18. Dirty work

                                    

                                          
Cynically euphemistic, I called sleeping in the Keres- sisters construction adventurous. Whenever I was assigned to sleep, I had my techdevice watching my back the entire time. More than once I had to wake up to protect my stuff from my co-workers. Sometimes I had to kill them so that they'd leave me alone. I did not make any friends, but soon I was feared enough not to need them. In the beginning, I counted the days, and I counted the contracts. It was hard in the beginning. Killing was not new to me, but it was hard to come to terms with the fact that this was my life now. There was no training phase, and I worked more than fifty hours a week for several months before I was allowed to use my spaceship again. My working hours in total did not decrease after that, but I got to relax inside my ship for brief periods of travel. For what felt like a very long time, I was sent only to nearby moons to kill people that did not have the means to run very far. I was not told who wanted my targets dead, but I figured most of them were deserters, and some were just odd ones out. I could relate to them, but I also knew that most of them had more blood on their hands than me. I was instructed to bring anything valuable they carried with them back "home". The woman I had met on my first day here then decided which things would be confiscated. She did not always leave me with any leftovers, but at least I got food and drugs for a very low price now. The quality was worse than what I was used to, but I did not complain. After 8 months, I was sent to another planet for the very first time. My target was a wealthy-looking fellow, living in a house with what I assumed was his wife and kids. He did not strike me as the kind that had ever had any contact with Chaus because he was incredibly easy to kill. I suppose in another life, he might have acted just like me. And if I hadn't killed him, someone else probably would have. He was easy money after all. 
                          
One day my supervisor called me into her office. Her smile was the warmest thing I had seen since I arrived here. It creeped me out. Being in her presence reminded me that I was dirty and probably smelled quite bad. She tried not to show her disgust too much, but it was very noticeable nevertheless. "You are due for a promotion." After examining me briefly, she took a key out of the safe in her desk. The wristband finally popped open. "You can use the sleeping area and showers on the second floor now.", she gestured to me to get out of her office. I did not much like her attitude and I was way past the point of pretend-smiling. 
                          
The sleeping area on the second floor included lockers. My new bed consisted of a slim mattress, a thin blanket, and a hard pillow. Nevertheless, I knew I was very lucky for having gotten a bed in the corner of the room. I used some useful multitools to enhance my locker before I left my stuff and took a shower with something other than rainwater, in a place with an actual soap dispenser. I was called to work shortly after. 
                          
Over the course of a few weeks, I was moved several floors up. It felt like my career was finally happening. The feeling was intentional.
                          
The nanobots were still in my blood for a few months. One morning I got up and routinely screened myself to find they were finally gone. I got called back into the office shortly after. 
                          
My supervisor glanced at me when I walked in. She was sitting at her desk, typing things into her techdevice. She pointed at the soda-dispenser to my right. "Feel free to take some."
                          
It felt like a bad joke. But I did take some covfefe before I sat down on the chair in front of her. 
                          
"You are no longer a newbie.", she looked at me. "It is time for you to start enjoying the freedoms that come with being a full-fledged sister of mine."
                          
I thought back to the time I first met her and the way I had tried to provoke her with a smile. I wondered now if that smile might have cost me an extra couple of months.
                          
"I am glad to be part of this cause.", I replied tactfully.
                          
"And you should be. We are one of the biggest competitors in the field.", she bragged. Her voice was so very light and smooth. "You are no longer required to sleep here, though you will be provided with a bedroom on the top floor.", she said. "Some contracts for you will still be mandatory, but you will be able to delegate the majority of your duties to the lower levels. We do require you to give some credits to any subjugate you are using for contracts and please to let them sleep for 4 hours a day at least."
                          
She looked at me to reassure herself that I had understood the terms. I nodded.
                          
"You will from now on be paid in SI-coins but we ask you not to shop from suppliers that we aren't friendly with. It is for your own safety." She scanned her fingertips and iris into her techdevice, presumably to execute an administrative decision. 
                          
"Welcome to the sisterhood."