Andena the Rebel (The adventures of Andena Book 1) Page 13

  His mind was working at top speed. He wanted to get out of the field as soon as possible. He wondered how this could have happened. His decision to hide his vessel had resulted in unintended consequences.

  He shivered at the prospect of being stuck on this horrible planet until the rest of his nation arrived. He followed the assistants towards a large heap of shredded material which he recognised as the remains of the padded surfaces. However, his eyes almost fell out their sockets when he passed the heap which was a mixture of vines, wires and other parts of the ship woven into a solid structure that was nearly as high as the gorse.

  He murmured, “How remarkable.”

  The darker assistant said, “Not really. The Cerasus are using the parts to extract the necessary chemical compounds to finish off our bodies.”

  Tancred counted that at least four Cerasus had been used to create the structure, and he wondered whether the production of the chemical Joy was being impacted in any way. The baritone voice shook him away from his thoughts. “The other Cerasus have the humans who were on these four, so you don’t have to worry about the production.”

  “So we are still on target?”

  “No, we are not.”

  Tancred was getting nervous again and hissed, “Why is that?”

  The female snorted, “You decided that the fleet’s ration scheme wasn’t good enough for you, so you increased the doses yourself.”

  He knew she was right and that he had occasionally adjusted the ration for his personal benefit. He sighed, “How many units are we short?”

  “If you consider all the delays and all the legitimate losses, we are about three thousand units short.”

  He gasped aware that he was in big trouble: The fleet’s ration was one-hundred units per day which meant that he would need to stop taking Joy for at least twenty-five days.

  He could get away with a shortage of five hundred units, but anything higher than that would cause him severe difficulties. He was aware that the fleet could turn up at any time, and they would definitely arrive within twenty-five days. He sighed and asked, “Is there any way we can increase the production?”

  “No, the enhancer is at maximum capacity,” said the woman placidly.

  That answer made him shiver.

  Tancred reckoned he could survive on twenty units every two days, but he knew he would get very sloppy with his tasks. The main reason he had been chosen to recruit a new planet was because of his skill to manipulate beings with his mind-bending capabilities. He had found out that humans were much harder to keep under control. He felt worn out, which was one of the reasons why he had been taking Joy more frequently than normal.

  Without this wonder drug, he would have failed long ago. However, he was smart enough to realise that by taking the drug he was severely abusing his body. He needed to re-assess the situation, and decide the best way to tackle the problem. He was so lost in his thoughts that initially he didn’t realise that he had entered a spacious room with a table placed in the middle.

  The woman said, “Tancred, I think you should lie down.”

  Totally flabbergasted he stammered, “What? Why? There’s nothing wrong with me! I need to go because I have a meeting soon.”

  Both men guided him to the table, and he knew it was best to cooperate. The table felt cold on his back as he lay down. He shivered with fear and disgust when the woman smiled at him as she said, “Relax Tancred. It will be over soon.”

  Tancred saw one of the vines hover over his body and before he could say anything he felt the soothing rush scorching through his body. His last thought was forgotten as the blackness took hold.

  For the first time since meeting her, Lunn felt awkward as he walked with Alice back to the new quarters. He still felt like he had been caught red-handed with another woman, which was ridiculous. He glanced at Alice, who had a huge grin on her face. He didn’t understand why she was smiling so broadly, and he asked her with a slightly annoyed tone, “What?”

  She started to giggle and shook her head.

  Lunn could feel himself becoming increasingly annoyed. The alcohol was starting to influence his thinking, and he sneered, “Alice I am really starting to get pissed.”

  She burst out laughing as she pushed him into an obscure-looking bar. He was surprised when the wonderful aroma of fresh ground coffee caressed his nose. Lunn allowed himself to be guided to a small table in the corner of the dimly lit place, and as soon as they were settled, two mugs of hot coffee were put down in front of them.

  He looked at Alice who was still looking at him with a smile, and he was surprised when she said softly, “As head of security I should have been there earlier. I’m sorry Lunn.”

  He took a sip of the coffee and enjoyed the rich flavour of the hot, bitter liquid. He pondered her remark and asked, “What do you mean, Alice?”

  “When I discovered you were Lily’s next victim I should have left immediately, which I didn’t.”

  “Victim?”

  “Yes, you see, there’s quite some betting going on as to how long the next one would last if Lily decides to play her game.”

  Lunn snorted as he realised that he had fallen into Lily’s trap and said sarcastically, “How funny.”

  “At least, I have saved you from a huge hangover.”

  He didn’t know whether that was true because he hadn’t wanted to get completely drunk especially as he hadn’t fully recovered from the excesses of the previous night. His mind was clearing, simply by drinking the strong coffee and he remembered what Alice had said about the problems at the new quarters. He wondered whether she had used it as an excuse to get him away from Lily and he asked, “So there are no problems at the new headquarters?”

  Alice was tracing her finger around her empty coffee cup as she said softly, “There are, but it can wait until you have finished your coffee.”

  Lunn sensed a small change in Alice’s mood as if she was less relaxed. He asked himself whether he fully appreciated the extra attention that she was giving him. Her attitude towards him had clearly changed since their sexual encounter. Then it struck him: Alice had always been attentive but because of Danette she had kept her distance. He was wondering if that had changed and queried, “How did you know so quickly about Lily and me?”

  “She is my sister.”

  He thought she’d answered too quickly, and he shot back, “Your sister? I don’t believe that.”

  He looked into her eyes which were just a little wider when she confided, “She is, same mother but a different father.”

  He recalled how Lily had looked up to Alice, and he realised she was her protector. Lunn stared into her eyes and said, “I bet you have helped her out several times.”

  Alice nodded slowly and retorted, “In the beginning, yes, but it wasn’t long before everyone knew that I was her sister because I kept those assholes alive so they could spread the word.”

  He realised that Lily knew him because of her which made him wonder why she had come on to him.

  He was amazed when Alice said, “I guess you’re wondering why Lily did it?”

  “Yes.”

  He noticed a slight hesitation before she said one word, “Danette.”

  He slumped back stunned that it was widespread knowledge that Danette had dumped him. He whispered, “I can’t believe it.”

  He saw that Alice was looking him straight in the eye when she asked tentatively, “Uhm, were you planning to....?”

  Lunn cut in straight away hoping she would get his intention and said firmly, “No!”

  “Oh.”

  There was an awkward silence, and Lunn felt the urge rising to explain the situation in The Haggert. He cleared his throat and continued, “I had challenged her that I would go home alone.”

  Alice’s laugh was one of genuine relief, and she said with a broad smile, “Just as well I came to rescue you.”

  Lunn didn’t know what to think about it all. He liked Alice but knowing what the financier had said he
needed to get the headquarters up and running as soon as possible. After that, there would be plenty of time to figure out what he wanted. As he finished the last sip of his coffee, he got up and said eagerly, “Let’s go to the headquarters. You can tell me what the problem is while we’re on our way.”

  He looked into her eyes as she got up as well and he was pleased that her face had relaxed into a lazy smile. He reckoned she was okay with the situation they were in and was pleasantly surprised when she replied with a warm almost sultry voice, “Sounds like a perfect plan.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Danette’s headache was returning with a vengeance as she entered the narrow hall that housed the recovery rooms. She had been free of it the whole day, but she couldn’t delay doing something about Andena because the girl was still unconscious and this was having an effect on Danette’s mood.

  She had difficulty focusing on the fact that she was pleased with the work she had done with the android girls. They were in much better shape, and the overall condition of their additional subroutines was reaching a level which would soon be good enough to start field exercises.

  As she stood in front of the door, she felt irritated that Joshua hadn’t left a message informing her that Andena had woken up. She slowly opened the door hoping and praying for a miracle. However, Andena was still lying there, in a deep sleep, recovering from the massive surgical intervention. She still couldn’t understand why Andena didn’t have any scar tissue at all. From what she had read about the upgrade procedure in the paper, Andena should have numerous scars all over her body. Danette wanted to be absolutely sure that Andena had had the upgrade, and she decided to check the girl herself.

  Danette shivered a little as her fingers traced the respiration tube which disappeared into Andena’s mouth. With a trembling hand, she stroked her hair and was amazed at how soft and shiny it was. Danette was really jealous of the amazingly vibrant red colour which perfectly matched her mystical green eyes and her pale, flawless complexion. Indeed, it was a wrench prising her gaze away. Slowly moving the sheet down she admired Andena’s naked upper torso. She couldn’t believe how immaculate Andena’s skin was: not a single mole or pimple was to be seen, and her skin had a silky lustre quality. She couldn’t resist touching the soft skin and marvelled at the toned and flat stomach as she realised that Andena must have been working out for some time. Only the enhancers in her hands looked out of proportion because they were clearly visible. The little pointy bumps on each joint of her fingers looked like little studs.

  It was because of the warmth radiating from Andena’s body that Danette felt the uneasiness creeping up, making her stomach churn again: this was a real living human, made of flesh and bone. She slowly peeled the sheet away from Andena, feeling a conflicting sense of guilt and jealousy. Andena’s body was beautiful: spoiled only by Bionex’s bionic enhancements.

  Danette sighed and quickly covered Andena with the sheet again because she couldn’t bear to look at her body anymore. Instead, she studied the screen which showed the physical status of the girl: everything was within normal parameters. Nothing pointed to a reason why she wasn’t awake, and she spent a long time pondering exactly what she should do.

  Mr. Yousima had given her an ultimatum: the girl had to be awake by the day after tomorrow, or the enhancers would be taken out and reused on someone else. She hated to be in this predicament.

  The noise of the respirator was getting on her nerves, and so she hastily left the room. It had felt eerie when she had closed the door because the intermittent hissing sound of the respirator was just about audible and sounded as if somebody was whispering. Her stomach was in knots, and she knew she had to eat something soon. With resolute steps, she hurried to her apartment hoping she could keep her food down.

  “What is going on over there?” Lunn asked as he walked with Alice to the headquarters.

  “There’s a problem with the secure connections.”

  “Oh okay, how bad?”

  “It seems that we are unable to create stable, secure connections,” Alice replied.

  “What do you mean by stable connections?”

  “As soon as the connection is established it drops within twenty seconds. The boys have tried everything, but nothing stays online longer than twenty seconds.”

  “Hmm, sounds strange. I have no idea what that could be.”

  “John is pretty pissed off.”

  “No kidding.”

  Alice chuckled and kept her pace steady as if nothing would change her speed. Lunn knew that he couldn’t draw any further conclusions until he arrived and decided not to ask any more questions about it. They kept on walking in a comfortable silence. He had no urge to talk which was, to his surprise, a pleasant feeling. He looked at Alice who still had a happy smile on her face making her seem even more desirable. She had noticed him looking at her, and quipped, “What is it with you and women?”

  The question took him back to his late teens when he had practically a different girl every night until one of the girls had committed suicide. People had thought she couldn’t cope with the fact Lunn had left her. Lunn had stopped seeing her because he didn’t want to find himself trapped in a relationship. It was an unfortunate coincidence that it was at that time that he realised that he couldn’t sleep with every girl he met.

  It had taken a long time before they had found the girl’s letter which stated that she had ended her life ‘at the will of the gods.’ Lunn was pleased that he wasn’t the reason she had decided to commit suicide, but it had contributed to drastic change in his attitude towards life. He had made the decision then to be celibate and ignored the many temptations around him.

  It had left him cold until Danette re-energised his love life with a steaming hot experience. He had been alone for a long time until Danette had managed to break his vow of celibacy. She was the first one he had allowed to be intimate with him, and it had amazed him how completely different it felt with Danette. Their open relationship had enabled him to enjoy a colourful sex life again although, apart from a few meaningless flings, Danette was still number one.

  Then there was Andena. The sex with her was amazing, but he knew it had only occurred as a result of the heightened state of arousal brought on by the alien aphrodisiac. He enjoyed her company: she was different, not as self-indulgent as many other women. Now as he looked at Alice, he wondered what he admired most in her. He sighed and confided insecurely, “I think I like women who have high self-esteem.”

  Alice snorted.

  “What?” he asked surprised wondering whether he had upset her.

  “As if I have that.”

  He stopped walking and said, “Hmm. You surely act like you know what you want.”

  Lunn studied her aware that his comments had shocked her deeply. He kissed her softly on the lips and as he pulled away he whispered, “You are a strong woman.”

  She grinned as she rested her forehead against his and said, “Maybe.”

  “How so, maybe? You kick ass if it’s necessary and you’re not afraid to bare your teeth.”

  Lunn saw her fidgeting and realised that she wasn’t comfortable with the way the conversation was going, he slapped her playfully on the bottom as he mused, “Right, let’s move on before I’m accused of negligence.”

  Alice laughed, genuinely relieved as she retorted, “Yup, John is pretty pissed that you left him alone to set up the initial part of the new headquarters.”

  Lunn laughed and said, “He could have contacted me.”

  “Not when you leave your phone in your office.”

  Her answer made him jump, he just about managed to suppress a gasp as he remembered that he had deliberately left his device at the office. The financier had explicitly told him not to bring it for safety reasons. He confessed, “Hmm, you’re right I don’t know why I did that.”

  Alice looked straight at him, and he could see that she didn’t quite believe his story and said playfully although with a stern undertone, “Y
ou just can’t run away and hide. You’re too important now.”

  As they entered the headquarters, Lunn murmured, “I guess I am.”

  Meleda had enjoyed a good brunch after a long lie in bed. She’d needed her rest after the long, taxing conversation she’d had with her brother the previous night. She was very pleased that Haruz had finally given her the necessary access to the main system. At least now she could easily browse around without the fear of being caught. She had been using other means to get the same information, but now she could dig a little deeper, which was what she planned to do today. She knew she wouldn’t be able to access all the information that she needed but with her neat set of little program bots: she could gather most of the data without being noticed. Once the little bots were started, she could relax and wait for the results.

  There was one thing in particular that she wanted to find: the contract which Arnost had signed with Tancred as the emissary of the aliens. But she reckoned, considering the conversations she had had with Haruz, that it was doubtful whether there would be a contract at all.

  The other major challenge that she had already spent quite a lot of time attempting to overcome was finding a way to breach Bionex’s security gates. It was only after several frustrating nights of rigorously reprogramming her bots, that she had finally gained access. She discovered that their systems were far more complex than she’d thought they would be but had loved the challenge, and she was incredibly pleased with her success. With a sigh of contentment, she realised she’d got nearly all the information she was looking for, and that she needed just a little more patience before she could start reading the next batch of documents. She had been shocked to discover how far Bionex’s technology had evolved.

  She had checked the credit balance of her reserves, and there was still enough to fulfil the next installment. She knew there were two more instalments to pay and after that, she would have less need for the harvesting bots.