Orivar: Deep Black

06 - Directive

Atara's eyes opened wide, forced out of her nocturnal delusions by an incessant pinging in her ears. Her first sight was of a lumigraph between her face and the room lit by the warm morning light, and it read, "Incoming transmission: Armada Admiral Harianan Aesho." The captain left her comfortable position lying on her side beneath the blankets and rolled over, sitting up with the covers held over her body by her left arm. The lumigraph followed her as she moved, and Atara pressed a finger to it.

"Admiral?" Atara asked when the communication began. Her groggy speech betrayed her recent awakening.

"Good morning, captain," Aesho said through the lumigraph in her usual shrewd tone. "Let's skip the formalities. I need you to report to the nearest secure Q-comms facility immediately."

"Xannissa and I are on vacation," Atara told her. "Can this wait?"

"If this could wait, I wouldn't be calling you first thing in the morning," Aesho barked. "Your leave does not exempt you from the duties of your service. Now, I'm giving you the location of the nearest Q-comms center. Looks like it's the FedSec headquarters about seven kilometers away. I expect a call within the hour. Aesho out."

The video feed on the lumigraph disappeared. A few seconds later, she received a notification which, upon opening, gave the Q-comms address Atara was to contact.

Atara sighed. "Damn it!" she shouted as she hurled the covers away from her, revealing her naked body. Fuming, and as much as it would have calmed her down, she decided to avoid taking a shower for the sake of time. Instead, she stepped into the shield-scrubber and in less than a minute was pristine from scalp to sole. After cleaning her teeth and fixing her hair, Atara left the bathroom and returned to the bedroom, only to realize that Xannissa never came to bed. After putting on her boots and clothing herself in standard, she entered the living room and found Xannissa laid out upon the couch still in her bodysuit—the sunlight piercing the morning haze and shining on her white polyalloy.

"Xann," Atara said, leaning over and rocking Xannissa's hip. "Xann, wake up." The Elestan's eyes cracked open.

"What time is it?" Xannissa asked with a groggy voice. She put her hands on her face and stretched her back and arms.

"Seven after six," Atara told her. Xannissa rose from the couch, yawning. "Aesho called me a few minutes ago. She wants us to contact her on Q-comms."

"Is it important?" The Elestan was still coming to her senses.

"Apparently."

"Damn. Let me clean up first."

The exterior of the Federation Security Agency headquarters was a far cry from the posh crowd that lingered at the hotel. Federal police stood guard within and without, wearing dark, navy blue Accellus 3 marked with checker patterns. Their identities were masked by the black OPEL panels on their helmets. When Atara and Xannissa passed through FedSec's entrance from the tower's garage and transport hub, the guards stopped them at a security checkpoint. Despite their clear Military attire, the police granted them no exception. The two friends underwent a quick yet thorough scan before they were allowed to pass into the wide main corridor which featured a tall ceiling overlooked by offices with windows for walls. Professionally-dressed agents and officials who occupied offices within the government building hurried down the long stretch and the intersecting hallways. At the other end of the corridor sat a busy, curved reception desk with the meters-wide FedSec emblem behind.

"I don't understand," Xannissa thought to Atara as they approached the desk. "We're walking weapons," referring to the security check.