-AN
Greetings dear readers. I've had a flurry of chapter updates recently but that's likely about to slow down due to life. I'll still update when I can though. Also, this is the longest chapter I've ever written for something at over 3300 words which is quite a milestone for me. Thank you to all those that have read, reviewed and enjoyed this story. Now read, review and enjoy!
30/12/13 Update: Fixed a few factual errors and removed a few typos.
"So yeah, most of the operation went alright. Unfortunately things turned a little cock shaped near the end." Joanna, along with her team, was sitting in the back of an armored van, the grinding of wheels against the road an almost constant feature of the journey. Her helmet was off and a hand was pressed against her forehead while its associate elbow rested against her knee.
The van's interior was dark and gloomy with one way mirrors for windows. Its destination was NDA headquarters.
"How so?" Johnson's voice rang clearly over Joanna's headset.
"There was a random shootin' next door. Some dude got killed then the lady that killed 'im opened fire on me and the team."
"Are you hurt?"
"No, this armour is shit serious." Joanna removed her hand from her face and lent back. The sound of wheel friction became louder before cutting off altogether as the van came to a stop at some traffic lights.
"Right. So presumably you returned fire?"
"Yeah... We gunned her down with rifles and a shotgun."
"No way to make it look like a suicide then?"
"Nope. Instead we planted the shotgun on the dead guy to make it look like he returned fire." The woman shrugged her shoulders as if the other member of the conversation was there in front of her. "But you're gonna to have to make a call to the police. Tell 'em not to disclose any evidence from the scene that suggests anyone was there other than the two deceased."
Johnson exhaled gruffly on the other end of the line before responding "I hate this part of the job." The van engine rose in volume and the wheels resumed turning as the van started moving again.
"Well I hate parts of my job too. You gotta push through it though."
"That's the thing that's annoying. But you are right, and what's done is done. Oh, and come see me after you get out of that armour. I have a mission for you."
"Sounds awfully sinister."
"Just be there."
"I will. See you later."
"Bye."
Joanna pushed a button on her head set, breaking the comms link. She then used the headset to contact the driver. "How much longer?"
He responded "Around three quarters of an hour if the traffic's ok."
"God damn it." She cut the link again before placing her elbows on her thighs and linking her hands together, leaning forward. "Soooooo... Anyone bring that porn mag with them by any chance?"
Her whole squad turned to look at her, which would have been disconcerting to most individuals as they still wore their face concealing helmets.
"Heh heh, suppose that's a no then."
"Right, I'm here Jon. What's this mission you were talking about?"
Five minutes later...
Ambassador Pulam was reading through pages on a glowing blue data pad when a beeping sound indicated an active communications request. He pressed a button on his wrist computer, coloured pixels flooding across the comms screen to show an image of an exasperated Joanna with her hands gesturing forward in a pleading motion.
"Why?" She questioned, voice disbelieving.
"Because you are a fascinating individual." The sangheili lowered his pad down before crossing his arms. "Plus, I believe it will be amusing to watch you interacting with the droves of self-obsessed drones that compose my union and your government. It would do them some good speaking to a real person rather than a calculated facade as is normally the case."
"Do you mind if I ask a few questions?" Joanna's tone had calmed somewhat and her back had straightened up.
"As many as you wish."
"What makes me fascinating?"
"That you have claimed a high up position in such a prestigious organisation as the NDA while coming to work wearing a tramp's clothing, as your associate Johnson put it," Joanna tutted and shook her head, "and that you have retained such a position while speaking like a gangster. I'd also like to hear the story of how you came to acquire artificial eyes."
The woman tightened her lips together and nodded slightly, not entirely sure what to make of Pulam's answer.
"Your next question?" The Ambassador cocked his head to the side.
"What good is it throwing me into a group of people you clearly feel disenchanted with?"
"There are few things more satisfying than watching as someone utterly full of themself pouts and walks away after failing to impress another individual with false pretenses. My brother was similarly brazen to you." Pulam's tone became nostalgic and he began talking to himself rather than Joanna. "He would look past what people pretended to be and see what they were, and if what he saw was nastiness then he would make a mockery of the person." He let out a mirthless chuckle. "It is honestly surprising it's taken this long for him to be assassinated."
Joanna retained a respectful silence, as what would you say in this position?
The sangheili's attention focused back onto the woman and his voice returned to normal. "Agent Johnson mentioned that you don't 'do aristocrats'. I would think that the reason for this is that you do not enjoy emplacing your own pretenses and putting them across to other people. So I suggest that you just be yourself, if only for this one evening."
"Uhh, yes Ambassador."
"Also, are you well?"
"Excuse me?"
"Agent Johnson mentioned that you were shot."
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I was wearing heavy armour at the time."
"Good. I shall speak to you later."
"See you later."
The screen turned black within a few moments. Pulam took a deep breath before releasing it as a sigh/cough. He seemed intent to just think for a short while, gaze staring far into the distance beyond the confines of his office. Eventually his contemplations reached their natural conclusions and he stood up, walking over to the back of his office. He pressed a button set into the wall. This preceded the opening out of a fully stocked wardrobe. Finally I may be able to get out of these robes. A sangheilian smirk played across his features.
That evening...
Agent Johnson was dressed in a grey pinstripe suit-jacket with trousers of the same pattern, material and colouration, while he was driven to the ball in the back of an agency car. Juxtaposed to him was Raid Operations Chief Joannan in the adjacent seat, wearing her regular clothing. They both had their arms crossed and faces set forwards.
"Did the Ambassador tell you why he added you to the guest list?" The clean shaven man spoke.
"Yeah. But the real reason was only implied. I think it's because I remind 'im of 'is brother." The violet eyed woman responded.
"An aged sangheilian male?" He couldn't help himself.
"Laugh it up Johnson. He said his brother was 'similarly brazen' to me."
"I had several interactions with Era during his lifetime. I can see why you remind the Ambassador of him."
"Hmm."
They sat in a comfortable verbal silence for awhile, an occasional shake of the vehicle rattling them as it passed over a bump and that entrancing drone of driving noise constantly... Droning.
Eventually Joanna frowned and looked over at her partner. "Did you really tell Pulam that I look like a tramp in my outfit?"
"Would you really tell me that you don't?" The man questioned without returning her gaze.
Joanna's head turned back forward. "No."
"Right, well. This is it. Do you want me to find the new liaison and introduce you or shall I let you find your own way around?"
"I'll go my own way. There's gotta be a booze stall somewhere in here."
"If there is one, you'll find it. But if you do want to meet the new legate just look for where the crowd's thickest."
"Will do."
Johnson then left, seeming to know exactly where he wanted to go.
Joanna just stood for a moment, immersed in the sound of classical music and trivial conversation. She performed a quick visual recce that identified the "booze stall" as a small wine bar at the opposite end of the room. After a slight delay she walked in a beeline towards it. Rich, bright, yellow light passed over her and orange, red, patterned carpeting passed under her as she did. One thing she noticed as her two violet orbs swept over the scene was that sangheili were present at the party in equal proportion to humans. It was almost surreal to see the two races mingling as such, the bulky aliens of course standing a couple of feet taller than their average human counterparts.
Some people took a double take upon seeing her or stared at her for longer than was necessary but she otherwise reached the wine stand without issue, leaning forward on the mahogany counter. She was about to ask the server for a drink when a short man wearing an exquisite white suit strode to the spot beside her and cut in "A glass of champagne will you?"
Joanna turned her head sideways to look at the man.
The waiter enthusiastically responded "Yes sir.", bending down to fetch a glass and wine bottle.
Though Joanna's head was still facing the man, her eyes had refocused on the server. He notably refused to make eye contact with her and the white suited individual did not even look in her direction.
When he was finished pouring the champagne the waiter handed the glass to his client and hid the bottle away again. Joanna could not help but notice that the bottle was still at least half full.
Just as he came, the man in the fancy suit left without a word. The woman whom he had butted in front of stared behind her shoulder at his receding form before turning forward once again. She stated plainly "A glass of champagne please."
Without any response the man bent down and removed a full, unopened bottle. He cracked off the cork and poured a new glass before setting it down on the counter in front of him. Joanna's eyes glanced down at it then back up at him. They held his gaze as she lifted the glass up with her left hand and sipped out some of the fluid. She set the glass back down, focus unwavering, and returned her hand to its position on the counter. "This wine is corked."
"Oh I'm sorry." To untrained ears this statement may have sounded legitimate. However, to Joanna's expert hearing facilities it sounded quite spurious. This time around the man used the same bottle that his previous patron had received his refreshment from.
Swilling around the contents of her new glass, Joanna stated "Unlike you, the waiter of all people that seems to think he's better than me, I actually earn significantly more than minimum wage. So which one of us is the fool? The woman with the money to buy a suit like yours who chooses not to for modesty? Or the man who spends three months salary on one to compensate for his below average penis size?" The server was blinking repeatedly and having great difficulty looking Joanna in the eyes. "Enjoy the dead end job your stuck in." She spoke cheerfully by way of goodbye. Arsehole. That felt satisfying.
In order to have quick access to refills, Joanna did not venture far from the stand. She lent against the wall to its right and nursed her wine from there. The hard stomached woman was on her third glass of wine when she was approached by a female sangheili. The physical differences between them and the males of their kind were much the same as the differences between the two human genders: they are smaller and slighter among other things. Though they still do not have hair and additionally have slightly larger eyes and slightly shorter mandibles.
This particular sangheilian woman made her appearance in an ostentatious dress and leaned against the wall next to Joanna, facing in her direction. Joanna had not noticed her approach, being consumed with some kind of deep thought, and so jumped slightly when she spoke.
"So, what brings you to this party?" The sangheili's voice carried a hint of seduction, and her whole manner seemed somewhat flirtatious.
Joanna stared at her guardedly. "Are you hittin' on me? Cause, lady, I'm not interested."
Upon hearing her voice the alien looked surprised and responded "You're a woman?"
In her frustration Joanna tutted and her pitch of voice raised slightly. "Don't the tits give me away toots?"
"Uhh sorry. Sorry. I see lots of men dressing like that. Sorry." The extra terrestrial quickly departed with embarrassment.
Insulted, the woman looked after the insulter before exclaiming simply "Bloody hell." She then spotted a sangheili in the distance that might have been the Ambassador. Joanna would admit that she had difficulty telling one from the other but it was worth investigating at least. Following this line of thought she casually headed in the alien's general direction. She noted as she went that her target, if it was indeed him, was holding a sangheilian woman at his side and talking to another male out of space visitor of a slightly lighter shade of blue than himself. The Ambassador also seemed to be wearing black special operations armour but without the helmet, perhaps indicating some kind of history in his people's military. The design of it was in fact the basis for the design of the NDA's own combat suit, with underarmour lining the extremities and heavy plates of metallic armour lain on top.
Once close, Joanna walked by the group through his line of sight. Her experiment worked as he called out to her "Joanna, there you are. May I borrow your company for a moment."
"Yeah sure." She finally walked directly towards her target. "Good to meet you in person, Ambassador." She gave him a firm shake of the hand, which was difficult considering he was a foot taller than her and his hands were scaled up to match. "Nice get up." Joanna commented, indicating his armour with her head. "Wish I'd thought of something like that."
"With the intimidating suits you wear people would probably flee the room screaming. Oh and you will have many a day to call me Ambassador in the future. For this evening address me by my name."
Joanna corrected herself with a polite nod. "Good to meet you in person, Rasa."
"As it is you. Now, Deyla, Dollas this is Raid Operations Chief Joanna Joannan, she works for the NDA. Joanna, this is my bond mate, or wife as you say, Deyla and the new liaison for interagency communication Dollas Morfum."
"Deyla, pleasure to meet you. You're a lucky woman."
Deyla was clad in a black neck down drape that concealed her whole body except for her head. It was joined up around the neck with both sides of it overlapping each other to cover up a split that ran down the rest of its length. From this parting extended her hand to give Joanna's a shake before she responded in a rich dulcet tone "Thank you. It is pleasure to meet you also. Rasa has mentioned you on a few occasions in the short time you've known each other."
"I can't imagine he had much good to say."
"Quite a lot actually." The woman smiled at this point.
Joanna returned the smile warmly before defaulting her features to a more neutral position and moving on to the liaison. "Dollas, good to meet you. Rasa's probably briefed you on the situation. I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of each other in the near future."
"Indeed. Good to meet you as well." Morfum wore standard sangheili politician's robes: blue, a pattern of red, interlocking rectangles with yellow borders running downwards along its centre.
"I see you are enjoying the wine."
The woman looked down at her half empty glass before taking a sip of it. "Quite a lot yes."
"And how are you enjoying the company?"
"It's... Interesting. Very engaging."
"I'm sure. By the by, Deyla was curious when I told her of your eye colouration."
Dollas added "I am too. How did it come to pass?"
"I'll give yer the summarised version without the gory details. An op went wrong, I caught a flash bang with my face, my eyes got fried and the doctor gave me a choice between organic duplicates of my old eyes or new electronic eyes."
"And you chose electronic?" Deyla.
"Yes."
"Why?" Rasa.
"Because it gives me infrared and UV modes of vision and zoom. Plus, they're pretty impervious."
"How impervious?" Dollas.
"Well you can touch one if you want. They're tough enough that I've been punched in the eye before and barely felt a thing."
"I believe I'll pass on touching one but that level of resilience is impressive."
"Yup."
Perhaps the casual banter might have continued if it were not for the announcement of a dance and the subsequent partnering up of individuals. Joanna realised that her only present company was the Ambassador and his mate, whom would no doubt be dancing together, and Dollas. In inward desperation she looked around her trying to locate Jonathan only to find that he was partnered with the woman who thought Joanna was a man. Goodness gracious fuck in a basket. She turned towards Dollas, eyes blinking a couple of times. "Do you wanna dance?"
"The NDA shot someone."
"The NDA shoots people all the time."
"But they don't shoot me ex next-door neighbours all the time."
There was a pause.
"Go on."
Little Steve was sat on his couch along with Daws and Dave, all holding Denny's beers once again, while Big Ben was leaning forward on the room's leather chair, also in possession of beer. The shortest of them all's bald head glinted slightly under the illumination of the low wattage lamp that stood beside the tallest of them all's chair. He continued as requested. "Near the end of the op, one of my old neighbour's shot 'er 'usband and then turned the gun on the NDA. So, as you'd guess, they blew 'er away."
"Presumably they tried to make it look like a suicide." Ben sipped on his alcoholic beverage.
"Nah they used shotguns, the bitch only had a pistol."
"Mmm. So they framed the person she killed."
"Yeah, planted the boom gun on the dead guy. Now they're probably gonna pull some strings so that investigators ignore any evidence of their presence, but o' course we got them on camera." A few gestures were made using Little Steve's own drink.
"Indeed."
"So Daws 'ere was thinkin' we wait till the police release their conclusion, that they both shot each other, then release parts of the cam footage that incriminate the NDA. Unless society is 100% fucked then it'll make people a little skeptical of the spooks."
"Yes, it would make it somewhat harder for them to operate without interference and suspicion. Which then makes it easier for us to operate without the same."
"Exactly." The man took a big swig of his liquor, his associates taking sips.
"Good thinking boys, and thanks for the update. Now, I've got places to be but I'll keep in touch." Big Ben stood up to leave and stated "Cheers for the beer." He then placed the item on the coffee table with a small tapping sound. Nodding to each present individual in turn he spoke their names "Steve, Daws, Dave."
As he began walking to the door they all turned their heads around and called back in unison "Big Ben."
