“You two did well.” Peggy declared.

  Casey had led the way back to CIC as Peggy took the ship back up into orbit. Karimi stood next to Andante again.

  “Andante tells me we have two more areas of concern. Karimi, you and Andante will travel to the United States and address the Michigan State legislature. Trainor and I will head down to Mexico.”

  “Would not Trainor be more suited to speak to the Americans?” asked Karimi.

  “Yes, which is why we are not doing it that way.” informed Peggy. “Every moment is a teachable moment. Every experience is a learning experience. If you shy away from a task because it is uncomfortable then you need to reflect on that. If you shy away because you think your presence predisposes failure, know that you are one step in a larger plan and one link in a stronger chain. And then reflect on that.”

  “I understand.”

  Andante led Karimi out the door and Peggy turned back to Casey.

  “We are going to go talk to some very powerful people who profit from the exploitation of others and see if we can turn some lives around.”

  “What do I need to do?” Casey asked.

  “We need to dress to impress.”

  “And I take it you already have something picked out?”

  “Yes! We made it custom, you are going to love it. Go hit the baths.”

  After getting cleaned up, Casey was surprised to find Peggy waiting with a molded body suit. It was a careful blend of transparent and opaque sections that perfectly matched her skin tone.

  “This is puncture and cut resistant. If you get shot you are still going to regret it so let’s not do that, OK?” Peggy told her as she helped Casey get it on. It blended in so well you really had to look to see it was there.

  Casey tested the elasticity around her joints and then put on a robe. Peggy led the way into the next room, where there were drones waiting to fix her hair and do makeup. Allegro was relaxing in one of several nearby chairs consulting a tablet.

  “Allegro, are you operating the drones?”

  “No, we have brought in specialists from the fleet for this. They are alumni from the Earth study program so have done hair and makeup before. I am just observing.”

  “Well it is a pleasure to meet you. How would you like to be addressed?”

  “When I last had a human body my name was Mei Lan.” The first drone said and then indicated the other. “This drone will be operated today by Zuri. Sit down here and we will get you fixed up.” Casey sat. “And before you ask, you aren’t getting a makeover from the twelve hundreds. We have kept up with the fashions.”

  “You were on Earth in the twelve hundreds?”

  “I was on Earth a dozen times between two hundred and twelve hundred, and then I moved over to be an instructor.”

  “That is amazing. I am sure there are some academic types who would do anything to interview you.”

  “We plan to make ourselves available in due time.”

  After a few more minutes Peggy joined them and sat in the next chair. Casey saw that Peggy had changed her hair to be black, and had put on a body suit much like Casey was wearing. The other drone started working on her.

  “For your hair we are going to do something very tech inspired with a lot of custom hair pins. It will look very much reminiscent of a circuit board, but with some glowy bits. This will mesh well with the print on the dress and the shoes.” Mei Lan waved her arm at the mirrored table in front of Casey and the mirror switched over to a high resolution screen with a 3d model of Casey rotating on it. “The makeup will also have some tech diagram inspired lines worked in, and you can see the shoes there. All very forward thinking.”

  The shoes were silvered open toe platform heels with just enough green to shout "Circuit board” and match the dress.

  “This makes me think you all saw the movie Tron recently.”

  “Not recently. It is a favorite in the Hive fleet, for obvious reasons.”

  Peggy's mirror has switched over to what she was supposed to end up looking like as well.

  “I get Tron, and Peggy gets Raven Queen?” Casey asked.

  “Very Regal. Much empowering. Wow.” Allegro joked.

  “Allegro, briefing for Casey please.” Peggy commanded, remaining as still as only a robot body was capable of.

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  Allegro cleared her throat.

  “OK, you will be taking a shuttle bus down to a property we typically list on the short-term rental sites, but as of now happens to be empty. Pickup by limo company, drive into the countryside, yadda yadda… Ah, here.” She scrolled a bit more. “OK, you will be meeting with a representative of one of the three largest Cartels with a presence in Mexico. What we need…”

  Casey listened with half an ear while thinking about how these types of responsibilities meshed with her vision of being a starship Captain. It seemed strange to be so hands-on with regards to the physical nature of the Hive Fleet’s response to interference with their programs, but Casey supposed that saving a world from itself didn’t happen every day.

  “And then we get into edge case what-ifs. Minor stuff, and boring, and you can read it all on the way down. Any questions?” Allegro finished.

  “No, none from me.” Casey answered as she wriggled into the dress. Even slit to the hip it was very tight. Conversely, Peggy’s backless dress looked like if she bent the wrong way it would fall off. Somehow it all stayed where it was supposed to. Casey supposed it was glue or magnets or something.

  She took the time to read up on the plan details on the bus. That third eye came in even more handy every day.

  The bus landed in the back yard of a secluded villa and promptly took off again as soon as Casey and Peggy stepped out. Peggy led the way into the modern kitchen and fetched a bottle of water from the fridge.

  “Just wet your mouth if it gets dry. You are decently hydrated right now and you aren’t getting out of that dress if you need to use the bathroom.” she warned as she handed it to Casey. “The limo is due in fifteen minutes, so have a seat and mind the wrinkles.”

  The limo ride was uneventful and a little on the long side, and the driver stopped at the gates to a very large estate in the hills outside Los Mochis. He spoke through the intercom in Spanish, and Casey watched the translation scroll by behind her eyes. Another few moments had the car pulled up in front of the massive front entrance and the driver opened the door and offered a hand to assist them out.

  They waited but a moment at the door before a man that was obviously security let them in. He waved a metal detector over both, which didn’t react at all for Casey, but went crazy over every part of Peggy.

  “We are unarmed,” said Peggy in Spanish. “Either let us through or not, but we have an appointment and we are busy people.”

  The man unbuttoned his coat to allow better access to the overlarge gun he had under it, but he waved the two through to the hallway and followed behind as they walked down it. A man at the far end waved them through into a parlor with some couches and a low table between. There were four other security guards around the walls and three men sitting on the couches. They rose as Casey and Peggy entered but sat without a word as the two walked up. No one spoke up to offer a seat.

  “My name is Ensign Cathasaigh Trainor, and I am Captain of the Provisional Planetary Navy scout ship “A Poignant Intervention”. This is Arpeggio.”

  The others at the table made no move to introduce themselves, so after an awkward momentary pause, Casey continued.

  “I see. Well, that’s fine, we all know who everyone here is.” She had a mental display showing names and pertinent statistics hovering in her field of view for everyone in the room.

  “We are here today because the Hive is facing disruptions to its operations. Some men belonging to your organization are trying to charge people for access to clean water sites in this area of Mexico.” started Casey. “It is not efficient to move the drop-off location every time someone tries to put a fence up around it. We do not want to have to take further steps to stop the interference, and we are letting you know that this may be required if you do not do so.”

  All of the security men pulled their pistols and aimed for head shots.

  “If any of you pull those triggers, this mansion and everyone in it will experience the joy of space travel as Peggy rips it from the warm embrace of the Earth and flings it at the sun.” warned Casey.

  The men shared loaded glances but didn’t put their pistols away.

  “The hive fleet wishes me to convey to your organization that it really doesn’t care at this point what you are doing, as long as it is not disrupting the humanitarian aid that the fleet is providing.” Peggy added, “This may change in the future as goals are accomplished and replaced with future objectives. However, the best way to ensure that there is no interference is to ensure that no one is negatively impacted by the changes. To that end, we asked for this conference.”

  “So are these aliens taking over?” asked one of the seated men.

  “No, they are providing the things we all need yet our governments, for one reason or another, are failing to provide. Food and water for now, soon medical care, and past that education.” said Casey.

  “So how does that involve us?” Asked someone else at the table. He waved at the security guards and they holstered their weapons. Casey could see his name above his head, but didn’t care enough to note it.

  “The part that matters to you is your bottom line. As food and water become readily available, and advanced medical care makes addiction much more treatable, demand for your products will go down. If you are warned in enough time for you to diversify then you are not left feeling like you have to save your ship from sinking.”

  All three held a quickly murmured conversation. Casey interrupted.

  “I should note here that there will always be a market for vices. People are going to people. What will change is people's desperation. The market for exploitation will dry up. You all have analysts that can model that for you, I hardly need charts or graphs.”

  Casey and Peggy turned for the door.

  “Thank you for your time. Since Peggy and I haven’t been to Mexico before, we are going to go enjoy the art on display in the city and then partake in some local dining.”

  The two made their way back out to the limo and Peggy asked the driver to take them to a gallery. They had been there for about an hour before the second member of the group at the mansion walked up to them. Having been followed was predictable, so Casey wasn’t surprised.

  “We have some thoughts we would like to bounce off of you.” He started.

  “I can’t be much help, as I am not an economist or an entrepreneur. But we will speak on what we can.” offered Casey.

  “If one were to diversify into the experiential arms of the hospitality sector, would it be of the opinion of the Hive that such would be sustainable?”

  “I would avoid Casinos.” opined Peggy. “The concept of money is likely to survive what is coming, but it may get a little squishy for a time somewhere in the middle.”

  “A valuable insight.” The man stated. “Since you two have yet to dine, may I escort you to one of my favorite establishments?”

  “That would be a grand idea.” agreed Peggy. “Your limousine or ours?”