Chameleon in Chrome Ch. 06

She nodded, "Yup. And I've got reflexes that'll test most any craft's responsive ability. I'm not doubting yours at all. It's just a species thing.

Hold your other hand up with your thumb and fingers apart about this much," she said, indicating a gap of maybe four centimeters.

She took his notepad and held it up so that it hung in that gap.

"Try to catch it when I let go."

He tried it ten times and managed to just snag it twice as it fell right through.

When they reversed their roles, she had it every time, and Ryan doubted that it had fallen more than five millimeters each time. "I can't even call this a gender thing," she said, "it's just the way that my kind comes equipped for life at large.

So my suggestion is that I sit either in this chair or that one and I slave the weapons suite to your displays then. I take control of the craft, and you handle the fireworks when I tell you that I'm giving you the shot that I set us up for, if it ever comes to that.

The only thing that I want under my thumb is the rotary cannon and its target acquisition subsystem, that's all. For everything else, I might only make suggestions. You can push those buttons. It'll give us the best chance of success."

Ryan looked over, more than a little impressed, "How do you know that there's even a rotary cannon in this thing? I haven't said a word about what it's carrying. I just said that most things answer when queried."

Mischka smiled, "This is a Morgarod Type78 strike and interdiction craft, Ryan. I knew that as soon as I saw it walking into the bay here. I don't know the exact variant from my one look, since it looks to be modified a little, but I'd guess that it's about the middle of the run, so most of the bugs were worked out by then.

They ALL carry a rotary cannon in the nose, under the forward sensor array, twenty millimeter, and fourteen hundred rounds a minute if you hold the button down, though they hold only about eight hundred rounds.

If you can't saw what you're aiming at in half by that point, you ought to just go home," she laughed.

"I can't even begin to pronounce the Morgaron name for this thing, but to the human military, it's reporting codename is 'FoxFire' and when it was current, the grunts on the receiving end used to call it -"

"The Devil's Switchblade," Ryan smiled.

"I used to be a line grunt a long time ago. I recognized it the first time that I saw it, but I guess that I forgot what we used to call it for the way that it would just appear, swing out its wings as it slowed and then light us up and be gone again.

How do you know all this? This thing just has to be pretty dated."

Mischka shrugged, "They used to make us study the warcraft type recognition handbook back when I was in. I can tell you one thing – if there was a war on with the Margarods again right now, you'd have been intercepted even before you showed up on the landing controller's screen on the way in. These things were feared back then. If you do decide to make a go of bounty hunting, you've already got the best bird for the job.

Anybody running from the law will just crap themselves when their craft ID's what shows up on their tail like black lightning."

She began to chuckle, "I've just thought of something even better than that. You just have Taela make the call ordering them to stop and be boarded. With her looks and growling out her commands to them, ... You get the picture?"

Ryan laughed quietly, "Oh this is rich. I think that I can tell you that my little male world is just fine with what you've got in mind. But first we've got to get your name cleared so that you can at least walk around without getting shot at.

You'll need to be able to suck it up and scratch up the courage to walk in and give yourself up. I'm almost certain that they'll tell me that when I call in a minute."

"Who, Ryan?" Mischka asked, trying her best not to become fearful.

"Your new lawyer," he said, "He or she will probably want to accompany you so that there's no way that Maria can twist things around on you again."

Mischka heard the soft sigh from behind them and she twisted in her seat to look back just as she heard, Taela groan Shorty's name very quietly.

Her eyes widened as she watched them fuck very slowly for a minute before she turned to look at Ryan.

"I guess I must have been wrong," she smiled, "I thought that Taela was with you, from what she told me on the way here. Do they, ... um, ... do they do that a lot?"

He nodded, not embarrassed in the least, "Taela is with me. Shorty too. It's a little hard to explain, but we all love each other."

Mischka blinked for a second and then she covered her surprised expression instantly, "You and Shorty too?"

He nodded with only a slightly strained look as he sought to define it. "I'd never have even had the thought of it, but that's the way that it goes for us. Taela and her mother took Shorty in and raised him. He's a horny little guy by nature and he likes to have a male sometimes. I only thought that he was affectionate – and he is if he likes somebody.

But watching him and Taela sort of got me to look at things a little differently."

Ryan chuckled a little self-consciously, "I can't really tell myself that I'm homosexual even now, since I've never seen a guy who does a thing for me in that way.

But Shorty does somehow. If they're walking toward me, holding hands and they've both got that hopeful 'I want a good time with Ryan' look to them, then yeah.

Clinically then, I guess, I'm officially bisexual with regard to only one male – Shorty."

He looked down for a moment, "I hope that it doesn't make you uncomfortable, and I'm very sorry if it does. We can try to hide it a little, I guess."

"No," Mischka smiled, "please don't, actually. I think that I'd kind of like to see it sometime."

She looked back again and then turned to Ryan, "A lot of things make sense to me now, that's all."

She looked at the displays there in front of her, not wanting to make eye contact for the moment. After several seconds of silence, she spoke to the displays quietly, "I've had to make a large part of my living here as a dancer. I get to see a lot of things.

Something like what I do with another girl on stage is hard to hide when you're faking it, so we don't. I'm not really into girls, but I can do what I'm told by the manager – so if you had ever seen my act, you'd know that I really do the oral thing on that other dancer – which is why I get just a little pissed if the manager springs a new one on me with no notice.

I'm really glad at how this big kerfuffle worked out though. Taela and Shorty are so, ... I dunno, I like them a lot. I don't think that I can help it.

But most of the audience in the places where I dance is made up of hetero males, and about all that two male dancers can get away with there on stage is mostly suggestive and at best, only simulated.

I've never seen two males make it with each other before, but I have this little fantasy sometimes. In it, I get to watch two guys doing it – and then after that, ... "

She faded out then and Ryan sat waiting for her to finish what she was saying. He nudged her elbow and she looked over, appearing a little embarrassed.

"And then after that, you fall asleep or something?" he asked with a little smile, "You didn't finish your thought."

She shrugged and looked at the displays even more then.

"After that, they come to have me," she said, almost in a whisper.

She looked up and over at Ryan then, "Only I've never done that. The guys who look good enough to me for it always seem to just look through me – if they're not already running away as I try to talk to them. They just want guys anyway, I guess.

Just another club that Mischka can't belong to.

Part of me has all the same fucked-up mating patterns as anybody else, I suppose, the human side. The rest is even stranger.

Mating pairs are possible with uh, vampires," she said, "but somehow, there are more males born than females and they tend to get killed a fair bit. So a girl most often takes two males who work things out between them in case one of them dies, but there's never any action between them.

They might be brothers or just friends or not even that – just a pair of guys who really like one girl. But love is possible for them. They just work together and help each other. It's a strong drive in vampire males if they find a female who wants to make a go of it.

They just screw like anything else up to that point, but if all three are thinking the same way, then it's done in a kind of pattern.

The males go and kill something for them all to eat and they lead the girl to it. If she likes them, then she starts to eat in a kneeling position and if the feeling gets to her, she'll move her tail aside for them. That signals her acceptance of things and one of the males will mount her.

They take turns with her and if they change position after that, each male will help the other, and that's how they start their family between them.

They never do it that way if it's just fucking. The female won't allow it and she'll fight them off. If she's in it for just a fuck, she'll only do it with one guy. If there are two of them, she'll refuse to fuck with either one."

"That's a little different," Ryan nodded, "most human males don't want to share a girl and most human girls want –"

"I know," Mischka sighed, "I am one, remember? Well, partly.

Mostly, I'm more human than vampire in the way that I am over about anything. But there is that other thing in me. Somewhere, I kind of want that."

She smiled, shaking her head at herself for even talking about it to somebody, "I guess it shows that I'm as fucked-up as the rest of this place."

How so?" Ryan asked her.

Mischka smiled at him for a moment before she turned back to the displays.

She took a little time to get comfortable in the blanket that she had around and over her, as though she wanted to snuggle in there and hide a little. She didn't say it, but she was thankful that there seemed to her to be at least three people who appeared to care about her well-being.

"In my fantasy, I don't want a pair of males who just cooperate. I want them to love each other too.

I think that's the part that gets to me about it.

And I don't just want to be the monkey in the middle, holding still while they fuck me one after the other."

She sighed and then she shrugged to herself, "Maybe it shows that I'm different – which is fucking obvious to me about every other second all the fucking time, but I want them and I want to help them with each other too.

That's something that female vampires never, ever do."

She turned onto her side, lifting her legs up to pull the one blanket over them, facing Ryan in the uncomfortable-looking position, though she didn't seem to mind it.

"I'm a little happy for more than the obvious reasons if I now have the kind of job that I always wanted and people who'd help me if that's even possible anymore.

If Taela has two guys for her and they love each other too, I'm even happy for that, because that means that I'm not nuts to want that.

It means that what part of me dreams of can happen to the other part.

Goodnight, Ryan. I haven't thought about it in a while, but God bless you for everything."

He looked at her after she closed her eyes and then he reached over and gently pulled a little of the other blanket over her cheek to shield her closed eyes from the interior lighting.

Mischka smiled for a moment, though she didn't open her eyes again.

After he'd heard her breathing shift, Ryan got up and brought her another blanket. He covered her with it and then he sat down again and looked at her for only a moment or two.

He thought about her situation and he knew that she'd never say it, but he had noticed the way that she'd seemed to look to be a little cold to him.

He eased his chair back and closed his eyes. He'd have likely wanted to help her just because he'd found that he liked her.

But she'd saved Taela and Shorty.

That made it personal. He found that he didn't mind if he now had somebody else to care about.

-----------------------------------------

The way that it happened, Maria was at first delighted to see Mischka surrender at the detachment offices, but as time passed, she began to become frustrated since things weren't going the way that she'd planned in any regard. With some rather officious strangers there in the offices, Maria shifted gears and abandoned her more usual ploys of keeping Mischka on her hook in favor of just frying her outright to save herself – since she was now under the baleful stares of a few people.

"I'd say that you have an issue which will be a little problematic for you to pursue, " Mischka's lawyer said, "From your documents here, you wish to charge Ms. Myers with murder in the second degree."

She lifted her data screen and pointed, holding it so that Maria could see what was on the display, "The problem is that you yourself have gone on record - and even to the press – as stating that these creatures which you have dubbed vampires are not sentient beings.

'They're just animals' – was your exact phrase at the time and even before. Since they've only been very rarely encountered, from what I've read, you seem to be the only one who has gone on record to define what they actually are.

And I've checked; you have no accreditation to make your remarks and no scientific research to indicate that your findings are any more than your imaginings and opinions.

Yet the legal system on this small world has accepted what you've told it whenever one of these creatures has been encountered here – so for the purpose of this investigation, it is assumed that you are correct- though not by me or anyone anywhere other than this place. So let's go with that for the moment then."

She looked over at Maria with a pleased smile. "You can't charge an animal with murder, Ms. Lundqvist, any more than you can charge a male dog with rape if he encounters a bitch in heat who holds still for him. Given that I've met and spoken to this 'animal', as you call her, my office is prepared to allow that you are wrong in your beliefs.

That makes Ms. Myers a sentient being and a legal individual under the law. As such, she has the same rights, protections and obligations as any other member in a human society – especially since she is partly human. I've seen the military assessment based on her DNA.

So you could charge her with murder, theoretically - but only if she'd killed another human, since the definition of that crime specifies that one human kills another.

With the absence of any human DNA in the victim at all, those assumptions are not valid until we as a society learn more about them as a life form. Until that time, I'll be forced to accept your definition as far as the victim is concerned.

So logically, Ms. Myers killed an animal.

Sorry for your luck, but that's still not murder in the legal definition."

Every ruse and tactic that she attempted, and every fishy charge that Maria thought to lay was stopped almost immediately by Mischka's council, who clearly kept things dead center in the middle of Mischka's rights under law.

To Maria's uncomfortable surprise, the attorney was openly dismissive toward the legality of the justice meted out by the colony.

"No matter what, Ms. Lundqvist, there won't be anything less than a full legal process applied here and not the very abbreviated and one-sided flavor which I see applied most often by the security detachment here where the mayor often acts as the prosecutor AND the judge for the kangaroo court which is held occasionally, depending on the number of tickets sold for people to be in attendance.

I've been screaming over this farcical stupidity for a year, and thanks to you and your flagrant disregard of common rights, I'll now get my chance to pull this shit show apart."

At about the time when Maria was about to tell Mischka that she'd be moved to the holding cells with her characteristic and threatening leered smile, her watch commander appeared and ordered her to surrender her firearm.

"What the fuck for, Charles? I've got this bitch dead to rights," Maria asked in annoyed surprise, "I'm arresting her for murder – no matter what Loretta Legalbeagle here says, so she stays right here."

He shook his head, "You're suspended pending an investigation. For now, it's with pay, though I don't know for how much longer. I've got twelve people camped out in my office, Maria, and they're all here screaming for your blood this time. About half of them are military, so my hands are pretty much tied, I'm afraid. When this is all said and done, the military wants to re-open a few files, including the murder which this creature was charged with originally.

Ms. Myers stays here for now, but she'll be under armed military guard while in our custody overnight.

Please hand me your firearm and your badge, Maria. You're relieved of duty."

Maria knew Charles to be a more than typical bureaucrat, ready to offer up her skin just to keep the spotlight off him, since he was her sister's husband and well and he'd been fucking her ever since she came back.

'Shady' was about normal for a lot of the officials here. Maria grew livid, though she had sense enough to comply with his request.

"Military? What authority have they got out here?"

"I dunno, something about them being the present government – even out here," Ryan grinned, "There's a military attaché with an office here and I went to speak with her yesterday about re-opening Mischka's case file in light of your involvement at the time.

They can't be everywhere by their own admission, but they find it an interesting coincidence how you came to be here – right at the place where Mischka was dishonorably discharged on your recommendations. They also find it a little disturbing that you were the one who arrested her the first time as well as the investigative lead in her prosecution. No one ever got a good look at the evidence that your investigation produced. It'll be looked at more closely now.

She's also here to work with Mischka's council about other frame-ups against other people on both sides of the military line, as well as begin the process of reversing your honorable discharge. With any luck, they may charge you with the murder of the male on the base, but that's their thing.

Charles here is also under investigation for why he chose not to rein in an obviously self-serving officer and over just how much of a look he had at your background. For certain, he'll want a closer look so that something like this isn't allowed in future, not that it'll help you much.

And his review will happen, now that you've turned out to be such a liability and hazard to his own pension.

He'll have a much closer look now, since the attaché can point out any fabrications in your account of your service record. From what I've heard, the falsification of evidence on a regular basis tends to be frowned upon in a criminal investigator by both the civil and military authorities."

Maria was escorted out, but she did return late that night to go to the holding cells. The pistol in her pocket set off the detectors and she spent the night in a cell herself after that.

--------------------------------------

The only thing that Mischka didn't get was an apology from the military over her treatment at their hands during her hearings and courts-martial, but she didn't care much. Her charges in every case, military and civil, were dropped and she was free and exonerated by the following afternoon.

Taela, Shorty and Ryan were there when Mischka was informed of it. They'd been there, at least two of them at any time for the whole day.