Jupiter's Halo Book Two: The Fall

Chapter Eight

The surgeries had been completed without issue and the healing process was well underway. Admina stood alone in the seclusion suite, naked but for the swathes of bandage wraps that still covered sections of her torso and legs.

She stared into the reflection of the mirror screen and practised the first round of micro expressions. They were little more than twitches; habitual flickers of muscle that had to be embedded in her memory coils to ensure they overrode her own natural movements.

The process was laborious but necessary. The parameters of the mission meant it was unlikely her target would be surrounded by those who knew her well enough to notice a difference, but that was no reason to be sloppy. Improper preparation led to unexpected problems and, in Admina’s experience, problems led to a higher likelihood of exposure, failure and death. She wasn’t about to take any chances.

The emotional reactions filtered through her mind, each one repeating over and over as she stared into eyes, not for the first time, that were not her own. This new face, like all those before it, would take time to get used to. Time she didn’t have.

The outward journey to the great station of Jupiter’s Halo was only six days away. It was irksome but necessary; despite the stalemate of the war, she couldn’t cross the Conflict Line directly. That would draw too many red flags and see her disguise subjected to a level of scrutiny it couldn’t possibly stand.

No, the only way was a circuitous route. First, she had to reach the Jovians, then, under a new identity, she needed to make her way to the belt before the final leg and identity of her journey. The travelling alone would use up the best part of the time she had and that left little room for unforeseen delays. She could have planned it with no grace to spare, but experience and caution told her that would only lead to failure.

The deadline was set, the wheels were in motion. She had to reach her target before she was shipped out. Once she was gone the chances of a successful transition dropped so low they might as well be in the negative.

No, this was the only way. It left her struggling to complete the persona and with the sure knowledge it would be a work in progress throughout, but what other choice did she have?

Admina pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated again. Another two hours on the micro-expressions and she would have to move onto the bigger stuff. There was a full array still to start; a dozen different movement groups each for happiness, sadness, shock, surprise, fear, anger, sympathy…

The list went on and on, but she knew it well. She would practice as much as time allowed, then move onto the body movements before bringing both together to complete the persona to whatever level she could.

The hardest part would be adopting it all completely. The struggle was never effecting the new patterns of movement, it was the patterns of thought. The last part was becoming her target. Taking everything she'd learned, everything she'd practised and rehearsed and turning it into something that was hers. Or more accurately, using it to replace everything that was hers.

That was always the wrench. Always where the most difficulty came. Pretending to be someone else, that was a trick anyone could pull off. Becoming them, in place of who you really were, well, that was what made Chameleon’s special.

Admina knew it was a skill few could hone and she knew she was the best. It wasn’t a lack of humility, but a fact. That was why she took the hardest missions, that was why this all rested on her newly demure shoulders. She wasn’t just the one they’d chosen to do it. She was the only one who could do it. And she wasn’t even sure that was true.

Admina watched the face twitch and tremble as the routine started again. No, not the face, her face. That was the mindset she had to adopt and with the pressure of time, there was no such thing as starting too early.

She settled into the routine, letting the muscles build their new memories and focusing on the image she would soon have no choice but to accept as her own.