Free Amalfi Echo by John Zanetti Page A

spacefaring dragons and nothing like the
bugs.
    Communities
too, were springing up around Tessa’s website. These were tentative
because her potential fan base still lacked focus, something to
hang their interest on. At the moment she was mostly getting the
sympathy vote. Not helping was that Digby, and the learning
programs, had forbidden her to reveal anything of her training
including field operations, or anything about the sphere ship and
since this occupied pretty much all of her time she was left with
little to say on Twitter and in the communities.
    In the next
week, which was three months subjective time, Tessa carried out an
ambush against Shining Path guerrillas in the upper reaches of the
Amazon and a combined operation with Digby and Jazmine against a
Taliban stronghold in the mountains of Northwest Pakistan. Digby
was not interested in the Taliban. The operation was designed to
give Tessa experience in field risk assessment, calling in support
where required, and the learning programs wanted to reduce her
reliance on the shuttle. These kills too, were added to her Amalfi
marks.
    In the fourth
week, in the final three months of the subjective year Marion had
allowed herself, she talked with Tessa and Digby about her plans to
break the stand-off, to move things forward again. She chose to do
this in a temporary dome set up in the Valles Marineris on Mars.
The Mars setting was not a ship construct. They had all been
working hard, although Digby perhaps less so than the others, and
were having time out on the red planet.
    Marion turned
her attention away from the sheer magnificence of the great red
slash in the Martian surface that rose up all around them. “What I
want to do is have a private chat with a selection of world
leaders,” she said to Tessa and Digby, sitting up businesslike in
office chairs. “I don’t imagine this is something they will want
and what I plan to do is this.” Marion opened an animation she had
created. The animation zoomed in on the White House, stopping at a
specific set of windows. The shuttle appeared from the upper right
corner and poked itself through the windows. The animation moved
inside the room where the President of the United States was
sitting on his bed, preparing to retire for the night. The First
Lady was already in bed, reading.
    “I exit the
shuttle which withdraws before anyone sees it, seal the room and
have my quiet chat with the President.”
    “What are you
going to say to him?” Tessa asked. “Take me along. I’d like to have
a quiet chat with him which will involve not much talking and lots
of pain.” Tessa, unsurprisingly, saw the President as responsible
for the death of her parents.
    “You should
have some armed back-up,” Digby said to Marion, “if you insist on
not even carrying a side arm. The ship’s heavy weapons will not be
much use in that situation. Tessa should go with you.”
    Marion rejected
this. “I don’t think so. The last thing I need is a loose cannon in
the room with me.”
    “Okay, that
does it,” Tessa retorted. “I’m outta here. Think I’ll go be
touristy with the big ol’ canyon.”
    Marion
immediately apologised. “I was out of line there. I’m sorry.”
    “You’ve both
been working like crazy,” Digby said. “Maybe we should do this
tomorrow and spend the rest of the day relaxing in a bubbly hot tub
with a nice glass of wine and…maybe some platters of meze ?”
    Marion looked
pained. “Let’s get this done.”
    “Yeah, Digby,”
Tessa said. “You do enough relaxing for 20 people. What have you
been doing anyway while Marion and me have been working our guts
out?”
    “I’ve been busy
too…doing stuff,” Digby said, with as much dignity as he could
muster.
    Marion called a
quick break while she gathered her thoughts. When Tessa and Digby
were settled again she said to Tessa, “I probably do need some
back-up. We’ll need to run simulations with copies anyway which
will take the edge off it for