The Winter War by Niall Teasdale

physical pleasure rather
than the cybernetic delights you people indulge in.’
    To his credit, Harper owned up,
even if his tone was a little resigned. ‘I suggested that someone
could be provided if Councillor Wei could find a suitable young
woman.’
    ‘And she found herself a
suitably attractive young lady who was able to act as a translator
and told her she’d get a bundle of cash if she was willing to sell
herself as well,’ Aneka stated flatly.
    ‘You’re an attractive woman,
Councillor,’ Ella said, smiling sweetly. ‘There was no need to find
anyone else.’ Wei Lin looked like she was going to choke.
    Marsden was hanging her head by
now. She looked up and said, ‘But no Citizen is going to do that
when there are all these people on the surface desperate for the
morsels we throw their way.’
    Aneka looked at her, checking
she meant the statement in the way Aneka hoped she did. ‘Yeah,
exactly.’
    ‘None of my ideas are going to
work while we have this mindset,’ Marsden went on dejectedly. ‘Even
if we start working more with the surface population we’re going to
come over as patronising teachers trying to educate children.’
    ‘We’re even getting it with some
of the people you’ve sent up to work on the Hyde,’ Drake said. He
and Bashford were benefitting from earpieces which translated the
English into Federal. The locals were wearing them to do the
opposite. ‘Shannon gets irritable around a lot of people anyway,
but she’s been ready to tear some of your staff new assholes. I
thought about an accident involving an airlock, but I decided the
political incident was probably not a good idea.’
    ‘I… appreciate your restraint,
Captain,’ Harper said. ‘This is going to take time. We can’t change
a lifetime of preconceived ideas in a few days.’
    ‘We know that, Councillor,’
Gillian said, ‘but you people have to start it.’
    ‘You need to think through what
you’re doing before you act on it,’ Ella said, ‘and change your
mind if you’re basically treating the surface people, or anyone,
like a servant. Well, unless they actually want to be treated like
that, but I doubt you’ll find many of them here.’
    ‘And please,’ Aneka said, ‘stop
trying to impress me. I’m not her. I don’t need your… adoration.
This place, up on the surface anyway, was my home once. I want to
see it back to the way it was. Better. You’re all intelligent
people, you can do this.’
    ‘I hope you’re right,’ Marsden
said.
    8 th October 3186, 18.11.526
FSC.
    The slim, aristocratic face of Senator
Jackson Elroy looked out at them from the wall screen of the
lounge. He was looking very much the same as the first time Aneka
had seen him, which was to say slightly irritated. He was a member
of the Senate Council and he had been responsible for handling the
Negral negotiations, and here they were handing him another
diplomatic issue, all be it an easier problem than the last
one.
    ‘Unfortunately, confining
someone to a planet without some form of near-capital crime is
unconstitutional. I checked. Otherwise I’d keep you lot from going
anywhere ever again.’ Aneka was fairly sure he was joking, but you
could never tell with the man. ‘I suppose you did point out there
may be Humans on Old Earth so we can’t claim we weren’t warned, but
did you have to discover an entire civilisation?’ He shook
his head. ‘I should be saving my best despairing reprimand for when
you get back I suppose. Frankly, this is going to cause a few
political issues, but compared to a city full of Xinti artificial
intelligences, you’re practically giving me a gift-wrapped bag of
precious metals. There are a few of the same technology issues, but
I gather that the cities there are not that far in advance of us.
We suspect that there will be some resurgence of Humanity First and
the like wanting to “return Humanity to its true home,” or some
such gopi.’
    ‘Want to bet he never expects
anyone else to