S-10. Secret Agent vs Miette!!
The Soviet Command Carrier-Assault Telesthesia was a grim-looking ship. It was over three times the Radiolaria’s size, shaped like an elongated rectangle with a night-black hull. The hull plating jutted out odd angles from the lines of the ship, reminding me of the unusually jagged shape of a certain stealth aircraft back in my old world. The stern of the rectangle sprouted several oversized angular gravity drive fins, and the bow bristled with a prickly jungle of antennas and cannons.
The odd angles of the hull plating drew my attention. They seemed to scatter my LIDAR scans, making the ship difficult to lock onto. The hull also seemed to be coated in some sort of paint that absorbed broad swaths of electromagnetic radiation.
The Sarcophage don’t use LIDAR or radio waves, so this is clearly a ship designed to fight other humans. I thought gloomily. Dour images of barrier troops, special ops strike squads and extrajudicial executions flashed through my head.
The captain (?) of the Telesthesia, NKVD secret agent Viktorya Valentina, asked us to accompany her vessel and its two escorts to rendezvous with the Radiolaria. After that, she wanted to have a private meeting with me, Laria and Captain Savitskaya.
“Oy, if you all are having a private meeting I’m coming too.” Miette declared. “I’m Sveta’s pilot, so I’m already involved.”
“This matter is above your pay grade, SECOND LIEUTENANT.” Viktorya said bitterly.
“Don’t give me that, Vicky. If you’re here that means SHE’S involved, right?” Miette shot back.
Vicky? She called her VICKY? Do these two know each other? Miette said she had seen the Telesthesia before…
Viktorya glared for a few moments before sighing in resignation. “Fine. You have the appropriate clearances anyway, so you can sit in. I’m only doing this as a favor to THAT woman. If you go squealing to her, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Miette grinned. “Good doggy.”
Viktorya grimaced in rage. “Don’t push your luck.” She cut off the transmission abruptly.
“Holy cow.” I whispered. “Is it really okay to talk to an NKVD agent like that?”
“It’s fine.” Miette said while waving her hand dismissively. “That particular dog all bark and no bite. Besides, I have friends in high places.”
Just how fearless can she be?! I thought with a twinge of admiration.
“S-Still, we shouldn’t piss her off, right?” I said. “It’s my life on the line here!”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing it.” Miette responded. “I’m not gonna let them dissect you, don’t worry.”
“DISSECT?! AAAAAH!”
“Relax, Sveta. I’m saying I WON’T let that happen. I am your pilot, after all. I gotta look out for you.” Miette said, grinning fearlessly.
I can’t help but be worried, but… when my pilot gallantly offers to protect ME, it just make me want to swoon! I thought, my emotions a confused jumble of affection and fear.
*****
The Telesthesia pulled up alongside the Radiolaria and extended a docking tube. A few minutes later, all of us were in Captain Savitskaya’s personal quarters. Radiolaria and I were attending via video screen, and the captain floated next to her desk while Miette and Viktorya floated before her.
This all seems very familiar. I thought, my simulated stomach a ball of tension.
The captain was reading through a sheaf of papers Viktorya had handed over. She frowned and rubbed her temple with one hand as she read.
“Absolutely ridiculous.” she said, tossing the papers aside.
“These orders come from the Chief Marshal himself.” Viktorya said coldly.
“Do they? So he’s ordering us to abandon our posting and leave this sector of the Absolute Line completely undefended, all so we can travel to some distant research facility on the other side of the Earth sphere?”
“Of course not.” Viktorya responded brusquely. “My two escorts, the Satyajit Ray and the Kaushik Ganguly, will take over your position in the Line.”
“Even more ridiculous.” The captain wore an acerbic frown. “We’ve been asking for reinforcements and new Gravity Frames for MONTHS, and now suddenly the NKVD shows up with THREE vessels out of nowhere?! If you have that kind of manpower lying around unused, you should be reinforcing the Line instead of skulking around on black ops missions!”
“Captain, this is beyond your purview.” Viktorya responded as her eyes narrowed. “Be careful what you say to me. The wrong remark could be constituted as treason.”
Just then, Miette floated over to Viktorya and flicked her on the forehead. “Oy, Vicky, cut that shit out.”
The captain, Laria and I all stared at her in shock as Viktorya rubbed her head and scowled. The captain was the first to speak up.
“2nd Lieutenant, WHAT are you DOING?!” The rage in her voice shook the room.
“Just disciplining a dog who’s forgotten her place.” Miette said, grinning.
“You haven’t changed a bit.” Viktorya growled. She sounded like an angry pit bull.
“Neither have you.” Miette said breezily. “You’re awfully stiff, as always. Loosen up and drop the high-and-mighty shit.”
“I’m sorry, do the two of you know each other?” the captain cut in, vocalizing the question on everybody’s minds.
“UNFORTUNATELY!” both of them responded in unison.
NOW THEY’RE IN SYNC? IS THIS SOME KIND OF COMEDY ROUTINE?!
*****
Miette explained that she used to work alongside Viktorya when both were stationed at 433 Eros, an asteroid that was towed into Earth orbit before the war and now served as a combination frontline base and weapons testing range.
“I was a test pilot, you see.” Miette said. “I got to fly all the experimental new Gravity Frames, test them out in controlled circumstances and on the front lines, and give feedback to the development team. Vicky here was the handler for us test pilots and our liaison to the research staff. As a matter of fact, the Huntsmark was the end result of that whole program.”
The Huntsmark was the latest and greatest mass production model of Gravity Frame, with a sleek and shiny design that made me jealous. Every time I looked at one in the hanger bay, I drooled over the prospect having such a sporty, advanced body for my own. And now, I was learning my adorable pilot Miette was involved in the development of that gorgeous machine?
Gah! Now I want a Huntsmark body more than ever!
“I don’t recall a test pilot assignment on your record.” the captain said.
The captain turned to Laria for confirmation, and she shook her head. “I have no record of that either.” she added, displaying Miette’s personnel file on the screen for all to see.
“That’s because it was all highly classified.” Miette explained. “Experimental weapons development is overseen directly by the NKVD because of how important it is to the war effort. They fluffed out a nearly two-year period of my record saying I served on the SGFC Scipio, a ship that doesn’t exist. I was actually assigned to weapons testing the whole time. I still have top-level security clearance too.”
“That’s the only reason I’m allowing her to be present during this meeting.” Viktorya said while crossing her arms and frowning.
I never realized Miette is such an important person! Is that why she has the confidence to backtalk authority figures? My darling pilot is amazing in ways I can’t even imagine!
“Still,” the captain said, overcoming her shock. “that doesn’t explain what the experimental weapons development division of the NKVD wants with us.”
“You already know the answer to that, captain.” Viktorya responded. Everyone in the room turned to look at me.
“W-W-WHAAAA?” I said, flailing my arms. “I’M NOT THAT INTERESTING, I PROMISE! I’M JUST AN ORDINARY, AVERAGE, EVERYDAY GIANT ROBOT GIRL!”
“We beg to differ.” Viktorya retorted. “Your computer core contains supertechnology beyond our understanding. An AI core with miniaturized systems and a low power requirement could be revolutionary if we knew how it worked. That’s why we’re under orders to return you to 433 Eros for study.”
“If you want to know how Sveta works, why don’t you ask the one who made her in the first place?” Miette interjected. “Such a ridiculously impossible technology could only be HER doing.”
Viktorya sighed. “We HAVE asked her, but she is being… difficult, as usual.”
Miette grinned. “That’s cuz you didn’t ask nicely. I bet you stormed in there acting all self-important and tried to threaten her. Didn’t work out for you, huh?”
“Oh!” Radiolaria suddenly exclaimed. “That makes sense! You’re talking about THAT woman!”
Are they all being incredibly obtuse on purpose? Just explain who you’re talking about already!
The captain looked equally confused. “I’m afraid all of you have lost me. Care to explain?”
Aha! Captain Savitskaya to the rescue!
Viktorya looked reluctant. “Well, I suppose you’re all going to meet her anyway. The information I’m about to tell you is classified top secret. Revealing it to anyone outside this room will result in your summary execution. Do I make myself clear?”
We all nodded, except for Miette who just grinned.
“Very well. The head researcher at 433 Eros is Doctor Zehra Aslanbek. We believe she’s the one who originally created Sveta.”
“Zehra?” the captain said. “I’ve never heard of her.”
“You wouldn’t have.” Viktorya responded. “Her existence is classified. She’s the greatest scientific mind of our era, and it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say humanity would be extinct right now if it weren’t for her inventions.”
“Her inventions? One woman is THAT important?” the captain asked.
Viktorya nodded. “She has a difficult personality, but her genius cannot be overstated. In addition to her role as the chief developer for the last four generations of Gravity Frames, she also made the breakthrough key to developing modern artificial intelligence.”
The captain just stared slack-jawed while Laria wore an expression of pouty resignation.
“In other words,” Miette added while pointing at me. “She’s your mother.”
WHAT? We’re going to meet my MOM?!
