All That Glitters Ch. 06

Clubbing, hacking, reunions.

This chapter sees the friends out for an evening at the dance club that has consequences. Raymond and Liea are reunited. Liea gets a new teammate. Raymond holds his own.

Because of the amount of abbreviations in this story, I include a glossary:

Adm. Admiral, naval rank (see Cmdr.), above a captain

Capt. Captain, naval rank, usually a ship's commander

CCO Chief Communications Officer, corporate position

Cdr. Commander, naval rank, one grade below captain

CIO Chief Information Officer, corporate position

CP Confederation of Planets, referring to the losing side of the Terran Unification War, or just the War

Cmdr. Commodore, first of the admiral ranks (one star), it is followed by Rear Admiral (RAdm. two star), Vice Admiral (VAdm. three star), Fleet Admiral (FAdm. four star, in this story a Sector Commander or equivalent), and Admiral (Adm. five star, usually senior command positions such as Chief of the Navy)

Comp Communication device / personal computer, usually worn on the wrist. Everyone has one, though there are levels of sophistication above the ordinary

Coms O Communications Officer, naval position in charge of comms

CV Cargo Vessel (supply ship)

CPV Corporate Yacht, Corporate Private Vessel (i.e. CPV Liramor One)

CPO Chief Petty Officer, a naval rank, in the story it usually refers to the Boatswain, the senior enlisted rank of a ship, who literally owns the ship, he/she signed for it. The ship's captain commands, the Boatswain makes sure everything gets done

CSec Chief of Security, corporate position

Dir Director, as in Director of Operations, corporate position

EA/PA Executive / Personal Assistant, corporate position

Exec, Ex O Executive Officer, a ship's principal administrative officer. On small ships the 2^nd in command and Ex O can be one and the same. On large ships, they will be separate positions. Americans will tell you it's XO not Ex O, but I'm not American.

FTL Faster Than Light, referring to the multi-light year jump drive, military warships and some private/corporate yachts have up to a thirty-five light year jump capability, while large supply ships usually vary between fifteen to twenty light year capability

HR Human Resources, an administrative function

IFF Identify Friend or Foe, electronic identification system used between naval vessels to identify friendly vessels

JAG Judge Advocate General, military legal system of judges and lawyers

Lt. Lieutenant, naval rank, one grade below LtCdr.

LtCdr. Lieutenant Commander, naval rank, one grade below Cdr.

Maj. Major, a military rank in the Army or Marines, equivalent to navy LtCdr.

NS Naval Ship (i.e. NS Wimple)

PSec Head of Personal Security, usually the team lead

PV Personal Yacht, Private Vessel

Ops O Operations Officer

SLO Senior Legal Officer, corporate position

SLt Sub-Lieutenant, a naval rank one grade below Lt. and one grade above Ensign

SOps Senior Operations Officer

Tac O Tactical Officer, naval position in charge of tactics

TGA Terran Union Governmental Authority

TUSN Terran Union Space Navy

VSC Veterans Security Company, a personal security company that Liea uses

There is little attempt to explain the back story in this chapter so reading the previous chapters is important to understanding what is happening.

As before, I claim sole responsibility for the story line. This story is a fantasy, with no basis in reality. Any similarity that you may perceive to current events, people, or situations real or imaginary is completely unintended. Look no further than the story line for its intent and purpose.

SaddleRidder has been instrumental in the editing process of this series. Big shout out with thanks to her for all her help.

Please rate and comment. But keep your comments respectful. If you rant and rave or are disrespectful in your commentary, it will be deleted.

'Nuff said...enjoy.

Capital City. Liramor Prime, Liramor Star System, Thirty Light Years from Terra

Annette picked up Liea, Lisette, and Analisa in front of the Eclipsa at 21:00 hrs ready for a night out. All the women were dressed appropriately for clubbing, including Analisa.

Analisa Talbot, Liea's PSec, wore a specially tailored club outfit that helped to conceal several weapons apon her person. She had four throwing knives with ten centimeter blades, two stabbing knives with fifteen centimeter blades, two small but very powerful stun guns, a half-dozen mace bombs that could be palmed and shoved into someone's face with devastating effect, and two extendable clubs that would snap open from a small ten centimeter into sixty centimeter rigid fighting batons. All were concealed on her person in a manner that would not be noticeable to the casual observer. She hoped she would never need the mini arsenal but knew that preparation was always better than failure. Especially for the client.

There was also the larger client defence perimeter that was now around them. The VSC had increased the number of people Liea's immediate detail from five to eighteen. Most would not be seen, or even noticed by the client. But they would be nearby if and when Analisa needed them.

It took a little over an hour to get to the club and Annette's presence assured their entry with no fuss despite the long line out front. Annette introduced Liea and her entourage to the club manager who understood that this was a person of note. He quickly added Liea's name to the preferred guest list and assured her that she would have access to the club in future. Lissette took the contact info that would notify the club of their impending future arrival.

The quartet entered the club and moved immediately to the second floor VIP wing. Music from the main dance floor came through speakers all around the room. The sound level could be increased or decreased as needed dependent on what the room was going to be used for.

The VIP room had a large one-way window that looked down over the club's main dance floor. The VIP section had its own dance floor that could probably handle forty patrons. There was a stair that led directly to the main floor.

There were perhaps twenty tables with four chairs each around the room and a bar across from where the ladies had entered. The beautiful, young, bartender perked up with a smile when the ladies entered. She had been there alone for well over an hour now. After getting their drinks, the ladies sat at a table that allowed them a view of the main floor.

About twenty minutes later, with no sign of other guests in the VIP area, Liea asked the obvious. "How are we supposed to dance if there is no one to dance with?" She asked Annette.

Annette gave out a little giggle. "You have to have the app," she told her friend.

"What app?" Liea asked intrigued.

Annette opened an app on her comp. Immediately a fan shaped holo screen jumped out in front of her. There were several dots in various colours on the screen and, as she moved her arm around, dots came and went within the fan. Annette waved a finger at one of the dots and a young man's picture and information came up on the app.

"This is the club's 'dating' app. All the people on the app have been vetted by the club. They are vetted for security and for medical issues. In other words, they are 'safe'," she told her friend with a smirk on her lips.

"You mean, they're gigolos?" Liea asked stunned.

"Nothing of the sort!" Annette laughed. "Well, at least they are not professional. They are mostly university students in need of cash and a night out. If you dance with them, they will get a 'reward' from the club. If you like them and bring them up to the VIP lounge, the reward is a little higher. And, if you like them enough, and do the nasty here at the club, they get an even bigger reward.

"But, should you take them home, you are responsible for getting them back to the club or somewhere else and for paying them anything for their 'service'. I come here a lot and make us of the app. More importantly though, I make use of the app for the type of 'camaraderie' that I would not get with the senior executives of Liramor Holdings. I mean, they are all in their fifties and older and mostly married, while I'm only thirty-six and still single," she told her friend in a conspiratorial whisper that everyone at the table heard.

"You should be aware, however, that you will be charged by the club for the 'services' provided. It can add up to a substantial amount, but considering your current net worth and the fact that you will be receiving a royalty of between twenty and thirty billion credits by early next week, you should have no problem paying for those services," she told Liea.

"The clients benefit because they get to be part of a club scene that they would not normally have ready access too and receive some money on the side that will help them a little. The club benefits because the rich clients will come more often if they believe they will have people they can trust around them to dance with. People like us benefit because we feel more at ease knowing that the people on the app have been screened," Annette explained.

Annette sent her a link to the app, and Liea cued it on her comp. Lissette leaned in as the pair looked through the available companions.

Everyone of them were beautiful, ranging in age from just legal to enter the club to men and women in their late thirties. Their list of accomplishments was listed along with a face image and full body image and even their sexual preferences.

Most were under twenty-four and still in university. Some were listed as businessmen and women. Others had odd jobs that ranged from mechanics to engineers. There was even a cop and a nurse. A few were couples or even married.

Annette giggled and mentioned that her favorite was in the club tonight, showing a handsome man in his late thirties who was listed as a financier.

Liea and Lissette looked through the selection of dance partners to see if any suited their fancy. When Liea waved her finger at one man, his face and data came up very briefly then 'popped' out of existence. Liea thought nothing of it and continued with the search. Eventually the two ladies selected four men and two ladies to dance with. Once their selection was made, the app showed them where the selected members where on the dance floor.

They decided to move down to the main dance floor to find their choices. Giggling, everyone raced down the stairs to the main floor. The app sent up a coloured spike that was mimicked by the comps of the people they had chosen. Soon ten people were dancing to the hot new sounds of the club's DJ with Analisa dancing around the outside of the little group looking for trouble.

*****************

Liea was getting into the vibe, letting the music move her. She spun and bumped the two men she had selected while working around the graceful dance moves of one of the women she had chosen. She saw Lissette in the middle of another trio of people having a good time. All the dancers seemed to be in a pleasant mood.

But on the periphery of the dance floor, there were those who were not so happy, not enjoying the dancing. They were generally single men who were prowling the club looking for someone to hit on.

Single men in the clubs were not unusual. They came to have a good time. Came to dance. Came to drink. Came to meet people, hopefully interesting women, or sometimes other men. The difference between those having a good time and those not, was their station in life. Those who were happy were usually young and optimistic. They looked ahead to a life full of adventure and good times.

Some of those who were not, had found themselves in dead-end jobs with little chance of advancement. Life had been 'hard' on them. They believed that they were owed more and were angry that they had not achieved it. They didn't understand that where they had wound up was a reflection of their own callous attitude to work and people. They came to the club to escape their ruinous lives, flittering away what money they had in a vain attempt to find something that was beyond their ability to find. Their callous attitude made them anti-social, unable to connect with the very women that so badly inflamed their desires.

These men were eager to enjoy the atmosphere of the club, from the drinking to the dancing, to the women. Especially the women. They circled the dance floor like sharks seeking blood. When they saw something they liked, they slid onto the dance surface and sidled up to their desired woman and attempted to dance her away from the group she was with. Once on the periphery again, hopefully with the women they had chosen, things would be very different.

These men had hard, rough lives. They didn't know how to show kindness or gentleness. They wanted only one thing, the company of a woman for the night. Preferably away from the club where they could act in the way they wanted to, without being disturbed by club security. Sometimes they were successful, often enough to keep them trying.

One such man had seen Lissette dancing and taken a fancy to her. He slid down to the dance floor and began to move in a somewhat disjointed fashion, not knowing that it marked him as one who did not truly belong. He slowly moved over to his chosen woman and began to dance around her.

Lissette became aware that a new face had joined her little dance group. At first, she welcomed another dancer, but something was just 'off' about this one. Taking a closer look, she realized that he was dressed rather more roughly than other club patrons were. He had been dancing around her for several minutes before it dawned on her that she was being manoeuvred away from her group.

She spun on her heel and did a slow turn with several quick backsteps to bring her around the new face and back to her group, but the new guy stepped in front of her blocking her attempt to return to her dancing friends.

She started to get worried and looked around for Liea, Annette, and especially Analisa. Lissette saw Analisa watching her and she pointed to the new dancer with her chin. Analisa gave her a reassuring nod and went into momma Kurden Bear mode, moving in to place herself between the new dancer and Lissette, trying to cut him away from her little group of cubs.

The stranger was having none of it. He moved once more to place himself in such a way as to block Lissette's return to her group.

Once again, Analisa placed herself between the stranger and her charge.

"Bitch! Stay out of my way," he snarled, attempting to sidestep her and find the woman he was claiming.

Analisa acted. She put her hand behind her to her belt, taking one of the concealed extendable batons into her palm. With a quick snap of her wrist, the baton extended to full length and Analisa stepped forward to block the aggressor.

Anger on his face for being interrupted by this strange woman, the man foolishly reached out to her and she snapped the baton against the nerve point on his right wrist. He felt the pain run up his arm to the back of his neck, and suddenly found himself unable to effectively use his hand, which responded rather sluggishly to his brain's commands.

Analisa noticed that the aggressor had lost partial use of his hand, but the sudden pain had one unintended effect, he had just as suddenly sobered up and realized the situation he was in.

More warily now, he circled around Analisa. He reached out once more, this time with the left hand. Analisa swung the baton again, but the aggressor was ready and pulled his hand back rather abruptly, causing her to miss her intended target. The aggressor stepped into her with the intent of grabbing her to keep her from hitting him, and possibly coping a little feel, but that didn't quite work out the way he intended.

Bringing the baton across her body, she grabbed it with her free hand. She blocked the path of his hand and pushed it away from her across his body using the extra leverage that she had with both hands on the baton. Taking a step to her right with her left foot, she pivoted on that foot and placed herself immediately behind the aggressor.

She tapped the back of his left knee with her right foot, causing him to sag to the left momentarily. That was all the time she needed as she brought the baton around in front of him and across his throat, putting him in a chockhold.

Suddenly panicking, the stranger attempted to kick backwards against Analisa's legs, but she simply anticipated his kicks and side stepped them, still maintaining the chock hold. A few seconds later, two men that Analisa recognized as part of her protection detail showed up on either side of the aggressor. She released her chockhold as her people put a wrist lock on either hand and pulled the struggling man off the dance floor and out of the club.

Analisa twisted the baton compressing it into itself, slipping it back into its hidden recess on the back of her belt. Bobbing her head to the music, she resumed dancing with the group, much to the amusement of those present. Moments later, Annette had decided that they were too exposed on the main dance floor and guided her charges and their dance partners back to the VIP lounge. They would be charged more, but they would also be safer.

Analisa was able to relax some as, in the more secure environment of the VIP room, the party continued well into the morning.

Eclipsa Hotel, Liramor Prime

Liea woke to the sound of the alarm, her head screaming from the mother of all hangovers that she felt she was suffering from. Opening her eyes didn't help, as that just brought more pain.

She slapped her hand on the alarm to shut the foul thing off, her wrist bouncing off a bottle of water. She saw a note in Lissette's handwriting with two pills laying on it saying simply 'Take'. She opened the large bottle of water and took the pills, finishing the bottle in one long chug.

She slowly lowered herself onto the bed, covering her eyes, and waited for the pills to work. Ten minutes later she was feeling much better. Lissette had come through for her once again. A look at the clock showed that it was just shy of 08:00. She had probably automatically set the alarm, she mused, as she had only gotten a few hours sleep.

With the pain of the hangover greatly subdued, she slipped out of bed to start her day. First thing was to call the bank and inform them her impending windfall.

She went to open her comp and realized it wasn't on her wrist, nor in the bedroom. She briefly panicked until she remembered taking it off in the sitting room. She didn't want to go out there to find it, so opened the comms unit by her bed.

She remembered the extension of Geneviève Hiliere, the assistant manager and called her direct. A brief moment later, the 3D face of the beautiful woman appeared in front of her.

"Good morning, Ms. Samson!" She exclaimed in standard laced with the French accent of the people of Liramor Prime. "Are you calling to confirm the transfer?" She asked.

"Transfer?" A puzzled Liea asked.

"Why yes, Ms. Samson. We show a transfer of twenty million credits to an account in the branch of the Fallut Bank that is used by Pallanders Shipbuilding. I assumed that it was a down payment for your yacht?" Ms. Hiliere explained. "We received it overnight last night from your comp, but it won't go out until we open at 09:00 this morning though and not until we receive confirmation as per your instructions."