She awoke... the darkness oppressive... the bulk of the Overseer pressing against her body... his snoring loud in her ear... his hands resting on her body... his arousal digging into her back. Now was as good a time as any she thought, and coughed loudly, hearing him wake from his slumber, she writhed against him. His hands roaming her body, moving her around easily, making his access to her easier.Taking her bag she walked over to the security panel and tapped in the numbers she had seen him use before and the security screen opened for her. Time was now of the essence, pulling out her datatablet and slipping access leads into the various ports she began to run the program loaded into the backup memory. Mentally she counted down, if it took too long the system would issue a code and demand the counter code, which she didn't have. And it was doubtful she'd be able to make it out of the quarters before they were sealed and pumped full of anestazine gas.
A laughing gurista symbol flashed on the screen as the hacking program finished and she began searching through menues, deactivating security grids, pulling up floor plans and eventually found what she was looking for. A few minutes later, clad from head to toe in black she hefted her bag and touched an area of wall, a secret panel opening up and she headed down into a climate controlled room. Carved stone covered every inch of space and wooden racks lined every wall. Each rack was filled with row after row of bottles. She looked over the bottles, a smile on her face and pulled a crate from an ante-chamber and started pulling select bottles from their rack, running a careful eye over them as she looked, mentally calculating the worth of these old bottles, and the potential taste of their contents.
".... and I said we have to check it out."
She froze at the voice. It was unexpected. What had she missed? Her eyes scanned around and looked over the walls, the ceilling, the floor... and rested on the temperature gauge on the wall. Damn!
"The temperature drops and we have to check it? He'll have our guts if we wake him..."
"And our guts if we don't... now look, this door is open...."
Picking up the crate she slipped some straps aroudn it and pulled it onto her back. The weight was more than she expected, but it wouldn't be for long. Slowly she pulled the two tazers from her pocket and waited.
The two guards walked into the wine cellar, their pistols held out before them. The first tazer shot took one in the chest as he turned towards her, the second missed the other guards. She ducked down as the first few shots from his gun ploughed into racks, smashing bottles and raining wine over her and the floor. Taking a young bottle of white she flung it at the guard, catching his arm, then leapt at him swiftly kicking him back and punching him out. Shaking her fist she ran up the stairs and out into the corridor. Behind her sirens were sounding and she could hear the sound of heavy boots running down the corridor. Stopping at the barrier she looked down, the next platform was twenty feet down, beyond that another twenty. The gravity was lower... but was it enough? It would have to be. She slipped over the side and dropped.
Pain lanced up her ankle as she walked quickly along the walkway towards the turbo-lifts to the hanger bay. On her right the the ornate tracery of the baroque architecture of the station allowed the illusion of being open to space, where a powerful field kept the space out and the air in. A marvel of technology. Behind her there were three thumps as guards followed her down. She started to run, and guard poured out from the turbo-lifts. She tapped her wrist comp then waved a gun at the guards, putting a few shots above their heads.
"Hoborok, this is Carm. I'm in trouble, I need an out!"
"We read you, where are you?"
"Walkway Gamma-C9, spinward."
"Carm. You might not like this... but I'm on my way. Give me two minutes and I'll get you."
"Goddam Hobbie, I have guards fifty feet away on both sides!"
"Hold them off for a minute, then jump over the railing. Don't worry... I'll catch you... just remember a minute after you jump... expell all the air from your lungs."
"Hobbie! This sounds...."
"Carm... it's me... trust me....."
She fired a few more shots at both directions as she counted in her mind. Somewhere she could hear more sirens, louder and more severe. Looking out the window into space she saw the flash and the decelearation of a machariel, the sigil of the Angel Cartel vivid on it's hull. She jumped over the edge.
The Machariel of Hoborak Moon, a highly recognisable ship powered towards the station. It's weapon systems targetting structures and nearby vessels, firing and changing target quickly to get maximum confusion. Sitting on his command throne he magnified the image before him and watched Carmilla leap over the edge.
"Tractor beam control. Lock onto this frequency and prepare to tractor her aboard as fast as you can."
"Sire, it'll be dangerous. She may not survive."
"If she doesn't... you won't. I know you are good. Be better!"
As she fell she counted and blew out her breath as she felt the crushing of the tractor beam aroudn her, dragging her out into space. Cold more intense than imagination struck her body, pain struck every inch of her body and she felt herself start to die in the cold vacuum of space until a cargo door opened and she was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor. With a flash the airlock closed and air was pumped in. She gasped and screamed and collapsed to the floor. Moments later the inner doors opened and angel medics picked her up and whisked her away to the medical bay.
"I've never seen someone take so many risks over booze before Carm."
"Well I've never seen an Angel Commander attack a station on his own to rescue his favorite geisha."
"Aaah, if you were a tad uglier, and you danced like a heifer on the way to the slaughter house I'd have left you to fall to your doom. But you are my favorite and I like your exploits. Are all the bottles safe?"
"Yes.. it looks like it. A few for my Mistress, a few more for Ithiria. One for Sakura. This one however, is for you. When I originally marked it for collection... it was for Ithiria's wife... but that ship has sailed, so here. A classic bottle of wine. Drink it Hobbie, savour the taste of it...
"Pah, wine is wine is wine...."
"I'll teach you... come by the Geisha House. I'll teach you to enjoy fine wine."
"Good It's a date. But first, I need to drop you off at a bar for some of my friends, I have to be elsewhere and I'll arrange a lift for you."
Carmilla repacked the crate and hefted it.
"Good. Where is it? I don't really want to run into anyone I know."
Hoborak grinned and pulled Carmilla into a fierce hug.
"Worry not my little Geisha. It's an angel bar. Your associates are most likely not going to be there."
An hour later a happy and crate totting Carmilla walked into the new bar. Converted from an old ore silo, it's name was quite simply, The Silo. Smiling as she entered she made her way to the bar and poured a drink. Here she mused, no one would know here. The chances of anyone finding her here until the heat died down was mathmatically obscure.
"Carmilla? What are you doing here?"
She turned and looked at the end of the bar. Sakura! One of Ithiria's vassals and a friend to her Mistress.
"Sakura," She smiled, mind working overtime,"Never expected to see you here....."
Goddam, she thought to herself. Goddam!
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