Free The Engineer Reconditioned by Neal Asher

herself then hit the shower control across to cold. She swore as the blast of icy water hit her so soon after the hot and stood it for as long as she could. She never entirely placed her reliance in hangover cures. When she finally turned off the shower and dried herself with a rough towel from the dispenser, she felt thoroughly awake. She went through into the bedroom and gazed down at Abaron lying in a tangle of sheets, still apparently asleep. Her underwear she took up in one hand and her bodysuit she slung over one shoulder, then she padded naked from his quarters to her own. If that was the way he wanted it ...
    In her own quarters Chapra slung her old clothing into the cleaner, drew another bodysuit of the next primary colour on the spectrum and dressed. Once clad she touched her caste mark with its colour stick and went through its range of colours until it matched her clothing. She then decided against eating in her quarters and headed for the communal eating area. There she halted at the door to take in the scene. The girl sat before the screen with the touch console across her lap. To one side of her stood a hologram projector. Judd, Rhys and a third sexless and featureless Golem stood around her, slaves to her beck and call. On a table beside her was a plate of what Chapra recognised as high energy food and a beaker of vitamin drink. Here everything was secondary to the ingestion of information. Nothing could have driven that point home more thoroughly than the portable toilet beside the chair. She wondered if the girl had slept, or required sleep, then turned away and went back to eat in her quarters. Later, in the control room, Abaron smiled at her in a surprisingly mature manner. She had expected him to be embarrassed or resentful.
    "Perhaps we should have taken a tranquilliser," he quipped.
    "We did," said Chapra, and he laughed. Chapra wondered if she might prefer him lacking in confidence and all screwed-up.
    "Has anything interesting happened while I've been asleep?"
    Chapra detailed the girl's researches and the scene that had met her when she had gone to the eating area.
    "It was the toilet that did it really," she said. "She's just another probe beast, just another mechanism for obtaining information."
    "I didn't go there," said Abaron, his face curiously lacking expression.
    "It bothers you too?"
    Abaron shrugged. "Genetically speaking she's the closest relation I've got." He looked up from his console as Box activated the projection from the isolation chamber. "Ah, we have some action." The girl had just come through the lock and was walking out on the jetty. At the end of the jetty she stripped off her clothing then dived in. It could have been a scene from anywhere on Earth had the water not been nearly at boiling point and had not the Jain immediately zeroed in on her like a hungry crocodile.
    "I wonder if the Jain will smash this probe beast," said Chapra. Abaron looked askance at her. She ignored him and cut the refractivity of the water. They watched as the Jain caught the girl with its single hand and snaked out one tentacle to plug in to her back. The actions looked almost obscene. The girl froze, arms outstretched and fingers rigid; a newt with its neutral buoyancy.
    "I have received disturbing news," said Box abruptly, hardly impinging on their fascination.
    "Yes, what?" said Chapra.
    "There is an unidentified ship heading towards us, due to arrive in two days. On its way here it released smart missiles at the Jubilan communications satellite and the planet-based runcible. The satellite was destroyed but the missiles fired at the runcible were intercepted. Had the runcible been destroyed we would have received no warning."
    "What?" said Abaron. "What was that?"
    Chapra suddenly felt very cold. This had been a possibility right from the start.
    "Unidentified?"
    "The probability is high that it is a mercenary craft employed by the Separatist movement."
    "How long until the Cable Hogue gets