towards it, as two smaller craft dove into an opening two levels lower. She approached the entrance and slowed her forward speed, dropping down to make sure she cleared the ceiling and passing inside.

The interior of the cavern surprised her. It was more regular in shape than she expected, and the inner walls were flat, and straight not like the walls of the carrier bay back at the citadel. She saw large open spaces towards one side, and noticed there were people on the ground with bright colored sticks pointing at them.

“Over there, Dev.” Jess indicated the flat area they were pointing at. “Just put her down, then we can change into our formals.”

“All right.” Dev gently eased the carrier down. She could see a landing crew waiting for her, none of their faces in any way familiar. “They know what to do with this vessel?”

“They know what to do with a lot of things.” Jess answered enigmatically. “But yeah, you can let them hook up once you land. They won't do anything but put power up for us.”

“Okay.” Dev extended the landing skids and set the craft on the floor of the cavern, shutting down the engines as the tech team approached them and with casual skill, connected a set of umbilicals to their ports. She observed the settings, then she switched over the power and watched for a moment as the leads evened out.

“Dev?”

Dev unfastened her restraints and got out of her chair. “Yes?”

Jess opened the back cabinet and started unzipping her flight suit. “There aren't any bio alts here.” She said. “But they'll probably have heard of you.”

Dev studied her, as she opened up the small cabinet up near her station. “Will it cause discomfort?” She asked. “Would you prefer if I stayed here?”

Jess slid into her formals, fastening the shoulder catch on the sleeveless undersuit. “You might prefer it.” She remarked wryly. “In general, my family's just against the whole idea of bio alts. They'd rather build a bigger population base of natural borns – they think making what they view as servants is dumb and immoral.”

“I see.”

“On the other hand, you're a tech. “ Jess slid into her jacket and pulled the sleeves straight. “And one thing they do respect is Interforce. Probably give the whole lot of them indigestion for a year.”

“I see.” Dev repeated, making sure her insignia were in place, and fastened correctly.

“So, no I'd rather you not stay here. But try to ignore any jackassery you hear. Okay? I can't really start beating the crap out of my family for insulting you.” She finished dressing and ducked her head to look at a reflective piece of metal, running her fingers through her hair.

“Of course not.” Dev said. “They can say anything they want, Jess. I”m trained for that.”

Jess rested her wrists on Dev's shoulders. “I know. But I'm not.” She leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the lips. “And we Drakes have some odd ideas of honor. So hopefully they'll give you the respect a tech and my partner deserves.” She patted her cheek. “Let's go.”

Jess triggered the hatch open and the ramp extended, letting in a gust of sea air mixed with stone and silicon oil. She led the way down, glancing to her left where Doug and April were standing, braced, waiting for her. Bain had said to have them stand off, but Jess knew better.

Have a carrier, armed, hovering over the homestead? Not even she could pull that off – she wasn't even carrying a single weapon on her. Having the two newbies with her would have to be enough.

She motioned them to follow and started towards the inner halls, slowing when she saw her brother Jimmy's tall form fill the doorway. “Hey Jimmy.”

He held a hand up in greeting. “'Lo, Jess.” He stepped out of the doorway and cleared space. “Sorry this had to be a homecoming occasion.” He glanced at her companions. “Welcome to Drake's Bay.” He addressed them. “Ah..”

“Sorry to hear the news.” Jess said. “This is April Anston, and her partner Doug Sars.” She half turned. “And this is my partner, Dev.”

“Your new partner?” Jimmy asked.

“Brand new, and already notorious.” Jess kept her gaze steady and her eyes flatly expressionless in warning.

Jimmy kept his eyes on Dev for an instant, then he nodded. “Follow me.” He turned and ducked back through the door, holding it open for them as they followed and then letting it close as he continued on.

So far so good, Dev thought. She walked along a pace behind Jess, looking around with interest. The corridors here, unlike the ones in Quebec, or the market, were fully lit and cut square, not irregular. It was more like the citadel than any other place she'd seen yet, and the floors too were even stone set in a pattern she found quite attractive.

As they continued inward, there were doors set on either side and a final turn led them to a wide open internal cavern where she almost stopped involuntarily to gawk.

The platform they were on had stairs that climbed up to higher levels, and stairwells that arched down to lower ones, but they were all of stone, and carved beautifully in shapes that had nothing to do with function. There was natural light there, too, and Dev tipped her head back to look up at the top of the chamber which at first glance seemed open to the sky.

Then she realized it wasn't, that there was some clear surface between the open air and the cavern, but it let the gray light of day in to bathe the stone spirals that led up and down through a vast space of perhaps fifteen levels, each stairway peeling off to an arched corridor that led off deeper in to the mountain.

“Wow.” April murmured, next to her. 'This is something.”

“It's very attractive.” Dev murmured back. “I've never seen anything like it, even in vid.”

“Me either.” The younger agent shook her head. “You, Doug?”

“No way.” The unusually subdued tech muttered.

Jess and her brother were headed down the steps and they hastily followed, down several levels and then through another hall, that led to a beautiful archway into a big chamber beyond. Dev looked up as they went through, seeing a pretty design carved in the stone above it, a sort of diamond or triangle shaped outline with a creature in the middle, odd and strange, with it's fish like tale, and wings.

She put a reminder in her head to ask Jess later what it was supposed to be. Right now, her attention was captured by the space they were entering, a big room with stone floors and a beautiful arched ceiling where there were a number of people waiting.

There was a table there, with trays on it, and glasses. The people in the room were all dressed well, and some were drinking from glasses, standing in small groups talking. Jimmy put a hand on Jess's shoulder and then left them, going across the room to talk to three men who were in simple gray jumpsuits with colored bands on their shoulders.

People noticed their entrance, Dev realized. A lot of them were watching them, though most looked curious rather than in discomfort and as they milled around they exposed a pit with a heating element in it, round and stone cut, that had carved plaques above it going around in a curve.

“So, what do you think?” Jess was whispering in her ear.

“This place is amazing.” Dev whispered back.

Her partner smiled briefly, standing with her hands behind her back. “Yeah, it's not bad for an old rock pile.” She said, in an nonchalant tone. “Couple of families of stone masons and steelwrights have lived here as part of the extended homesteads for a few generations. We use barter for life staples, works out pretty good for both sides.”

Jimmy moved to the center of the room and cleared his throat. “Okay folks, thanks for being here. Processing is set to start soon as we get to the viewing station. This way” He indicated a door in the back of the chamber. “Wake lunch'll be in the dining chamber when it's over.”

Jess indicated them to hold off going until most of the room had emptied, then she led their little group into the back hall. She knew a number of the others there, but she hadn't seen most since she'd been very small and she didn't really expect any of them to come up and talk to her. Service family or not, it was true once you were taken, you became part of something else and she'd stopped being a part of Drake's Bay's life a long time ago.

Didn't really bother her. Right?

She walked along the halls she'd last really trod as a child and as they turned a corner and the corridor started downward, she felt a gust of the rich salt air she remembered so well.

“So you made it.”

Jess turned to find her brother Jake walking next to her. “I made it.”

Jake nodded. “Glad you did. Even if you and the old woman didn't get along.”

Jess sighed. “I don't think it was that. I think she just wanted things to be different and I couldn't change that. I think she always figured I could have said no to this at some point.”

“Crazy woman.” Jake shook his head. “Lucky it was only one of us.”

“Yeah.” Jess slowed as they reached the lock to the outer platform, which was set in the open position. She followed the last of the guests out the lock and then they were facing the bay. After a brief pause, Jess circled the crowd and eased over to one side of the platform, moving through the other guests until she was up against the wall.

She put her hands on the top of it, and waited, drawing in a breath of the air coming off the bay. Jake came up to stand next to her, and she was aware of Dev's presence at her elbow, the bio alt keeping very quiet, and sticking very close.

It was a very impersonal process, really. Jess regarded the outflow station three levels below. There was no place to put organic garbage, no use for it's components in the holding, so they did what made sense – grind it up and expell it into the sea where it became a meal for the creatures living in it.

Human bodies were just large pieces of organic garbage, once life had left them. They got the same treatment as any of the kitchen refuse and now, though not in the beginning, it was common and accepted. Her mother would have a memorial plaque set in the wall of the family chamber, and her name added to the remembrance ceremonies held once a year but nowadays the thought of keeping a body around just to remember someone would horrify anyone now alive.

It was, what it was.

“Stand by.” Jimmy said, quietly, though his voice echoed softly in the viewing station. “Processing underway.”

A soft rumble, the sound of a hatch, and a rush of darkish matter into the blue green water. The fish saw it, and a moment later there was a frenzy, a roil of fins and silvery bodies thrashing the water, and that, though, would cause the hold on taking fish in the bay for two days.

There was something still, of that corporal reverence. But then life would go on, and they would continue to live in the way they had for generations now the only way they'd been able to manage.

“So.” Jake shifted. “That's done.”

“Bye mom.” Jess agreed. “Sorry we never got a chance to be human to each other, there at the end.”

“Sorry you never got to see me spawn.” Jake agreed, giving his sister a sideways glance. “Finally got an allotment. Sagra's pregnant.”

Jess smiled briefly. “Congratulations.”

The crowd was breaking up and going back inside, already talking of other things. Jimmy came over to them, folding his arms across his chest and glancing briefly out to sea. “Glad you could make it out, Jess.” He said. “Lets go have lunch. Trade some stories. Tayler wants to see his aunt. I think we've all had a lot of changes lately.”

His eyes flicked to Dev, who returned his look with bland politeness.

'Sure.” Jess said. “We'd love to. “ She spoke for her three companions, who were really in no place to argue about it. “You can give me all the details on what happened to mom.”

“And you can tell us all about those gold bars and the new recruits.” Jimmy countered. “After you?”

“After you.”

**

Jess rested her wrists on the big, old table, salvaged from who knew what how many generations back in Drake history. It was wood, which was rare enough, but it had patterned inlay and a decayed, stately elegance that was now very rare. It had been the dining table she remembered from her childhood, big enough for a dozen or more to eat around it and close to the big kitchen with it's baking pit and cooktops.

Here it was private lunch, bowls of food passed around the table and her brothers families along with two old aunts and an ancient uncle seated around sharing it.

Jimmy and Jake, both of them still tall and lanky, Jimmy with his blond curls and innocent blue eyes, and Jake with her dark hair but gray eyes like their father had. There was a family resemblance to her, most of the Drakes had those angular lines and the height but they both had a defensive, almost hunch shouldered air she didn't share with them.

Little Tayler was there, sitting next to her on her left hand side, with Dev on her right hand, busy showing her a petrified starfish found apparently just that morning on the reef. He had a tangle of dark brown curls and a snub nose and no idea what was about to happen to him.

He would probably miss the same things she had.

She felt unsettled, as she usually did here. Aware at some level of a sense of faded familiarity yet aware that people watched her constantly, perhaps waiting for her to lose it and get crazy on someone.

Strange love hate relationship, with both the idea of, and the reality of Interforce. 'That's a nice starfish, Tayler.” Jess told her nephew gravely. “Find it at the point?”

“Yes.” Tayler put a finger between the arms of the petrified thing and moved it in a circle. “I like it.”

“Me too.” Jess reached over to help him turn the item, remembering sitting at this table, younger than he was now, doing more or less the same thing.

Tayler looked past her at Dev, and gave the bio alt a shy smile. “Hello.”

Dev smiled back. “Hello.”

“You like my starfis?”

Jess was glad of the distraction, and she was content to watch the kid engage with her pilot, who being closer to his size, apparently was a fascination.

“I do.” Dev said. “I have a vid of a bear. Would you like to see it?”

Tayler's eyes lit up. “A bear? A real bear? Daddy! Daddy! She saw a bear!”

Everyone looked up and over at the excited child, then Jimmy eyed Dev warily. “She did, huh?” He looked over at Jess. “You all up in the white? Hadn't heard that.”

Dev got up and came around to where Tayler was bouncing in his chair, pulling her comp out and calling up the vid. “The bear was really amazing. We saw baby ones too.”

“We were up in the white.” Jess said. “Just got back from it. I saw great uncle Justin, matter of fact.”

“That old coot?” Jake spoke up. “Haven't seen his fishy ass in years. He still remember you?”

“Oh wow!” Tayler was glued to the comp screen, as Dev ran through the vid she had of the bears, ending with the three animals watching them as they escaped into the cavern, the baby's tiny faces and cupped ears outlined against the ice. “That's cool!”

“He remembered me.” Jess said. “They're doing all right. Should trade more on this side of the fence though.”

“They pay more.” Jake commented shortly. “Got plenty of hard cred over there.”

Everyone looked a little uncomfortable, watching Jess closely. She was aware of that, but shrugged. “I know. I sold them a hold full of Justin's catch. Made more than I take a year.” She chewed a mouthful of leaf seaweed and mushrooms, along with a forkfull of the whole fish filet on her plate. “There's a reason market island's over on that side. That's where the cred is.”

“Maybe not now for a while.” Jake said, glancing at her. “Heard they had a big loss half month back or so. Whole research processing center gone.”

“Yeah?” Jess looked mildly at him.

“Trading boat came through yesterday, early.” Jimmy said. “Telling a story of some crazy ass lone gun shooting out half the damn side of Gibralter.”

It got quiet. Everyone focused on Jess, who stolidly kept chewing. She eventually swallowed, and then looked at Dev, who was kneeling next to her. “You think I'm crazy ass?”

Dev regarded her solemnly. “I don't think I'm programmed to comment about your ass.”

April stifled a laugh.

Jess looked back across the table. “My first mission with my new partner.” She answered, briefly. “Let's just say it was a payback for turning Josh.”

“So you got em there, little Jessy?” Uncle Matt spoke up. “Kicked em where it hurt? Good on ya.” He nodded to himself, munching on his fish. “More of em dead, the better.”

Jess smiled, and Mari, Jimmy's wife, changed the subject. There was a lot of that around family dinner tables, when you were part of an in service clan. Uncle Matt could be excused though, because he'd lost everything to the other side, a wife, three kids, and a homestead along with his left arm and a foot.

Matter of fact she was glad to have taken a piece out of them for him. “So where was the old woman coming back from?”

“Council meeting.” Jimmy said, briefly. “They had a vote up for the east flats. A bunch of lower caverners petitioned to open a station there. Vote went for them. I'm not sure it's worth it though.”

“Not enough shells?” Jess queried.

“They're trying for independent status.” Her brother replied. “There's no facility out there.”

“Uh huh. So she was headed back here after that.. just after the vote? No stops?” Jess asked. “Any comp from the flyer?”

'Nothing left of it.” Jake said. “She probably tied one on before she left. You know what she was like.” He studied Jess. “Hey, well maybe you didn't. She went for the bottle last couple years.”

“So they figure she splatted from that? They'll take her benefits.” Jess said. “Didn't she have shares in this place?”

Everyone now looked very uncomfortable. Dev had gone back to her seat, and Tayler was playing with his food, ignoring what was going on around the table. “Cmon, people. I don't have a stake in it.” Jess said. “I”m just asking.”

“Right now they're calling it a weather related accident.” Jimmy said, stiffly. “Her benefits come back to the family pool, she hadn't made a formal arrangement with anyone else.”

“She was never part of this family.” Auntie Grace spoke up. “Only made the arrangement with your father to get her hands on a piece of this place.”

April and Doug looked vaguely embarassed, but Jess lifted a hand in their direction. “Sorry. Shoulda warned you.” She said. “My family's as assholish as I usually am.”

Doug cleared his throat. “My dad's a senior councillor out on Rainier Island. I know the drill.” He said. “He's had women after him for years, after my mother passed.” He glanced at April. “Not your gig, I know.”

“No.” April said. “Not with a bunch of traveling nomads. No land, no fighting over it.” She had a low, intense voice. “But I know all about asshole families, thanks.”

“Anyway.” Jimmy pushed his dish aside a little. “So yeah, it ended up good for us. She'd have taken a 30 percent share out, and I don't know what she'd have brought back in here.” He lifted his gaze and met Jess's. “But now, either way, it's not an issue.”

Jess nodded.

“Can I talk to you a minute in private, Jess?” Jimmy said. “We don't get much chance.”

Jess stood and moved around her chair, putting a hand on Dev's shoulder and pressing it before she joined her brother at the back door to the dining hall. They passed through and down a corridor, then into a smaller room lined with shelves. One section of the back wall of the chamber had a clear block in it, and past that you could see the bay.

“So.” Jess took a seat in one of the chairs, and put her elbows on the arms. “What's up?”

He went over and perched on the workspace at the back of the room. “Before I call you out as bullshit, I'd like to know why the hell you just put out that crap about you having no stake in this?”

It wasn't often Jess found herself completely dumbfounded, but in this case, she was. “Huh?” She managed to get out, her brows knitting over a creased forehead. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“The shares.” He glared at her. “Your shares.”

Jess looked around as if trying to find some other person he could be referring to. “Are you stupid?” She asked. “I have no shares. Remember? I had to sign away my homestead rights when I graduated field school. I have no more stake in this place than I have a horn growing out of my head.”

He stared at her. “You don't know.” He said, after a long pause. “He never told you.”

“Told me what?” Jess spread her hands out. “What are you talking about?”

Slowly, he straightened and got up, walking behind the workspace and sitting down behind it. “You really don't know.” He repeated, in a half exasperated, half wondering tone. “Son of a bitch.” He let his hands fall to the chair arms. “Well here see it for yourself.” He reached into one of the workspace pockets and drew out a pad, keying something up and handing it across the desk at her. “We all thought you knew.”

Jess got up and grabbed the pad. “I dont know shit about... “ She paused, as her eyes scanned over the screen and she absorbed it's contents. “What in the hell did he do here?” She slowly sat down again. “He can't have processed this. I'm not eligible. He knew that.”

“He didn't give a shit.” Jimmy said. “He told us we were a bunch of losers, and the old woman was a thief. He coded all his shares out of the pool and locked the to your civ profile.”

Jess studied the readout, running through it a few times. “Well.” She tossed the pad back on the workspace. “I'll never transition to that profile so it makes no difference anyway. I'll never survive to fully retire. He was just being an asshole.”

“He survived.”

“I'm not him.” Jess said, in a clipped tone. “I”m crazier than he was, and we both know it.”

Jimmy exhaled, and slumped a little in the chair. “Seeing that thing with you I believe it. He'd never go for that.” He looked up to see the icy look directed at him. 'They looking to make sure you don't survive?”

“She got me these gold bars.” Jess touched her throat. “That thing's for real.”

He watched her face closely. “ Really?”

“Really. And you call her a thing to her face and I'll break both your arms.” Jess replied, in a mild tone. “Now that I've relieved your avaraicious ass and you don't have to worry about me tossing you and your useless brother and these suck ons that live here out, we done?”

Jimmy had the grace to at least look embarassed. “Sorry, Jess.” He said. “I really thought you knew.”

“And I was just laughing at you?” Jess snapped back. “Fuck you.”

He exhaled. “The old woman thought you knew. That's why she was so damned pissed off at you these last years. She wangled it all so she could get controlling shares, and he screwed her.” He said. “She finally gave up – no way to get around his lock.”

“She wanted controlling shares of this place?” Jess felt her anger sidetracked.

“We all do.” Jimmy said, straightforwardly. “This place gets directed by committee right now. Who we trade with, what we trade, who gets to stretch out, who gets to take the boats... pain in the ass. One person has all the shares, they make the rules.”

Jess thought about that, then laughed. “Our father knew what the hell he was doing. Tie up those shares in me and no one wins.”

“Unless you sign them over.”

“Fuck you.” Jess got up. “One, I can't unless I”m a civ, and two, I'd rather ram my head through that door.” She headed for the aformentioned portal.

“Jess.” Jimmy stood up. “Before you storm out and slam the door behind you can I ask you a question?”

Jess turned, and waited.

“When you finished field school, and were going into service.. you ever think about turning it down, and coming home?”

Jess tilted her head a little, and studied him. Then she came back across the room and stood on the other side of the desk, leaning forward and resting her knuckles on the surface. “You don't get that choice, Jimmy.” She said, in a very quiet voice.

“But they told us...”

“You get to the end of field, and the grad ceremony.” Jess overrode him. “And then, late that night, they take you, one at a time, the commander does, to Eagles' Point and he tells you the bitter truth of what you are. And you can either accept that, and go into service... or he kills you.”

Her brother stared at her in silence.

“You put Tayler on that transport, he's never coming home.” Jess said, after a long pause. “Now that's something daddy really should have told YOU.” She straightened and walked quietly to the door, opening it and passing through and letting it shut behind her with a gentle click.

**

They were back in the carrier, the hatch shutting with a thump as they cleared the opening. “That's that.” Jess went to her station and sat down. “Let's get things buttoned down and get out of here.”

Dev sat down in her pilot's chair. “Jess?”

“Hm?” Her partner looked up.

“There's a lot of discomfort here.”

Jess sighed and sat back. “Yeah.” She admitted. “It's pretty fucked up. Reminds me again why I don't come here a lot.” She let her hands drop to her thighs. “So now what do we do?” She looked at Dev. “Ditch our escorts and head east?” She asked. “Ready to go destroy our careers?”

“If you mean, we're going to go help Doctor Dan I agree with that.” Dev said. “But I hope we don't cause our team mates discomfort. They seem agreeable people.”

Jess chuckled softly. “Ah, maybe we'll just go back to base.” She sighed. “I don't really have a plan, and they're all gunning for me. Not really much chance of our getting in there.”

Dev was ready to accept that decision too. The entire day had been very unsettling, and the only moment she'd liked was showing the vid of the bear to the little boy. Everything else had been tense, and uncomfortable and she was really glad they were leaving now.

Doug and April were too, they'd said as much as they were walking back to the shuttle bay. Dev thought about it and decided she would really like to go back to the base, and relax and not get into trouble. “I like that idea more.” She said. “Maybe we can practice..”

“Sex?” Jess grinned at her.

“I was going to say surfing, but that would be good too.” Dev smiled back.

“Yeah, all right.” Jess decided. “Get this pony on the road. Let's go home.”

Dev swiveled her chair around and started up her systems. Outside the window, she could see Doug doing the same, and though she couldn't help thinking of Doctor Dan, and what he was doing, she also coudn't deny she was glad they were going back to the citadel.

She thought maybe Jess was glad too. “I do think your place here is very nice.”

Jess chuckled briefly. “Yeah, it's probably the oldest, and the most developed homestead in the east. They've got a few that old on the west coast – Jason's Rainier Island place is one of them – but Drake's Bay's a good place to live.” She leaned back and waited as Dev booted the bus. “It's the biggest trading center in the area. Got nice big turbines down below, generates a surplus of power they sell to the battery plants, and is pretty much self sufficient. “

“I see.”

Jess folded her arms over her chest and sighed. “Stupid family.”

Dev wisely refrained from comment, settling her ear cups in place and activating her restraints. The chair gimballed forward and she started to make adjustments, reaching over to disconnect the docking umbilical and switching to internal power. She'd now heard Doug and April discuss their families, seen Jess's, and remembered hearing Jason gripe about his. She was starting to ponder the possiblity that being a bio alt, and having no family, wasn't entirely an awful thing.

They eased from the shuttle dock and formed up over the bay, as Dev triggered the nav that would take them on a course north and east. “Jess? We just got a weather warning.” She shunted the met alert back to her partner's station.

“Lemme see.. oh here it is.” Jess keyed up the report and studied it. “That's a big one coming over the citadel.” She remarked. “We'll just go a little slow and come in behind it.” She dismissed the met and leaned back. “Tell the kids to follow us.”

Dev glanced in the mirror. Then she opened the sideband channel and hailed the other carrier, as she gave the engines power and they moved offshore and away from Drake's Bay.

Jess twiddled her thumbs idly and listened to her pilot chat with Doug, already thinking ahead to what her options were next. Should she have taken the chance to go rogue? Should she... Jess turned her head as her comp caught sight of something and started tracking it. “Dev?”

“Yes?”

“Give my board power.” Jess moved her seat a bit closer and put the target on the big board, the comp resolving it into not one but two images. “We've got something coming at us.”

Dev relayed the message to Doug, then she took control from the autonav and turned the carrier in an arc, to face the west where the images were heading from. She started a long range scan, checking the status of the shields and shunting power to them.

“Tac 2, tac 1.” Doug's voice burred in her ear. “We see target. Engage standby.”

“Acknowledge.” Dev responded. “Wait for ident.”

Jess felt her adrenaline kick in. She snugged her restraints and kicked on the guns, the targeting boards coming live on either side of her as the head's up display appeared, and centered on the two incoming spots. They had no patrols west, so likely they were not friendly.

“Profiling in process.” Dev reported quietly. “Long range reports energy outline indicates high rate weapons.”

“Ah.” Jess got her hands on the gun triggers and flipped the switch that put all the scan input to her leads. “Dev, if they make a run at us, take us up and over and do your thing.”

“Yes.” Dev already had full power spooled up to the engines, and her hands were curled around the throttles. “Scan reporting they are reacting to our presence, course has changed due north.”

“Chase em.” Jess wiggled her fingers in muted delight. “Go get em, Devvie!” She felt the whump as the engines kicked in and she was smacked against the back of her chair, the restraints curling around her as they took on G force in a high rate turn, and then went full speed to the north.

“Scan return showing TK300 series heavy cruisers.” Dev reported. “Weapons systems are powering up according to comp.” She pointed the nose of the carrier at them and sent Doug a quick status update.

“Ohhh... real bad guys.” Jess shook her head. “What in the hell are they doing out here? How did the get past... “ She let the thought trail off. “Dev, send a squirt to Base 10. Just a status, what we found out here.”

“In work.” Dev reached over to key in the long range comms. “Standby to transmit.”

Jess calculated several trajectory solutions, and put the long scan on tight resolution. After a moment, it came in and she could see a rough picture of the two fleeing craft.

TK”s all right. She could see the distinctive profile, and she checked the range, then programmed two plasma bombs and ejected them. “Time to intercept?”

“Five minutes.” Dev reported crisply. “We have plus 10 on their speed.”

“That because of your tinkering?” Jess smiled. “I know these carriers are not supposed to be able to catch those suckers.”

“We did some adjustments.” Dev admitted. “I think we are causing them discomfort they are going into an evasive pattern.” She shifted and watched the comp, then adjusted the trajectory and sent more power to the engines. “Four minutes.”

Jess watched them eject a backscatter, which drew off her bombs, and they ignited behind the craft. “Overshoot them and then do a 180 Dev, come at them head on.”

“They will fire from their front cannons.” Dev commented. “I think we should come to zenith, then from the left.”

In the silence that followed, Dev looked in the mirror and met Jess's eyes. Slowly, a grin formed on Jess's face, and she lifted one hand off the guns and touched her forehead. “You're the driver.”

“Was that incorrect?

“We'll find out in four minutes.”

“Three.”

Part 19

Dev could see the outflow from the enemy craft's engines with her own eyes now and she made a picture in her head of what she wanted to do once they caught them, flexing her fingers around the throttles and leaning forward a little.

“One minute.” She warned Jess, who was reading her guns, the soft whine of the energy spool up audible to her outside the ear cups.

“Got it.” Jess said. “Tac 1, Tac 2, keep to aft, match.”

“Ack.” Doug's voice came back, sounding tolerably steady.

“Welcome to Interforce.” Jess added, suppressing a grin as she tuned her aim. “Dev, tell our friends to haul up and surrender or we'll blast them.”

Obediently, Dev switched comms to broadband all hail and repeated the threat. Then she closed the channel and prepared to maneuver. She could see the two sets of engines flaring bright at full power ahead of her, but the new mods they'd applied to the carriers left her with reserve even though she was catching them.

Excellent.

“No answer.” She told Jess, somewhat unnecessarily.

“Hehehe.” Jess chuckled audibly. “Take us in, Devvie.”

“Hold on.” Dev kicked the side jets and put the carrier on it's horizontal axis, boosting up and over the trailing carrier in a rush of speed and then dumping over to it's port side as it swerved.

“Hehehe.” Jess repeated, releasing her triggers and sending a barrage from the lower guns across the side of the vessel. She watched the scan intently as Dev came around and seeing a sudden flare of energy across the boards. “Holy shit Dev get us a.. woa!”

Dev saw the same thing, and instinctively hit the back jets and hauled up, sending them cloud-ward and then upside down putting the heavily shielded bottom of the carrier towards the enemy just as the energy surge exploded towards them and swamped comp and scan, blowing them sideways through the air.

Engines cut out as a wash of energy flowed over and through them, safety systems blaring with sudden vibrant screams.

It was hard to keep control. The carrier tumbled through the air and started to drop, before she got her inputs sorted out and got the engines back online. “What happened?”

“Damn thing blew up.” Jess sounded rattled. “I couldn't have blown their shields that fast. Should have just tickled them.” She looked at the screens. “Can you get comp back? Where's Tac 2?”

Dev kept them high, but boosted the back jets to pitch them forward giving them a view. “Chasing the other one.” She reported, “They're shooting.” She ran the repair programming and started recycling the boards. “Stand by for comp and scan.”

“Get after them. Anything left of that tank?”

“No.” Dev shook her head. She brought the engines up to full power and started after the fleeing second craft, just as Doug dove at it, and April let loose a set of plasma bombs aimed at the front of it while the enemy vessel returned fire, sending a blast of fire along the port side of the Interforce carrier.

Scan came back, and a moment later, comp as well, screens coming alive with alerts and warnings. She spared a glance for them, then concentrated on catching the other craft, feeling the energy release as Jess fired the forward guns.

The beams stitched a line across the top of the enemy as they dove towards it, then once again scan screamed a warning. “Plasma flare!” Dev yelled, as she yanked them sideways and then in an arc.

“Tac 2 evade!” Jess hit the comms and then held onto her console, as the carrier rolled in the air and boosted skyward. “What in the hell?!!!!”

This time they were far enough away to weather the wave unharmed, and Dev finished her rollout and got them back on heading, looking intently through the energy wash and blinking to clear the brightness from her eyes. “Tac 2, Tac1.” She triggered comms. “I don’t' see them.”

Jess dropped weapons scan and picked up standard to her console, running sweep. “C'mon, you raw little kids. Don't croak your first run on me.”

Comp crackled hard. “Tac 1, Tac 2.” Doug's voice sounded breathless. “Nadir.”

Dev dipped the nose of the carrier and headed down, dropping altitude rapidly as a layer of thick clouds rippled around them and then cleared, giving a view of ruffled waves and shoreline beneath them.

“There they are.” Jess said. “Near the escarpment.”

“I see them.” Dev moderated her drop, and leveled, coming even with the other carrier.

“Open sideband local.” Jess said. “What the hell was that? No way either of those strikes should have skunked them.”

Dev opened the channel, and sent the encodes, waiting for the sideband shortwave to come up and let them talk to each other in long speech. “BR27006, BR36024, copy.”

The line opened. “BR27006, we copy.” April's voice sounded relieved. “We lost power after the target blew up. Just got it back before splashing.”

“Copy that, 36024.” Jess responded. “Your comp catch the explosion? I'd like to compare it to ours. Didn't have a standard outflow.”

“What the hell were they doing this far in?” April asked. “Is that normal? They told us in field engagements were in the mid zone.”

Jess was momentarily silent. “Good question.” She responded. “First time I've seen them this far in.” She admitted. “Dev, did we get a squirt back from Base 10?”

Dev checked the comms board, running through the logs. “No.” She said, after a pause. “No response from them at all.” She rekeyed the request, and engaged long scan. “We received comp from Doug.” She shunted the data to Jess's boards. “Everything else seems clean – no additional targets.”

“Yeah.” Jess murmured. “Let's get back on course.” She engaged comms. “April, you good to move on?”

“Took a few dents, but yes.” April responded. “We're picking up some debris on the surface there. Recon?” She inquired. “Didn't think there would be much left but we're seeing some large pieces.”

Jess stared unseeing at her console for a long moment. Then she lifted her head. “Yeah, Dev, take us down to the shore.” She keyed comms. “Acknowledge – let's take a look at what's left. I don't like what I'm seeing on these recordings.”

The two carriers dropped down, angling for the beach and landing above the high tide line side by side. Dev ran the shut down process, and unhooked her restraints. She stood up and removed the carrier links from her flight suit and turned, watching Jess as she got up from the gunner's chair. “This seems incorrect.”

Jess seated her weapons, and triggered the hatch. “It is, Dev. I just don’t know why or how it is.” She walked down the ramp, as the wind blew in a gust of salt tinged air.

Dev followed her, stepping down off the carrier step onto the somewhat soft surface they'd landed on. It shifted under her boots, and she could see debris in it, pieces of stone or rocks and some glints of color. It crunched a little, under her. She stopped as Jess stopped, and they waited as April and Doug joined them.

“That was crazy.” Doug said. “That thing blew itself up.”

“That's not necessarily what happened. “April disagreed.

“Something happened.” Jess continued down the beach until she reached the first piece of debris. She circled it warily, and Dev pulled out her portable comp and started a scan on it. “Look at those edges.” Jess knelt next to one and studied it. “This was blown out.”

April joined her. “From the inside?”

“It has a high emission of positive electrons.” Dev said, after a pause. “There is residual in the atmosphere also.” She added. “It appears something released a lot of energy.”

“Engines?” April speculated.

“Not this type.” Jess had gotten up and went around to look at Dev's screen. “Your driver might be right. Sure looks like an internal explosion to me.” She went over to the next piece of debris, which was hardly larger than her two hands put together. It had a bit of steel skin attached, which was curled and burned like it had been plastic.

“Are you saying they blew themselves up?” Her fellow field agent queried, in a surprised voice. “They never mentioned that in school.”

“Never mentioned it in the field either, since I've never seen them do it before.” Jess frowned. “They're not martyrs, any more than we are.” She nudged the piece with her boot. “Unless they had something onboard they just weren't willing for us to see.”

“And they brought it all the way over here? That doesn't make much sense.” Doug spoke up.

“It would if it were something they were going to use against us.” Jess stood up. “I can't think of any other reason they'd want to prevent us from capturing them aside from sheer embarrassment. We should send a squirt with this back to Base 10, and get moving.”

Dev put her comp away and glanced down at the ground, her brows jerking a bit with surprise as the bits of rock resolved unexpectedly into familiar shapes. She looked up to see the two agents examining another bit of metal, and decided she had time to inspect the items on the ground.

She picked one up and looked at it confirming her initial impression of what they were.

“You like shells?” Doug came over and joined her. “My mother collects em, and makes jewelery out of them.”

Dev regarded the oval item on her palm. “Really?”

“Uh huh.” He nodded. “She polishes them up and makes carvings in them, and sometimes if she can find some of that colored glass bits that wash up on shore she insets them. It's nice.”

“Hm.” Dev peered into the small opening, checking for animals inside. The shell appeared to be empty, however, and she decided she liked the dark brown and orange coloring of it.

“Let's go people.” Jess was heading back to the carrier, and April was winding up taking an image of the debris. “Let's get back in touch with base. Something doesn't feel right.”

Dev stuck the item in one of the pockets and trotted after her partner, triggering the hatch as she entered the carrier. She went over to her station and sat down, putting restraints in place before she triggered comms. “Should I send a message?”

“Yeah.” Jess was busy at her own console. “At least get a status through to them, squirt them the vid of the blow up.”

Dev got her comms set settled and took the engine systems off standby. She saw a flashing light and paused, reaching over to accept it. “Jess, there's an alert here.”

She barely heard the release of the restraints before Jess was hanging over her shoulder, and she keyed up the automated alert for her partner to see. “I think it's weather.”

Jess studied it. “Met over the base. Damn it. Maybe that's why they didn't answer too much damn EMF.” She absorbed the message. “That's a huge storm cell.” She said. “Look how far it extends.” Her finger touched the screen. “They must be getting the shit kicked out of them.”

Dev tried to make a picture of that in her head, then quickly stopped. “Should I keep trying to send a message? I'm not getting any response.”

“Keep trying. Get us up in the air before we find something else around here that doesn't belong.” Jess sat down in her station. “I'm going to send a warning back to Drake's Bay.”

Dev gently engaged the landing jets and moved off the sand, sending a blast of it out everywhere from beneath the carrier as they rose up off the ground. She heard Jess behind her speaking softly into her comms and paused to watch Doug lift before she put the message system in automatic loop and engaged the main engines.

There were a lot of unusual things happening. She had the feeling that things were moving very fast, and that Jess wasn't really sure what direction she wanted to go in.

It was unsettling, and it made her uncomfortable.

“Okay, later.” Jess closed comms, then opened them again. “April?”

“Here.” April's voice came back on the inter-ship intercom. “We have a met warning.”

“Us too.” Jess said. “We'll come in from the north, top side of that met's moving faster. Keep your eyes open for more of the bad guys.”

“Ack.”

“I have the squirt on loop.” Dev said. “So far, no response.”

Even with the met, that started a ball of worry in Jess's gut. This close, they should have gotten at the very least, a reject of the message no matter how bad the storm was. She unlocked her restraints and got up, moving over to the lockers and opening them up. “Just in case.”

Dev glanced in the mirror. “What is a case?”

Jess managed a brief smile, as she got out of her standard jumpsuit and into her heavier gear. The light armor settled into place as she sealed the openings, tightening the fit around her body. “I'm putting this on in case it's all gone to crap at base and I need to drop and start shooting people in the halls.”

Dev digested this. “I see.”

“Been kind of a crappy day so far. I”m betting that's not changing in the short term.” Jess slid her small arms in place, adding a set of throwing daggers in the small of her back. “Any response to the squirt? What's the time in?”

“No, and twenty minutes.” Dev inched the throttles forward, and ran a check on the power systems. They were racing fast for both the edge of the storm system and the base, she could already feel the buffeting from the wind against the outside of the carrier in minute shifts of the controls against her hands.

She could feel the nervous energy building inside her and she heard Jess take her seat again, the sound of a heavier body thumping against the padded surface, and the soft whine as Jess activated the restraints that would hold her in place.

From the corner of her eye she saw all the targeting systems come online and for a very brief moment she thought about the people that must have been in the two enemy craft that had been destroyed.

Had they gotten ready, been doing the same sort of tasks she and Jess were doing right now?

'Tac 1, Tac 2.” April's voice filtered over the comm. “Review of comp shows they got a message off, and it was answered, about sixty to one twenty prior to the first one exploding.”

Jess nodded slowly. “Tac 2, ack.” She answered. “I think this kid's gonna be good.” She commented to Dev. “Sharp. Check the timestamps – see if that message went out before or after we threatened em.”

“After.” Dev responded at once. “Was that the person April you were referring to?”

“Yeah.” Her partner said. “Always a crap shoot with women in the corps. Either you're an asshole like me or an asshole like Sandy usually.”

“If the definition of asshole is what you seem to mean it is, I don't think you are one.” Dev adjusted setting, and increased torque to the engines to counteract the increasing wind. “That other agent seemed a lot more unpleasant.”

Jess chuckled. “You only say that because you like me.” She set the scan on long range and directed it at the base. “Ask anyone else at Base 10, even Jason, and they'll tell you different. I treat them all like crap.”

“You treat me very nicely.” Dev protested.

“Yeah, well. “ Jess reran the scan her muscles starting to twitch when it refused to return anything to her. “You're different.”

Dev sighed. “That is true. Ten minutes. No response to the squirt.”

“Nothing from scan either.” Jess drummed her fingertips on the console. “Know what the most different thing about you is?”

Dev knew perfectly well what the most different thing about her was. “Yes.” She said. “I'm a biological alternative and I was born from an egg in space.” She dutifully responded. “But I don't know why that either makes you treat me nicely or makes me not think you're unpleasant.”

“Ah.” Jess tweaked the scan a little, filtering out the spiking frequencies she knew were from the storm. “Actually, what makes you different for me ain't that.” She peered closely at the screen. “It's the fact you're the first person I let myself fall in love with.”

Dev's eyes went to the mirror, staring at the dark head bent over the console. “What?”

“Yeah, you can look that up later. I think we've got some real problems here.” Jess keyed comms. “April, we're getting a lot of disruption from base. You get that?”

“Ack.” The other agent came back immediately.

“We may need to drop.”

“Kitted up.”

Jess gazed fondly at the comms, very glad her instincts had read true on her pick of escorts. “Follow us down. There's an emergency dock midway on the backside that's keyed to my bus. Manual in.”

“Ack.”

Jess cut off the comms. “Sending you up the coordinates, Devvie. Not big enough to land, just do a pass and drop me.” She studied the comms. “Something's disrupting base systems to the point they're non functional. Don't think they can even open the bay.”

She looked up after a moment of silence, to find Dev watching her in the mirror, those pale, gentle eyes completely intent. “You okay?”

“Yes.” Dev responded mildly. “If the disruption is causing so many problems won't it also affect the carrier?”

“Yes. That's why we're coming in on the backside of the ridge. It'll clear the storm front first.” Jess got up and went to the drop chute, turning and backing into the pack and locking the frame in place. She reached over and grabbed her blaster rifle and seated it, then she swung the comp pad next to the rig in place so she could see their progress. “Drop down so we come in low, Dev.”

The bio alt exhaled, then focused on the fast moving wasteland beneath her. She cut their altitude by half, and now the ground – a vast plain of rocky gravel and deep gorges – was clearly visible. Ahead of them, she could see the line of storms, black thickness shot through with almost continuous lightning strikes.

The clouds were low enough to cover the escarpment that contained the citadel, not a bit of the structure was visible and she could now hear low booming cracks rippling across the ground. There was still no response to their comms hails, and just as Dev wondered how the citadel was reacting to that, the threat scan blared alive. “Jess!”

“I see it” Jess unhooked herself from the drop rig and leaped into her gunner's seat, slamming the straps in place and bringing the guns live. “How in the hell are they flying in that!”

A line of enemy craft were coming over the ridge right through the storm clouds and heading their way, already firing. Just as abruptly a small, thinner craft came arching up from the base itself, streaking towards them at top speed.

Dev evaded the incoming bolts and steeled herself to fly into the barrage, tightening her grips on the throttles and picking a line between the diving enemy and the streaking flight coming from the base.

That, at least, was blaring an ident the carrier recognized.

“Drake!” The comms crackled alive, weird and skewed sounding though they were. “Get out of here!”

Jess let loose a full release of her guns towards the enemy. “Sir!” She yelled back, recognizing Bain's voice. “We'll cover you!”

“No!” Bain said. “They've got something that shields them from energy. Get out of here. Go find it! Or we're all dead! I'll draw them off! That's what killed North!”

“I can feel interruption in our systems.” Dev warned. “I don't think we can get closer until the storm leaves.”

Jess took a breath, as the carrier spun in mid air and arched up through the enemy with the guns on automatic repeat, sending them off in different directions. “Ack.” She finally said “Dev, get us out of here. Go up and get over the clouds and head.. “ She paused. “Go polar. Due north.”

Dev reacted at once, pulling the carrier up hard into a hard arc, turning sharply to one side as a barrage of fire came at them. She got them leveled and threw in the afterburners, blinking a little as the rear scan blanked out white as Jess kept up a continual fire.

Blasts came back at them, impacting the rear shields and shoving the carrier violently to one side as she felt the rippling boom of them clearing the speed of sound and then they were up through the first cloud layer and she was fighting to arc them over before they ran out of air to fly in.

The enemy came roaring up after them, but only two of them and after a moment they spun off, heading back down and leaving the two carriers to streak on together alone.

After a moment of silence, Jess exhaled. “Guess they wanted him more than us.” She felt her hands start to shake as battle tension relaxed. “Shit.”

Dev kept all power on, driving the engines to full speed and more. “Did they damage our place?” She asked softly.

“Probably isn't much to go back to, yeah.” Jess responded. “They probably just did to Base 10 what I did to Gibraltar. They had no way of fighting back. I could see it on scan, no power anywhere. The generating mains were offline.”

Dev thought about all the people there. About Jason, and Brent, and Clint, and all the bio alts down in their compound. Were they all damaged?

Dead?

“But who knows.” Jess finally added. “We've got work to do ahead of us.” She glanced at comp. “Those guys behind us?”

“Yes.”

“All right, lets move. “

**

They were clear of the storm and Dev had them on auto nav, while they sat quietly together sharing some rations. Long range scan was set to detect anyone approaching, only the carrier flying port side aft of them considered friendly.

Jess had been very quiet since they'd left the base's airspace. Now she was sitting on one of the arming benches, elbows resting on her knees as she stolidly munched her way through a fish roll. “We need to get somewhere we can set up a plan, and get our bearings.”

Dev swallowed. “Will we go to one of the caves?” She asked.

'Sort of.” Jess said. “There's an old met and science station near the Pole. We used to keep it stocked. It was North's responsibility so who the hell knows if they did. We'll try that first.” She finished one roll and started a second. “Now I know why those other two carriers blasted themselves. Probably were told to.”

“To keep us from capturing them and finding out what their new thing is?”

Jess nodded. “Didn't expect us to be out there.” She bit a mouthful off. “Freak chance we were. You and I would have probably been there, in rad, or... something.”

Dev thought about that. Then she studied her partner's face. “You seem in discomfort.” She put her hand on Jess's arm. “Are you angry? Did we do something incorrect?”

“Nah.” A faint smile appeared on Jess's face, then faded. “I just get the feeling.. like I have been... that there's some big plan going on we don't have any clue about. I hate that.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway. When we get up to the old station, I'll see if the powerhouse is still running and if it is, we can alert the rest of the force. Our shipcoms won't do squat. Not enough transmit unless we bounced it off a base, and the two closest are now dead and doornails.”

Dev felt a lot of discomfort about that, the bases not responding. “I hope they just turned everything off.” She said. “There were some nice people at our place.”

Jess sighed. “Yeah.” She admitted. “My promotion sure didn't last long, huh? I'll probably end up low on the totem in some outpost if we make it through this.”

Her bio alt partner considered this, as she finished her fish roll and chewed a dried mushroom cake. “Will I get to go with you?” She asked, in a very quiet tone.

“If I have anything to say about it. Maybe that's my dark cloud's silver lining. I don't have to worry about being promoted out and losing you.”

Dev felt warm and good hearing that. She thought about what Jess had said before, about the love thing and she wondered if that was connected to this. What did that mean? She'd said she'd fallen in love. Was that like falling down? “I hope so. I want to stay with you. I don't want to be with anyone else.”

“Not even April or Jason? They're both okay.”

“No.” Dev said, definitively. “I don't think Jason likes me and you're much more attractive than April.”

Jess looked up, and smiled. “You think so, really?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks. I don't usually hear things like that.” Jess admitted. “Especially not from someone I want to hear it from.” She put the remains of her box into the trash compact and remained seated, lacing her fingers together. “Did I freak you out with that falling in love comment before?”

Dev put her trash away and edged a little closer. “No. I don't really understand what that means.” She said, apologetically. “I think it's a good thing. Right?”

“Is it good or bad? I don’t know either.” Jess said. “I think from a job perspective it's not good. You get trained not to think about that, not to get involved in that way with people because it makes you really vulnerable. You know?”

“Um.”

“No, I guess you don't.” Jess sighed. “Doesn’t really matter anyway.”

“It doesn't?”

“They tell you not to do it, warn you about it, but forget to mention you can't do a damn thing about it when it happens.” Jess leaned against her and rested her head against Dev's. “They do their best to suck the souls out of us, Devvie, and then something like this happens, and you realize how much of it is bogus.”

Dev's brows knit a little. “Jess, is this good or bad?”

“What do you think it is?”

“I have no idea.” The bio alt answered honestly.

Jess scratched the bridge of her nose and shrugged lightly. “I like it.” She concluded. “I look at you and it makes me feel good. I really like feeling good. Don't you?”

Dev considered solemnly, then nodded. “Of course.”

“So there we are.” Jess said. “It's good, Dev. Even if it ends up bad for us, it's still good. You get that?”

Now, Dev smiled “I do get that.”

“Good.” Jess just sat there for a bit, leaning against Dev's warm body, letting her mind slip a little. She felt Dev rest her head against her shoulder and something in her just let go, appreciating this human contact in a new and surprising way.

Dev circled her arm with her own and gently rubbed the skin on Jess's forearm in an absent sort of way, her eyes focusing on one of the panels next to them.

Jess focused on the sensation, warm and friendly and tending to make her heart skip a little. She wished it could just continue on, and that they weren't in trouble, weren't running from some new terror, were tucked away in their quarters or in a cave, or...

Or anywhere.

She could feel the thrum of the engines through the frame she was sitting on, images of the recent past shuttling through her internal eye. She took a breath, and a second, and let the past go, consciously shifting her focus to the present, and the near future.

“We have to find out how the bad guys are flying through EMF.” She remarked, after a few minutes. “Otherwise, they can attack us at random, and we can't fight back.”

“Yes.”

“So we need to either capture one of their rigs, or get into the developmental science center.” Jess mused. “If we get one of their trucks, you think you can dissect it?

“Yes.” Dev answered, with surprising confidence. “I have programming on that.”

Jess turned her head and looked closely at her partner. “You do?”

Dev nodded. “On the type of system we saw earlier, and some older models, and also, a bigger one they use for transporting a lot of people.” She said. “I can fly them, or take them apart, whatever it is you need.”

Jess blinked. She looked around the carrier, and then back at Dev. “We don't know how to do that. How did they get the programming for it to give you?” She asked. “We've captured a few, but they program them to short themselves out if one of us boards – just like we do.”

Dev shrugged slightly, looking a touch sheepish. “We don't know, most of the time, where the programming comes from.” She admitted. “But I know the big blocks of it. I've done sims for the other side's stuff.”

“Wow.” Her partner murmured. “I bet your buddy knows where that came from.”

“Doctor Dan?”

Jess nodded. “So you know, there's definitely a reason we need to get him back.”

“Didn't we have a reason before?”

“You and I had a reason.” Jess turned her sharp gaze on Dev. “He's your friend. He was my father's partner. But that wasn't enough for Bain. He wasn't going to make a deal for him, not only because we don't make deals, but because there wasn't anything compelling for him to do it for.”

Dev considered that. “I thought they were friends.” She said, with a touch of sadness in her voice.

Jess shook her head. “I don't think so. I think... I think they respected each other. But finding this out, finding out how that kind of information got processed – he'd want that.”

The bio alt got up and went to her station, settling in her chair and starting a report running on their status. She checked the course they were on, and also the comms for any messages, finding it all quiet, and blank and aware of Jess's eyes watching her. “Does that matter about why we would go help him?”

Jess went back to her seat and dropped into it, folding her hands over her stomach and looking up at the ceiling. “Not to you.” She said. “But I”m a selfish bastard, Dev. I want to go help him, but I want there to be something for me in it too.” She replied with stark honesty. “I break the rules and go after him and end up being locked up or thrown out, it ruins my day, and yours too.”

“I see.”

“Do I sound like an indecisive ass? I feel like one. I tell you I'm gonna go rescue him, damn the consequences and then I back out and go pansy on you until I don't have a choice. I'm such a jerk.” Jess sighed. “I feel like my head's in ten different places.”

Dev turned around in her chair. “I'm sorry you're in such discomfort.” She said. “I'm sure we'll figure out to make everything come out right.”

The comms set buzzed gently, distracting them. Jess reached over and closed the connection for the intercom. “Yeah?”

“Um.” Doug's voice sounded hesitant. “We're picking something up on scan. Looks like one of ours, but not answering squirt.”

Dev turned and lit up the comp board, setting up a long range scan and starting it.

“So you sent out an automatic ident?” Jess asked.

“Yes.”

“Its at the very edge of the band.” Dev reported. “Outline does show as this type of vehicle.”

“Probably Stephen and his team.” Jess said. “We're just passing the edge of North's territory.” She studied her own screen. “Now why isn't he responding to comms, and where are the other two buses?” She coded in her own ident to comms. “BR27006 to incoming, acknowledge.”

There was no response. Jess frowned, and changed frequencies, moving to a reserved high encrypt one. She repeated the message and waited.

Still nothing.

“BR27006 to incoming, acknowledge or stand by for enemy action.” Jess enunciated the words carefully and loudly. “Dev, give me power please, then slow down and hold steady.'

Obediently Dev shunted power to the weapons, and felt the soft rumble as the guns came online and the protective covers slid back, exposing them to the wind outside. She cut their forward momentum and turned, hearing the guns move as she did

“Stand by” The incoming craft said, briefly. “Hold for shortwave.”

Jess kept the hatches open, swinging her aim around and plotting a targeting choice on the craft moving towards them. “Tell our friends to just stay behind us.”

Dev keyed the intercom. “Doug?”

“Here.”

“Jess says to keep behind this vehicle.”

“I'm keeping way behind the direction she's pointing those guns at.” The rookie tech told her. “No worries.”

“Excellent.” Dev studied the clouds they were between, the thick surface off to the left flickering with lightning below. Scan was detecting the disruption from the flashes, but they were far enough away not to be affected. “Do you think those people are correct?”

“They're either correct, or about to try and shove their guns up my ass.” Jess remarked. “Hard to say which one it is at this point in the general miasma of craptasticness today's been.”

Dev turned around and looked at her, then she swiveled back and took a better grip on her throttles. The incoming carrier was now visible, and she felt her heartbeat speed up when it appeared to not be slowing down. “Hm.”

Jess audibly released the safety shields on her triggers and leaned back, bracing her boots against the console. She'd played chicken before, but rarely in such an uncertain situation. She took a breath and let it out, then focused on her target, looking past the screens and past the front window as the carrier came into range.

Her fingers tightened.

“Incoming request on shortwave sideband six, Jess.” Dev said, calmly. “BR27004 channel setup acknowledge.”

The comms crackled, and Jess let her hands relax, but not completely.

“Jess?” Stephen's voice came over the intercom. “That you?”

“It's me.” Jess answered. “You want to travel with us before the storm backs up and kicks our asses?” She asked. “You know what happened?”

“I know what happened to North.” Stephen's voice sounded grim.

“It might have just happened to Base 10” Jess told him, in a quiet tone. “Just got out of the area in time.”

Silence. “Oh shit.” Stephen said. “That's why I can't get a squirt through. I thought it was just met.”

“We're going to the pole station. Have to get a plan going. Bain said they've got something that lets then fight in met.. I think it's something that makes met worse.” Jess said.

“Bain got out? Figures.”

Jess shrugged, even if he couldn't see it.

“No sense going to North. Every thing inside's burned to a crisp and it stinks from dead bodies.” Stephen said. “Pole sounds good. Any clues what the new tech is?”

Jess started to answer, then she paused, and keyed the mute. “You got any ideas?” She asked Dev. “What could fry all that stuff?”

Dev was watching her in the mirror, as she piloted the carrier on their original course, at a very slow speed. “It might be useful to see what it did. I can see if it matches any programming.”

Jess nodded. “Stephen – let's take a quick tour of North. See what we're up against.”

“If you want. Hope you haven't had lunch.” Stephen answered. “Follow me. Got the two busses with me sitting on top of the next ridge waiting.”

His carrier pulled ahead, and curved to the left, and Dev changed course to follow him.

“Let's see where this takes us.” Jess capped her triggers and pushed the targeting system back off it's axis. “And get the whose the boss knock down drag out over with.”

Dev glanced behind her, brows contracted.

“You'll see. Want to make a few cred? Bet on me.” Jess leaned back and closed her eyes, content to let the crosscurrents carry them for now.

Bet on her. Dev increased power to the engines and pulled the comp pad over, typing in the statement and waiting for it to regurgitate it's meaning.

**

Seeing North base was shocking. Jess had come up next to her and they were both looking out the front wraparound windows.

“Holy shit.” Jess exhaled. The pinnacle and mountainside that they'd been to only a week prior was now shattered and blackened, the stone cracked away and a third of the rock wall collapsed down the side of the slope and littering the valley at the bottom.

Where they'd entered the bay there was only a smoking hole, gray mist still emitting from it.

“I”m getting a complete null on scan.” Dev said, in subdued tone.

“I bet.” Jess was leaning against her chair. “See if you can get the bus in near the entrance to the bay. Shine some light in there.” She held on as the carrier dipped and dropped in altitude, the powerful front lights coming on and splashing against the smoke dulled granite.

It was creepy. Dev approached carefully, slowing their speed to almost nothing as she drifted in front of the bay, and the interior became visible. “Oh.” The bio alt murmured, seeing the destruction inside. “That is not good.”

Jess let out a long breath. “No. Get closer.”

Dev did, easing the carrier into the gaping opening. Inside she could see carriers in complete wreckage, and lumps on the floor completely black that she suspected were people. “Its like everything touched a live wire.” She commented. “I saw that happen up in the creche once.”

“It does.” Jess agreed, reaching over to key comms. “Stephen, it like this everywhere?”

“Yeah.” He responded shortly. “Worse inside. Central ops looked like a bomb went off in it.”

Jess stared at the interior of the cavern in near disbelief. “Dev, go ahead and land. I want to get a look firsthand at this.”

Dev inched the carrier in and then rotated a half turn, putting the edge of the craft over the ledge. “I don't want to go further there's a lot of debris. Can you get out now?”

Jess fastened the catches on her suit and seated her weapons, then she triggered the hatch. It popped open and she stopped in her tracks, blasted by a gust of stench that took her breath away. “Ugh.” She glanced back at Dev, whose face was scrunched in an expression of distaste. “Sorry.” She stepped onto the ledge and keyed the hatch shut, hearing the air handlers cycle behind her.

Jess had seen a lot in her time. She'd seen dead people of all types, many made that way by her own hand, but the charred, crisped black remains she was carefully stepping over were horrible even to her hardened senses. A flash of this cavern not a week ago when they visited appeared in her mind's eye, busy and full of techs and bio alts, all going about their business as they had for years.

Now there wasn't a sound around her save the faint rattling of bits of rock falling out of the walls. Jess turned on her light and moved further inside, coming up next to what was left of a big transport, probably the largest craft assigned to North. It was charred like everything else was, the walls blown out and panels melted into nothing but hard lumpy slag.

There had been a tech inside working. His burned body was half in and half out of the service bay, testing probe still clenched inside his fist.

No warning. Jess picked up a piece of the burned panel and examined it, flashing her light on the tracings inside. It meant little to her, but she kept as she walked on, intending on showing it to Dev.

Everywhere she looked was horror. As she stood in the center of the cavern and slowly turned, she noticed a faint pattern on the floor – lines that angled out from a more or less central point not far from where she was standing. Jess moved over and set her boots over the point, looking to her right and left, and seeing the destruction flaring out on all sides.

Something had blown up from where she was standing, and caused the damage. She could imagine the stark terror of the few who'd gotten out, direly wounded, leaving all their colleagues and friends behind.

Interesting perspective, since they were so often the ones bringing the terror not facing it.

Jess turned around and started heading back to the carrier, waiting patiently at the edge of the cavern for her. She'd already gotten used to the stench, and as she moved closer to the opening she spotted something against the inner wall. Curious, she diverted her steps and walked in front of the humming carrier, patting it's nose as she moved past and played her light along the inside rock surface.

Nothing very remarkable, just a tool box. Jess stood next to it and studied it. Just a plain metal casing with drawers and cabinets, slightly dented and dinged with use.

But altogether strange in it's whole, unscorched plain-ness the only item in the cavern that has escaped the blast.

Jess studied it for a long moment. Then she took hold of the handle of it and started back around the carrier, dragging it behind her. As she got to the hatch it opened, and she boosted the case inside, then climbed after it. “Lets go Dev. Faster we get under cover, the better.”

**

It was full dark by the time they got to the old station. It was quiet, they hadn't seen anything on scan for hours, and Dev had dipped below the lower cloud layer and flown with nothing but gray over her, and white below for quite some time.

Jess had spent the time examining the box she'd dragged onboard, sitting cross legged on the floor next to it as she patiently took it apart piece by piece.

“Jess?” Dev called quietly. “We're almost there.”

Jess hoisted herself to her feet and came up to the pilots station, still holding an adjustment tool in her hand. “Yeah, we are.” She said. “Look at that place. Nothing but ice.”

“Really?” Dev studied the wire map, showing a low, craggy outline. “It's built from ice?”

“Built from ice.” Her partner confirmed. “Back in the old days, they built it after the end times, cause they figured nothing was going to end up habitable and it was a last chance bunker for the governmental big shots that are now long gone.” She said. “Interforce took it over after that all ended, and for a while it was a training center. Then they moved the school out to Denali where at least they had elevations to work with.”

“I see.” Dev murmured. The wiremap showed almost nothing but the outline, scan reported only ice. “There' s not anything operating there.”

“No, we shut it down.” Jess said. “Remains to be seen if we can start it back up again.” She put her hand on the back of Dev's chair. “If not, we can land the carriers in a circle and make a rough camp, but I'd rather be able to charge bats. They sunk a heat sump a mile deep up here.”

Dev started a slow descent. A glance at the comp showed her a chilling temperature outside, and the darkness they flew through was complete save the faint glow from their engines. She wished she'd brought her lined suit with her, and after that, she realized it was possible it no longer existed.

That her whole space no longer existed, including the one thing she'd brought, her book. She felt very sad thinking of that. “Where do you want to land?”

“Good question.” Jess enlarged the wiremap with a swipe of her fingers. “Try here.” She pointed at a flat area on the left of the structure. “Once you get to this point, turn the lights on.”

Dev trimmed the engines and started up the landing jets, coasting over the blurry white surface to the spot Jess had indicated, slowing to hover as she turned on the bright lower lights.

Instantly, the area blared into reflective relief, a relatively level ice field covered in a layer of fresh snow. It was large, and very desolate looking, and Dev selected a spot near the wall of the structure to land on, delicately letting the extended skids settle and leaving the landing jets activated until she was sure the surface was going to bear the carrier's weight. There was one slight lurch, then the craft seemed stable, and after a pause, she shut things down save the exterior lights.

Around them, the other carriers were landing, and in a moment the area was lit up brightly with five sets of lamps as they settled around in a rough circle.

“Glad I forgot to take these out of here” Jess had the equipment case open, and she pulled out their heavy parkas and ice boots.

“Yes.” Dev agreed wholeheartedly as she exchanged her flight boots for the heavier ones and stood up to shrug into the thick jacket. She dropped the portable comp into one pocket, and her diagnostic scanner in the other, and fastened up the catches as Jess moved towards the hatch.

She weaponed up and slapped the latch, waiting for the door to open and the ramp to extend.

A solid, cold, startling blast of air came in, and Dev immediately got her hood up and the flap over her mouth as she drew in a breath and felt the inside of her nose freezing.

“Brr.” Jess went down the ramp, bringing up her own hood. “Hope like hell we can boot this place.”

Dev got her gloves on and followed her partner, blinking as she felt the chill against her eyeballs. She paused to extend the spikes on her boots then advanced over the ice, moving towards the center of the open lit space to join the rest of the agent teams.

As they closed in, she recognized Stephen Bock, and then the other two teams – one the newcomers Mike Arias and his partner, and the other an older pair she wasn't sure she remembered the names of. Doug and April came up on their right hand side, having landed just behind them.

“Jess.” Bock nodded at her.

“Hello Stephen.” Jess had her hands in her pockets, her breath a steady stream of fog. “First things first, we should see if we can commission this place. Let the techs get their hands on the gear.” She finished talking, then paused, waiting for a response.

There was a little silence. Then Bock exhaled. “Sounds good to me. Let's go.” He nodded at the two pairs with him. “Place hasn't been used in years. No telling what we'll find.”

Jess started towards the structure, and Dev fell in at her heels. The rest of the group followed, and they climbed a small hillock of ice towards a rounded arch packed with snow.

“I'l get that.” Mike pulled out his small blaster and steadied it, moving a step past Jess and firing carefully at the doorway, melting the ice in the center of the opening. The pale blue light of the weapon disappeared in a fog of vaporized crystals and after a few minutes the doorway was exposed.

Jess moved forward. “Thanks, Mike.” She examined the door and touched the panel, but it was dead and didn't produce even the faintest twitch of a response.

“Dead?” Stephen edged in next to her. “You ever been here?”

“No.” Jess took a step back. “My father was.” She gestured him to get out of the way. “So let me see how much we're going to have to destroy before we get in here. Dev?”

“Yes.” Dev wormed her way over.

“Take the rest of the wrenchers and go over that lump there, that's where the plant is. See what you can do with it.”

“Yes.” Dev backed out and started across the ice. “Please follow me.” She told addressed the other techs. “We have a task.”

“Right behind you.” Doug tugged his hood a little tighter. “Holy crap it's cold here.”

Mike's partner Chester was right behind him, along with the older tech, a man named Oscar. They all climbed over the snow drift and down into the next hollow, which seemed to be a semi projected alcove.

The snow came up to Dev's thighs, and she plowed through it gamely, moving across the bowl towards the wall of the enclosure. “I am not sure using a blaster on this is correct.” She said as they came to the power plant, encased in a solid wall of snow and ice.

“Maybe on the outside layer.” Chester offered.

“Get too close and it'll break it's bits.” Oscar was standing with his arms crossed, observing the surface. He removed his light from his belt and shone it on the wall, shaking his head a little. “Anyone got an ice ax?”

The techs all looked at each other. Then Dev cleared her throat. “I think we might. We took an ice kit on our last mission and I think it's still in there.” She turned and started back and after a moment, Doug plowed after her.

Chester pulled out his hand blaster and set it on it's lowest setting “I'll see how much I can trim off.”

“I'll start here.” Oscar moved to the other end. “This is all so fucked up the most normal thing I seen is that bio alt tech today.” He shook his head. “Now we get to try and shelter inside an ice ball.”

“Not having a great first month of service myself.” Chester carefully started working down the edge of the structure. “Maybe I should have stuck to clam harvesting back on Rainier Island.”

**

Dev keyed the hatch open and ducked inside, glad to be out of the cold wind for a moment. She waited for Doug to follow her and then palmed the door closed. “It seems we're in for a lot of difficulty.”

“You can say that again.” Doug pushed his hood back. “I figured three of us trying to melt that ice back there would mean at least one of losing a finger.”

That made Dev chuckle a little as she opened the big equipment locker and dug out the ice axes she and Jess had used in the white. She handed one back to Doug and took the second for herself. “Jess said in the worst condition we could move the carriers together and make a shelter that way.”

“Well.” Doug hefted the ax. “At least no one's likely to go looking for us up here. Last thing I'd wanna see is some death ray from the other side coming hunting for me. That base was ugly.”

“Yes.” Dev tightened her hood again. “It makes me feel a lot of discomfort to think about our place looking like that.”

Doug was briefly silent. “Yeah me too.” He said. “I hadn't been there long but it was okay, you know?”

“Yes” Dev turned and headed for the door. “I feel the same way.”

Doug followed her out and they started across the bowl, where snow was starting to drift in flurries outlined in the work lights from the carriers. “You do?” He asked. “Not to be a jerk or anything, but I never met any bio's that cared about much before.”

Dev thought about that as she walked, the ice crunching under her boots. “Well.” She blinked against the cold. “They teach you not to show a lot. It makes natural borns feel discomfort. But we do.” She paused. “I do. Jess told me it's all right to say that.”

“Huh.” Doug tugged his hood a little closer. “You're the first one I've ever talked to for more than like ten seconds.” He admitted. 'I’s kinda weird.”

“Well.” Dev climbed over the ice hill. “It's strange for me too.”

They reached the wall and both Chester and Oscar moved aside to make room for them. Dev took hold of her axe and studied the surface, selecting a spot where Chester had been burning a groove and starting to chop at it. With all four of them together it cut the chill down and soon she was completely absorbed in the effort to expose the power inverters.

She hoped Jess was having good luck as well.

**

“Okay, that's open.” Jess clipped the light to her hood and pulled her gloves off, grimacing as she eased the entry panel from it's pocket and turned it over. “We get in there and they get the juice flowing, maybe we can figure out what the hell we're going to do.”

“Thought you had that figured out already” Stephen was patiently chipping the ice from the door edge with a screwdriver.

Jess chuckled dryly.

April and Mike were clearing ice from the front of the structure and Oscar's partner Carlos was in his carrier, keeping a scan running to make sure they didn't get surprised.

All under Jess's direction, which Bock hadn't made a move to countermand yet. Jess wondered briefly why. She shook her head and returned her attention to the panel, which now under the warmth of her hand had revealed the tracing of it's circuitry.

Very old. Jess breathed gently on it, studying the etched pathways. “Okay.” She said. “Stephen, give me your insignia.”

“Huh?”

“Give me your insignia.” Jess repeated, slowly. “The thing on your collar.”

“I know what my damned insignia is.” He unfastened the throat flap on his coat and fished beneath it. “What the hell do you need it for?”

'You never really took any of the tech ops classes, did you.” Jess took the insignia from him and bent her head over the tracings. “Or have you just forgotten it all already?”

“Don't be an asshole, Jess.”

“I'm not, for a change.” She delicately touched the edge of one insignia post to one trace, and licked her lips, half closing her eyes as she touched the second to another.

Nothing.

“Saw the squirt from Bain when he bumped you.” Bock spoke up unexpectedly. “Kind of burned my ass.”

“Wasn't my choice.” Jess tried another combination, with an equal lack of success. “And it didn't do me a damn bit of good seeing as they torched 10.” She studied the board. “Matter of fact I didn't even officially accept.”

“False modesty?”

Jess sighed. “Now who's being an asshole?” She tried a third trace, and paused, then selected another at random and touched it.

Her hand twitched, as a residual jolt went through the card, and she almost screwed it up. But it held long enough for a low, anticlimactic groaning click to sound in the door next to her, though it didn't move. “Pry it.”

Bock got the edge of the screwdriver into the gap he'd been chopping and put pressure against it, leaning his muscular body against the end of the driver as Jess let the circuit card rest against it's holder and turned to help him. She picked up a bit of metal they'd pried loose and went to a knee, jamming it into the ridge and shoving hard against it.

With both of them prying, the door moved an inch, reluctantly.

“Hey that's progress.” Bock grunted “Nice.”

“Larcenous youth.” Jess reseated her makeshift pry bar and leaned on it again. “I was breaking into storage silos when I was four.”

He snorted, then wryly chuckled. “Figures.”

The door opened a bit more, and then they could get a grip on the edge of it with cold stiffened fingers. “Mike. April. C'mere.” Jess called to the two rookies, who joined them at once. “Grab this thing and pull.”

Four sets of hands gripped the door and hauled backwards, metal grudgingly giving way to powerful bodies as the door screeched open and thumped against the ice.

“Least we'll get out of the wind.” Steven sighed. “Lead on, Jesslyn.”

Jess obligingly drew her blaster and set her light to high, then cautiously stepped inside.

Wasn't really much to see. The facility was a series of long, corrugated metal boxes set end to end to make corridors all covered by tons of ice and snow. Containers, Jess remembered they were called, which had once held stores of whatever stacked on a cargo ship or carried on trains.

They were rusty and the air smelled rancid, but she kept moving on with the other three behind her. They came to a cross corridor, the square blackness extending to either direction. Far off, they could hear faint bangs and scrapes, echoing softly in the darkness.

“Hope that's the tinkers.” April said.

“Me too.” Carlos muttered. “This place is complete horror.”

Jess moved on past the side corridors and continued down the main one. Another five minutes walking and they entered a big, dark area that seemed to be six or so of the containers all welded together. There were consoles on shelves welded to the walls, but nothing was live. Not even the faintest hint of power was evident in the center.

“I guess this is ops.” Stephen remarked, turning around in a circle. “Or something.”

“Main control room for the facility.” Jess said “I remember seeing the plans for this place somewhere.”

“Not going to be useful to us without power.” Mike remarked. “Could we power this place off the carriers?”

Jess went over to one of the consoles and touched it. The shelf was clean and the control surfaces looked in reasonable condition. “My tech can probably power it off three salmon and a glow worm but we draw all the power from the carriers we don't have power we need to go get that weapon.”

“At least it's warmer in here.” April said. “Can I ask? Does anyone really know what happened to our base?”

Jess undid her jacket and folded her arms over her chest. “You saw the same thing I did.”

“Which was?” Stephen asked. “Since I didn't see any of it?? He looked at April in question.

The new agent cleared her throat. “We were coming back from Drake's Bay.”

Bock swung around to face Jess. “ You giving guided tours now?”

“My mother died.” Jess answered flatly. “I attended her processing.” She added. “Bain mandated I take an escort.”

He lifted a hand. “Sorry.” He said, gruffly. “Didn't know.”

April studied him with a dour expression. “ We noticed that standard status messages weren't getting acknowledged, and then we encountered two enemy targets heading east.”

“Two? What kind?” Stephen asked.

“TK300's.” Jess commented briefly.

Bock folded his arms over his chest. “Just flying in our airspace??” His tone was incredulous.

“We chased them, and when we were on top of them, they blew themselves up.” April stated. “At least.” She conceded. “That's what we think happened.”

“That makes no sense.” Bock frowned.

“Not to us either.” Jess said. “I got a hit on their sideboard and next thing I knew scan was showing a blowup. We just got clear in time.”

'They were hiding something.” Arias suggested. “Maybe this new weapon?”

“Maybe.” April walked over to one of the consoles and studied it, directing her light on it's surface. “But if that was the case, why did they attack the citadel in force? Didn't they fear the same thing from them?”

“Storm was over them.” Jess was standing, just staring off into the shadows. “They were flying free in and out of it. Must be tied in to whatever this new thing is.”

“You sure of that?”

Jess felt the raw prickle of temper rise at the skepticism in Bock's voice. “I'm sure I saw at least six TK300's flying through a storm front coming across the range. “ She said. “We could feel the EMF disruption. Dev was adjusting for it.”

“Oh, the wonder child.” Bock snorted a little.

“We felt it too.” April spoke up quietly. “And with all due respect, Mr. Bock, given the crap we've been through today no one needs to be slighted here.”

Jess had turned and felt her back arch under her jacket, but relaxed a bit at the words. She gave April a brief grin, and then turned back to the console. Hopefully Stephen would stop being an ass and rubbing her temper the wrong way.

They were in the field, after all, and all kinds of things happened out here.

Bock gave April a sour look, but refrained from commenting. He walked over and joined Jess at the wall. “Well if that's how it is..” He said, in an undertone. “You collecting supplicants already?”

Jess turned her head and looked him full in the eye. “Why not?” She answered softly. “She's a hell of a lot smarter than you are.” She knew he heard the slight rasp in her voice, and he took a step back away from her, his hands coming out of his pockets and lifting up between them.

“Don't get crazy on me, Jess.” He told her. “It's not the time or place.”

“Take your own advice and shut the fuck up then.”

Footsteps behind them made them both turn, as a light entered followed by a short, slight figure in arctic gear. “Hello.” Dev removed the cover over her mouth. “We have revealed enough of the structure to determine it's functionality.”

“And?” Jess moved closer to her partner, watching the grave, pale eyes focus on her. “D'ja fix it already”

Dev produced a brief grin. “It will require a power boost. I have instructed Doug to bring his carrier over so we can use it to restart the batteries.” She said. “However, I do not know if resuming the heat exchange will allow all of this equipment to function. It has stage six degradation.”

“That's pretty bad.” Mike commented. “My grad sim was to recommission one of these old stations. Never did get it all the way right.”

Dev nodded. “It's not optimal. I would like to suggest that you vacate this facility while power is applied. I do not know what result it will have on this facility.”

“So you think it's going to blow everything up?” Jess only just kept from reaching up to push the pale hair out of her partner's eyes. Her hand and arm twitched, in fact, and she clenched her fingers into a fist to keep herself still, surprised at how much effort it took.

“I don't know, but I don't want to take a chance having you be in here.” Dev answered honestly and loud enough for everyone to hear her. “It would be better if you were outside.”

“Fair enough.” Jess agreed. “All right people, let's go out side and see what trouble we can cause.” She put her hand on Dev's shoulder and steered her back towards the entrance, clearly expecting the rest of them to follow.

April and Mike promptly did, turning their backs on Stephen who waited almost until they were no longer visible before he reluctantly started moving. “Fucking ridiculous.” He muttered, as he cleared the entrance and pulled his light from his pocket. “Absolutely fucking ridiculous.”

**

Jess used the back of the ice axe to tap down the stake clenched lightly in one gloved fist. There was now a roughly made tarp over the outer panel, protecting it from the snowfall that was slowly burying everything else.

Under the tarp Dev was kneeling with Oscar next to her, connecting up a set of power leads on the laboriously cleared external interfaces and behind them, parked precariously with it's forward skids on the ground and the rear ones up on the snow ridge was Doug and April's carrier.

Oscar picked up the leads and walked over to the front of the carrier, which was also providing a convenient shield for the wind and snow. Doug was already in front and opening an access hatch, running a scanner over the interior.

“Better hurry up before this thing freezes.” He told Oscar. “Holy crap it's cold.”

Stephen had retreated to the carrier he'd piloted alone, but Mike and April were standing next to Jess, their cold suits fastened all the way up and eye shields in place. Inside the suits it was bearable, despite the sixty below zero temperatures, but any exposed skin suffered immediately.

Dev stood up and stuffed her now gloved hands into her pockets, coming over to stand next to Jess. “The ingress is prepared.” She said, her voice muffled by her face cover. “Application of sixteen point five volts across the terminus will stimulate a response.”

Oscar got the leads connected then turned, giving them all a nod.

“Go on, Doctor Dev.” Jess bumped her with a hip. “Give the sign. Let's see what we're going to get out of this sow e can either go inside and get warm, or get into our busses.”

Dev hopped in place a time or two then she trudged over to where Oscar and Doug were standing. “Go ahead.” She said. “Please make sure it's exactly sixteen point five.”

“Roger that.” Doug tuned his comp, and pressed a small relay inside the hatch, resulting in a slight whine and thump, as the leads went from leaden gray to purple, and power surged across them lighting the snow and then hitting the power panel of the facility.

“Cease.” Dev said.

The purple faded, and then for a moment it was all dark and gray again. The wind blew a gust of snow into their little alcove, dusting them all with a covering of ice.

Then with a crackling bang that made them all jump, the power panel came to life, and a second later, lights came on and outlined them all in the old fashioned green tinted glow.

That was followed by a series of bangs and thumps, and a moment later than that, a puff of discharged air came rolling out of the entrance behind them spraying dust and ice crystals almost to the back of the open space.

“Interesting.” Dev commented.

“Glad we weren't inside the damn thing.” Jess observed.

Oscar was studying a hand scanner. “Power readings coming up.” He said, briefly “Looks like things are trying to boot. Good job, Dev.” He glanced at Mike. “Want to see if your sim'd work?”

“Lets' all move inside.” Jess noted her partner's shivering. “Nice work, Devvie.” She casually draped her arm over Dev's shoulders, and started towards the now lit entrance.

Stephen met them as they reached it, hunching his shoulders in his parka as he entered the squared off portal after Jess and Dev. “One good thing. No one's around here for a thousand miles.” He commented, as they trooped down the hall. “If any of this comes up, we can get a high level long range scan going from here.”

“We can open a channel with home base too.” Jess said. “Let them know whats going on.”

Stephen eyed her. “Let everyone know how screwed up we are?”

“This isn't some blown mission, Stephen.” Jess felt her body relaxing as she felt the air moving in the hallways, already warmer than the outside. “Two bases are blanked. It's not like Bain doesn't know.”

They entered the central space and it already looked far more friendly. Panels were showing some kind of life, and there was an audible hum around them.

“Okay.” Mike pushed his hood down and moved to one of the panels. “Let me see if I remember any of this from class.”

Oscar sat down at one of the scan consoles, and the rest of them drifted around, getting a better look at what was, to them, ancient technology.

But there was power, and a very gradual warming of the air, and that was all to the good.

There was an awkward moment of silence, then Jess drew in a breath and straightened. “Okay.” She said. “Let's split up and see what we've got to work with here. Check for stores, and weapons. I doubt anything's going to be useful, but you never know. We're going to have to stay here long enough to put a plan together to insert.”

It was the tipping moment, and she knew it. Stephen could choose to challenge her at this point, or follow her lead. If he challenged her, she also had a choice – to step back, or fight.

“Sounds reasonable to me.” Bock said, somewhat anticlimactically. “I'll check the central stores.” He pointed at the back of the central space, opposite the door they came in, then headed towards it, shrugging his hood back.

Aw. Jess actually had to admit to a guilty sense of disappointment. April and Doug had started off without comment towards the front corridors, leaving her and Dev standing in the middle of the control center together.

Dev gave the room a speculative look, then she tipped her head back and looked up at her partner. “If the precipitation continues the carriers are going to be covered.” She commented. “I don’t think that would be optimal.”

“Me either. Lets go look.” Jess indicated the front entrance. “When this place was commissioned, those suckers didn't exist.”

**

Outside, they found the snow slowing down, and the carriers only buried up to their skids. Jess studied them, then turned to her partner. “Doesn't look like that much of a problem.”

“No.” Dev agreed. “I really didn't think it was, I just wanted to talk to you and didn't want everyone listening.”

Jess looked at her in surprised delight. “For real?”

“Yes.” Dev smiled a little.

“You going to tell me I'm good looking again?” Her partner asked hopefully.

“If you want me to, of course.” Dev said. “But what I wanted to say first is, that man Bock seems to me to be incorrect.”

“Ah.” Jess stuck her hands in her pockets. “What do you mean by incorrect?” She glanced across the now lit central opening, where the carriers were parked in their orderly circle. She could see the internal lights on in Carlos and Oscar's bus, where the older agent was keeping watch until they got the base systems working.

Dev thought about the question. “He does not wish you well.” She said, slowly. “I think he wants to cause you discomfort.”

“He's jealous.” Jess nodded. “He heard about Bain wanting to promote me. He wanted that job.”

“But that's not your fault.”

“No, of course it isn't, but he not man enough to be mad at Bain and I'm within reach.” Jess sighed. “I didn't care when he was promoted. Not sure why he cares that I am. He was going to get a senior rank at North when he rebuilt it.”

“That's not really what I meant.” Dev frowned. “I think he wants to do bad things.” She said. “I get a bad feeling about him.”

Jess crossed her arms and leaned her shoulder against the metal entranceway. “Bad things.. as in, you think he's on the wrong side?”

The bio alt looked disturbed. “I'm not really sure what I mean, but something... maybe it's programming? Tells me not to trust him.”

“Ah.” Jess straightened. “Okay that's different.” She considered, reaching a hand out to capture an errant snowflake. She cupped it in her hand and showed it to Dev. “Every one of them's unique.”

“Like you.” Her partner said.

“Like you.” Jess smiled in response, then sobered. “Stephen was the one who told me about your project.” She said. “He kept nudging me. I wondered... but then I forgot about that after we met.”

Dev watched her with alert eyes.

“We kind of got distracted by you... the whole issue of trust and our techs and the leak kind of got pushed under the rug.” Jess mused. “I forgot about Stephen. He was all ready to escort me to the shuttle, too.”

“The day we got there?”

“Yup.”

Dev caught a snowflake herself and examined it. “I don't think the man Bain trusted him.”

“I don't know about.. “ Jess paused, as a memory surfaced. “Huh. When we met on the shuttle...” She remembered the moment, Bain seemingly sure if they left Stephen alone long enough he'd go and tell... go and tell what? To who? Bricker? Or someone else? “Maybe.” She murmured.

“At the first lunch thing we had, he seemed okay.” Dev said. “But now, he's saying incorrect things about me.” She observed. “Remember he spoke sternly to the agent Sandy?”

Oh. Crap. Jess gazed intently at her partner. “You're right.”

“I don’t understand why it's different now. I didn't change.”

“No, you didn't. But.” Jess tapped her on the nose. “That was before you showed your stuff. Maybe as long as he thought you were just an experiment... one he thought would fail... you were okay, but now he's scared of what you can do.”

“But why would he be? He's already in charge.”

And that was true. Jess shook her head. “I don't know. But anyway, lets go back in side so your nose stops turning blue and see what we can find stashed away in this place. Probably nothing but long frozen whale crap but you never know.” She put her hand on Dev's back. “I'll keep your idea in mind though. He's being a prick, no doubt about it.”

Dev exhaled in some relief, glad she'd told her thoughts to her partner. The uneasiness she'd felt around Bock had seemed quiet strange to her and she now felt much better having expressed the oddness to Jess. “What's a prick?”

Jess chuckled. “It's slang for a male sexual organ.” She steered Dev down the right hand side corridor as they headed back down towards the control center.

“I see.” Dev commented. “Why would you say he was acting like a male sexual organ? They showed us vid of that as part of the sex class. He wasn't going up and down.” She said. “At least, not that I could tell.”

Jess closed her eyes and stifled a laugh.

Dev wasn't really sure what was funny. She shrugged and studied the walls instead, spotting a door in one of them. “Is that a storage space?”

“Yeah. Stand back.” Jess didn't bother with the archaic locking system. She drew her blaster and shot the hatch with casual accuracy, leaning back and kicking the door open with one booted foot. A puff of dusty air emerged into the hallway, and she waited for it to clear before she poked her head inside and shone her light around. “Nothing.”

They continued down the hallway, discovering another corridor at the end that was set at right angles. Everything was lit with the weak, green glow and it made distinguishing things difficult. There were old signs on the walls, and Jess let her fingers trail over them as she walked, feeling the roughness of the corrugated metal walls.

The words on the signs were almost meaningless. Jess wasn't sure what most of the signs were for, save the ones that marked muster stations, and one that seemed to have something to do with weapons. “There's another door. Lets try it.” She studied the roll down hatch, then aimed and fired at what appeared to be a latch at the bottom center of it.

The door abruptly let loose and flew up, sending Jess hurtling backwards, her arms wrapping around Dev and hauling them both against the far wall.

With a boom, the door hit the roof, and a thick cloud of rusty dust invaded the hallway, bringing a taste of dry, rancid age on the back of the tongue.

“Pah.” Jess cautiously looked around, her back turned towards the door as she set her body between Dev and the opening.

“That was exciting.” Dev commented mildly, apparently content to stay where she was, wrapped up in Jess's arms. She really didn’t think the dust was dangerous, but she had no intention of protesting.

“Sorry.” Jess straightened up and released her, dusting off her jacket. “Wasn't sure what that was.” She cleared her throat and turned to study the now open, apparently inoffensive door. She walked back over to it and turned her light on, making show of inspecting it carefully.

Dev joined her, putting one arm around her and giving her a quick hug with it. “Thank you for ensuring my safety.” She said. 'What's in here?”

“Good question.” Jess edged inside. “Let's find out.” It was definitely a storage chamber of some kind, the inside walls were lined with locked cabinets, and plastic boxes were lined up on pallets up and down a narrow space with two aisles. “You check the containers, I'll open those cabinets.”

Dev willingly went to the first one, studying it intently. On the top there was a piece of plas, but the characters on it had long faded off. The container was closed by a hasp and a lock, and she drew out her multiple tool and applied it to opening the device.

Programming was strong here As she lifted the lock and held the tool in her other hand, she felt the patterning driving her motions and she inserted a small, thin probe into the bottom of the cylinder, a picture coming strongly to her of what the inside looked like.

A moment later, and it was open. She removed the lock and opened up the container, shining her light inside.

“Did you just pick that lock?” Jess asked, from across the chamber.

Dev nodded. “There are some kind of frozen units in here.”

“Frozen units everywhere.” Jess joined her and looked inside. “Ah hah!” She hauled out one of the packages, knocking it against the edge of the container. “Rations.”

Dev picked one up and looked at it. “Quite old.”

“Probably completely useless.” Her partner agreed. “But we'll take some back. You never know.” She closed the container and went back to the cabinet. “C'mere and pick this one. I'm lousy at it. I'd rather use my gun.” She held the cabinet door still as Dev applied her skills to it. “And there's armament in there that could ruin both our days.”

“Yes.”

“Been a long enough day already.”

**

Two hours later, they were gathered back in central ops. Cases had been dragged into make work tables, and two portable heaters had been located and were adding their warmth to the room. Oscar had gotten the comms systems online, and he was patiently reworking the radio bands to match the ones currently in use.

Parkas were strewn about the space, draped over boxes and hanging on console edges, the dark black of standard jumpsuits standing out against the glare of the phosphorescent light and the dusty gray of the consoles.

“We got power up to everything?” Jess entered from the corridor, an old style brown pack on her back that she unloaded onto one of the boxes.

“Yes.” Dev looked around from the control console she was seated under, her head halfway inside the metal structure. “There are a lot of ruined components.” She added mournfully. “It's not very optimal.”

“No, I would guess not.” Jess peered inside the pack. “Okay, so I dug up enough of these things to give everyone a feed if we can figure out how to heat some water.”

“There's a dispenser in that second chamber.” April spoke up. “I turned it on when I went through – it might have done something since then.” She came over and peered at the packs' contents. “What are those?”

“Rations. Old style.” Jess held one up. “Really old style. They used to dehydrate cooked stuff and zap it into these bags. You add boiling water to them and they become something.”

April looked skeptical. “Really?” She examined one. “All these years.. you sure they're not just dried seal barf??

“Not sure at all.” Jess readily confessed. “But all I've got in my bus is two days worth of fish rolls so if we can use some of this stuff it'll make life easier.”

“Yeah, us too.” April agreed. “Mike, did you take a bigger stock?”

Arias was paging through a personal pad on the desk, his jaw resting on his fist. “Got five days worth onboard.” He said. “We were going to make a stop in Quebec.”

Jess paused with her hands on the pack and looked around. “Where'd Stephen go off to?” She asked April casually. “Thought he came back here.”

“He was just here.” The younger agent replied. “Said something about starting up the backup generators, maybe charging the carriers off it.”

“Ah.” Jess picked up the pack. “Yeah, that's right. His specialty was mech.” She headed towards the bare, half lit convenience chamber in the section past the control center. “Might as well make myself useful too.” She added. “Want to give me a hand?”

“Sure.” April caught up to her as they reached the chamber. “You have any idea what the plans going to be yet?”

Jess put the pack down and examined the dispenser. It had dusty lights lit on the front and she pressed the hot water tab, jumping back when it started sputtering and spewing liquid everywhere. “First, we let the corps know what the story is.” She said. “Then, we find a hop point closer to the target.”

“In the white.?” April removed one of the food packs and fitted the spigot to the small plas intake valve on it and carefully triggered it to fill. “So is your theory the new thing is dangerous when it's mixed with met?”

Jess filled a second pack, and set it aside to do whatever it was it was supposed to do. “That line turns red when it's ready, according to comp.”

“Uh huh.” April retrieved more rations.

“I think they've got the advantage when it's mixed with met, or those two wouldn’t have blown themselves up when we caught them. They were two on two, no reason not to turn and fight if they had the better weapon.” Jess agreed. “Not sure where the jump point needs to be yet – but probably.”

“I found this too.” Jess pulled out a stack of cups and some packets. “I don’t know where these guys hid all this stuff, but that's freeze dried coffee.”

“Coffee?” April's eyes opened wider in surprise. “I had an elder who claimed he tasted that once. No one ever believed him.”

“Excuse me.”

They both turned to find Dev entering the space, the bio alt's face smudged with dust. “Hey Devvie.” Jess said. “Want to try some coffee with us?”

“Actually, some water would be good.” Dev demurred. “I heard there was a dispenser in here?” She wiped her hands off on a cloth clipped to her belt “This air is very dry. A little like the creche.”

Jess filled a cup with cold water for her, and handed it over. “Between snow and the desal, they always had plenty of water here. Just like we did at the base.” She said. “I found showers and sleeping quarters. Pretty basic but not bad.”

Dev's eyes had lit up at the mention of showers, but she silently sucked her water down.

“Must have been hell, living up here though.” April said, carefully opening one of the coffee packets into a cup and smelling it. “Oh, thats weird.” She applied some hot water too it, and set it down, observing it as it bubbled a little and emitted steam into the air.

Jess duplicated her motions and swirled the water around a little. “Kinda looks like mud.”

There were crates lined up against the walls. They took their cups and sat down on them. “It's late.” Jess said. “Soon as we get comms up we should get some downtime while comp updates from HQ.”

April nodded, taking a cautious sip from her cup. She mouthed the substance and then swallowed it, licking her lips thoughtfully. “That's not bad.”

“No, it's not.” Jess agreed. “Got a kick to it.” She half turned and offered Dev her cup. “Want a taste?”

Dev took it and swallowed a little, then handed the cup back. “They gave us something like that in the creche.” She said. “They said it was chicory or something. Some bark they'd replicated. It didn't last though, some fungus killed it.”

A soft rumble made them all jump a little, then Jess put her hand on the wall. “Generators.” She said. “Guess Stephen got them going.” She walked out into the hallway and stuck her head in the central ops area. “C'mon in and get some of this fantastic grub.”

Then she went back and sat down on the crate next to Dev. It was, by her internal clock, well after late watch and they'd been on the go since before dawn. She was tired, and there seemed to be really no end to the tasks ahead of them, and as of yet she had no solid plan.

She could, of course, turn the whole problem over to Stephen but she knew she wasn't going to do that.

The rest of the group entered, and everyone took possession of a food pack, using their multi tools to open them and studying the results.

“What is this?” Chester asked poking at it.

Dev looked at the partitioned tray under the stiff plastic. “Those are carrots.” She said, in a surprised tone. “I think.”

“Carrots?” April picked up a small, orange item. She put it in her mouth and chewed it. “Huh.”

Jess picked up a chunk of brown something and sniffed it, then bit into it. It was, to her surprise, some kind of solid with a rich, pungent taste. “That's meat.”

“Meat?” Dev tasted it cautiously. “Meat of what?” She stopped chewing. “Jess, this isn't bear, is it?”

Her partner chuckled wryly. “No.” She picked up the packet and read the almost faded to illegibility label on the bottom. “Pot roast. Well that's damn helpful.”

“I think this is beef.” Mike had been chewing his meal thoughtfully.

“Beef?”

“Cow meat.” The young agent said. “I had it once. They found a deep freeze where I lived when I was home on leave once. Unfroze some of it and cooked it. Tasted like this.”

“Huh” Jess ate another piece. “It's good.” She said. “Different than fish, anyway.”

“Yeah, not bad.” April agreed. “This white stuff is okay too.”

Chester entered, wiping his big hands off. “Got comms up.” He looked satisfied. “Synching the crypto keys from my carrier now. Should be ready to go in about ten minutes.” He picked up a tray and sat down with it. “I told Carlos to head on in. Bet he could use some grub.”

Stephen came past the doorway then paused, and entered. “There you all are.” He said. “Got the gens up. Plenty of power to spare.” He entered and went over to the processor. “Found their weapons store too. May be something useful there.” He said. “Things are looking up, huh?”

Jess watched his back, seeing the tension in his posture. She recalled Dev's suspicions, and felt a prickle of her own chase up and down her spine. “Yeah, sure are.” She spoke into the almost uncomfortable silence. “We're right on track.”

Stephen turned and smiled briefly at them, taking a seat on a box, drumming his heels on the side of it.

Part 21

The freezing rain had turned to snow by the time they got to the edge of the fjords and they could see the deep, dark waters beyond it, black under a mist of white, thick flurries.

It seemed eerily beautiful. Dev slowed their speed as they reached the edge of the u shaped valley they'd been traveling down and as she did, Jess came forward and put her hands on her shoulders. “We are here.” She glanced at her console. “These are the coordinates you gave.”

“So they are.” Jess agreed. “On the very edge of the horizon there.. “ She pointed in the distance. “That's the coast where the center is, but further east. I don't think they picked us up yet.”

Dev studied the scan intently. “No returns.” She agreed. “It does not see we have been detected.” She paused. “Yet. Are we going to land somewhere?” She asked. “If we clear that edge we will be in the open.”

“I know. Slow down. There.” The agent said, pointing to a shadow at the edge of the slope. “There's an overhang there, get under it if you can. There should be room for us there.”

“You have been here before?” Dev inquired.

“Yes. Once.” Her partner replied shortly. “Wasn't one of my better memories.”

“I see.” Dev angled that way, dropping their already low altitude to skim over the snow covered gravel and shallow, iced over channels of water heading down into the sound. It seemed a very sparse and desolate place, there were no moving things anywhere to be seen and at the very edge of the ice she could see waves breaking in a mix of white froth and gray.

The ruffled white surface seemed to show a stiff wind, and as Dev wrapped her hands on the controls she could feel it against the carrier's skin, compensating with the side jets as she fought to bring the craft inline to the far wall.

The shelf Jess had spotted was actually bigger than it first appeared. It was a crack in the rock wall that had fallen away long ago, and once had probably been undercut by the powerful waves. Now, the water had receded a little, and the shelf was almost a cave, the ceiling high enough to admit the carriers so long as they were careful.

Dev was, slowing further and engaging the landing jets, floating just above the ground as she moved them forward with brief, gentle bursts from the side trims. It was a relief to be out of the snowfall and she moved to the back of the shelter and cleared space for the others.

The carrier bumped softly down on it's skids, and she killed the jets, stabilizing the flight systems and shutting down the mains. Ahead of them was the edge of the shelf, and past that, the sound. There were waves rumbling up and crashing below the entrance of the cave, releasing a light spray into the air.

The edge of the rocks was rimed with ice, and Dev opened up the sensors on the outside of the carrier, letting in the low booming of the waves, and the hiss of the surf. She released the controls and flexed her hands, letting out a faint sigh, glad to be out of the wind and down. “We are stable.”

“Tired?” Jess was still perched behind her, gazing out at the water over her head. “Been a long day, huh?”

“Yes, a bit.” Dev admitted. “So much happened today. It's hard to absorb it all.”

“Don't try.” Her partner advised her. “Think about what we're going to do next. We've got a lot coming up.”

“Yes, I know. I think what I will do next is get a drink.” Dev released the restraints and let them retract, then got up out of her pilots chair and stretched her body out. She felt stiff from sitting and it was good to move, even better when she walked around the edge of the console and Jess stepped in front of her and opened her arms.

The hug was nice, and she welcomed it. They hadn't actually gotten to have any rest during the trip – it had gone faster than Jess had anticipated and met and comp had come in that required her review.

So it felt wonderful to be gently rocking in Jess's arms, her back being kneaded as she savored the warmth surrounding her. “What are we going to do now?”

Jess patted her back and released her. “What are we going to do now.” She mused, going to the window and looking out. The snow was coming down harder, making a white curtain that almost obscured the view of the sound. Past the water, in the distance she could see the shape of the other side, and she pondered briefly about her plan's timing. “Pretty damn good question, Devvie.”

Go now? Go later. Going now would preserve as much surprise as she could muster in this little attack. No one in their right mind would fly at the face of the innovation center in broad daylight after being chased down by a squad of hit men.

On the other hand.. Jess listened to Dev getting her hot drink at the station. On the other hand no one in their right mind would fly at the face of the innovation center in broad daylight, because they would be on full optical scan even if she managed to find a route in that would avoid digital. Probably get her ass blown out of the sky maybe even with the new weapon, her and Dev merely a scattering of ions freezing on the way down.

Not very appealing.

If she went under darkness, she'd give them a chance to prepare for an attack, after they got word of the failure of their attack on the pole base. She wasn't sure she wanted to do that, but she also wasn't sure she wanted to fly into their faces either.

Sucked to be her some days.

“Would you like a drink?” Dev asked, politely. “You seem a little unsettled.”

Jess's lips twitched. “Sure.” She said. “I was just trying to decide which of my bad choices I'm going to take. What do you think about flying out now, and getting it over with?”

Dev came back over and handed her a cup, then leaned against her chair, considering the question in her serious, straightforward way. “Hm.”

“Hm?” Jess's brow went up. “What does that mean?”

Dev cleared her throat. “Hm means I really would rather practice sex with you.” She said frankly. “And also, I think flying the carrier into a fight in the storm will likely end up sub optimal.”

Since this was also what Jess thought, she smiled at her partner. “But we'd be a surprise.” She countered, watching the faint twinkle in the bio alt's pretty eyes.

“Or we might get surprised.” Dev countered dryly. “Not in a good way.”

“Or we might get surprised, not in a good way.” Jess conceded. “And I hate surprises, unless I'm the one who's giving them.” She sat down in Dev's chair and sipped her hot seaweed tea. “So here's what we're going to do. We're going to wait until just before dark, and come in then, but not in a frontal assault. I want to do some recon and see if we can slip in through the service intakes.”

“Okay.” Dev didn't really know what that was, but it sounded plannish to her, and it meant they could get some rest. She was good with both of those things. “I think we are out of scan and visual here. Its' a good hiding place.”

It was. Jess watched the surf spray laying down an ice curtain, and figured in about an hour you wouldn't be able to even see the three carriers crouched under the ledge. They could stay there in safety and make sure they were ready to attack, let the snow storm go overhead, and coming in at twilight would neatly split the difference between daylight and darkness.

Maybe she would get lucky. Maybe they all would. Jess leaned on the console and put herself at peace with her decision. “Send a squirt to the others. Tell them to bunk down and get some rest while they can.”

Dev smiled.

“You like that idea.”

“I do.” Dev agreed immediately. She turned and settled an ear cup as she reached for the comms key, setting her cup down on the edge of the console. “Tac 2, Tac 3, Tac 1 admin.”

“Ack.” Doug's voice echoed softly in her ear. “Here.” Chester chimed in with somewhat surprising unorthodoxy. “Just got everything shut down and squared.”

“We are to stay here until one hour to dark.” Dev said. “Then we will proceed.”

“Big old ack.” Chester said. “Going to start a regen.”

“Ack, seconded.” Doug sounded relieved. “Synching comp.”

The screens flickered as the two carriers published their findings to her database, then settled down to chew over the data, updating her charts with three metrics now.

Dev clicked off and removed her ear piece. “They confirmed.” She paused. “Do you know what we are going to do when we get there? Or are we going to decide that then?”

There was absolutely no censure in Dev's tone, only curiosity, but Jess waited for her temper to spark at the question. After a moment she frowned when it didn't.

“Was that incorrect to ask?” The bio alt prompted hesitantly.

“Yes.” Jess answered. “No.” She corrected herself. “Shit, I don't know at this point. I thought we could come in at the waterline, and see if we could hide the carriers in the rocky escarpment that's at the shore there.” Jess said. “Then find a way in. No way to know how we do that until we do it, but there's openings to the sea where they tunnel in water for the turbines.”

“Like in the cave place, in the citadel?”

Jess nodded.

“It's too bad you didn't bring your board thing then.” Dev mused. “You were amazing with that.”

Slowly, Jess turned and regarded her, one eyebrow inching up until it was buried under the unruly hair on her forehead. 'My board thing.”

“Yes.” Dev got up and imitated what she'd seen Jess do, holding her arms out and wiggling her butt a little. “It was really interesting.”

Jess clapped her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. “Don't do that.”

Dev straightened up. “No?”

“If I have to imagine myself looking like that I'll never be able to stay up on that board again.” Jess informed her, eyes still tightly shut. “Anyway, trying to get close to the shoreline on that think would end up with me being fish food.” She cautiously opened one blue eye then the other one when Dev didn't seem to be inclined to repeat the motion.

“Okay.” Dev went back to her tea and took a swallow, making a small adjustment in the carrier's systems. Now that they were out of the wind and the snow, the energy exchange at the skin of the vessel wasn't as drastic, and she calculated that the batteries would let them keep the environmental systems warming them until they were ready to go.

That was good. But she still wished she had her lined suit. Just looking at all the ice outside made her a little chilly and she moved around a bit, to get her energy back up.

Jess came up behind her and leaned her elbow on Dev's shoulder, just watching the spray turn into ice in front of them. They both watched in silence for a few minutes, sipping from their cups as the dull light from outside the overhang reflected through the frozen filigree.

“Know what I miss?” Jess said, suddenly.

“What?”

“Rad. The gloom all the time gets to me.” Jess admitted. “Wish we'd found some of the old school pills they used to take in that base.”

Dev tried to think about what she felt about rad, but she hadn't had the experience of it enough to really know. “I remember liking the sun.” She said. “But they also put us in the sun a lot during sleep but you didn't know you were in it after you woke up.”

“Rad cheers me up.” Jess put her cup down and tickled Dev's ear. “Maybe if we take a nap together, that'll cheer me up. You think?”

Dev immediately grinned.

“Cheered you up already.” Jess turned her back on the window and headed to the back of the carrier, setting her cup down on her console as she passed. She opened the gear trunk and unhooked the back latch, letting down the flap that would give them space to lay down on.

She was tired. Now that she'd laid out a plan that allowed for rest, she could admit that to herself and as she spread the two sleep sacks out over the hard surface she was already imagining how good it would feel to lay down and relax.

The fifteen minutes she'd ended up with at the base didn't really cut it. Once she had the sacks sorted out to her liking, she stepped back from them and started undoing the catches on her half armored jumpsuit.

Dev had already stripped down to her gray under-suit and she was folding her uniform up and putting it neatly away in the small locker assigned to her in the carrier. She eased into the sanitary unit and used it, aware of the metal and mechanics nearly brushing her skin.

'So the put you in a capsule to sleep in?” Jess's voice rumbled from outside the panel.

“Yes.” Dev finished her business and emerged. “It was like an egg.” She explained. “Oval shaped, and soft inside. They said it was supposed to remind us of before we were hatched. They were all on a rotating ring, that went along the skin of our part of the creche.”

Jess came over and undid the neck fastenings of her under-suit, pulling down one side to inspect the burn mark on her arm. At the base, it had seemed a little inflamed, but now it was dark and apparently healing. “Looks good.” She grunted. “I don't know what I would do if someone made me sleep in an egg.”

“It's comfortable.” Dev assured her, as her sleeve was pulled back up. “The motion rocks you to sleep, like when we were on the boat.”

“But you're closed in.”

“Yes.”

“Yuk.”

They sprawled together on the platform, and Dev squiggled over against the back wall, while Jess extended her long length next to her. “Ugh.” The agent exhaled, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling of the carrier. “Wish I knew what the real deal is back at the citadel.”

“I do too.” Dev answered softly. “I would like to know if everyone is okay.” She turned her head and looked at Jess. “I miss having my book with me.”

Jess's eyes widened a little. “You didn't bring it?”

Dev shook her head.

Jess regarded her with a perplexed expression. “Sorry about that.” She ventured eventually. “I never...” She paused to think. Did she care about her possessions back in the citadel? Were there any memories invested in them?

Not so much. “Anyway. Sorry about that.” She repeated somewhat awkwardly. “When we get through this whole crap shoot, we can go back and look for it.”

Dev made a little face. “If it's like the North station, I don't know if I want to do that.” She admitted. “It makes me feel bad to think of people like Clint and Jason all burned up.”

Jess folded her hands over her stomach and tilted her head a little, thinking about Jason and the rest of the people in the citadel dead and rotten on the floor.

It didn't make her feel bad, but then, she didn't expect it to. That's how people like her were made, after all. You just didn't care. That was the whole point, of the battery. It found people who had no sympathy. Had no empathy.

Then she thought about Dev all burned up and felt the immediate, physical difference. Her stomach twisted and her heart gave a huge thump, and she felt a silent scream of horror assemble itself inside her head.

Her eyes popped wide open, and she stared at the ceiling. The sensation was so uncomfortable it felt like she'd been shot in the gut.

“Jess?” Dev put a hand on her arm. “Are you all right? You seem in discomfort.”

“I am.” Her partner agreed. “I think my navel is going to explode.”

Dev hiked herself up on her elbow and gazed at her in alarm. “Should I get a medical kit?

Jess sighed. “Nothing in there for this.” She said, mournfully. “Tell you what, kiss me and it'll probably go away.”

“Uh.. what?” Dev looked extremely confused. “What does that have to do with you being in discomfort?”

“Trust me.” Jess rolled onto her side and tilted her head, as Dev, with a faint shrug, leaned in to kiss her. Sure enough, when their lips met she felt the turmoil relax, as her body found something else to interest it aside from thoughts of her partner toasted like a three day old fish.

Everyone could die, after all. Including her. She gently explored Dev's lips, the tension easing and moderating to a different type as Dev casually draped her arm over her hip.

They moved closer and she edged back over onto her back again, coaxing Dev with her until the bio alt was leaning over her, their bodies brushing through the grey under-suit fabric. She slid a hand between them and unfastened the catches on Dev's, rewarded with the touch of warm skin moving under her touch.

Somehow her own suit got opened, and she savored the heat as Dev pressed gently against her. She swallowed as a pleasant ache erupted in her gut and washed away some of the stress knotting her muscles. It felt good and she wanted more of it, stifling a smile as Dev's fingers started a curious exploration of her breast, the edge of her thumb brushing against her nipple.

Not really sure what she was doing yet, obviously, and yet that was part of the exciting raw edge of this new relationship of theirs. Jess had no idea really what her bio alt partner was going to do – sometimes the surprises were great. Sometimes they just made them both laugh.

She slid the under suit down off Dev's shoulders, blinking as the dim overhead light outlined her slim form and glared highlights off her pale hair. She rolled onto her side again and Dev agreeably adjusted, taking the opportunity to strip her under-suit off to her waist, exposing her back to the cool air.

Dev's attentions moved lower, tentatively nibbling her skin as Jess helpfully peeled the bottom part of her suit off. There was a faint hint of the pleasantly scented but strange soap they'd found in the base, the warmth of Dev's body altering the smell into something Jess found quite attractive.

She slid a hand across Dev's hip and a moment later she felt her partner's thighs clamp gently around her leg and she leaned against her, bare skin now touching bare skin.

Worry about the mission evaporated. Her heart lightened and she gave herself over to the pleasure, sincerely hoping no alert, no squirt, or inopportune knock on the hatch interrupted them.

Was wrong, probably, but she didn't care.

**

A soft chime woke them up, Jess rolling off the platform and standing up before it sounded more than twice. She reached up and silenced it, feeling a restoration of energy that reassured her. “That felt good.” She remarked. “You agree?”

Dev was curled up with her arm still wrapped around a folded blanket she used as a pillow. “Yes.” She agreed. “And the sleep was nice too.”

Jess half turned and folded her arms over her bare chest, one eyebrow hiking, and a rakish grin appearing on her face. “Why Dev.” She drawled. “I didn't know they programmed you for hedonism.”

“Hedonism.” Dev mused, unwinding herself from her sleeping sack and sitting up. “No. I don't think so. The only time I ever heard that word before was from some of the proctors talking about stealing fish eggs from the lab.” She worked her way off the shelf and stood up, going to the storage shelf and retrieving a fresh under-suit from her pack. “I don't really know what that was all about.”

“Ah huh.” Jess put her hands on her hips and watched, a mild, amused look on her face. After a moment, this disappeared and she went over to her own pack and rummaged in it. She pulled out a thermal under-layer and slipped into it, the micro thin fabric almost sticking to her skin.

On top of that she put her under-suit, and then her half armored jumpsuit, sealing the catches around her. She could hear some soft sounds outside the carrier, and she walked over to the window near Dev's chair and looked out.

April was already armed, and walking around the ledge they were parked on, a long blaster cradled in her arm. Her partner had an engine cowling open and was halfway inside, and next to them, Mike and Chester were just emerging from their craft, long streams of fog issuing from their mouths.

Jess ran her fingers through her hair and retrieved a bottle of kack from the dispenser. “How's the met look?”

Dev was fastening her flight suit. She sidestepped over to her station and pulled a pad over, her fingertips tapping lightly over it. “There is still some snow, and heavy fog.”

“Perfect.” Jess smiled. She shrugged into her parka and hit the hatch, letting in a blast of cold air that thoroughly woke her up, and nearly put frost on her eyebrows in the process. “Bitchin.”

April heard her, and detoured over. “Met looks good.”

“Does.” Jess agreed, her ears catching the sound of Dev exiting the carrier behind her. She saw April's eyes glance past her shoulder, then return and the soft crunch of Dev's boots against the frosty iced stone ground.

Mike had spotted them and was walking over, raising a hand in greeting to Dev as she moved past and joined Doug at his engine. “Good to get a rest. “He commented. “Haven't had that long a nap in years.”

No, sometimes you didn't. Jess nodded. Sleep wasn't assumed. Even in the citadel, which was... well... had been safe, there were always night alarms, sounds, sudden assignments.. you never could count on a full night's sleep. “Yeah, nice to get a shift in.” She said. “Lets' get a meal in, then we leave.”

“Do we know where we're landing?” April asked, bluntly.

“No.” Jess smiled. “I know there used to be a little, rocky flat at the tidal boundary but it's a toss if it's still there. If it is, we'll make for that if we make it in under scan. If not...”

“If not.” Mike mused. “If not, we nose first, take out everything we can?” He watched Jess's face, alertly.

She shrugged. “Something like that, but I'd rather get out and get back with something worth the effort. I don't want this to be an end run.”

April nodded in agreement. “You think they'll be expecting us, really?”

Jess nodded back. “Sure.” She said. “What they did, and my history? They know I'm coming.” She walked over and touched the ice covered rock wall. “But I'm betting they'll think I'll be coming for revenge. Heading for Dover base. Biggest of theirs, and a training center.”

“For what they did to North?” Mike hazarded.

“For what they did to Base 10.” Jess turned and looked at him, her pale eyes taking on the sheen of the ice around her. “That's why they came after us, and wanted to blow us out. They knew I'd come after them.” She smiled without any humor at all showing. “I have a family history of unrelenting insanity when it comes to revenge.”

April studied her with a mild expression on her face. “I think we studied your grandfather in strategy at school.”

“You did. So did I.” Jess turned, crossing her arms over her chest. “Funny watching my whole class make the connection and turn around to stare at me.” She released a faint chuckle. “Grandpa Jack and his cobbled up thermonuke taking out three bases and half their control stations.”

“That was the last one, wasn't it?” Mike leaned against his carrier.

“That we know of.” Jess wandered over and peered at whatever it was Dev was wrenching at. 'They've still got three headed fish coming out of that area, made it useless to live in for a half million years. Dirty as hell. I figure if they'd come up with one to respond with we'd already know it.”

She tapped her partner on the shoulder. “You done in there?”

Dev pulled her head up and shook her hair out of her eyes. “Almost.” She said. “I'm giving Doug one of our spare sensors.” She explained. “This one's inoperative.” She held up the part, which was crispy and darkened. “About two minute more.”

“G'wan and finish.” Jess patted her hip. “Then let's get ramped up and go.” She addressed the rest of them. “When we fly in, make sure you're both lined up right on my axis.”

Both agents nodded, then turned and headed back to their craft. Jess loitered around the engine until Dev hoisted herself up over it, braced on her hands, then hopped backwards off, landing with a tiny skid on the ice. “Okay, that should be optimal.” She told Doug. “Try it and let me know.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Doug closed the cowling and locked it down then he trotted off and hopped up into his carrier, the ramp already retracted by his impatient partner, the hatch thumping closed behind him.

“Good job, Devvie.” Jess draped her arm over the bio alt's shoulders and steered her towards their rig. “You've become the queen of the wrenchers.”

“The what?” Dev dusted her hands off and then stuck them in her pockets to keep them warm. “I”m glad I could help out with that system. The component failure in the tracking device would not have been good if we had needed to locate them.”

Jess stopped. “Tracking system?”

Dev also stopped, since she didn't want the warmth along her side to be removed. “Yes.” She said. “It must have been damaged in the fight. The component board was completely destroyed.”

Jess cocked her head thoughtfully. “Hm.” She continued on, climbing up the ramp with Dev at her side, and waiting for it to retract and the hatch to close behind them. “So now they have a component that's the same as ours?” She asked. “It's new? One of the ones that just came in?”

A little puzzled, Dev nodded.

“Have Chester and Mike check theirs.” Jess said. “Do we have another spare if theirs is older?”

“Yes.” Her partner responded. “But I believe that one is functional. They didn't say it wasn't.”

“Uh huh. Well, if it's older, functional or not, replace it.” Jess said, stripping off her outside gear and stowing it. “Tell them it's a precaution.” She dropped down into her chair and pulled her console over, one hand skittering across the surface inputting data

“Okay.” Dev removed her jacket and heavy boots, putting them aside but not away before she went over to her station and settled an ear cup into one ear. “Tac 1, Tac 3.” She keyed the sideband channel. “Requesting comp link, and diag.”

“Ack.” Chester responded amiably. “Stand by.”

Jess listened to the exchange with one ear, while she set up a battle plan in front of her. Details were now slowly edging into place, and the picture of what was happening was starting to form in the back of her head. Coincidences not really coincidental, facts and pseudo facts sorted themselves out were starting to line up.

“Jess.” Dev turned in her seat. “The component they have is a Model 12C2. Older than ours, and older than the one that was in Doug's system.” She reported. “That seems incorrect. That carrier was just retrofitted. It should have had, at least, the version we just replaced.”

“Uh huh.” Jess nodded. “Replace it with the new one you've got here, mkay?”

“Of course.” Dev put her ear bud down and got up to re-don her jacket. “I have told them to open the system for it.” She advised. “Would you like to examine the part?”

“Nope” Jess got up and retrieved a padded square insulation pack. “Put it in there, and leave it just outside the rock wall there.” She instructed. “Slosh some water over it so it'll freeze down.”

Dev was pulling on her boots, and she paused to look at Jess, with a puzzled expression. “Is it correct to leave a piece of our systems in the open?”

“In this case, yes.” Jess smiled a little. “I'll tell ya all about it later, Dev. Just do it.”

“Yes” Dev straightened up and took the pack, reaching into the stores and removing a card from it that she put inside the square. “Be right back.” She tugged her hood up and stamped her feet well into her boots then headed for the hatch, a determined look on her face.

Jess went back to her plan, nodding a little to herself.

**

They were underway. Dev slid her carrier sideways out from under the ledge, doing her usual circle before she moved aside to allow the other two craft to exit.

The lowering light cast very pale shadows past her, the sky already a dark gray on the horizon rather than the lighter dun they'd been before. There was still a steady snowfall going on, and the edge of the water crashing up against the ice was thickening into a slushy mass.

There was nothing else to be seen, save the channel they'd come down, and the far off edge of land. No living thing was in range of eye or scan, save some blips Dev caught deep under the water that seemed large, but solitary.

Maybe they were whales. Dev dredged up a smile for the idea, then she tugged her restraints a bit tighter and waited for the other two to form up behind her.

She had her course programmed in, and the carrier was as ready as it was going to be. Jess was behind her, setting up her weapons and whistling softly under her breath. “We are ready to go.”

“Go baby go.” Jess responded, glancing to her right to make sure her drop kit was secure. “Let's go do what we do.”

Dev engaged the engines and they started forward, keeping tight to the waves as she skimmed just over the surface of a dark and frothy sea. She had the heaters on for the forward plas, and her view was clear, the clouds building overhead as they moved quickly along.

The trip would be relatively short. Dev had no idea really what they would find at the end of it, but she realized she wanted to find something at the end, get some kind of final resolution to this task, and then... and then see what life was going to be like for them afterward.

She felt sure, inside her, that they were going to continue. She didn't want to stop living, and she thought Jess didn't really want to either. So it would be interesting to see what they would do if everything was gone where they came from.

She thought about Doctor Dan, and what he would do if they rescued him. Would he want to go back to the creche? Would he want Dev to come with him?

Dev thought carefully about that, and didn't like the feeling that created. She didn't want to leave no matter how difficult it was all turning out to be. Then another thought occurred to her. What if Doctor Dan asked Jess to come too? Would Jess want to go up to station, and see what it was like?

See the sun?

Dev frowned. She still didn't want to go back to the creche, but if Doctor Dan was okay, and he asked Jess, and Jess wanted to... well, maybe she would have to go.

Anyway.

“Hey Devvie.” Jess called over from her station. “Get me a long range, wouldja?”

Dev set up the scan and told it to output to Jess's console. “Yes.” She picked up a container of seaweed tea and sipped from it, while another thought occurred to her. “Jess?”

“Yup?”

“What are we doing to do if our place is like North base was?”

Jess remained quiet for a time, then she cleared her throat. “You mean, if it's all gone there? Like, all gone?”

“Yes.”

Another silence. “What do you want to do?” Jess asked. “If we can't go back there. You want to go back upside?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.” Dev stated firmly. “I do not want to go back to the creche.”

Jess smiled to herself. “So you're sure about that now, huh?”

“Yes, I am very sure.” The bio alt said. “However this event ends, I never want to go back there. Ever.”

Jess considered that and wondered what exactly Dev's legal status was. “We'll work something out.” She promised her partner. “Don't worry about it.” She added, figuring if they survived the raid, she'd have plenty of time to arrange... something.

She settled back in her chair and reviewed the scan, glad to see nothing on the near or far horizon that might intercept them, but now wondering if that in and of itself wasn't a suspicious warning. They should have patrols out. Especially on this coast, which was so close to their industrial heart.

So were they just waiting for them?

Maybe. Probably. She was probably leading them right into another trap, but this time, her eyes were open and she was waiting to see how she could turn the trap back on them. “Keep low as you can go Dev.”

“Yes.” Dev said. “I'm getting the bottom of this craft wet.”

“Lucky carrier.” Jess snickered.

Dev looked at her in reflection, her face a study in bewilderment. “Excuse me?”

“Never mind.” The agent wriggled into a more comfortable position in her seat and leaned back, her thigh muscles jumping a little in an unconscious release of tension. “I'll explain that all later too.”

Dev shook her head and concentrated on her controls, not leaving anything to the auto pilot this close to the waves. There was no judging when the waves might roll up at them, and she kept a light touch on the landing jets, ready to elevate them if the water got too rough.

She checked her rear comp, and saw the other two carriers obediently in a straight line behind theirs, sticking to their tail. It felt reassuring to have them back there, and let her concentrate on what was ahead of them.

The coastline was starting to become more distinct. She could see the darkness of slopes beyond the edge of the water, but they were gradual and in front of them she could see a lighter colored surface that ran right down to the waves.

It was quiet. She had the external sensors turned on, and only the sound of the waves and the wind echoed softly in her headset.

Her pulse was starting to pick up, and she flexed her hands around the controls, already scanning ahead for the landing place Jess had mentioned. She could see a pinnacle of rock, and past that seemed to be a flatter area, and she adjusted their course slightly to angle towards it.

Scan was short range, and on rapid now. She kept expecting to see the enemy respond to them, and as the minutes went by and they didn't, it made her more nervous rather than less.

She could hear Jess behind her, making a drumming sound, but she didn't dare look behind her to see what her partner was doing. “Ten minutes.”

The weapons systems powered up. Dev could hear the energy surge around her and she focused hard on the route they were taking, lowering their altitude a little more, and steering the carrier around the waves rather than over them. She felt her breathing come a little faster as the land approached, the hills behind the shore now becoming more distinct.

The scan picked up life forms. Dev drew in a breath, then released it when they resolved into sea lions, perched on rocks offshore that comp identified as benign.

Now she could see the structures built into the mildly sloping shoreline, random vertical lines being wire-mapped by scan into vents and narrow towers, the front of the structure sealed and windowless facing the sea.

Like the base was, she remembered. Except for the one opening, that she and Jess had visited.

The rocks here were tan colored though, not the dark slate she'd become used to, and they stood out very distinct against the dark gray of the water that brushed up against them.

The light was fading fast. The clouds overhead were becoming indistinct, and the light snowfall that had continued following them across the water now seemed to be slacking off. Dev angled a little more to the east, so low to the waves that the carrier appeared to blend with the water, the skin melding it's cover to the gray and white surface.

“Go, Devvie go.” Jess rumbled softly. “Right to that beach, there, just past that big upthrust there, see it?”

“Yes.” Dev put a dot on the wiremap. “There?”

“There.”

A wave brushed the bottom of the carrier, rocking it a little. Dev kept them steady though, and a moment later the carrier came behind the rocks and she could no longer see the installation. The beach beyond was cut off from all sides by the cliffs, and a moment later she was over it, selecting a spot near a pile of tan boulders and setting the carrier down onto it with a rotation that put their nose back toward the water.

The other two carriers set down, their skins mottled and morphing from the slate and white of the water to the tan of the rocks and blending in rapidly.

They were down. Dev checked the shields, and did a quick burst scan to see if anything was approaching. “We are clear.”

“Amazing.” Jess was leaning on her elbows and staring at her screens. “We just fly in here, no one says anything, lets us land. What do you think, Dev?”

“I think it's probable they know we are here and are coming to get us.” Dev responded calmly. “What would you like to do? There does not appear to be a route to the facility from this location.”

“There is one. But I'm the only one who's gonna like it.” Jess got up, and came over, flicking on the sideband. “Tac 2, 3, meet waterside, bring water gear.” She released the comm and turned to face Dev. “So here's the deal.”

Dev turned in her seat and listened attentively.

“Just below that big pylon of rock?” Jess indicated the upthrust on the wiremap. “That's their sea intake. I'm going to take Mike and April, and ride the flow inside.”

Dev digested this. “I can't go with you?”

The immediate agreement on Jess's tongue stuck there, as those clear, pale eyes met hers. “B..”

“I wanted to help you rescue Doctor Dan.” Dev explained.

“Yeah I know.” Jess felt a very uncharacteristic sense of confusion. “But you're not that great a swimmer, you know?”

“Yes, thats true.” The bio alt admitted. “I haven't had much practice.” She continued to study Jess. “But also, if something bad happens, I'd rather be with you.”

Oh well, hell. “C'mon.” Jess motioned her over to the stores locker. “You said you knew about their stuff. Maybe we'll need that.” She pulled out a set of gear and then a second. Then she looked up. “If something bad happens, I'd rather be with you too.”

Dev hopped up out of her chair and joined her, studying the gear. “Is this for going under the water?”

“Yes. So you can breathe under there.” Jess handed her a suit. “Put that on over your flight suit. You're gonna need it. Water's a lot colder than the air is.”

“I remember.” Dev agreed, sorting out the new gear. “I got some programming for this. About the under water part. How they made equipment to let you do that.”

“Yeah, that's how most people do it.” Jess muttered under her breath, as she sealed her suit and picked up the breathing pack and it's mask. “Grab those.” She pointed at two pairs of fins and hit the hatch “Let's go. Every minute we wait here is one more minute they can kill us with.”

The suit felt a lot warmer than she expected. Dev picked up the objects and followed her partner out into the chill air. April and Mike were waiting for them, both of them looking surprised at Dev's presence.

“Did you..” April started to ask, glancing at the hatch to her carrier.

“No.” Jess negotiated the half frozen, half wet ground. “Dev's got special programming we're going to need.” She indicated the edge of the water. “Tube's just around the point there.”

“We're going in via the intake?” Mike asked.

“Yes.” Jess glanced at him. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Unexpectedly, he grinned. “Nope. Rather do that then climb that cliff with my ass bare to a blaster.” He indicated the rocks. “Just hope we don't get sucked into a turbine.”

“Don't worry, Dev'll hang on to ya.” Jess slipped her mask over her head and let it hang on her neck, while she strapped the breathing bladder to her side, pausing to do the same for Dev. “She's stronger than she looks.”

Both agents looked at Dev, who blinked back at them without comment.

April remained silent, adjusting the straps on the weapons pack she was wearing and clipping her fins to the hook on the bottom of it.

“Let's go.” Jess started for the water, as the light started to fade and the clouds lowered, snow starting to fall again and dusting their shoulders. Dev glanced behind her, reassured when the carriers blended in to the rock, then she turned and followed Jess towards the surging surf, considering that she might possibly want to find time right now to be afraid.

It seemed like a good time for that.

“Okay.” Jess paused, and faced them. “Make sure the magnos are turned on for the gloves and the knee pads.” She held her hands up. “Soon as we come around the edge of the tube it'll suck you in. Get a grip, and just follow me.”

Dev flexed her hands and felt programming kick in hard, showing her the touch points for the magnets, and giving her the knowledge of when and how to settle the mask, and keep it tight to her. She nodded her head when Jess looked at her, then got right behind her partner and waded into the cold surf after her.

“Good luck.” April said, sliding her mask down as she followed Dev into the water. “Let's go earn our marks.”

“This'll end up shoulder to elbow.” Mike agreed, as he brought up the rear. “We'll start right at the top.”

**

It was cold, and very frightening. Dev felt the water tug hard against her as she copied Jess, sliding the mask into place and holding onto the rocks as she fit the fins over her boots.

A wave nearly swamped her, but she had a good grip and after a second, she regained her balance and continued her task. The water had seeped inside the outer layer of her suit, but the inner one had remained secure, and now she could feel the water between them insulate her a little.

She could feel how cold it was against her face, though, before she put the mask on and her lips and nose had numbed and were only slowly regaining their feeling. Not surprising, she supposed, as snow continued to fall around her and she could feel the ice slush brushing against her body as she edged through the waves.

It was now full dark. She could only barely see the faint light on Jess's wrist, as the agent braced herself against a rock and waited for them to finish gearing up. She then tapped her finger on her mask and tightened the fit, watching them do the same before she turned and motioned them to follow.

Dev did, leaning forward like her partner did and letting the water cover her. As it came over her head, she took a gasping breath in reflex, hearing the soft sound of the reaction from the canister strapped to her side, relieved when her lungs expanded and the mask provided clean air.