Over twelve cycles, Betta’s thirst for knowledge was sated by courses on cosmology, flight systems, weapons systems, tactics, and universal languages that included coding from domestic and alien tech. Federal law, economics, management, accounting, and the History of Pilo were at the next tier. Though the intricacies of Pilo business practices, as she soon learned, were already stored in her mind.
Betta’s body was kept fit in hand-to-hand combat exercises and fitness challenges, which were all the more difficult in the heavy gravity. These were easy distractions to the work she was pressed to do by the feds.
Arys-27 wasn’t a haven to every black-market dealer in the sector. At least, that was not the case after twelve years of cracking down on illegal organizations on the planet. Betta’s skills were put to use as she scanned all types of secure databases that came with federal access. Her mind easily linked accounts that were associated with black-market dealings and followed the paths that led to businesses and individuals locally.
Once training was complete, she watched her classmates taken into the Procedure Room and return shadows of their former selves, complete with transparent skull caps and cybernetic responses. The humanity gone from their eyes and mannerisms.
The feds made it clear at the start of her imprisonment that she would never be allowed to receive the honor of a cybernetic mind, and she was happy not to become the emotionless ghosts that her classmates became.
Instead, she made the rank of Operator. Those that gained the rank, much like the man with the flickering eyes, the man she had come to know as Mister Jenkins, were left their human reasoning and only entered the field with the en masse protection of the cybernetic agents, or were left in closed rooms to work behind the scenes. Or, and these cases were rare, they were placed as moles to work undercover in places where the feds could not go without immediate recognition.
The console beeped, interrupting her memory exercises and Betta read over the mission brief with growing excitement. Her first field assignment began immediately. One of the molded white walls peeled away to reveal clothing and equipment to survive in the harsh environ of Arys-27. At the other end of the room, there was now a set of steel doors that would lead to her freedom.
Betta eased on her overcoat and slipped the oxygen mask over her nose. Another layer of thin material protected the mask and her face. This was the first time she was allowed out in months and her hands trembled at the possibilities.
The corridor that led to the heavy metallic exit doors was empty. The click of her heavy boots echoed against the titanium walls. Pulling on a pair of goggles and a multicolored hood with reflective coating, Betta waved to whomever watched that she was ready. The doors slid apart slowly and she stepped into the day.
The sound of vehicles and machines assaulted her ears before she could make out the murky shapes through the smog-filled atmosphere. Betta could just barely see the blinking signs that marked the tube entrance. The electronic chatter in her ear let her know the feds were tracking her using their own internal language.
Betta stepped carefully, keeping her head low against tiny particles that swirled in the atmosphere. The ground trembled more than a few times. She nearly stumbled before she re-learned the patterns of bombardment that shook the city proper so that her steps anticipated each shifting of the ground.
Soon she was down the stairway that led to the tubes. The gloomy smog cleared enough to show objects the deeper she went. She had to wipe the smudge from her goggles as she descended, but soon she was deep enough in the interior that only a light fog assaulted her.
A small group stood on the platform. Each person was outfitted in various forms of overcoats, goggles, and oxygen contraptions that hissed and moaned as they waited.
A deep gouge set before them where the tube would soon be occupied by a glider that would take them away from the city and more towards the residential sections. The ground hard-shifted here since all facilities in-city were fitted with dampeners that absorbed the worst of the vibrations from bombardment.
A figure, at least twice her size, approached and stood at her side. An electronic beep in her mask indicated his desire to communicate. A wave of her hand and two-way comms between herself and the stranger were established.
“I am known as Bor.” The deep voice was nearly a growl.
Betta had expected it would be a Lyten, the bear-like entities that populated this sector. It was her understanding that they normally sent a Human to interface for the smaller deals. For those rare deals, like the one the feds had proposed for her, the important players appeared.
“Just call me Lucky,” Betta said, making her voice deeper. She’d practiced for a full week on that voice and her darkNet persona. Years’ worth of films were archived from Alpha on the federal databases and Betta spent months watching the ones on espionage. She was certain that if this line of work didn’t pan out, she’d make a pretty decent actress.
There was the sound of a scoff, or perhaps Bor coughed. “You’re just a girl! How did you come by such inventory?”
“This is not how we speak, Bor. Anyone could be listening.” Betta was getting the impression that Bor had never seen any of the spy films from Alpha.
The glider bore the dust of smog and metals as it pulled up. The older and more experienced inhabitants, including Betta, averted their faces until the dust settled before entering the glider. Bor faced the cloud of dust full on, almost challenging it to attack him. Bears.
There weren’t many travelers, and Betta found two open seats where she slumped happily. She pulled up her hood, lowered her mask, and wiped one of the nearby consoles clear. After verifying her fake credentials, she was delighted by the chimes that alerted her there was mail to be viewed. Now the feds could access the console, watch, and listen for any threat. Betta kept her mobile tablet buried beneath the layers. They didn’t last long, even in the atmosphere of a glider.
Bor took up a few seats in the row behind her. He kept his mask on, though Betta doubted he could see much with the eyes of his mask covered in black soot. This hinted that he had enhanced sensors in the gear he wore and Betta added it to the list of things to keep note of.
“I will inform you when we reach our stop,” he muttered, making Betta tilt her head to hear.
Betta sighed. She played with the console before her, pretending to go through the local news. There were the usual updates about expansion in the Blue Sector and the current production of resources from rival business leaders. Lucky – her fake darkNet persona – was all about the entertainment news.
“Did you hear about Lara?” she asked Bor.
“Lara? Is this another dealer?”
“No, you boff. The actress,” she brought up several trailers of vids that revealed a dark-skinned woman in various scenes. In one she was punching another woman in the nose. In another she was kissing a taller, darker man. “She’s from Alpha. We just started getting the uplinks. That’s like a two-hundred-year stasis ride. So, she’s probably dead or rejuvenated twice by now.”
“What has Lara to do with our dealings?”
“Stars, you really are clueless. No talking about stuff like that on comms! Anyway, I heard that she was really having a romance with her co-star from Blazing.”
Betta brought up the gossip site Lucky liked to frequent. The dark-skinned woman was smiling seductively at a taller, well-muscled mahogany man. When Bor leaned forward to view, she activated the remote viewer on the console briefly, then disabled it.