Fellowship & Fairydust

Ugh… mornings. At least this time I only managed to trip over myself twice on the way to the bathroom. Once I had my first synthetic energy, it occurred to me that I should scan myself with my holoscreen. The sudden growth from last night was only the start. I had put on another five gutros in height. My stomach rumbled. I felt like I could eat everything onboard!

No time for that. Had to get to the shuttle. Tired of borrowing Eini’s oversized clothes. I yawned as I strapped into my seat. I was tired in general…

We blasted off with Gracie at the helm. That should have scared me enough to stay awake, but the last thing I remembered was Braxton asking if we could see his family first and then I dozed off…

 

GRACIE’S POV

I brought the shuttle in nice and smooth… After all, I had to have one or two redeeming qualities. Otherwise, nobody would keep sweet little Gracie around. Upon landing, I helped Braxton wake Johri up and get her out of the shuttle without falling on her face while Eini ordered us a float boat for the day.

The four of us gave our reports on the shuttle’s condition before hopping into Eini’s transport. I already had a plan in mind. While they were socializing with Braxton’s family, I’d pay a visit to mine since they were in the neighborhood. I’d come back, say I got turned around in the unfamiliar part of the city, and all would be good.

 

***

 

Okay, I miscalculated a little. I forgot to plan for Eini. Of course, could one really plan for Eini? I knew she was rich. I didn’t know she was the heiress to Ashburnham construction. I really didn’t know it would take her less than five minutes to order a complete renovation of the old neighborhood!

Still, all the fuss she was making gave me a great opportunity to slip out, so I did. It didn’t take long for me to weave through the streets until I found myself outside the entrance to HQ. Moving carefully, I slid behind the dumpster and into the cracked wall of the “abandoned” building… and came face to face with the man who raised me.

He gave me a stern look, “What are you doing here, Audra?”
“The crew I’m using to get info had to run some errands down here. They’re distracted right now so I thought I’d come to say hi to everyone.”

“Your orders were to spy on Madsane and report back using Spinster. Have you forgotten that?”

“No, father,” I replied, standing my ground, “But it would have raised suspicion if they went down here and I didn’t. It’s only for today and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

My father sighed, “I’m very disappointed in you. Every day you’re on that station is a day we get critical information about Madsane’s plans. We cannot afford to have you missing days on this mission.”

“This is the first day I’ve missed and it will most likely be the only one.”

“You must be fully dedicated to your mission, Agent 1-3-7.” His voice carried a note of urgency, “You know what he did before, and what he will continue to do if we don’t find a way to stop him.”
“I am! But part of that is staying in character, and my character got dragged along today. If nothing else, it allowed me to report to you in person.” I hesitated, but finally added, “And maybe see my friends for a little bit.”

My father’s face hardened, “I’m sorry, but your recklessness leaves me no choice. You will not see your friends today, and I forbid you to leave your mission like this ever again. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir.” I turned to leave, “One more report, sir. The Ashburnham heiress just ordered a full renovation for this area. You may want to relocate temporarily.”

“Noted. Return to your mission.”

Without another word, I left. I took a winding route back to Braxton’s home, putting on a blank smile while my insides squirmed. Father knew who was leading the group I’d infiltrated, so he knew why I would want to see my friends instead of spending time with Braxton’s family. Now… Now I’d have to sit with them and listen to them talk about my biggest mistake… and pretend I had no idea what they were talking about.

 

SIX MONTHS EARLIER…

“You ready?” I asked my accomplice.

“Am I ever not?” He replied, clapping a hand on my shoulder before pulling me in for a quick kiss. I liked to consider myself a rational person, but he left me breathless every time. It was pathetic and wonderful all at once.

I shivered in the cold winter air… or maybe it was because of him, “I’m gonna miss that when we split.”

He smiled, his deep violet eyes sparkling in the light from the Starlight displays, “Me too, partner. So, you hacking or planting?” 

“I think I’ll hack this time,” I said, pulling out Spinster, “Meet up back here?”

“Sounds great! Maybe afterward I’ll take you out for a Starlight feast,” He started walking towards his destination, “Now go work your magic. I’ll set up the distraction.”

I did just that. It was a simple mission. We’d done it countless times before. One of us would hack a database and stream the data through a series of self-destructing proxies back to HQ, and the other would plant a bomb wherever we could get the most distraction for the fewest casualties. Most of the time, nobody even got hurt.

But this was not most of the time. I had just started the hack when I heard the bomb go off and screams ring out through the air, followed by sirens and orders for the City Center to remain calm while emergency crews attended to the wounded. I stopped the hack and made my escape.

I waited for Kenneth by our rendezvous point, furious at him for detonating the bomb in the Center. I paced around in the snow, fuming and shivering. Minutes passed. Then hours. I thought he was trying to throw off pursuit or something. 

My fingers were half-frozen when Father contacted me. The detonation had been an accident. Kenneth was dead. I was to return to HQ to give my report. The mission had failed.

After I gave my report, Father showed me footage from a security drone we’d hacked. Kenneth had stopped for a moment in the Center to look around like just another sightseer. He set his backpack down and sat on a bench to wait for my first signal. A toddler- the little brother he’d joined us to support- waddled into the frame. Up to him. The kid tripped and landed on the backpack. Kenneth grabbed him and tried to run, but they were both thrown forward by the blast. 

I watched in horror as the flames completely engulfed them. When they died down, there was no sign of their charred remains.

It wasn’t long after that that Father assigned me to the Station. He called it my chance to redeem myself. The mission was planned for months, but he only gave me 24 hours’ notice that I would be sharing the Station with Kenneth’s identical twin.

And now here I was, about to go smile at their family and act like I had nothing to do with their loss… why was lying so hard this time? I lied all the time. About everything. I had to. Lying was just part of who I was now. So why did I now hate it?

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