Wanda's Voyage (2 of 3) - Agent Wanda

Thanks to Tomken for proofreading.

The whole incident nearly made Fred cancel the preparations for his concubine Veronica. Veronica had volunteered to help on the transport ships that carried the Einherjar, those people who had decided to defend Earth instead of leaving it. Her training for the job of a crewman was nearly finished. Now Fred feared that it was too dangerous for a concubine to return to Earth. The ever growing number of men left behind created an explosive mixture, according to the TV news.

But all his concubines convinced him that they trusted in the abilities of the project leaders. They stated that the Einherjar people that were visiting Vandergast were causing almost no trouble. However, the most important argument was that Veronica got a few augmentations that made her superior to Earth people. Veronica impressively demonstrated this by making Fred hit the dirt in a training fight at the Marine training center. Fred had never taken physical augmentations since he was an engineer, not a fighter.

Finally, Fred renewed his permission. The Mammoth-5 transport ship would leave Vandergast in four days and Veronica would be one of the crewmen.

Two days before her departure, while she had some private time with Fred, Veronica asked Fred, "Would you allow me to take Wanda with me? She asked me if I would do that but I think her self-confidence is currently too low to ask you for permission."

"I noticed that she seems to be depressed since the incident with Samantha. Do you think the trip would help her?" Fred asked while playfully twitching Veronica's nipples.

"I don't know how to cure the depression of somebody like Wanda. However, it should be interesting for her. She lately mentioned that there is so little she knows since she had always been able to access the huge knowledge pool of the AI network. Now the AI doesn't even talk to her loud if nobody else confirms the request."

"Yes, I know. Okay, you can take her with you. Keep an eye on each other please."

Wanda's mood went up when Veronica told her about Fred's decision. Wanda really wanted to see where Fred and all the others who cared so much for her came from. She knew the names of the places, but it was so little compared to what she knew before the incident. Being disconnected from the network also meant losing access to the collective memory of the AI's. However, the AI's had made sure that she remembered that there had been so much more she had once known. It was part of the punishment. And this was the main reason for her current shyness that the humans interpreted as depression. She wasn't even sure that she knew what was important for her sponsor and his concubines.

Helping to educate Earth defenders was definitely THE important thing for the whole colony. Wanda just had to visit this place that meant so much to all of them. Wanda was following Veronica through the transporter nexus and entered the Mammoth-5, one of the ships using outdated technology and concubine crews that the colony had built in the past two years. Wanda was carrying a tiny suitcase with several sets of clothing and an adapter cable, so she would be able to connect to Earth computers. Wanda first thought it was a ridiculous idea to carry a suitcase, but Samantha had explained that it was absolutely normal for people who weren't used to using a replicator for everything. Samantha even explained how to wash the laundry. The cable had been Fred's idea. It had taken him a hard discussion with the AI to produce it.

Wanda was allowed to go everywhere where the Einherjar guests were allowed to go. That meant she could wander the corridors or visit the canteen or the gym. So after she had stored her suitcase in Veronica's bunk, she visited the canteen since this was the only room with a window.

When the Mammoth-5 left orbit, Wanda pressed her face to the window. She watched Vandergast getting smaller and smaller behind the ship, until it was just a small spot among all the other stars. Finally, the ship entered hyper. All the stars vanished and were replaced by a colorful fog. Wanda turned around and watched people come and go for a few hours.

Finally, Veronica entered the canteen. She looked around and spotted Wanda sitting at the window. "So here you are. I was already wondering what you are doing."

"Nothing much. I watched Vandergast disappearing, and now I watch people," Wanda replied.

Veronica went to the replicators to get some sandwiches and a glass of orange juice. When she returned with a tray, she said, "Wanda, we have to talk."

Wanda looked up. "What's the matter?" She asked.

"That's what I wanted to ask. You have always been such an active avatar, so full of life. Now you just sit around for hours and hours. What can I do to get my beloved sidekick back?"

Wanda sighed. "What can I do? I'm not even allowed to visit you at your station in the engine room."

Veronica took a sip from her orange juice. "Hector invited me to join a poker round with his friends. Do you want to join?"

So Wanda ended up playing poker with Hector, Ramirez, Linda, Sophie and Veronica. At the end she owed Ramirez a kiss. That was the price for losing an all-in with triple nines against his full house. On the other hand, Hector owed Wanda a favor losing his last chips to her. Hector had to leave the table first. He sat down on his bunk and kibitzed the game from there. When Wanda lost her last hand, she joined Hector.

"So what's that favor I owe you?" Hector asked.

"Wanda smiled at him, "I don't know right now. Maybe I'll ask you to show me a museum on Earth or something like that."

"That's all?" Hector asked. "And I wondered what it might be that an avatar might ask me to do."

"Well, technically I'm no longer an avatar..." Wanda noted.

"Oh yeah, that story has spread with light speed. Let me tell you something: I'm damn happy that you rescued that concubine, even though I don't know her. She's a concubine like I am."

Wanda sighed. She quickly changed the topic, "Do you think Ramirez has a pair? He's again upping the ante like he has two aces."

"I'm not sure. Ramirez bets on every hand. But you have to pay if you want to see his cards," Hector replied.

The game continued for another hour. At the end, Ramirez won the game, earning two more kisses from Linda and Veronica. They all enjoyed their free time.

When the Mammoth-5 reached Earthat, Wanda was almost back to normal. She fooled about with people, she was teasing and sometimes her comments were biting.

The captain of the ship contacted Valhalla Base but was informed that it might currently be dangerous to swap the Einherjar trainees. Valhalla base was playing dead because they were being observed.

Valhalla Base was located in Latvia, near the border with Estonia. While Latvia was supporting the Confederacy, Estonia was in the hands of Earth First. There had been a lot of activity around an old soviet bunker system with a lot of new radar antennas and optical telescopes directed at Valhalla Base.

Adam Swenson, the leader of Valhalla Base, and the Confederacy suspected that Earth First was preparing a big blow against Einherjar. They had managed to wiretap the antennas and so confirmed that they were observing Valhalla Base. However, they had no intelligence from within the bunkers. Every drone they had sent in had lost contact. The bunkers were effectively shielded against radio contacts, even from that Confederacy technology was using.

During the last month, a lot of trucks had arrived and delivered containers with unknown content. The AI managed to ascertain a list of missing military goods from other locations like short-range missiles, katyusha rocket launchers, tanks and other heavy weapons. It was more than enough to worry. Of course the whole situation had a dangerous political dimension too, since the two bases were located in two countries with currently poor relations.

The message spread among the crew members of the Mammoth-5 and the Einherjar members they were transporting when they were waiting in orbit on the second day.

At the end of the day, Wanda went to the canteen and approached the officers' table. Commander Anderson, the captain of the Mammoth-5, and his two officers were of course discussing the unpleasant situation.

"Captain Anderson, I might have an offer to make, as to the situation down at Valhalla Base," Wanda said.

Captain Anderson knew Wanda from different random encounters during their last month's voyage. He also had been informed about her special history before they had started from Vandergast. Now he was curious. "Well, let's hear what you have to say."

"As far as I understand it, you disparately need information from within that Earth First bunker but remote-controlled drones don't work. I expect you also tried to send a human spy but failed?"

"Yes, you are right," Captain Andersen confirmed.

"Well, I don't need remote-control and I'm small enough to enter their air conditioning system," Wanda said. "I don't have a significant heat signature and don't reflect that much radar. My eyes are as good as night vision glasses. My nose is good enough to detect chemicals or explosives. Somehow Fred forgot to add the filters that limited my senses in my previous body to human level. Only my ears are like before."

Captain Anderson looked at Wanda in deep thought. He tried to talk to the AI about Wanda's suggestion but failed. "I am aware that the AI doesn't trust you. It doesn't even want to discuss your offer with me."

Wanda frowned. "Yes I know. But this is not a situation where I am in danger of directly harming anybody. So I think the AI will not interfere if you send me down to Earth."

"It's definitely worth a try," Captain Anderson nodded.

Half an hour later, Wanda was taking part in a briefing for a spy mission at Valhalla Base. She was introduced to a few officers of the Latvian Army and Intelligence Corps. For the public, Latvia didn't know much about the Einherjar base, but unofficially they were working together.

"So you are the superspy of the Confederacy?" Juris Urbanovics, a Latvian commander asked half serious, half jokingly. Wanda was standing on the table where an old-fashioned but very detailed map of the area was spread. Adam Swenson, Juris Urbanovics and Roburts Solvacs were standing around the table, where they had discussed possible ways to get into the adversary bunker.

Wanda bowed her head and said, "Sorry sir, but this will be my first mission of this type. I am small and independent from radio control, so it seemed to me like a natural selection after I learned about your problems."

Roburts Solvacs took another close look at Wanda. "You are really a robot? You look damn good for one. What do you need for a spy mission? I think we have a cam that's small enough for you somewhere..."

"Thank you sir, all I need is a universal tool to get through fences. I'd prefer the Confederacy version of a Swiss army knife. I think the Einherjar can produce one for me. And maybe a camouflage painting," Wanda replied. "I can replay everything I will see or hear over an interface cable on a normal computer."

"Very good. Then let's get this started. Mr. Swenson, can you please get that tool? I'll make her nearly invisible," Roburts Solvacs said. He opened his suitcase and took out two spray cans. "Voilą! Skin kind camouflage green and gray, indelible and waterproof. However, it can be removed with a little facial tonic. You'll be ready in five seconds."

In less than twenty minutes, Wanda was flying north at nearly ground level to the Earth First bunker. She still felt uncomfortable using her gravity drive. 'Why did I volunteer for a mission like this? I'll never get these clothes clean again. Samantha will be so disappointed. She was so proud about these hand-made pieces,' Wanda thought. 'However, far more important is, what will I do in that bunker? What if they just start an attack? Will I be able to interfere if needed? And if I am, what will the AI's say?' Wanda crossed the border at nearly hundred kilometers per hour. Minutes later she reached the small street that led to one of the bunker's entrances. Drones had spotted a vent at that entrance big enough for her to enter the complex.

Getting past the fence that was meant to keep birds and insects away took a matter of seconds. Wanda noticed the open seals that could block the forty centimeter wide air duct. She would have problems if one of them suddenly closed. Wanda followed the air duct. The wind that was dragging on her was bearable. After about fifty meters she reached another fence with some rotor turbines behind. Wanda cut her way through the wall of the duct to get past the turbines after she had carefully looked through a tiny hole she had made first. She accurately closed the hole again so it could not be spotted easily. The room with the air conditioning system wasn't very large. Wanda expected that this was only one of several air conditioning systems that fed the bunker with fresh air. Behind the turbine and filters Wanda cut another hole in the air duct to continue her way where nobody could follow her.

For the next ten hours, Wanda mapped the air conditioning system and every room she could peek in. She guessed she had seen about seventy percent of the whole bunker, finding only corridors, storerooms with all types of goods including light weapons, quarters, machine halls with water treatment plants, air conditioning systems, workshops and even some machines she couldn't identify. In most rooms and corridors she spotted video cameras. When she followed one of the largest air ducts, she stumbled into a big hall where men were repairing an old Russian tank. In the background Wanda could see a row of katyusha rocket launchers mounted on trucks.

Finally Wanda reached an area where people were observing the surrounding of the bunker and Valhalla Base on their screens. In one of those rooms she could overhear a conversation between an operator and somebody who seems to be a commanding officer.

"Sir, we just got a message from the observatory that the big ship is in orbit again. If our conclusions are correct then there should be some activity at the traitors' base before long."

"That's good news," the officer said. "I'm eager to try out those rocket launchers. They'll learn that they can't kill our agents without repayment."

"Sir, we have not yet checked the last two loads of rockets and ammunition. It would be a bit risky to use this old equipment without checking it first."

The officer growled. "You've got two days. If your men are not finished by then, you'll fire the unchecked rockets personally. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir! Absolutely!" The man didn't look happy and immediately gave orders over an old-fashioned telephone.

Wanda decided that she had heard and seen enough. She took the shortest way back to where she entered the bunker. Ninety minutes later, she reached Valhalla Base again.

Adam Swenson, Juris Urbanovics, Roburts Solvacs and several more officers listened to Wanda's report and watched the pictures she had transferred to a local computer. Even some officers of Earthat Headquarters were connected through an AI. They were very upset when they identified outdated Confederacy technology but this answered why even their drones were losing radio contact when entering the bunker.

Most of the weapons Wanda had seen were Russian, most of them from the time when the Soviet Union still existed. However, they were still dangerous.

When Wanda was finished with her report, Commander Urbanovics spoke, "So we have two days to prepare for a major assault with katyushas. Can this base withstand an attack with those rockets?"

<A single rocket would cause only minor damage. However, an assault with approximately fifty katyusha rockets can seriously endanger the structural integrity of the buildings and the lives of the people who are currently at the base,> the AI replied.

"Can we count on the help of the Confederacy, like getting some force fields or something like that?" the Commander asked.

<Sorry sir, the use of this type of technology is restricted to Confederacy personnel only,> the AI answered.

"So how about visiting us and you can protect your own men with it?" Roburts Solvacs asked.

"Major Harris speaking. That's a sneaky idea to get past the prohibition," one of the Confederacy officers noted. "However, I'd prefer to take down those Earth Firsters before they can harm anybody. With this detailed map of their bunker, we should be able to get them. AI, are you able to get past their radio transmission blocking now that you know what they use?"

<That would be possible with a special transponder within the base. Unfortunately we have no possibility to get one inside the bunker.>

"How big is that thing?" Roburts Solvacs asked.

<The transponder is a small box of five hundred and two grams,> the AI replied.

"So where is the problem? Wanda can deliver it," Roburts Solvacs noted.

You could almost see the AI wince. <That might be a possibility.>

"She even can reach the computers at the control room, so we can override the video signals from the monitoring cams. There is an air duct behind the row of workstations for better cooling. It's totally out of sight for everybody not crawling under the desks," Roburts Solvacs added. "Can you do that, Wanda?"

Wanda thought for a second. "I can do that. But I'd feel better if I can try this out on a similar workstation first. I don't want to alarm them by making a mistake."

The test was a complete success. Even with the Einherjar volunteers observing the workstations expecting something to happen, they didn't manage to notice when Wanda manipulated the computer. Then the AI took over the computer. The screens showed only unsuspicious scenes from the surrounding corridors. Nobody was able to trigger an alarm.

So, late the same day, Wanda was once again flying north toward the Earth First bunker. Her private entrance hadn't been detected and so she reached the control room unseen as before.

Carefully Wanda cut a hole in the sheet metal of the air duct and climbed out. Without being noticed by the soldiers on duty she manipulated their computers and the AI took over. All she had to do now was hide and wait for the Marines to take over the base. She had to wait about fifty minutes. Suddenly the door flew open and three Marines wearing heavy armor entered the room. The operators had no chance to react. They were paralyzed in less than a quarter second by stinger rifles. Before the Marines left, one of them looked around. Then he looked under the desk and signaled Wanda thumbs up.

It took another three hours to throw all the stunned people on transporter pads to get them in orbit for further questioning. It turned out that a lot of people were just soldiers following orders. The few real Earth Firsters were a source of names of people within the Estonian government and army who were at least sympathizing with Earth First and others who were on their watch list. Major Harris promised to make good use of this information.

Wanda returned on her own to Valhalla Base. For the first time she was not in hurry and she noticed the beauty and diversity of this land. Even with only the moon illuminating the landscape, she noticed a lot of animals in the woods and more different plants than the whole planet Vandergast held.

When Wanda returned to the Mammoth-5 she was greeted with cheers by Veronica and her two roommates. She had to tell them everything in detail while they were carefully cleaning her with alcohol, wad and cotton buds.

Later, when Veronica was on duty and Wanda was once again sitting at the window of the canteen, watching Earth, the AI suddenly asked, <Wanda, why did you do all this?>

Wanda was surprised, since no AI had addressed her directly after she had been banned from the network. She thought for a moment before she answered, "Maybe I had to prove to myself that I'm still worth something."