“Yeah, and they’re all tyrannies,” I grumbled.
“Exactly. Freedom is messy, and often dangerous. But the only alternative is tyranny. Now, let’s get these inspections done. We need to spot check two of each warhead and missile type, just to make sure the automatic diagnostics are still working right. Then we can do a test run on the missile fabricator, and whip up another batch of laser heads so Chief West will stop complaining about our readiness state.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with Lina, but I set aside the political philosophy to concentrate on engineering. It was pretty neat to get a look at the inside of half a dozen different kinds of nuclear warhead. Just thinking about the amount of sheer firepower I was looking at made me feel funny. Kind of warm and giddy, and it was a little hard to sit still. I found myself hoping I’d get a chance to see everything in action someday.
I’m sure Lina noticed, but she didn’t comment until we’d worked our way through most of the inventory. Then she paused in the middle of stripping down an anti-missile.
“You know, Alice, we need to get you a gun.”
“A gun?” I squeaked. My mouth was dry.
“That’s right, a gun. Zanfeld is a pretty rough place. A cute little thing like you can’t go wandering around unarmed, and sticking with hidden weapons is practically entrapment. You need to advertise that you’re not a victim, or you’ll never get through a night of clubbing without a fight. You are coming to Greymore’s with us, right?”
“Greymore’s?” I repeated.
She grinned. “It’s a spacer bar. The captain has a lease on one of the private suites there, but he likes to have some backup around while he does his business. So the girls and I always dress up and hit the dance floor for the evening. We’re going to drag Naoko along and make her have some fun, so you should come too. We’ll teach you how to flirt with the guys, and you can protect us if anything happens.”
Me, protect the foxgirls? Wow. I was amazed at the feelings that welled up inside me at the suggestion. For a moment I really wished they were my foxgirls. Mine to protect, and lead, and hold…
I pushed the images away. The techs weren’t mine, and they never would be, and since when did I want to own people anyway?
But they were my friends, and it would be perfectly natural to look out for them. Besides, it sounded like fun. Only, there was one problem.
“I don’t know how to dance,” I admitted.
“We’ll teach you,” she assured me. “If you even need the help. You’ve got some kind of photographic reflexes thing going on, don’t you? I bet you can just watch someone dance, and then copy everything they did perfectly.”
“Pretty much. But isn’t there supposed to be more to it than just copying a set of motions? I’m not sure about that part.”
“If you can fight, you can dance. We’ll teach you. But first, we need to fab you a gun. What do you think, laser or mass driver? I bet you’re a mass driver kind of girl. Something nice and beefy, with a million ammo options and enough kick to make a mule jealous.”
“Mass drivers run out of ammo,” I objected, though I was practically drooling at the thought. “But I guess lasers would too, since I can’t afford a nuke pack. Um, are grenades allowed? Or maybe a mini-missile launcher?”
She laughed. “This is Zanfeld, girl. You can carry anything you want, as long as there’s no antimatter involved. Don’t forget about your outfit, though. I’ve got some nice bodysuit designs you could borrow if you’ve got your heart set on a gunbunny look, but you’d be adorable in a good dress.”
The rest of the work day flew by in a blur. Lina had a million suggestions, and each one made me that much more impatient to get to a fabber and try them out. I’d never been on a night out before, and now I was going to visit a fancy spacer club with a whole group of friends. This was going to be great!
Chapter 10
My hopes of striding into the club looking like a tough, no-nonsense spacer woman were dashed by the mirror. Not to mention the way Kara and Mina kept bursting into uncontrollable giggles when they saw me.
“Sorry, sweetie,” Kara said. “Black leather really doesn’t work for you.”
“Give it up,” Mina advised me. “Seriously, there’s no way you’re going to look tough with that face. Besides, why would you want to? If you look tough people will hassle you just to see if you really are. You should try to look cute instead. That will be a lot easier, and then everyone will go out of their way to be nice to you.”
I huffed. “I’m just tired of everyone thinking I’m prey.”
“So be an ambush predator,” Mina said.
I blinked. Huh. That didn’t sound so bad, actually.
“Between the gun and the dragons, no one with a brain is going to make too many assumptions,” Kara said. “Cosmetic work is cheap, and there are people a hundred years old who make themselves look like little kids. The thing is you need to work with your looks, instead of fighting them. If you try to dress like a drop marine it makes you look like a little girl trying really hard to act tough, and if you have to work at it that usually means it’s all fake. What you need to do is wear a cute dress, maybe put some ribbons in your hair and have one of the dragons sit on your shoulder, and pick out a weapon that looks like a fashion accessory. Then people will see a consistent look, and assume you’re the type who likes to be underestimated.”
I frowned. “If everyone is going to assume that, doesn’t it mean it wouldn’t work?”
Kara grinned. “Nope. They’ll think to themselves that they shouldn’t underestimate you, and then do it anyway. If you look young and cute the men will be extra nice to you, the women will try to mother you, and they’ll all let you get away with murder. They can’t help themselves.”
“She exaggerates a little,” Mina warned me. “But only a little. A lot of human social responses are hard-wired, and most people can’t just override them. Now come on, let us give you some suggestions.”
“Okay. I guess I should leave this to the experts,” I sighed.
Once I stopped fighting the inevitable it was actually a lot of fun. Kara was really good at fashion, and her collection of clothing designs was huge. She got a little carried away sometimes, but Mina was good at bringing her back to reality.