Nights and Days in Hive Acropolis Ch. 11

"... My clan boss thinks he's got everything figured out. Acting like I'm 12 and he's my dad. Then they ... forced me ... to undergo a medical exam. They found bruises. Obviously. So he got even more upset. They're locking me down. Maybe they're going to lock all the women down again. I don't know. Everything's different here now. It's like I'm a stranger in my own home all of a sudden. ...

"... I don't have comms rights any more. I'm sneaking this message out, but I expect someone will notice. I'm far from the only tech-head in the clan. So I probably won't be able to send you another message after this. ...

"... If the clan elders get their way, I'll never be allowed to see you guys again. And I'm not even sure I can say that will be the worst thing. There's this doctor ... I'm going to have to act the good, chastened girl to make sure I'm not put into his 'care'."

Vaia's image looks into the camera with a fierce expression.

"I want to tell you know that I'm not going to be that person though! Rebeck, I'm yours. I want to be yours and I want to be with you and Sash. I can't live here any more. ..."

She bites her lip.

"We don't know each other very well. We only just met. I've got no right to ask this of you, but please, if you get this, please help me get out of here! If you two can survive and prosper Houseless, so can I. I want—"

That's the point where the message cuts off abruptly.

Sash looks at the screen for a long time.

"How did she know where to send the message?" she wonders aloud.

Rebeck is stopped in her pacing. "What? For fuck's sake, Sash. She knows our names. We work for the Representative. Who is a public figure. It's not difficult. She just directed it to the Representative's Spire, for the attention of, et cetera."

Sash shakes her head. "I guess. It's just ... none of them ever called you back before."

"This is no time for jokes!"

"Sorry. How I cope, you know? Oh hey! I have a copy too. Forwarded by the Spire's comms hub, yeah. ... Good thing she wasn't counting on me. It got caught in my filter. Unrecognised sender."

Rebeck doesn't care right now. "Never mind that. Just tell me what we should do!"

That gets Sash to turn around. Rebeck asking her what to do? That never happens. Not phrased like that, certainly.

"First of all, stop wearing out my floor. You'll take us both through it. This place is ... insect-ridden, remember? These floor-boards could be eaten through."

Rebeck remembers. The hotel has wooden floors, and some fittings. An imported luxury on Necromunda, wood sounds fancy for commercial purposes. The reality, in this case, is not so great. The wood had been installed some time ago, and it had been cheap junk even then. On top of that, some species of insect — 'roaches' they'd learned — had been imported along with it.

The Representative couldn't stand the things, so they had to be purged.

It still goes down as the worst duty Rebeck's had to deal with in this job. She recalls the stink of the gas they'd used, and of the rotting bodies of the 'roaches' they continued to find throughout the place for some time afterwards.

Rebeck stops pacing and sits down on Sash's bed.

"I can't believe we're stuck on the other side of the planet when this is happening," she says miserably.

Sash puts a bottle in her hand. "Have a drink. You'll feel better for it."

"Can't drink. On duty again soon."

"It's just hive slime. You know this place doesn't run to anything better than that. You'll be fine."

"Okay."

Hive slime is the derogatory term used for algal beer by those who've risen above it. It's actually a really good brand, but it's not imported, so it's cheap enough for this dump to stock.

Sash sits back down in the chair that's in front of the terminal and cracks her own bottle, and then Rebeck's.

"Listen. I know you're worried. It's almost as though you like her or something ..."

"I said no more jokes." But Rebeck smiles a little, and takes a drink.

"But this will probably blow over. Babe, they're her clan. They're not going to hurt her."

Rebeck frowns. "You should know better than that. There are no good guys in the hive. Van Saars have their issues like all the Houses."

Sash shakes her head. "That's not what I meant. Vaia is super-smart, right? She's still in education, at her age? She's valuable to them, and they know that, and they haven't started to cash in on that value yet. They're not going to cause harm to their investment."

Rebeck sighs. "I guess that sounds like Van Saar thinking. What are you saying then?"

"I think this will blow over. We just have to be patient. She's scared now, because it's all gotten out, and the people she's grown up with now know all too much about her ... preferences. But you more than anyone knows that Vaia can get deep into a role, right? She'll act the good girl, like she said in the message. Things will calm down. Sooner or later, they'll let her out again. Or they'll let their guard down enough that she can sneak out. Then we'll pick her up. Simple."

Rebeck stares at her, the frown on her face deep. "You think so? How long do you reckon that will take?"

"Couldn't say. A few weeks? Months, maybe."

Rebeck shakes her head. "I can't leave her there that long."

Sash inhales. "Reb. Babe ..."

"No, listen to me. I couldn't just wait and do nothing even if I knew it wouldn't be for nearly that long."

"Reb, whatever you say to each other when you're having fun and games ... Whatever either of you enjoys thinking when you're doing it, you're not really her ... mistress. She's not your responsibility."

"Sash, no. That's what you never got. The whole mistress thing doesn't just end when you leave the bedroom. It can't. Or it means nothing."

"Yeah, that's what you've always said," Sash acknowledges. She takes a long drink. She should have known Rebeck wouldn't go along with her Plan A.

"It's not like I want to control her every waking moment. Yet. But she said she was mine. And she meant it. I won't let them keep me from her."

"I know. I heard her." Sash sighs. "She loves us, babe. We finally find a girl crazy enough to go for both of us, and this happens!"

"I already tried to send a reply, but my messages are still being refused by her clan. She's stuck there, and she doesn't even know for sure that we give a shit, Sash! We've got to do something."

"I know. It sucks. ... But I really don't see what we can do about it."

Rebeck puts her bottle down and folds her hands. "Well, I've been thinking about that. Joseman will be a free agent soon. I reckon I've scraped enough together to hire him for one job. The Spire's armoury's well-stocked and I'll have unrestricted access to it as head of security. I take out some stumm gas, webbers. Maybe we hire a couple of other reliable people. And we break her out!"

Sash has been staring at her friend in increasing horror. "No. No. No. Absolutely no way. If this is what love does to the brain ... This is just you picking a fight outside the club with those Van Saar boys, writ large. I am not going to get myself killed raiding a Van Saar compound to rescue your girlfriend! And if you think for a second that Cabochon would be dumb enough to help you, even for every thaler on the planet, you are out of your mind! Even if you somehow survived, you'd lose your job for sure. I don't want to hear another word about a raid!"

To Sash's surprise, Rebeck actually seems chastened. "Yeah, you're right ... I was being a dumb Goliath, wasn't I? Even if we were going in non-lethal, they wouldn't play that way. I won't be much good to her ripped apart by bolt shells ... ... Can we, can we keep it in reserve though? In case it looks like they'll never let her out?"

Sash nods sympathetically, but doesn't say anything that might commit her.

"But we've got to do something." Rebeck looks at Sash appealingly.

"I agree," says Sash. "We'll think of something. At the very least, I'm sure we can get a message in. Let her know we're thinking about her and are trying to help. We saw those guys who brought her to the club. We can trawl our cogitators' data banks, see if they stored clear images. Anyway, either we find those boys, or we pay more attention to clan markings, find some Van Saars who actually know her! I'm sure I can talk someone into passing a message to her."

"Okay, that's a start. But what about—"

"Shush, babe. Finish your drink. Freaking out isn't going to help right now. We'll figure something out."

Rebeck is untypically co-operative. She picks up her bottle and drains it.

"Sash ... Will you ... I'm not going to be able to sleep. Will you come to bed with me?"

Sash smiles. It's hardly the way Rebeck usually propositions her.

"I need to feel something. Please."

"You didn't have to ask twice, baby."

She joins Rebeck on the bed.

Rebeck isn't in a mood to perform as her usual dominant self, so the two make love like free women, who know one another's bodies very well.

"I wish we were witches," Rebeck whispers at one point. "If we were psychic, we could let Vaia feel what we're feeling now!"

Sash laughs. Then moans in her response to what Rebeck's fingers are doing. "When did you become so sweet?"

When they're finished, Sash begins to drop off.

Until Rebeck starts shaking her.

"Oh, for fuck's ..."

"Sash, listen! I've got it! I know what we can do!"