A Soldier For All Seasons Ch. 11

"And then you pull your finger out?" Ana said uncertainly. "And your boyfriend enjoys it?"

"Fuck yeah, he does." The sales girl, Lauren, downed her cocktail.

"I do not think my man would enjoy such a thing." The Princess wrote it down anyway, even though she wasn't going to bring it up with Nate. Isabelle had shown her Nate's porn browsing history and that certainly hadn't come up.

Certainly, her surroundings showed that she had a lot to learn when it came to sexuality, making the hair on her arm rise a little with excitement. After she'd had her fill buying normal sexy clothes, she rose up the floors of Sapenza's main spire until she found a shop selling sexy sexy clothes. And, she discovered, a lot more.

Collars and chains, whips and clamps, cuffs and latex. Ana had gone a little bit overboard in buying things — she'd had to ship things to a storage unit she'd purchased with her armguard, since there was no way she was getting it all on their ship.

But Nate was going to be thrilled. Ana shivered at thought of it. She was being such a good girl, he'd love her so hard. Maybe he'd even say it. The thought made her thighs squirm together.

After her shopping, she'd found the salesgirl Lauren to be somewhat uncouth company, but at least the girl was a mine of information.

"Lauren," Ana prompted, pouring the girl another glass from the jug before glancing down at her notebook. Embarrassingly, the pages were margined by little love heart doodles she'd drawn absentmindedly. "Tell me again how you do the uh, ride and grind."

***

Nate emerged from the Council's black box of terrors and waved off the shuttle that waited for him. He needed the walk to clear his mind. He didn't expect the Council to immediately disbar and hunt down Jarek, but he'd at least thought they'd— well, he didn't know what he thought they'd do.

But not that.

The anger and humiliation simmered inside of him. Nate swallowed it down, angry with himself for even feeling that way.

He didn't have any evidence — of course they'd dismiss him.

But he was a veteran, a respected Captain. Didn't that count for anything? Why had The Lady even bothered asking him to speak to the Council? It had achieved nothing.

He ambled down the steps of the hill, feeling the eyes of the Council Honor Guard on him. Hundreds of stone steps and he was the only one walking them.

The view over Capus Mundi was incredible, but it was lost on him, each step down jarring his spine, so when he reached the bottom he was a tired, pained mess, regretting not taking the shuttle.

He wandered through the streets.

Clean. Everything was too clean. No litter, no fast food debris or soda cans, no shards of glass or graffiti.

The wind breezed through him, deliciously cool. Something rattled. A soda can, purple and orange. Some awful energy drink that tasted like piss, no doubt. But he smiled to see it, took longer strides and then kicked it as hard as he could.

In the quiet city streets, it sounded like a riot.

"Having a bad day, handsome?" A voice struck him from his reverie.

The Lady, leaning against a wall in a dark alleyway, lighting up her cigar, leg cocked against the wall. She'd switched out her catsuit for a long red dress, except it wasn't a dress because it had a hood that she swore over her red hair, the cloth thick and soft like a robe.

"You!" Nate remarked, a little stunned, eyes roaming over her. He had the idle thought that she'd make the worst spy in history, so eye-catching was she.

"Me," she teased.

"What are you doing here? Come to see me humiliate myself in front of the most powerful people in the galaxy?"

She frowned at him and puffed a long breath of smoke at him. It smelled like dark chocolate and burning wood. "You didn't humiliate yourself, darling. A bit testy maybe, but a girl can't really blame you for that, considering."

"But it was pointless!"

She shook her head. "Not pointless, no. It put a seed of doubt in their heads, one so small it can't be seen. But it will grow nonetheless. No, not pointless at all, especially when we saw how they reacted."

Nate breathed her in, the cigar smoke and all. "How they reacted?"

"They reacted perfectly — they contacted Jarek. The Council doesn't believe you at all, but Jarek doesn't know that. All Jarek knows is he got contacted and asked to explain himself. And he panicked so badly that he falsified evidence of him breaking you out. Can you imagine?"

Nate did imagine for a moment — imagined Jarek heading back, tail between his legs, to Acropolis, imagined him castigating Madam Mayko, imagined him taking pictures of explosives to prove his point.

"That is funny." He admitted reluctantly.

The Lady blew her smoke straight into the air, watching it dissipate slowly, and if she noticed Nate's eyes slowly coursing down her tight body, she didn't say anything. "And now the cat is amongst the pigeons. What the fuck are pigeons, anyway?"

"Birds."

She rolled her eyes, lips pursing in amusement. "I knew that much, Captain. Jarek's going to have to push his timetable up — he'll make a mistake now he thinks he's being watched. We just need to make sure we catch him."

On the side of a building somewhere above them, a screen projected a holo of a news channel, casting blue hues over the alley as it shouted about some politician's latest scandal.

"How are you going to do that?" Nate asked, following her as she strolled away and settled gracefully on a bench in a square, pinching her dress up to sit down. It was almost odd to see her in daylight, a little surreal, to realize she existed outside of Dead Space missions and shadowy alleyways.

Her smile was predatory. "I'll need your help, handsome."

Nate winced. "My plate's kinda full already, mystery woman."

"You're still a Fed captain, aren't you? Even if you are on babysitting detail."

"Sure, but I'm an army boy. Point and shoot, try not to eat any crayons."

She laughed, warm and inviting, her hand stretching out to touch his arm. He tried not to get a big head.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"All natural, no surgery, no mods."

"That wasn't what I was going—" He caught her smile spread. "Yeah, okay, I'm an easy mark.

"You're a fun mark." She corrected. "What do you want to know?"

"Bugs — they can talk. Some of them. I never knew that. I've been killing bugs all my life." He shook his head in wonder.

The Lady snorted a little and then giggled when she saw the look on his face. "I'm sorry, handsome. It's just easy to forget how little the rank-and-file know, sometimes. Bug intelligence is an open secret—"

"I mean, I know they're intelligent." Nate defended. "I've fought against enough of the smart ones, I just didn't know they could talk the same language as you and I."

"Most can't." She nodded. "But their higher-ups, their leadership? They all do. We hide it because we don't want civilians thinking they're anything more than the rapist cannibal scum that they are. If people knew bugs could talk, all of a sudden, they'll find it easier to pay off our people, easier to turn them onto their side."

Nate shook his head. "It doesn't feel right."

"You really would have stopped to chat before killing all the bugs over the years?"

"No — I mean, I knew they were sentient. Intelligent. Just...doesn't feel right, knowing we have something in common."

Her face turned dark. "You and I both know that's the only thing we have in common."

"Why do they even speak it, their higher-ups?"

She shrugged. "They're a lot smarter than most think. They try to make contact all the time; they try and pay off our best merchants, they threaten our weak links, they let us interrogate a speaking bug who knows just the right amount of nothing. Last year, we estimated that they made eight thousand contact attempts alone, and that's just the ones we know about. Imagine if every one knew they could talk?"

Nate shuddered. "It'll come out one day."

"It will." She agreed. "Just make sure it doesn't come out through you — that's a career killer, even for me."

"For you?" He frowned. "I don't even know what you are? Are you a Judge or Jury or Fed spec ops or?"

"Well," She pulled out some classic red lipstick and dabbed it to her lips, twisting the tube to raise up a pop-up mirror that she used to check her reflection. "I'm a Fed girl, but not your average Fed girl, thank you very much. Not to worry, Captain Square, I'll get you your official orders." She smirked at him.

"It's not square to get a paper trail, you—"

"I need you to talk to someone for me. A broker, a merchant. The Cipher. He won't meet but I've set up a meeting with one of his underlings."

"The Cipher. That name sounds familiar."

"It should. He's the biggest dealer of arms, info, people in the Galaxy — if it wasn't for the fact that he has dirt on every Fed major and their mistress, we'd have shut him down by now. He's the guy that released the sex tape last year, the one with the Colonel and the—"

"Girls dressed up as bugs?"

"Yes."

"That was awful. I can still hear the crunch."

She sniffed, lips twisted. "Yes, well, that's what happens when one gets on his bad side."

"Why can't you talk to him?"

"I've had dealings with him in the past and I can't be seen inquiring about Jarek, not unless I want a lot of questions asked of the wrong people. When you attract the Cipher's eye, a lot of rocks start getting turned over, secrets get out. I can handle the heat, but the people I work for, not so much."

"Whereas I—" Nate frowned.

"Whereas you, golden boy, have got no secrets, just a long history of shooting straight and falling out of every bar and strip club in Fed space."

Nate winced. It wasn't like the Fed had any other way to let off steam and, really, he was just keeping an eye on his boys.

"I'm still hanging around with the Princess, you know. She could do without attracting eyes."

"Ah, yes." The Lady smirked. "I'm very jealous, I'll have to ask her how it felt." She leaned closer to him to whisper, and he could smell her, darkest chocolate and the faintest scent of strawberry. "I always wanted to fuck my babysitter."

Nate coughed heavily, avoiding her eyes. "Yes, well—"

"Relax, Captain Cocksure. I deleted the drone footage from the arena so nobody's gonna see your oily naked wrestling. I'll send you the details of one of Cipher's agents."

"Alright, I'll do it." Nate relented.

"Good. Just keep a low profile, keep your heads down and Cipher will have no reason to look further into you two."

"I will. I told Ana to as well, she'll listen to me."

The Lady's eyes tracked above him, smile souring on her face. "Apparently not."

Nate turned to see the holo-screen large with Ana's face. The ticker read 'Live interview with the Lunari Princess!'

"Fuck." Nate murmured, hurriedly tuning his arm-guard to the screen to get audio.

Projected high, swaying a little from excitement, Ana clenched her fist. "My fiance abandoned me on Tallaris when I was kidnapped and afraid. I watched his ship soar above the palace and the bugs chittered with laughter at his cowardice." She swept some of the hair away from her face. "I can no longer marry or give myself to a man without honor. I have left the Lunari space to search for the secrets behind the bug invasion, to see if there are conspirators in our midst, and I cannot return until my duty is done."

"Princess—" The reporter got out before Ana spoke again, turning to the camera.

"I am a Princess, but I know now that a Princess cannot be merely a sheltered rose, but a forthright and mighty sword!" Then, she put her hand to her mouth and let out the tiniest, adorable burp. "Excuse me."

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Nate dropped his head into his hands as the interview ended.

***

"All I'm saying is, this season of battleball is boring. The Blasters have had it tied up all year—"

"You're only saying that because your Rhinos lost this week. Last week you were saying you were going to win for—"

"Guys, guys." Troy muttered. "Look at the fucking babe at ten o'clock."

"Dude, who cares? We're high above Sapenza, every girl here is at least an eight—holy shit." Noah muttered, coughing out the olive he'd just popped in his mouth. His martini rattled in his gaze.

"I know, right?" Troy admired. She was a stunner, a Lunari, ears pointing through impossibly lush wavy hair. And that ass — tight, peachy, un-look-away-able.

She was giggling, clearly tipsy, drinking cocktails with her friends at the bar. A short skirt and strappy tank top — legs for days, casually dressed and yet still outshining every other woman in the place.

"Never seen a ratio like hers." His friend Booker whistled.

"I'm going to go for it." Troy declared.

"Bro, you're on that Mizean powdered shit if you think that girl's touching you." Booker snorted.

"Why?" He demanded. "It's all about confidence bro. I got money, I got it all."

Noah shook his head. "Girls like that get money thrown at them — they need something else."

Troy sniffed. "You boys need a man to show us how it's done. Watch this."

He took a gulp of his drink for liquid confidence and turned on his heel. Chest out, jaw up, voice deep — he could do this. Confident walk.

Her friends spotted her before she did, their faces freezing for a moment, their smiles twitching.

Finally, the goddess turned. Up close, she was even more beautiful, startlingly blue eyes, like the time he'd been to that island resort planet and had never seen waters that blue.

"H-hey." He started. "Hey, doll. Never seen a beauty like you in all my life."

She looked at him fondly, like he was a child. "Aww, thank you." Her friends tittered.

"What say I buy you a drink and we see where the night goes?"

Her smile twitched. "I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend."

"What sort of guy would leave you lonely on any night? Maybe you need a real man."

Smile dropped. "Believe me, he's more man than I can handle."

Troy's confident smile floundered as she turned back. His hand on her shoulder and he suddenly found himself pushed back angrily.

"No touching," The beauty growled. "Ever!"

"Bitch, what the fuck is wrong with you? I was trying—"

"Exactly, trying. Walk away. You are just a boy, trying hard to understand what it is like to be a man." She snapped. "You are a poor facsimile, a charade of a man. Go back to your friends, little boy."

Troy breathed hard, staring at the unblemished skin on her back, her friends laughing, feeling the deep well of humiliation boil up in him. He could do nothing.

He clenched his fist and walked away.

***

Ana coughed up, eyes stinging as she failed to down her pint.

"Boo! Rookie alert!" Lauren giggled as she sank her own pint, the other girls chiming in.

"I'm unused to this foul drink." Ana complained, wiping her lips. The salesgirl from the sexy shop had gathered her friends after her shift ended and enticed Ana to have drink. Since Nate had been gone so long and having shopped herself silly, Ana couldn't see any reason to say no. The girls were a deep well of information, especially since she was picking up the tab.

Her head was pounding, though. And she missed Nate, even more after she'd been hit on by that silly little boy.

"Alright, you know the game. You owe us a dirty truth on this legendary boyfriend of yours." One of the other girls, Ciara, leaned forward, unknowingly spilling some of her cocktail on the table. "How big is his dingle?"

Ana smiled proudly. "My man is huge, as big as my forearm."

"Bullshit." Lauren snorted.

"It's true!" Ana cried, pointing an accusing finger at her new friend. "He's like a...like a donkey!"

"Well, that sounds like my boyfriend alright, he's a real donkey." Sandy rolled her eyes. "If he wasn't so rich, I'd have to go back to my parents. Thankfully, we have our fingers, right ladies?"

Ana frowned. "Who needs fingers? My man makes me cum endlessly. By the end of it, my legs don't even work." These girls were strange.

Ciara stared down at her empty cocktail glass sadly. "I'm lucky if I can reach even a little O. I usually just fake it and maybe sort myself out when he falls asleep."

Ana looked at her uncertainly. "But, ah, don't you reach your climax simply from the taste of him, from seeing the pleasure on his face and knowing you brought it?"

Lauren fell about laughing. "Babe, you are drunk as hell. This is my evening, every evening. Mikey comes home drunk, hammers me for three minutes, spunks a few drops on my back. I wipe it off and go to sleep. And he's my best boyfriend yet!"

Sandy slid down her seat, red with giggles.

Ana hummed. "I shall have to bring you to my mine, once we purchase a bigger ship. He needs many submissive wenches to sate his all conquering needs."

"Fuck, girl, you crack me up." Ciara tittered.

"I know, right?" Lauren clinked glasses with her.

"Ana!" Ana spat out her drink as she heard Nate's curt voice, beaming at him. She stood up and swayed tipsily into his arms. "What are you—"

"Nate! Meet my new friends. Oh baby, I missed you sooo—" She hiccuped.

"Ana, what the—" Nate took a deep, frustrated breath, taking her by the arm. "Excuse me, ladies."

"Uh oh." Lauren quipped as Nate dragged Ana away into the bathroom.

"Ana, what the fuck are you doing?" Nate growled at her. Her wide eyes blinked in confusion, slowly. "Did I not say to keep a low profile?"

"I was just shopping—" She protested, hand reaching for his chest.

He swatted it away. "Not the shopping, the interview! How is giving an interview to the whole galaxy keeping a low profile? We have Lunari moles, Judges, we just escaped Dead Space and you've just fired a fucking beacon to say we're here?"

Her eyes glistened with tears, biting her lip. "But, but, I wanted everyone to know I'm yours. I thought if I told my fiance—"

"You thought? You didn't think at all!" Nate exhaled a long breath of frustration. "Fuck, okay, whatever, we need to get out of town. I need a Transceiver Muffler for small ships — have you seen any ship parts or markets, dodgy looking ones?"

Ana nodded quickly, wiping her face with her hands. "Y-yes, at the bottom of the mall. Behind it, on the grass, there's a pop-up market."

"Okay." Nate sighed. "Say goodbye to your friends and let's go."

Ana stumbled out, biting her lip hard to stop from crying, pinching her nails into her palm. As she said goodbye to the girls, Lauren grabbed her tight and whispered into her ear. "Let him spank you."

"What?" Ana said, confused.

"If he's mad at you, ask him to spank you."

Ana's mouth fell open. "Does that work?"

Lauren held both of her hands tightly. "That's what I do when Mikey's mad. I climb over his lap and he spanks my ass red." She said conspiratorially, glancing over her shoulder at an impatient Nate. "Trust me, they love it. And," She gave Ana a friendly push. "I don't hate it either." Lauren winked.

Ana stumbled after Nate as he stalked off, following him into the luxurious elevator, lined with a velvet bench for its occupants. He sat on the bench with a huff after smashing the button for the bottom floor.

The Princess stood in front of him, clenching her fists and taking a deep breath. She could fix this. She'd been stupid, she told herself, but it was okay.

"Nate," Ana said slowly, softly. "I'm sorry."

He graced her with a tight smile. "It's fine, I'm just...bad day. Whatever." He turned his head, studying the patterns on the floor tiles intensely.

"I'll be a better representative of you going forward." She wrung her hands together.