Chapter 2: Agent Wanda

The whole incident nearly made Fred cancel the preparations for his concubine Veronica. Veronica had volunteered to help on the transport ships that carried the Einherjar, those people who had decided to defend Earth instead of leaving it. Her training for the job of a crewman was nearly finished. Now Fred feared that it was too dangerous for a concubine to return to Earth. The ever growing number of men left behind created an explosive mixture, according to the TV news.

But all his concubines convinced him that they trusted in the abilities of the project leaders. They stated that the Einherjar people that were visiting Vandergast were causing almost no trouble. However, the most important argument was that Veronica got a few augmentations that made her superior to Earth people. Veronica impressively demonstrated this by making Fred hit the dirt in a training fight at the Marine training center. Fred had never taken physical augmentations since he was an engineer, not a fighter.

Finally, Fred renewed his permission. The Mammoth-5 transport ship would leave Vandergast in four days and Veronica would be one of the crewmen.

Two days before her departure, while she had some private time with Fred, Veronica asked Fred, “Would you allow me to take Wanda with me? She asked me if I would do that but I think her self-confidence is currently too low to ask you for permission.”

“I noticed that she seems to be depressed since the incident with Samantha. Do you think the trip would help her?” Fred asked while playfully twitching Veronica’s nipples.

“I don’t know how to cure the depression of somebody like Wanda. However, it should be interesting for her. She lately mentioned that there is so little she knows since she had always been able to access the huge knowledge pool of the AI network. Now the AI doesn’t even talk to her loud if nobody else confirms the request.”

“Yes, I know. Okay, you can take her with you. Keep an eye on each other please.”

Wanda’s mood went up when Veronica told her about Fred’s decision. Wanda really wanted to see where Fred and all the others who cared so much for her came from. She knew the names of the places, but it was so little compared to what she knew before the incident. Being disconnected from the network also meant losing access to the collective memory of the AI’s. However, the AI’s had made sure that she remembered that there had been so much more she had once known. It was part of the punishment. And this was the main reason for her current shyness that the humans interpreted as depression. She wasn’t even sure that she knew what was important for her sponsor and his concubines.

Helping to educate Earth defenders was definitely THE important thing for the whole colony. Wanda just had to visit this place that meant so much to all of them. Wanda was following Veronica through the transporter nexus and entered the Mammoth-5, one of the ships using outdated technology and concubine crews that the colony had built in the past two years. Wanda was carrying a tiny suitcase with several sets of clothing and an adapter cable, so she would be able to connect to Earth computers. Wanda first thought it was a ridiculous idea to carry a suitcase, but Samantha had explained that it was absolutely normal for people who weren’t used to using a replicator for everything. Samantha even explained how to wash the laundry. The cable had been Fred’s idea. It had taken him a hard discussion with the AI to produce it.

Wanda was allowed to go everywhere where the Einherjar guests were allowed to go. That meant she could wander the corridors or visit the canteen or the gym. So after she had stored her suitcase in Veronica’s bunk, she visited the canteen since this was the only room with a window.

When the Mammoth-5 left orbit, Wanda pressed her face to the window. She watched Vandergast getting smaller and smaller behind the ship, until it was just a small spot among all the other stars. Finally, the ship entered hyper. All the stars vanished and were replaced by a colorful fog. Wanda turned around and watched people come and go for a few hours.

Finally, Veronica entered the canteen. She looked around and spotted Wanda sitting at the window. “So here you are. I was already wondering what you are doing.”

“Nothing much. I watched Vandergast disappearing, and now I watch people,” Wanda replied.

Veronica went to the replicators to get some sandwiches and a glass of orange juice. When she returned with a tray, she said, “Wanda, we have to talk.”

Wanda looked up. “What’s the matter?” She asked.

“That’s what I wanted to ask. You have always been such an active avatar, so full of life. Now you just sit around for hours and hours. What can I do to get my beloved sidekick back?”

Wanda sighed. “What can I do? I’m not even allowed to visit you at your station in the engine room.”

Veronica took a sip from her orange juice. “Hector invited me to join a poker round with his friends. Do you want to join?”

So Wanda ended up playing poker with Hector, Ramirez, Linda, Sophie and Veronica. At the end she owed Ramirez a kiss. That was the price for losing an all-in with triple nines against his full house. On the other hand, Hector owed Wanda a favor losing his last chips to her. Hector had to leave the table first. He sat down on his bunk and kibitzed the game from there. When Wanda lost her last hand, she joined Hector.

“So what’s that favor I owe you?” Hector asked.

“Wanda smiled at him, “I don’t know right now. Maybe I’ll ask you to show me a museum on Earth or something like that.”

“That’s all?” Hector asked. “And I wondered what it might be that an avatar might ask me to do.”

“Well, technically I’m no longer an avatar...” Wanda noted.

“Oh yeah, that story has spread with light speed. Let me tell you something: I’m damn happy that you rescued that concubine, even though I don’t know her. She’s a concubine like I am.”

Wanda sighed. She quickly changed the topic, “Do you think Ramirez has a pair? He’s again upping the ante like he has two aces.”

“I’m not sure. Ramirez bets on every hand. But you have to pay if you want to see his cards,” Hector replied.

The game continued for another hour. At the end, Ramirez won the game, earning two more kisses from Linda and Veronica. They all enjoyed their free time.

When the Mammoth-5 reached Earthat, Wanda was almost back to normal. She fooled about with people, she was teasing and sometimes her comments were biting.

The captain of the ship contacted Valhalla Base but was informed that it might currently be dangerous to swap the Einherjar trainees. Valhalla base was playing dead because they were being observed.

Valhalla Base was located in Latvia, near the border with Estonia. While Latvia was supporting the Confederacy, Estonia was in the hands of Earth First. There had been a lot of activity around an old soviet bunker system with a lot of new radar antennas and optical telescopes directed at Valhalla Base.

Adam Swenson, the leader of Valhalla Base, and the Confederacy suspected that Earth First was preparing a big blow against Einherjar. They had managed to wiretap the antennas and so confirmed that they were observing Valhalla Base. However, they had no intelligence from within the bunkers. Every drone they had sent in had lost contact. The bunkers were effectively shielded against radio contacts, even from that Confederacy technology was using.

During the last month, a lot of trucks had arrived and delivered containers with unknown content. The AI managed to ascertain a list of missing military goods from other locations like short-range missiles, katyusha rocket launchers, tanks and other heavy weapons. It was more than enough to worry. Of course the whole situation had a dangerous political dimension too, since the two bases were located in two countries with currently poor relations.

The message spread among the crew members of the Mammoth-5 and the Einherjar members they were transporting when they were waiting in orbit on the second day.

At the end of the day, Wanda went to the canteen and approached the officers’ table. Commander Anderson, the captain of the Mammoth-5, and his two officers were of course discussing the unpleasant situation.

“Captain Anderson, I might have an offer to make, as to the situation down at Valhalla Base,” Wanda said.

Captain Anderson knew Wanda from different random encounters during their last month’s voyage. He also had been informed about her special history before they had started from Vandergast. Now he was curious. “Well, let’s hear what you have to say.”

“As far as I understand it, you disparately need information from within that Earth First bunker but remote-controlled drones don’t work. I expect you also tried to send a human spy but failed?”

“Yes, you are right,” Captain Andersen confirmed.

“Well, I don’t need remote-control and I’m small enough to enter their air conditioning system,” Wanda said. “I don’t have a significant heat signature and don’t reflect that much radar. My eyes are as good as night vision glasses. My nose is good enough to detect chemicals or explosives. Somehow Fred forgot to add the filters that limited my senses in my previous body to human level. Only my ears are like before.”

Captain Anderson looked at Wanda in deep thought. He tried to talk to the AI about Wanda’s suggestion but failed. “I am aware that the AI doesn’t trust you. It doesn’t even want to discuss your offer with me.”

Wanda frowned. “Yes I know. But this is not a situation where I am in danger of directly harming anybody. So I think the AI will not interfere if you send me down to Earth.”

“It’s definitely worth a try,” Captain Anderson nodded.

Half an hour later, Wanda was taking part in a briefing for a spy mission at Valhalla Base. She was introduced to a few officers of the Latvian Army and Intelligence Corps. For the public, Latvia didn’t know much about the Einherjar base, but unofficially they were working together.