Chelen City: Chapter Eighteen, Part Two

 Notes: A little longer today, as we begin to delve into the plotty goodness. Enjoy!

Title: Chelen City: Chapter Eighteen, Part Two

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Chapter Eighteen, Part Two

 

“Do I want to know why you’ve developed a shield that hides people digitally?”

“I don’t know, do you?” Elanus asked as he walked to the office of the chief administrator of Chelen City’s government-aligned hospital. It was a balancing act to go slow enough to speak with Kieron while still making progress, but he managed it. A few more minutes and he’d be there…but in a few more minutes, Kieron would be at the central service replicator for the hospital’s Regen system in his maintenance technician guise. “And you’re not hidden, in this case. Your digital imprint is changed into that of another person, that’s all.”

“But my physical appearance isn’t.”

“You’re the one who told me that short people in service uniforms are never remarked on,” Elanus said, pushing the button for the elevator down to the fiftieth floor. The woman next to him glanced over and smiled. He smiled back.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You absolutely did.”

“Not like that. I’m not short.”

“You are on Ganiaaa,” Elanus sang as he got into the elevator. The woman next to him looked curious, but he ignored her. “Short and stocky.”

“I’m above average height for Alliance planets.”

“And very far below average height for this planet, which is the only one that matters right now because it’s the one you live on.”

There was a pause, and then—“God, you’re obnoxious.”

Elanus grinned. He was feeling practically effervescent today. It was amazing what a good night’s sleep, some quality time with his daughters, and a plan of attack could do for him. “I know. But at least I’m not tiny.”

“This tiny man has and will kick your ass.”

“You would regret it,” Elanus said as the elevator whirred down. Gyroscopes prevented the feeling of movement, so his stomach stayed in place, but it seemed like no one was capable of making a completely silent elevator. “You’d break something and then you’d feel bad and end up waiting on me hand and foot for a month while you recovered from the guilt.”

“I wouldn’t feel that bad.”

“You did last time.” There was silence. It began to stretch, and Elanus wondered whether maybe it had been a bad idea to bring up old memories like that. “Not that you knew what would happen,” he amended. Still nothing. “Honey? Sweetheart? Light of my life?”

“Please shut up.”

Even being sworn at was a relief. “Don’t just go silent like that, you make me nervous.” The elevator stopped and he and the woman both got out. She turned left, while he continued straight ahead along the corridor toward the distant double doors. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine, just…” Kieron grunted. “This casing is a bitch to get off.”

“Use the multi-tool.”

“Right, yeah, use the multi-tool, why didn’t I think of that? Oh, what’s this in my hand? Is it a multi-tool? Wow. How convenient.”

Elanus tisked. “If you don’t know how to properly use a multi-tool, you should have told me before I sent you in. I could have given you a basic tutorial.”

“I know how to use a damn multi-tool, I did maintenance on an entire space station for three years.”

“Not the same thing.” Elanus heard Kieron grunt again and felt a frisson of worry. “Be honest—do you need help?”

“No.”

“I said be honest.”

“I am being honest. I’m fine. I’ll have this done in a—”

“What are you doing in here?”

That wasn’t Kieron’s voice. It wasn’t someone speaking to Elanus either; this was happening on Kieron’s end.

“Just routine maintenance,” Kieron said, sounding bored. Elanus felt himself freeze inside, even as he kept walking—no one was supposed to be down there other than Kieron’s maintenance tech persona right now. “It’s on the schedule.”

“You’re not Feyodr.”

“Nope.” Kieron popped the word obnoxiously. “New management.”

“I didn’t hear anything about a change.”

“Not my problem, man.” No one did dismissive quite as well as Kieron, and for a moment Elanus thought it worked. Then—

“I’m going to need you to come with me to the security checkpoint.”

Kieron huffed a sigh. “Look, I’m almost done here. Can we just—”

“Now, sir.”

“Fine.” Elanus listened to him being led away from the service replicator and grimaced. Shit. This was a hiccup they didn’t need. [Are you okay?] he sent via his implant.

[Fine. Focus on you.]

[If you need me--]

[I’ll let you know, but I’ve got this. Pay attention, you’re about to walk into a door.]

Elanus looked up just in time to stop himself from walking right into the damn double doors. The secretary at the desk to the right looked at him with one raised eyebrow, and he smiled charmingly even as he sent [You’re getting better at accessing the connections, I didn’t even feel you do that.] All he got in return was a sense of smugness.

“Hello,” Elanus said, pushing Kieron’s situation out of his head and focusing on the person in front of him. “I’ve got a meeting with Doctor Kliir.”

“Name, sir?”

“Elanus Desfontaines.”

To their credit, the secretary didn’t seem surprised or interested by his identity in the slightest. “Go ahead,” they droned, and Elanus went back over to the doors and knocked once, then entered.

“Mr. Desfontaines!” Doctor Kliir, on the other hand, was very aware of who he was. She was heavyset for a Ganian, rounded and gray-haired, but her eyes were bright with eagerness. She had a presentation already pulled up on the holo-screen at her desk.

Oh, great. A sales pitch. Eh, it was what he’d let himself in for. Now that he’d invested in part of the hospital, she was going to want him to invest in all of it.

“It’s so wonderful to meet you in person,” Doctor Kliir said, shaking his hand enthusiastically. “I’m Doctor Corinne Kliir. Please, may I get you something to drink?”

“Anything would be good,” he said, fiddling with his own implant until he finally got a visual through Kieron’s. There was a bit of strange overlap for a moment, but then it resolved. Kieron was sitting in a small security office with two other men, both of whom looked rather squirrely.

“Here.” Doctor Kliir handed him a glass. “It’s just water, but—”

“Mind telling me why I’m here?” Kieron asked.

“Mind telling us why you’re not in the system?” one of the men replied pugnaciously.

“Look, all I know is I got tasked to work on this system today, okay? I’ve never worked here before, but my boss told me the paperwork was going through fine.”

“Well, it hasn’t.”

“How is that my problem?”

The guys looked at each other. “We can make it your problem,” the second one said. Elanus could practically hear the knuckle-cracking. Honestly, what the hell—

“—Desfontaines? Are you all right?”

Elanus pasted a smile on his face. “Forgive me, just getting some data in on one of my implant channels.”

“I see.” The administrator went a bit frosty. “If you could please turn it off for the duration of our meeting, I would appreciate that.”

“Of course.” Not, but he’d at least turn it down. He sat, and she beamed and launched into a discussion of how grateful they were for his investment in maintaining their technology, and how much better things could be if he wanted to help them upgrade some of the rest of their tech as well. Elanus forced himself to listen, but he turned Kieron’s conversation into text and continued to read it.

“Look,” Kieron said. “I get it. You guys had a deal with the last guy who worked here, right? Probably, like, a few free vials of Regen from the tank in exchange for not giving him shit?” Judging from the way the security officers stared at each other, he was correct. Bribery. Of course. I should have thought of that.

“I can do that,” Kieron replied. “Not a lot, ‘cause the levels are really strictly monitored, but enough to get you a few thousand extra credits. I get a third of it, of course.”

One of the guys scoffed. “You get to do your job, that should be enough.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“You’re not a native. Just like the last guy.” The man leaned in. “I’ve got a cousin that works in the refugee office. I can have her pull your approval to be here before you even know it. Get you sent back to whatever shit planet you came from.”

Oh, damn. If they’d been looking for a way to rile Kieron up, they’d just found it.

“And I,” Kieron replied frostily, “can report both of you for extortion to my boss.”

“You think whoever hired you is going to believe you over his own people?”

“You don’t know much about who I work for, do you.” The guys looked at each other. “Lifeship Enterprises ring a bell? Elanus Desfontaines? Richest guy on this rock, also dating a guy from another planet? Short and stocky, like me, but way more of a badass?” Kieron leaned in. “They’re stupid about each other, too. I’ve met the little guy, he likes me. He’ll listen to me if I tell him you’re trying to bust my balls here, and he’ll tell his boyfriend. Who do you think will get kicked off at that point?”

One of the guys bristled, but the other one shook his head. “Fuck it, it’s not worth it,” he muttered. “Fine. Split three ways, but it’s got to be at least ten milliliters per person. Got it?”

“Got it. You gonna let me do my job now, or what?”

“Which is why I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest to invest in the latest biobed sensor technology,” Doctor Kliir finished up. Elanus blinked at her. “Don’t you agree?”

Wow, he’d done a terrible job listening to that. Shit. “Absolutely.”

She smiled at him. “Wonderful! Let me show you my construction projections and we’ll get a contract pulled up!”

Wait. How much money had he just spent? Eh, didn’t matter. Not as long as Kieron was okay. Which he was, if the way he was fussing over the multi-tool again was any indicator.

“Sounds great.”