Lanis moves in two days later.


    It was Mirem who suggested it, the next morning. "If you want. I enjoyed your company. At least until you figure things out," she said, sipping her coffee in silky black pajamas while Lanis was slumped on her couch, eyes still sticky from the night before.


    Mirem felt flushed as she said it, a hot feeling of impropriety and rashness coming over her as the words spilled out. She had had those attitudes hammered out of her during Kaisho-Renalis corporate training a decade out, but she wasn''t a KR employee anymore, and the truth was, she didn''t care. The offer felt right, and she knew that if a month from now she read in a news feed about some girl from ex-fleet found dead from an overdose, she wouldn''t forgive herself.


    Lanis took a moment to digest the offer, letting the words settle in the perfectly air-conditioned air like a wayward gust of dust.


    She said, "Thanks. I''ll think about it?" and Mirem nodded, raising the coffee mug up to cover her blush.


    <hr>


    "Mirem Seto. Clean background. Eight years at KR. No links to any of the crime syndicates or KR shadow holdings. Though, you know, even Fleet can''t get past all the KR firewalls, not without causing an incident." Lieutenant Tran squinted his eyes, scanning something Lanis couldn''t see. "Here''s something interesting though; her uncle is vice-president of Corporate Security. Very impressive, from a hierarchical perspective. Peter Seto. Not someone to be taken lightly. I imagine he keeps tabs on his niece."


    Lanis suppressed a grimace. She had made a special trip for this call to one of the city''s many red-light districts. One nice thing about a place where discretion was paramount was that the privacy tech was very good. She sat in an Uplink cubicle, trying to touch as little as possible. Projected in front of her, instead of what she imagined were the usual fetishistic experiences, was Lieutenant Tran''s kindly face and the top of his Fleet-blue uniform. It wasn''t yet time for her bi-weekly check-in; Fleet had assured her that she didn''t have any tracking implants (not they would have needed any; they could probably just slide into the local Civic Authority surveillance systems), but she still needed to keep them abreast of her plans and well being. Technically it was for her own health. Right. In actuality it was probably because she was far too strange of an asset to be left unmonitored.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "And her other family?" Lanis asked, chewing on the inside of her cheek.


    "Sister, three years older, still at KR. A manager in acquisitions, chemical industry division. Competent looking, slightly faster promotions that one would expect, but nothing wildly out of the ordinary. Father in Admin, shipyard compliance officer. Mother is stationed at the docks as well, also admin, logistics officer. Both have efficiency commendations. Quite a family." Tran''s eyes refocused back to Lanis'' face. "Is there anything else you want to know about her?"


    "No," Lanis said quickly, "that''s fine." She stopped chewing on her cheek. "Thanks, Lieutenant." A flicker of amusement. Despite his best efforts to simply call him Tran, Lanis always called him by his rank. He was technically a Fleet psychologist, but Lanis also thought of him as something akin to a probation officer. The truth was probably much more than that, and she wondered how much of these interactions were over-analyzed; whether, if she was in danger or showed some sign of breakdown, some Fleet extraction team rappel in through the ceiling. She didn’t know which answer would unnerve her more.


    "Of course. We''re glad you got in touch, and we''re here whenever you need anything. I know this isn''t our scheduled session, but would you like to talk about how you''re doing? About any dreams you''ve been having?"


    "I''m ok," Lanis answers simply. "The dreams are the same. But... I spent the night with Mirem. And they weren''t quite as bad." Tran nodded, his face coming together in a model of therapeutic encouragement. "Anyway. I have to go," Lanis says abruptly. "Don''t want to give away too much before our next meeting anyway. Thanks again."


    "Of course, Navigator. Any time."